Alaric's gaze grew heavier. He turned his head toward Lucien and said:
"Lucien, never do that again. That boy could be saved. Anyone possessed by a demon can be saved within seventy-two hours. After that, a person's soul cannot return. You acted too impulsively."
Lucien looked away, saying nothing to his teacher.
"Wow! What was that, Teacher Alaric? What's that magic bottle?" Ruby asked.
"It's just holy water," Alaric smiled, pointing to two more vials inside his coat pocket.
"So, we're done?" Elijah asked, examining the boy from all sides.
"Yes, the demon shouldn't return," Alaric replied.
He walked over, lifted the boy, and placed him gently on the bed. At that moment, the boy's grandmother ran into the room.
"Oh, Lord… thank you so much for saving my dear boy!"
After tidying up a bit, they headed to the exit, where the boy's grandfather was waiting.
"I'm so glad you helped us."
As soon as the old man opened his mouth, a wave of terrifying, oppressive energy hit Lucien's senses. His expression changed instantly, and his hands ignited with hellfire.
At the last moment, Elijah grabbed his hands, slightly burning himself. Seeing that, Lucien immediately extinguished the flames.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to," Lucien said.
"It's fine. Were you about to hit an innocent person?" Elijah asked, pressing his hands against his chest.
Alaric and the old man exchanged a few words, smiled, shook hands, and headed back toward the organization.
Lucien had almost forgotten that smiling people had always followed him since childhood, releasing unbearable demonic energy.
On the way home, Elijah said:
"I'm glad everything went well. Now I can draw us all together, and twenty years from now, I'll look back and remember."
Hearing their words, Alaric slowed his pace. After waiting for the group to catch up, he said:
"In honor of our first successful mission, I'll ask Mister Duskrend for a day off, so you can spend more time together. Who knows, maybe you'll become a real family for each other."
"Then you should take a day off too. I'm sure there's someone you'd like to see," Ruby added.
Alaric smiled warmly, then replied:
"You're right. There is someone I'd like to see."
Suddenly, a two-meter-tall roaring tiger-cat jumped out in front of them.
"BACK!" Alaric shouted.
He raised his hands, ready to block the creature's strike — but then laughter came from behind.
Turning around, they saw Elijah laughing, holding a pen and a sheet of white paper.
"You little brat, I'll show you," Ruby muttered.
Raising her hands, she aimed her fingers at Elijah and fired a small shot of blood, hitting him right on the forehead.
The shot wasn't strong — it only left a small bruise. Now the others were laughing at him.
"Ow, ow, ow, that hurts!" Elijah said, rubbing his forehead.
"Enough fun. Let's just get home," Alaric said, putting his hands in his pockets.
It took them about twenty minutes to get back.
"Finally…" Ruby sighed, collapsing onto her bed — now in her own room.
"Your room's way bigger than ours. Not fair," Lucien said, looking around.
"Yeah, totally unfair. There are two of us, and only one of you," Elijah added.
"Don't fight. And by the way, you can consider tomorrow a day off," Alaric said as he left.
The rest of the day, everyone did their own thing: Ruby cleaned up a bit, then lazed on the bed. Elijah sat and drew various sketches, and sometimes Lucien came over and told him to stop drawing random junk.
Lucien decided to train his flame control.
The next morning, after waking up, they headed straight to Alaric's room — but it was empty. After walking a bit further, they checked his laboratory, where he often spent time, but he wasn't there either.
"Strange, where could he be?" Ruby asked.
"Probably went to visit his relatives," Elijah replied.
"Wait here," Lucien said and rushed toward the headmaster's office.
The others followed. Knocking on the door, the old man gladly invited them inside.
"Why have you come?" Volbus asked without looking up from his book.
Elijah and Ruby couldn't even lift their heads.
"Old man, you're still reading those books? Do something useful for once," Lucien said bluntly.
After his words, the two nearly dropped their jaws.
Volbus smiled and replied:
"You haven't changed a bit."
"Do you happen to know where Teacher Alaric went?" Lucien continued.
"He left this morning, heading toward the Berkshire district," Volbus replied.
"That's where one of the largest hunter villages is, right?" Ruby added.
"Yes, that's correct," Volbus nodded.
Lucien ran up, patted the old man on the shoulder, and dashed off, shouting:
"Thanks, old man!"
Alaric had left about half an hour before they arrived. If they hurried, they could catch up to him near the village entrance.
When they reached the village, two paths appeared at a small crossroads — one leading into the village, the other toward a cemetery.
"So what do we do? How do we know which way he went?" Elijah asked.
"I've got a feeling he went that way," Lucien said, pointing toward the cemetery road.
The road to the cemetery was unexpectedly lively — many people were returning to the village, most of them local hunters.
In the distance, they suddenly saw Alaric's black coat — he was holding a pair of flowers.
"Told you," Lucien smirked.
The others only sighed heavily in response.
Meanwhile, thoughts poured through Alaric's mind:
"I'm here again… It's been so long. Feels strange. More than eight years have passed since that night…„
His thoughts were interrupted by a pat on the back from Lucien.
"What are you doing here?" the teacher asked.
"We decided that without you, a day off wouldn't be a day off," Ruby answered.
"Yeah, it'd be weird resting without you," Elijah added.
Alaric smiled warmly, then said:
"Since you're here, let's visit my family together."
He walked deeper into the cemetery, and after a few minutes, they reached three graves — two large ones and one small.
Alaric crouched down, placed a flower on each grave, then pulled out a pack of cigarettes and lit one.
"Teacher smokes?„ all three thought at once.
"I know what you're thinking! I don't smoke often. This pack reminds me of my father — he used to sit by the fireplace and smoke," he said, putting the pack back in his pocket.
"I once had a family too, but it all ended the night I turned twelve. My father was a well-known blacksmith, respected throughout London.
I'll never forget that evening. It was pouring rain outside, and darkness had already fallen. We were all sitting by the fireplace; my father, as always, smoked his cigarettes and read the newspaper. His face was covered with small burn marks from the sparks, and his hands were huge and strong — strong enough to hold me and my brother at once.
We sat by the fire, playing with little wooden soldiers.
Then suddenly, my mother screamed from the next room. She had been cooking dinner in the kitchen. My father immediately tensed and told us to hide behind him. He grabbed the sword hanging on the wall — the one he was most proud of in his life…"
Thank you for reading the chapter. I'll be glad for every comment and will gladly answer your questions. You can learn more on the Discord server. I'm really looking forward to seeing each of you there.