"That was close..."
Zane was lying down on his bed with sweat dripping down on his forehead and breathing heavily. Zane released a big sigh; he then got up. He then looked toward Velrath.
Velrath's entire demeanor completely changed after he took over Zane's body. Earlier he seemed so talkable, but right now he seems so quiet. His expression also looks kind of sad... A demon king is sad? That's probably the funniest thing Zane has ever thought about.
Zane decided to ask what was up with Velrath's mind.
"Hey, Velrath. I'm dropping the honorifics alright. Uhm, what's up with? You look like you are sulking. Could it be because I panicked earlier? Hey, I mean, you can't blame me for panicking; you know, that was a first time for me. I feel like a criminal now."
Velrath, who was looking around his surroundings, closed his eyes. He then responded without looking towards him.
Velrath Sighed.
"Zane, your name is Zane, right?"
Zane had a surprised look on his face after hearing this; he then responded.
"Huh? How did you know? Wait... did you see my memories earlier while you took over my body?!"
Velrath looked towards Zane, he then said.
"Didn't I tell you about that? The reason why I took over your body in the first place was because I needed to visualize this place, and you had memories of this place."
Zane smiled; he then said in a casual tone.
"Ah, right. I forgot about that; I mean, the situation earlier was so intense! I have never been that sneaky before in my entire life."
Zane expected Velrath to answer, however. What he saw instead was a serious face staring at him. Velrath's demeanor really did change.
"Hey, Velrath. Why are you staring at me like that?"
"..."
Velrath looked away from Zane again; he then said in a serious tone.
"Zane, do you want to become stronger?"
Zane's eyes widened in surprise. Why would Velrath ask such a question right now? Is he trying to deceive Zane into giving him a power after helping him before, thinking he had earned Zane's trust? Zane somehow made such a conclusion in his mind, however, as he kept looking at Velrath's eyes. It didn't seem like that somehow.
'Wait... hold on. Is he asking that because of the memories he saw when he took over my body? Perhaps he... feel bad for me? No, no. That definitely cannot be it.'
"Well, I mean, realistically. Who wouldn't want to be stronger?"
Velrath smirked; he then said in a casual tone.
"Good point; I just find it kind of funny that you worked so hard to become stronger. Yet, in the end, you remained weak... Zane, what if you found out that in the first place you weren't actually weak? But more like your capabilities were sealed."
Zane sat motionlessly in his bed. Trying to comprehend the words that are going through his ears. Why is Velrath suddenly asking him such questions?
Zane became furious, he then said.
"Why are you telling me this?"
Velrath's face became serious, he then said.
"Zane, you asked earlier about how you were able to unseal me. I will answer it now. The reason why you were able to unseal me, was because, before your grandfather Wardell, manage to seal me. I passed down a curse in your entire family. This curse is basically the key that will free me someday. But you see, this curse isn't as simple as it sounds. Because, this curse is very strong, it won't just stick into anyone. For the curse to work, it has to stick to a person who has a very large amount of mana. Larger than Wardell's mana capacity. Ofcourse, I never thought that this would actually work. I mean if you think about it, it sounds kind of impossible isn't it? A human being who has a bigger mana capacity than Wardell? Sounds stupid. However, you appeared Zane. It sounded stupid until you appeared. A person who actually has a bigger mana capacity than Wardell, so much more larger infact. And because of that the curse sticked it self in to you. That was why you manage to unseal me, Zane. And now that you unsealed me, you are free from the curse. You've probably noticed that your mana core is still storing mana's inside you body right? That's because the curse that ate most of your mana is gone."
"..."
Zane was dumbfounded. He doesn't know how to react to such information. The reason why his mana core was shaking earlier was because of the curse placed on him by Velrath. His mana core responded to the book that sealed Velrath, and the mysterious force that was pulling him was because of the curse as well. All so Velrath could be unsealed.
Aside from that, the reason why he made such a face while looking at Velrath was because of what he said about the curse. The reason why he had such a low mana capacity was because the curse needed someone who had a large mana capacity. The curse ate most his mana capacity so that it could remain inside of him, and because of that... His entire life was ruined. Because of a curse placed on him.
He was judged, humiliated, and embarrassed by everyone.
Anguish could be seen all over Zane's face. His entire life could have been different. His life could have been the opposite of what it is now. He could have been accepted by everyone... by his father, by his clan.
Zane was so devastated that he could only stare blankly in front of him.
"Your fucking around... right?"
Velrath looked away from Zane's gaze; his expression remained unchanged. He then said.
"Unfortunately, not. Feel free to throw all your tantrums on me."
Zane lowered his head, staring at the ground. He wanted to say so much... so much to the point that he could feel his body suffocate from holding all of it. There was no point in throwing tantrums at a demon; he knew that. That's why he could only quitely look at the ground.
The room became quiet.
Velrath eyes slowly shifted to Zane, with his head still away from his gaze. Velrath somehow kind of felt bad. He never really thought of the consequences of his actions; the reason why he passed down a curse on the Thaleward family in the first place was because he deemed it impossible.
'Wait, why am I feeling guilty? I am the former demon king! One of the most feared demon kings in the whole world!'
Velrath sighed in his thoughts. Deep down, he really did feel bad. Because he knew himself, he knew the feeling of being judged constantly by everyone. He knew what it felt like to be humiliated and embarrassed by others.
"..."
Zane raised his head and looked at the ceiling with anguish in his eyes.
He then stood up, then headed to one of his shelves in his room. He then grabbed a certain book. He sat down, then opened it.
Velrath was distracted by his actions. He observed Zane for a while.
'What's he doing now?'
Zane had actually been secretly studying his family's basic barrier spell. Every day in his room before he went to the academy's dormatory, although he had learned some of the basic barrier spells in the book, he was unable to perform them due to his low amount of mana. So far, he had only been able to cast the most simple spells. Spells that don't even belong to his family. But now his most fatal weakness is gone.
He could now feel a vast amount of mana inside his body. Although its not much because he just unsealed Velrath a moment ago. It was enough to be able to perform a basic berrier spell from the Thaleward family.
Since he couldn't sleep, he decided to confirm if his mana core truly did go back to normal.
To be able to go to the main house of the Thaleward family. He had to perform 5 basic barrier spells at the age of 12, which he had never really been able to perform because of his lack of mana capacity. Although he had learned some of them, he could only cast the spell for a short amount of time, and it would also drain all his mana. The barrier would also look small and thin, so technically it's useless.
He decided to just use this time to learn all the barrier spells he could.