Finished with their meal, they headed downstairs. As they reached the hallway, Cole suddenly clamped a hand over his nose, catching a sharp, foul odor. Celes froze.
"Draugr," Celes whispered.
"How do you know... ugh... it stinks," Cole muttered.
"That smell is a telltale sign of a Draugr feeding on its prey. Humans can't smell it, but we can. You didn't smell it until yesterday, right?" Celes whispered back.
"Yeah, that's right," Cole whispered.
"Come on... follow me. The smell is coming from the lab," Celes urged.
The two of them immediately crept toward the lab door, opening it just a crack without a sound. "WHOOSH," the unpleasant stench immediately greeted them, forcing both of them to cover their noses. Cole and Celes, peering through the gap, watched their eyes widen.
They saw a girl, clearly a student, lying on the floor with her face pointing toward the door. The girl was still alive, and "SPLUURT," blood occasionally gushed from her mouth as her body, partially hidden behind a desk, convulsed. Tears streamed down her face, looking as if her life was moments from ending.
Cole immediately covered his mouth; he recognized the girl, she was his classmate in the next class. "SCREEECH," Celes, already transformed, slid the door open and stepped inside.
"O... oi, Celes," Cole gasped.
Celes ignored Cole. She walked around the desk and saw a man digging into the girl's abdomen and feasting on her organs. The man lifted his head, and it was indeed Karlston, the teacher who had spoken to Cole yesterday. His skin was a mottled grayish-black, his teeth were sharp, like a row of thorns in his mouth, and his eyes were entirely pits black. Seeing Celes, who now had red eyes, grayish-black skin, and black serpent arms with mouths in the palms, Karlston immediately leaped backward.
"Hoh... what a strange creature we have here," Karlston said with a horrifying, guttural voice.
"So you're the one who murdered Nicole," Celes muttered, recognizing the girl on the floor, who was now motionless.
"Hahahaha... humans are our food. Why are you protesting? By the look of it, you eat humans too, don't you?" Karlston sneered.
"SCREEECH," the lab door closed. Celes and Karlston looked over to see Cole stepping inside, leaning against the now-closed door, his head down. Seeing Cole by the door, Karlston immediately turned and "KRAAAAAGH," he lunged far, tackling Cole.
"Cole!" Celes screamed.
Cole remained silent, but then he lifted his head, and his eyes flashed red. Slowly, his skin changed, and both his hands transformed into those white Yeti arms. "BWOOOMP," Cole punched upward, catching Karlston squarely on the jaw and launching him into the air. "SWOOOSH," Celes instantly shot fire from the mouth in her palm, engulfing Karlston's body as he flew upward. "GYAAAAAAAH," the burning Karlston screamed loudly.
"BLUGH," Karlston dropped to the floor, his body alight, rolling in agony. Cole jogged over to Celes.
"I-is he dead?" Cole asked, watching the suffering Karlston.
"Yep, just let him burn out," Celes replied, staring down at Karlston.
Cole turned to look at Nicole's corpse, whose head was facing the lab door. He walked back toward Nicole's mangled body and knelt beside her. He gently turned Nicole's head and closed her tear-stained eyes.
But suddenly, "HAAAAAH," he opened his mouth, and white smoke curled out. His teeth began to sharpen. Before he could do anything, "TAP," Celes grabbed his shoulder, making him turn.
"Hey... don't get carried away. Let's go. We can buy raw meat or catch an animal if we're hungry. Don't eat humans," Celes insisted.
"Oh... y-yeah, sorry... I... I lost control for a second," Cole replied, immediately standing up and backing away.
"Be careful, Cole. I don't even know what happens if we eat humans, because I haven't eaten a human this entire year... I don't dare try, and I don't think it's ethical... even though the urge sometimes pops up. Let's get out of here," Celes urged, grabbing her lunch bag.
"Yeah, let's go," Cole replied.
Without another thought, they immediately scrambled out of the lab and ran down the corridor to head back toward their respective classes. As they walked down the hallway where their classrooms were, the sight of them walking together instantly became the center of attention for their classmates and younger students.
Cole was confused by how many people were staring at him. The girls seemed to be thinking, "How can she be with him?" and the guys seemed to be thinking, "No way. I'm so much better than he is."
Cole glanced at Celes walking beside him. He finally noticed just how gorgeous Celes was, with her long, straight black hair. Her body looked both sexy and statuesque, even though she only came up to Cole's shoulder, since he was quite tall to begin with. Compared to the other girls, Celes was clearly taller than them.
"No wonder they're staring at us... I'll just go ahead," Cole thought.
Cole immediately sped up to avoid walking next to Celes and the attention it drew, but "YANK," his arm was suddenly pulled, and Cole nearly stumbled backward.
"Where are you going? Why are you walking so fast?" Celes asked.
"Ugh (glancing around and seeing the stares were more intense than before) I'm not used to drawing attention," Cole replied.
"Ah... just roll with it," Celes said, pulling Cole's arm closer to her body as they walked.
"H-hey," Cole stuttered, his face turning red.
Cole peeked at his surroundings. Now, the stares from the boys were as sharp as knives, and the girls' gazes were even more puzzled and confused, as if asking, "What does she even see in that guy?"
Cole tried to pull his arm free from Celes's clutch, but Celes tightened her grip. Now, her chest was pressing against Cole's arm, making his face flush crimson from the soft sensation against his arm.
Cole covered his face with one hand so no one would see he felt shy and other things, feelings he'd never experienced before, feelings that might have been buried deep in his memory since he couldn't recall anything.
"What's wrong?" Celes asked casually.
"Nothing... please let go of my arm," Cole answered.
"Nope... we haven't seen each other in so long, I'm not letting you go," Celes replied.
"Damn it," Cole muttered, still feeling the barrage of stares. "Why am I suddenly this sensitive... usually I just ignore it and don't care... this must be because my heart's beating normally... ugh... this is annoying, but it's a new feeling I've had for the first time in three years," Cole thought.