The next morning I hear rushing steps moving through the room and a big noise of those taking their things.
I open my eyes slowly and see Azel who puts his backpack on his shoulder and takes his keys.
"Where are you going?" I groan annoyed.
"I'm going to Devil!"
"What... Again?!" I exclaimed, falling out of bed like a sack of potatoes.
"This time I didn't set the alarm. Why did you wake up anyway?!" he says annoyed.
"If you frankly want to know, I have a light sleep" I reply, getting off the ground.
"All right! I'll be more careful tomorrow, princess!" he says ironically, heading for the door.
"Stop!"
"What do you want, again?" he asks annoyed, pointing his fire-red eyes into mine.
"I'll go with you!"
"Hey?! Don't be ridiculous! You won't survive even two minutes! And then, how do you think you'll deal with your parents?"
"We'll be back by 8:00 a.m."
"And how do you plan to do it?" asks, moderately doubtful.
"We'll teleport with my key"
"Can you do that?" he questions in amazement.
"Yes, I can"
"Good! Hurry up and change!"
"No need!" I snap my fingers, changing my clothes and making a ready-made backpack appear next to me.
"Nice trick two-bit wizard. You'll have to teach me how to do so I'd stop wasting time on useless things!" shouts with a sneering smirk on his look.
"Well... We can go!" I order, putting my backpack on my shoulder and locking the door.
"So how do you use your key?"
Without saying a word, I grab his hand and focus on the city we must reach.
"What are you doing? Let go!" he replies irritated until he feels his body dissolving. When I finally open my eyes again, I see a scenario of death and destruction so unreal that it seems like a nightmare.
"Congratulations! I didn't think you could do it!?" Azel exclaims enthusiastically.
"What are we doing here?"
"I came because I need the number 1-0-4" he responds excitedly.
"What would that be?"
"The heart of the city"
"Would you like to return it? Because, if so, it would be a fantastic thing!" I exclaim with my voice full of hope.
"You fucked your brain! Once I find it, I'll absorb its powers and finally, I can have full control of my body"
"What do you mean?"
"At this moment I am strong enough to turn into any animal. However, I cannot yet make appear, for example, only on my arm a shell of ice. With the item 1-0-4, I can finally succeed and thus become invincible!"
"You're crazy if you think I'll let you do something like that! You should return it and give the city back its former glory. The residents are starving and killing each other for lack of water. If you destroy the heart, the citizens will be lost"
It's not possible! I have to stop him! Why is he such a dick?
I use my powers to discover his location, follow his trail and head into town.
Via the different narrow roads, the horror that crosses every lane seems to no stop. I try to ignore the thugs who prey on civilians and children who run away and steal to survive. It feels like hell! There is no humanity in all this. There is only the sheer illusion that things can change and it's regrettable.
After almost an hour, I feel close to Azel, however I stop when I see a little girl crying on the ground. I approach and I brush aside a lock of hair from her forehead.
"Hey, calm down! Why are you crying?" I ask her in a reassuring tone.
"Mom is dead" she replies sobbing.
"What's the matter?"
"The delinquents killed her"
"Is there someone I can take you to?" I ask, holding her in my arms.
"No! I have no one else! She was the only one left with me" she says in her little voice broken by tears.
"Come with me!" I say, getting up from the ground.
"Where do you want to take me?" asks the sad little girl.
"Don't worry! No one will hurt you anymore"
I close my eyes and try to visualize Azel in my mind. After I find him, I use the teleportation and go to him.
"Azel! Stop it!"
"How did you find me?" he asks surprised.
"I have my methods!"
"What do you want?" he questions me after calming himself.
"Return the 1-0-4"
"Forget it! Now it's mine! And... I can learn who that child is?"
"She is a victim of this mass genocide and if you don't stop it, you'll unleash my fury!" I answer with a stern look.
"You truly scare me, princess!" he says sarcastically turning his back on me.
"Azel!" I screamed, putting my feet on the ground and let the child down.
"Stop it! Now, you frankly bore me!" he says turning again and fixing his eyes on mine.
"You wanted it!"
I transform my body into a Black Demon. Unnecessary to say, when I take this look I lose my self-control completely. My eyes become bloody, my skin becomes fire and the only thing I consider is my goal.
"What...? That's one of the transformations of the fifth year! How did you..."
I don't give him time to finish the sentence that I hit him with my big jaws. He draws his sword and tries to defend himself by throwing it at my burning skin. Once the sheet of iron and I come into contact, it melts as if nothing had happened. I rip the lost heart from Azel's neck and run into the cave leaving him lying on the ground in pain. Once I reach the cave's centre, I insert the rare stone inside the cavity and the water starts flowing again like never before. I sum up my original look and leave from there. Once I arrive, to my great surprise, I notice that Azel has already recovered.
