Lyra's door flung wide open as Kali stepped in. She hasn't been able to see her all week. Lyra diverted her gaze from the window to Kali who was panting hard.
There were traces of anger on her face. Not just anger, wounds and cuts on her skin. A part of her dress was even burnt.
"Oh, hey Kali" Lyra greeted.
Without closing the door, she stormed towards Lyra, who had a normal expression on her face. She knew why Kali was here already.
"Who... Who the hell is that monster?" She yelled.
"Monster? You mean, Celina?" Lyra smirked, lowering her head.
"Yes! How... How is she able to learn spatial magic in just a week? She's even much better than I am. Her fire... They are at par with my brother's" she said, staring at her hand. The tone of her voice softened immediately.
"I never learnt how to use hellfire, but that human, who isn't a half-demon was able to do it perfectly"
Lyra smirked. She also didn't know how to use Hellfire. Her fire attributes weren't that high. She had more dark magic than fire.
"Since she's done with her training, I guess it's time she left and headed to the next place," Lyra spoke, calmly.
"No, hold on! I'd like to train with her more. She can't leave yet!"
"I thought you didn't like her" Lyra was curious but Kali remained quiet. The few days she spent with Celina were good. She found Celina better than normal humans. She was strong, nice and hardworking. She was also a great student.
She absorbed everything she learnt and even came up with a lot of ideas on her own.
"She's not bad" Kali cleared her throat, snapping back to reality.
"Celina is the only person that can save us from the humans. She owes us that much for saving her life" Lyra's voice came out low and sombre.
"I thought we were going to get our revenge ourselves," Kali said. Lyra laughed and placed a hand on Kali's shoulder.
"We aren't as strong as we used to be, Kali. Aetherius is blind. Even if he can use his senses and abilities that I don't know about, I'm sure they have limits. I lost him... The elves have been separated from their families. The goblins are being used as prey in nobleman games, and the dwarves are used as slaves to create weapons without being paid. She's the only one that can restore order" She said and tilted her head to look at her door. She could see a tiny figure with white hair standing by the door.
"Right, Celina? I know you're standing there" she said. Celina innocently walked into the room, holding a bird in her hand.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to eavesdrop. I wanted to bring this bird to you. It kept on hitting the window with its beak" She stretched the bed towards Lyra. Lyra got closer and took the bird from her.
"It's a demon bird, more like my personal messenger bird," she said, taking the bird. It croaked deeply before flying onto Lyra's shoulder.
"It's ugly," Celina remarked, staring at the bird.
"I know..." She replied.
"You've completed your training here in the demon palace. I thought you were going to spend a year here but you learnt quicker than expected. Congratulations to you, Celina"
"Am I leaving already?" Celina asked.
"Yes, you are," she said and took a dramatic pause as she untied a piece of paper from the bird's foot. She glanced through the paper. She immediately tensed up as she burnt the paper.
"Let's go, Celina. I'll drop you off at the elf's village. I have to attend a quick meeting" she said.
"It's so sudden. Don't worry, Celina, I'll come visit you anytime" Kali touched her hair. Celina nodded, with a smile. She can't wait to see Eira and the others again.
"You never brought anything here, so let's hurry" Lyra shot out her wings and looked at Kali. "Take care of things while I'm gone"
"Of course, your majesty" She bowed.
Lyra grabbed Celina and flew out of the window. Celina shut her eyes, trying not to look at the forest from up there. It was so high.
She looked back at the palace.
'I'm going to miss it so much. Thanks to training with Kali for one week, my stats increased a bit. Who knew Kali could be that nice'
"Celina, you heard everything I said earlier in the room. I thought you were going to get angry"
"Am I supposed to?" Celina was confused. Lyra shook her head.
"You're really a smart girl. But, you're not strong enough. I hope I'm alive to see when you'll get revenge on our behalf" Lyra spoke as if she was going to disappear soon.
Celina held onto Lyra's hand.
"Are you going anywhere?"
"I hope not. You're not eligible to get the information yet, so I can't tell you"
"How?" Celina furrowed her brows.
"Because you don't have the door sign yet. Until you're ten, you can't have it. So train harder"
Celina remembered Eira telling her the same thing. She looked at her empty hand and frowned. She really can't wait to get the door sign and know the kind of information she's not allowed to know.
The flight to the elf's village was silent till she got there. Lyra carefully landed and helped her down.
The little elves that were around scattered in fear upon seeing Lyra. She's the demon queen, so they were scared of her.
"I hope we meet again, Celina. Make sure you train harder and never take off that necklace" She said.
Celina touched the necklace and nodded. She was still hoping to sell the red diamond on the necklace once she left Lost City. She watched as Lyra flew towards Aetherius' mansion.
"I know something is going on, but I can't still figure it out. Can you? System?"
{I cannot know any information the host is not able to learn}
"I see..." She rubbed her chin and sighed.
"I better go see Clyde and the others immediately. I'm sure they'll be surprised to see that I survived the demon palace" She headed towards Clyde's tree house.
As she climbed up, familiar voices reached her ears. She recognised them immediately. They were James and Freddie. She quickened her pace and froze when she heard a loud thud.
Someone winced in pain inside.
"Are you sure you can do it, Clyde?" James asked.
"Can we just tell the lord that you're sick?" Freddie frowned.
"I'm fine... I can use my left hand" He said.
'Is Clyde hurt?'
She finally entered and found Clyde on the floor. The other two were helping up. When they saw her, they both glared at her with intense hatred.
"Huh?" She mumbled.
"Celina, you're back from the demon palace" Clyde smiled and staggered towards her.
James moved closer to help him, but Clyde stopped him. His shoulder was hurting. It was red and swollen. To sum it up, it was in worse shape.
"Yes, I'm back. Are you hurt?" She asked him.
"It's a small injury. I'll be fine, Celina. Why don't you rest before you head to your next training?" He smiled and patted her head. His hand was trembling and his face was filled with sweat. He reached for his sword with his left hand and walked past Celina.
"I'll see you later, Celina," he said. James and Freddie, who followed behind, also holding their weapons, glared at Celina one more time before they left.
She was confused about what was going on. She has been away for just one week. Clyde was hurt; James and Freddie looked at her with hatred; they were heading somewhere with their weapons.
She wondered if they were all going for special training or... Something was happening. She entered Clyde's room and looked through the window. It was oddly quiet.
She was told to go to her next training, but she doesn't know where she's supposed to head next. She looked at her empty hand again.
'I'll have to train harder and finally get that sign'
"There you are..."
Celina heard a voice behind her and turned to see someone familiar. The mermaid queen.
"Calypso?"
"You remembered my name. How cute. I'm here to take you underwater to start your training" she strolled forward.
Celina shuddered when she heard that. She took a few steps behind, shaking her head.
"What? I thought we agreed that I won't be taking lessons from you"
"Every single lesson is important. You just don't know when they'll come in handy. Besides, there's been a change of plans. We need you to finish your training before you clock ten. I heard you're a fast learner... You'll learn just fine"
"No!" Celina shook her head and climbed the window, wanting to jump down. She doesn't want to die yet. She's yet to get her revenge on humans. Calypso grabbed her before she jumped.
"We can't have you die, sweetheart. Not yet" She grinned and made a teleportation portal with just a wave of her hand. Celina was shocked, wondering if she was going to learn how to do that too.
"Hold your breath, sweetie," she said with a smile glued to her face.
"Huh?" Celina asked, wondering why she had to.
Without hesitation, Calypso threw Celina into the portal and followed after.