Seraphina remained motionless, overcome with terror. Beside Elowyn, Narisse also seemed about to approach, which made her fear increase even more. She brought her hands together against her chest and began breathing heavily as memories she wanted to forget returned one after another. Then she felt her hair being pulled and saw Elowyn's amused gaze. At that moment, her mind returned to the past, when she was ten years old and had been in exactly the same position after trying to stop a fight between some children. Back then, Seraphina tried to help as many people as she could. She only wanted those children to stop fighting.
"From now on, you will do the same every day. And I will continue paying five bronze coins."
The children she had tried to help, many of whom lived on the streets and received coins from Seraphina, began beating her every day. Elowyn's own guards remained nearby, making sure no one interfered. Some children still tried to help her, but the next day, they disappeared. They had not been killed. The guards simply took them somewhere, and when they returned, they never tried to help her again. As Elowyn had ordered, the blows were directed at places that were not visible, such as her stomach, back, and legs, since Seraphina usually wore longer clothes at the time.
She could not take it anymore. On the very same day everything began, she thought about telling her father and mother, but Elowyn ordered one of the guards to cause an accident that left both of them seriously injured. They had to spend a week in bed, unable to work.
"If you tell them anything, next time will be worse. They might even die."
Seraphina remained silent and continued being tormented every day. Even so, she held onto a small hope that if she endured a little longer and continued trying to help the children, perhaps they would start going easier on her. But nothing changed. Whenever the beatings seemed to lessen, Elowyn increased the reward by one bronze coin, and the attacks became even worse.
Even so, Seraphina managed to hide everything from her family. She did not need to fake a smile because she still believed that the situation could end someday. And then, her hope finally seemed to take shape. A cheerful girl, the same age as her, began helping her. Her name was Narisse. She brought food, bandaged her injuries, taught her the basics of magic, and played with her when no one was watching. Those were two weeks that Seraphina kept as some of the best memories of her childhood.
"You are my best friend."
After hearing those words, Narisse hugged her. The next day, she took Seraphina to a hideout she said was safe, where she could watch some incredible magicians using magic. Seraphina entered with a light heart, believing that she had finally found someone she could trust.
But as soon as she entered, she saw five children waiting for her, each holding a rock. When she looked to the side, she found Narisse beside Elowyn. The princess was drinking juice while holding the cup with both hands, looking like a child waiting for the beginning of a show.
Seraphina did not run when the first blows came. She did not scream when she felt the pain. She simply stayed there, trying to endure everything in silence. But when she raised her eyes and saw Narisse smiling as she watched her fall, something inside her broke.
It was at that moment that Seraphina screamed in pain and sadness.
That night, already at home, she held a knife tightly. Despair had taken over her, and for a moment she believed that this would be the only way to end everything. If it had not been for her parents' arrival, when they realized what was happening and managed to stop her, Seraphina might not be alive today.
"Daughter, wake up... please, don't leave us."
Her father's voice brought her back that day. Seraphina finally began to cry and told them everything that had happened. Her mother put her to sleep and remained by her side throughout the day, while her father went out to try to resolve the situation.
When Seraphina woke up, he said that the three of them would have to leave the city. They would not be able to do anything directly against Elowyn, but her father had managed to speak with the king after spending the entire day on his knees waiting for an audience.
After hearing what had happened, the king promised to find the two of them better jobs in another city and also said that he would speak with Elowyn so that she would no longer bother Seraphina.
She could barely believe that it was actually happening. When she entered the carriage that would take them away, she cried with relief. Her father hugged her throughout the journey, while her mother remained beside her, comforting her.
Even after leaving everything behind, it still took some time for Seraphina to trust people other than her parents again. Little by little, however, she began playing with other children again, while her parents remained patient and never pressured her. To Seraphina, they were the best parents in the world. That was why she wanted to repay everything they did for her. Just as the two of them trained in secret, she also began training without telling them and set herself a goal: to enter the best academy on the continent.
And she succeeded.
Seraphina was happy when she finally entered Astrong, but she soon realized how difficult it would be. She had been ranked 240th, and in the classes below Class D, students constantly fought to rise in rank before being eliminated from the academy.
Many tried to hinder one another, and the older students warned the newcomers to stay away from four specific people. One day, however, Seraphina ended up bumping into a noble girl accompanied by two subordinates. She immediately apologized, but they would not let her pass.
It was then that she realized those three were part of the group that usually intimidated the other students: Serenya, Elian, and Caelan.
