The crowd was sick from seeing the boy get barbequed.
But Anya wasn't satisfied, not even close.
Her eyes burned with a manic intensity, her smile twisting into sothing crueler. She wanted more. The boy's accusation against Mika, calling him a dog and demanding his punishnt, hadn't just angered her, it had struck a sacred nerve.
To Anya, Mika wasn't just soone she loved; he was her god, her idol, her very religion.
While Charlotte's affection for Mika was warm and adoring, Anya's devotion was unhinged, a fanatical worship that placed him above all else. And hence, the boy's words were blasphemy, and she wanted to burn the rest of him, to make him suffer for daring to speak against her deity.
She was about to flip him over, to press the back of his head into the searing machine for her own sadistic amusent, when a voice cut through the haze.
"Anya, I think it's ti you stop cooking that boy. He's paid enough for what he's done." The voice was calm but firm. "More than that, I don't want Charlotte seeing this. She's too innocent for it. And frankly, her lab's already a ss with people vomiting, let's not make it worse."
Anya's first reaction was a flash of annoyance, soone dared interrupt her vengeance for Mika?
But then she recognized the voice, and her eyes lit up, her smile radiant. She turned, still gripping the boy's neck, and there he was—Mika, standing behind Charlotte, his hands gently covering her eyes to shield her from the grueso scene.
"Oh, today is such a good day!" Anya exclaid, her voice bubbling with excitent as she kept the boy's face pressed against the machine. "Not only do I get to see my dear little sister, but you too, Mika!"
"...And I'm so sorry I didn't greet you earlier, I was just so relieved I didn't have to punish Charlotte, I got carried away."
Mika's lips curved into a faint, knowing smile as Charlotte squird in his grip, trying to peek.
"I'm not ratting on Charlotte or anything." He said, his tone dry. "But she did use her blessing to freeze them. She was in on it...So, shouldn't she get so punishnt too?"
But Anya shook her head vigorously, her eyes gleaming with that unsettling devotion.
"No, not at all! If she acted alone, sure, she'd be punished. But since she was with you…" Her voice softened, almost reverent. "Since you were involved, Mika, there's no wrong in what she did. None at all. She's in the clear because she was by your side."
Mika sighed, shaking his head at her twisted logic.
Anya's world was black and white, when it ca to anyone else, even family, the law was absolute, unbreakable, forged by past events that had shaped her into its unwavering enforcer.
But Mika?...He was her exception, her blind spot. No matter what he did, she'd justify it. He'd asked her once why, and her answer had been chillingly simple:
"Law exists to restrain evil. But you...you could never be evil. Every decision you make, every action you take, it is for the world's good."
"Even if you killed soone in front of , I would know in my heart that they deserved it. Because you chose it. And your choices are divine."
That fanaticism was why he treaded carefully around her. With Charlotte, he could predict and control the dynamic, but Anya? One wrong word, and she'd unleash hell in his na.
"Well, whatever I say, no matter how much I try, it's not gonna change your mind." Mika sighed, his shoulders slumping as he looked at Anya, her radiant smile barely masking the manic glint in her eyes. "Your twisted way of seeing the world, it's set in stone, isn't it?"
"I've told you a hundred tis to treat like everyone else, to stop putting on this pedestal, but every ti, you just shake your head and go right back to it."
He ran a hand through his hair, his wry smile betraying a blend of resignation and caution.
"But for now, can you at least stop burning that guy's face? You're gonna traumatize Charlotte if you keep this up. She won't sleep tonight, and then she'll go crying to her mother. You know how Yelena gets, she'll be scolding us for this ss, and I really don't want to deal with that."
Charlotte, still squirming in Mika's grip, her eyes covered by his hands, protested imdiately.
"What are you talking about, Mika?" She huffed, her voice muffled but indignant. "I just watched you break those guys knees like it was nothing! You think I can't handle this? I'm grown up already! This kind of stuff doesn't faze at all!"
She wriggled harder, trying to peek past his fingers, her curiosity burning despite the grueso scene she couldn't see.
She wasn't able to see anything, as monts ago, when Anya had slamd the boy's face into the flux generator, Mika had acted fast, making Charlotte's hair wrap around her eyes before covering them with his hands, ensuring she wouldn't witness the boy's flesh lting into the molten glass.
And hearing her protest, Mika hesitated, his lips twitching with amusent. He knew exactly how she'd react, but her stubbornness was almost endearing.
"Fine, fine, Charlotte." He said, his tone teasing. "If you're so tough, I'll let you have a glance. Don't say I didn't warn you."
He slowly lifted his hands, removing the hat and letting her eyes flutter open, her expression defiant as she prepared to prove her bravery.
But the mont her gaze landed on the boy, his face half-sunken into the glowing machine, a gooey, charred ss of lted flesh and fused glasses, her face drained of color.
