Now left alone, Tommy had begun his own odyssey. Step by step, he trudged through the thick snow. Having made his choice to go alone and through the forest instead of the road, he realized it was no easy endeavour.

A necessary sacrifice to escape those pesky, emotionless journalists, Tommy didn’t mind.

Burning, he felt as if his legs were on fire.

Snow as it were, was quite the powerful obstacle.

His struggle to walk displayed the limp of his legs, he knew that he would only find relief when he was finally in his haven.

Staggered, and unable to move with his usual strong stride, Tommy struggled. A relatively long struggle, the length of ten minutes or so, he eventually saw the academy in the distance.

Its warm welcoming aura called to him, in response pushed himself even further.

If he can take on a demon of all things, surely walking was barely a challenge.

With a face full of fatigue, his supposed salvation drew closer.

The next moment, he is walking through the corridor. Blood, which had still stuck itself to his clothes and hands, caught the attention of the students who were there. Their gazes, which were met with curious expressions, let their imagination run wild.

While not concerned or worried for Tommy, they did fantasize about what it was that happened.

Feeling somewhat distraught for not having seen the cause of his injury, yet, knowing that it was probably caught on camera, they continued about their day. It was a scene that they were accustomed to after all this time, and not once did death ever occur as a result. So long as the students survived, they didn’t see any reason to mind too much.

In front of his room, Tommy wasted no time at its entrance.

With his keycard, he then unlocked it and went inside.

In his room by his lonesome, he caved in to his wounds and slumped against the wall.

Even if Lucius had used his healing magic, Tommy suspected that he wasn’t particularly good at it. For one, it was some no-name spell he had never seen, and two, he felt that his flesh was barely held together.

The burden on his body was intolerable, he felt large deep breaths leave and enter from his lungs.

Lucius’s magic was not a panacea that was for certain. To heal, Tommy would require aspirin and plenty of rest. Still in recovery from the demonic possession, the boy was unsure of what to feel.

Every memory and moment of his earlier insanity in his mind, Tommy could not imagine what he would’ve done if he had actually killed someone. To put it gently, his own inaction made him sick.

As a proud member of the Sessogun family, he does not have the luxury for such weakness.

No longer in the need of putting a brave front, he fell and slouched against the concrete wall.

He really couldn’t believe it. As his eyes turned to the notebook on the table, he realized it was really him that had drawn scribbles over Harux and Lucius like a maniac.

Worn out, he took a few moments to simply breathe.

As he simply sat, he looked to the floor for answers.

The floor, unable to speak or much less gesture, was unable to give a response.

Dammit. How could he let such a creature occupy his body for that long? Worst of all, was that he felt the responsibility was mostly on him. It is commonly accepted that possession was most effective when their host's mind held the best conditions for it. In other words, emotional and physical instability.

While possession was capable of enhancing one's smallest latent desires, they were ineffective if there was nothing to improve upon. This was the reason why, even as he gradually grew stranger, that he never felt the urge to hurt Jaiga.

Mere issues such as stubbing your toe into a chair could cause you to viciously smash it in dozens of pieces.

No. Tommy promised. He would no longer let the deterrence of logic claim providence over him.

From now on, he swore a personal oath to better himself.

Demonic influence having left him, he was finally at one with his emotions.

The knowledge of every action being his responsibility both offered the freedom of knowledge and the burden of control. Now everything was up to him, any mistake, a lapse in judgement or error would be entirely his fault.

That’s the world Tommy lived in, and he wouldn’t have it any other way.

Weak as he was, he would still engrave his own name into this world and strive to be better.

His emotional reflection over, Tommy then went back to his usual routine.

Dandelion tea prepared a few moments after, he held it one hand while he held a book in the other. A way to pass the time and to reflect, he sat on his chair while doing so. Waiting for the time to pass, he doubted that anyone would bother him after all that happened.

So, without much ado, he waited for the time to pass.

Tommy, who concentrated on his novel, flicked a page. He would need a while to get into the right state of mind after all. While he promised himself to reconcile with those he had hurt, Tommy also believed that it could be saved for a while later.

Such was his duty, he felt, to both the millionaire, monkey, Jaiga, and himself.