This chapter was written by Blazing Tempest. We are collaborating on this story and so far I'm really excited to be doing it.
XXX
" Several thousands years ago, a great war between three major factions occured. The war waged for the rights to rule left all three of factions, namely angels, fallen angels, and devils deeply scarred. From 72 keys of Solomon that formed the devils' most powerful warriors, only a few remained."
" That's cool, dad! But, that red-man from before said we had great contribution that time. How? We're not from the 72 pillars."
The grey haired man laughed heartily and patted his 6 years old son's head. The boy smiled at his father's display of affection and looked at him in the eyes.
" 72 keys were not the only ones capable of fighting. Your great grandfather was one of the generals leading legions of nobles in war that time, decimating opposing forces bravely. Our family's strong, you know? The Gremory family has ties with us from a long time ago because of that. That red-man is actually my friend."
Their conversation was cut short with a voice coming from inside.
" Master and young master, dinner is served. Please, head to the dining room before the food gets cold."
" Big sister Samirah! What did you cook?"
The woman was in her late teens, clad in maid clothes. Young Verdia ran to her and tackled. His weight wasn't enough to throw her off balance, so he ended up getting hugged by the older woman.
" Today we have paella, young master. I've also made apple pies from the fruits freshly picked. I hope it'll suit your tastes."
" Yay! I love pie! Dad, let's go!"
Together, they went to the dining room. There, Verdia's mom, Erin Arcadia, was already waiting. She was originally from other devil family, but after marrying Zeo Arcadia, her last name changed. Devils had the power to keep their youth at any age, so even though she was already quite old for humans' standard, she still retained a young woman's beauty.
" Hey, son. How's your magic training?"
The six years old Verdia reached for his spoon and faced his mother.
" Ummm... Good, mom."
She just sighed and turned to someone else.
" Well, brother. What do you think? You're the one overseeing his training."
She turned to another man sitting on near her son. He turned to Verdia and eyed him with a judging look, then back to his sister.
" I don't know, sis. I can't say he's bad at magic, but he's definitely unlike what I've seen in these 200 years of experience of mine."
Erin Arcadia, previously Erin Agares supported an amused look on her face. Her husband's brother wasn't just another person in the Underworld. He was chosen as the magic instructor for the devil's army. Nicknamed 'Thousand Spells', he had a massive repertoire of spells and sheer amount of mana to use them without much difficulty.
Now he was saying that her son had some unknown magic? If that wasn't a surprise, that what could be one?
" I think it'll be faster for you to actually see for yourself. C'mon, Verdia. Show your mom what you learned."
" Okay, Uncle!"
The young child raised both of his hands and formed a small flame on his palms. So far, it looked like normal devil magic, but suddenly, the flame grew in size, and turned to a boulder sized fireball.
His mom was a little surprised at her son's progress, but still, she couldn't understand what was so wrong about that magic. With a questioning look, she turned to her husband, who just shook his head.
" Brother, do enlighten me, what is so uncommon with my son's magic? Sure, his growth might be rare, but I think it's an exaggeration to say it's unique."
He was silent for a while, as if dazed with his nephew's display. After the fireball finally dissipated, he faced his sister in law with solemn look on his face.
" Don't you see? He formed that magic, not with imagination like us, but instead, he integrated the process itself!"
" What's so special about it?"
The magic instructor sighed and created an example.
" Look, this is how we make fire."
He ignited his index finger's tip. Then, he put it out and raised both hands.
" And this is how he makes it."
Both hands clasped in front of his chest, and flames started pouring out from it. Then, slowly but surely, the flames expanded and heated up the room. Eventually, beads of sweat appeared on the mage's forehead and the flames dissipated.
Both of Verdia's parents were confused, not understanding the difference.
" The first one was a fire made purely by imagining, while the second, I ignited the oxygen and supplied it with certain gas to make it bigger."
Looking at his relatives, he sighed.
