Sat in the middle of the stony threshold were the two ladies that had accompanied the doctor before. As he quietly leafed through the documentation created regarding his newest subject's behaviour , puzzlement flashed across his face with the details he read and what he knew of the results he had acquired.

The quiet brunette who was sitting aside to the doctor in her usual meek mannerisms , took a glance at the older man's face , worrying filling her mind as she could tell there was something that was troubling the man in regards to the boy's case. Though of course there was no way of actually knowing what it was unless one of them asked.

Seeing how the dolled up mistress seemed more concerned with the state of her nails than what the doctor had to say about his findings for Jellal , she decided that she would break the prolonged silence between them and hopefully shed some light on what issues existed.

"I…Is there something wrong d-doctor?"

Irose asked slowly , her small voice almost inaudible to the world around but the doctor caught the sound of it nonetheless. Laurus took a brief glance at the younger woman before a sigh broke from his lips as he put the documentation down and started to finally address the two women in front of him.

"He's not looking promising honestly."

And only then did Alika's attention come back to the matter.

The golden haired woman whipped her focus from her equally shiny nails to the young doctor , ears having perked up at hearing those words as internal smugness started to fill her.

"Oh really~?"

The heavily powdered mistress sneered in her annoyingly high nasal tone , almost as if she had been expecting such a finding from the man himself as she had been the one calling it from the very beginning , the blue haired brat was nothing but abnormal (in all senses of the word).

In looks.

In personality.

And now even,

In being a worthy successor for the only thing that gave him a semblance of value.

Irose's wide blue eyes stilled on the man across as she tried to process what the doctor was saying. Was he really telling them that Alika's suspicions were correct the entire time then? That Jellal was indeed a defect? That he didn't hold anything promising like those before him?

How could that be?

"W-What do you mean?"

She felt a weight drag on in her voice as her mind subconsciously thought back to the conversation that was had a year ago in regards to the kid and what could happen if he was a defect. Her heart beat intensified as the image of the azure haired boy flashed in her mind , and all she could recall with it was the broken measure he had become.

"H-How do you k-know that?"

Irose rasped with a bit more emotion than she usually allowed. Her urgency caused the woman across her to raise a brow at her behaviour , to which the brunette felt her features go rigid and forced into submission , a quick flush covering her already rosy complexion as she swallowed the remainder of her alarm that threatened to break out as she waited for the doctor's words.

Laurus used his index finger to push up the bridge of his glasses that had fallen overtime as he silently ruminated the findings he found in his tests and now that which he had just read , still trying to find how they clearly correlated , but of course that would have to wait given he had to clear the air.

"The traces of Ethernano particles were minimal in all the samples that I looked over."

He announced with a twitch that went across his stern features , disbelief in the findings vivid in him for a split second as thought about the blood samples. Blood samples he knew he couldn't have been wrong in testing due to the fact he took so many to begin with so he would get an accurate representation/result.

Considering the fact that the concern had been raised with the lack of potential the child was showing , taking the general vial or two wouldn't have been enough in this case. As it wasn't sure what the deal was with Jellal , he wanted to make sure his findings were as reliable as possible and given what he was allowed to do as of yet , the best way of doing that was through mass sampling.

As it would give a general understanding of how much Ethernano the boy could have harboured , even if as hidden or minimal it could be.

Also considering the subject could not be held under monitoring regulations in the testing facilities in Tair like usual (which Laurus had his own issues with but that was beside the point-) , it was in his best interest to take as much as he could to get the best reading from the testing.

Since it couldn't be something done so easily.

Or readily.

But that being said,

"Almost non-existent compared to what i've usually worked with."

"And definitely compared to what is known for his heritage."

Jellal's blood showed an unpromising lack of production of the matter. His blood had barely held any traces of it , almost as if his blood did not hold it in the first place or it had been filtered out or something.

Really the results he got from all the samples he had tested , it seemed the boy showed a lack in Ethernano even compared to lowly subjects. Subjects that were not even capable of being mages nor descended from any either.

And him being of a lineage that was so profound in honing their magical affinity and ability , it really was shocking to see that the blood tests came back so unfavourable.

Laurus bit the inside of his cheek as he thought deeply on the matter. Wondering what was the reasoning behind such an abnormal reading from a progeny like him. With the hand he held his face on as sharp eyes dimmed with perplexion , he recalled what he had been told in regards to the child.

