Leon coughed, his eyes struggling open.

‘Wh-what happened?’

As he scrambled up, his hands immediately went up to his chest, sighing in relief as he felt the once-broken bones were healed.

Suddenly, the face of an old man popped into his vision.

“Clement!”

As Leon smiled wide, Clement sighed, backing away. “Who are you?”

Smile fading, Leon looked at Clement incredulously. “What do you mean?”

“What luck do we have to choose someone who is the Blessing of Abbadon to infiltrate Velereth? Out of all the people?”

As Clement spoke, there was a clear hint of betrayal in his eyes.

“W-wait! I didn’t know! Actually!”

As Leon sputtered for an answer, Clement shook his head. “The leaders of the Nephilim don’t trust you. I’m sorry but you’re on your own now.”

As Clement turned, he spoke again. “For the record, I did like you. I’ll do my best to make sure they don’t target you. Just enjoy school life.”

Opening the door, he added, “Please don’t tell anyone I was here. The Nephilim forbade me from seeing you.”

And just like that, he was gone.

As Leon stared numbly at the closing door, a slight snicker escaped from his left.

As he turned around, he saw a boy who looked to be around 6 years old sitting on the windowsill.

“Hey. Come down. It’s dangerous up there.”

Hearing that, the boy laughed even harder. Finally, wiping tears from his eyes, he hopped down, his little legs nimbly touching the ground.

“So you’re the one who ingested the Wish Stones? That’s kind of pathetic.”

The boy circled Leon, observing him. “Mana control is weak, Mana amount is horrible, and your overall body strength is terrible.”

“To put it simply, you’ll die in a second.”

“Wait wh-?”

Leon’s words were cut short as a sheering pain ripped through his being. It hurt so much he barely could breathe, gasping for breath.

“Ukh…”

Laughing even more, the boy put his tiny hands on Leon’s chest, stopping the pain immediately.

“Your body can’t withstand the power of the Wish Stones. Without me, you would be dead right now.”

“What? Who are you?”

The boy patted Leon on the head. “There’s no need for you to know that. Just know that I’m here to help you.”

Hopping onto the bed, the boy sighed in relief. “So do you know what the WIsh Stones are?”

Leon pondered momentarily, finally saying, “The orbs I ate?”

The boy shook his head. “The orbs were just containers for the Wish Stones. The actual Stones were nestled inside those, waiting to be ABSORBED.”

The boy emphasized the last word, continuing, “You’re not supposed to eat those. It would help if you assimilated it into your Cores, not force it in. Even I can’t help you in that aspect. If things go the way it is, you’ll die in a week.”

Seeing Leon’s pale expression, the boy grinned. “Don’t be so sad. I know how to fix it. Soon, your class is going to be going on a yearly field trip to the Moving Province. Be prepared for that, I’ll guide you to the place during that time.”

The boy hopped onto the window, sticking his legs out. “I’ll come to you when it’s time. Till then, see you! Oh yeah, by the way, you should let that girl in. She’s been standing outside for so long.”

With that, the boy dropped down, his face grinning widely.

Groaning as Leon stood up, he crossed the room and opened the door.

Immediately, Lily stumbled inside, as if she had been pressing her face into the door.

“Were you eavesdropping?”

“Eh.. no?”

She walked inside, looking around. “This medbay room is nice. I got stuck inside an auditorium with the other demons.”

Leon settled back into bed. “What happened?”

“Well, they hurried into that room when they found multiple students missing, but all they saw was Fenrir disfigured, all the statues broken, and you knocked out.”

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Leon turned to her. “Are you okay?”

She shrugged. “Could be better, I guess. By the way, you’re going to be relieved tomorrow, so make sure to rest up. You should be able to go on our field trip.”

As she stood up to go, a sudden presence came crashing through the door.

“You’re awake!”

Elvis jumped on Leon, his snot smearing into his mask. “I thought you were dead! Thank the Kings!”

Groaning in disgust, Leon pushed him away. “What do you want?”

Elvis seemed hurt. “Can’t I check on my friend? I- oh. Hey Lily!”

As Lily waved back, Elvis’s eyes suddenly turned suspicious. “You two aren’t…. You know…”

His mind making the connection, Leon slapped him away. “Get a grip.”

Elvis shook his head. “Of course. My mistake. After all, how could a cold, heartless idiot like you-”

As Leon glared coldly, Elvis shut up.

“Well, I have to go now. Elvis, don’t you have Mana circles class?”

Groaning, he followed Lily out the door, calling back, “You better rest up. Don’t get into any more trouble.”

As he covered his face with the blanket, Leon sighed.

‘I wish I could.’

***

After Leon was released from the medical bay the next day, he walked back to his dorm, annoyed by the constant glances and whispers directed toward him in the hallways.

As he changed from his blue medical dress into his uniform, he noticed something on his bed.

