《Never After》


 Prologue

    The ground shattered as dark inferno filled the sky. The two races clashed, and the sounds of fluttering wings and devilish screams blurred together. On one end devils scurried on all fours through the barren battlefield. Their opponents, however, soared the sky with their majestic wings. Their hearts of light beat as their majestic wings marched forward, driven by nothing but faith. Giants crystals under their command acted without hesitation, releasing rays of light and heat, scorching the Devils and the ground beneath. It was no place for mortal soldiers anymore; they had retreated far several battles ago and left the field to Angels and Devils.


    On a small hill, a hooded devil watched. He was more human-like compared to the devils walking on all fours. The lone devil''s tail slammed the ground as he looked around the scene of carnage.


    The army of Angels was gaining ground, leaving the vile devils squirming in their wake. The hooded devil raised his hand. The space on his palm twisted and shattered, revealing a pitch-black spear. He grabbed the spear then stabbed it to the ground.


    Almost immediately, the ground on the barren battlefield twisted. The sounds of battle stopped. The angels here and there seemingly froze, but the next moment, the pile of corpses on the battlefield bent and merged, creating a monstrous form of flesh and claws.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    As the monstrous abomination of corpses rose from the ground, the fallen devils all stood up as they regenerated their scorched and detached limbs. They began to leap unto the flying angels and crystal structures, clawing and sending them to the ground for the other devils to ravage.


    The angels regrouped and invoked searing spears of holy flames, throwing them towards the giant to no effect. The tide of White and gold slowed down as the wave of vile red washed over them. The hooded devil was now down on the battlefield, but he stood still as if waiting for something.


    Then, he heard a voice that was familiar to him from above the sky, and the lone figure turned to look.


    An archangel descended from the sky, her four majestic wings shined a warm light. Her Halo was different. It was like a crown. In front of her are seven other angels with wings, some with their arm crossed looked over the battlefield, suddenly the four-winged angel marched forward.


    The angel fluently beat her wings towards the monstrosity, a giant battle-axe covered with holy fire manifested behind her. In one fell swoop, the battle-axe slashed the monstrosity in half.


    The archangel immediately looked around. There was no way that this was the best that their sworn enemy has. Then the angel felt a high murderous intent watching her. It was at this moment that she realized that the monstrosity was just a distraction.


    She looked toward the battlefield around her, but there was no sign of the source until she glanced backward, there was the hooded devil with the dark spear in his hand.


    Before the archangel could react, the hooded devil thrust the spear through the archangel''s back.

 Chapter 1 : The Prisoner

    "NOOOOOOOO!" A girl screamed as she awoke from her unsettling dreams. Streaks of sweat slowly fell from her forehead as she slowly gathered her consciousness. She looked around her room, "Ah, everything is normal." The girl let out a sigh of relief.


    "What was that dream, it felt so vivid."


    A soft knock on her bedroom door was heard before she was able to gather her thoughts. She raised her head a little to look at the direction of the door.


    "Mistress Harmonia, are you okay in there?" The Maid Behind the door asked.


    "Ah, Strena. Yeah, I''m okay," She answered as she pulled back her blanket and lay back into her bed, "It''s still early morning, isn''t it? If so, I''m going back to sleep." She slowly closed her eyes.


    "Mistress, it''s already eight in the morning, and breakfast is ready."


    "Arghh," Harmonia groaned and rolled over in bed, "Alright, alright." She fumbled around her bed before pulling down her blanket, then reluctantly moving to the edge of her bed. She put down her feet to the ground and put on her sleeping sandals. "I''m fin- *yawn -e now, you can leave me be." Said Harmonia while fixing her long messy blond hair with her hand instead of using a comb.


    "If you say so, Mistress." The Maid walked away from Harmonia''s bedroom door.


    Harmonia stood up from her bed. The sunlight coming through from her windows shone her uncombed blonde hair with soft curls, her cheeks were slightly lighter than warm ivory with a rose-colored tint to her cheeks. Her brownish eyes were more honest than anyone else her age.


    She lifted both of her forearms on top of her head, doing small stretches as she approached the door. She opened the door and walked through the hallway to the corridor while still wearing her pajamas.


    Harmonia spotted a Maid cleaning a sculpture in the mansion hallway, "Where''s Eric and Eris." She asked.


    "Mistress Harmonia," The Maid gasped. "Fancy seeing you this early in the morning, Mistress. Both of them are in the left-wing dining room waiting for you."


    "I''ll go there then, and by the way, where''s pops?" Harmonia asked again.


    "Master is in his office in the right-wing."


    "Oh, in the right-wing?, I can just wear my pajamas to the dining room then," Harmonia smirked as she continued to walk through the corridor.


    The maids that saw her kept on their duties. The sight of Harmonia walking down the corridor with her pajamas has become a daily thing for the maids.


    Harmonia''s pajamas are maroon red-colored and have sewn-on bright yellow flower designs covering the deep red color. She called that motive her style.


    She walked through the halls of her home. Taking in the design of the wallpapers, and the way sunlight shined through opened windows. She turned right to the small staircase going down. Slightly glancing at the neatly arrange ornaments at the wall. She made her way to the dining room.


    As she neared the dining-room door, she moved her sight to the sides of the hallway as she hasn''t fully gathered her thoughts yet. She looked toward the knight armor stands neatly lined after drawings of her ancestors and different types of flowers "Do I even deserve this lif- ."


    Her forehead suddenly hit something with a thud. She was sent a few inches back, and as the pain slowly emerge, she slowly kneeled, holding her forehead. "T-that hurts." she quickly looked up and shouted, "HEY, watch where you''re walkin-" she stopped as her shout was greeted by the dining-room door, "Goddamnit," She mumbles.


    In shame, she stood up, and put both of her hand on the handle of the door and pulled it, The heavy wooden door budged and slowly creaked open. Before the door fully opened, a soft young voice called out to her, "Older Sister!" a little girl shouted.


    The little girl pointed her right finger at Harmonia and put her left hand on her waist, scolding her. "You''re late!" She pouted.


    "Come on now Eris, cut your Sister some slack, I''m only an hour late and Look at Eric, he looked like he had just arrived here."


    "Hey, don''t bring me into this." Said the boy seated right next to Eris.


    "At least he is not wearing his pajamas unlike you," Eris bent over to the long table while still pointing at Harmonia.


    "Alright alright, can you stop being so strict already," She scratched the back of her head. "I promise that I''ll try to wake up early to tomorrow."


    "Try," she said with a sigh. "Whatever shall I do with you, Older Sister."


    Harmonia finally sat down at the chair on the edge of the long table. Three chairs away from her little sister and Brother. Along with her, Eris sat down as well, and with that, the siblings started dining.


    <hr>


    Harmonia reached her hand to the tissue box in front of her, grabbing a few sheets and cleans her mouth. She eyed the food right in front of her and looked around the dining room. Glancing the multiple empty seats, Eris notices her troubled sister, "What''s wrong, Older sister?" She wondered.


    The girl stood up with both of her hands on the long table, "Have you two felt like you didn''t deserve something? This kind of life and not doing anything to achieve such a life?" She asked, squinting at both of her siblings.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    Eric stopped eating and tilted his head to look at Harmonia, "What do you mean, Sis?"


    Eris crossed her hands and answered, "No, we were born with it, we can''t do anything about it," She shrugged, "I say it''s enjoyable living a life like this." Eris said with words out of her age.


    "It feels stagnant, you know. I feel like I''m not able to progress. I want to change yet, it seems. I always get dragged down," said Harmonia.


    "Older Sister, if you want to change, how about waking up early." Eris stopped for a moment holding her temple, trying to remember something," And how about unlocking your magic first?" Eris took a sip out of her tea and continues, "Out of us three, you are the only one that isn''t able to use magic, yet you are the oldest of us siblings."


    Eric let out a deep breath, "Eris, you might use big words for someone your age and speak in a dignified manner but, you need to read the mood of the room first before speaking your mind."


    Eris tried to retaliate, but she looked at her older sister with her face facing the ground and gripping the edge of the table. She assembled the right words to apologize to her sister, but she was too shy to say it.


    "You know what, I don''t think I''ll finish today''s breakfast," Harmonia sighed as she stood up by pushing herself up with both of her hands.


    "A-ah," Eris eyes glistened, seeing her older sister expression, "I-I''m sorry," she mumbles.


    Before she was able to continue, Harmonia chuckled and whispered, "Y''know, you''re pretty cute when you''re all worked up like this."


    The slight frown on Eris''s face quickly changed into a mild blush, "Hwaaah!?, w-what!? You weren''t angry at me!?, that''s too sudden, Older Sister!" She sat back at her chair and covered her face with her hands, "I-I won''t make this a reason for you making me m-mad all the time, Okay!" Eris rambled.


    From the other side of the table, Eric chuckled, "I''ll never get enough of this," Harmonia followed it up with a small laugh. Eris that has recovered from her older sister''s compliment quickly stood up again, but before she was able to say anything.


    Harmonia moved her chair back, "I think I''m full," she walked toward the door, on the other side of the room.


    "Hey, Older Sister, where are you going," She shouted, with a different tone from her usual voice, "It''s not good to leave food uneaten." She tried to get herself off the chair, but as she stood up, her clothes were yanked back down.


    She looked down at the floor and saw her long skirt stuck on the foot of the chair, "Hey, Older Brother, help me!" Eris struggled as she tugged on the handle of the chair.


    Eric glanced at his little sister, "Nah." He mumbled as he continues to eat.


    The little girl groaned at her older brother, "Just don''t bother Father, alright, Sis."


    Harmonia nodded and opened the door behind the other edge of the long table and walked through it. Sunlight from behind the windows on her left hit her skin. She laid back on the door, her eyes glistening, and tears fall from her eyes, "W-why am I... So sensitive about it lately," She stopped for a moment to wipe her tears with her forearm, She then continued walking until she felt as if her head was spinning.


    She swayed from side to side until she hit the walls on her right, in her trance she heard a voice coming from the door in the hallways, it was her father''s office.


    She came around to her senses and snuck to the door, she heard faint voices inside the room, "Don''t bother father." She thought, remembering her sister''s words. She shook her head and turned around to place her ear on the door, focusing herself onto the ongoing conversation.


    "It''s been days, sir." An unfamiliar voice emerged.


    "Yes, I understand, but letting someone at that caliber to just teach someone is dangerous, Agent." A stern voice filled with caution answered.


    Behind the door, Harmonia gasped, "I''ve never heard Pops this cautious before."


    "Fremund sir, the prison uses state of the art security, there is little to no chance of that person to harm anyone," The Agent rummaged through the documents in his hand. He took a single paper and showed it to Fremund. "This prisoner also has no history of attempted escape or violent tendencies."


    "That''s not what I am concerned about Agent. It might be beneficial for us if someone were to attain such knowledge, but the knowledge that Person hold is too dangerous for this age." Fremund firmly placed his hand on the table.


    "B-but, sir." The Agent tried to reason.


    "Enough with that, continue on your next report." Said Fremund sternly.


    "Y-yes, sir." The Agent fumbled around the documents on his hand again and handed a single piece of paper to Fremund, "We''ve detected strange mana residue around the pr...."


    Harmonia backs off from the door and put her hand to her chin, trying to process what she heard, "That kind of person..." She thought of the current possibilities, teaching her magic and maybe explaining her weird dreams.