" Have you ever noticed that our technologies are almost completely centered in magic? Unlike humans who tried other methods. Since the middle realm's mana concentration is too weak, most of them are born without the ability to control magic. Thus, electricity, physics, science, and technology were born."
" So? If there's magic, why not utilize it?"
Erin Arcadia's skeptic frown was clear to see, while others had questioning look.
" No one can ever do magic with more than 3 steps. Nearly all devil magic, for example, Phenex's fire magic is activated with one step, and empowered with mana. Mana quality and quantity are the deciding factors to power. But his…"
He dramatically pointed at Verdia, who was casually eating his 3rd apple pie. His paella plate had been long relieved of its content.
" …Is far different."
Slowly realizing the truth of her husband's brother, she nodded with some understanding and turned to her son with a vibrant smile.
" Great work, Verdia. I'm proud of you."
" Hehehe~ Thanks, mom!"
Although he was completely clueless with why his mother had praised him.
" Rias-chan! Wait up!"
" Verdia-kun! You forgot your books!"
3 children ran along the road to the devils' capital city's school for nobles. Devils had an incredibly low rate of birth and very, very great longevity, so one school was more than enough for noble-class youngsters.
One was a young girl with blazing red hair extending to her back.
One was a young girl with short black hair.
The last one was a male with light purple hair.
They were Rias Gremory, second child Gremory family, Sona Sitri, also the second child of Sitri family, and Verdia Arcadia. Normally, noble children would be escorted to school with carriage, but those three had rather high yearning of adventure, so they all walked to school every day.
Well, the distance wasn't that far from their residence, anyway.
In the devils' system, those who possessed titles would be given residence in the center of the city, while commoners' houses surrounding them. Of course, each noble had lands outside the capital, but they were taken care of by the branch families. In that case, they became landlords who governed areas.
Considering the nobles' low numbers, it wasn't so surprising that their area was considerably smaller to the commoners', although their mansions had more superior size and luxury compared to normal people.
Due to their families knowing others, those three quickly became close. Every day, they'd meet up somewhere to go to school together.
" It's practical magic period next, right?"
" Yep! Though I haven't trained at all…"
Students chatted during break about the next class. Being so young, they still had no topics to talk about other than school and their experiences. This day just had more interesting than the next class.
Practical magic.
That was a class restricted only for nobles. All students must have certain mastery over their bloodline magic traits, and this school ensured that. Each member of the 72 Pillars had some kind of unique ability exclusive to them. Unfortunately, during the Great War, many of the families became extinct, and the numbers dropped to 33 families. Those 33 pillars had the highest rank of nobility, with superior noble families following.
" Alright class, be silent and change. We'll go to the gym."
The teacher clapped his hands to gain their attention. Once his message was accepted, he walked out to prepare.
10 minutes later…
" Now, we'll run a check-up on magical strength and accuracy. Hit that gauge doll over there with everything you've got, and make sure it hits! Nothing will happen if your magic doesn't hit the target."
A robotic doll with a bar on its chest was placed. One of rather unique invention of Underworld's best researcher, Ajuka Beelzebub. Usually, only offensive magic's power could be gauged, but this doll had the power to sense the density of mana the spell erected. It could even measure support magic! The only thing it couldn't gauge was regenerative power.
" Rias Gremory. Ah, don't worry, just hit it with your magic. It won't disintegrate."
The red haired female nodded cheerfully at the kind male teacher and formed two red and black energy spheres, made of demonic mana.
" Hyaahh!"
With a rather cute shriek, she threw both orbs straight to the doll. The magic blast collided with the doll and exploded. After the smoke cleared, a number of 75 was shown.
" Oohh~ Your magic has grown again, Gremory-san. Keep progressing. Next, Haze Valevor."
Another student came forward, this time a male with light green hair. His expression was relaxed but still passionate.
He assumed a sword stance, and pulled his right hand back, like unsheathing a sword. A faint light appeared from his hand, and slowly shaped itself to one-handed sword made of grey substance.
