As Trey's eyes bored into Mei, his mind couldn't help but invite memories from a long time ago.

[7 Years ago]

"Where are we going Lucy?" Trey asked, as they passed through Lucy's forest for the first time.

"We're going to meet a friend of mine, just make sure you use your cloak to hide yourself."

Trey just nodded in response, not even sure why they were meeting this friend. He was careful not question Lucy too much, if he did push too hard Lucy could end up being annoyed. If Lucy's annoyed, she may end up throwing him away. That scared him more than anything.

It didn't take them long to reach Suveny. It was the first time Trey had ever seen so many people in one place. Just looking at the different market places made his heart jump through the roof. Not to mention all the cool magicians as well. To him, Suveny just looked magical.

"Keep your eyes on me, and don't get lost." Lucy ordered with her cold voice.

This tamed Trey's eyes forcing them to turn too Lucy. The thought of exploration was dashed as he could immediately tell Lucy was not in the mood for that. So he just kept his head down and followed Lucy without complaints.

His shoes bounced off the surface with every step, cutting through the silence between them.

It didn't take long before Lucy finally said something.

"We're here."

Trey looked at the looming building in front of him. The name 'Magician's Paradise Guild' did catch his attention but he couldn't help be underwhelmed. For a Magician's Guild it was far too small.

Trey followed Lucy as they entered the Guild. The sight of numerous magicians just sitting around a table and playing games, was something Trey had never seen before. He always associated Magicians with being serious and focusing on using their magic to fight monsters, what he saw instead was a group of individuals who were having a good time. A part of him envied them a little bit. The smiles on their faces as they drank and sang music, were intoxicating. He could tell they were having a blast. They were free to do whatever they wanted. A part of Trey also wanted that freedom.

Lucy led him past numerous chairs and tables, Trey kept his head down looking to avoid drawing attention towards him. He wore a cloak way too big for him, it wasn't even new. It was just a black cloak Lucy had laying around in the house, it's sweaty smell was a violent attack to his senses. Trey had no other option but to endure it.

Lucy came to a stop, before she spoke to a woman infront of her who was busy wiping a few glasses with a white cloth.

"It's been a while Sophia" Lucy said, with an uncharacteristic smile on her face.

Sophia couldn't hide her surprised expression as she almost dropped the glass she was holding.

"Lucy! I haven't seen you in ages." Sophia's eyes wondered to Trey as she spoke.

Trey almost instinctively chose to hide behind Lucy's leg trying his best to hide himself.

"Yea it has been a while.... I didn't come back just to reminisce, I have something to talk to you about and it involves this kid" Lucy pointed at Trey.

Sophia's eyes studied Trey for a long minute before she spoke.

"I think I get the general idea behind your visit. Here I was thinking you came just to say hi to am old friend"

"So what's your analysis on the kid, can something be done?" Lucy questioned.

"I don't know yet... but we should move our conversation somewhere else. I don't know if this is something the kid will want to hear"

She and Lucy went away to speak by themselves, leaving Trey's eyes to wonder around the guild. His fingers seemed a little twitchy and he was jumpy everytime a magician went past him. He just couldn't relax without Lucy around.

Sophia came back first, "what's your name kid?" She asked with a smile on her face.

"Trey." he managed to respond eventually. The fact that Sophia had scars on her face didn't assist Trey in making him feel comfortable.

"Trey.." she paused for a moment before she spoke,"Thank you Trey" Sophia said with a huge smile on her face.

"For what?"

"For simply existing, you know I always thought Lucy would eventually be consumed by that darkness inside her and that she would end up being all alone, but I don't think I have to worry about that anymore"

Trey didn't exactly understand what she was trying to say so he chose not to respond.

"Trey promise me something, that you'll look after Lucy and keep that Demon of yours in check. Promise me you'll be by Lucy's side untill the end."

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Trey was surprised that she knew about the Demon King inside him and how calm she was about everything. She heard her words clear as day.

"I promise!" Trey reached out his hand for a fist pump.

Sophia obliged.

A few seconds later Lucy returned and they left the establishment. With Trey's promise to Sophia still burning bright in his heart.

As they walked down the streets of Suveny Trey couldn't help but express his thoughts.

"I still don't understand why you had to bring me Lucy, if you were just going to talk privately without me hearing anything"

"I needed some advice from a friend and you happened to be needed for that. Thanks to bringing you along, I think our training will be a lot more effective now"

Trey smiled upon hearing Lucy call Sophia a friend. The fact that Lucy had a friend and was not alone made him smile. Just by being Lucy's friend, Sophia became someone very important to Trey.

"Lucy why is Sophia so injured. Those scars on her face look really deep." Trey's question sliced through the silence. This was a thought he just couldn't get out of his mind.

"Yes, she got those scars a long time. A really strong magician known to be one of the 10 blades was responsible for injuring her." Lucy paused, for a moment before she continued.

"I heard many of her party members were killed after that incident. The entire party, was destroyed by a single individual. After that day Sophia gave up on being a magician. That's why she's the guild master that you see today. Because her ambition was completely crashed."

