Pietro had turned so pale it was as though a literal blow had knocked the very air out of his lungs. He had lost all of his colours as if driven away by the sheer recklessness of Asura. He was not necessarily angry, for he had known something like this could happen. He simply had not imagined that out of all of the adults amassed before the school, out of all the strong-looking individuals Asura could choose from, he would go for this specific professor.

But before Pietro could start to truly worry about the consequences of such an action, the woman in question simply snapped her head back in position and threw a half-smile at Asura. The boy put his guard up as a reflex, but this time he was not hit and taken out in some single blow. No, this time a barrier formed all around his body, and he started to levitate. He looked around the green ball he found himself in and understood too late what was happening.

"Now, my dear, you cannot quite attack others on sight, huh?" The professor said as the gaggle of students behind her nervously chuckled. Even to them, this appeared like a tense situation. Pietro was not entirely certain Asura was out of trouble yet, and his worries picked up again as the boy began to bang his hands against the barrier.

"Let me out!" Asura growled, he growled like a wild animal and had Pietro not been looking at him directly, he might have believed that some manner of the wild beast had appeared out of nowhere. This only seemed to amuse the demoness who barely spared the red-haired boy a glance before turning back on her heels and walking in the direction of the castle's entrance where rows upon rows of students waited in lines. They all waited to sit down in front of professors, or members of the staff, Pietro did not really know. But all the students had begun doing so while the adults who had accompanied them had now started to leave.

"We should be able to get things done this way. Your friend shall be liberated when he can no longer upset the good proceeding of today's admissions." The professor said without really looking at Pietro. In a way, he was happy she did not do so. He was positively horrified by how powerless Asura appeared inside his little bubble. Though he could not truly hide the small smirk that formed on his face as he realized that Asura had gotten what he deserved for once. And how annoying the boy had to have been for Pietro to feel like this when they had started interacting with each other only a day and a half before.

Nonetheless, Pietro's curiosity was still piqued.

" How exactly is he supposed to go through the process, whatever it may be, Professor?" He asked. Truthfully, he had not even been told what the admissions were about. Would they test his overall power? His physique, his intelligence perhaps? He had no idea. Whatever they needed, however, he would give. For he needed to get into this school.

As they neared the mass of students, Pietro moved closer to the professor to hear her answer, but to his surprise, the noise was instantly erased, and he could now only hear his own heart beat and the footsteps of the Professor's own merry band of older students.

" With the energy, I can sense simply oozing out of his being, he shall have no problems getting admitted. I would be more worried about your own admission, young one. Hell is unfair, more so than Earth. Power is sometimes everything, and then the minute after that, something completely different takes the attention. I should say though, that I may be the one in charge of gauging your abilities and potential. I shall...Take into account your inexperience and origins in my evaluation." She spoke with a far sweeter tone than what she had employed up until that point.

Pietro was not a paranoid person...Or maybe he was, but at the very least he was not quite trusting. And this woman's interest in him was strange. Firstly she was suspicious due to the interaction with the commander, but other than that she also appeared far too interested in the least curious child of the duo he formed with Asura. He would have needed to be vainer than any demons to believe others would see him first, and Asura second. He accepted that truth, for now, he did.

In the end, he simply nodded his head in appreciation. He was not going to start questioning someone he could not get answers from. If she did not want to answer, she could simply do so. And by merely voicing his suspicion, Pietro would antagonize her. His parents had once taught him this important lesson. To remain with a head bowed and eyes fixated on the ground when needed.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

The Professor led him and Asura towards an empty table, one of the few ones that had not yet been stormed by students waiting to be questioned by whoever was in charge of their evaluation. They all looked so excited, as though they had no pressure on their shoulders. They were either all confident, foolish, or entirely mistaken about their situation.

Without the need to have the Professor motion for him to sit down, he did so and made sure to put his hands on the table. One more thing his parents had taught him. It was hard to prevent himself from going through all of his memories with them and repeat his old habits when he could barely remember them these days.

