The Bond That Even Gods Cannot Break

Melissa Cosmos hated Sophia Lantana. Everyone at the Private Girls' School knew it. If they asked what Melissa dislikes about her, she would quickly respond, "Absolutely everything!"

If she needed to be more specific, she would list Sophia's air of a rich girl, as if she owned the world. Her arrogance emanated from her excellent grades to even the way she walked, as if she were a noble. Moreover, it seemed as if everything since her birth was meant to be superior to others. Sophia had long and rare natural silver hair, coupled with ocean-blue eyes that stood out from everyone else. The girl she hated never sought to disguise how she displayed her natural gifts to Melissa, and that was another source of irritation.

Sophia Lantana hated Melissa Cosmos. Everyone at the Private Girls' School knew that too. Once they asked about the reason for her hatred, the calm girl responded while sipping tea in the cafeteria, "Absolutely everything..."

Sophia couldn't help but dislike someone who didn't make an effort and blamed fate. Whether it was the rude way she spoke or the lack of respect for everyone, everything irritated her. She could have spent hours listing how Melissa made the school environment difficult, picking fights with both students and teachers. If that wasn't enough, she had the appearance of a delinquent. Her messy, brunette hair was cut shoulder-length, covering her amber eyes, while her school uniform was hidden under a sleeveless red hoodie. A blue diamond-shaped earring adorned her right ear, and all her nails were painted. Almost everything about her appearance violated the school rules, but she never changed regardless of the number of warnings she had received.

This week marked the beginning of the school festival. As the president of the council, Sophia Lantana was responsible for organizing the entire event. The girl was the heiress of the multimillion-dollar Lantana Corporation. Having come of age this year, her parents had high expectations for her and she had to fulfill them.

Walking through the halls of the Private Girls' School, Sophia had a list of things that needed to be done, along with a stack of documents that needed evaluation. Her school uniform consisted of a white blazer over a black dress shirt. She wore a light blue tie to match her eyes while an orange bow was on the left side of her head for securing part of her long hair. To complete her look, the white uniform skirts contrasted with black waist-high stockings, giving her a mature air.

"Take this paper to the first-year classrooms, get the class representatives’ signatures within two hours and return it to me," she handed a paper to one of the girls in her entourage. "Someone check with the head of the teachers' council if we already have permission to move the kitchen equipment."

While walking briskly, Sophia flawlessly distributed orders to her team. Even while multitasking and checking various points in the school, not a single drop of sweat appeared on her perfect face. Waving to the last girl in her group who was left to fulfill one of Sophia's requests, she finally found herself alone.

Taking out her state-of-the-art smartphone, she checked the time; it was almost late afternoon. Swallowing a sigh, knowing she would probably have to stay up all night to finish organizing the documents, she continued walking. She couldn't afford to show any weaknesses.

With gentle taps on the notepad app on her phone, she crossed off the items that needed immediate verification one by one. Sophia was methodical and would not allow any mistakes to happen.

After walking more than half of the campus, she made the last scheduled stop for the day. After checking one last piece of equipment, she could finally return to the student council room and tackle the enormous stack of urgent documents.

Entering the sports court, she observed several girls arranging chairs in front of the stage. Additionally, some bands were setting up sound equipment that would be used the next day. Sophia was obviously greeted with nods from the girls. None of them had the courage to approach the girl known as the ice queen, both for her cold personality and her rare silver hair.

Noticing how Sophia only nodded in response to the girls' greetings, they quickly backed away. Despite realizing that she was being clearly avoided, she did not let it show on her face.

To continue checking the last item on the list, she climbed the side stairs of the stage. The rusty ladder was unpleasant to the touch. Sophia had requested the replacement of the structure several times, but the budget was never allocated for this change because it was deemed a "low-priority problem." This part of the sports court was already old and needed constant maintenance. Unlike the sports equipment that had been replaced, the rusted iron pillars that only served to support the light reflectors received no attention.

Sophia knew that if not checked regularly it could pose a danger to the students. Therefore, no matter how much they called it futile effort, the girl who allowed no mistakes would not turn a blind eye. However, upon reaching the top of the rusty platform located more than five meters above the ground, Sophia frowned.

"What are you doing here?"

