“I still can't believe you did this.”

It's been a week since the stranger entered the Holy Land. He was still unconscious, and not much is known of the situation or circumstances.

Leo and Sky sat together during lunch. This was a rare sight, as Sky is a year below and still learns at a different building in the school grounds, which were fairly vast. That means they had to go to great lengths to meet each other, even wasting the precious time of the break.

“You are still on about that? We can always tell the truth, you know.” Sky laughed it off.

Leo grunted, upset at the current situation, but there was nothing he could do except go on with the terrible excuse Sky came up with. Revealing the truth was not an option.

The appearance of the stranger was unexpected, and the Elemental Masters, who sensed that, immediately moved to confirm the disturbance at the gate.

That's when Leo and Sky were caught redhanded in the completely confidentual site. Needless to say, their parents were not happy to see that this was where they were.

Since Leo was not meant to know yet—though he was told they were going to reveal it at some point—they needed an excuse to explain their presence there. And Sky was the one to give them one.

A terrible one.

“Making out. You just had to say we were making out? In the holiest place in the Holy Land!”

The excuse she came up with, without the slightest hesitation, was that they were dating in secret and were doing things that definitely must not be done in a holy and important place.

Leo couldn't understand how anyone could suggest such a thing so brazenly. But then again, Sky is the most brazen person he knows.

“At least now, no one is suspicious of you.” She put aside her empty lunch box, then took Leo's half-empty box without asking. “We might make you a fine lier one day.”

“Great. I am a fragment of the Malevolent One, so lying must be a job requirement for world domination,” he says dryly.

“That's just one theory, an improbable one at that. Seriously, world domination? Start by stopping my mom from giving us homework.”

Katherine was an aunt figure for Leo, and she wasn't against the idea of him dating her daughter; at least that's what she said. The tsunami of assignments she gave the two made them too busy to think of anything else. Clearly, she wanted to exhaust the two in a devilish way.

Luckily, Sky is a prodigy, and Leo is an exemplary student. They finished all the assignments at lightspeed and got time to rest before the second wave.

Instead of resting, though, they used the time to understand a little better about the Malevolent One and the darkness element. They also formulated various theories.

One such theory was that the Master of Light didn't fully destroy the Malevolent One, and his essence was spilt in seven. That wouldn't make sense, as the ancient texts say there was a massive explosion that obliterated the evil tyrant for good, and they had little reason to doubt the credibility of texts written by one of the masters who witnessed the act with their own eyes.

A second theory, which Sky was convinced of, was that the elements simply chose new successors. Although it was something Leo wanted to believe in as well, the long interval didn't make sense.

He might only be paranoid, but it doesn't feel like the timing now is a mere coincidence.

After all, Luke had awakened the light.

Leo felt his stomach. Stress strengthened the darkness, and it was hard to keep it inside all the time.

It wanted to spread.

To eat all the light and spiritual energy that the Holy Land had in abundance.

But once it gets out, it's game over for him.

“Should we skip class?”

“I have my exams soon...”

Sky sighed. As the Master of Wind, she doesn't need to attend school and could get only the education she really requires at home. Not that her reason for staying is grandiose. Leo knew Sky merely wanted to avoid the responsibilities and work as her household's head, pushing it onto her mother.

“Come on, let's sneak out and have you learn how to use darkness. It's a really interesting power.”

“No, and stop asking!”

Although Sky wanted Leo to master his power, seeing how it affected him, he was completely against it. He just wanted to keep the darkness suppressed.

“You are so boring, Leo. Did you at least memorize the runes?” She gently changes the subject, which Leo appreciated without a word.

The runes he was exposed to fascinated him. It affected the spiritual energy in the surroundings, caused it to take a specific form of flow, and created a peculiar phenomenon. Unfortunately, it only worked with aura, and Leo didn't have it.

Activating the runes was a challenge he needed to overcome. But no matter how he drew it or how much spiritual power he poured, the character didn't react.

Only an Elemental Master could deal with spiritual energy directly as an energy source, but it wasn't the only component of the Elemental Power, or so it seems.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

Leo wrote the ten runes on the dirt. The shape was an exact imitation of the ones Sky drew at, as well as the ones inscribed on the gate. Again, no reaction.

“You are not supposed to know that.”

Katherine appears behind them, startling Leo, who wasn't paying attention.

He quickly erased the runes, starting with the ones meant to open the gate.

“Don't mind me. Keep breaking every law; reveal every secret.”

“No, p-professor! This isn't... it's not...”

Leo stuttered, trying to come up with an excuse, in contrast to Sky, who was calm.

She speaks with a firm tone. “Laws and secrets are useless if we blindly obey them. If we couldn't understand why they exist, we wouldn't know when to break them. In this case, it's all useless since Leo would have found out eventually, so I decided to do it earlier.”

“That's not your decision, Sky. Those who are not Elemental Masters could only learn the secrets with the approval of the High Council.”

The High Council, different from the normal Council that consists of all the Elemental Masters of the Holy Land, is composed of the masters of the four basic elements and the Master of Light.

As of now, only the Master of Earth has yet to pass his power to his son, and Luke is currently sharing the power of light with their father. Cyrus and Marina are currently away, so their parents and former Elemental Masters of Fire and Water act in their stead, just like Katherine is for Sky. Due to all that, the High Council is run by the former generation.

“The decision was only about the timing, and you know it. Bunch of control freaks.”

Clearly, Sky was the type to disregard authority, much more than anyone else in her family. It was apparent from the twitch in Katherine's smile.

The tension created by the mother and daughter caused Leo to feel stuck in the middle.