"Alright, we can start then. Since I cannot test you on your mere power alone, I shall do this evaluation differently. I will be asking you a certain number of questions and I urge you to...Well, I urge you to not try to fool me. I can see things that cannot be seen and hear what remains unheard for most people. You cannot get through to me." She warned him. Not that she needed to do so. He had nothing to hide. He had never lived anything that exciting.

Seeing that he understood, the Professor licked her lips and smiled.

"Now, first question. Do you know who I am?" She asked. Her face betrayed no emotions, it had gone still the moment the question left her mouth. And Pietro had to admit he did not quite understand why she would even ask such a thing.

How could he even know who she...That train of thought immediately made him worried. Did this have anything to do with the Commander? They appeared to despise each other, perhaps the Commander did so more than her, but they were not friendly towards one another. Perhaps she thought that the Commander might have said something about her to him. If so, he wouldn't be able to hide it, for according to her own words, she would detect the lie.

The real problem was...That the Commander had indeed spoken about her, not nearly that much, but enough for Pietro to have a decent grasp over the reason behind the soldier's disdain.

"I...Do, kinda. I know that you are a veteran, Professor Goetia."

He did not miss how she winced slightly when she heard her name. He did not comment on it, but he would make sure to remember this. One more question, once again.

"Right...Good. Next question then." She spoke in a voice that betrayed none of the emotions she may have felt due to hearing her name. It was a momentary reaction, a crack in an otherwise perfect mask. Pietro had already seen that once during his life on Earth.

"Wait, before that. What was this question testing? Did you want to verify my honesty, Madam?" He added, for other than that he did not see any other possible reason behind this question. All he received as an answer was a blank look and a "Perhaps, perhaps not."

He nodded so that she would continue, but he was not really satisfied with the answer. He had to contain his sickly curiosity, however.

"Now, onto the next question. Why did you land in Hell, joyous and kind human? What sin did you commit?" She asked. She rose an eyebrow, and he froze at the question. She tapped her finger on the table, and his eyes became unfocused.

How could she have asked such a thing? What made her think of this question specifically? Was it something standard for the deceased to be asked...

"I....I do not remember. Perhaps I was sent without having done anything bad? I don't know how Hell works." He said as he rubbed his sweaty palms together. He knew his reaction was quite bizarre, as even Asura stopped his futile attempt at escaping his bubble and regarded him with an odd glint in his eyes.

" Well, that was a trick question. I believe that no one has told you, and you will not get the full version until you truly start your education, but Hell does not work like your kind believes it does. It does not punish, it does need to. Most often those who need punishment get plenty of it from their own guilt or the harsh living conditions of this horrid world we call home. But you see, young one." Once more, she smiled at him. He saw how empty her eyes were. He had seen plenty of smiles that felt wrong in his life. But he let her continue. " You are sent to Hell or in Heaven, simply because one or the other wants. And that could be for any reason really. You will know the full truth at some point, you will have the entire knowledge of it at your disposition, but know that you are not here because you have sinned."

As she finished, he released a sigh he didn't know he had been holding. He could not comprehend what it even meant for Hell to not be the afterlife which passed down judgement and punishment, but he had other things to think about for the moment. And as he regained his breath, he missed a furtive look Professor Goetia sent to one of her colleagues who sat a few tables to her right. An odd fellow in a long trench coat, with short white hair, amber eyes and an androgynous face. He was one of the few professors who, like Goetia, had no lines of students before him. After the unnoticeable glance was sent, Goetia herself went back to asking her questions, but the man on the other hand seemed to talk to himself.

"The reading was correct, the kid is hiding something. The corruption is real, Goetia is still questioning, we will gather later to discuss it, over." He said before straightening his posture on his chair as a few students made their way over to him.

And he greeted them with a warm smile that did not reach his eyes.