《Abomination》 Prologue (Unedited) Mana. Magic. These two words have wrought countless stories and legends into existence. From mighty Dragons and world shaking mages, to heroes and holy swords. But there is always a dark side to everything. This is a tale of Gods, sinners, terror and the dark side of even the most holy of things. This world of magic and fantasy isn¡¯t as bright and forgiving as one might hope from the stories of old. Year 186, Draconis Era Astra Capital City, Levin Empire Farror In a small shack in the middle of the great city¡¯s outer slums, a beautiful silver haired woman was amid the labour of giving birth. Her eyes a deep and mesmerizing purple that could leave one¡¯s soul stirred. She wore a dress of black silk, embroidered with golden dragons dancing all along her dress. High cheekbones to accentuate her already noble bearing, and plump red lips that stood out on her pale face as a blood drop in snow. Struggling and writhing in pain as her baby refused to cooperate with her desperate urges to finish letting the child come into this grand and beautiful world, she screamed. A scream from such a beautiful and enchanting woman should have made the world stop and the Heavens weep. But alas time stops for no one, no matter how beautiful or how much we would wish it to. ¡°Milady you must push yourself more! There is no time and Master Roran would not wish his child to be die before he saw the light of day. ¡®He¡¯ is coming and I do not think that even your magic can fool let alone stop one such as him. You will be caught soon if the child isn¡¯t born now!¡± A cloaked figure exclaimed as it emerged from the shadows of the shack and began aided the silvered beauty. ¡°Do you not think I am PUSHING!? This child refuses to be born!¡± The lady coolly said as another bout of contractions and series of screams ensued. After another agonizing minute two more cloaked figures appeared and assisted the first figure with helping the Lady and trying to easing her pain. Cool damp clothes patted away her ever increasing sweat as time continued unabated. Almost a full hour after the cloaked individuals started their task the child had finally relented and allowed nature to take its course. Life and been born in this dreary and dreadful slum. A child had been born. As if heralding the child¡¯s birth an earth-shaking explosion sounded from the heart of Astra City. In the royal palace¡¯s main wing to be precise. The child that was born was not like most would expect a silver haired mother to birth. He was born silent and no amount of prodding from the cloaked figures would make him answer. Only silence filled the shack aside from the lady¡¯s panting breath. ¡°Give him to me!¡± The woman finally demanded after catching her breath and sitting up to see her child lying still in her servant¡¯s arms and silent as the earth. Receiving her child and checking his gender and wrapping her son in her dress she softly whispered so only he could hear. ¡°Awake my son. You must live for both your father and I in this life. I am a terrible mother and your father too hated by this world to take care of you. But my son we love more than anything in the world that is why you must live for us.¡± Amidst her soft whisper tears gently fell upon the newborn. And cradled in his mother¡¯s sweet warm embrace the babe cried. He let out a cry for his mother to know that he was alive, alive and healthy. Smiling at her precious son a soft chuckle that matched the ringing of bells left the woman¡¯s blood red lips. ¡°Lady Anise! Name the young master so we may leave this god forsaken place!¡± The same figure called in anxiousness. ¡°He carries both Roran¡¯s and my lineages¡­ My clan will kill him and I am much too noticeable to travel and raise him. Roran why did you leave before our son¡¯s birth?¡± A bitter thought escaped Anise¡¯s lips. Shocking the three servants into silence by the repercussions that would be had if this was known to the world. ¡°Roran¡¯s people were Heaven¡¯s mightiest soldiers. They dominated all foes and brought Heaven¡¯s light to the world with military might. His first name shall honour that. His second shall honour the sky¡¯s that my Ancestor ruled. And he is of royal and warrior blood so his last name shall bridge the two. His name shall be Lucifer, Lucifer Aeroic Khan.¡± ¡°Bringer of Light!¡± ¡°The First Angel¡¯s name!¡± Astonished whispers answered Anise¡¯s choice of name. Her child was bound to extraordinary just from the magnificence of his name. ¡°He will follow his father¡¯s inheritance, then when he succeeds he shall come here and find mine. DO not let him know of his history till he succeeds the first inheritance! You three are our most loyal retainers, take my son and raise him as your own. Love and guide him where Roran and I cannot. Please as a last wish from me, take my son and escape here so that he may live for us both.¡± Anise sobbed as she held out her still crying child to her aid that has stood beside her since childhood till now almost 30 years of time. With bended knees and bowed heads the three servants accepted their lady¡¯s wish without the slightest of hesitation. Carefully receiving the young lord, the assumed leader of the retainers quickly wrapped her new charge in her cloak and silently left the worn-down shack in silence only to be followed by the other two. Weeping at the soon distant figures of her best friend and child leaving, Anise bitterly smiled at this world¡¯s cruelty, racism and unreasonable ostracization of its people. Looking at the rot and hole filled ceiling of the shack she eventually closed her eyes and prayed for her son¡¯s safety and happiness should he be so lucky as to have them. BOOM The shack exploded from an unknown source as soon as Anise finished her prayer, she was blasted into the cold dirt amidst the rubble of the explosion. Coughing up blood her already pale face from childbirth paled even more making the silvered beauty seem like a spectre of the dead in her black and bloodied gown. Slowly but surely pushing her body up after coughing out a full quart of blood Anise¡¯s eyes turned icy cold at the feeling in the air. The feeling of mana. Of someone¡¯s very familiar hateful magic. Glaring up at the sky as she barely managed to sit up Anise couldn¡¯t help but curse her family for allowing such a person into her home. ¡°Anise my darling what are you doing here?¡± A voice that sounded out across the entire city echoed out. A voice that seemed to make the world stagnate by it¡¯s power and sound. Soon a young man in shining gold armour descended from the sky to float above the slums where Anise sat glaring as cold as the 9th hell at the man. The young man¡¯s armour was as ornate as humanly possible and seemed more for show than use. The plate engraved with an eagle, wings spread. Pauldrons that couldn¡¯t possibly allow its wearer any sort of backward or upward mobility. Those were only the most glaring issues of the golden suit of impracticality, even worse was the ornate and lavish mantle he wore of solid gold silk a rare silk that even one yard of silk string could feed a family for a year. ¡°Why is my darling dragonet injured in such an ugly place? Why weren¡¯t you in the castle seeing as today is the day of our engagement.¡± The impractical tin questioned in an almost believably honest manner. Another reason for Anise¡¯s hate towards this so-called fianc¨¦, he is a man like a snake. He could stab a dagger into your heart while reciting poetry about how much he loves you. ¡°I will never let myself be engaged to one such as you.¡± An icy reply answered the ¡®honest¡¯ question of the gleaming serpent of a man.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°ANISE!¡± A loud bellow shook the earth and sky around the great city. If the voice before was described as astonishingly powerful then this voice was soul shaking. It caused crying babes to silence, whores to stop their trade, children to wet themselves and cry, injured and sick to die in a purge. It was like a God had graced the land of Farror. Anise was immediately lifted into the air floating level to her hated fianc¨¦ and seemingly bound by invisible ropes as she herself did not have the strength to stand let alone fly. Fear instantly appeared on the snake¡¯s face and steely resolve on Anise¡¯s as the pressure of one of the few Purple Saints crushed the area around the two. The pressure alone killing all beings in its range. ¡°What have you done you foolish girl¡­¡± The voice resounded yet again. Bracing herself for the voice to kill her in anger, she responded proudly ¡°I have done my duty.¡± ¡°YOU HAVE FAILED IT!¡± ¡°I know my duty better than anyone. Even you Father.¡± Anise quietly said. ¡°¡­¡± Deafening silence came back in reply. Shortly after her response a middle-aged man with salt and pepper hair appeared in front of her. Her father the man in front of her had appeared as if from nothing. He wore a long purple robe similar to the ancient Chinese of Earth¡¯s shenyi. A gorgeous robe that expressed to the public the wearer was king amongst men. Similar golden dragons flowed around the robe much like Anise¡¯s black gown, but this one made the gold dragons seem alive! Anise¡¯s father is said to be the most handsome of men in his youth yet looking at him now the same could still be said. He possessed the air of a monarch, a strong jaw and sword like eyebrows out lined a perfectly balanced face of wisdom and strength. His eyes matching his daughter¡¯s: a deep purple except with reptilian slit pupils. ¡°Anise. Whose?¡± Was all he said. Yet those two words echoed in every person of Astra¡¯s mind like an unconscious command. Even Anise or the snake next to her were forced under this magical compulsion that these words had. ¡°Roran.¡± Escaped those trembling and hesitating lips of Anise as she could only resist her father¡¯s might for a second in her current state. Losing almost half her body¡¯s blood and using vital life essence and mana to birth her son into the world, Anise was weak. So; weak, her father could barely stop his own presence from killing her. And as the name of the boy¡¯s father entered the air, thunder resounded in the sky. An intense hatred flashed through the golden tin can¡¯s eyes at the mention of the name: Roran. A being he hated for being humiliated by and beaten multiple times and to top it off someone who impregnated his would-be wife! Only grim understanding showed on the King¡¯s face in contrast. ¡°Your Highness, release me from your Saint Domain. I am leaving, leaving this place where one¡¯s words are not kept.¡± Finally, one of the floating trio said. It so happened to be the would-be fianc¨¦. ¡°You are one to talk about lies considering you are more like a snake than anything else. You, the one who betrayed your own friend after he saved you countless times just because of your selfishness and greed! Your sin suits you quite well!¡± Anise screamed in reply, and as soon as she finished the king sighed and released them both from his Domain while continuing to support Anise¡¯s flight. With a face, almost as green as the proverbial green hat he wore. The young man swallowed his rage and flew off to the north, returning to his own kingdom. After the golden gleam from the young man vanished into the horizon space warped as Anise and her father disappeared from the slums of the city. Appearing in stone cell Anise collapsed without her father¡¯s magical support. With a click the black metal of the bars locked into place as her father appeared outside the cell, bitterly looking at his daughter. The daughter who was heralded as genius for her magical aptitude and summon of a Pride High Dragon. At the age of 20 she became the youngest in the Levin Empire to become a Green Magus, shocking the surrounding kingdoms and empires. This daughter of his was outstanding in her appearance so much that by the time she was 9 there were over 12 different crown princes asking for her hand as principal wife. Because of her beauty and talent the royal advisers elected to name her Saintess of the Levin Empire and sealing her as future icon for the people. This forced her to miss out on her childhood to learn the etiquette of a lady younger than normal for a princess. At the age of 15 after 6 brutal years of ¡®training¡¯ in the ways of a lady and magus Anise left the Levin Royal castle to adventure and experience the world like most young people gifted with mana. After 1 year of training she met with a young man named Cailren, another royal scion out adventuring. AFter many twists and Cailren¡¯s persistence that rivaled a bloodhound, the two eventually travelled together throughout Farror. After 2 and a half years the two found a warrior bloodied and limping fighting a Rank 3 Mid Order Thunder Grizzly. A Beast they had received a bounty to hunt for a nearby city. Armed with only a halberd the injured warrior used light magic to slowly heal himself while fighting the Grizzly. The Thunder Grizzly is an extremely aggressive Beast that attacks any living being that appears in its territory, regardless of the difference in strength. As one that was raised in the likeness of a saintess Anise quickly went to assist the warrior with her powerful Pride Spirit materializing and engaging the Grizzly in savage combat allowing the injury ridden warrior to rest and recover. Soon Cailren began his assault as a Red Squire his strength was not high but his Element was extremely hard to deal with: Lightning. Able to stun foes and also one of the fastest of the Elements Lightning users are notorious for their sneak attacks and that is what Cailren did. Slashing the tendons of the Beast with his most powerful strike and aided with a sword only a royal could ever use he disabled the Beast¡¯s right leg. Allowing Anise¡¯s Pride Dragon SPirit to Suppress the Grizzly, and thus enabling the halberd warrior to use his remaining mana to smite the injured and suppressed grizzly, killing it with a rending slash to the Beast¡¯s unguarded neck. This shocking battle was what would eventually lead to the warrior with the halberd: Roran, and Anise falling in love. Causing the greedy and pompous Cailren to betraying the only man who would treat him as a best friend for a year and half. Roran was a taboo in Farror, and Cailren knew that from their friendly talks resulting from Roran¡¯s trust. Roran was, well is a pure blood Nephilim, one of God¡¯s Abandoned Children or earlier known as Heaven¡¯s Mightiest Soldiers. A race that was exiled from Heaven and soon hunted by inquisitors on the land of Farror, where the Light Element and Heaven¡¯s influence is strongest. It had been 5 years since Anise left her home in the Levin Empire and she needed to return to check before her father sent out soldiers searching for her. With her two companions in tow she returned home to Astra City. Being with Anise for 5 years allowed both Roran and Cailren to know her background. This gave Cailren a savage idea to separate the two and allow him to have Anise all to himself. He secretly sent news to his home and to Anise¡¯s father telling them of what had happened over their 5 year adventure. Stating to Anise¡¯s family that she was manipulated into loving the continent¡¯s most hated race; a Nephilim, and that she was returning to announce their love. While saying to his family that he had managed to conquer the renowned saintess Anise Levin¡¯s heart and that he was going to announce their love to her father, but a nephilim and somehow stole her heart using evil means and he was trying to save her. Both these letters set two empire¡¯s military and royal families into action. Levin, did nothing on the surface but internally they created a trap that not even a fly could escape from. While Cailren¡¯s home of Warrik; sent over a delegation including the emperor, Cailren¡¯s father. Cailren¡¯s father was a Blue King and mighty warrior skilled in the art of the katana and known for being able to fight those above his level in strength relying purely on his blade skill. This betrayal led to Roran barely escaping alive, missing an arm and internally bleeding. His current life and death unknown to all and Anise and Cailren¡¯s engagement. In the present, Anise¡¯s father couldn¡¯t help but sigh at the situation. His bloodline and posterity sullied by the most hated Nephilims. The Levin Empire was founded by a High Shadow Dragon that had turned human with it¡¯s immense power. This had caused the royal family of Levin to be the descendants of a true High Dragon and a Shadow Element one at that. The Dark Element and its sub-elements were not inherently seen as evil by the people of Farror only those that committed evil acts. Yet racism is still strong in the various empires and kingdoms of the continent as seen by Roran and Anise¡¯s pitiful situation. And now an abomination of their holy and pure Dragon bloodline had been tainted by Heaven¡¯s unwanted berzerkers. The humiliation Levin would face because of his willful and genius daughter. How could He, the Emperor of Levin, face his ancestors now!? After staring at his now unconscious daughter for almost 15 minutes the emperor could only painfully sigh. ¡°I hope your abomination at least becomes something worthy of your sacrifice and our family¡¯s honour, Anise. Because if not we are all doomed.¡±
Hope you enjoyed the start of my hobby lol leave a comment and rate please! More coming this weekend Lore ELEMENTS
EARTH METAL WOOD
WIND LIGHTNING THUNDER
FIRE INFERNAL LAVA
WATER ICE POISON
LIGHT HOLY SOLAR
DARK SHADOW LUNAR
MANA PURITY INDEX
BROWN RED YELLOW GREEN BLUE PURPLE SILVER GOLD
(Mana Purity: Mana Purity is the very purity of Mana that the Magus or Spellblade can access and utilize. It also enables faster spell construction as well as an expedited way of spirit communication and integration when summoning and fighting respectively. Usually beings in the world of Gaies are referred to as their Mana Purity level then their Mana Core stage. An example would be a Yellow Knight, or a Red Sage. One must note that Mana Purity although is important and a powerful thing it is a multiplier of one''s Mana Core¡¯s power.) {Purple Initiate = Brown Marshall} But a Brown Marshall can fight longer by the size of their Mana Core. SPIRIT CHART
1ST LEVEL 2ND LEVEL
LOW ORDER Brown Red
MEDIUM ORDER Yellow Green
HIGH ORDER Blue Purple
HEAVEN ORDER Silver Gold
(Spirit: Spirits are beings of the Spirit World that correlate with the different emotions of sentient life, otherwise known as the 7 Sins of Man. Spirits are rated according to their Mana Purity and at also by their Sin. The table above shows how one knows what Order and their Level according to the world of Gaies¡¯ standards. A Spirit that represents a sin may seem bad but it is a representation of the person¡¯s inner self. A Man may have the Spirit of Lust but be a very loyal and devout husband, just with a stronger urge for his partner. The Spirits are just what emotion people show the most during their lives. One may only contact and contract with a Spirit until after they become 18 for risk of being taken over by the Spirit and becoming an embodiment for the Spirit to live in Gaies. Oddly the original psyche is not completely destroyed; if one looks at an embodiments consciousness it is still the original person just one that wholly focuses on their Spirits Sin. Magus and Spellblades use spirits in battle as an external aid to physically attack their foes or by integrating with their Spirits and using the Spirit¡¯s natural affinity to magic to boost their own magic¡¯s might and duration of effect.) BEASTS
LOW ORDER MEDIUM ORDER HIGH ORDER HEAVEN ORDER
RANK 1 Brown-RedLove this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! Yellow-Green Blue-Purple Silver-Gold
RANK 2 Brown-Red Yellow-Green Blue-Purple Silver-Gold
RANK 3 Brown-Red Yellow-Green Blue-Purple Silver-Gold
RANK 4 Brown-Red Yellow-Green Blue-Purple Silver-Gold
RANK 5 Brown-Red Yellow-Green Blue-Purple Silver-Gold
RANK 6 Brown-Red Yellow-Green Blue-Purple Silver-Gold
RANK 7 Brown-Red Yellow-Green Blue-Purple Silver-Gold
RANK 8 Brown-Red Yellow-Green Blue-Purple Silver-Gold
RANK 9 Brown-Red Yellow-Green Blue-Purple Silver-Gold
RANK 10 Brown-Red Yellow-Green Blue-Purple Silver-Gold
(Beasts: Beasts are magical animals in the most basic sense. They are animals that cultivate their innate Mana Core to a high degree and become stronger, faster, smarter and finally join what is known as the Beast Kingdom. The Beast Kingdom is not a Kingdom per say but it is the hierarchy of the natural world. Only animals that have cultivated their Mana Core can be apart of the Beast Kingdom and they are all divided into Ranks from 1-10 and then further divided according to their Mana Purity. Much like Spirits, Beasts are in the Order system of ranking for their Mana Purity. Superior Orders are always stronger than their same rank counterparts and can even fight above their Rank. Superior Orders usually tend to be in similar ecosystems; places that have a naturally more dense natural Mana concentration. A Beast is physically better than the sapien races of Gaies, an ox is stronger than a man is a good representation of this. But a man is smarter than the ox is also true. An animal may become smarter after becoming a Beast but it is still not to the level of the sapien races, only Heaven Order Beasts have high intelligence and are extremely dangerous.) RACES OF GAIES There are many different races on the world of Gaies. The races tend to stay in their own mother continent and rarely leave unless they are traders or adventure seekers. An example would be the Draconians and Dwarfs of the Farror Continent. There are 3 main continents in Gaies. Farror the eastern continent and also the most minerally rich one. Lu¡¯minaul a land mass that runs parallel to Farror¡¯s most western point, it is 99% unexplored by the Farror residents because of it¡¯s harsh and unforgiving environment. Lovita the last continent and home to the most races from the elves of the north-western edge, the various Beastmen of the area surrounding the Bay of Ra, the Orc lands on the largest island of Lovita, and the Humans in the continents central region. There is the northernmost land that is the Island of Yulrig where the Elements Academy resides; a non-faction school for the best and brightest of the 2 populated continents and their various races and empires. Dead Island is a prison, bastian and trading post for the residents of Farror. Dead Island resides next to Lu¡¯minaul, Farror and the dreaded Plague Lands. The Plague Lands are an area where the Beast Kingdom dominates 100%. Many venture to the Plague Lands to hunt Beasts for their body parts which can be used in forging weapons, armours, etc. MANA CORE STAGES / MAGUS AND SPELLBLADE RANKS
Initiate Squire Knight-Errant Knight General Marshall Prince King Saint Avatar God
(Spellblade: A Spellblade is a warrior type profession. Based on using Mana and the Element of the Spellblade, Spellblades use close quarters spells such as summoning a weapon of their element or enhancing their body with their magical capabilities. Another thing that Spellblades do is generating a Mana armour that helps defend against a Magus¡¯ long range spells. The main difference in the different ranks of Spellblades are that they last longer while fighting. A Knight and a Knight-Errant of the same Mana Purity have two huge difference and that is the amount of mana the body can handle and the amount user can access.)
Initiate Apprentice Magus Jr. Magus Arch Magus Sage Jr. Sage Arch Sage Prophet Elemental God
(Magus: A Magus is a spellcaster type profession. Based on the Mana Purity and Element of the Magus, a Magus can unleash destructive spells at a distance such as summoning an earthquake to shake and destroy foes. A Magus is extremely versatile in their capabilities of magic, capable of aiding allies and destroying large areas with high ranked spells. The differences between the different ranks of Magus are their ability to use high order magics and size of Mana Core. The Mana Core¡¯s size dictates how much Mana one has at their disposal.) TALENT Talent is a very controversial and important part of the world of Gaies. Talent can make an Empire reign successfully and it can make one hated and ostracised by their peers. Regarding talent the leaders of Gaies came up with the standards of power for the different combat occupations. While the Elemental Temples created the Mana Purity Index and Spirit Chart. One¡¯s Mana Purity is the first and foremost judge of talent in those that form their Mana Core. History shows that the majority only forms a Mana Core of the Brown Purity upon forming while the Geniuses of time have on average formed their Mana Core at the Red Purity and the Heaven shaking Geniuses have in legend formed their Core at the Yellow Purity. That being said, one¡¯s Core level is still a better judge of power. Most who form their Mana Core are between the ages of 10-15 and only the very bare of society (people with no history or lineage of Mana) at the age of 18. Talent also is determined by the SPirit you summon from the spirit world. When summoning from the SPirit World one taps into their consciousness and feels their inner Sin, then using their Sin they flood a Soul Stone (A common gem that acts as a Gateway to the Spirit world through blood and mana being infused into itself) marked with their own blood they create a Gateway to the Spirit World. This portal or gateway allows one to view the Spirits of the Spirit world that match one¡¯s Sin and has an affinity to their bloodline. {Someone of the Wolf Beastman race would have an affinity to any Canine Spirits} Chapter 1 The Hunt (Unedited) The Hunt
Nature. Full of mystery and beauty. Plants and wildlife of all different natures and walks of life somehow cohesively living together in stable environment. A mystery that only the Creator of Gaies could understand. But the most beautiful of things in nature and society are often the most dangerous. A vibrant flower in the wild forests of Gaies could be so poisonous that even touching it could fell an elephant. Beauty is often a tool of plants and certain animals for hunting and mating. While some use vibrant colours in self defence like peacocks of Earth¡¯s African jungles. A peaceful lake could be full of vicious aquatic predators waiting for something to be foolish enough to touch their waters. Everything that enters nature must follow nature¡¯s most basic rule: The Law of the Jungle. The strong eat the weak. Many predators abandon their young in order to let them grow strong and wise to the ways of the jungle. But most importantly it is to allow an Apex to be born. An Apex is a being at the zenith of the natural world. The strongest, fastest, most adept hunter of the Beast Kingdom. Only a handful of beings truly ever make it to the peak, most dying to others or being permanently injured in the struggle to reach the peak. But those who reach it are Gods among their peers and all know it. At this time; deep in the tall trees and gnarled woods of the Beast Kingdom¡¯s forests, a shadow was moving. Not just moving but tracking, hunting, becoming an Apex. This contender for the local Apex crown was a humanoid form with sand coloured skin, a powerful lean and wiry physique suited for quick and fast movement. The being stood still finally allowing one to catch it¡¯s features in perfect detail as it stood as still as the trees around it. A height of 5 feet, and weight seemingly around 110 lbs, the creature had small inch long nails that were sharpened into claws of savage utility. A face of immaturity topped off this humanoid beast. With it¡¯s right deep purple eye that had a reptilian slit like pupil. And the left eye that was as dark as night with one pure white circular pupiless iris in the middle of it. The beast looked incredibly bizarre: heterochromatic eyes, a childishly handsome face by human standards, long flowing luscious raven coloured hair crowned the beast''s head. Gripping a rusted metal spear with a sturdy wooden shaft, the beast wore no clothes but had a large sharpened fang tied to its waist. Multiple scars adorned its body and without clothing the scars stood out as a testament of the beast¡¯s life and struggles. Slowly lowering its body the creature crouched into the tall grass, bring its spear parallel to the ground. Ever so slowly and gently it began to stalk through the grass and shadows of the forest¡¯s boughs. Disappearing from sight as quickly as it appeared. In a clearing not too far away from the odd creature¡¯s last position, a massive Beast grazed on a mana rich plant. The beast had the body of an elk yet it was multiplied several fold from its counterpart. Bulging muscles that could be seen by the naked eye, antlers two feet in length and tipped in sharp iron, were only the most visible traits of this behemoth of an elk. This ¡®elk¡¯ was a Steelgore Elk that stood at an impressive six feet of height not counting its massive antlers. A Beast of the Low Order and 2nd Rank. Known for being a herd type of Beast, this single Steelgore idly grazed on the delicious mana fruit it had found. A Steelgore was generally a common animal, yet avoided figure in the forest by even Mid Order Beasts of similar rank. Because of their highly tight-knit herd, once one Steelgore sounded the alarm all would rush without heed of danger in response. Charging at full speed with its steel pointed antlers and packing its massive frame behind it, a charging Steelgore was a very fearful existence. Even more so of a herd of twenty of the Beasts. Entering the Steelgore¡¯s clearing vicinity, the unknown beast appeared. Slowly and calmly reversing its grip on it¡¯s spear the beast poised like an experienced hunter. With it¡¯s spear aimed at the unknowing Steelgore; the would be hunter tightly grasped the large dagger-like fang in the opposite hand, balancing it¡¯s body from the length and weight of it¡¯s spear. Breathing visibly slowed the spear and dagger wielding beast patiently waited for the ¡®golden moment¡¯. The absolute best moment to strike. The very moment when any being finishes eating a meal. And as the Steelgore ate the last bit of the mana fruit, the waiting hunter let loose a powerful spear throw accompanied by a fierce roar of pridefully declaring its intent and victory as a predator. The rusted old spear whistled through the air slightly arching but flying nonetheless directly into the wide-eyed Steelgore¡¯s open neck. With an utterly terrifying force, the spear¡¯s momentum carried the massive Beast to the ground. If one looked closely they would be able to see the extreme accuracy and precision used in the throw. The spear had hit 3 major arteries that joined up in the Steelgore¡¯s throat. Matching the unnatural ability of the throw the humanoid beast instantly followed its weapon and pounced and the still stunned Steelgore. Jamming its long sharpened fang straight under the Steelgore¡¯s mandible bone and into the brain of the still shocked Beast, the humanoid successfully killed its prey. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. No flashy magic. No earth-shaking battle. No suspense and tension at all. This was a true hunt. A part of nature. A dance of life and death where only one partner knows what is happening, while the other is helplessly dragged along. And after dragging along an unsuspecting partner, the other must always take it¡¯s trophy. The sentient races called this act skinning but in the Beast Kingdom it was simply, eating. Eating every succulent part of your prey that was the right one had as hunter, but this hunter did not do this. It began to work the long fang like a saw directly at the top of the dead Steelgore¡¯s leg. After a few short breaths of time, the humanoid had successfully severed the leg and as quickly as it came it left. Leaving prey behind was seen as a most disgraceful thing to Beasts. And especially this deep in the Beast Kingdom, there was no Beast that would do this. So why did this strangely human looking beast do so? The answer would shock you. This 5 foot tall beast was actually the 6 year old Lucifer Aeroic Khan that had been thrown into the Beast lands to accept his paternal inheritance. An inheritance is a strange and seemingly pointless thing. Yet almost all sentient and Beast races completed one in order to become part of its own familia or as a right of passage. Some races and species make their children fight till only one survives, thus ensuring the strongest live on. Others nurture their young in caring environments and teach them how to hunt and survive. An inheritance is usually related to the first case. A savage and brutal way of forcing cubs and babes into becoming true predators, worthy of their name and honour. The inheritance that young Lucifer was completing was his father¡¯s. A Nephilim¡¯s Inheritance. A Nephilim is said to be the children of god''s and man¡¯s most supreme warriors. Born of divinity and man¡¯s natural adaptability, Nephilims were born killers. Warrior and divine blood flowed through their veins, demigods in a sense. With a god¡¯s natural indifferent savagery and a champion¡¯s battle sense, Nephilim were born berzerkers. They were so amazing at slaughtering foes, that Heaven threw them into the Eternal War between angels and demons. Soon the Nephilim became too strong to control, and Heaven did something very cruel. They threw newborn Nephilim into the Eternal War¡¯s battlefield. This became every Nephilim¡¯s trial or inheritance. Learning to survive on nothing but themselves while surrounded by foes trying to kill them. So young Lucifer, grew up in the forests of the Beast Kingdom without any protection from his three ever-watchful retainers. They would watch and scare away the truly fearsome Beasts but left all those beneath the 3rd Rank, in his area of growth. Now it had been 6 years of time and it was finally the end of his inheritance from his father. Yet the savage Lucifer knew nothing of what was coming to him, something he would later call ¡®the new layer of hell.¡¯ Now while Lucifer ran from his kill with only a rusted spear, dagger-like fang and Steelgore hind leg a figure appeared at the carcass of the still warm Steelgore. The figure was 6¡¯5¡± and cloaked but a large 7 foot naginata was strapped to it¡¯s back. Gazing at the disappearing figure of Lucifer the figure chuckled slightly. Slowly walking after him the cloaked figured seemed to fade into the forest as if it was always a part of it. After running for a few minutes Lucifer suddenly banked right as the ground; he would have stepped on had he continued going forward, exploded. Rolling and trying to steady his footing Lucifer gazed at the dust cloud caused by the explosion. While bits of dirt rained the near area, Lucifer¡¯s experienced instincts told him he was being hunted. Every hair on his body stood up. His body crouching lower, his left arm discarding his meal and opting for his dagger. Right arm bringing his spear closer to his body, and tilted downward he tensed. Waiting for whatever was after him to come. Purple and black eyes darting all over for the slightest of movements, ears listening to every sound being made, nose smelling for whatever he currently faced. Then suddenly swiping his dagger in front of his body and twisting his body while jumping back Lucifer moved. He was dagger swipe cutting apart a small fist sized stone, and his body twisting to avoid a large poled blade smashing on top of him. Landing with a flip, Lucifer¡¯s eyes narrowed at the weapon that almost killed him. It was a long weapon, much like his spear but this one had a curved single edged side to it. It was a naginata. Wielding this polearm was a cloaked figure that seemed strangely familiar to Lucifer. The figure laughed at Lucifer¡¯s bewildered expression, and suddenly launched a series of violent stabs and slashes all aimed at his limbs. Without time to react Lucifer was quickly and very pathetically disarmed. Then immobilized by cuts directly to his tendons and joints. Collapsing to the ground a roar of unwillingness escaped Lucifer¡¯s throat. This was the first time any animal had mocked him and still lived in the 6 years he survived in this forest, he was after all becoming the Apex of this area. All that replied to his madness was the butt of the naginata slapping his temple, rendering him unconscious. Chapter 2 Knock Out (Unedited) ¡°Fucking hell¡­ How the fuck does a 6 year old kill a Steelgore in 10 seconds?¡± An irritated and astonished masculine voice sounded from the canopy of a tall tree. ¡°Same way his father murdered 2 Yellow Marshalls with only one arm, genetics.¡± Replied a second voice though this one was much lighter and definitely feminine. ¡°Well fuck. Make me seem average for being a weapons prodigy from Yulrig. Ah, the brat actually survived till now.¡± ¡°See if we taught him magic first like you said, he would destroy this entire ecosystem even with non-elemental magic. Idiot.¡± And as the two voices bickered about the astonishing feats Lucifer had done in his 6 years of life an ice cold voice resounded out. ¡°Silence.¡± One word. One word was enough to shut both voices up immediately. They were both obviously afraid of the owner of that ice like voice. Soon a woman in a midnight black dress appeared from the depths of the dim cave. She could be said to be a very beautiful woman but, her face, her face lacked any emotion. A clear pale forehead with blonde eyebrows sat above her cold limpid blue eyes. A small button nose centered her face and thin pink lips grounded it. While her face appeared very beautiful it was also very gaunt. Her body was shaped like a thin hourglass as she was very obviously quite lithe, she had curves in the right places but none were over exaggerated. ¡°Eric.¡± The cool blonde said blandly. In response a cloaked man with a long polearm and stepped into the light slightly behind her. Finally after pausing for a few moments she commanded: ¡°Begin.¡± And with that the figure that was Eric, promptly left the cave at a blinding speed. ¡°Are you sure it¡¯s time for this Yue? He is her son so don¡¯t take your anger out on him that we left her behind. Lucifer is our young master and I will make sure he is ready before letting go to Levin.¡± The previously bratty voice that argued with Eric, bitterly said to the beauty at the cave entrance. ¡°If you think I am wrong, then go and take him elsewhere. I won¡¯t follow, I¡¯ll only return to her highness and tell her of what has happened.¡± ¡°You think you can even talk to her after what happened? We are wanted in 8 different empires and almost half of Farror thinks we are dead. Would you actually forsake her only child for your selfish dreams of being near her!?¡± The voice shrieked in absolute fury at Yue¡¯s calm reply. ¡°It is the fault of the parent when their child does wrong. And now it is the fault of that abomination¡¯s mother and father for siring him into this world and ruining Anise¡¯s!¡± Yue turned and raged to the voice deep in the cave with hate filled eyes. Unconsciously the two began unleashing their mana and a Yellow and Green storm of mana erupted in the cave. ¡°Jasmine, you are slacking. Only with a Yellow Purity do you wish to challenge me!¡± ¡°Who said I am slacking!¡± The voice known as Jasmine retorted as her aura became stronger and more firm. Jasmine¡¯s aura had become that of a Yellow ArchMagus. A vastly different realm than she previously released to confront Yue. Yue being the battlemaid that was raised to protect Princess Anise, was a heralded genius Spellblade. She formed her Mana Core 2 years after Anise had done and had the Dark Element a very common Element in the Levin Empire. A very commendable achievement for a child. She had learned how to be a battlemaid her entire life as branch family of the Levin family, and was top of her class. Proficient in the twin daggers, throwing-knives and other various assassin techniques, she secretly followed Anise during her 5 year adventure in order to assist her in times of need. Currently she was a Green Knight at the age of 26, a very prestigious level of strength for one so young. Jasmine on the other hand was a talent picked up from the Elemental Academy by the Levin Royal family. She was known as the one of the most hard to deal with Magus of the institute. Her speed and adaptability of magics made her a very promising youth. Being snatched from the Academy at the age of 10 she was secretly trained as part of Levin¡¯s elite troops. Her Ice Element became her trademark, as she froze her enemies in fast unpredictable waves of spells. And now, she had shown her talent again as a 24 year old Yellow ArchMagus. While these two stared each other down and battled with their auras in the cave, Eric had finally apprehended his young charge. Bitterly shaking his head at the ridiculousness of the child lying in front of him; he bound the boy, before bringing him to a log cabin. One not too far from where the cave Yue and Jasmine were continuing to attempt murder with their eyes. Eric rested the boy down on a soft bed. Then carefully untying the ropes that bound Lucifer, he began to treat the boy¡¯s wounds. All of the wounds. Both those that were old and those that were recently made by himself. Eric was a Light Element Yellow Spellblade. Another very promising and glorious standing for anyone. A warrior that could heal himself and others while fighting on the frontlines. That was the terror of any Light Spellblade. Eric had been a secret admirer of Anise when she was growing up. He was a weapons prodigy that was stolen from Yulrig¡¯s academy at a young age by Levin. He mastered the sword in 2 years, the blade in 1, the lance in 3 before finally settling on the naginata a mix of sword and lance. He was also the commander of Jasmine¡¯s squadron before taking her and aiding the Princess¡¯ lover escape the net set by Levin¡¯s army. He then followed Yue to ensure the young lord lived. It was his way of expressing his love to Anise, as subtle as it was. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. After hours of strenuous work healing Lucifer¡¯s battered body that was full of bones that healed badly and internal bruising that would have killed any purity of Squire/Apprentice. Sighing and leaving the ¡®little monster¡¯ he unconsciously dubbed Lucifer, he retreated to another room to await the waking of his charge. While he rested, Lucifer had a very strange dream. He dreamt of 2 beings. The two were very big, bigger than anything Lucifer had ever seen. They were fighting. Fighting a horrific battle that made him quake with fear at their almighty power. Unconsciously and to his own terror his body moved him closer to the battleground of the two titans. After what seemed like days of anxious waiting he finally was close enough to the titans to hear sounds. Sounds that were not like the wild Beasts roars or anything he could remember. Except one thing. That cloaked figure that beat him! That beast had made noise similar to these titans! Amidst the battle of the two giants laughter was heard. But unlike Erik¡¯s mocking laugh this one was full of something new to Lucifer. Joy. Emotions, were things that Lucifer had never felt before. So this sound of joyful laughter amidst the battle made him confused yet warm inside. Eventually the two titans began to disengage after noticing Lucifer¡¯s arrival and became completely distinct to the boy. One was a being that looked similar to himself; Sandstone colour skin, long black hair, eyes like his left eye: entirely black with a white iris and pupil. The giant¡¯s face felt very familiar to Lucifer and also reminded him of his own, from memories of seeing it in a reflection. The only difference save for the huge height difference was that the giant had huge white wings sprouting from its shoulder blades. The other titanic being was even more terrifying than the first. A massive black serpent with four strong ox like legs that had five claws on each leg. Scales that fit together like pieces of a puzzle but all the same style like a broad faced leaf, only miss the stem. The serpent''s head was like a lion¡¯s with a thick and full mane of dark grey hair. Antlers like the one¡¯s from the Steelgore he killed albeit much larger and thicker crowned the colossal serpent. While the mouth of the Beast was full of teeth that were more like swords than any teeth Lucifer had ever seen. The Beast in front of him gave him the instinctive feeling that it was the true King of Beasts. But the strangest part of all, was the deep purple eyes that were just like his own right eye. Right down to the same vertical thin pupil in the middle of them. ¡°Boy you have finally come to this place.¡± A voice echoed in the darkness that surrounded the two giants. ¡°Oh? It seems it is not time yet for you to meet the both of us.¡± The voice sounded out again but all Lucifer could hear was noise none of the words spoken to him made any sense to him. ¡°Let me give you a gift for passing your Nephilim Inheritance.¡± The voice echoed once more, still to Lucifer¡¯s bewilderment. But at this moment his body felt like he weighed much more than ever before. Slowly falling lower into the darkness and deep below the two beasts that starred at him Lucifer helplessly flailed his limbs to stop himself. Soon the darkness enveloped him and he was gone from that place. Jumping up with a start, Lucifer felt oddly comfortable. His body was the same, but his surroundings had changed entirely. Weird wood and white fur that was too smooth to be an animal was all around him. Growling at his surrounding not trusting anything Lucifer assaulted everything around him in a flurry of claws and snarls. Shredding the smooth fur like material and oddly shaped odd Lucifer went on a rampage in cottage where Eric had put him. Finally after destroying the entire building and still not finding the cloaked figure of Eric, Lucifer became confused. Did the beast that beat him not take him to the weird wooden place of too-soft fur? As if to answer Lucifer¡¯s confusion Erik¡¯s form could be seen walking towards him with naginata out and ready for action. Erik had been watching the rampage go on from a ¡®safe¡¯ distance. And he finally could not handle this crazy wild child that he had to ¡®teach.¡¯ Deciding that it was better to lay down the law and act as an alpha to begin communications with the young savage, Eric sprung into action. Slowly walking towards the tensed and poised Lucifer, he swung his naginata so that the back of the blade hit Lucifer¡¯s shoulder. Taking the hit that was much too fast to dodge the boy was sent flying into the rubble he created just minutes earlier. Sending shattered pieces of wood and rock sky high, Lucifer plowed through the earth and rubble like a ox and plow. The force from Eric¡¯s swing was enough to kill most 2nd Rank Low Order Beasts instantly yet, Lucifer¡¯s body only was sent flying from it. This was a totally amazing and terrifying scenario. Imagine a Spellblade¡¯s body being as hard as a Beast who is normally 100% physically superior to the bladesman. This would be like someone¡¯s skin being as hard as iron but all the elasticity and reflex of a humanoid. Eric was terrified that he had killed his charge after seeing him take the blow, and quickly charged after the now still body. Upon reaching Lucifer¡¯s form Eric was suddenly blown away by a powerful kick to the mid-section. Gaining air and rotating his body midair Eric made out Lucifer¡¯s form crouching as if getting ready to jump after him. Which is exactly what Lucifer did; launching himself into the air after Eric, claws outstretched and a savage snarl Lucifer attacked Eric. But before he could do that he was punched square in the face by a large fist. Being sent back down to the ground via Eric¡¯s large fist Lucifer was knocked unconscious by the massive blow. The punch alone wouldn¡¯t have knocked him out with his new Beast like body. But the added force of his full strength jump combined with the power of Eric¡¯s punch, Even Eric would have been knocked out. After waking up again and duking it out with Eric for a bit longer than their last bout Lucifer was knocked unconscious again. This kept repeating for 7 entire days where Lucifer would wake and go berzerk on Eric only to be beaten unconscious, then receiving Eric¡¯s healing to repeat again. Shaking his head in displeasure about how difficult it was to even begin teaching Eric could only wait for Lucifer to awake and use the carrot and stick method since the last method wasn¡¯t working. Chapter 3 Knowledge (Unedited) ¡°You know brat, they don¡¯t pay me for this anymore eh?¡± A tired voice sounded from a broken and worn down cabin in the forest of north-western Farror. ¡°No want you.¡± Replied another seemingly exhausted voice, though this one was much more immature. ¡°Well shit. Here I am busting my balls trying to teach you and all you do is snore half way through everything I try teaching you!¡± The first voice retorted extremely displeased with the lack of appreciation he was getting from the other. ¡°Beast better. Fight better. Eric no fight.¡± Yawned the immature one in nonchalance. These two voices were Eric and Lucifer. They were currently going through Lucifer¡¯s language lessons. It had been almost 8 months since Eric had finally succeeded in communicating with the wild young boy. The boy who had only met the very first being that hadn¡¯t tried to kill him at first sight. It might not have helped that Lucifer was as lazy as a Earth Wyrm and only waked for food or fighting. Plus he may have an almost uncontrollable bloodlust when he was awake. If not for Eric beating the ever living crap out of Lucifer on a daily(hourly) basis, he may have went on a rampage. ¡°Fine you want a fight? Speak proper sentences permanently and I¡¯ll let you hunt 3 times a day and sparring will be increased. Deal?¡± Eric finally relented and gave a new option for the young boy. Shock appeared on Lucifer¡¯s face he thought this was too good to be true, hunting 3 times a day? More ¡®sparring¡¯? This was a deal that was almost too good to be true. Seeing the shock on the young boy¡¯s face, Eric smirked. ¡°And I will let you fight two other strong people like me, though they might kill you instantly at the moment. So what is your choice brat?¡± Eric had sweetened the deal even more. ¡°What else do you want me to learn?¡± An astonishingly articulate voice escaped Lucifer¡¯s throat. In response to the sudden question of Lucifer, Eric could only suppress a shiver down with his slowly growing rage. ¡°IF YOU CAN SPEAK THIS WELL WHY THE FUCK DIDN¡¯T YOU!¡± Finally Eric exploded after staying silent for almost an entire moment trying to control his temper. He knew that if he punched the little bastard that would start a whole slew of problems. So he only yelled hoping to get a satisfying answer while knowing it was pointless. ¡°Well, before you still understood me.¡± Lucifer blatantly said as if there was nothing wrong at all with his too honest of an answer. He only stared at Eric awaiting the continuation of the language lessons so that he could go hunting or spar with Eric. A complete airhead was what Lucifer was. Completely oblivious to other¡¯s emotions or thoughts. But he was a complete natural fighter that would make the Elemental Academy and empires worldwide want him in their employ. Thinking of how many would want and try to befriend him Eric couldn¡¯t help but smile. This was the child of the woman he loved and after being with the boy for so long he had already treated him like his own son. Albeit he ¡®trained¡¯ Lucifer even harder because of that, though Lucifer wouldn¡¯t know that until much later in his life. ¡°Alright, but remember what I said about other people won¡¯t be as understanding as me so always talk properly.¡± Eric finally relented seeing that Lucifer simply could not grasp how he felt because of his age and growing circumstances. But Eric asked a question that had been on his mind for a long time. ¡°Lucifer?¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Are you upset you grew up in the forest and not amongst others of your race?¡± ¡°Why would I? The forests and Beasts were better and made more sense then all these rules and ¡®etiquette¡¯ that you are teaching me.¡± ¡°Then do you wish that I never came?¡± ¡°Well if you never came, then I would have never known about the outside. So even if you didn¡¯t come nothing would have happened to me right?¡± This thinking of Lucifer¡¯s might seem to be heartless considering how much Eric was doing for him. But Lucifer simply did not know of his own history, so how could he understand what exactly Eric was doing. Lucifer did not even know why someone as strong as Eric would be in this part of the forest. He knew that there were areas for stronger Beasts and if Eric was a hunter he should be in those areas not here with him. So while he trusted and listened to Eric, it was mostly to understand Eric and gain the strength to return the humiliation he got in their first meeting. It was a purely for self benefit that he stayed and learned from the older man. ¡°Then what if I said that there was a place that could make you stronger than here? Would you go there or stay here among the Beasts or leave?¡± Eric questioned with a smirk as if knowing what Lucifer was thinking. He knew that Lucifer did not consider him a father like he considered the boy a son. But he knew that unconsciously Lucifer was becoming attached to him. Just looking at how the little devil looked forward to their so called sparring sessions or to the times when he taught Lucifer the way to cook meat. The look of absolute reverence on the face of Lucifer was one of the absolute best memories in the grizzled warrior¡¯s mind. ¡°Or better yet if I told you there was place where you got paid to kill. You remember what money is right?¡± A glint flashed through Lucifer¡¯s heterochromic eyes at the mention of killing and money. He had a very strong bloodlust so how could he not know about killing? It was his second favourite thing in the world! But the thing that truly that truly ignited the passion in Lucifer was money. More specifically gold. Every dragon and dragon related Beast absolutely loved gold. There had been many studies done regarding this. From starting a fight with a dragon then throwing away gold and calmly walking away after, to even training fledgling dragons with small nuggets of the shiny ore. Many scholars came up with ridiculous theories to explain dragon¡¯s fascination with gold, but they were after all theories. No one had found the real definitive proof over the thousands of years of recorded history. Eric had witnessed his teacher at the Elemental Academy use small gold coins to train a Flamewind Wyvern during his stay at the school. And decided to see if the same occurrence happened with those with dragon ancestry like Lucifer. He had seen the obscene amount of gold in the Levin Royal Castle and thought it might have been true. Only after witnessing a near insane Lucifer battle without regard for his limbs; for a small pouch of gold, did he truly believe the rumours of dragons being insane for the ore. ¡°Where?¡± ¡°Where what Lucifer? Answer my question first before changing topics. We did agree to you talking properly from now on.¡± Eric cooed with a shit eating grin on his face while crossing his arms. It truly felt good to manipulate dragon blooded beings with gold. He almost laughed at how easy it was to do. ¡°Eric. Tell me what this place you speak of where gold is given for killing. I am going there and I will get as much gold as possible.¡± Lucifer bluntly replied while giving his tone a very sharp edge. He most definitely had to go this place of gold for bodies. He had to. ¡°I''ll tell you on the condition you finish our lessons and once your Mana Core has formed. That place isn''t for weaklings like yourself. So until I determine you strong enough, you will listen to my every command and teaching.¡± ¡°Fine. If there really is such a place, I agree. But only if you tell me about it first.¡± Lucifer bargained with his teacher. His body and mind telling him that he needed the gold. It was such an urge that Lucifer could only think of how to get more gold. He was hooked on the shiny ore like an addict. A very bloodthirsty and insane addict. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. Seeing that the boy was surprisingly willing to comply with following his deal, Eric began explaining the world of Gaies to Lucifer. He started explaining about society of Gaies. ¡°Lucifer, there are places where no trees grow in this land. Those places also have large stone walls and people like us live there. Those places are called cities. They allow people without strength to survive, but I know you believe that people without strength should die. So I''ll explain their purpose to those cities. The people without strength are mostly called ¡®commoners.¡¯ They for the most part grow man fruits and raise domesticated Beasts to serve as food. Commoners have a very important role in the survival of cities. Never look down on those without strength Lucifer. Promise me?¡± Eric calmly told Lucifer hoping that the boy didn''t become oppressive to those weaker than him. The boy was going to be immensely powerful and if he became a tyrant Eric would feel no idea of shame and self-loathing. After receiving a nod of approval, Eric continued his lesson. ¡°Besides commoners there are also nobles. Nobles are a pain in the ass and you will hate them most likely. Nobles are families of power. They are created by strong and smart warriors coming together and procreating. They create a family that way. The family tends to make very strong warriors as time passes. Much like strong types of Beasts, the strong get stronger and the weak get weaker. While Beasts never over hunt or bully the weaker around them, nobles on the other hand tend to. They bully and force commoners into terrible situations. Never fully trust a noble¡¯s words Lucifer or pick unneeded fights with them. Promise? This is important because warriors as strong as me or stronger are in or protecting those families. I''ll let you know when you have no need to worry until then. Keep this promise.¡± Eric became extremely serious as he spoke these words to Lucifer causing the boy to become shocked and a little afraid. Group of people that were stronger than Eric and there were many different groups of them. Hastily nodding in understanding Lucifer committed all of Eric¡¯s words to heart. ¡°Now that you know about cities I''ll explain the levels of strength in this world for warriors like us. We as warriors are divided into two categories: Magus and Spellblade. Magus are a spellcaster type profession. Spellcasters are warriors that use Mana to summon elements and hurl them at their enemies from afar. Based on their Mana Purity and Element a Magus; can unleash destructive spells at a distance, such as summoning an earthquake to shake and destroy foes. A Magus is extremely versatile in their capabilities of spellcasting, capable of aiding allies and destroying large areas with high ranked spells. The differences between the different ranks of Magus are their ability to use high order magics and size of Mana Core. The Mana Core¡¯s size dictates how much Mana one has at their disposal. While their Mana Purity indicates the speed of spellcasting and power of the spell. Ok?¡± After seeing an unusually attentive Lucifer, Eric chuckled before continuing his lecture. ¡°Now I''ll explain the other type of warrior: Spellblade. I personally am a Spellblade. One of the Light Element. Because of my race as a pureblood human my affinity to Light is higher than some races. But that''s besides the point. A Spellblade, is a close combat type profession. Based on using Mana and the Element of the Spellblade, Spellblades use close quarters spells such as summoning a weapon of their element or enhancing their body with their magical capabilities. Another thing that Spellblades do is generating a Mana armour that helps defend against a Magus¡¯ long range spells. The main difference in the different ranks of Spellblades are that they last longer while fighting. But there is big difference between the different levels of Spellblades when Mana Purity comes into play. A Spellblade with a higher Mana Purity fighting another Spellblade with the same level of Mana Core would absolutely massacre his opponent. The higher Mana Purity would rip apart the opposing Mana armour, rendering the defender completely open to attack. But weapon skill and quality of weapon and armour would play an effect in every fight for both professions.¡± Eric calmly explained. Slowly digesting what had been told to him, Lucifer began to ponder if he would be able to match any of the warriors that Eric had told him about. Mind racing at the fact of their being others to fight against Lucifer became even more focused to learn everything Eric would teach him. He even started forgetting his original intent in learning, after hearing about the wider world outside of his forest. ¡°Eric how can weapons and armour affect a battle between two warriors? Is strength and skill not the dividing factors of victory and defeat?¡± Lucifer finally couldn''t bear to not ask after pondering over the new info in his brain. ¡°What is better a Steelgore¡¯s antlers or a deer''s antlers?¡± ¡°Obviously the Steel gore antlers. Why say something so stupid?¡± ¡°Same concept with weapons boy. Was your old spear sharper than my naginata? No. A better weapon can destroy even the hardest defences.¡± ¡°So armour is the same but with defence? Like a Icescale Viper¡¯s hide compared to a Blaze Wolf¡¯s fur?¡± ¡°Exactly.¡± Eric proudly smiled at the analogy Lucifer came up with. Only after hearing it once he was able to understand and even find living examples of Beasts whose armour was superior to another similarly powerful Beast. ¡°Alright but does this explain about the gold and killing Eric?¡± Questioned the boy finally comprehending all the info that was dumped on him. ¡°Almost there kiddo. Quick question, what happens when there is a strong Beast by a city?¡± ¡°No clue.¡± ¡°It attacks any surrounding creature that is in its territory. So it''ll kill any person that leaves the city. The city hires, so pays anyone who kills it. And then a Beast¡¯s body can be used to make armour and weapons by an alchemist. So selling the corpse is also a way to make gold. The stronger the Beast the better the gear that can be made, making it worth more gold. Oh! I forgot. All Beasts have a Mana Core alright? Those are worth quite a pretty penny if you get a good one. Variant Element Beast Cores are worth the most.¡± Eric explained with a slight smile. He loved seeing such an attentive student. Especially one known for falling asleep in the midst of a lecture. ¡°Holy fuck. I could have so much gold if I saved up from before I met you! Arghhh! Fuck you Eric, why didn''t you tell me sooner!¡± Lucifer suddenly raged at the new found info about the ways Beasts could be used to make more gold. He had killed hundreds of Beasts he should have so much gold! And with a knowing smile Eric answered the raging child. ¡°The Rank 1 Beasts you killed weren''t worth much if you add them all up they might make up the value of that pouch I showed you. Get stronger kid. Rank 3 and higher are where people normally hunt for Beasts. But Mid and High Order Beasts are worth alot no matter the rank. You only killed Low Order Beasts in this area.¡± Eric quickly straightened out Lucifer¡¯s misconstrued thoughts of how much gold he could have. Along with a swift punch to the boy''s head. ¡°Alright. So who gives the warriors gold?¡± ¡°A group so to say, does. The group is called the Trade. The Trade, allows merchants and city governments to request; a warrior or group of warriors, a Task. A Task is usually a bounty for a specific Beast, rare Mana fruit or bandit group. It can also be a request for warriors to protect a merchant''s goods while they travel. And also various other things. The Trade has an outpost in every city across the world and is the most powerful organization besides the Elemental Academy.¡± Explained Eric to his young ward. ¡°Another thing that you particularly must know about is Empires and Kingdoms. Kingdoms are the rulers of countries; a large area of land. Empires are rulers of multiple Kingdoms. These two entities have what is called an army. An army is where I used to work. An army is where warriors, Magus and Spellblades work for either Empire or Kingdom as a soldier. Soldiers follow the orders of their commanding officer who is ordered by the Empire or Kingdom to do anything from hunting Beasts to guarding an area from other Kingdoms and empires and also protecting commoners in the cities. I was a Commander for a very powerful Empire. This Empire had 8 Kingdoms under it and is the biggest Empire in Farror, the Levin Empire.¡± continued Eric as Lucifer slowly began to truly understand how much bigger the world was than what he was used to. ¡°I being a human was different to those from Levin. They are draconians human like beings that possess scales like a dragon on parts of their body. Draconians are made when a dragon uses Mana to form a humanlike body and procreates. They are a very powerful race and have amazing magical aptitude for their Element. I was recruited from the Elemental Academy to work for Levin at a young age because of my talent in fighting. I received gold for every enemy kill I made as well as everyday I worked for Levin as a Commander. I made easily 5000 times the amount of gold you would have from your life in the forests before I quit working for Levin.¡± Eric finally finished lecturing the now quivering Lucifer that was fighting to sit still. This had to have been the most listening Lucifer had ever listened to without passing out or going on a ramble trying to kill something. And he was finally at the end of his rope. ¡°Eric. Thank you for telling me all this. But I have to fucking kill something right mother fucking now.¡± Lucifer began to stutter. He really was barely on the edge of losing to his bloodlust and assaulting anything around him. A Nephilim¡¯s battle craze cannot be underestimated or understood with common sense. Same for a dragon¡¯s obsession with gold. And this dragon had found out a way to get gold while satisfying it¡¯s own urge to slaughter. Seeing the shaking Lucifer barely controlling himself Eric couldn''t help but be proud of the boy. He held on for hours when normally minutes were the most Eric could hope for. Smiling and giving an affirmative nod, Eric let Lucifer go hunt. Then calling after the boy whose form could barely be made out. ¡°Bring back dinner!¡± Eric laughed at how excited the boy was. Chapter 4 Rage (Unedited) Today was the one year mark of Eric and Lucifer meeting and living together. It was also a sort of graduation for the youngster. He has learned for an entire year what most do growing up almost catching up to others his age. Now being 7 years old, Lucifer had gained a half foot of height. Now standing at 5¡¯6¡± and weighing in at 160 lbs of solid muscle he was a giant amongst 7 year olds. His previously long and unkempt hair was cut. Shaved at the sides of his head and only around 9 inches long on the top of his head. Tied into a short ponytail Lucifer midnight black hair, looked extremely well with his face. Sharp eyebrows peaked over his heterochromic eyes. His full lips were pale but not in an unhealthy way. He also sported a new scar down his left cheek that seemed to be from a sword. Lucifer also wore a black outfit made of Beast hide. What Beast couldn''t be told but if the skull that fit on his left shoulder was any sign it was a lion type. A tight form fitting leather jerkin was atop a black flannel shirt. With different Beast teeth forming a sash from the right shoulder to left hip. The jerkin was astonishing. Fine craftsmanship and detailed stitching was evident on the leather. Wearing a tasset belt; of what appeared to be pale ivory coloured snake hide, Lucifer tied in his pitch black leather trousers. The complete outfit would make any warrior drool with envy. The tooth sash on the jerkin was actually made from Lucifer¡¯s most prized kills. Lucifer sat next to a casually dressed Eric. Who wore only brown leather trousers and a loose white shirt that showed off his muscular chest. The two were busy eating a giant fire roast Styxlion a rare and powerful Beast of the 2nd Rank Mid Order. The Styxlion is a renown Poison Element Beast that usually lives in toxic swamps and near large bodies of water. This particular lion was from the later. It was an extremely long and arduous hunt that lead to an even more insane battle between Lucifer and the Styxlion. Eric had told Lucifer he was to hunt the Beast as his graduation test and could only return if he succeeded in 2 weeks after arriving to the location of the lion. This lead to an entire week of observation and planning for Lucifer before he felt ready to take on the Beast. Stalking the Beast while it began its dinnertime hunt, Lucifer began his hunt. After waiting till the Styxlion had finished hunting; and was feasting on a Red Wolf pack it slaughtered, Lucifer began his assault. Using hit and run tactics he would attack and wound the Beast during its most vulnerable times. During eating, middle of stalking prey, sleeping, no time was safe for the Styxlion. This continued for 4 days before Lucifer dared to begin his final attack. Facing off against any Rank 2 Mid Order Beast is a terrifying thing for a warrior without a Mana Core. Exactly like Lucifer. He was only 7 and most warriors form their Cores at the age of 10-15. Although he is a combat genius; trained by the ex commander of the Levin Royal guard, the gap created by the Mana Core was almost insurmountable. So Lucifer planned for a long term battle. Using every dirty trick in the book. There is no victory in death. During the battle between Lucifer and the Styxlion, Lucifer fought with only two single edged swords. One metre in length and formed from the sharpened fangs of a Steelscale Serpent. Lucifer had made the blades with the help of Eric. Using his natural born strength and speed, he began a deadly dance with the Styxlion. Weaving between the wounded Beasts large swings he made quick slashes to the Beasts joints. Stabs punctured any opening the Beast left for Lucifer to capitalize on. The vitality of a 2nd Rank Beast cannot be underestimated. Surviving for 3 hours of Lucifer¡¯s assault before finally going berserk. In a last ditch effort to take its foe down with it, the lion blasted Lucifer away with a vicious blow. The damage that one blow caused to Lucifer was about the same as all of his over the past 11 days. 5 broken ribs and a shattered forearm Lucifer was almost defenceless. But living for 6 years in the forest did something for the wounded boy. It made him an absolute monster when injured. His battle sense would extrapolate and his reflexes sharpen. While only having one arm and heavy internal bleeding Lucifer fought the lion for an entire day. Exhausted and on the verge of death both Beast and boy gave their final attacks. Lucifer roaring with a savage howl lept towards the Styxlion. Seeing the idiotic move by its nemesis the lion only threw one powerful swing. Blasted away by the attack, Lucifer was completely immobilized. Laying helplessly against a tree trunk he sat there as the Styxlion lumbered towards him to finish him off. Paralyzed and awaiting death Lucifer began to go crazy with rage. Rage at his own weakness, failure at letting down Eric, at not seeing the world that he learned about and most of all at dying so young and pitifully. Insane with rage Lucifer unlocked something deep within himself. His dragon bloodline. Unlocking a bloodline is a rare and powerful phenomenon only the best warriors do. Lucifer being born of the Levin Empire¡¯s royal lineage, had a very tyrannical draconic bloodline. The bloodline had stayed dormant while his Nephilim bloodline was somewhat apparent in his large height. The method of Lucifer¡¯s bloodline awakening was an even rarer thing. Dragon Rage. A truly terrifying ability that only high dragons have. Dragon Rage forcibly doubles a dragon¡¯s power. Both magically and physically. But it has a severe cost, regression. The Mana Core of the Dragon will regress an entire rank or more depending on the length of the Rage. Now Lucifer using this ability should be impossible seeing as he had no Mana Core. So the Rage forced him to form one. And under the effect of increasing one¡¯s Mana Purity, Dragon Rage forced Lucifer to create a Core above his own natural Mana Purity. This also made a normally peaceful and euphoric experience into a agonizingly torturous one. A wave of pure Mana exploded out from Lucifer¡¯s limp body. Scaring the Styxlion into a slow retreat. While roaring in pain and anger, Lucifer viciously glared at the Styxlion. Experiencing such a painful Mana Core forming was a trial in itself say nothing for one under the threat of death. Lucifer had no choice but to bear with it lest he die without knowing how. Dragon Rage began to construct his Mana Core while he had his stare down with the Beast. Over the course of a painfully slow 30 minutes the Core was half formed. Finally the Styxlion could not bear the tension and pounced on Lucifer. Seeing the Beast¡¯s attack, Lucifer let out a soul shaking roar. A roar that was so powerful it blast the lion back with its sound waves. Like a dragon bellowing in fury, Lucifer roared. This roar caused all animals and Beasts in the surrounding area to be terrified to their very soul. It was if a high dragon had announced its claim to this land. Thrown by the roar, the Styxlion died of a concussion and blood loss. Lucifer could only sneer at the now dead Beast. Finally after an hour of torture Lucifer¡¯s Mana Core had finished. His Initiate Mana Core was formed at the age of 7, effectively making him the youngest warrior in recorded history. A miracle. Even more miraculous was his Mana Purity: Yellow. A 7 year old Yellow Initiate. This would terrify and shock the world once known. All of this was witnessed by 3 people. One human male, a female elf and draconian woman. These people were Eric, Jasmine and Yue respectively. The trio had watched and stood on standby in case the young boy died. Eric¡¯s so called graduation; was actually a test devised by all 3 of them, after seeing Lucifer¡¯s growth and prowess personally. Eric stood stalk still. His entire body told him to flee after that dragon roar. But he had to remain to ensure Lucifer¡¯s safety. His body only calmed after seeing Lucifer pass out from exhaustion. And only then because of his personal experience with the boy. Eric took a deep breath to calm down before running to Lucifer. The other 2 had a much harder time. Yue as a draconian was shivering from head to toe. Her knees became so weak she collapsed while her breathing began to pant. She was terrified of the Dragon roar but also she was aroused. She could feel the majesty and power of a true dragon from Lucifer. Being a draconian this was incredibly stimulating. She had dragon blood and Lucifer had high dragon blood from a pure lineage. Her body became hot her skin was tingling. She could not control herself as euphoric pleasure assaulted her body. Her crotch began to soak with juices from her sex. Her womb quivering and begging to hold the seed of whoever made that powerful roar. She bit her bottom lip hard enough to cause it to bleed. The black dress she wore was soon torn as she began to pleasure herself with her small hand. She vigorously worked her thin fingers around her erogenous zone between her long slim legs. As she pleasured herself imaging Lucifer; dominating and mating with her in the most primal way, she climaxed causing her entire body shake as her sex spewed water like a broken faucet. While Yue was preoccupied with her pleasure, Jasmine had other issues. She was similarly aroused but she in a much different way. She was a bit of a masochist. She was orgasming constantly from the fear of Lucifer assaulting her in his savage Beast like way. She began to perversely grin as she slowly walked towards the now unconscious boy. She could not wait till her time training him. After reaching Lucifer¡¯s still body Eric brought him to their cabin to rest. Now after 3 days of sleep Lucifer awoke and desperately needed food. After being dressed by Eric, Lucifer wore leather armour made from the Styxlion he killed. Currently seated next to Eric at their dinner table, Lucifer looked at the two newcomers: Jasmine and Yue. The two were both beautiful women and also the first females he had ever seen. And currently both were releasing plenty of pheromones. Causing Lucifer to smell a strange sweet new scent. One he attributed to them being female. He had plenty of lessons about females but this was his first time seeing one. While Yue suppressed an urge to rape the young man seated across from her she slowly ate some of the roasted Styxlion and Mana fruits prepared for Lucifer¡¯s graduation and recovery feast. Jasmine on the other hand was staring intently at the boy, with her elbows on the table and hands supporting her face. Only Eric bitterly shook his head in response to the two women. He then chose to introduce them since they seemed more socially inept than Lucifer. ¡°Lucifer, this is Jasmine. The elf woman staring at you. She is your next teacher and also a very good friend of mine. The silent one sitting across from you is a draconian named Yue. She and you have some relations that she will explain during her training with you after Jasmine''s.