The room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Every single student was staring at the girl, Valeria. They were all mesmerized by how beautiful she was that they didn't notice the lethal aura that was coming off her.
Except for Zen.
He could feel it, feel the phantom weigh of her sword pressing against his throat.
Valeria did not look away from Zen as she walked down the aisle. Her footsteps were silent like a predator sneaking up on its prey. As she got closer to Zen's row the air got so cold he could see his breath.
"I am in trouble," Zen thought to himself. "She is going to grab me right here, drag me to a bunker and chain me to a wall if it guarantees I never leave."
[Analyzing Target's behavior: Incorrect. The Goddess of War is maintaining her 'Val' persona.]
[Probability of public abduction: 4%.]
[Probability of psychological manipulation: 96%.]
"Manipulation?" Zen swallowed hard. "Valeria doesn't do manipulation. She just hits things until they break."
Then Valeria stopped in front of Maya. Maya was still holding her bag of snacks. She looked up at Valeria and smiled nervously.
"Hi " Maya said softly. "I am Maya. Welcome to the academy."
Valeria looked down at the petite healer. She did not smile back. She slowly tilted her head, leaned in close to Maya's ear and whispered some words that Zen could not hear. But he saw the immediate reaction.
Maya's eyes went wide with terror. All the color drained from her face and she started trembling. The bag of snacks she had in her hand dropped and she began to back away quickly.
"I…" Maya choked out, nearly tripping over a desk. "I have to go. I can't… I have to go."
Maya didn't even look at Zen; she just turned around and then ran out of the lecture hall, leaving her bag on the floor.
Jax blinked, looking confused. "What just happened? Did you threaten her?" he asked Valeria.
Valeria turned to Jax, putting on a sweet, innocent face. "Threaten her?" she asked in a soft voice, almost sounding like his words hurt her. "No! I just told her she looked a little pale. I think she might be getting sick."
Jax did not believe her. "She looked fine a minute ago " he muttered, clearly suspicious.
Valeria ignored him. She sat down in the desk next to Zen, close to the exact spot that Maya had been standing. She leaned her chin on her hands, and turned to face Zen, completing ignoring the rest of the room.
"Hi " Valeria whispered.
"Hi " Zen replied, trying to sound calm. "You are sitting in someone else's spot."
"Whoever it is did not seem to be using it," Valeria smiled smoothly.
"Doesn't mean you can scare our friend away," Jax countered, though you can hear the slight tremor in his voice.
"She didn't seem like a good friend if she ran away so easily," Valeria reached out to trace the rusted metal edge of Zedn's desk with her finger. "I'm a much better friend. In fact, I hear the Professor say we need partners for a practical exam. Since I don't know anyone here, will you be my partner?"
Jax leaned over Zen's desk. "Hey new girl, sorry to burst your bubbles, but Zen and I are already partners. We stick together."
Valeria slowly turned her head toward Jax. She still had her innocent smile on, but her red eyes flared suddenly. Jax flinched, grabbing his chest like he had just been punched. He gasped for air, his face turning pale.
"Are you sure?" Valeria asked sweetly. "Because three is a crowd. And you look like you need to visit the infirmary. Right now."
"I… yeah," Jax wheezed and quickly got up. "Yeah I don't feel so good. Zen, I will catch you later. I need to go lay down."
Jax practically ran up the aisle, leaving Zen entirely alone with the Goddess of War.
"System," Zen thought desperately. "What did she just do?"
[Analysis: She made use of a micro-burst of S-Rank Dominion mana to induce temporary, extreme dread in the target. It is a highly advanced intimidation tactic.]
"She really did learn manipulation," Zen thought, feeling a cold sweat break out on his neck.
"There we have it," Valeria sighed happily, resting her hand on Zen's desk, a few inches from his arm. "Now it's just us. The way it should be."
Zen looked at her hand. He wanted to pull his arm away, but he knew that would only make her angry or grip him even tighter.
"Listen, Val," Zen said in a low voice so the nearby students won't hear. "I don't know what game you are playing, but I told you yesterday. You have the wrong guy."
Valerias smile disappeared. She leaned in close to Zen, her shoulder touching his. Under the desk, out of sight of the rest of the class, she grabbed his thigh tightly.
"Don't!" she whispered in that terrifying dark voice she had used in the dungeon. "Do not lie to me again. I know who you are, Zen. I found the piece of your uniform, and I scanned the biometric data."
Zen gritted his teeth trying not to wince from the pain in his leg. "If you know who I am, why have you not taken me away yet? Why are you wearing a school uniform?"
Valerias grip on his leg loosened a bit, and she started stroking his leg with her thumb.
"Because I realized something after you ran away from me," she said softly. "You are fragile. If I lock you away, you will try to escape. And with your core broken… you might accidentally hurt yourself. Or worse, break the pieces of your soul that I'm trying to protect."
She leaned her head closer… so close Zen could smell the faint scent of ozone and expensive perfume on her skin.
"So I am going to do this the right way. I am going to stay with you. I will watch everything you do. I'm going to protect you from all the garbage in this academy. And I am going to remind you why you belong to me, Emperor."
She pulled back slightly, her manic smile returning
"And if anyone tries to hurt you," she added. "I'll slowly tear them apart from limb to limb. But until then... we are going to be the best of partners for this practical exam."
Zen looked at her. She was completely insane, but she was also very smart. She knew she couldn't use physical force without risking his fragile new body, so she was using proximity. A psychological siege.
"Fine " Zen said, trying to relax. If she wanted to play the long game, he could use that. Being close to her was the only way he was going to steal back the fragment of his soul she was hoarding anyway. "We're partners."
"Perfect," Valeria beamed. She finally let go of his thigh, but still didn't move away. "Now I heard you say you were going to the cafeteria. I am starving. Show me around, partner."
Zen stood up, slinging his bag over his shoulder.
Valeria stood up immediately, linking her arm tightly through his. It looked like a cute, friendly gesture to the other students in the room, but Zen felt the iron-clad strength behind her grip.
He was essentially handcuffed to a nuclear bomb.
As they walked out of the lecture hall together, Zen pulled up his internal interface.
"System," Zen thought. "I need a plan to retrieve the soul fragment from her without her noticing."
[Query acknowledged. Retrieving ancient data on Soul Fragment Extraction.]
[Warning: Due to the Goddess's overwhelming power and obsession imprint, forceful extraction is impossible. The only viable method to siphon your fragment from her is through an intense, prolonged exchange of intimate mana.]
Zen stopped walking for a fraction of a second. "Intimate mana? Are you telling me I have to..."
[Affirmative. You must initiate Dual Cultivation with the target to retrieve your power.]
Zen looked sideways at Valeria, who was currently glaring daggers at a second-year student who had accidentally walked too close to them in the hallway.
He had to seduce the yandere Goddess of War who was actively trying to lock him in a cage.
"Well," Zen muttered. "This is going to be a problem."