A day before the start of the qualifiers, Enrico blocked a punch from Kaela and another from Seraphina at the same time. Ducking down, he used his leg to unbalance Seraphina. While she was falling, he grabbed her hand and threw her toward Kaela.
"Charged Impulse!"
Kaela used her magic to dodge and appeared behind Enrico, frowning in frustration at not being caught midair and falling to the ground. Kaela raised her fist, coating it in fire. Enrico caught the punch and threw her over his shoulder, slamming her into the ground.
"Painful Resonance!"
From a distance, Seraphina cast her magic, which reflected the damage received from previous battles. From her palm, waves of magic like sound burst forth straight at him. Crossing his arms, he withstood the full impact, blood dripping from his nose and ears.
"Flame Serpent!"
Behind him, a fiery serpent tried to bite his shoulder. Remembering the fight against Tilios, he moved quickly to the side, letting the attack pass straight through and pierce a wall.
"You've improved your physical aspects a lot, but that's not enough if you let your guard down."
At first, the two didn't understand, but when they felt something at their feet, they realized there were threads of fire wrapping around them. With a pull of his arms, Enrico brought both of them crashing to the ground in front of him with such force that a three-meter crater formed.
"You were so focused on your improvements that you forgot to feel my mana when I released it to form a thread. I didn't even need to hide my magic for you to realize the mistake you made."
"Sorry."
"Next time, I'll try to pay more attention, teacher."
He already knew about Seraphina's improvement, since he often spent time training her a few times a week. What truly surprised him was Kaela's progress in such a short time.
"Well, it's not just her who's improved."
At the side of the training field, Sisaka and Erina were coming down — they had been the first he'd sparred with in training. He couldn't deny being surprised that those two had managed to catch up with Kaela and reach Class A.
[I'm also surprised those two made it into Class A.]
'That's good for me — the more strong allies I have, the higher my chances of survival.'
Enrico wanted to have a date with Seraphina since he had promised her one, but she asked for a training date instead. Then the others showed up and asked to join.
"Teacher, can you teach me that thread magic?"
"That's right, teacher, I want to learn it too, because my magic can reproduce it even if it doesn't have the same affinity."
"Sisaka, why do you call him teacher? He's my teacher."
"I don't care. If he's a teacher, he can teach as many students as he wants."
The rivalry between Sisaka and Kaela was enormous — if one learned something new, the other tried to surpass it somehow, usually looking for someone to teach her, and Enrico was the one they both used for that role.
"Teacher, I'd like to ask about the earth armor you described on paper."
"You too, Erina? Why do you all want to steal my teacher?"
Shaking his head in amusement, he walked closer to see what Erina wanted to ask. Watching that interaction, Seraphina admired Enrico even more. The calm, serene way he taught others made her wish he spoke to her like that alone.
'You just need to take him by force — then he'll be only ours.'
'Can you shut up? Your voice is annoying.'
Closing her eyes, she tried to suppress that voice as much as possible. It was irritating, and to make it worse, her feelings for Enrico were growing, making her agree with some of the things that voice said.
Feeling a touch on her head, she opened her eyes and saw Enrico smiling as he stroked her hair. Her face immediately turned red, but she didn't move away, savoring that moment.
"You look beautiful with your eyes closed."
'Maybe that voice is a little right... I want to take him for myself.'
She wanted him more and more — it was becoming an obsession in her heart. Every moment, she wanted to do more for him, wanted more of his affection, to the point of having selfish thoughts.
"You're thinking too much, Seraphina. You can tell me if you want."
"I…"
She could have lied, but her feelings for him were so strong that even the thought of lying hurt her heart, so she revealed her dark thoughts to him.
"So that's it? Don't worry, being selfish is a human feeling."
"But having these thoughts is too dark... taking someone by force…"
"Yes, it's bad, but do you want to hurt me or anyone else? If it's just thoughts you know you'll never want to make real, then stay that way. You don't need to worry — as long as you don't hurt anyone. Besides, having a bit of selfishness can be good."
"You really think so?"
"Of course. Even I have the thought of wanting to be stronger than everyone else, even if I have to step over those who dream of being the strongest. Tell me, if that's not selfish, what is?"
Her eyes shone as she watched Enrico speak so calmly, then she closed them, her heart beating faster as her love for him grew.
"Besides, you already have me."
Feeling a sensation on her lips, Seraphina opened her eyes in surprise — Enrico was kissing her gently. When he pulled away, there was a smile on his face.
"You can have me for a whole day if you want, where I'll have eyes only for you. And be sure of one thing — I always keep my promises."
"So, for the rest of today, it'll just be the two of us?"
"If you want, of course."
Standing up, she hugged him tightly with a smile. She didn't want to share his attention with anyone that day, so whenever she wanted to go out alone with him, she would simply say so.
'See, you cursed voice? I don't need to take him by force to make him mine — because he's amazing.'
'It's exactly because he's that amazing that you should take him. If you can't do it, then I will.'
'You'll have to go through me first.'
Enrico returned her embrace with serious thoughts — now he was absolutely certain about who Seraphina really was.
'Just as I thought — she's the vessel of the evil goddess Eris.'
And it seemed that, just like other vessels, the host's emotions would flow to that god and could even grow if the evil god accepted those feelings — meaning he now faced a serious danger with what that crazy goddess might be capable of. He now had two possible paths: use this to make both live in harmony and grow stronger, or destroy Eris completely within her — which could cause Seraphina intense pain.
'It'll be a difficult decision, but I'll do what I must.'