    <hr>


    The door to the dining room bashed open with Harmonia rushing through it. Eris noticed her sister, "Hey!" She shouted, but before she was able to continue yelling, Eric asked, "Where are you going, Sis?"


    "Outside, don''t tell father, that applies to you and Eris."


    "No way, I''m so going to tell fa-."


    Eric moved his hand to cover Eris mouth, "Let your sister do what she wants, I''ve never seen her this enthusiastic before."


    "Hmmph, hmmph," Eris mumbled as she struggled to speak and free herself from her chair.


    "Thanks, Eric." Said Harmonia as she walked back to the corridor with her room.


    "Anytime, Sis."


    Harmonia entered her room at a fast pace. She bolted to her closet, taking out the clothes and thought of what clothing is appropriate. She reached the bottom of the drawer. A crimson school blazer with white lines along the edges catches her eye. She picked up the clothes and took a good look at it. She nodded and took off her worn-out pajamas, throwing them onto her bed.


    Harmonia stood up as she wore the uniform and prepared all the things she needed.


    With all things ready she made her way to the bedroom door, she turned to the left instead of to the right, next to the painting, sculpture, and armors stands are maids cleaning off dust with caution and elegance. She greeted them one by one as she passed them, and they waved back in response.


    "Miss Harmonia, where are you going this early this morning," One of the maids brushing off dust from the sculpture asked.


    "A-ah, about that," Harmonia stopped moving, and her head twirled trying to think of a reason, "Ah!," She said as she lifts her head to reply, "Its private stuff, please don''t tell father¡­"


    The maids sighed, "What mischief are you on to this time, Mistress." Said the Maid with her hands crossed.


    "Nothing much, I just want to go out without father noticing,"


    "Alright then, Mistress, I''ll tell the other maids not to say a word about this, but what''s in it for me," The Maid grinned.


    Harmonia scratched the back of her head, "Fine." She sighed, "I''ll clean my room and wake up early again for a week."


    "That''s what I like to hear, Mistress," The Maid smiled, and then she continued cleaning the sculptures.


    The Mistress let out a small sigh of relieve and walked through the main staircase to the front door of the mansion, it was filled with more old paintings and the wallpapers filled with a motif of flowers. She walked down the intersecting staircase and walked through the red carpet that spanned from the door to the stairs.


    She pushed the handle of the door, and as it opened a garden of red flowers covered by warm sunlight and morning breeze hit her face. Her heart brightens seeing the lovely scene, but she felt as if something is out of place, she threw away the thought and walked outside.


    "Oh, wait a minute." As she stepped foot to the passageway in the garden entrance, she finally thought, "How am I going to get there," she mumbled as her cheeks turned red.


    "Ah, wait, I know," She took her phone from her red skirt, "There we go, I''ll just order a cab," she thought, "It is not the best way to get there, but it works," She turned on her phone and called a cab.

 Chapter 2 : Distraction

    Warm sunlight shined through the window of the corridor, the curtain neatly tied to the edges of the windows, preventing it from being blown by the wind. The dining room door creaked open along with the office door. Eric peered over the corridor with Eris right next to him as the Agent walked out of Fremund''s office. Their eyes meet, the black-haired man in the suit, slightly bowed.


    "Ah damn, he''s already leaving, this is too early," Eric quickly thought. "I need to buy some time for Older Sister." In a hurry, he waved his hand at the Agent, "Long time no see, Hiro."


    "Ah, Sir Eric and Miss Eris, it''s rare seeing you two," said the Agent.


    The Agent known as Hiro was an ordinary-looking man. Slightly above height and build, with no apparent unique features, except for his hair and eyes, his eyes, which were so pale that they were almost colorless. His black hair neatly cut to look clean while still looking sharp and a bit messy with one streak of hair in between his eyes.


    Eric tucked his hand onto his pocket, "No need to be so formal to us, Hiro," Eric sighed. "We''ve known each other for a long while now."


    Eris snuck in front of her older brother, "What did Mister and Father talk about?" she asked.


    "Sorry, but that''s classified," said Hiro.


    "Okay then, I''ll just ask Father." Eric walked to the opened door with Eris grabbing his sleeves behind him as he spoke.


    "You can''t just do that¡­"


    "I can," He entered the room, "Hey Father."


    "Hmm? what''s the matter you two, it''s rare for you two to go into my office." Said the man with a tall figure and broad shoulders, his face stern with a short cut to his white hair. His eyes seemingly the same as Harmonia. A man named Fremund Fleur. He was sitting on the office table, in front of it were three sofas that surround a table.


    "What were you talking about with Hiro?" Eric asked.


    Hiro burst into the room, holding the doors open with both of his hands, "That''s classified, Sir," He shouted.


    "A small part of it, Agent. Not all of it," Said Fremund.


    "Yes, I know, Sir. But they don''t need to know about it," The Agent begged.


    Fremund lifted his left hand and looked into his watch. He smiled and fixed his tie, "Well, Agent, I do have time left until I need to go to a meeting, so I think I have enough time for storytime with my children." Fremund kindly smiled.


    Hiro''s shoulders lower as he sighed, "Alright, Sir." he reluctantly sat on the left sofa out of the three sofas around the table. Making sure no classified information goes through Fremund''s mouth.


    "Where is Harmonia?" Fremund asked.


    "Ah, about that fa-"Eris tried to speak, but her mouth was covered by Eric again like before.


    "She''s back in her room, probably sleeping or something," said Eric. He guided his little sister to calm down and sit on the right sofa.


    "That girl, she always says she wants to change her life, yet she never does anything to change." Fremund turned his head down, "What shall I ever do with her."


    Fremund laid back on his chair and crossed his arm on the table, "You two should know the prison that we own where most of the criminals serve their time in."


    "Eh, our family owns a prison?" Eric asked.


    "Yes, older brother. You should pay attention to your surroundings more," Eris said, looking at her brother with a smug-looking grin.


    Eric patted Eris''s head and whispered, "Stop that thing you''re doing, Eris, or I will stop giving you head pats," The grin on Eris face dissipated as she frowned. She looked down and mumbles, "That''s too cruel, Older Brother."


    "Captured criminals are sent there and are assessed to a ranking system we have in place."


    "A ranking System?" Eris asked.


    "Yes, my daughter, its because of how large the facility and the height of bare minimum capabilities we set for the personnel working there. We set different priorities for different prisoners with the ranking system," Fremund nodded his head seemingly towards Hiro. "Agent Hiro is one of the best personnel working there. He oversees the assessment of ranking and new personnel training." Fremund took a deep breath and continued to speak, "The ranking is divided into fiv-." he noticed Hiro looking more deeply into him. Apparent from the stern look of Hiro''s eyes, "Ah, I mean four ranks."


    "The D ranks are filled with people that have done common crimes. The C ranks are for people who have done common crimes using magic or sent their familiars to their dirty job." Fremund glanced at Hiro, "Can you explain the rest of the ranks for me, Agent, I think you will be able to explain to them more clearly."


    "Gladly Sir," The Agent answered, "Now for the B rank, these are cretins that have committed Heinous acts such as Homicide and other things of the same degree with or without magic."


    The Agent sat straight on the sofa, showing a slight distaste on his face. "The A rank is for the absolute of buffoons who thought that black magic, tinkering with other people magic signature, rituals and other decrepit things are fine to do. Those individuals are kept at high security and usually locked away for all their life." Said the Agent as his posture calmed down.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    "I think that''s all, Sir. Now I''ll get back to work," The Agent stood up but before he was able to stand.


    "Wait," Eric said, interrupting the Agent, "I need to stall for more time," he thought.


    "What else do you need?" The Agent asked, sounding annoyed.


    Eric clenched his mouth, and his eyes were uncertain, "I''m sorry Eris, but I need to this," Eric opened his mouth and questioned, "How about the history of the prison itself? like how it was built to be able to host criminals and the problems that come along with it?"


    On the other hand, their father''s eyes shined brightly, and his fist was clenched. "I knew that my fascination for history landed somewhere in my children," He looked at his watch, "That meeting can wait. What is important now is telling my children how that marvelous prison was built." Fremund said passionately.


    Hiro sat back down and put his hand on his forehead, face-palming as he sighed to the current situation he got himself in. He glanced toward Eric and shook his head. He closed his eyes, preparing to snooze himself off from what is to come from Fremund''s mouth.


    Eris moved and sat closer to her brother close enough for her to lean on him. She whispered, "You owe me one, Older Brother." the siblings knew very well of their father''s obsession with architecture, especially big ones. So much so that it became an unwritten rule in the mansion not to talk about them near Fremund.


    As their father started to ramble about and go on a long tangent that could last for hours, Eric thought, "I hope it''s worth it, Sis." he looked around the room to find something to look at to pass the time. He noticed Hiro sneakily talking on the phone in the middle of the tangent.


    "Smart," He mumbled as he tries to fight off the tangent right before him.


    <hr>


    "Are you prepared, Mistress?"


    Suddenly the blonde girl woke up from the trance she had, "Ah.. yes, I''m ready," Harmonia answered as she fixed her red-colored High school Uniform, "You sure? You don''t look that well," said the man in the suit.


    "I''m alright." Harmonia shook her head. The man in the suit seemed concerned but later brushed it off. She walked through the long nicely lighted corridor with floodlights on the ceiling, she thought about the miracle of events that has allowed her to enter the prison.


    <hr>


    Harmonia arrived at the prison, the cab that she ordered had just left from the entrance of the prison. The prison was large, and Harmonia knew, from the moment that the silhouette of the mostly dark-colored exterior prison appears during the ride there. She glanced at the two white concrete pillars holding up the rooftop of the road in front of the main entrance, she breathed deeply and exhaled before she walked to inside the prison.


    She entered the lobby and directly in front of her, an information table in the middle of the room. A lady with black hair sat behind the information table, not noticing Harmonia.


    Harmonia walked up and raised her hand to greet her, but before she was able to, the lady raised her head. "Ah." the lady looked surprised. She smiled and then spoke, "I didn''t think for a second that Fremund would send someone in, more surprisingly, his daughter."


    Harmonia let out a light laugh, "Y-yeah..."


    The lady stood up still smiling at her, "Follow me to the Superintendent."


    Harmonia gulped down her throat, she had not prepared for the superintendent. Knowing that she would look suspicious if she suddenly declined, she followed the lady.


    They both walk through the corridor leading up to the prison. Moving through the left pathway and then the right, "This way please," Said the lady with her left hand suggesting to the right. After traversing a few more corridors, they reached what seemed like the office sections, one with offices rooms right next to each other.


    One caught Harmonia''s attention, a gray double door with a touchscreen under the handle. The lady reached into the pocket on her suit, taking out what seemed like an ID card. She walked up to the panel. The touchscreen emitted a beeping sound, and the double door let out a gust of air and opened.


    The lady entered the opened room revealing a monochrome office room and an office table with a woman wearing a suit tinkering with the touchscreen on the table at the end. In front of the table were a couple of sofas. The woman''s white cream hair was the only spot of color in the entire room.


    "Ah, Harmonia," said the woman, her voice was stern yet calm at the same time, the woman looked like in her mid-twenties. Her face was similar to Harmonia, although a bit sharper and more defined.


    "Auntie?" Said Harmonia.


    "Did you come to visit me?" She got up from her chair and approach Harmonia. She opened her arms to hug her niece.


