16.1

In the world of darkness, John stood solemnly.

Surrounded by an endless void placed in an empty world, John could do nothing but exist.

He tried opening his mouth, he tried to scream—

Thud…

His feet felt a gentle tap.

A ray of light shone in the direction of his feet.

A human head.

Smeared with dried blood, the skull of a rotten human head had rolled in his direction.

“Why did you leave us to die...?”

The familiar voice of Miros Harvest spoke to him, causing John to freeze at where he stood. Then another, he felt another thud on his other other leg, another human head rolled in his way.

“You were our benefactor...h-how could you!?”

This time shrill voice of Itzella Harvest screamed at him.

Ba-thump!

The words that came to him constricted his heart.

This isn’t real!!!

He knew the Harvests were much better people than this. They were kind, warm, loving people who invited him to their household when he had nowhere else to go.

They were his family, they were…dead.

If the Harvest couple who were so generous to treat him as family, could not forgive him in their deaths, John did not know what he could do.

“Please… I…”

Thud…

Another head came rolling in his direction, following that was two more, three more… Eventually, the decapitated heads surrounded him and his world was painted in red.

And as the number of, so did the voices berating his existence grew.

“N-no! No… I… I didn’t…t-that’s…” John’s hands were on his head as he cowered from the voices, eyes trembling as the only thing he knew was to wait for the voices around him to end. “P-please…”

“Disappointment, that’s all you’ll ever amount to be!”

“Why can’t you make yourself useful?”

His blood parents whom he had no fond recollection of yelled at him, causing John’s breathing to become rapid.

“Can’t you see!? You have everything an elf could ask for!?”

Alwin Zinrelle’s voice echoed in his head, sounding just as furious as he was in Reperane Woods.

“Offending the rightful law of A’vetheas, even I am unable to offer you a pardon for everything you’ve done, my child.”

Then it was Queen Veissa.

And finally...

“Begone. I never want to see you ever for the rest of my life. I am now annulling our Soul Oath.”

“NOOOOOO!!!! STOP THIS!!! NO, NO MORE!!!”

John awoke screaming, his body fully tensed as he raised himself from the bed.

Pant, pant, pant…

He moved his hands to his face, feeling his own clammy skin as he tried to calm himself from the dream he just awoken from. He rubbed his eyes against the base of his palm, only to find them as damp as a soaked napkin.

“It’s just a bad dream… It’s just a bad dream…”

John convinced himself as he tried his best to shake the ominous scenery he saw earlier. He knew it was just the trick of his mind.

They are not here… They’ve left me…

Messaging his eyes with his fingers, John said to himself, “I need to have better control of myself…” as those words left his mouth, he immediately jolted up straight. “How...did I get here?”

John was currently placed in a stale looking ward that had no decorations to his surroundings.

Windows, none, decorations, none, coffee tables, none, visitor chairs none.

The only thing in this room were four white walls and a door that was part of the wall itself.

Half curious where he was and half affected by the adrenaline that still surged in his body from earlier, John hastily got off the bed and walked towards the door. He reached for the handle, pressed on it, and pushed.

Clack.

The door did not budge.

“What gives?” he cocked his head, peered between the seams to get an idea of why the door was stuck, but unfortunately for him, the seams between the walls were far too small for him to find out anything.

John pressed at the handle again. This time he used his body and pushed at the door.

Bang.

Finally, with his weight behind it, the door freed loosened from the walls and opened, revealing the familiar hallways of the academy fortress in Meastes. The facility where Prishine had taken control of previously to gain a head start against the other students, and the very one where he was drugged and kidnapped from.

Unlike the previous times he arrived here, the building was now filled with students and academy stuff bustling about.

And this was the infirmary.

The rough, white clothing that he was changed into only affirmed that.

As John was about to make his leave from the infirmary, his eyes caught onto a moving stretcher that was being transported by two nurses. Right there was Aurelius Velupus being transported into a similar ward that John had exited from.

His shoulders eased up at the sight of Aurelius. Seeing his beastkin friend was in care of the medical staff lifted a heavy weight in his heart.

We managed to survive the vampires… That means I was saved by the heroes—

John interrupted his thoughts when he noticed something odd.

As Aurelius stretcher was pushed into the ward, John could faintly see wisps of pale gold from where the wolfkin previous was. In fact, once Aurelius was sent into the ward and the nurses left, the ward where Aurelius was admitted to kept leaking the same gold wisps that John saw.

