15 Discipline & Demons

Composed Student: "So you finally got sent to the headmaster?"

Steven: "Yeah."

I'm sent to the Headmasters office first thing in the morning. I actually hoped Livia wouldn't say a word too. It was self-defense!

Composed Student: "You got into a fight with Malin?"

Steven: "Yeah, what about you?"

Composed Student: "I was caught ditching class."

The academy is full of more normal people than I thought. Well, I always believed Elves would have a "we're superior" attitude towards others, but they're just like the people back home, or back on Earth, as Everhand is starting to feel like my new home. We were just making small talk, as we waited for our punishment on the other side of that office.

Composed Student: "You're the round-eared student. Man, you must get a lot of hate because of that."

Steven: "Just the nobles, everyone else doesn't seem to care."

Composed Student: "What about your parents? Their nobles from Feles Isle, right?"

Steven: "Well, kind of, I was adopted by the Nekomata."

It was a good enough lie to keep people from asking too many questions. Still, I wonder what my actual family is doing, I hope they're doing alright without me.

Composed Student: "Oh, sorry I asked."

Steven: "Don't worry about it."

We both stared at the ceiling, bored out of our minds.

Steven: "Why do you think it's taking so long?"

Composed Student: "He's probably readying the paperwork to expel us, or…"

Steven: "Or?"

Composed Student: "He could be porking Livia behind those doors."

Steven: "Oye, what the hell is wrong with you?!"

I now have a new worse mental image. He was giggling as I gagged at the thought. There was no way something like that could be happening right now! To my relief, Livia finally came out and brought both us in. I've only been in here once before, yet I feel like I'm familiar with the place.

Headmaster: "Let's start with you, says here you were caught ditching class."

Composed Student: "I was."

Headmaster: "Alright then, if you don't like class so much. I'm giving you a 3-day suspension."

Composed Student: "Is that all?"

Headmaster: "Yes, now get out of here, I don't want to see you around here for the three days."

He put me to shame, I was nervous while the student kept calm. It probably isn't his first time being sent to the office. He then leaves the office and it became just the three of us. I looked at the headmaster, ready to nervously fight against my soon to come punishment.

Headmaster: "You like fighting, Steven?"

Steven: "No, Headmaster."

Headmaster: "Then why'd you hit Malin?"

Steven: "To protect Livia, it was an act of self-defense."

Headmaster: "Livia said the same thing… Give me a minute."

Headmaster: "Steven, don't lie to me, why did you do it?"

Steven: "It was self-defense."

Headmaster: "Is it, or did you do it because you like Livia?"

Livia starts to blush slightly.

Steven: "She's a friend, Headmaster."

Headmaster: "Alright, it was self-defense, but fighting is strictly forbidden."

Steven: "I understand, Headmaster."

Headmaster: "I've already talked with Livia, and I'll cut you a deal, we need help."

Steven: "What does it have to do with me?"

Headmaster: "That's where you come in, you're going to help us."

Steven: "And I don't get kicked out or suspended? Fine, what do you need help with?"

Headmaster: "Yes, we believe there's a Demon in Everhand."

Steven: "Woah, the last one I ran into stabbed me and left me on a beach. You're crazy if you think I'm going to help!"

Headmaster: "Are you familiar with someone named Lilith Klein?"

Steven: "No, I'm not, who is that?"

Headmaster: "A Demon, and she's looking for you."

Steven: "No, it can't be."

It couldn't have been her, the same Demon girl that threw me into this world. Doesn't she ever let up? It's been 3 months since and she's still out to get me.

Steven: "What are Demons doing this far out anyway? I thought they were far in the east."

Headmaster: "They show up here and there, but I'm sure she's here for you."

Steven: "Me? And what did I do? Why can't the guard deal with it? I can't fight a Demon!"

Headmaster: "The guards won't do anything if there isn't any evidence of a Demon. Besides, Livia's going to train you, I'm switching all your classes to Independent Studies with her, for the meantime. You'll be with her in G block until we can figure out where they're hiding. I'll call on you when that time comes. Oh, and do you have a sword by chance?"

Steven: "You can't just do that."

Headmaster: "Of course I can, I'm the headmaster after all. Again, do you have a sword?"