    Before she was able to wrap her arms around Harmonia, the lady next to Harmonia let out a fake cough, "Sorry to Interfere Superintendent Nell. But she is the individual Sir Fremund send for that request."


    "Brother sent you?" She put her hand on her chin, "That was rather¡­ unsuspected, I didn''t think that he would send someone nonetheless his daughter."


    "Oh, this is bad," Harmonia thought as she clenched her fist.


    "Hmm, let me check with your father again," Nell walked back to her chair and nudge on the touchscreen on it.


    "Ah, Father is quite busy right now auntie, you don''t need to, considering he already gave me a pass." There was a note of panic in Harmonia''s voice.


    "I''m just checking, he would answer my call without question, you should know that Harmonia," said Nell.


    A faint ringing sound suddenly emerged from the pocket inside in her suit. She stopped touching the touchscreen and reached to her pocket, pulling out her phone.


    "Superintendent Nell here," she began, "Ah, What? It''s urgent?" Her face turned wary as she opened the drawer on her office table, pulling out a yellow sticky note and pen, "Yes, I have a place to write it down," said Nell. She bent down the table and started scribbling down. She glanced at the two people in front of her, "Ah, sorry you two, it seemed like this is urgent."


    She fickled around the touchscreen on her desk and let out a sigh of relief as she stood up, grabbing the sticky notes, "Return to your station, I assigned Agent Fynn to the task."


    The lady nodded and shortly after left the room. "Sorry Harmonia, I have some urgent task to attend to, I can''t tell you the details currently so please understand."


    "Its okay, auntie," Harmonia replied.


    A faint knock coming from the door catches the attention of the two, "May I come in?" a soft young voice called out.


    "Yes, you may, Agent Fynn."


    The door opened, and a teen wearing a suit with a slight difference from Nell enters the room. The teen was slightly taller than Harmonia. His black hair is cut similarly to Agent Hiro, with the only difference being the direction of the streak of hair in between his eyes. He slightly bowed and asked, "Why did you call me for Superintendent?"


    "You will be attending this person to the Prisoner that asked for a student. Do keep watch of her at all times from the surveillance after escorting her. You should be plenty familiar with this Prisoner, don''t you?"


    "Yes, Ma''am."


    "Good, now I''ll be on my way," said Nell as she made her way to outside the office section.


    Two individuals were left silent behind, "Uhh, Miss Fleur, right?" Said Fynn trying to break the Ice. Fynn nodded, awkwardly, he knew who she was, some parts at least. Even though being the children of the Prime minister, public information about them was minimal, close to nill even.


    "You can just call me Harmonia," She replied.


    "Ah, that''s not good, I''ll address you as Mistress," said Fynn with a stutter.


    "T-that isn''t any better¡­ ah, you know what, forget it."

 Chapter 3 : Awakening

    "Alright, here it is," said the man in the suit cutting of Harmonia''s thought, "This is the gate that blocks us from Prisoner." A panel suddenly popped up from the floor next to the steel gate, then Fynn walks up to the touchscreen reached for the insides of his pocket, and took out an ID card.


    The panel emitted a voice "ID card verified, opening the hatch," the circle in the middle of the gate rotated and slowly opened, revealing all the small details in the mechanism of the gate.


    Deliberately Harmonia thought of if the Prisoner knew that they were coming "Uhh Agent Fynn, does he know if w-."


    "Calm down, that person won''t know if we are coming. The walls in his containment room are magic and sound isolator, which means he can''t do anything to the people outside." He shrugged, "To be honest, you can put a quotation mark on that "can''t," I said." Agent Fynn smirked.


    "This gate... takes so long to open" Harmonia gazed at the gate then back to the Agent.


    "I don''t know, maybe to keep anything behind it from escaping?" He shrugged while making a small smile on his left cheek.


    "Agent Fynn, I just realized, but you kind of look like that Agent, what was his name again¡­ I think it''s Agent Hiro?"


    "It''s that easy to spot, huh," Agent Fynn sighed, "I knew senior for a long while now, let''s just say I adore him."


    The gate finally opened, and sound emitted again from the panel, "Please proceed with caution."


    Even though Agent Fynn said that the gate was the last thing they need to get through to arrive at the Prisoner containment cell, in front of them now is still another gate. Looking at how much she needed to walk to get to the containment cell, she angrily glared at him.


    "Hey, don''t blame me for this, I wasn''t the one who designed this prison layout you know. I''m just a warden for this place." He smugly smiled at Harmonia, knowing fully that she can''t blame him and that the corridor has a different reason for being so long.


    "This corridor has a reason for being so long, you see, underneath the walls and floors is a defense mechanism that will trigger if that Prisoner ever tries to escape."


    "Huh? did he ever tried to escape?" Harmonia asked.


    "No, not once even, just like I said if he ever tries to escape." The Agent rubbed the back of his head, "To be honest, he never did anything that would be considered suspicious."


    Harmonia thought of the possibilities of what the Prisoner can do "Hmm, so this person might not be as powerful as I thought he was when I first heard of him. Maybe it''s his vast knowledge of things that made him so tightly guarded considering that he wants a student¡­" Her forehead furrowed as she thought the best she could.


    She stopped from her train of thought as they are in front of the last gate. The Agent slid his ID card to the touchscreen like before. The door opened faster than the one before it, in front of them is a room that is wider than the corridor and at the back is a dark glass wall.


    "Ah, so that means inside of there is the Prisoner, right?" Harmonia asked as she walked inside the room.


    "Wait!" Agent Fynn shouted.


    "Hmm?" Harmonia glanced back to the Agent as she continued walking.


    Instantly the cold air swarmed around her feet. Immediately rising from Harmonia''s feet to her neck, the cold air felt like it was wrapping around her body like a snake.


    "W-what i-is this," she panted as she is trying to process what is happening.


    Fynn steps into the room, "Hey, hey, stop that creepy aura of yours, don''t you want a student? That person inside the room is your student, you know," said Fynn casually.


    The cold air slowly dissipated, Harmonia that was shocked slowly calmed down. She kneeled panting "Huh¡­, Thank god." The girl quickly stood up and shouted at the glass wall "What was that about!?, and where in the world are you?" Said the girl as she stomps her feet to the ground.


    "Forgive me for the intrusion, it was at my own thought that someone managed to break into here, and for that this glass in front of you, it is a one-sided mirror, I can see you, but you can''t see me." A cold and exhausted voice emerges from behind the glass mirror.


    "So little girl, what makes you want to be my student?" The man abruptly asked, changing his tone to a more serious one, "State your reason for wanting to be my student."


    Fynn smirked, "Heh, Straight to the point, huh," he walked up to Harmonia that is fixing her uniform again. Tapping her shoulders, whispering, "Hey Mistress, you should quickly answer that."


    "Huh, alright," she fixed her uniform and stood up straight, she coughed to clear her throat. "My name is Harmonia Fleur," she began, "Ah, this might sound embarrassing, but I-," she breathed deeply, "Haven''t awakened my magic."


    "So the world has reached that level of population, I understand fully now. Very well, I shall teach you how to use magic, but before that, how old are you?" The Prisoner asked.


    "I''m Seventeen."


    "That''s quite a pickle," the Prisoner said with a sigh. "You need to awaken it first before I can teach you magic, but awakening one''s magic at that age is¡­ a problem."


    "It doesn''t matter I''ll try my hardest, no matter what," Harmonia''s eyes glow with her fist clenched. Harmonia loosens up and rubbed the back of her head, Umm¡­, how do I address you?" she asked.


    "I like your optimism, and for my name..." The Prisoner stops talking for a bit and then continues talking, "To be honest with you, I don''t remember my name or even how much time I''ve been here, then how about, Hil¡­ Ah, Hilbert. That name should provide for conversations." the Prisoner answered.


    "You should''ve told me your name earlier," the Agent sighed, "Alright, everything should be settled now." The Agent smiled, "Harmonia, you''ll stay here."


    "W-wait what?, You''re leaving me here?, with a dangerous Prisoner?" she shouted at the Agent. "Hey, I''m not that bad of a person," Hilbert followed up.


    "Relax, we have surveillance cameras around the room." The Agent pointed to a chair leaning on the wall right next to the door, "If you don''t want to stand all the time, you can use that chair over there. We don''t have anything fancy, because we didn''t think your father would allow it in the first place."


    "I mean.., not that¡­," Harmonia mumbled.


    Agent Fynn, walked back to the corridor, waving his hand at Harmonia "Best of luck," he said. The gate then closed, leaving Harmonia and Hilbert.


    "I have no other choice, do I?" Harmonia ignored the chair, "How do I do it then?" she asked.


    "Let''s start with the very basics of magic," said Hilbert.


    "You don''t need to tell me the basics of basics," she took a deep breath, "Long story short, every people of every race has a magic signature, right?"This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    From behind the glass wall, Hilbert clapped, "Excellent, you explained the knowledge that every single people knows about," said Hilbert with a sarcastic tone.


    Harmonia can feel a grin on Hilbert''s face without even looking at his face directly.


    Hilbert continued, "And no, I didn''t mean on telling you that. Ley lin-"


    "I know that already, ley lines are what provides everything with magic," Harmonia replied.


    "Very well, I''ll cut off the basic ones. You''re not as dumb as I thought you would be."


    "Is that a compliment¡­ or an insult?" Harmonia whispered.


    Hilbert chuckles, "Whatever you see fit," Hilbert began as he stomped his foot unto the ground. "Years ago, there was no need for people to awaken their magic. It is due to the ley line having an easier time covering the population, but it would seem now, you humans have reached a point where a ley line can''t take care of all of you."


    "You¡­ humans?" Harmonia mumbles confusedly.


    "Do not fret, however, there are societies of humans, that live far away from a ley line back then. Because of this, their newborns are not able to use magic, but they discovered a way to awaken it."


    "And their way is what you''re going to teach me?" The girl asked.


    Hilbert scoffed, "You see, Mistress, there are two ways for someone to awaken their magic."


    "Eh, Mistress? H-how did he know," Harmonia thought, "And those are?" She spoke.


    The first way is the way you''ve known all your life, just being born with it," said Hilbert, "The second way is to make an anchor for yourself with the world."


    "This way is rather dangerous, but I''m guessing you won''t budge even If I tell you that," He laughed. "Let''s start, shall we," Hilbert let out a breath, "Follow my instruction, without questions. One wrong step and it''s a bad ending for you."


    Harmonia gulped back her fears, "I-I''ll do it," She said with a slight worry in her voice.


    The girl clenched her fist. Finally, she can improve herself, and without a doubt, she thought of the reason why she arrived here in the first place. Her desire to achieve something that she truly worked hard to obtain, and as she focused her mind on it, something nudged on top of her head.


    Memories of wasting time doing nothing, her stagnant life and receiving things she didn''t deserve, enters her mind.


    She shook off the memories, as currently, the only thing important to her is changing her stagnant life.


    "Open your eyes."


    She opened her eyes as ordered, but as she slowly opened her eyes and tries to look around, all she could see around her is darkness. She struggled to wave her head around. Thinking that she was blinded, she tries to grab onto something until a faint white glow shines her tender face. She turned to look, In front of her was a white sphere shining vibrantly in the dark in arms reach, "Grab onto it and don''t let go, whatever happens," said Hilbert.


    She quickly grabbed onto the sphere. It fit her hand perfectly. Warmth slowly surged fort from the sphere, moving to her hands and then her body.


