Shattered Blade

The weapons hall emptied as students dispersed, their whispers carrying Hwak's name with newfound respect. He lingered behind, savoring the moment as he checked his academy interface—2,000 credit points, the tangible reward for today's victory against Riyo. Not enough to purchase advanced equipment, but a beginning. The first real validation of his place here.

He sensed the shift in the air before he heard footsteps—a subtle change in pressure, a whisper of movement where there should be none. The hairs on his neck rose in primal warning.

The first strike hit like lightning between his shoulder blades, precisely where Riyo's earlier attack had left him vulnerable. The second blow followed before he could even register the pain of the first, targeting the exact spot where his recovery was weakest.

Hwak turned, pain radiating through his body, to find Leena standing before him—her ruby eyes ablaze with an emotion too complex to be simple anger. Something deeper lurked there, something that made his heart quicken despite the danger.

In that heartbeat, the change occurred—not a conscious decision but an instinctive shift. His posture loosened, the set of his shoulders realigning. His lips curved into a knowing smile that belonged to someone else entirely.

Romeo had taken control.

Leena's third attack—a sweeping low kick—met empty air as Romeo spun above it, landing with casual grace on both feet, arms folded across his chest as though they were merely having a pleasant conversation.

"Hey there, angry bird," he said, voice honeyed with amusement. "What has you burning so brightly today?"

Confusion flickered across Leena's face, her rhythm broken by his unexpected shift in demeanor.

"You defeat two nobodies and think you're special?" she snarled, but something in her eyes betrayed deeper currents—exhaustion, worry, perhaps even fear. "What exactly do you think you are?"

Romeo tilted his head, studying her with a gaze too perceptive for comfort. "Someone kept you awake last night," he observed. "Was it thoughts of me?"

"As if I'd waste a single breath thinking about you," Leena scoffed, reaching behind her to unsheathe a midnight-black katana that seemed to drink in the light around it. "You're nothing but average—no hybrid abilities, no exceptional talents."

As she channeled her energy into the blade, multicolored butterflies materialized along its edge—not mere decorations but extensions of her will, each wing-beat pulsing with deadly purpose. Her movements shifted, becoming fluid and weightless as though gravity had loosened its hold on her alone.

The katana cut through the air in a perfect arc, leaving a seven-colored crescent of energy in its wake—a rainbow promising not gold but oblivion. Romeo drew his short sword in response, attempting to cleave through the oncoming attack.

Their energies collided, but the disparity was immediate and devastating. The rainbow crescent shattered his defense, hurling him backward into the training hall wall with enough force to crack the reinforced surface.

Before he could regain his footing, Leena advanced, her katana dancing through the air in a series of slashes too quick to follow with the naked eye. Each cut targeted a vital point—throat, heart, lungs—a sequence designed not for practice but for killing.

Romeo twisted his body at a thirty-degree angle, making himself a narrower target while calculating his counter. He pushed off the wall behind him, channeling energy through his enhanced shoes to propel himself toward her blind spot.

But Leena had no blind spots.

Her butterfly-enhanced reflexes allowed her to pivot impossibly, her body flowing like water as she completed a full rotation. Her kick caught Romeo squarely in the ribs, sending him crashing back against the wall. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, yet his smile never faltered—a mask that had become his true face.

He brushed his hair back with deliberate slowness, the gesture both defiant and intimate. "I love this brutality from you," he said, voice husky despite the pain radiating through his chest.

Something in his tone made Leena hesitate, her katana poised for a thrust that would slide between his ribs and pierce his heart. "Your heart is about to be mine," she warned, the threat carrying a strange double meaning that neither fully understood.

Romeo channeled everything into his shoes, pushing their enhancement beyond safe limits. At point-blank range, he twisted away from certain death—but not completely. The katana pierced his shoulder instead of his heart, sliding through flesh and muscle before emerging on the other side.

Most men would scream. Romeo's smile widened, blood staining his teeth. "My heart has been yours since the first day," he said, as though confessing rather than bleeding.

Confusion rippled across Leena's face. She yanked her blade free with unnecessary force and kicked him to the ground, her composure cracking for the first time. "How can you still flirt while bleeding out? What are you?"

"I'm Romeo," he answered simply, the name a truth and a lie simultaneously.

"Romeo," she repeated, shaking her head. Something vulnerable flashed in her eyes before hardening once more. "Stay away from me. You don't know my family. They would erase your entire existence without hesitation." Her voice dropped, unexpectedly gentle. "Forget everything. I don't want your death on my conscience."

Romeo struggled to his feet, blood soaking his uniform. "I'm not someone easily forgotten," he insisted, swaying slightly. "Once I've set my heart, it's either fulfillment or death." He studied her face, searching for truth beneath the mask. "Why do you care what happens to me? The academy whispers about how many hearts you've broken. Am I just another conquest, or have you marked me as something different?"

Her composure shattered completely. "If death fascinates you so much—then die," she hissed, executing a final devastating kick that connected with his temple.

Darkness claimed him instantly.

The mechanical hiss of a pod opening dragged Hwak back to consciousness. A countdown timer completed its sequence—3...2...1...0—as the healing chamber's translucent cover retracted. He pressed his palms against his temples, disorientation clouding his thoughts.

"How did I end up here?" he murmured, fragments of memory refusing to align properly. Someone had attacked him after class... then nothing. "Must have been Riyo getting revenge," he reasoned, the explanation fitting neatly into his understanding of academy politics.

A deeper worry surfaced as he sat up. "How can I advance if every victory lands me in medical?" he wondered, checking his credit balance with resignation.

The display showed 2,000 points—untouched. His medical expenses had been covered by someone else. Curious, he checked the transaction history, surprise flickering across his face as he read the name: Leena.

"They've all misjudged her," he murmured, constructing a narrative from incomplete information. "She helped me on my first day, and now again. She's not the demon they claim—she's a guardian angel in disguise." He smiled at the thought. "Next time we meet, I'll thank her properly."