Steven: "Can I just take the suspension?"

Headmaster: "You mean expulsion? We can work with that too."

Steven: "Why do you want me to fight a Demon?"

Headmaster: "You're not fighting, you're finding evidence for the guard. Livia's training you just in case."

Steven: "Just in case?"

Headmaster: "I always prepare for the worse, and hope for the best. Bring a sword with you tomorrow, Livia's going to teach you everything you need in as little as a week."

The next morning, I headed towards G block, to learn even more magic and do mock battles with Livia. Though her element was fire, I learned everything she taught after a bit of trial and error. We kept this routine for a whole week, it would repeat between, learning a new fire spell, then doing a mock battle with the new spell.

She even showed me how to alternate between magic and my sword quickly, I dubbed it "Sword Magic" because it seemed very similar to it. By the end of the week, we were reviewing everything I learned.

Livia: "What's Flare?"

Steven: "A fire spell that casts a levitating fireball in the air."

Livia: "Close, it doesn't levitate, it slowly falls back down. Show me how you cast Flare."

I raised my arm to the sky as she requested. Flames surround my hand, muttering "Flare" as a ball of fire recoils from my hand and burns brightly in the sky.

Livia: "Good, now, what's Ignite?"

Steven: "An explosion magic, it's thrown like a ball and explodes on impact."

Livia: "Now cast it."

Flames begun to engulfed my hand, casting Ignite, a ball manifested from the flames and I threw it as a baseball pitcher would do, exploding on impact and splashing fire in the surrounding area.

Livia: "Let's take a short break before we do another mock battle."

Livia was sterner than Kanna when it came to teaching magic. She knew I had a lot of Magic Power and took full advantage of it. I laid down on the grass, exhausted. Livia is really working me, I feel like I'm going to pass out.

Livia: "Casting magic takes energy, so you should rest if you don't want to faint."

Steven: "Thank you."

I stared into the clouded sky, Livia did the same nearby. The grass and cool winds felt amazing. I closed my eyes and before I knew it, I had fallen asleep. I was peaceful until I was awoken by one of the receptionists from the admin building.

Receptionist: "I know rest is important after working hard and all, but you might give people the wrong idea if you 2 are that close."

I sat up and noticed Livia resting a couple of feet from me. I always thought of Livia as "serious and committed", so it threw me off seeing her like that. She's working herself as hard as I am, so I let her rest as I spoke to the receptionist.

Steven: "Is there something you need?"

Receptionist: "Yes, the Headmaster requested that you both head to his office."

Steven: "Thank you, I'll head there."

I just wanted to return to my rest. Though, the Headmaster probably found something about that Lilith Demon. I wasn't too excited, I was going to be looking for a Demon that almost killed me. I turned to Livia and tried to wake her, to no avail. She was out, I don't think I would be able to wake her just by poking her. I called out to her, that didn't work either. I then grabbed and gradually started shaking her until she woke up. I took her by surprise, she jumped up and punched me in the gut, knocking me back down.

Livia: "Steven? I'm sorry, you spooked me."

Steven: "Y-you could at least sound sincere."

Livia: "What were you doing anyway?"

Steven: "The headmaster asked for us."

With Livia's hand, I got back up still winded from the punch. We then made our way to the Headmaster's office, who as always, was sitting in his chair, lost in his books.

Headmaster: "So, it was in Solidarity Spire the whole time?"

Steven: "Headmaster."

The Headmaster closes his book and gives us his full attention.

Headmaster: "You're both finally here, I believe I found out where Lilith is staying."

Steven: "Can't you tell the guards now?"

Headmaster: "That's the problem, it's private property that belongs to a noble. It's recently abandoned, but they're not going to risk their careers over mere rumors and gossip."

Steven: "So, I'm going to have to go, watching out for Demons and the guard?"

Headmaster: "Well, Livia was going too, but if you insist on going alone…"

Steven: "Fine, where do we start?"

Headmaster: "Brewer Estate, it's on the other side of the city, between the commercial and residential districts. Livia knows where just follow her."

Livia: "We can leave now if you want."

Steven: "Isn't school still in session?"