    The warmth continued to move through her entire skin. She felt her uniform turns lighter, and her skin more sensitive to the surrounding area. She started to emanate a vibrant red light. But as the warmth covered her back, it turned into a vile scorching heat, Harmonia screamed and kneeled, her hand still tightly gripping on the sphere.


    "No," she weakly uttered.


    Her grip was slipping as the scorching heat on her back, raged on, "It''s not going to end like this," she shouted. Her left foot firmed its stance on the ground, "I''ve been waiting for this moment all my life, the moment where I can change it all!" she pushed her entire body to stand upright with her left foot.


    She clenched her teeth, "You''re mine!" The girl shouted as she dragged the sphere from where it was floating. She raised it in front of her chest. Then, with all her might, she pushed the sphere into her body.


    The warmth burned inside her, "Urgh," she groaned, her legs trembled, and her eyes went wild, she stomped the ground with her jaw closed. In an instant, the room shimmered with a reddish yellow glow, the glow twirled into a circle around Harmonia. Slowly, the light that rotated around her started to spin rapidly and rose from the ground.


    Hilbert laughed at the sight before him, "Wonderful, just wonderful." The mist ignited into reddish-yellow flames, it crackled and slowly enveloped the girl, her eyes opened and flickered with a golden glow.


    Harmonia shouted while withstanding the burning pain around her body, "Is that all you got?"


    She crossed her hand over her chest, preventing the sphere from escaping. The flames entered her body, and Harmonia''s red glow turned to gold.


    The light dispersed from her body, returning the room to what it once was, Harmonia coughed and panted, her strong stance faltered, and she fell on the floor, kneeling.


    She slowly opened her eyes and blinked until her eyes widen as she looked up the one-way mirror. In the silence that came, the sound of clapping emitted from behind the glass wall, "D-did I do it?" Said Harmonia, her eyes appearing cheerful.


    "Yes, you did, its Creation," said Hilbert.


    Harmonia looked to the ground, as the first tear fell from her eyes, the rest of it followed like a dam breaking. Harmonia kneeled, moving her arms to cover the tears falling from her eyes, "F-finally, I-I did it," she began to cry, not caring for where she is.


    "Wait... What!? Are you actually crying?" Hilbert''s voice seemingly shocked, with the scene unfolding before him.


    "Y-yes..." The girl sobbed, "It''s been so long, I-I wasn''t able to use magic, people around me used it as it if was nothing. I was alone. I tried so many times, with so many methods just to be the same as the others, I failed all the time, b-but now I-I..." Her breath stuttered as she scrubbed her eyes with her forearms.


    "I don''t quite get why you''re crying," Hilbert let out a sigh, "so I''ll just wait until you let it all out."


    <hr>


    After some time, Harmonia stopped crying, "S-so, my magic is Creation?"


    "Yes, it is," Hilbert said shortly.


    "Could you say it as if you were amused," said Harmonia with a cracked voice.


    "Why?"


    "P-please," she pleaded.


    "Fine, your first magic is Creation, the magic closest to the power of a god. This type of magic can only be obtained by birth, consider yourself lucky. Well, the closest to the power of a god thing is an exaggeration, but you asked for it."


    "Thank you," said Harmonia as he pushes herself to stand up straight.


    "Oh, and did you know that I could hear your voice while you were awakening it?" Said Hilbert, chuckling.


    "A-ah!" Harmonia''s cheeks turn red, "P-please forget it, I needed some words, to motivate me."


    "Heh, of course, Mistress. Now before we begin your training, do you know about Angels and Devils," Hilbert asked.


    "Hmm? that''s a bit random," she went silent and looked up to the ceiling before she continued talking, "Yeah, but those races are just legends, I only know them from figures in books."


    "Huh, Well then, can you tell me the specifics of those stories?"


    "Uh, oh," Harmonia''s voice lowered as she looked down, "The stories always paints the Angels as the bad guys. What I don''t understand is that the Devils portrayed in the stories are not consistent. Sometimes it''s shown that there is only one Devil, but in another book, there were plenty of Devils."


    She took a deep breath and exhaled, "There was a sad one, in one book the Angels won, but somehow I felt bad for the Devils. You see, the Angels took something from one of the Devils, it''s not specified what it is, but from the way the Devil reacted, it was something significant to it."


    "What book is that?" There was a note of curiosity in the Prisoner''s voice.


    Harmonia shook her head, "The title has been ripped off, and it was the oldest book in my family''s library." Harmonia raised her index finger, recollecting something in her head. "Oh, there was something else in the book. There was this one quote on the last page of the book, I think it says. People turned to the Devil when everything abandons them."


    As Harmonia finished her sentence, she could hear Hilbert laughing from behind the mirror.


    "Why are you laughing?" She asked.


    "It''s nothing, but Mistress, you better remember that quote," Hilbert suggested.


    "Huh, what for?" She tilted her head sideways, "Also, why are you asking these questions anyway? It seems a bit random to me."


    "Excuse my ignorance, the reason why I''m asking these questions is because I''m a-."


    Abruptly, before Hilbert was able to finish his sentence, alarms broke out throughout the prison, flashing a bright red color to every containment cell, except to Hilbert''s Containment room.


    Suddenly, the gate behind Harmonia slowly opened, revealing Fynn running towards the room as fast as he can, "Eh.., Agent?" Harmonia walked to the slowly opening gate, "What''s wrong, Agent?" Harmonia asked.


    Seeing Harmonia standing near the gate looking at him, Fynn shouted.


    "GET OUT OF THAT ROOM, NOW!"


    But before she could respond, her vision faded out.


    <hr>


    A few Minutes, Earlier.


    Fynn was leisurely sitting at the front desk of the Security room, watching the live feed of the hidden cameras. "He really was looking for someone to teach," the Agent took the coffee that was sitting nicely at his desk right next to a picture of him with another person.


    "To think that he''ll teach someone who hasn''t awaken their magic just like that is amazing," he carefully sipped some of the hot coffee.


    "Now just a little bit more and I can see what that girl magic is," Agent Fynn mumbled before he was interrupted by his Coworker.


    "Fynn, You might want to see this," The man in front of Fynn''s table shouted, "Hmm? What?" the Agent stood up and walked to the man''s monitor.


    "Agent Fynn¡­, a large teleportation circle, is detected from around the Jai-" Before the man was able to finish his sentence, Fynn ran to the exit door. He bashed the door open and ran toward where Harmonia is. He tapped the small mana transmitter on his ear, "This is Agent Fynn Reporting, Requesting Reinforcement on my location at top Priority."

 Chapter 4 : Arrival

    A blaring alert erupted from Hiro¡¯s suit, taking the attention of everyone in the room. The Agent¡¯s pale-colored eyes snapped wide open, and he quickly grabbed the phone inside his suit.


    Fremund stopped his tangent, and his eyes glared, ¡°That alert is¡­ from the prison,¡± His voice sounded tense.


    Eric and Eris were left confused, not knowing the height of the complications in front of them.


    Hiro flicked his fingers across the phone screen and sat straight up. He was agape, and his eyes filled with dread. He swallowed hard, conscious now that his heart was thumping in his chest.


    Seeing this, Fremund sat back on his chair, ¡°Eric, Eris, can you two leave the room for the moment?¡± He asked.


    ¡°B-but Father,¡± Said Eris, pleading.


    Eric tapped his little sister¡¯s shoulders, ¡°Let¡¯s go, Eris.¡±


    She weakly nodded. Eric grabbed his little sister and walked outside of the room with her.


    The doors opened with a creak as the two passed through. The door then shut, leaving silence in the room.


    Hiro placed his phone on the table in front of him; the screen of the phone shone and emitted light upwards. Blue lines of light emerged in the air creating an exact hologram of the entire prison. The Agent looked around the hologram, his face filled with confusion.


    ¡°Sir¡­ there¡¯s no sign of any personnel or even the prisoners,¡± said Hiro with a wary expression.


    Fremund observed to confirm, his eyes moved left and right, trying to find a single remnant of mana, but he was left shocked, as the prison was empty.


    ¡°H-how?¡± Fremund looked dazed.


    Puzzled, the Agent put his hand on his chin. He moved his hand in front of the hologram and expanded the view, revealing a circle surrounding the prison.


    ¡°Those are the strange mana residues we detected some time ago.¡±


    ¡°Wait,¡± said Fremund, "Could it be teleportation magic?" Hiro shakes his head, wanting to believe that it''s not true.


    ¡°There¡¯s no way someone can cast teleportation magic at that size. Even Miwa isn¡¯t able to do that.¡± Before Hiro could utter a word, his phone emitted another alert. He immediately tapped the screen of the phone, ¡°It¡¯s Fynn,¡± Hiro let out a sigh of relief.


    Before he was able to lay back on the sofa, however, the holographic prison changed scenery into an open field. ¡°It¡¯s an area transmission,¡± His eyes shrunk as the open field revealed multiple small spheres colored red and blue, split by color with the red colored spheres higher in number.


    Hiro knew those types of spheres very well. The blue signified registered personnel, while the red signified prisoners.


    ¡°S-sir, our personnel are surrounded.¡±


    Fremund didn¡¯t reply, but instead, he was focusing his sight on a single golden sphere. ¡°What is that?¡± He asked.


    ¡°Sir, that is the Fleur Family¡¯s magic signature. It can¡¯t be either Sir Eric or Miss Eris, and it''s not Superintendent. I know Superintendent Nell''s magic signature very clearly."


    ¡°Harmonia¡­¡± Fremund said silently with a deep breath. He tumbled his hand on his desk opening up a panel, running his fingers across the panel screen, and a picture of an orange-haired man with sharp blue eyes seemingly in his early 20s appeared on the screen.


    ¡°Clarke,¡± Fremund called.


    ¡°I¡¯m on my way, Chief.¡± The voice from the panel responded.


    On the other side of the call, Clarke was jumping from branches to branches in a forest, slashing his way through with the blue sword created from mana in his right hand.


    "Where is Miwa?"


    Fremund asked with discontent, ¡°I¡¯ve contacted her, but she said that the location is too far away from a ley line, Chief. Something about there being not enough magic in the target location for her to pinpoint."


    ¡°What!?¡± He shouted. Fremund sat back on his chair with his right hand on his chin, ¡°It¡¯s a coordinated attack,¡± But before Fremund was able to wrap his head around it. A red light coming from Hiro''s phone grazed his eyes.


    Fremund turned to look. A red sphere larger than the other spheres appeared in front of the golden sphere.


    ¡°Chief, this is bad. I¡¯ve detected a mana influx from the location!¡± The man vaulted through the forest at high speed, jumping from branches to branches. Multiple blue swords forged from mana manifested behind him, slashing the tree in front of Clarke.


    The sphere grew larger and larger until it stopped as it has reached multiple sizes larger than the other spheres, ¡°It¡¯s a Magic Blast!¡± Fremund shouted to the panel.


    ¡°Tch,¡± The man in the woods groans as he picks up his speed. "I''m cutting off the call Chief," said the man as the screen with his picture turned off.


    Fremund was left dazed, not knowing what to do, he stood still, thinking of the possible outcomes until a shout awaked him to his senses.


    "Sir!" Said Hiro with dilated pupils as he pointed his finger to the hologram, Fremund turned his head again towards the hologram, and what he saw left him agape.


    A white sphere appeared in between the golden and red sphere, dwarfing the giant red sphere multiple times. The white sphere grew in size until it covered the hologram.


