Hope, Then Despair
In the next day, after the demons’ meeting, Abzer, a third class demon infiltrated the king’s castle with his subordinates. They swiftly killed several royal guards, aiming to become royal guards themselves as a disguise. They were on standby, waiting for Magister Zahe to signal that Magister Lucius will not get in their way. As planned, his group was tasked to be the first to cause chaos.
Meanwhile, Kael’s group had tasks of their own. Kael will go to the academy as usual, unaware that Magister Zahe was about to do his wretched plan. Elalios was tasked to go to the castle, and notify the king about the demons’ existence inside Deyrem. Cadell on the other hand, as he said, went out and gather the people he knew that could help them. Seqina didn’t say anything about what she wanted to do, but she assured them that she will gather help.
In the academy, Kael was focused on figuring out how to break the curse that he has. Even though he told Cadell that he couldn’t join the fight, he didn’t give up on trying to fix his current situation. He knew that his servants depend on his power, for he was the only person that could defeat the demon magister.
When his last class ended, he quickly went on his way, wanting to go home. But, before he could exit the academy, he was interrupted by a voice.
“Too eager to go home?”
‘That voice.. this is bad’, Kael thought. He turned around and saw Magister Zahe, faking a smile.
“Magister Zahe.. what do you want from me?”
“Could we have a little talk?”, the demon magister asked.
“I don’t want to”, Kael replied. He was careful not to show his agitation, because in that very moment, he was helpless against the powerful demon.
“Don’t be cold to me. I didn’t hurt anyone as promised”, Magister Zahe said. He was trying to read Kael, as he felt that Kael was hiding something.
“Only because of the curse I put on you”
“Well, that reminded me to behave. It is a strong magic. I’m impressed!”
Kael gazed at the demon magister.
“Let’s finish this conversation. I don’t want to talk to you”, Kael said.
“But I enjoy it”
“That’s a lie”, Kael said. He started to get suspicious. “What are you planning, you vile demon?”
Kael tried provoking the demon magister, but he wasn’t successful. It was a good thing for him, but it was still worrying. The demon magister looked to the sky, and squinted his eyes, for it was noon at that time.
“This is the right time. They should be in their positions by now”, Magister Zahe whispered to himself. Just then, six people entered the academy.
“Who are you?”, Kael asked. “This is the kingdom’s academy, the gu–”
Kael didn’t continue what he was saying. He saw the guards beside the academy gate. Both were killed, and it was easy to know who did it. One of the suspicious people has blood on his hand.
[Dark Wall]
Without warning, Magister Zahe began using his power, enclosing the whole academy. The academy was surrounded by formidable walls, and everything that was near the wall started to break down.
“You’re power knows no bounds, great lord”, the person with the bloody hand said. Then the person looked at Kael. “Is this the person that we should worry about?”
Magister Zahe nodded. “Be careful. He’s a lot stronger compared to what he shows”
Kael was terrified. He didn’t have anything to protect himself against his opponents. He didn’t expect that the demon magister will make his move that day. Magister Zahe left Kael to his subordinates.
“Allow me to introduce myself. I am Zera, and I am tasked to be your first opponent”
Zera remembered what Magister Zahe told him. He was told that he would die, but the demon magister assured him that he will be revived as soon as the battle ended. He trusts the demon magister, so he mustered his resolve, and guided his subordinates to their deaths.
Kael didn’t know what to do. He was too nervous to meditate, and find a way to remove the curse that Rodo gave him. The demons surrounded him, but they didn’t attack him yet. They were cautious, for in their minds, Kael could instantly destroy them.
Zera didn’t give any orders yet. He was carefully calculating, hoping that he could stall for time if only for just a minute. He felt that once they attacked Kael, the battle would end quickly.
“Why are you not attacking? Are you too afraid of demons?”, Zera taunted.
Hearing Zera’s words, Kael began to wonder the same thing. The demons could eliminate him, and he will be helpless, but somehow, the time of his demise was taking a long time to happen.
‘What’s going on?’, Kael thought. He observed the demons’ movements. He noticed that whenever he moved slightly near to one of them, the demon will move away from him. He tried doing it multiple times, and the same thing happened. He suddenly remembered that demons were cowards by nature, and from there, an idea came to his mind.
“You know the outcome of this battle, and yet, you demons dare to go against me”, Kael said. It was a risky move, but if he succeeded on instilling terror in the demons’ minds, someone might come to save him. It was the only hope he had, and he believed that it will happen.
“You’re too proud of your own power”, Zera stated. Kael’s statement was effective, but his demon pride couldn’t accept it. “Do you think you can actually defeat all of us?”
‘It worked’
Kael smiled. He looked at each of the demons, and saw the terror in their eyes. He wanted to laugh at what he was doing, but he was grateful that it worked. The only thing to do was to wait for someone to come to him.
[Hidden Blades]
In an instant, demon heads dropped on the ground. Zera was the only one who dodged the attack.
“Kael, Are you alright?”
Kael’s face brightened. His hope was not meaningless, Magister Kever came to save him.
“Thank you, magister”
Magister Kever nodded. “Hurry, go to Magister Honnora’s room. All of the students are there”, the magister said.
“I will not allow you!”
Zera’s voice alerted both Kael and Magister Kever. The demon was enraged by the magister’s interruption. He transformed into his demon form. His long hair and body became gray, and both of his hands extended and became sword blades. His fiery red eyes was focused on the magister.
“All of you are useless! How long do all of you plan on pretending to be dead?”, Zera exclaimed.
Hearing Zera’s command, the five demons beheaded by Magister Kever stood, and reconnected their heads to their bodies. The grotesque display terrified the magister, as he realized that, he will not get out of the fight alive.