Location: Academy Central Tower.
POV: Head Professor Tectus.
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After the final match when the last of the students cleared the room, I marched down the hall and ignored their hushed whispers.
"One punch, he knocked out Victor with one punch." One student whispered to another.
"It all happened so fast, I thought Victor passed out." Another said.
"You will never, ever catch me trying to fight Lilith's son."
I cleared the hall and entered my office.
Inside my assistant sat in my chair. There was a stack of papers on my desk, and her hand rested on top of it.
"Here's everything I could find on Lilith Dumica Tide."
I nodded and gestured outside. "Good, now get out of here."
My assistant leaned back in my seat with a grin. "You're so mean, Tectus. When will I ever get to see your soft side?"
I squared my shoulders and crossed my arms. "Never. Women are nothing but problems waiting to happen. The last thing I'll do is expose my 'soft' side to one. Beat it."
My assistant grinned as she stood up. "You have such a way with words. If only your attitude wasn't as tight as your ass." She walked past me and blew air through her mouth into my ear.
I stood there and waited for her to leave.
When I heard the door click, I approached my desk and took a seat. I flipped through the first page of her file.
Lilith Dumica Tide.
I've never met the woman personally but I've heard her name. The mad dog of the north.
She had a reputation that amplified her presence like thunder to lightning.
I skimmed through the first few pages.
Born to George and Fiona Dumica Tide.
Her parents were killed around the time she was nine. Was sold into slavery at ten, freed at thirteen, and married by fourteen.
Divorced a month later and enrolled in Berdun Academy. Where she racked up a disciplinary record longer than the inner sea.
Fights with students and staff alike.
She was expelled after only four months and then enrolled in the Dragoon Corps.
She was the first and only applicant to complete the training at 15 and on the first try no less.
She went on to become captain by the time she was 20.
With 1300 confirmed kills.
Most notable among them?
16 dragons with one of them being the chaos dragon.
She also went on to kill the ghost of the north. The same elf that killed Triton Faluh Tide. The previous head of the Tide family.
This same woman suddenly appeared with a kid right around the time she killed the chaos dragon.
My eyes widened.
Wait a minute, she killed the chaos dragon at 20. And Lafayette is twelve…
She's only 32.
I ran a hand down my face before I wrapped my fingers around my lips. I glanced out the window and shook my head.
If that woman had anything to do with Lafayette's development Victor never stood a chance.
Ah, that poor kid, how do you even react to something like that?
I closed my eyes.
First things first, I can't allow anyone else to challenge Lafayette. They won't learn anything from fighting him. Not when he's that strong.
Second, I need to check on Victor. I need to get his head on straight and keep his spirits up.
Finally, I need to talk to Lafayette. That boy, he's nothing like his mother. He's quiet, quick, and efficient. I thought he was just timid, but now I know… he's a thinker.
He didn't even realize his own strength. I know that, because I saw that look in his eyes. Like he had miscalculated.
Either he didn't expect Victor to be weak or himself to be strong.
I sighed as I stood to my feet and exited my office. My assistant stood waiting for me with her arms crossed. "So, what's next on your list?"
"I need to find Victor, where is he?"
My assistant placed a finger on her chin and tilted her head.
"Last I heard he was in the training hall. He's been in there since he recovered."
Without another word, I started jogging towards the training hall.
My assistant sighed as she watched me go with a hand on her hip.
— — —
I burst through the training hall doors. In the middle of the room, Victor had just punched a dummy hard enough to knock its head off.
The charred ball bounced then rolled towards me. I looked down, then up at the pile of burned dummies in the corner of the room.
Finally, my gaze landed on Victor. He was shirtless and covered in sweat. For a moment he didn't even notice me.
When he did look up, his jaw tightened. It was completely healed, but the vision of his jaw being shattered was still vivid.
I stepped forward and kicked the charred head aside. "Victor."
His shoulders tensed as he stepped forward. He had a look in his eyes that was a mix between anger and shame. "Sir."
He uttered the word like it was a bitter pill.
I crossed my arms as I stood in front of him. "What happened today, it wasn't your fault, son. You were just dealt a bad hand. You shouldn't—"
"Don't give me that shit." Victor snarled.
I blinked. "Excuse me?"
Victor raised his head and puffed out his chest.
"I said don't give me that shit! I lost! I got my ass handed to me in front of everyone and I refuse to deny that truth!"
I fell silent as he continued.
"You don't know how embarrassing it is. To wake up with people staring down at you with concern. Like I'm some weak little animal…"
He tightened his fists as they burned with fire. "Are you okay? How many fingers am I holding up? Do you remember your name?"
He mocked the voices of the nurses who cared for him. He then laughed bitterly as the fire dimmed out.
"I'd rather have died than survive that." He shook his head, "But since I have survived, I'm going to do everything in my power to beat him. To make him feel what I feel right now."
I frowned. "That's impossible."
"It's not impossible!" Victor countered. "It's not! I can do anything if I put my mind to it! And I will beat him!"
"You can't just magic up a way to close a gap that big, son! That boy, Lafayette, he's not a normal kid!"
"Well, neither am I!" Victor slapped his chest. "This isn't the end, it's the beginning! You said that! And now you want to walk back on me?!"
He pointed a finger at me. "You should be just as mad as I am right now! Hype me up! Let's fucking do this!"
I stared at Victor for a long time. The fire in his heart was genuine. But it was also the kind of fire that got you killed. He doesn't understand it.
I don't cheer on people to make them win. I cheer on winners who think they're losing.
But he won't understand that.
I sighed.
"Sit down."
Victor blinked. "I don't need—"
"Sit. Down." I repeated.
Victor clenched his jaw and dropped down on the closest seat. I sat beside him and rested my elbows on my knees. "Do you really think you can beat Lafayette?"
Victor nodded. "Yeah."
I glanced at him. "Honestly?"
Victor stayed silent for a moment. He then shook his head. "Maybe not now. But I can get there. If I had been trained, then I think I could do it."
I nodded.
"Do you want me to train you?" I asked.
"If it's possible. You're a veteran and you're strong. You're way stronger than Lafayette."
His voice softened a bit. "So… teach me how to fight. Not like the normal stuff, but how to kill."
I reclined in my seat. "Killing is easy. Any idiot can kill. To beat Lafayette you need discipline and restraint. That's how he operates. No more. No less."
Victor stared at me as he nodded. "So where do we start?"
I closed my eyes. I don't know if this is the smart thing to do. But I know if I don't guide this kid he's gonna fly off a cliff trying to keep up with Lafayette.
"We start with finding just how undisciplined you are. And reversing that. Get up."
"Yes Sir."
And so I spent the rest of my afternoon training him. Hours of letting him fail and correcting him to be better.
He might not catch up to Lafayette.
But their next fight definitely won't end in one punch. That I'll make sure of.