Chapter 3/Calm before the storm

I don't go to a school the way you would usually think about one. Instead, I go to a battle academy, a place where we learn how to fight, to repel the terrorist cause, for the good of mankind, e.t.c. Well, I don't buy that. There are 3 ways to fight against this organisation: be a part of the Angels or Devils, or be a bounty hunter. Personally, I don't want to be part of the Templars or Adepts, which is what the Demon forces are called, as they all have their doctrines and restrictions. But being a bounty hunter is just the right thing for me. It is both dangerous and rewarding - the danger is that you are alone, with no one to rely on, but the advantage is that you don't have to care about rules or restrictions or anything like that. You receive a target, and you eliminate it. Simple. Anyway, This academy I go to has a simple gradation system - ranks, with the bottom being F and the top being A. Officially, I am B rank, but unofficially, among both the students and teachers, I am considered the very top student of the school. One can say that I am "hiding my power", but not really. The thing is, every year, all A rank students get taken away to a Holy academy, where they get turned into picture-perfect Templars, or Adepts, as the school is joint Demon and Angel, and I don't want that, as I said. Oh, what's this, malicious intent? A bullet whizzing by? Heh, if she wants to ambush me, she'll have to try harder.

" Hey Lilith, get out of those bushes. One day I might just be tempted to attack you with no warning." An alluring, red-haired beauty stands up from a set of bushes that she was hiding in. That's the official top student of the School, a witch named Lilith. She and I go way back, as we knew each other from the time we both enrolled at the age of 14. She placed C, just as I did, and we developed a trusting partnership, often training or undertaking missions together, but our final goals are different. Lilith wants to become the most powerful witch in the world, which, as a reward, will get her land in the Demonic Realm for her own control. To put it bluntly, she likes power, wealth and luxury. If I were to give her a personality type, she would be a rich Young Miss of some house or a princess of some country. She also wants me to help her, as she is one of the few people who are fully aware of the entire scope of my skill. " One day you will also be tempted to tell me how you can see me when no one else can, just as one day you will be tempted by me", she says while revealing a seductive smile. She's always like that - does anything to get her goal. If paying with her body will be what it takes to get me to her side, that's what she'll do. Luckily, I have a very strong force of will, so something like that isn't going to tempt me. "Do you still hope to get me interested in joining the Demon forces? I already told you - I aspire to be a bounty hunter, nothing more, nothing less." "Oh Nick, you just don't understand. You will have to choose a side eventually, people as strong and with as much potential as you cannot simply sit on the fence, without choosing a side. You will have to choose eventually, and why not choose now, a side that will welcome you with open arms?" " You talk as if you are some high-rank Devil princess. How would you know that they will welcome me? Anyway, I already said no, and no means no. We have more important things to discuss, don't we?"