Dash was lying in his bed, still grinning as he was told that the mission was successful. They had successfully made Lucifer break a rule without letting him be the least bit suspicious.
"Soon, itâll be time for the final strike. And then itâll all be over. This guy... He is going to suffer. He should have stayed low and not aimed for the stars. He canât blame me," Dash said, talking to himself as he started hatching the next part of the plan.
"Iâll still wait a few days since heâll be more careful now."
He already had a few ideas about how to do it, not knowing the consequences of his actions.
...
The following day, Lucifer woke up and got dressed before he went to the class again.
The other students were already in the class by now, and they all noticed the second light on Luciferâs bracelet.
"Hah, Alex. Did you break another rule? I must say, I respect you a little now. You arenât afraid of the establishment. Pretty brave, I must say," Dash said to Lucifer, laughing.
Lucifer ignored Dash as he sat on his seat.
"How did this happen?" Cassius also asked Lucifer, confused. What rule did he break?
"I had to take a man to the hospital when I was coming back last night. Because of that, I couldnât get back in time, and this rule was broken," Lucifer answered, sighing.
"Be more careful next time. You only have one chance, donât fail," Cassius reminded Lucifer.
"Hahaha, I know. If I fail, Iâll be expelled. And I will have to leave. I wonât be able to see you again either." Lucifer nodded.
As Cassius heard Luciferâs words, he lost himself in deep thought. It was true. If one day Lucifer left the academy and disappeared, he wasnât going to find Lucifer.
After a long time, he had found a friend. How could he let it end? But he couldnât do anything either since it all depended on Lucifer.
"You know the Great Family of Zaini? You can find me there in the future. We donât have to separate," Cassius said.
"I know. Iâll be careful. Donât worry," Lucifer answered, smiling.
Soon, Franci arrived in the class.
"Youâre all here. Good, today weâll start something new. Follow me."
He turned back as he prepared to leave, but he suddenly stopped, feeling as if he had seen something.
"Wait, Alex! Thereâs a second light in your bracelet? Did you break a rule even after my repeated reminder?" He asked, turning around.
"Yes, Teacher," Lucifer answered before he started explaining everything.
"Rules are rules. No matter what the reason, breaking a rule is a strike. Even I canât help with that. Now be careful this time. You only have one chance! I donât want such a bright student to fail this time."
"I understand. I wonât let it happen again," Lucifer answered apologetically.
"Thatâs good. Come now."
All the students followed Franci, who took them to the training field once again. But this time, there were already a few students there.
Lucifer and the others could see eight people already present in the arena. One of them was Alexi, while the other seven seemed like youngsters who had similar ages to Lucifer and others from what it seemed.
They were wearing the same uniform as Lucifer, which made him believe they were in Class A too.
"Are they the last batch of Class A? The ones who are in year five now?" Lucifer asked Cassius.
"Yeah. They are from class A of batch 23," Cassius answered.
Stepping forward, Alexi greeted everyone.
"Welcome everyone. Today we have decided that the two groups will train together and compete as well. I think this competition will force you to overcome your limitations."
As he finished explaining, everyone looked surprised. The year four students were surprised that they needed to compete with the year five students.
As for the year five students, they were shocked as well. They needed to compete with the youngsters? What kind of nonsense was this?
Lucifer was happy that he was going to learn with the stronger students, but the seniors looked unhappy.
One of them stepped forward, looking upset. "Teacher, this shouldnât happen."
"And why is that?" Alexi asked, seemingly amused.
"We are the seniors! What will happen to our reputation if we compete with youngsters? Obviously, theyâll be weaker than us."n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
"Even if we compete, weâll win effortlessly, so itâs not beneficial in any way. Itâll only work to make us a laughing stock! People will say weâre bullying the kids!" The young man answered again.
Lucifer observed the man, surprised to see a similar ring on his finger. It seemed like he was the top student of batch 23, just like Lucifer was the top student of Batch 24.
"Heâs Jake Holler. From the Great Holler Family of the West," Cassius informed Lucifer, seeing him confused.
"Great Family of the West? Thatâs right. I did hear that Center has four great families while there are two great families each in East, West, North, and South," Lucifer muttered, remembering how spread out these Great Families were.
âIsnât the family of Dash also a Great Family in the West? I wonder if they are close,â he thought.
"Jake, you seem really confident that you can easily defeat them?â Alexi asked, observing the brown-haired man who seemed like he was a playboy from his looks.
Jakeâs light blue eyes glanced at Lucifer and the others before he nodded. "Thatâs right. Theyâre still kids. I think our time would be better utilized if we train separately instead of wasting time with them."
"Dear Jake, I believe youâre underestimating them a tad too much. From the way I see it, not only can they give you competition but they can even win. There are some really good talents in Batch 24," Alexi responded, laughing.
"Your joke is really good, teacher. But itâs not funny. Itâs impossible for them to defeat us. Heck, I would be surprised if their strongest member can even defeat our weakest member," Jake retorted.
Hearing the overconfidence of Jake, Franci couldnât help but shake his head. He was too blinded by his arrogance.
Franci finally decided that it was enough. It was time to bring his arrogance under control and let him see that younger didnât always mean worse.
"Oh? How about we try them? Their strongest member will fight but not against your weakest member. He will fight against you," Franci said.
"Both of you are allowed to use your gifts. If you win, weâll cancel this plan. If he wins, youâll train together? Howâs that?" he further asked Jake.