Daemon knew the moment the woman laid eyes on him would seal his fate.
As someone who shared the second attendant position with the icy Rosa, the red-headed brute held the authority to punish whomever she wanted.
'And she's the most eager to dish out punishment!'
With this thought, the corner of Daemon's mouth twitched slightly.
Lowering his head like a turtle in its shell, he gently pushed one side of the door open to reduce the sound and stepped through the entrance first.
Initially, he planned to simply waltz right in, either hiding behind the chalkboard positioned beside the door or blending in with a group of standing kids. However, he quickly noticed the space was more open than anticipated.
The sandbags and wooden benches had been moved closer to the weapon racks at the four corners of the room, and over a dozen boys and girls stood nearby with their gazes focused on the circle at the center of the room.
"Looks like someone's already fighting her," Vincent whispered from behind.
"Let's see who it is…" Daemon smiled as he straightened up, curious about the poor sap who had to taste the woman's hardened fist.
As they moved closer to the front, he spotted the short frame of a boy with spiky pink hair holding a boxer's stance. The dark linen vest and white dimiye trousers he was wearing further strengthened this image.
Sweating from head to toe, the boy stared at the red-headed woman across from him and drew sharp breaths. Nonetheless, the glint in his brown eyes implied he was not ready to concede.
His opponent, Diana, mirrored him in stance and spirit, yet every punch she threw contained a ferocity and strength that far surpassed his own.
He was facing a tiger with no intent of hiding its fangs.
Daemon's face was drained in disbelief. "I knew Kayn wasn't too bright, but he actually challenged the beast!?"
"You might want to tone it down before she hears you," Vincent laughed. "It's more likely she singled him out."
"It—it's all my fault…" A voice muttered nervously.
Daemon and Vincent turned their heads at the same time. They saw a boy with short black hair and grey eyes looking ahead with a gloomy expression, palms pressed together.
As if sensing their gazes, he coughed and added, "I just wanted to ask him some questions about the last lesson, but Diana heard us talking…"
"Don't blame yourself so much, Henry. If it wasn't for him, someone weaker might have been called into the circle." Vincent did his best to console him.
But Henry's expression darkened
"But I wa—"
"Unless you plan to tag him out, quit with the sulky attitude," Daemon chided in before he could finish. He wasn't interested in his brother's self-deprecating tone.
'The least you could do is cheer him on, you dolt…' As he shifted his attention to the match, the two figures shuffled back and forth in a one-sided brawl.
Kayn's footwork was impressive as he bobbed and weaved most of the incoming strikes. However, the maneuvers continued to eat away at his stamina by the second.
Everyone could see the end drew near!
At this moment, Diana delivered the coup de grâce. She pulled her muscular arm back like a bowstring, and her fist went flying towards the boy in a straight jab.
Kayn immediately held up his guard to protect his face, and the blow struck the back of his wrist. It blew him off his feet, pushing his body back four feet beyond the circle and into the onlookers.
"You might want to catch him," Vincent suggested.
"I know…" Daemon muttered as Kayn's back came towards them.
He quickly stepped forward with Henry and raised his arms, catching the boy's weight with slightly bent legs. Then he stared at the spiralling circles in the boy's eyes and ran his hand along the bruised wrists.
"It's a miracle he has no broken bones. His arms might be sore, but an ice pack will do the trick," Daemon muttered, giving an analysis.
Soon after, he heard the sound of footsteps approaching, and his brows knitted together.
"Good, that will teach him not to talk during my class." Diana looked over with a stern expression.
Her words sounded light-hearted, but as her eyes focused on Daemon, she bared her canines. "Don't think I've forgotten about you either. It's your turn now!"
"Um… I'm not feeling so well." Daemon pushed Kayn towards Henry and nervously took a step back. He hadn't thought of entering for even a second.
However, he quickly found he was unable to move as Vincent grabbed him by the shoulder.
"What the hell are you doing? Let go!?" Daemon fumed.
Vincent smirked in response.
"You can't run from this, brother. She'll only chase you down."
'That's nonsense, and you know it!' Daemon retorted inwardly.
Before he even had the chance to resist, Diana grabbed him by the collar and lifted him off his feet.
"Enough talking! Like it or not, you're getting in that circle today," she yelled.
"W-wait, stop!!"
Daemon pleaded to deter the woman, but he quickly realized his words fell on deaf ears.
Suddenly, his vision spun around, and he could see an upside-down Vincent waving at him with a smile.
'You bastard!!' Daemon screamed inwardly as his body fell towards the floor. However, he reflexively twisted his spine and flipped around, stopping himself from landing face first.
'I can't believe she just threw me like a blanket. What if I was actually sick!?'
This was exactly why they saw her as a beast!
Diana was known to be the least skilled among the ten attendants their mother recruited. However, she had claimed a spot among the pair of second attendants solely for her physical capabilities and her unyielding personality.
Once she had decided something, there was little room for reasoning, and it was even worse when she got angry.
'A woman like this should not be teaching at all!'
Honestly, Daemon wished their mother would denounce Diana's actions, but his prayers were left unanswered.
'Ugh… At least there are no stones inside…' he sighed gratefully as his back met the sandy ground inside the circle.
At once, the fiery woman pressed her feet onto the sand and drew closer.
'Damn it, I guess I have to fight!'
Daemon's eyes suddenly widened as her tanned skin and well-defined muscles appeared in his line of sight. In a panic, he pushed his body off the soft grains using one hand while extending his leg.
Bang!
Diana had easily foreseen and blocked the kick with her forearm. Her counter came swiftly as she arched her back and struck her fist down. Seeing this, Daemon weaved his head to the side. He dug his fingers below the sand and into the dirt, then twisted his back.
Bang!
His other foot slammed against the woman's calf, spreading the impact through their bodies. Daemon smiled as he felt this. With the knowledge that Diana had a combat style centered around punching, he was certain her legs would have been weaker.
However, he was sorely mistaken!
"Ah... Ouch!!!" A second later, Daemon's expression faltered.
He sprang up nimbly, hopped on one leg, and seized his throbbing ankle in pain. "What the hell! Her leg is as hard as a boulder?!"
Diana raised one of her muscular legs and smacked it with a smile. "You focus too heavily on my upper body when this is just as dangerous."
Despite saying this with confidence, she knew that blow might have been successful in slowing her down if it were three months ago.
...
Unbeknownst to the children, the attendants normally held a yearly battle royale competition at the beginning of summer to compare their skills. All ten participants were required to undergo rigorous training, as their ranks would be reallocated according to their performance.
The others had a complete grasp of her weaknesses, and Diana was not so arrogant to believe they were incapable of exploiting them.
The training regimen recommended by the director was difficult, but she had adapted well in a week and managed to turn her biggest flaws into weapons more lethal than her fists, able to split a tree in half with a single kick.
...
Naturally, Daemon had no means of knowing this, but the sensation spreading along his calf told him enough.
"This isn't fair. I'm down a leg, and this isn't even teaching me anything!"
Diana lowered her leg, then replied with a harsh tone, "Quit whining like a toddler. Have you forgotten already? This is a punishment; it's not meant to be fair."
"I'm afraid I'd have to agree with the children," another woman sounded with an even tone.
---End Of Chapter------
Author's Note: Dimiye is a traditional baggy trousers/pants gathered tightly at the ankle. They are part of Turkish folk dress.