**Song recommendation: Burn it Down https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XIRj_Iq3cw**
Ace's eyes flew up. He tried to stifle his reaction.
"I don't know what you're talking about..." he stammered.
The wizard sighed, "There's no use hiding it now. Albaric already told me. He always was terrible at keeping secrets. Though I can see why he tried,"
Ace swallowed hard, but he said nothing.
"I asked you a question!" the harshness of the voice made Ace flinch. Was this it? Did the sword saint leave him to be killed by the wizard? It seemed impossible, but the way the conversation was headed there seemed to be no alternative.
"It's as I feared," the wizard said, breaking the silence.
"What does that mean?" Ace frowned.
"For what reason would a Demon Lord offer to teach you if you didn't have some kind of deal in place? What did the demons ask for in exchange?"
"You seem to be misunderstanding something," Ace said in a low voice, "I begged Lord Clover to teach me..."
"You begged Clover?" the Wizard said incredulously. His incredulity was quickly replaced by suspicion. He eyed Ace even more severely.
"And you're proud of it, it seems," he stated observing Ace with a shake of his head.
"I...I don't understand. You were taught by Lord Clover, weren't you?" Ace returned, his voice betraying his growing annoyance.
The wizard shot him a wayward glance. At first, it seemed cautionary but Ace detected a hint of amusement.
"Yes. However, that was different," the wizard answered at length.
"How is it different?" Ace questioned.
The wizard's frigid glare returned with a vengeance, "You still hold the Demon Lord in high regard," said he, though the intonation could have been a question, his eyes had the conviction of an affirmation.
"Lord Clover saved my life, took me in and brought me here," Ace forced the words out defiantly.
"Yes, Albaric told me. Now, it appears, I must tell you: Clover didn't save you out of any genuine concern. They have none. There is likely another reason. Whatever it is, I will soon discover it. Until then I suggest you disavow any association you used to have with Clover. It's for your own good."
"With all due respect, I'll make that decision myself," Ace returned coldly.
"You..." the wizard cracked a wicked grin, "I wonder has the Sword Saint witnessed this vindictive stubbornness of yours? In his letters, he wrote of a good-natured boy. Where is that child now I wonder?"
"Whatever your history, even you must admit that Clover has helped the Empire in the past," Ace admonished, disregarding the wizard's attempt to draw him in, " Is it so hard to believe that Clover might have changed?"
"Changed?" the wizard scoffed, "Your delusion is worse than I thought. Demons lie!" He emphasised the last words with a passion unbefitting his customary demeanour.
"The master has never lied to me," Ace replied with the ambivalence he could see agitated the wizard.
"Or is it that you don't know the difference between lies and truth?"
Ace's brow furrowed with his rising temper. He had been trying to keep it in check but the wizard's remarks were beginning to grate on him.
"How can you judge me?" Ace challenged. "Look at you! Aren't you the most powerful wizard in the Empire? That's after becoming Lord Clover's student,"
"You're as conceited as your master,"
"I am only trying to point out that everyone here is so young yet so talented. Can you honestly say Lord Clover played no part in it?"
"Shall I tell you the reason why we are all so young?" the wizard said with such hostility and force that there was no room for an answer.
He leaned over viciously, "It's because demons killed our predecessors before their time. And with them, a world of knowledge has been lost that you can't even imagine. And still, yet there is even greater irony!"
"I..."
"It's that the only being alive who even comes close to their power, if not eclipsing it, is an arrogant and self-serving warlock turned demon lord who you dared call master, but who in fact you know very little about. In short, yes, I am aware of Clover's 'abilities' but unlike you, I also know that Clover has little interest in sharing it unless it suits them. And when it does I guarantee it always ends badly for all those involved. This master who you speak so highly of is a liar, a thief... and a murderer,"
Ace clenched his fists to contain himself. What did this wizard know? Even if it was true, in the demon world, such things were common. Clover was different. Of that Ace was certain, but to argue the point now seemed redundant. The wizard with the same discernable eyes continued:
"Your sentiments are still with your old life," the wizard sat down with a sigh, "but there's something you need to understand. If you align yourself with Clover, you will make an enemy out of the Empire."
