The headmaster of the Champions academy was Large. Not only large in the way that he was tall, this man was also large in the way that all his clothes were almost tearing because of the amount of muscle. He was wearing a White padded long-sleeved shirt that went just below his kneels, and a pair of brown trousers that were tucked into black leather boots. His head was completely bald and had a dark scar running from the top of his head to the left side where his ear should have been. He had a neatly combed red beard that covered most of his face and went down to his chest. His blue eyes looked both excited and happy like he was about to see a group of friends. He smiled as he approached us, it looked friendly, but it failed to put them at ease.

“Headmaster Duncan!” He yelped, Bowing so deep that he was parallel to the ground.

“Ahh, Doctor O’Neil, I saw everything that happened to you. How are you feeling after that?” he asked in a loud voice. Finally reaching the group, Angelus was able to see just how big he was, he was a full two heads taller than Donavin, the tallest one in the group. And just by being around him, he felt his heartbeat increase, he didn’t know if it was because of fear or excitement. The entire time staring at him, he couldn’t help but think that the stories did not do this man any justice. Angelus always imagined Lucille to be a very strong man, you would have to be in order to fight dragons. But even though he was strong, Angelus thought that if he got a class, he could one day become comparable to him, the Dragon Gate.

“But this.” He looked up at the man talking to the doctor, one completely dwarfing the other in size. “This is crazy.”

There was no comparing the man to anyone, not even Brutus. To him, Brutus was what a great adventurer could be, someone strong enough to go toe to toe against beasts. He was a brawler, so not only did he face beasts, he did so with his hands. But The headmaster, he looked like he could scare a beast away with a simple glare. Maybe not even a glare, just being around him made Angelus nervous, and looking at the others, they felt the same. Donavin was taking deeper breaths than usual. Annie was sticking close to Olivia and all the other kids, who were practically trembling in their boots.

“Well, it’s no surprise that you feel no pain.” The headmaster laughs, giving the doctor, O’Neil, a strong clap on the shoulder. “Claudia was one of the best healers to come out of this academy, she leaves no pain no matter what she heals.” he added. That made Angelus pause, one of the best healers? Claudia never mentioned that, she said that she was only average at healing, no better than most you’ll find in the capital or any big city. Were most healers not like that? Was healing usually different than what Claudia did for the people in Syria? Forgetting the tension for a minute, he turned around to ask her what he meant, but Annie and the children already beat him to it.

“Best healer?” Annie asked, snapping out of her trance and looking at Claudia, who for once in his entire sixteen years of life, blushed from embarrassment. “He said you were one of the best healers that came out of the academy didn’t he?”

“You all must have misheard,” she said, her face now looking like it was made from stone. “I was no better than the average healer.” It sounded like the truth, but the pink on her face was a completely different story.

“There’s no mishearing that,” Ren said, pointing to the mountain of a man, who was clapping both doctors and made a gesture that dismissed them. Angelus saw the doctors walk away and wanted to call out to the doctor whose arm he broke, but he was both embarrassed and ashamed. That was the first time that he had ever seriously injured someone and didn’t know how he should have proceeded. He knew that he should have apologized to him, and told him that he didn’t mean to do what he did to him. It was something he felt he wouldn’t forget, the sound of his arm breaking. It was a sharp, quick noise, It almost sounded like a snapping tree branch. But knowing what it actually was, it was almost horrifying.

“Can I break a bone like I used to do to a branch?” He asked himself, he felt like he knew the answer, but was scared if it was true.

The Headmaster reached the group, the smile on his face even bigger than when he first appeared. The dread that he felt in his heart made the smile feel sinister, and the scar along the man's head didn’t help him

“Claudia, It’s good to see you again.” he greeted once more. Claudia reached out a hand to give the man a handshake, and the headmaster grabbed it, before shocking all of us by pulling on her and burying her between the two mountains that hung off his chest. “It's been five years since I’ve last seen you, and months since your last letter Claudia. Tell me how have you been.” There were a few muffled words that came from his chest. “That's good to hear Claudia. What about your stay in the city, I hope it’s treating you well?” More muffled words followed by replies happened.

