No POV:
Drex couldn't concentrate on the class.
His senses were on high alert throughout.
Why?
Because the lady he dreaded was standing right in front of him. Though, it was unlikely she'd do anything to him in the middle of class, he still had this feeling she was planning to do something to him.
The way she smiled, the way her eyes moved—with unnatural precision across their faces, the softness in her voice was eerie.
He narrowed his eyes, staring at her intently...
Their eyes met. His blood ran cold.
"Is there a problem Drex? You seem to have been looking at me for quite a while. Is something wrong?"
Shit, She noticed.
"O—oh me? N—no I'm fine haha its nothing, sorry".
He replied nervously. The way she called his name sent shivers up his spine.
"C'mon man, stop oogling the commander can't you see she's way outta your league?". A classmate retorted promoting a majority of the class you burst into laughter.
"Oh my... I appreciate that you're taking a liking to me but I'd advice we stay professional. It'd be a problem if we had something going..." She added, placing her palm on her cheek— her expression as if she was thinking about something; seemingly playing along with the students promoting another round of laughter.
In her late 20s, Commander Vaela was an averagely tall light skinned beauty. She had long purple hair held with a hair pin on the right side of her face and purple eyes to match. She was mostly in casual clothes— Long-sleeved shirt and a skirt that went just below her knees.
She may seem to have an easygoing demeanor but most hunters find it unsettling which, is no wonder Drex is creeped out by her.
Despite these, her classes are notably active, with the her tendency to follow up with certain jokes with her students.
Drex rolled his eyes. And relaxed in his seat.
Soon, the bell rang signalling the end of the class that night.
Drex checked his phone — 8:30pm it was getting late. He would've loved to go straight to his room and sleep but he knew what was coming...
"Alright, class is dismissed." She turned to Drex. "Drex, come with me".
One of the students gasped. "He's going out... With her. This late. Oh my god... Don't tell me they want to—".
This brought light roudiness to the class as everything started speculating — their minds wandering.
She laughed. "We just want to have a talk nothing more. We won't be doing anything... Although..." Her voice dropped as she leaned towards Drex. " If something DOES happen, I'd appreciate it if you'd keep it a secret." She winked.
"AYOOOO".
The class went wild.
~~~~~
Walking out of the classroom, she turned to Drex, smiled, and turned back.
"I don't feel good about this. Be careful." Hades' voice came from within.
"Yeah i know that much."
As they approached the school's courtyard, Vaela turned to Drex and began to speak.
"Let's talk for a bit."
"Hmm..Okay"
The nightly breeze touched their skin. Under any other circumstance, it would have been a great thing to use and relax but in this case, it only amplified the tension.
"My name is Vaela Shaun. I'm the commander of squad 2."
Drex deadpanned. Squad 2? It meant that she was in the same squad with Mai. No wonder he was so uncomfortable around her.
"I heard about your contract. The one with the Scar Devil." She continued.
"Yeah... It was confirmed not long ago."
"That's great. And I'm sure you know the class it belongs too" she asked, she was calm—steady—patient.
When she didn't get an answer, she spoke again,
"If you don't know that then you should understand how dangerous he is. You should know that much".
'Oh right they all still think Hades is male..' he thought. If he didn't know better, he would been confused.
"Uh.. yes i heard he is quite powerful."
She sighed. "Thats great. I'll go straight to the point."
She looked at him. "He is powerful and it would have done more good for us if we were able to capture him and use him."
"Use him?"
"Yes. Do you know that this very academy is just a branch. One of few."
Seeing Drex quiet, she continued. "Vaden ought to have told you this." She sighed. "Alright, I'll tell you...."
Drex focused on what she was about to say.
She opened her mouth to speak. "Vanguard Academy is one of the few institutions for training hunters. The Devil Containment Agency is the head facility that oversees this and other academies."
She shifted her weight to one leg." We were working on a project which involved weaponizing devils but as you know, a devil can only be met via contract so it was failed project. But i recently come up with a way to do this even though a devil had been contracted. I call this method 'Extraction'. This process involves forcibly breaking the contract between a human and a devil effectively separating both of them."
Drex tilted his head. "And what does this have to do with me?"
"The devil you are contracted with is quite powerful. So i would like you to comply while we conduct the experiment"
His eyes widened. " Wait, wait hold on... Isn't there supposed to be some kind of consequence for doing this?"
"Ah, that. Well we don't really know what exactly could happen if we forcibly destroy a bond but there will be consequences."
"Yeah I'm not doing that..." Drex retorted.