He dashed quickly, like an arrow released from bow. Once reaching proper distance, he slashed his sword in crescent arc, perfectly hitting the target.
*Beep*
" Well, 65. Remember, Valevor-san. Using a close range magic requires great deal of concentration, since you move your body and maintain the stability of your magic. Your sword must be more solid. Next, Sona Sitri."
The short-haired girl walked forward and started concentrating. Shortly after, two serpents made of water circled her arms. After maxing out the serpents' body with mana, she gracefully spun and shot both straight to the measuring tool.
Both water snakes impacted with it, letting out a loud noise. However, the show didn't end with just that. She made a grappling motion with both hands, and those snakes responded in kind. Both of them circled the doll and started crushing it. The doll, however, remained intact, as if nothing happened.
After a while, she let go of her magic, her mana reserves depleted.
Immediately, her classmates cheered, whistled, and showered her in praises. Even the teacher was clapping in appreciation. Young devils that could perform more than one process in one magic sequence were rare, and in such young age, the heir of Sitri family already had enough control to actually do two and maintain it for a few minutes.
" Great, Sitri-san! You're already capable of two-steps sequence… Keep going this way and you won't fall far behind your sister."
Sona's magic's numeric value was 125, according to the doll. That wasn't too surprising, considering she scored two times with one magic. Although Rias obviously won in terms of pure strength, Sona's versatility won her more points than her.
Rias gritted her teeth in jealousy. Although she was her friend, they both always wanted to become better than the other, thus leading to a heated rivalry.
After her, not many students received praise from the instructor, since Sona raised the bar higher with her performance.
" Verdia Arcadia! Your turn, son."
It was already public secret that this particular lesson was the most exciting for young devils, not only because they liked the subject, but also the lad's kindness and attention pointed at them. He was unlike other teachers, stern and strict, but strict and willing to give improvements. No one wanted to be forced, and he knew that.
But Verdia was one of his favorite students.
Not only timid and kind, he also shared the same fate of being born outside the 72 Pillars, turning to the so-called 'proxy pillars'. That alone gave him more than enough reason to support this child through and through as long as he could.
" Alright, sensei."
The young boy stepped forward and inhaled deeply, to stabilize his mind. Magic would be easier to invoke with calm and clear mind.
" Uncle said fire would burn better in higher concentration of oxygen, and that oxygen is in the air we inhale. Then…"
He exhaled the air in his lungs and calmed down. During that period, everyone chattered, as he wasn't really a high-ranked noble, and he wasn't that eye-catching. Most of the kids enrolled there were from families with ranking above Duke.
For example, Rias Gremory from one of 72 Pillars, Archduke Gremory.
However, that soon changed the moment Verdia unleashed his magic to the poor doll. Once he collected enough air, he sent them out in chain explosions. Well, one thing he didn't know, air contained more than oxygen and its mixture could make a terrible fireworks when ignited.
Even the caster himself was surprised at the effect of his deed. The fire spread out quickly and turned wild. Verdia thrust both arms, trying to use his mana to contain the flames from spreading any further, but a 5-years old kid had strict limits.
" Water, heed my will!"
The students were too shocked to act, so the instructor took matters to his own hands. He swiped his hand in a wide arc, creating huge mass of vapor and sloshed it to the raging flames. They were extinguished almost immediately, leaving a victim to be seen. The poor measuring doll was lying lifelessly there, looking more dead than usual if that's even possible.
Luckily, the flames were slowed enough to save the room. Now, it would need no more than minor repairs.
" H-He burned the gym!"
" Verdia could've burnt us all with his freaky magic!"
This situation was the worst outcome after putting out the flames. Young Verdia couldn't say anything, as he knew he was the cause of this disaster. Yet, he didn't cry or deny it like normal 5-years old child.
Sensing the direction of this event and not liking it at the least, the older male stepped forward and shielded him from his classmates' accusing eyes.
" Look at the doll before speaking, kids."
