Chapter 3: Chapter 3: One of Them

I wiped my mouth on the back of my hand, taking more steps back to no avail. For every step I took, Nora took two forward. She still had her head tilted to the left, and it was obvious she was favoring that side of her body after the tremendous strain from the electrical shock she had endured. My breathing was haggard, yet nothing impeded her from invading my space. I flinched away, careful to avoid stumbling into the iron gate to my back. Nora–or rather the Grimm in my friend's clothing–reached out to touch me. Heart hammering in my ear, I debated whether batting her hand away would save me or lead to my demise.

"Nora, don't…"

That gave her pause. "You keep saying my name, but how do you know me? I've never seen you before. Are you a new creation?"

Did she think I was a Grimm like her? Panic welling inside of me begged me to play along, yet that wasn't what I wanted. I had a second chance, and I wanted to see if I could make good on my promise this time. So, I decided to cling desperately to the hope that there was still something worth staying here for.

"Stop messing around." I laughed, but it rang hollow to my ears. "It's me, Jaune. Vomit-Boy. You know, the leader of our team? C'mon, we traveled Remnant together. Don't tell me that shock fried your brain or something."

She blinked furiously. "That can't be true. It's only ever been me and Ren together at the academy. Well, not together-together, but you know."

My eyes widened. "That's what you always used to say until the two of you finally got together."

Her white cheeks didn't darken but she fidgeted with the hem of her skirt. "Me and Ren together? That's impossible. We're just best friends."

"And that"–a loud voice emanating from the stairway of the main entrance interrupted us–"is all you shall be for the time being, Miss Valkyrie. You need to save all the unnecessary relationships until after you graduate. After your final year, there will be plenty of opportunities to bed young Lie-Ren."

My skin crawled, hearing the voice of that bitch. I turned to her with a glare and fell into a combat stance as she strolled over to us, her heels clicking against the stone steps. Her eyes met mine, and she smirked before turning to Nora. "I trust that you have been treating our newest student well."

"Yes, Headmistress Salem."

What the hell did she mean by that? I had no intention of playing along with whatever this foolish ploy of hers was. I would kill her and reunite with the rest of my friends. Although did I even want to do that anymore? What if the rest of them were the same? My eyes flitted over to the Grimm resembling Nora.

The momentary distraction cost me.

Salem, who had been descending the final stair, closed the distance between us in a moment. She appeared before me, cupping my chin in her hand. Her pointer finger prodded my cheek, pushing her fingernail deep enough to sting but not draw blood. All I could do was defiantly glare back at her, refusing to give her any other reaction than the hatred she deserved.

"Mister Arc here is a bit of a special case here. He may not have the same schooling as you, but he's proven himself more than capable of being a fourth-year student here at Salem Academy. I'm certain he will take this opportunity and make the most of it." With a small chuckle, she dropped my chin. "After all, this is an opportunity many would have died for."

I swung at her, praying for my fist to connect with her cheekbone. Of course, that didn't happen. Inches away from her face my hand stopped, frozen. That same feeling of rain pattering on my back struck me, except this time I understood what was happening. The witch was using her magic on me, rooting me to my spot. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Nora standing stiffly, transfixed on Salem as she had been prior to. She simply waved her hand in a clear dismissal of the magic affixing itself to me; I inhaled deeply, shuddering and drawing away from the witch. Her sharp nail drew blood that trickled down my chin. The upturning of her lips told me it didn't bother her much.

"If you wish to fight me, I will oblige you at a later date. However, do keep in mind that fights are to the death here. So, be certain that is the fate you desire because sometimes wishes have a funny way of backfiring."

You are reading story Loving My Monster Girl Classmates at novel35.com

"You bastard…" My nails dug into the flesh of my palm while my teeth ground together, the pitter-patter of droplets of blood falling to the ground below. "I'll kill you."

