Matthew said in an even tone,
"Everything is under control… My close friend, a teacher at this academy, says you two are more than welcome. Azazul, you will stay on school grounds—we'll discuss why later. Akiko… since you have the option, where would you like to stay? At my residence or on school grounds?"
Akiko glanced at Azazul, then back at Matthew, and replied evenly,
"I'll stay on school grounds too."
Azazul knew this was coming. That's why he had given the egg to Akiko… for when things got really bad and he wasn't there to back her up. She would at least have some kind of partner—even though he planned on never leaving her side.
'Wouldn't that be weird? A boy following a girl?... yeah, that would definitely be weird.'
He was snapped out of his reverie by Matthew's voice.
"Okay then. Azazul, will you tell Akiko, or should I?"
Akiko quickly cut in.
"Weirdo? Tell me what?"
Azazul ignored her question and said to Matthew,
"I'll tell her myself. You can fill me in on everything later."
He finally looked at Akiko.
"You'll understand later."
Akiko replied nervously,
"Okay…"
Matthew nodded to Azazul.
"Since neither of you are ten yet, we'll stay until you're older. You can go hunting—this month will only be core training. Azazul, when you're done hunting, we'll talk."
---
Later that night
Akiko and Azazul were on their way to the forest. An uncharacteristic silence hung between them until Akiko broke it.
"So, weirdo, are you gonna explain or not?"
Azazul looked at her with concern in his heterochromatic eyes.
"Akiko… are you sure you want to join me on this mission?"
"Yes. Why wouldn't I?"
"Because on this mission, you can actually die—me included."
Akiko stared at him.
"Yeah… isn't that the downside to all missions?"
Azazul glanced over his shoulder. A mana signature was stalking behind them—an impossibly strong one. Strong enough to crush every signature in the area, even while being heavily suppressed. And yet… it felt familiar. He didn't want to alarm Akiko, so he kept quiet.
They reached the forest entrance. Azazul stopped and asked,
"What would you say if I told you I want your help killing someone?"
Akiko blinked, a question forming in her azure eyes.
"Who is this 'someone'?"
Azazul paused before answering evenly,
"My father."
Akiko fell silent, then said,
"If you truly want to kill him, then…"
She met his mismatched eyes without hesitation.
"Yes. I would help you kill him."
Azazul was stunned. He thought she'd ask for answers—but she didn't.
They walked deeper until reaching a massive stone jutting from the ground. He sat on it, and Akiko sat at his left.
"That's not all," he said quietly. "After I kill my father, I'll have to fight an even bigger war."
Akiko nodded matter-of-factly.
"I already knew that. It's because you're half-deity, right?"
Azazul froze.
"How did you know I'm half-deity?"
"My sister told me."
"How does she know? My mana core is still in its lower stages—how could she tell?"
Akiko shrugged.
"I don't know. She said she noticed your eyes. She read about your gold and grey eyes in some academy book."
Azazul frowned. That didn't make sense. He'd snuck into his uncle's study countless times to find information about deities.
'How did she? I searched every deity book—none mentioned anything about my eyes.'
"How? I looked through every book, and none said anything about this."
"Weirdo, I don't know. It's not like I read deity books."
Then she added, "Come on, let's go hunting."
Azazul stood, and they continued deeper into the forest.
---
Deeper inside the forest
Akiko had her shapeshifter patrol from above in its crow form. Azazul summoned his serpent-form shapeshifter, ordering it to stay small. Both received mental maps from their partners.
After a while, the crow spotted what Akiko thought was an A-rank beast… until she realized it was devouring another A-rank. Two A-ranks fighting would never be this silent. There was only one explanation: a Corrupted S-rank beast. Instead of purifying its core, it had impurified it—descending into the black stage.
"Azazul! Purly spotted something!"
Azazul looked over.
"What did she see?"
Akiko hesitated.
"It's a Corrupted S-rank… and it's eating an A-rank."
Azazul commanded his serpent to return.
"That's not good…"
Akiko swallowed.
"Should we turn back?"
Azazul shook his head.
"No. We should proceed. I have a plan."
"Azazul…" she said nervously, "we should turn back. If it was an A-rank, maybe. But a Corrupted S-rank? That thing is pure evil."
"No. I have a plan. Let's continue." He insisted.
He sensed her fear and explained the strategy.
Their shapeshifters were commanded accordingly—Azazul's serpent returned to his left eye, and Akiko kept her crow perched on her shoulder.
They moved through the tall trees. Akiko stopped several trunks away from the beast, but Azazul continued, halting directly above it.
Below him was a massive wolf-man creature, coated in black fur with four muscular arms ending in terrifying claws. It was tearing chunks of flesh from the fallen A-rank. Its hind legs were powerful, but most of its form was swallowed by the forest's darkness.
Azazul had only one thought.
'One strike… one strike… don't mess it up.'
He let himself fall—jumping might make too much noise.
As he dropped from the massive tree, he unsheathed his electric-blue tachi, angling the blade toward the creature's skull. The sword whistled downward—but the creature moved its head at the last second. The blade sliced off its left ear instead of piercing its skull.
The beast twisted and backhanded him with one of its four arms. Azazul tried to block, but he was too slow. The strike sent him flying through dozens of trees. The force shattered nearly every bone in his body; crashing through the trunks broke even more. A normal human would've died instantly.
He finally slammed into a boulder, skull cracking. As he lay on his back, his bones already began painfully knitting themselves together. The abomination lunged toward him with terrifying speed.
Damn it!… everything is numb!... I can't move my arms or legs!
Azazul summoned his giant serpent at full size. It lunged with a massive hiss. The four-armed beast grabbed its jaws and slammed the serpent to the ground—but the serpent fought back, forcing its maw downward with greater strength. The beast leapt back, but the serpent had predicted the retreat and swung its massive tail, striking the monster.
Akiko watched from afar. Azazul had told her that if things went wrong, he would call her. Until then, she had to remain a ghost. So in other words he was the bait.
He was fully healed now, but his vision was still distorted. The battle raged—his serpent was losing but refusing to fall.
How am I still conscious?… Better yet… how am I alive?
He searched for his sword. He extended his right hand,and heared it smash through one of the trees and the tachi flew to him.
Azazul pushed himself to his feet but fell to one knee.
One strike… I had one strike!
"I have to think of a plan…"