¡± Eric continued while Lucifer began to scarf down food after knowing who the strangers were. ¡°On the other hand, congratulations! You have finished your first set of training brat. Now you have 2 more sets to finish.¡± Eric said happily as he slapped Lucifer hard on his back. Causing the boy to choke a bit on his food. ¡°Lucifer. Our training will he dealing with Mana and Spirits also magical combat will be slowly introduced to you. Yue will be doing your complete magical combat training, history lessons and she will tell you about your past.¡± Jasmine said slowly. Her voice was melodic and peaceful to Lucifer¡¯s ears. His eyes closed as he enjoyed the sound of her voice. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°Alright enjoy your food it is your trophy after all. I prepared the Styxlion you killed as a prize for you.¡± Eric laughed as he began to enjoy the food. ¡°He needs a new weapon.¡± A very light voice sounded out after a few minutes of everyone eating in earnest. ¡°So you will speak tonight? Oddly enough I agree with you Wyvern hag.¡± Jasmine snorted in response. ¡°Please don''t fight you two, this is a night for Lucifer. But I concur with Yue that he has earned a new weapon. Let''s wait till after weapons training he can pick his own preferred weapon.¡± Eric said with finality. Lucifer completely ignored the trio only focusing on ravaging the food in front of him. Little did he notice his body had been slightly different than before. He failed to notice the longer and sharper nails on his hands. The pale gold scales forming on the backs of his hands flowing along his arms to his chest. Nor the growths on his shoulder blades and at the small of his back that had appeared. After dinner had finished Lucifer began to feel incredibly drowsy. Slumping back into his seat he drifted off to sleep. Causing the rest of the group to stifle a laugh at how relaxed he was around them. This epically made Yue feel excited, her body already pushing her into heat. She could subconsciously feel the emerging dragon lineage in him. Especially after seeing his new claws and scales during the meal. Jasmine on the other hand was put off with how lazy he seemed. Eric being the only one feeling proud of the young boy for his hard work the past weeks. Drifting into his unconsciousness Lucifer again entered the same dark area. Where he was one year ago, when Eric had beaten him senseless. And like before the two colossal beings were having an epic death match. Seeing the long serpent like Beast entwining around the winged giant human like being, Lucifer became afraid like before. Though this time it was a fear from knowledge of what these two giants were. A black dragon and a Nephilim berzerker. Slowly floating towards the battling titans Lucifer waited till they noticed him; before grasping hold of his right fist and, giving a bow towards them. Surprise fluttered across the giant Nephilim¡¯s eyes. While disdain showed on the reptilian face of the Dragon. ¡°So you know who we are now boy?¡± Questioned the same voice from last time he was here. ¡°Yes. You are my bloodlines. My lineage. Apart of my power.¡± Lucifer calmly replied. Showing no servility. Straightening his back he gazed at the two with respect. These two were great and powerful beings during their time. A giant Nephilim. A Nephilim from the beginning of their history. With blood of a God flowing through its veins. A true warrior champion. A black dragon. A dragon known for its power and might. Legends say the first dragon was born black as the night sky, before a golden dragon appeared to light up the dark and dreary sky. The legend of the twin dragons is very well known. The black dragon of night and the gold dragon of day. ¡°Listen little one. We are your spirits. Not just your bloodlines. We are what embodies you most. The dragons nature of pride. The Nephilim¡¯s nature of wrath. We will not dominate you or anything. We only ask that you never forget about us. Can you do that little one?¡± Questioned the ancient voice in a light tone. ¡°Raaaaargh¡± The Dragon let loose a mighty roar after the question had been said. As if it was agreeing with the deal proposed. This little interaction let Lucifer guess that it was the Nephilim spirit talking to him. Turning to face the giant winged titan Lucifer answered. ¡°I would never forget that which is me.¡± Satisfied with his answer both spirits nodded before slowly fading into the darkness. Lucifer awoke with a start as someone dumped cold water onto his sleeping form. Jumping up and preparing for a fight, he readied himself for anything. Only to see a laughing Jasmine rolling on the floor cackling about how stupid he looked. After a second he slowly began to understand what had happened. Jasmine must have poured ice water onto him as he slept. Glaring at the still laughing elf, Lucifer started to feel anger building up inside him. Soon a warm feeling in his chest accompanied his ever growing anger. The warm sensation flooded his body and made it feel extremely light and full of energy. While feeling stronger Lucifer decided to test out the new trainer as Eric had stated she was. Launching a lightning fast roundhouse to Jasmine''s laughing face, he began his attack. Instantly done laughing Jasmine raised her right arm to block his kick. Seeing that she was ready for a fight. Lucifer grinned savagely, before he began to unleash a myriad of different punches and kicks at Jasmine. Calmly blocking and redirecting most of Lucifer¡¯s assault proved impossible for Jasmine. Lucifer was using his Mana Core to enhance his body. Jasmine who was only relying on her thin lithe body of an elf Magus to defend was soon overwhelmed. Enraged by the audacity of the young boy attacking her, Jasmine unleashed her full aura as a Yellow Arch Magus. Completely stifled from the power such a strong warrior made, Lucifer couldn''t help but freeze. Using the basic spell [Mana Bolt] she hit Lucifer square in the chest. The bolt sending him through the wall of the cabin and out into the training field. The same field Eric used to spar with him on. ¡°Well seeing as you''re already at the training field let''s start the lesson today. Oh and if you promise to always pay attention and listen there will be big pouch of gold for you. So deal?¡± The elven woman cutely asked. Completely ignoring the fact that just 30 seconds earlier the two were fighting. As she sauntered onto the field. ¡°Fuck. What was that?¡± Lucifer groaned in pain. ¡°That little lizard was magic.¡± Jasmine giggle in response. ¡°You also used magic little lizard. Were you ever as fast as you were just now?¡± Thinking back to the warm sensation that flooded his body, Lucifer realised what had happened. He had a Mana Core now! He could fight more powerful foes like Eric had taught him. Ecstatic at the new discovery Lucifer again tried to get that warm feeling to flood his body. But he could not succeed. ¡°Idiot. You only have a Initiate Core how could you use it repeatedly? Sit your ass down and listen. There are different stages to Mana Cores. Depending on which type of warrior you are. The type of warrior is decided from the moment your Core is formed. You are a Spellblade warrior. I am a Magus warrior. You remember the difference, yes?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Lucifer quickly replied while he sat down to listen to the lecture. ¡°Good. The stages for Spellblades are as follows: Initiate, Squire, Knight-Errant, Knight, General, Marshal, Prince, King, Saint, Avatar and finally God.¡± Jasmine calmly explained to her new student. ¡°The later stages are unimportant for you now. So we will talk about the first few. Initiate is the basis of all warriors and allows us to use Mana in the most basic of ways. You in particular are a natural at enhancing your body. Shown by your little display earlier. The other ways to use your Mana are: weapon creation and Mana armour. Weapon creation allows you to form a weapon of your own Element and Mana for combat or medium ranged warfare. Mana armour is something you must learn or else you will be a failure of a warrior.¡± Stated Jasmine as Lucifer diligently took in all the new information. ¡°Now your Mana Core will generate more Mana as you rest. The more still you are, the faster it regenerates. Go sit cross legged in the field and empty your mind. Focus only on your Mana Core, visualise the Core as it creates Mana.¡± Taking Jasmine''s words seriously. Lucifer attempted to meditate with single hearted devotion. After 30 minutes of meditation Lucifer had finally filled his Core to the brim. ¡°My Core is now full Jasmine. Is there a way to make the Mana last longer? If it is only that little I won''t be able to use it in fights unless it''s a last resort. That doesn''t seem to match the lessons Eric taught me.¡± Inquiring Jasmine for more clarity on the capabilities of Mana, Lucifer asked. ¡°Well you are the idiot that enhanced his whole body and not parts. Barely anyone can handle fighting with 100% Mana enhancement over their entire body for long. The only beings capable of that are Saint/Prophet level warriors.¡± ¡°Oh. Well that still doesn''t mean you can call me idiot. I was taught by Eric and I won''t tolerate being called that by anyone.¡± Lucifer growled in a dangerously viscous voice. As his threat left his mouth, Lucifer summoned his Mana to his legs. Enhancing them and launching himself towards Jasmine. As quickly as he enhanced his legs he stopped in an effort to conserve Mana. Instantly appearing right in front of Jasmine he then pumped his arms and claws with as much Mana as he could. Before unleashing a devastating flurry of earth rending slashes onto the elf. Smirking at her student''s quick temper Jasmine readied another [Mana Bolt] in her right hand. Right as Lucifer¡¯s barrage began she launched her spell into the dirt between the two. Creating a dust storm, Jasmine escaped from Lucifer¡¯s range. Casting another spell: [Ice Spikes]. Jasmine released her spell at the unsuspecting Lucifer who was still raging in the dust cloud. Catching a glimpse of Jasmine''s [Mana Bolt], Lucifer immediately cancelled his Mana enhanced attack. Choosing to deceive his foe into thinking his Mana had run out. Feeling the air rapidly cooling, Lucifer braced himself for anything. A second later, ice shot towards him in the shape of spikes. Quickly using Mana to strengthen his claws Lucifer began clawing his way through the storm of [Ice Spikes]. Dodging and slashing apart the chunks of ice, Lucifer weaved himself through the ice towards Jasmine''s location. Once he was ? of the way there he flooded his entire body with the last half of Mana he had left. Throwing it all on one attack, he charged through the ice chunks and let loose a mighty blow towards Jasmine. Feeling a massive surge in Mana amidst the ice and dust storm she created, Jasmine assumed that Lucifer was done in by her simple attack. He was after all only 7 years old. How could he match her in tactics as well as Mana handling? She was an elite Yellow Arch Magus. Imagine this elite warrior¡¯s surprise when a yellow glowing claw of destruction came crashing down at her head. Without any choice but to unleash her full power or else die by Lucifer¡¯s claw, she brought forth her spirit. Causing a shock wave of Mana to freeze the air surrounding her she also froze Lucifer¡¯s arm and most of his torso solid. Frozen and completely out of Mana, Lucifer crashed into the dirt by Jasmine. Bewildered and bitter Lucifer began to rage. Rage at how helpless he was. Mad at how much Jasmine and most likely Eric held back when fighting him. Helpless he waited for Jasmine to finish him off. He had finally realized how much stronger they were compared to him. A very grim reminder of how much he had to grow. Jasmine meanwhile was absolutely terrified that she had disabled her young charge. She didn''t dare move thoughtlessly. Slowly using her spirit she probed his body''s situation. Finding nothing too serious besides hypothermia in his right arm. Jasmine called Eric by casting a magic flare into the sky. She needed his Light Element healing abilities to fix the damage done to Lucifer. Eric arrived shortly after the flare exploded in the clear, cloudless sky. Bitterly shaking his head at how fast he was needed to heal one of them, he began channeling Light Mana into Lucifer¡¯s frozen body. After about 5 minutes of work Eric stood up and walked to the side of the training field. Laying down in the grass he closed his eyes seemingly taking a nap. Lucifer on the other hand was sulking while Jasmine began teaching anew. ¡°Alright I won''t call you that anymore. But you really gotta stop blitzing anyone who irks you a tiny bit. Not even pureblood draconians are that quick tempered. Anyways I''m going to explain that blast of ice magic that froze you tomorrow go hunt and cool off kid. Bring back enough for 4.¡± Chapter 5 Trust (Unedited) Time passed and Lucifer returned as the soon had just set, dragging a large Beast behind him. It was a massive lizard with a red and grey hide. The Beast was a Scarlet Iguana a 4 foot tall lizard that was 6 feet in length. Lucifer was currently dragging it by the loose skin on its gizzard. The Beast was covered in savage claw marks. It was completely tortured by Lucifer before it finally died. Dragging the Scarlet Iguana into the clearing that the cabin was situated in, Lucifer saw a large bonfire. Bringing the Beast to the fire, he saw Yue watching him. Greeting her with a curt nod he dropped his kill and went into the cabin. As he walked in he saw Jasmine cutting and peeling Mana fruits. Assuming it was for the meal Lucifer ignored the elf and walked into his room. The hole he and Jasmine made earlier in the day was already fixed. Going into his bathroom he began to wash himself up for dinner. A habit Eric heavily beat into Lucifer¡¯s head. While Lucifer did his ablutions for dinner Yue prepared the Beast left by Lucifer. Jasmine made dishes of sweet and delicious Mana fruits to go with the soon to be grilled Scarlet Iguana. After a few minutes Lucifer returned to the bonfire where Yue had set large slabs of meat to roast over the flame. Spotting the table used by Eric and himself for their dinners, Lucifer went and brought it over for the group to eat at. Lucifer finally saw Eric after he set down the table. Eric was doing his daily practice with his naginata. Twirling, slashing and occasionally thrusting Eric made a strangely beautiful dance of death. This dance was as if he was fighting a mob and a single opponent at the same time. It possessed a strange and unique charm to Lucifer. He became entranced by the beauty of Eric¡¯s blade work. Only after Eric completed a stab that led to him rotating his body while jumping into a slash did the deadly dance end. Exhaling a deep breath Eric came to notice a jaw hanging Lucifer staring intently at himself. Laughing lightly he waved the boy over. ¡°So you like that sort of stuff eh?¡± Eric asked with a slight smile to the young boy. It was the first time he saw such childish excitement in the boy. ¡°What, what was that? Was it a dance like you told me those nobles do? Or were you fighting some enemy I couldn''t see?¡± Lucifer quickly bombarded Eric with questions. ¡°That was just my daily weapon practice. You will find your own weapon after learning magic basics with Jasmine. Yue and I are both very experienced warriors, we will help you find the weapon that best suits you. Like my naginata is for me.¡± Eric laughed while clapping Lucifer on the shoulder. He then brought the eager youth to the dinner table to eat. After eating and cleaning up Lucifer went to bed after thanking Yue and Jasmine for cooking the meal. The next day Lucifer woke up and got ready for the day. Exiting the house and heading to the training field he saw Jasmine waiting for him. ¡°Alright let me talk to about something important now that you''re awake. Spirits. You heard of em?¡± Jasmine asked in a casual manner. ¡°Yes. I met two spirits before.¡± Lucifer promptly answered. ¡°Where?¡± Jasmine immediately demanded with a very anxious voice. ¡°I don''t know where but they are my spirits they were fighting while they wait for me to contract them.¡± ¡°Did you touch them Lucifer?¡± A new voice asked from behind Lucifer. The speaker was the usually quiet and cold Yue. She was walking towards the two for some reason and heard the conversation. ¡°No? They only said they would never force me to become a ¡®embodiment¡¯ whatever that is, if I never forget them.¡± Lucifer responded in a questioning way while looking at the icy beauty. ¡°Spirits are beings of the Spirit World Lucifer. The Spirit World is a world that reflects our own. Only difference is that spirits inhabit it. Spirits themselves are incorporeal beings that that correlate with the different emotions of sentient life, otherwise known as the 7 Sins of Man. Spirits are named according to their form and also by their Sin. A spirit that has the form of a Steelgore would be called a: Steelgore whatever it''s Sin is. A Spirit that represents a Sin may seem bad but it is a representation of the person¡¯s inner self. A man may have a Spirit of Lust but be a very loyal and devout husband, just with a stronger urge for his sexual intercourse. A person with a Spirit of Greed may not always be greedy to the point of corruption. The Spirits are just what emotion people show the most during their lives. One may only contact and contract with a Spirit after they become 18 for risk of being taken over by the Spirit and becoming an embodiment for the Spirit to live in Gaies. An embodiment is when the Spirit forces a person to live their lives according to their Sin. Oddly the original psyche is not completely destroyed; if one looks at an embodiment¡¯s consciousness it is still the original person just one that wholly focuses on their Spirit¡¯s Sin. Magus and Spellblades use spirits in battle as an external aid to physically attack their foes or by integrating with their Spirits and using the Spirit¡¯s natural affinity to magic to boost their own magic¡¯s might and duration of effect.¡± Jasmine calmly explained to the confused Lucifer. ¡°A spirit is not supposed to be able to contact you. You must tap into your consciousness and feel your inner Sin. This is a very difficult thing to do for people who haven''t lived at least 2 decades long. Then if successfully entering your consciousness and finding your Sin, you must flood a Soul Stone with it and your Mana. A Soul Stone is a common gem that acts as a gateway to the Spirit world for the consciousness of a warrior through blood and mana being infused into the gem. A Soul Stone marked with one''s own blood is used to create the gateway to the Spirit World. This portal or gateway allows one to view and interact with the Spirits of the Spirit world that match one¡¯s Sin and has an affinity to their bloodline.¡± Jasmine continued only after confirming Lucifer had understood everything. It was at this point Yue interjected. ¡°Lucifer, how did you meet your spirit?¡± She asked softly. ¡°The first time was when I was knocked unconscious by Eric during our first meeting. They spoke to me but at that time I could not understand words. I last met them was two nights ago after eating dinner.¡± Lucifer spoke towards the newcomer. ¡°Wait! What do you mean spirits? You can only have one spirit!¡± Jasmine shrieked just understanding the subtle change in wording. ¡°You can only have one Sin, your Prime Sin. Lucifer tell us what they are now!¡± ¡°Well one was a giant black serpent that had four strong limbs like a ox. Each leg had five claws that looked strong enough to destroy mountains. Scales like iridescent black raindrops covered the giant serpent; in a perfect picturesque sequence, from tail to snout. The serpent''s neck was like a lion¡¯s. With a thick and full mane of dark grey hair. Antlers like the one¡¯s from the Steelgore he killed albeit much larger and thicker crowned the colossal serpent. While the maw of the Beast was full of ivory white teeth. That were more like swords than any teeth Lucifer had ever seen. An elongated snout held the pristine ivory teeth maw.¡± Lucifer vividly described the black serpent he had seen to the two women. As Lucifer finished describing the black serpent, Yue¡¯s cold face split into a ravishing smile. While Jasmine had her mouth hanging wide open in shock. ¡°You are your mother''s child.¡± Yue whispered before quickly covering her mouth with a hand. She then asked: ¡°And the other spirit you saw?¡± ¡°Oh. The other was a giant. A giant human like male in light armour. He wore grey greaves and gauntlets with a single pauldron on his left shoulder. He also had a loincloth with a tasset belt attached. The cloth seemed to be just stripped from a Beast and not sown or anything. The giant man had white feather wings that were folded behind him. The strange thing was his face looked almost exactly like mine.¡± Lucifer scratched his head after saying this. Trying to figure out why the giant looked like him. Yue and Jasmine on the other hand were baffled. This boy in front of them had two spirits and two Heaven Order spirits. The only thing unknown were the twin spirit¡¯s Sins. The two woman''s knees started to shake as they thought of the implications this had. Lucifer could effectively fight as three people after he contracted his spirits. He could summon both the Black True Dragon and Prime Nephilim spirits! This was a Heaven shaking matter! ¡°Lucifer!¡± Eric yelled from his napping spot as he sat up. ¡°What did the spirits say exactly?¡± ¡°The Nephilim I think said: ¡®We are your spirits. Not just your bloodlines. We are what embodies you most. The dragon''s nature of pride. The Nephilim¡¯s nature of wrath¡¯ was all he said.¡± Lucifer yelled back to the previously napping warrior. ¡°Good. For now whenever you see them talk to them. They are the only ones you can truly trust with your life. They will never try to hurt you no matter what. I believe your spirits reached out to you through your bloodlines. Yue will explain that later to you. For now listen to all the magic training Jasmine gives you. Got it?¡± The grizzled Spellblade seriously said to Lucifer. He hoped Lucifer would listen to him without too much trouble but he didn''t put too much faith in it. ¡°Why can''t I trust you then?¡± The boy questioned while his entire demeanor changed. He became on edge and guarded. ¡°Because I am helping you for myself. I did not come here by accident neither did they. Did you think everyone would help you or be nice to you! Are you a fool? I am training you because of someone else. If a stranger switched with me, they would enslave you with magic while you are weak and defenseless!¡± Eric roared at the naive boy. ¡°Lucifer if we wanted to enslave you, could you stop us?¡± Jasmine questioned bluntly. Caught off guard by the sudden question Lucifer stumbled backwards. ¡°Boy you know Beasts give birth and I told you all about that. So where are your parents? How did you come along? Who sired you?¡± Eric continued to grill Lucifer while he stalked towards the boy. For every step Eric took, Lucifer took another backwards. ¡°I.¡± ¡°You never fucking thought of it you idiotic brat!¡± Eric cut Lucifer off from finishing. ¡°You only complain and attack us whenever we help you! You''re ungrateful and a brat!¡± ¡°I never asked you to teach me!¡± Lucifer cried out as all sorts of thoughts flew inside his head. ¡°Did you honestly believe your weak self could grow up amidst true Beasts in this part of the Beast Kingdom? If not for us making a deal with the local Apexs you never would have lasted a day!¡± Jasmine snapped. ¡°Listen to me Lucifer.¡± Yue finally spoke silencing the rest of the group. ¡°During the mornings you will learn from Jasmine about magic then you will go hunt or run away. If you want, you do not have to return. But if you come back, I will teach you your past.¡± ¡°Hmph.¡± Lucifer snorted in anger but nonetheless agreement. He then continued listening to Jasmine explain magic. Hours had passed and the sun had reached its peak when Jasmine requested Lucifer to recite what he had been told. ¡°Mana is magic given form. Magic is only a usage of Mana not the entirety of Mana.¡± Lucifer recited slowly. ¡°Mana is divided into different Purities. The different Mana Purities are from lowest to highest: Brown-Red-Yellow-Green-Blue-Purple-Silver-Gold.¡± ¡°Spirits are also differentiated by Mana Purity besides their form and Sin. The table for spirit categorization is called the Spirit Chart. It looks like this.¡± Lucifer began to draw in the dirt a rectangle that was divided into 5 rows and 3 columns.
1ST LEVEL 2ND LEVEL
LOW ORDER Brown Red
MEDIUM ORDER YellowSupport the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. Green
HIGH ORDER Blue Purple
HEAVEN ORDER Silver Gold
¡°Much like spirits Beasts are divided into a similar table of identification.¡± Lucifer continued drawing in the dirt while he spoke.
LOW ORDER MEDIUM ORDER HIGH ORDER HEAVEN ORDER
RANK 1 Brown-Red Yellow-Green Blue-Purple Silver-Gold
RANK 2 Brown-Red Yellow-Green Blue-Purple Silver-Gold
RANK 3 Brown-Red Yellow-Green Blue-Purple Silver-Gold
RANK 4 Brown-Red Yellow-Green Blue-Purple Silver-Gold
RANK 5 Brown-Red Yellow-Green Blue-Purple Silver-Gold
RANK 6 Brown-Red Yellow-Green Blue-Purple Silver-Gold
RANK 7 Brown-Red Yellow-Green Blue-Purple Silver-Gold
RANK 8 Brown-Red Yellow-Green Blue-Purple Silver-Gold
RANK 9 Brown-Red Yellow-Green Blue-Purple Silver-Gold
RANK 10 Brown-Red Yellow-Green Blue-Purple Silver-Gold
¡°While Beasts and Spirits have this form of identification so do warriors. For both Magus and Spellblades there are different standards of power. Magus and Spellblades are standardized into 11 stages.¡± Lucifer calmly stated. He took a deep breath and continued. ¡°Magus are ranked as follows:
Initiate Apprentice Magus Jr. Magus Arch Magus Sage Jr. Sage Arch Sage Prophet Elemental God
¡°While Spellblades are divided into:
Initiate Squire Knight-Errant Knight General Marshall Prince King Saint Avatar God
Exhaling a breath of exhaustion, Lucifer slumped backwards. Laying onto the dirt of the practice field he closed his tired eyes. ¡°Good. Now get out of here and hunt.¡± Jasmine said with satisfaction. She had crammed an unholy amount of information into Lucifer this morning. Explaining as much as humanly possible in hopes that if he did not return tonight he would have some knowledge to live. With a satisfying stretch Lucifer limbered up his body. After a 5 minute stretch he took off into the cabin to change into his Styxlion armour. Quickly changed and ready to hunt, Lucifer left the cabin he had called home for a an entire year. He had no intention to return. He felt that he was betrayed by Eric. Why would he stay with someone he did not trust? So he decided to throw himself into the wild once more. Much like he had at birth. Regardless if Eric had secretly protected him while he was growing up or not, Lucifer was going to live without any help anymore. Watching Lucifer¡¯s disappearing form from the cabin were the forms of Eric, Jasmine and Yue. The trio were worried that the boy would run off and get himself killed. He was known for picking fights he could barely survive when angry. Lucifer had stalked a Rank 1 Mid Order Volt Stag as an opportunity to release some steam. The end result was him barely killing the Beast as he dislocated his shoulder and cracked 3 ribs. If not for Eric swiftly arriving and healing him, Lucifer might have died to the scavengers of the forest. Currently Lucifer was searching for a den of some kind. He planned to slaughter the owner and taking the den over. If he was to live in the forest again he would be smarter. Even if he resented the others he still had to admit Eric taught every survival skill known. Ingenious ways to trap and survive in the Beast Kingdom. How to set bones and stitch injures. Lucifer knew it all. And now he had caught the trail of some Beasts of the Wolf familia. Tracking his prey for hours, Lucifer came upon a rocky outcrop. The outcrop had a giant mountain in the middle of it. The wolf tracks led right to the mountain. As he stepped into the outcrop rain began to pour down like the skies were crying. As the rain fell it washed away all trails in the ground. Choosing to scout slowly in case the den was near, Lucifer deftly moved amid the slippery wet rocks. Weaving between shadows and vantage positions Lucifer looked for any trace of the wolves. For an entire hour he searched before finally finding his quarry. A Razor Wolf. These Steel Element Beasts were known to live in forests and mountainous regions. As taught by Eric. Shaking his head at the thoughts of the old warrior, Lucifer began to stalk the wolf. The wolf was a sentry that the pack had. Wolf type Beasts were especially intelligent. This allowed them to use the most basic of tactics when hunting and living. Following the 2¡¯4¡± metallic grey Wolf. Lucifer noticed how the wolf''s fur did not seem to be patted from the rain. The rain flowed off the hairs of its hide like rain off a sword. Thinking of how useful such a coat would be for surviving, Lucifer began to think of skinning the entire pack for fur. Finally after 2 long hours of circling a 60 yard perimeter, the wolf decided to return to the pack. Grinning with anticipation of the cloak and den he would soon have Lucifer followed the wolf. As the wolf travelled 10 yards into its den area it howled. Soon tens of Razor wolves leapt out to encircle Lucifer. Suddenly surrounded and vastly outnumbered, Lucifer began to shake. Shake with excitement! He could finally let loose. Kicking off the gravelly earth he launched himself towards 2 wolves that were closest to him. As he approached Lucifer twisted his body narrowly avoiding another wolf''s jaws that bit where his left shoulder would have been. Jabbing his right arm at the new wolf''s now unprotected throat. Lucifer extended his beastial claws into the Beast¡¯s throat. Killing the Razor Wolf instantly Lucifer finished twisting around still holding the body of his first kill. Holding it like a shield Lucifer bashed the wolf on his right while releasing a devastating Mana enhanced kick to the one on his left. Blocking and dealing quick Mana boosted attacks Lucifer decimated the pack of Razor wolves. After a short 15 minutes he had eliminated 17 wolves. Reducing the 26 wolves to a measly 9. Currently the wolves had began using divide and conquer tactics to wear down Lucifer¡¯s already low Mana levels. Allowing one Razor Wolf to attack from the front while one attacked his back the wolves had managed to waste about half his Mana. ¡°Argh. This sucks balls as Eric would say.¡± Lucifer finally lamented. Angering himself again with thoughts of the man he spent so much time with Lucifer missed a wolf that had leapt at his shoulder. Latching onto Lucifer¡¯s shoulder, the Razor Wolf began to try and drag him to the ground. But how could he let this happen? Lucifer was a combat genius that could battle a Mid Order Volt Stag before the age of 10. No small Razor Wolf would kill him. Feeling a rage begin to take over, Lucifer let loose a wild roar. Immediately Mana flooded his body as he gripped the jaws of the wolf on his shoulder he pried the Beast off of him. He then continued pulling the wolf''s jaws apart, till the skull and jawbone separated and killed the wolf. As the Mana rushed through Lucifer¡¯s body, it began to heal his wounds at a visibly rate. Adding onto his barbaric display of strength Lucifer scared the rest of the Wolves into cowering at his presence. Seeing how pitifully obedient the Beasts had became Lucifer roared in disdainful rage. Only for him to receive a howl in reply. Lifting an eyebrow Lucifer gazed at the now parting Wolves. A new wolf had come. The pack Alpha. A giant Razor Wolf standing at 3¡¯7¡±. The Alpha had surprisingly been a 2nd Rank Beast. Smirking at the new challenger, Lucifer sauntered towards the Alpha. With palms open and fingers spread wide, Lucifer welcomed the Alpha that leapt at him. While the Beast was in mid air he let his instincts take over. Throwing a clawed uppercut to the Beast¡¯s underbelly, Lucifer also gripped the wolf''s left paw. Using the momentum of the jump he carried the Beast to the ground. Adding in his own Mana boosted strength; to slam the wolf on its back, he pushed his claws deeper into the Beast¡¯s stomach. The force generated from the blow snapped the Alpha¡¯s spine. Killing it while gouging it''s stomach out for all the rest of the pack to witness. Terrified of the intruder who massacred their pack and butchered their Alpha the Razor Wolves left bowed in submission. Growling at the survivors Lucifer expressed his need of their den. With no voice but to comply or die, they led Lucifer to the den. Lucifer dragged the two largest Wolves along with the Alpha to the den. Quickly arriving at a cave on the mountain base, Lucifer made it to the den. Entering under the lead of the Wolves he witnessed a shocking scene. A newborn litter. The Wolves had just given birth to pups within the past week. The pups were full of energy and were yipping at the arrival of the adults. They came barreling towards their elders in an incredibly cute manner. Upon noticing Lucifer the pups excitedly began to play around his feet. Scared the pups would anger the murderer of their pack the older Wolves yelped. Causing the pups to look at them with heads cocked sideways. An adorable thing that even Lucifer could not ignore. Giving a small chuckle Lucifer looked towards the older Wolves before growling. Seemingly understand that he meant food, a few Wolves sprinted out of the cave. Only to return minutes later dragging their dead kinsmen. Seeing the food now arriving the pups took off towards the corpses. Stumbling and flailing the pups leapt into the pile of what could have been their parents with no hesitation. To Beasts anything dead was food. No matter who it was. The sentimental did not live long. Lucifer walked deeper into the cave. As he walked he heard a small whimper. His draconic eye scanning the darkness of the depths of the cave. Lucifer noticed a small black ball shivering against the deepest part of the cave. Resting his trophies down Lucifer slowly walked towards the strange ball. Upon closer inspection he saw that it was a black pup. Scrawnier than the rest the pup screamed runt. Scoffing in disgust at the runt that would never be able to survive Lucifer walked away. Away from the adorable heart wrenching cries for love. No. Lucifer picked up the pitch black runt and lightly rubbed the crown of the pup. Feeling like he could relate to the pup that was thrown away by its own family. Lucifer made his first real connection with something else on a emotional level. He empathized for the first time. Bringing the pup into the light and letting it nestle into his shirt. He cradled the pup while he began to start skinning and butchering the 3 carcasses. After skinning the 3 dead wolves, Lucifer set the black pup to eat the smallest body. Watching the little runt immediately begin devouring the now skinned wolf body, lucifer let out a muffled chuckle. It was strangely reminiscent of when Eric introduced cooked meat to him. Again thoughts of the warrior resurfaced in his mind. Lucifer cursed himself for the weakness he felt. He cursed the loneliness he felt from the lack of people to talk to. Feeling a great sense of loneliness lucifer failed to notice the little runt stagger towards him. Jumping at the touch of the runt¡¯s attempt to nuzzle his leg, lucifer bitterly smiled. ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you can understand me little one?¡± Lucifer muttered under his breath. But to his astonishment the black pup barked in reply. Thinking about how could a week old runt could possible understand him, laughter escaped Lucifer¡¯s throat. Seeing it¡¯s new friend seemingly happy the pup began to jump and bark with glee. Smiling at the pup lucifer gestured for it to continue eating while he tore into the other two carcasses. Slowly as day turned to night, rain silently fell. Lucifer curled up for bed with the little black pup in his embrace. Together the two drifted off to sleep. While the two cuddled and slept the night away, the remaining Razor wolves huddled together at the opposite side of the cave for the night. Like this the oddly mixed group slept the night away. Lucifer lived with the Razor Wolf pack for 3 days before thoughts of Eric overwhelmed his mind. Deciding to go and spy on the warrior from the forest, Lucifer brought his new friend to go to the cabin. Placing the young cub into his bosom so he was held in place by his clothing, Lucifer took off into the woods next to the rocky outcrop where he stayed. Chapter 5 Trust Pt.2 (Unedited) With an astonishing speed Lucifer weaved through the forest. Cycling between boost his legs as the pushed off the ground he reached an astonishing speed. After a short hour he had arrived at the cabin¡¯s clearing. Stopping amongst the shade of a giant oak tree, Lucifer looked at his old home. A surge of emotions rang through him as he saw Eric practice with his naginata beside the cabin. Thrust, pivot, slash, lunging thrust, sweep, horizontal staff block, single handed back sweep, single hand thrust, raising thrust, downward slash. A myriad of different moves, stances and attacks flowed out in an unpredictable fashion as man and weapon danced. Eric completely lost himself in a trance as he focused on facing his invisible opponent(s). Lucifer felt something stinging his eyes as he gazed at the man that had raised him like a son for an entire year and the home they shared. Rubbing his eyes Lucifer¡¯s hand came away wet. Looking down he saw water droplets on his hand. Shaking his head and trying to rid himself of the water flowing from his eyes, Lucifer turned away from his old home. Facing the forest¡¯s shadowed interior that sunlight barely broke through the canopy of, Lucifer heaved a giant sigh. Sniffing and whimpering at it¡¯s new friend¡¯s pain the pup in Lucifer¡¯s shirt snuggled up closer to him, trying to ease his suffering. As Lucifer was about to begin entering the forest again for the last time, he heard a shout. ¡°Welcome home brat.¡± Eric called with a knowing grin on his face. He and the others had a running bet on if the young boy would return. He himself had bet 50 gold coins on the boy returning within a week. Sauntering slowly over to Lucifer, Eric hoisted his long weapon upon his shoulders. ¡°I thought you would die without someone to bring you food every day. Had to check to see if you died yet.¡± Lucifer said without turning around to face Eric. He didn¡¯t want Eric seeing his eyes leaking water. He thought it was from some sickness that would eventually kill him with severe pain to his eyeballs. The boy was crying for the first time in his life. He had no idea what was happening to him. ¡°Ah. So that¡¯s why you are here. Well, I can hunt somewhat well, nothing like you however. But it¡¯s enough. I was even thinking of heading back to the city tomorrow.¡± Eric laughed jovially. Though that laughter was all it took to push Lucifer over the edge. He clutched the small pup that was curled up in his chest and fell to his knees, crying as hard as a young 7 year old kid could manage. Tears streamed from his different coloured eyes as sobs echoed from his parched throat. Snot ran from his nostrils as he let out his emotions. Eric quietly stood behind the boy who was feeling emotions truly for the first time in his life. The boy was feeling sadness, anger, despair, loneliness. Things that most experience as they age slowly in a loving home. Not in a single year of learning about how live in society and about people. Eric took slow and measured steps towards the form of Lucifer. Reaching the boy¡¯s body he knelt and gave the crying child a big loving embrace. Enveloped in the loving embrace of Eric, Lucifer began to feel an incredibly warm feeling swell in his tightened chest. It was a strangely comforting feeling. He truly felt for the first time Eric¡¯s love for him. Even if he did not understand it as of yet. His heart knew of Eric¡¯s love. When Lucifer finally came to comprehend these new emotions, he would recognize Eric¡¯s love. ¡°Welcome home my boy, I missed you.¡± Eric whispered into Lucifer¡¯s ear in between the boy¡¯s sobs. And as if Eric¡¯s words broke something deep inside, Lucifer began to cry even harder. Turning his body so he could return Eric¡¯s loving embrace. Totally ignoring the little black pup in his bosom. As the two reunited and embraced each other, Yue and Jasmine, stood at the cabin door, giving the two males their space. After a good half hour of sobbing Lucifer finally got up after realising he and Eric were squishing his little companion. As the pup got released by the two emotional males it leapt out of lucifer¡¯s shirt and began to pant for breath. Giggling at the little pup¡¯s actions Lucifer carefully picked up the pup. Eric on the other hand eyed the little black furball with a sharp eye, before Lucifer could notice he immediately stopped. The man and boy began to walk towards the cabin as Yue and Jasmine began cooking lunch. Without saying anything the group of four ate a big lunch. At the end of the meal Yue spoke up. ¡°So Lucifer, have you decided to learn what we have to teach? Without the previous attitude and rudeness you gave before.¡± ¡°I am sorry for my rudeness Jasmine and Eric. But please explain to me what you meant before about not trusting anyone.¡± Lucifer humbly acknowledge his wrong doings. ¡°You''re forgiven little one. But please listen to us until you finish all of our lessons. That way you can choose the best option possible. Alright?¡± Eric said with a calm and gently smile. He understood a bit of Lucifer¡¯s pain. To be raised by someone and then finally told not to trust them and that they could possibly enslave him. It was a lot to take in. Especially for a young 7 year old. ¡°Alright if that''s what you think is best Eric. I will patiently wait till the end of my lessons. I don''t have much choice either. Haha¡± Lucifer bitterly laughed after complying with Eric¡¯s compromise. This little agreement lead to an entire 10 months of magical theory, spell formation, and Element studies. Arriving at the current day mid autumn. Right now Lucifer was in a heated, magical sparring with Jasmine. Blasts of icy cold magic shot through the air. As a lithe shadow dodged and evaded the freezing shards of ice. Slowly the battle ended as a panting figure became visible amidst the dust clouds and ice spikes that littered the barren field. The figure stood about 5¡¯9¡± and had very peculiar features. Only dressed in a pair shorts and bare chested the figure was extremely well sculpted. Rippling muscles that screamed in primal savagery. Glistening dark golden scales encompassed the humanoid figure¡¯s feet, calves, hands and forearms. Equipped with sharp talon like claws the humanoid seemed incredibly beastial. Scales shining like black gold greaves and gauntlets in the afternoon sun. A dark brown tanned skin was all that was human like about the humanoid. On its back were short wings that had a 3¡¯6¡± wingspan. Though the wings were short, they seemed impressively strong they did not have the strength to let the humanoid fly. The wings were dark gold leathery wings a shade lighter than the matching scale like armour adorning his limbs. The strangest thing about the being was it''s long 4 foot length tail. The tail clad in sharp jagged Razor like scales became like a weaponized whip of destruction. Capable of shredding anything that touched it. This figure was the draconic Nephilim, Lucifer Aeroic Khan.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°So, you see the difference now?¡± Jasmine''s voice sounded out from the training field. ¡°Yeah I got it. [Ice Spikes] only allows a barrage within a 5 metre frontal cone shaped area. While your opponent fends off that spell, you can cast the more versatile [Ice Mine] to catch them off guard.¡± Lucifer¡¯s tad premature voice responded as he got up from the ground. His body showing off it''s own natural beastial beauty. Rolling his shoulders Lucifer began thinking of different ways to fight with his own magics. ¡°Good. Now give me 3 ways to improve that strategy.¡± Jasmine grinned at how well Lucifer answered. Articulate, composed and an incredible fighter. Lucifer was growing into being the perfect man. He was as tall as others an entire decade older than him. But that couldn''t be helped as draconians were known to have grown as tall as 8 feet tall. Nephilims growing to 9 feet at their prime. Though some races grew to a similar height; like the bear beastmen and orcs, Lucifer was a monster even among them. His body screamed Beast. Dragon scales encasing his forearms, hands, calves, feet and tail. Wings and tails were traits only high born draconians possess. Though feathered wings showed off his pureblood Nephilim descent quite strongly. ¡°If I was a Magus I would try to focus my [Ice Spikes] spell into a straight path. Then fire it at different angles, to concentrate fire and boost the damage created.¡± Lucifer quickly explained after thinking for a short moment. He then continued. ¡°I would also see if I could use [Ice Mine] in concert with [Ice Spikes]. That way I would only have to do a single casting to launch both spells. The third way I can think of is to become a close quarters Magus. Using [Ice Spikes] at close range so your opponent has to dodge or take the hit. Then you can force them into any [Ice Mines] you have cast.¡± Lucifer stated with absolute confidence. He was always partial and after seeing the Eric used magic he always questioned why Magus did not use spells at close range. Certain high level spells need their target to be close or immobilized for it to work. If a Magus got close enough to his target he could unleash a devastating spell at point blank range. Amplifying the damage output of the spell. With this theory Lucifer began to experiment with his own magic. Lucifer was most likely a Light variation or a Lunar Element Spellblade. He had yet to get a Elemental Stone to test his Element. Neither Lucifer nor Jasmine who taught him magic could understand why Lucifer could not use external magic after almost a whole year of having a Mana Core. He could innately use any body strengthening with his Mana. But letting the Mana flow outside of his body was always met with failure. After weeks of attempts at even forming a simple Mana armour over his left hand, Jasmine finally gave up. This phenomenon had caused her a major headache. It also led her to leaving for a month to ¡®look for answers.¡¯ In the end, she returned with only an old worn out scroll. The scroll was written in an unknown language that was made up of very complex characters. Only Yue could decipher it after she identified the language as Primal Draconis. The language of the dragons. The scroll stated many strange facts but the one that stood out was that, only dragons who survive their first decade of life can inherit their Element. This also led to the group understanding a bit of why Mana Cores only form for those around the age of 10 and older. The Beasts the races of Gaies evolved from most likely had similar rules. From the apes that humans grew from to the giants the orcs descended from. Say nothing about the beastmen. With this new knowledge Jasmine relented on her intense training with Lucifer. Choosing to focus on how he would combat other Magus warriors and theory of magic over practice. Jasmine would cast series of spells at Lucifer and see how he would handle them as well as move forward. With a right eye that could track movement and a wondrous set of footwork, Lucifer almost always found the holes in any assault she made. Lucifer¡¯s body was truly awe inspiring. A dragon''s predatory eye capable of seeing heat signatures and tracking abilities that would shame a hawk. A Nephilim¡¯s eyes that allows them to see intentions. Lucifer had this kind of left eye. No one could mask their intentions from him. Any who had any thoughts of attacking him would be caught before they could even act upon them. Lucifer had both these godly eyes. Combined together his eyes allowed him to see Jasmine''s plan of attack as she made it in her mind. While his bloodlines aided him in finding the hole in the attack his own personal experience made it happen. Lucifer had continued sparring with Eric after every meal. Sparring with such a master of martial arts and being the genius that he is, allowed Lucifer to create his own fighting style. A beastial and unpridictable martial art. Taking swordsmanship precise footwork to the way a tiger uses its mighty claws to rend apart it''s prey. Using this ingenious martial art Lucifer once more proved his ability to be an Apex. Beast or warrior. Jasmine meanwhile was constantly amazed at the insane martial progress and mental ingenuity Lucifer displayed each day. ¡°Good go do your hunt, we are about to begin your graduation test. You have 1 month to ask me any questions and try out anything you wish before taking the test.¡± Jasmine told her young student with a slight smile. Upon receiving the go ahead to hunt Lucifer grinned and took off towards Eric. As he came close to the warrior; that seemed to be sunbathing in the mid autumn sun, a black shadow slammed into him. Laughing as he fell into the soft grass next to Eric, Lucifer began to wrestle the black shadow. After a minute of playful barks and a good wrestle; that even strained Lucifer¡¯s monster like body, the shadow leapt away. It then proceeded to saunter over to Eric and lay against his flank. Soon the shadow became more defined as the sunlight shone upon it. It was a 3 foot long wolf like Beast. It''s fur so black that light seemed to get lost in it. The Beast was only about a foot tall as lay next to Eric. But one could tell that if it stood up it would be at least 2 and a half feet tall. This pitch black wolf was the little pup that Lucifer befriended. The two had become best of friends over the time they spent together. They hunted together, fought together, fought against each other, even competed with each other. They were true best friends in every sense. Eric slowly opened his shut eyes and looked at the two trouble makers. His eyes filled with warmth and love. Sighing he heaved himself up and walked over to the young boy. ¡°Take Luna this time to hunt a 2nd Rank Mid Order Beast. I think you are good enough to take on a Flash Lynx. It''s a Wind Element Beast. Real fast, really tough bastard too. Hopefully you are fast enough or else it''ll tear you to shreds before you can touch it. I''m warning you it''s a tough match even for you.¡± Eric sternly warned Lucifer as he lifted the boy off the ground. ¡°Alright should I bring a weapon then? If it''s so fast I think a weapon will slow me down.¡± Lucifer questioned with an earnest expression on his immature face. His facial features just could not match his body''s warrior like appearance. ¡°Smart. Yes most weapons would slow you down. A dagger would help though. How you get a dagger is up to you. I can''t give you all the answers my boy.¡± Eric said with experienced patience. He was immensely proud to see the young boy thinking about which weapons suited each situation. Only true idiots would use a claymore to kill a chicken. Chapter 6 Challenge (Unedited) In the middle of a forest along the northwestern shore of the Farror continent, a draconian hybrid raced through the billowing trunks of the ancient trees. Sparse light fluttered through the hanging canopy of the woods. Shaded and protected from the sun and wind, the forest felt safe to its inhabitants. As one of beings of the forest the hybrid moved with natural grace and beauty. It leapt through the underbrush, swung from low hanging branches, and sped through the maze of trees. Following alongside the hybrid was a black form. Almost completely unnoticeable to the naked eye. The black form acted like a second shadow to the hybrid. Match its pace and movements with uncanny precision. As the two forms weaved their way through the forest heading towards the south, they came upon a large clearing. As he came into the clearing with a solid wall of rock at the eastern edge he witnessed a majestic waterfall spill other the rocky outcrop and into a pit of water that seemed to never overflow. The pool of water and waterfall created a sense of peace and tranquillity in the savage wilderness of Farror. Arriving at the waterfront both forms became visible. They were Lucifer Aeroic Khan, the Draconian Nephilim hybrid and Luna, Lucifer¡¯s only friend and companion. Luna wasn''t any Beast that Lucifer knew lived in the forest. Eric had made sure he knew all the Beasts in the forest and that were frequent in Farror. But little Luna, as Lucifer had named her was a mystery. She was as far as he could tell a Rank 1 Beast but her Order was unknown. She had grown incredibly fast after Lucifer had began caring for her. She was ostracized in the Razor Wolf pack so he had assumed she was the runt. Her light swallowing black fur chalked up to be a frowned upon variation. Even after almost an entire year together he could not determine her Order or exact Rank. He had tried to ask Eric and Jasmine if they knew her breed, but all he got were the words: ¡°Treat her well.¡± Confused and annoyed Lucifer decided he cared not for her breed of lupin Beast. Only thinking of loving her regardless. And so the two became the best of companions. Luna learned everything from Lucifer. How to hunt, how to fight, even how to use her Mana. Lucifer had found out on the 3rd month of their stay together that Luna understood his words. After testing it out with various little experiments, such as asking her to get something or to answer his question in barks, he finally came to the conclusion she was at least a High Order Beast. Only a High Order Beast could communicate with the sentient beings. Jasmine taught this to Lucifer during their lessons on Mana and it''s influence on the lives of Gaies. While keeping his discovery from Eric and the others, Lucifer told Luna to keep her wisdom a secret around others besides him. This led to Lucifer confirming that Luna was indeed at least High Order. No other Beast could be so clever. But this was only her mind. Luna had incredible power and abilities. Her small form hid strength on par with Lucifer¡¯s own. This was over their height and weight difference. As Lucifer was after all a 5¡¯9¡± hybrid of pure blood draconian and Nephilim bloodlines. These two beings were well known for their brute strength. But little Luna could match this deadly combination? This would scare anyone who heard of it. Lucifer crouched next to the water while his wings fanned out to balance himself. Luna stood slightly behind him as if she was his silent sentry amid his shadows. Looking with his dragon eye deep into the water''s depths, Lucifer saw many different fish and aquatic Beasts swim around the water. Straining his eyesight and then channeling a small amount of Mana, Lucifer augmented his dragon eye''s vision. Searching with this super sight he found a large winding shape. The shape was a large serpent type Beast. It was the local Apex of the waters in the forest. A Beast at the peak of the 2nd Rank. Low Order, Aqua Fang. A serpent that traced its lineage back to the ancient flood and rain dragons. A large 20 foot long body with giant foot long royal blue scales that overlapped forming a dangerous jagged scale armour. With a 4 foot diameter the Beast was massive. Capable of surrounding and constricting an elephant, the beast was made even more dangerous by its scales that ripped into whatever it touched. Large fangs ringed the inside of the serpent''s mouth. Much like the teeth of a shark, the teeth were laid in rows of savage destruction. Taking a deep breath Lucifer braced himself to face this tank like serpent. He knew that the long fangs at the forefront of the serpent''s jaws were sharp enough to puncture a Rank 3 Beast''s skin. So using those fangs as daggers would be perfect for his hunt of the Flash Lynx. Lucifer had figured he could lure the Beast to the surface before fighting it. He did not take into account the depth the Aqua Fang lurked nor the ridiculousness that was its scale armour. It was worthily a Beast that took defence as a way to attack in the truest sense. A protective plating that cut its foes to ribbons as it wrapped itself around them. This boosted it''s already deadly body''s efficiency tenfold. Only the slow way it moved and it''s soft underbelly made the Beast an imperfect being. It also had a low Mana Purity preventing it from matching up with higher Order Beasts in its later years. Thinking of this Lucifer decided to take the Beast underwater. His tail could aid his underwater movement ability. While his leathery wings allowed him sharp turns that other land animals lacked in water. This added onto his already powerful body and claws sharp enough to rival any 2nd Rank Beast, created a deadly body for combat in any location. Lucifer¡¯s only issue was breathing time. He knew his breath would exhaust faster during a battle. So he had to plan a quick way to kill this aquatic Apex. While Lucifer planned his underwater assault, Jasmine was scolding an awkward Eric. ¡°You sent him to kill a fucking Flash Lynx! That is the same Beast we had to make a deal with to let him live in the lower forest for 6 years! How can he possibly be ready to face it? I wouldn''t want to fight that goddamn cheat monster!¡± Jasmine screamed in absolute hatred. She could not fathom how the boy''s adoptive father could tell it such a thing. She had grown to love the boy just like Eric over her time teaching him. He was like the little brother of hers that died mid pregnancy. She would definitely stop Lucifer¡¯s insane quest. Eric on the other hand was awkwardly scratching his head. He believed the boy had a chance and it was only because of the Flash Lynx¡¯s familia that they made the deal. How could a lowly 3rd Rank Mid Order Beast challenge 3 warriors all at or above the Knight/Magus stage? All three of the warriors who were watching Lucifer had a Mana Purity of at least Yellow with only Yue at Green. This evened the playing field against the Flash Lynx in Mana Purity. But they were still as strong as any Rank 4 Beast individually. So how was it the Flash Lynx made them make a deal for Lucifer to live amongst the forest? Like Eric had thought it was because of the familia backing the Flash Lynx and it had parents with a fair amount of authority and power. This let it become quite the local bully in these parts of the woods. It''s parents were a female Flash Lynx at the 6th Rank and male Lightning Bobcat at the 7th Rank. Both were Mid Oder Beasts known for their top class speed. None of the trio could afford to anger those monsters by butchering their child. Only if a younger Beast killed their child in a bid for being Apex of the region would they swallow their fury. This may seem unrealistic to some. But Beasts have pride. They would never let their prey be scavenged, they would never bully a later generation Beast, they would only use numbers when fighting a stronger foe and they would always accept a challenge duel. Beasts were in many ways better than the people. They were honourable, straightforward and told no lies. How many people could say the same in the world? But alas. Eric still sent Lucifer to face a Rank 3 Mid Order Beast that could match his own speed. This was not just a test for Lucifer in his magical training but also his martial training he did with Eric. The so called ¡®sparring¡¯ was actually a way to allow Lucifer to find his own way. Karate may be learned by all, but no two practitioners fight the same way. Eric¡¯s method of training was an attempt to circumvent this issue. A true master had to forge his own path, and a genius like Lucifer had to do the same if he wanted to achieve his absolute peak. Eric also wanted the boy to suffer from failure as well. At most Lucifer could take on a Low Order Rank 2 Beast. But a Mid Order was like increasing the Rank by an entire degree. Even more so against a top flight Beast of speed. So Lucifer was sent to learn defeat; and maybe, just maybe win an impossible battle. Lucifer was completely ignorant of the machinations going on around him. Instead he only focused on the task at hand: luring the Aqua Fang out onto land. If Lucifer could get the Aqua Fang out of the water he could prevent it from running away. Isolating was a key part in taking down superior animals. Lucifer also had to find a way to kill the Aqua Fang. But he did not think of that till he established a solid plan to isolate the Beast from the water. After an entire hour Lucifer finally could not think of anyway to get the Aqua Fang out. Standing and kicking the water at his feet, Lucifer was surprised to see small piranha like fish scuttling towards his foot. The little fish bit his scale covered foot as he finished kicking. As his foot sailed out of the water it had 4 of the little fish still latched on it. In anger he let loose his strongest kick to throw them off. As the little fish sailed through the air they began to fall into the pools middle. And almost as soon as they hit the water, a large fishy mouth leapt out and swallowed them. This event was an epiphany for Lucifer. He just would have to get enough blood out here to get the Aqua Fangs attention. Then he would only have to lure the Beast onto dry land. ¡°Woof¡± If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Lucifer turned to see Luna pushing a purple coloured flower towards him. The flower was similar to the wild roses that grew around the cabin but, this one had a pale grey stamen. The purple and grey flower felt off to Lucifer. It seemed unnatural. Thinking back to a lesson he had with Jasmine Lucifer finally guessed the flowers origin. It was a deadly Poison flower that grew by lakes and rivers. It had the provocative name of Laughing Skull Flower. It was a flower that took in water from its surroundings and turned the water into a sweet colourless mist that would make one giddy with laughter. But the laughter was just a symptom of the poison that had inflicted you. After the poison entered your nervous system it would destroy your nerves and paralyze you. Turning you into a vegetative state where your mind worked but your body did not. Death would set in after 3 minutes of entering the vegetative state. Luna had brought the flower hoping Lucifer could use it to kill the Aqua Fang with little to no trouble. One must know that while the Laughing Skull Flower was dangerous, it had a easy cure. Mana. As long as one had Mana they could purge the Laughing Skull Flower¡¯s mist from their body. So while Luna had a great idea, it was difficult for Lucifer to outlast the Aqua Fang in terms of Mana quantity. Lucifer currently is a Yellow Spellblade Initiate. While his body could compare with Low Order Rank 2 Beasts. His claws, scales, muscles and reflex were all far above any other races. Even draconians did not physically match up to Beasts till they were at least 30 years old. And that is only when compared with Rank 1 Beasts. The only possible way for Lucifer to quickly and easily take down the Aqua Fang, was to force it to ingest the Laughing Skull Flower. This was the idea Lucifer came up with after minutes of deliberation. If he could hide the flower amid the bait he set for the Aqua Fang, then the Beast would slowly kill itself. It would not even be able to move; allowing Lucifer the chance to kill it without any difficulty. Choosing this plan also meant that Lucifer would miss out on eating the high class meat of the Beast. This was the only reason he hesitated doing this. He really could not bear for such a large and powerful Beast to not be devoured. His draconic pride was compelling him to duke it out with the Beast. While his bloodthirsty Nephilim side was telling him to just slaughter indiscriminately. These two powerful urges came directly from his blood. They were near impossible to set aside. So Lucifer enacted upon them. Dashing into the woods he searched with his draconic eye all around for one particular Beast. The most common amphibious Beast in Farror. A Lute Frog. The Lute Frog had a waterproof hide. One that could be used to make a satchel that water could not invade. Quickly finding the frog, Lucifer whipped his tail at its head. A sickening squelch immediately followed. His tail had directly punctured the frog''s cranium. It died painlessly albeit in a horrible manner. Smirking at how easy the kill was. Lucifer began skinning the Beast. Carefully removing the delicate skin he told Luna to eat the meat of the frog. Beasts ate each other to grow stronger. So while Luna was at least High Order, she was still in her weak period of growth. After drying the hide, Lucifer began to fashion a bag to carry the Laughing Skull. It had been 3 hours since Lucifer left the cabin. Jasmine was not happy. She was currently preparing to rush to the Flash Lynx¡¯s den to save the young boy. But Yue had suddenly appeared stopping her. ¡°Jasmine. He is fine. He is hunting an Aqua Fang now. He won''t challenge the Lynx till later.¡± Yue spoke her usual short and curt sentences. Her face still an expressionless beauty. As soon as she finished speaking she turned and left towards the south where Lucifer was preparing to fight the Aqua Fang. As Yue was leaving Jasmine shot a deadly glare at Eric before putting down her gear. Her gear included a thin long sword, buckler and a long staff that had an ornate top. The staff head was designed to look like a shining star. Though it looked more like a spiked mace with how Jasmine held it. ¡°He better be alright if you want to live.¡± Leaving these callous words, Jasmine took off behind Yue with her staff in hand. Eric stood calmly by the cabin with his long naginata leaning against him. As he saw the two women enter the woods, he released an exhausted sigh. Dealing with a raging elf was never fun. Especially Jasmine. She was very famous or infamous for her temper. Though Eric couldn''t help but smile as he thought of the reason Lucifer chose to hunt the Aqua Fang. He knew it was for its vorpal sharp fore fangs. Chuckling to himself Eric decided to visit the Flash Lynx and check to see if Lucifer could match it. He knew the boy''s strength better than anyone. No matter how much Lucifer tried to hide his prowess the veteran warrior could easily tell. Lucifer was finally ready to face the Aqua Fang. He had the Laughing Skull Flower in the Lute Frog satchel he made. He only needed to start his slaughter so the scent of blood would rouse the giant serpent. So taking a step in to the water''s edge, he waited till the little piranhas had began to latch onto his feet. Then channeling a fast burst of Yellow Mana through his body he obliterated the small animals. Many aquatic Beasts in the pool of water felt the pure Yellow Mana signature that flared at the surface. Even the Aqua Fang had its interest perked. Though it was too proud to go look at the cause. Leaving it''s minions to do that. Soon many Low Order 1st Rank Beasts came rushing towards Lucifer. Lucifer did not stay waiting for them to arrive. Giving a glance at Luna and telling her to wait for him, he dove into the water. Swimming with his tail acting like a fish¡¯s Lucifer sped towards the approaching mass of fish. With another burst of Mana, Lucifer shot into the beast''s ranks. With claws extended and wings tucked Lucifer began to corkscrew. Turning himself into a deadly drill that began to slaughter the surrounding fish. Bloody gore soon began to form a dense fog amid the water. The sweet aroma of blood soon filled the entire pool as Lucifer¡¯s drill of death continued to kill indiscriminately. The Aqua Fang immediately knew something was wrong in the water. How could such a delicious smell of blood and slaughter happen in the pool it was lord of? He didn''t decided to have a feeding frenzy, so who dared to kill in its territory? Soon the cool grey pupils became red with anger. Roaring in rage the behemoth slowly began to swim towards the incredibly thick cloud of blood. As the Apex approached the few surviving fish rushed to flee in all directions. Allowing Lucifer to know showtime had begun. Fanning his powerful wings out, Lucifer stopped his corkscrew spinning. As he reoriented himself, the Aqua Fang¡¯s slit like irises locked onto his dark golden glint in the darkness of the now bloodied water. At this moment his Nephilim heritage showed its prestige. His left eye allowed him to read a being''s intentions. This reflected in his as colours. Red showing aggressive intentions. White, neutral. Green, positive. His left eye only needed to catch a glimpse of a being''s body to know which intentions it had. And as his vision picked up the Aqua Fang swimming towards him, he saw a flash of dark red. Showing intensely aggressive intentions. With the location of the Aqua Fang tagged by his left eye, Lucifer¡¯s right draconic eye instantly marked the Beast. No matter where it went in the dark waters, Lucifer would see it. This allowed him to right himself at the perfect angle to swim underneath the giant serpent. As the Aqua Fang¡¯s jaws closed with an audible snap where he had been a second ago. Lucifer flicked his tail, causing his body to spin so he was facing the soft underbelly of the underwater Apex. A vicious snarl left Lucifer as he swung his deadly sharp claws into the Aqua Fang¡¯s stomach. Stabbing into the Beast till his arm was completely inside, Lucifer channelled a mighty current of Mana into his arm. Dragging his now Mana enhanced arm through the 20 foot Beast''s stomach. Lucifer created a horrific gash 2 meters in length. His sharp claws made even deadlier by his Yellow Purity Mana reeked havoc in the Beast''s insides. The stomach lining and many internal organs were torn to shreds causing massive hemorrhaging. The Aqua Fang thrashed as Lucifer created his gruesome cut. The massive serpent writhed and howled in painful despair as it felt the damage inflicted upon it. How could such a small insignificant Beast wound it so? It is the Apex! The strongest in the entire pool of water. Only outside of the water was the Aqua Fang vulnerable to other Apexs. Never in its own home. Soon the fact of it being Apex would become useless. Lucifer had implanted the Laughing Skull Flower the moment the Aqua Fang tried to bite him. He let it float away as he moved underneath the Beast. And exactly as planned the deadly flower was swallowed by the serpent. This was the only way it was possible for Lucifer to rip the Beast to shreds so easily. The nerve killing poison had set in unknowingly into the Beast. While the Beast could have easily expelled the poison, it was too preoccupied with Lucifer¡¯s merciless attack. Lucifer let his body drift out from under the massive serpent. He smiled slightly as the slit irises clouded over and the Beast died without known how. His gaze soon moved toward his objective. The fangs. But Lucifer soon found a problem. How was he going to remove the fangs when the serpent was underwater? He couldn''t even break though the Beasts scale armour, say nothing about its teeth. Deciding to forgo that troublesome issue he swam to the Beasts spade like head. Grabbing the giant plate like scale that made up the Beasts flat skull, he began to haul the massive corpse to the surface. Luna paced back and forth as her big brother (as she thought), went to kill the ugly metal worm. Anxiousness filled her as she began to worry if the flower she brought worked. She paced and paced almost missing the arrival of Yue and Jasmine. As the Draconian and elf approached her she leapt away and snarled. She hated these two females. One was desperately trying to mate with Luna¡¯s brother without even seeking his approval. The lizard-bitch only released her disgusting mating scent whenever she was around Lucifer. The knife ear bitch was worse. She would take Luna¡¯s time with her brother to talk useless magic nonsense. Once Luna matured she would properly teach Lucifer real magic. He is a Beast like Luna and could use his Mana like her too. Two-leg magic was only secondary for him. While bewildered at Luna''s aggressive response to their presence the duo immediately dismissed it as ¡®wolf nonsense¡¯. Turning their undivided attention to the water where a massive shadow was slowly getting bigger. Indicating something was approaching the surface. Something huge. As their hands went to their weapons, they tensed for battle. Lucifer may have angered something he couldn''t face and was fleeing. Prepared for the worst the two readied spells and weapons to save the boy. After 5 whole minutes of tense waiting Luna began happily barking while prancing in circles. A second later Lucifer broke through the surface, swinging his hair back and gasping for a breath of air. Yue did not relax at seeing the boy resurface but intently focused upon the giant shadow under his body. Jasmine on the other hand couldn''t bear the silence and called out to the boy. ¡°So what''s the huge thing beneath you brat? Don''t tell me you tamed the Aqua Fang.