And now that he was giving some deeper thought into it after seeing the results , he couldn't help but wonder if maybe there was weight in that woman's judgement.

Maybe the woman was right?

Maybe the child was a defect?

It certainly wasn't impossible , even with how unbelievable it might have seemed. Anomalies did come up in these sorts of matters , and with how many factors that were involved which were completely unknown to him for proper judgement , it was becoming more and more likely that his rationale was starting to side with the thought.

He could have been defective.

However…

Before he could fully accept that assumption , something was playing in his mind which didn't satiate his incessant curiosity like it should have been. Like it should have been if the results found and the documentation recorded matched his expectations like he hypothesised.

"But you told me that his recovery was something time staking."

The doctor remarked as he took another flip through at the evidence recorded. Perplexion burned away in his framed visage before he closed the book and gave another deep sigh in response with his frustration.

"And everything written here tells me the same thing too…"

"So then why…"

Laurus mumbled to himself as the evidence really did not match up in regards to what was known to him. Yes the blood amount he took from the kid was quite a mass sampling , but given the state that he found the boy in , he expected a full recovery in a week or so , being generous probably two weeks at most.

And the reason being that because his blood wouldn't have taken long to stabilise itself if it was only that being replenished and the child was really normal.

Or in his specifically case,

Abnormal.

But that wasn't the deal with him.

"This doesn't make sense…"

Because from what he had read , Jellal didn't heal as immediately as he should have. And instead of the estimated two weeks that the boy should have recovered by , the Fernandes heir took a shocking two months and more just to get back onto his feet and be normal again.

And if that wasn't weird enough , the reports wrote that even though that great amount of time had elapsed , he still hadn't made a full recovery.

This was really odd.

Really odd indeed.

Because in relation to the concerning circumstances , the only reason he could think of why the child's recovery period was that long of a duration , was because his source of Ethernano had been deprived of him to make him so sickly. Something that he knew which happened to those who harnessed it in high concentration and would cause repercussions to beings who had a loss of it so suddenly.

And the weaker one would become evidence of the essence inside as removing it would be like depriving one of nearly a life source of it's own. The greater one's magical affinity was , the greater their Ethernano production would be.

That was the gist of it.

And if those factors were heightened , depriving a being of such a thing would have devastating effects on them.

Which would have sense to him if Jellal's blood actually showed the concentration that was expected.

But the blood report didn't show that at all.

Nothing was correlating.

Nothing was adding up.

But he did have some sort of idea regarding maybe why that could be. Considering the research that he had done on the genealogy of the child and how his predecessors could have affected him , he did come across some findings which he had some belief could be the answer that he was looking for.

Or at least hold some direction towards it.

The young man had sat at his desk with piles upon piles of books surrounding him. Books that were used in the study of understanding the enigma of magic and used to point ambitious scholars like himself in the direction needed to grasp the comprehension of something so esoteric.

Something he would easily pass his time by doing , just spending hours amongst his studies and not even seeing where the day/night would go as the wonder of magic was honestly that magnetic and addictive to his mind. Like many others alike who also wished to delve their curious minds into the unknown.

However, given his recent assignment of monitoring and deciphering the potential of the Fernandes heir , he was finally making use of his collected knowledge and putting his studious mind to the test as he had been the one entrusted with the task of finding out the case with the boy.

A task that when he was asked , he couldn't help but feel surprised having been honoured to undertake something so critical , especially given there were many researchers in the facilities who would have been just as capable or even more , researchers with more experience in such a field.

But since he was given the chance to study such an unusual specimen , he couldn't help but be entranced by what findings he would uncover and how that would spurn his own understanding about the matter of magic into something more solid.

Especially since he was the one who was the one solely undertaking such a prominent subject.

Given that the first few visits to meeting said subject didn't seem as eventful as he wished , he knew he couldn't be too impatient with the boy , both due to the capital's interest and also just how many unknown factors could have been playing into his lack of uncovered potential as of yet.

It was truly an unexpected case when the concern had been raised that an heir from such an eminent bloodline was showing basically nothing alike to his predecessors , but that unprecedented difficulty made the challenge all the more consuming for he , newly graduated doctor Wren Laurus , and it was in the most enticing way possible.