John scrunched his brows as he approached the ward where Aurelius was placed in.

Aurelius doesn’t have gold mana… In fact, I don’t think he uses magic at all. Then why is he leaking mana?

Entering the ward, the unconscious Aurelius still had the same peculliar wisps of golden emitting from his body.

“Stamina fatigue? No, that’s not aura related. Blood loss?” John wondered as he watched the golden wisps continued to flow out of Aurelius. “I swear I’ve come across this in my old A’vetheas textbooks, it’s on the tip of my tongue—”

Grgk!!! Ack! Ack! Ack!!!

Aurelius’ body violently jerked. Blood spurt out from the beastkin as the sickly coughing returned to him.

“[Heal]!”

John immediately used his magic on Aurelius, but instead of getting better, Aurelius further vomited out more blood as though the wolfkin himself had been stabbed.

“[Heal]!!! Why isn’t it working!? [Heal]!!!”

As John administered his healing magic on Aurelius, the beastkin remained to be unaffected by his blue aura.

It was at this moment, he realized a certain principle that he had long forgotten.

The gold wisps that emanated from Aurelius body, they were not mere magic leakage nor aura issues.

Instead, they were signs of Aurelius’ lifespan leaking out from him.

How is this possible? Aurelius is just your everyday beastkin. There is no way something like this could happen to him. Unless…

John was briefly reminded of the vampires that fed on Aurelius’ blood.

Aurelius to die by his blood completely drained from him from Naild the vampire. It was not until John had used his dark magic did Aurelius received healing. The vampires must have somehow damaged a part of Aurelius’ soul that caused his life force to leak from the beastkin’s body.

Could that be? I...I…No… He can’t just die like this, I promised him to find his sister!!! Now h-he’s life is fleeting before my very eyes and I can’t do a single thing!!!

Drowned out by the sound of his thoughts, his arms trembled.

[Heal]! Work, you blasted magic!!! Work!!!

And then it appeared.

What had been a stream of brilliant blue [Heal] flowed from John’s hands was now akin to a stream of clear blue stream tainted by mixing in black ink.

No sooner, not a single hint of the original blue aura came forth from his hand.

His blue aura was now replaced by the demon magic that he had been staved from.

“[Heal], [Heal], [Heal]!” John verbally cast his magic hoping to summon the blue aura. The more he tried, the faster the black aura flowed from his hands and attached themselves to Aurelius.

Back when in the vampire’s den, the same happened to his [Heal] spell, where black mana appeared in place of his usual blue aura of [Heal]. John it was because at that moment he temporarily embraced the ‘demon’ side of himself.

“T-this is impossible… How can it be… I want nothing to do with—” John cut himself short when Aurelius’ body stabilized.

The wolfkin no longer coughed out blood, the golden wisps that previously emanated from his body disappeared. Even the pale cheeks of Aurelius was now reddened the longer the black version of [Heal] flowed to the beastkin’s body.

It works…it works… [Heal] works like how it is supposed to be. Aurelius is back to normal.

Eventually, Aurelius regained his breath.

It was then did John ceased his magic on his wolfkin friend, grabbed a nearby cloth and cleaned up after the blood his friend had coughed up earlier.

But why do I feel so empty?

Although he felt a heavyweight lifted off his shoulders, an even heavier sense of gloom filled his heart.

John raised one of his hands, looked at his modest palm, rotating it as he keenly observed his hand. There was something he had to confirm after what just occurred.

“[Heal].”

In response to his chant, black charcoal aura appeared forth from his palm, enveloping his arms, and eventually the rest of his body just like how [Heal] usually would.

He closed his eyes for a moment, felt the aura that surrounded his body as he allowed his own magic to run throughout his body.

Finally, he opened his eyes, along that, a heavy sigh, “It feels and behaves no different from my usual magic…” John canceled his spell with a clench of his fist before casting [Heal] silently. Sure enough, the same black aura of [Heal] emerged in his hand. “...but it’s now tainted with the color associated with demons.”

It appears that that alteration had tainted his [Heal] magic permanently.

He wanted to scream, he wanted to breakdown and cry himself for having tainting [Heal] with his demon magic.

But John was far too exhausted from what happened earlier that his tear ducts and heart no longer worked as he thought they should be.

Between escaping the insane succubus and the horrible encounter with the vampires, he was spent.

All he could do was to bury his head in his hands.