¡± Jibed the elf in jest, but her glowing staff did not show her amusement. Lucifer seeing the two beauties ready to save him could only laugh in honest delight. He had found the perfect way to bring the Aqua Fang corpse home. ¡°Actually I''m carrying it but I can''t get it out of the water. Yue could you please help? Jasmine as well? Your ice magic would make this a breeze.¡± Lucifer could not bear to not laugh as he requested the two women to aid him. All Lucifer got in reply was hanging jaws of shock. They didn''t believe that he did what he admitted to. It was preposterous. A almost 8 year old brat had killed an Aqua Fang and then had the gall to ask them to move the corpse. This was humiliation at its peak. The shame from his excessive accomplishment and from being asked to work hard labour as a woman. Beautiful women at that! After a minute with no response, Lucifer¡¯s cheerful laugh turned into sporadic chuckles of nervousness. He was terrified he was rude again. After last time he was; the women had ¡®taught him a lesson,¡¯ Lucifer viewed the two as a couple of demonesses. After a sigh full of exasperation and defeat, ice slowly began to cover the pool. Slowly Yue began her normal saunter towards the still floating Lucifer while maintaining her cold indifferent face. As she came up next to the now shivering boy, she reached her arm out and grasped the head of the serpent. Green Mana coated her arm, giving it the strength to lift the 1800 pound body up and onto the solid ice. As soon as the body was upon the ice, Jasmine casted a spell she normally used to torment Lucifer. [Ice Prison]. A middle tier spell that''s used to control and isolate enemies. Soon ice covered the giant serpent. ¡°Thank you very much!¡± Lucifer said respectfully as he bowed upon exiting the freezing cold waters. As soon as he finished speaking Luna crashed into his soaking wet body. Joyful licks of love and relief covered Lucifer¡¯s immature face. Luna tried her best to use her warm and soft fur to warm her dear brother up from the knife ear bitch¡¯s hateful magic. How could she not know water freezes, and her brother would be covered in water? She was obviously trying to hurt him in Luna¡¯s eyes. Lucifer grateful for Luna¡¯s concern rubbed his big hand on her crown before gently scratching behind her ear. This earned him even more licks from Luna. As the two played, Yue couldn''t help but casting a bitterly glare at the young wolf. She desperately wanted to be that close to the source of her ever present desire. As quickly as it came the look disappeared from her icy visage before she began transporting the frozen serpent with Jasmine. After a 30 minute session of clear cut logging, the giant iceberg arrived at the cabin. Courtesy of a newly created pathway about 3 meters wide. Chapter 7 Nephilim (Unedited) ¡°A mother fucking brilliant plan my boy! Using Laughing Skull to kill the Beast without it realising was ingenious! You better properly thank little Luna for risking her life to get the flower. I''ll personally pulverize you if you don''t treat her better than yourself!¡± A roaring laughter resounded throughout a little clearing. The clearing was only about 200 meters wide with a slight slope towards the north. Massive pines ringed the outside of the clearing. Each tree held a girth that took 5 grown men to surround. The trees towered hundreds of feet in the air, giving one a sense of how small they really are in the world. On the southern part of the clearing stood a large cabin. The cabin was long and wide but only about 14 feet high. As a single storey building the cabin more than made up for the extra space with its large floor area. Outside of the large cabin was a large iceberg, around 20 feet long and 5 feet tall. Standing in front of the iceberg, were a group people and one wolf. The group consisted of: a muscular human male, lithe figured elf, an ice queen like draconian, a immature yet savage looking draconic hybrid and a wolf that seemed to be the so black that her coat shined with darkness as you stared at it. ¡°I really do owe it to Luna that I could kill the Aqua Fang so easily. You''re such a great friend Luna!¡± The draconic hybrid cooed as it lovingly began to pet the wolf at his side. The rest of the group looked on in pride as the two young ones shared a moment of love. This group was Eric, Jasmine, Yue, Lucifer, and Luna. With the exception of Eric who just arrived minutes before the rest were discussing the recent hunt Lucifer had. The one in which he slew an Apex Aqua Fang. As the discussion ended, Eric appeared like a ghost. The muscular warrior then began praising the young hybrid with strong praise and pride. Hours later the group sat around a bonfire with skewers of grilled Aqua Fang meat. The meat was cooked with a Fire Element stone. The stone possessed Fire Mana. By injecting one''s Mana into the stone it would send out pure Fire Element. Allowing it to disinfect the poisoned meat of the Aqua Fang. As the group began a late dinner an interesting discussion arose. ¡°Lucifer, you cannot take on the Flash Lynx yet. Only if you find your own weapon. Break through to the Squire stage. As well as learn how to use you Mana externally.¡± Yue finally interrupted the jovial dinner time talk with some harsh words. She was actually just wanting her time with the young boy to begin. Saying what she said was just a reason the elf and human would agree to. ¡°You will also begin your training with me tomorrow. You will get your answers about your past and who we really are.¡± Yue finally revealed her intention and final card to getting the battle thirsty boy to agree. Silence reigned over the table. Only Luna continued to feast unfazed by the tension released by the rest. They were stupid two legs after all. Only her brother was worthy of her attention. ¡°Damn Beast can''t read the mood.¡± Eric sighed in defeat. He was not one for scolding a Beast with heritage like Luna. That would end terribly for whoever did so. Finally after Eric¡¯s sigh broke the tension Lucifer responded to the Draconian woman. ¡°How come you claim I cannot face the Flash Lynx? I am a primarch! A progenitor! Even if the Beast is a Mid Order 2nd Rank, I can kill it just like the Styxlion I still wear today.¡± Lucifer growled with rage filled words. His tone like blood dripped daggers over rock. Even Luna who was mostly oblivious to the groups talk was startled by the boy. She had never heard her brother speak in such a tone. It terrified her where that rage came from and what it could do once released. This was an instinctive fear caused by Lucifer¡¯s dragon bloodline. An ability that enabled dragons to lord over all others. Bloodline suppression. Yue as a draconian though was affected differently than the three others. She became incredibly aroused by Lucifer¡¯s display. A side effect of her draconic blood. Her blood was excited and attracted to Lucifer¡¯s pure and powerful black dragon bloodline. As she fought against taking the boy and raping him like she usually did, she finally let her icy cold act slip. She hissed. The first and only reaction she had ever done since birth. Not even her mistress and best friend, Princess Anise could elicit such a reaction. ¡°Boy watch your tongue. It is only because of your naive and idiotic pride that you think you can fight a Flash Lynx. Even more so this Lynx is at the 3rd Rank. Not the measly 2nd that you struggle and have to resort to poison to kill.¡± snapped the cold beauty in mock anger as she desperately tried to use anger to mask her lust. ¡°What do mean 3rd Rank? Eric told me it was at the 2nd!¡± Lucifer shakily replied. He knew the gap a single Rank made. Even more so when dealing with a Mid Order Beast. The speed and strength of the Flash Lynx was exponentially greater than Lucifer could ever have imagined now. His winning chances instantly became nil even in his own prideful eyes. A dragon may be full of pride but they weren''t stupid; no, they were one of the most intelligent Beasts in Gaies. ¡°Eric told you a lie then. I can guarantee that if you go to face that cat you''ll die without even knowing how. Now. You will finish eating and go rest up. Tomorrow morning Eric and Jasmine will begin weapons training with you. In the afternoon I will begin your history lessons.¡± Yue said with finality. Her words and voice leaving no room for complaints or refusals. Left with only compliance, Lucifer could not help but accusingly glaring at Eric. He could not help the blame that rose in his heart for the man. Eric had the most of Lucifer¡¯s love and trust from their time together. The two were as close as parent and child. Only Lucifer never let the word ¡®father¡¯ leave his lips. He could not replace the man you sired him. It was a connection that went down to the DNA that made Lucifer who and what he is today. Even though his father never showed himself to Lucifer, the boy felt his existence. Grumbling and pouting Lucifer ate his deliciously grilled meat. Only the wondrous flavour the Apex level Beast provided gave him any consolation. As soon as he ate his last bite, Lucifer stormed into the cabin and to his room. Luna always staying in his shadow wherever he went. Angrily taking off his Styxlion gear, Lucifer let himself flop onto his bed. Luna instantly landing after him so she could cuddle next to him. With the comfort of Luna¡¯s ridiculously soft fur the boy drifted off to sleep in minutes. An hour after dawn the sound of wood being smashed against wood echoed throughout the clearing. Lucifer and Eric were currently sparring with wooden swords. Slashes, parries, and thrusts were constantly erupting from the duo. Sparring without Mana was the rule between Eric and Lucifer. Eric did not want the boy to become reliant on his godly Mana Purity or to become a warrior that could only smash his foes with brute force. He had spent the better part of 2 years subtly instilling martial skills and footwork into Lucifer through their sparring sessions. The end result was in 13 months the boy had created his own martial art. One that would be known throughout the world years later. Currently Eric had Lucifer fighting with multiple weapons to help the boy find his perfect weapon. Every warrior has one. Lucifer¡¯s father wields the halberd, his mother the katana, Eric the naginata, Yue the saber and Jasmine a mace is her first choice weapon. Lucifer first picked up a gladius short sword. Choosing it solely for its sleek and sturdy design. ¡°Lucifer, the gladius isn''t for you. You start relying on your body before you even utilize the sword. Maybe a claymore would suit you better.¡± ¡°What is a claymore?¡± ¡°Claymores are monsters of the sword family. Big enough that they stand as tall as a grown man and made for more blunt force damage then cutting. Another weapon that would be good for you is a trident. A spear with three spear points, perfect for stabbing your foes and destroying their innards. But kid the choice is yours.¡± Eric calmly explained the utilities of both weapons. Lucifer began to think, he absolutely loved the thought of the claymore smashing his foes to pieces but the trident¡¯s ability to internally injure his foes was worth it. After a brief moment of thought Lucifer felt that he found the weapon for himself. ¡°Eric, is there a weapon that let¡¯s me face multiple foes?¡± The boy asked with his head cocked to the left like an adorable youngster. Much different than his almost 6 foot self. ¡°Well most bladed pole weapons and two handed blades would suit facing multiple foes.¡± Eric replied with a thoughtful look upon his scarred face. Eric began to stroke and comb his budding beard, as he thought of any other weapons he knew. ¡°How about a pole weapon that has the most weight? I want both the weight of a claymore with the mobility of the polearm. I also like being able to mutilate my foes. Is there a weapon that can do that?¡± ¡°What the hell kind of weapon do you think exists in the world? With weight like a claymore and the mobility of a polearm, don¡¯t tell me you want it to also be able to fight close quarters?¡± Eric couldn¡¯t help but shout in surprise at the sheer ridiculousness of Lucifer¡¯s weapon requirements. One must know that a claymore is usually used by brutes that rely on one strike and not skill like Eric. Eric wields a naginata, a polearm with a foot and a half long single edged blade. The naginata is meant for fast slashes and accurate thrusts. It is not a heavy weapon but a balanced one capable at fighting close to medium distances. With the blade for farther foes and by using the staff of the naginata one can defend and ward off attacks. Lucifer wanting a weapon with the weight of a claymore would make it so that if he did not kill or injure his foe in the first strike he would be left defenceless for a counter. Even taking into consideration his gauntlet like scales as well as claws, a quick strike would aim for his body and not the obviously protected extremities. These facts and knowledge of how Lucifer fights gave Eric a massive headache in figuring out which weapon would suit the boy. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°There is a weapon for you.¡± Yue said as she slowly sauntered towards the sweating duo. She was dressed as she usually did: a black gown like dress. The only new addition was a long thin curved sword sheathed at her waist. The sheath was black and seemed to be made from the same fabric as her dress. ¡°The glaive.¡± ¡°A glaive you say?¡± Lucifer looked excitedly towards the cool beauty. Yue could only suppress a shiver upon seeing his purple draconic eye stare straight at her. ¡°Aye. A glaive would work for you brat. Better thank Yue, she doesn¡¯t help anybody save your mother. Anyways Yue has come so it should be time for your history lessons. Listen to her well Lucifer, this is more important than anything taught so far.¡± Eric left a strong reminder for Lucifer as the boy gazed towards his new teacher. Question upon question piling up in his mind with so many of them he could not even begin to ask. ¡°Sit and do not talk. This will only be said once.¡± Yue said as she sat down onto the bench beside the training field. Apparently this would be a long lesson and Lucifer had a habit for questioning everything he did not understand. As the boy sat on the ground with his legs crossed, Yue began her lesson. ¡°This entire forest is called the Beast Kingdom. The Beast Kingdom, has no end on this earth. Wherever there are Beasts in large numbers is part of their Kingdom. Understood? Good. It does not matter if you find the ocean and said to another land, those lands under the Beast¡¯s control are still apart of their Kingdom. The land that we are on is known as Farror. This you know but I will explain this in more detail. Farror has two main groups of people. The dwarves, who live among the hills and plains of Farror. The draconians, who prefer the mountains and rocky areas of the land. The dwarves are a people you have yet to meet. You have seen Jasmine who is an elf and Eric who is a human, but no dwarf. I myself am a draconian. You are part draconian. But I will talk of the dwarves right now. The dwarven people are a complex race, they view knowledge as a resource. They trade ideas instead of gold like most other races. This does not mean that they do use gold entirely but they value knowledge and facts as more valuable than any amount of gold. The dwarves have always been known as the most advanced technological people in the land. They have created great and mighty castles and inventions that make life easier for all people to use. They are truly a great race. Even among other lands and continents; which are just massive islands, dwarves are respected by all. As a people they look slightly different than humans. With a shorter stockier build and ears similar to an elf¡¯s, the dwarven people only grow to a height of about 5 feet. The largest dwarf I have seen is just a bit shorter then you are now.¡± Yue told Lucifer as explanatory as possible. She did not want Lucifer to become a true country hick that did not truly know of the other races, so she began her lesson with them. ¡°The draconians are the other main inhabitant besides the dwarves in the land of Farror. We as beings with dragon blood, are physically superior to our dwarven neighbours. With heights around 7 feet we are blessed with scales around certain parts of our body. You in particular are very blessed with having 4 limbs scaled. I myself only have scales on my back, though they are useful in their own way. But I digress. Draconians live in the mountains much like our ancestors the mighty dragons. The reason most believe the dragons live among the large rocky spires is that they would destroy everything else with their massive strength and size. The same can be said for draconians. Our empires and kingdoms span the great mountain ranges all over the world, with Farror just being the most densely populated continent. Draconians are renown for our strength and magical talent. It would take the most talented of each race to match up to the best of our race. Say for example that each race has on average 5 magical geniuses, the draconians would produce 15 magically equal geniuses. This would normally mean that draconians are the strongest in the world but it is sadly the opposite. We as a people have very low birth rates, so although our warriors are the best they number the least in the long run.¡± Sadness was apparent in Yue¡¯s blue eyes as she spoke of her race¡¯s most debilitating weakness. The draconian birth rate issued made the entire race hesitant to enter wars for fear they would not be able to maintain their own population. This is made much more difficult after taking into account the pride and wrath a dragon is known for. ¡°You Lucifer as I said are part draconian. This is not unheard of but you are special amongst all the hybrids in the world of Gaies. You have both draconic blood and Nephilim blood in perfect balance. All other hybrids have a dominant bloodline. No matter which hybrid you see or meet they will all look more like their dominant bloodline than the lesser. But you are an abomination. A mix of two of the most powerful bloodlines, a mix in harmony. Taking the best of both and creating an entirely new race of being. You are now a primarch, a progenitor of your own race. A being with a Nephilim¡¯s battle sense, bloodlust, great strength and giant body. But also a being with a dragon¡¯s magical prowess, metal like scales, deadly claws, powerful wings, whip like tail and uncanny intelligence. You are a perfect being. Magically gifted even amongst the most talented, physically as powerful as a Beast and as intelligent as the sentient races. Tell me Lucifer, how in Hell were you born?¡± Yue¡¯s question rang out in the eerily silent clearing. The birds did not chirp, the wind did not dance, only silence reigned. Lucifer could not speak, what could he even say? Yue¡¯s question had struck him in his most sensitive and unknown spot. His origins. The boy longed to understand what and who he was. He wanted to understand how it felt to have parents like the cubs he saw in the forest. Those cubs were protected and cared for by their parents with a zealous passion that he felt infinitely jealous of. Only the existence of Eric, Jasmine and Yue some how kept him sane. The loneliness he felt was kept at bay by the trio''s involvement in his life. ¡°I, I do not know.¡± Lucifer finally was able to muster the courage to say. But his voice was so dismally weak and soft that Yue had trouble believing the giant 7 year old had said the words. ¡°You were born from a pureblood Nephilim and a royal draconian. Your father and mother respectively. Your father¡¯s lineage is a; how do you say it, a troublesome bloodline. I will tell you the story of the Nephilims and how they became what I mean as a troublesome bloodline.¡± Yue told Lucifer as bluntly as possible in order for the boy to not enter a depressed rut of thinking. ¡°Long ago many years before society and people covered the land of Gaies, only the Beast Kingdom reigned supreme. The races of Gaies: the humans, elves, orcs, dwarves and the ancient demons, were completely scattered. They did not build cities and they could not even fight the powerful Beasts. They lived in small groups and ran from the Beasts for their entire lives never stopping and fighting the mighty Beasts. It was not until the Gods of the world took pity on the fleeing tribes of humans, elves, orcs, dwarves and demons that this life of fear finally ended. The Gods decided to allow the races of Gaies to cultivate a Mana Core just like the Beasts could do naturally. While allowing the races to do this allowed for some among the races to eventually rise up to godship, it also created a source of entertainment for the Gods. They would allow the races to use Mana and the Elements to become powerful. Then the strongest of the races would be able to rise up and become a God. Though that was only if the Beasts did not kill them first. Thus began the time of bloodshed and war that we now call the ¡°Great War.¡± The Great War started with the races arguing which Element was the most powerful and great Element of them all. This little argument eventually reached all the way to the Gods. The God¡¯s interest was piqued. They had never thought in all their time of which was the most powerful and supreme amongst themselves. But the races of Gaies deemed it a very important thing, so then the Gods began to fight amongst themselves. Using the Elements and the beings that were blessed by them the Gods waged the Great War for an entire millennium. Seeing that he was being pushed back the God of Heaven and Light decided to create a new army to fill his ranks. He sought out his Arch Angels and they discussed how to create a new and improved soldier. After long and heated discussion the Archangel of Justice and War Tyriel finally thought of an answer. To breed the lower gods with the humans; the race that possessed the best talent for the Light Element. With this plan of action the God of Heaven and Light, called the most powerful human warriors to his side. The humans flocked to the God¡¯s summon. And the God of Heaven and Light proclaimed: ¡®I praise you warriors of the human race. Your battle prowess has made even me, a Prime God shocked. I wish to reward you all with a gift. But as a God I cannot be partial to one race so I must ask for a price for this gift of mine. The price will be equal to the gift I swear. I will grant your people holy magic, a derivation of the mighty Light Element. What I ask in return is for you to mate with my soldiers. I wish to create a new and supreme army of the Heavens to reign as the most powerful warriors in all of time!¡¯ And the humans rejoiced and readily accepted. This was the birth of the Nephilim people. A race brought into existence by the will of a Prime God and birthed from a Lower God and the champions of humanity. Nephilim¡¯s were born as natural soldiers of Heaven. Blessed with innate peerless battle prowess and might, Nephilim¡¯s turned the tide of the Great War between the Gods. But they were too powerful and soon they became uncontrollable. So while cutting his loses and reaping the benefits the God of Heaven and Light decided to throw the Nephilims into the battlefield at birth. Growing in endless slaughter and blood, Nephilims soon became peerless berserk warriors. Growing stronger the more they killed and were injured. Eventually the rest of the Gods came together and forced the God of Heaven and Light to abandon the Nephilims and to ban them from existence. Left with no other choice he did, he cast the Nephilims from the heavens and onto Gaies while proclaiming them to have been cursed, made evil by the other Gods. The humans and other beings of the Light Element then decided to hunt these ¡®cursed and evil¡¯ Nephilims. This started the inquisition and bounty hunts of the Nephilim people. Eventually the other Gods proclaimed the same as the God of Heaven and Light, that the Nephilims must be eliminated. And that is how we arrive at today. The Nephilims all but erased from Gaies and the surviving few too scattered to ensure the survival of their race.¡± Chapter 8 Black Gold (Unedited) Lucifer felt cold. So cold that the air hurt his skin, his body felt like he was in the coldest part of Gaies with nothing to keep him warm. Sweat flowed down his back till his Beast hide clothing was soaked full of water. His muscles could not unclench themselves from their cross-legged position, no matter how much Lucifer wanted to run away from the beautiful draconian in front of him. But the most significant feeling Lucifer felt was an overwhelming sadness that came from his soul. A sadness so profoundly deep it was hard to explain where it began and where it meet it¡¯s end. ¡°Lucifer you are the scion of the patriarchal family of Nephilims. Your father is the current patriarchs son, thus you are the grandson of the Nephilim patriarch. And should your father¡¯s family learn of your birth they will summon all the nephilims around the world to come and find you. They might use you as an experiment in changing their own hated bloodline or they may love you for what you are. The choice they make will put their entire race¡¯s survival at stake, so it may not be the latter option. This is only your father¡¯s family and the least of problems in your later years. The true issue is your mother and her family. But that will wait until you are 10 years old; as your mother has asked of me, I will teach you all that there is know about your draconic heritage but you must be 10 years of age for that.¡± Yue said with a soft smile at the mention of Lucifer¡¯s mother. The only woman that she truly had respect and love for. ¡°But I will finish my lesson with one additional note for you. One race besides the Nephilim were eliminated during the Great War. The demon race. Demons were a magical race with a blessing with Mana much like the draconians of today. The demon race perished because of that same power. They were the most powerful of the races with their peerless magical abilities and this fact is still known today. But demons had very warlike dispositions, prone to violence and a love of bloodshed. The demons once were brought under the leadership of one demon; the one that was named Mephisto after the Archdevil of Combat Mephistopheles. Mephisto, conquered every demon kingdom and created the greatest demon army in the world. He then led the demons to assault every known people around the great southern continent. This conquest forced the rest of the races and certain Gods into uniting to combat the demonic threat. After a series of overwhelming victories the demons were finally defeated by a new being. The draconians. A race made by the King of the Beast Kingdom, the Godly Dragon. A being stronger than the Prime Gods. The Godly Dragon asked his son and daughter, the Dragon of Night and the Dragon of Day to sacrifice their lives in order to stop the demon legion. The two siblings readily agreed as their father¡¯s words were law; and with the almighty power as the King of Beasts, the Godly Dragon changed his son the Dragon of Night into a two legged man. A man 9 feet in height with broad muscular shoulders and well defined muscles. Black scales covered his body, wings sprouting from his shoulder blades and a spiked tail from the small of his back. As his son became a dragon like human; The Godly Dragon cast the same magic upon his beloved daughter, the Dragon of Day. Like her brother the Dragon of Day became a two legged being but this time a woman. The most beautiful of women the world had ever bore witness to. A body sculpted by the most divine of beings she was as immaculate as the most holy virgin. And her body became like her brother¡¯s: wings grew from her shoulder blades, her spine grew into a tail from the peak of her buxom bottom. But unlike her brother¡¯s midnight black scales that replicated the night sky, her scales were golden like the rays of sunlight that blessed the day.¡± Yue spoke with reverence at the mention of the three Dragons. It was as if she held those three dragons above everything in the world that she owned. This behaviour bewildered Lucifer. How was it possible to speak with such respect and blind idolization to a being you have never met before? Eric, was the strongest warrior Lucifer knew. As such the man held the highest spot in Lucifer¡¯s mind. Strength was what is truly revered among Beasts, and Lucifer had grown as Beast for almost his entire life. So it was no wonder that Eric held an almost religious effect on the boy. Whereas the history of how his maternal lineage did not invoke any sense of wonder and awe. ¡°The two siblings then left their father to aid the races fleeing the demonic legion. They flew on their mighty wings amid the sky, until they reached the location of Mephisto¡¯s advance. Landing amidst the one sided slaughter of dwarves, orcs, humans and elves the siblings began to slaughter the demons. A complete turn around. Mephisto had been defeated and the news spread fast. Prime Gods rallied, the races of Gaies rallied and began a counterattack against the demons with the siblings at the lead. After years of bitter war the demons under Mephisto were killed and the villain himself beheaded. Demons were then hunted to extinction by the survivors of the war. No one wanted another Mephisto to be born, so demons were deemed too risky to be left alive and were sentenced to death by the rest of the world. The siblings then choose to settle down and procreate their new race. Named after the mighty dragons they were born from the new race was dubbed the draconians. Eventually the race¡¯s pure dragon bloodline started to dilute over time, the people slowly losing their draconic traits of scales, wings and tails. Soon only royal lineages possessed the draconic traits albeit rarely if at all. This brings us to present day. Draconians are alive and well, though they are feared by some races, it is nowhere near the fear that demons invoke. This is probably because of our low birthrates and gradually diminishing bloodline.¡± Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. ¡°Now this should make you understand why your mother could not keep you and had to let you leave. You have been given the Nephilim¡¯s Inheritance. Survival alone, in hostile environment, for 6 years. And once you turn a decade old you will begin your Draconian Inheritance. This is why you must wait till your tenth birthday before I tell you of your mother. Understand Lucifer?¡± Yue said in her usual flat and cold voice as her icy blue eyes stared into Lucifer¡¯s heterochromic eyes. Lucifer could only dumbly nod to the draconian woman. His mind reeling at the sudden influx of information that was still assimilating into his brain. There were just too many shocks too soon to leave the boy with any sense of knowing what to make of them. So he sat there staring blankly ahead of himself as his mind raced. Thoughts of his father being hunted by inquisitors and bounty hunters brought forth a great and unparalleled rage from the depths of his being. But the rage was stifled as thoughts of his mother and what great past she had that she could not afford to risk him raising him herself. A maelstrom of rage, sadness, loneliness and fear spun in Lucifer¡¯s heart. The storm of emotions wrecked the little stability the boy had as an ¡®abomination¡¯ in the midst of childhood. With no contact of loving parents and lack of any social interaction, Lucifer is an immensely fragile child. Luna, who was out hunting in the forest for Lucifer to eat suddenly stopped her hunt. Stalk still, she stood among the great trees and bushes of the forest like a statue. Then like a thunderbolt, Luna launched her small black body back towards the cabin. She felt something was terribly wrong with the world. She felt like her brother was in danger or even worse yet injured. With fear and anger alternating between her auburn lupin pupils, she ran as fast as her legs could carry her to where she left him. Luna¡¯s speed was so fast that it seemed as though she ran through the shadows of the trees on the ground. Her black body disappearing and reappearing as she travelled through the forests winding boughs. Yue who was watching the boy in front of her, felt an oddly relieving feeling. A lack of the urge to mate with the hybrid child she was tasked with taking care of. She was then left with a unknown sense of loss. For almost an entire year the urge persisted constantly, it took her whole self control to not mount and rape the young boy. Now that the damnable urge was gone, she was left with a hole in her daily life. Something that is constantly on your mind will eventually create it¡¯s own niche in your heart and that was exactly what happened to Yue. She missed the constant pleasure and moisture her heat brought her as she lived her life. A thrill soon became apparent in her, as she went through the verge of climaxing in the presence of two of her closest companions and the child of her master. Even the thought of having sex with Lucifer soon became a deadly taboo that her heart unknowingly began to crave. As she thought of how this urge became what was now an inseparable part of her, sudden chill took the air. Dark clouds began to converge over the clearing of the cabin. More specifically over Lucifer. Luna felt the change in the air much earlier than Yue could physically feel it. She was almost at the cabin where her brother sat. She could see the silhouette of his sitting body. His wings folded shut, his hands gripping his knees, his head unnaturally fallen forward and his tail lay limp behind his body. The feeling of danger grew as she approached him. Soon the world felt the change that she felt. The wind became sharp and cold like an executioner¡¯s blade. The sky grey dark as if the night had come early, only missing the great moon hanging in the sky. Black clouds swirled and spiraled above Luna¡¯s brother and the lizard-bitch that stood in front of him. Luna became even more terrified as the clouds in the sky grew darker. She was almost to her brother, she knew she could stop whatever was happening to him. But alas she was doomed to be late. Black and golden light broke through the pitch black clouds, as if a dark god let his presence known to the world. The pillar of black golden light fell down onto the frozen Lucifer beneath. The force the light fell down blew Yue, the cabin and the fast approaching Luna flying. The cabin became ruble at the shockwave of power the light created. Yue and Luna were infinitely better off, thrown all the way to the edge of the 200 meter wide clearing. With relatively severe external wounds Luna was left the best off, Yue was much worse. With both of her arms broken and her ribs fractured Yue was in desperate need of care or else she would die. As the two females were blown away, Eric and Jasmine were traveling towards a small town outside of the forest. Jasmine had thought it would be the perfect time to bring the fangs and scales of the Aqua Fang to be smelted and made into armour and a weapon for Lucifer. Agreeing and being the labour for the trip, Eric followed the extremely happy elf to an alchemist of some renown that was not too far from where the forest the group lived in was. Chapter 9 Emotion (Unedited) ¡°So how much is it to make: a breastplate, pauldrons and cuisses?¡± Eric inquired of a elderly man. The elder had a gaunt figure as if all the life was sucked from him, a thick over coat only accentuated the bony figure of the human man. The man was wizened much like an old village elder with a long beard. But the cold dead eyes set deep in the man¡¯s wrinkled face erased all thoughts of a friendly elder. The old man Eric spoke to was the Alchemist Fasra. An Alchemist of medium standing, with an Alchemic Rank of 4. Alchemist were all involved with the Trade. And as such standards of skill were set so that way items produced by Alchemists were priced at reasonable amounts. A sub par Alchemist could charge a King¡¯s ransom for a low class product but how could you possibly threaten the very one that made your weapon and armour? If one Alchemist was treated badly the whole lot of them would call in various favours to bring down righteous justice down on the abuser. So the Trade stepped in to protect Alchemists from their would be ¡®abusers¡¯ and warriors from receiving shoddy workmanship. The Trade established the Alchemist Standards to show an Alchemist¡¯s skill and ability level. Ranked in accordance with the rank of Beast materials they could work with the Alchemist Standards are set from rank 1-10. ¡°You already carry weapons at least of the 5 rank, why do you need me to make low grade armour? This hardly is a Beast most would hunt for materials. It would be nothing for someone of your strength to kill something better for yourselves. So tell me who is this armour for.¡± The dead eyed man replied with a sharp and grating voice. It was as if the man was an undead acting as if it was still alive. The old man¡¯s voice sounded like nails grinding on rock. ¡°It is for our student if you must know. He finally managed to kill the Beast, so why not let him wear his trophy?¡± Snapped an irritated Jasmine. They had spent hours travelling to this town so that they could get Lucifer¡¯s armour and weapon made. But the Alchemist was a total ass. He made them wait for hours for no reason, save that he was busy. When the duo entered the room they saw an empty room with only a skeleton like geezer sitting in front of a giant cauldron. Jasmine was anxious to see Lucifer¡¯s shocked face upon receiving the armour and glaive they planned to give him. ¡°Rudeness will get you nothing knife ear whore. Learn from your human better, patience and polite manner about him.¡± ¡°You old geezer if it wasn¡¯t for little Luc I wouldn¡¯t even come to a hasbin Alchemist like you! I would have gone to the Trade outpost in the next city for a skilled Alchemist.¡± Jasmine yelled as her temper flared at being called knife ear. A very derogatory term for elves. Frost soon covered the room and encroached Eric and the Alchemist Fasra, but soon a very powerful surge of Mana surged from Eric. The Mana blast protected Fasra and himself from the biting cold of Jasmine¡¯s Ice magic. ¡°Jasmine! Stand down!¡± Eric bellowed with a seething fury. His own subordinate lost control of her emotions and almost attacked their only chance at getting Lucifer his armour and weapon. If they brought a Trade Alchemist to create Lucifer¡¯s armour they would have no end of issues crop up. So only Fasra was feasible to create the boy¡¯s soon to be gift. ¡°Alchemist Fasra, I apologize for my subordinate¡¯s rudeness and I humbly ask if it is possible to continue our business? If a higher cost for the equipment as reparation is needed please say.¡± Eric had to bite down his own pride as a warrior and request Fasra to make the gear at a higher than normal price. This way the Alchemist could not say that he was being cheated or bullied to anyone. Though this really damage the group¡¯s finances since they mostly survived off of bringing Lucifer and Luna¡¯s spoils to sell for gold. The gold they made this way would be used to buy anything Lucifer needed that they could not get themselves. ¡°Well boy your words certainly shock me. Why is someone as skilled in diplomacy and the ways of a Spellblade out in these parts?¡± Questioned the Alchemist as a hint of life flashed briefly across his eyes. ¡°We are following our student as he is informed and experienced in the world. The boy is our pride and joy of the unit. We are on military leave to take care of him. If you require to see him in person to make the gear I would only recommend that if you are willing to risk your own life. That is all I can say respected Alchemist Fasra.¡± ¡°Why are you even telling him all of that? Can¡¯t we just beat him and force him to come with us?¡± ¡°This is why you are not in charge knife ear.¡± Muttered Fasra after hearing Eric¡¯s words. Truth be told Fasra desperately needed the money making an overcharged set would generate. But the words Eric had left him made him apprehensive. If making the set as a generic armour he could only charge the market price even after the extra gold. But making it completely custom for Lucifer would put his life in danger. This put him in a dilemma of profits or safety. Finally the old Alchemist decided. ¡° I¡¯ll make the armour but I will only charge you the standard for generic armour. But you will have to pay double for the weapon, whatever it is. I will make it even with my own materials I guarantee it will at least be a fourth rank weapon.¡± ¡°That is fine, I have taken down the measurements and specifications for the set.¡± Eric replied while handing over a scrap of tanned Beast hide that had writing on it. ¡°A breastplate, pauldrons and light set of cuisses made from the Aqua Fang scales costs 400 gold. But using the fans and teeth of the Fang while making sure it is at least a fourth rank item has a starting cost of 2000 gold coins. Can you pay half now?¡± Began the Alchemist after some careful thought. The measurements given to him were not extraordinary. A set for someone around 6 foot, a tall youth. If the youth had truly killed the Aqua Fang then he was probably from a general¡¯s or royal family. That would also explain why he couldn¡¯t meet the boy without endangering his life. But getting a minimum of 2400 gold coins had truly blinded the Alchemist with greed. With that kind of money he could be set for a comfortable life of retirement. ¡°Fine but we want two weapons and both will be done at the fourth rank if you are promising your best.¡± Jasmine quickly agreed before Eric even had a chance to barter for a better deal. She saw the greed in the Alchemist¡¯s eyes and knew that gaining two top flight rank 4 weapons that were from the same Beast was a stretch. But the old man in front of her had already agreed before he caught on to her quick thinking. It is known that when a set is made from the same Beast it works better. It is like using pieces of a different puzzle to complete your own. It just doesn¡¯t work. Usually sets from the same Beast; even from low rank Beasts, can go for thousands of gold. So getting two weapons and a set of armour for a base price of only 4400 gold was a godsend after she caused the price to increase. Readily agreeing without much thought the Alchemist brought out a pen to take note of the two weapon¡¯s choice traits. But Lucifer had no idea his hard earned gold was being used to purchase a matching set of armour and weapons. Currently he was undergoing a seemingly hellish pain. The black golden beam of light was burning his skin to ashes. Flakes of skin were visibly peeling off of him, his scales burned with the skin underneath of themselves. As if his scales were searing themselves onto his skin as it burned away. Luna howled as Lucifer underwent this unending torture. Minutes had gone by since the beam came down. But Lucifer who was being slowly melted alive showed no reaction. His entire being still, the only moving being his skin as it shrivelled and burned away. Deep in Lucifer¡¯s subconsciousness, Lucifer arrived at the same black space that he met with his spirits in. This time though there was only a mirror image of himself staring back at him. ¡°Hey Lucifer.¡± Spoke the new Lucifer in a voice eerily familiar voice to Lucifer. ¡°Who are you and why do you look like me?¡± Lucifer shouted in surprise and shock. ¡°I am you. Well more like your emotions.¡± Replied the new Lucifer. ¡°You can¡¯t be me. I am me, not you!¡± ¡°Well then you can call me Luc, if it makes you feel better.¡±A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. ¡°Fine. I can handle that. So Luc, who are you really? Before this place held my spirits and now here you are.¡± Lucifer questioned Luc with suspicion and apprehension. ¡°Like I said, I am your emotions. You never dealt with them, so I had to be born to handle them.¡± Luc replied with vague disinterest towards Lucifer¡¯s now panic filled face. ¡°Lucifer you promised your ¡®spirits¡¯ that you would never forget them right? So how come you never dealt with your emotions?¡± Luc finally asked with slight interest. ¡°I never forgot my spirits! I always knew they are inside of me. I just have to wait until I am older. Then I can bring them out of inside me!¡± Lucifer stated with adamant pride. He made sure he always kept his promises. It was the first lesson Eric had taught after he grew to understand language and society. ¡°Your spirits are what little Lucifer?¡± Mocked Luc with a cackling laughter. ¡°What do you mean Luc?¡± ¡°Hahahahahaha you don¡¯t even remember what Jasmine taught you about spirits eh?¡± Laughter continued to roar from Luc as he fell over holding his stomach. ¡°You really are a idiot. Spirits are emotions you fucking loser. I am the pride and wrath of your spirits. I am the emotions you ignored. I am all the pride you ignored after getting a little bit of a beating from those three bastards! I am the wrath you ignored when you were beaten and scared. The wrath you feel towards your parents for leaving you alone in the Beast Kingdom. The rage from all of the pain those selfish parents and people made you endure because of who you are!¡± Luc finally roared with rage towards the unsuspecting Lucifer. While outside the beam of dark gold light and finally abated. Leaving the black charred body of Lucifer in its wake. ¡°That doesn¡¯t make any sense! I always dealt with my emotions! I know when I was angry and I know when I was shamed. I never have forgotten those times. But you¡¯re wrong, I dealt with my emotions like Eric taught me.¡± Lucifer timidly answered the terrifying rage of Luc. ¡°You deserve to die!¡± Luc screamed as he launched himself towards Lucifer. Claws extended and wings spread, Luc tackled Lucifer in the darkness of his subconsciousness. This instantly snapped Lucifer into his predatory instincts. Flapping his wings forward, Lucifer leapt backwards in retreat. But Lucifer wasn¡¯t the only one with wings. Luc flapped twice more, flinging himself with more velocity at Lucifer. Caught with no choice but to take the hit head on Lucifer chose to twist his body and unleash his spiked tail at Luc. ¡°You think you are the only one with a tail?¡± Mocked Luc as he spread his wings to stop instantly while Lucifer¡¯s tail swept the air he would have been had he continued forward. Tucking his right wing, Luc let loose the same strike downwards at Lucifer¡¯s unprotected head. Soon the two draconic nephilims began trading vicious blow as if they were Beasts. Luna was currently whining as she gently prodded the prone charred body of Lucifer. She felt a soul shaking fear that he might be dead. The breath of life was slowly fading from his body and Luna could do nothing to stop it. Gentle kisses and cries for his awakening were lost to Lucifer who was engaged in life or death combat with his other self. Luna left with nothing else to do, decided to channel her Mana into Lucifer. This was something of a taboo for those of her kind. Her instincts told her of a method to share her power with the one she chose to mate with. A risky method but a method to save her brother nonetheless. Luna is a member of the most prestigious of the Lupin familia. A Shadow Queen Wolf. The queens of all wolf type Beasts. And as queen Luna needed to have a king. This is what the method her instincts taught her of. The marriage bonding ceremony between Shadow Queen Wolves and their mates. With the vague knowledge of this life altering choice, Luna wholeheartedly transferred her Mana to Lucifer. Luna being a Shadow Queen Wolf meant that she possessed the Dark Element. More importantly the Shadow derivation of the Dark Element. This was incredibly important in regards to Lucifer and how the marriage bonding ceremony would affect him. Lucifer was born of the Dragon of the Night¡¯s lineage. The True Black Dragon. A dragon that had total control over the Dark Element. While Lucifer had yet to truly awaken to his Element it was almost certain his Element would be the Dark Element. So while this was definitely a good thing for the ceremony Luna had initiated, it was also incredibly dangerous. Because Lucifer was also born of Heaven¡¯s mightiest soldiers, the Nephilims. The ultimate fighter of the Light Element. This is what made Lucifer so unique as a hybrid, and what caused him to be seen as an abomination. He was born from opposing Elemental heritages. Light and Dark. Made worse by the purity of both of those tyrannical bloodlines. Luna was effectively healing Lucifer¡¯s Dark Element side, while poisoning his Light Element one. Luc and Lucifer though knew nothing of the outside¡¯s happenings. Only savage combat filled both of them. Luc being the embodiment of Pride and Wrath Sins was a brutal foe for Lucifer to face. Facing against himself pushed Lucifer into the most dangerous fight of his entire life. Losing this fight meant becoming an embodiment for his spirits. An effective death for the current Lucifer. It was at the climax of the battle that Lucifer was assaulted by the waves of Luna¡¯s Mana. Making him stronger and weaker at the same time. Utilizing the new found power before it killed him Lucifer let loose a barrage of clawed slashes, tail whips and powerful winged slams. With the Dark Mana empowering and corroding his life Lucifer slowly turned the tide of the battle. Pushing Luc into a precarious state where Lucifer dominated. But eventually the Dark Mana from Luna would reveal it''s bitter side effect. It made Lucifer¡¯s body of consciousness fade as his life faded. ¡°Using Luna¡¯s power to fight me? How pathetic of a draconic Nephilim. Just die and let me take over this body. I''ll make this world tremble and the Gods that pushed us to this state will quake with fear!¡± Luc roared as Lucifer slowly became illusory. ¡°I am Lucifer.¡± Whispered Lucifer before his wings disappeared entirely. ¡°I am Lucifer.¡± He repeated a bit louder. ¡°I am Lucifer. Aeroic. Khan.¡± Lucifer bellowed as his entire being faded from the black space of his consciousness. Leaving only a smirking Luc. ¡°Fine. You can be us for a while longer. Don''t you dare forget your pride and wrath again or I won''t let you off the hook again.¡± Luc¡¯s voice echoed in the darkness as he too faded into nothingness. Lucifer awoke to the sound of sizzling meat. But there was something different than the meat he was accustomed to smelling. This meat carried a disgusting scent of burning meat. No sweet spices accompanied the burning meat scent, only the putrid smell of burnt flesh. Lucifer could smell and hear but his eyes refused to open. His vocal chords not responding to his commands to call for help. Panic set in quickly as Lucifer immediately assumed that he had entered Hell following his loss at the hands of Luc. But as soon as his fears reached their peak, the sound of Luna''s whimpers reached his ears. The thought of his ever faithful companion and only friend enduring any hardship brought out Lucifer¡¯s Sin of Wrath. The Rage he felt at the fact he was not protecting the beautiful black wolf pup brought him strength. The strength he gained from this rage was minimal in his current state, but it allowed him to open his eyes and see. Dark clouds blanketed the sky he saw. But no Luna. Now Lucifer finally understood what Luc meant. He was suppressing his Sins because he was scared to die because of what Eric and the others had instilled in him. He thought of his spirits as a sort of forbidden existence. Not truly understanding that his spirits are a part of him, much like his scales are apart of his skin. ¡°Lu-na.¡± A voice that seemed to be from the depths of hell escaped Lucifer¡¯s burnt throat. Luna was truly the only being that existed in his mind at this moment. Luc had claimed that he was using her power and that should have been impossible considering Luna is such a young pup still. Luna was laying softly next to Lucifer as she desperately tried to gather her strength. Using the bonding ceremony forcibly was akin to signing her life over to Lucifer. But he was her brother he would only care for her. This thought was instantly established after his raspy dried out throat called her name. Dragging her body through the dirt she reached as close to Lucifer as she dared given his terrible condition. A soft kiss came from her, as she let Lucifer know she was next to him. But this last act of love caused her to finish off the last bit of strength she had. Unconsciousness soon took hold of the adorable pup. As Lucifer felt the soft tongue of Luna brush against his charred skin, relief flooded his person. A wave of contentment that was hard to explain spread out from his Mana Core. Everywhere the wave went his body felt as if new life was flooding through his muscles, tendons, flesh and nerves. Externally something extraordinary took place. As Lucifer felt life flooding his body, it actually did outside. His burnt body was growing new, fresh tissue. Like a miracle, his body steadily underwent repair. His nervous system was brought back to life first, eliciting the intense pain to finally assault Lucifer¡¯s already weak mind. As the final nerves in his toes were reconnected; the dead burnt skin flaked away as, fresh tissue and muscles built themselves around Lucifer¡¯s prone form. Soon all was done and Lucifer returned to a semi alive state. His body was still undergoing reconstruction but the external details were finally finished. Lucifer still had his freakish height only now he was more evened out. His wings and tail finally looked as if they fit his body. With a new size of 3 feet, Lucifer¡¯s one wing was almost the size of his previous wingspan. While his spinal cord extended lengthening his tail from the previous 4 feet of length to an astonishing 5¡¯3¡±. Lucifer''s new and improved body had much more muscle and fit his large height with an attractive and primal manner. His new wings now had the strength it took to lift his large mass. His tail, became even more savage looking with scales overlapping to create a serrated edged whip-like, muscle riddled, weaponized body part. All while sharp deadly spikes protruded outwards making his tail an effective barbed whip of malicious destruction. Still the most shocking change was the increase in lustre of his scales. The previous scales of Lucifer''s were a dim and dull gold but now his scales held a magnificent gloss of glorified shine. Chapter 10 Horde (Unedited) ¡°Fucking hell.¡± Lucifer let out a weary groan as he slowly rolled himself onto his left flank to look at the now unconscious Luna. He knew deep down exactly how risky the bonding ceremony was for her. If their Elements weren¡¯t compatible, worse case was he would die. But Lucifer is truly a being that defies logic. Two different Elements share his Mana Core and Luna¡¯s ceremony awoke them. Now Light Element and Dark Element Mana perfectly balance in their circulation of Lucifer¡¯s body. Light Element flowing from his Mana Core through his cranium then cycling through to the rest of his body. While the Dark Element Flowed from his Mana Core, brought itself into his heart and then spread itself throughout his body in tandem with the opposing Light Element. Now having two opposing Elements was completely unheard of in Gaies. It is very well known that warriors of the Water Element cannot use any Fire Element magics. Even amongst the Gods, none were known to be able to utilize opposing Elements. Derived magics like Ice from the Water Element or Solar from the Light Element are very well known. This is most explicitly shown when the God of Heaven and Light let the human race use Holy Light magics in exchange for the Nephilim breeding program. But there has never been a being in the history of Gaies that can or could use two opposing Elements, Lucifer is the first. As his sight fell upon the sleeping Luna, Lucifer¡¯s thought came to a crashing halt. Luna was barely breathing, he body heaving up and down ever so slightly. Crushing pain stung briefly between Lucifer¡¯s brows as his eyes caught sight of a gold streak of fur on the crown Luna¡¯s head. Little did Lucifer know that a matching streak of golden hair marring its way through his lush pitch black hair. Clutching his head trying to deal with the phantom pain still piercing through his skull, Lucifer slowly began to drag his brand new exhausted body to Luna¡¯s side. Almost replaying the scene previously happen where Luna came crawling to his own side, Lucifer bent down and gave her a loving kiss on the new golden patch of fur. As the two were caught in a picturesque moment a deathly hoarse coughing broke the serene silence. Yue was slowly breathing her last bit of life. Through painful breaths and torturous coughing she had luckily survived till Lucifer awoke. Lucifer cast a glance towards the wounded woman who was about to die with slight interest. Remembering the words of Luc in his inner consciousness, Lucifer couldn¡¯t help but feel resentment towards his forced teacher. The woman who took part in Luc coming into existence and causing the two to fight with their lives on the line. ¡°Fuck. Don¡¯t tell me I have to save you.¡± Lucifer let out a bitter sigh as he gently gathered Luna into his embrace. His delicate actions betraying the exasperated words he spoke. Carrying Luna towards Yue, Lucifer ever so carefully knelt a few steps away from the draconian woman. With her clothing torn asunder by the blast that injured her to such a state, Yue lay naked and broken before Lucifer. Lucifer felt a growing heat warm his crotch as his eyes appraised the body of Yue. From the slim and delicate legs of hers, up to the sex she possessed between her legs, while unlike his own which was a long shaft, Yue held nothing of the sort. Only light grey scales grew around her groin, covering her stomach up until her palm size B-cup breasts. Her hourglass curves fully taken in by Lucifer¡¯s draconic eye as it etched every single detail of her pale skin, thin limbs and taught muscles. Regardless of how broken her body was in it¡¯s current state, Yue¡¯s beauty could not be diminished so quickly. Only the urge to fix her arms and oddly caved in chest welled up in Lucifer¡¯s mind as he tried to push aside the uncomfortable heat that was soon becoming unbearable in his groin. Dropping to his knees Lucifer began to think of ways to heal Yue of her injuries. He had been taught of healing and the process of it by Eric, but the knowledge of his own Element and how to ¡®get it to restructure¡¯ her body. Eric said it was incredibly difficult to heal someone else because of the difference in body structure between individuals. But Lucifer felt it would be especially easy to ¡®restructure¡¯ Yue¡¯s body, if he only order the Mana of her body to assist his own efforts to heal her. So with a single idea of ordering her own Mana to fix her body, Lucifer urged his own Mana to compel Yue¡¯s. Slowly a black and gold haze drifted from Lucifer¡¯s fingertip towards Yue¡¯s prone body. As if in response, a dark grey fog came from Yue¡¯s body in order to greet the twin coloured Mana of Lucifer. Sweat soon gathered on Lucifer¡¯s forehead as he began his hypothesis of healing. Watching intently as the two separate Manas began to interact with each other, Lucifer noticed his own Mana had actually succeeded in being sent out of his own body for the first time. Chalking it up to the recent battle between himself and Luc or Luna¡¯s assistance. Lucifer redoubled his efforts at commanding Yue¡¯s own Mana to speed up the process of her body¡¯s self healing. Only to realise his own Mana would soon be emptied and himself no further in helping her. Lucifer became truly desperate for some reason unknown to himself. He wanted deep down to beat and dominate the woman who had traumatized himself into forgetting his own pride. But Lucifer could not fully understand this bit of emotional trauma only understanding he wanted Yue alive, he let out a single command through his Mana. Heal. With that command issued from another Mana, Yue¡¯s Mana slinked back into her body as it began to assist her body¡¯s healing. Forcibly repositioning her snapped arms and setting her broken ribs, her Mana worked in overdrive to do as it had been commanded. To heal. It did not matter if the injuries were old or recent, all of them were being fixed by Yue¡¯s Mana. Her old scars from battlemaid training and years of harsh study were slowly being erased. Even her skin which had not been taken care of properly for 8 years was being aided as it became full of colour and Yue¡¯s almost too thin figure became a bit fuller. As this groundbreaking healing was happening Lucifer was unsteadily falling back onto his back. Mana exhaustion hitting him like a stampeding wild boar. After a minute of dizziness Lucifer soon succumbed to the Mana exhaustion urging him to fall asleep. Only catching a glimpse of movement moving at incredible speeds towards Luna, Yue and himself. With the last bit of strength he could muster he forced a vicious growl to emerge from his throat as he passed out. With Lucifer¡¯s new gear wrapped and with a 8 foot bundle of wrapped cloth under his arms Eric, left the building of Alchemist Fasra. He had sent Jasmine back to the cabin as she was just going to make it so that they would have to pay extra gold in a bid for the best quality merchandise. The elf had become strangely attached to Lucifer, creating a pet name for when he wasn¡¯t around. She had totally become an aunt like figure in her own mind for the boy. And she was determined to make sure that her odd sense of love was beaten into him at any cost. Whether it be the extremely intensive magical lessons or the fighting she started with Eric, to stop him from sending Lucifer out to hunt the strongest Beasts around their little home. Currently though the bratty and overly affectionate elf was gone and Eric could take his time and enjoy the silence that followed her departure. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Jasmine on the other hand had just arrived at the where their cabin had stood hours before. Terror wracked her lithe frame as she thought of what could possibly have happened to ruin their home. What kind of accident could have caused the disappearance of Yue, Lucifer and Luna while something destroyed their cabin? As thoughts of the most heinous of possibilities swirled in her mind, Jasmine took quick frantic looks throughout the clearing. Terror continued to build up inside of her as she spotted a large brown body running amidst the 200 meter clearing towards the east. Anger soon took over her fear addled mind as Jasmine launched a deadly barrage of Ice magic spells to capture this large intruder. [Ice Prison] [Hailstorm] [Tundra Breaker] Were the three spells Jasmine sent out to stop and immobilize the brown Beast that was running full speed towards the now noticeable forms of Yue, Luna and Lucifer. Jasmine¡¯s choice of spells were so prompt and also the best choice of spells possible for capture that it truly became apparent how skilled she truly is. Using [Ice Prison] as a means to stop and capture her prey would normally be used as the final spell. Yet Jasmine used it first as a means to slow down the rapidly approaching Beast from reaching the three bodies of her companions. [Hailstorm] is truly a risky spell to use in this situation though. [Hailstorm] creates a small to medium range blizzard of sharp swordlike ice shards to kill and maim foes at a distance. It is one of the most commonly used Ice magics in the world for it¡¯s versatility and combat effectiveness. Finally [Tundra Breaker] the highest grade spell Jasmine unleashed in her deadly combo. [Tundra Breaker] is most commonly used as a magic spell for unleashing supreme blunt force damage to the recipients. The spell gathers all the ice magic in the vicinity and uses it to form a massive iceberg like mass of solid ice. The true danger of [Tundra Breaker] is the amount of ice it gathers and drops onto the unsuspecting foe. Imagine a mountain of pure solid ice falling directly on top of you while you defend against a barrage of other magics from afar. This is the deadliness of [Tundra Breaker]. As her first magic left her magic staff, Jasmine could only watch in horror as she realised what Beast she was currently facing. Soon a cage of solid ice imprisoned the large 4 foot tall mastiff looking Beast. Jasmine¡¯s [Hailstorm] and subsequent [Tundra Breaker] soon arrived; piercing and then crushing the Beast into paste of blood and gore. The Beast she had so easily butchered was a common Blood Hound Beast. A very weak Beast, of only the 1st Rank and Low Order. But the reason it was named as the Blood Hound was because of it¡¯s blood¡¯s unique property. It gave off a distinctive pheromone that attracted all other Beasts in a domain. Now just attracting other Beasts was not an issue, but attracting ALL Beasts in this particular domain that was under the rule of a 3rd Rank Mid Order Flash Lynx was the true terror. The only reason the Flash Lynx stayed away from this area of the forest under its rule was because of the tribute that Eric had presented to it. The Mana Core of a powerful 4th Rank Beast. Jasmine was left standing there with her jaw hanging open at how stupid her actions had been. Now the danger that the three bodies faced were even greater than just a single Blood Hound that even she could kill purely based on her physical prowess. Soon a horde of Beasts would be upon the group, and Jasmine had to do something to fix the situation. Thinking of the three different scenarios that could play out Jasmine began her preparations with the most defensive actions possible. She began casting the highest order spell she knew: [Bastian of the Arctic]. A spell that would freeze the surrounding area and then build a fortress of Ice Element upon the newly frozen earth. But casting such a high order spell would almost empty her entire Mana reserves. She could only hope that the prospect of facing the high order spell would deter most if not all of the coming Beasts. And so Jasmine drained 75% of her remaining Mana Core to create a fortress of ice that built itself around the unconscious bodies of Lucifer, Yue and Luna. As the fortress slowly began its construction, Beasts of all different walks of life slowly arrived at the clearing. Jasmine could only bitterly sigh as she stood alone in front of the slowly forming castle of ice. Guarding the castle with her life on the line, Jasmine chose to only use magic when Beasts of the 2nd Rank appeared. Bracing herself for the battle about to begin Jasmine began to steady her breath. Slightly bending her left leg and letting it move a fraction forward, she leaned forward as if she was about to launch herself forward. With her long mace like staff tightly gripped in her right hand she held it parallel with the frost ground. Hoar frost instantly covered the surrounding trees and plants around the [Bastion of the Arctic]. Eric being totally immersed in the peace of not having to listen to the rude and trying remarks of Jasmine decided to take his time returning to the cabin. Only as he reached halfway back to the cabin he felt the surge of Jasmine''s Mana. This surge of Mana was Jasmine''s [Bastian of the Arctic] spell. Such a powerful spell would always create a spike in Mana as it was being cast. Eric being who he is, is able to sense even more subtle bursts of Mana let alone one as massive as Jasmine¡¯s spell. In response to this sudden development Eric quickly took off towards the cabin grounds. Hoping that he would be able to make it in time to fix, rescue or avenge whatever was happening that caused Jasmine to use her highest order spell. ¡°Ha. Ha. Ha. There is no end to you lot now is there?¡± Jasmine rasped. Blood and limbs lay strewn all around her as horde of various Beasts stood some 20 yards away from her. ¡°Fine you want to use numbers let me use real quality Beasts.¡± Jasmine spoke out as she instantly cast the medium order spell [Hailstorm]. She planned to use the density of the Beast horde to amplify her spell¡¯s destructive power. [Hailstorm]¡¯s true killing power is it¡¯s sharp thin bolts of ice that flew at incredible speeds to pierce any unlucky beings in their path. With a thrust of her staff Jasmine cast the deadly spell towards the horde of Beasts. [Hailstorm] tore through the bodies of every Beast in it¡¯s path. Massacring over 50 1st Rank Beasts in a savage display of power. Leaving only a fraction of the horde alive. Though the ones left alive were left riddled with holes and shards of ice sticking out from their large and deadly forms. The only surviving Beasts were of at least the 2nd Rank. While injured Beasts at the 2nd Rank were still vastly superior to the Jasmine that was barely standing with only dregs of Mana left in her Mana Core. Chapter 11 Battle (Unedited) Eric could only hear the pain filled howls of Beasts as he raced through the forest at his fastest speed. Eric assumed that the group was fighting a horde leader type of Beast because of the unceasing howls echoing throughout the forest¡¯s trees. With a solid boost of Mana, Eric pushed himself to go beyond his top speed at the cost of some of his Mana. He could not let anything happen to Lucifer. The boy he felt paternal love for and the child of the woman he truly loved. He would allow nothing to damage his precious charge. With renewed vigor he weaved in and out of the forest towards the cabin¡¯s clearing with worry etched on his masculine features. With astonishing timing Eric burst in the clearing to witness Jasmine¡¯s [Bastian of the Arctic] come under the assault of over 10 different 2nd and 3rd Rank Beasts, Low and Mid Order. The Low Order Beasts were extremely diverse, startling Eric. They ranged from the serpent familia¡¯s: Luminous Python and twin Wooden Constrictors, the lupin familia¡¯s: Red Eye Werewolf, Highland Storm Hound and a Jade Wolf, the ursa familia¡¯s: trio of Juggernaut Grizzlies, to the avian familia¡¯s: Steelwing Vulture. This extremely powerful line up could not be here on anyone''s initiative. Not even the local tyrant the Flash Lynx could command all these different familias into attacking the dwelling of 3 Knight rank warriors and above. Something had to attract these various Beasts, but Eric had no mind to pay attention to this strange phenomenon. With a single minded focus he let down his burden of Lucifer¡¯s gear as he unstrapped the long naginata on his back, preparing himself to enter the horde of Beasts and begin his slaughter. With a silent boost of Mana, Eric launched himself at the back of the Steelewing Vulture. Preparing to deal with the most troublesome of foes first. It was the most powerful of the horde once one took into account it''s vastly superior mobility and sword like wings that could cut down solid rock with a single swipe. As an avian type Beast, the Steelwing Vulture possesses one of the most acute eyesight and reflexes to suit aerial dogfights with other avians. Eric planned to eliminate this expert harassment fighter to make the later battle easier. Facing the combined assault of these many Beasts would exhaust any warrior, so Eric chose to kill the most difficult first. With his naginata easily slashing the Steelwing¡¯s neck, Eric decapitated his first kill. Landing on the still falling corpse; of the bird with the 7¡¯5¡± wingspan, Eric made his entrance into what would be an epic battle between man and Beast. The first Beast to react to Eric was the Luminous Viper, that was directly beside the corpse of it''s natural predator the Steelwing Vulture. The Beasts Eric faced were all strong, the Luminous Viper a deadly Light Element serpent known for its trademark callsign. Lighting it''s entire body up like a giant angler fish¡¯s antenna. An odd body function but one that can be extremely frightening in the midst of the darkest night. Made even worse by the disturbing fact that the lighting of it''s body happens in spasms, that mirror the Viper¡¯s heartbeat as it prepares to strike. The Luminous Viper brings in a deadly combination of 1300 pounds of mass, a solid 13 feet length from end to end, and a solid diameter of 3 feet. This serpent was a deadly predator of the forest nights, only brought out by the overwhelmingly sweet scent of the Blood Hound''s aromatic blood. The only positive of this Beast was its abysmally poor Mana Purity: Brown. As Eric; being an experienced warrior, took advantage of the Viper¡¯s startled reaction an eerie hiss sounded put to his left. Paying it no mind as he had already took a mental picture of the battlefield, Eric launched himself towards the Viper that was rearing its head back to strike him. With a two handed hold on his weapon¡¯s shaft, Eric angled his naginata blade upwards while keeping the weapon diagonally with the blade closer to the ground. With the Viper''s body recoiled completely in striking pose, Eric halted his slash till the Beast struck out. Timing his upward slash with the Viper''s attack, Eric¡¯s naginata cut into the Beast''s unprotected throat. With a narrow side step avoidance, Eric had seemingly dodged effortlessly and attacked in the same breath. As the blade cut deep into the snake''s hide, Eric quickly withdrew his weapon leaping backwards with a corkscrew backflip. A moment later a large Light green head filled with razor sharp fangs sunk into the ground he stood at. One of the two Woodland Constrictors had attempted to kill him while he dealt with the Viper. Only to fail as Eric let out a lightning fast slash mid flip to the kill spot of every snake: 7 inches below the skull. Instantly killing his would be assassin Eric landed on the soft grassy clearing weapon readied for more combat as he evaluated the new battlefield. The Woodland Constrictor, the serpent with the longest body amongst the Beasts present in the horde. A 21 foot long body that weighed almost 1100 pounds only made worse by the rippling muscle that lined its 3 and a half foot wide body. As a snake the Woodland Constrictor was especially adept at strangling its prey. Wrapping around and suffocating any Beast or person foolish enough to enter its over 20 foot killing radius. This Beast with a perversion of strangulation mated for life. A fact that may seem insignificant, but was truly important because mated Constrictors stay together permanently. As a Beast with Red Mana Purity this made it even more lethal when coming in pairs. Seeing its mate so effortlessly die, the remaining Woodland Constrictor became truly enraged. Lashing out its massive body''s tail towards Eric from his left flank in a bid to smash Eric to smithereens. Seeing the incoming tail out of the corner of his eyes, Eric calmly took a step back as he turned to his right. As he turned Eric twirled his naginata in a circle, he took a lunging stance. Thrusting the sharp tip of his weapon Eric struck out at the Red Eye Werewolf that was sneaking towards his back. As the Constrictor¡¯s tail crashed down behind him, Eric took his time as he stabbed the Werewolf directly in the right lung. Twisting his blade outwards; Eric cut his way out of the Werewolf''s chest, while he dove towards his right. Strategically placing himself towards the remaining snake''s stomach. Quickly rising to his knees, Eric let his naginata fly in a overhead diagonal slash onto the Beast''s exposed side. Creating a lethal cut spanning 8 feet of savage precision along the snake''s stomach and reaching the gall bladder. As a humanoid lupin species; the Red Eye Werewolf, is truly a Beast with man¡¯s reflexes and a wolf''s battle sense. This deadly mix is truly maximized by the Red Eye¡¯s 5¡¯2¡± height and 180 pounds of solid muscle. With arms hanging well below an average man''s waist the Beast had incredible reach, just not enough to match Eric and his skillfully mastered 7 foot naginata. But the Red Eye Werewolf got its name for its Mana Purity; matching its eyes, Red. The true name for thiam Beast was Feral Eye Werewolf, but warriors found of easier to just name them by their eyes which also denoted their Mana Purity. Normally lupine familia Beasts have a strong sense of community. This fact was shown in an extremely peculiar way of ostracism. The remaining Beasts; the Jade Wolf and Highland Storm Hound, totally ignored the wounded Werewolf as Eric quickly dispatched it with a sickly clean beheading chop as the Beast writhed painfully in the dirt. Werewolves are total outcasts and bullied beings of the lupin familia. Walking from the bloody scene of his 5 brutally fast and precise kills, Eric stalked towards the remaining Beasts that had now begun encircling him with a rough semi circle. Deciding to eliminate the forest''s most renown berserkers. Eric chose to walk in the direction of the 3 Juggernaut Grizzlies. Monstrous bears of almost 2 tonnes of muscle and fat thrown into a 5¡¯6¡± by 8 foot body. With a girth of 3feet these bears truly became juggernauts when charging. With their Earth Element; making their fur as hard as stone, barely any of the forest''s Beasts could take their charge and walk away after. The Juggernaut Grizzly truly lived up to its title of a 3rd Rank Beast. But with only a Mana Purity of the Red grade the grizzly could never face up against the true predators of the Beast Kingdom. Facing Eric; a human male of only 6¡¯5¡± and a sharp stick, the Juggernaut became an effective walking tank. With 3 mobile and active tanks to face but Eric felt this fight would be the most difficult. Eric knew he could take the Beasts one one on one if he so chose to. But fighting like that would give the remaining Beasts the opportunity to figure out his fighting style or worse yet letting a Beast catch any of his tells. So he decided to do the most difficult option left. A demonstration of might. By doing this Eric could hopefully cause the remaining Beasts to back down. Eric let his true power finally reveal itself. A billowing yellow aura swept forth from Eric as he reached the encircling Beasts. Eric casually stood with his naginata held lightly in his right hand as his powerful Yellow Purity Mana burst forth covering his body in a hazy full plate of Mana. Clenching his fingers, testing the Mana armour that he summoned forth Eric became reminiscent of his days on the battlefield. The days when he fought single handedly against 20 elite fighters from Levin in his effort to help Roran escape. As Eric entered into his true combat form the Juggernaut Grizzlies being the closest instantly tended up. How could they not? Eric''s Mana Purity alone put him at the top of the Beast hierarchy here, let alone his Knight Spellblade prestige that was gushing out. Faced with 5 different Beasts around the 2nd Rank, was entirely possible for Eric. But there are always variables in battle. And the biggest variables Eric faced were two fold: 1- Lucifer''s current health state and whether he required healing. 