And it would truly showcase his feats and intelligence compared to any other if he could get the crack down on something this unknown.

And he would.

He was determined to see the matter to the end and uncover the issue.

And for that , alongside with the blood samples he had taken , he also took the initiative of reading about the heritage that the boy came from and see if anything could have caused this problem of concern.

Starting with the woman.

Looking over Kaileen's files , there wasn't anything really of suspicion there. She was a normal mage (in regards to the expectations of her bloodline) , her eruption of magical potential showing as young as 5 years old , just like the majority of her fabled ancestors.

However unlike a lot of them , this was after coming from an excelled mage of a father (who was one of the current chiefs of the country from the progeny) but also a normal mother who had no affinity to magic whatsoever.

Given how the bloodline had been known to be quite obsessive in preserving the quality of their feats in the descendants , going to the point of even doing specialised breeding for the matter , submitting the offspring to experiments under The Capital's governance and quite a few other ghastly assumptions that he could see being believable even if not explicitly confirmed ; such as incestuous relations being forced to preserve the lineage's potential , vicious and gruelling training to hone the already dangerous ability to perfection , and other traumatic things which had been done to further the potential of those whom were already prominent to begin with.

Of course a great deal of those immoral practices did come to an end.

But it was only due to his close work with The Capital's classified intel that he had a firmer understanding of the situation with the famed bloodline compared to outsiders who just assumed.

But that being said , given the record of the bloodline he had studied , none of them had the problem which Jellal seemed to be exhibiting. Even those who had been born of a less promising potential to what was known and had been killed off or 'something else' to help the pedigree retain it's stance , those children did show some forms of magic despite the fact it wasn't as desirable as the potential required.

Unlike Jellal who was showing nothing.

And those were children from mage parents. Both of them have been selected for the purpose of just creating superhuman-like offspring. A practice which he was aware of had gone on for quite a few generations until in the recent descendants , there had been a whole shift in that dangerous focus.

And the breeding and obsession seemed to have dissipated entirely without a word.

That being said though , it was odd to think that children who had both parents harnessing strong affinity and had lacked a bit in what was expected , they had problems which the ex heavenly priestess would have been thought to encounter , but didn't in the slightest.

His mother , who had only one parent, that was eminent with the affinity of magic. If anything he would have expected her to have the problems given how much had been going on in her bloodline and the sudden change to make things more tame.

But no , Kaileen was absolutely fine. She had been a capable mage and had been able to study the heavenly arts with no difficulty , almost like she herself was a prodigy child.

Excelling in everything ; beauty , ability , respect but it seemed unlike many in the bloodline , she seemed to lack basic intelligence.

Considering her choice to get involved with a known criminal and then tie the knot with him. Even though he wasn't one to criticise when uncalled for , he couldn't help but also have some form of disapproval in the woman's actions.

Like practically anyone else who knew of her doings.

It really did not make sense to him (or anyone for that matter) , why someone of her rank and eminence would wed herself away to someone like him.

The man that had always been known to be a festering problem for the people and the country , even since young .

And honestly,

For some reason Laurus's suspicion towards the child's abnormalities sided more with things to do with Rais rather than Kaileen.

And looking over his file now ,

He was starting to understand why.

From the details that he had recalled about Rais during the second visit to the child , looking over them now he realised they held a lot more weight than he initially thought and seemed to hold true direction in the matter.

Unlike his spouse , the man's uglinesses and origins were not hidden from the public eye. Rais was known to be uncommonly aggressive not only in adolescence and when maturing , but records stated from a young age as well.

And not just that , but also seeming to possess a deeply criminal mind from a young age too.

At the tender age of 7 or 8 , the man had nearly accomplished committing brutal homicide on an unsuspecting officer , viciously stabbing the victim an innumerable amount of times in his lower body and parts of his torso in the comfort of isolation , having been found culpable of his crime when his poorly parents themselves turned him in after he turned up to his home horrifically blood drenched and left the wielding weapon of a butcher's knife deeply lodged in the victim's mutilated nether regions , after having left him to bleed to his death.

Which would have happened then , had there not been someone to come across and assist the victim in the nick of time.

When the man was detained , Rais did not deny any of the charges against him.

But weirdly enough , he also did not say much on the matter either from what records held.

No matter how harshly he was beaten and brutalised during interrogation.