    "Sir, this white-colored sphere..." Said Hiro, jittering.


    "There''s no denying it," Fremund shoulders tensed up, "It''s him."


    <hr>


    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    "Harmonia, wake up!"


    Harmonia Fleur''s eyes snapped open, and then closed them shut again and pressed her hands against her ears; she could hear sounds of sorcery and the sounds of battle so clearly and distinctly.


    "Harmonia, wake up!"


    The shock of hearing the voice again forced her to open her eyes and look around. She was lying on a large clearing in the forest, with Fynn kneeling with one knee right beside her, the left shoulder of his suit torn and covered with blood.


    Harmonia slowly pushed herself to her feet and grabbed Fynn by his right shoulders, "Agent! What happened?" She asked.


    The last thing she clearly remembered was Fynn running at her in Hilbert''s containment room. She remembered Hilbert asking her about Angels and Devils, and then the rest was too hazy for her.


    "We were teleported to outside the facility, and ambushed by the prisoners," said Fynn weakly.


    Harmonia''s eyes adjusted as she looked around, she realized that they were surrounded by people in orange jumpsuits, but something was amiss; the girl felt as if something was watching her. Not the prisoners, but something else.


    They were surrounded by the prisoners: hundreds of them. Some of the prisoners fought with the personnel, outnumbering them. Magic clashed, and the personnel retreated as they were overwhelmed by the number of prisoners fighting them until they were completely encircled by them.


    On the opposite side of the field, a few meters in front of her. A figure distinct from the other prisoners emerges from the crowd.


    The grey-haired male figure sneered as his eyes caught her, "What a lucky day," the man scoffs, "To think I''ll be able to take revenge on the warden and also the first daughter of Fremund at the same time."


    "Ales," Fynn murmurs, he tried to stand up, pushing his thigh with his hand, but he fell back on his knees.


    "I want to savor this, but sadly, I need to escape before reinforcement comes." Ales raised his hands aiming at Harmonia, he opened his palms, and a magic circle emerged in front of it.


    Harmonia was conscious of the magic around her and realized the mana gathering in Ales''s palm. She sensed a vile and horrid magic signature that made the hair on the back of her neck stand up as she couldn''t pinpoint where it came from. Her legs froze up as she looked back at the man. In the middle of his magic circle, a purple orb has formed.


    "I think they called it, two birds, with one stone, right?" He remarked.


    "W-what are you going to do?" She stuttered.


    "Kill you both, of course. What else do you think it would be?" Ales only laughed as the orb expanded.


    Harmonia fell on her back, shocked. Dragging herself back slowly on the ground with her hands. She shakes her head in disbelief, her eyes glisten as tears swell up in her eyes.


    "Aw, how sad. I need to thank whoever planned this breakout."


    "Please help us, someone," She uttered, even though she knew that it was useless.


    Fynn lifts himself with all his strength, forcing his body to fight off the pain and move his body. He moved in front of Harmonia. "Goddamnit," the Agent groaned.


    Harmonia was not even able to move her body, the magic that was gathering in the circle was enough to send a shiver down her entire body. All that magic was directed to her and the Agent- The sheer terror of it made her freeze on the spot, unable to move and consumed by fear.


    "Damn it," said Fynn.


    "Struggling like that almost makes me feel bad for you two, but nevertheless, this blast will be the start of my vengeance. After this, I''ll get Fremund''s head, too." Ales raised both of his hands upon the orb.


    Harmonia stared dead at the ground below her. The Agent tried his best to stand up in front of her. The girl murmured in despair, hoping for anything to come to save them, "Father... please someone..." In desperation, she looked up at the sky, "Angels, if you exist please," She closed her eyes shut as she continued to beg for something to come.


    Then a thought passed her mind, something that she was desperate enough to remember.


    "People turned to the devil when everything abandons them," she whispered. She shook her head at first, but as she looked behind her, she saw injured personnel, most of them having near to no mana left.


    "Goodbye," Ales shoved the floating orb frontwards, and as the orb moved, it built up immense speed.


    She knew she wasn''t strong and knew the repercussions of making a deal with the Devil, if they even truly existed from the books she had read, but looking at the sight filled with despair behind her, she felt a spark in her heart. A feeling in her heart that she always wanted, and in the few seconds that feeling wrapped her heart.


    Harmonia clenches her fist, and with all her might stood up. In a last act of desperation and bravery, she shouted to the sky: "Fine then, I''ll make a deal with the Devil if it means saving these people!"


    The grass plains turned silent, the sounds of battle seemingly stopped until Ales spoke.


    "What a joke. That was your last attempt?" He mocked, "You see, there is no such thing as a Devil."


    Harmonia fell down to her knees, kneeling on the ground. Her eyes swelled with tears. "This is it, huh?" She sobbed.


    As her first tear touched the ground, in an instant, the feeling of being watched was lifted from her, the vile and horrid magic signature she felt earlier now surrounded her and felt clear as day. The wind around the grass plains seemingly stopped, and a burst of maniacal laughter, enough to shrink even the bravest of hearts, filled the area.

 Chapter 5 : Retaliation

    The grass plains turned silent; each prisoner seemingly had their gaze upon the sky, but the next moment the laughter had stopped.


    Harmonia felt cold air sweep her hair from above, and in an instant, the girl looked up, what she saw was white flames with black streaks coming off from it, falling from the sky.


    The flames fell in front of her and immediately dispersed as it hit her body. She realizes that it wasn''t fire. Instead of burning her, it was cold to the touch. It was something worse than that. It was mana. Mana thick enough to cause friction in the air, causing it to have a flame-like appearance. She had known about this from the books in her family library, but seeing it up close was another experience for her.


    The now dispersed flames revealed a figure covered in flames, but with enough form to know that inside was a person. It moved its mana filled hands toward the approaching magic blast. As it reached the figure''s hands, the white flames opened like a jaw. It shut the jaw-like mana shut and shattered the sphere inside.


    Across the field, Ales was displeased with what had happened in front of him, "Whoever you are. You are on the wrong side of this battle," said Ales.


    The figure stayed quiet until they started to emit a chuckle. The form inside the flames turns its head back as its flames dwindle.


    The black streak of flames moved wildly across the figure''s head, forming an eerie smile and three eyes that stared at Harmonia. "Do you see what I mean by you better remember that quote, Mistress?"


    The familiar voice pierced through the girl''s ear. The figure''s voice was more vivid than the time behind the glass wall. Harmonia gasped, "H-Hilbert!?" She asked.


    "Who else would it be?" Hilbert chuckled. The white flames dissipate entirely, only covering his hand, feet, and face. Hilbert was wearing a grey shirt, tattered at the edges and long black pants.


    The wounded Agent musters up his last remaining strength to utter, "Hilbert... You are..." The Agent groaned and his knees fall to the ground clutching his wounded shoulders with his left hand.


    "Rest yourself, Fynn. I''ll take care of everything from here," said Hilbert. He raised his mana covered hand in front of him. "Right, almost forgot about that part." He moved his hand to cover his face¡ªa magic circle formed in front of his palm. The magic circle emitted a faint glow, and the white flames covering his face, feet, and hand disappeared.


    Revealing a face with a right eye painted in deep black as if a corpse and his left eye, as red as blood and brimming with life. His black hair uncombed, with white lines of hair predominant on the left side of his head.


    "W-why did you save us?" Harmonia asked, her eyes still filled with dread.


    Hilbert sighed, "Are you really this dense, Mistress?" Before he was able to open his mouth again, a gust of wind blew from in front of him. The man stomped his foot onto the ground and grinned.


    Another purple orb approaches at full speed. Hilbert cackled as he moved his left leg to wind-up for a kick. In an instant, it reached in front of him. He let go of his hold and kicked the orb upwards. The sphere flew into the sky until it exploded into a cloud of purple smoke.


    Hilbert stood there unharmed, his hair messier than before. "How many of those are you going to throw?" Hilbert casually asked, as if mocking Ales.


    "None," said Ales as he moved forward from the group of prisoners, "Who are you? A simple nobody wouldn''t be able to dispose of those two attacks with just luck."


    "Ah, that''s right, none of you scum would know who I am." He fixed his stance, "Let me introduce myself," he said in a disciplined manner, still with a small grin on his face.


    "My current name is Hilbert," His grin grew into a smile, "I''m a prisoner of that prison just like all of you." His smile grew wider and wider.


    "Then, what rank did they assign you with?" The figure raises his hand to the side, signaling the people behind him to stand down.


    "Mine is Rank A, number six," he remarks cockily, "The other A ranks above me seems to have escaped, what fools." he sighed, "Now, stop defending that girl and I might spare you."


    "Those A ranks know better," he chuckled, the white flame-like rose from the ground near him. "It would appear that it''s time for me to drop the facade."


    Hilbert''s voice turned erratic and echoed throughout the plains, "Rank S, number nine," His smile twisted and turned into a horrific one. His voice cold and stuttering as if holding back laughter, "As known as," the grass plain was silent, The group of personnel behind him was speechless, and Harmonia was left alone not knowing what the man just said.


    The kneeling Agent F murmur, "So what you were telling me was true, that you are..."


    "The Devil," Said Hilbert, his horrific smile fully spread across his cheeks.


    "W-what!?" Harmonia panicked, turning to Hilbert, "E-e-eh? T-then d-did I-" Said Harmonia, lost for words.


    Hilbert glanced back at Harmonia, "Yes, you did."


    Across the grass plain, Ales scoffed and laughed, "Rank S, you say? Don''t make me laugh; that rank doesn''t exist. If an S class existed, it would''ve been widely known by the prisoners throughout the facility." Ales pointed towards Hilbert. "What you just said was merely to intimidate me, wasn''t it?" He laughed, the other prisoners laughed at Hilbert''s remark as if commanded by Ales.


    The commander of the prisoners then raised his hand and shouted, "It''s a free for all. Do what you want with them. The guy over there is just bluffing. Don''t forget, Agent Fynn and Harmonia is mine, don''t touch them." Immediately, as if a dam was breached, waves of prisoners came rushing towards the group of personnel.


    Hilbert placed his palm on his forehead as he sighed. His horrid smile had turned into a frown, "I tried to warn you, people." He raised his left hand, but then dropped it. He looks back at Harmonia, "Do you happen to be one of those people with a No Kill Rule?" Hilbert asked casually, paying no mind to the coming horde.


    "Oh, um," Harmonia mumbled in shock, but before she was able to say anything, Hilbert has turned around again, "I guess so," He sighed, "This makes my job a bit harder."


    "Let me make this quick," He stomped his foot onto the ground creating a shockwave that didn''t deter the horde of people. He raised his left hand again with his palms open.


    The white mana from before gathered above his palm; the space around his hand vibrated while strong winds gathered, the white flames now spinning as if dancing on his palms. A loud shriek erupted from the center, forcing a few people in the plains to kneel and cover their ears.


    "Urgh," Fynn groaned as he kneeled and covered his ears.


    "Hilbert, what are you doing!?" Harmonia shouted.


    The white mana turned into its flame-like form and expanded sideways into a staff structure, and as if reality was glass, the white flame on his palm twisted and shattered. Revealing a pitch-black spear, Hilbert grasped it in his hand, and the horrific smile returned to his face.


    "H-How," Harmonia trembles, her eyes dimmed as she stared into the familiar object that has appeared in so many of her dreams, "Urgh," She groaned as she felt an acute stinging pain on her back.