Everything that happened after the Harvests’ death felt insignificant.

Sure, moments ago his life was in jeopardy, but if Aurelius had not been involved with the vampires with him, John was certain he would not have fought as hard as he could and embraced his ‘demon’ nature.

He may not have valued his own life, but when it came down to an innocent bystander like Aurelius, John could not leave the wolfkin to die.

In some ways, he could feel his heart growing numb to the atrocities of life.

Still…

The sight of the black aura, reminded him of the very moment all of A’vetheas denounced him. The death of the three thugs, Raina’s horrified face, Alwin’s betrayal…

And most importantly, the devastated face of Ephinelyth. For had it not for this power, he would not have doubted her absence, for if he did not have the delusions that the Evie thought of him as a toy, John would have…he would have listened to her warning.

“She was right… I can’t stay in the e-empire for long… Everything here is far too chaotic.”

Evie warned him of the dangers that laid within Dezarith Empire. Though she had not explicitly explained to him what, John himself also reached the same conclusion.

The Harvests died on the very night Ephinelyth relayed all of that to him.

If he accepted her offer, if only John swallowed his emotionally charged mind back then, if only John swallowed his pride and listened to Ephinelyth’s words, the Harvests might all have survived from the massacre that would ensue.

Paired with that tragedy, the Dezarith Empire is preparing for a potential war with the Eastern Continent, to which led to the students of Moxnet Academy being subjected to this ridiculous aptitude test.

And then there was the insane succubus that wanted to copulate with him.

Honestly speaking, John did sense that she was up to no good on their very first encounter, but he never thought Prishine would go through extreme measures where she not only drugged him but also tried to force herself on him.

Finally, there was the ordeal with vampires. By his terrible luck, he encountered the very monsters that were responsible for the Harvests’ death. If not for Fester Aquilla’s arrival, John feared that he might have doomed Aurelius to death.

“I want to leave… I am done, this is too much for me,” he weakly admitted to himself. “No more of this…”

“Leave where?”

John immediately jolted himself upright upon hearing Aurelius’ voice. Blinking rapidly as he looked at the wolfkin, who had awaken from his slumber.

“A-Aurelius, you’re fine!” John stuttered, ignoring the wolfkin’s questions.

But the Aurelius was not having it, he looked to John with serious eyes and spoke with an unwavering voice, “John, where are you leaving?”

John looked away from Aurelius, “Nowhere, what are you talking about?”

“Don’t lie to me. I clearly heard you talking about leaving the empire, something about being too much.”

The wolfkin stared intently at John, waiting for an answer as he sat up from the bed.

John pursed his lips, looked at the ceiling and took a deep breath.

I guess I do owe him an explanation, since I promised to find his sister with him. If I leave, I don’t think I won’t be able to do that.

John exhaled and spoke, “I don’t want to be here anymore, Aurelius. My family was massacred, I have nowhere to go to. I’ve cut all ties with Scywell and his party. Now, not only the empire is preparing for war, I am certain that we will be enlisted for said war.”

“…”

“Besides, you know what am I…” John looked at the wolfkin. “You saw what I did back there! I am no mere human… From where I previously came from, its taboo to use the black aura magic, some even say its demon magic or that I am a demon. Frankly, I don’t know myself. All I now know is, the longer I stay somewhere, the more pain and suffering I would bring.”

“John, you never told me…”

“I was exiled for using demon magic to save someone I loved. There hasn’t gone a day that I wished I had done things differently. Perhaps I should have avoided trouble, but knowing me, trouble follows me wherever I go. As things progressed after I my exile, I became an indirect cause to the death of Harvests, the death of m-my adopted family...w-who t-took me in a-after my e-exile…” John lowered his head in shame chocking on his own words.

“That’s…” Aurelius tried to offer his words but could not muster up the courage as John’s body trembled.

“I considered killing myself to end things after my family died…but ghosts of my past prevents me from doing so. Every time I think of ending things once and for all, my heart squeezes so hard that I think there is something far worse if I had ended my own life.

“Then I implicated you with the vampires. I decided then to use my demon magic, or whatever it is to get you out of that predicament. Even that, I failed… If not for the heroes that came…” John shook his head. “That’s why, I’ve decided, instead of causing more trouble for you or everyone in Team Rectiser, I would leave the empire. For my sake, and for not letting anyone ending up like my adopted family.”

John ended his confession with a lowered head.

