Elalios didn’t doubt, not even a little bit, that he will die after challenging the demon with his words. They are the kind of monsters that are known to be quite prideful and cruel. He knew the consequences, but he chose to protect Kael. He chose to die and suffer, but, with that conviction, he was rewarded a second chance for life.

Elalios stood after hearing the genuine gratitude from the child. Kael stood as well, and as Elalios witnessed, the child’s entire body glowed, ethereal looking and blindingly white. The whole area lit up, the radiance can be seen even from Cleron. Then the light dissipated, and Kael changed in appearance.

Kael’s eyes became golden, and as fierce as a lion. His hair became white, his body temporarily turning into an adult. He turned into the man of his vision, the only person he knew that can do the impossible. He became the valiant person that at one time saved the world from demons. Yes, he became Lucien, the greatest hero in all his glory.

Elalios couldn’t utter a word to say. Kael kept on defying his expectations, and this time, the unusual child became a different person.

Kael looked at the red-eyed demon. “What’s your name?”

The demon was as bewildered as Elalios, but he tried hiding it.

“You’re not completed yet”, Kael stated.

The demon was shocked with what Kael said. He heard the statement as an insult, but discovering that someone knew his current state agitated him. And so, he commanded Osbert.

“KILL HIM”

Osbert pounced towards Kael. Kael didn’t dodge and receive the full power of Osbert’s attack.

[Great Defense]

Osbert wasn’t able to penetrate the golden barrier that Kael created.

“You were used”, Kael said. “I wish I could help you”

Kael punched Osbert on the chest, hurling the demon back to his demon master.

“I can’t believe this,”, the red-eyed demon said. “I need to kill you”

Kael didn’t pay attention to the demons. He looked at Elalios who was still bewildered at his change of appearance. He was relieved that the man that protected him was not harmed severely.

[Full Heal]

Elalios’s bruises disappeared from his body, but he was too stunned to notice. His mind couldn’t recover from what was happening. Kael let the confusion subside on its own, and returned his gaze towards the demon.

“Let’s stop this”, Kael walked slowly towards the demon. “I can’t destroy you, and you can’t influence the physical world”

“Huh? How are you sure of that?”, the distraught demon asked.

“I thought I eliminated everyone of your kind. I was wrong”

Hearing Kael’s honest words, the red-eyed demon became enraged. However, Kael was right that he couldn’t interact with the physical world, and so, he couldn’t kill the mysterious person before him.

“Who are you?”, the red-eyed demon asked.

Kael didn’t answer. Instead, he looked at Osbert.

“Leave him to me”

“Why would I do that?”, the red-eyed demon asked.

“He’s dangerous”

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“Do you think I will listen to you?”

[Slash]

After his insolent words, the red-eyed demon looked at Osbert. The poor demon was laying down the ground, his legs cut clean from his body.

“Red eyes.. I think I remember..”, Kael interrupted the demon’s frightened mind. “You’re either a second class demon or a third class. Am I right?”

‘Huh?.. who is this?’

The red-eyed demon was targeted by Kael’s cold stare. He never predicted that the child harbored such overwhelming presence. He discovered Kael’s deep hatred towards demons, but he also discovered that Kael still have some remaining pity towards Osbert. But, putting Osbert to the side, Kael didn’t have any pity towards him.

‘This person is dangerous. He might prevent my completion’

“You may go now”, Kael said. “But expect that I will find you someday, when you are complete”

There’s a deep feeling of terror from within the red-eyed demon.

‘Why am I so afraid? Me? A high class demon?’

Kael turned back and walk to Elalios. He held Elalios by his arms. The man was still under confusion, unable to wrap his head to what’s going on.

[Full Boost]

Kael looked behind, his gaze sent a terrifying message to the red-eyed demon once again. He zoomed back to the village along with Elalios.

There’s a temporary silence after Kael’s departure. Then, the red-eyed demon started hysterically laughing.

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

Kael stopped near the village, hidden from its inhabitants. He let Elalios sit on a tree root, and from a short distance, he began meditating.

His meditation was aiming to reconstruct his mana vessel back to its normal state. It was still broken and currently of no use. He knew that he must not return to his original self without stabilizing his vessel.

What he did to temporarily be as powerful as his prime self was reconstructing the power “Late Cost” gave him. At its original state, “Late Cost” creates a special pathway that lets him consume the mana that his mana vessel was made up of. But he became desperate at the time, and so, he looked on other possibilities that will let him use mana without needing a mana vessel. That possibility was in the form of an unbounded vessel.

Since “Late Cost” creates special pathways for mana to flow, he tried to use its power to create the pathways to lead outside his body. His body being exposed to the flow of mana by means of the created pathways, he essentially made the whole world as his mana vessel.

However, being exposed like that to the flow of mana was not without drawbacks. Normal beings of any kind have natural barriers in their bodies preventing mana to get absorbed. Living beings have these natural barriers as to not crystallize for absorbing too much mana. Thus, opening himself to mana flow like that made Kael susceptible to crystallization.

Fortunately, mana crystallization doesn’t occur that quick, even to someone with very high mana affinity like him. And so, all he needed to do is to fix his broken vessel, and close the special pathways for him to go back to being normal again.

It didn’t take long for Kael to get back to normal. His mana vessel was as good as new, and he came back as the child he really was. He then went to Elalios and invited him to return to the village.

“Elalios”

Elalios looked at him, exhausted for thinking too much. He couldn’t see the child as what he is anymore. Kael was definitely different, so different that he should not exist.

“Kael.. how should I call you?”, Elalios said defeated by the strangeness of what he experienced.

“You should call me by my name”

“That doesn’t sound right”

“Why?”

Elalios looked down, grabbing and rubbing his hair with both hands. Then, he continued talking.

“There are things I wanted to know”, Elalios looked at Kael. “I thought I didn’t need to know you. That’s what I thought, back when we fought in the forest, in your village. But..”

Elalios sighed. He wanted Kael to be honest with him.

“Can you answer me?”, Elalios waited for Kael’s response. The child responded with his attentive stare. “Who are you really?”

Kael tried thinking of a way to somehow evade the question, and answer it vaguely. But looking at Elalios’s genuine desire to know him, he felt within himself that he should just answer with honesty.

“I’m Lucien”

Elalios’s eyes widened after hearing the familiar name. He wasn’t given a time to speak, as Kael voiced his declaration.

“I have returned”