Chapter 04 The Holy Slash Trouble

Lilith booped Molly on the nose. 

"Oh, my sweet, doom-spiraling little cloud of sparkles, listen to me. First of all, look at you. You're beautiful. That tan? Gorgeous. Humans pay fortunes in sun rituals to get that glow. Your hair? Perfect sunset beach waves. Your style? Iconic. You look like a human fashion influencer, not a denizen of the pit."

She gently tilted Molly's chin. "Figure you out you're a demon? Please. Your horns haven't even started to bud yet. You've got a good decade before you have to worry about accessorizing those. And as for your magic..." Lilith waved a dismissive hand. "Please. 'Dark magic' is not some rare thing. Plenty of human are born with a shadow affinity. It just makes you 'mysterious' and 'interesting.' He'd need a divine intervention to pinpoint it as specifically demon lord lineage dark."

 "And you're just so... small. And cute. You have this whole... huggable, protect-me vibe going on that is absolutely adorable. For a hero whose entire personality is basically 'PROTECT'? That's a strike, Molly. No! That's a critical hit. He won't see a demon. He'll see a beautiful, slightly eccentric, totally harmless girl who needs a strong, heroic shoulder to lean on. Trust me. I'm in the business of making people see what I want them to see. And what I see is a hero who won't know what hit him."

Molly fidgeted, a slow, guilty smile spreading across her face. She twirled a strand of her blonde hair around her finger, avoiding Lilith’s gaze.

“So… about a ‘lead’… I might have… kinda-sorta… used a teensy teleport to drop him off back in the human town? After, you know, the whole wall-crashing thing.”

She peeked at Lilith from under her lashes. “And he might have woken up while I was there. And we might have talked. And I might have… told him I was a student at his hero academy? Just a, like, totally normal first-year transfer! A lowly noble named… Molly Moriana. It just came out! He was all confused and like all handsome and totally asking questions! I had to say something! No big deal, right?”

Lilith’s delighted grin spread across her face. “Molly, my brilliant little sister! You didn’t just get a lead, you built the whole runway! Enrolling in the academy? That’s not a problem. That’s perfect. 

First of all, let’s demystify ‘Hero Academy.’ The name is pure nostalgia. A marketing gimmick. Back in the dramatic old days, sure, they trained heroes to fight demon lords. But now? It’s just the most prestigious boarding school for nobles and overachieving commoners looking to snag a knight title and climb the social ladder. It’s all politics, etiquette, and very basic monster-slaying theory. The most dangerous thing there is the gossip.”

She gave Molly a wink. “And it just so happens, arranging a little transfer is… easy. One of my more charming, persuadable boyfriends works in the academy’s admissions office. A few well-placed whispers, a forged seal that’s better than the real thing… consider your spot secured, ‘Lady Molly Moriana.’”

Her expression turned sly. “But here’s the real work: you can’t just be cute and clueless. Well, you can, but you also need passing grades. It would be deeply suspicious if the new transfer from a minor noble house flunks every test with a spectacular flat zero. You need to know the basics.”

She leaned in, her eyes sparkling. “And do not worry about our dear father. I will tell him you went for some 'self-time' to one of our mansions, near Sunny Beach town. So, little sister. You get your cute new uniform. I’ll get your paperwork. And we’ll get you prepped to catch your hero’s eye… Deal?”

“Deal! Absolutely! One hundred percent! And don’t even worry about the studying, Big Sis! I’m, like, way smarter than I look! I just act like a total airhead in front of Dad. If he thinks I’m smart, he’ll start with the whole ‘my precious heir’ and ‘the future of the Dark Realm’ speeches again. That’s Big Bro Karn’s whole thing. He loves ruling! I just want to accessorize and maybe kiss a pretty boy! Peaceful life, baby! Priorities!”

Settling back, she gestured vaguely around her room. “Living in a drafty evil castle? There’s, like, nothing to do unless you’re into torture or brooding over lava pits. So, I read. A lot. Like, a lot a lot. I’ve read every book in the forbidden library. I could probably recite the genealogical lines of every minor hell-nobility blindfolded. Boring!”

Her eyes lit up. “And I’ve been studying humans for ages! I’ve got a super reliable merchant in the border town. Tommy! He’s the best! Gets me all the latest fashion magazines, human romance novels, those weekly gossip papers… I know all the trends, the slang, the celebrity drama! I’ve been preparing for this my whole life and didn’t even know it!”

She hopped off the bed, striking a determined pose, hands on her hips. “So yeah! You just get me the super-official, not-at-all-forged transfer papers. I’ll handle the rest. How hard could it be to blend in with a bunch of humans, learn their boring magic, and make the most righteous hero in history fall for me, right. Right?”

