Chapter 117 Malice

"What did you say?" Luu asked with a puzzled expression on his face.

"I heard something," Lucas replied, "a whisper..." Lucas's mouth froze as if he couldn't say any more words

Luu looked at Lucas and then turned his head. Slowly, they moved towards the direction of the sound. When they arrived, they stood next to each other and listened carefully.

"Hello, Lucas..." The voice repeated.

The voice sounded familiar. Lucas could hear a hint of sadness in it, mixed with sorrow. There was only one person who spoke to Lucas like this.

"Who are you?" Luu interrupted, "Lucas, step back!" Master Luu raised his hands and took a defensive stance.

Lucas knew it was dangerous to approach the figure and he was about to shout at Luu to stop. But just when he was going to speak, the figure disappeared.

"Did you see it?!" Lucas yelled.

"No," Luu answered, "I don't know what it was. Let's move, it might be dangerous."

"But... but..." Lucas tried to explain himself, "I thought I saw someone..."

"We'll talk later," Luu said, "it's too late now."

Lucas reluctantly followed his master. They kept walking until they reached the entrance of the pond. Luu stopped and looked back. Lucas did the same, but he didn't see anyone anymore. They entered the forest again and started heading home.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Luu asked once they were out of sight.

"Yes, but not now," Lucas replied, "we should get back to the dorms. If someone sees us talking like this, it will look suspicious."

"You're right," Luu said, "come on."

They walked side by side, lost in their thoughts.

"What were you thinking about?" Lucas asked.

"About the voice," Luu replied, "what if it wasn't just a voice? What if it was an actual person?"

"It could be another student," Lucas said, "or a teacher..."

"Right," Luu said, "but they know what kind of punishment they could get for sneaking into the forbidden area?"

"True," Lucas agreed.

"So, it has to be someone from our group," Luu concluded, "someone who knows where we train."

"And what if they are planning to attack us?" Lucas asked.

"Then we have to be ready," Luu replied, "but right now, we need to focus on training."

"Agreed," Lucas replied, "and we have to do better than last week."

"I know," Luu smiled, "let's keep moving."

They kept walking until they reached the edge of the forest. It was almost sunset, so they decided to return to the dorms before it got dark.

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"What do you say we go back to the training ground tomorrow?" Lucas suggested.

"Sounds good," Luu agreed, "I'll meet you at sunrise."

They parted ways and went back to the dormitory.

The following morning, Lucas woke up early and left the dormitory first. He didn't know why, but he had a bad feeling about today's training session. He spent some time alone, thinking about the possibility of an enemy approaching.

He remembered what happened the previous night. Could the voice have been the same person who attacked them the day they arrived? Or maybe the intruder was someone from their group.

He felt uneasy and couldn't concentrate on his breakfast.

When he finished eating, he headed straight to the training grounds. He noticed the practice field was full of students. Most of them were doing push-ups in groups of two or three. Some of them ran around while others sat down to meditate.

"Good morning Lucas," the voice said.

Lucas jumped. His heart skipped a beat. He couldn't believe his ears. Did I really hear that? He thought.

"Morning," Lucas replied, "did you sleep well?"

"Yeah," the voice said, "at least, as much as someone can sleep in this place."

"Someone?" Lucas asked.

"Me," the voice confirmed, "my name is Malice. You must be Lucas. I'm glad to finally meet you."

"Nice to meet you too," Lucas said, "do you want me to introduce myself?"

"Not necessary," Malice said, "I already know who you are," she chuckled.

He lifted his eyes and saw her plum lips, the same colour as the rest of her skin. She wore black clothes, with long sleeves, hugging her body tightly. Her hair was tied up, leaving her neck exposed.

"Sorry if I startled you," Malice apologized, "I was just here to watch."

"No problem," Lucas said, "you can stay. I don't mind."

"Thank you," Malice replied, "I've always wanted to visit the training grounds. Watching other people fight seems like an interesting experience."

Lucas looked at her crystal blue eyes and felt a shiver run down his spine.

"That's great," he said, "how long are you staying?"

"As long as I feel like it," Malice answered, "I'll leave whenever I feel like it."

"Okay," Lucas said, "so, what exactly are you here to do? Is there something I can help you with?"

"Nothing in particular," Malice said, "I just wanted to watch the students practising. Now, I'm going to go back to my room."

"Sure," Lucas nodded, "see you later."

She started walking away, then stopped.

"Bye," she said, and walked away.

Lucas breathed deeply and tried to calm himself down. Why am I so nervous around her? He wondered.

He took a deep breath and turned toward the training field. 'Why do I feel like I know her?' he wondered.

'There's something weird about her,' he thought, but he still didn't know what it was.

Lucas looked over his shoulder again and saw Malice watching him. She waved at him as if to tell him goodbye.

"Bye," Lucas waved back, trying to hide the smile on his face.

Malice left the training grounds and walked to the dormitories. When she entered the building, she went to her room.

She placed her bag on the floor and hung her clothes on the wall. Then she changed into her usual black outfit, which consisted of a short skirt and a tight top.

She removed her makeup and put on her eyeliner and mascara again, "Lucas..." She whispered to herself, 'he's cute.'

She closed the door and stood there for a moment.

'What should I do next?' she thought.

She walked to the window and peered outside, with a concerned expression on her face.

"They're not here," she muttered.

"Who?" Someone asked.

"Those idiots," Malice answered, "they should be here by now." She bit her lower lip and

took a deep breath. "Lya, that stupid bitch couldn't ruin him, but I will."