He very well knew it was meaningless to confide to Aurelius, but since the wolfkin was subjugated to the vampires’ torments, John thought it was the best to explain himself.

He understood Aurelius had a strong inclination to find the lost sister Aurelius had.

With how protective the beastkin acted around him, John knew that in some way the wolfkin already thought of him as a brother, at the very least he would give Aurelius closure before he left the empire for good.

“That is why...the thing about your sister. I’m sorry, I don’t think I can help you with that. I can’t stay here with you guys. Besides…” John finally stood from his seat, “I never I belonged here.”

Not in A’vetheas, not in Dezarith Empire, not where he was born… Everywhere John went, destruction followed. He was man without a home, without family, without honor.

All that was left of him, was this empty husk of a man that he no longer recognized.

Clenching his empty fist, John moved to the door.

“Sigh… You really are just a kid, aren’t you?” Aurelius sighed as he slowly got off his bed, causing John to pause in his footsteps with that statement of his.

“What do you mean?” John with raised brow.

“I don’t know about what do you think you did wrong, but for as long as I’ve known you, you’ve done nothing bad. Sure, bad things happened to you, but those were out of your control, weren’t they? Involving me with the vampires? Ha, don’t make me laugh, kiddo! I was the one who chose to not leave you alone!!!”

John blinked bewildered, “N-not leave me alone?”

Aurelius brought the back of his knuckle to John’s forehead and tapped on his skull, causing John to recoil with a scowl.

“You’d think I can’t smell something weird coming off from you with that ‘demon magic’ thing you have? On our very first meeting, I could tell from a distance you have that demon magic or whatever you call it around you despite my then weaker body. In hindsight, I think I caused you more torment by staying behind in the vampire hideout…maybe you would have let yourself get killed then, I don’t know.”

“…”

“It was my decision, John!” Aurelius declared, “I, myself, stayed behind with you to fight the vampires. You don’t need to concern yourself with my health. I understood the consequences of staying behind with you in the vampire’s den. This is my life, John! I get to choose what I do with it, not you.”

“That’s ridiculous, you should’ve ran when you had the chance!!!!” John snapped, “Do you have any idea what those vampires—”

“I am an adult. I get to choose what I do with my life, the same applies to you!!!” Aurelius shouted back to cut John off. “I understand the weight in your heart, my brother. But there is no need to live in guilt and shame for things that you have no control over. In my instance, I was the one who followed you. In your case, your adopted family must have known that you are a kind boy who needed help, that’s why they willingly took you in. Don’t blame—”

“Stop. Just stop…”

John’s fists clenched as he resisted his heart from being split in two. The mere mention of how evangelical the Harvests treated him, made him much, much more...

His eyes misted.

“I don’t w-want to know… I-I already know t-that much already! I already know that’s what happens to everyone around me...my past, my present, my future…all of them… will suffer. All of you will leave…please…I…”

Truth to be told, John knew he was an abandoned individual.

Whether by fate or by choice, the people who he always deemed important in his life would always drift from him.

Be it Kahnira who he have vague memories of, Alwin Zinrelle who hated him throughout their entire ‘friendship’, Raina Valindra Eridi who he thought cherished him deeply, the Harvests who was his family more than anyone else in his life, the hero’s party, and finally...Ephinelyth.

All of them left him.

In the end, John Sarvod was one and alone.

That was his curse.

It was not the demon magic that caused his banishment.

It was himself.

He who could never hold on to those he deemed precious to him.

If anything, the demon magic was only the embodiment of sorrows of the relationships that he could never see flourish nor cultivated.

Of all the bonds he made, he was sure they would all inevitably part him.

Be it because of what he did, or because of what he did not do.

The root of his sorrows was none other than the man he was.

That’s why John chose to leave his team.

Before his friendship with the members of Team Rectiser deepened, he had to leave.

It was so that when the next time they inevitably leave him in the dust, the pain of those bonds severed would be much more negligible.

And of those bonds, included his wolfkin friend here.

“I’m sorry Aurelius, I am not changing my mind,” John apologized before leaving the beastkin in the ward.

With a heavy heart and on heavy steps, John paced himself to where the infirmary counter was. Approaching the nurse he posed a question.

“Do you happen to know where my equipment are? You see, I was admitted while I was unconscious. I now have nothing to wear other than these infirmary clothes,” John pinched the white shirt and the white pants that was on him as he forced an awkward smile.