The charred doll surprisingly still worked after that mayhem, showing a more shocking value. Verdia's magic was worth 195, the highest value ever seen in elementary school. That was a magic sequence with 3 steps, even though its first two steps could be combined, but three steps nonetheless.
" His magic was powerful, but he lacked control of it. So what? It's not like any of us never make mistakes. His just looked worse than us, nothing more."
Then, he proceeded to point at one of the loudest students.
" Kael! If you miscalculated your magic power, what would happen? You could've killed your friend! And you did miscalculate, with your magic nearly piercing Emily who stood two meters from the doll. From what I saw, you celebrated and claimed that your aim is so great, you purposely missed her"
Kael Berith looked down and gritted his teeth.
" See? We all make mistakes. At least he tried to fix his mistake. This Verdia here contained the fire before it could actually do a lot of damage. Look, just slightly black wall and floor, nothing too serious. I didn't do that, he did."
He walked forward and smiled at his students.
" None of us was hurt, so how about taking this as a lesson to improve our control and make up? It's not like he tried to, and he's a part of your class, right?"
Silence filled the room for a while, until a certain red-headed female decided to break it.
" Right! Verdia's awesome! Just look at how much his magic did!"
" Yes, he could've held back a little, but because sense told us to go all out, he ended up blasting the doll, so it's not his fault!"
The magic instructor gasped at the sudden attack by Sona Sitri and let out a small chuckle. As if on cue, the whole class looked at him.
" Ummm~ I guess I did say that… ehehe"
He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, making the whole class erupt in laughter. Even Verdia couldn't hold in his laugh. He eventually broke and laughed until he was sent to the infirmary because of severe stomachache.
After school…
" Thanks for the backup, Rias-chan, Sona-chan."
Verdia's words were from the heart. He knew, deep down, the situation he was in couldn't have been resolved without them. At least, it could've resulted in the students thinking that their instructor gave special treatment to a student or they'd think that damaging school property would be fine.
Both weren't exactly the kind of outcome he wanted.
" Hey, what are friends for, Verdia? Don't be too serious."
" You would've done the same for us, anyway."
Both of them gave him a hard smack on his back. They continued waking home, or should've, had Rias not purposely stepped on Sona's toe, enacting a goose chase between two females and leaving the boy in the dust.
Just like that, a day passed for him.
Time skip, 4 years later…
" Seriously, you guys have got to see this!"
Rias Gremory, although looking more womanly in some terms compared to years before, hadn't suffered much change in personality. She was still the same kind and bubbly person, albeit very prideful and a little arrogant.
Actually, there was a change. A huge change to her tastes, that she wholeheartedly was trying to spread to her close pals. Unwillingly, those two fulfilled the redhead's wish and watched some kind of film she obtained from her vacation to human world recently.
" This is… some sort of booming stuff in human world?"
" How should I say this… unique, isn't it?"
Rias just nodded vigorously, clearly excited. She had been fangirling for over a week now, watching those anime films without thinking of time. Luckily, devils had no qualms in pulling all-nighter, and it was vacation, so there wasn't any luck.
Her actions had worried her mom, though. It was the first time Rias became so engrossed that she holed up in her room for a week without going out at all.
" She kinda becomes… what's that word again? Otaku?"
Verdia's thought process was broken by his raven haired friend grasp on his right arm. Most of the time, he wouldn't really mind this kind of physical interaction, but her grip started to make his lower arm pale.
" Uh, Sona? My arm's getting white here…."
" Sister, sister, sister… magical girls, magical girls…"
She had been chanting those two words ever since Rias locked the room and practically forced them to do a marathon of this anime. What was it called again?
Mahou shoujo… or something?
Wait, the pressing matter wasn't her stutter! My arm's getting less than needed energy here!
" Wake up! Sona!"
He used his other arm and shook her to break her stupor. After a while of struggling, his arm wasn't in danger anymore, although moving it proved to be a little challenging.
She looked at him, shaking in fear. He gasped, wondering what could make her so terrified. Rias, too, moved to her friend's side. Letting her grasp him for comfort, he looked around to find what the cause was.