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ONE WEEK LATER - LUMINERE ACADEMY EXAM PRACTICE YARD

Sun was bright, flags were fluttering, and Molly stood stiff as a board in her new academy uniform. In her hands, she held the source of her current existential crisis: a standard-issue Holy Training Longsword.

Around her, a semi-circle of first-year students watched with varying degrees of curiosity and hostility. At the front stood a tall young man with combed hair, Cedric, a minor noble with a major chip on his shoulder.

“Professor Hemsley! This is unacceptable!” He addressed a flustered-looking instructor. He was currently sweating almost as much as Molly. 

“Please, mister Cedric. Calm down. Her exam scores were submitted privately,” Hemsley said, mopping his brow with a handkerchief. “All in perfect order! No further demonstration is required!”

“Everyone else had to perform the Holy Slash for evaluation!” Cedric shot back, gesturing to the group. “Why does she get special treatment? And her papers say ‘Moriana’ from some backwater no one’s heard of? I say she can’t do it. I say she bought her way in. Let her prove her worth. Right here. Right now.”

The other students whispered in agreement. The atmosphere turned prickly and tense.

Meanwhile, Molly was sweating buckets. "No-no-no-no-NO! This is, like, total crazy! This sword is judging my life choices! I can’t do a Holy Slash! I’m a demon! My magic is all about darkness and black magic, not… not divine white and sky blue! That’s heroes' whole theme, not mine! If I swing with any power, it’s gonna come out black and spooky and maybe drip shadow-ooze! So not fashionable! Kyaaaa! What do I do?! Fake a fainting? Trip and 'accidentally' stab Cedric?"

Her eyes darted around like a trapped mouse’s. She saw Professor Hemsley’s pleading look. ‘Please don’t blow your cover, please don’t blow your cover! Both our heads will roll if you do,' his panicked expression seemed to scream.

 "Oh, sweet merciful heavens. Lilith is going to flay me alive. She said her sister was 'smart, she will blend in with no problems.' And look where it got us!  Holding a holy sword in the middle of a mob! If she swings and demonic power shows, my career! No, my life is over. Think, Hemsley, think! Maybe a sudden hailstorm? A diverted lightning strike? Anything!"

Just as Cedric was about to demand again, a calm, familiar voice echoed through the yard.

“Excuse me! Is there a problem here?”

Every head, including Molly’s, swiveled. There, was Leon. He stood at the edge of the practice yard, his hair slightly damp, looking every inch the heroic ideal. His sudden appearance caused a wave of audible gasps and awed whispers to ripple through the gathered first-years.

Leon’s gaze swept over the scene, lingering for a moment on Molly’s pale, stricken face. She looked small, like wet, cold puppy. Trembling, eyes glistening, holy sword rattling in her hands. 'Help me' written all over her cute face. "It’s that girl from the park. Lady Molly Moriana. She looks… cute."

He walked forward, the crowd parting for him as if by magic. He gave a polite nod to Professor Hemsley, who looked like he might kiss Leon’s boots in gratitude.

“Sir Hemsley?”

“Ah, Champion Leon! A minor… disciplinary inquiry. Some students are unsatisfied with Miss Moriana’s prior examination. They are… insisting she demonstrate the basic Holy Slash technique. Her paperwork, I assure you, is perfectly in—”

“I agree,” He turned his sky-blue eyes toward Molly. She looked so small, clutching the sword with her tiny hands. “I don’t see the harm. We will be using basic techniques like the Holy Slash daily in our training. If Miss Moriana’s skills are already at that level, demonstrating them now should be no trouble. In fact, I would like to see it as well. Please, Professor. Let her proceed.”

His words were polite, reasonable, and meant to be supportive. To him, he was vouching for her, giving her a chance to prove herself and silence the suspicions.

To Molly, it was the sweet, handsome voice of her doom.

"Kyaaaaaaaa! He wants to see it. HE. WANTS. TO. SEE. IT." But a single, desperate thought broke through. "Wait! Hold up! Shiny! The sword is super shiny! If I just swing it really, really hard… the glint in the sun plus the raw air pressure might just… cut the dummy? It’ll look kinda similar, right? That's like totally crazy! Okay! Gyaru power!"

She took a wobbly stance, letting out a high-pitched cry. “Okay! You wanna see it? HERE IT GOES! Theeeeeeeeeeeeyeah! Hoooooly… SLAAAAASH!”

The blade flashed with reflected sunlight, creating a dazzling glint that made everyone blink.

SCHINK!

The practice dummy was cleaved cleanly in two, the top half sliding off to hit the ground. She jammed the sword point-first into the ground, puffing out her chest. "See?! Told you! Totally did it! Happy now?!”

A beat of stunned silence was broken by Cedric’s voice.

“Oi! Are you joking? You call that a Holy Slash? You just swung a sharp piece of metal really, really hard. The air pressure did the work. There was zero holy energy. Not a spark. Not a flicker. Are we all just pretending? What's going on here?”