“For all patients, we hand all their equipment back to their respective teams for safekeeping. In the cases where all team members are admitted to the infirmary, we would keep them in our vault here. May I know which team are you on, sir?”

“Team Rectiser.”

Immediately, the nurse moved her fingers on a projected screen as she searched through the infirmary’s database with swift finger movements on the interface board.

“Team Rectiser: Two out of six members are admitted to the infirmary wards. The first being Aurelius Velupus, and the second being John Sarvod…” the nurse blinked rapidly upon reading John’s name out loud. “A-and you are John Sarvod?”

“Yeah? What’s the problem?”

The nurse immediately spoke in haste, “I am sorry, please, return to your ward, you are to stay there for further observation.”

“What are you talking about? I can use [Heal] I am perfectly fine. There’s no need for all of that. Can you just tell me where the other members of Team Rectiser are?”

“No!” the nurse stood from where she was. “You are a patient, t-there is no reason for you to return to your team, y-you need t-to…o-or else h-he’ll—”

“Giving the medical people more trouble again, John?”

Kirk’s voice came from behind John, interrupting the nurse as she fumbled.

John’s eyes lit at the appearance of the tall Kirksten behind him, then left the nurse, “No worries, Kirk is here now. He’ll bring me around. I just want to grab my stuff as they are quite valuable. I’ll come back here right after, okay?”

I’ll come back here and figure out where the teleporter is. You’ll never see my face here in Meastes or in Dezarith ever again.

The nurse at first looked like she was about to break into tears over John adamantly wanting to leave the infirmary, but her attitude suddenly changed when John turned to look at her.

“Y-yes…p-please return to us as quickly as you can.”

After subduing the almost agitated nurse with his words, John and Kirk left to where Team Rectiser had pitched their camp under John’s request to retrieve his mythril sword and hooded coat.

They were moving along the perimeter of the academy fortress when John spotted the familiar tent of Team Rectiser. He immediately entered it and Kirk followed soon after.

“Do you want something to eat?” Kirk offered.

“Nah, not in the mood. I am just here for my items.”

Besides, my last meal had sleep-inducing drugs in them, I am still not over that.

John thought snarkily to himself. He was not about to let the temptation of a mere meal to delay his departure from the compounds of Meastes and leave Dezarith Empire.

As he moved deeper into the magically expanded space of the tent, his eyes kept moving about his surroundings in search of his items. John entered the room he was allocated to, the bathrooms, and even the kitchen, but much to his dismay, he found nothing.

“Hey, Kirk, do you know where my things are?” returning to the living room and asked Kirk who brought him here.

Kirk, who had been silently standing by the entrance, looked at John, then to the sofas, “I think Bran placed it… Wait, I remember, I left it in my room, my bad.”

Nonchalantly, Kirk entered his room and returned with John’s coat and jeans. In a swift motion, Kirk tossed John’s belongings to him.

“Where’s my sword?” John spoke as he caught his belongings.

Frankly, he cared little about his clothes or pants.

But his mythril sword was one that accompanied him as his life took a darker turn, the sword that Angeline helped him pick was almost akin to own flesh and blood.

Aside from being an efficient weapon that could cut through steel as though it were butter, he needed a way to defend himself if he wished to flee from Dezarith Empire’s forces.

What is to say instead of the imperial soldiers, he would encounter ferocious monsters like dark beasts, undead or even the likes of vampires?

He needed a reliable weapon to defend himself. And the arming sword was rightfully his.

Kirk retrieved something from his pockets, then placed said item on John’s open palm, revealing a green translucent bead.

“Here, this is for you,” Kirk said with a gentle smile.

“What? No, I want my sword, not this bead thing. Stop fooling around.”

“Crush it, and you’ll find out.”

Unable to believe what has gotten into Kirk, John shook his head, his expression altered into a sharp one, one that was almost threatening, “Kirk, this is not my sword.”

“Trust me, it’s magic. Your sword is compressed into this bead by Cacti with her magic.”

John eyes twitched with doubt, he wanted to say something about the whole ordeal of storing his sword with magic was a waste of mana, but unable to wait at the prospect of obtaining his mythril arming sword, he crushed the translucent bead with thumb and index finger, causing the bead to crumble into dust.

“Nothing’s happening,” John rubbed the dust between his fingers as he awaited for his weapon to take form. His brows scrunched after a long period of waiting, “Kirk, this had better not be a joke— Garkkk!”

