Walking through the hallways of the academy was never a pleasant experience; she was often subjected to insults and snide remarks. She would only find peace in a classroom where a teacher was present, but even that solace was tainted by the memories of snide remarks. A boy in her Alchemy class sneered, "Demon spawn probably uses bat blood for ink." "You should return to the abyss." "Filthy demon."
A wave of nausea washed over her. She squeezed her eyes shut, the hallway morphing into a memory of past humiliations. The sting of holy water flicked against her skin during an academy meeting in the auditorium. When some fools thought it funny to test her demon heritage, the searing whispers of "unholy" and "abomination" echoing in her ears. The memory of shoving lunch trays, the clatter drowned out by cruel laughter.
Juliana stumbled, her breath catching in her throat. Opening her eyes, she found herself face-to-face with a group of upperclassmen, their uniforms as neat as ever. Their eyes, however, held no reflection of kindness. They were narrowed slits, filled with disdain so potent it felt like a physical blow.
"Well, well," drawled a particularly burly boy with a shaved head, his voice dripping with false sweetness. "Look who decided to grace us with her demonic presence." A chorus of snickers followed, sharp and cruel. Juliana felt a familiar heat rise in her cheeks, a burning shame that threatened to consume her. But then, she remembered her father's words, his voice a comforting echo in the cavernous hall of her mind.
"They fear what they don't understand, Juliana. But fear can be overcome with strength."
Taking a deep breath, Juliana squared her shoulders, forcing her gaze to meet the smirking upperclassman. But her voice died in her throat; she could not muster the words. But it seems she would not have to.
"Come now," a familiar voice spoke. "Juliana has just as much right to be here as anyone." Someone stepped up beside her, her wide eyes saw Adrian. Their laughter died down immediately, replaced by apprehension. The upperclassman's smirk faltered for a brief moment, a flicker of fear crossing his features. Then, just as quickly, it hardened back into a sneer.
"You, playing consort for this demon spawn," he scoffed, his voice laced with condescension. "We'll see how long that 'right' lasts, demon scum."
He shoved past the two, his companions following suit. Juliana remained rooted to the spot, the encounter leaving a bitter taste in her mouth. Yet, amidst the sting of their cruelty, there was a flicker of something else.
"What a bunch, everyone in this academy is practically the same," she heard Adrian murmur. She glanced at him in confusion. "Always the same reaction, so boring."
Adrian, unlike most, had no disgust or animosity within his eyes. But for some reason, she found him more unnerving than receiving any jeers or glares. That look in his eyes, blank, seemed the most apt description. Even when he smiled, it remained so blank and eerie; even now when he helped her, those unnerving eyes did not change.
He smiled as he turned to her. "So what class are you off to?"
"A-alchemy class," she answered hesitantly.
"Alchemy, huh? Well, allow me to walk you to class," he offered.
"Y-you don't have to."
"Nonsense," he merely waved her words off. "You and I are friends, right?"
"Friends?" How loosely he threw that term around; in the past few weeks, they had merely greeted one another. There were hardly ever any lengthy conversations held between the two of them. They could not even be called acquaintances, let alone friends. She gave him a nervous glance. That smile remained as he spoke on.
"Yes, friends. The two of us are in the same boat after all," he clarified. "Most here detest us." She could not help but frown at the bluntness of his words. "You for being a spawn of that demon, and me for actively working with demons. We should stick together, no?" She pursed her lips at his words. In a way, they should have been comforting, but his tone did not attest to that. She did not know what to say to him; she was never any good with words. But it seems there was no need for any of that.
That was because a low, guttural tremor resonated through the academy, shaking the very foundations. Dust rained down from the high ceilings, casting the hallway in an eerie gloom. Gasps erupted around her, students scrambling for support against the trembling walls. The tremor wasn't natural. It pulsed with dark, malevolent mana, a power that resonated strangely with Juliana. For a terrifying moment, Juliana was frozen. This power, this tremor, it was strength, raw and untamed.
"What mana," Adrian was quite the opposite, leisurely; his hands were pocketed despite the tremor. "And it's a demon too," the tremor subsided, yet everyone was still in disarray. Juliana turned to Adrian.
"W-what was that?" She managed to get those words out but barely; the mana still lingered. It was so potent she could almost smell and taste it. "A demon," he answered as he started walking. Juliana watched in confusion but ultimately followed him. "Hmm, and judging from how potent this mana is, it's no doubt a Chaosmaw," he stopped at a window in the hallways. "And coming from the forest."
"The forest..." Juliana mirrored his stare; he was looking at the western section. "T-that's where William and Ruby were training."
"Indeed." Despite her words, his smile had not faltered. "Shall we go and assist them?"
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Ruby glanced back, her gaze as dull as ever despite the situation. The forest floor blurred beneath their churning feet, a rush of green and brown churned into a panicked kaleidoscope. Towering behind them was a creature born of hell. Its obsidian form, the size of a siege tower, hulked against the sky. Jagged spikes, blacker than sin, sprouted from its hide like malevolent thorns, glinting an oily sheen in the fading light. With each thunderous footfall, the earth trembled – with each of its steps.