She smiled, teeth on full display. "I looked forward to it, young knight. Until then, I'll give you a parting gift and a free bit of advice. Something I think you'll need if you hope to survive in this place until our final contest. But this would be best done away from any prying ears, don't you agree?"

Before I could protest, the wind whipped around me, a vicious gale that was determined to blow me off my feet. It died down soon enough leaving me in a void, although that may not have been an appropriate term for this place. What I had been in prior to falling into the Land of Darkness had been a proper void, the complete emptiness enough to overwhelm the senses. Here it was similar, except a pale luminescence lit up the outline of a granite throne. Cracks and deep gashes ran alongside its arms, but that did little to deter the pride Salem exuded sitting in it.

"It would do you well to bow to your Goddess in a place such as this." She leaned forward, her elbows resting upon her knees. It was obvious she was waiting for me to do as she commanded, yet I refused to give anything other than draw my lips into a thin line. In contrast to mine, her lips turned upward. "Your stubbornness does not serve you well, however, I will allow you to remain on your feet for this occasion. The branding will serve as a reminder of your subservience."

A flick of her wrist sent a searing pain spreading across my chest like the blood in my veins had turned to lava. Then, just as quickly as the pain had struck, it disappeared. I grabbed at my sweatshirt, desperate to pull it off. Shrugging it off my shoulders, I threw my shirt off too, allowing me an uninhibited view of my bare chest. Looking down in horror, a scabbed over 'S' sat off-center of my sternum. The dull ache took a backseat to the pounding in my ears.

"Amazing work, isn't it?" Salem asked, more smug than earlier. "This brand will help you blend in. Nora may have not recognized you as human, but she has never been to a settlement. The others would have found you out immediately, and you would be dead."

I felt ill and threw my clothes back on to hide the scab. Salem had marked me, and I hadn't been able to do a thing to stop her. Worse, she had done it as a sort of sick mercy to keep me alive for her own amusement. I ground my teeth as she continued to speak. "That brand connects you to me. The rest of my students won't attack you should you stay on my good side. This will give you a chance to study at this academy with them. Although you'll probably find that nothing lasts"–her smile turned positively wicked–"well, never mind. I suppose I should reunite you with your friends sooner rather than later."

My eyes narrowed into dangerous slits. "What are you playing at?"

Loud laughter reverberated around the empty throne room. "I have already told you twice what I am after. Nothing more than granting a dying knight's wish. Everything else is nothing more than the consequences of your own actions."

"Bullshit," I called her out. "Whatever you've done has nothing to do with what I said. You know this isn't what I wanted."

She seemed to consider that for a moment, putting a finger to her chin. The fingers on her other hand drummed against the stone of the chair. Finally, she regarded me again. "Then, I shall rid you of them."

My stomach churned. Knots formed and a twisting feeling lingered in my gut; I couldn't help but picture all of them again. Ruby, Weiss, Yang, Blake, Nora, Ren. Their battered and beaten bodies, limbs splayed at odd angles and hardly recognizable. That wasn't what I wanted. Nora flashed through my mind, her sickly pale skin and horrible veins prominently displayed. No, that wasn't what I wanted either.

What did I want, though?

The twisting feeling increased tenfold, and the room began to spin around me. Faster and faster it spun until all I could focus on was the disembodied voice whispering in my ear. "Come find me when you determine what you desire. And no matter what you decide, remember that it isn't possible to save them all." All hints of smugness were gone. "I wouldn't have had to wage a war on the gods if it was."

That was the last thing I heard before the darkness that had been threatening to overwhelm me for so long slowly succeeded as I found myself leaning on something soft, white hair cascading over my face while icy eyes stared at me.

You can find story with these keywords: Loving My Monster Girl Classmates, Read Loving My Monster Girl Classmates, Loving My Monster Girl Classmates novel, Loving My Monster Girl Classmates book, Loving My Monster Girl Classmates story, Loving My Monster Girl Classmates full, Loving My Monster Girl Classmates Latest Chapter