    Ales was in disbelief, the prisoners he commanded fell one by one by the sheer gravity of Hilbert''s aura. Hilbert spun the spear around as if playing with it. He raised the spear in front of him, pointing the sharp tip to the ground and stabbed it down. The grass around it started to wither and rot, starting from the tip of the spear.


    This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    "What did you do!?" Ales shouted in anger.


    Hilbert looked around the plains. Some of the prisoners were still eager to attack them. He spotted a pile of bodies near the end of the plains, their bodies still emitting mana- alive, but unconscious.


    "Seems to me that you have no human decency left in you," said Hilbert, ignoring Ales.


    Ales noticed Hilbert staring at the pile of bodies, "So what? They are traitors who didn''t want to help us; they don''t matter."


    "Oh, it does matter," Hilbert laughed, "Because now-" A white magic circle immediately emerged from the tip of the spear, quickly expanding throughout the entire grass plain in a matter of seconds.


    Ales sensed the amount of mana being spent at such succession, "A-are you insane?" The man shouted as purple magic tendrils spurted out from his orange jumpsuit and pushed him upwards, the other prisoners that stayed away from Hilbert in confusion as they looked down on the ground.


    "I can slaughter you all like animals," said Hilbert with a hint of disdain. Instantly hundreds of white spears, shaped by the white mana-shaped flames, emerge from the ground where the prisoners stood. In an instant, the spear impaled them one by one.


    Seeing the scene of the carnage unfolding in front of them, The still standing prisoners panicked as they tried to run away, "To hell with this," said one of the prisoners. The prisoner immediately ran towards the outside of the magic circle. But as they neared the edge, the circle expanded with each of their steps. One of the prisoners tripped and fell; realizing his fate, he stayed on the ground as the spears made their way.


    Hilbert scoffed at the sight, "No running away now," He said mockingly.


    "What are you doing!?¡± Harmonia shouted as she had finally stood upright, her eyes dead focus on Hilbert.


    "Ah, it''s not what it looks like Mistress," Hilbert looked back, "They are still experiencing the pain, but no harm is done to their bodies. Considering how much knowledge you know about the basics, you should know my type, right?"


    "Eh?" Harmonia stepped back, "Weapon Type, Mana Manipulation?" The girl guessed.


    "Correct and don''t worry; I didn''t solidify the mana inside it, it only messes with the mana inside their body, causing the same exact pain as if an actual spear goes through them."


    Hilbert turns around again, inserting his left hand to his pocket, "Take care of the people here for a bit, especially Fynn." he scratched the back of his head, "Use your magic to create bandages. Consider it as your first training."


    The alleged Devil had his eyes on Ales as he walked, "Do you believe me now?" Hilbert shouted from afar, but the figure was too focused on dodging the spears. "Hey," the alleged Devil called out to Ales again.


    Hilbert lowered his stance into a kneeling state, his leg bent, and upper body aiming at Ales. He grinned and immediately pushed himself forward with the strength of his right foot, propelling him into the air.


    Ales noticed the living bullet and moved his tendrils sideways, trying to push himself out of the way, but as he looked around, the Devil''s hand was already grasping his head. With a firm grip on the side of Ales'' head, Hilbert opened his palm, aiming towards Ales'' back. In an instant, a white magic circle appeared behind Ales. Then, with his build-up momentum, Hilbert bashed Ales'' head onto the floating magic circle.


    Ales groaned in pain and tried to use his tendril to retaliate, the edges of the tendrils sharpened and aimed at Hilbert''s head. Hilbert glanced at the attack and dissipated the magic circle, causing them to lose momentum and fall. Hilbert grabbed Ales'' collar and immediately threw him down.


    The Devil opened his palm as he fell, aiming at the falling prisoner. Three white spears created from mana manifested behind him and propelled themselves towards Ales instantly. Ales¡¯ purple tendrils moved in front of him to fight off the incoming spears.


    "Hah, did you forget? Spears are also coming from the ground?¡± Hilbert scoffed. A magic circle manifested below him as he fell. He landed on the magic circle as he watched Ales fall to the ground.


    Ales panicked and looked back, he saw multiple spears emerging from the ground, and all of the prisoners defeated in mere minutes.


    He clenched his teeth. In a desperate last attempt, he sent out a flurry of sharp tendrils towards Hilbert, but the Devil just laughed, "Let me show you how futile it is," white mana manifested around his hand. Then, jagged black horns that point forward jutted out from both sides of Hilbert''s head. For a fraction of a second, the white mana around his hand turns black as Hilbert softly moved his hand from right to left as if brushing off dust in front of him. The sharp tendrils twirled and dissipated like vines withering.


    Ales wasn''t able to prevent the gasp of shock from escaping his lips as he looked at Hilbert. Fear crawled up his back as he realized his meaningless attempts and Hilbert''s sheer mana pool; he could feel an enormous dark presence coming from The Devil.


    The spears coming from the ground pierces through his body, followed by the dozens of spears coming from the sky. He groaned in pain, clutching his fist and brace for impact with the ground, but as he nearly reached the ground, Ales could feel his body stopping and his collar pushing his neck from the back.


    "If you didn''t remind me, he would''ve died, you know?" the Devil''s voice seemingly has calmed down. "How did you?" The man looked down at Hilbert''s footing and saw a magic circle right before the sharp spears below it.


    "Unhand me!" He shouted.


    "Well," Hilbert glanced down at the multiple spears under him and loosen his grip. He looked up with one eyebrow raised towards Ales, "You sure?"


    Ales looked down and sighed, "No, he said meekly."


    "I thought so," Hilbert snapped his fingers, the spears under him dissipated one by one, he jumped down to the ground, his hand still grabbing the man''s collar. He turned around, back towards the group of personnel. He spots Harmonia running around the crowd with bandages carried on her arms.


    The Devil smirks, "Good Job," he whispered. He then makes his way towards the girl with the thought of the deal lingering in his mind. As he walked, the spear that impaled the prisoners dissipated around him. They fell to the ground with their bodies still twitching from the pain.


    "Urgh, w-who reminded you?" he said groggily.


    "Secret," Hilbert giggled.


    "Then, why did you save them? You''re a criminal just like us."


    Hilbert looked up at the setting sun, "If I were to escape, the Grand Sorcerers would be at my neck, and that girl you threatened really piqued my interest."


    He approached the spears he stabbed into the ground. Harmonia turned her head towards Hilbert, "Hilbert..." She tried to speak.


    "It''s over. I killed no one if you were wondering," Hilbert casually said as he threw the injured prisoner on his shoulder to the ground.


    "Huh, now that I look at your face, you look quite familiar," Hilbert tilted his head, reaching for his spear, "I''ll need this back."


    Hilbert felt a gust of wind blowing behind on top of him, "Tch," The Devil clicked his tongue as he jumped back a few feet without grabbing his spear. Immediately a sword pulsing with blue aura stabbed the ground where he stood.


    A man fell from the sky and grabbed the sword, swiftly moving the blue sword created from mana towards Hilbert''s throat, a few inches away from slashing it.


    The man''s face filled with anger. His teeth clenched, and eyes focused towards the Devil. Blue swords manifested behind him, all aimed at Hilbert.


    "Ah, long time no see, Clarke of the Grand Sorcerers," said Hilbert with a smile.

 Chapter 6 : Interrogation

    Multiple footsteps moved through the now empty gray corridors of the prison, with a faint sound of chains clanking in between. Six people, all wearing black suits, surrounded Hilbert. The Devil''s hands were restrained with handcuffs made from the same material as the walls of his containment room.


    The Personnel knew of the threat the man they surrounded brought, but they can''t help but wonder why the man they surrounded acted so casually. Harmonia was the only one left out; she was anxious, and her face was sweaty even though the corridor was cold.


    Clueless of the situation, the girl asked innocently, "Where are we going?"


    Clarke glanced over his shoulder to the clueless Harmonia, "Interrogation room," he shortly replied, "Your Father and the other Grand Sorcerers are there."


    "E-eh, F-Father? Is there?" Harmonia said in a panic, but before she was able to continue her words, the Devil spoke, "Don''t you think this is too many, Swordsman?"


    "Quite the contrary, I suggested more restraints and guards on you," said Clarke as he turned right on the pathway. The other Personnel followed as well as Hilbert.


    "Oh, are you scared of me?" Hilbert scoffs.


    Clarke stopped walking, clenching his fist. Immediately a blue sword created from mana manifested in front of Hilbert''s face, "Shut up," he glared towards Hilbert. Even without knowing their history, Harmonia could tell that Clarke wasn''t joking.


    "Fine," Hilbert sighed. "You haven''t changed at all since I first met you. What a disappointment," the Devil thought.


    As the heat died down, Harmonia looked forward to the corridor, spotting a door sliced in two. She peered inside and saw steel boxes connected with cables, ransacked, and destroyed with the same type of damage as the door. She considered asking Clarke about it but dismissed the thought.


    "Here we are," said Clarke, in front of them are two doors, both of them darker colored than the wall of the corridors. Clarke pointed to the right door, "Harmonia, you go inside the door on the right, while the rest of you guard the door."


    Without any more words, Harmonia opens the right door, inside was a small room with metallic walls and a window to the interrogation room. Inside was Hiro and a black-haired girl wearing a red and white shrine maiden outfit, Miwa, one of the Grand Sorcerers. But those were not the subject of Harmonia''s focus, in front of her now was her father.


    "A-ah, F-Father..." Said Harmonia in a rush, but before she was able to say another word. Fremund hurried at her, opening his arm and hugged her, "I''m so glad you''re safe."


    Harmonia was dazed, she was expecting scolding from her father, "I''m sorry," said Fremund, "If I cared more for your needs, you wouldn''t have gone through that.¡±


    Before Harmonia was able to hug her father back, a fake cough broke the mood. Fremund let go of the hug; the lady from the information table was there behind him, sitting in front of a computer screen showing the surveillance feed of the interrogation room. She pointed her hand to the window. Hilbert and Clarke had entered.


    She then turned her head towards Harmonia, "Nice to meet you again, Harmonia," said the lady.


    Harmonia scratched the back of her head, "I''m sorry for lying to you," Harmonia said meekly.


    "It''s fine, what matters now is that everyone is alive and well, thanks to-" She glances to the window, "I don''t want to say it, but everyone is safe thanks to S number nine."


    On the other side of the window, Hilbert has sat down in the other chair, with Clarke leaning on the door behind Hilbert.


    The Devil looks around the room, "I have to say I''m honored. To think that I was such a high priority that three of the four Grand Sorcerers are here to guard me.¡±


    Hiro stayed silent, opening a file filled with paper in his hands and showing it to Hilbert. "Hmm, what is this?" He wondered.


    "Reports and eyewitness accounts. We suspect that you''re the one that orchestrated the breakout," Hiro pointed to one of the lines on the paper. "It says here that you are the only S rank in the scene after the teleportation. What do you have to say about that?"


    "Huh, so that''s the case," Hilbert sighed, "You see, I was teleported further away than the rest. I stayed around because I felt a cluster of mana coming from somewhere,and to my surprise, a fight had broken out."


    Hiro stared at the file, "That explains my assumption why the S ranks and A ranks were not at the grass plains. Except for one person: Ales."


    Hilbert laid back on his chair, "What happened to him, anyway?"


