The Voss family is a duke household under the rule of the Lunar Kingdom.
They've been known to produce heirs that excel as magicians. Their first daughter, Victoria Voss, is the tower head of Fulcrum, which is the centre of the magic towers across the world, and one of the major pillars of the Lunar Kingdom.
And her younger sister, Isabella Voss, is a second-year cadet at Lunar Academy.
Isabella has heard a lot about Marcus Rile. A tragic past where his family was massacred due to an internal feud over trade, but there have been rumours that it was the doing of the fifth prince, Ymir Celestie of Lunar.
And in Lunar, rumours often turned out to be true.
Marcus Rile, the sole survivor of the tragedy of House Rile, a genius Knight who achieved emanent rank in his twenties and became head professor at the most prestigious academy in the world, was someone the whole world had eyes on.
And today was the day, she was going to see him for the first time.
But she wasn't able to notice him enter the class. It was only then, when a cadet screamed his name, that everyone turned to face him.
And the things he was teaching in class…his theories…they were mind-blowing. She'd never heard of such a theory, even when she was with her sister.
So after her day at the academy ended, the first thing she did was reach out to her sister.
She closed the doors of her dorm room, shut the curtains and took out a golden mirror gifted to her by her sister.
She waited for some while, injecting her mana steadily into the mirror, and after some time, it flared as the image inside the mirror changed.
A young lady in her mid-twenties was sitting near the bed of flowers, on a bench with glistening sunlight, although the sun had already set. The world inside the tower moved according to the will of the tower head.
"Oh? Contacting me in the first week of your academy, are you missing me already?" Victoria spoke with a smile as her head turned to face the mirror, looking at her little sister.
"Yes, a lot. And you don't have any idea what I studied today…", Isabella replied, and pulled out a diary from her bag, flipping pages constantly.
"You know that professor, Marcus Rile, he's assigned to us as our professor for aura praxis, but what he taught was nothing related to his subject, but the fundamentals of circuit…he said we need to understand the circuit and then make out flow better, he said something like, 'it doesn't matter how good your pen is, if what you're writing isn't correct, it's useless.'"
"He said that? That's pretty philosophical, might be the most intellectual line I've heard coming out of a knight's mouth," Victoria giggled.
"Ahhh- You never take me seriously! Look!" Isabella showed her notes to her sister and started explaining everything.
Victoria squinted her brows and leaned in, listening to each and every word her sister had to say.
She was getting intrigued by the theory more and more as time passed.
"Did he teach you…all that?" She asked. She was genuinely curious.
The more she thought about it. She just couldn't understand why. Why not make a thesis, prove it to the world and shine even more? Instead of giving out that knowledge to children.
Marcus could score big; he could possess a wealth like that of a prince.
He could be an influential figure if he publishes this. But he was just teaching this in a regular class.
"Isabella…" Victoria mumbled.
"Learn from him… never get on his nerves, that guy, Marcus Rile, if what you're saying is really his knowledge. Then he's not just a simple professor…" She continued and called her assistant by flicking the flower petals, as they made their way out of her garden.
"I need details on Marcus Rile…every single one of them, and…invite him to the Fulcrum under my name," Victoria spoke, as the mirror turned golden again, leaving Isabella with her notes and silence.
.-.-.-.-.-.
"Where did you even get this knowledge from?" Orochi spoke, leaning on my office table as I poured a cup of wine into my glass.
Cheers to the first day of teaching.
"Ins-"
"Instinct, right, I forgot," Orochi cut off my words and kept staring at me.
"…"
"What? Do you want to know about the whole theory?" I asked with a smirk. I knew how badly Orochi craved knowledge.
And something like this was a goldmine sort of thing for him.
He didn't reply. His pride was over his head. He wouldn't 'Learn' from a mere mortal.
"How about this? We should make a deal…" I suggested.
"A deal? Now what do you want in return?" He asked.
"Your skill against mine. I know how powerful Orochi is. I just need you to teach me your sword, and not just any technique," I paused.
"Teach me the twin swords of Orochi, and I'll pass on my knowledge to you," I stated, and there was silence.
For moments, I just smelled the aroma of the wine.
"You want me to take you in as a disciple?" He asked.
"No, Disciples don't really trade knowledge, do they?" I replied.
"…" Orochi nodded, but still kept staring at me.
"Twin swords of Orochi isn't just a simple fighting technique; it's my legacy."
"And I've already proved my worth, and will continue to do so. What I'm giving you isn't just a legacy, it's a knowledge that even higher demons and gods don't possess," I replied.
"Besides, you'll only gain a stronger ally; you're not teaching it to another demon, after all," I added.
He scoffed…"I can't believe I'm considering a human's words"
"Sometimes, words hold more significance than those who speak them, but…In my case, I think I'm really important," I said, standing up as I nudged a glass of wine at him.
"What do you say? Yamata no Orochi?" I asked.
He stared at the glass for a while and then accepted it. "I guess, you're not half-bad,"
*Clank*
"Cheers to the world, Orochi. Because I don't fucking care if all of it burns as long as I and the people I care for are fine." I said, taking a seat on the sofa.
"But…sometimes I think that it's worth saving, because upper realms aren't really peaceful either"
"Besides, I'm a kind of guy who loves to enjoy life. And only those with power…have the right to enjoy the life,"
"People who think they need power for survival, or they need power for their loved ones, are just fooling themselves, Orochi. We need power, we strive for it, because we enjoy it. All those morals and the willingness to protect the weak…it's just bullshit."
"Your ideologies are…more like demons," Orochi spoke.
"Because demons are true to their nature!" I replied.
"Demon of greed seeks wealth; lust strives for pleasure…They're straightforward."
He scoffed and stared at his reflection in the wine. Then started laughing. "Ha…Hahaha"
"You're fucking insane!" Orochi spoke and suddenly appeared in front of me.
"Even demons don't like demons, but a human admires them…fucking hilarious," He spoke, and gulped the wine.
"You're wrong, Orochi. I don't admire anyone. I just want the power to enjoy my life." I mumbled and gulped the wine.
"So…what do you say?"
"I'll teach you the twin swords of Yamata no Orochi," he growled.
"But remember this…the moment you lose to someone, I'll end your life myself." He added.
"That's perfectly fine with me. I hate failures." I replied.