Rebirth: Beasts Bound

"I really don’t like her," Liora said and sighed, gently settling back down on the chair.

"From that day, I never liked her again," Bibi said before gently picking up the glass cup and taking a sip. "She is good at acting like some angel, but she is beyond evil..."

"What day?" Liora asked, and Bibi’s lips parted.

"She pushed Raven off the stairs."

I watched as everyone’s eyes darkened, except for Azrael and Bibi.

"Why didn’t you say a word?" Veyra snapped angrily, and I clicked my tongue, almost laughing.

"People like Elowen don’t deserve my attention. I have plenty of ways to deal with her," I added before placing a lollipop into my mouth.

"You should have said something. What if you had fallen and Bibi didn’t save you?" Ryker added, and I pulled the lollipop out of my mouth.

"It didn’t happen though," I laughed, and they rolled their eyes.

"Even if a little bruise is left on you, the person responsible has to suffer," Veyra muttered, and even the atmosphere suddenly turned cold while my other beastmen gave off dangerous vibes too.

My lips parted to say something, but then I locked eyes with Liora.

She seemed dazed. Her attention clearly wasn’t here anymore.

"Liora," I called out softly, yet she never turned. Everyone went silent while staring at her.

She didn’t move or make a sound, then suddenly thick blood slid down her nose.

I stood up in fright.

"Are you okay?" I asked, afraid she might die again, while Bibi blinked in confusion before staring at us.

"What is wrong?" Liora asked, and I rushed toward her.

"How many fingers am I holding up?" I asked, raising three fingers while she furrowed her brows in confusion.

"Three," she mumbled, and I sighed in relief.

Her eagle beastman, though, was still seated throughout everything, which made me a bit mad.

"Hey, you—"

I paused halfway because he was staring out the window, his eyes completely brown, dazed and unmoving... Liora suddenly stood up and rushed toward him, but then she stopped abruptly.

Her eyes turned completely brown too. "Liora!" Bibi called out tremblingly.

I swirled my hands together, conjuring the little magic I had left. A tiny fireball slipped out, but before I could even do anything, Liora suddenly snapped back to reality together with her beastman.

"What do—"

"Someone died," they both said in unison, and we all froze instantly.

"Who?" I asked, and she turned toward me, terror... and something else flickered in her eyes.

"You killed her," her eagle beastman said, and I paused.

"What?!" Bibi screamed in disbelief.

*******************

The students were all rushing toward the chambers.

It was the exile chambers, where students were obviously punished and exiled for a year whenever they committed serious offense.

Staring at it now and remembering Liora’s eagle beastman’s words made my tummy churn in discomfort.

Then the, body was carried out, her neck had been slashed open....It was a female. Her jaw was clenched tightly in horror, and the blood pouring out wasn’t much anymore since she had already lost too much of it.

"Oh my God, they used the soul-wrenching spell on her," I heard a female murmur, and I raised a brow.

"Soul-wrenching spell?"

How come I had never heard about that at all or even read about it in the original novel?

"That spell is no good," Bibi said, and I turned toward her.

"What do you mean?" I asked curiously.

"It’s used to kill a victim by crushing the soul... but actually, the victim’s soul gets dragged to hell, where they undergo twenty years of torture while, in reality, it’s barely an hour... or even less," she said, and my lips parted to say something, but nothing came out.

Instead, my thoughts trailed toward the slit on her neck... Did the killer inflict that after torturing her first?

"It means you ended her life by striking a sword through her throat, after the torture" Liora said as if she understood my silence, and I raised a questioning brow.

"Chill. I know you could never kill her," Liora added, and I smiled faintly.

"Silence!" Headmistress Lysandra’s voice rang out coldly.

"Let the witness step forward," Lysandra’s voice echoed again, and everyone instantly went silent while waiting.

A hand slowly moved out from the chamber, covered in dirt and charcoal powder. A frail-looking girl walked out dressed in a tattered gown that looked half torn apart, her hair was messy and filled with seaweed, while black charcoal stains smeared across her face, but my eyes darkened the second I saw those eyes.

I swear I felt my soul leave my body.....That face...I could never forget it even if I were drunk.

Her eyes lingered on mine, and I swore I saw a subtle smile settle against her lips.

I clenched my fists and began trembling, and I knew everyone could feel my hatred and anger.

That face...

I hated it more than anything else in the world. The face I had been forced to share with my evil twin sister, Rosy.

She stole my parents’ love, my peers’ attention, and even slept with my fiancé.

"How did you get here?" Lysandra asked, and Rosy’s lips parted.

I already knew every single thing that would come out of her mouth would be nothing but lies and deceit.

"I fell from a cliff and somehow teleported here... to this academy," she said softly and fragilely. That voice was designed to make powerful people run toward her, to make them want to protect her with their whole hearts... to pamper her endlessly.

"I saw everything happen," she suddenly said, and I frowned.

I felt my tummy drop when she turned to stare directly at me before staggering backward in fright, immediately attracting everyone’s attention toward me. Then she slowly raised her trembling hand and pointed directly at me.

"She killed her!" she screamed, and everyone gasped loudly while my gaze dimmed.

I was in a different body, a completely different face. So how could she possibly know it was me?

Unless...she also had a system. Or perhaps she somehow already knew I was inside this body...

My eyes remained calm. "System, you better have an explanation," I muttered internally.

"Because why the hell is Rosy... here?!"