Lying on a stack of mats was a girl with brown hair and amber eyes. She had her eyes closed and seemed to be sleeping peacefully even with the noise of the court being organized. When Sophia's irritated voice reached her ears, her eyes opened slowly, and she responded in an annoyed tone.

"Tsch, the perfect Miss Killjoy has arrived."

Melissa Cosmos simply turned to the side on the mat, her two arms behind her head serving as a pillow.

"The teachers notified me that you skipped class again," Sophia said.

"Just when I think I found a good hiding spot to pass the time, I have to be seen by Miss Arrogance immediately."

"Don't ignore me! If you miss a few more days, you won't be able to recover your grades, and you'll be held back. This is supposed to be your last year in high school too, what will you do if you don't graduate?" Sophia spoke with a cold voice as she watched the girl scratch her belly.

"Finished?" she commented indifferently. "First of all, what does my future have to do with you, snow curls?"

The reckless way she acted and the fact that she didn't even look Sophia in the eyes irritated her. Approaching with determination, she stood beside the lying girl and spoke loudly and firmly.

"It is the responsibility of the council president to take care of the school environment. This includes ensuring delinquents like you attend classes and respect the school rules," Sophia said with conviction.

"So it's about responsibility? Cut the crap, snow curls! We both know you hate me and would rather see me disappear."

"Can you stop with the snow curls thing? I have a name, Sophia Lantana. Now, if you can, Miss Cosmos, come down so I can finish checking the lighting system." She approached and used her left hand to grab Melissa by the collar of the red hoodie. "Your class is working on the school festival project with one less pair of hands... Ah!"

Still being lifted by the collar of the red hoodie she wore, Melissa used her right hand to grip Sophia's hand that was holding her. The grip was made with moderate force, and the silver-haired girl let out a small protest.

"What I do or where I stay is my problem, oh glorious council president." Bringing Sophia's face closer to hers, she spoke like a growl. "I don't care about the crap you came up here to do, so do it already and leave me alone!"

Melissa protested while kicking the ground forcefully.

"What do you mean leave you alone? I won't abandon someone who wants to give up, no matter the reason!!"

Still holding onto her wrist, Sophia broke her natural tone and threw herself onto Melissa. Both fell onto the wide mat and began rolling over it.

"I hate how you give up before even trying! Why don't you listen to me when I just want what's best for you?" Sophia struggled to stay on top of Melissa, her free hand immobilizing Melissa's other wrist.

Using her knees, Melissa pushed against Sophia's belly; her strength was obviously superior to the girl. With a quick movement, the positions of the two reversed.

"What's best for me? How the hell would you know that! Just leave me alone and go back to playing the perfect council president you always were!"

Both screamed at the top of their lungs their frustrations, sweat running down both their faces. Without stopping their pushing, both continued to move on the mat. However, something they never imagined could happen. The commotion of the two on a rusty platform was enough to finish damaging something that was already almost destroyed.

A snap was heard from the popping of a screw, then another, and another. In an instant, the sharp sound of metal falling onto metal filled the sports court.

A massive cloud of dust engulfed the surroundings; the noise was so loud that it echoed throughout the school. By a miracle, all the girls who were working on the sound system had already descended from the stage and were helping others finish arranging the chairs.

But the same did not happen with the two girls who were above the platform.

Various screams were heard as the sight of the two blood-soaked girls grew darker with each passing moment. At some point between the flashes of light and the deafening noise of metal, Sophia and Melissa found themselves under a large layer of iron and steel. Somehow, during the fall, both ended up embraced with Melissa on top of Sophia. Vertically above them, a large steel beam pierced through their chests, penetrating the wooden floor of the sports court.

Despite everything, neither of them felt any pain. The situation changed so rapidly that somehow their brains were unable to comprehend the body's warning signs of imminent death.

Under the wreckage and out of the view of all the other girls, the hands of the two who had been together since the beginning of the fight were not separated. This persisted until the very last moment. The gaze of the two girls never wavered, both looking at each other's bloodied faces one last time before taking their final breath in unison.

Death was what awaited them, or at least, that's what they thought. Because a message echoed in both of their minds.

[A challenger has entered the dungeon]

Hello, this is the first story I’ve ever published. English isn’t my first language, so if there are any mistakes, please let me know!