2- Where the fuck was the Flash Lynx if all these different Beasts were here? And thus began Eric''s battle began with two glaring issues weighing on the fight. Upon catching sight of the largest grizzly step back, Eric launched a flying forehand slash towards the Beast''s face. Unprepared and caught completely off guard; the grizzly took Eric''s Mana enhanced blow to the left side of its maw, the blade edge of the naginata ripping deep into the fatty face of the bear. Spinning with his slash Eric spun past the cut open mouth of the Juggernaut Grizzly, arriving at its left flank he stabbed his naginata into the fatty underbelly of the Beast while continuing his forward momentum. Tearing the Beast''s body apart as the vorpal edged naginata carved its mark into the Beast, Eric never stopped moving. As his weapon reached the initial grizzly¡¯s muscular hind leg; Eric pulled his polearm close to his body pulling it out of the Beast, he leapt towards the second Juggernaut Grizzly. With his naginata trailing above his head poised to let loose a brutal overhand chop, Eric arrived adjacent to the second bear. This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. Now this grizzly could not be taken down quite as easily the first was for Eric. This grizzly had seen the power and speed Eric attacked possessed, it was also blatantly obvious to all of the surrounding Beasts that Eric''s naginata was not an average ¡®stick¡¯. With these facts known the Juggernaut Grizzly raised itself on its mighty hind legs and let Eric''s attack land on its shoulder muscle, trapping the blade in the knots of flesh. With his blade stuck in the Beast''s shoulder Eric was left wide open to receive the grizzly¡¯s incoming clawed haymaker. With a quick decision, Eric abandoned his naginata and deftly took the blow while utilizing the haymakers roundabout movement to step towards the Beast while trapping its large arm. Still rotating his body while grasping the Beast''s arm, Eric performed an exceptional shoulder throw, with a strong hip check at the height of the throw to increase his throws power. Eric took the 2 ton bear high into the air and brought it down over his head while using perfectly timed bursts of high intensity Mana. Thrown to the ground by a human half its size the grizzly became terrified. Eric appeared to only be a fast and quick warrior, none of the Beasts suspected he had such insane strength. This was the ploy Eric wanted. He used his martial training and adept Mana control to overpower and humiliate a Juggernaut Grizzly after killing one in an astonishing amount of time. These feats of skill and power coupled by his powerful Mana Purity, Eric showed his prestige and right to power. With a single instance he broke whatever fighting spirit the remaining Juggernaut Grizzly, Jade Wolf and Highland Storm Hound had left. The grizzlies were by far the strongest in brute strength out of the three Beasts left, yet Eric had shown his strength as superior to even them. This put him at the Apex of this group of Beasts and allowed him final say in what was to happen. With both the remaining Juggernaut Grizzly and the two lupine familia Beasts backing off, Eric let loose a Mana enhanced shout of power. To drive in his place at top of the food chain into the minds of these Beasts. But more importantly to let Jasmine know that he had the situation under control. Inside [Bastion of the Arctic] Jasmine had been taking care of the Mana exhausted Lucifer. She had panicked when she first saw him unconscious but after taking a moment to study him, she noticed how different his body was currently. Larger wings, longer and sturdier tail and a more glossy shine to his scales. Lucifer had to have something happen to him that caused to change so drastically. Jasmine studied his internals for any injuries but saw his body slowly but steadily repairing itself from some kind of massive injury. After a brief flight of manic paranoia that Lucifer was dying, the elf eventually calmed down enough to be amazed at how the hybrid¡¯s body healed itself. Finally after minutes of fretting and subconscious fidgeting Jasmine eventually left Lucifer to look at the other two bodies, albeit somewhat begrudgingly. She first took note of Yue, who while still was the most injured Yue¡¯s body was healing much like Lucifer''s. Though slower it followed the same with Lucifer in that it repaired the damage done while there was seemingly Light magic aiding the process. Jasmine became amazed by the situation, hoping to see the trend continue she examined Luna. Disappoint filled her excited elven head as Luna appeared to have no autonomous healing happening in her body. But the elf¡¯s disappointment soon turned to fear riddled astonishment. Luna¡¯s Mana Core was noticeably increasing as Jasmine probed Luna''s internal situation. Luna seemed to be absorbing any foreign Mana and converting it for her own Mana Core¡¯s usage. This was truly even more shocking than Lucifer and Yue¡¯s extreme self healing. If Luna¡¯s Mana absorption became known, Magus and Spellblades alike would hunt her down for experimentation to see if her ability could be transplanted. If it could be, Luna would become even more hunted than Lucifer for being an ¡®abomination¡¯. Even old monsters of the Saint/Prophet and higher stages would come out and personally hunt her. As Jasmine became lost in her delusions of Luna''s Mana absorption, Eric''s Mana charged shout resounded throughout the icy fortress. Eric watched with cold eyes as the three remaining Beasts slowly backed into the forest''s undergrowth. His gaze a silent command to leave and never return lest his wrath be visited upon them. Finally after a long cursory glance for any hiding Beasts Eric decided to do the best fight deterrent move he had. Raising his unarmed left hand to the sky, Eric gathered as much Light Element Mana to his hand. Gathering his Yellow Purity Mana in his hand, Eric combined the gathering Light Element with his own Yellow Mana outside of his body. Creating a semi solid mass of pure Yellow Light Element. Forming the Mana to his will Eric channeled a command through his Mana and into the Mana outside his hand. Elongate. Receiving the command the neutral Light Element Mana followed Eric''s order and almost instantly formed a long shaft of Yellow Purity Light Element. Grasping the Mana formed shaft, Eric let another command issued forth. Sharpen. The Mana received Eric''s additional order and quickly began to form a point rapidly as he threw the shaft made spear of Light towards the forest where the Beasts retreated to. Flying at an insanely fast the spear of Light Mana crashed into a large tree creating a massive explosion of Mana and power. Dust clouds blew up in response to the explosion of the Mana spear, clouding Eric''s line of sight. As the dust cleared a large crater became apparent. Eric only smiled bitterly at the wasteful usage of his Mana as his sight fell on the 4 foot deep crater. Trees had been blown to smithereens and bushes eviscerated but Eric felt this was all too pathetic. Eric had used the only magic spell Spellblades could use: [Elemental Spear]. A spell of short to medium range that costs exponentially more Mana when used by Spellblades than their Magus counterparts. Though it was an extremely useful spell for Spellblades it came at the cost of Mana wastage. Using an entire quarter of his Mana Core¡¯s Mana, [Elemental Spear] did its purpose. Soon pain filled groans and scarred growls were heard as various Beasts were injured, mutilated and scared of Eric''s power. With a cold snort Eric turned sharply towards the [Bastion of the Arctic] Jasmine had cast. Arriving at the icy fortress¡¯ solid gates, Eric impatiently waited for Jasmine to open up. With a grinding sound the icy gates of the fortress soon began their slow lumber open for the human. Opening just a fraction enough for Eric to squeeze his body through, the gates became afar. With another bitter sigh Eric roughly squeezed his way through the ice doorway. Soon the sight of Lucifer, Yue and Luna''s prone forms became apparent. Eric heaved an anxious breath of relief after he too confirmed the trio''s odd states. ¡°What the fuck happened while we were gone?¡± Eric couldn''t help but curse to no one in particular. ¡°Who the hell knows you big brute. All I know is shit is totally fucked up.¡± Sighed the elf in response. ¡°Well none of them are dying, so wanna bet and who wakes first?¡± Eric made a poor attempt at trying to lighten the mood, only to receive a death glare from Jasmine as an answer. ¡°Alright alright, here lemme heal Lucifer so this can be dealt with. Hopefully my magic can speed his healing even more.¡± ¡°Fine but I swear you make any more stupid jokes or I''ll tell Lucifer about how much of a pansy you are about rats.¡± Snapped Jasmine venomously. ¡°Chill the fuck out Jasmine. He is already done all his internal and external wounds, the only thing left is for his Mana Core to recover. After that he''ll be fine. Let him rest for now.¡± ¡°Fine. Yue?¡± ¡°Seems like she was blasted royally. Trace fractures on all ribs, as well as her arms were snapped. Can barely tell the damage her ribs took but her arms are gunna be out even with this ¡®auto-healing¡¯ and my magic.¡± A grave assessment came out of Eric''s mouth as he double checked the draconian¡¯s body. ¡°God dammit! What the hell could take her out like that?¡± ¡°Dunno. But I''d say the pup¡¯s condition is worst. If she really is absorbing Mana, then I think I know what happened with her.¡± Eric answered after a brief silence. ¡°Her race is something of legends if my guess is correct. When I first saw her the way the light bent and almost disappeared into her fur, making her darker than black reminded me of a legend old Tranil told me before leaving the Academy. ¡®There are three rulers to the lupin familia. Fenrir, the world devourer, king of all wolves, birthed to fight the Gods and tear them limb from limb. Cerberus, the guardian of Hell, the hound of death and tormentor of souls. And the true queen of all wolves, the Shadow Queen. A wolf whose fur is so black that she can absorb light into her coat. But the Queen is the most dangerous of the three. Her darkness matching her cruelty, letting none dare to gaze upon nor disobey her. Not even Fenrir and Cerberus could match the Queen in battle; both wolves desperately want her as their mate, yet neither strong enough to make her submit.¡¯ He told me this story when I asked him which Beast was most terrifying of all he knew. This pup screams Shadow Queen. Her absorption of Mana could be related to the Queen¡¯s ability to absorb light. Her fur so dark that she seems to be made of solid Dark Element. Just now she has this golden streak on her crown which makes me wonder what kind of Beast she is.¡± ¡°Fuck. Lucifer loves to cause problems on his own. Now we have what could possibly be the scion of the lupin familia¡¯s Shadow Queen? This is bullshit!¡± Jasmine screamed at Eric as he finished his recount of the Shadow Queen. She was already terrified Lucifer would cause problems big enough to put his already hunted life in greater danger. Now Luna as a possible Shadow Queen, would draw in even more problems for Lucifer to revel in. SLAP ¡°Calm down you idiot elf. I am probably wrong. It''s probably just my imagination, how could a godly Beast on a greater level than Fenrir and Cerberus be out here in the outskirts of the Beast Kingdom? Also an area under the feline familia¡¯s jurisdiction? And even if she is a Shadow Queen, do you think we or anybody could handle her parents? I think not. So shut up and sit tight for them to wake up.¡± Eric exclaimed as he lightly shook his hand from the sting of slapping Jasmine. He could not stand the elf¡¯s hot temper and shrill voice when she panicked. Slowly walking away from the still gawking Jasmine, Eric took a seat on the ice covered floor next to Lucifer. Chapter 12 Studies (Unedited) ¡°Ahhh fuck!¡± A childish voice cursed out like a sailor from a long expedition. ¡°What the fuck is this pain for? Mother fucking hell!¡± ¡°Mind you fucking tongue you brat!¡± Hissed a man''s angry voice in response to the wannabe child sailor. ¡°Fuck you Eric! Don''t you dare forget what you idiots made happen to me. You bastard and bitches owe me big time. Luna is right in saying that you all are stupid.¡± Snapped the angry child sailor. ¡°Lucifer, you bastard! We got you gear and two amazing weapons and you still say that we owe you?¡± Shrieked a woman''s high pitched wail. ¡°Oh shut it knife ear. If what Luna says is right, then the only reason I couldn''t use Mana externally is because I am only 8 years old! So half your ¡®extra lessons for my talentless¡¯ self are just bullshit sadism from you.¡± Lucifer roared in anger towards the elven woman. ¡°Lucifer, we are sorry.¡± Yue finally spoke up. Speaking in a soft and clear voice Yue bowed her head towards the boy who was raging at her companions. ¡°I am sorry that you suffered from your spirits trying to take over your body. While the equipment can be considered a down payment it is not the last thing we shall give you. Your lessons can be considered royal standard. You yourself are a talent in combat but your skill in social settings. Is utterly abysmal. You are terrible at dealing with people. Your lessons on this will be increased if you so want it. This is all we can offer, make your choice.¡± Silence took over the group. Soon a barking wolf pup came running to the scene. Breaking the tension between the four people. Luna had come running to Lucifer''s side with excited barks announcing her stealthy approach. Launching herself towards Lucifer, Luna tackled the boy to the ground with playful nipping and licks of affection. Laughing as he wrestled with Luna, Lucifer temporarily forgot the tense situation Yue¡¯s question posed. With three stern faced onlookers the duo''s play came to an awkward halt. With Luna snorting with wolven disdain towards the watchers and Lucifer laughing quietly to himself and scratching his head, the two stood up from the ground. ¡°Yue what do mean my social skills are terrible? I can communicate with all different races in their own natural tongue, Beasts have always understood me and I know basic knowledge of society''s rules. What else must be known for me to be considered skilled?¡± Lucifer questioned the draconian woman who stood before him. He doubted the three in front of him were telling the truth about his social skills. Luna had told him he ¡®is the best two-leg¡¯. Luna never told lies and Lucifer knew her since almost birth. ¡°Brother. They mean talking between two-legs. There are lots of odd things you two-legs do when talking.¡± Luna''s voice sounded out in Lucifer''s mind as Luna made use of one of the marriage ceremonies benefits: telepathy. The bonding between Luna and Lucifer had become a soul level relationship. Luna''s everything became transparent for Lucifer, he could understand her, read her thoughts, know her needs, any part of Luna that changed became known to him. ¡°As it seems like Luna told you based on your look.¡± Eric said as he entered the conversation. ¡°You need to learn how to use Mana externally now that you can use it. I''ll teach you Light magic. As it seems your Element is a new variation of it. ¡°I will teach you the subtleties of society and interpersonal communication. But this is only if you wish it.¡± Yue spoke again in quiet yet resonant voice. ¡°Luna?¡± ¡°Brother you should accept. Those idiot two-legs actually know some helpful stuff. But don''t tell them about your Dark Element. We will let the world think there is a new Light Element variation to hide your dual Elements.¡± Answered Luna through their mental communication. ¡°Fine. Let''s learn these ¡®subtleties¡¯. But I will continue my hunting and sparring with you, Eric. Deal?¡± Lucifer reasoned quickly after getting Luna''s input. This conversation and bargain allowed Lucifer two whole years of quiet study. With hunts three times a day, sparring with Eric after lunch, the rest of Lucifer''s time was spent learning about emotions, tones of voice, etiquette, body language even customs for each different race. The tribal Orcs valued the Water Element and the ocean as their source of life. Lucifer learned each and every known custom and manner the seafaring Orcs practiced. Lucifer studied their defining traits. Large muscular bodies bigger than even the most robust human warrior. Light greenish skin, trade mark of the Orcish people. Sharply pointed ears adorned their chiseled and masculine faces. As a tribal race all orcs had very detailed tattoos carved all over their bodies to show their tribe and status. Orc¡¯s large bodies; averaging around 6¡¯4¡±, gave them lots of surface area to create their tattoos. With warriors getting tattoos of their kills along their back and their tribal status along their right arms. While their torso would be tattooed with their tribes patron Beast. This combination showed their tribe, status and their trophy kills. Warriors with rare and exoctic Beasts tattooed on their back would have higher status within the clan. These surprisingly brutal ways are extremely effective with structuring the orcish culture. While orcs themselves love power, they are very peace loving, only going to war when resources are scarce. The orcs are extremely peaceful but actually are treated almost as bad as Nephilims by humans and dwarves. Multiple dwarf run slave trades operate throughout human lands hunting orcish tribes that are unlucky enough to be sighted by the Trade¡¯s information network. Orc¡¯s large, strong bodies make them prime labour slaves for dwarf and human usage. Even the occasional elven noble would purchase an orcish slave. Orcs being natural sailors have an immense affinity towards the Water Element and all of its variations. But orc chieftains are truly well known for their skill in Alchemy, being the best Alchemists amongst all the races of Gaies.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. The reclusive Elves known for their love of nature wooden forest isolated their kingdom. A pale skinned race with looks almost identical to humans with only longer pointed ears and smaller lithe frames than their human counterparts. Truly smaller than most races save the Dwarfs, elves averaged at a height of 5¡¯6¡± and a thin body only weighing about 120 pounds. A forest dwelling united kingdom within the north-western part of the Lovita continent. Secretive and isolated by dense forests and the long rivers of Lovita¡¯s northen edge. Monogamy based monarchial government controlled the elven lands. While the elves did have a Senate to control their daily governmental issues, the elven monarchy held the real power with absolute control over the treasury and army. Elf people are truly reclusive and seldom took interest in the world outside of their forest kingdom, choosing to view all races as equals and maintaining their neutrality in foreign countries since the end of the Demon Hunts. Elven nobility and Senate members are known to have slaves but their slaves tend to be of the human variety solely based on the humans closeness to the elf forests. Elves are truly the only race of sentient life that has a disposition to the Earth Element¡¯s variation of Wood. The elf people also have a high natural affinity to Wind. Now Jasmine being an elven Arch Magus of Ice; is seen as an anomaly, being someone that could relate to Lucifer very aptly. The most warlike race after the Demons being the ever increasing race known as humans. Humans are a race with rounded facial features with the most variation between individual people¡¯s appearances. Humans average 5¡¯9¡± and a weight of 180-200 pounds. While being innately greedy and warlike people, humans are well known for their race¡¯s most preached saying: ¡®Humanity is the root of all races. Even the King of Beasts made his children turn into our likeness.¡¯ This preaching created a human supremacy movement. Many human children were instilled the belief system that they are innately superior to all other races. This subtle brainwashing adding onto human¡¯s innate greed and warlike nature created the multiple human kingdoms vying for world domination underneath their diplomatic policies. Racism also formed a need for slavery of the other races for humans. Only when one had a slave of every race was one truly considered ¡®high society.¡¯ The human Element tend to be Light as seen by the God of Heaven and Light choosing them to create his Nephilims. But Water and Fire Element are very common for humans not of the Light Element and its varying deviations. Lucifer slowly began to subconsciously hate humans aside from Eric with a fiery passion as they are also the secondary cause for his father¡¯s hunted life. The only reason Eric was spared of Lucifer¡¯s wrath is due to his time with the boy and his complete lack of any of the human supremacy theologies. The man even openly admitted and told the boy of his race¡¯s failures instead of allowing Yue the opportunity to. Though the only thing Lucifer could find useful about the human race was their Alchemy skill. Being only second to the tribal orcs who held Alchemy as a sacred art and not selling nor teaching their craft to outsiders no matter the method used to ¡®coerce¡¯ them. Eric also came to hate and respect the dwarven people. The short, stout and bearded version of humans, a race of plains dwellers that either travelled the world as merchants or holed up in some fort they built out of nature¡¯s hills and rocks. Dwarves are best known for their creation of the Trade. The globe spanning organization for every purpose: information, slave trade, bounties, Beast bounties, Alchemist requests and Alchemists tasking jobs. Any can post, request, question about, inquire, trade through the Trade. All that matters is if you can trade something of equivalent value in exchange. Dwarves pride themselves in their honesty and uprightness when dealing through the Trade. Even a dragon¡¯s egg can be safely and honestly transported through the Trade, if you trade enough. Nothing is too contraband, too taboo, too dangerous for the Dwarven Trade to dare to do. This sole fact was the only reason chose against seeing one dwarf and killing one dwarf, like he was on the verge of doing for humans. Earth and Fire are the two Elements that the dwarven people most awaken to. And finally Lucifer learned about his own heritage. Draconian. The children of dragons. Sired by the Dragons of Night and Day to combat the Demonic Legion. A race of human like dragons. Partially scaled humans being the most apt description of the race in appearance. With only pure and blood draconians possessing more scales and the exceptionally rare tail and/or wings. A draconians scales are the colour of their Element. Black for Dark, Gold for Light, Blue for Water, etc. Draconians are a monarchy based race that believes that the higher purity of their dragon bloodline should rule. This created their current society. With 6 Kingdoms and 2 Empires throughout the entire world the draconians truly were ¡®dragons amongst men.¡¯ Skilled in combat, magic, martial arts, mathematics and diplomacy. The draconian people dominated the world of Gaies, but for every boon they had they also received an equal burden. With extremely low birth rates, long lifespans and a dragon¡¯s pride, draconians are unceasingly in the decline. Bounties on their royal bloodlines for magical research spread throughout the Trade. Alchemists and old warriors closing in on their deathbeds hunted them to try and figure out how the draconians lived their 300 year lifespans. Lifespans doubling the most long lived of the rest of the races. Draconians truly have an affinity to all Elements only majoring in the Light and Dark Elements for their royal bloodlines. Lucifer laboured over these racial studies for an entire year leading to a lack of his previous constant martial growth. At the end of his 9th year, Lucifer chose to request his etiquette lessons be put on the back burner as he tempered his way of battle. Fighting Beasts and the occasional warrior hunting in the forest, Lucifer made remarkable progress in his fighting prowess. Once again stunning Eric by his aptitude for the Spellblade arts, Lucifer mastered [Elemental Spear] in 3 months of study and even more remarkably created his own unique method of healing. A method that required Lucifer to command the Mana within one¡¯s body to heal them, while this method used one¡¯s own Mana it took miniscule amounts of Lucifer¡¯s Mana. Now on the eve of his 10th birthday, Lucifer stood proudly. Adorned in his pale blue Aqua Fang breastplate, pauldrons and cuisses, as well as Juggernaut Grizzly leather under armour holding it all together; Lucifer stood a proud 6 feet tall, with his large leathery wings and vicious deadly looking scaled tail behind him. His dark gold scales glistened in the twilight of the setting sun creating a magnificent image of a warrior with godly greaves and gauntlets about to go into battle. Before Lucifer stood a trio of proud and emotional group of people. Eric, Jasmine and Yue looked on in pride and sadness as the boy they raised and taught for 4 years prepared to set out on his own. There is a saying that a sheltered eagle cannot rule the sky and that is what could not happen to Lucifer. So the trio planned to send the boy the Elemental Academy to learn, interact and make friends his own age amongst the varying races that attended the Academy. Hopefully finding someone to trust, love and care for besides Luna. Who now lay lazily at Lucifer¡¯s feet. With an eye cocked open Luna glanced at the group of mix match two-legs and her dearest brother. Seeing as it was almost time to leave and begin his true training that she would teach him while he journeyed the lands and took his place at her side as a new Apex within Gaies. Chapter 13 Terror (Unedited) ¡°A weapon is all that''s left for you boy.¡± Eric said as called Lucifer to follow him. Turning and walking towards the newly built cabin, Eric took deep and meaningful steps. None too big nor too small. Measured and balanced perfectly his slow and steady gait took the two into the lounge of the cabin. The newly built cabin was two stories tall and had a huge open concept design. With a lounge taking up 70% of the first floor, and a small kitchen and table set for the rest. A huge stone fireplace lay ablaze; at the far side of the lounge, surrounded by large cushions of stuffed Beast hide for sitting in. Following Eric''s lead, Lucifer stepped into the lounge and saw a large 8 foot bundle of cloth lying at the foot of the fireplace. ¡°Take that boy.¡± Eric solemnly spoke after Lucifer had arrived next to him. With a raised eyebrow, Lucifer did as told. He leapt off the floor lightly, sailing through the air with his wings fanning out ever so slightly to glide him towards the fireplace. With a soft click as his sharp talon like toes touched the wooden floor, he landed in front of the cloth bundle. Thinking back to what Eric had said about ¡®a weapon¡¯ being the only thing he missed, Lucifer suddenly felt excitement course through his veins. Hope, that what he assumed was his own personal weapon lay underneath the thick and heavy cloth bindings just in front of him. ¡°Gulp¡± Lucifer was so tense he had to swallow his saliva to try and stop it from flooding his mouth. ¡°Eric, what is it?¡± Lucifer asked anxiously as his fingers froze after feeling the dense cloth not yet daring to open it. ¡°What the hell do you think it is boy? Open the damn thing and see for yourself.¡± Snorted the older man in disdain, but on his face was a small smile. Memories of him receiving his first weapon from his adoptive father kept flashing and overlapping with the image of Lucifer. Finally a sigh escaped Eric''s lips as he walked forward and placed his large hand on Lucifer''s shoulder. ¡°Boy, open it. It''s my last gift to you. Don''t drag this out or else you''ll never be able to stand in your own. After you open that cloth, you gotta live your own life. Yue, Jasmine and I won''t ask you to go and do a single thing. It''s all up to you. We only ask that you go to the Elemental Academy and study their till you learn all they have to give. The Academy is not necessarily safe for you, but it''s got a whole shit load of strong warriors that would love to fight and train you. Might even make some more friends besides just having Luna by your side. So open the package and get out there and live your life the way you want it.¡± Eric''s words sunk deep into Lucifer''s mind as he listened intently to the man who was like a father to him. He listened so intently that he missed the fact that there was an odd scent in the wooden room and the fire burning purple instead of it''s usual red and yellow. Thinking harder upon Eric''s words Lucifer drifted off into unconsciousness. The room had been drugged by Eric while Lucifer hadn''t been paying attention. Standing with tear filled eyes, Eric slowly walked over to the kitchen and took out three envelopes from his pocket. Each letter had different signatures on them. One letter was written in black ink and had a dragon''s head as the seal. The second letter was written on a strange greenish paper with pale blue characters making characters that went vertical instead of horizontally like the first and third. The third letter was written on a black parchment and had a flowing yellow ink that seemed to sparkle in the firelit room. With tears beginning to roll down his scarred cheeks, Eric gently lay the three letters down on the table. Before his figure blurred and a second later he was gone from the cabin. In the clearing around the cabin stood two figures and a single large black mound between them. ¡°Luna, please do not let Lucifer cause too much trouble.¡± Spoke the figure towards the front of Luna''s large form. Luna had recently become quite ferocious towards Jasmine and Yue, with today being the day of their departure the two women saw fit to fix that before they left. ¡°I understand why you dislike us but everything we do and have done is for him.¡± ¡°Please Luna, protect him from any with malicious intentions, guard his back while he fights to live in this twisted world, and please never leave him alone in this world. You mean more to him alive then dead so do not throw your own life away!¡± Jasmine spoke quietly while she stared at the grassy earthy somewhat vacantly. Her coming departure from Lucifer eating away at her mind. Constant negative thoughts and crazy ¡®what if¡¯ scenarios ran through your mind a mile a minute. Finally choosing to say her own wishes and pass them on to Luna she spoke. ¡°Grrrrrrrgh¡± Came Luna''s raged growl. How could the lizard-bitch and knife ear-bitch possibly say those words to her? Of course her brother would make godly trouble! He is the future Apex of Gaies. How could their terrible teaching have helped him? Sure going to that Elemental Academy is a great idea and one she herself agreed with. But the rest of their ¡®teachings¡¯? Semantics. The knife ear-bitch even had the gall to ask her to do the things she was already doing. ¡®How stupid could two-legs be¡¯ was all that was going through Luna''s mind as she chose to ignore the two bitches and go to her brother. Getting up with a slight shake to dust herself off, Luna proceeded to promptly turn and walk away from the two. As Luna entered the still open cabin door, Jasmine and Yue both opened their red eyes that had been tearing up as they spoke to Luna. Finally as the cabin door slowly shut behind the large black wolf, Yue and Jasmine both began to sob uncontrollably. After a whole hour of sobbing; while looking longingly at the cabin where so many memories were created and possibly the happiest days of their lives were spent, the two women stood and their figure''s blurred just like Eric''s did and they disappeared. Two days later. ¡°Fuck Lukas, where the hell are we going?¡± Cried a shrill feminine voice through the bush and trees of the Talk Forest. The Talk Forest resides in the northern end of the Bolstadt Empire. Known to be a forest with only a few Low and Mid Order 2nd Rank Beast, Talk Forest is the go to spot for young warriors looking to make gold hunting Beasts. The majority of Talk is mapped save for the extreme depths where there is rumoured to be a powerful lupine Beast residing. Currently two young draconian warriors were trekking through the woods. ¡°I told you already Ethel, we struck gold!¡± Stated Lukas; the man leading the duo through the forest, with gritted teeth at Ethel''s near constant complaints. It had only been a couple hours since the two had left their home and came out to Talk for this supposed ¡®strike of gold¡¯. Yet Ethel had been constantly nagging and complaining about the bugs, the grass, the scents, the wildlife, even the damn fucking sun was an issue for her. ¡°If you weren''t my sister I might actually kill you.¡± Lukas couldn''t help but bitterly exclaim in his heart.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. ¡°Lukas you bastard! You totally thought something bad of me!¡± Ethel cried bloody murder as if she heard her brother''s inner thoughts. ¡°Fuck yeah I did. Anyways shut up we are closing in on the target. Need me to go over the details again?¡± Lukas finally held up his right fist signalling for their trek to end. Ethel promptly shut her mouth while glaring daggers at Lukas¡¯ back. ¡°Yes, you barely explained shite back at the house.¡± She hissed. ¡°Ugh. Fine. Cabin has been seen up ahead with a shit ton of dead Beasts outside of it. The Beast are just left there, not rotting yet so the kills are recent and whatever killed them seems to have left. I paid a lotta gold for this info through the Trade so you know it''s legit. We go there scavenge the Beasts and search the cabin if it''s clear. Got it?¡± ¡°Yeah, but I get a new weapon from the commission.¡± Smirked Ethel before her brother could decline she boosted herself with Mana and took off towards where the cabin had been reported. Sighing bitterly Lukas could only follow his sister, with a boost of Mana as well he leapt after her. As the two arrived at the clearing of the cabin, the brutally strong scent of blood made Ethel gag and subsequently choke on the almost tangible blood in the air. Corpses lay strewn all over the large clearing yet the most eye catching sight was the two story cabin that was covered entirely in blood of Beasts. Not a single Beast corpse or severed limb lay within 9 feet of the cabin''s walls. Creating a haunting and utterly terrifying image. ¡°Lukas.¡± ¡°Yeah?¡± ¡°How much did you pay for this info?¡± ¡°300 gold coins.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°How much would you say is it really worth?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Lukas?¡± ¡°...¡± Ethel couldn''t tear her eyes away from the scene. If she did she would notice why her brother did not respond. ¡°Who?¡± questioned a voice that seemed like it was everywhere and nowhere. Suddenly Ethel caught glimpse of something moving in the corner of her vision. Jumping and drawing her sword awkwardly, Ethel turned to look at what caused the movement. Shock welled up inside of her as she saw her brother''s body on the ground and a creature that seemed to be a demonic hellspawn lightly juggling her brother''s head that had severed from his body. ¡°Wh, wh, what are you?¡± Stammered Ethel as she clutched her sword with both hands and kept it pointed at the strange demon looking Beast. ¡°I asked first.¡± Came the same voice from before yet Ethel did not even see the creature in front of her speak. The fear inside of her exponentially grew. Her mind started to stop working and her body trembled even more. ¡°I-I, I am Ethel. Ethel Draxil.¡± She stuttered. Fear coming over her completely and compelling her to answer the voice in hopes that by answering she would live. ¡°Ethel¡­¡± The voice replied. ¡°Why are you here?¡± ¡°Following my brother. He said there was a place with dead Beasts ripe for scavenging. We came here. The Trade sold the info.¡± Ethel stammered and tripped over every syllable as she spoke to the demon or voice or whatever the fuck the thing in front of her was. ¡°Dwarfs. The Trade. I know of these. You will go immediately to your home and go straight to your bedroom. Lock the door and sit on your bed. Speak to anyone and disobey these orders and you will die.¡± The voice spoke out again, this time ordering her to leave and tell no one of the events that transpired at this place of demons and death. Ethel felt no relief upon receiving her orders. Fear still grasped her tightly and it would not let go. So she ran away. She ran as fast as she could using all the Mana she had to boost her speed as much as possible. Hopefully to run away from the living nightmare she was living. A half hour later Ethel burst through Talk¡¯s tall trees and continued her headlong rush towards Lark City''s gates. Running past every soul she came across, even running away from a scene where she happened to disturb a group of thugs raping a young girl. She ran faster still. Nothing could stop her from completing the voice¡¯s command. Soon she finally came to the medium sized walls of Lark City. Lark City. The northernmost city of the draconian country Bolstadt. Bolstadt, is the home of Anise¡¯s previous would be fiance Cailren Paul Warrick. An impressive army stood behind the reigning Warrick royal family. One that was almost on par with the world renown Levin Empire in military power and possessing the second largest territory of the various countries in Farror. Lark City though as Bolstadt¡¯s northern city it was built as a fortress for any northern invasions. Named after the birds that flock to the fortress city every summer, Lark City is larger than any other city around it. Solid 15 feet tall outer walls and inner walls doubling that in the city''s central area. The city gave the oppression of a hulking behemoth instead of a lively city. But this is only from the outside, inside the whole city is alive with activity. Divide into five districts Lark City is well laid out, with no congestion from citizens and merchants happening on any of the paved roads in the city. The North District is the Martial area, where soldiers barracks and other various military compounds could be found. The South District is monopolized by the Trade, with housing, vendors, auction houses, banks and other Trade run activities took place. The East and West Districts are for the citizens of Lark City. City owned housing and government officials lived throughout these two districts. Finally the Central District. The place for nobility and the upper echelon of society lived. Currently Ethel was running through the streets of the East District; rushing through backalleys and hidden pathways, taking any and every shortcut to quickly finish the demon''s command. She spoke to no one. Not even her own mother as she ran through her house and into her room, slamming and locking her door with tears streaming down her face. After turning the deadbolt of her room, Ethel then pushed her dresser in front of her door to bar it shut. Using the last bit of Mana she had left she forced the solid furniture into place. ¡°I, I, I, I did as you said.¡± Ethel stuttered as she finished closing her drapes and jumping under her bed¡¯s covers, just like a little girl hiding from the monster under the bed. ¡°...¡± ¡°What more do you want from me!¡± Ethel called out to the deafening silence that was her room. But nothing answered. After an hour of quiet sobs and the quiet of the dimly lit room, Ethel finally lifted her covers and poked her head to see if the demon had followed her. Seeing nothing as she looked hard towards the barred door, Ethel breathed a sigh of relief. Visibly more calm she brought the covers down more allowing her to see her entire room. Ethel then noticed there was someone or something else in her room. Her body froze. Cold sweat flushed her entire body, as she gazed at the figure standing at the foot of her bed. A handsome face that had a strong solid jaw with high cheek bones. Long black hair with a single blonde streak covered the figure''s face besides it''s soft and full lips that carried a small smile on them. The being was armoured, covered in dark brown leather with a breastplate, set of pauldrons and cuisses. But the armour did little to hide the figure''s tall 6¡¯0¡± height and broad shoulders. An amazingly lean and streamlined body of muscle was blatantly obvious on the figure but there seemed to be something off with the figure. Wings. Large wings. A 6¡¯1¡± wingspan as the figure fanned its wings. Letting Ethel see their authenticity and power as wind blew away her quilt revealing her thin trembling frame. What made the winged being even more terrifying was the monstrously large 8¡¯0¡± glaive it carried in its hands. And vicious looking executioner''s sword that hung at its waist. ¡°I need your help.¡± The figure''s lips moved and the same voice Ethel heard from before sounded throughout her room. Instantly Ethel''s shocked face changed. Her eyes rolled back into her head as she fell limp and unconscious atop her bed leaving the figure laughing lightly in her room. Chapter 14 Weapons (Unedited) ¡°Ahhh. Luna am I really that scary?¡± The figure at the foot of Ethel''s bed spoke out wistfully. As if the shadows were dancing, a pitch black wolf stepped out of the room''s darkest corner. Shadows lingering on her black coat like tendrils of some horror from the darkness. The wolf stood tall at 5¡¯2¡±. Its body lean and meant for stalking and silent assassination, the only tell her body wasn''t completely darkness was the patch of golden fur between it''s brows and the wolf''s golden lupine eyes. ¡°Not scary at all. You''re still a pup brother, on your second decade you will be really scary to other two-legs. But I don''t get why didn''t just kill this lizard-bitch and walk proudly through this two-leg city.¡± Came Luna''s reply via their mental connection. Lucifer being the figure at in Ethel''s room and the only one capable of talking to the dark wolf. He had finally awoken after Eric had drugged him. Waking up to his teacher''s disappearance and choosing to come to the city, Ethel and Lukas just being unlucky to have come at the time he was still present. Lucifer had awoke in a inebriated state. Delirious and confused at the lack of his only parental figures, Lucifer entered into a mental regression, where he only protected the cabin and the semblance of peace it brought him. Brutally tearing Beasts apart with his bare hands, Lucifer finally created enough of a disturbance to cause the Flash Lynx to appear. The Beast that didn''t even come to the scent of the Blood Hound¡¯s sweet scent had somehow come after Lucifer ¡®defended¡¯ the cabin for an entire day. The Beast seemed to know that Eric and the others had left and came to this part of its territory to see what had happened. Imagine it''s rage when it sensed the utterly soul stirring slaughter happen in the area the two-legs once lived. Did some new Beast rise under the two-legs watch? Enraged the Flash Lynx came running into the cabin''s clearing to see the scene of strewn body parts and mutilated corpses surrounding the wooden building and painting it red with blood splatter. The lynx also spotted what it knew was the possible Apex that the two-legs raised. A lizard like two-leg with large wings and a nasty looking tail. Roaring and challenging the lizard two-leg, the Flash Lynx disappeared as soon as its roar ended. Leaving only a dust cloud the Lynx took off with it''s incredible speed towards the beast challenging its authority as Apex. A split second later the lynx appeared in front of the lizard beast with it''s claws outstretched and maw wide open to tear the challenger''s neck to shreds. The lizard beast did nothing until the lynx was almost upon it. Then as if time stopped, the beast moved. Wings fanning out and tail swishing with a deadly and eerie soundtrack, the beast leapt backwards using its large wings to carry it farther back. Landing the strange beast only roared in response to the Flash Lynx¡¯s attack. Pushed even farther into it''s rage at this strange lizard beast¡¯s actions, the Flash Lynx summoned all of its Mana. Completely enhancing its entire body the lynx launched into a lightning fast attack, one that far outclassed the two creatures initial engagement. This attack did a far better job at eliciting a response from the strange lizard. The beast¡¯s eyes glowed black and gold as it brought forth its own Mana. Mana that far outclassed the Flash Lynx¡¯s and seemed to grow to no end. With a seemingly slow clawed lunge, the beast made its move. All the Flash Lynx could see were two glowing eyes of black and gold staring deep into its soul. It was plucked from its full powered assault like a mother picking up her infantile child. Immediately a deep sense of dread welled up in the lynx. A dread that it only felt from its father, the same father that sent it out to Talk Forest to learn how to be an Apex like him. At the height of its terror the lizard beast that held it by its neck spoke in the old Dragon Tongue ¡°Little cat, I will end you if this place is damaged. Protect it with your life!¡± Snarled the beast in the archaic language that all walks of life could understand. With fear coursing down it¡¯s entire spine the Flash Lynx let out a pitiful whimper of acknowledgement. With confirmation given, the beast dismissively tossed the formerly mighty 3rd Rank Mid Order Apex aside without second thought. Following the Flash Lynx¡¯s dismissal the lizard like beast slowly stalked towards the bloodred cabin. With a slow gait that seemed like world itself had stopped the beast moved into the wooden building, finally allowing the Flash Lynx to swallow its fear and scamper away in shame and humiliation. ¡°Queen Wolf.¡± The beast commanded after entering the cabin. It¡¯s tone solemn and respectful as if it was speaking to a well respected subordinate. Shortly after the command a large black shadow entered the room the beast stood in. As the shadow approached the beast it began to grow, becoming a long 7¡¯8¡± shape of a wolf, before the shadow seemed to become ¡®real¡¯. Tendrils of darkness spiralling up into the open air and filling out the the long outline of the wolf. Soon a black wolf; with a gold mark upon its crown, came into existence. Standing respectfully before the beast, the wolf¡¯s features became apparent: lush and gorgeous hair as dark as the night sky covered the lupine Beast, golden eyes matched the golden mark between its brows and powerful lithe muscles denoted the Beast''s powerful body. A beauty of natural power and prestige. ¡°Yes, spirit. For what reason have you taken over my brother?¡± Came a disembodied voice from the enchantingly beautiful black wolf. ¡°I am your brother as well Queen Wolf.¡± ¡°I will have none of your quibble spirit. State your business.¡± ¡°The boy and I are merging. I do not want this.¡± ¡°How can I stop what happens between you two, you are a spirit and he is your host. One and the same only differing by the varying subsequent factors that state you are separate. Spirits and the two-legs have always been such, struggling to control one or the other but missing the truth.¡± ¡°Queen Wolf, you mean to say that this boy is seeking Enlightenment?¡± ¡°I will raise him properly.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Fine. I see your plan Queen. But will others not if he finds Enlightenment?¡± ¡°That is not your concern. You will accept regardless.¡± As the two beasts spoke their bodies had walked over to the place where Lucifer initially collapsed from Eric''s drugging. Slowly the two beasts recreated the last scene of Lucifer''s most recent unconsciousness. ¡°Queen Wolf, he will not be the same as he was before. He will be what he is meant to be. A true Apex. An evolution of life, not even Gods can stop his rise and the tide he will bring. Even your own royal bloodline could not dominate his. I nor him appreciate those who call him abomination, so the wrath and pride I have suppressed will finally be brought forth. Heed my warning well, he is still weak right now so do take care of his locale when he let''s his wrath run wild.¡± With those words the spirit left. The body it possessed fell to the floor with no consciousness to keep it moving. ¡°An evolution? It matters not. Brother will rule all and no one or thing can stop that. Hmph. He has a Shadow Queen Wolf at his side how can he not rule?¡± The wolf spoke out annoyed at the spirit''s words but marking them down in her memory nonetheless. ¡°Sigh.¡± ¡°Brother you always end up unconscious. Control your emotions better, hopefully the enlightenment will fix your rampant heart.¡± With a slow bow, the Queen Wolf knelt next to the body that was her claimed ¡®brother¡¯. Allowing their foreheads to meet she charged her brother''s body full of Mana, a sort of makeshift defibrillator for the unconscious body. With a steady pulse of Dark Mana spreading out from her body and rapidly being sucked into her brother. She spent a few minutes of this before her brother''s eyes started moving beneath their eyelids. Lucifer awoke with a start. The sudden movement of his body jerking upright disoriented his already groggy body. With dazed glances to check his surroundings, Lucifer quickly made out the familiar walls of the cabin. The hide cushions. The fireplace. The kitchen table that had his claw marks at his seat. The vaguely familiar wrapped bundle at the foot of the fireplace truly caught his attention. As he reached for the strange package a hurricane of memories assaulted his battered mind. Eric¡¯s last words. The swirling emotions he felt as he heard them. Everything came back to him. ¡°You''re gone aren''t you?¡± Lucifer whispered to the empty room. ¡°Where would I go without brother?¡± Questioned a voice in his mind as Lucifer sank into depression. Joy and a wry smile instantly took over his previously distraught face. Though his eyes still had their tears, Lucifer smiled warmly and called for Luna. ¡°Come here you naughty pup! Who said you are gone? I am talking about those two-legs you hate hahaha.¡± ¡°Brother is silly.¡± Replied Luna as she walked out of Lucifer¡¯s shadow and proceeded to snuggle up to the weary boy. Laying down and accepting Luna¡¯s affection, Lucifer layer beneath the fireplace with Luna in his arms and he let himself go. Crying softly he held Luna tightly, much like a child holding their mother when sad. Tears were something still foreign to Lucifer. He knew what they were but not why they always accompanied his sadness. Slowly he began to hate tears. The sting they brought his eyes, the way they flowed as if there was an unlimited supply of them, but what he hated the most about tears was the rage and anger that followed them. He knew his Sins were Wrath and Pride. Fear and apprehension riddled him, as he remembered Luc and his warning. So Lucifer tried not to get sad. Because the anger that followed sadness was not something he could deal with rationally. ¡°Brother. Luna will never leave your side.¡± Luna whispered as she felt through their mental connection Lucifer''s sorrow. She did not know why the two-legs made her brother sad, but she guessed it was their departure that hurt Lucifer. ¡°Luna must always be by my side or else I''ll destroy everything till you return.¡± Came Lucifer''s dark reply through and between his laboured sobs. He needed companionship and Luna was going to be his best and only companion. She would never leave him. She would stay no matter what. After an hour of pain and sadness filled tears, Lucifer finally stopped his crying. He sat up right with Luna¡¯s head lying in his lap. Heaving a deep breath, Lucifer had come to terms with Eric¡¯s departure. He thought of everything the man taught him. The martial skills that were slowly hammered into his body from the age of 6 till now had made him stronger than any other his level and age. The lessons on language had made him on par with any child of noble birth even the way he walked had traces of a noble, courtesy of Jasmine and Yue. And now Eric had gotten him a powerful armour and even more powerful weapon if that''s what the bundle really was. Swallowing his saliva Lucifer reached toward the leather strap that held the bundle together. Snick Lucifer''s razor sharp claw cut the leather like a knife. With careful movements Lucifer slowly unwrapped the cloth while trying to not disturb the sleeping wolf on his lap. After an agonizingly long minute of surgeon like movement, Lucifer finally could not take the tension. Lifting Luna off of his lap much to her disappointment, he flexed his claws and tore through the thick cloth like a child opening a present. Soon a dark gleam shone through the shredded cloths. Lucifer became truly excited at the colour of the gleaming weapon under the cloth and began tearing into it with new found vigor. After seconds of aggressive tearing and shredding of the considered ¡®strong cloth¡¯ the gift with the bundle lay open to the world. Two weapons of amazingly simple yet savage designs lay before Lucifer. Amazement and lust for the weapons took hold of Lucifer. Reaching forward his hands slid around the handle of a long meter length executioner style blade. The blade''s hilt was lengthy, a long two and a half hand length. Effectively making the blade at least 120cm with the hilt included. As the hilt met with the metal of the blade it made a basilisk skull with its jaw open; and the thick 4 and a half inch blade spouting from it, as if the basilisk skull was trying to devour the obscenely thick blade. Only a single side of the blade was sharpened but it was not overly keen, making the weapon seem like a sharpened bat instead of a weapon of execution. As his fingertips gently trailed the edge of the blade, Lucifer finally reached the top of the blade and he noticed its peculiarity. The top was not brought to a point like most swords but followed a very unusual style. It curved towards on side of the blade making the blade seem like a massive butcher''s cleaver. A savage grin came to Lucifer''s face as he hefted the blade into the air and began twirling and executing amazingly fast slashes, cuts even thrusts with the massive sword. The air around Lucifer was wrought asunder as his sword cleaved the air with savage delight. Against its seemingly dull looking edge, the blade in Lucifer''s grasp could match any razor sharp weapon. Even Luna who stood 3 meters away from Lucifer as he danced with the blade felt the pressure of his strikes through the air. The damage such a blade could cause to man and beast alike made the Shadow Queen shiver in delightful expectation. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. But if she knew the weight of the sword would she still be as delighted? The blade weighed a monstrous amount. If measured the sheer mass of the blade was over 34 kilos, approximately 75 pounds. A weight that only Knight Spellblades and above could wield freely. But Lucifer''s last recorded strength was around the Squire level. If you added his amazing body and large wealth of life or death combat experience, Lucifer could easily hold his own against any Knight-Errant with lower Mana Purity then himself. In actuality Lucifer''s Mana Core was currently in the Initiate stage but his Mana Purity lay in the astounding realm of Yellow Purity. Lucifer also did not know how to increase his Mana Core level as whenever Jasmine tried to teach him Luna would launch herself at the elf. Thus the lessons on how to increase his Mana Core were left neglected by the three teachers as they chose to leave it up to fate. Little did they know Luna planned to teach Lucifer the Beast way to increase his Mana Core. This would enable him to utilize both the ranged abilities of a Magus while also the body protection of Spellblades. But that is for later during Lucifer and Luna''s journey and Luna was keen to let the boy enjoy his new weapons that the two-legs had given him. After an entire hour of blade work, Lucifer finally ended his dance. He felt like the sword had become an extension of his body, the feeling Eric had told him to have before he used any weapon in battle. With the cleaver in his grasp Lucifer held the flat of the blade close to his face as he panted hard from exhaustion. Gazing deeply at the dark, dark blue cleaver Lucifer felt something inside the blade. He tried peering into the blade with his Nephilim eye to see if there was some sort of intent in the weapon. Only as he did, Luna let out a bark followed by an answer to what he was feeling. ¡°You have yet to mark the blade and become it''s owner so how could the Beast spirit inside accept you?¡± Luna asked as if this simple statement could answer all the questions Lucifer had for the weapon. ¡°I have no clue what you mean by marking the blade and owning it. Even more so about the Beast spirit in the blade, this is totally new to me.¡± ¡°Ugh. When your two-leg Alchemists forge and create your weapons, they draw out the soul of the Beast inside the materials used in the weapon creation. They mash all the various souls together and form a new one that will live within the blade and give it the power it has. This hateful process is still useful for you two-legs. But brother only use weapons that are formed from one Beast. So that way no extra souls are ripped into oblivion for these weapons to be made. While the orcs are the only exception to this, human and other two-leg Alchemists all use the ¡°soul fusion¡± method when creating their weapons.¡± ¡°What! How can they use the souls of Beasts like that!¡± Lucifer yelled in fury as he imagined the countless souls that warriors used in the making of their weapons. He could not accept such a foul process! ¡°It isn''t all that bad actually.¡± Luna said with vague disinterest at Lucifer''s outburst. ¡°Explain. Now Luna.¡± Lucifer glared at the wolf in front of him with fury growing behind his mismatched eyes. ¡°Well the soul is a useless thing unless you reach the level of Saint in your two-leg terms. For Beasts it is the same. Only high ranked Beasts use their souls for anything besides being. The whole process of ¡° soul fusion¡± takes the fragmented and dispersed souls of dead beings and creates an entirely new soul. Just this soul can only live in the weapon it was created for. That''s all.¡± ¡°Then why did you say it is a hateful process?¡± ¡°Because, the soul they create is a foul thing. Completely disgusting to the souls of the living it is like the living dead. It cannot die. It needs nothing to live. It can not create or do anything besides reside and power that weapon.¡± ¡°So it is an immortal soul?¡± Lucifer couldn''t help question in confusion at the statements Luna made. ¡°No. It is a horrible existence that has no free will and only lives for the sole purpose of giving a weapon power. This conversation is better for an orc chieftain, they know much of the process. We will seek them out after your stay at the Academy. But for now please brother, trust me that these created souls are not good. Use the weapon but do not try and communicate with that thing.¡± Luna pleaded as she walked up to Lucifer and looked him straight in his heterochromatic eyes, showing her seriousness. With a brief pause Lucifer reasoned that Luna had never lied to him nor did she do anything to harm him in all their time together. She was also never this serious about anything. So he figured that this subject was better left in her care and dealt with later, not communicating with the weird intent in his sword was fine. Whenever he used weapons bloodlust and battle flooded his mind anyway. So Lucifer did as Luna had asked and marked the weapon with his Mana. He infused the weapon with as much of his black gold Mana as the weapon could take before the blade vibrated as if it were truly alive. Only then did Luna tell him that the process was done and he had succeeded in marking the blade as his own. Suddenly Lucifer remembered he had gotten two weapons! The other one he had left lying on the ground as he played with the blade. Placing the blade in a sheath; that had been brought by Luna from behind a cushion that was placed against the cabin wall, Lucifer tied the sheathed blade to his hip where the weapon could be easily accessible. Then with an ingenious idea, Lucifer wrapped his tail along the sheath creating an ornate and deadly looking disguise for the sheath as well as a way to hide his long tail from others. With his first weapon put away Lucifer knelt before the second that lay before him. A polearm. But a different polearm then he had ever seen before. Unlike the spear and naginata of Eric, this weapon had a huge sharpened mass attached to the shaft of the polearm. The shaft measured 6¡¯6¡± in length before even adding in the weapon part of the polearm. A single sided axe head was the closest name for the metal end but he knew he was wrong. An axe curves outwards so that there is more surface area for the weapon to hit with. This weapon however began with a slight inward curve before it bowed outwards creating the same kind of tip as the sword before it. The polearm looked even more deadly with this oddly shaped weapon head. Like it would claim the heads of all who opposed it. Lucifer began to fantasize about using the long weapon and cleaving through ranks of enemies with a single swipe. Suddenly a memory flashed in Lucifer''s mind. A memory of years ago when he had killed the Aqua Fang and Yue had named a weapon that even Eric did not know how to use. The glaive. Was this monster polearm the glaive she spoke of? Lucifer could only assume so. The trio had never led him wrong when it came to fighting, even Luna attested to that fact. With the proper name for the weapon, Lucifer picked up the 8¡¯0¡± long glaive with both hands. To his surprise the glaive was extremely heavy! Weighing, from what he could tell a whopping 66 kilos! The same weight as your average person, the glaive was like wielding a person with a sharpened head. But this, instead of making Lucifer apprehensive; like the glaive makes most warriors, made him ecstatic. This was the only weapon that could truly fit his love for battle and blood. While also destroying his opponents no matter if they blocked or tried to parry his strikes, just the weight transfer alone made the glaive a weapon for monsters like Lucifer. The added fact that it made a bloody mess when fighting just ignited the passion to slaughter that burned constantly in Lucifer. Grasping the glaive Lucifer hefted the monstrous weapon and began to test it. With a single thrust to start. Lucifer felt that the glaive seemed to drag his body behind after he completed the movement. ¡°Wrong. I control the weapon. It is part of me and I control me.¡± Lucifer scolded as he repositioned himself to begin using the weapon anew. Thrusting again, this time with his hands at the middle and but of the shaft Lucifer felt the same pulling sensation as before. ¡°Wrong again. My body does not follow the weapon, the weapon follows my body.¡± Again and again Lucifer practiced thrusting with the massive glaive, truly understanding its unwieldiness. But Lucifer also understood something through the repeated failed thrusts. The glaive was truly not meant to thrust, it was meant to smash, cleave, rend, destroy. Thrusting was just too weak for the glaive. Only powerful swings that used the entire body were acceptable for the glaive. At this revelation, Lucifer could only grin bitterly at the length of time it took him to realise this fact. Deciding that he would gradually get used to the glaive, Lucifer walked out of the cabin with his new weapon in hand. ¡°Oh uhm I uh killed a bunch of Beasts that came while you were knocked out.¡± Luna called out to Lucifer as she entered into his shadow. Something she had been doing for awhile now. Lucifer raised an eyebrow as he looked at the so called handiwork of Luna while choosing to really grill her later for some answers. But now? He could only sigh in his heart as he gazed at the carnage outside of the cabin and the wolf that could live in his shadow. Though as he was about to leave the cabin he saw two new figures standing at the edge of the clearing directly in front of him talking. ¡°Lukas.¡± The shorter and thiner of the two new comers spoke out with a high pitch female voice. ¡°Yeah?¡± Answered the other one who was apparently Lukas with a single word. It was then Lucifer remembered what Eric had said about warriors in the forests, they were there to hunt and kill. Lucifer felt anger for some unknown reason upon seeing the two talking while they completely ignored his existence. He did not however think they were too shocked by the amount of dead Beasts on the ground to even notice him. So Lucifer acted upon his anger with a dark smile upon his face. He subtly enhanced his legs with Mana as he took off towards the unsuspecting strangers. ¡°How much did you pay for this info?¡± Continued the short female still not knowing of the incoming danger. ¡°300 gold coins.¡± It was the moment he said those words that Lukas saw Lucifer standing next to him with a blade swinging towards his neck. With no time to react despite his strength and reflexes as a Brown Squire, Lukas could do nothing as Lucifer''s swing took his head. Lucifer on the other hand was completely flabbergasted. He was only fighting with half his strength as an attempt to probe the stranger named Lukas. He did not expect that he would instantly kill the young man even in his wildest dreams. ¡°...¡± Lucifer stood there dull as Lukas¡¯ head fell into his hand, after it had fallen from the man¡¯s corpse. ¡°...¡± ¡°How much would you say is it really worth?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Lukas?¡± ¡°...¡± Finally Lucifer couldn''t bear the tension and tossed the man''s head in the air in the hopes the movement would catch the girl''s vision. The response he did get was much greater than just noticing, she jumped backwards trying to draw her sword miserably slow. Lucifer noted that her reactions would have led her to death many times if she grew up around Beasts like he did. Sighing to himself Lucifer decided to try something with this girl. He wanted to do what Eric had spoken of about cladding himself in his Element. Lucifer knew he possessed both Light and Dark Elements, but the Dark Element truly made him feel more at ease. So following this feeling he drew his Dark Element up to the surface of his skin. His Mana though seemed to understand what his intention was and it began aiding the process. In a split second, almost faster than the eye could catch Dark Element covered Lucifer''s entire form. Making him seem like a terror from the depths of the abyss. Shadows covered his face making him disappear into the shade of the trees he stood under. All that the girl before him could see though, was a winged demon from the depths of Hell that had come for her brother and her souls. Seeing the girl''s fear, Lucifer placed her in the nonthreatening list of beings. And her decided to speak with her. ¡°Who?¡± He spoke out softly but the Dark Element around him, made his voice sound like it came from everywhere there were shadows. A very unusual and terrifying thing for the already scared girl before him. ¡°Wh, wh, what are you?¡± Stammered the girl as she clutched her sword with both hands and kept it pointed at the strange demon looking Beast. ¡°I asked first.¡± Answered Lucifer slightly annoyed by the helpless female. ¡°I-I, I am Ethel. Ethel Draxil.¡± She stuttered. Fear coming over her completely and compelling her to answer the voice in hopes that by answering she would live. ¡°Ethel¡­¡± The Lucifer took the name down before he replied. ¡°Why are you here?¡± ¡°Following my brother. He said there was a place with dead Beasts ripe for scavenging. We came here. The Trade sold the info.¡± Ethel stammered and tripped over every syllable as she spoke to the demon or voice or whatever the fuck the thing in front of her was. ¡°Dwarfs. The Trade. I know of these. You will go immediately to your home and go straight to your bedroom. Lock the door and sit on your bed. Speak to anyone and disobey these orders and you will die.¡± Lucifer snapped coldly as he realised that his ¡®hunters¡¯ as Yue had called them might have found him if the Trade was selling the information about this location. The fact that the Trade only found out about the massive amounts of corpses totally eluded him. The girl Ethel, immediately complied with his command. Taking off with like a bat out of Hell, she ran towards her home in the East District of Lark City. Lucifer smirked at the pace she ran at, it was so slow he need not even use Mana to follow. So he bent his knees and trained his draconic eye on her and blended into the shadows. Albeit not nearly at the level of Luna, who could enter shadows. But with his Dark Element covering his body and the setting sun creating longer and darker shadows, it was perfect for silently following Ethel. Lucifer had seen maps of Lark City and even looked at it from afar with Jasmine before when they finished lessons early. So he was not totally amazed by the fortress of stone and the testament it made of man¡¯s technological fortitude. All Lucifer thought when he came under the tall stone walls was: how useless. He had wings so why would walls impress him? The thing that truly amazed him was the sheer number of people. The various draconians and dwarves even the amount of humans made him shocked. He saw no orcs nor elves but he assumed they were there. He was stunned as he gazed at the magnitude of people as he stood cloaked in shadows by the city''s gate following Ethel. Finally he shook himself as he saw Ethel run into a back alleyway. Lucifer doubted the girl had the courage to defy him, so he boosted his body with Mana and entered into his hunting mode. Weaving in and out of the shadows he followed Ethel''s heat signature that beat with intandem with her pounding heart. He even stalked her into her house and eventually her room without anyone noticing him. No city guard, no person on the street, not even Ethel''s mother saw his huge form quietly stalking her daughter. This truly made Lucifer realise that he had vastly overestimated society and why Eric had told him he was born to be great. No one Lucifer had met or seen could track or hunt like him. No one else had his purely physical strength. No one else had two spirits. No one else had two Elements. And no one had his weapons. Thinking of the last thought Lucifer allowed a content smile to flutter across his lips as he stood watching Ethel''s scrambled attempts to block her door and her subsequent hiding under her covers. Chapter 15 False Memories (Unedited) In a completely average looking house, on a completely average road, in a completely normal city sat a overly large ten year old staring at the first naked female he had ever seen. Now some would say this is wrong, dirty and immoral but that does not change the fact that this underaged child was seeing boobies and a vagina for the first time. ¡°I really don''t understand why Eric said that a woman''s body is very pleasurable. It has excess fat in a very inconvenient place and it has a weird location for urination.