William, running beside her, gritted his teeth; he raised his hand, palm outstretched. A crackling energy, the color of a summer storm, pulsed within it. With a grunt, he unleashed the pent-up energy – a bolt of pure lightning that speared towards the demon.
It struck accurately, a blinding white flash illuminating the clearing ahead. Ruby squeezed her eyes shut, bracing for the impact. But when she opened them, she frowned. The demon barely flinched. The lightning danced harmlessly on its obsidian flesh, sizzling and dying before it could inflict any real damage.
"That did nothing," she dryly commented.
"I am well aware!" William screamed out.
Though it did do something, the demon roared in apparent anger. The bellow reverberated through the trees, shaking leaves loose in a shower of green rain. It lunged forward, gaining speed with each earth-shaking step. Just as its massive fist, bigger than a house, descended on Ruby, William shoved her to the side. He barely managed it – the wind from the demon's movement whipped through his hair, and the stench of brimstone flooded his nostrils. The fist slammed into the ground with a force that defied logic. The earth groaned in protest, a crater forming where the demon's appendage collided. A shockwave radiated out, tearing through the undergrowth and sending William and Ruby flying through the air.
They landed with bone-jarring thuds, their vision momentarily swimming. Gasping, William scrambled to his feet and grabbed Ruby's arm, pulling her up. They didn't dare waste a breath, both already sprinting again, weaving through the dense forest. The demon, seemingly unaffected by its own show of force, rose from the crater and charged once more.
Just as it opened its maw to unleash another earth-shattering roar, Ruby's hand flashed. A glyph, shimmering with a sickly purple light, blazed into existence before the demon's face. It was a Hex of Gravity Distortion.
"Hex: Distortion of gravity," she silently murmured.
The air shimmered, and the demon stumbled, its massive form momentarily sluggish as its own center of gravity was turned against it. Seizing the opportunity, Ruby chanted a second hex – a Binding of Earth.
"Hex: Binding earth."
The ground beneath the demon writhed, thick tendrils of earth erupting from the ground to grasp at its legs. The demon roared in fury, the sound a hurricane of anger, and with a herculean effort, ripped itself free from the earth's grasp. But the brief respite had bought them precious seconds. William, using the Qi training General Mai had bestowed upon them, surged his body with the unfamiliar power. A warm energy pulsed beneath his skin, fueling his body and magic. He muttered a simple chant. A circular glyph, shimmering with crackling energy, materialized in front of him.
With a grunt of effort, William thrust his palm forward. From the glyph erupted a torrent of blazing white fire, a river of pure heat that roared towards the demon. The forest floor lit up with an incandescent glow, and even Ruby had to shield her eyes from the sheer intensity. The inferno of white engulfed the monstrous creature, seemingly eating away at its obsidian flesh.
Ruby and William held their breaths. But as the fire sputtered and died down, any hope turned to ashes. The demon stood there, seemingly unscathed. It flexed its massive arms, sending shockwaves through the air that ripped leaves from branches and turned twigs into splinters.
"Seriously?"
William let out a groan of despair. A magic attack fueled by Qi had done nothing.
The demon opened its mouth wide, a gaping maw of darkness. Within that abyss, a ball of crackling energy began to form, growing larger and more powerful with each passing second. It pulsed with a malevolent light, threatening to obliterate everything in its path.
"William!" Ruby uncharacteristically screamed out.
William turned towards the inevitable end, accepting his fate with a stoic grimace. But just as he braced for the energy beam to engulf him, a shimmering, translucent wall of purple light materialized between them and the demon. The energy beam slammed into the barrier, the force of it creating a deafening boom that echoed through the forest.
The ground beneath their feet trembled, but the shield held. It pulsed with every hit, the purple light shimmering brighter with each surge of power. Ruby's eyes widened, recognizing the mana signature. And this didn't seem like a simple barrier technique; no, it was a Shielding charm, a powerful defensive spell that absorbed any attack instead of simply blocking it, but it drained the caster's mana reserves quickly.
A nervous voice broke through the cacophony. "I-I barely made it in time!" Juliana, her eyes held fear but determination, she stood slightly panting behind the barrier, her face etched with exhaustion.
"Juliana!" William shouted over the roar of the demon, relief flooding his voice as the beam of destructive energy died down.
"Seems we've arrived right on time." Another familiar voice spoke out, Adrian stepped out from the cover of the forest examining the large demon that seemed to be doing the same to them.
"You're here?" Ruby uttered out, confused. "I didn't think you would bother with helping us."
"Your words are harsh, Ruby." He chuckled. "Why would I not want to help my friends."
"W-we should run now, right?" Juliana asked with a shaking voice; the demon was remaining docile, but that was sure to change.
"Nay, apparently there are some more demons around campus. The teachers already have their hands full there so no one would be able to handle this Chaosmaw." Adrian exclaimed, William knitted his brow together.
"You're not suggesting...."
"Oh yes, let's kill ourselves a Chaosmaw!"