"Are you threatening me?"
"No," the wizard shook his head, "Ace, I am warning you. You might think I am vicious in my pursuit of the Demons but my disposition will seem lukewarm in comparison to the Emperor. I need you to understand that I am trying to help you. To do that, I need to be certain I can trust you,"
Ace stared down at the floor, shifting uncomfortably.
"It's not that I'm not unsympathetic to your upbringing," the wizard added in a low voice, "A human trapped in the Demon world since childhood - it's unimaginable,"
Ace's brow furrowed, he flashed a fearful but angry glance up at the wizard.
"Why did you say?"Ace hesitated.
For the first time, the wizard appeared to express genuine remorse. However, it died within seconds as another more vehement emotion took over.
"You didn't think the Sword Saint would really bring a demon here, did you?"
"I'm not..." Ace bit down on his lip. Maybe the Sword Saint told the wizard...
"Ace. Take a seat," the wizard injected. Ace was snapped out of his thoughts. The wizard had a way of preventing his usual wandering. He sat down stiffly inclined against the chair. It felt like even the safety of Ace's mind was under threat when the wizard continued:
"I know what you're thinking."
Ace inhaled sharply but made no reply.
"Albaric told me that you seem to think you are a demon. As usual, he's left me to play the role of villain. Frankly, I don't see the point of letting this delusion go any further. It's better that we get past this early on," the wizard's hard gaze fell on Ace determinedly, "You...are not a Demon. You're a human, Ace. Take a moment to understand what that means,"
Ace unconsciously shook his head so slightly, however without addressing the claim he said in a low voice, "the Sword Saint...Albaric told me you were going to help me with my magic. What does this have to do with that?"
"Everything," the wizard gave a laborious exhale. He stood back up and skimmed a finger gingerly along the tombs that lined the bookshelf. He stopped on a large green book. He returned to the desk. As it slammed down on the table, Ace smothered the bolt it sent through him.
It was obviously a lie. Perhaps it was another tactic. Who knows what the sword saint really said. Ace observed the book ambivalently. He wanted to leave. He had enough of the wizard's posturing. How much longer did he have to put up with this?
"Take it. Read it in your own time," the wizard instructed as he slid the book across the table. Ace gave it a wary glance. There was a feather sticking out from between two crinkled pages. He took the book reluctantly tucking it under his arm mechanically.
"The bottom line is this," the wizard went on, "You want to know why you have no powers?"
For the first time, Ace was reluctant to hear the answer. It was the answer to the question he had wondered about his whole life. There was no need to hesitate. Ace forced a stiff nod which prompted the wizard's explanation:
"It's because you were in the Demon world. You see, there are two known energies that fill our universe. There is the mana that fills the human world and demonic energy on the other side. The two are not usually compatible. Humans exposed to the demon world will lose their mana and thus their ability to cast magic. Do you understand what I'm telling you? It is likely you were brought to the other side as a child. Does any of this sound familiar to you?"
Ace felt his body had gone limp. A spell of dizziness was taking hold. At once, he pulled himself out of the chair and glanced down at the wizard who was staring up in surprise.
"I don't know what you are trying to do," Ace's expression was unusually icy, "Whatever it is, I want no part in it," he added with cool detachment.
With that, he stepped out of the room. He could feel the wizard's wretched eyes upon him. Still, he restrained his pace and did not run as his body urged. He made his way down the stairs. Even upon seeing Bird, he didn't deter from his path. He gave a restrained nod of acknowledgement and continued toward the student halls.
There he sat up waiting rigidly on his bed. The sun set but he continued to sit in darkness. The wizard never came after him, nor Bird. He sat alone for hours in the small, darkened room. Without meaning to he had taken the wizard's book with him. He had skimmed the pages before placing it adjacent to him on the desk where it had remained firmly shut.
The moonlight was filtering through the window by the time the sword saint returned. A fraction of her disc hung in the sky failing to illuminate the world below with anything other than a shallow light.
Albaric noticed a slight shadow fall on the door, he turned quickly with his blade drawn. The blade edge hovered an inch from Ace's neck. The meeting had left him on edge, as it always had done. Albaric let out an annoyed grunt.
