Deep in the forest, Leon Silver Kuriguri sprinted through the thick underbrush, his breathing steady despite the commotion behind him. The forest echoed with the sound of footsteps and blasts of magic, the pursuers closing in.
"Man, these guys again," Leon muttered, ducking behind a tree for cover. "Ever since Ouiji left, they've been on my tail nonstop. And I just became a demon."
Without warning, a crackling blast of lightning surged toward him. Leon leaped, narrowly dodging the attack, landing in a skid on the forest floor. The shockwave rippled through the trees as another blast—this time of fire—followed close behind. Leon countered with a shield of his signature grey mana, the flames fizzling out against its surface.
He glanced back at his attackers, frustration giving way to a smirk. "Looks like there's no running from this... Guess I'll test my theory on you guys."
He extended his hand, summoning a pure ball of mana, glowing with an otherworldly grey hue. The orb flickered with energy as it floated above his palm.
"So this is how pure mana works," Leon whispered to himself, the realization sinking in.
As another flurry of attacks came his way, Leon effortlessly jumped, evading each strike mid-air. His mind wandered back to the first time he tapped into Keiko's energy—a moment of clarity that changed everything. He had felt it all: the raw power, the ability to draw out stored mana from another's body, using it to boost his speed, his strength, or even turning it into a compressed sphere capable of knocking someone out with a single hit.
While still in the air, his usual grey mana flickered, first to orange, then to an icy blue, causing his pursuers to freeze in place, their confidence faltering.
Landing gracefully on the ground, Leon's smirk widened. "Looks like I managed to copy Keiko's mana waves." He laughed in excitement, the power coursing through him.
One of the pursuers wasn't deterred, summoning a lightning bolt aimed directly at Leon's replica Potential Field. The strike tore a hole through it, forcing Leon to sigh. "I guess it isn't perfect yet."
With a flick of his wrist, his aura shifted once again, this time turning a vibrant green. The wind around him swirled violently, and from the chaos, a dragon-shaped gust of wind materialized, roaring to life.
"Let's knock you demon hunters out and send you straight to the school. Let the principal deal with you." His voice was calm but laced with a warning, his green dragon circling above like a vengeful storm.
The men hesitated, realizing the gap between them and the new Leon—a demon with a dangerous mastery of mana, capable of bending it to