"How did you recover so quickly?"
"Dragon's tears heal every wound"
"I understand..." I say, taking the baby in my arms.
"You ruined my plan and even created a town of crazy people. Congratulations!"
"Let's go now!" I reply indifferently.
"Tell me something! Why are you pretending to be a dork if you're so strong? And where do you think you're taking that baby?"
"I can't show my powers because I could be considered strange and, as far as the baby girl is concerned, I know someone who can care for her."
We take the baby to a dear friend of mine. She tells us that he will take care of her willingly and finally, Azel and I return to school without raising suspicion. The rest of the day passes quickly. The lessons aren't extremely impressive and the relations with Azel aren't improving. How could he consider destroying an entire city?
-
It's nine o'clock in the evening and Azel has not yet returned. Who knows where he went? Perhaps attempting to destroy some other city.
'Tok, tok'
"I'm coming!"
"Hello, Nick!"
"Hi! Would you like to come into the room with me and Luke? There are others too! We wanted to get to know each other a little better so we made an appointment in my room"
"Mmm..." I'm a little bit hesitant. I don't know if I should go because I will also meet Azel, but unfortunately, he is my roommate so I will encounter him anyway.
"What? Don't you want to come?"
"No! Not at all! Okay, I'll come"
About ten minutes later, we arrive in his room. Immediately, I notice Azel lying on the bed of Luke with Alexa in his arms. Good thing he didn't want to be touched!
Aria and Terra are sitting on the floor talking with Luke and on Nick's bed, there is Ice who seems rather amused by the situation.
"Hello, Yuma" the twins say to me
"Hello" says right after Ice.
"Hi everyone" I reply by regard and of course, the only ones who ignore me are Azel and Alexa.
"So... What do we do?" asks Nick.
"How about playing truth or dare?" Alexa says without leaving Azel for a minute.
"Yes. Good idea! " Aria answers.
"Yes, I'm in!" says Luke right after.
"It's just a waste of time!" Azel says, holding Alexa. What is wrong with him? One minute, he hates her and now he loves her? He's truly screwed up! You never know what he wants.
"Come on! What does it cost to join us now and then? You're always on your own" Ice warns him.
"Ahh... Very well! I'll play!" he exclaims with a snort.
"Perfect! Then let's move in a circle" says Terra immediately. After we were placed in a circle, we stay staring for about two minutes until I decide to break the silence.
"Okay! Then I'll start!" I say looking around.
"So, Luke... Dare or truth?" I ask.
"Dare" he answers.
"Then... I dare you to levitate Alexa"
"It's not worth it! You know I'm not good at that kind of spell?!" he exclaims dissatisfied.
"It's a dare! It doesn't have to be enjoyable" I exclaim with a small laugh. Luke stands up and gives me a menacing look. Alexa doesn't say a word and looks at me with a frown-wrangling expression as if she's challenging me. I don't know why, however, I hope they're just paranoid. Luke puts his hands up and gets Alexa to stand up. She is suspended in mid-air for about five minutes after which he tries to get her down only but he can't do it. He lets go of her and makes her fall to the ground.
"Ahh! Luke you'll pay me for this" she screams during the fall but, before she touches the ground, Azel picks her up into his arms.
"Everything okay?" he asks in a kind tone.
"Sure! Thank you very much" she says touching lightly his lips and coming down. May they be engaged? I'm not comprehending anything!
"Okay, now it's my turn!" says Azel sitting down.
"Alexa, truth or dare?"
"Dare" she answers, looking at him curiously.
"Kiss Aria!" he says, challenging her.
"Cruel of you!" she says strangely satisfied. What is she up to?
She turns towards Aria who in return overruns trying to push her away. At that moment, she turns to capture Azel's lips. They exchange a long passionate kiss and I can't help but look at them without saying a word, knowing what to think, having anything to hold on to. The only thing that permeates my body is the feeling of emptiness that oppresses me.
"Hey! We're not here to watch you make out!" Ice intervenes. After that, they both break away and Alexa seems to have just come out of paradise while Azel has an indelible expression on his face. We go ahead with the game for a while, but I don't have the head to think. The sole thing I notice is the kiss between Azel and Alexa and their attitude as lovers. I don't know why it matters to me, but it truly bothered me.
"Yuma, are you alright?" asks Nick, noticing my strange behaviour.
"I have nothing! Don't worry! I'm just tired..." I say as I stand up and head for the door.
"What are you doing? You don't want to leave so soon, right?!" Terra says jokingly.
"Yes! Sorry, but I'm tired. Next time I promise to stay" I say as I leave and walk back to my room.