And alongside that , he seemed to show no sense of remorse for his vile actions.

Shown from the little he had said which had been evidenced and was him outright claiming in verbatim,

'He'd do it again.'

Due to that the man was apprehended immediately and sent to reformatory under capital law.

Which was basically another way of saying he was serving time from young along with having to do other things under Almeta's governance to try and straighten the child's malicious and ferocious ways. Which was actually harsher than what was expected than the usual prison but due to those involved and their capabilities , it had to be done.

So he'd have a decent chance at life in the country and not grow up to be an outright felon.

Which everyone saw how 'well' that worked out...

And that was just the beginning of the many startling behaviours that the man was known to exhibit as he did not care to hide his crimes from the open world.

As if he prided himself off them.

Savage like a wild animal , embodying the very essence of brutality and disorder , holding a strong despise for authority and that which governed structure , bloodthirsty and crazed from so young…

The man was nothing short of an abnormality by all means of the word.

A man so destructive from such a young age…

He must have been truly deranged.

There was honestly no knowing how on earth a woman of the grace of that child's mother had fallen in love with being as unbound as he.

And if he had to add , it was beyond his comprehension how someone as vicious as he hadn't been put down like the rabid dog he seemed to be.

That being said though , along with the other abnormalities that linked to Rais , was the one of interest to him which would help his investigation. The fact that according to the notes and intel he had on him , Rais had also been one who had been submitted for a number of experiments under his own volition for some reason.

Why that was , he didn't know , nor did he think to care , just the fact that he did was only of importance to him.

And from going through the notes , there had been a number of experiments the man had been a part of. In his adolescent years and some when he was older , they were experiments that ranged from all sorts of nature. Such as endurance testing , strength enhancing and other things which weren't really directly related to the current concern.

However…

There was one experiment that caught the eye of the doctor which honestly was a surprise to find that Rais had been listed as a part of. An experiment which had actually been deemed as a failure due to the horrifying results that had come out in mass quantity.

According to his files , he had been listed as a subject for the shelved project : ETHERNANO ABSORPTION.

In the simplest of terms , it was a project to increase the bracket of Ethernano in the bodies of those with some sort of affinity to it (though nothing profound) , and from there make them more susceptible to surrounding Ethernano from external means in whatever quantities (preferably high) and refine how their body would process it (so that they could try and use it to supply their own).

That was the desired outcome from the experiment.

However , what had actually happened was something that left a great dent in the research and sheer terror in the hearts of those involved.

The subjects that were selected for undergoing the project , for some reason not long after administering the involved substance of experiment to their susceptible bodies , majority of them had started to show extremely unexpected results.

Becoming uncharacteristically violent and literally insane out of nowhere , becoming nothing less than frantic beasts that were locked in a cage and just showing behaviour like nothing ever seen before.

And if that wasn't bad enough , what was really gruesome was the fact that some subjects had somehow turned to immoral behaviours.

Turning to devour the flesh and blood of those around like literal starved animals , an absolutely grotesque outcome and it was honestly unknown to why there were sudden cannibalistic urges in the administered subjects.

From that experiment , there were many casualties incurred. Not just that , but deaths too. Of the researchers that were not capable of saving themselves in time from the wrath of these turned beast like beings and also those who had to be put down immediately due to being deemed uncontrollable.

Suffice to say , the amount of deaths and injuries sustained were too much to keep the project on going and hence was immediately halted even though it left a burning question in the research as to why such a thing even happened.

Though he hadn't been part of overseeing that project himself , he had heard enough horror stories from his colleagues who were still affected by the trauma of years ago up to this date. It truly must have been unsightly to see humans act in such an uncontrolled and utterly savage manner out of nowhere.

To think that majority of them turned insane,

Stripped of human inhibition,

Devolved to that alike to howling beasts,

And then some turned cannibalistic…

Tendencies and behaviours that came out of literally nowhere.

Though his scholarly mind wished to know why , it was in the best interest of everyone not to bring up such a blunder of The Capital's research.

That being said though…

To know Rais had been listed as part of that project , it really left him lost for words. And what was even more , was the fact that when looking over his file for the details on the outcome…

He found there was nothing there.

All blank.

Unknown to him as if anything had been actually ever recorded on the man or had someone intentionally tampered with the evidence? But then why would that be?