The only thing here was a TV with anime playing on it. He had to say, those outfits the characters used were familiar. He closed his eyes to concentrate, digging around his memory to look for that particular frilly, cute, and cheery outfit.
" Rias, turn off that anime now!"
His orders shocked her, but she obliged. After pausing the film, she turned around, only to see him also shivering. He remembered the horror of that outfit. In the front, they looked cute, but truth be told, that outfit was one of the worst torture tool known to him, and of course, the raven-haired girl.
" R-Rias… You might not know this, but when you were on your vacation…"
Flashback, one month ago…
Verdia walked to Sitri mansion. The sheer size wasn't bigger from his or Rias, but the facilities surrounding the territory and all kinds of beautiful scenery beat them. Gremory family boasted resources, Arcadia clan boasted magic research, and Sitri family was the best in terms of medical facilities and water sources.
Even now, he was invited to play. Of course, he didn't refuse, since that mansion had open air hot spring bath, and Sona's sister was there. The only female of 4 devil kings, Serafall Leviathan, formerly Serafall Sitri. He'd always been wondering what kind of person she was. He knew she was some kind of actress in a show, but Sona never told him which.
" Sona-tan~ wait for me~"
A woman's voice echoed through the hall. It was cute, yet it possessed some sort of alluring feel to it.
" No! Get that horrible thing away from me, sis!"
Shortly after, a raven-haired girl ran down from the stairs, apparently chased by something terrifying. Following her, a petite woman descended the stairs. Her face complimented her body, cute and innocent. If there's one thing unfit her loli appearance, it was her womanly assets' unbelievable size.
She must be Serafall Leviathan, the one and only female Maou.
He found himself flabbergasted at first, but the similarities with Sona were undeniable, and she told her she only had one sibling.
The petite devil ruler stopped chasing her sister and looked at him.
" Hmmm~ Are you Sona-tan's boyfriend?"
" BOY— No, I'm just her friend, her childhood friend."
She hummed and circled around him, as if measuring his very being. He was still 10, but her height only beat him by a few inches. Even Sir Zechs was head and shoulder taller than him, and he was normal.
Then, she beamed him a smile and pointed.
" Okay, I approve! But, I won't give you Sona-tan so easily! You'll have to—"
*Rapid steps from running*
" SIS! What were you saying to him!"
Sona Sitri entered the fray, scolding her sister. She'd always been a curious girl, so she stopped running to hear the conversation between them and stepped in when she heard something incredibly outrageous her sister was spouting.
" Aaaww~ Sona-tan~ You came back for me! My cute little sister finally agrees to play with me~"
Serafall grabbed her sister's shoulder. It seemed like those petite arms held considerable power, since Sona couldn't even squirm out. He'd expected her to be a little eccentric, but it was beyond his imaginations.
Before it's too late, he had to escape.
Silently, he retreated back to the door, hoping she wouldn't notice. Luck wasn't on his side as his opponent was a maou, who'd experienced life-death battles, thus having great awareness.
" Wait, young boy!"
Suddenly, his feet were enveloped in ice. Gradually, the ice crept upwards, until it had contained almost all his lower body.
" As if I'm going to let myself be captured so easily!"
He concentrated and summoned flames hot enough to meld even metal. The ice instantly evaporated, letting him flee before the childish maou could capture him again.
*crack, crack*
" Useless, huh?"
Just before he could perform the first step towards freedom, his whole body was encased in ice far thicker than before. From behind him, Serafall Leviathan pointed her scepter at him, innocently smiling.
" Play with us, okaaay~"
The last part was dragged out, giving a more dreadful feeling to that phrase. By now, he knew that this girl certainly deserved her title, in terms of horror she carried.
He was dragged somewhere, still frozen like a popsicle.
Flashback ends.
" She's got one hell of a sister, and I've experienced a tragedy caused by her, first-hand."
" Let's keep what happened there to the grave."