"That's awful.." Trey's voice sounded down.

After Lucy's words, there was silence between them for a few seconds, before Trey decided to speak again.

"Lucy I've decided. I'm going to get stronger, strong enough to get revenge for Sophia! No one should go through something that awful."

"Revenge... take it from me kid, those 10 blades bastards are no joke. It's better to just forget about it. Sophia has also moved on."

"If they're strong, then I'll get a thousand times stronger!"

Lucy just sighed, she remembered talking to Trey was equivalent to talking to a brick wall.

"Don't get ahead of yourself, today we continue your training. If you fail to meet the target, they'll be no dinner for you tonight"

"That's not fair Lucy.."

[Present Day]

Trey's mana started to leak out from his body excessively, after he remembered the promise he made on that day.

"I'll make you pay for what you did to Sophia!"

After his declaration Trey launched himself towards Mei. [Darkness Manipulation: Channeling]

His blade was completely shrouded in darkness as he moved. He appeared from Mei's right with his blade already in motion.

Mei's smile refused to go away even after she saw Trey's sudden attack. She swiftly moved her blade to intercept Trey. She covered it with her own orange mana as she did.

The blades made contact, and the shockwaves they produced were enough to rock the entire stadium. Both Trey and Mei had their hair blown back violently on impact. A small crack formed on the stage itself as their clashing of blades intensified.

The crowd went wild, the shear power on display was the main reason they visited the tournament. They were happy that someone was actually challenging Mei, as it made things way more exciting than a one sided slaughter.

"You can do it kid!" A few people in the crowd shouted.

The crowd loved an underdog so a majority of them cheered Trey on as he attacked.

"Why do you care so much about what I did to that coward anyway?"

Mei's mana intensified, and her swing actually broke the deadlock and sent Trey flying back.

Trey responded swiftly, his blade dug into the surface and it halted his movement.

"Why? Because she is someone very important to Lucy."

Trey immediately launched himself again, he appeard infront of Mei and attempted to slash her horizontally. He looked to separate her upper body and lower body by severing her waist.

Mei's feet left the ground as she leaped to the heavens. The blade narrowly missed her form.

Trey wasn't going to let her escape, immediately after she leapt. Trey followed with a leap of his own. He swung his blade meeting Mei in midair.

Trey's swing targeted her stomach but once again Mei was able to block with relative ease.

The burst of mana produced by their clash threatened to blow away anything in its immediate vicinity.

"You know Lucy?" Mei asked.

She went on to swing her blade forcefully again which sent Trey plummeting to the ground.

Trey made sure to flip in mid air before his feet made contact with ground. His body was forced to slide across the surface due to the force behind Mei's assault, he eventually reclaimed his footing. His glare shot at may who landed not far from him.

"I'm surprised a little runt like you would be connected to Lucy. That treacherous coward, it's a good thing she's dead if you ask me."

Trey snapped.

"Take it back!!"

His mana went through the roof.

"Take it back right now!"

His body closed the gap before Mei even knew what happened. Reflexively Mei was able to prevent her head from being decapitated with a desperate block. That didn't stop her body from being sent rolling across the stage like a rag doll.

Traces of red mana became visible in Trey's mana once again.

Mei was able to stab her blade on the stage and she halted her momentum. Her eyes locked with Trey's and suddenly her confident exterior began to crumble.

"Why's that kid's mana so massive? How can a human even possess so much raw mana and that toxic scent its exuding. Is that kid even human? And those eyes where have I seen those eyes?" Mei's mind was in shambles trying to make sense of what she saw.

Trey's mana had traces of red mana which spiked his overall mana output but his ocean blue eyes stayed the same. He was in full control.

He didn't allow Mei to reclaim her feet as he was on the offensive once again. In a fierce charge the gap was closed in a second. Trey jumped as he appeard infront of Mei.

"I said!! Take it back right now!!"

From his blade, his shadows were now also laced by this trace of red mana and in a ferocious swing. A wave of destructive mana was sent towards Mei.[Demonic Mana: Dark Resonance]

The wave consumed everything in its path as it destroyed pieces of the stage like they were nothing.

Mei's eyes widened as she saw Trey. The dark wave consumed her figure and everything else on the field. The numerous corpses that were in front of Mei were reduced to nothing but a pool of blood, their flesh and bones nowhere to be seen.

The crowed was silent as it observed in baited breath.

Trey's eyes were still raging with anger when the dark cloud began to die down.

As the cloud vanished, Mei's form was revealed. Her left arm had numerous slashes and was leaking blood at an excessive rate. Her dress was also ripped apart in some sections, but other than that she was still standing. Even after such an attack.

She tanked it like it was nothing.

She laughed to herself uncontrollably. She had her hand covering her face as she did

After a minute she finally settled down.

"I remember where I've seen those eyes, they belong to Ran!!"

"Ran?" Trey questioned.

"Yes, your eyes definitely belong to that bastard. Tell you what kid, I think I've made a decision. I'm going to kill you!"