    "After all the Personnel and Prisoners were handled with, we sent a prison escort to get him, but on the way, it was ambushed."


    "Ambushed? By who?" Hilbert asked.


    "Unfortunately we don''t know who did it. What we do know is that it''s the same person as the one that attacked Superintendent Nell. She''s wounded, but safe. That rules you out as the one who orchestrated it."


    "I can''t accept that!" Miwa intercepts, "This man, whatever he is, definitely did it."


    "Ah, Teleporter, didn''t see you there. You''re as short as I last remembered you," Hilbert chuckled.


    "Don''t call me that, you Devil," said Miwa.


    Hiro raised his right hand and glanced back at the shrine maiden, "Calm down," he muttered, "Don''t let personal affairs get in the way of common sense. That applies to you too, Clarke."


    "Tch, no fun," Hilbert grinned, moving to sit upright on the chair. His eyes forward on Hiro. "How''s Fynn?" Hilbert asked. The note of his voice changed, turning smoother and low.


    "Fynn is safe, he''s in hospital being taken care of." said Hiro.


    The Devil let out a sigh of relief, "Good," Hilbert then grinned again, nodding towards the file, "Now time to stop with the small talks. You said there are eyewitness accounts there, right?"


    "Yes, there are."


    Hilbert let out his horrific smile, his voice turned erratic, "Then, you should know what I want."


    Hiro sighed and glanced at the one-sided mirror on the wall. Harmonia could feel the Agent''s gaze at her.


    "The deal. Sadly, I can''t allow that." Hiro shook his head, "Now, can you undo the deal that you''ve made with Miss Harmonia?"


    "I don''t hear a please."


    The Agent groaned, " Can you please undo the deal wi-"


    "HAH!" Hilbert cackles, "You fell for it. No can do Agent, even if I wanted to." Hilbert laid back on his chair, "Hey Swordsman. I know you''re mad, but can you lay down the sword aiming at my head?" Said Hilbert, without looking back at Clarke.


    Hiro glared at Clarke, who was holding a mana sword aimed at Hilbert. Reluctantly, Clarke put down the sword as it dispersed into blue smoke and disappeared.


    "Tch, he has this entire situation under control," Hiro thought, annoyed. The Agent thought of ways to get Harmonia off the hook, but his line of thinking was cut short by what the Devil uttered.


    "I think I should thank you- the only one who sees my request as a benefit was only you and Fynn." Hilbert laid his back on the chair, facing his head to the ceiling. His tone turned calm, "I don''t know what kind of miracle happened, but it all led up to the deal."


    "What are you going on about?" Said Hiro, seemingly confused with the Devil''s tangent.


    Hilbert laughed, "Thinking back on it, on the breakout. If it weren''t for me, every Personnel would''ve died, huh?" He turned his head back on the man leaning on the door, "Well, not everybody, considering Mister Swordsman here was nearly there. But I think that still warrants me being a saviou-"


    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    When the word almost left Hilbert''s mouth, a fist swung into the side of his head, strong enough to throw him into the wall with the window.


    Hilbert''s back hit the wall, and he fell to the floor, "Oh? Did I strike a nerve?" Said Hilbert as he opened his eyes. Right in front of his face, a blue sword manifested nearly grazing the skin of his nose. Two blue teleportation circles formed between where his chest was.


    "You''re the direct opposite of that!" Clarke shouted.


    "One more word from you creature, and I''ll teleport your heart far away from here," said Miwa.


    Seeing the anger-filled expression of the two Grand Sorcerers, he merely laughed, "You two really need to work on your anger issues."


    The shrine maiden clicked her tongue, "It''s your funeral then." The two teleportation circles lighted up and turned, but before she could finish, a loud thump stopped her. Both of them turned her head to the Agent on the table.


    Hiro, with his fist steaming a yellow aura on the table, glared at both of them. "You two, get out!" He shouted.


    Shocked with the sudden change of Hiro''s usual relaxed mood, the two of them dropped their magic and walked outside, starting from Miwa. Clarke stopped right at the door, giving Hilbert a single glare before stepping out.


    At the same time, behind the one-sided window, Harmonia was slowly shaking her head. She couldn''t believe that two of the Grand Sorcerers, the people she idolized, could act so irrationally.


    She looked to her father, "Father, what happened between those three?" Harmonia asked, innocently.


    Fremund turned his head to his daughter with a half-hearted smile, "I''m sorry, Harmonia, this is one of the things your father can''t tell you about."


    "Okay," said Harmonia with a downturned head.


    Outside of the room, Clarke had no intention of waiting for the interrogation to finish. He walked down the corridor that he passed through before to Miwa''s confusion.


    "Clarke, where do you intend on going?" The shrine maiden asked.


    "Anywhere else but here," said Clarke.


    "I can tell you''re not telling the whole truth."


    "You can always tell, can''t you?" Clarke stopped his step.


    Miwa started to giggle, her mood seemingly has brightened up, "Of course I could, we''ve been t-to¡ª I-I m-mean, working together for a long time, don''t we?"


    "Yeah, yeah, I get it," Clarke said, scratching the back of his head. "I''m going to check around the place of the accident, If I''m lucky, there should be some B or hopefully A ranks around the place."


    "I can help you get a headstart with that," Miwa raised his hand to Clarke. Two blue teleportation circles manifested under his feet and head.


    "I thought you said you couldn''t teleport that far."


    "Ah that, I''m only teleporting you as far as I can," Miwa explained.


    "Huh, why didn''t I think of that?¡± Clarke looked down, putting his hand on his chin.


    The two circles between Clarke spun and lighted up. "Oh and also," Clarke averted his gaze, "...Thanks for that. I feel better now."


    "Anytime," said Miwa with a cheery smile.


    The two circles spun faster and faster until they disappeared along with Clarke.


    Back in the room, Hilbert has fixed his bearings and sat back on the chair, "Phew, I could''ve died there," he scoffs.


    "You know that''s not the case," The Agent looked down on Hilbert''s handcuff, "Take those off. After what happened, I know that thing isn''t doing anything."


    Hilbert smirked as he raised his hand and violently opened his arms. The chains between the cuffs broke, sending the parts across the room. "How can you tell?"


    "I''m not an idiot. When Miwa was about to teleport your heart, I could feel faint mana manifesting behind both of their heads," said Hiro, unamused.


    "Makes sense why you''re their leader," Hilbert lets out his Horrific smile, "Now," as the word left his mouth, the room seemingly turned colder, "Let''s stop with this pointless bickering and get to the point, shall we?"


    The Agent coughed to clear out his throat. "Why should we accept this deal? I can only see demerits instead of merits," said Hiro with a winced eye.


    "First thing, what I want is not Harmonia''s soul, like what the usual deal asked in return."


    "Then, what do you want?"


    "My freedom," Hilbert said shortly.


    Hiro raised his body to sit straight on the chair, putting his forearms on the table. "You know we can''t just do that, right?" said the Agent with one eyebrow raised.


    "I''m sure you can, Agent." The Devil grinned.


    "What do you expect us to ask on our side?"


    "I don''t know, capturing all the escaped prisoners, maybe?"


    Hiro looked up the ceiling, "Yeah, no. We have all of that under control." Hiro said confidently.


    "You sure?" Hilbert laid back on his chair.


    "Of course, I''m sure."


    Hilbert chuckled as he pushed himself into the table, crossing both of his hands on it, mimicking Hiro. "How about S numbers two and one then?" The Devil laughed.


    The Agent was taken aback, "H-how did you-" Hiro shakes his head, confused.


    "Was it Fynn?" He asked, unsure about his thoughts.


    "Wow, don''t blame Fynn now," The Devil snickered, "Those mana isolator thingies don''t work on me. I''ll give you people props for splitting the S ranks cells far away from each other, but I could tell. There were only six other non-personnel magic signatures around that facility worth recognizing."


    Hiro''s shoulders lowered, "Tch¡­ How long has he known this?" he thought. The Agent raised his eyes from the ground to answer back, but before he could utter a word, the door behind Hilbert opened to reveal Fremund, with Harmonia right behind him.


    "Fremund, Sir? What happened?" The Agent asked.


    Fremund raised his hand toward Hiro as he looked at Hilbert, "Give us two days," He said sternly.


    Hilbert glanced over his shoulder to the stern Fremund, but his eyes were more focused on Harmonia, "Oh, the brat''s here, well. I''ll give you a day."


    "Eh? Brat...?" Harmonia thought, clueless.


    "Only a day, you say? That''s too short for us to consider things," said Fremund.


    "Can''t help you with that, brat. Remember when I said I can''t cancel the deal even if I wanted to? Yeah, making a deal with the Devil is like that. If it''s not agreed in one day or so..." Hilbert points to the back of his neck, a red crystal shaped mana formed, nearly grazing the skin. "...Let''s just say what''s going to happen next is not pretty."


    Harmonia reached for the back of her neck, and on her palm, she felt mana with the same shape as Hilbert''s. Fremund noticed, and with a half-hearted response, he finally complied, "Very well, I agree but, you''ll stay in this room for the remainder of the time."


    Hilbert looked around the room, "It''s fine, I stayed in that containment room for nearly two decades. I could handle a day in this." he shrugged.


    "Two decades...?" Harmonia murmured.


    "I''ll take the incentive if you haven''t decided on it. Whatever Mistress sees fit the deal at the current time. So that thing doesn''t happen."


    "Alright," Fremund turned to Hiro, "Everything is settled now, Hiro."


    Hiro sighed and got up from his chair, blankly staring at Hilbert, He stepped outside as Fremund stepped away from the entrance, shutting the door behind him.


    Inside the room, Hilbert grinned as he stared at the door, "Did you catch all of that, Anne?" The Devil whispered to himself.

 Chapter 7 : Rulers of the world

    At the dead of night, Fremund sat on the chair of his office. A slight hint of wariness appeared on his face. On the side of his desk was a stack of papers, all signed by him.


    He had taken precautions, so the information of the breakout didn¡¯t fall into the hands of the media. The Grand Sorcerers were tracking down the remaining escapees. But those were not the source of his worry.


    "S ranks," He thought. "Why, out of all the ranks, did the S rank have to be the only rank where all of them escaped?" Fremund sighed. "And then, there''s that person... If only the one that saved the personnel wasn''t him, this would be so much easier."


    Fremund moved himself to sit straight on his chair. He opened his hand in front of him, and a yellow magic circle manifested right atop of it.


    On the man''s hand was a magic circle; its purpose was to let people communicate across long distances. It used ley lines as a mana transmitter across other ley lines.


    The man took a deep breath, "Elves ley line, Reina Fleur," He uttered. Immediately, the magic circle shined and spun atop his hand, spinning faster and faster until it stopped.


    "Darling!" A cheery and energetic voice emitted from the circle. "It''s been so long since you called after I went to help out the Elves."


    Fremund lowered his shoulders, "Sorry about that Reina, I was quite busy with things," he explained.


    "Hmmph, no fun. You didn''t even bother calling me, Honey," She pouted.


    "Sorry again, I''m quite stressed about stuff. I hope everything is well on your side."


    "Yeah, it''s fine. My work with the Elves is going smoothly, but..." Reina''s voice turned serious, "That''s not the topic you want to talk about, right?"


    Fremund chuckled, "You got me there."


    "What do you want to talk about?"


    "I have good news and bad news. Which one do you want first?"


    "Good one, of course!" Said Reina brightly.