¡± This child truly did not understand the beauty of the C cup breasts and virgin vagina in front of him. He still could not find the joy of a maiden''s soft tender skin. He was lost in the arousal of her bare and pink sex. He saw her only as a male with a overly fatty chest and no penis. Now as some, well, all are wondering: how did this young child find a naked woman? Lucifer Aeroic Khan. Descendant of the great and powerful Dragon of Night. Sired by the mightiest soldiers Heaven has ever had, the Nephilims. The bonded of the proud and godly Shadow Queen Wolf. Heir of the Levin Empire throne and first born of the Levin Saintess, Lady Anise. Scion of the Prime Nephilims, grandson of the current clan leader. These were all the titles of nobility that the young boy; that was currently staring at the naked woman, possessed. Now is it so odd that he could stare at naked women? But alas none of these titles mattered in the current situation. Lucifer currently stood next Ethel''s naked body, examining every inch of it. From her female parts to her basic anatomy. Her smooth pale red scales that covered her thighs were different to his own. They were paper thin and seemingly fragile in comparison to his own. She had no claws like him. She had no tail or wings. She had much more body fat in comparison to his own body; that was built for combat since birth, her body seemed weak and incapable of creating any great strength. Lucifer could only sigh at the disappointing discoveries he made. As to how he came to examining her body, that will be described as youthful curiosity towards the unknown. Also Lucifer very much wanted to know why he was considered an abomination in the eyes of others. Even Ethel had fainted upon seeing his complete looks. ¡°See? Nothing good about two-leg bitches brother. Brother should be satisfied with only Luna.¡± Came a voice in the young boy''s mind as he sat next to a stripped and naked Ethel on the bed. ¡°Luna, you and I cannot mate. So I need to find a prospective mate, if all females are like this ''Ethel¡¯ I will die before mating.¡± Lucifer bitterly spoke back to the voice aloud. ¡°Fine. Wake up the bitch so we can hurry up and leave this city.¡± Groaned the voice before quieting down and fading into nothingness. Lucifer still could not get used to the way Luna spoke in his mind. It freaked him out, a lot. But the wolf seemed to only speak when he was least expecting her to, adding to his anxiety. He kept mistaking voices aloud were the same as in his head. Truth be known, that is the reason for his awkward silence when he first met Ethel. ¡°Um. How am I supposed to do that?¡± ¡°Just push some Mana into her. Her body will wake in reflex.¡± ¡°Gods you know way too much for a pup.¡± Lucifer grumbled as he put a hand on Ethel''s leg; much to Luna''s displeasure, and sent a quick jolt of Mana into the poor, unconscious, naked girl. ¡°Ahhh!¡± Came a screaming response to Lucifer''s Mana shock therapy. Ethel had apparently awoken. ¡°Be quiet already and don''t faint again. It''s annoying.¡± Lucifer moaned with annoyance practical dripping from his lips. ¡°Who are you!¡± Ethel shrieked completely forgetting what had happened to her hours ago, she had not even realized her state of dress yet. ¡°Uh. That''s a tricky one.¡± ¡°Why am I naked! What is going on here! Who are you! Why are you in my room!¡± Ethel continued yelling at Lucifer not even caring about the ever decreasing temperature in the room or how angry the man before her looked. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°You will shut up. Now.¡± Lucifer growled while he Mana flared, showing his prestige as a Yellow Initiate and his piercing draconic eye stared her into silence. Ethel couldn''t understand how someone could have only an Initiate Core but still release such a suffocating aura. It scared her as she realized Lucifer could be some noble that had taken her fancy, and the implications that brought along. Soon she saw his dark golden wings that had fanned out in his anger and the tail that was currently wrapped around her thin delicate neck made her truly realise her circumstances. ''He is royal lineage¡¯ This single thought resounded through her mind. She had never seen a royal draconian but she knew of the stories. About how they still possessed the draconian wings and tail and had real dragon scales instead the ones common draconians had. And right before her eyes was a royal lineage draconian. And she had yelled at him. Twice. ¡°I-I¡¯m so-rry.¡± Was all she could say through the constricting hold of the tail. Not even the pain caused by the sharp scales digging into her neck stopped her from professing her apology towards this royal. Lucifer however did not seem appeased. But still, he slowly released the girl and brought his aura back under control. ¡°Age.¡± Was the only word he spoke after settling down. ¡°18 your highness.¡± Ethel said as she got down on her knees and brought her forehead to the ground with her arms lying upright before her. She bowed in the single most submissive way possible. With utmost humility she kept her bow, only daring to rise if Lucifer deemed her worthy. ¡°18 and only so big?¡± ¡°Your highness I am considered quite average in size.¡± Ethel spoke through a blush as she assumed her meant her breasts. ¡°You are short even for most draconian women, correct?¡± Grilled Lucifer seemingly oblivious or completely without care for her modesty and shame. ¡°Yes your highness.¡± Agreed Ethel choosing to only agree with the royal before her. ¡°Enough of this ''your highness¡¯ bullshit. Talk to me with my name girl. I detest being called anything other.¡± Lucifer sneered as the formalities she spoke of reminded him too much of his missing mother and father. Lucifer knew too well his own standing in society. ¡°But you have not told me your name.¡± Ethel spoke softly, almost whispering. Her entire body cringing as if Lucifer would beat her for answering back. ¡°Call me Lucifer. Or Luc if saying that is too difficult.¡± Ethel could not fathom as to why the royal draconian before claimed to be named after the First Angel, but she did not dare to think about it. Even more so she instantly shot down calling him Luc as it seemed to familiar to say aloud. ¡°Lord Lucifer.¡± Ethel finally spoke softly after deliberating her options. ¡°Fine. You remember what happened before you awoke?¡± Questioned Lucifer now that the annoying formalities had lessened. ¡°Not really Lord Lucifer. I remember hunting with my brother then I woke up naked here.¡± Spoke Ethel as she struggled to remember what the Lucifer was talking about. ¡°That''s all?¡± ¡°Well¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°I just remember something black and running. That''s all I can remember Lord Lucifer I swear!¡± Ethel confessed honestly all that she could remember. Lucifer killing her brother, ordering her while covered in his Dark Element Cladding, and her fainting seemed to be forgotten to make her mind at ease. Her psyche couldn''t handle that amount of fear and despair all at once, coupled with Lucifer''s own self she truly had subconsciously forgotten the entire incident. However it was at this time Luna, chose to speak up in Lucifer''s mind as he tried to figure out what to say to the girl. She coached him on what to say to make the situation speed up and easier to handle for him. ¡°Ethel.¡± ¡°Yes Lord Lucifer?¡± ¡°I saved you from a demonic beast that killed your brother. This is very shocking but I need you to be strong.¡± Lucifer spoke with stern words completely unbefitting his confused and nonchalant mind. ¡°I brought you home and have been healing you, do you understand?¡± Ethel shook at his words. Her mind forcibly creating a version of events suiting Lucifer''s words as an attempt to bridge the gap in her memories. This artificial memory, although fake, was mostly made from facts. Lucifer did look like a demonic beast to Ethel when they first met. Lucifer technically healed her or was healing her mentally through his lie. For Ethel something like a royal draconian hunting demonic beasts was totally believable. She had never seen a royal, but royals protected their people right? So Lucifer saving her from the beast became totally believable for her. Realization hit Ethel hard as she weeped for her brother. She truly loved him despite how much they fought with each other. He had always protected her and even in death he did. Now she was alone, her father worked for the city guard and could barely make enough for the family of 4 to live in the house they lived. So her brother and her chose to hunt and bring in extra gold for the family, her brother being a strong Brown Squire and her being a Brown Initiate allowed the two to hunt around Talk Forests outskirts. The brother and sister duo made good money for their household as two beginner warriors. Eventually the two saved up 1000 gold coins. With this money they could send her brother to Knight''s school in the North District to become a paid soldier, an even better career than her father. But then came the info about the cabin. Lukas had bought the info hoping the returns would allow both he and his sister to go to school. But reality is always different than what we hope for. ¡°Ethel, I will go to the clearing with you and let you take your brother''s corpse home. That will be tomorrow, tonight, sleep. We have much to do tomorrow.¡± Lucifer spoke softly not forgetting to smile gently as per Luna''s instructions. His words, perfect for the grieving sibling. His smile, perfect for any young maiden. The combination, perfect at allowing the girl to slowly drift off to sleep as waves of droziness took hold of her. Lucifer stood next to her bedside till she slept soundly. He found her sleeping face somewhat attractive but it still meant little to him as he could not understand the emotions between man and woman as of yet. As he made sure she was asleep, Lucifer made his way to the corner of the bedroom where a large cushion sat. Choosing the cushion as his bed for the night, Lucifer went to sleep lightly. He did not want to be caught unprepared while he stayed in the city. If he was caught by anyone with malicious intentions he would start a slaughter. With this comforting thought he too drifted off to sleep. Chapter 16 Wrath (Unedited) ¡°Lord Lucifer! You''re too fast for me!¡± Ethel cried out as she followed behind Lucifer through the dense Talk Forest. ¡°Ahhh my bad.¡± Lucifer said as he waited for the girl to catch up. He scratched the back of his head while in thought of how to make this trip speed up. After a short wait for Ethel to catch up, Lucifer promptly grabbed her waist and took off. Carrying the now screaming girl through the forest at a much more satisfying pace. Within minutes they arrived back at the clearing. Still covered in Beast gore and destruction the clearing did not have one trace of the previous calming nature. Only one filled with slaughter and bloodshed. ¡°Lord Lucifer thank you for carrying me! I know I am not worthy to touch you but this honour shall always be remembered!¡± Ethel shouted as Lucifer let her go as they arrived at the bloody scene of the clearing. Nodding indifferently Lucifer began weaving in and out of the Beast corpses, heading towards the cabin door. He felt like he should at least do something to the building that was once his home. But what to do eluded him. Choosing to just walk into the familiar building and deciding later, Lucifer gently opened the cabin door. Seeing the place exactly the way he left it, made Lucifer quite frustrated. He hoped somewhere deep in his heart that he would walk into seeing Eric or even Jasmine and Yue sitting in the spacious living room. Yet the room lay empty. Not a soul had disturbed the room since yesterday when Lucifer left. Lucifer sighed as he walked through the room towards the kitchen and stairs leading to his room. It was as he walked into the kitchen he noticed three envelopes on the kitchen table. Joy flushed through his entire body! He knew that those letters were for him and he knew that it was from his three teachers. Desperate to open and read the contents Lucifer leapt for the letters. Only as he did he heard Ethel''s voice calling for him. Annoyed with how needy the girl was, Lucifer quickly stuffed the letters into his leather undercoat. As he grumbled about not being bothered so much since Jasmine, he walked out to the clearing to come face to face with Ethel who stood right outside the door. She dared not to come into the blood soaked cabin walls. No matter if Lucifer entered, she was definitely not going into such a terrifying building. So she was left to call for him as she knew not what she had to do. Lucifer had told her that the trip here was for here to collect some Beast parts and her brother''s corpse, but Lucifer had left her alone as soon as he arrived at the clearing. Ethel as a Brown Initiate could do the menial task of collecting Beast parts, only she did not know what was OK to collect. If she took the parts of the couple Rank 3 corpses would Lucifer be mad? She had no idea, so she was left to call for him and hope for clarification. ¡°Lord Lucifer I am deeply sorry to disturb you but I know not which Beasts I am allowed to harvest.¡± ¡°Does it matter? The amount you can carry back matters little to the entire sum all these Beast corpses would sell for.¡± ¡°My apologies for disturbing you then.¡± Ethel spoke as respectfully as possible yet her delight in even being able to cart off some scrap Rank 3 Beast parts couldn''t be concealed. As Lucifer watched the girl almost skip into the gore ridden scene he felt like that kind of image was truly arousing. A woman who could slaughter as joyfully as himself or Luna. That was the kind of woman Lucifer wanted. He wanted to be the only one that could stand beside her. Stand next to her as she butchered her foes and Lucifer cleaved armies alongside her. These thoughts truly brought great interest in Lucifer. As Lucifer began thinking of his perfect mate, he failed to notice Luna''s exponentially increasing anger. He totally forgot how bonded their minds had become. And having Lucifer think of mates was extremely offensive to Luna who by all intents and purposes was his wife already. She had performed the Shadow Queen bonding ceremony with him. Although she knew not of the true implications at the time, Lucifer was still technically her ''soul mate¡¯ just considering their recent mental connection. How could the one who she bonded her soul with possible think such arousing thoughts without her knowing? It was impossible. Luna could very much understand Lucifer''s growing need to find a mate, but she still did not approve of anyone but herself being beside Lucifer. As her anger reached its peak, Luna finally lashed out. She leapt from Lucifer''s shadow where she normally stayed and leapt at the unsuspecting Ethel. In Luna''s mind Ethel had caused Lucifer to think of terrible two-leg bitches instead of herself. So, Ethel had to leave. Raaaaargh A savage snarl left her throat as she landed on Ethel''s back as the girl was completely focused on skinning a Beast corpse. But to be fair, what did she have to fear? Lord Lucifer, royal draconian stood guard not 10 feet away from her. She would never have suspected that her Lord Lucifer had unknowingly brought her murderer inside that 10 foot distance between them. Without a seconds hesitation, Luna pounced on top of Ethel. Pinning the girl to the ground and viciously bringing her blood thirsty jaws upon the girl''s exposed throat. Blood gushed into Luna''s mouth and filled her with euphoria as she savoured the lizard-bitch¡¯s blood. Tearing into the bitch with newfound lust for more of the sweet yet metallic tasting blood, Luna swung her head from side to side. Using her razor sharp teeth like a chainsaw, tearing apart Ethel''s throat. The sheer savagery of Luna''s attack caused Ethel''s heart to pump more blood through her body as she went into shock. There was no time for Ethel to feel fear or anything else. Just the purely natural reflex of pumping blood faster when one is hurt caused the surge of blood flowing into Luna''s maw. Ethel died instantly. No knowledge of what killed her was even able to known by her brain before it ceased functioning. Lucifer gawked. He was watching Luna, as she toyed with Ethel''s body like a rag doll. He watched as Luna made strategically placed bites to the dead girl''s arteries so that more blood would drain from the body. He watched as his plans of using the girl as his agent in Lark City go up in smoke. Luna had just killed his best and only option for getting anything from Lark City. If he moved when Luna first left his shadow, maybe, just maybe he could have saved his would be tool. But Luna is a Shadow Queen Wolf. Masters of assassination and hunting. Her attack was always perfect, even more so after being taught by Lucifer as a child. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°What the fuck Luna?¡± Was the only thing Lucifer could say to the nnow bloody and flesh covered face of Luna as he stared at her. He really couldn''t believe the normally passive aggressive Luna; that was usually only making snarky comments in his mind, would attack Ethel for no reason. So he chose to be the stern parent and grill an answer, well a lot of answers from the wolf. ¡°I killed the lizard-bitch.¡± Luna snorted as she began walking towards his shadow, once again throwing Lucifer for a loop with her attitude. ¡°LUNA!¡± Raged Lucifer. His Sin of Wrath coming out strong, making his aura and Mana flood the area around the two. His Sin of Pride was also evoked by Luna''s blatant disrespect towards him, but his Wrath had been building and building over time. Luna finally added the straw that broke the camel''s back, causing Lucifer to explode with fury. ¡°YOU WILL ANSWER ME WOLF!¡± Bellowed Lucifer, saying exactly how he felt from all the stifling that Luna made him endure. The crazy knowledge that she suddenly had when he awoke from his unconsciousness two years ago, when Yue told him of his past. The way she prevented him from learning how to become stronger, telling him her way was better, but then not even telling him a thing at all. The way she coached him in his conversation with Ethel being the latest showing of how much she controlled him passively. And Lucifer made sure Luna knew of it. ¡°You will sit down and tell me everything you are hiding! I am done with the way you control me from my shadow! You may be some great Beast but as of now, I can kill you if I really want to!¡± ¡°You think you can kill me Lucifer.¡± Came Luna''s icy reply. No minced words. She got straight down to the main issue of Lucifer''s words for her. The words ¡®kill you¡¯ triggered something deep inside Luna. A primal and instinctual urge to thrash and destroy Lucifer for his impudence towards the Shadow Queen she was. ¡°Fine. Do it, abomination.¡± Luna taunted Lucifer with his one taboo word. The word that ended his hope for a happy life with his family. The word that drove him into hiding in a forest and using others to do things for himself. ¡°Luna. YOU DARE TO CALL ME THAT! FINE! DEATH SHALL COME!¡± Lucifer bellowed as he drew upon his entire being for power. He called forth his Dark Element Cladding, Mana Enhancement and he brought out his Wrath. Darkness engulfed him as he roared in defiance. Defiant of the Gods, defiant of society, defiant of nature and all things that walk this world. His Wrath embodied all of his rage and hatred towards the world that made his life like it is. Wrath towards Heaven, Hell, Nirvana, Time and everything in between. This was Lucifer¡¯s true emotions. He absolutely hated everything in the world of Gaies. The people pushed him into living like an animal for over half of his life! The rules of society deemed his life one that should not be living! The Gods toyed with his heritage and ancestors therefore, humiliating him! And right now, Luna had brought forth this all encompassing Sin of Wrath to its peak. Lucifer was not just Lucifer now. Now, he was Wrath. Wrath was him. The only thing separating the Sin and the boy was his consciousness that was being fueled by the Sin and slowly making it his own. Luna though, cared not for the intricacies of Lucifer¡¯s inner self. She only felt the urge to stop him into the ground beneath her paws and make him know who the Queen really was. Her blood itself refused to balk at Lucifer regardless of Luna''s feelings for him. Instantly both Lucifer were at each other''s throats. Pushing their auras against one another to try and find a weakness to exploit. Lucifer crouched and drew his glaive out from its strap on his back. Holding the massive weapon tightly with both hands he brought it into position. Blade edge down while facing outwards, shaft held at a 45 degree angle, he prepared to unleash a devastating upward slash. Luna likewise lowered her body and tensed her powerful legs as her tail and skull came into a perfectly straight line. Her claws extended and her lips pulled back to reveal her sharp, shredding teeth, Luna showed her body''s natural weapons. ¡°You are the one I trusted the most Wolf. But even ¡®family¡¯ can betray me already, so you''re just like the rest.¡± Knife like words left Lucifer as his voice became deeper and darker, a side effect of his usage of Wrath and his Dark Element. ¡°You think you are worthy to be this Queen¡¯s family? How audacious of you, abomination.¡± Luna snapped back with venom and disdain. ¡°Fuck it then. I''ll personally kill you and wear your oh so royal fur as my new coat.¡± Lucifer snarled as he leapt forwards while swinging his huge glaive like a club. His upward diagonal slash came hurtling towards Luna¡¯s left cheek. Not before she breathed out a blast of Dark Element in defence. Her Mana Breathe easily negating the destructive power of Lucifer''s attack. With his blow blocked, Lucifer instantly dropped his glaive and reached for his large execution sword. His body entering into sword form; feet spread one behind the other with his forward leg bent, he whipped out the sword with lightning fast precision. An instant killing strike came whistling towards Luna¡¯s neck while a trap was created below her. Lucifer''s blade skills nearing perfection, he angled his body slightly and flung his tail towards Luna''s legs as he struck with his sword. Lucifer aimed to snare her as she avoided his sword. Luna had her own plans. She leapt sideways to avoid Lucifer entirely and she quickly entered the shadows surrounding the two fighters. ¡°Running already? Just like when I first met you, scared of everything.¡± Quibbled Lucifer mockingly as he saw her enter the dark shadows. Though his face showed no change, inside he was bitterly complaining about how cheat like her ability was. ¡°Who said I am running?¡± Snapped Luna through their mental link. The Shadow Queen Wolf runs from nothing. But Lucifer was a new being she had never faced before. She had killed two-legs before, but Lucifer was no average two-leg. He was an abomination of dragon and Nephilim, a true monster that should never have been born. And he showed his monstrous power as soon as she moved through the shadows and attacked his back. A savage grin appeared on Lucifer''s face as his tail shot straight through Luna''s chest, while his large wing smashed her flank. He spun around as he threw his hand towards Luna''s throat as she flew through the air. Grappling her thick fur, he pulled the still disoriented wolf over his shoulder and straight down. Smashing her head into the hard ground. Not holding back in the least, Lucifer swung the hilt of his sword into Luna''s ribcage. Shattering her sternum and knocking the wind out of her, he then began to toy with her. Kicking her with a solid roundhouse to the hips, swinging his sword into her shoulder, mutilating her body with his sharp claws, Lucifer began to sadisticly play with Luna''s battered body. ¡°How could you win against me?¡± Luna finally muttered mentally as she took another kick to the jaw, sending her flying into a tree. ¡°For a wolf that has been with me so long you don''t even know half of what my real abilities are.¡± Lucifer chortled. ¡°I can see intentions, idiot. How could you just hiding in the shadows block your intention to attack me?¡± ¡°Cursed Nephilim freak.¡± Luna stammered as she desperately tried to rouse her broken body into action. Lucifer seeing how desperate Luna had become, instantly felt gleeful. His Wrath though twisted that satisfying pride into an urge of a far more sadistic manner. He began to think of torturing Luna as he engraved the word ¡®abomination¡¯ into her mind, body and soul. With a devilish grin he stalked towards the wolf who could not even stand. ¡°Luna, Luna, Luna. You know what I want right now?¡± Lucifer spoke very gently as if the tormenting actions of earlier and the torturous thoughts came from someone else entirely. ¡°I want answers. Very simple and easy answers. Can you be a good puppy and tell them to me?¡± Chapter 17 Apologies? (Unedited) ¡°So pup, what will it be?¡± Lucifer chuckled as he stood above a bound and helpless Luna. He was truly not that interested in the answers she would most likely give. Only sadistic urges to torment and traumatize the wolf remained at the front of his mind. The initial reason for the fight lost almost entirely. Luna herself could scarcely remember why or how things had gotten this far. She knew subconsciously that she loves and cares for her brother. But something inside her could not stand Lucifer''s arrogance and the fact that he could not see her greatness. This made even worse when he fantasized about his ideal mate without thinking of her. The Shadow Queen. A Queen without equal. Countless desired her yet Lucifer did not even know his own luck or the envy males around the world would feel for him. In a sense Luna had the same Sin as Lucifer, Pride. While Beasts did not commune with the Spirit World, they still are the closest beings alive to the spirits and the Sins they represent. A lion is the king of the jungle and represents Pride. A sloth sleeps all day and shows Sloth in the highest degree, besides being named after the Sin. The Beasts are really the true reflections of Spirits. So Luna¡¯s pride not only comes from her exalted bloodline but also herself. Her entire being as a Shadow Queen Wolf embodies Pride. ¡°Why even ask? You only want to hurt me. Don''t forget I am connected to your mind Lucifer.¡± Luna answered solemnly. Her mind though was working overtime to find a way to diffuse the situation. She truly did not wish to die or part with Lucifer. She wished to apologize but it meant nothing now, Lucifer had already given into his Wrath. Now, Wrath needed to be dealt out and there was no way around it. ¡°Here I''ll give you a chance then.¡± Lucifer said as he crouched down so that his face was level with Luna''s. ¡°You submit to me. Or find another way for me to trust you. Wrath is my Sin but so is Pride. I will not injure yours. I just want to trust you.¡± Finally the world stopped. Luna lay there stricken with self loathing and a broken body. Everything was for trust. The Wrath Lucifer felt may be towards the entire world; herself included, but Lucifer truly wanted to be able to trust Luna. He did not wish her dead, far from it. He wanted her to stay by his side, forever. His first and only friend; that he currently couldn''t trust, her death would destroy him. So Lucifer wanted to make her submit. Pledge her undying loyalty. A severe and sacred thing for Beasts. Submission. An example of submission would be Fenrir and Cerberus. The two Kings of the Lupin familia. These two kings only bow for the Queen, the Shadow Queen Wolf. Their everything was for the Queen, life and death was decided by the Queen. Two God Beasts at the whims of another. That is what submission is. If Luna submitted to Lucifer, that was effective to giving him control of the entire Lupin familia. She could not do such an outrageous thing no matter if Lucifer had pure intentions or not. Thus the two entered into a back and forth of for and against. Unknowingly Luna and Lucifer sat face to face bickering like children as if the entire process of life or death fighting never happened. A testament to their true emotions. Lucifer being only 10 could not understand something like psychological trauma, his only wish was to prove himself and his right. Luna being of similar age did not know that Lucifer''s actions were a little heavy handed. She only knew that having Lucifer was everything to her. And while she couldn''t control the bloodline within her, she could at least explain to her dear brother what was happening. Evening soon came upon the two. Luna unbound lay before Lucifer as he sat next to the fire lit for night. The two were finally able to move forward, a bit. Although Luna had not submit to Lucifer the two still were able to sit relatively at ease. ¡°You as a primarch are unique. Your blood is purer than any other like you. Your dragon lineage is so pure that you''d be welcomed by all dragons. Even the King of Beasts would find it hard to tell which generation draconian you are. This gives you the chance to cultivate like a true draconian, like a dragon! This is why I stopped the knife ear-bitch from ruining your Mana Core with two-leg ways. Even your ancestor Nephilims chose similar methods of growing their Cores.¡± Luna said seriously as she stared into the flickering light of the open flame. ¡°For Beasts, we form our Mana Core at the end of our infantile stage. For you that is hard to say when is. Dragons have a 10 year infantile stage. Nephilims from record, 6 year. So while you could use Mana since age 6, your Core will not be truly formed. Do you see now your real issue? It was not that you simply couldn''t project Mana but that your Core was not finished forming.¡± ¡°Now it should be complete, this is why I spoke nothing of itt. Plus your strength is leaps and bounds beyond what you should have at your age. You are strong enough for now.¡± Luna calmly consoled Lucifer. Being told you simply can''t do something is a lot more severe then not yet able to. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Why what Lucifer?¡± ¡°Why not fucking tell me this before Luna?¡± Lucifer snapped in anger. Though he never laid eyes on Luna she could still remember feeling of his dragon eye when it locked on her during their fight. It sent shivers through her body, just remembering the sensation of being before that eye. ¡°You had years to tell me. Yes being able to use Mana like the Beasts is great and I want the ability, but how come you never fucking told me?¡± Lucifer''s question hung in the air as Luna did not know how to answer. How did she say, you''re a child and should listen to me, when she is a child herself? This brought the duo to their next major topic. Luna. Luna changed over the years. After completing the bonding with Lucifer, she became reclusive. Hiding in his shadow, speaking only when interested, only coming out for food and cuddles with Lucifer at night. She became completely antisocial and a shut in, in a sense. Like a teenaged brat, was the most apt way to describe her behavior. While the ages might coincide, the reasoning was completely off. Luna, as an Apex Beast possessed a powerful bloodline. Her bloodline is what told her of the bonding, it was bloodline that made her love darkness more than being at Lucifer''s side like she used to. A Shadow Queen, is not so different from an Ice Queen. Both are cold, calculative, decisive and like solitude. But a Shadow Queen needs her light as an Ice Queen needs her warmth. The most stalwart women always have a weakness,their hearts. But a true Queen needs nothing, or so society would have us believe. Lucifer and Luna follow this to the letter. Society deemed Lucifer, taboo so he was forced to live without the warmth of a loving family. Luna''s bloodline made her believe she was the epitome of perfection and all her thoughts and actions were absolutely impossible to be without error. A result of society conditioning the Shadow Queen into hating all light, Luna hated the light. Conditioned to be royal and above others, Luna too was above explaining herself to anyone. It was all one big circle of bullshit when you broke it down. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. A snake is born knowing how to shed it''s skin. The snake just knows that the skin is dead and must come off, even the most effective way to remove the skin seems to be programmed into their brain since birth. Luna''s bloodline did the same to her, it ¡®programmed¡¯ her to have a superiority complex and become reclusive. ¡°Well, it''s hard to explain Lucifer. You know how your lineage makes you love battle and bloodshed? This is kind of the same. I am a Shadow Queen Wolf. The Matriarch and pinnacle of the Lupine familia. I am naturally superior to all Lupine Beasts. Neither Cerberus or Fenrir can tame a Shadow Queen Wolf, this is also why I cannot submit to you.¡± Luna said sullenly as her wolfen head sunk at the confirmation. She knew that her actions; while attributed to her bloodline, could not be easily forgiven. Lucifer even gave her a seemingly fair deal to wipe the past errors away, but she could not accept his goodwill. Her submission was too precious for any being, regardless of the situation. Even the King of Beasts did not try and take a Shadow Queen as concubine, the Shadow Queen position in the Lupine familia was too sensitive. ¡°Then there is nothing left for us.¡± Desolately Lucifer responded. Her felt that there was no need to continue being near each other if there was no trust. He could not trust someone who would withhold important information from him for silly reasons such as pride. Relationships for Lucifer were sacred things. Only Eric and Luna had his true trust. Luna recently broke that trust and she could not fix it in the way Lucifer wanted. ¡°Please Lucifer! Anything but submission!¡± Luna bawled as she crawled forward into Lucifer''s open lap. Heart broken she cried tears that have never been shed before. ¡°Then just accept me!¡± ¡°How can I, you will die if I submit! Do you think that the submission of a Shadow Queen will go unheard of? Do you really think that my familia is anywhere as easy to evade as yours? Do you think that we can just pretend it never happened if I submit? Lucifer don''t tell me you are that naive!¡± ¡°Well how the fuck else am I supposed to get over the fact you treat me like a servant subconsciously, the fact that you truly think so little of me that you refuse to even tell me simple things, how Luna!¡± ¡°I don''t know! Just love and treat me like you always do. I don''t want to leave you!¡± ¡°Neither do I you stupid pup! But if you want my love then give me yours! Even a social outcast like me knows of give and take.¡± Lucifer screamed out as he let his wish known. Silence befell the two as their emotions danced along with the flames of the fire. Lucifer put Luna in a very delicate situation. His words, emotions and actions proved his affection for his lupin companion. But did her¡¯s reflect the same? ¡°Go to sleep for the night Lucifer. In the morning I''ll explain the Beast method of Mana Core growth. I need to sort out my emotions right now.¡± Luna stated as she entered into the sea of darkness surrounding the firelight. She could not think straight and refused to allow Lucifer to openly cut off their ties to each other. Lucifer didn''t respond and only continued to stare blankly into the fire''s depths. And like that he sat. For the entire night with only his breathing making his life visibly. As the night wore on some of Talk Forest¡¯s nocturnal birds and wildlife even perched on and around him yet his body showed no response. It seemed as if Luna''s departure took his soul away, while it was not definite it still hurt Lucifer deeply. This was after all his first night without her in his arms, it was doomed to be lonely for Lucifer. ¡°Why did I do this?¡± Luna sighed bitterly as she stood in the dark shadows looking at Lucifer from a distance. ¡°It''s not like I needed to do anything hard to stop this from happening. So why is my body telling me different things to my heart?¡± Confusion, self loathing, despair, anxiety, all coursed throughout Luna as she spent the night in self reflection. Minutes turned to hours and hours turned the sky red with morning''s light. Luna desperately tried to find a way for Lucifer to understand her emotions and her heartfelt apology. But her bloodline and pride held her back from making her true feelings known to Lucifer. The constant pull push between her two emotions put Luna into a state of constant flux she could barely understand what was going on in her mind and heart. So finally as the new day and the sun began to take its place in the sky, Luna finally made her decision. As she left her shadowy hideaway she moved towards Lucifer that still sat staring at the embers of last night''s fire. Taking every step with resolution and decisiveness she walked towards Lucifer''s still form. ¡°Lucifer I want to apologize. I''m sorry for the way I was acting and the way I treated you. I know the apology is late but I truly wish to let you know how sorry I am for my actions. Please. Lucifer you are the only one I can talk to. The only one I can be with. You didn''t hate hate me or judge me for the way I looked you didn''t betray me in any way for as long as we were together. You are the only one I can call brother and family in this world and I know that I did not treat you as such. But please forgive me dear brother.¡± Luna exclaimed soon as she saw Lucifer lift his head to look at her. The floodgates that held her tears the night before or finally let loose in all their roaring Fury. The lupin eyes released torrents of water as she leapt towards Lucifer and tried to enter his embrace to feel the warmth she always felt. ¡°What is an apology?¡± Lucifer asked calm and matter of factly. He had never been taught of apologies by Eric or Yue. He racked his brain to try and remember if any of his lessons ever included ''apology¡¯ but he found nothing. ¡°Wait what do you mean? You don''t know what an apology is?¡± ¡°Why else would I ask? Plus you were next to me during most of my lessons so you should know I''ve never been taught it.¡± ¡°Well this is fucking great! I spent the whole bullshit of a fucking night coming up with an apology and you; Mr Draconic Nephilim, don''t even know what it means!¡± Luna raged and screamed full of hysteria. She was absolutely livid yet uncontrollably laughing at the unreasonable boy in front of her. Lucifer not knowing why Luna was laughing, smiled. He truly loved her and seeing her roll on the ground cussing while laughing made him incomparably pleased and content. It was as if they were back to the days of yesterday, where they could talk, play, and enjoy each other''s company. ¡°Come Luna. Tell me how to form my Beast Mana Core. After that I have a plan.¡± Lucifer spoke with a cheshire smile. ¡°Fine you idiot, I''ll tell you how. First forget everything you think you know about Mana and the Elements you have.¡± Luna instructed with a roll of her eyes, but still spoke with mock anger towards the smiling hybrid. ¡°Ok, what are your Elements?¡± ¡°They are Light and Dark?¡± Lucifer answered confused. Luna knew his Elements, why did she have to ask him? ¡°True but also wrong. They are your connection to Gaies. Light is what allows every being to wake from the rest of Dark and see the world around them through the darkness. Dark is what allows all beings to rest and bring an end to Light¡¯s light. Your so called Element, is just the ability to connect with Gaies¡¯ Light and Dark.¡± Luna spoke cryptically, as if she was speaking of the most secret of things. ¡°So what are your Elements Lucifer?¡± ¡°No fucking clue now Miss Mysterious Teacher.¡± Lucifer chortled as he threw a sly glance towards his lupin sister. He truly did not understand what the whole speech she just spoke meant, but he was keen to learn. ¡°Idiot lizard giant.¡± Luna huffed with annoyance. ¡°Your Elements are the Light and Dark of Gaies! How you two-legs possibly survive with your weird conceptions of the Elements and Mana is beyond me.¡± ¡°Well we are not all blessed with inherited memories.¡± Retorted the peeved Lucifer at Luna''s snarky comment. ¡°Ok fine let me continue. You can use the power of Gaies. That is Mana, all Mana comes from Gaies and we can only take it and use it ourselves for a time. Death is our due date to return the Mana. When we take Mana from Gaies, it regresses. It becomes diluted by our bodies and this is why two-legs have to slowly increase their Mana¡¯s Purity. Beasts are made by Gaies and not Gods so we do not have to increase our Mana Purity. That is why Beasts are categorized into Orders. And the Size of our Core is equivalent to our Rank.¡± ¡°That''s great and all but how does that mean anything to me? I am technically made by Gods so how can I create a Beast Mana Core? You even said that Beasts don''t increase their Mana Purity so will I end up as a Mid Order Beast forever?¡± Lucifer inquired with apprehension at the sudden influx of information. If what he surmised from Luna''s lecture as true then it was a very likely scenario, if he cultivated a Beast Core. ¡°This is where you are special. You are not made by Gods. Your ancestors are made by Gods and Gaies. Dragons and draconians have a thin line separating them, so you can use both Beast and two-leg methods. You can connect directly with Gaies and use its power like we Beasts do and you can grow in power like two-legs do!¡± Chapter 18 Beginning of Magic (Unedited) ¡°Fuck you have no talent!¡± cried Luna. ¡°I am good at fighting not this bullshit!¡± Lucifer yelled in anger at the comment of her¡¯s. ¡°Well if you wanna get better at fighting, then do better now! Or else you''ll be useless. Honestly.¡± ¡°Let me see you try doing something your body doesn''t naturally do before I hear that shit!¡± ¡°You bastard watch!¡± Luna exclaimed as she pushed her upper body into the air and proceeded to walk around on her hindlegs. ¡°See, I can do that non-natural shit easy.¡± ¡°Oh my fucking hell. Ok go over the process again before I lose my fucking mind.¡± ¡°This is the 58th time! I am sick of explaining!¡± ¡°Then give me the short hand version!¡± ¡°Idiot there isn''t a shorthand version. Oh fuck it.¡± Luna gave up as she was almost completely fed up with Lucifer''s so called lack of talent. ¡°Look at your Core. Summon your Elements. Blast your Core with them. Your Core will fight back since this is subconsciously not what you want to do. So; for the last fucking time, just keep going. Remember both Elements together is the key for you or else it''s all a waste of time.¡± ¡°Fuck, here goes nothing.¡± Thinking of the new or proper way that Luna taught him about summoning his Elements, Lucifer did his best to draw them both out. Light: the power of life and yang. Dark: the power of death and yin. Both being primal and chaotic yet created the basis of everything. Light being yang and positive in nature was wild and free. Dark as the polar opposite of Light had a negative nature that was calm and static. Trying to connect with these two natural opposites while at the same time trying to force them to act together was showing incredibly difficult for Lucifer. Despite the two Elements perfect harmony in nature, Lucifer found their connection abstract and utterly bewildering. ¡°Fuck how do the Gaies grant two Elemental favors to someone so stupid?¡± Luna exclaimed after another 2 months of repeated failures. ¡°They are naturally a pair so why do you not see them as such!¡± ¡°How can life and death be a pair? Is a carcass the same as a body full of life? No they are completely different.¡± Lucifer snapped back as he argued. ¡°Oh another thing! Are Gods not immortal? So life and death are not always linked together. The God of the Abyss and Dark has never died, does that mean he is dead already or is he death given form?¡± ¡°You are thinking too deeply about this! Gods may be immortal but they are part of a different cycle of existence. Is a tree the same as a Beast? No! Different beings follow different rules. Gods are needed to balance and guide the life of Gaies, while the life of Gaies can attain godship there are restrictions. But this matters not! You only need to call forth life and death, Light and Dark, yang and yin and ask them to aid you.¡± Luna moaned in grievance at how much Lucifer seemed to be overthinking the process. ¡°When you called upon the Dark to make your [Dark Cladding] did you not just will the Dark to come and it heeded your call? Do the same for Light if it makes it easier for you.¡± Accepting the advice Lucifer began to try and make a Light version of [Dark Cladding]. Drawing upon the Light in the same manner as he did for the Dark spell, Lucifer simply expressed a thought to the Element to form like the reciprocal spell. Though inherently opposing, Light and Dark understand and coexist peacefully together. So the difficulty of making the Light version of the spell was not big. It was the understanding of what was happening that truly lost Lucifer. After a second of thought the Light responded. Gathering around Lucifer as if his entire body was a shining star in the sky, the Light shone brightly. As if in response to some insane thought the Light began to condense and shrink. It became not as bright but it still could blind anyone foolish enough to look into it, but what was truly amazing was the way it formed. It created a suit of blinding light around Lucifer, making him seem like the embodiment of Light. He could shine as bright as the star that that Gaies circled, or as dim as the embers of an extinguished fire. Lucifer truly was clad in Light. [Light Cladding] and [Dark Cladding] two completely different spells that acted the exact same. [Light Cladding] allowed Lucifer to cover his body in Light effectively becoming the Element, he could bend the light around him, control it in a very basic sense. It would cause Lucifer to gain a semi physical armour of Light. While only being semi physical, the spell created an enhanced version of Spellblade''s [Mana Armour]. [Dark Cladding] let Lucifer enter the shadows or darkness of night in its most basic usages, an effective ¡®stealth¡¯ persay. When pushed to the limits the spell could allow Lucifer temporary control of his own shadow and the shadows and darkness he touched, for an instant. Although brief, the implications were immense when used properly. This added ability of [Dark Cladding] was mostly due to Luna''s bonding ceremony. The ceremony gave Lucifer a deeper understanding and connection to the Dark Element, allowing him to further control it for his own uses.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. These two spells while being amazing and ingenious had terrible fallbacks. They were impossible to be taught, no one besides Lucifer and a primarch like him could use such complex and advanced spells without centuries of study. The most long lived races; besides draconians, live to about 120 years. By the time even the most talented warrior understands the spell it would already be useless for them as they would be dead. Even a draconian would be better suited to simply using their pure Mana as a shield instead of learning the spell. Their Mana would just create a concussive blast to mitigate damage, but it would be much less efficient than Lucifer''s spells. It took Lucifer two solid days to understand his spells alone. It took months of intense practice and live combat for the spells to even have any purpose other than light stealth capabilities. After a day or so, Lucifer had successfully used [Dark Cladding] during the night to sneak into Lark City and drop off the dead bodies of both Lukas and Ethel at the Trade¡¯s outpost in the city. Not leaving before he executed some nosy people that were watching the building''s door. Looting the corpses for gold he then proceeded to walk out of the city without a soul knowing. He even waited in the Talk¡¯s peripheral underbrush for an entire day for any trackers but found none even by the evening of the following day. Month two after entering training, he managed to use [Light Cladding] to sneak up on the now docile Rank 3 Flash Lynx. Scaring the Beast and causing the it to run in terror from his sudden appearance in the Beast¡¯s own den. With that came a lull in his training, with no luck or breakthroughs he passed through another month. It was not until Luna had used the her Element to create lengthened claws; during one of their now ritual spars, did he attain enlightenment. Throwing the match and running to the now cleaned clearing of the cabin, Lucifer ran to his training field. Drawing forth [Light Cladding] and willing it to concentrate he formed the armoured version of [Light Cladding] but not before coming up with a better name for the new addition. [Gold Mail]. With the new spell made Lucifer began to work on creating the Dark version. But alas the Dark Element seemed unwilling to work as he wished it. It would always become liquid like whenever he willed it to condense. He understood and could form a Dark [Elemental Spear], but that was a two-leg way of using Mana as Luna would have said. But forming condensed Dark Element seemed impossible as it was liquid and not solid. It took Lucifer an entire half month of time before he found what could be the key to the spell. Water. Water was liquid and also the most common liquid. But water became ice when cold. So Lucifer reasoned his intentions were not ''cold¡¯ enough for the Dark to accept it. So he became cold. Ruthless in his demeanor, commanding the Dark to form into a replica of his sword. The Element responded instantly. It gathered like mist towards Lucifer''s outstretched hand before slowly shaping into a replica of his cleaving sword. Only a quarter of the size. No matter what Lucifer tried the Dark would not respond to his urges to grow at all. Chalking it up to his skill, Lucifer named the new spell: [Shadow Armory]. Luna seeing his progress gave him some insight to his issue. His Mana could not commune clearly enough with the Element, showing that his Mana Purity lacked significantly for the complexity of the spell he was trying to make. Though this situation would eventually become resolved another glaring issue appeared. Both spells were incredibly fragile when it clashes against anything harder than a Rank 3 Beast hide or a weapon or armour of the equivalent rank. Also they exhausted all of his Mana to cast for only a 30 second time frame. Even spread out into 5 second rounds, Lucifer could only cast the spells 5 times in any combination before his Mana was emptied. A numerical representation would show that although Lucifer could cast either [Gold Mail] or [Shadow Armoury] for 30 seconds at most, he could only activate the spell in short bursts for an even less time. The initial activation costs were heavy. So while being amazing spells they were completely useless to have for real combat. Last minute situations and a hidden ace, were their only purposes currently. ¡°Lucifer you are an idiot.¡± Luna called as Lucifer cast another [Shadow Armoury] bolt at the Beast he was currently experimenting on. The Beast; a Rank 2 Mid Order, Cobalt Salamander. Possessed amazing defense as a Metal Element Beast and still had great mobility making it a worthy test dummy for Lucifer. ¡°I just made primal spells and you call me an idiot!¡± Lucifer shouted as he drew his cleaver and beheaded the Beast after his spell tore a hole through its flank. The Beast was barely left alive from the destruction of the spell and could offer no resistance to its cruel execution. Lucifer turned to the wolf behind him and snapped back in exclaim. ¡°What are you talking about? Primal?¡± ¡°It is the primal form of the Elements given form! These use the most base and common form of the Elements instead of using Mana as the basis and adding the Elements after!¡± Lucifer bluntly replied as if he was stating the obvious. Luna on the other hand only cocked her head as if saying ¡®the fuck,¡¯ prompting Lucifer to exasperatedly explain. ¡°Look at the basic [Elemental Spear],¡± Lucifer spoke as he casted the spell. Forming a spear of Light Element and Mana the spell took form in his hand. ¡°It is first gathered Mana then the Element is added into it, creating the spell truly. My primal spells are fundamentally different! I use my connection with the Element to will it into form then use my Mana to give it substance and power. It''s completely different and exponentially stronger!¡± He explained as he casted a [Shadow Armoury] version of the basic spell and smashed it through the first spear of light. ¡°Let''s fight then. Show me the power of this primal magic.¡± Luna taunted as she felt the power of this new magic. She had made huge improvements over the almost four month break. An urge to prove herself welled up in her as she thought back to the savage beat down Lucifer gave her before. Chapter 19 Anguis Chain (Unedited) Explosions and the cries of Beasts rang throughout Talk Forest. A massive dust cloud was visible even through the towering canopy of the forest. It was as if a bomb had gone off and decimated the woods. At the epicenter of the destruction barren soil and upturned trees lay strewn. Chunks of wood and splinters covered the majority of the bare earth, where the trees had not landed. Heavy breathing could be heard as two figures emerged from point zero at tremendous speeds. Heading in opposite directions the two forms released weary sighs as they landed on the ground. ¡°Pup you can''t beat me then even more so now.¡± Came a taunting voice from the figure at the northern edge of the blast site ¡°You can''t beat me either!¡± Snapped the southern one in rebuttal. ¡°Fine then let''s get serious now.¡± Smirked the north figure before large black golden wings shot out from its back and fanned themselves out wide. Revealing the large over 6¡¯0¡± wingspan the being possessed. With two mighty flaps the being took off in the direction of its would be opponent. While it flew, it let out a savage roar as two bolts of golden light flew from it like missiles. Flying so fast that the average onlooker would only see, the missiles appearing like twin beams of golden light. A powerful roar was let loose from the southern beast as the missiles arrived within a meter of it. The roar created a sound wave of black mist that instantly nullified the gold missiles, before it dispersed into the surroundings with its task complete. As soon as the black wave dissipated the winged beast arrived. With a victorious roar the winged beast waved a muscular human like arm and solid four black blades appeared and shot out towards the other. ¡°Fuck.¡± Cursed the creature as the black blades shot at each of its joints in a that there was no way to escape the attack. Instantly two of the blades pierced the being¡¯s body and pinned it to the ground. With a blast of wind the winged beast landed next to it''s nailed down for. And soon the figure of Lucifer became apparent as he finally stopped moving long enough to cease looking like a blur. He stood before a bleeding and immobilised Luna as he slowly knelt and began casting his [Mana Reconstruction] to heal her. ¡°So, how is the primal magic?¡± Lucifer smirked as he healed his companion. He was immensely proud of his magic and it''s unparalleled power against other magics at the same level. Lucifer even had a premonition that even Jasmine''s [Bastion of the Arctic] could barely withstand [Shadow Armoury]''s power. ¡°Absolutely perverted magic.¡± Luna scolded lowly as she twisted her head away from him. Pouting she continued. ¡°But I bet your Mana is almost gone, right?¡± ¡°Well you''re a Heaven Order Beast. A prestigious Shadow Queen Wolf. Now tell me is the fact that you as a Heaven Order; Rank 2 Beast, is unable to defeat a Yellow Initiate not odd?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°And the fact is that I only used primal magic once and it destroyed even your Mana armour and broke through your fur, not amazing?¡± ¡°Anyways are you healed yet?¡± ¡°Mhm¡± ¡°Let''s go. If the info we got from Lark City is to be trusted we can get through to Muselpine and take the academic exam in the capital. I want out of Bolstadt as soon as possible.¡± ¡°What''s the rush brother?¡± ¡°The Trade. They have been trying to find out who killed Ethel and Lukas. Guess dropping their bodies off at the outpost was a bad idea. Oh well, we have to get to the Academy as soon as possible that way at least my mother''s family can''t attack me openly.¡± ¡°Fine but only after you have created your Beast Core can you enter the Academy. I can''t leave your shadow while you are there. There are too many powerful people in that place and I could be discovered.¡± ¡°Alright well then hopefully I can do it while we travel to Az Citadel.¡± Let''s get going.¡± Weeks have passed since the two departed from southern end of Talk Forest and began their trek towards the great Muselpine capital of Az Citadel. By week two the duo had encountered many groups of warriors hunting and travelling in all directions. Most of the time though Lucifer would hide his presence and disappear without making contact with the warriors. Only twice did he allow himself to be seen and the result was disheartening for the boy. ¡°Look at that! A fucking royal draconian! Get it!¡± Was the answer he received after he approached a group of warriors to ask for directions. With his Wrath threatening to take over, Lucifer drew his sword and casted [Elemental Spear]. Throwing the spell towards the group, he continued to saunter towards them with his blade drawn. The spell exploded as it connected with the leading warrior of the group. Causing him to be blown backwards into his companions as the spell¡¯s explosion tore apart his body. After his spell had destroyed their formation and confidence, Lucifer seized the opportunity to end them all. With a flap of his wings he sent himself hurtling at the men sprawled on the ground and with a graceful landing, he began to dance with his savage weapon. He sliced bodies apart in brutal sadistic ways. Arms were chopped off, legs crushed by the blade¡¯s fearful weight, heads finally were all cut off as the weapon did it''s signature: execution. The second time Lucifer revealed himself was for his pride. He stood above the dead body of a man that had recently been murdered. Blood dripped from his fingers as he coldly looked at the man he had killed. He killed this man because he saw the man raping his own sister while they were out hunting for food. The brother and sister reminded him of Lukas and Ethel for some reason that made him want to follow the two. As he stalked them he saw that they lived in a small village not far from the Muselpine border. The two returned home with their hunt and gave it to their family for dinner. An act that brought a smile to Lucifer as he watched from the shadows, but then something struck him as odd. The brother had been holding his sister''s backside the entire time they stood next to each other. Seeing this from the shadows Lucifer asked Luna via their telepathy if it was something normal. The answer she gave enraged Lucifer. The act of grabbing a backside for two-legs according to Luna means a prelude to mating. Lucifer knew of mating but he also knew that brother and sister two-legs could not mate. Only Beasts had the capability of incestual mating. After a short back and forth with Luna who came and joined him in the shadows, Lucifer realized that the brother was doing the number one thing that Eric had told him not to do: forcibly mate with a female. It was an immoral and shameful deed only the scum of Gaies commit. So before the brother could enter his sister''s room to rape her, Lucifer emerged from the shadows and thrust his clawed hand through the man¡¯s heart. Disgust covered his face as he used his Mana to burn away the tainted blood. Lucifer then proceeded to knock on the door before slowly turning and walking into the darkness. As the door opened and the sister looked to see who had knocked; Lucifer turned his head, casting a glance at her as he merged into the shadows. Lucifer travelled hundreds of miles before he came across the border of Bolstadt and Muselpine. A long chain of mountains created the natural border between the great kingdoms. With Ember''s Hold and Zanigan; acting as the guardians of the two respective kingdoms, on either side of the mountains. The mountains were named the Anguis Chain for their long winding range, but mostly for the extreme abundance of snake and lizard familia Beasts in the mountains. Anguis Chain constituted of more than 80 great mountains, with the most common peak being around 3000 miles tall and the highest peak some have guessed being 8000 or more miles high. The tallest mountain was later dubbed Heaven¡¯s Gate, as most scholars believed the Heavenly realm to reside above the clouds. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. Arriving at the northern range of Anguis Chain, Lucifer with Luna in his shadow stood beneath the massive mountain range. Nobody had managed to pave a trail through the mountains so all travellers would have to find their own way through, or rely on other¡¯s maps. Even over the course of time, no one had managed to map out the entirety of Anguis Chain. The varying ups and downs made a distance of a mile turn into 6 miles of actual walking. Even the ever resourceful humans and dwarves had failed to find a way through the mountains. While there were many trails recorded, the most direct one''s were all held by the Trade. And they made sure that anyone making duplicates knew of the consequences of such actions. With a monopoly on the trail maps, the Trade was able to dominate and virtually own all the trading done between east and west Farror. Lucifer currently stood beneath one of the many paths into the notorious Anguis Chain. He had overheard from a drunk trader in Lark City brag about how he had just found a new direct route through the mountains. While others laughed off and teased his drunken ravings, Lucifer became intrigued and halted himself to hear more of the man''s discovery. As any good drunk, the man spoke endlessly about how amazing the trail was even giving out key factors for finding it. With the new knowledge obtained, Lucifer immediately left the city and grabbed Luna. The two left at lightning speed to the locale of the path; halting only for Lucifer''s bad encounters, they arrived at what could only be the assumed ''direct route through¡¯ Anguis Chain. ¡°So you think the serpente familia will take us kindly or not?¡± Questioned Lucifer aloud to the empty air around him. ¡°Would you?¡± Answered Luna promptly with a slight giggle. Signing and bracing himself for a long trek, Lucifer entered the pathway into the depths of Anguis Chain. Entering the massive cracks that spired into the clouds and housed the main household of the Serpente familia. ¡°Luna explain to me what the Serpente familia means? I understand it means snake family but why does the snake familia possess two names?¡± Questioned Lucifer as Luna told him of Anguis Chain''s history and true purpose. ¡°Anguis means snake. That shows that there are only snakes here. No other familia is allowed to enter here without the Serpente¡¯s permission. Even you two-legs are restricted from entering certain areas. The Anguis Chain would be better named snake den than a mountain range.¡± Explained Luna as her bloodline memories provided her much more detail then she let on. Her bloodline told her of safe passages through the mountains. But she reasoned that Lucifer would rather take the new path, regardless of what she said plus she still felt apprehensive of her blood¡¯s memories. The memories showed the best tactical targets for the Serpente familia to be attacked more than anything. So she would rather not tell Lucifer of these ''targets¡¯ unless absolutely necessary. ¡°So would it be fine for me to fly here?¡± Lucifer asked inquisitively as his wings flared and gave him a bit more balance, while he climbed the a rocky cliff face. ¡°That would be akin to declaring war against the Serpente familia. Would any snake like seeing a bird fly above their den? So it''s up to you.¡± Luna chortled at the thought of Lucifer cluelessly starting a race war just for convenience sake. ¡°Sounds like fun, wanna do it?¡± Lucifer''s blood turned hot at the prospect of fighting countless foes and causing untold bloodshed. ¡°Only if you create your Beast Core would I want to join in that massacre. Otherwise I''d be saving your ass all the time.¡± Luna quickly reasoned as she inwardly cursed herself for forgetting his insane bloodlust and savage disposition. ¡°Deal!¡± Lucifer instantly agreed with a vicious firm. ¡°Let''s get to a cave then I''ll begin creating the Core!¡± With perilously steep pathways and almost flat cliff faces to scale, Lucifer navigated through Anguis Chain¡¯s outermost region. After an entire day he had only penetrated 3 miles into the mountain range, but strangely no Beasts appeared in his way. Whether it was due to being the Anguis Chain''s perimeter or the harsh climate, Lucifer''s trek was extremely dull. Monotonous climbing and boring hiking made the young boy very irritable. If Luna hadn''t been constantly talking to him, Lucifer may have gone ahead and made enough disturbance to attract some less than savoury company for the duo. ¡°There! Finally a cave for you to rest the night.¡± Luna called out as she looked out from the shadow of Lucifer. ¡°Ugh. Better be already taken, cause I am itching for a fight.¡± Lucifer snarled as he pushed himself off the cliff and with a powerful flap of his wings, he rocketed towards the cliff cave. ¡°You''re in luck then. One Beast already in here already.¡± Chuckled Luna as she leapt from the shadows and into the cave ahead of Lucifer. ¡°PERFECT!¡± Lucifer roared as he landed in the cave with his glaive already held and his two mystical eyes locked on the dark depths of the cave. His roar echoed through the cave and shook the loose rocks slightly. Immediately a sinister hiss answered back Lucifer''s roar. Deep and rhythmic the hiss seemed as if it was the sound of the earth resounding throughout the cave. Lucifer only grinned with his sharp fang teeth glistening in the dim light of evening as it shone behind him. ¡°Thank you Gaies for this, I''ll offer the snake¡¯s blood to honour you!¡± Lucifer whispered as he slowly narrowed his eyes and got into fighting stance. With his left leg leading his body, he positioned himself in a lunge with his glaive held in both hands. Left hand gripped the bottom of the long shaft while his right grabbed the middle, his hand positioning created a massive radius for the glaive to cleave through. With his wings tucked in and his tail flickering with excitement, Lucifer pushed his Mana through his legs. With the surge of powerful Yellow Mana coursing through his legs, Lucifer rushed into the darkness of the cave towards the sinister hissing. ¡°This two-leg is insane.¡± Luna muttered as she watched Lucifer enter the cave''s depths. ¡°At least he seems to have forgiven me.¡± BOOM SSSSSSSSSS ¡°HAHAHA¡± RRRRAAAAAAARGGHH Sounds of the battle rumbled the cave causing it to slowly collapse in on itself. Luna shook her head as her eyes watched Lucifer fight the caves owner. A massive snake, 40 feet long and about 3 feet thick, pale red leaf-shaped scales covered the snake''s body, only a charcoal set of 3 horn adorned the snake''s head. With a horn above both eyes and one at the end of its snout, the snake appeared very devilish befitting its name. Scaled Flamehorn Viper. A powerful Rank 3 Mid Order Beast. A snake well known to reside around volcanic veins of magma, the Scaled Flamehorn is practically fireproof. With its 5 inch thick scales and its heat absorbing horns, the Beast bathes in magma to grow stronger. The most powerful known Scaled Flamehorn Viper is recorded to be of the 8th Rank, shown by the number of horns crown its head. Though capable of bathing in magma, the snakeskin of the Viper could not withstand the powerful blows of Lucifer''s glaive. They cracked under his crushing strikes, if Lucifer hit the same spot twice they would shatter like glass. Lucifer rained down hundreds of blows with his mammoth weapon while he weaved around jets of fire the Scaled Flamehorn exhaled from its nostrils. This truly made Lucifer struggle to strike the same spot twice, since the snake would always shoot fire whenever he approached a vital area. Fed up and angered by the battle Lucifer decided it was finally time to demonstrate his primal magic. Waiting till after a jet of fire ended, Lucifer leaped towards the Beast¡¯s head. While he casted [Shadow Armoury] at the opened mouth of the snake attempting to swallow him whole, time seemed to slow down to an almost standstill. The Dark Element swirled infront of Lucifer''s outstretched hand, forming into a trident of solid Darkness. As the Scaled Flamehorn''s giant jaws came forward, the black trident burst through the air faster than even Lucifer''s dragon eye could track. Flying into the open maw of the snake and tearing into the fleshy back of its throat, the trident eviscerated anything in its path. Breaking through the flesh and bone the spell tore straight into the Beast''s cranium and destroyed it''s brain before exiting the Beast entirely. Without even a pause in his movements Lucifer flapped his right wing, causing him to barrel roll out of the incoming razor sharp fangs. Mid roll, Lucifer brought his glaive down on the snake''s neckjoint. With savage power and momentum the glaive broke the snake''s neck and cut through half of the 3 foot thick Beast. ¡°Whew, that felt good. Hey Luna, I''m done here!¡± Lucifer called towards the shining cave mouth where Luna''s silhouette stood outlined. ¡°Only 3 minutes for a Mid Order. Not bad, brother. Though I bet once you form your Beast Core, you''ll take 30 seconds to a minute to kill it again.¡± Lucifer evaluated as she sauntered over to Lucifer as he sat down on the skull of the Beast. ¡°Well we''ll know soon enough now won''t we?¡± Lucifer questioned with an arched brow. ¡°I''m gonna eat before starting the Core formation.¡± Luna only nodded as she began to chow down on the large chunk of snake meat Lucifer cut off for her with his sword. After an hour''s worth of snake meat feasting, Lucifer finally sat cross-legged and began to earnestly form his Beast Core. Luna seeing this only wryly smiled as she began look out and guard duty for her brother. Lucifer began to ponder over his primal magics and the way they felt when he used them. [Gold Mail] and [Shadow Armoury]. The Light Element was always active and loved to move, so he had to use his own body as a basis for [Gold Mail] to stem from. He allowed the Light to bend around his body and circulate as if it was part of running rapids, the faster it moved the stronger the defense of the spell became. This was the base and theory of the Light magic, the appearance it had was completely unintended. But was totally acceptable, as it made Lucifer appear as God of War descending to wreak havoc on Gaies. The Dark Element was static, still and peaceful. Lucifer could never get the Element to behave like it''s counterpart, so he chose to use the inverse and behave like the Element. This elicited a much deeper and solid connection with the Element and allowed Lucifer to create [Shadow Armoury]. With [Shadow Armoury], Lucifer could create solid manifestations of the Dark Element and use them as his own weapons. With these two inverse and opposite Elements and their respective natures in mind, Lucifer called out to them. Drawing them into himself, in equal and balanced proportions. The energetic and lively Light and the calm and stoic Dark, Lucifer allowed them to enter his mind. Feeling their innate uniqueness, he began to enter into a mystical state of mind. Excited and calm at the same time. Emotion and lack of emotion. Lucifer felt as though something was missing, his emotions and nature befit his Sins. But Light and Dark did not give him any emotional connection. They felt beyond emotion, like they simply were and could not be denoted to any single emotion. With this single theory Lucifer tried to force his Sins to attach to the Elements. As he pulled on his Sins, he felt a connection form between them and the Elements. His Wrath felt as if it was a child returning to a parent as it rushed into the Light Element that Lucifer had drawn inside himself. While his Pride felt the Dark truly understood it and that they were one and the same, as if only the Element could truly comprehend it and the true meaning of Pride. Inside Lucifer, a swirl of golden light and black like revolved around his Mana Core. And as the swirl of gold and black grew in size it slowly permeated into Lucifer''s Mana Core. Turning the once white crystal like Core, into a black golden gem of deep lustre and majesty. A Mana Core of two Elements had finally been formed, Light and Dark fused into one single Core. A new kind of Mana Core appeared inside of Lucifer. Slowly the vortex of gold and black gradually entered the new glorious Mana Core. As soon as the last bit of the vortex entered the Core it began to shine with a dark golden magnificence and slowly it grew in size, increasing in size by a third. The new bigger, black gold Core gave off wisps of black and gold haze as it sat within Lucifer. Luna sat bored as she stared at Lucifer while gnawing on the now cleaned bones of the Scaled Flamehorn Viper. It had been 3 weeks since he had began forming his Beast Core, and Luna was desperate for a sign of change in him. Regardless of good or bad she only wished for confirmation he was okay. She refrained from checking his mental state through their connection as she wanted to give him privacy and also not disturb his training if he was at a crucial stage. Chapter 20 Baptism of Blood (Unedited) Suuuuuu With an exhale of stale breath, Lucifer breathed deeply. The air felt different as it entered his lungs, it was off. It was as if his entire body could sense the change in the air as he slowly opened his eyes. His long black and blonde hair, swayed slightly as he rolled his shoulders and flexed his powerful muscles. His wings spread out and beat gently, responding to his flexure. And as his tail flicked outwards it shattered an earthen pillar. Lucifer released a content deep groan as he felt the new Mana Core change and adapt to his body. The waves of power that it radiated through his body caused him to become very relaxed as he examined himself. With a casual glance towards the expectant Luna, Lucifer only smiled before beginning to walk out of the cave. Having not moved in weeks, Lucifer felt slight discomfort amidst the contentment he felt. With his Mana Core truly formed and his unplanned advancement into the Squire stage, he had an urge to test his new limits. An urge he planned to satisfy in serpentine blood. Luna giggled as she felt the distinct change in Lucifer. He became more calm after his Core formation. But through her link, Luna could feel the even more abundant bloodlust and excitement that coursed through him. Finding the clash in dispositions amusing she lept up and entered his shadow as he stood at the cave''s entrance. ¡°So shall we wage a war Luna?