With that being the case , it really did not help anything in his favour to know what happened in regards to the genitor of the child with this experiment. As he didn't know what Rais exhibited from the experiment , or whether anything happened at all!

For all he knew , the man could have been listed but never put through due to the immense failure that happened. If that was the case , then he could understand why there would be a lack of documentation in regards to Rais.

But…

Some part of him didn't seem fully satisfied with that reasoning and started to gravitate elsewhere to another thought.

Thinking to himself,

What if that wasn't the case?

What if Rais had actually been part of the round of subjects that had undertaken the experiment but he could have been an anomaly of the group? As his results from the project could have been less apparent than others and maybe it truly did have some effect on him.

But if that was the reality…

What was the chance then it somehow connected with the child's abnormalities too?

After having come across that discovery , Laurus couldn't help but have that niggling suspicion at the back of his mind that something to do with his father might have been the reason why the child's potential wasn't as apparent.

Because if Rais was actually part of that experiment , there was no knowing what results he exhibited like the rest and how it could have affected the boy.

If it did.

Or even could.

However there was only so much a hunch could go on without evidence. Since there was nothing documented on the man in regards to the experiment , even if he was one to harbour some effect on the child's genetics because of this , there was no knowing actually how the experiment could affect offspring.

Since all the other subjects were killed or died so no information about such a thing could be sourced , if Rais was the anomaly in the matter , then there was no reference to anything regarding how the experiment affected anything or could have affected the child.

"This case is a lot more complex than I thought…"

Laurus sighed as he thought about the different factors that could have affected the boy. And with them being in such abundance , he didn't know where to start singling out and focusing to look for a proper hypothesis as it all seemed to either lack a proper conclusion or contradict current evidence.

The tension at the table hadn't ended with the doctor's revelation , rather it had just thickened. But with so , dissipated the initial smugness Alika who was subtly irritated the man was giving so much thought to a matter that was in her mind decided. That being said , Irose could feel her heart beating more steady as instead of feeling irritation or disappointment at the doctor's lack of finality on the subject,

She felt somehow relieved.

Because if the matter wasn't decided and Jellal hadn't been proven to be lacking of the wanted value in the capital's eyes , then that meant his fate would be saved from being subjected to further cruelty a little longer.

And yes it was illicit of her to be thinking of such a way , especially concerning one who was deemed as a devil in the eyes of the people and the gods.

But after what she had seen of the child in the past instances she stayed with him after the incident , her heart literally dulled at the thought of him being thrown into a worse fate than he already suffered.

Kaileen's damnation was something she would have wished upon no one , and each time she saw the woman and how broken and miserable she had become , it really tore away at her. The woman the country had once known to be so tender and giving , having been reduced to something abysmal to the point eruptions and abuse was her only answer to anything and everything.

It was truly dismal.

But she (regrettably) understood that due to her affiliation with a fiend (or if she had to be accurate , a devil) , that's why the woman had to suffer.

But…

Thinking of putting her son through that , who literally didn't even meet the scoundrel to have ever been accountable for anything he did….It was a thought that she just couldn't bear.

Maybe it was her maternal and soft nature which made her more forgiving to one known as the devil's spawn , or maybe it had been due to the fact that she had been the one to witness a child being driven to such a low point in life , he had no issue with disregarding himself…

She really did not know.

All she knew was she didn't want Jellal to be put through that like his mother.

Or worse.

And from hearing Laurus's lack of solid judgement,

She felt hope for him.

Even though in the grand scheme of things , this was probably an insignificant detail given to what he had been condemned to , but at least to know he wouldn't be suffering further so soon , it helped ease some of the growing pain in her heart.

Though as she was dwelling on that somewhat comforting thought , the sound of the doctor's returning voice brought her back into the world as she focused back on him.

"Has there ever been any weird behaviour with the boy?"

The doctor asked , trying to sound another hypothesis in his mind that had formed through his incessant ruminations as he looked over at the two women who seemed to turn rigid from his question.

"Or anything of concern?"

As in the man's mind , if neither of the hypotheses he had previously did not hold weight , then another was thinking about if there was some sort of connection maybe between mental state and magical potential. Considering how much was unknown about the arcane subject , he was literally trying to find all the leads possible that could go anywhere in regards to this enigma and how it could all connect.

