"Last semester, we drilled the act of killing into your minds—over and over—with holographic targets that bled like people and screamed like them too," Kaine began, his tone razor-sharp. "Yet I'd wager more than half of you still couldn't take a real life."
He paced slowly, his boots echoing in the silence.
"But no matter. This semester will be different. Everything we promised to teach before—psychological warfare, infiltration, tracking, and precision takedowns—will now be enforced. We held back because most of you were too slow, too soft. That ends now."
He stopped, locking eyes with Liam.
"This semester… we're not training you to be just killers. We're training you to be ghosts."
A beat passed. Then his voice dropped low.
"And if anyone falls behind… I'll finish you myself."
Seraphina licked the last bite of her apple, savoring it before tossing the core into the bin without even glancing. Her smirk curled like a devil's kiss.