¡± Lucifer spoke as he stepped off the ledge and into the open air. ¡°With pleasure brother.¡± Luna chimed adorably, as if the thought of endless slaughter truly made her as delighted as a young child. ¡°Then let the war begin!¡± Lucifer roared as his wings burst open, halting his plummeting body. His giant 6¡¯2¡± wingspan caught the wind and Lucifer soared with large steady wing beats. Mana reverberated through his throat as his roar echoed throughout the part of the Anguis Chain he was currently in. Soon all snakes and members of the Serpente familia would know of his one-man war against them. With his draconic eye scanning the craggy mountains for prey as he soared through the air, Lucifer felt truly excited and peaceful. It was at this time Luna spoke out to him. ¡°So I take it you have formed a Beast Core then?¡± ¡°Even better than a Beast Core Luna. I made my Core. A true primarch¡¯s Core.¡± ¡°Primarch¡¯s Core? Explain.¡± ¡°Hahaha. Why do all Beasts appear weaker than their ancestors or alphas? Surely if they possess the same blood and heritage as their alphas they too should have the same strength.¡± Lucifer''s question and statement left Luna with no answer. Even she knew that she had little chance of ever surpassing her Ancestor: the Shadow Empress. But the question of why, had never truly occurred to her. She knew that a draconian would never be able to match up to a dragon, but there was never a real reason as to why. ¡°Lucifer just tell me what you mean.¡± Luna groaned in irritation that he had out done her with his question. ¡°Your Sin. Tie it to your Element and you have yourself a true Apex Core, as I call it. Simple right?¡± Lucifer spoke blandly like the facts held no sense of mystery or sacredness to him. ¡°You told me that all I had to do was blast my Core with my Elements and it would do the rest. But I have two opposing Elements. So I had to find a way to tie them to me. There came my idea of using my Sins as the link between the Elements and myself.¡± ¡°Wait does that mean anyone can create an Apex Core then?¡± Luna questioned with budding anticipation at the prospect of being able to become like the Shadow Empress, she descended from. ¡°No clue. But if anyone can they will be able to know if they succeeded. I can feel the power of the Core inside me and it is completely different to the ones of any other being I have faced.¡± Lucifer continued still as nonchalant as ever. ¡°Amazing. Truly amazing Lucifer. Now I really want to see you fight the Serpente familia! Go to this location.¡± Luna exclaimed with giddiness as she dreamed of attempting what Lucifer had told her. ¡°My bloodline memories show that as a sort of grooming ground for young snakes. It should have plenty of Rank 3-5 Beasts.¡± ¡°I take it you withheld this information for good reason?¡± Lucifer spoke lightly as he made his way to the location Luna had sent him via telepathy. ¡°Well you are normally hot headed and battle crazy so I chose to only tell you if you formed your Beast Core. Since you made an Apex Core, even better!¡± Luna cooed trying to placate him with her reasoning as gently as she could. But silence answered her as Lucifer steadily beat his wings and flew to the location of the snake grounds. An hour later as he got within a mile of the location he finally spoke out. ¡°Luna! You will never withhold information like that again. I am not as immature as you give me credit for. I will decide what is safe for myself. No one else will dictate who I am, what I do, what I say, where I go, or anything else. I am the Dragon Nephilim. The first of my kind and most definitely not the last. So mark my words, if I ever find out that you are manipulating or doing anything like before to me again. I''ll make you and your Lupin familia end up like these pathetic snakes!¡± Lucifer growled out as he tucked his wings in and dived down towards a seemingly barren area of rock. Only as he got close to it a large dull grey snake head shot forward to attack him. Stolen story; please report. At the appearance of the snake, Lucifer only snarled as he whipped his giant glaive towards the incoming attack. With an audible cracked, the glaive decimated the snakes skull. Crushing it''s bones and flesh in a brutal display of power. Lucifer spread his wings catching an updraft as he took to the sky again after his lightning fast kill. With his body gradually going higher and higher Lucifer began casting magic. Drawing his Light Element and Mana into his mighty weapon he began to cast [Gold Mail], on the glaive. As the metaphysical golden light formed on the bladed head of the glaive, Lucifer immediately released the glaive and let gravity take the to the ground. With astonishing momentum the handmade golden warhead shot downwards. Smirking as he watched the 8 foot long golden glaive fall, Lucifer began to cast multiple Dark [Elemental Spears]. Soon 30+ two meter long magical spears floated next to him. With a downward wave of his hand, the spears shot downwards at breakneck speeds. On ground level, directly below Lucifer. A mass of giant 20 foot and greater length snakes lay draped over each other bathing in the afternoon sun. With only a single snake looking up in lackadaisical drowsiness, Lucifer''s incoming artillery like assault came crashing down. With a golden warhead leading a swarm of black bolts, his attacks landed amongst the serpentine sun bathers. With the golden warhead¡¯s initial impact, a huge explosion shook the mountain of the assault. Immediately afterwards the black bolts tore through the billowing smoke clouds and devastated the survivors among the debris of the explosion. ¡°Witness Luna, the power of primal magic powered by a Yellow Squire. Do you see it? Not a single one of those 47 snakes live. All of them were above the 2nd Rank and not a single one can stop even my most casual of attacks.¡± Lucifer roared as he dove into the smoke and dust that billowed into the air. Luna could only glumly suck in a cold breath as she witnessed the might his basic magic wrought. Landing hard enough to crack the earth beneath, Lucifer gazed at the destruction he created with cold and merciless eyes. But inside, an ever growing lust for blood and violence began to take hold of his mind. As his eyes caught sight of the glaive handle jutting out from a pile of charred corpses and rubble he heard a distinct rumbling sound. With natural instincts taking over, he dropped low and flared his wings out. With claws out and his body ready for flight, attack, retreat and evasion he readied himself in a low and wide fighting stance. His tail swayed slightly as he patiently waited for the rumbling noise to cease. But the sound only grew louder and eventually the ground too shook with noise. Lucifer had a cold grin plastered on his face as he slowly rose his body and began drawing his sword. His Nephilim eye caught sight of a new intention faintly showing in the distance much earlier than his dragon eye could make out the shape. The intention appeared to mean caution or a variation of confusion. Lucifer deduced that it was the guardians of the snake grounds coming to see what had happened. So with practiced ease he slipped into the shadows of the newly created terrain and prepared for the incoming prey. ¡°Come little worms and become my Apex Core¡¯s baptism in blood!¡± He whispered savagely as his entire body merged into the shadows. Sure enough something responded to Lucifer''s dark desire. A 80 foot long Black Eyed Basalt Cobra! A peak Mid Order 4th Rank snake! With powerful Green Mana Purity and it''s own devastatingly strong Earth Element, the Black Eyed Basalt Cobra was truly a side overlord for the Serpente familia. Large 8 inch thick metallic black scales covered the cobra¡¯s body and created it''s amazing armour like hide. With a standard cobra¡¯s hooded head and savage demeanor the Black Eyed Basalt plowed through the rocky terrain towards Lucifer''s position. Lucifer stood poised for combat in the shadows. He watched the titanic Beast roar with fury as it saw the devastation he caused. He watched patiently as the snake rampaged and created even more destruction in its blind fury. Not a single change nor movement from the cobra could break his concentration, as he analyzed every single inch of the 80 foot long Beast. ¡°Two, 3 meter long cuts along the left flank of its stomach. One, 5 square meter patch of slightly pale scales along the underbelly Seems to be the only weak spots.¡± Lucifer surmised. ¡°While the fangs appear capable of spitting toxin the tail is also extremely dense. It''s whipping straight through the bedrock with its tailwhips.¡± With the weaknesses and two most dangerous parts of the cobra identified, Lucifer began his true ''hunt¡¯. He measured his remaining Mana, he took stock of every possible weapon he had to pierce the thick scales of the snake, he even measured and estimated the distance the snake could spit its poison. Finally with every solid factual information he could glean from the rampaging Beast, Lucifer prepared his attack. Waiting until the Black Eyed Basalt Cobra made its way to within 5 feet of the shadow he hid in, Lucifer slowly gathered his Mana as subtly as possible. As soon as the cobra entered his 5 foot strike zone, he boosted his body with Mana and let a brutal overhead chop come flying onto the unsuspecting cobra. Being a weapon of the fourth rank, Lucifer''s blade was made to handle Beasts like the Black Eyed Basalt. And with Lucifer''s mighty strength and Mana enhanced body wielding it, the blade became a weapon of mass destruction for the cobra. Lucifers chopped right along one of the two long cuts that scaled the cobra''s flank. With slight resistance the blade entered the old wound and tore the regrown scales asunder as it recreated the large wound. Lucifer felt his Mana Core surge in response to his emotions as he saw blood flow from the Beast. He reminded himself again what his Sins were. Wrath and Pride. The Wrath he felt for the world, the need to tear it all down and destroy. The Pride he felt as a natural born Apex predator, a being born to rule the food chain of Gaies. And right now he was truly enacting on his Sins. He was destroying a time honoured familia. He was demonstrating his dominance and power over the Anguis Chain. He was single handedly waging war against the Serpente familia, and he felt proud of it. Luna on the other hand shuddered as she stood among the shadows some 2 kilometers away from Lucifer''s battle. With a clear line of sight, she watched as he danced and weaved his way around the giant cobra. She saw as he effortlessly dodged sprays of acidic poison, and deliver devastating cuts to the Beast. Only grim terror held her heart. She could scarcely believe it; regardless of how high her expectations of Lucifer were, she would never have foresaw this. Lucifer toyed with a peak Mid Order Beast of the 4th Rank. Even without his mighty glaive, he still could break through even the hardest of defences. Luna gulped down mouthfuls of saliva constantly as she witnessed his death match with the Black Eyed Basalt Cobra. Even though the sounds of the Beast''s pain filled roars attracted other snakes, Lucifer only carried a maniacal grin as he continued to toy with it. Luna could only guess he wanted the Beast to bring more prey for him to slaughter. Lucifer vastly underestimated his dual Element Apex Core. He laughed at himself as he finally finished off the bleeding and whimpering Black Eyed Basalt. He never could have imagined that the Core itself would have two reserves of Mana inside of it. It appeared that the Apex Core had created both reserves for Light and Dark. So while Lucifer sparingly and expertly used his Mana in one reserve, the other would slowly replenish any lost Mana. Lucifer truly became a killing machine at this discovery and a blood lust addled brain told Lucifer to test his limits to the extreme. And he did. Tormenting the cobra so that it''s roars would bring more prey to him without him exerting any excess energy, he began his vicious plan. After only 30 minutes Lucifer had began a battle royale against over 5 different Serpente familia snakes. A Crimson Blood Viper, Purple Veined Boa, Alpine Constrictor, Shocktailed Serpent and a White Quad-Horned Mamba. Beasts all of the 4th Rank and Mid Order. And of the Fire, Earth, Ice, Lightning and Wind Elements respectively. All of these Beasts were tasked with the guarding of the young serpents Lucifer had massacred and now that the Black Eyed Basalt Cobra was heard fighting and calling for help, they too made an appearance. Luna never left her spot as she sensed Lucifer''s over joyed self in the grand battle. She could only shiver and begin to watch out for any other members of the Serpente familia for Lucifer. She decided only to warn him if they approached his location hoping that would ease his anger towards her. IM THE MAP (LOL) So I have no idea how to work this thingy so I''m gonna do this. https://goo.gl/photos/EvMTi3AqKteVJw4YA This is the link to my map of Gaies!!!! While Farror is the only labeled continent, trust me when I say the whole thing is too much! Especially when I can''t figure out how to make it bigger than 1600x887If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Hopefully you all can view it either via mobile or desktop. Lemme know what you all think of it! I have a coloured version and a geographical one (with all the mountainous regions and that shit) done too so tell me if you want them too! Chapter 21 Enter Muselpine (Unedited) Crimson blood covered Lucifer as he sat on a scaly white carcass. His breathing laboured and strained yet a small smile on his face made all the exhaustion he felt worthwhile. His wings lay battered and torn behind him as he sat. His tail lay limp over the round body he sat on. The Styxlion leather outfit he previously wore under his Aqua Fang armour was completely shredded. The armour lay scattered and broken around the battlefield. Along with the limp and unnaturally bent corpses of giant Serpente Beasts, Lucifer¡¯s gear lay broken or stuck among the Beasts. Over 35 different corpses lay strewn over the bloody scene of the death match Lucifer held with the Beasts. Ranging from the 3rd Low Order to the 4th Mid Order, the corpses numbered many. Only a legion of troops could match the combat power of those 35 different Beasts. With their mighty size and dangerous bodies, the Beasts truly held the statistical advantage over the sentient races. But against the monstrosity that is Lucifer? These fear inducing serpents became the sacrificial offering for Lucifer¡¯s baptism of blood! With exhaustion and being truly baptised, Lucifer allowed the warm rays of the sun to warm his tired body. Seemingly without care he lounged amid the corpses on the body of the most troublesome foe he faced. The White Quad-Horned Mamba. A champion and lieutenant of the Serpente familia. With a savage four horned head and a ivory white scale hide, the Mamba was a deadly serpent. With poison that literally ate through steel, and a body that could rival even the most robust defence, the White Quad-Horned Mamba lived up to its deadly reputation. ¡°Thank you Serpente, for being the first sacrifice to my Wrath.¡± Lucifer muttered as he raised his hand to block the sun from his eyes. He lazily opened his eyes and gazed at his scaled hand outlined by the sun''s light. ¡°Soon the rest of the world will follow you.¡± Lucifer proceeded to casually rise from his rest. With his usual set of stretches he examined his body''s damages. Torn wing membrane, 3 cracked ribs, sprained ankle, and a dislocated shoulder. He checked his Mana and noticed he only had enough to bring his body to travel condition. But not enough to enter his peak state. Sighing bitterly, he began his Mana Reconstruction, his version of the Light spell: [Light Healing]. His remaining Mana instantly began to course through his body, beginning to repair his battered body. Prioritizing his wings and limb damages, he slapped his shoulder into place with a gruff snort. Within minutes his body became healed save for the crack in one of his ribs. ¡°Luna! Where the fuck is that pup now?¡± Lucifer cursed as he prepared to leave the battleground. ¡°You should at least take the Snake Neidan from all these corpses. It is the most valuable and sought after rarity of the Serpente familia.¡± Luna''s voice chimed in his mind as she sauntered out of the shadows of one of the corpses. ¡°The Snake Neidan is the accumulation of their poison and vital essence. You know reptiles live longer than any other species because of this Neidan?¡± ¡°Where is it in the body?¡± Lucifer questioned with keen interest. ¡°Next to the poison sacs.¡± Soon Lucifer held 20 fist sized pearls of different colours. Some were green, some were red while others were blue. With a few simple instructions from Luna, Lucifer began to swallow the neidans one after another. Starting with the red first, followed by the green, Lucifer finished the blue pearls last. As he finished swallowing the Neidan pearls Lucifer felt a warm soothing feeling spread throughout his body. Like a drop of nectar, the neidans gave Lucifer a rush of power and helped recover his exhausted Mana. Recharged and now fully healed, Lucifer felt ready to continue his self waged war against the Anguis Chain. ¡°Luna give me more targets to attack. I''ll give you half the neidans as compensation.¡± Lucifer bargained as he flexed his wings making sure they were flight ready. ¡°Fine. But we have to make it across the mountains within the next two months for your Academy exam.¡± Luna sighed as she shook her head. ¡°What use is the Academy for me now? I have an Apex Core and it is not the kind of thing I can hide. Levin and the Trade will instantly catch me once I make an appearance for the exam.¡± Lucifer with a dull voice. ¡°It is totally unrealistic to make the journey there now.¡± ¡°Read the letters you got from the two-legs then. They should have some sort of direction advised within them.¡± Luna tried to reason with him as she prayed that he would at least get some sort of purpose from them. ¡°Fuck! I hope the letters survived the battle!¡± Lucifer began to scramble as he began to pat himself down. ¡°Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck. Fucking stupid Lucifer how the fuck could you forget the letters!¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Fuck fuck fuck.¡± Lucifer continued cursing as he desperately searched each of the remaining pockets of his gear for the letters. ¡°Oh my fucking lord, you actually forgot the letters.¡± Luna screamed as her pent up stress blew up. ¡°Watch it pup! I had to deal with a lot of fucking shit lately. Your passive aggressive, antisocial bullshit. The fucking death of my loyal minion, thank you for that by the way. The creation of my primal magics. The damn well near impossible act of forming an Apex Core. And now we get to here, the place I stated I''d wage war and leave my everlasting mark. So I have a bit of a problem right now.¡± Lucifer snapped back as he finally found the letters that were slightly burned and very crumpled. ¡°Well I''m sorry you let your fucking emotions control you. Fuck Lucifer I am sorry I acted the way I did. Just let it go and let''s move forward.¡± Luna snorted as she once again apologized for her previous behavior. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°It ain''t that simple sunshine.¡± Lucifer sighed while shaking his head. He then glared at Luna from beneath his thin eyebrows. ¡°I am going to make this fucking crystal clear right now. You. Are a wolf; albeit a very powerful wolf, a wolf nonetheless. I will never see you as a mate, unless you grow scales and walk upright. If anything you are only my little sister. Please for the love of Gaies, understand that!¡± ¡°What the fuck do you mean by that!¡± ¡°You fucking know what I mean! Don''t think I can''t smell the pheromones you release just like Yue and Ethel did! You all just want my fucking seed. Well fuck that.¡± Lucifer shouted in disgust and anger. He toned down and gently continued. ¡°You will always be family to me but not my mate Luna.¡± ¡°Like I want to release those scents! It''s only your strength that attracts me, so get a grip already.¡± Luna sobbed as her biggest secret was exposed to the world. ¡°Whatever. Just stop fucking scenting me, it''s a pain in the ass to constantly purge myself of them.¡± Lucifer sighed as he saw no further need to scold the young Shadow Queen before him. With a scoff he took flight with his large and powerful wings beating towards the west. Luckily Luna had already entered his shadow or else he''d have left her behind in his anger. As he flew he took out the letter addressed from Eric with nostalgia sweeping his mind. Opening the parchment as he glided through the air, Lucifer began to read the precious penmanship that Eric had left him. ¡°Lucifer you probably forgot about this paper eh? Well I won''t laugh at you but I am smirking my boy. How are you holding up? Eating well? Making friends yet? Not destroying ecosystems?¡± Lucifer couldn''t help but cringe as he read the first few lines of the letter. ¡°I bet you are only eating well you big brat. Well you''re old enough to make your own decisions. Most leave the house at 18 but you, you are much greater than those late bloomers. You have survived since day one on your own. You are truly ready to take your place in Gaies if you ask me.¡± Sentiment welled up in Lucifer as he continued reading after a cursory scan of the sky for any predators. ¡°I bet you don''t see the point the point of going to Academy anymore. Now that Yue, Jasmine and I are not there to constantly hound you about it. But I still strongly urge you to go there, while your location will become known to the Trade, it will also protect you. A genius is always protected by those old codgers in the Academy. I have pulled some strings and got my senior brother to come to Muselpine for the academic exam. I know you''ll head there if you still have any sense left in that brain of yours.¡± Eric seemed to foresee everything and made in depth plans for Lucifer. And the thoughts and care he did were not lost on the young boy. ¡°Another reason for you to head to Yulrig, is the rumor of the Nephilim¡¯s having people there. While I can''t verify the truth of that it is still highly likely. They probably intend to find any long lost descendants among the student body. But still the biggest reason for you to go is because it is your father''s last spotted location. Four years after your birth he stayed there and taught the way of the halberd for an entire year. That was when the assassins finally became too troublesome to continue his tenure there. So go find some answers there. I''ll send a letter to the Academy if I find any news while I am out dealing with my business. Boy you better write back to me! Just give your letter to my senior brother or master, they know how to reach me. I promise I''ll only stop replying once I''m dead, and didn''t you swear to be the one to best me in combat? If I die before you do you''ll never be able to beat me! Ahhhh I can just picture your face right now! Boy go learn in the Academy, I''ll find you there in 8 years.¡± Lucifer closed his eyes and began to allow his body to free fall, while it clutched the letter to his chest. With the wind ripping at his ragged clothes and threatening to tear the rest of it off, he lost himself in the memory of Eric. He plummeted like a rock towards the ground without care nor worry plaguing him. Only the longing he felt for the human that raised and befriended him was present in his mind. ¡°Will you survive in this cursed world long enough to meet me again?¡± He whispered as he spun his body and opened his wings, catching the air and drastically slowing down his insane drop. ¡°Fine then, I will go to the Academy and see what exactly there is for me to see and experience. You better be there in 8 years Eric, or so help me I will raze Farror to ashes if you aren''t.¡± Lucifer continued to fly unimpeded through the Anguis Chain even after he initiated two more massacres. Luna shared her suspicion that the Serpente must obviously have some heaven shaking event happening, why they didn''t lead a hit squad to retaliate to his self made war. With that sneaking thought in mind Lucifer flew for 10 days before finally seeing the end of the Anguis Chain. A journey that would normally take months if done by foot. Landing gently Lucifer stood at the exit of the mountains covered in a makeshift black leather cloak that had an open back to allow his wings to be free. He had skinned one of his many serpentine kills for the hide to make the cloak. Only allowing his wings and tail to be visible he walked along the main road to Zanigan, where he would sell his excess neidans and then head to Az Citadel. With over 100 of the fist sized pearls wrapped in a bag of the same black leather slung over his shoulder he walked. With the intent to see how passerby¡¯s reacted to him he completely restrained his power. Soon though he caught sight of a group of men suspiciously standing around the road. Smirking to himself, Lucifer showed no reaction other than spreading his massive wings out as far as they''d go. Lucifer could see the group''s intentions slowly change from offensive to apprehensive as he moved closer to them. ¡°Fucking hell! What the fuck is a dragon spawn doing here!¡± Lucifer heard one of the men curse out. But that only elicited a slight chuckle from him as he began to flex his clawed hands and whip his tail back and forth like an excited cat. Lucifer¡¯s seemingly harmless chuckle came out far more sinister than he ever meant. The group of highwaymen instantly became terrified and began to back away into the underbrush along the roadside. Though this only made the urge to hunt them grow in Lucifer. With a savage roar the hunt began as Lucifer took off in the direction of the majority of bandits! With ease he threw out Dark [Elemental Spears]. Like falcons diving for their prey, the spears sailed through the air and into three of the now running bandits. ¡°So weak and you planned to rob me even after seeing my wings? Pathetic.¡± Lucifer scolded the dead as continued to hunt the remaining bandits. Lucifer threw a single spear for every single prey he marked, none needed a second strike to die. Precise and deadly was Lucifer while he hunted. In seconds he had annihilated the would be bandits. Bitterly shaking his head full of disappointment, Lucifer pressed on with his march. Days full of boring walking; with the occasional Mana boosted sprint, Lucifer made his way to Zanigan. The City of Steel, Zanigan. Where the metal ores flowed like salt, the city was built upon solid bedrock and the second largest natural mineral vein in the entire continent of Farror. If not for Muselpine''s insane trade regulations, the city would be the most ideal location for Alchemists besides the Trade Headquarters. Many orcs and humans could be seen among the draconic population. The orcs and humans come from Lovita to buy the precious ores of Zanigan. The orcs do it for their shamans and chieftains to have materials for their Alchemy. While the humans are constantly using metals for their never ending wars and conquests. With most of Lovita being human land, the orcs and elves of the continent are under constant threat of war. If any human country began to attack their lands, the rest of the human countries would take over theirs. This created a powder keg of diplomatic issues for Lovita. So the lands of Farror capitalized on the ever growing tension and began trading precious resources to their neighbor continent. With Muselpine, Bolstadt and Levin Empire leading the charge the rest of Farror; save Fogra¡¯stol, began sending their excess minerals, lumber and even slaves to the land across the ocean. Lucifer now stood at the gates to the great Zanigan of Muselpine. With the surrounding people kneeling before him as he stood with his cloak still over his head. Just seeing his large, muscular frame and giant golden wings was enough to send the people into hysteria. They knew that the cloaked draconian before was of royal blood even with his hood. While they couldn''t understand the reason for his drab and wild clothing, they still could only remember to kneel in his presence. Even the city guards stood at attention with soldier''s salutes and weapons readied. Lucifer only cast a glance at the sight of the multitudes of people kneeling before him. It then he truly knew why his second Sin was Pride. The entire situation of strangers he never even met kneeling before him, felt comfortable and natural to him. It was as if his body and mind knew it was meant to rule and stand above all others, and it was only Lucifer who did not yet understand that. It was also then that Lucifer realized why Luna behaved the way she did before. It was the pride of an Apex that coursed through her veins. The same way he felt completely at ease before the kneeling crowd, she too felt like she stood above all. ¡°Leave.¡± Lucifer snarled as he realised that nothing could have changed what had happened between Luna and himself. With emotion filled steps, he entered the City of Steel. The people scrambled out of his way as his Mana infused voice shook the very air around the city gate. Even the guards trembled at the pressure of Lucifer''s power, they were all warriors of the Brown or Red Mana Purity. There was no way Lucifer''s Yellow Purity would not rattle and shake their bodies, even without the added power of his Squire level Core. ¡°You there,¡± Lucifer called out the guard with the most ornate armour that appeared to be in charge. ¡°Take me to the Trade outpost here.¡± And with that simple command Lucifer''s stay in Zanigan began. Chapter 22 Treasure of Anguis (Unedited) ¡°M¡¯lord, with the amount of neidans you are selling, it would be better to wait for our auction. You will be able to get an amazing amount of money for such fresh and pristine neidans. They are less than a month old so the value will most assuredly be tripled in the auction room!¡± An immaculately dressed dwarf proudly told Lucifer after being handed the sack full of precious pearls. ¡°When?¡± Lucifer continued to speak gruffly and bluntly as he did before. He saw no reason to speak with flowery etiquette as Yue had taught was the norm for royal blood. ¡°Uh m¡¯lord the auction is being held in three days. It will be done in the amphitheater to the north of here, you can''t miss it.¡± The dwarven salesman answered with grace and dignity after his initial stumble at Lucifer''s borderline rudeness. ¡°Good, I want to know where your best Rank 4 and above Alchemists are. I have a request for them.¡± Lucifer wasted no time and got right to the main reason he had even dared to enter the Trade. The acquisition of a new weapon. His glaive and executioners blade had been destroyed during his venture in the Anguis Chain. ¡°M¡¯lord, the Alchemist Landing is two floors up from here, would you like me to guide you there?¡± The stout well dressed dwarf spoke while he motioned with his arm towards the staircase leading upwards. ¡°Appreciated, let''s go see the Landing then.¡± ¡°Right this way.¡± Bowed the dwarf as he began leading Lucifer towards the Alchemist¡¯s Landing. Upon reaching the Landing, Lucifer bore witness to an unheard of event. A human Alchemist had marched right up to him and began to accost him with an overly aggressive voice. ¡°What do you want lizard?¡± The young Alchemist demanded after seeing the seemingly ragged cloak Lucifer wore. It seemed this human could not stand the fact that a poor draconian had dared to enter the prestigious Alchemist Landing. Hrrrrrrrrrrg A savage beastial snarl ripped itself through the now silent Landing. All the warriors and Alchemists present had their full attention on Lucifer and the young human before him. ¡°Don''t even think of starting a commotion here! This is the Trade and I''m an Alchemist! If you don''t want your pathetic reptilian life to be over-¡± The Alchemist began to goad and taunt Lucifer into breaking the Trade¡¯s rule of no violence. But alas Lucifer cared not for any so called rules. Even the best dressed dwarven Trade operative, treated him with the utmost respect. Only the tiny 5¡¯6¡± human before him dared desecrate his Pride. Whooooosh ¡°Humans are always so noisy. Master Dwarf, is this one not a perfect example?¡± Like a gust of wind Lucifer¡¯s large black golden wings burst out. His scaled gauntlet of a hand plucked the Alchemist off the ground by his neck, and held him almost an entire foot off the floor. Cold and callous words flooded the ears of everyone present, they were so laced with venom that the surrounding humans couldn''t help but inwardly step back in fright. ¡°Uhh, yes very much so m¡¯lord!¡± The dwarven operative stuttered as he tried to think of the best way to diffuse the situation before the idiot of a human, got himself killed. But then again, it would rid the Trade of a pesky and arrogant Alchemist. ¡°Maybe I should tear out his tongue, to make the rest of this noisy race a bit quieter.¡± Lucifer continued to speak with the same venomous tongue as he started to think of how best to destroy the ant in his grasp. ¡°Lord Draconian, he is an Alchemist of only the 1st rank. His death is nothing to be worried over, killing him is the best method of dealing with their kind.¡± Chimed in a new speaker. Turning to see who dared to speak in his presence Lucifer was startled to find another cloaked figure standing the exact same height as himself. The figure neither bowed nor showed any outward servility when speaking with him, Lucifer assumed that the speaker was similar to himself. An incognito royal or noble. So with a hint of amusement Lucifer chose to see what the new addition had to offer. ¡°Well stranger, my hands are too good to kill this trash. Would you be so kind to assist me, in the removal of a noisy primate?¡± Lucifer questioned the strange newcomer. ¡°Oh, Lord Draconian. I thought you''d never ask.¡± The stranger spoke out with a melodious voice that contained no end of excitement. ¡°WAIT! I''m an Alche-¡± The human gasped as Lucifer dropped him to the floor. Sliiiiiiiiiice But only the cold ring of a blade sliding out of its sheath answered. ¡°Stranger your bladework is praiseworthy. After my requisition is completed I hope to have the chance to learn more about it.¡± Lucifer spoke with burning anticipation. Maybe only he saw the true beauty of the lightning fast slice, but what he saw was truly astounding. A blade designed like a katana with a long half meter length hilt. The weapon was almost like a cross between both a zweihander and a katana. But the agility it possessed in this stranger''s hands made any thoughts Lucifer had of the long weapon being slow. ¡°Hopefully the Alchemists here can make something befitting of one as powerful as you Lord Draconian. I believe we will be able to cross blades in the near future. For now I must leave, as regrettable as it is to not be able to fight such a powerhouse. My name and salutations will have to suffice. Please call me Bael.¡± The stranger named himself with an obvious royal flare. The name could very well have been a pseudonym but he wore it well. Even under a cloaked hood, his dramatic and articulate personality could not be hidden. This Bael was truly fit for his name. ¡°The King of Hell, Bael. Amazing name. Please call me Lucifer.¡± Lucifer clapped with delight at the marvel of the name. He even used his own name just to match with Bael. ¡°An equally impressive name, Lucifer the First Angel.¡± Bael exclaimed with a roaring laughter. ¡°Seems that great people share equally great names my friend.¡± Lucifer shared the laugh as he walked forward and offered his hand in a show of goodwill. ¡°Indeed it does, farewell Lord Lucifer till we meet again.¡± Bael gracefully returned his gesture with a strong and firm handshake. ¡°The same to you King Bael.¡± Lucifer said quietly as he watched the strange Bael, walk out of the Alchemist Landing. ¡°Now is there any Alchemist capable of forging White Quad-Horned Mamba fangs in this Landing?¡± Lucifer''s Mana infused voice rang out as the excitement from Bael¡¯s appearance died down. ¡°...¡± ¡°No one? Is there anyone capable of using Drake Viper scales?¡± He continued to call out, with his voice several degrees colder though. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. ¡°M¡¯lord, the question you ask is too broad. The Alchemists of the Trade, do much more than just ''forge¡¯ Beast materials. They create weapons of warriors!¡± The previously silent dwarf that brought him to the Landing finally broke the silence. ¡°Fine any Alchemist specialized in manufacturing glaives and light armour please let me know. I have fresh neidans as means of payment.¡± Lucifer spoke annoyed by the lack of answers. As soon as the words ''fresh neidans¡¯ left Lucifer''s mouth tens of Alchemists instantly swarmed him, offering their services. Quickly a bidding war for how many neidans they would work for began between the Alchemists. ¡°100 neidans and I''ll give you the best glaive in the City of Steel boy.¡± Spoke an aged yet powerful voice. As the voice bounced off the eardrums of everyone present, silence reigned in the previously rowdy Landing. Seeing the solemn and respectful atmosphere take hold of the Landing, Lucifer too became respectful and called out to the room. ¡°Venerable. If you want 100 fresh neidans then I''d say wait till the auction.¡± Lucifer spoke bluntly. ¡°But seeing as you are offering the best glaive in the entirety of Zanigan. I''d have to accept your offer, regardless of the risk of having such a prized weapon.¡± ¡°Only a true warrior could handle it anyways. If you can''t keep it safe then you have no right to use it.¡± ¡°GOOD! Let us conduct business, Venerable!¡± Lucifer exclaimed in pride as he heard the sage like words that the solemn voice spoke. In response to Lucifer''s excited answer, the dwarf who lead him to the Landing bowed and proceeded to lead him towards another set of stairs. Lucifer seeing as the dwarf chose not to climb, could only forge ahead into the dimly lit staircase going higher into the Trade building. Walking up the dark spiraling staircase he was lead to, Lucifer took careful steps. His senses heightened to their limits as he prepared himself to face this mystery Alchemist. The stairs took Lucifer to an open floor. There were no people anywhere in sight, but Lucifer knew that there was someone sitting in the middle of the empty room. His vision saw the intent that the person released: peace. But Lucifer refused to believe that someone capable of hiding themselves from his dragon eye, were beings to lower his guard around. So he stared at the figure and his wings slowly extended as he crouched into a combat stance. ¡°Intriguing.¡± The person said in the same voice that he had heard earlier on the Landing. ¡°Whatever do you mean Venerable?¡± Lucifer gambled as he began getting ready for a fight. ¡°You are the second to be able to see me after that Bael. The Academic exam always brings in amazing talents but this year, monsters are coming.¡± Chuckled the stoic voice. ¡°Enough. You need not worry about a fight. If I wanted you dead, do you believe I am incapable of making it so?¡± ¡°Honestly? You would have to risk the death of thousands and the destruction of your precious Trade Outpost, if you want my life. I will not die easy.¡± Lucifer spoke casually as his tail flicked sharply in the air. ¡°You draconians are always so prideful. Boy, give me the neidans and I''ll give you the glaive.¡± ¡°Venerable, shouldn''t you let me see the weapon first?¡± ¡°I''ll be making it after so I don''t see how that is right hatchling.¡± The man rose with those words and so to did the light in the empty floor. A plain wooden room was all Lucifer could see. Except for the large crucible and cauldron that stood behind the man, there was truly nothing else in the room. ¡°Oi! Old man, what the hell is this? You don''t even know my specifications and you say it will be the best in all of Zanigan.¡± Lucifer finally let out his frustration upon seeing the barren room. There was no way an Alchemist could work with only a crucible and a cauldron. And make something of the magnitude as his glaive, it was absolutely impossible for Lucifer to believe. ¡°There it is! You young ones always use that pretentious formality with me. I finally got one of you to break!¡± The man keeled over in laughter. Lucifer was able to make out his features now with the increased light. The man was human as far as Lucifer could tell, a large reddish grey beard covered most of his face. His eyes were a light auburn colour while his brows and scalp lay devoid of any hair. A large black robe covered his body but his large and muscular physique could not be hidden. Standing slightly taller than Lucifer at 6¡¯4¡± the man was the tallest human Lucifer had ever seen. ¡°Well boy, you done sizing me up yet?¡± The man continued to chuckle much to Lucifer''s embarrassment. ¡°Hey geezer, how strong are you?¡± Lucifer asked as he felt an uncanny feeling that the man before him was at least a General. ¡°Well hatchling, what does your instincts say?¡± ¡°Green, no Blue General or Arch-Magus at least.¡± Lucifer reasoned with the strange man. ¡°Very keen senses you have there. But alas I am only a Green Demi-Sage. At 40 years old, I''m only at this level.¡± Lamented the man as he shook his head before turning and began tinkering with the crucible. ¡°Hey I still don''t know your name Demi-Sage.¡± ¡°Ah! The name I am oh so blessed to have is Kain. Kain Talcott. Pleasure to make the acquaintance of such a prestigious draconian such as yourself, Lucifer.¡± ¡°Besides the creepiness of you already knowing my name, let''s get down to the real business Demi-Sage Talcott. I need a monster''s glaive. Four times heavier than your heaviest 4th rank greataxe. Around 8 feet in length, blade included. It has to be able to fend off the direct blows of any Beast below the 5th Rank. I also need a sword for close quarters. Before I used an executioner''s blade. I take it you can come up with a suitable replacement?¡± ¡°Hmm with those specifications, instead of a weapon why don''t you just throw rocks and trees around? Boy I know exactly how strong you are. Don''t even try to hide your Yellow Squire strength from me. I will make you a true war glaive, not this club you want. But a weapon for cleaving the earth asunder. Your sword though, pick one up somewhere else. I''m giving you the best glaive and you actually still need a sword, bullshit.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Alright then Demi-Sage Talcott. Let me witness a true war glaive.¡± ¡°For a true war glaive with your size and given the fact you don''t have true glaive training¡­ I''ll charge you 113 neidans. That should be fair considering the quality of it being a 5th rank weapon.¡± ¡°Indeed that is very fair, Demi-¡± ¡°Fuck brat! Don''t say my whole fucking title every sentence! Just call me old man Kain or some other shit you young people say!¡± ¡°Uh sure? I''ll call you old man Kain, if you want.¡± ¡°Well that''s better. I hate those fucking pleasantries and over the top formalities.¡± ¡°Ahahaha agreed, Mr Kain.¡± ¡°Good boy!¡± ¡°Here.¡± ¡°It''s my sigil, you''ll be able to get a free room through the Trade with it. Should save you some trouble while you take the exam.¡± ¡°You sure it''s alright for me to have this?¡± ¡°It''s wouldn''t give it to you if it wasn''t now would I? Go on get. I have a war glaive to make!¡± Dumbfound Lucifer found himself sitting in a luxurious inn suite. He could scarcely comprehend the mannerisms of the time honoured Demi-Sage. Where was the prestige someone of his strength and power should have? Weren¡¯t powerhouses supposed to be full of mighty presence and have unfathomable depth? Lucifer could not accept that someone of such magnitude, being so free spirited and unrestrained. All of his own dreams of seeing the magnificent demeanor of true warrior, lay in broke crumbled pieces around him. But the thoughts and words of Kain Talcott whispered after he assumed Lucifer was out of earshot were what truly made Lucifer upset. ¡°Boy, with your talent you will find maybe five true rivals in your entire life. But do not let that stop you from pursuing the zenith of power. I don''t know your past, your current nor your future but if you at your age can already stand here, then you are destined for great things.¡± While these words may seem full of expectation and support, Lucifer however saw the flaw they created. If Kain knew his real age and heritage, would those be the same words spoken? Would a man of humanity truly let off a Nephilim born hybrid? And even go as far as to give such praise and place such hope in him? Lucifer felt almost overwhelming inner conflict. He was bordering 11 years of age. He had the strength to be virtually unhindered in Squire stage. His physical body was already enough to allow him to fight fairly with any Initiate warrior without the use of Mana. His vision itself being akin to a miracle, he could see other''s intentions and also had the clarity and power of a dragon. The scales that covered his forearms, hands, shins and feet were as hard as any Rank 2 Beast hide. Wings made for aerial combat; a tail that allowed for perfect balance as well as a lethal weapon, added on to the already massive body that befitted someone double his age. Lucifer felt empty inside as he thought of his place in the world. He could not be open with anyone, even family was not safe for him. A normal childhood would never be possible for him, even finding a proper mate would likely be impossible. Only battle and bloodshed lay before him. While that was still a positive for Lucifer, it truly made him think about why the Academy would be a place for him. While the other students may be older than him, he may be able to deal with the budding longing he felt for ''two-leg¡¯ company. Thinking of other students, Lucifer immediately thought of Bael. Bael would likely be close enough to Lucifer''s level to produce some challenge if he limited himself. He saw the skill that Bael showed in his iaido. And it was immense, bordering on what he could see from Eric. If what Kain had said about them both being monsters was true, then Bael was also young enough to attend the Academy. Lucifer knew now why everyone around him urged him to attend the Academy even though he was considered an abomination, it was so he could find ''something¡¯ to escape the darkness that would be his life. If he could make even one friend besides Luna, then it was worth it for him. He wouldn''t have to be alone anymore. Soon sleep took hold of his wayward thoughts and guided him into it''s peaceful embrace. Lucifer had the deepest sleep he had since Eric''s departure that night. While he slept, Kain was busy forging a true war glaive. A weapon held by the truly powerful warriors for battling against armies and the monstrous Beasts of the Beast Kingdom. A weapon named for its prowess on the battlefield, a weapon for harvesting lives like wheat to a scythe. ¡°That Lucifer. Truly better than Eric''s letter had said. At 11 he is already a Squire, only his arrogance and ignorance truly ruin him. Did he actually believe he could hide his presence even from me? Bah!¡± Kain scolded as he laboured over the scorching crucible. ¡°If a hatchling like him could hide from me, I wouldn''t be worthy of being a Demi-Sage. But still a Yellow Purity, how in Gaies¡¯ name did he manage that?¡± The musings of the man continued into the night as he meticulously forged the war glaive. The weapon that would one day allow Lucifer to rend a mountain apart and cleave a river in two. Chapter 23 Depression (Unedited) Kain Talcott, Green Demi-Sage of the Fire Element. A human with an almost unnatural affinity towards the inferno. At the age of 40 he had stagnated his meteoric rise in power. As a child he was considered a spear prodigy, known for his extreme talent with the long weapon Kain was able to make his name known throughout Gosrad as a once in a decade genius. Even before entering into the ranks of Magus, Kain was able to use purely his spear play and Fire Element to dominate almost all adversaries. But his power brought ruin to the family around him, after numerous declines to join the Gosrad army, the army then chose to ¡®coerce¡¯ him with the use of his family. At 12 his mother and father were killed in a demonstration of the consequence his denial had. At 16 his sister was forced to ¡®serve¡¯ as the soldier¡¯s relief worker. She later committed suicide. With all of these events, Kain Talcott fled Gosrad and joined the Elemental Academy. With the aid of the Academy the Gosradian army was left stonewalled and eventually left with no other choice but to forget about the spear genius known as Kain Talcott. After the death of his family, Kain withdrew into the martial way. He became a reclusive weapons expert that shook the Academy with his amazing skills as a junior student. Though never competing openly, his prestige was never questioned. Eventually an old dwarven warrior took interest in the human that had grew to hate his fellow people. With a bit of time and effort the two entered into a master and disciple relationship, the dwarf was a true master of the staff. He taught Kain much on the art of the polearm, even passing on some of his most secret of techniques to the young boy. It was this dwarven warrior that allowed Kain to let go of his hatred and grew to accept others into his life. The first person being his master and the second being his junior brother, Eric Teslan. This was the connection between the young Lucifer and Kain Talcott. It was also thanks to Eric that Kain had come to Muselpine. Though their meeting place was different than expected by Kain, the two still met. While Kain had recently taken up the mantle of Alchemist after Eric had parted with him, he was still very talented in the abstract art, so with his deep and profound knowledge of polearms and true war armaments he was able to make much more profound weapons. Other Alchemists could scarcely hold a candle to his weapons, even when other Alchemists possessed a stronger and more refined base, Kain¡¯s creations were truly meant for battle and that could not be changed even with the most precious materials. Kain slaved away over the scorching heat of the crucible as he began creating the warglaive¡¯s head. Using the fangs and horns of a 5th Rank Heracles Ravager; a Beast known to decimate entire ecosystems, with black iron ore Kain created the molten liquid that would be later used to form the head of the weapon. His cauldron was busy tempering the staff of the warglaive. A log of Letwood bathed in the bubbling vat of the 10 foot wide cauldron. Kain was using the marrow and blood of a peak Goldtail Tiger to treat the Letwood and allow it to become supple yet firm enough to be used as the staff of the mighty warglaive. Lucifer spent 3 days waiting in the suite for Kain to create his weapon. Even going so far as to order the maid looking after his room, to bring all his meals to the room for him. All that consumed Lucifer was the thoughts of what his life would become, and where he would go. Thoughts of isolating himself in the far reaches of the Beast Kingdom soon became prevalent in the young boy¡¯s mind. While Lucifer truly loved the life of a Beast, he too loved the life of a warrior. The struggle and battle that came from war, hunting, living truly appealed to him. But Lucifer realised that even if he tried, he could live as such. He was bound to the life of man. He wanted to live with his mother and father. He wanted to meet them. He wanted to learn about the world around him. He wanted to explore the world. But there were so many that wanted him dead and he was so weak against their strength. Both his grandfathers were said to be Purple Saints. His grandmother on his mother¡¯s side was a Blue Arch-Sage, while nothing was known about his father¡¯s mother she was still rumored to be just as strong. Lucifer could not withstand even their presence at his current state. Regardless of his so called unparalleled talent, Lucifer was still very weak in front of the true rulers of the world. He could not demand anything from the Nephilims or Levin Empire, he could only run from bounty hunters and his mother¡¯s family while praying that they didn¡¯t send anyone stronger than himself. Yue, Jasmine and Eric left him not only to pursue their own matters but also because he would soon outgrow them. He could already match a common Brown Knight or Magus, but that truly meant little in the face of the experts that were after him. Only the weak city guards could be entirely disregarded by Lucifer, not the military that backed the countries of Gaies. ¡°Luna, I know that you hate the city but can you come out of my shadow?¡± Lucifer called out to the empty room he currently lay in. ¡°What made you remember about me finally?¡± Luna spoke bitterly as she stepped out of his shadow and lay down in the dark corner of the room. ¡°I have been thinking about things.¡± Lucifer spoke slowly. ¡°About what I am and the future that lies ahead of me. I cannot be a normal man, growing old and settling down to raise a family after years of plying my trade. I cannot have a normal mate. I cannot even feel the ¡®emotions¡¯ others feel at my age. I am a monster to others with similar heritage as myself. The entire world would have me dead if my existence became widespread. Luna tell me what I should do as such an abomination? Should I let my life be taken from me and give up this seemingly futile struggle or should I just destroy everything and everyone? Both of these choices are wrong, I know that. But I cannot just continue like this.¡± ¡°Where did this all come from Lucifer, you are only 11! You do not need to be considering your life now. That is what old men do when they have become so old that they cannot work and are not old enough to die peacefully. Tell me what brought these depressing thoughts?¡± ¡°That old man. His words. He said that I would not have many rivals and that I would do great things. But how could he have known what I am inside! He probably thought I was some 16 old warrior about to go to the Academy not an 11 year old monster!¡± Lucifer snapped with rage and sadness flickering across his heterochromic eyes. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. ¡°Lucifer, there are so many things in this world that you cannot even begin to fathom. The depth and mystery that Gaies holds is truly amazing. Come let me show you what I know, we can explore and live in the wilds of the Beast Kingdom. You lived before without two-legs and you can do it again can¡¯t you?¡± Luna pleaded as she bounded into Lucifer¡¯s chest and began to rub her soft and luxurious fur on him. ¡°How can it be that easy Luna? The only reason I am not dead yet is because I had Eric and the others to watch over me. Now? I am alone, I do have you but what can you do against anyone capable of besting me? Nothing. I need to go to the Academy to have safety, but what about after? Should I stay there till I can rival my grandparents? No! I will never become truly strong by living under another¡¯s wing.¡± Lucifer roared in shame and humiliation as the grim reality of his life truly grasped him. He had nothing but unnatural strength going for him. Nobody to give love to, nobody to be loved by, nobody at all. Only a stray wolf pup he rescued could keep him true company, and he only thought of her as little sister. He could not even begin to imagine her as anything other than what she was, and he knew that asking the King of Beasts to turn her human was an impossible idea. Not that he hadn¡¯t once dreamt of doing such a thing, but now he truly could see the folly of his immature idealizations. Luna kept silent as she saw the tears that steadily flowed out of Lucifer¡¯s eyes. There were no words that she could say to him, she was the same. She was abandoned and had latched on to Lucifer in hopes of finding companionship much the same as he now desperately longed for an equal and one to give his care for. As much as Luna loved and wanted Lucifer for herself, she could not outright demand he keep himself for her. It would ruin what bond they had left after the near catastrophic fight swept through their relationship. ¡°Luna tell me what is the point of my life? Is it to be an object of hate and fear or do I actually have a role in this fucked up world?¡± Sobbed Lucifer as he buried his face in her fur and grabbed her with large hands. Just as Luna was about to respond to the sobs of Lucifer, there was a knocking at the room¡¯s door. Both Luna and Lucifer leapt out of the bed and took on a combat ready poise, the years of life in Talk Forest showing itself through their natural response to sudden noises. ¡°Who?¡± Lucifer called out after a slight pause to steady his voice and self. ¡°A master Talcott, is awaiting you in the dining area m¡¯lord.¡± Called the maid from outside of the room. She dared not open the door without the express permission of Lucifer. ¡°Tell him I will be down shortly.¡± ¡°It shall be done m¡¯lord.¡± The maid responded respectfully as she took her leave to complete her new task. ¡°We will see Kain and then head for Az Citadel. I need no armour nor a sword if I am heading straight to the Academic examination. We will speak of this another time, I truly wish to forget these thoughts of mine.¡± Lucifer spoke blandly as he manipulated his Mana to clean his tear stained face. ¡°Very well brother, I will head out of the city and wait for you near the main road.¡± Luna said as she rubbed her head against his body before she leapt through the shadows of the dimly lit room. ¡°Time to see what a warglaive is, eh old man?¡± Lucifer spoke as he turned towards the door and left the lavish suite that constituted as his prison for the last few days. Walking down the hallway of the inn, Lucifer could hear the minstrel playing in the dining area on the floor below him. He could almost feel the strong overpowering scent of alcohol and smoked meat that saturated the wooden floor beams of the inn. He had never left his room because of the strong hearty scents that assaulted his extremely heightened senses, thus leading him into his depression riddled thoughts. Using his Mana as a stop gap measure, Lucifer directed Yellow Mana into his nasal passages to create quite the literal nose plug. While dreadfully inefficient the magical nose plug worked like a charm for him. The only downside being his reptilian tongue could taste the air and all that it carried, leaving Lucifer right back at square one. ¡°Hatchling!¡± Called Kain in an almost deafening Mana infused voice as he saw Lucifer¡¯s form descending the main stairs. But quite unexpected of the Demi-Sage, all eyes in the establishment turned to bear witness to who would call out so loud and rudely. Their shock that the one who caused such ruckus would be a royal draconian could be imagined. Even the minstrels broke character and ceased the music. ¡°Hush you old geezer!¡± Replied Lucifer in a low hiss, as his displeasure at the attention he was receiving grew. ¡°Oi! You idiots, get back to the music the hatchling hates the attention hahaha!¡± Kain bellowed in an almost mocking roar of laughter. Only silence continued as Kain began to laugh even more boisterously. It wasn''t until Lucifer began to growl menacingly and his tail began flipping tables with its back and forth whipping. ¡°Alright hatchling, let us be on our way. Your weapon is more perfect then I could have ever dreamed possible given the materials I had to work with.¡± The old man spoke between fits of laughter as he rose and motioned for Lucifer to follow him. ¡°Even with the parts of a Heracles Ravager and the potent Letwood, I still could never have thought that there could be such a weapon forged. I hope you see the beauty in it as well hatchling for you shall not see another warglaive like it in the entire world!¡± As the duo arrived in the room that served as Kain¡¯s workshop, the older man exclaimed quietly to Lucifer whose eyes lay riveted to the gleaming weapon in the middle of the room. A large 8¡¯6¡± hunk of power given physical form lied at the end of Lucifer¡¯s sight. Just gazing at the blackened yellow of the warglaive¡¯s curved scimitar like blade, made Lucifer almost drool. The pale black, almost charcoal coloured staff that held the blade gave Lucifer¡¯s fingers a trembling as he imagined the warglaive in his hands. With a single leap Lucifer leapt from Kain¡¯s side and arrived next to the weapon. His hands slowly reaching for the hilt as he slowly took in every simple yet elegant detail of the warglaive. Kain had only but a black tassel for design and flare on the base of the blade yet there was a majesty and prestige the simple weapon gave off. Maybe it was the absolutely rare and precious materials used in it¡¯s forging, but Lucifer could feel that the weapon before deserved his respect. His Sin of Pride still viewed the warglaive as an equal, despite the plain and simple looks. ¡°Demi-Sage Kain Talcott. What is her name?¡± Lucifer demanded as he turned and glared furiously from under his cloaked hood. All Kain could see was the savage grin that was plastered on the bottom half of Lucifer¡¯s face. With a slight chuckle the Demi-Sage answered Lucifer¡¯s demand. ¡°Name her yourself if you intend to use her as she was meant for.¡± ¡°Seorsum, asunder. No, no you are not a simple act. But a true vita messor and the morsus mihi. Messor Praenuntius, Harbinger of the Reaper. Take hold of your name Messor and let us fulfill our desire and purpose.¡± Lucifer whispered to the blade as he let his Yellow Mana rush into the warglaive that his fingers gently caressed. The powerful Mana surged like a tsunami through the Letwood shaft and began to form abstract characters around the pale black wood. The flood of Mana gradually made its way into the blade of the weapon and mark it with the ancient and primal characters. Messor the Harbinger, had been born into the world. As a weapon imbued with Mana and given a name in the ancient tongue, Messor became unique. She gained sentience. Chapter 24 Leta Messorem Telum (Unedited) Messor glistened in the torchlight of the room, she was truly a beautiful weapon. The Letwood that created her shaft, was a tree that grew only in areas saturated with intense amounts of Dark Element. After being soaked and treated in the marrow and blood of the Light Element Goldtail Tiger, the Letwood became supple while maintaining it¡¯s dense and strong qualities allowing for Messor to bend without breaking. A trait Kain added into account given the ridiculousness of Lucifer¡¯s might and from what Eric had spoken about the boy¡¯s martial style. The Heracles Ravager was the most vicious and aggressive Light Beast, found in the far reaches of the southern Farror. The Ravager possessed the body of a behemoth lion and was covered in ridiculously sharp and deadly spikes, added on to it¡¯s already savagely keen teeth that lined its entire maw. Heracles Ravagers are known as the herald of destruction, for when even its tracks are found, it foretells of the mass slaughter and havoc that will soon come to the land. With such powerful Beast parts used, Kain made the blade of the warglaive with an added bit of blacksteel, a sub form of the powerful steelicite ore. Blacksteel is steelicite that has formed with natural occurring Darkness Crystals, the two precious stones grow in tandem while the crystals act as a catalyst for the steelicite to create the powerful and rare blacksteel. With these contrasting ingredients Kain attempted to subvert common Alchemist procedure and use the Heracles Ravager ivory, Goldtail Tiger blood and marrow, Letwood and blacksteel to create a weapon that allowed for both Light and Dark Elements to be channeled through Messor. The result was almost as miraculous as Lucifer¡¯s existence. Messor could truly utilize both of the Elements while this may be useless to everyone else in Gaies, it was perfect for Lucifer. ¡°Lucifer Aeroic Khan. Heir apparent of the Levin throne. Young lord of the mighty Nephilim clan. Hybrid of the draconian and Nephilim peoples. Primarch of the Draconic Nephilims. Eric told me of you Lucifer but imagine my surprise when I find the would be hiding child, boldly walking into the trade and demanding a weapon be built.¡± The Demi-Sage spoke out as the torch fires all burned brighter and more intensely as if responding to the will of Kain. ¡°I figured you wouldn¡¯t know of what I really was.¡± Lucifer muttered as he was still entranced with the beauty of Messor. ¡°Pfft. If you a Yellow Squire could mask yourself from me, I would truly be ashamed. You have no idea the difference in power between the various ranks of power. Even as Magus, my physical body is still leagues above your own despite your natural superiority.¡± Kain scoffed with disdain towards Lucifer, as he leaned against the wall of the room. ¡°What! You mean anyone could have seen through my camouflage!¡± Lucifer finally roared as he left the entrancement of Messor and rounded on the Demi-Sage. Though his hand never released the warglaive. ¡°Oh my, you really think that you were so skilled and powerful that you could fool everyone? Even Bael is stronger than you, and I can place three other students at the Academy that could trounce you in any competition save hunting.¡± ¡°Impossible. They must at least be older than me by a good amount if what you say is true.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you go and find out? I bet you the cost of Messor; as you have named her, that Bael will defeat you in the practical part of the examination.¡± Kain taunted with a smirk as he looked with dull eyes at Lucifer. ¡°Fine then! I will show you my power, you old geezer.¡± Lucifer snarled as he stared at the man before him. ¡°Hatchling, Bael is special somewhat like you. While not being a hybrid, he is still a powerful beyond all others his age. Anyways, it''s not as if you will listen to me. Go downstairs and ask the dwarf from last time for the Beast carriage. It¡¯ll take you all the way to Az Citadel in half the time you would by walking. Plus you won¡¯t have to reveal your wings to anyone if you stay in the carriage and only exit for your exam.¡± Kain spoke with slight disinterest as he paced out of the room, leaving Lucifer to bore holes into his back with the boy¡¯s eyes. Lucifer sighed as he finally felt the pressure of Kain receding into nothingness. Kain¡¯s words were truly a wake up call for Lucifer, he had assumed that all people had terrible instincts just based on the extremely few interactions he has had with them. But to think that all the time there could have been someone just a fraction more powerful than him, seeing through his disguise. Lucifer took a deep breath trying to regain his composure. The lingering fear he felt as Kain released his Mana into the air, still hung tight to his heart. At that moment knew that he could no longer hide himself. The Trade knew who he was or at least they could figure out who he was easily. How many royal draconians could there be that perfectly matched his exact features? And then how hard would it be for the Trade to link his appearance with the missing child of Anise Levin? With guilt and shame hanging over his head Lucifer chose to heed the advice of Kain. He made his way down stairs and found the same dwarf from his last visit. ¡°I need a Beast carriage to the Elemental Academy¡¯s examination. Demi-Sage Talcott told me you would arrange everything.¡± Lucifer spoke lowly as he carried a now wrapped and hidden Messor in his hand towards the dwarf. ¡°M¡¯lord Lucifer, Master Talcott has truly given such instructions.¡± The dwarf said with a smile and a formal bow. ¡°The carriage is for four prospects that Master Talcott has given an exemption to the talent testing of the Academy. You and the three other potential students will be leaving within the hour for Az Citadel. You should be happy to know that your friend Master Bael, will be joining you on the carriage.¡± ¡°Wait three others?¡± Lucifer called in alarm. His free hand grabbing the short dwarf by the shoulder and making him look up into the shadows that covered Lucifer¡¯s eyes. As the dwarf¡¯s eyes looked into the hooded cowl, Lucifer¡¯s draconic purple eye began to glow very eerily. Lucifer had infused his Mana into his right eye and began to analyze the man before him for any indications of lies or other abnormalities in his pulse, breathing and Mana flow. ¡°Yes m¡¯lord! Those were the instructions that Master Talcott left for us!¡± The dwarf quickly spoke as the terrifying eye stared down at him, as if it was going to invade his soul and destroy him! ¡°Fucking bastard!¡±Cursed Lucifer as he almost killed the dwarf in front of him in anger. Barely holding it in, Lucifer called out to Luna via their mental link. ¡°Luna change of plans, we can¡¯t go to Az without some form of cover. The old geezer got me a Beast carriage to get out of the city and into the exam, hopefully without too many eyes on me. Can you get to me or do you want to meet up at the capital?¡± Standing with his hand still grasping the terrified dwarf, Lucifer stood still for several moments as he awaited Luna¡¯s reply. After waiting for almost an entire minute Lucifer stood petrified as worry and anxiousness took hold of him. ¡°M¡¯lord?¡± The dwarf asked cautously as he felt that there was something wrong with the royal draconian that grasped him. ¡°Tell the carriage not to leave until I get back. If it leaves, there will blood on your hands dwarf.¡± Lucifer spat as he tossed the helpless dwarf across the room. Spotting another dwarven attendant, Lucifer screamed in a sickeningly vicious growl. ¡°You there! Get me a strip of a thick cloth now!¡± ¡°Yes sir!¡± The new attendant saluted with fear covering his entire face. It was not 30 seconds later that he returned with a dark thick three inch wide strip of thick yet soft fabric. ¡°Here you go m¡¯lord!¡± The young dwarf said as he bowed and handed the fabric to Lucifer. Who only let out a low rolling growl, as he hastily grabbed the cloth before running out of the Trade building. ¡°Fuck, fuck, fuck. Luna where the hell are you?¡± Lucifer anxiously muttered as he raced through the streets of Zanigan towards the southern wall of the city. After many bursts of Mana boosted sprints Lucifer finally came to an open stretch of road. Without care for who saw him, Lucifer flared his wings and let loose a massive flap of the large leathery appendages, sending him barreling into the open and clear skies of the Muselpine sky. Mana and Light coiled around him as he flew through the air at terminal velocity towards the location that Lucifer felt Luna was in. ¡°Pup if anything happened to you, I swear that this city will accompany you in the afterlife.¡± A solemn and bloodthirsty oath escaped the brutal fang like teeth of Lucifer¡¯s mouth as he soared past the great wall of the city. Messor let loose an audible hum as she responded to the anger and lust for blood that Lucifer exuded in almost visible quantities. The warglaive trembled in Lucifer¡¯s iron strong grip that would break a common man¡¯s neck. Even through the cloth that held the weapon in hiding could do little to mask the burning desire it possessed for slaughter. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. Luna stood with her shoulders hunched and her tail standing straight up. A terrible snarl rippled across her wolven face as she stared up at a hulking mammoth sized Beast that towered over her. Silenced held the forest around them. ¡°Lucifer. I can¡¯t continue to be by your side anymore.¡± Luna sighed mentally as she prepared to fight the giant Beast before her. Luna flexed her body as she dove off to the left and into the shadows cast by the forest¡¯s billowing canopy. The giant however stood motionless, as if her vanishing was already known. Only a single surge of powerful Mana blasted out from the Beast and decimated the surrounding trees and earth. Luna was blown clear out of the shadows she had been about to enter as the Mana destroyed any possible shade cast by the now devastated woods. With a pitiful howl she plowed through the rent earth being carried by the explosive momentum of the Mana blast. The destruction continued to wreak havoc on the woods as it tore through it like a hot knife through butter. Wth unparalleled force, trees and chunks of earth like debris in a tidal wave, nothing could stop the power of the blast. After travelling for almost a kilometer outwards the surging Mana finally began to die down, very slowly. It wasn¡¯t until the destruction had reached a staggering distance of 2.6 kilometers did it finally end. Underneath the buried rubble and broken lumber Luna lay unconscious. But soon she was dragged limply from the aftermath of the Mana blast by a giant paw that shovelled her out like she was as just another part of the dirt and wooden rubble. Lucifer could only hover with dead eyes as he stared at the explosion caused by some unknown event or thing. His entire body screamed at him to run and run as far away as he could. Not even the insanely bloodthirsty Messor could even utter a sound as the pressure from the Mana blast silenced her in fear. ¡°Luna you must be ok.¡± Lucifer whispered as he let himself drop down into the edge of the devastation. ¡°Messor there will be rivers of blood should anything happen to her, I swear it.¡± The warglaive only hummed shortly in reply, the grim mood of Lucifer seeping into it as well. Lucifer walked slowly through the aftermath of the Mana blast while he searched for any sign of Luna. He knew that something must have found her and whatever it was, was not friendly. She had cut off their mental connection to possibly protect him from whatever found her. Lucifer felt his anxiety building and growing exponentially as he combed through each slight build up of earth for signs of his precious Luna. Time dragged on, seemingly taking an hour and making it feel like days for Lucifer as he searched. Using Mana, his body and even Messor Lucifer tore apart the blast site looking for Luna¡¯s trail. His mind told me she was not there anymore, but his heart screamed that he could find her. With deep heaving breaths he tried to desperately gain some semblance of calm so that he could do what he knew deep down must be done. ¡°Darkness, help me.