Both the vampire students, who had been looking down on human professors, stepped forward arrogantly, thinking, what could he possibly do compared to the vampires.
Professor Leo smirked and said, "How about we give the other students a little demonstration on how to defend one selves in case vampires attack?"
The students blinked, staring at the human as if he had lost his mind for asking them to attack him. One of them said arrogantly, "I don't think that'll be a good idea, professor."
Damien, who stood next to Ivan with his arms folded against his chest, muttered under his breath, "I guess we're about to see a repeat of what happened last semester."
His eyes watched the scene with intrigue, as if he knew exactly what was going to happen next.
Ivan remained silent, watching with a disinterested look on his face, as though already bored of the drama unfolding before him.
Like them, the rest of the students who had been present last semester wore smirks on their faces, waiting for the drama to unfold.
Back to Professor Leo, he took a stance, having his right leg forward, one arm folded in front of him with his palm open. He gestured with his right hand for them to come at him. His face showed no emotions. Professor Seira had already moved away to stand at the side.
The two prideful vampires couldn't stand the humiliation of being challenged by a mere human, so they lunged forward in inhumane speed. Then everything unfolded too fast.
The first one of them aimed a vicious punch straight at Professor Leo's face. But before he could even touch him, he was struck hard on the chest by Leo's palm with terrifying precision. The boy flung backwards, crashing onto the ground with a force he couldn't believe was wielded by a human.
The second vampire thought himself to be clever enough to sneak behind him when the professor was distracted. He raised his hand, with his claws lengthening, ready to strike him on the back when Professor Leo turned, catching him by his wrist in an iron-grip. In one fluid motion, his leg swept under him, sending him on the ground face-first.
Both of them groaned in pain, struggling to wrap their head around what just happened.
Evelyn and the other students stared in utter disbelief, clearly impressed by the professor's lightning-fast and powerful moves.
Professor Leo then turned to face the rest of the students, his expression serious and asked, "Anyone else curious to find out what this human can do?"
This time, nobody uttered a single word.
Professor Seira smiled and said, "Right, let's continue the class then. Today, we'll be covering some basic training that new students have missed. Use this time to pay attention and absorb everything, because next time, you'll be expected to apply this training in practice. Alright I'd like all the girls to come to my side, and the boys can join Professor Leo."
With that, the crowd divided. The women began strength exercises, warm ups and some basic techniques under Professor Seira's supervision.
While the men, on the other hand, were subjected to an intense training regimen so brutal that many of them started referring to Professor Leo as a demon from the underworld.
When Eve was using her self defense technique on one of the female lumen, she felt someone's eyes on her. After she effectively knocked out her opponent she turned to the boy's side to look at the source of lingering gaze.
At first, she found no one in particular. Just students sparring or shouting amid training. But just as she was about to turn away, her eyes found his molten red ones.
[Music Recommendation: Jacoo feat. Oneira - The Last String]
He stood leaning against a tree, sweating glistening on his face, with sunlight filtering through the gaps in the leaves above. He truly looked like God's ultimate masterpiece.
He wasn't doing anything in particular, his body relaxed, head resting against the tree truck, as he watched her with unreadable eyes as if lost in thought.
She wondered if he was really looking at her or simply staring past her. Just as she was about to turn away, a gentle breeze rustled through the lush trees. A single strand of hair slipped loose from her tied-up hair, brushing against her sweat-kissed cheek before clinging lightly to her lips.
Eve briefly shut her eyes and when she opened them again slowly, she noticed his eyebrows drawn together slightly. Curious about what had caused that expression, so she turned around to see if he was looking at someone else. But when she looked back, she saw him lift his long finger and glide it slightly across his own cheek, as if silently telling her to tuck the stray hair behind her ear.
Evelyn couldn't quite grasp how a simple, wordless gesture from him, a silent hint to tuck her hair behind her ear could send warmth rushing up her neck and blooming across her cheeks like wildfire.
The thought that he had been watching her, and not just the world beyond, made her heart flutter like fragile wings flapping in her chest. With a breath she didn't realise she'd been holding, she slowly raised her fingers and brushed the loose strand behind her ear. Then with a mix of shyness and something unspoken, she turned around as if afraid that if she looked at him a moment longer, he might see just how deeply he affected her.
Cece turned to look at Eve and said "Oh my! Evelyn, you're so red! Let's get you some water! It's really hot out here, isn't it?"
Evelyn just nodded, with her heart still pounding unusually loud, and thought to herself, 'That man… what was that about?'
Rubbing her hand over her chest, she added silently, 'Ah… he's really dangerous, even when he's not close to me, isn't he?'
Ivan's gaze lingered on her, his lips curving into the faintest ghost of a smile before he even realised it. He wasn't sure why he had been watching her so intently earlier, during her self-defence practice. There was something about the way she moved, fluid like water, yet tinged with hesitation, as if afraid to hurt her opponent.
When he saw her fluster over his small gesture, a strange sense of satisfaction bloomed within him. He found himself enjoying the way this graceful little princess reacted to him. 'How interesting' he mused.
He finally averted his gaze from her when Damien came over, ranting about how he was convinced Professor Leo was the devil's spawn and he felt his soul leave his body at least three times today.
PE class finally ended after another hour of torture. The students were mercifully released after looking like war survivors. The rest of the classes continued afterwards.