Laeticia sat in her present classroom, attentively listening to the French History and Geography teacher lecture about the intricate details of important historical events and geographic features. Unlike many of her peers who seemed disinterested and engaged in various distractions, Laeticia was captivated by the subject matter. She firmly believed that a deep understanding of French history and geography was not only essential for academic success but also a valuable tool in shaping her worldview and enhancing his analytical skills.

Laeticia diligently took notes, careful to record every bit of information shared by the teacher. She knew that the knowledge she was acquiring would go far beyond textbooks and exams. It would provide her with a broader perspective on the cultural, social, and political dynamics of France, allowing her to better comprehend the complexities of the nation's past and present. She marveled at the connections she could draw between historical events and geographic features, recognizing how they influenced each other and shaped the destiny of France.

Laeticia's enthusiasm for French history and geography extended beyond the classroom. She often found herself craving to uncover more insights into the nation she had grown fond of. She recognized that this knowledge not only expanded her understanding of France but also enhanced her ability to appreciate the cultural heritage and traditions of its people.

While some of her classmates may have seen French History and Geography as mere academic subjects, Laeticia understood their true significance. She understood that history shapes the future and geography helps people grasp the intricacies of the world they live in. Through her diligent study and appreciation of French history and geography, Laeticia aspired to become more than a mere bystander, hoping to contribute to the preservation and celebration of France's remarkable legacy for generations to come.

"Are you enjoying History and Geography?" A voice asked from the back of her mind.

Laeticia nodded, necessary given that she was supposed to know this world's French history or geology and any of the various languages and cultures than what she studied. "It is very interesting," She responded without missing a beat.

"The teacher talks about such important events like Waterloo, which I am sure will prove significant to my future career as a historian."

"What career are you going to pursue?" Asked the voice.

"Historians aren't exactly too famous." Her voice was filled with skepticism and doubt. "And if you don't think historians can be successful, what else do you hope to learn through French History and Geography? How to play the piano, perhaps? Or maybe teach math? You're so pretty, I bet you could manage to get yourself an acting job."

"You worry too much, Jeanne," said Laeticia with a smile. "History is not about how smart I am, it is about how good I think I am."

"I guess that makes sense. So what does the teacher expect you to learn today?" Her other half, Jeanne's voice, sounded.

"The class has already covered Napoleon's campaign in 1798 and Napoleon's defeat in 1806, so he wants us to cover the period from 1808 to 1813. The last few years of Louis Napoleon's reign are being discussed, so he expects us to analyze those years as well," Laeticia replied.

She noticed several students in the front row staring directly at her, obviously wondering why she was talking to no one. "Sorry." She mumbled quietly.

This time around, she heard nothing. It made sense; Jeanne usually chatted with her all day long. She wondered if Jeanne fell 'asleep' again. Perhaps she's dreaming about that brown-haired Homunculus again. She never told Laeticia too much information about him. Maybe she should ask Jeanne about it when the lesson was over. They always communicated telepathically, despite the limitations imposed on them both.

Her concentration was broken by the bell. "That is enough class, we will continue tomorrow, please gather your things and head out the door. Your next subject teacher will see you for your next lecture." Mr. Rivette exclaimed. He was the history and geography teacher at Coeur Academy.

With a groan from the student body, the students gathered their books and hurriedly exited the classroom, eager to get away from the French History and Geography course.

"Please take note of what has been discussed before and review your textbooks. Tomorrow's lesson begins again at nine." The teacher continued to speak until the room was empty. He then left the room and shut the door behind himself.

Laeticia headed with the bustling crowds of students to their next and last subject in the morning, Mathematics. She, along with the other students, entered the classroom filled with anticipation. The classroom almost buzzed with excitement as they settled down in their seats.

Some students were already working on problems and others were preparing for lessons to begin. She waited for the instructor to enter, intrigued by what he would teach. A few moments later, everyone saw a teacher enter the classroom, dressed in a bright red suit, white dress shirt, and tie.

He started the lesson by introducing himself by saying, "Good afternoon everyone! My name is Pierre Péchard!" He paused before continuing, "My job is to make sure that you have a wonderful beginning to your Maths classes." His eyes scanned the classroom as he continued speaking. "Now, I want to tell you about our subject for today… the Algebraic Structures: Complex numbers and operations, and Polynomial functions and equations." The teacher gave a small chuckle, adding, "Well, actually, we haven't got much choice. The school board wanted us to choose a term, and it would have been irresponsible to let them pick just one."

