Alaric wasn't entirely surprised by Lil' Amon's answer. He gazed at him, sighed, and said, "I suspect some things come naturally to you, and I'm a bit worried you might pick up bad habits. But…"
He smiled, ruffling Lil' Amon's hair. "Go, Lil' Amon. Witness the other side of humanity. But don't forget, even in the muck, beauty persists. Instead of dwelling on the ugly, I hope you'll see the flowers that bloom in chaos... more stunning than any greenhouse blossom. I like them, and I think you will too."
"I will," Lil' Amon nodded earnestly.
He would see those flowers. He would become more human.
…
After handling the trio's leave requests and overseeing Sasrir's takeover of the border city operations, Alaric's Lucifer avatar didn't linger. Instead, he set off to visit Pallez.
At that moment, Pallez was deep in his "tiger mom" phase.
Indeed, ever since Leonard unwittingly revealed his naive nature in front of the Joker Club's angels, Pallez's urge to toughen him up had ignited. He began relentlessly tutoring Leonard, plunging him into a study hell far earlier than the Abraham family's younger generation.
It might be a quirk of the Error, Fool, and Door pathway... burying their successors or students in exams.
Leonard's life became a cycle of handling Red Gloves duties when busy and enduring Pallez's lessons when free. Thanks to the Darkness pathway's minimal sleep requirements, Pallez even skipped energy potions. When Leonard was too exhausted, Pallez simply tutored him in his dreams.
Perhaps because of this, Leonard's Nightmare potion digested at breakneck speed. After all, wasn't being trapped in a nightmare a form of reverse digestion?
Take the Demoness of Affliction, for example... digesting her potion involved not just inflicting pain but experiencing it herself.
Regardless, Leonard's Nightmare potion was nearly fully digested. With enough merit, he could soon advance to Sequence 6, Soul Assurer... a year ahead of his original timeline.
Pallez's rigorous tutoring was, by all accounts, a success.
"Afternoon, Pallez, Leonard. Am I interrupting?" Alaric, as Lucifer, greeted them with a smile. He glanced at Leonard's lifeless expression and the occult tomes before him, then raised an eyebrow at Pallez. "You're tutoring Leonard?"
Pallez nodded. "You know this kid's grasp of the occult is shaky, so I've been drilling him lately."
"…But I'm not a Savant or Seer. A lot of this knowledge isn't even necessary!" Leonard muttered, barely audible. He was close to breaking from the relentless studying.
"You'll regret not learning when you need it later. That ignorance could cost you dearly," Pallez said, catching Leonard's grumbling. He shot him a glance, chuckling.
"…Don't I have you, old man?" Leonard tried one last protest.
"I won't be with you forever. You're not a kid anymore... time to stand on your own," Pallez replied, unmoved.
Leonard gave up, burying his head in the pile of study materials, radiating despair.
"You and Bethel would get along," Alaric said, shaking his head.
"Bethel?" Pallez looked at Alaric, puzzled. Immersed in his tutoring frenzy, he was out of the loop on some matters.
"Bethel's back and reorganizing the Abraham family. His approach to their younger generation is like yours... study till you drop," Alaric explained briefly, keeping details vague.
Though he and Pallez had collaborated early on, their relationship remained distant. Pallez, ever indecisive, never fully committed, keeping him outside Alaric's inner circle.
Alaric didn't mind. He'd helped Pallez partly for early leverage and partly because of his Zoroast bloodline, making it natural to lend a hand to the Zoroast family's ancestor.
"…Sounds like him," Pallez said with a nostalgic smile, then turned to Alaric. "So, what do you need me for?"
Pallez knew Lucifer wouldn't visit without a reason.
"I need an emotion... sorrow. You might be able to provide it," Alaric said, smiling.
"Sorrow?" Pallez paused, taking a moment to process. He asked cautiously, "What do I need to do?"
"Recall moments in your life that brought true sorrow, let that emotion consume you now, and don't resist. I'll take it from there," Alaric explained simply.
"…Alright," Pallez said, frowning slightly, still puzzled but willing to comply.
He knew that after relying on Lucifer to reach Sequence 2 and witnessing his abilities, he was effectively part of Alaric's faction. A worker had to act like one, so Pallez wouldn't refuse a strange but harmless request.
He delved into his emotions, summoning memories of his past.
Pallez's life hadn't always been grim. Before the Solomon Empire's collapse, despite his disadvantage in the Lord of Mysteries race, he'd had a family and cherished descendants. Outwardly a ruthless Angel of Time, inwardly he was a doting patriarch, savoring familial warmth.
But the Black Emperor Solomon's second fall ended it all. In a blink, Pallez lost everything. The Zoroast family fractured, its bloodline nearly extinguished.
He rarely dwelt on these memories... not out of indifference, but because dwelling changed nothing.
Now, letting those feelings loose, a heavy sorrow settled in his heart, raw and undeniable.
***
Every 100 Power Stones and 5 Reviews will earn you a Bonus Chapter.
And if you want to read up to 50 chapters ahead, don't hesitate to visit our patron: pat reon . com / XElenea (remove space)