“I think control freaks are better than someone chaotic like my own troublemaker daughter,” Katherine says with a tight smile.

So she didn't deny the control freaks part, Leo thought to himself in astonishment.

It was easy to forget because Sky stands out, but even the other members of the Zephyr family tend to be free-spirited, especially the former Masters of Wind. Even Katherine, who was considered mild in comparison, was often doing as she pleased, just that it was mostly legal and acceptable.

“Excuse me, professor, but why are you here? Isn't today your day off?” Leo interrupted before the two could continue their quarrel.

“The guest has woken up. I think you two should come hear what this is all about.”

The stranger appeared to be the same age as Leo. His black hair and eyes were unfamiliar to the Holy Hand. He was nervous but curiously looked at everyone around him.

Except for Leo and Sky, the High Council and Luke were also there, so eight people in total visited the stranger at once.

The stranger spoke through tears. “I can't believe this is real. The legendary Holy Land that my father had told me about. I was sure it was just a myth—the world has already forgotten—but it's real!”

The Holy Land is inaccessible through normal means. As a result of being isolated from the world for millenia, it seems nobody is left to confirm its existence except this stranger and his family.

Victor, as the leader of the High Council, took charge of the conversation. Or, more accurately, questioning.

“I understand your excitement, but please calm down. First, tell us your name and element.”

“Ah, right. My name is Albert Gravios, and I am the current Master of Gravity.” He clad himself in a grayish-brown aura and began to float.

“Why did you come here, Albert? You mentioned some sort of danger when my son found you.”

Albert looked at Leo, giving him an awkward smile. Then took a deep breath. His expression tensed.

“The ancient evil, the Malevolent One, has returned.”

The world froze, and the darkness in Leo seared inside him, twisting his guts, ready to burst out. He couldn't mind the others reactions, as he needed to suppress the power swirling inside. The same power of the Malevolent One who had returned.

“Impossible!”

“Is this a joke?”

The members of the High Council raised their voices, most doubting the authenticity of the information. Victor silenced them.

“In the legends, the Malevolent One was vanquished after being hit by an explosion of light by the Master of Light. Our ancestors have confirmed him to be dead,” he said.

“Even if he died, he came back. In different people, with separate elements. I was attacked by two Elemental Masters, both of whom answered to the name of the Malevolent One. I think... I think the memories were contained in the Elemental Powers. I barely escaped with my life.” He shuddered.

“Why did they attack you?” Katherine asks.

“I think they hunt all the Elemental Masters outside the Holy Land. We are few, scattered across the four winds, but there are some.”

There were dozens of Elemental Masters residing in the Holy Land. It was hard to believe there were others, even outside. Leo tried to speculate what other elements were there but couldn't come up with anything.

“Do you remember the elements of those that attacked you?”

Albert nodded. “One had an emerald-colored aura, and his element manipulated time to some degree. He tried to trap me in a loop. The other guy had a purple aura, but I didn't get what his power was. Just that he was crazy strong.”

Purple signified the element of destruction. The story of how the purple aura pierced through the toughest dragon scale, recorded by the ancient Elemental Masters, is still known to this day.

The adults gave quick glances between themselves, and Leo knew what they were thinking: time and destruction, the elements belonging to the Malevolent One.

“This requires a comprehensive discussion. We will think of our course of action there.” Victor stands up, and the rest begin to leave. “Luke, Sky, you two will join us. Leo, you are invited, but it isn't mandatory.”

“Save me, Leo!” Sky whispered. “I don't want to sit through a boring discussion. Think of something, please.”

Leo also didn't want to sit long with former Elemental Masters. It might make him obvious, but he wouldn't want to spend time with people who might find him out eventually, especially now given the current situation.

He needed to think rationally. He couldn't accept the invitation, but then it's like he is saying that he won't get involved in the situation. Although there is no need for Leo to get involved, as he is seen as a non-master, but as he is the Master of Darkness, he can't stay out of the situation.

If they finish dealing with the other six and get to him...

He shook his passimistic thoughts aside.

“Dad, I don't think there is much to discuss.”

Deep breaths. Deep breaths.

In and out.

“What do you mean by that?” Victor asks, using a more formal tone as this is in public.

It was the same as usual, so Leo didn't need to read into it. But it still made him shake a little.

“With your diminished powers, you cannot go by yourself, dad. The only thing we can do is make sure Luke becomes the proper Master of Light.”

In.

“That may be true, but then, what do you suggest we do? We cannot solely rely on your brother.”

Out.

“Marina and Cyrus will definitely return soon with the same message as Albert. As soon as they do, we will assemble a team to subjugate the fragments of the Malevolent One with the Four Elemental Masters and any others that will volunteer.”

Victor seemed to think hard, then his lips curled into a smile. “You are right. Instead of a fruitless discussion, it's better if I hasten the training. Luke, we will be training in the wild for a while. Leo, please inform your mother of everything and tell her we won't be for a while.”

Leo and Luke nodded.

“Great,” Sky said with a smug look. “You boring adults will work on the boring little details, and Leo and I will be doing some 'private preparations' on our own!”

Creating a flurry of green energy, Sky took Leo and flew out.

“You two still have school!”

The shouts of Katherine resounded far, but the willful daughter magnificently ignored them.

When the two were far away, Sky's expression turned grim. “How long before Luke masters the light?”

“A month. Maybe less.” Leo was grim as well.

The true Master of Light would be able to sense the darkness inside Leo.

In one month, Leo would be found out.

And if people remembered why the Malevolent One was so feared, he might also be subjugated.