The group sat on the stone steps at the front of the castle, waiting for Abel and Alastor. “I can’t believe we’re finally going home,” Benjamin exclaimed.

“I honestly thought I would never miss one of Mr. Graves’s lectures,” added Leon.

Lilith was the next one to chime in, “I can’t wait to see everyone again. It feels like forever ago since we left.”

The group continued talking about the things they missed, from friends to family. The group went quiet when the sound of heavy footsteps grew closer.

“You guys ready to go?” asked Abel.

Everyone immediately noticed Abel’s wardrobe change; he donned solid black metallic boots, and his coat mimicked the school uniform, but with green trim instead of the usual gold. Abel still wore his dark green shirt with black pants.

“Looking good,” said Lillia, with a smile.

Abel walked over to the base of the steps with Alastor in tow. “Ready?” Alastor asked.

Collectively, the students rose, and with a cheery tone, they replied, “Ready.”

Alastor lifted his palm, surrounding the group in a sphere of hot flames. The flames spun faster and faster until they finally stopped and burned out, revealing a tree that stood in front of them.

The lake was just as clear and blue as they remembered, along with the sky that had beautiful clouds drifting across.

The students took in a breath of fresh air, smelling the sweet aroma the tree gave off. “Man, it’s good to be back,” Leon exclaimed.

The sound of collective footsteps interrupted the students' peace; seemingly everyone forgot about Lilith’s new status. “What do we do? I thought we would have some time to talk it out with Sol,” Lilith said.

“I got this.” Abel stepped forward and released his aura. The horde of students’ world turned an inky black, leaving them isolated. The only feeling they had was their stomachs churning as the feeling of dread and immense despair washed over them, leading them to faint one by one.

Alastor groaned, “Why did you use that much force? Any more, and they would have died.”

“Relax, I know how much power to use.”

The group stood in silence, not knowing what to say or how to react.

Abel turned his head towards Lillia. “Where is the administration office?”

Lillia broke her silence and replied, “I’ll take you.” She grabbed Abel’s hand and walked him to the office.

“What do we do about them?” Lilith asked, while pointing at the unconscious students.

Alastor released his own aura. Unlike Abel’s, the students began to feel warm and at ease, as if they were next to a fireplace in the cold winter. The peace they felt gently woke them up. “We do that.”

The scent of strawberries filled the air as Abel and Lillia stepped into the administration office.

Abel looked around at the stacks of papers strewn all over the office when a sweet old lady, wearing a smile and a pink shirt, called them over. “Hi, how can I help you two?”

Abel walked over to the lady and answered, “I’m here to enroll in the third-year classes. I’m pretty decent in magic, so I hoped I could skip over the first two years.”

“Of course. As you may know already, you will have to do a series of trials and tests to see if you qualify for the third year. Also, would you happen to have anyone that could refer you?”

“Yeah, I think you’ve heard of them. Their names are Gord, Amaya, and Samael. Let them know it’s Abel.”

Although she didn’t show it, the lady’s skin began to crawl; no one ever dared lie about knowing three out of the four captains. “Sure, let me just make a call to verify the referrals.”

“Take your time.” Abel noticed the lady’s trembling hands as she dialed a number.

Lillia pulled on Abel’s coat and dragged him into the dusty corner. “You know the royal captains?”

“I thought I mentioned it.”

Lillia tried thinking back to when he might have mentioned it but drew a blank. “I don’t remember.”

“I helped them fight Alastor over the whole thing with Lilith’s kind,” Abel said, nonchalantly.

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Lilith’s eyes opened wide as she remembered what he was referring to. “They’re the ones who fought Alastor?” she whispered, trying not to alert the old lady.

“Excuse me?” Abel turned to the old lady and replied, “Yes?”

“It seems your references are valid—they’re actually vouching for you as well.” The old lady had beads of sweat rolling down her face as she spoke, unsure how someone seemingly so random and unknown could know such high-status figures.

Abel walked up to the counter with a smile and said, “Perfect, what paperwork do I have to fill out?”

Abel meticulously filled out the necessary paperwork and paid for his own tuition with the gold he collected from his ‘job.’ After several rounds of interviews with the school board, he was seen fit and proceeded to the placement exam to test his abilities.

News of Abel’s connection to Lilith and the four captains spread like wildfire, causing his test to become an event. The day of his test came, and the students all sat in the arena patiently waiting to see Abel’s skills.

The group collectively had déjà vu. “I feel like I’ve seen this before,” said Lillia.

Lilith agreed, “I’m getting flashbacks to Alastor fighting Amaya.”

“I get that this became an event, but why are they here?” Leon asked, pointing to the four captains who were seated on the balcony of the arena. Amaya, Gord, Samael, and Ada all exuded an aura that told everyone they were there on business, not games.

“Apparently they want to see if Abel was still worthy of their acknowledgment,” Lilith replied.

Lillia felt a knot in her stomach forming as she looked at Abel, who was stretching.