After a brief moment of silence, Mr. Péchard began speaking again. "This includes a discussion of the first topic of the week. For you to understand something, you must first understand the topics covered. Now let's get our class started…"

As soon as class began, Laeticia began paying attention, determined not to miss anything important in this lesson. She was especially intrigued by the introduction of the concept of complex numbers, explaining how they combine real and imaginary components. Laeticia listened attentively, her curiosity piqued as she realized the vast applications of complex numbers in various fields, including physics and engineering. Laeticia smiled as she learned that a problem could also be assigned for having multiple choices and a zero for completing the entire set of questions. This gave her hope for her own work to become even better.

He listed examples of different mathematical constructs, Laeticia quickly memorized their names, using the information gained through the lectures to determine the function and the expression of the structure in terms of which variables to use and which variables to ignore. The material was fascinating, and Laeticia was able to fully grasp its importance.

She thought it might even give her the opportunity to use the concepts she learned in her studies.

The day progressed slowly and uneventfully, with many students struggling with fractions and logarithmic symbols while their teacher went over difficult equations with them. When the end of the hour came and the students were free to leave, Laeticia quickly packed up her notebook and backpack, planning to have lunch.

Her classmates took her example. Once outside the class halls and underneath a tree, Laeticia took out the food she prepared earlier that morning, prepared sandwiches with cheese cabbage, and onions.

The aroma of the sandwiches instantly brought a smile to Laeticia's face.

She cut off a couple of large chunks and stuffed them in her mouth before taking another bite. Savoring each morsel of food, she barely heard a set of footsteps nearing her.

"Hm?" She took notice of this and turned her head. The moment she saw a student joining her in the shade, she froze as she felt a wave of bloodlust ripple from him like ocean water. Malicious intent was clear as day to her.

He looked like a typical student, wearing a blazer and tie, and holding his pen in his right hand. His face expressed a charming smile that would have captivated many girls had it not for the vicious and hostile look in his eyes.

"Hello." He greeted politely, his manly voice as sweet as it could be. "Dear lady, would you mind accompanying me to somewhere? There's something I would like to discuss with you." He didn't give any indications he noticed her stiffness, but she didn't let her guard down.

Laeticia looked at the new arrival wearily, noting that he did not look like he belonged here. The stranger was completely out of place amid the bustling crowd. Despite his apparent familiarity with the area around them, Laeticia felt her unease in her senses growing. She sensed that he wasn't alone among them. She didn't know how else to describe it, but she somehow felt that there was someone else watching her, observing her movements and making decisions as if they could see everything. This feeling unnerved her greatly, prompting her to quickly pack up the rest of her lunch before standing up.

"Why can't you do it here?" She offered equally politely. Her mind ran through different possibilities of scenarios while trying to calm her beating heart. The mysterious man hesitated.

Clearing his throat, he replied, "I'm afraid we need privacy for this conversation." He added. He's probably waiting for her to make her move first.

"You really should come along," He insisted and placed his hand on her back leading her through the crowd.

Laeticia's heartbeat picked up its pace. She tried hard to control her nerves. "Let's go." With that, he guided her towards the back of the school.

As soon as they arrived outside, he released her arm and turned around. She took advantage of that small second distraction to dart away from him.

In hindsight, she should have known better than to try running away from a predator. She didn't stop. What kind of creature would want to kill her when she hasn't done anything wrong?

But she was certain that she had. He appeared to recognize her and was looking for her. She couldn't allow him to hurt her, so she had no choice but to run away, hoping to lose her pursuer and find shelter for herself.

Suddenly, the unknown man disappeared and reappeared a meter or so behind her. The scent of smoke filled her nostrils as his hand touched her shoulder.

"What are you doing? Why won't you listen to me?" His deep voice echoed in her ear as he spoke, causing shivers to run through her body. He grabbed her arms harshly and held her still.

She tensed, not daring to breathe loudly or slow her racing heartbeat. Fear paralyzed her muscles and made every muscle tense and twitch.

She had to think rationally, to find a way out of this situation.

"Why did you run—"

His words abruptly halted as his legs stiffened up completely. His bloodthirsty eyes dilated and widened in a painful shock.

"Wha..." His voice came out as a choked sob. His grip loosened and he collapsed to the ground. Laeticia's leg quickly backed from where it was raised and she turned away again. Pure pain electrified from the part where the-sun-doesn't-shine used to be. He fell onto his knees with his hands resting awkwardly against his kicked crotch, face clutching in suffering.

He moaned, tears streaming down his face. It was evident that he was in unbearable agony, unable to move.

Laeticia knew that she needed help, and fast. If he were to recover now, she would never have the chance to escape. Without wasting a second, she ran swiftly.