Seraphina received a kick to the stomach, and at that moment, she realized the absurd difference between them and her. The pain brought back the memories of the past, and without realizing it, she began to cry. Everything was happening again. Fear took over her body, and inside her head, a voice began repeating itself.
'Kill them... kill them... kill them...'
Seraphina did not understand where it was coming from. The more she tried to calm herself, the more desperate she became, wanting only to run away from there. Then she heard another voice.
"What happened?"
A slightly chubby boy had approached. He was strange, especially because he began talking about acting like an adult instead of a child, but, to Seraphina's surprise, it worked. She managed to calm down enough to realize that the boy was Enrico, one of the four students who also had a reputation for bothering others. Except he seemed nothing like what people said.
When Enrico picked up her backpack from the ground and handed it to her, Seraphina still trembled a little, expecting another blow to come. But nothing happened.
"Be careful, girl. And look ahead so you don't have trouble with idiots again."
He simply walked away. Seraphina thanked him and continued on her way, but that small act remained in her memory. After that, she began hearing news about Enrico. She learned that he had defeated a student, then that he had survived a dungeon, and that he continued getting stronger, just like the other students who were advancing quickly. Even so, she decided not to approach him.
Until the day she saw him apologizing to a girl.
Enrico seemed sincere. He had acknowledged his own mistake, apologized, and even helped the person he had hurt. Seraphina felt relieved to realize that there were still people capable of admitting when they were wrong.
From that moment on, she began observing him more closely. That was how she discovered that he had Fire Cancer, and it made her sad. A person who seemed to be good was dying, and she even thought that perhaps it was precisely because he knew he had little time left that he had changed.
That same day, Seraphina had a pleasant conversation with him, and Enrico even asked his own friends to help her train. She ended up not accepting Serenya's help because she had noticed that she was changing, but she still preferred to wait a little longer before trusting her.
Now, however, all of that seemed distant.
Standing before her was Elowyn once again, with that same amused smile from years ago. Seraphina felt her legs trembling and her breathing becoming increasingly difficult. She wanted to move, she wanted to run away, but her body would not obey.
'But...'
She could not let that happen again.
Seraphina was still breathing heavily. Even so, she could not allow that memory to control her. If Enrico, who had once been considered an idiot, had managed to keep moving forward despite knowing that he could die at nineteen years old or even earlier because of Fire Cancer, then she also needed to move forward.
'Even though he could die so young... he keeps going.'
Elowyn noticed that the fear on Seraphina's face was beginning to change. Her smile slowly disappeared when she saw the girl bite her lips and extend one of her hands toward her.
"What are you doing...?"
"Painful Resonance."
A wave of magic struck Elowyn directly and sent her flying backward. That was Seraphina's unique harmonic magic. Normally, she used it to directly attack her opponents' minds, but that did not work against someone with a much greater amount of magic than her. Because of this, she had developed a different way of using it: transforming the emotional pain she carried into physical damage.
Elowyn managed to stop her own movement by creating a golden sword and driving it into the ground. She dragged her feet for several meters before finally stopping and raised her face, staring at Seraphina.
"Looks like the little bird has grown wings."
Elowyn's tone had changed. There was no longer any amusement on her face, only irritation. Seraphina was still breathing heavily, trying to control the fear that insisted on returning.
"Good, Seraphina."
Serenya managed to approach after dodging another attack from Diana. Valença, Elian, Caelan, and Liam also retreated, gathering beside Seraphina to try to think of some way to face Elowyn and her subordinates. Lan watched the group reorganize and began preparing his next attack.
"Those idiots really think they have a chance? I can't wait to see their faces when this is over... and then Enrico's face when he finds out."
Two spears appeared in his hands. Lan smiled arrogantly and prepared to throw them, while his opponents took positions to receive the attack.
"Seriously? Did you miss me that much?"
An arm went around Lan's shoulder.
Everyone immediately looked to the side. The students gathered with Serenya and Seraphina recognized that voice and smiled, especially the two girls.
"He finally showed up."
Enrico was standing beside Lan, looking directly at him. The boy took a step backward, trying to move away, but he had no time.
Two arrows struck his stomach.
The impact sent Lan flying backward, causing him to crash through three trees before falling unconscious to the ground.
'System.'
[Yes.]
'I accept the offered pact.'
[Pact accepted. Twenty permanent mana for improving one ability.]
Enrico snapped his fingers. The ring on his hand glowed, activating the pact's effect. Despite that, Enrico was not happy at all about the situation his companions were in.