Irose went still from the sudden question posed , immediately her mind went to thinking about that dreadful event where she found the child ready to attempt suicide. The rosy complexion of her face drained slightly as she thought about if this was something that was worth mentioning to the doctor as it did fit his queries.

"W-Well-"

But as the woman was about to part her lips with response , Alika's voice butted in and said all that was needed to keep matters from worsening.

"No nothing."

"The brat's just been a bit more quiet than usual recently, that's all."

Alika remarked quickly , having seen the slow brunette, was actually contemplating telling the man who worked directly under the capital's governance about that which occurred not too long ago. Honestly how could the idiot think it was right of them to confide that the child had started doing things so questionable?

And to be honest when she had heard of his attempt , the woman was momentarily left without words. However, that was quickly remediated by the thought that the boy was being nothing but a drama queen like that witch of a mother , and there must have been no actual cause of concern for him since he was probably doing these things in defiance for being punished.

Besides , he wasn't acting like that anymore either. So there was no need to raise awareness of something that would do nothing but spurn them into trouble.

Laurus didn't seem so convinced by the golden haired woman's interjection , and turned to the brunette who seemed to be more reliable in the matter.

"Is this true?"

Irose heard the doctor's voice target her , making her become still for a moment as she temporarily was left fumbling for words. Though as she was about to voice her opinion , she could feel a sharp glare burning into her from the side , making her rethink her response as she finally answered the man.

"Y-Yes…"

"M-Mistress A-Alika i-is r-right…."

Irose mumbled with her hands fiddling in her lap as she met the doctor's visage with a shy glance before looking down. She swallowed her nerves as she tried to seem as believable as possible , but even with that being done , she couldn't help but be focused on the things that testified to the doctor's statement that she had witnessed from the child.

Suicidal behaviour , having come back home with questionable inflictions on his body and face , now being unnaturally quiet and vacant from the passing world and remaining in the dark , and another instance that she had witnessed…

When she had been alone in the home and had to watch over the mother and son duo for a very brief period , she thought that she heard him talking to someone in his room , and possibly even laughing with them.

Sounding like he had been in deep conversation or something , she didn't really hear all the details being spoken.

But then when she had gone to check up on him after listening for a few moments behind closed doors , he seemed completely confused as to what she was asking about and seemed to have genuinely had no idea about what it was that she had been referring to.

That instance , though it happened quite some time back before , it did edge away at her as she wondered why his behaviour had been so peculiar at that time.

Though it's possible he could have been lying to her out of not wanting to be punished , she could still remember the sheer disbelief and bewilderment across his face when she had asked 'who was he talking to?'.

But then again maybe she had been the one who had been hearing things , and it's not like it happened again for it to be of concern to bring up.

But still-

"I see."

She was probably just worrying about these things for no reason.

"Well if that's the case then , I will take another sample from the child to see if there have been further developments from the changes before I take my leave."

Laurus announced as he pushed out of the rather uncomfortable seat , leaving the book on the table and started to make his way to where the boy was stationed with his colossal bag in hand.

The both ladies followed behind promptly as they were given further orders from the man who was in the midst theorising other things that could relate to the child's case as he strode to where the boy was being held.

Thinking about the possibilities of maybe if the child had a different trigger compared to that which was known due to all the abnormalities involved in the case. However even if that was the case , it only spurned him into another rabbit hole as he couldn't understand where to start to single out what the potential trigger could be.

Another thing he would have to research when back in his studies.

As the man neared the confines of the azure haired boy , he made quick mention of something to the ladies tailing him before he forgot which he believed could help with maybe some form of progress in the matter.

"One thing I will say though is lower the dosage of the blocker that you've been administering. I'll send a proper prescription of the amount necessary later if anything."

"Do remember to keep track of the process like before and note down any changes for when I come to read the documentation again."

"After doing that , then we'll try and make a firmer judgement."

Irose nodded in response as she quietly followed the tall man and quickly went and opened the door leading to the isolated young boy before stepping aside to let him lead in.

From his visage he took note of the young blue haired boy that seemed to be in the midst of reading some sort of book to himself , head down and towards his lap with no sign of prominent expression as he sat at the edge of the bed.

The doctor cleared his throat to announce his arrival to the young boy who seemed to be completely disinterested in showing a reaction to him. This caused a slight frown to form on the man's face , but he didn't let it bother him too much as maybe the boy was too invested in whatever it was he was doing.