Both of them were thoroughly terrified of her. Perhaps devil kings were far more eccentric than they'd thought. Two of them, Sir Zechs and Serafall were huge siscons, and doted a little too much on their younger sisters.
If there was something he gained from that encounter with that magical girl/ devil king, it was never to judge a book by its cover, no matter how cute and cuddly the cover was. Doing so would probably get you severe consequences.
Rias, although pouting to some extent, restrained herself from arousing that memory again. Her brother had often told her how… unique his fellow devil king was. Honestly, she preferred not to deal with them.
From outside, loud clanging sounds of steel were heard. Rias shot up and ran to the door while beckoning at her friends to tail her. They exited the room and ran across corridors, straight to the training grounds.
" Uncle, you've come!"
Rias shouted happily to the two streaks of light cutting the air. Each time the lights clashed, a loud clang reverberated. The moment they saw Rias, those lights landed on the ground in form of two men. One was a Japanese style general with a katana engraved with various runes, another was a Roman wielding a golden spear. Both briefly bowed to her, but Rias paid no mind and tackled those two.
" Julius-san, Iwamoto-san. Congratulations on completing the mission."
I bowed a little to them as a sign of respect, and as a way to gain their attention. Once they'd let the energetic Rias down, they noticed me and rubbed my hair.
" No need to be formal, little one. A man doesn't demand respect from others, he gets it without even asking. Besides, we are here as friends, are we not?"
" True that, Verdia. Just relax."
Both of them used old accents of their respective countries. Although they were more modern than they formerly were, changing the way they spoke proved to be a tough task to accomplish, since it was engraved since their youth.
The three youngsters often played at Rias's house, since her family mostly stayed home with her, unlike the others. Sometimes, they'd watch her brother's pieces spar with each other. After years, Verdia had captured by the sheer beauty of swordplay Sir Zech's knights displayed in their training sessions.
" Dad, can I ask you something?"
His father was a great magician, and helped out in maintaining the barrier across Underworld, and technologies that were operated mostly by magic. With Ajuka Beelzebub, the Verdia clan was developing some kind of new technology called magi-tech, technologies that were based on the sacred gears.
Of course, he still loved his son dearly, and delivered his duty as a parent well.
However, he didn't expect his son to ask such question.
" Can I learn sword skills?"
" Why? Isn't magic already enough for you? We're mages, not warriors, you know."
The ten year old bit his lips, already expecting resistance from his parent. His dad might be more lenient than his mom, but this topic was quite sensitive.
Mages and warrior had been at odds for a very long time, after all.
" It's just… I feel that practicing magic has become rather stagnant to me, so I want to try something different."
His father sighed and once again tested his son.
" Sword training involves rigorous and strict training. It can be extremely taxing for us mages. Are you okay with that?"
As an answer, he undressed in front of her father, revealing the result of his own physical training he'd done. His father widened his eyes at the shaped muscles of his son, tough and elastic. He was lean and always hid his body under clothes.
" I've done all the physical requirements. Now, I just need the skills and equipments."
Finally, his father gave in and stood up, heading to his inner chamber. Once reaching there, he turned on the lights, letting a gentle light fill the room. On the wall, there was a sheathed sword with staked snake's head as its guard. The hilt, guard, and the scabbard were all bone-white, without any blemish.
He retrieved it and went back to his son.
" During your great-grandpa's era, there was a band of elite warriors who were adept in both magic and martial skills. He was one of them, an Arcane Knight. However, some time ago, that band disappeared, and mages and warriors started bearing enmity to each other."
He passed the blade to his son, who drew it from its pure white scabbard.
" Viper bone sword, a fine blade. Forged from a demon snake's skeleton, it was no less heavy than a steel greatsword. I think you'll be able to use it soon."
Verdia sheathed it again and went back to his room. It was too heavy for him to wield, but that would not be the case soon enough.
The vacation was not long enough, that was something students would usually say when their vacation ended. However, for Verdia that was not the case at all.
