The light was dimming. The night arrived. Kael was still sitting in the same spot, waiting for Elalios to come home. He was not worried about Elalios. He was worried because of what he discovered.

Elalios soon arrived, and seeing Kael, he quickly realized that something was wrong. He dropped the magical objects he said he will buy, and he went to Kael.

“What happened?”, Elalios asked.

Kael was silent for some time. Elalios waited for him to answer.

“Do you know someone named Talzer?”, Kael finally asked.

Elalios’s eyes widened after hearing Kael’s question. It happened several years ago, but he will never forget the name of the demon that caused so much trouble to them. The memories came back to him. He was confused, but he knew Kael will not spoke of the dreadful demon without a good reason.

“I remember him. He’s a demon”

Kael nodded, then he asked another question. “Tell me, how likely is it that a person in town have the same name as him?”

Elalios was starting to worry. The implication was so awful to imagine. “I-it’s a strange name. It’s almost impossible. W-why are you asking?”

Kael went silent again. Elalios was about to ask him again, but then, he replied. “He’s here”

Elalios knew it was coming, but he wasn’t ready to accept it. He concealed his agitation. “That’s bad, are you sure it was him?”

Kael nodded. He narrated his encounter inside the academy. He claimed that Talzer was acting as an assistant to the magisters.

“How did he get in? As far as I know, the academy doesn’t take anyone without evaluation”, Elalios asked. He wished Kael was wrong in what he thought.

Kael knew Elalios would not believe him immediately, so he explained more of what he found. Back when Kael discovered that Talzer was in the academy, he went back to Magister Lucius to ask about Talzer, and the magister told him that Talzer was Magister Zahe’s assistant. Magister Lucius went further, and said that Magister Zahe was appointed by the king, that’s why he was accepted without opposition.

After Magister Lucius narrated many more things about Magister Zahe, Kael remembered where he first heard Magister Zahe’s voice. It was clear to him, the magister was the same person that Talzer called “Great Lord”, back when Talzer escaped from him. It was at that point that Kael knew, Magister Zahe is a high class demon, higher than Talzer.

It was a frightening revelation. Talzer was a demon that even Earl Gideon could not defeat, a demon at the level of master mages. But now, there’s a demon that Talzer was submitting to, a demon that Lord Lucius was wary of. Kael felt that Magister Lucius knew about it, that’s why he was requested to observe Magister Zahe. But reevaluating Magister Lucius’s request, Kael realized that he was right on thinking that they wasted their time. Magister Lucius didn’t know it, but he knew more than anyone else. Demons might be powerful, but in the face of uncertain or overwhelming strength, they became insufferably cautious. It was even more pronounced if the demon was a high class one.

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Knowing all of these, Kael knew that he must confront Magister Zahe instead of waiting. He was aware that the demon magister will not slip at all, even if they spend years observing the magister. Demons are like that, patient creatures clinging to their unending lifespans. He said what he was planning to Elalios.

“What? Why?”, Elalios asked.

“It’s the only way”, Kael said. He told Elalios that Magister Zahe was intentionally hiding from them. He couldn’t be stopped, even if Elalios didn’t like what he planned.

“This is my mission,”, Kael declared. “I must restrain them before they could do what they did to Osbert”

----------------------------------------

Kael went to classes the next day. After all the classes were done, he didn’t try finding Magister Zahe in the academy grounds. Instead, he focused on searching outside.

[Spatial Sense]

His magic told him that Magister Zahe was in one of the houses in front of the academy. He didn’t let the magister escape.

[Speed Boost]

Kael’s steps were quick, but it was so precise. He managed to get in the house, without crashing on anything. Even the magister was baffled.

“K-Kael, you surprised me”, Magister Zahe said.

Kael looked around the room. He looked at Talzer who was with them, then he finally looked at Magister Zahe.

“I’m just making sure”, Kael stated, his tone had a hint of anger.

“Take a seat, sir”, Talzer invited after suppressing his panic.

Kael took a seat on the one near him. He wanted to be as far to the two demons as possible. He told the two demons to be seated as well, and as soon as all of them were seated, he began speaking.

“I think you know why I’m here”, Kael started.

“I don’t know what you mean, Kael. Is there something wrong in my lectures?”

Kael wasn’t hiding his distaste towards them. He suppressed his desire to destroy the demons, then he spoke again. “I will give you two options. Surrender to me without resistance, or fight and be destroyed”

The two demons realized that Kael knew what they are already, but they were adamant to pretend.

“Kael, I don’t understand what you’re saying”, Magister Zahe said.

Kael ran out of patience.

[Late Cost: Dismantle]

Kael glowed, overflowing with mana and rage.

[Great Barrier]

Kael locked the demons in the house. There’s nowhere to run, and playing pretend was useless.

“I’m trying to be patient”, Kael stated, his eyes were hateful and fierce. He stood from the chair, and in an instant, he went in front of Talzer.

Talzer was pierced through the heart, his body disintegrated into dust. What’s left was his demon heart in Kael’s hand.

Magister Zahe witnessed the overwhelming power that Kael showed him. He knew he couldn’t win at all, but he remained calm despite the situation.

“Will you surrender or fight?”, Kael asked.

“You can’t force me to choose Kael”, Magister Zahe replied.

Kael was about to destroy the demon magister as well, when Magister Zahe said something.

“Do you want to save the king?”