"Y–you repulsive wrench!" He groaned out as his whole body shook violently. Then all the tremors subsided and his breath was back to normal.

Laeticia ran as she could, panting. Suddenly, the world slowed down for a moment, her mind raced rapidly as it shifted. Instinct overtook her as she drove in another direction without looking back, narrowly evading an explosive bolt of malicious energy.

She looked hastily to see where the person used to be, now suddenly with a pair of hideous, bat-like wings sprouting from his back. His mouth salivates as sharp fangs start displaying, while his eyes turn bloody red. His tongue licks his lips as his claws appear in front of him, elongating slightly, and lengthening until they resemble daggers capable of tearing a human being apart.

Laeticia's breathing became labored. "I will devour you!" He screamed.

Laeticia inhumanely jumped high in the air as she avoided yet another attack. She managed to land safely and turned quickly to watch his progress. His speed increased, his feet leaving imprints in the dirt as his long talons scraped the pavement.

"Come back here, bitch!" He yelled as he dove forward. Laeticia jumped to the side, evading the claws with ease. As she moved, she observed his surroundings. He seemed to have lost interest in a steady approach. Instead, he focused solely on her, targeting her in desperation specifically.

She continued dodging his attacks, jumping into the air occasionally to avoid any harm coming to her, and then ducking back behind cover whenever possible to catch her breath and prepare herself for another attack.

Laeticia's breathing grew more erratic. Adrenaline fueled her efforts to fight. The adrenaline allowed her to push past the fear, the fear of death, and the horror that was surrounding her. She had to escape, and she had to survive.

"Mm... hwaa~ Good afternoon, Laeticia! I assume you just finished your lunch–?"

Laeticia was momentarily distracted by this, she was about to call out to her but suddenly, a roar erupted, cutting off Jeanne. The monster leaped from the pavement toward her, claws stretched almost near her face.

She can't evade this, she doesn't have enough time to react at all, she shuts her eyes tightly,

"JEANNE!!"

Her body glowed vibrantly golden and in a flash, the sound of iron hitting steel resonated through the area, ringing through the area. The man was caught off guard as his claws were broken by a bladed flag that manifested in golden light. Before he could do anything, a leg swiftly raised and bludgeoned against his abdomen, causing him to spit out blood while he flew meters back.

Remnants of his claws held the ground as he pushed himself back up with a painful groan. He raised his head, forcing his eyes open, and the girl was different now, "W–what is this? Why are you–? What–How?"

The monster hysterically cried out in pain, his cries turning into a roar. He swung both his hands at Jeanne, who blocked the incoming attack with her raised flag and retaliated by slamming it in the same area where she kicked him. Blood spurted from his stomach, covering Jeanne's body in crimson.

"Jeanne?!" Laeticia stared wide-eyed as she watched her companion stand straight from the back of her mind. Jeanne wiped off some of the blood that covered her face, seemingly unfazed by what had happened.

"I apologize for being unresponsive, let me handle this." She said firmly, facing the beast. "Vile vampire. I know you can understand me. Tell me, why do you seek Laeti—me all of a sudden in Coeur Academy? Do not attempt to lie that it was merely to have my blood. With that noble behavior of yours earlier, I'm aware you must have other intentions. Answer me or I have you be cleansed from the living world. Do you understand?" Jeanne demanded. A fierce determination shone within the heavenly pools of her eyes.

"Hmph. That would depend on what you are saying. I don't remember asking you to answer questions to me. You shouldn't presume to tell me what to do!" The monster responded angrily. His face darkened as his voice boomed across the empty field.

"Then we're in agreement. Now give yourself over to God. We'll see what you choose." Jeanne declared sternly. In response to her challenge, the monster growled before launching an attack. Jeanne gracefully dodged every single one of his slashes and landed a few hits of her own. The clash of the blade and claws resounded throughout the place.

Each attack launched by Jeanne caused him to stumble backward several times until he stumbled to the field that was between them. A wave of red energy blasted from his palm facing her.

While she had blocked that, she wasn't prepared for the ground to alter and caught her feet in a tremor by his other hand.

The monster charged at her, preparing to end her life. With a flick of her wrist, Jeanne sent her flag flying right into his face.

He screeched in surprise and anger. He pulled his injured nose and started screaming louder than ever before. The loudest scream yet sounded through the air, reverberating against the trees as if it had come from all directions.

His eyes turned a shade darker and he roared again. The sound of bones cracking filled the space as his skin cracked, exposing his flesh underneath. Blood seeped out of the wounds, trickling down his neck and dripping on the ground. Laeticia felt like she might puke from what she was seeing.