It wasn't because the pleasant time ended that he despised the day school started again, but the nasty high-class arrogant jerks from the original 72 Pillars. Those bastards had been harassing him just because he wasn't from the 33 surviving members of 72 Pillars.
" Well, well. Look at the filthy fake noble here, guys. I feel dirtied just being in the same room as him."
" Yuck, why won't he just scram and go to those filthy commoners' school? I bet he'd make it big there."
More and more noble children had been enrolled here and expected to be treated as geniuses, considering where they hailed from. Alas, they spent too much time boasting and not training, setting their own stats lower than they should be.
Where would they vent out? Of course, the so-called fake nobles like Verdia.
" You know, if you're so disgusted, why don't YOU get out? I honestly won't mind the slightest."
His ears were getting got from all their insults. So, he decided to drop a bomb to finally make them shut their mouth. Their face took a huge change, from a sneer to an almost funny, pissed- off faces.
They walked straight to him and one of them, Kael Berith, suddenly tapped on Verdia's table.
From where his hand was pressed, steel spread like frost across the wooden table. It was Berith clan's special ability, control over metal. They were the ones responsible of making weapons and most of them became excellent blacksmith. Some also became very proficient in battles, turning the tides by summoning huge steel titans that hacked through enemies with ease.
That family was ranked Archduke, moreover, 28th rank in terms of battle power and influence according to Ars Goetia.
" Know your place, pleb."
He glared right into Verdia's eyes, who also replied in kind.
" Thanks, you should've practiced it first."
Just before Verdia could lash out his favorite spell, or Kael with his metal stakes, someone grabbed both of their shoulder and squeezed.
" Cut it out, guys. Class is not a good place to fight. Kael, you know how Verdia wiped the floor with your ass last time, and you calm down."
Haze Valefor got in between two angry youths and tried stopping them from destroying this place yet again. His clan was also of the original 72 Pillars, but he held no enmity towards the proxy ones, as he believed the maou who chose them. There was no way that the devil king would just choose unworthy families into the Pillars.
What surprised him was Verdia's body. When he squeezed, he felt resistance from his muscles. Normally, mages had rather frail body, like Kael whose muscles were mushy. Saving that question for later, he separated both of them and told those troublemakers to leave, and sat on the seat beside him.
" Dude, you don't have to pay those scums any mind. Facing them just isn't worth enough to make you and your family trouble."
" I know, man. They piss me off, daily. Today happens to be my breaking point."
The green-haired male sighed.
" Well, not all of Pillar members are bad. Take me for an example."
He proudly buffed his chest to emphasize his point. Verdia just smiled at his friend's attempt to console him.
" I wonder why he's so fixated on you, though. He's not like that with others."
" Whatever his reason, I don't feel like giving that kid even the benefit of doubt."
Haze just sweat-dropped at his friend's antics.
" Well, we're kids too, actually."
Moments later, the instructor came into the class. He was the same instructor they'd had since 4 years ago, mostly because devils had extremely low birth rate, and he was told to keep teaching his old students, the ones he was most familiar with.
Of course, the kids still loved him, being naïve and young. They still didn't have dark imaginations like adults and teenagers. This was one of the reasons why he applied as a teacher,.
" Students, I'll have to inform you this. Next week, we're having a field trip to the forest of familiars!"
*Cheer*
" At last!"
" I'm gonna get myself a badass familiar!"
The teacher laughed at his students' excitement, but eventually decided to end it by raising his hands.
" But remember, you must always follow the guide there, or you'll get lost. It's a big place and quite dangerous, after all. I'll also be participating to oversee."
" Boo~"
Meanwhile, somewhere in Lilith Capital…
" Plan's going well. Phase alpha has been completed, proceed with caution."
" Affirmative. We shall accelerate the growth now. Calculating… maturation of seeds is expected three days from now."
" All in father's name, we shall exact father's revenge on those nobles for their previous atrocious deeds."
" We shall have justice, for father."