Headmaster: "You're in Independent Studies, remember? You're only required to be here for an hour. You can head to the estate now, or if you want to continue sleeping with Livia again in the stadium, doesn't matter to me."

That receptionist ratted us out!

I seriously hate how smart he gets and there was nothing I could do about it other than deal with it. Livia was blushing but kept her composure. I was trying to do the same, though, I wasn't too sure if I was doing a good job at it. We left the office and the school, heading towards the estate.

Livia took the lead as we started getting into the areas of the city I wasn't familiar with. Keeping a fast pace until we reached the estate. It was just built, the grass was green all around and the fencing smelled like fresh paint. Livia stated the owner hasn't lived here for half a year and was trying to sell it, but wasn't able to.

Now, the usual maintenance came once a week, to keep the value from dropping. Security was even patrolling the front. It was far from abandoned as the headmaster stated and I wondered why a Demon would hide in a place like this. It's too active to be a hideout!

Steven: "This place isn't abandoned."

Livia: "She's hiding in plain sight, it's almost too perfect."

Steven: "How do we get inside anyways? There's security at the gates."

Livia: "Let's walk around and see if there's another way in."

We looked around the estate and tried different approaches, none of them worked. I couldn't scale the fence as it was too tall. We kept looking until we saw a storehouse at the back of the estate.

I would be able to boost Livia to the top and have her give me a hand up until I noted the fencing. It looked like it was in disrepair and with a bit of force, I could tear it off the hinges, giving us enough space to fit through.

We were going to be trespassing so vandalism didn't really matter to us. I was able to open up some space so that we were both able to slip through without a problem. We then crawled through the garden to avoid getting caught by the security and found ourselves at the back entrance of the estate.

Livia slipped through one of the windows and opened the door, letting me inside. The estate was unfurnished and not a single sign of habitation was visible. It was looking like Lilith wasn't here to begin with.

Steven: "I don't know, this place is empty, you sure she's here?"

Livia: "Let's look around, just to be sure. Go check upstairs, I'll be down here looking around."

I went upstairs as Livia said, searching room to room as the wood creaked under every footstep. I searched the first set of rooms and saw how carefully the house was built. It wasn't like the home I lived in with Kanna.

This house was massive and every room had its own unique feel to it. I kept searching until I reached the master bedroom. This was different from the others, as I approached the door, I started feeling more uneasy with every step.

I had my sword drawn as the door creaked open. Checking every corner for a Demon hiding, and to my relief, it was empty. A pentagram was drawn across the floor, candles flickering in the middle, wax dripping from the sides. She has to be nearby, this more than enough evidence to prove there's a Demon!

I left the room to tell Livia about the pentagram found when the door slammed shut behind me. Scared, I jumped and ran downstairs, almost tripping on the steps. Livia, came to check on me, and tell me that I'm too loud.

Steven: "There's a pentagram—and candles—the door slammed when I left."

I struggled to breathe from the fright.

Livia: "Where's the pentagram?"

Steven: "Upstairs, in the master bedroom."

Livia: "Catch your breath, here look at this. This hidden door leads down into the basement in the kitchen."

It truly was a hidden door, how did Livia find it?

Livia: "There are pentagrams, so she might've used this place for anything from conjuration to ritual sacrifice. She might be down there."

Steven: "Great, what do we do now? I'm not going in there."

Livia: "Neither am I. We found what we needed, now let's get out of here."

Steven: "This is heavy, what are we going to tell the Headmaster?"

Livia didn't respond, she was staring down the hallway. I tried to call her out and even tapped on her shoulder, she didn't do anything. Before I was able to turn to her and face her, she collapses in front of me.

Steven: "Livia!"

To my horror, I grabbed her and noticed blood dripping from her nose. She wasn't responding to anything I said.

Steven: "No, no, no, Livia!"

I lifted her up, ready to make a break for the front entrance. Before I was able to make it to the door, something pierced my foot and I fell to the ground, dropping Livia. In pain, I tried picking her up again until a shadow came and stabbed me in the leg, causing me to scream. I then heard a familiar voice calling me. The only voice I know of that'll send a chill down my spine and cause my hair to stand.

Lilith: "I meant to curse you, Steven. I guess it works either way!"