    "As expected from you," Fremund took a deep breath, "Our daughter, Harmonia¡­ awakened her magic."


    "Aww, that''s great! She''s all grown up now," She said in a higher pitch.


    "She''s seventeen, you know, well eighteen in a few months," Fremund interjected.


    "Yeah, but still..." Reina frowned.


    "Let''s move on from that. Now, for the bad news...."


    "Yes?" The woman wondered.


    "Our daughter made a deal with S number nine."


    Reina giggled, "Good joke, darling. You almost made me worried there." She shook her head, "You can tell me the real bad news now."


    "I''m telling the truth," Fremund said shortly.


    "Eh?"


    "I''m telling you the truth." He reaffirmed.


    "Eh!?" She gasped. "H-how!?" She said in a panic as her cheery attitude disappeared, "How did they even meet?"


    Fremund began explaining the events that happened on the same day, answering each of Reina''s questions until she fully understood.


    "T-that is... quite hard to believe," said Reina.


    "I couldn''t believe the chains of coincidences that happened as well, but what''s important now is that he didn''t request her soul in the deal."


    Reina let out a sigh of relief, "Thank goodness at that part. What did Harmonia ask for?"


    "She hasn''t asked for anything, which means we can manipulate her side of the deal to have no loophole that S number nine can exploit."


    "True¡­ What I''m going to suggest might sound a bit out there for you, darling, but how about he trains Harmonia?"


    Fremund was dazed by Reina''s statement, "What? But why?" He wondered.


    "Hear me out first," Reina''s tone changed to a more stern one, "Harmonia, in terms of learning her magic, is late seventeen years. Add that with the fact that her first magic is creation, and our daughter needs all the help she can get to master it."


    Fremund laid back on his chair, "I can see where you''re coming from, but is it worth him being free?"


    "Well, do you have any other suggestions?"


    "Hmm," Fremund put his hand on his chin and moved to sit straight up his chair again. "Capturing... all of the escaped prisoners."


    "Huh, that''s a good suggestion, yeah. That''ll work."


    "That settles it then, I''ll talk to Harmonia about it tomorrow morning."


    "Alright, I''ll get back to my work now," said Reina. The yellow magic circle atop Fremund''s hand started to flicker, "Ah right, darling. I''ll be back right before Harmonia''s birthday. See you then," said Reina, her cheery tone seemingly had returned.


    "See you," said Fremund as he moved up from his seat. The man let out a sigh of relief as he stared into the night sky.


    <hr>


    Across the ocean, through countless forests and mountains that reached to the skies, and in between ruins covered in trees that had stood there since ancient times, a woman, known as Reina Fleur, stood under the sun.


    Reina''s blue eyes stared at the flickering yellow magic circle in front of her as it dissipated. Her soft wavy blonde hair that reached to her waist was fluently blown by the wind. She looked younger than her age implied, but her posture told another story. For she was standing still with steel armor covering her entire body. Except for her head with a silver sword scabbard on her hip. The plate of armor was clear of any symbols, except for the sheath. It etched a flower symbol, covering every part of it.


    When the magic circle in front of her disappeared, an Elf jumped from one of the trees. Landing in their two feet, then fixing their stance to stand in front of Reina, "Are you done?"


    Before Reina, at a little distance from her, stood a slim female elf, with an oval face, and a kind expression. Her pale green hair swept to the side, and her eyes were clear yellow. The Elf''s clothing was lighter than Reina''s, leather clothes garnished with green fabric and a belt buckle going from her back up to her waist, holding three small knives. An out of place cape covered her left hand.


    Reina turned her head to the Elf, "Oh, Melara. Of course, I''m done." Reina smiled.


    "Again," The Elf frowned. "You can just call me Lara, you know. You''ve been here for a few weeks now if we''re using the human calendar."


    "Ah, right. I got used to calling you Melara," Reina mildly chuckled.


    The Elf sighed, "It''s fine, Reina."


    As they began to talk, another Elf jumped off from a tree near them, landing behind Melara, kneeling on the ground.


    "Your Majesty," an Elf called while bowing.


    "Hmm?" Melara turned, "Is there something wrong with the wildlife?" She asked.


    "No, Your Majesty. It is done; the wildlife around the area has been cleared off."


    "Well done," Melara turned her head to Reina, "You can do your job now."


    "Alright," said Reina sternly. She grabbed the hilt of the sword and unsheathed it from the sheath on her belt.


    The woman in armor raised her sword, pointing the edge of the claymore toward the ruin. Red mana manifested around the blade, spinning around it as the entire sword is enveloped in mana.


    The mana grew more intense and spun around the blade even faster as time went on until the mana started to spark and crackle. Reina took a deep breath, and with all of her might, she shouted.


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    "Grand... FLEUR!"


    In an instant, the crackling mana of the sword blasted toward the ruin, growing more massive than the original size of the blade. Deteriorating the rubble as it hit it. The blast crackled and shone as it covered the entire ruin.


    The mana started to flicker until it slowly dissipated. Revealing a large crater without any trace of the ruin left. Reina kneeled down, out of breath, "I-its... been a while since I used that much mana," she turned to Melara.


    "Good job. One out of many Devil ruins left," Melara smiled. "We could get it all done right around your schedule if we destroy around three a day."


    Reina had sat down on the ground, gazing at the clear blue sky. "Nice, that''s around the limit of how much I can do the blast in a day."


    "Perfect, let''s get going to the next one, shall we?" Melara glanced at Reina.


    "Yeah, right." Reina pushed herself from the ground, brushing off the dirt off her armor. But as she turned to look at Melara, the Elf was staring at the crater with a frown covering her face. "What''s wrong?" Reina asked.


    "Ironic, isn''t it? Devils went extinct thousands of years ago, yet signs of their existence can be found everywhere."


    "Huh, now that I think about it, why did you need help destroying the ruins?"


    Melara''s frown turned upside down, "Ah yes, about that. I guess I wasn''t clear about our intention back then." The Elf coughed to clear her mouth, "You see, we Elves don''t have much in terms of large scale destruction magic."


    "Yeah, I know that part," said Reina.


    "The other reason is..." Melara looked down. "A few months ago, using the human calendar, the ruins started to absorb mana from the world and sent it off somewhere. We don''t know where exactly, but we know it''ll be better if we just destroy them. I know it''s reckless, but considering history, anything related to them is better off destroyed."


    Reina placed his hand on the Elf''s shoulder, "Don''t worry about it. We''ll just destroy all of it," The woman said with a bright smile on her face, but inside her head, Reina was in a panic. "I''m so sorry, Lara. I think I know where the mana is going, but I really can''t tell you," she thought.


    "Thanks, Reina." She looked up, "Let''s get going to the next one, shall we?"


    Both of them started walking to the forest as the Elf from before jumped ahead to the trees. But a mana signature stopped them on their tracks.


    "Huh, this is..." Reina mumbled. "Two mana signatures clashing." She turned her head to the Elf.


    Melara merely looked down, "Those two idiots are at it again," she sighed, "Continue walking. I''ll explain on the way."


    <hr>


    On a barren land far away from where the Elves reside, stood a vast kingdom. A kingdom of Demons, with a castle surrounded by medieval buildings. Inside the throne room right across the gate into the palace, the demon lord sat on the throne with a female secretary standing next to him.


    The demon lord dawned a black winter cape with a fur collar, wearing leather armor, with his own intention to make himself more vulnerable. His dark red hair was messy with a resemblance of bangs being swept to the side, and two jagged horns that pointed upward jutted from both sides of his head. His amber eyes were seemingly unamused by the main hall in front of him. The unamused individual was known as Morz.


    "How boring," He grumbled, tapping his finger on the armrest of the chair.


    "W-whats wrong, my lord?" The secretary right beside him said in a panic.


    "Nothing, it''s just that I missed heroes coming from those gates with the intent of killing the current demon lord." He sighed.


    "You''ve said that many times, my lord."


    "I know."


    The demon lord stood up from his throne to his secretary''s wonder. "Where are you going, my lord?"


    "Nowhere, I''m just going to look around the halls," said the demon lord as he stepped down the small stairs leading to the halls. But before he was able to, a large man barged into the halls of the throne room.


    The man raised his hand to wave at Morz. "Yo, Morz. How are you doing?" said the man without any explanation.


    Morz put his hands on his waist as he sighed, "Isn''t your race still in their hibernation period, Brutus? Why are you all pumped up without any sign of being tired at all?"


    The man called Brutus had a round face and wore a simple black gi, his skin tanned by the sun. His black hair was let loose with two ears similar to that of a wolf atop his head.


    The man rubbed the back of his head. "Oh, the Beastkin," He chuckled, "Well, you see, we''re nearing the end of the hibernation period, and it just so happens that I woke up earlier than the rest."


    The Demon put up his palm to his forehead, "Shouldn''t you be there when they wake up? Aren''t you their chieftain?


    "Eh, they''ll survive." The man said casually.


    "Y-you!?" Morz looked down and let down a hard sigh, "Your ruling ways differ a lot from mine."


    "That''s a given. Now, you know what I came here for, right?"


    "Of course I know, we do it annually. But before that, where''s Charlotte?" The demon lord asked. "Lara said she''s not with her."


    "Charlotte? She went off on her own to the human side of the world a few years ago. She''s different from the normal beastkin. I bet she''s doing fine."


    "That''s good," Morz said shortly.


    "And," Brutus black eyes glanced at Morz'' secretary.


    Chills ran down her spine as she pushed her body to stand up straight, "Y-yes? Is there something wrong?" said the lady.


    "Who''s this Demon?" Brutus asked, "I didn''t see her here last year. Is she your lover or something?" he wondered.


    The secretary''s cheeks blushed, "Not that!" She shouted.


    "Oh, Ritz. You remember the Demon''s tradition?"


    "The challenge one? Where a Demon can challenge another Demon for their position?"


    "Huh, you aren''t that dumb, I see," Morz nodded, "Yes, she challeng¡ª"


    Ritz shrieked in a panic, turning to the demon lord, "My lord, please don''t."


    "Hmm, you weren''t that jumpy when you challenged me, were you?" Morz grinned, "Where did that cocky attitude of yours go?" He chuckled.


    "B-but, my lord..."


    "If that''s the case, I''ll pull back my question," said Brutus.


    "A-ah," Ritz bowed, "T-thank you, Beastkin''s Chieftain!"


    "Tch, no fun." The Demon crossed his hand, "Fine, let''s get to that thing you want." He sighed.


    Morz took off his cape, giving it to Ritz. "Just put it on the throne."


    "Yes, my lord."


    "And... you should know about the annual fight between me and him, right?" He asked.


    "Yes, of course. I''ll go ahead and tell the people about the event in a few." She nodded.


    "Good," Morz walked down the small set of stairs until he stood in front of Brutus. "The usual crater? and what''s the score again, I forgot."


    "Yes, the usual crater, and I think it''s about forty-nine wins for me and forty-nine wins for you as well." Brutus tried to count.


    In quick succession, Morz grabbed Brutus'' collar, "Let the fight begin!" He shouted as he spun the beastkin around him, and threw him through the gate, toward the sky.


    As the chieftain flew off, the demon lord lowered his stance into a kneeling state, "I''ll make sure to beat you into a pulp this time." Then, with all of his might, he propelled himself into the air following Brutus.


    Ritz put down Morz'' cape on the throne as she sighed, "Now to tell the people, should be easy enough," she murmured.