John’s vocal cords seized.

I can’t speak, what the hell!? The fuck did this asshole do!?

John rushed at Kirk, intending to grab his teammate’s neck and demand for an explanation.

However, the fingers that crushed the translucent bead became paralyzed and no longer responded to him.

The numbing sensation spread to his hands, arms, shoulders, torso...and eventually, the rest of his body.

[Hea...

Before he could cast [Heal] from his mind, John became as stiff as a statue by the effects of the translucent bead.

Frozen in body and mind, he could no longer move, think, or breath.

“Nothing personal, bud,” Kirksten mumbled emotionlessly as he took a seat by the table. Though he may have been the one to trick John into crushing the Bead of Petrification, Kirk behaved like he was doing the right thing.

Which, in his mind, he was absolutely right.

For all he was instructed to do, was to stall John Sarvod from leaving the academy’s premises.

“A demon, huh? I always knew you were an oddity, but never to the likes of a demon like her… I’m sorry John, it is either you or Cacti. And this man will do anything to keep Cacti safe.”

Kirk watched over the petrified John intently, fearful that the magic would be undone by John.

“Just for safe measure…”

Kirk moved his hands into his pockets to retrieve yet another bead, but before he could use it on the already petrified John, someone appeared by the entrance of Team Rectiser’s tent.

Crackle!

A blazing red hair, cruel eyes that were surging with traces of electricity.

“Fester Aquilla.” Kirk muttered the hero’s name as he trounced into Team Rectiser’s tent.

“You must be Kirk. I was told so much about you, from Moxnet Academy’s most infamous woman!” Fester gave a deep bow to Kirk. “On behalf of the Immortal Emperor, I thank you for cooperating with us to bring a suspected criminal to trial.”

“Save your superfluous crap! No one would sellout their teammates for no reason!”

“My apologies if I have offended you in any way,” Fester took a grandiose bow, lowered his torso where the previous hero almost seemed to be kissing his own knee.

“Just take him and leave before my team realizes something is off! Leave!!!” Kirk snapped at the hero with great irritation.

Zap!!!

With a crackle of electricity, Fester Aquilla and the petrified John disappeared.

“Fuckkkkk!!!!” Kirk bemoaned as he slammed his palms to his head. “Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!!!!”

His heart raced like never, tears formed in his eyes as his nefarious actions etched into his mind.

After given orders to help Bran invite John into Team Rectiser, Kirk was told to collect and report on the information about John Sarvod periodically.

That was mostly he did prior to today, as John was under the great interest of powerful individuals, Kirk became the medium to watch over John.

It supposed to be an easy job. Kirk was certain that what he did was justified.

But he was not strong enough, so much so that the mere act of reporting the observations he had on John was enough to accumulate an invisible weight on his shoulders. One that nagged at him for doing something so evil against John who was innocent.

This constant watch over John had caused Kirk to snap on a few occasions, where he was plagued with so much guilt that he would go and accuse John of conspiring against Team Rectiser.

When he was the one who worked against John.

And when John had finally left Kirk’s sights after their encounter with the blood-cullers, the weight disappeared from him.

It was only after did Team Rectiser return to the academy fortress in Meastes that Kirk was given an extra responsibility.

The task of ensnaring John Sarvod.

He fully knew what he did doing was terrible to John. Having to fool the guy who barely moved on from his family’s death did not sit well with Kirk.

But compared to what could happen to Cacti or Matilda if he had rejected to sellout John, Kirk made a choice.

This was choice that would forever eat away at his soul. A choice that only provided him temporary peace until he was requested to do something as drastic as this once more.

Kirk was fully dancing in the palms of her hands.

He fully understand it, but he had no choice. For whenever he hear the permanent stutters in Cacti’s speech, he knew resistance was never an option.

And so, Kirk prayed to the Archangels that were the very pillar for holiness and purity. To the Archangels of Truth, Contentment, Humility, Love and Compassion, to send a beacon of hope, a beacon of hope to this grim path he walked.

“Please, someone, do something. I cannot do this anymore…please, end my suffering, end...her unholy existence from the mortal realm and free the shackles on my soul.”

Until the seductress’ death, Kirksten will forever be a slave to the sultry woman who ordered him to betray his teammate.

The seductress who was placed in Moxnet Academy to keep watch over the hero known as Scywell Shatterstep.

Prishine, the succubus.

A succubus demon who answers to the Immortal Empress.