¡± Lucifer spoke softly as he stood stalk still. ¡°The young wolf pup that enters our shadows, help me find her.¡± Dark Element swirled in tiny black particles around Lucifer creating a black fog under the shining mid day sun. Standing amidst the swirling Dark Element Lucifer closed his eyes and embraced the darkness as it enveloped him. Slowly the Dark permeated into Lucifer through his facial orifices, yet there was no discomfort for Lucifer. In fact the entire process gave him an odd feeling of comfort as he desperately tried to commune with the Dark Element. Lucifer began to feel a tugging sensation in his mind, pulling him towards the direction of Az Citadel. He knew that whatever had taken Luna had brought her in that direction. A barbaric roar tore its way through Lucifer¡¯s throat in an explosion of Mana and sound. One that caused the previous uproar from the Mana blast to seem like a child¡¯s temper tantrum compared to a savage rage filled bellow of pure hatred. With Messor in hand, Lucifer rocketed into the sky and beat his wings furiously as he rushed towards Zanigan. Lucifer was hell bent on starting a massacre in the so called City of Steel. With his Wrath clouding his mind he unwrapped Messor and began to caress her with a devilish glint in his eyes. Slowly as he approached the city, he began to wrap the black cloth he had received earlier around his head and covering his left eye¡¯s unique Nephilim appearance. Messor trembled with the anticipation of finally receiving her baptism of blood. Lucifer intended not to keep her waiting as he cast [Shadow Cladding] and walked into the shadows of Zanigan, disappearing into the oncoming darkness as the sun began to set. An explosion at the Trade outpost¡¯s entrance shook the neighbourhood, destroying the solid stone road and disintegrating the brick and wooden building with the rippling shockwave the force wrought by the explosion. Blood curdling screams echoed throughout Zanigan¡¯s eastern district. Standing upright with his hood down Lucifer¡¯s features finally became clear as he stormed his way into the TRade building with his Mana and aura burning around him. Letting all know who and what he was. Only the black cloth he previously got from the young dwarf covered his left eye¡¯s Nephilim pupil like an eyepatch, which gave him an even more savage visage as his handsome and rugged face became visible to all. His tail whipping around showed his extreme anger. ¡°What the hell do you think you are doing draconian!¡± Roared a warrior as he got out of the hole he was smashed into. But he did not get to even finish berating the draconian that had caused the destruction as a glimmering warglaive severed his still screaming head from his body. Lucifer stood unfazed as more and more warriors got up and began to attack him in their anger. With a single wave of Messor, Lucifer sent each one of the warriors crashing back into the debris they crawled out of. He cleaved limbs and shattered bones as nobody could withstand the devastating power Messor sent out with each of her swings. None of the warriors were very strong in comparison to Lucifer, only sanding at the peak of the Red Squire stage they masses were nothing before him. ¡°I think that is enough Lord Draconian.¡± A middle aged Knight said as he finally could not bear seeing all the death and crippling blows Lucifer dealt without any regard. Deciding to put the upstart royal draconian down a peg, the Knight pushed forward and sent a Mana charged fist at Lucifer¡¯s stomach. ¡°Scum.¡± Was all Lucifer spat as he sent a bolt of [Shadow Armoury] flying into the man¡¯s incoming fist. The primal magic lacerated and eviscerated through the Red Mana covered limb, destroying the Knight¡¯s arm while Lucifer took the time to let loose a wickedly fast forehanded slash through the now mutilated arm and into the chest of the Knight. Messor had taken the life of her first Knight. Leaping into the air Lucifer¡¯s wings flapped steadily as he kept afloat with his cold gaze surveying the destroyed Trade building. Not finding what he sought, a fearsome howl echoed through the city as Lucifer went on a rampage. He began to indiscriminately slaughter all warriors who raised their weapons to him. With slashes that split the solid stone of Zanigan¡¯s roads like they were nothing more than paper, he cut through almost every weapon that made the mistake of coming towards him. Bone crushing force accompanied each and every one of his attacks as he pummeled through the heavy shields of the city guard as they began to mobilize around him. ¡°Draconian! Stand down and surrender for questioning! Your life will be guaranteed!¡± Shouted a large heavy set dwarf in full plate armour while he swung a huge warhammer over his shoulder. ¡°Hmph. Do you have that authority?¡± Lucifer answered the armoured dwarf with cynicism and disdain dripping from each syllable that left his thin lips. ¡°Watch your tongue draconian. I am Colonel Ragslav of the Zanigan Military. Yellow Knight. Not even the city lord has say over my unit. We are under the direct orders of the Muselpine crown to bring you in for questioning.¡± The dwarf, Ragslav spoke out with derision at Lucifer¡¯s snide remark. ¡°Well bring me in Ragslav.¡± Lucifer grinned as he swiped Messor through the air to cast off the abundant blood that covered her. Two brutal grins broke onto the faces of Ragslav and Lucifer as they rushed at each other with their weapons swinging with killing intent. Ragslav¡¯s warhammer struck solidly against Messor¡¯s Letwood shaft as Lucifer took the terrifying overhand blow and redirected it off to the side with a perfectly timed parry. Taking advantage of the spinning his parry created, Lucifer spun his body around and brought Messor into a sweeping slash towards Ragslav¡¯s exposed flank. ¡°Not bad for a Squire!¡± Ragslav laughed uproarously, as he caught his warhammer before it escaped his hands. With deft hands, Ragslav brought the great warhammer vertical blocking Lucifer¡¯s sweep. ¡°Not bad yourself!¡± Lucifer smirked as his tail snuck around Ragslav¡¯s ankle. With a powerful flap of his wings and a twist of his hips Lucifer dragged the heavy dwarf¡¯s feet out from under him. On his back and weapon flailing Ragslav inwardly cursed himself for forgetting about the tail the draconian possessed. But he was not a Yellow Knight for nothing. Slamming his fist backwards and into the ground, Ragslav was able to disperse the force of his fall and push himself back up as his Mana strengthened himself. Not giving the dwarf any time to collect himself, Lucifer twirled Messor around and launched a lightning fast jab with the blunt end of the warglaive into Ragslav¡¯s plated stomach. His scaled fist cracking the solid metal plate armour of Ragslav, as he pummeled the dwarf into the ground. Lucifer had used [Gold Mail] to increase his defensive strength to patch the power of Ragslav however shortly it could. Having the wind knocked clean out of him, Ragslav could only gasp as he crashed into the cold hard stone covered ground. His giant warhammer landed just out of his reach, so he could only rely on his magic to fight Lucifer at the moment. Hastily casting [Elemental Spear] Ragslav tried to send two magical spears into Lucifer at point blank range. Yet the speed at which Ragslav cast his magics was vastly slower than the instantaneous primal magic that Lucifer unleashed in response. [Shadow Armoury] formed large meter long spire straight through Ragslav¡¯s chest as his Earth [Elemental Spear]s launched towards Lucifer as the dwarf felt his life ending from the primal magic tearing apart his heart. Lucifer only felt the impact the two Earth [Elemental Spear]s had as they crashed right into his [Gold Mail] protected abdomen. ¡°You are weak Colonel Ragslav. But you die can die with pride.¡± Lucifer spoke as he gasped for air while staring down at the lifeless figure of the dwarf named Ragslav. ¡°Draconian Lucifer, you are hearby under arrest for the murder of Colonel Ragslav of the Muselpine Law Division.¡± Came a deafening shout as Lucifer finally regained his composure. The shout was so loud it almost caused the already injured Lucifer to spit blood, the sound waves created just by the shout had rendered him almost defenceless. But it could not immobilize his honed instincts which made Lucifer throw his body to the side as blast of magic ripped through the space he had been standing. ¡°Fucking bastard using sneak attacks and petty tricks to best me.¡± Lucifer grumbled as he jumped into the air and flew high into the sky. But before he could get more than 50 feet in the air, another blast of Fire magic came hurtling towards him. ¡°[Inferno Storm]!¡± Called another deafening Mana powered voice as Lucifer began taking sharp turns and acrobatic maneuvers to avoid the onslaught of giant magical fireballs that came flying at him. ¡°Ugh gotta use that spell from last time.¡± Groaned Lucifer as he remembered the way he [Gold Mail] to create a warhead of Light and Mana. Soaring ever higher while he avoided the volleys of fireballs Lucifer finally reached a height suitable for the [Gold Mail] warhead. ¡°Messor, this is going to be hard on you.¡± Lucifer called out above the explosions and whistling wind. Before he coated Messor in [Gold Mail] and threw her towards the ground like javelin from the Heavens. ¡°Go forth [Leta Messorem Telum] the Arrow of the Life Reaper!¡± Chapter 25 Enter the Nightmare (Unedited) [Vita Messorem Telum] The Arrow of the Life Reaper as Lucifer named his terrifying attack that had once decimated the Anguis Chain. Lucifer held nothing back as the gravity and force of his mighty throw took Messor plummeting into the city below. Lucifer smiled coldly as he saw the magus create a massive Mana shield to try and block [Vita Messorem Telum], they knew not of the true power of the golden warhead. The spell gained its dreadfulness from the tremendous momentum that it gained as it fell through the air, adding the near invincible protection that [Gold Mail] brought. The Light clad Messor created a deadly missile that would transfer all the accumulated gravitational force and the sheer impact of such a thing truly brought forth devastating results. Leaving nothing to chance, Lucifer began casting another set of spells as he saw Messor about to reach her target. Gathering as much Light Element as he could, Lucifer attempted to create a lesser version of [Vita Messorem Telum]. By mixing the fundamentals of [Elemental Spear] and [Shadow Armoury] Lucifer began to cast a spell that took the long range capacity of the spear and add on the lethality of [Shadow Armoury]. Though his experiment ended in failure, Lucifer was still able to cast a terrifying amount of Light [Elemental Spear]s, a staggering swarm of over 50 individual meter long golden spears covered the space around him before he cast them downwards like a salvo of Heaven¡¯s artillery. Lucifer looked on as [Vita Messorem Telum] and the salvo of [Elemental Spear] rained down on the city below him. He cared not for the destruction the spells would wrought, he only wished to see the city burn in tribute for the now missing Luna. He knew that it was partially the fault of Zanigan and also himself that led to the current situation, but that mattered little to him only Wrath was present in his mind. And Zanigan was the prime target for his Wrath. ¡°Let your blood atone for your sins against her.¡± The grim declaration sounded out in the ears of every soldier present as the witnessed the Mana shield shatter as the golden warhead came hurtling towards them unimpeded by even their strongest spells. An earth shaking explosion resounded as Messor landed amidst the throngs of warriors on the ground beneath Lucifer. A shockwave wove its way through the earth and destroyed all the buildings in the surrounding neighbourhood like they were houses of cards.Solid brick building tumbled to the ground like straw before a breeze. The ground quaked and gave way to Messor as [Vita Messorem Telum] crashed down like a meteor and refused to let anything stop her destruction laden warpath. The salvo of [Elemental Spear]s bore straight through everything in their path as the rained down on the few survivors of [Vita Messorem Telum]. They ripped through earth, rock, wood, steel and bodies as if they were never there. Lucifer¡¯s long ranged assault had utterly annihilated over 10000 lives of civilian casualties, 400 Brown Squire/Apprentice warriors, 300 Red Squire/Apprentice warriors, 390 Knight-Errant and Demi-Magus, 50 Red Knights and Magus, and finally 5 different Yellow Knights and Arch-Magus. Over half of the Zanigan city guard was wiped out of existence by his Wrath filled attacks. While the entire unit under Ragslav, died with their Colonel. A total of an 1/8th of Zanigan¡¯s total population was killed by his anger and hatred. But all this death and destruction only elicited a sneer of disgust and disdain from Lucifer as he dropped to the ground to retrieve Messor. ¡°Guess it''s time to go get the pup now.¡± Lucifer sighed as fell through the air feet first to the rubble and debris ridden city street below. Messor stood epicenter of the crater formed by [Vita Messorem Telum], she had bathed in the blood of thousands and she still remained as sharp and keen as when Lucifer first received her. [Gold Mail] obviously did its part in protecting her from any harm that could have damaged her peerless beauty. Lucifer could only marvel at the sight of her, standing loftily in the middle of the destroyed city district like a regalia of a long lost battle. She gave him a sense of mighty prestige and brutal cruelty as she stood amidst the blood and gore of the ruined city. ¡°Come Messor, your baptism is not yet complete. We have a pup to save and a captor to execute.¡± Lucifer spoke lovingly to the weapon as he walked towards her pale black shaft. Just as Lucifer was about to leave he caught sight of something moving from under the rubble. ¡°Oh? A survivor? Messor you are still lacking.¡± Releasing a disgruntled hum, Messor showed her displeasure for Lucifer¡¯s words. ¡°Fine you win, the fact that this one survived is his own fate. But we cannot linger here anymore.¡± Lucifer chided as he spoke to Messor. He then gathered the last of his Mana and launched himself into the air and took flight. With large audible flaps his wings carried him southbound towards Az Citadel. After Lucifer¡¯s departure, a body broke through a pile of debris and showed the sole survivor of Lucifer¡¯s [Vita Messorem Telum]. ¡°What in Hell¡¯s 9th circle was that!¡± Came the voice of Kain Talcott as his aged and bearded head poked out of the earth. ¡°Fucking bastard Lucifer! You don¡¯t just start a massacre for no bloody reason. Even going as far as to kill so many fucking innocent lives! Shit, this just got way above my pay grade.¡± The Demi-Sage continued to curse as he extricated himself from the earth and let his now ragged high quality robe be visible to the world. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. ¡°I swear if it wasn¡¯t for Eric, I¡¯d kill the boy myself.¡± With those words he dusted himself off and leapt out of the giant crater that now was the eastern district of Zanigan and stealthily followed behind Lucifer towards Az Citadel. Meanwhile in Az Citadel at the same time, Bael and the other two prospects arrived at the Academy¡¯s housing for potential students. Bael could hardly contain his excitement at the moment. First he had found a young Shadow Queen and second he had found a hopeful practice dummy for his stay in Yulrig¡¯s Academy. ¡°Haha to think that there would be such a treasure in the woods outside of such a place.¡± He chuckled as he made his way into the spacious suite prepared for him and other talented warriors. ¡°I only need to bend her to my will and the entire Lupin familia will be mine!¡± Bael removed his dark red cloak and his long stark white hair fell over his face. Nothing could be gained about his heritage save for unusual hair that covered his head and the lean yet muscular build that was hidden by the crimson cloak. With a skip in his step, Bael walked towards the darkest part of his room and he slowly became illusory as he walked into the shadows and disappeared into the darkness. Lucifer knew nothing of what was happening in Az, only an ever growing anxiety for him to find Luna ley in his thoughts as he desperately tried to speed himself along. Messor stayed silent as she could feel Lucifer¡¯s tense thoughts as he gripped her in a near vice like grip. If she wasn¡¯t built from such amazing and precious materials, she would have snapped like a twig in his hands. After more than an hour of flying as fast as he could, Lucifer finally could scarcely hold on. His stamina that had never failed him before, had reached it¡¯s limit. As he bitterly descended to the ground with a gentle glide, he began to concentrate on his Mana Core. Hoping that he could find some bit of Mana to carry himself the rest of the way to his destination. While his Core still possessed enough Mana to aid his journey to Az, his body could not bear the burden of travel. With a slew of curses Lucifer eventually gave up his rush and sat down to meditate and hopefully regain his strength. ¡°Deep breaths, feel the Mana around me and bring it into my body.¡± Lucifer recounted his lessons from Jasmine about Mana gathering. ¡°Do not force it but urge it gently.¡± ¡°As the Mana comes, allow it to permeate through your body and into your Mana Core.¡± Painstakingly long minutes later the natural Mana in the surroundings began to swirl around Lucifer as he meditated. ¡°Once the Mana gathers and begins to enter you, let it flow through your veins and arteries just like your blood. Let it feel you, know you, experience you and then gather it in your Core and condense it as much as possible.¡± Lucifer followed the instructions to the tee. Only urging the Mana with his will and never forcing it till it gathered in his Core. The only difference Jasmine would have seen between her instructions and Lucifer¡¯s actions, was the sheer difference in volume Lucifer was expected to bring in. If she; as an Arch-Magus, could draw in a stream of Mana then Lucifer could draw in a raging river of the ethereal energy. ¡°Feel the Mana as it condenses and feel the Purity of the Mana. Make it as dense and pure as possible. Only by doing this repeatedly can the Purity of your Mana increase. But only do this with the Mana you bring in from Gaies, if you force your own natural Mana to condense you could forcibly shatter your Mana Core with Mana too pure for it to handle. The process of increasing Mana Purity is long and arduous.¡± Lucifer recited each and every instruction, warning and word that he was taught perfectly. Lucifer continued to diligently meditate and replenish his body¡¯s Mana for almost three hours before he felt that he could not continue anymore without risk of breaking his Core. As Lucifer got his strength back, Bael stood in a rocky terrain next to the same Beast that had destroyed the woods near Zanigan. ¡°Good job Prime Infernal Ape. You brought me exactly what I wanted!¡± Bael exclaimed as his white hair danced wildly in the wind and rain that hammered the rocks around the unusual pair. Rmmmmmgh Came a deep guttural rumble of acknowledgement from the hulking behemoth that was the Prime Infernal Ape. A beast that was reputed to be the most volatile and savage of the Ape familia, Infernal Apes possess the highest natural affinity to the explosive Fire Element which only adds to their insanely aggressive temperaments. ¡°Hahaha if Natasha could see me now, I wonder what she would say?¡± Bael continued to laugh almost manically as he sauntered over to the prone form of Luna who lay on a large flat rock with the rain soaking her cold and unconscious body. Huuumph The Infernal Ape snorted at the mention of the name, Natasha. It showed obvious fear towards the mention of that name as it began to pace and shift uncomfortably. Crushing the rocks beneath its dark red fur covered hands and feet. The fur of the Ape was almost black it was such a deep shade of red. Even the large protruding tusks were as black as obsidian, the Prime Infernal Ape looked more like a Beast of the Dark Element than it¡¯s natural Fire attunement. ¡°Why in Gaies name would I give such a treasure to her!¡± Bael screeched as he replied to the giant Ape. ¡°This is my Shadow Queen and she shall not have it!¡± ¡°Are you sure about that?¡± Answered a dark and sultry voice, to the near hysterical ravings of Bael. A shiver ran through Bael as he stood still as a statue. ¡®How can that vile witch be here!¡¯ He screamed in his head as he felt the terror that the almost intoxicating voice gave to all who knew of it¡¯s owner. Natasha. ¡°Tell me why you wouldn¡¯t give me such a delicious pet dear cousin? Aren¡¯t I your most lovable cousin, please tell me that you wouldn¡¯t be so cruel as to keep her from me?¡± The voice interrupted Bael¡¯s racing thoughts. ¡°Lady Natasha, I truly was caught by my greed and lust for such a precious treasure. Please disregard what I said before in my flight of lunacy.¡± Bael stuttered in between the trembles that wracked his body. Whoever Natasha was, she inspired true fear in his heart and caused even his soul to quake with only her voice. ¡°Oh you said something earlier dear cousin? Silly me I heard nothing! Heheh but please tell me you will give me that beautiful puppy. I want it oh so badly!¡± Natasha¡¯s sweet and intoxicating voice giggled from just behind Bael¡¯s still shivering body. ¡°Of course Lady Natasha, you are the heir of our clan of course the Shadow Queen pup would be yours. I am only the deliverer of the Beast.¡± Bael said as he shut his eyes and began to prostrate towards the sound of Natasha¡¯s voice. ¡°Oh cousin, thank you thank you!¡± Natasha squealed like a small child after receiving Bael¡¯s would be ¡®gift¡¯. ¡°Ugly monkey! Bring that puppy to my uncle and tell him I want her to be all fixed up!¡± Natasha exclaimed to the trembling Prime Infernal Ape that had buried its head in the ground upon the sound of her voice. ¡°And you cousin, I hear that Zanigan has been attacked by a royal draconian. Do you know anything about that?¡± ¡°Lady Natasha, there was a royal draconian that I met in the Zanigan Trade building. He had dark golden wings and a long tail. Height of 6¡¯1¡± and was cloaked, Alchemist and Demi-Sage Kain Talcott took his requisition for a weapon personally. The draconian called himself Lucifer when I introduced myself to him. Apparently he will be joining the Academy as a student.¡± Bael rattled off all the info he had on Lucifer, who was the only royal draconian he had seen in the entirety of Zanigan. ¡°Hmm. Interesting, hopefully he has no connection to the puppy. I would hate to make enemies with a royal draconian, right cousin?¡± Natasha said idly as she thought of the timings of both the Shadow Queen¡¯s appearance and the draconian attack on Zanigan. If the pup was truly his, then even her uncle would force her to return it back to the draconian or else they would have to abandon their entire operation in Farror to escape his and his family¡¯s search for the priceless wolf. Chapter 26 Respect and Fear (Unedited) ¡°Finally! Let¡¯s go Messor!¡± Lucifer roared as he leapt into the sky following his meditation ending. ¡°Luna just wait a bit longer for me!¡± But Luna was currently completely indisposed to Lucifer¡¯s mad rush to her hopeful rescue. She lay on a bed of soft and luxurious furs, as he body heaved with labored breaths as her consciousness struggled to awaken. ¡°Lady Natasha the Shadow Queen is bonded with one already. I suggest you return her to her partner immediately.¡± Spoke a grim looking man as he tended to the wounds on Luna¡¯s body. His hair shaved shorter than inch but he too possessed the same stark white hair as Bael. His face could inspire nightmares in children, with it¡¯s gaunt and haunting features. Sunken eyes and deathly pale white skin, impossible thin red lips brought a terrifying contrast to the man¡¯s visage. Sharp brows, a pointed nose and a lengthy scar decorated his face. ¡°But uncle! I want her! Can¡¯t we trade with her partner?¡± A sweet and childish voice called out from behind the pale man. Soon the figure of an impossible beauty approached the side of the man, as he worked diligently to heal Luna. The beauty was awe inspiring, with a perfect hourglass figure she leaned against the man revealing her modest cleavage as she pleaded with him. Her body stood quite tall for a woman at 5¡¯7¡± and her willowy waist, buxom bottom, delicate long legs and dainty arms detailed her as almost a life sized doll. Only her face was the true definition of beauty, a face that could cause kings to wage war and nations to fall. Perfectly soft yet childishly plump cheeks added on to her supple and plump limps made her devilishly cute button like nose even more adorable. Her perfectly arched eyebrows would have outlined the lapis blue of her pupils perfectly, but her left eye was marred. It did not keep the same lustrous blue that should have been there; no, it was an eye that made one feel pure malevolent and evil surging from the blood red veins and iris that marred the pristine lapis eyes of the girl. Matching deep red hair flowed down from the crown of her head and draped itself over her shoulders and brought out the pale white of her skin even more, with its deep rich colour. Even with her marred left eye, the girl was truly a beauty fit for the Heavens. ¡°Lady Natasha, others may not know but our clan knows of the Shadow Queen¡¯s bond. Only their lovers may have the honour of the bond, even their mates do not necessarily have the privilege of the bond.¡± The older man Natasha called uncle spoke affectionately as he instructed about the intricacies of the Shadow Queen¡¯s bond. ¡°But uncle Beel, I think her bond is a royal draconian! It is probably too late to do anything now!¡± Natasha whined to her uncle Beel. ¡°Natasha! You stole this pup from a royal draconian!¡± Beel spoke with grave severity as he imagined the consequences of his adorable nieces actions. ¡°It wasn¡¯t me uncle, it was cousin that told ugly monkey to take her! I only told ugly monkey to bring her to you to get fixed up.¡± Natasha spoke proudly as she puffed up her sizable C-cup breasts. ¡°Oh goodness what am I to do with you two? You are to bring the pup to the draconian of your own volition. After that you will apologize and ask what must be done to wipe clean your misdemeanor. Natasha if the draconian royal families find out about us, everything will be for naught! You will live like a caged bird again, never able to leave your father¡¯s house.¡± ¡°Got it uncle Beel, I will personally apologize for cousin¡¯s blunder.¡± Natasha spoke as lovably as she could while making sure she threw her cousin under the bus for all the trouble he had brought. Even if they had taken the puppy and ran, to any half decent tracker it would be a piece of cake to find their tracks and possibly learn of their affairs. The later being much more terrifying for Natasha and her family. ¡°Send him to me before you go, I have words with that boy.¡± Beel spoke icily. ¡°Tell me though, what makes you assume that her bonded is a draconian royal.¡± ¡°Well I had gotten wind of Zanigan being attacked by some royal draconian just a while ago. I went to see cousin because he was there and I found him with the monkey and puppy out in the rocklands outside the city. He was going on about bending the puppy to his will and a bunch of other crazy stuff. I asked him about any royal draconians in Zanigan, and he told me about one. And it makes sense. Zanigan being attacked moments after he arrived with the puppy.¡± Natasha answered smartly as she sashayed her hips in an impossible cute manner. ¡°Good, it does. I will go with you to apologize. Hopefully having a Blue Sage as your backer can at least guarantee your safety from too severe a demand.¡± Beel nodded with appreciation for his niece¡¯s intelligent guesswork and answers. She had always been the jewel of the family even in their current state of decline. ¡°Natasha the fate of our Devol clan will be in your hands when you are older. You must remember the mistakes our forefathers made and do better than them. Even if this draconian is only from a minor royal lineage, he must be treated with respect! We cannot afford to be seen by any of those families yet.¡± As the Natasha and Beel suspected, Luna did indeed bond with Lucifer. What they did not know was that Luna was awake the entire time they spoke, Luna knew of the strength that the old man tending to her possessed so when she initially awoke she instantly acted as if she never had. Bearing with the excruciating torment that his healing caused her, she lay prone and only listened to the conversation that the two spoke. ¡°Luna should have stayed with brother.¡± She berated herself in the beginning for leaving Lucifer all because she hated the two-leg city. Now she only wished he would find her sooner and rescue her from these strange two-legs. In the midst of her rambling thoughts, Luna felt the familiar connection that Lucifer and her shared instantly flare up as she felt the longing, anxiety, fear and concern he had as she finally felt him again. ¡°Oh? Seems like he has found us.¡± Beel said as he noticed the sudden change in Luna. He was not one to be fooled by her act and only took it as token defences from being in a strange place. Uncaring of the act Luna pulled, he continued his work. ¡°Uncle, he found us?¡± Natasha asked with a dangerous glint in her eyes that disappeared before her uncle could see it. ¡°Yes, I can feel the wrath and hatred he is exuding. His Sin is likely Wrath, this may turn troublesome.¡± Beel sighed as he glanced at the subconsciously wagging tail and excited breathing of Luna before him. ¡°Should be about 20 minutes before he arrives at the city. Go outside of the northern gate and flag him down. This will be your best bet to make sure he doesn''t go ballistic. Hopefully your beauty will serve you well.¡± Beel chuckled evilly as he watched his niece from the corner of his eyes. ¡°Yes uncle Beel it shall be done.¡± Natasha said with a slight bow before she turned and left the room. As if the last words her uncle spoke were nothing new. As Natasha disappeared through the door of the room, Beel turned to Luna and bowed gently before speaking softly. ¡°Pup I am sorry for what has happened but do you think you could convince him to be kind to us?¡± Beel looked deeply at Luna and uttered a seemingly rhetorical question as he too walked out of the room, not before locking it down with a powerful magic. That prevented even Luna''s power to enter shadows. It seemed as if he had other plans than just returning her to the royal draconian that had come for her. Lucifer sped along the sky like a golden meteor, as his Mana charged wings pushed him to extreme speeds. When he finally came close enough to Az Citadel to make out it¡¯s colossal ramparts and towering spires that screamed danger to even him, he felt Luna¡¯s mind through their bond! ¡°LUNA!¡± He screamed both mentally and vocally as sudden elation swelled up inside his panicked heart. ¡°BROTHER!¡± Luna instantly responded with glee and relief at their reconnection. ¡°Where are you, what happened, are you safe?¡± Lucifer began firing off questions at lightning fast speeds, asking them too fast to even get an answer before he asked the next. ¡°Brother I am with some strange two-legs! I am safe right now but they are coming to meet you! And I don¡¯t know what really happened, I barely remember fighting another Heaven Order Beast, then I woke up with this creepy old two-leg healing me. Brother these two-legs are really strong! The creepy one is a Blue Sage! The other is strange looking bitch, she should have some special bloodline and she too is powerful I''d say about the same as you!¡± Luna exclaimed as quickly as she could while remembering to make sure she warned Lucifer of the Beel¡¯s freakishly strong power. ¡°What! A Blue Sage. Dammit, I can¡¯t face one yet.¡± Lucifer cursed as he heard of Beel¡¯s strength. He knew that although [Vita Messorem Telum] was freakishly powerful, it could do nothing to anyone of Kain¡¯s level or higher. At most the force of the spell would displace them, but it would do no damage even if his Mana Purity outclassed his opponents. ¡°Luna what are they doing to you, can you hear anything from them?¡± ¡°They said that they are going to return me to you, it seems that one that is not with then now used that Heaven Order Beast to capture me. But somehow the creepy one found out about our bound, and then everything changed. The red-bitch is going to meet you outside the gates with the creepy one.¡± Luna rattled off as she felt Lucifer¡¯s vehement anger growing unceasingly. She worried he would do something rash and start a fight with the creepy old two-leg despite their difference in power.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡°Luna wait for me, I am almost there.¡± Lucifer said gravely as his draconic eye spotted what he could only assume was the red-bitch that Luna told him of. Or at least her outline, as she wore a blood red cloak over herself. ¡°Messor seems we might not have the chance to slaughter as we hoped.¡± Messor remained silent, Lucifer could only assume that it was a sign of her displeasure. He adjusted his flightpath and barreled towards the red cloaked figure of the ¡®red-bitch¡¯ who stood over 500 feet away from the massive gates of Az Citadel. Natasha felt an unprecedented anxiety as she watched the golden meteorite come hurtling at her, it wasn¡¯t untill it got closer that she was able to make out the giant wings of the royal draconian as they fanned outwards to slow his rapid approach. The draconian stood in the air before her in a loose set of black trousers and tunic. His giant wings stayed outstretched as he hovered above her while his tail made sharp whip like snaps as it moved from side to side. The draconian was truly marvelous to behold, his deep black golden scales glistened in the light of the late evening sun, his large bat like wings gave him an almost haunting look as if he was a spawn of Hell itself. She deeply took in his features as she marvelled at the way his scales covered his hands and feet like armaments of godly might in their deep and rich lustre. The way his muscles shifted and moved showed her far more than she would care to admit, despite the loose clothing he wore. Each and everyone of his muscles had the perfect amount of lean yet taught power roped into the fibres of his being, like he was born for war and battle more than ruling like he ought to be. She found his body ravishing to look at and soon an urge more primal than any other rose within her. The urge to fight. But it was all lost as she finally gazed at his face. Pride. Wrath. Was all she could feel from the eyes that stared into her soul. Even his ruggedly handsome face could not tear her eyes away from the two mismatched eyes that bore through her from under the scrunched brow of the royal draconian. As if remembering something, the draconian closed his incredibly beautiful black and white left eye and only allowed for his terrifying purple dragon like eye to look at her. She felt like he was looking at her like prey when he finally closed that beautiful left eye of his. And that deep urge to fight with the flying draconian swelled within her like a vortex threatening to consume her everything. Lucifer glared coldly at the woman cloaked in red as she stood below him. The cloak did nothing to prevent his peerless vision from making her extreme beauty and peculiar features completely bare to him. But what truly bothered him was the fighting intent that she gave off so blatantly that even after he shut his left eye, he could still feel the volatile energy of her desire. ¡°You are the one who took Luna?¡± Lucifer asked bluntly as he could not bear to look anymore at the unparalleled beauty of the cloaked woman. She was the only being Lucifer had ever seen that had such an appearance that caused even him to give pause. This infuriated Lucifer to no end as he tried to calm himself and focus on the task at hand, Luna''s rescue. ¡°N-no, not me. My cousin had taken the wolf pup in a flight of lust for her power, I was the one to rescue her from him.¡± The woman said with calm and delicate words. She showed no servility even under the scrutinization of the ominous purple dragon eye of Lucifer. Once again shocking him, though he did not show it outwardly. ¡°Where is she, you should know I can talk to her and know everything you have said in her presence. And if you lie I will know of it.¡± Lucifer questioned harshly as he began to feel like the woman before him was not just a pretty face, her lust for battle was much too great. His own battle driven nature called out as if urging him to draw Messor and fight with this otherworldly beauty. Natasha knew that she could not keep her urge under control much longer so she desperately tried to find a way to get the conversation moving. Luckily the draconian still flying above her had the same idea. At least with getting the conversation moving, as far as she knew. ¡°Lord Draconian, might I ask you to wait for my uncle before we continue this discussion? He has expressed a desire to meet with you and offer a formal apology for my family''s transgression.¡± ¡°Your punishment has already been decided. What use is there to add on your Blue Sage uncle?¡± Questioned the draconian after a slight chuckle that seemed more haunting than amusing to any listener. ¡°Lord Draconian, please do not be hasty in your judgement! Your partner is already safe and well taken care of, why must there be a punishment for the mistake of my family?¡± Natasha pleaded with wide eyes as she took a step forward, letting her hood fall. Her luscious vibrant crimson red hair revealed it''s magnificence to the twilight lit countryside. While her piercing eyes stared up into the deep purple reptilian eye of the draconian. ¡°When a child steals, does the parent not pay for his mistake? You would have been better off releasing her and running away. Still I would have hunted you down, but you would have a chance.¡± Was her only answer, and it filled her with utmost dread and despair as she began to make wild assumptions on what this ''punishment¡¯ could possibly be. ¡°But,¡± ¡°Enough Natasha! He speaks true.¡± Came the voice of uncle Beel as he came walking out of what appeared to be thin air. Turning to the draconian in the air, Beel spoke with a noble respect that one might expect from nobles when addressing their superiors. ¡°Pleasure to meet you Lord Draconian, I only wish it was under better circumstances.¡± ¡°Enough of the charade old man. I know what you want.¡± Lucifer snapped as he found the gaunt and pasty visage of the old man incredibly infuriating when in conjunction with that overly polite speech. ¡°Oh? And what would that be?¡± The ghoulish old man said with a sinister chuckle that would give children nightmares for the rest of their lives. ¡°Are you in a position to ask questions?¡± Lucifer snorted as he let himself fall to the ground. Landing with a loud bang, he cracked the earth he landed on. With a snarl he leveled Messor and aimed at the neck of the ravishing beauty. ¡°This one cannot keep her intentions hidden like you old ghost. She is honest with herself and she will be your price for hurting Luna.¡± Lucifer made sure to punctuate his words with a growing amount of Mana and power. He allowed the Light Element to swirl around him as he kept Messor on the neck of the one called Natasha. Maybe it was just a wild fantasy, but he knew that the girl would agree. If only so that she could have a chance to fight him, it was impossible for her to just die without a fight. ¡°Can you guarantee that you can take my niece''s life?¡± The old man sneered as he released his powerful Blue Sage aura and Mana into the air. The atmosphere trembled as the waves of unrelenting power raged out from the Blue Sage, Lucifer grit his teeth and suppressed his urge to run in the face of such overwhelming strength. ¡°Hmph if it it wasn¡¯t for the fact that your family holds power over land of Farror, I would kill you without a second thought.¡± ¡°Says the one who abducted my family. And if not for the fact that you, have Luna I would continue my warpath till I found her!¡± Lucifer roared as he pushed the edge of Messor against Natasha''s pristine and delicate neck. With a surge of his own Mana, Lucifer struggled to hold his ground against the surging tide that was the power of a Blue Sage. The tension held thick as Lucifer and the Blue Sage stared each other down and fought with their auras. Lucifer was badly outclassed in terms of aura, but his natural beastliness and savage demeanor made up for what his mind could not. It was sheer instinct that drove him to struggle against the Goliath that stood before him without backing down. ¡°Tsk. Fine you win, young draconian.¡± The Sage sighed as he raised his hands in surrender. ¡°Let me bring your pup here.¡± He continued to speak as he vanished in a flash of black light. Leaving only his voice to echo across the hills of the plain they stood on. ¡°Fucking bastard.¡± Lucifer growled as he felt the pressure disappear from around him. ¡°Pfffft hahaha, why didn''t you call him that when uncle Beel was here? Haha you males are all the same, always acting tough despite the situation. No wonder you all die more often than females.¡± Natasha snickered as she saw the visible change in Lucifer''s posture as he released his tense body. ¡°What place are you in to talk? You are going to die if Luna has anything wrong with her. Continue to laugh if you can.¡± A sharp hiss escaped Lucifer''s thin lips as he sneered at Natasha. ¡°I would really like to see you try to kill me.¡± A dangerous glint appeared in Natasha''s eyes as she stared into Lucifer''s eye. ¡°I''m not just a pretty face. No woman of my clan isn''t a trained warrior!¡± ¡°Hmph, then why is my blade against your throat?¡± ¡°That, that is because I was absentminded. If this were a fight, I''d pummel you!¡± Natasha stammered as she tried to think of an answer to Lucifer''s question. Finding nothing substantial she tried to change the subject, seeing as she couldn''t refute his words. ¡°Once Luna is here you and her can duke it out. I find sparring tiresome, fighting is just a weakling method. There is killing and dying.¡± Lucifer replied blandly as he lifted Messor onto his shoulder and walked away from the fuming Natasha. He judged her to be too weak to prove to be an issue and if the man named Beel truly hurt Luna, well that would be the worst mistake he could ever make. The two only had to wait for three minutes before they caught sight of Beel walking towards them, with Luna cradled in his arms. Excitement and anticipation burst forth from Lucifer as he finally saw Luna again. ¡°Before you get mad, I had to put her to sleep. She would have reopened her wounds if she were to move around.¡± Beel said as he saw the look of worry that clouded the previous excitement that covered Lucifer''s face. ¡°Tell me, I find your whole act very amusing old ghost but why are you so willing to return her? My family may be strong, but this one here isn''t a weakling herself. Why not enact the right of combat?¡± Lucifer questioned while pointing towards Natasha, as he felt the situation of Luna through his bond. He found that she was completely fine, although tired but fine. But the whole scenario was odd for him. He knew the value of Luna, more than he truly let on. How could the Matriarchal lineage of any clan or familia be weak and so easy to tame? Lucifer was truly lucky to have been with Luna almost since her birth, for better or worse she was his little sister and their difference in race mattered little. The number of beings that would kill to have such a relationship with the infamous Shadow Queen Wolf, were countless. Lucifer truly did not understand why Beel would be so willing to give such a chance up. ¡°Respect and fear boy. If her familia knew of her bond, you would be slaughtered. If your family knew of your bond, they would guard you like better than that Anise Levin. Your value is too great for them. They would hunt my family down to the ends of Gaies should you come to harm. You should know this. And even if my niece could best you in combat there is no guarantee that the Shadow Queen would sever the bond in favor of Natasha.¡± Beel spoke with a defeated sigh, his face truly showing his regret and no small amount of bitterness to the situation. ¡°Plus I have my own honour as a Sage. Stealing from such a child would only cause me to live in shame.¡± Lucifer stood there shocked. He had never heard of such idiocy in his entire life. What use was honour when you would die? All that matters is victory and survival. The concepts of honour meant little to him who had grown up fighting desperately for his life for over 6 years. With a glance at the figure of Natasha, who had not once stopped glaring at him, Lucifer chortled slightly. ¡°Old ghost, while I do not understand your reasons I still must thank you. For saving Luna and bringing her back to me, thank you.¡± Lucifer spoke with a slight nod of difference to the Blue Sage Beel. ¡°However there must be a price paid for the act of her kidnapping, agreed?¡± Beel¡¯s face congealed in displeasure but he could not refute the words of Lucifer. So with another bitter sigh he nodded with acceptance. ¡°So I will take your family member.¡± Lucifer continued. ¡°The girl, will come with me to the Elemental Academy and stay by my side. I shall not injure her pride or body in any way. She will only have to follow me. Is that fair enough?¡± A sudden flash of anger surged into Beel as he heard Lucifer''s demand. But as soon as it came it also left. For the words Lucifer said gave Beel an ingenious idea. ¡°Lord Draconian, that is fair. But you must first best her in combat should you wish to take her. While I may be her uncle, she is her own person.¡± The Sage spoke calmly as he gave a quick clause onto the deal with Lucifer. He truly wanted Natasha to follow him to the Academy, if she could get there then she would be safe for at least a decade! Even longer if she was with a royal draconian! ¡°Uncle! What are you saying!¡± Natasha screamed in shock and horror as she heard the words the two men spoke. ¡°Shut up girl! You will fight with the Lord Draconian and should you lose you will follow him for your entire life! But if you win, then it is only fair that you have no further obligation towards him. Am I clear!¡± Beel roared with an unusual fury towards the niece that had always stolen his heart. The sweet and adorable girl that caused no end of trouble, his one and only niece had felt her uncle''s anger for the first time in your life. And it scared her. ¡°That is fine, we will have our match in the practical examination of the Academy. I¡¯m sure she can get through to the finals correct? If she can''t then she will automatically become mine.¡± Lucifer chuckled as he watched the family argument between Natasha and Beel. Chapter 27 Bathing in Blood (Unedited) Muselpine. The country of all as it is often named. Every race is welcome and none are allowed to be discriminated against in this progressive country. Orcs, elves, humans, dwarves and draconians are prohibited from any racial attacks while in the borders of Muselpine. Even delegates from other countries are forbidden to bring slaves into the land as that too is seen as discrimination against a people. So while the country is openly ruled by the Brotlar royal family of dwarves, it still maintains equality amongst the citizens and minorities. The Brotlar family was the most loved royal family in maybe the entire world by their citizens. The Brotlars never over taxed without cause, never cheated their people, always made sure the Trade was kept in line and also that warriors couldn''t just kill civilians without severe repercussions. All would be held in accordance with the law that was set by the Senate. The Senate was installed by the Brotlars to make sure fairness and equality reigned over Muselpine, even where their eyes could not reach. What they truly controlled though was the army and the borders, while making foreign deals and agreements. This allowed for the Muselpine people to be taken care of by their own in the Senate and protected by their monarchs, the Brotlar family. Every city of Muselpine was built quite well in comparison to some countries. But the capital, Az Citadel was a behemoth of stone and obscure ingenuity. 60 foot high walls that reached an astonishing 10 feet of width, surrounded the outer ring of the Citadel. The Citadel was entirely circular and possessed a mighty diameter of over 8 kilometers! Making the total circumference a staggering 25 kilometers around! If not for the amazing methodology of the Brotlars and the Senate, this giant fortress would be impossible to defend. But the two heads of state came together and created the Az Guardian initiative. A plan that gave the citizens of Az a way to become something bigger than what they were. It allowed all citizens of Muselpine to come to the capital and learn the ways of a warrior. This initiative, created a massive surplus of warriors for Az Citadel. And with so many warriors the Citadel could hire as many of them as needed for the task of guarding the jewel of the country. But the true marvel of Az Citadel was the population. ? of the people were at least of the Brown Squire level, 17% of the population was of the Red Mana Purity and above. Showing the truly immense power that hid behind the impervious walls of Az Citadel. With a total population of 10 million people, the number of possible warriors that could be called upon reached 7.5 million. Az Citadel was perfectly defensible and next to impossible to be defeated in a siege, Beast or man. Lucifer still marveled at the sheer greatness of the fortress even after 3 days of touring the long paved roads that were lined with what were called apartment complexes by the citizens. Large 4 story buildings that held over 10 families inside each of them. Lucifer was truly amazed by the craftsmanship and ingenuity that the Brotlars had shown through their building and planning of the massive city. Only the Az Guardian Institute and the Royal Palace, stood out from the large apartments. The Guardian Institute, the most respected place in all of Muselpine. The school that trained their entire military, law enforcement and other warriors at absolutely no cost to the students or their families. Only tax money was used for the Institute''s budget. Of course if one wanted to be trained for military or law enforcement, they would have to pay an extra fee to be accepted into the class. But everyone had to pay the fee, even royalty and Senate members. So the money that the Az Guardian Institute made was simply amazing despite giving free schooling. The Royal Palace, well. It was truly a warrior''s paradise. It looked more like a Coliseum than a palace, but it perfectly fit the strict marshal methodology of the Citadel. It was also the place where Lucifer was currently. The Palace held the largest venue for warriors to contest their might, and the Elemental Academy truly planned to capitalize on that. Installing dividers into the 800 square foot arena, the Academy began a tournament style examination to find the best of the best amongst the would be students. With rings of 40*40¡¯ there were 200 individual rings made. The tournament was knockout elimination or in other words a battle of endurance for the students participating. They would have to face as many challengers as possible before the end of the tournament. Only the last remaining 200 students would have a chance to enter into the Academy. So despite there being almost 300000 people taking the examination, only 200 would make it through. With Muselpine having over 22 million citizens the total number of applicants were around 300000, while the success rate was under 0.67% chance of making it through. At least for the practical examination. If one wanted to attend the Academy without the need for violence or for purely academic reasons they could also take the Element exam and essay which allowed for the more intellectual to shine. The top 3000 of that would be pardoned from the practical and given permission to attend the Academy. Lucifer was given recommendation by Kain Talcott, a powerful and eccentric warrior/Alchemist. And had plenty of swing in the Academy but even without Talcott¡¯s recommendation, Lucifer would have been easily able to enter the Academy solely on his royal lineage. Lucifer however wanted to fight his way in by relying on his own strength. So while taking advantage of Talcott''s recommendation to skip the Element exam and essay, Lucifer directly entered the practical combat examination. Skipping the boring essay and possible chance of his dual Element body becoming common knowledge, he stood bored in one of the rings made for the tournament. ¡°This is hopeless. I wanted to meet that Natasha here but she may not even enter my ring!¡± Lucifer bitterly sulked about the unfortunate proceedings. Even Luna herself wanted the two to fight, as she thought that Natasha may be able to elicit some struggle from Lucifer. ¡°Brother, I am not so sure you won''t meet her in a match. The Academy should want to know who the strongest amongst you is, that way they will have the last 200 fight it out to find the absolute victor.¡± Luna consoled from his shadow. She had never left it since waking up from Beel¡¯s sleeping spell. Maybe the trauma of being beaten by the Prime Infernal Ape or the fear of losing Lucifer again was subconsciously holding her inside his shadow, but the wolf truly felt at peace in the shadow of her brother. ¡°Ai, they better. I''d like to fight her and Bael. Those two should at least bring out something from me.¡± Lucifer mumbled as he continued to meditate and condense his Mana. He had begun meditating at every possible moment after he experienced the almighty power of Blue Mana from Beel. A deep desire to never allow that kind of helpless situation occur again filled his bones. He knew that his Core would grow naturally and without his prodding, inversely he knew that if he rushed his Core he would end up stagnating and halting his growth permanently. So he opted to work on his Mana Purity. After almost 2 solid hours of meditation in the early morning sun, Lucifer''s challenger had finally arrived. The open air arena made the stark features of the elf before him all too clear. Sharp pointed ears, narrow and angular facial features, even thin half closed eyes made the pale green haired elf all too recognizable. The elf was a male but even that did little to change his almost petite physique when put next to Lucifer. He was an entire foot shorter than Lucifer and did not possess the same powerful lean muscles but rather stick thin arms that seemed almost fragile. Lucifer snorted as the elf extended two foot long curved daggers from his dainty hands. With a yawn Lucifer flicked Messor out at the elf with almost no care at all for his opponent. With no change in his facial expression the elf dropped to his knees and avoided the flying slash of Messor. With a quick chant, the elf summoned [Vine Serpent], an incredibly annoying spell made for entanglement and restriction of enemies. Dozens of arm thick vines shot out from the ground and began to coil themselves around Lucifer. Without much shock Lucifer only flapped his wings and leapt away from the incoming storm of vines. Irritation soon flashed through his eyes as the vines began to follow him despite his airborne state, it was then that Lucifer realized that although he looked much like a Spellblade with his close combat weapons, the elf was in fact a Brown Apprentice. With a dismissive snort Lucifer only flapped his wings with greater power and rocketed himself towards the chanting elf. As Lucifer came flying towards the elf like a hawk going in for the kill, a pillar of wood shot upwards from underneath him slamming his left wing and almost breaking it. Showing that the next spell [Tree Pillar] had been cast. Lucifer was completely taken aback by the spell and was instantly caught by the [Vine Serpent] following him. Bound and thrown to the ground Lucifer let out a savage growl, as his aura began to release itself. Wrath soon came forth as he began to curse the elf he faced. Mana powering his body, Lucifer instantly snapped the confines of [Vine Serpent]. It was then he realised that he had forgotten everything he learned about fighting two-legs. He had fought Beasts for so long that he never really considered two-legs as opponents to be fought. Brute force wasn''t the answer for something that could think and react as adeptly and as sly as man could, he was lucky that Ragslav was a brute like him and also that [Vita Messorem Telum] had eliminated all of his enemies from a distance. With a terrible roar that echoed in the giant stadium of the Palace, Lucifer let out his aura in all of its brutal nature. The elf who had been preparing to send in the final blow was blasted into the thick earthen wall of the ring by the sheer force of Lucifer''s roar. Lucifer stalked slowly towards the elf that was struggling to stand up, the inner predator of Lucifer was free and it wanted blood. Killing wasn''t against the rules for the tournament, while somewhat frowned upon giving the public nature of the examination it was still condoned. Warriors must temper themselves in blood if they are to succeed in their martial way. Casting a quick [Bark Bolt] the elf tried to force Lucifer back. But the spell was instantly sliced in twain by Messor¡¯s blade. And with a simple thrust of the giant warglaive, Lucifer ended the life of his first victim. ¡°Kain what the devil is wrong with that draconian you found? He acts more like a Beast than a Spellblade. If the old man knew he weld a glaive like that he would die of embarrassment.¡± Spoke a middle-aged draconian that stood adorned with a plain set of leather and steel armour. Two scimitars lay on the man''s back as he leaned on the railing looking over the stadium. Next to him was the form of Kain Talcott, dressed in similar armour while he carried a bident spear over his shoulder. ¡°He has only fought Beasts. This would be his first true battle against people, trained warriors and not highway brigands. Give him some slack he will be the top of the final 200 in the end.¡± Kain spoke calmly to the draconian man to his right as they both looked at the match between Lucifer and the elf. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Kain, you wanna make a little bet?¡± The draconian asked with a wry smile. ¡°And what bet would that be you old freak?¡± ¡°He will only make the same mistake once more and that is when he faces that girl in ring 46.¡± The man replied while he had a cheshire grin on his face. ¡°Hahaha you think he will be dumbstruck by her beauty eh? Alright I bet that he will instantly go all out on her when they meet. Now what would an old man like you have to bet eh, Jas?¡± Kain answered with a hearty laugh. Jas looked down at the girl in ring 46, and he had to admit that she was most definitely the strongest contender for top place among the participants in his mind. Regardless of what Kain said about the royal draconian, this human seemed like a complete monster. Instant casting of medium level Lightning spells like they were simple Mana bolts. And the destruction her spells caused were way more than any other Lightning spell Jas had seen from a low tier warrior. Her spell burned her opponent more than it shocked them, the voltage had to be ridiculously high for such a phenomenon. ¡°You make her a weapon that can handle the insane voltage of her Lightning magic if I win the bet.¡± ¡°And if I do?¡± ¡°Then I will give the boy my father''s martial manual to keep.¡± Jas answered with a slight smile. He knew the value of the wager seemed unfair for Kain, but the value of that manual alone was worth millions to draconian warriors. And Kain knew that better than most, seeing as the human witnessed his father using the art firsthand. While the two men gambled, Lucifer had continued to battle different warriors. His ring; ring 66, was the most bloody of all 200 rings. He had begun a butchering spree as he preyed on every warrior that dared to enter. After he experienced the humiliation of getting hurt from the elf in his first match, Lucifer treated every single contender afterwards as if they were prey more than warriors. His predatory instincts were running full throttle as he analysed the subtle muscle changes in the gaits of the warriors. He broke down the way the moved into either preferences or internal injuries. Whenever a warrior entered ring 66 with a dominant left hand, Messor would come crashing down on their right shoulder. If they had a dominant right, then Messor would sweep through their left flank like a tidal wave of unstoppable might. Lucifer focused and honed his draconic eye onto the warriors as he saw their almost imperceptible limps, drooped muscles, overly tensed back and even their varying degrees of perspiration were all within his sight. And he brutally played with their bodies as he aimed each strike into their weak areas, as Messor savagely bathed in their blood. It was over 88 matches before the flow of would be victims came to a halt as the Academy¡¯s supervisors had to give forewarning to all challengers. The entirety of ring 66, was crimson red. Lucifer used no spells not even body enhancement, while he dismantled his opponents in a systematic and methodical pattern. At match 89 of Lucifer''s win streak he was met with an unlikely figure. An orc pugilist. It was the first time he had seen the giant green race. 6¡¯7¡± of solid muscle and brute strength, was the figure of the pale green orc. His short sharp ears, with his large square jaw and deep set sea blue eyes the orc was a figurative poster boy for his race. He was even considered very handsome by society''s standards, too bad his handsome looks did nothing to aid him against the predator he was about to face. Lucifer was only slightly taken aback by the strange new appearance of the orc before he let loose a brutal overhand chop towards the orc''s head. With diligent resolve the orc raised his katars into a cross block over his head and took the full brunt of Lucifer''s blow. Yet to the surprise of the orc and even more to the surprise of Lucifer, the two were held in deadlock as they steadily pushed their weapons together! Messor angrily buzzed as she had suffered her first block! There had never been any warrior that could handle the might of her strikes till the orc under her blade. ¡°Not bad Scaleborn. Aye, you are yeltrude for such a scrawny attarval.¡± The orc spoke in broken common tongue. He seemed to barely grasp the most basic language of Gaies, but his usage of orkin words did not befuddle his meaning. ¡°If I am anything it would be yeltrudor, peerless.¡± Lucifer said with a chuckle as he swiped Messor out of the cross block, and began to let out a barrage of heavy slashes. ¡°Hahaha Scaleborn speak orkin well! Flospal wiltok attarval!¡± Yelled the orc as he too began fighting in earnest! ¡°The battle has already started silly orc!¡± Lucifer laughed as he got lost in the thrill of the battle. The two brutish warriors began their dance of death, as they traded blows like lovers do kisses. A diagonal slash to the orc''s left shoulder from Lucifer would be exchanged with a savage punch towards his own midsection. A left hook from the orc would be met with the shaft of Messor as Lucifer''s tail came striking out of nowhere towards his legs. 50 blows exchanged and still they could not find a victor. 200 blows, and the orc finally had to use his magic and Mana to continue the brawl. 300 blows, Lucifer had received his first serious injury. A long vicious cut along his forearm. Heavy bleeding and serious pressure from the orc prevented him from using [Light Reconstruction] to heal himself. It wasn''t until 489 different exchanges did they finally come to the climax of their battle. Lucifer flapped his wings and avoided a wicked jab to the flank. With a horizontal slash of Messor, Lucifer unleashed 3 different Light [Elemental Spear]s at the rapidly approaching orc. Nimbly dodging the incoming spells the orc dove to the side. Right into the path of Lucifer''s Mana charged tackle! Suffering the concussive blast from Lucifer''s insanely primitive attack, the orc staggered backwards as he tried to regain his wits. But alas he had no chance to, Messor came flying into his stomach as Lucifer released a momentus swing of the massive weapon. Knocked away like a cannonball the orc smashed into the wall of the ring and lay completely unconscious. ¡°Lucifer he has passed the final 200 as well. Do not kill him!¡± Kain''s voice echoed in Lucifer''s head as began to walk forward and finish his opponent. Surprise and soon understanding flashed across Lucifer''s face. He remembered the Academy stating that so long as they could survive against him then the student would be accepted. The orc however had been the only one to come forward knowing of the low survival chance. Thus he had been accepted as one of the 200, well 201 to pass the Academy''s practical examination. ¡°Congratulations to all of the remaining warriors in the arena!¡± A deafening voice bellowed throughout the massive expanse of the stadium and into the ears of all the finalists. ¡°You have all been given entry into the Elemental Academy''s War School!¡± The voice continued to bellow. ¡°But we must know who the final champion of the new students is if we are to maintain the tradition of the Academy Practical Examination! So you as the finalists will be put into a progressive style battle royale! Each ring will conjoin with the adjacent one next to it. So ring 1 will pair with ring 2, ring 3 with ring 4, and so on. You will have as much time as it takes for your next opponent to finish their match before your next one begins. So finish quickly if you want a chance to rest before fighting again. Only when a victor is clear will the match be over. However there will be absolutely no killing! Killing is strictly prohibited for this part of the examination as you are all students of the Academy and inter-student killing is forbidden!¡± Finally the voice gave out the rules of the top 200 competition. Lucifer sighed as he listened to the overbearing voice of what he assumed was the tournament supervisor. ¡°Lucifer maybe the other finalists are all as good as that orc!¡± Luna excitedly exclaimed as she noticed his mood after the orc was taken away by Kain''s magic. ¡°If that is the case then there is no one capable of beating me. Only if they are vastly better than me in skill would they have a chance, that being only if I do not use primal magic.¡± Lucifer huffed as he began to meditate and replenish the little bit of Mana he had used against the orc warrior. ¡°You knows if I''ll even meet Natasha or Bael. The chances of them falling from exhaustion are high.¡± Little did Lucifer know that all the other finalists were using precious Mana Fruits to replenish their Mana and strength. ¡°Brother the spell that made the walls of the ring is changing. Brace yourself the final round is starting!¡± Luna cried with a mixture of worry and excitement. ¡°Good, let''s see if the other warriors are half as good as orc boy.¡± Lucifer chuckled darkly as the wall between him and his opponent slowly fell, revealing a short human girl. Black hair and thin eyes denoted her Ves heritage. Her creamy skin was tanned giving her an exotic look. Lucifer noticed her clothing seemed to be a mixture of leather and Beast furs, while obviously offered little protection with its sparse and skimpy design. Only a brazier and very short trousers covered her body, revealing her attractive yet muscular form to Lucifer. Who could see how well toned and defined she was with just a glance. And while the girl was not overly beautiful like Natasha she still possessed a certain charm, that drew Lucifer in. ¡°If you''re done staring, shall we begin lizard boy?¡± The 5¡¯4¡± human snapped irritably. She didn''t even wait for a reply before casting a short spell: [Water Bolt]. Instantly Water Element began gathering before her and shaping into a spinning orb of clear blue water, as the orb rotated it launched directly at Lucifer. ¡°Ugh, another hairless monkey to deal with.¡± Lucifer muttered as he twisted his body out of the [Water Bolt]¡¯s path. With a swipe of Messor, he sent a Light [Elemental Spear] hurtling towards the still chanting girl. Not one to leave things to chance, he darted across the ring trailing his spell while he prepared to begin close combat. ¡°Dammit!¡± The girl cursed as she saw her initial spell miss badly. She was trying to finish the match as quickly and conservatively as possible but the draconian she faced had no intention to go down easy. With a deep breath she finished her second spell and released it! The advanced spell [Aqua Pulse] let loose a wicked torrent of high pressurized water like a cannon. As the torrent of water came roaring towards Lucifer, he gently flapped his wings and leapt into the air. With agility and primal grace, Lucifer landed gently on the ground directly next to the girl with Messor leveled at her throat. ¡°Dead.¡± Was all he needed to say for the match to be over. The girl had no chance to avoid nor counter him as he held Messor against the tanned skin of her throat. With his foe defeated Lucifer sat down on a part of the new bigger ring that wasn¡¯t covered in blood and proceeded to meditate. He had only used a couple of spells during the match against the orc and now against the human so he took the time to diligently make sure he stayed in peak form. He had at least 11 fights before he made it to the top 5. The tournament was set up so that the first 2 rounds would bring the finalists down to the top 50, with each round being a knockout elimination. Once there was 50 warriors left then each warrior would draw numbered lots. The warriors in the 1-10 range would each face each other once and the warrior with the best win ratio would proceed to the final 5. While the second best win rates would fill up the rest of the top 10. The third best win rates would fill up the top 15, and so on and so forth. This was to make sure that the tournament maintained fairness and also to ensure only the best of the best made it through. If one was knocked out in the first two rounds however, then at least they were eliminated by top contenders and once at the Academy could challenge once again for a better ranking. Lucifer reasoned that although a number grouping could have 2 very strong warriors, the best win rates would still see them placed in a fair location. Even if it wasn¡¯t a direct representation of their strength it would at least give them an idea of the overall strength levels of their fellow peers. After only a 20 minute meditation session, Lucifer¡¯s 2nd opponent had finally revealed himself. It was a fellow draconian, only this one possessed facial scales unlike himself. The draconian stood at 5¡¯9¡± and had a large bull like build, obviously a warrior that relied on strength more than speed. Lucifer¡¯s theory was proven true as the draconian drew a giant double bladed war axe from his back. With a shout the axe wielding warrior came charging towards Lucifer like a mad bull. Lucifer could only shake his head as he casually dodged the incoming swing of the axe. With sidesteps, deft turns and the occasional duck Lucifer danced just out of the berserking warrior¡¯s mad strikes. Lucifer dodged around like a leaf in a storm around the brutal axe, burning away the draconian¡¯s strength as he struggled to maintain himself while he began using Mana to strengthen his swings. Noticing the surge of Mana, Lucifer finally released Messor who was humming in anger at the halt in her bloody feast. He aimed a well timed thrust of the warglaive¡¯s blade into the thigh of the draconian who just finished another sweeping swing of his axe. Messor¡¯s blade; of Heracles Ravager and blacksteel, easily tore through the light armour that the draconian wore and ripped into the quadriceps and pierced into the femur of the warrior before she finally stopped. Thus ending the draconian¡¯s time in the tournament and sealing Lucifer¡¯s place in the final 50. Chapter 28 Pride and Mantle (Unedited) BOOOOOOM ¡°[Lightning Tempest]!¡± SSSSSTTT Cobalt blue lightning fulminated and raged inside of one of the rings of the arena. Scaring the surrounding teachers into acting to ensure the survival of the dwarf that was on the receiving end of the deadly bolts of energy! ¡°Ugh that girl in ring 46 is a total monster! You really think your boy in ring 66 can win against her? That [Lightning Tempest] was utterly devastating, If it wasn¡¯t for you that boor dwarf would be char!¡± Jas exclaimed aghast as he saw the power of the normally low tier spell do as much destruction as a peak mid tier one. Kain stood wearily beside the draconian blademaster. Heavy lines knit themselves across the forehead of Kain as he stared at the beauty of Natasha who stood completely at ease in the ring as she awaited her next ¡®victim¡¯. ¡°She is either an idiot or a fool for trying to test us like this.¡± Kain said with a cold gleam in his eyes. He had begun to dislike the red haired beauty. Her sadistic actions in the practical exam were fresh in his mind. The next to heinous attacks she sent out were just enough to permanently cripple her foes rather than kill them. She most definitely had the power to kill them but she most likely made sure to hold back just enough to render them crippled for life. ¡°The next time she does it I will personally revoke her rights into the academy.¡± ¡°Fair enough but at least give her a warning before you just kick her out.¡± Answered Jas with a nod, he too had begun to detest the cruel methods of Natasha. ¡°How¡¯s the boy doing?¡± Kain asked as he sent another of the supervisors to give the warning to Natasha. ¡°Not bad at all. He ended his first match with skill rather than his overwhelming strength. Still hasn¡¯t let loose any large amounts of Mana though, unlike the Fire Princess over there. She has been using flashy spells like they are a fashion statement.¡± Jas chuckled as he pointed out another contestant down in arena. ¡°That Fire Princess truly lives up to her name though. ¡®A sea of flames for her enemies¡¯ is a very apt description of her combat style.¡± ¡°Haaah Jas, please tell me that she isn''t facing Lucifer before the final 5?¡± Kain bitterly groaned as he looked at the match line ups. ¡°Fuck!