All of us were stunned, the fear of the headmaster temporarily forgotten, each looking at each other with wide eyes and mouthing questions like ‘What’s going on?’ and ‘Are they that close?’. The only one who didn’t look confused was Olivia, what she did have though, was a smile. When the headmaster let go of Claudia and reached out. Olivia let go of Slyvia and walked up to the headmaster like it was the most casual thing in the world.

“Don’t think that I didn’t forget about you, Olivia.” This time, the Headmaster made the perfect example of what Angelus should have done, gently pulling Olivia into an embrace. “Tell me, how are you?

“I’ve been good Lucile, very busy, but good. How about you, I heard you were out on a quest before you got here.

“Yes I was, I was sent out to fight a metal Obelisk that was giving the Noxis tribe trouble.”

“A metal Obelisk?” Olivia asked, her eyes wide when she heard the creature. “That must have been a tough fight.”

“Yes, it was,” he nodded, his face solemn. “It was level 70 and had a chest made of Mythril. Two people that I was sent with were injured, and may not be able to fight again. But it was thanks to them that we won the fight.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry to hear that.” she apologized, and the conversation between the two of them continued.

“Even you,” Annie whispered, saying what everyone thought. Claudia and Olivia both personally knew the headmaster, not only that but have been keeping contact with him. Angelus could probably understand Claudia, from what he understood, The headmaster was around his mid-forties, which was around Olivia’s age, They could have been going to class together and he became the headmaster after his adventuring days. But Olivia, he couldn’t put his mind to it, they knew for a fact that Olivia was not an adventurer in any way. So how was the headmaster so familiar with Olivia?

The headmaster must have heard Annie because he perked up and looked over at the rest of them and nudged Claudia. “So these are the little ones you have been writing about in your letters?”

“Yes,” she said, catching her breath and placing a small smile on her face, but losing it a second later. “These are all our kids.” There was a swell of emotions in his chest as she said that, and he almost had a blush on his face, but he squashed that down when he saw Olivia move towards them.

“Come now kids, don’t be rude,” she said, beckoning the younger kids over. “Introduce yourselves.”

Normally that wouldn’t have been a problem for most of the kids. Donavin never thought much about interacting with people outside of the orphanage, Annie always wanted an excuse to show how mature she was to any adult, and Lily and Ren didn’t have much of a filter for asking questions. For Angelus, He did what Brutus did when he first met Claudia and Oliva, he thought of it more as a process when meeting someone new. Shake their hand, say your name, hear their name, and depending on the situation, stay and talk, or walk away. For the headmaster, he didn’t want to walk away.

Neither of them did that though, instead, they all reacted like Sylvia and Juno, they was nervous. Almost shaking as the headmaster stared at them. He looked friendly with his smile, waiting to hear their names. Angelus wanted to move forward and introduce himself, but it felt like if he took a step, he’d offend the man and set him off.

“Turn it off, you big oaf.” Claudia suddenly said. Angelus didn’t know what she was talking about, but he didn’t have time to think before he felt two people griping one of his legs. Looking down, he saw both Sylvia and Juno attached to his leg, their hair practically vibrating as they trembled with terror. He knelt down, concerned about his mind, but Sylvia was mumbling something.

“He’s back.” She said, sounding so breathless and scared he thought there was a monster around. But there wasn’t, not in the middle of the academy.

“Girls?” Annie asked, tearing her eyes away from the headmaster and kneeling down next to them, and putting a hand on her back. “Girls? What's wrong?”

“He’s going to kill us,” she whispered, and Juno immediately started to cry.

“change your ability!” Claudia yelled and ran towards the girls along with Olivia. With one girl in each of their arms. “Shh.” she hushed, rocking back and forth to comfort them. “It's ok sweetie.”

“He’s here.” Sylvia whimpered into Claudia's neck. Angelus was confused watching the entire thing break down. One moment they were trying to meet the Headmaster, the next they were trying to comfort the girls. it all happened so fast that even with his class, he couldn’t react fast enough.

The headmaster quickly approached, the feeling that was in Angelus’s chest before was no longer there. The smile that was on his face a moment ago was replaced with a look of concern. He wasn’t the only one, both students and doctors leaving the medical wing were looking over at the two girls and wondering what was going on.

“Don’t worry about us.” The headmaster called, his voice making all of us, but the two women, wince at the volume. Everyone seemed to trust the man because, besides a few side glances, everyone continued to do what they were previously done. When the man saw that everyone was back to doing what they were previously, he looked back at the two crying girls. “What's wrong, are they hurt? Do they need medicine? Are they hungry?” The questions kept coming, that was until Claudia turned around so fast that the dirt around her feet flew away.

