Kael was summoned by the worried Earl back to Cleron. He told Lucius and Meredith about it, which saddened the two who were looking forward to show Ligdlan to Kael. They have no choice however, as Kael reasoned out that there’s no rush visiting Ligdlan, but to relieve Earl Gideon’s worry must be done as soon as possible. And so, accompanied by the three servants of the Earl, Kael made his way back to his hometown.

  It was an uneventful trip, allowing them to arrive at Cleron quickly. Earl Gideon was waiting in front of his castle, and was covertly relieved to see Kael unharmed.

  “We have returned, my lord”, the three servants said in unison. The Earl didn’t let Kael to bow at him.

  “Get some rest”, Earl Gideon said to his three servants, then he looked at Kael. “Kael, follow me”

  Kael followed, and he was led to the Earl’s room. The three servants were a bit curious as to what the two would talk about, but they could only keep their curiosity to themselves.

  Inside the room, Earl Gideon sat behind his desk, while Kael sat on the chair already prepared for him. The Earl looked at a paper on his desk for a bit, then, he finally spoke.

  “It’s been a while, my son”, Earl Gideon said. Kael was surprised, but he was delighted to hear those words from the Earl. Kael smiled and agreed.

  “So, was Deyrem kind to you?”, the Earl asked. Kael thought for a while.

  “Many things happened, but I could say that it was a great experience”

  “I’m glad to hear that”

  Earl Gideon lifted the paper on his desk, reading it silently. After a minute, he handed the paper to Kael.

  “Read that. If you don’t want it, I’m not going to send it. But please consider it thoroughly”, Earl Gideon stated.

  Kael followed the request. As he was reading, he realized that it was a request letter written by Earl Gideon, requesting for Kael to take a new preliminary test to continue his studies.

  “This is..”

  “I think it will be better to finish your studies in that kingdom”, Earl Gideon said.

  Kael looked at the Earl, and then he looked at the paper again. The letter didn’t say the name of the kingdom, and it was evident on his face. Seeing this, Earl Gideon felt obligated to make some things clear to him.

  “I’m planning to send you to Azare. You will learn better in that place”, Earl Gideon stated. Kael was about to reply, but the Earl wished to say everything before Kael could attempt to deny his request entirely. Kael didn’t have a choice but to listen.

  “I remember your desire to know the world”, Earl Gideon began. “Admirable, truly. It’s rare to see that on today’s youth, though it should be expected of you”

  Kael felt a little uncomfortable about the last remark.

  “But Kael, even I, as a noble of this kingdom, know that you will not learn so much in here”, Earl Gideon said. “I want to help you in any way I can, and to my knowledge, Azare suits you better. I want you to accept my help, but you should know, that I will also respect your decision”

  Kael was surprised because of the sincerity of those words. He wasn’t sure whether the Earl changed his way of treating him, but he knew that those words were coming from a caring father.

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  “This is too sudden, father”, Kael said. Even he was surprised that those words came out from him.

  Meanwhile, Earl Gideon was stunned for a moment. Hearing what Kael called him filled him with delight, but, as to maintain his image to Kael, he hid what he felt.

  “You don’t need to decide right away. Think about it, I will listen anytime”, Earl Gideon said.

  Kael felt that the Earl was calmer compared to a minute ago. He thought that the Earl already expected his response.

  “For now, you should get some rest”

  Earl Gideon guided Kael out of his room. When Kael was out of sight, he closed his room, relieved that Kael didn’t reject his offer immediately. He returned to his seat, recalling Kael’s last words over and over in his head.

  The people of Deyrem were praising Magister Lucius for saving them from the invasion. Even with the losses they suffered, they knew that the magister did his best. On the other hand, the townspeople were not as kind to the king, berating their ruler as his initiative was nowhere to be seen during the invasion. They felt that the king was a coward, hiding himself during the invasion, doing no effort to protect the town. They were united to see and complain to the king, but, there’s a problem. The king vanished after the invasion, and no one knew where he was.

  At first, the townspeople thought that the king hid himself again, terrified of the backlash against him. However, even with the assistance of the Rezelus church, they failed to locate the king. The king’s mysterious disappearance became a great problem not only to the town, but for the whole kingdom. Even if they were focused in rebuilding the town, they knew that rivalries among the nobles would eventually erupt. It’s just a matter of time before the town was to be plunged in chaos again. What they didn’t know was that, the king was abducted by a demon, and the said demon was moving away from town, going to a faraway place.

  In a dark, unknown place, somewhere in the human lands, there’s a gathering of demons. They were facing a gigantic dark crystal, while they were kneeling to absolute submission. Soon enough, another demon arrived in their gathering place.

  “My king, I have returned”, the newly arrived demon kneeled at the dark crystal. He was the same mysterious figure that Kael met after defeating Zahekam. With him was the king of Ucar, the missing king, following his every move like a lifeless puppet.

  “Is that a fragment?”, the voice coming from the dark crystal asked.

  “Yes, my king”, the demon replied. He commanded the puppet-like human king to walk forward, and the king was consumed by the crystal. The gathering of demons were delighted, as the crystal glowed, brimming with power.

  “This power is truly great. As expected of him”

  “My king, sorry to interrupt, regarding that human…”, the demon said. The demon’s interruption during the celebration of his fellow demons was met with a short silence.

  “What of him, my servant?”

  “It’s as you predicted, my king. He was also the reason why my subordinate’s invasion failed”

  The voice from the crystal, which is the demon king’s, went silent for a second. Then suddenly, the demon king’s malevolent and uproarious laughter burst into the air. Then, he became silent for a second once again.

  “He’s here earlier than expected”, the demon king said, his tone was clearly not amused. He did consider that his archenemy, Lucien, could have some way to bring himself back to life, but that’s a thought coming from his anxious mind. For his subordinate to tell him that it’s true was never a good thing for him.

  “I have commanded all of you to collect all the fragments of this power. With so much time to do what I commanded, all of you were only able to gather less than half of the fragments.”

  The demon king was clearly upset, which terrified the gathering of demons with him. But, one of them, the demon that Kael saw, dared to say something again.

  “My king, I think he will not be a problem. He doesn’t seem to be as strong as he used to be”

  Those words was received with murmured doubts among the demons, however, to the demon king, it made a lot of sense. He knew that with Lucien’s innate magic with him, his archenemy would be significantly weaker. However, as he experienced defeat in the hand of Lucien, he felt that he must still be careful in his movements.

  “Well then, don’t waste time anymore. Gather every single one of my power and of Lucien”, the demon king commanded.

  “My king, what to do with Lucien?”

  “If you think you can kill him now, do it”

  “As you wish, my king”