¡± Jas cursed as he saw the lineup as well. ¡°Well fucking great looks like your boy is going to have a rough round robin. The Fire Princess, then there is Typhus and that one black haired brat looks like a tough match as well. Oh well at least he has 6 guaranteed wins eh?¡± ¡°Shut up you old freak.¡± Snapped Kain as he listened to the challenges Lucifer would face. Back in the arena Lucifer continued meditation completely oblivious to the conversation happening between the older men. It wasn''t until Luna once again notified him of the change in the earth wall that he stopped. His next opponent had finally finished their match. Lucifer stood and leaned on Messor as he waited for the wall to finish changing. Surprisingly the entire ring began to change as the walls moved around like pieces of a shuffleboard. Until finally the entire arena had 50 perfectly circular rings of 60*60 feet in diameter. Each ring held 2 warriors in them before they finally came to a halt and the signal for the match to start resounded over the entire arena. Lucifer analyzed his opponent, a giant rotund dwarf. No taller than 5¡¯4¡± and thicker than Lucifer even with his wings folded closed, the dwarf was almost appalling to look at. His overly greasy face and rippling fat that shook with every single movement he made, made Lucifer question if the dwarf in front of him was truly walking on his own feet or had someone helping him. Lucifer saw that although the dwarf seemed like a blob of gelatinous fat, he still had some muscle buried deep below the fatty layer of tissue. He only noticed this because of the way the dwarf walked. The dwarf actually had balance! Something that he shouldn''t possibly have with his obscenely large body. Two beady brown eyes peered through the folds of flesh at Lucifer, most particularly his giant golden wings. The dwarf wasted no time in silently declaring that those wings would be his. ¡°What use do you have for those beautiful wings of gold? They would serve so much better above my, Jakol Reidlanz mantle place!¡± ¡°Say that again fatty.¡± Lucifer snarled as he revealed his sharp teeth and his purple right eye began to glow darkly. ¡°Insolent! You a savage that can''t even afford a proper weapon, do not deserve such beautiful wings! Give them to me!¡± Jakol roared as the fat on his entire body began to jiggle in response to his animated theatrics. Wrath exploded forth from Lucifer in such a dense and unbridled wave that even the supervising warriors felt cold sweats pour down their spines! ¡°You will suffer nanus, I will break your obscene body into pieces of lard for the butcher house!¡± Lucifer took off in a Mana charged sprint towards Jakol, in a puff of smoke Lucifer''s form turned illusory and he seemingly disappeared. A split second later Lucifer reappeared behind Jakol with Messor raised high ready to cut him in two! With [Gold Mail] covering Messor, Lucifer let loose his fury into the cleaving swing of the mighty warglaive. ¡°Wha-¡± RRRRRRAAAAAAARRRRHHHHHHGGGGGGGGG An earth rending explosion exploded outwards from the ring of Lucifer and Jakol. The explosion was so loud that it silenced all of the other fights as the warriors halted their battles to see what could have happened to cause such a massive sound. ¡°Nanus, learn your place. A disgusting piece of filth like you should be dead solely on the fact that you exist.¡± Lucifer spat venom out as he looked at the smoldering crater that billowed upwards with smoke and dust. ¡°Well the only thing you did useful in your life was allow me to test out the might of [Gold Mail] in offensive situations.¡± ¡°Brother! You aren¡¯t supposed to kill in this match!¡± Luna cried out as realization of what had just happened sunk in. ¡°Lucifer! You idiot! Why did you kill him!¡± Kain yelled with a belly full of fire, as his figure instantly flashed next to the still scowling Lucifer. ¡°You were strictly prohibited from killing fellow students during the ranking tournament. What in Gaies name happened that made you kill him!¡± ¡°He challenged my Pride, Talcott.¡± Lucifer answered blandly as he continued to let his cold dead eyes glare at the obliterated corpse of the dwarf. ¡°What the bloody hell do you mean by that! Boy you best give me a satisfying answer or so help me, not even Eric can save you!¡± Kain never relented and kept yelling with burning anger. ¡°He wanted my wings to be placed above his mantle place. Killing may have been banned but dismemberment and crippling was not. So I protected myself from a possible recurring threat behind my back. Did I act in accordance with the Academy rules? No. Did I act in accordance of the laws of the land? Yes.¡± A deadly finality entered Lucifer¡¯s voice as he glared at Kain from the corner of his eye. ¡°If Eric told me correctly, no student of the Academy is allowed to make threats based on race. Which would be exactly like that dwarf claiming my wings should go above his hearth! DO NOT PUSH ME MORE THAN YOU ALREADY HAVE KAIN! I am not in the mood.¡± If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. The silence that followed Lucifer¡¯s outburst was deafening. Even the examiners that arrived after Kain, were left dumbfounded at the words said. Lucifer had obviously judged the consequences of his actions before he did them, it was only startlingly fearful that he was able to find the loophole quick enough to justify murder even after being told expressly not to kill. Callous, decisive, cold, vindictive. Lucifer showed exactly how he would deal with any perceived threat, and he would not allow one to fester. ¡°If there is nothing else, I must prepare for my next match.¡± Sitting down next to the still smoking crater, Lucifer proceeded to close his eyes and rest. Inwardly though he was busy talking to Luna. ¡°Luna, thank you for reminding me to keep my cool there.¡± ¡°With pleasure brother! But that dwarf was really too hateful, if I could I would imprison his soul and torment it for a lifetime.¡± Luna chimed with love and affection towards the still smoldering Lucifer. ¡°He doesn¡¯t deserve your time pup.¡± Lucifer chuckled drily as he heard the sweet voice of Luna in his mind. ¡°Then he doesn¡¯t deserve brother¡¯s anger!¡± Luna smartly replied with a grin on her face from within the shadow of Lucifer. ¡°Fair enough, fair enough. Listen Luna I am going to end all the next matches with magic. I haven¡¯t used it often enough for my skill in it to improve. It will also be perfect for me to create better spells. I can¡¯t just always use reinforcement type magics, I need to use mid and long ranged spells more often.¡± Reason soon came over Lucifer as he planned out the next 9 matches he would have to face. It was true that he had some devastatingly powerful magics, but they were all live spells. They needed a conduit to be useful. [Gold Mail] and [Vita Messorem Telum] relied on his body and Messor to be effective. [Shadow Armoury] and [Elemental Spear] were his only energy based spells. They used Mana and the Elements as their power source and what gave them form, Lucifer need only cast the spell and aim it for it to be effective. ¡°Why have you never used your Dark Element then?¡± ¡°I have golden scales pup. Although they are very dark in colour they are still golden. So I should use Light Element, since a draconian¡¯s scales are the colour of their Element. Also I don¡¯t want anyone to know of my dual Elements. It¡¯s enough for Kain to know, seeing as Eric trusts him enough I will as well.¡± Lucifer shared his reasoning with Luna. ¡°Plus I don¡¯t think I can progress with my magics if I am always switching between Elements. I need to get a better understanding of them over time if I am to be successful with my magic.¡± ¡°Lucifer.¡± Kain interrupted Lucifer from his musings of magic and its correlation with the Elements. ¡°What is it old man?¡± Lucifer replied without even opening his eyes to look at the man who stood before him. ¡°You little. Look while you did violate the no-killing rule, you also abided by the no-racism rule of the Academy. Therefore we have decided to forego your immediate punishment, once you reach Yulrig you will be sent straight to the vice-principal for him to oversee your punishment.¡± Kain spoke with a stern face as he declared the sentence for Lucifer. ¡°Am I clear?¡± ¡°Crystal.¡± Came the dull reply of Lucifer following the end of the man¡¯s words. ¡°Good. You will continue with the tournament. I will seal your Mana Core at the end and you will have to wait for the Vice-Principal to release it upon his decision.¡± Lucifer only continued sitting down with eyes shut while he received his sentence from Kain. His Pride would not allow him the shame of having to justify and argue for his actions, he broke a rule and that warranted a punishment. Though maybe having a cheerful and lovable Luna trying to cheer him up inside his mind was the real reason why he did not lash out more than he already did. With the disturbance dealt with, the tournament continued till all of the top 50 had been selected. 50 warriors stood in the now cleared and magically restored arena. Jas, Kain and the other supervisors lined up the students into 5 rows of 10 people. It was only after the students were randomly given a numbered lotto that the group of supervisors divided the 50 students into 5 different groups of 10 and lead them to 5 different rings where they would begin the round robin. Lucifer followed his group under the lead of Jas, towards the ring marked with a giant ¡°5¡± on it. He noted each and every one of the student¡¯s races. 4 humans, 3 dwarfs, 1 elf and another draconian. The humans were all males, one held a large bastard sword which earned him the nickname ¡®Bastard¡¯ from Lucifer, another carried a long trident and acted like an animal in heat so he got ¡®Rut¡¯ for his behaviour, the third was a typical sword and shield warrior with his raven black hair waving like a mane earning him ¡®Cat¡¯ to match his terrible hair style, the last was probably the most awful of the group and carried only a helmbarte which rested over his exposed shoulder thus winning the name ¡®Fool¡¯ from Lucifer. If they 4 humans had learned of Lucifer¡¯s naming sense they might have spit blood from anger, especially Rut. The first match began as Jas called forth the only dwarven female and ¡®Bastard¡¯ up. ¡°[Flash Pyre].¡± A screaming wail of crimson flames lit up the open air arena as a young dwarven girl¡¯s small delicate hand waved, sending the screeching flames flying towards a massive human warrior wielding a large bastard sword. With a blast of heat, the flames consumed the human as he tried to slice the fire apart with a Mana clad sword strike. The girl''s 5¡¯0¡± stature and petite, childish frame made a stark contrast to the devilish fire she called forth. Her tiny hands grasped a set of dual sabres as she called out another spell. ¡°[Flare Rush].¡± Her unemotional yet childish voice sounded out before a swirling ball of flames took form around her. Swallowing her, burgundy gown and all. Her auburn hair danced wildly in the flames as she raised her thin sabres and took off in a rush of fire towards the burning warrior. Only a second from had passed from when she cast her spell to the moment she landed in front of the magical bonfire. Slashing her sabres forward she sent the swirling fire around her into the still burning [Flash Pyre]. A giant combustion of soaring flames exploded into existence as the two magics met. Raging into the sky the magical flames made a deadly yet beautiful scene as the immature form of the girl stood before it with her silver sabres resting gently in her tiny hands. Her ornate burgundy gown danced with the crazy wind caused by the inferno. With a flick of her sword the girl dismissed the inferno as if it was only a candle before her. A terrifying screech echoed in the arena as the flames ate themselves away and into obligation, leaving only smoldering embers and a charred form of a kneeling warrior. ¡°Victor, Evra Brotlar! Defeat, Lucius Polk!¡± Jas announced as he walked forward and checked the body of the charcoal human statue. Finding life still flowing in the warrior, Jas called forth a healer for the bastard sword wielding warrior. Death and crippling had been extremely common in this practical examination so the Brotlars had sent forth their healers to help reduce the damage dealt by these bloodthirsty young warriors. ¡°Warren Kolt, Lucifer Khan. You''re up.¡± Jas called out as the healers took the charred body of Evra¡¯s opponent away for healing. ¡°Me, against a wanna be angel? What a joke.¡± The scrawny human, ¡®Rut¡¯ answered as he got up and began walking towards the magically reconstructed ring. Sandy blonde hair fell in loose curls as the human swaggered his way into the ring, not before sending a flirtatious wink at Evra who was walking back to the seating area. Warren gave off the standard playboy persona as he tried to flirt with blank faced dwarven princess, only to his failure as she didn''t even spare a glance towards him. Huffing with annoyance the human heft the long trident he held onto his shoulders while he awaited the arrival of Lucifer, who had not even moved a muscle after his name was called. ¡°Lucifer are you forfeiting the match?¡± Jas asked with a wry smile. He knew all too well that a forfeit was impossible from the savagery of Lucifer. ¡°I don''t see the point of fighting a with a rutting monkey. He will only ruin his chances of mating the girl by facing me. I doubt she would want his weak seed anyways.¡± Lucifer spoke blandly as he opened his eyes and gazed at the expectant look of Jas. ¡°Just don''t kill him, hatchling. I don''t need the stress of having to deal with an angry Kain.¡± The older draconian answered with a slight chuckle. Lucifer only nodded to the man¡¯s words before he got up and picked up Messor. A deathly calm took over Lucifer as he took his place in the ring with Warren. Lucifer vanished as soon as Jas gave the signal to begin. Warren tensed and waved his ornate trident around and threw random spells out as he tried to find Lucifer. Messor tore through the air as Lucifer appeared next to Warren and unleashed the mighty warglaive in a brutal slash towards the oblivious human. Jas inwardly frowned as he saw the way the battle was going. Lucifer was just too powerful in comparison to even the standard genius level students. ¡°Evra would be able to hold him back with her Fire. Typhus should be able to match Lucifer in terms of speed. Jaquis hopefully can pull out something if he has any hopes of making it far in this round robin. But to think 4 monsters would be here, it''s a little unnerving.¡± The old draconian muttered to himself as he watched Lucifer pulverize and toy with Warren like a ragdoll before a tiger. Gone were the thoughts of his bet with Kain for Natasha and Lucifer''s fight, he only thought of how it would be possible for all 4 of these monsters to make it through this round. ¡°Lucifer, that''s enough he can''t even stand. You''re making the healers work extra hard today.¡± Jas called out as he announced the match result. ¡°Victor, Lucifer Khan! Defeat Warren Kolt!¡± ¡°Typhus Oak, Markus Kolt. You two next.¡± Jas called out unemotionally, as he waited for the healers to drag away the limp body of Warren. Lucifer frowned as he heard the familiar last name. Kolt. ¡®Rut¡¯ was a Kolt as well. Looking carefully at the barrel chested and giant mass of muscle that was Markus Kolt, Lucifer saw similar traits between ¡®Rut¡¯ and ¡®Fool¡¯. Both had terrible choice in weapons, both had the same sandy coloured hair, but neither of them shared anything else! Facial structure, body type, eye colour, nothing matched! Lucifer thought of what could explain such an odd match. ¡°Some two-leg families have multiple branches. These two must both be from the Kolt family but differ in their branches. Either that, or one is a bastard.¡± Luna answered promptly to Lucifer''s bewildered thoughts. Typhus Oak though was the sole elf of the group. Tall for an elf at 5¡¯6¡± Typhus had rippling muscles that broke the common stereotype of elves being slim. Typhus almost stood on par with the behemoth that was Markus in pure physique, despite being 4 inches shorter. A glistening long sword hung at the elf''s hip and showed off its splendidly crafted wooden hilt and crossguard. The sword was the same shade of soft grey as the long locks of hair that fell from Typhus¡¯ head. ¡°Begin!¡± Jas shouted as the two muscle heads squared off with their weapons drawn. The battle however was over the next second as Typhus let loose a blinding cross slash towards the rushing Markus. A bladelight of solid compressed air launched out from the wicked fast slash of the pristine long sword of the elf. The crescent bladelight of solid air cut through the space between the two warriors and slammed into Markus, blasting him clear off his feet! Before the human could get up the tip of Typhus¡¯ sword touched his chest signalling how easy it would be for the elf to kill him and the end of the match. Unlike his pompous relative Markus only grunted and walked back to his seat as Jas called out the result. ¡°Victor, Typhus Oak! Defeat, Marcus Kolt!¡± ¡°Adam Woll, Jaquis Dumar. Next.¡± ¡°Victor, Jaquis Dumar! Defeat Adam Woll!¡± ¡°Evra Brotlar, Markus Kolt. Next.¡± ¡°I forfeit.¡± Came the voice of Markus as he heard his next match. There was no way in Gaies that he would risk his life facing the Fire Princess, the rumors and last demonstration of her prowess were enough to convince him solidly of his chances. ¡°Fine. Evra Brotlar, 2 wins!¡± Jas spoke with an understanding nod, he could truly feel for the human. He had literally no chance against Typhus, even less when paired up with Evra. Only Lucifer would toy with him so even that was a worse pairing in comparison. ¡°Lucifer Khan, Evra Brotlar. Get up here.¡± Chapter 29 Whence it Came (Unedited) Hmm. The Brotlar princess against the royal draconian, should be interesting. Those two are likely my biggest contenders for the spot in the top 5. Short, tiny, petite, childish, immature, doll, empty. Only that eh? Seems like the ¡®Fire Princess¡¯ is as the rumors say. A weapon for Muselpine given dwarven form. She looks like the perfect candidate for mental training and torture, if what the Intel says is true then I am right in assuming so. Tall, savage, brute, power, terror, pride, spite. There is too much coming from that royal draconian! That and he even caught my gaze! What kind of crazy instincts are those? This is why Farror has been such a bitch to topple, these draconians. Freaks of nature with too much power for their own good. Well at least they are better than the demons of old. My Oak family has been watching Farror for so long. Finally we are making our move after so many generations. Though we have yet to find the ¡®fuse¡¯ for this continent¡¯s powder keg, turns out that even Levin has yet to find it yet. Hopefully it shows itself during my time in the Academy, I really don''t need that increase in paperwork. I''d rather just relax and train at the Academy than have to subtly control some walking bomb that could explode in my face. Eventually though the idiot monkeys back home will kill each other after we begin our plan. Then Lovita and Farror will fall to us like dominoes. But before any of that shit, let''s enjoy my school life. Wonder who will win, both have barely showed their true strengths so I doubt it will be a boring fight. ¡°Why is there a royal draconian here?¡± I pondered as we were both called up for the next fight. ¡°Seems he''s not a coward like the last one. Hopefully he can be exciting.¡± Myself being a dwarf felt truly small as I looked at him. Giant. Was the only word that I could find to describe him at first. But, Beast would be a better word as I would soon find out. His entire body seemed more like a predator than it did a sentient being. His walk was quiet, almost silent if it wasn''t for my magically enhanced senses I would barely be able to hear the muffled clicking of his talons on the dirt floor. I tried to find anything that gave away a weakness of this giant golden draconian. From the way he moved, the way he carelessly toyed with that monster of a weapon, the total lack of interest in his eyes well eye he had the left one covered. Maybe his left eye is blind! Hmph. Such a shame, with his body of course there would be some problem. The world is always fair, no living weapon would be totally perfect. I looked at his wings and tail, they would likely prove more difficult to work against than it would be to capitalise on his blindness. Humongous, was all I could think when I saw him release a subconscious flap as he caught sight of me staring at his wings. They were at least, 3 ? feet wide. That put his wingspan to almost 7 feet! Shit! He could fly with those leathery muscles attached to his back. And that tail of his. It was practically a morning star attached to his back! How the hell does he even sleep without cutting himself to shreds with those spikes on it? Ugh. This is why royal draconians rule the races of Gaies. They are weapons that can think for themselves. Oh well I am the ¡®Fire Princess¡¯ and I doubt he has ever gone through half the shit I have. Probably just lived in some castle and trained or some other stupid royal bull. He wasn''t experimented on by his own family. He wasn''t treated as a monster by his own mother. He wasn''t taught only to kill since he was born. I am a monster. ¡°Begin!¡± The referee shouted as both the draconian named after the First Angel and I got into position. I gripped my swords tightly as I began casting my magics. I''ll start with a blitz play, then I should try and take him out from afar. He hasn''t shown what type of warrior he is though. Looking at his muscles and how he dismantled that human, I''d say he is a Spellblade. ¡°[Flare Rush]!¡± I felt the familiar feeling of the flames take form around me as my self made spell burst into existence. I spent months developing the spell to make up for my Magus failing of close combat. Used my body as the focal point for the flaming orb that would amplify my speed and ward off most attacks. [Flare Rush] coupled with my twin blade style made me almost as powerful as top tier Spellblades in melee combat. Only issue was that it reacted terribly with all my other Fire magics. Exploding at the slightest contact with another flame, it took me months before I finally found a way to use it my advantage. That was to use my swords as the focal point of the spell allowing for the spell to be thrown with weapons, creating a napalm like explosion whenever it collided with other flames. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. I stood there watching for any response in ¡®Lucifer¡¯ before I realised that he wasn''t taking this fight seriously at all! His form had at least 5 holes that I could count! Leaning on glaive like nothing was happening, this was one of my most deadly spells. Oh well, I find pulverizing these cocky warriors almost as enjoyable as a real fight. Pushing aside my thoughts, I launched myself forward while I let my swords stay parallel with the ground and aimed at Lucifer. Like a burning comet I rushed towards him, intent to let my magic ram into him and torch his scaly ass. Ever since my 11th birthday watching people aflame became the single most relaxing thing in my never ending torment that is my life. Between the ridiculous experiments and the sadistic ¡®teaching¡¯ those bastards put me through, only the dancing flames and their screams of agony eased my stressed mind. Longing for another torched body bubbled up deep inside my husk of a body. It has been so long since I hoped for something at this degree. Last time was when I torched that asinine fiance of mine. Now ¡®Lucifer¡¯ you will be the next arrogant idiot to feel the flames of the Fire Princess! At least that was what I thought. Lucifer disappeared in a cloud of dust as I arrived right before him. I had already released my magic as I stabbed my sabres into the empty air he was supposed to be at. Where the fuck did he go! With a anxious panic I began to frantically twist my head around looking for his giant form. It wasn''t hard to find. Off to my left he stood with that unnerving purple snake eye staring at me with what looked like a hint of interest. His giant 8 foot glaive lay across his shoulders as if the monstrous weapon weighed nothing at all to him. That weaponized tail flicked back and forth like a cat playing with a ball of yarn, even his wings were shaking lightly causing dust to go flying. But Lucifer had a look of total curiosity as he continued to stare at me and the flaming earth my spell¡¯s fire made. ¡°You are not bad, Nanus. Oh that is the old tongue for your people, in case you didn''t know.¡± Lucifer spoke out. His voice held an obvious immaturity to it but I could not point that out when it was also as cruel sounding as Beast''s growl. He didn''t even seem to be hostile to me. Like his animal like tone and nature were deeply ingrained into his mind, body and soul were that of a savage Beast''s. ¡°[Vulcan Pulse]!¡± Casting one of the most powerful spells available to me, I chose to ignore his small talk and focus on making him burn. A surge of Mana and Fire Element began to gather at the tip of my sword as I thrust it at the draconian. A beam of crimson red light shot out from the brightly glowing sword. [Vulcan Pulse] condensed all the Fire Element I could gather into a single laser beam of 1000 degree intense light. Vulcan the God of Fire should be proud of my spell, as it will constantly grow in power as I get stronger. Gaining in heat and intensity as my Mana Purity rises. There was no one my level that could handle this spell and despite not being my best magic it still had the highest lethality of all my magics. The piercing laser shot straight into Lucifer causing a flash of light and heat to explode from the draconian as I maintained my facade of indifference. Inside though, I was revelling in the dancing of the flames that shot out from point zero of my spell. ¡°So that is what happens when Fire is compressed, it returns to Light.¡± Came the most haunting voice I had ever heard. Lucifer stood amid the flames like they were nothing, only his body glowed a faint golden colour. Fuck. Fuck. He blocked [Vulcan Pulse]. ¡°Little girl, can you give up? I don''t want to hurt you seeing as you gave me some valuable information.¡± This arrogant fucking prick! I''ll incinerate him! Fuck the rules! For some reason he shattered my mask of indifference with his lack of care and degrading actions. I who had suffered from a fate worse than death was angered by some oversized lizard brat! The horrible memories of that cold metal table and the Mana serums they forced into me, all forgotten as I began to get genuinely angry. ¡°Girl, you are finally showing your desire! Haha maybe I can fight you now.¡± Lucifer laughed as black lines filled my forehead. ¡°[Ifrit].¡± I began to unleash my full power as rage began to consume me. Intense heat blast forth from me as reddish blue flames burst into life at my feet. But before I could fully unleash my magic, I felt something dreadfully heavy weigh down on my shoulder. Looking over I saw the wicked blade of Lucifer''s glaive resting next to my neck. Anger quickly became fear as my eyes followed the lengthy shaft of the weapon till I saw Lucifer''s scaled hand. His purple dragon slit eye looking at me with a mild annoyance clear in the depths of that unfathomable eye. ¡°Match over! Victor Lucifer! Defeat Evra.¡± The referee said bluntly as his tall figure entered in between us. ¡°Lucifer don''t go killing another one, it''s not worth it.¡± My interest was raptly taken by those words that the ref said to Lucifer as the draconian took his weapon away from my body with a low rumbling growl. He truly was more animalistic than any other being I had ever met. I had no qualms over my defeat, only an unnerving feeling that Lucifer Khan was going to forever become a shadow in my heart. The boy who had the appearance of a man crossed with a Beast. The boy who totally disregarded my pride and honour as a warrior, all because of some info that he supposedly gained from me. It was at this moment I realised that I had to subdue him before he left his beastial imprint in me forever. ¡°Nome of you are a match for him. Forfeit now.¡± With those words hanging in the air I headed to my spot to sulk and ponder over what had happened in that ¡®fight¡¯ if I could even call of that. Let the rest of those fools learn of the insanity that is the First Angel made Dragon. I would only focus on burning everyone around him. ¡°Well that''d be interesting. So you all going forfeit from your fights with the hatchling?¡± Taunting the still reeling students, Jas evilly chuckled. ¡°No one would blame you, after all even the renown Fire Princess fell to defeat in his hands.¡± Bitter faces clouded the students as they hung their heads in mixtures of shame, humiliation and helplessness. Only two of them could resist the sweltering flames of Evra¡¯s magics and those two were a lot farther then Lucifer was. And he stood in them like they were embers instead of being the true inferno they were. If Evra was so easily brought to her knees, wouldn''t the same happen to all of them? This single thought kept recurring in the students¡¯ heads. Even Jas¡¯ provocation fell to deaf ears as one by one the students chose to forfeit their matches with Lucifer, placing him as a guaranteed top 5 finalist. Chapter 30 Dragon VS Phoenix (Unedited) ¡°Natasha, enough with your overly cruel attacks! I know you have the skill and power to do better, so answer me. Why have you purposefully debilitated each and every one of your opponents?¡± Kain finally could not bear to watch the demoness torment so many innocent people with her insane antics. The girl in question stood in the middle of the ring 4 with a twitching and smoking body laying at her feet. Her crimson hair flowing in the gentle breeze like a cape of lavish silk, trailing behind her. A corset style leather armour brought out more of her succubus like curves, enough to make even the most stalwart of men question their morals. And her lapis blue eyes, were like a looking glass into a watery paradise. Kain truly had trouble keeping his temper, but the lives of so many were ruined that he still maintained his strict and domineering presence. As the healers came running to take care of the spasming body, they too became entranced with her otherworldly beauty. Completely forgetting about the person they came to save. Only Kain as a Demi-Sage held the mental fortitude to resist her charm. But even he was lost when she flashed a gentle smile as she turned to face him. ¡°Supervisor, I have only used one spell the entire examination. A low tier spell with a wide area of effect. As such it only possess enough power to stun the average Red Squire, how can I know that everyone here can''t handle that much?¡± Natasha''s devilishly sweet voice came into everyone around, making them lost in the melody her voice carried. ¡°D-don¡¯t play coy with me! Either way you are forbidden from causing any serious harm to your opponents from hence forth! Failure to comply will lead to your expulsion and banishment from any Academy owned lands.¡± Kain stammered through his anger in a spittle filled shout. ¡°Very well. I will only use [Lightning Bolt] then. I take it I am at least allowed that much?¡± A sweet and innocent smile blossomed on Natasha''s tender ivory face. ¡°That is acceptable. Next fight! Natasha Devol, Argan Sigmar.¡± ¡°I forfeit, and so do all the rest of us.¡± A broad shouldered orcish youth in chainmail answered Kain¡¯s call for the next fight. His curly black hair was shaved on the sides and allowed to grow into a shoulder length ponytail. Sharp features carved themselves on the boy¡¯s face. Swordlike black brows arched over his green eyes. High cheekbones coupled the dimples and stubble that shaded his cheeks. Only a slim nose tied it all together as his lips were thick and full all with his pale green skin. ¡°Fuck. Fine then, Natasha Devol advances to the Top 5. Do you all have any other forfeits?¡± Kain let out a pent up sigh as he called out the results. ¡°Sir the others have all forfeited to me, seeing as I am the only one unscathed by the lady.¡± Argan answered once again with a formal bow. Which elicited a giggle from Natasha who was cheerfully humming a tune. ¡°Argan Sigmar, advances with 8 wins and 1 loss. Maybe you''ll also make it to the Top 5 boy, you certainly have the skill.¡± With that Kain began walking out of Ring 4 and over to the finalist area. Natasha and Argan dutifully followed behind the slightly bitter Demi-Sage. ¡°Lucifer Khan with 9 wins and 0 losses advances through to the Top 5. Evra Brotlar advances with 8 wins and 1 loss. Good job both of you.¡± Jas sighed as he saw the results of the round robin. Lucifer advanced with one real fight and the rest being forfeits. Evra did much the same only fighting Lucifer and the ignorant Warren Kolt who was unconscious during the fight between Lucifer and Evra. Missing the awe inspiring might of her magics and the inconceivable prowess of Lucifer, he was left completely in the dark and stuck in a foolhardy endeavor to mount or surmount the indifferent beauty. The result was an instantaneous defeat at the mercy of [Flash Pyre], luckily Warren was an Earth Spellblade and could negate the brutal heat of the magic a bit. He still suffered severe burns till he was incapable of fighting again in the competition. ¡°Greetings everyone! I hope you are ready for a true demonstration of the best of Farror¡¯s youth! I won''t say much but we have eight warriors contending in this year''s Quarter-Finals for the Elemental Academy¡¯s Top New Student Title! Natasha Devol, Bael Offal, Lucifer Khan, Kasandrea Yulhan, Evra Brotlar, Argan Sigmar, Trent Cal and Cinder Oak are your Top 8! These eight students will begin a challenge round to determine the best of the best amongst them. Each one of them will face another of the group in a knockout round.
Natasha Devol VS Cinder Oak
Bael Offal VS Trent Cal
Lucifer Khan VS Argan Sigmar
Kasendrea Yulhan VS Evra Brotlar
This is your Quarter Finalist pairings!¡± Cried the walking obesity that was the Brotlar family''s head diplomat. His superiors gave him strict instructions to oversee the finalists to spot any new talent that they could hopefully rope in while the students were young and impressionable. ¡°Our first match will be the Lightning Deva, Natasha Devol! Don''t let her otherworldly beauty fool you, she is one of the few that advanced with a perfect record! Facing the Deva is the adorable Doe of The Forest, Cinder Oak! From the amazing Oak family of Lovita, she and her brother have both come to Muselpine for this Academy Examination! Her cute and loveable self is another side to her amazing combat prowess and control styled fighting! Now let us see which of these two beauties will take the first place in the Semi-Finals!¡± Wooooooooaaaaaaah The spectating throng cheered with such vigor that even the 800 square foot coliseum shook! The crowds had been let in to view the finale of the student''s ranking tournament, this was not just Muselpine citizens but people from the various organizations across Farror attended the event. Despite their being three different examinations happening across the continent, each major power made sure to watch each one with rapt attention. ¡°Fucking noisy.¡± Lucifer spat as he released a low growl in annoyance of the cheering mob. ¡°Agreed.¡± Commented Evra who had took her place next to him as they sat and awaited their respective matches. Even though her facade had broken earlier, the dwarven princess had already replaced it with another indifferent face. ¡°Drakon, who do you think will win?¡± Evra did her best to make small talk with the enigma that branded her, though she would never admit it. ¡°The Devol girl if she knows what''s good for her. She owes me a match.¡± Lucifer snarled as his purple eye bore a hole in the red haired beauty''s back. ¡®What on earth happened between those two that made such a carefree guy become so vicious at the mere mention of her?¡¯ Evra pondered as she felt the waves of anger emanating from Lucifer. The two sat in silence as Evra could not find any words to say and Lucifer was content to simply glare at Natasha as she made her to the center of the arena with Cinder Oak trailing her. ¡®Ahhhh. That draconian made it through! Finally I can see him fight! If he isn''t too weak maybe I''ll even get to fight myself!¡¯ Shit! Should focus on my match. The Oak family has always sent out their best to Farror to test the waters of this land. If my Devol clan wasn''t declining so much, Papa would have massacred them all. Oh well, when I take over the clan I will make sure to take over a country so that we can live in peace instead of on the run like always. Hmm. She is short for an elf, 4¡¯10¡± or 5¡¯0¡±. If her Element is Wood like most elves this could be troublesome. Wood restrains my Lightning to a certain extent and that old geezer went and forbade me from using anything other than [Lightning Bolt]. Fuck.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. Let''s get this show on the road then. I''ll just increase the heat of my spells to make up for the lack of voltage. It may take a tad more Mana but at least I should wipe the floor with this scrawny ass elf. ¡°Let the match begin!¡± Ugh. That fatty has the most annoying voice! Maybe if I strangle him with his vocal cords he would sounds better. ¡°[Vine Weaver]!¡± Fucking Wood loving elf. Giant tendrils of earthy green vines shot towards me as I cast my altered spell. ¡°[Lightning Bolt]!¡± Good! The increased heat roasted those pesky vines as it travelled through them. Too bad there is no lethality to such a spell for this Oak girl. Hm? She is going to try using that bident while casting spells in medium range? Sounds like fun! I better use my [Static Guardian], it''s a passive magic so this much should be fine. A sweeping slash of her bident flew over my head as I dropped down low and released my spell. ¡°[Static Guardian].¡± ¡°[Bark Lash]!¡± We both cast our spells as I dodged her slash and she released another this time aiming to bisect me. But the layer of Lightning around me burnt the jagged saw-like spell into smithereens. ¡°It really sucks that I''m not allowed to use any other spells.¡± A mutter escaped me as began using my hands and feet to push away and fend off the saw edge of her spell. That spell of hers coats her bident in a layer of sharp and jagged bark making even a nick become a serious injury. Too bad for her my [Static Guardian] destroys it as fast as she can recast it. ¡°[Lightning Bolt] Barrage!¡± With a palm strike, I sent out my spell at the opening she left for me. She couldn''t continue recasting her spell so she had opted to try and fight me at range, as she leapt backwards her body was completely at the mercy of my Lightning. Barrage. One of my favourite styles of casting. I can use my ridiculous amount of Mana to amplify the amount of magics I release at once. It''s like sending out five separate spells but at the exact same time. I haven''t seen anyone else my age capable of this, only my uncle Beel can do it with low tier spells since he is a Sage already. Papa is a Prophet so he can only barrage cast mid tier spells. Only I am special and can use barrage for all of my spells regardless of tier! Fear appeared on the elf''s face as my 10+ [Lightning Bolt]s barreled towards her mid air body. But before they could crash into her she cast another spell, a last resort barrier that all mages learn. [Mana Shield]. As a spell that uses pure Mana as its base, [Mana Shield] is extremely costly and can only last for very brief periods of time. In the caas of this tournament, if one was forced to use [Mana Shield] then that was proof enough of your defeat. Like this Natasha won her place among the Semi-Finals. ¡°Victory! Natasha Devol!¡± The fat dwarf screeched in his disgusting voice. With his announcement the crowd also went wild as they witnessed a spectacular display of magic and skill. From Natasha''s amazing spell usage and display of barrage, to the abstract combination of Magus spells and spear play of Cinder. Both had phenomenal skills for ones so young, only 13 years old and both of them had the power of top class Red Apprentices!
Natasha Devol VS Cinder Oak
Bael Offal VS Trent Cal
Lucifer Khan VS Argan Sigmar
Kasendrea Yulhan VS Evra Brotlar
¡°Our next match is between the Mysterious Bael! A saber user who truly likes to keep his appearance hidden under that crimson cloak of his! Facing him is the son of Muselpine¡¯s own Marshal Cal! Like his father Trent Cal wields the greatsword, and he makes it seem like a short sword with how easily he swings it! Which of these two swordsmen will join Natasha in the Semi-Finals is completely a mystery!¡± ¡°Hold up! I forfeit. I really want a nap¡± The red cloaked Bael called out as he lounged lazily in the waiting area. Lucifer chuckled at the eccentric behavior of Bael, whom he had a good impression of. Natasha on the other hand, had fear evident in her eyes as she saw the reaction of Lucifer. Thoughts of what would happen should he find out that Bael was the one who abducted Luna.
Natasha Devol VS Cinder Oak
Bael Offal VS Trent Cal
Lucifer Khan VS Argan Sigmar
Kasendrea Yulhan VS Evra Brotlar
¡°Well there you have it, truly a man of mystery. Bael Offal has forfeited the match. So Trent Cal will advance and face Natasha in the Semi-Finals! We will proceed with the third matching then, Lucifer Khan and Argan Sigmar. A Royal draconian facing the sole orc warrior of our Quarter Finalists. Both these warriors are enigmas to the norm, Lucifer the name of the First Angel and a descendant of the Ice Phoenix Sigmarus! Let us see which legacy will reign supreme between these two warriors!¡± This draconian seems special, he has the presence of a Beast. A true warrior wouldn''t have such a savage atmosphere about him but a refined aura. Beasts all over Gaies gain their savage demeanors from the unceasing slaughter of the wild, did this draconian also slaughter like a wild Beast? I better put him out of his misery before he learns the true methods of combat, it will make this turmoil ridden world at least a tad safer. As these thoughts rushed through my brain I took into account the almost imperceptible intelligence that flashed across that purple eye of his. Maybe he wasn''t a Beast given sanity but a sentient being given insanity. ¡°If you keep pondering over morals, you will never be able to fight me.¡± The Beast taunted me as the match commenced. ¡°Enough talk. Let''s fight beast.¡± ¡°Oh, I like that name!¡± He laughed as he cast the basic magic Light [Elemental Spear], sending a Mana formed javelin of Light soaring towards me. ¡°Tssk.¡± I suppose I will have to put forth some effort to put this lizard down. Waiting till the spell was just before me I bent my slightly to duck under the missile of Light magic. Launching myself forward, I activated my [Frozen Rule]. A spell that my father taught me for facing tricky foes. [Frozen Rule] creates a pseudo-domain around me that slows and damages all who enter its range. It doesn''t have the same strength as a true domain but it is incredibly powerful against anyone without a domain to resist it. Hoarfrost coated the ground and myself as the magic took form. Let''s see how he handles my [Frozen Rule]. Dodging another [Elemental Spear] I continued my dash towards him. Instead of backing off, Lucifer grinned and mimicked myself, rushing towards me. Oh well, he can suffer the icy pain of [Frozen Rule]. As we approached each other, he cast an odd spell. His glaive began to glow a dull golden colour around the blade. As the glow became brighter and brighter he did a pivoting spin; to build momentum, winding up a huge sweeping swing of the giant weapon. What an idiot, I am a master of close combat! With that giant swing incoming, I stepped into Lucifer to place myself before the dangerously glowing blade and away from the majority of the damage. Lifting my arms up slightly I took the shaft of the glaive in my abdomen. Allowing my body to cushion the blow, I wrapped my arms around the glaives shaft and continued taking it counterclockwise thus negating the blunt force of the attack. Lucifer upon noticing my actions, promptly released the weapon and cast the same golden aura spell on himself this time. As the golden light shone around him, he extended his claws and began making vicious slashes towards my now unprotected back. Luckily [Frozen Rule] slowed his attacks down or else they would have done serious damage to me. I was able to escape with only an inch deep wound down my back as I allowed my spin to take me away from Lucifer. Chasing me down, Lucifer thrust his clawed hand towards my chest as I came full circle. Abandoning the unwieldy glaive, I brought my arms up and entered into fighting stance. As the scaled hand shot towards me, I dropped my shoulder and twisted my body narrowly avoiding the dangerous jab. Not one to waste an opening, I let my frost covered palm strike out at Lucifer''s exposed ribs. Only an inch away from making contact, my palm strike was stopped by the weird golden light from his earlier spell. As if he knew of my failure, Lucifer brought his outstretched hand down and hooked it around my neck. His talons clawing my skin even through the icy aura around me. He applied his absurd strength onto me and pushed me down towards the ground. Not before his deadly tail coiled around my back leg and yanked it from under me. With the combination of his tail and arm he had forced me to the ground in the blink of an eye. Instead of capitalising on my position, Lucifer say termed over to his weapon I had dropped. So I jumped up and backed away from him. It was then, I noticed that he was already attacking me again. With a cleaving swing lined up, he glided through the air directly at me. ¡°[Glacial Rampart]!¡± Unleashing my best defensive magic, I braced myself for the incoming attack. An attack that never came. Lucifer seeing my spell take form, flapped his wings and cleverly moved around the pillar of ice that stood between us. With a spin he pirouetted around the pillar and arrived at my flank with his glaive poised to take my head. Dammit! I''ll have to use that spell if I want to survive this beast of a man! Gathering all my Mana into my Core, I released the seal that lay on me. If not for this seal I would never have been accepted here, a seal to restrict my Mana Purity. A seal to hold back my inner demon. A seal to hold back my power! Damn you Lucifer, for forcing me this far! ¡°[Jotun¡¯s Asura]!¡± Chapter 31 Acknowledgement (Unedited) A wave of Ice Element blast across the arena as Messor sailed towards the orc before me. The Ice was so cold it felt like my skin was burning and breaking at the same time. Gritting my teeth, I decided to retreat. Yet my wings refused to budge as I desperately worked my shoulder muscles in hopes of moving the frost laden appendages. Messor shivered in my hands as I slowly became covered in ice. Urging my Mana to circulate through my body I tried my best to fight the bitter cold. But I could only watch in grim realization that it was no use. Wait! How the fuck can I be defeated by anyone? I am the Dragon Nephilim! No one can match me! RRRRAAAAAAAAAARRRRRGGHHHHH Pushing my Light Element and Mana to their limits, I fought against the bitter cold with all my might. Even when the audience outside the ring were being frostbitten I fought the cold to a standstill. Willing my magic through each and every one of my veins, I created almost an internal heating system inside my body. The Light became erratic within me forcing my body into overdrive despite the paralyzing chill around me. A small smile touched my face. Sadly it was short lived. I saw the cause of the terrible cold. Argan Sigmar. At least that''s all I could assume as I gazed towards the location he had been in. What stood there was a icy blue creature covered in brutal spikes. It looked more like a Fiend of some kind then the orc I was facing. Fiends are a breed of Beasts that walk upright and come in variations of each Element. From Light Fiends to Dark Fiends. Personally though, I had only slain a newborn Earth Fiend. So although I was familiar with Fiend appearance, the one before me was truly something else entirely. Deadly sharp spines laced it''s spinal cord. While brutal points sharpened themselves on the elbow, knee and heel joints. Claws of ice formed at the fingertips and talons grew out from the toes. It was truly an Ice Fiend if I ever saw one. ¡°You can''t win anymore, Scaleborn. Surrender.¡± Oh fuck that! This just got interesting! ¡°Make me, Snowflake.¡± I snapped back as I prepared [Gold Mail] for both myself and Messor. With my magics cast I began my offense. Instead of the wild and large swings I have been doing throughout the competition, I began using the motions and techniques Eric taught me. Though adapted for my Messor. Cross body and downward slashes came raining down on the Fiendish orc. I utilized the massive weight my warglaive carried to bring hell upon this crazy ice clad orc. Instead of avoiding my strikes though, it merely grunted and used its armoured body to fight against Messor¡¯s edge. Like this we began our deadly brawl of power and strength. A cross block took the blow of Messor. An uppercut slammed into my ribs, as I brought the butt of Messor straight into the Friend''s jaw. Lifting me into the air, the Fiend lunged forward and punched outward. Thrown backwards, I beat my left wing hard and narrowly avoided the flying tackle of the Fiend. Continuing my spin I whipped my tail at the body of the Fiend and smashed the creature''s flank. Landing with on my feet I jumped after my foe with Messor leveled at its back. But the Fiend abruptly stopped and pivoted while it timed a cross jab, that pushed Messor¡¯s blade off to the side. Allowing Messor to trail, I sent out a clawed jab with my free left hand at the chest of the Fiend. My hand never made contact as the Fiend stepped off to the side and let loose two quick jabs to my left ribs. With a snarl I cast a quick [Elemental Spear] and slammed it into the Friend''s chest, blasting it back a few steps. Spinning I rounded a full circle swing of Mana charged Messor, deep into the shoulder of the Fiend sending the creature flying off to the side of the ring. Hefting Messor like a javelin I channeled Mana through my wrist, forearm, bicep, tricep, shoulder, obliques and my waist as I threw the giant warglaive at the Fiend. Covered in [Gold Mail], Messor acted like a perpendicular [Vita Messorem Telum] as she shot forth. Like a golden arrow from an ancient God, Messor tore through the air with a terrifying screech. The wind wailed in agony as she pierced towards the staggering Ice Fiend. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. BOOOOOM The earth shook as [Gold Mail] detonated upon impact with the Fiend''s icy armour. Mana, Light and Ice Element swept the entire arena up in a savage storm of Elemental fury and destruction. Shit, maybe that was a bad choice of spell. ¡°You think?¡± Luna''s smart aleck reply came as I wondered if the orc survived my spell. ¡°Luna what else could I have done?¡± Heaving with a heavy breath, I asked the snarky pup hiding in my shadow. ¡°Maybe fight him like you would a Beast? When you hunt you use your full power regardless of the prey. That is your biggest failure in your fights with two-legs, underestimating them and getting your ass handed to you.¡± Huffing with exasperation Luna pointed out my flaw with practiced ease. ¡°I have never lost in any fight. So how the fuck do you mean I get my ass kicked! This is a fucking Fiend in an orc¡¯s body, let''s see you fight it!¡± ¡°Stop being a child Lucifer. Hunt it. Kill it. That is what you are meant to do. Not the shameful display you showed against the knife ear in your first fight. This fight is no different. Just hunt.¡± Luna scolded with a snarl that emanated from the depths of my shadow. Luckily no one was close enough to me to hear the savagery coursing through her growl. Well I doubt anyone could over the raging storm of Mana and Elements around us. Suppressing my growing anger, I tried to refocus myself. Gazing into the depths of the Mana and Elemental storm, I focused my right eye into seeing the collapsed figure of the Ice Fiend. Crumpled and battered, it lay heaving on the ground as the maelstrom of gold and white energy raged around it. ¡°Tsk. It actually survived.¡± I growled lowly as my draconic eye scanned for any signs of movement from the Fiend. My left eye as well couldn''t pick up any intent from the frozen mass, the power of a Nephilim¡¯s vision couldn''t be hampered by common cloth. Calling to the draconian referee, I stated my observations. ¡°Ref! It isn''t getting up, end the match.¡± With a single slash of his scimitar, the ref instantly nullified the raging Elements and brought peace to the arena. Deathly silence filled the crowd as the watched in mute horror, the result of our fight. ¡°Victor, Lucifer Khan!¡± The ref announced as he took the time to check the state of the Ice Fiend orc. WUUUUUOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAHHHHHH The crowd finally regained their crazy fanatical cheering after the announcement of the referee. The ground trembled like an earthquake was shaking the entirety of Az Citadel. I covered my head and torso with my wings hoping to block the deafening insanity of the overzealous onlookers. The draconian ref smiled bitterly as he tossed Messor to me, hefting the warglaive like she was a toy rather than the weapon of mass destruction she truly was. With my wings still covering me, I skulked back to my seat and entered into meditation. Luna''s words ringing incessantly in my mind, preventing me from truly entering into the zen state of true meditation. My Pride restrained me from second guessing my actions previously, but not from carefully and conscientiously analyzing my failings. I did treat all my foes like they were subpar. I did mess up when I faced the elf. Same with the dwarf girl, I played with her like I would with Luna. Fuck. What am I doing here? Rage bubbled and roiled inside of me as I began to pick apart each and everyone of my actions. The idiocy of my lackadaisical and nonchalant behavior shaking me to my very core. ¡°Fuck, I gotta meditate or else I will just end up floundering again.¡± ¡°Brother, try and focus on you Elements. Lose yourself in them, it will help you focus.¡± Luna chimed in as she heard my cursing under my breath and through our bond. ¡°Fine.¡± Feeling the pull of Light and Dark around me, I sank into the depths of my subconscious. Mana in the atmosphere started to condense and swirl into me like a whirlpool. My pores and veins flowed with the golden Light Element, the black Dark Element and the Yellow Purity Mana creating an abstract yet beautiful image in my mind''s eye. Slowly I lost myself in the glimmering beauty of my meditation¡¯s lustre. Forgetting the arena, the Academy, the boisterous crowds, everything became like fleeting clouds to me as I found a sense of peace in meditation. While I sat cross-legged in meditation I noticed nothing around me. Not the referee''s call for Evra and Kasendrea to fight could rouse me. Not the strange looks from Natasha and Bael as they snuck glances at me could evoke even the slightest response. The explosive battle between the two girls only tousled my long hair as mighty blasts of heat and fire erupted from the spells of the dwarven princess while the sole human cast beams of intense Light Element in return. Elsewhere Yue, Eric and Jasmine sat around a table conversing in hushed whispers. They were sitting in a crowded bar in Embers Keep, Bolstadt. ¡°Yue are you sure you want to do this?¡± Eric questioned in a low voice while his eyes flashed with golden light despite the natural blue of his iris. ¡°Lady Anise deserves to know. She-¡± Began Yue as she spoke with righteousness evident in her tone of superiority. Her pale skin flushed red as she attempted to justify her answer, only to be cut off by her human company. ¡°If she knows then so will the rest of Farror!¡± Eric snapped with a Mana infused grumble. His voice restrained by the Mana so that only the two women would hear him but his anger truly made an impact on Yue who lowered her head in shame. ¡°Still! Imagine her pain!¡± The draconian beauty tried to reason with the livid man next to her. But his temper; which never aroused, exploded with her words. ¡°Anise knew of everything that her decision entailed before she sent Lucifer with us! Don''t make her choice and sacrifice be ruined to sate your selfishness!¡± Roared Eric in muffled rage. ¡°You''re one to talk Eric! You only came to this country for her! Don''t compare my actions with yours that are riddled with greed. I am her battlemaid and friend. I will do what I think is best for her.¡± Retorted Yue with venom and spite as she glared towards the man. ¡°Yue. If you care for her you would realise that this entire endeavor of yours is foolish and completely against her wishes.¡± Jasmine finally interjected in the argument. ¡°Shut up bitch!¡± Yue demanded as she slapped Jasmine and stormed out of the bar, causing no shortage of heads to turn. ¡°Jasmine, let her go. If anything I will kill her in order to protect him. He is everything we have left now. You and I are just as much his family as Anise, it is our duty to protect our family.¡± Eric whispered into the raging elf''s ear as he restrained her from launching after Yue in retaliation. ¡°Let''s go protect it.¡± Chapter 32 Cursed Messor? (Unedited) ¡°Lady Natasha, if you continue staring at him he may vent his annoyance on you. Please do not create more trouble than is already afoot.¡± Bael whispered quietly to the beautiful crimson haired Natasha who was staring intently at Lucifer''s still figure. ¡°Cousin, you are the cause for most of our trouble. Shut up and just do your duty before I tell that Lucifer about your abduction of his bond.¡± Natasha replied with ice coating her words. She still continued to stare deeply at Lucifer. She could feel something radiating from the dark golden scales of Lucifer. His black tunic and trousers russelled gently as Mana spiralled around him in a torrent of mystical synergy. Her disfigured left eye pulsed unnaturally as eerie dark red light incandescently glowed, as she resumed her single-minded staring of Lucifer. Natasha possessed an amazing ability inherent to her clan. The ability to see the flow of Mana, a truly envious capability of her prestigious pedigree. Through her left eye¡¯s vision she witnessed the intrinsic flow of black, gold and yellow coursing throughout the arterial pathways of Lucifer''s body. Her sight included the mysterious and abstract synchronization of the Mana and Elements inside of Lucifer. Amazement and wanderlust aroused her entire being as the mesmerizing scene of Lucifer''s meditation. She barely noticed the difference between Lucifer''s meditation and the meditation of her family that she witnessed growing up. Lucifer though was entirely immune to Natasha''s piercing gaze. He focused internally with absolute singular and undivided attention. Losing himself in the enthrallment of his meditation, he felt the subtle pull and push of the Elements as they reacted with his Mana. Thinking back to the explanation of Luna in regards to the Elements, a thought sprung forth in his mind. Why were the Elements attracted to him or as Luna said why would Gaies have blessed him with the such an abundant connection to Light and Dark? Was it because of his ancestry? Was it because of his hybridization? Did the mixing of Heaven''s Nephilim Warriors and the bloodline of the Dragon of Night, truly create such an unworldly connection to the Elements? Lucifer pondered over these thoughts and ideas throughout his entire meditation. He missed the battle between the blonde Kasendrea and the redheaded Evra, despite the explosive and anxiety filled tension of the fight. Both the two girls showed their astonishing abilities as warriors of the Red Squire and Red Apprentice ranks respectively. Kasendrea as a human Light Element Red Squire showed her plethora of blinding fast attacks and golden aura surrounding her displayed the amazingly adept magical skills. Evra as a dwarven Fire Element Red Apprentice let the entire audience bear witness to her blistering intense flames as the fire swept across the grounds of the coliseum. Lucifer missed the entire struggle the two girls experienced. He only let himself be immersed in the almost euphoric pleasure his meditation brought him. The feeling of the Mana and Elements twinning throughout his arteries and veins gave him an intrinsically mesmerizing sensation that he had never felt before. Luna''s advice truly allowed for him to experience a newfound level of comfort and joy. As his Mana Core swelled with Dark and Light Element and Yellow Mana, the match between Kasendrea and Evra came to a halt. ¡°Victor, Evra Brotlar!¡± The draconian referee announced. Of course the referee was Jas, with his immense strength as a Blue General could deal with anything that happened in the matches.
Natasha Devol VS Cinder Oak
Bael Offal VS Trent Cal
Lucifer Khan VS Argan Sigmar
Kasendrea Yulhan VS Evra Brotlar
¡°The Semi-Final pairings will include the victors of the last round. Natasha Devol shall face Trent Cal! Lucifer Khan will battle Evra Brotlar for the second pairing! The fights will take place tomorrow at noon! Please return to your lodgings so that you are prepared for tomorrow.¡± And like that the long and arduous day of fighting ended for the young hopeful students of the Elemental Academy. As the crowd roared in cheers, betting tables began to open for the result of the next day''s matches. Would the ravishing Natasha Devol continue to dominate her foes or would Trent Cal display his might and upset the Crimson Diva. Could the Fire Princess of Muselpine defeat the Royal Holy Draconian Lucifer?
Natasha Devol VS Trent Cal
Lucifer Khan VS Evra Brotlar
¡°Lucifer head north and outside the city immediately. We must discuss something.¡± Kain''s voice resonated in Lucifer''s ear as he began making his way to the lodging provided for himself. Glancing around, he failed to find a trace of the Green Demi-Sage. Asking Luna for her opinion, the two agreed that meeting with Kain was for the best. Casting [Shadow Clad] Lucifer entered into the shadows cast by the setting sun and made his way stealthily through the city. Despite the grand size of Az Citadel, he made his way from the central area to the northern gate in a matter of minutes. All while preventing any from seeing even a trace of his very distinct form. Finding a sole tree in the empty farmland that surrounded the Citadel, Lucifer choose to lounge on one of the thick branches of the tall oak while he awaited Kain. After almost an hour of waiting the man himself arrived.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Boy do you know that Devol girl?¡± Kain questioned as he leaned against the trunk of the tree. The Demi-Sage wore the same outfit that he had when Lucifer first met him. Yet now the long bident that was Kain''s weapon hung loosely in the large hand of the human. ¡°Mmm.¡± Grunted the seemingly half awake Lucifer as his body draped across the boughs of the oak. The setting sun cast amber rays of light on him that made his scales sparkle in a majestic lustre. ¡°How?¡± Kain continued with mild interest. ¡°Thief.¡± ¡°Oh? What did she steal?¡± ¡°Doesn''t matter.¡± ¡°Fine, but some advice for you. Don''t treat her as weaker than Argon. She is by far the strongest of the competition you will face maybe even you will ever face.¡± Kain sighed with emotion. He truly could not fathom how someone could match Lucifer in terms of power and talent given the boy''s heritage. Yet this human girl had and maybe even surpass him. ¡°Mmm.¡± Lucifer grunted again apparently not taking Kain''s words seriously. But if one noticed carefully, they would see that his entire body was pulsing with tension. Each muscle would expand and contract with each heave of his breathing. Showing the anxiety and seriousness that Lucifer had under his facade of indifference. ¡°Stay here for the night. If you go into the city I have a feeling you won''t be able to relax like this haha.¡± With those words Kain left Lucifer alone and walked back towards the city. Lucifer continue to relax in the bowels of the tree. While his body relaxed his mind was working in overdrive trying to find and understand the reasons between him and his body''s connections with the Elements. Was it really so simple? Was it simply because of his heritage? Or was the reason deeper, was it more intrinsically tied to something much greater than himself? Light was yang, Dark was yin. Lucifer himself was neither though. He leaned not to Light neither Dark. But brought both of them into one whole. So while he thought of these difficult ideologies and theories, the sun set and ushered in night to Gaies. Drifting off to sleep with the stars keeping him company, Lucifer peacefully ended his day. ¡°Brother!¡± ¡°What is it Luna?¡± Lucifer groaned as he landed on the hard ground from his perch in the oak. Luna had startled him awake with a shout in his mind causing him to fall off the tree. ¡°Hehe Brother today is a big day! You have to avenge me and beat that red bitch!¡± Luna giggled as she leapt from his shadow and tackled him with licks and playful cuddles. ¡°Don''t think I forgot! After you beat every one of those two-legs, I have a present for you!¡± ¡°Fine fine fine haha!¡± Lucifer laughed with contentment and a smile. While he rubbed Luna''s soft fur with his big hands and scratched behind her ears. ¡°Remember what Kain said though! She isn''t weak! She should be stronger than Luna so fight with everything you got!¡± Pushing herself off of Lucifer, Luna made sure to remind him of the seriousness of the fight today. ¡°I won''t ever use less then 100% of my power again. The sentient races of Gaies are not as weak as I had imagined. Neither am I as strong as I imagined.¡± Lucifer said with solemn severity as he clenched his hands and gazed towards the distant city. ¡°Messor today, you will not taste blood. I must fight with my own strength now.¡± He continued as he leapt up into the tree to where Messor still lay balanced across various branches. ¡°Brother why do you talk to your weapon as if it is a person?¡± Luna inquired with suspicion and narrowed eyes. ¡°Uh-Well, you see this is the weapon that Kain built for me. And he said that I should name her, so I did.¡± Lucifer stuttered as he tried to explain himself to the cold gaze of Luna. ¡°Why is named in the ancient tongue? I told you never to treat them like they were real! Fuck do you know what you have done!¡± Luna roared in absolute livid anger. ¡°Uh-¡± ¡°Shut up! You have made it a sentient fucking weapon!¡± ¡°Well that doesn''t sound too bad.¡± Lucifer sighed with relief as he heard Luna''s words. A sentient weapon didn''t sound bad at all, rather it sounded really cool to him. ¡°Idiot! It is now an immortal fucking existence that will develop an ego and eventually become a cursed weapon! Idiot! Fucking idiot! You remember what cursed weapons are? Yeah? Then tell me as you get to the fucking coliseum.¡± Exasperated and angered beyond compare, Luna leapt into Lucifer''s shadow and continued releasing black fog that seemed to swallow all light it touched. Making Lucifer''s entire shadow much darker compared to other shadows. ¡°Well, cursed weapons are weapons from ancient times that are incredibly powerful but they devour the mind of whoever uses them. It is not common knowledge on how cursed weapons came into existence, but almost every major power contains at least a cursed weapon. They are akin to weapons of mass destruction because of the sheer devastation they cause when used even taking the life of the user.¡± Lucifer recounted as he flew towards the city with Mana enhancing his wings and aiding his flight. ¡°You at least know something. But you are missing a lot.¡± Like a senior educating a junior, Luna answered Lucifer while he entered the airspace of the city. ¡°Cursed weapons aren''t actually cursed. It is the Beast soul inside of the weapon that is too powerful for the weapon to contain that makes it cursed. Right now your warglaive is in the infantile stage of sentience. It won''t be at the stage of a true cursed weapon for a while, but when it does. You must destroy it with all your might. The cost for using it at the point is not one you can hope to pay!¡± ¡°Whatever. I can''t change it now, I need a weapon and Messor is the best one I have ever seen. She is perfect in every way for me and I will not destroy her. We will deal with this once I finish this tournament.¡± Lucifer scowled as he entered the coliseum, no one hindered nor even attempted to disturb him. After all who would be foolish enough to disturb a royal draconian regardless of what country he was from? This was made even more apparent and reinforced when the rumours of Lucifer''s assault on Zanigan made waves in the city. The crowds parted as soon as Lucifer''s shadow covered the ground allowing him to land with ease. Lucifer was by far the most infamous contender in the matches of the day. A royal draconian singlehandedly destroyed almost an entire district with one spell! This was made even more astonishing when coupled with Lucifer''s young age shocked the entire country! The Senate of Muselpine was put into a very difficult position because of this. Could they just arrest and execute a top 5 student of the Elemental Academy who also happened to be a royal draconian? So finally the Brotlar family had to make a decision on the situation. ¡°Evra can you defeat the draconian Lucifer?¡± An aged and stoic dwarven man asked the kneeling Evra. He stood tall for a dwarf almost standing as tall as a human or elf at 5¡¯6¡± and had the bulky heft of a heavyweight fighter. A perfectly groomed beard covered the bottom half of his face but his cold piercing gaze showed enough for any to tell his facial expression. His hair was shaved into a mohawk with a ponytail at the back in the style reminiscent of the old viking warriors. ¡°At my current power that is impossible, your Majesty.¡± Evra answered with detached yet respectful indifference. The man before her was her father yet he was also the one who forced her through inhuman suffering all to further his own machinations. Love held no place in their relationship. Evra could only respect his power and cunning as a fellow warrior, that was all that was left in her heart for the man who sired her. ¡°Explain.¡± King of Muselpine, Paul Brotlar demanded as his powerful aura of a Blue Saint gushed out only to begin suffocating Evra as she tried to resist the unyielding and unbridled power of her father. ¡°He is a Yellow Squire!¡± Came the ragged and halting response of Evra as she struggled for air. ¡°His rank matters not. You will win. Am I understood?¡± The King stated as he retracted his aura from the sweltering heated room. His overwhelming Fire Element created a sauna out of the solid stone room that served as Evra¡¯s room. No furniture lay in the room for that would only lead it to combust from the heat of his aura. The blankets that lay on the ground however were turned to ash without even the chance to ignite. ¡°Use [Hellion] if you truly cannot win as it stands now. But failure to achieve victory is absolutely unforgivable!¡± With those words, Paul Brotlar left his daughter to ruminate and prepare for her guaranteed victory. Been Awhile Eh? So I will be cutting off this story from the base and reworking it into a more suitable piece of literature. I have not once stopped trying to continue since last chapter but now I have finally gotten to the point where I must say farewell to Abomination. I am scraping most of the lore, characters, plot and moving towards a hopefully better direction. The new book will start from The Hunt and move progressively towards the end result I originally wanted. Hopefully. The help, comments, support and criticism everyone gave me has been a ton of help. Especially for the people who sent me messages pointing out plot holes and areas that I didn''t properly explain or make use of.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. I have written three other books over the last while and am considering posting them up here sometime in the future. The first one is a VR based story showcasing a world similar to Diablo3 and mixes many cool fantasy and rpg elements together. The second is a romance of two young children living right next to each other but worlds apart, it is really the story that I worked the most on and has about 176 pages already written. The third is a separate direction of Abomination that I wanted to go with that uses a completely innovative lore and relatable characters. So I''ll be posting the new story up within the next few days and it will be a big drop seeing as I am already over 6000 words and going steady. Thanks again for all your support and I hope you will read more of my work in the future! Bye now http://royalroadl.com/fiction/11089 This is the link for the new book, three chapters have been added as of now. I hope you all come to enjoy this new tale of Lucifer as much as I enjoy writing it. Really RRL won''[t let me make this post without hitting 500 characters so I am honestly just trying to add enough bullshit so that way I can make this post.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Fuuuuuuuuck just hit 500 already!!! Still not enough... God help me This is a pain in the ass! (Every new line is another attempt to post this stupid thing) YOOOOOO Hey everyone who followed, Favourited and rated this work from your boy Hybrid I have just been conviced by my lovely girlfriend to bring back Abomination to where it should stand as my into into the literary world. I will be PROPERLY editing and reviewing all of Abomination to fix all the plot holes and incongruity that arose from my lack of literary skill at that time. I truly wish that all of you can forgive me for ending this book when there was so much hope and hype for it when it first started. It only took around 2 months for it reach over 150 THOUSAND views, over 300 followers and over 50 favourites. With 66 different ratings it was able to stay strong at an average of 4.16/5 stars! The website I am moving to is https://www.webnovel.com/ There will be a period of a few weeks where I will be fixing the chapters before posting them there. Currently my new book Assault The World is doing quite well there in only its third day posted it hit over 4 thousand views, compared to barely over 500 views on RoyalRoadL in double the amount of time. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. PLEASE GUYS I NEED YOU I will be waiting for my loyal readers on webnovel.com but I still will post the redone Abomination on RoyalRoadL in about 2 months times.