"Enough playing around! Come here and show me your full potential! Show me how powerful you really are!" He roared in pain. "You dare oppose me? ME!? No! You're mine!"

"So be it. Go ahead, I will finish you off. You'll regret it if you really defeat me."

"Hahahaha... you're right." He laughed as he walked toward her. "It will feel good. After what you did to me, you deserve what's coming to you."

The monster charged forward with great speed, swinging at her with a swipe of his clawed hand. Jeanne deflected it with the tip of the flag before leaping backward once again. The monster followed close behind, his movements becoming more unpredictable. One moment he appeared perfectly still, then suddenly he would lunge towards her at incredible speeds.

"It seems you learned of your Fantasm Arm, but you can barely use it." He laughed in delight. He stopped moving suddenly, and the expression in his eyes turned cold. "Your power will be mine, I will be stronger!"

"Die!"

With a swipe of his claw, he sliced Jeanne's cheek. Blood oozed forth and stained her uniform. The wound didn't even leave a scar, but it still hurt.

The monster leaped at her again at breakneck speed. He swiped at her with a swift movement as he lunged, but Jeanne easily stepped aside and sent a swift kick at his chest, knocking him backward. His body collided with a large tree branch, shattering it to bits. A small piece lodged itself in his throat as the vampire coughed heavily and struggled to get rid of it.

The vampire stood, staring at Jeanne's face. Forcing his jaw down, he snarled. "You think you're able to defeat me? You little whore?! Well, you're mistaken! My name is Edward! Edward of Zegrath, Prince of one of the greatest Vampire Clan. You are nothing to me! YOU'RE NOT EVEN AN EGGLONG! How dare you defy ME!?" He laughed maniacally, a sinister smile painted upon his face.

Jeanne looked at him calmly, "Edward... of Zegrath...?" She muttered with an inquisitive face.

The ground beneath Jeanne exploded as she leaped away while the vampire clawed through it, trying to reach her once more. However, as he did this, another stab struck him squarely in his left shoulder and to the head. He winced in pain and dropped back on his heels, gritting his teeth in frustration. His eyes rolled to the back of his head, and he slumped to the ground.

Another strike followed immediately after this, this one in the center of his right chest. The blow pierced through the skin, piercing bone, and ripping through muscle.

Edward fell onto the ground, struggling to get back up. His body convulsed, and his face contorted in pain. "You…" He choked. "You can't possibly kill me." He laughed in rage as Jeanne approached him menacingly, almost like an angel of War.

The young girl slowly lowered her flag and placed the end on the ground, the spear tip glowing a bright light. She lifted it slightly, focusing her mana on it before bringing it downward. A deafening crack rang out as Jeanne slammed her weapon against the defeated vampire, sending shockwaves through the field. Edward howled in agony, thrashing violently and attempting to pull the pole free.

As Jeanne took another step forward, she lifted the tip of the flag and stabbed him in the middle, right in his heart. A bright, holy light burst forth from the flag, enveloping the area in a blinding light. When the light finally faded, the former student who had been fighting against her was no longer there.

All that remained was a pile of ash and dust that floated in the wind; Edward Zegrath was gone forever, along with his powers.

And, just as quickly as the fight had begun, it was over. Jeanne lowered her head and took in a deep breath, calming herself down. She closed her eyes and relaxed her arms, taking a look around the area for any signs of danger. Satisfied that nothing else seemed amiss, she dismissed her flag in golden light.

"Laeticia, are you alright? I'm so sorry. I should've paid more attention to your surroundings… It was my mistake." She apologized.

"No, no! No… I… I got too worried about the students and followed him without thinking! I should have never allowed myself to fall into his grasp so quickly, especially when I knew him as a human…" She whispered softly, guilt filling her. "This is my fault. If I hadn't left and just wake you, then I could've done something…"

"Please don't blame yourself for this. You didn't know this would happen." Jeanne assured her. She glanced back at the forest they were in for a second.

Her gaze flickered to where Edgard once was. "Vampire Clans... we need to tell the others about him." She stated as she pondered.

"...Huh? Was he really a student?" Laeticia mumbled confusedly.

"Might be, but it doesn't matter now. We should go." Jeanne used her magical energy to clean away the blood on her face, but her clothes weren't spared. She picked up her pace and made her way toward the academy.

She couldn't bring herself to turn around to watch the trashing of the forest. And although it saddened her to notice what the school was going through while being unaware, she still cared deeply about those who were there because of her mistakes. They all deserved better. All of them.