"Gods!" he said, then recovering added, "You're still up?" He said, obviously impatient to enter his room. No doubt to retrieve the flask Ace had seen him hide in his rucksack before they left.
Ace stood behind him holding the wizard's book in hand. His black eyes look darker than usual and his skin sallow. He was irradiated darkly by the red candle that flickered in Albaric's hand.
Ace thrust the book out in front of the sword saint opening it on the bookmarked page. By now, the words were inscribed well enough in Ace's mind that he might have read without the help of the book. Nevertheless, the light was just bright enough to read the words. It was written with gold gilding and detailed a description which Ace proceeded to read aloud.
'A human who goes to the demon realm suffers from adverse effects. In most cases, human mana (life force) is stripped from the individual. In other cases, the human will die from prolonged exposure to the demon world. In the worst case, long term subjection to demonic energy can cause humans to take on the characteristics of demons. Their bodies absorb demonic energy leading to demonification. The full effects are not yet known...'
Ace gave a restrained smile and lent back awkwardly on the door frame, "This so-called 'demonification' has not happened to me. I haven't got any demonic energy, but you knew that. Is that why you brought me here? To let the wizard dissect me?"
Albaric's jaw clenched, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but I brought you here to help you. The Grand Wizard wants to help you too, in his own way..." his voice trailed.
"So it's true?"
"Yes, I confirmed it the day we met,"
"What are you talking about?"
"I used holy magic to test you. If you had been a demon, well, let's just say we wouldn't be having this conversation,"
"So you knew all along but didn't tell me? "
"I needed the wizard to confirm it,"
"Bullshit," Ace scoffed, "What's the real reason you didn't tell me?"
Albaric hesitated as if deciding whether to invite the same words as before, but was persuaded against it in the heat of the moment.
"Because! because I needed you to understand what you were missing. I wanted you to get used to things, to get comfortable," Albaric enthused, "Now that you're in the human world, there's a good chance your powers will come back. You'll be able to use magic.."
"Here." Ace interrupted, " I'll be able to use magic here, but not in the demon world,"
"There's no future for you back there,"
"Ha! I get it. I get it now," Ace let out a hollow, derisive laugh, "Since you seem to know everything, did you know I intend on becoming a Demon Lord? You made a mistake bringing me here," Ace glared at the sword saint which undisguised hostility.
"You're angry," Albaric sighed, "It's understandable. Honestly, I guessed something like that might be your intention. But you see that it's impossible now, don't you? Not to mention ridiculous,"
"So you thought that by bringing me here, you would force me to be...human?!" Ace threw the book to the floor with such force, the spine cracked on impact.
"You are human!" Albaric exclaimed in response.
"Says who?" Ace snapped, "That fucking wizard? I don't care what he says. Or that stupid book! If you didn't want a demon for a student you shouldn't have agreed to take me. Are you just trying to cover yourself?"
"Ace, calm down," Albaric replied coolly, "You're upset right now. You're not thinking straight. Didn't you tell me you liked the human world? Why go back? You can't tell me that those Demons understand you! They're vicious monsters and they kill without hesitation. It's a miracle you survived there,"
Ace shook his head vigorously. "Apparently, they understood me better than you do." His head began to throb and it only made him more agitated.
"Take me back right now!" He demanded.
"I can't," Albaric said slowly, observing how unsteady Ace looked. He hadn't seen this side to Ace before and wasn't sure what to make of it. Albaric knew Ace was obviously a passionate young man, but there was a viciousness in his eye that beheld more than anger. There was something dark thereof which he had seen glimpses but had never so far surfaced.
"Then bring me back to Lord Clover!" Ace yelled in a hoarse voice.
"I can't do that either," Albaric returned calmly. He stepped towards Ace and tried to steady him. However, Ace slapped his hand away.
"Then I will find a way back myself," Ace stumbled.
This time Albaric caught him by the arm.
"That's not what Clover wants for you either," he said softly.
Ace's eyes widened, "Are you saying that's why the master left me here? Lord Clover knew as well?"
Albaric swallowed and nodded. "Probably the only selfless thing Clover ever did,"