"We are really sorry we cannot remain here and properly celebrate this uncommon occasion with songs and tales about your glorious predecessors, but our presence is required elsewhere, for our duty is constant and non-deferrable, and you will learn that this is true for you as well very soon. We all wish you many successes in the future, and we hope you will continue your journey of self-improvement until you become the best Hell Purger there ever was or will ever be!" explained one of the members of the Council after they all congratulated him on his promotion.
"I understand. I thank you for your good wishes, and I hope I will, through time and effort, manage to turn them into reality." said Lucius.
"You will. We are sure of it. Just remember to be patient and wise, and there is nothing you won't be able to achieve. Now, before we go, there is someone else who deserves to be congratulated for his achievement."
After the Council member said that, they turned towards Lucius's master and approached him to shake hands with him and congratulate him. He was the one who truly deserved to be congratulated, for he was the one through whose work Lucius got a chance to become what he today became. All his work could have been for naught if Lucius wasn't up to the task, for the master can only give away his knowledge, but it's up to the apprentice to accept it and work on himself. That's why the master sacrifices the most. Lucius was glad that he managed to justify that sacrifice. After the Council congratulated his master, they opened their portals and got ready to depart, each member going wherever his duty called. After they said goodbye and wished the Lord's blessing upon them, they passed through the portals, which quickly closed after them, and like that, they were gone. As soon as they left, Lucius too wanted to thank his master, so he kneeled down in front of him.
"Master, I wish to thank you for all of your time, effort, knowledge, skills, and wisdom that you so unselfishly decided to gift to me through all these years. You are the best master an apprentice could wish for!"
"And you were the best apprentice a master could wish for! Remember, the work of a master falls flat if the student is not willing to accept and use the knowledge being passed on to him. Not only have you accepted what I had to teach you, but I also trust you are going to use that knowledge as a foundation for your future self-improvement. What more could a master wish for? Now, stand up, Lucius. I have a proposition for you." said his master, visibly happy that they both found this apprentice-master relationship fruitful.
"But first, I would like you to describe to me your final exam. Tell me what happened." said the master when he stood up.
Lucius complied and told his master the whole story, and his master carefully listened to the whole thing without interrupting him or reacting in any way until he finished.
"I am actually quite impressed. You did well to blind the imps; otherwise, they would have overwhelmed you. You also had the right idea about the minotaur, but it is an opponent you ideally want to take out from a distance, unless you are as strong or stronger than it. Neverthless, you managed to kill it before it killed you, and that's all that matters right now, but do keep what I said in mind when you meet one or more of them in the future, which you most surely will, for they are not an uncommon sight among demonic forces."
"Thank you! I will keep it in mind. I really don't want to be tossed around like that anymore."
"No, I believe you don't." said his master, smiling.
He then offered him a hand, and it took Lucius a moment or two to understand that he wanted to shake hands with him.
"You are now officially a Hell Purger. I congratulate you! Your hard work has paid off. You are now free to serve Elysium as you please. You can join our forces on any front you wish or go on a hunt for any of the notorious demons that trouble both us and humans. However, I don't want to insult you, but you are still young, and your training is not a distant memory. Mind you, I am not saying this because of your performance on your final exam. I would have told you this even if you returned without a single scratch. There is still much for you to learn, and it would be a shame if you paid with your life for your inexperience. That is why I want to offer you a mentorship. You can say no, and I won't be angry, but I would gladly have the honour of guiding you on your path. I wouldn't be your teacher, but I would give you advice and recommend which missions to take, at least until you don't get the hang of it, and maybe even after that, if you decide so." explained his master after they shook hands.
"The honour would be mine. I accept your offer. Even if you hadn't offered me this, I would have still come to you for advice."
"Very well, then. Now that your training is complete, your main goal is to grow in power so you can become stronger, slay demons more efficiently, and ultimately become what your title suggests you are: a Hell Purger."
"How will I grow in power?" asked Lucius.
"There is no straightforward answer to this question. The demons become more powerful the more human souls they possess. This gives them power. We angels don't get more powerful like that. We could, but that would be a betrayal of who we are. God created souls not to be possessed but to be free and eventually join him. By claiming them for ourselves and using them as a source of power, we insult God himself. That is why we become more powerful by fighting to free the souls from demonic grasp, and then we pray for further strength from God himself so we can do it even better. Sometimes our Lord doesn't reward us directly, even after our heroic deeds, and instead finds other ways to gift us power. Don't worry. You will find out what I mean in time. Meanwhile, you should get to work, and I think I have the perfect first mission for you."
"What do you have in mind?" asked Lucius impatiently, intrigued both by talk of increasing his power and his first mission.
"I hope you don't find it humiliating, but you did show you can successfully fight the imps, and I think a little bit more practice wouldn't hurt. I taught you that they are one of the weakest demons that exist and that they never command other demons, serving them instead. This is because they only encourage humans to do mischief, and that is not enough to get their souls. However, there is one that has proved us wrong. It seems he was not satisfied with serving and being like others of his kind, so he decided to be more smart and cunning. He probably watched what stronger demons were doing and how they snatched human souls, so he imitated them and, in time, found success. Years passed, and he gathered quite a collection and became more powerful than any imp before him. He now has command over many imps and even some demons that are usually stronger than imps. We don't know his real name, but, rather unimaginatively, he calls himself the Imp King. In my past, I stumbled upon this individual a few times. Each time I slayed all of his servants, he himself would somehow slip between my fingers. You see, he's quite a coward, and he runs on the first sign of danger. I just so happen to know of his current whereabouts, and I think you could pay him a visit and hopefully put an end to that old nuisance. What do you say?"
"Even if you didn't mention that there might be some stronger demons, I would have trusted your judgement. Since you did mention them, my interest in this mission has grown even more. I accept it!" said Lucius eagerly.
"I'm glad you say so, but if it's all possible, I recommend that you try and kill only the Imp King. He will have a lot of guards, and there is no need to risk your life trying to kill them all, because they will disperse and go look for a new master once he is eliminated. You should try a more stealthy approach, because if you go in hacking and slashing his guards, he will simply run away, and your mission will be a failure." advised the master.
"Alright, I will do as you say." said Lucius.
"Good. Now, I will teach you how to open your own portal, so you can finally learn to shorten your travels so you can return from your mission."
These words excited Lucius. He wanted to learn to open his own portal for a long time. But even this couldn't surpass the excitement he felt because he was soon going on his first mission. His life as a Hell Purger is about to begin. Finally! A new beginning!