The talking and cheering went silent as a test administrator, who was wearing a white button-up and black pants, walked into the arena. “Now, Mr. Abel, are you ready for the exam to begin?”

“Yup,” Abel replied, his cocky attitude on full display.

“This is a test, so remember to try your best.”

“Of course, I’ll try my best; my girlfriend is watching,” Abel said, playfully.

Lillia began blushing.

“We’ll begin with a simple test of control.” The administrator summoned a small white seed-shaped pod. “The way this test works is by having you channel all your magic into the pod without causing it to explode.”

Abel grabbed the pod and did as he was told. He relaxed his mind and released all of his magic into the pod. The pod began rapidly expanding to the point where it was bigger than a house.

“This is all I can do before the pod exceeds its maximum capacity.” Abel’s revelation shocked the entire crowd. No one in the school’s history has ever achieved maximum capacity on the training pod, let alone had enough power to keep going.

The administrator broke out of his shocked state. “That’s good enough. You passed this test.”

Lilith glanced over at the captains, who all had a satisfied smile for a second before returning to their serious glares.

Lilith gulped, then returned her gaze back to Abel.

“For your next test, you will have to show your ability to dodge and deflect attacks.” The administrator looked at Amaya, who snapped her fingers, summoning countless balls of magic that surrounded Abel.

“Good luck.” The administrator ran to safety.

Abel twirled his fingers and summoned his scythe. “This should be easy,” he stated.

The balls started homing in on Abel, moving at ridiculous speeds in the process. Abel exhaled. The balls of magic began to slow down, allowing Abel to dodge and destroy the attacks effortlessly.

The crowd, who had been cheering, went silent once more; no one except the captains and the group could see what happened. “Did you see how fast he was moving?” Benjamin asked.

“Yeah,” Lillia replied. “At some points, I could barely keep up with what was going on.”

Lilith glanced once more and saw the four captains talking among themselves.

“For the last test, you will be fighting our instructor, Mr. Solomon. This will be a test of skill and strength.”

Mr. Solomon began walking towards Abel when Gord’s words caused him to stop. “Wait.”

Gord jumped down and landed with a thunderous crash. “You’ll be fighting me instead.”

Mr. Solomon quietly made his way back to the waiting area, leaving Abel to fight Gord.

The crowd started whispering, not knowing what was going on.

“Lilith, what is your dad doing?” Lillia asked, panicked.

“I don’t know.”

Abel walked and met Gord halfway. “You know, I’ve always wondered what would happen if we fought.” Abel had a wide grin as he talked.

Gord’s expression remained the same as he drew his weapon from the sheath on his back. “I’ve wondered the same.”

Without warning, Gord swiftly swung his blade. Abel deflected the attack into the ground and landed a punch on Gord’s abdomen, sending him back.

“Not bad.” Gord jumped up in the air and came back down swinging.

Abel raised his scythe and blocked the blow; the clashing metal released a deafening screech. Without skipping a beat, Abel lowered his scythe, kicking Gord’s chest in the process. Now airborne, Abel appeared above Gord and drove his fist downward, slamming Gord into the ground.

Abel landed in front of Gord, who now donned a sour look. “We’re just getting started,” Gord stated.

Gord quickly got on his feet and thrust his sword. Abel sidestepped easily and threw a punch, aiming for Gord’s head. Gord caught the punch with his other hand and swung his blade in an arc, aiming for Abel’s side.

Abel instinctively caught the blade with his hand. Seizing his opportunity, Gord landed a kick on Abel’s chest, sending him crashing against the arena wall. “Don’t get too cocky.”

Abel appeared behind Gord. “I would never.”

Gord gripped his sword and released a flurry of attacks. Abel dodged and stopped the last one with his boot. “Satisfied yet?”

Gord smiled. “Not yet.” Lightning began enveloping Gord’s body like a cloak. In the blink of an eye, Gord appeared beside Abel, landing an uppercut followed by a side kick.

The entire crowd gasped at Gord’s incredible strength.

“Why is Gord using his magic?” Lillia began panicking.

Abel got up and dusted his coat. “So, we’re using our powers, eh?”

The whole arena went black, leaving the students stunned. Abel’s body enshrouded itself in a greenish-black cloud. The cloud dissipated, revealing his new form. His appearance became disfigured and seemingly malnourished; his hands were pointy talons, and his face was covered behind a wooden mask.

Abel let out a loud shriek, which prompted everyone to cover their ears. Abel pointed his bony finger at Gord and roared. Everyone froze in shock, unable to do anything. A black orb enveloped Abel’s fingertip, and he launched his attack.

Before anyone could intervene, Alastor, who was watching from the sky, appeared in front of Abel and grabbed his arm, dispelling the darkness and his attack.

Abel’s appearance returned to normal. “You didn’t have to intervene,” Abel said, with an annoyed look.

Alastor turned to Gord, who was shaking uncontrollably. “Are you good?”

The question broke his panic. “Yeah. I think so.”

Alastor sighed. “You’re going to clean this mess up.”