“Turn. off. Your. Intimidation.” she said, pausing at each word to emphasis her fury. The headmaster looked confused for a minute before his eyes widened.

“Oh.” He gaped, before slamming a fist down on his heart and opening his mouth. A few of them raised their eyebrows at the display. But the effect was made clear a moment later. “Valor,” he said, his voice soft yet firm as he said the word. Instantly, Angelus felt his heart slow down and his breathing calm. It was completely different than what he was feeling a minute ago. That had felt like his heart was gripped and he couldn’t look straight at him. But now, he couldn’t help but grin.“There we go.” He said, his smile coming back.

“What’s going on?” He heard Lily ask, looking at her, Angelus saw that the question was directed to the headmaster. “Why do I feel so…happy?”

She asked the question like she wasn’t sure if that was right, and Angelus understood. He remembered this feeling when he first went to train with Brutus like he could take on the world and win. the feeling didn’t last long after, but still, he remembered.

“You’re Lily, yes?” Lily nodded. “I thought so, Claudia said you would be curious about this if I ever met you.” The man went down on a knee and reached a palm the size of her whole head. “My name is Lucile Duncan, Headmaster of this great school. You can call me anything as long as it isn’t formal.” He laughed at the end of the sentence as if he said a particularly funny joke. No one joined him.

“So, that feeling we had, was it because of you, sir?” Ren asked next, walking beside his sister. He still looked intimidated, but not nearly as much as before. “That weird thing with my heart.”

“Ah, and you must be Ren, the other twin.” Lucile’s smile wavered slightly at Ren’s question. “Yes, that was due to me. I’m very sorry about that.” He apologized, and he looked genuine about it. “Had I known I had my skill set to fear, I would have switched it right away.” He looked towards Claudia and Olivia. “I’m sorry.”

“What skill lets you do that?” Annie Breathed, sounding like she just got finished running across the town.

“Yeah?” Donavin followed, wiping sweat from his forehead. “I thought something had my lungs for a second.”

“That my friends, was my skill: Spirit’s shift.” He stated. Walking to the two of them, the twins followed behind him, No longer fearing the large man. “It allows me to shift mana to either intimidate those around me or give those who I choose courage.”

“Can it do other things too?” Ren suddenly asked his earlier fear completely forgotten and the look in his green eyes sparkling. “Like, can your intimidation affect everything, including people who you are with? Or can it be focused in some way?” he was about to ask more, Angelus wanted to ask him questions as well, but Lily beat them both to it.

“Enough about the boring stuff,” she said, shoving her brother to the side and standing where he did. “I want to hear about the Obelisk. How big were they? Could they spit fire?”

“Lily! Ren! Please don’t bother Lucile with those questions.” Olivia called, Juno calming enough for her to do so. “He’s a very busy man, he doesn’t have time to tell any stories.”

“But Olivia.” both kids whined. But like always, one simple look was all it took for her to stop them in their tracks. The headmaster thought, he laughed off her glare like it was easy.

“Oh Olivia, it’s no bother to me.” He laughed, picking the two kids up like he’s known them their entire life. They both laughed as he did so. “I love telling kids stories about my adventures.”

“Yes, we know Lucile.” Olivia rolled her eyes. “that’s why we can’t let you start. You would never stop.”

“Yes, but now I have a new one to tell. And I want your kids to be the first to hear it.” He said, reaching the group and looking at the two girls being carried. That was when he lost his smile, replacing it was something that looked more apologetic. Claudia turned to face him, an annoyed look in her eye.

“I always told you that you have to be more mindful of your skills Duncan.” She said, patting Sylvia’s back as she started to calm down.

“I know, and I apologize. But I was in such a rush to get here that I guess I forgot to switch it. And I’m sure that you know why I was in a rush.” The headmaster's eyes flicked toward Angelus and Donavin for a second. “In fact, I think it’s something we should go somewhere more private.”

She stiffened at that, her hold on Sylvia getting slightly tighter.

“Yes, we should talk about it somewhere more private,” she said, setting the girl down. “Olivia, please take the kids back to the inn. I’ve got to talk to Lucile about what we plan on doing in the future.”

