The next day, after another fruitless search, Alistair and Luzbel were sitting across from each other as they enjoyed an impromptu meal. The air was thick with tension, but also with the camaraderie that had begun to emerge between the two.
Alistair had taken to calling Luzbel "little monster," partly as a friendly joke and partly as a nickname that reflected his supernatural nature. Luzbel, in his own way, had learned to appreciate the endearment behind the name and accepted it with humor.
With a piece of dried meat in his hand, Alistair began to speak. "Little monster, seeing your ability and your quick learning, today I want you to learn the ways of conjuring spells, the types of spells that exist and the ways to conjure them."
After finishing swallowing the dried meat, Alistair continued to explain. "Spells are, in essence, a sequence of steps. First, we take the mana from our core through our arteries and let it flow generally through the capillaries in our hands. Second, comes the tricky part: passing that mana into an element. To achieve this, we use the mana from our mana heart to gather the elements present in the environment. And so we come to the third step, where we mold the elements with our mana to form the spell we desire."
Luzbel nodded, showing understanding, and asked, "And what types of spells are there?"
Alistair rose from his seat and, with a wave of his hand, created three spells in front of them. A spear of ice formed in the air, followed by a large shield also made of ice. Finally, Alistair created an ice armor on himself. "Little monster, there are three types of spells," Alistair explained as he pointed to each of them. "Impetus is the magic we use for attack," he said as he pointed to the ice spear. "Defensio is the defense magic," he continued as he pointed to the ice shield. "And lastly, we have Melioratio, which are enhancement spells," he concluded pointing to the armor made of ice that enveloped him.
Alistair dispelled the spells and sat back down. He took another piece of dried meat in his hand and, while chewing, began to explain to Luzbel "Spells can be conjured in different ways," Alistair said with a serious but wisdom-filled look. "One of those ways is through chanting, where we use a set of words to visualize the formation of the spell. Another way is through runes, drawings created with special materials that conduct mana and can activate a spell on their own. And finally, there is silent chanting, in which no words are spoken to conjure."
Luzbel nodded, showing understanding, but still had a question in mind. "Why does the chanting incantation exist if it can be done without?" he asked curiously.
Alistair smiled, revealing his wisdom accumulated over the years. "Little monster, casting a spell without chanting requires great control over the spell to be conjured," he explained. "Normally, chanting is used on lower level spells, which are within your skill range. They require clearer and more precise guidance to avoid any mistakes that may cause unintended consequences."
Alistair, without giving Luzbel time to respond, said with determination, "Now I want you to try. Take the mana from your mana heart into the capillaries of your hands and visualize a ball of fire."
Luzbel, filled with emotion, closed his eyes and plunged into deep concentration. He felt the beating of his mana heart, sending the scarce mana he possessed into his arteries and finally into the capillaries of his hands. At that precise instant, he heard Alistair's voice telling him, "Use this chant to summon a fireball: Ignēs quī calefaciunt mundum, congregāminī in sphera fervidā lucidaque."
Luzbel obeyed and began to recite the words while visualizing a huge, glowing sphere of fire in his mind. Concentrating his will and his mana, he began to see that image materialize in front of him. From the palms of his hands, a sphere of flame began to take shape. At first, it was the size of a thumb, but it quickly grew into a fiery ball.
Magical energy welled up in the fiery sphere, emanating intense heat and a bright red light. Luzbel was fascinated by the power flowing through him as he continued to recite the spell. Suddenly, however, the fireball dissipated into thin air and Luzbel fell down exhausted and gasping.
Alistair, looking at him with disappointment, reproached him: "Child, I told you to visualize a sphere, not a sun. If you continue like this, you will run out of mana quickly. Remember this as a lesson on how important it is to visualize precisely what you wish to achieve."
At that moment, Luzbel was barely listening to Alistair's words. Something inside him had changed. He felt as if something hidden inside him had been fully awakened by using all his mana. Something that had been dormant for a long time. Suddenly, a sphere of black and white light enveloped Luzbel, sending Alistair flying forcefully and uprooting the surrounding trees.
"Luzbel!!!" shouted Alistair as he was thrown back by the force of the impact. The power unleashed by Luzbel was uncontrollable and overwhelming.
When everything finally calmed down, the sphere of light shattered with a roar similar to that of shattering glass. From among the shards emerged Luzbel, now endowed with a pair of feathered wings, one of a neat white color and the other dark as the starless sky. His presence radiated an aura of holiness and power.
Luzbel slowly stood up, trying to take in the magnitude of what had just happened. His eyes rested on his new wings in awe. Alistair, stunned at what he witnessed, was petrified, unable to articulate a word. The surprise was short-lived, however, for suddenly, the wings disappeared and Luzbel fell into a sudden faint.
Alistair, overcoming his initial stupor, rushed to the young man and quickly embraced him. With no clear idea of what to do next, he decided to carry the child in his arms and set out on the road back towards the village. With each step, worry took over her face, as her mind searched for answers and solutions to what she had just witnessed.
***
Alistair, with Luzbel's limp body in his arms, hurried back to town. His mind churned with unanswered questions, but his determination to protect the child was firm and resolute. Finally, he reached the modest dwelling where Lilith, Luzbel's mother, resided.
Alistair's heart was racing as he knocked urgently on the door. Lilith opened it quickly, but as soon as she saw the anguished expression on Alistair's face, a sense of imminent danger came over her. Alistair, wasting no time, related in detail everything that had happened, from the appearance of the wings on Luzbel to his sudden fainting spell.
Lilith, hearing the story, could not contain her despair. Her eyes reflected a deep, ancestral fear. With a tremor in her voice, she warned Roland, the family's trusted guardian, of the impending danger that loomed over them.
At that precise moment, a deafening thunder rumbled in the skies, shaking the ground beneath their feet. A golden light, intense and dazzling, illuminated the horizon and enveloped the town in a celestial glow.
All the inhabitants, alerted by the roar and the brilliance, went out into the streets, astonished, their eyes narrowed by the overwhelming luminosity. And there, suspended in the air, emerged a majestic being: an eight-winged angel, whose feathers shone with dazzling purity.
Silence fell over the town as hearts pounded. Astonished gazes were directed towards the angel, whose imposing presence seemed to bring with it a transcendental message. It was a divine figure that seemed to embody hope and fear at the same time.
The angel, with sublime serenity, observed the villagers with penetrating eyes. His figure radiated a supernatural presence, capable of inspiring reverence and admiration. No one dared to break the silence, feeling in the depths of their souls that something extraordinary was about to happen.