Crinix and Takahishi scanned the room, searching for a place to sit. Crinix spotted an open seat at the back row and began to head towards it, but Takahishi grabbed his arm, his eyes wide with concern.
"Hey, Crinix, I think we should change seats today," Takahishi whispered urgently. "You know, just in case... that psychopath Niski tries to kill us again."
Crinix sighed, reluctantly pulling his arm free. "Ah, okay, you're right," he murmured, as they both headed towards two open seats at the front row.
As they sat down, Crinix couldn't help but glance around the room, his eyes scanning for any sign of Niski. Takahishi noticed his gaze and raised an eyebrow.
"Hey, what are you looking for?" Takahishi asked, his voice low.
Crinix turned to face him, a hint of embarrassment on his face. "Um, nothing," he replied, trying to brush it off.
Just then, two people approached them, their footsteps echoing through the room. Takahishi's eyes went wide, and he ducked down, hiding under the desk.
"W-we don't want any trouble, please leave us alone," he stammered, his voice trembling.
Crinix rolled his eyes, chuckling. "Hey, Takahishi, what are you doing? Stop fooling around," he said, peering down at his friend under the desk.
The two newcomers exchanged a confused glance, before the girl spoke up. "Hey, you're the new kids, right?" she asked, her voice high-pitched and cheerful.
Crinix turned to face them, his eyes narrowing slightly as he took in their appearance. The guy had short black hair pushed backward, with two earrings glinting in his ears. He wore a long black sleeveless coat, his black eyes gleaming with a hint of mischief. The girl, on the other hand, had short pink hair styled in pigtails, with pink eyes sparkling with excitement. She wore a short, long-sleeved jacket that left her belly exposed, paired with short black pants.
"Yeah, what do you want?" Crinix asked, his tone neutral.
Takahishi slowly poked his head out from under the desk, his eyes wide with curiosity.
The girl grinned, her eyes shining with admiration. "Wow, you guys are so cool! You're the first people to stand up to Niski."
Takahishi's face lit up with pride, as he scrambled out from under the desk. "Yeah, I'm cool, I know it. That Niski kid got what he deserved. Me and my boy Crinix, we were gonna demolish him, but his brother interfered."
The guy raised an eyebrow, his expression skeptical. "What? You didn't do anything. ."
Aya giggled, her hand covering her mouth. Takahishi leaned forward, his eyes locked on hers.
"Hey, pretty, what's your name?" he asked, winking at her.
Aya's face flushed, as she giggled again. "I'm Aya," she replied, her voice barely above a whisper.She then looked at the guy next to him "And this is Kinji"
Takahishi's face lit up with a charming smile. "Oh, wow, nice name! I'm Takahishi, and this is Crinix."
The door creaked open, and the purple-haired woman, Shizuki, slipped in, her eyes scanning the room. "Sorry I'm late, everyone," she whispered, her voice barely audible as she made her way to the desk at the front of the room.
As she began to arrange her books, Kinji and Aya waved goodbye, heading for their seats near the door. "See you both later!" Kinji called out, his voice carrying across the room.
Takahishi watched them go, his eyes wide with curiosity. He turned to Crinix, who was gazing intently at Shizuki.
The room fell silent, all eyes fixed on Shizuki as she wrote "Divine Incantation" on the board. She turned to face the class, her purple eyes gleaming with intensity.
"Today's lesson will be about incantations," she announced, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose. "What is an incantation?"
The room remained silent, all eyes staring back at Shizuki. Takahishi leaned forward, his voice barely above a whisper. "Pssst, hey Crinix, what's an incantation again?"
Crinix turned to him, his eyes narrowed in warning. "Quiet, you're going to get us in trouble," he whispered back.
But it was too late. Shizuki's eyes had already locked onto them, her expression stern. "Hey, you two! What are you chattering about? You're disturbing the lesson!" she shouted, her voice echoing off the walls.
Takahishi's face turned bright red as he exchanged nervous glances with Crinix. "Um, w-w-we were just discussing..." Takahishi stammered, his voice trailing off.
Shizuki's eyes narrowed, her eyebrows furrowed in annoyance. "Okay, then, you with the weird hair, what's the answer? What's an incantation?" she demanded, her finger pointing accusingly at Takahishi.
Takahishi's eyes went wide, his face pale. He swallowed hard, but his throat was dry. "L-l-an incantation is... um... a-a-a..." he stammered, the class erupting into laughter.
Takahishi felt his stomach growling, a chill running down his spine. He was mortified.
Crinix leaned over, his voice barely above a whisper. "An incantation is an essential way to perform magic in the form of spells and rituals."
Shizuki's face lit up with a warm smile. "That's correct!" she exclaimed.
Takahishi let out a sigh of relief, his face still burning with embarrassment. "Thanks, man," he whispered to Crinix, who nodded sympathetically.
Shizuki continued with the lesson, explaining the intricacies of incantations. Takahishi listened intently, his eyes wide with fascination.
But when Shizuki mentioned that some spells required sacrifices, including sacrificing your own life force , Takahishi's eyes went wide with alarm. "Whoa, hold up, You mean like, we have to kill my self ?" he asked, his voice trembling.
Shizuki chuckled, her eyes twinkling with amusement. "Not exactly, young man. But some advanced spells do require a sacrifice of some kind. The sacrifice that includes using your soul energy ."
Takahishi's face paled, his eyes wide with fear. "I don't like this one bit," he whispered to Crinix, who rolled his eyes good-naturedly.
As the lesson drew to a close, Shizuki dropped a bombshell. "Remember, kids, next time we meet, we'll be learning something fun. And it might just kill some of you."
The class fell silent, all eyes fixed on Shizuki in horror. Takahishi's eyes went wide, his face pale. "Did she just say what I think she said?" he whispered to Crinix, his voice trembling.
Crinix shrugged, his expression calm. "I think she was just bluffing, Takahishi. Don't worry about it."
But Takahishi was beyond consolation. "Bluffing? Are you kidding me? She's going to kill us! We're all going to die!" he exclaimed, his voice rising to a panicked whisper.
Crinix chuckled, his eyes amused. "Takahishi, calm down. It's just a lesson. We'll be fine."
But Takahishi was having none of it. "Fine? You think we'll be fine? We're going to die, I tell you! Die!" he whispered, his eyes wide with fear.
As the class filed out of the room, Takahishi clung to Crinix's arm, his eyes wide with terror. "We have to get out of here, Crinix. We have to escape before it's too late!"