“Again,” Lily whined. “I still haven’t got to talk to Angelus about his class. I’ve been waiting for days to hear about it.”

“And we’re at the Champions academy,” Ren added, panning his hand to all the buildings around them. “This is where the second biggest library in the kingdom is. You told me about it and I want to go see it.”

“I want to go to the city and see the clothing stores and beauty salons.” Annie pitched in, reaching behind her and pulling out a little pink notebook. “I heard that the tailors and beauticians are always willing to take apprentices if you can impress them with your work.

“I’m starting to think that you all don’t know how serious this situation is.” Claudia growled, pointing to a path leading to the largest gate Angelus had ever seen. “So one more time, Go with Olivia and head back to the inn.”

The look that the three gave Oliva could have melted the heart of an Ice dragon. With Annie looking so dejected and the twin's eyes looking like they might burst into tears any moment. Even with the serious situation ahead of them, Claudia never was one to stand up to sad looks, that was more to Olivia. In fact, Olivia was just about ready to jump in and tell the kids to follow her. But Claudia stopped her.

“Olivia, can you please help them?” Claudia sighed, rubbing a hand to her face. The kids eyes widened and they looked to her, practically begging for her to say yes.

“I can.” Olivia nodded, the worry line on her face wrinklng. The kids cheered and wondered off to talk about whose going to what first. Olivia walked closer to Claudia and spoke in a low voice. “But are you sure that you don’t want me there?” She whispered, reaching out and taking Claudia’s hand. She didn’t say anything else after that, but the look in her eyes said more.

“You need support, this is becoming too much for you.”

“I would love you there Olivia, but someone needs to watch them.” she whispered, her eyes darting to the smallest of the group. “They just relived the worst moment of their life and need a familiar face that’s going to help them.”

“But whose going to help you through this.” She asked, gently squeezing her hand. Claudia didn’t say anything, only held Olivia’s hand.

Both Angelus and Donavin stood to the side, shifting awkwardly as they watched the entire scene play out. They looked at each other and had their own conversation.

“We’ve got to do something.” Angelus suddenly whispered, trying to keep his voice as low as possible.

“This isn’t really a “we” thing Angelus.” he whispered back in what could be mistaken for a harsh tone. “You and I both know why she’s really like this.”

“What do you know?” Angelus asked. The entire time that Angelus was awake, Donavin almost seemed like the younger kids. He asked about his class and tried to see if he was happy with what he got. It was almost as if he was just as oblivious to the situation as the kids.

“Angelus, ever since the Ceremony, Cluadia has been worried sick and would pray at the temple in Academy City.” he explained. And a sudden sadness hit Angelus as he felt knew what was coming. “She was praying that you weren’t a champion Angelus, that you just got a legend class like me. She’s not happy what whatever you got, and she looking for anyway to get out you out of this.”

“I know that.” Angelus frowned remembering what happened earlier that day. “But that doesn’t mean that we can’t do something to help her. The stress is going to break her if we leave her like this.”

“This isn’t something that we can help her with.” he sighed. “Everyone older knows what you getting that class means Angelus. You’re going to fight something that could destroy the world.”

“You don’t know that.” Angelus interrupted, but Donavin cut him off.

“Don’t bullshit me man, you know just as much as I do what you’re going to do.” his voice rose slightly as he continued to speak. “You are going to go out there to gods know where and fight things that wouldn’t hesitate to eat you. That’s not something you can talk about, that something you worry about, especially if it's your kids, and that's going to stick with her until you either kill what you need to kill or until you die and completely break her.”

Donavin’s harsh words hit Angelus like a hammer to the gut. He knew he was the cause of Claudia’s stress, but to hear it out loud from another person made his guilt much worse. Was there really nothing that he could do to put her even a little at ease? He knew that running away with her would have put her at ease, but he knew that if he did that, the whole world may suffer. But if he stayed and went after the champion beast, Claudia would probably never get a peaceful night of sleep until he returned. Could he hurt an entire world full of people, or the people who meant the world to him?

“Boys, come on,” Claudia called, suddenly now next to the headmaster, who had been waiting patiently on the side this entire time.

“Coming!” they bother said in unison, the look on Angelus's face quickly being replaced. But the thoughts in his head stayed.