Training was going slowly. Oz still bled every time he summoned his powers. He was learning however, finally being able to summon runes at will.
Rune spells were not all difficult to master. You could even make new ones. That's what Oz tended to do. As long as the runes were charged, they would work. The tricky part was knowing what to say. He would summon a rune and then it would just form in his head, unable to manifest correctly since he did not know what to call it.
Asmodeus was impatient. He was desperate to get Oz to his full awakening, and Oz was moving slower than expected.
They trained in the forest behind the dorms, on an empty clearing between the trees. This way, Oz could destroy as much as he wanted without bothering anyone. Asmodeus insisted they train every day.
Today was no different.
"No, no, no!" Oz was sick of hearing Asmodeus yelling. "What'd I do wrong this time Jesus fuck Az."
Asmodeus looked at him, raising an eyebrow. "Az?" Oz looked flushed. "Sorry it's just easier than Asmodeus. I don't have to call you that if you don't want." He looked away from Asmodeus, staring at the floor instead. "No it's alright. I like it." Oz looked up, his face flushing. "Stop looking at me and try it again!"
Oz focused. The rune slowly formed in his mind. What did he want it to do? He wanted to try cutting down all the trees around them. That would surely impress Asmodeus. The rune had formed into a solid image in his head. Now he needed to charge it. He pinched himself on the arm as hard as he could. The more powerful he got, the more pain charging the rune would require. Luckily he was weak enough for a pinch to work.
Now he needed the word. Slice. As soon as he thought it, he knew what to say almost naturally.
"Segmentum!"
A rush of air blew around Oz and Asmodeus. Oz heard a whizzing sound past his ear. The trees around him swayed, some of them toppling to the ground.
"What? But I got it right this time! Az what happened?"
Asmodeus shook his head. "Since it's daytime, the power of the moon is weakened. You are not yet strong enough to compensate for the lack of moon magic."
Oz groaned. Not strong enough this, too weak that. He wasn't getting anywhere.
He checked the time. It was 15 minutes to 8:00.
"Shit Az I've got school in half an hour. I gotta run." Asmodeus looked startled. "I'm coming with you master!"
"And how's that?"
"My human form is enrolled into school with you as of yesterday."
Oz froze. Goddamn it he was never going to shake this annoying raven-man.
"Fine. Just don't cause any trouble. And change your name at school. Asmodeus is too weird."
Asmodeus nodded, trodding along after Oz, who was groaning and grumbling to himself all the way to school.
—~—~—~—~—~—~—~—~
"We have some new students starting today! Please be kind and show them the way around our school."
Oz was in homeroom. He already knew the new student, so he didn't as much as look up from the manga he was reading on his phone.
Asmodeus introduced himself. After a few seconds, Oz saw him walk down the isle of desks and sit down directly behind him. He shivered at the thought of Asmodeus in his class all year.
"We have another new student joining us today! Introduce yourself to the class please." Oz looked up.
It was a boy about Asmodeus's height, if not slightly taller. He was olive in complexion, brown shaggy hair that was dyed green starting halfway down. He had precise and stern features, but they were softened by the eyeliner he wore. He was dressed in a big hoodie with the logo of a band Oz didn't know, and a pair of black skinny jeans, accessorized with a studded choker.
The boy looked Oz directly in the eyes as he said his introduction. "Hello everyone. I'm Amar. Its nice to meet you."
He walked over and sat right next to Oz.