Putting down his bag on the floor and getting the appliances ready for the sampling , this time hopefully not needing to be anywhere as excessive as the last collection. And because of that he was hoping the results he would get wouldn't take too long to process as they were already starting to go into the new year with how tedious it had all been.

But thankfully he could get the visit done before that and also before the country got busy again with preparing for the annual grand festivities to come.

"It's been a long time since we've seen each other , Xellal."

The doctor said nonchalantly as he rolled up his sleeves and stretched a new pair of white latex gloves over his hands before getting a sterile syringe for collecting prepared in his grasp.

From the corner of his eye he saw the bluenet come to a pause with his actions as his finger rested on top of a page eerily still. This showed some evidence to the man that he wasn't being completely ignored by the child , whom he did note to himself , felt a lot different compared to how he was in their last visit.

Less timid.

"Being a little quiet today is it?"

And nowhere near as restless.

"No matter , makes my job all that easier."

Laurus mused , having prepared the syringe for the task and moving towards the boy who was still eerily still and not bothering to lift his head. As the doctor did so , he took the open book that was in the young boy's lap and put it to the side of the bed before grabbing the right arm of the child.

The boy didn't even flinch from the contact like before , simply still like his body didn't possess a sense of reaction. But he could hear him breathing steadily to himself , so there was probably nothing of concern and the child might have been in a kind of anti-social mood.

As he rolled up the sleeves of the shirt the tattooed child was wearing , the doctor raised a brow from seeing bandages across his hands come to his attention. Not just due to the fact that they were there , but there were so many of them and seemed to have been for a long time.

He could feel the muscles of the boy tensing in his grip , maybe from the focus that was on his hands unwantedly , to which the doctor just kept his remarks to himself as he got ready for another sampling to take of the fabled blood this boy was meant to hold.

Yet as he was getting prepared to do so , the sound of the boy's voice sounded in the still atmosphere and took him off guard as he was met with an unexpected comment.

"It's Jellal."

He told the doctor in a low tone , this time no falter apparent in what used to be his frail voice. The doctor had a momentary pause in his actions , somewhat perplexed by the roughness that was seeping from this boy's words as it was nothing alike to what he had remembered him being like during the last visit.

"Pardon?"

Though before he could think about that , the boy lifted his head and stared directly into the older man's visage. A rigidness formed in the doctor as the eyes that looked into his didn't seem to hold the same softness and uncertainty that he saw before.

Rather they looked at him directly with intention , with steel and with darkness…Something that he hadn't expected to see in a child and for some reason witnessing this was unsettling to a degree.

The child bronze orbs burned with a hidden fire that he could see raging silently inside , the sheer look of how rigid and detached his expression was had the man caught in the intensity before he came back to the presence with another comment from the boy.

"My name is Jellal."

"Can't you understand that yet?"

The boy admonished him with no hesitation or shame and allowed his voice to sound firmly , uncaring about the disapproval and frankly shock that was arising sharply from the women watching him.

"How many times do I have to tell you that?"

Laurus blinked , unsure what to make of the boy's behaviour and frankly impertinence. He would have said something to keep him from going out of line , as at the end of the day he was nothing but a test subject to him and he had no right to speak to him like that. Both as someone years older that should have been respected and for his standing.

Especially considering he was a lot more pleasant than most in approaching someone renowned as devil spawn.

And that could easily change if he had desired to be just as cruel like it the law gave allowance.

But for some reason….from feeling those murky bronze orbs of him burn with a strange form of contempt swirling inside them.

Though it was not clear if it was to him or what , the doctor just looked away to the arm he was going to extract blood from before duly correcting his mistake in a low but caustic tone.

"My bad then…"

"..Jellal."

Author's Note:

Seems like Jellal has got some sass in him now lol.

But on a more serious note , out of all the points that have been mentioned in regards to Jellal's magic , one of them hold's more truth than the rest. (I wonder if you can guess which one it is.)

They all hold significance to the story of course , but in regards to Jellal's case , some of them are only correct.

Also the details about Jellal's family seem to be rather...frightening.

Both about his father and his mother.

And from messed up parents , you can guarantee there will be a messed up child.

And well...

Jellal will soon prove how true that promise goes.