Her eyes widened in horror, and she gasped.
"No! This is too much! This is way too much!" Her voice cracked, her bravado crumbling. "This isn't like breaking knees, this is gross! Cover my eyes, Mika, I can't look at this!"
She spun around, her hands fumbling for him, but then she paused, a sly glint flickering in her eyes.
"Wait, no, I'll do it myself!"
With a sudden, exaggerated whimper, she threw herself into Mika's chest, burying her face against him, her arms wrapping tightly around his waist.
"This is the best eye shield." She mumbled, her voice muffled against his shirt. "Now I don't have to see anything gross, and you sll nice, Mika."
And Anya, who had been watching with that radiant, unyielding smile—froze as she saw Charlotte snuggling into Mika. Her expression twitched, the corners of her mouth straining as if struggling to maintain their upward curve.
The sight of her little sister taking advantage of the mont to cling to Mika sent a spark of irritation through her and without a word, she yanked the boy's head back from the flux generator, her blessing flaring to life.
In an instant, his face regenerated, the lted flesh knitting back together, leaving no trace of the burns. He slumped to the floor, trembling, his eyes wide with trauma, too shocked to speak, his body curled like a ghost.
But Anya didn't spare him a glance. Her focus was on Charlotte, her smile now colder, more dangerous, as she stepped forward.
"Charlotte..." She said, her voice chillingly sweet. "I've stopped burning that boy's face. Look, it's completely fine now, good as new. So there's no need to keep hugging Mika like that. You can let go...There's nothing gross to hide from anymore."
But Charlotte shook her head, burrowing deeper into Mika's chest, her voice muffled but defiant.
"No way, Anya! Even if his face is back, I can still sll that awful burning skin in the air! It's disgusting! I'd rather sll Mika's nice fragrance instead."
She nuzzled closer, her arms tightening around him, and Mika's wry smile grew as he caught the smug glance she shot at Anya, a look that scread she was showing off.
Anya's smile twitched again, her eyes narrowing as her irritation flared and without a word, she waved her hand, and to everyone's shock—the acrid stench of burnt flesh vanished—replaced by a warm, earthy, almost pleasant scent.
Using her blessing, she'd manipulated the students bodies, coaxing their natural pheromones to fill the room like a living perfu, stripping away the foul odors. It was both awe-inspiring and terrifying, the realization that she'd turned the crowd into unwitting scent bottles without their knowledge.
"Now..." Anya said, her voice sharp but still cloaked in that sweet tone. "The lab doesn't sll anymore. No more excuses, Charlotte. You can let Mika go. You're bothering him, clinging like that."
But once again, Charlotte shook her head again, her voice taking on a dramatic, almost theatrical whine. "No, no, Anya! I'm traumatized! That was awful, and I need Mika's support to get through it! Only he can comfort right now!"
She pressed herself closer, her smugness barely hidden as she reveled in her defiance, knowing Mika's presence gave her leverage.
Seeing this, Anya's lips tightened, her smile growing crueler as she bit back her frustration. Mika, catching the shift, shook his head with a wry chuckle, fully aware Charlotte was playing her.
This wasn't new, Charlotte was always ek around her older sisters, cowed by their authority, but with Mika nearby, she turned mischievous, using him as a shield.
She knew none of her sisters would dare cross him. And that smug glance Charlotte shot Anya, flaunting her closeness to Mika, only stoked the fire. ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ Novᴇl_Fire(.)net
"Charlotte, if you're so traumatized, why don't you co to your big sister instead?" Anya's voice dropped to a chilling whisper, her smile barely holding. "My chest is much softer, you know. You can bury your face here anyti you want."
She gestured to herself, her tone dripping with false warmth.
"There's no need to bother Mika. And you'd do well to rember, he won't always be around. There'll be tis when it's just you and , little sister...And if you keep being this naughty, I might have to punish you myself."
Charlotte flinched, her bravado wavering at the warning, but she quickly recovered, clinging tighter to Mika.
"Mika, Anya's bullying !" She whined, her voice deliberately pitiful. "She's threatening right now! Tell her to stop!"
She buried her face deeper into his chest, using the mont to her advantage, her arms squeezing him like a lifeline.
And seeing the bickering between the two sisters the crowd was stunned. Just monts ago, Anya had been the perfect leader, her smile unshakable, her authority absolute as she called out the mob and defended her sister.
Now, because of Mika, that flawless persona was cracking. She was threatening Charlotte, her beloved little sister, over a boy.
The students exchanged wide-eyed glances, whispering among themselves.
Who exactly was this Mika, to make the Iron Maiden, the head of the Disciplinary Council, lose her composure and how many lives had he saved in his past live for two goddesses to be fighting over him?
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