A scrap of paper with some writing on it.

We need to get some things. Meet me at the front of your room.

‘Bastard. He could’ve just told me when he was with me. But he just had to have that cool exit.’

Crumbling up the note, he headed out to his classes, which was fairly normal. His mood also significantly increased when no one challenged him during the Hands-on-practice class.

As the day went by, and the hallways grew quiet, Leon silently creeped out of his dorm.

The boy stood there, stomping his foot. “Why are you so late?”

Rolling his eyes, Leon asked, “Why did you call me out here?”

“Do you think that we can go to the Moving Provinces without preparation? Do you even know what that place is?”

Leon nodded, as his history teacher had announced the topic today. The Provinces was a floating island near the Outer Districts, which was both an academic center and a criminal hotspot due to the ever-moving island.

“The place we’re going to is too dangerous for a single demon boy to go. And the things we need for the ritual aren't there.”

Gesturing for Leon to follow him, the boy took the lead.

“We’re going to sneak into the Archduke’s treasury.”

***

As soon as the words were uttered, Leon tried to get back into his room.

“You kept me awake for that?”

“Wai-wait! Why?”

Leon gave a dead stare. “You do know how powerful an ARCHDUKE is, right?”

The boy shrugged. “It’ll be fine. I can do a nice hiding Skill.”

Leon shook his head. “That is way too risky. I’m not doing that. You can do that if you want.”

As Leon tried to close the door, the boy cried out, “I know how to help you get home!”

Immediately, Leon threw open the door and dragged the boy inside. Then, holding him by the throat, he growled, “What are you talking about?”

The boy smiled. “I know how to get you back home. Back to Earth.”

“Is the thing I need inside that treasury?”

He nodded in reply. “Not all of it, but yes, part of it.”

Leon let him go, heading out the door. “C’mon. Show me where it is.”

***

Silently walking down the hallway, the duo arrived in front of a stone door.

“Only a person who has been touched by a King can open this door. Meaning that you can.”

Silently nodding, Leon pushed the door open, stepping inside the dark room.

The boy lit a fire in his hand, its subtle glow lighting up the room.

The room was huge, even bigger than the one that had housed the Wish Stones. However, as Leon looked around, he couldn’t see anything, let alone any treasure.

“Be careful. There’re traps everywhere.”

“What do we do?”

“There are three areas. One is poison gas, second are arrows, and the third is an infestation of Blood Moss.”

Leon shuddered. ‘This place must be important.’

“So how do we get past them?”

The boy stretched his neck, replying, “For the first one, just hold your breath. You’ll most likely be able to dodge the arrows, and for the Blood Moss, drink this.” He tossed Leon a blue potion, which he downed.

Both of them started walking forward, completing the traps quickly.

As Leon again opened the door, he emerged inside a huge warehouse covered from top to bottom with shelves that housed bizarre items.

“What do we need?”

The boy looked around. “Make sure not to touch anything. Some of these have curses on them.”

Walking forward, he grabbed a multitude of items and stuffed them inside Leon’s Storage.

As they both walked to the other end of the warehouse, where a single door rested, the young boy turned to Leon.

“As soon as the door is opened, a Knight Doll with a level 7 fighting style will emerge. Only Duke ranks and above can defeat something like that. But you have the Wish Stones. A combo of fire and light should do the trick.”

As Leon agreed, he asked, “What was that black thing that I fired?”

The boy sighed. “That was Prima Materia. The first element. You better not use that. That has consequences you don’t want to know about.”

Remembering the strange monster that had risen from Fenrir’s body, Leon nodded.

Then opening the door, they both began sprinting, crossing the half of the long hallway in seconds.

However, a huge knight in red armor launched down in front of them, brandishing his long broadsword.

Reaching for that familiarly strange feeling, Leon launched several bolts of fire into the knight’s face, the metal melting off.

Roaring, the knight launched into its fighting art, only for Leon to stun it with a huge radiance of light.

Feeling his Mana Core empty, he threw himself into the open door, where the boy was waiting. As soon as Leon’s body hit the ground, the boy quickly closed the door, breathing a sigh of relief.

“That was close.”

Suddenly, Leon began feeling a sudden pierce of pain inside his body, which was quickly extinguished by the boy.

“You better not use your powers unless I’m near you. Also, don’t touch the stuff inside your Storage. If those get broken, then you’ll die much before the weekends.”

They went their separate ways, Leon walking back to his room, and the young boy hopping down into a large hole.

Luna’s POV

Peeking out from behind a wall, Luna watched, her face glowing in the light of the gems.

Seeing the Blessing of Abbadon use Elemental Magic…

She breathed a sigh of disappointment. “He’s good, but not good enough.”

‘But the fact that he can use Elemental Magic is an accomplishment in itself.’

Turning back to her room, she whistled a tune.

‘He’s pretty interesting.’