Ifeoluwa's eyes went wide with horror.
"What... what are you doing?" she whispered.
Lekan, realizing the danger of the situation, stepped forward and gripped her jaw tightly, driving her into the wooden wall. His voice was low and cold.
"Why are you out here?"
She stammered, her words muffled by his hand.
"I... I just wanted to restock our medical supplies."
"Couldn't that wait till morning?" he asked, his gaze sharp.
"I-i didn't want to disrupt working hours," she replied, voice trembling.
Just then, Taiwo stepped out, leaning against the doorway. His gaze rested on Ifeoluwa.
"What did you see?" he asked.
Ifeoluwa froze, hesitated, then whispered,
"Nothing."
Taiwo turned to Lekan, his expression tense.
"She saw everything, Lekan."
Lekan's face darkened, and he shot back,
"Whose fault is that?"
Taiwo retorted defensively,
"If you'd kept a proper watch, none of this would have happened."
Lekan let out a tense breath.
"So, what do you think we should do now?"
Taiwo thought for a moment before responding calmly,
"Let's kill her."
Ifeoluwa's eyes filled with terror.
"Please, wait!"
She pleaded, her voice trembling as Lekan finally released his grip on her jaw.
"I-I swear I won't tell anyone..."
Suddenly, Taiwo released a wave of spirit energy, blanketing the clinic and knocking out Ifeoluwa and the other patients. Lekan turned to him, surprised.
"Really? Have you ever killed anyone before?"
Taiwo shrugged.
"Relax. It was just to scare her. Even if I did kill her, Purist Altine would sense the soul disappearing."
Lekan's tone sharpened.
"So what are you going to do about this?"
Taiwo looked back at him, irritated.
"What do you mean? Don't act like you're not involved too."
Lekan glared.
"You're really a bitch, you know that?"
Taiwo sighed, considering their options. Finally, he suggested,
"What if we use soul manipulation on her? That way, we can block access to her soul and make sure she doesn't say a word."
Lekan hesitated.
"Soul manipulation can only be used by soul masters... If we mess it up, we could damage her soul."
Taiwo shrugged.
"It's our only choice. Let's at least try."
Lekan stepped aside, and Taiwo placed his hands on key points along Ifeoluwa's body, beginning the soul manipulation.
---
In the early hours before dawn, the air was misty and cold. Most of the students were still asleep, but Akeh sat at the edge of Makoko, deep in meditation.
Everything was quiet until he felt something beneath the wooden platform. At first, he thought it was just a fish, but then there was another creak. A chill ran down his spine as he realized it couldn't just be a fish.
Slowly, he leaned over the edge, trying to peer below, when suddenly, Altine's face popped up from beneath the platform in attempt to scare him.
Akeh barely managed to keep a straight face as he looked at her.
"Oh, it's just you," he said, trying to sound calm.
Altine grinned, clearly amused.
"I saw that—you were scared. I can see right through your calm face."
Akeh replied, "I wasn't scared, it was a fighters reflex."
She climbed onto the platform and sat next to him.
"Do I need to read your soul to find out the truth?"
Akeh chuckled, "You better not touch me."
Altine laughed.
"Alright, I'll let you keep your pride." She grew a bit more serious.
"I saw you training with the third-rates yesterday. Does that mean your spirit energy is strong enough now?"
Akeh sighed.
"I've been meditating all night, but I'm only able to generate a little spirit energy."
"That's normal," Altine said.
"That's why students meditate daily. Building spirit energy isn't easy."
Akeh looked thoughtful.
"I remember you saying that you'll show me a way to generate spirit energy faster."
Altine thought for a moment.
"Yes, I will. But it's not meant to generate energy faster... it's to improve control and accuracy."
Akeh nodded.
"If it improves my accuracy, maybe it'll also help me generate energy more efficiently."
Altine smiled.
"You always try to see the bright side."
She agreed to show him her method but warned,
"I can't take you into the chief's house anymore. So we will have to to this somewhere else."
Akeh stood and offered her his hand. She took it as he helped her up.
"So, what kind of method is it?" he asked.
"It involves bathing in cold or warm water based on your emotions," she explained.
"That's a weird method but anyways, we don't need the chief's house," he said.
"We can just do it in my room."
Altine nodded, a slight blush on her cheeks. As they walked toward the dormitories, she added,
"But you'll need ice blocks from the clinic. I'll prepare the warm water."
Akeh nodded in agreement, already thinking of how he could get them from the clinic.
To be continued...