"Think about it, weaponizing a devil will reduce the number of humans that die from being contracted. The human population wouldn't have to drop drastically every year." She persisted.
True, the human population was dropping— devils kill an average of about a hundred thousand people per month and the fact that about fifty thousand people die from devil contracts around that time wasn't helping either.
That in itself was terrifying...
So Vaela was making a valid point but the cost was far too great.
Let's say if fifty thousand people that died from contracts were to participate in the experiment, about thirty thousand of them would likely die from the effects of the broken contracts.
It's numbers weren't so great to begin with.
Drex thought for a moment. "This is too risky. Don't forget a human that dies during their contracted period would give their bodies totally to said devil."
"But we won't know till we try." Vaela persisted
"Wait why am I the one that have to participate."
"Because your devil possesses great power. And what other way to test it than on a powerful devil?" She said with a smile— trying in whatever way she knew how to dismiss his worries
Drex exhaled. "I'm sorry but I can't participate in this. It's reckless and dangerous. I can't believe I'm the one saying this..." He turned to leave. "Besides, i have my own goals..."
Vael's smile disappeared.
"Oh dear..."
Hearing this, he turned and was instantly shaken by the change of mood. Menacing aura flared around.
"It seems i was unable to convince you.
That's fine by me. If i can't make you come with me I can use other methods." A sadistic smile spread across her face as she said this, promoting Drex to step back.
Vaela lifted her arms—and the moisture in the air answered. Water gathered, spiraling tightly before snapping into shape as a long, shimmering whip. It hovered for a heartbeat, perfectly still.
The whip cracked.
Drex barely moved in time. He twisted aside as the water lashed past his shoulder, the force carving a shallow groove into the ground where he had been standing. He slid backward, boots scraping, eyes locked on Vaela.
Another strike followed immediately.
Low this time.
Drex leapt, the whip slicing beneath him and exploding into droplets against a pillar. He landed, rolled, and came up just as the water reformed—fluid, relentless, already swinging again.
"So that's the power of your contract". Drex asked.
"Contract? Boy, i possess no contract with any entity". Vaela advanced with measured steps, her control absolute. Each flick of her wrists sent the whip snapping from different angles—high, low, wide, precise. There was no wasted motion. No hesitation.
Drex ducked, spun, and pivoted through the onslaught, breath tightening as he narrowly avoided each strike. One pass grazed his sleeve, the impact numbing his arm and sending a chill straight through his bones.
He clenched his teeth but didn't retaliate. He wasn't stupid enough to strike back at a commander.
Instead, he kept moving.
The whip lashed again, faster now. Drex slid across the wet floor, barely avoiding a strike aimed at his legs. He sprang backward, back nearly hitting a wall, and twisted just as the water slammed where his head had been a second earlier.
"Too slow," Vaela said.
One whip split mid-swing—becoming two.
Drex's eyes widened. He dove forward, rolling between the crossing strikes as they snapped shut behind him with a thunderous crack. Water sprayed across the courtyard, mist hanging in the air.
He rose into a crouch, breathing hard.
Vaela stood calm, unshaken, the twin whips circling her like living extensions of her will. Her gaze was sharp, assessing—not cruel, but unforgiving.
Again.
The whips surged forward.
Drex didn't attack. He didn't resist.
He endured—body moving on instinct alone, dodging strike after strike as the space around him vanished, knowing this wasn't about winning—
It was about survival...
~~~~~
On the second floor, Hayley passed by the window leading to the courtyard.
BOOM
"Hm?"
On the floor of the courtyard there was dust— like something just exploded there. It couldn't have been an attack because the alarms didn't go off.
Then, from the dust, Drex tumbled out. A second later, Vaela walked out.
Hayley's eyes widened. "That idiot!". She said before running to find her commander.
Drex lay down on the ground — hand on his chest where he had been hit, laboured breathing as adrenaline flooded through him.
Sure enough she didn't hit as hard as Vaden nor did she move as fast as him but her reflexes were insane. The way she was able to respond as soon as he changed his position shocked him.
"Drex. You have to transform... We can't let her capture you". Hades' voice came again— her voice etched with concern and worry.
"Tch... I guess I don't want a choice..." His body began to glow in a bright red. At this time Vaela struck again.
BOOM...
The courtyard was covered in dust and mist...
"What are you doing to my student... Vaela?"
Drex looked up hearing the familiar voice. He used his katana to block the whip over his head as he squat Infront of Drex.
Vaela's smile widened. "I was hoping to finish this before you showed up... Vaden".