BOOOOMMM!!
Debris were sent flying everywhere, smoke filled a section of an old forest under the purple sky of the underworld. The explosion of demonic energy rung through the forest, making it's inhabitants flee.
The echo of the blast still lingered as Adrien Agares casually sauntered out from behind a charred tree, dusting off his clothes with a nonchalant flick of his wrist. "Well, that was a bit of a mess, wasn't it?" he remarked with a lightness that belied the chaos around him, a mischievous grin playing at his lips.
Laying in front of him on the ground was a Raven, the raven was mostly black but it's stomach was a mix of purple and dark grey. The raven with one wing missing and a deep cleave across it's bleeding stomach rested it's back on the trunk of a large tree, the only tree that survived the explosion in 15 meter radius.
Adrien approached it and squatted in front of it, then he said in an amused but questioning tone, "I just wanted a feather you know?" The raven let out a raspy croak, its eyes glinting with a mix of defiance and resignation. Adrien tilted his head, as if pondering the bird's silent retort.
"Looks like someone was way too proud of their feathers, huh?" he said, glancing at the wreckage around them with an air of bemused detachment.
Adrien then plucked a few purple feathers from it's stomach, "Thank you very much, see ya!" The feather that was in his hand disappeared in spiraling vortex.
Then an intricate light blue magic circle formed under Adrien, he looked around for a second. The mess would be annoying to clean up, but it was a random forest in his view so he didn't really care. The magic circle flashed then Adrien disappeared.
He reappeared inside his room a second later. It was luxurious to say the least. Deep crimson curtains fell from the high ceiling, giving the whole room a warm, rich glow against the polished wooden floor.
A large four-poster bed stood at the center, its canopy threaded with silver that shimmered softly in the candlelight. The silken sheets were perfectly arranged, untouched—completely opposite to the chaos he had just come from. Along the walls, tall bookshelves were packed with grimoires and old tomes.
Adrien stretched casually, yawning as he glanced around his sanctuary. "Home sweet home," he murmured to himself, the room's quiet elegance wrapping around him like a familiar cloak. He approached his large desk and sat on the office chair that he stole from Italy.
"Now then...", sitting on the desk, was a flacon containing a light blusih liquid. Adrien grabbed it and stirred it gently, watching as the bluish liquid shimmered with an ethereal glow under the soft candlelight.
"Now if I add that" The purple feather appeared in his palm, he dropped the feather inside the potion, the liquid devoured the feather like acid would. Then miniature electric currents started to dance across the surface, crackling with energy. Adrien watched with keen interest, a smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth.
The currents suddenly intensified to an abnormal degree, Adrien's mouth twitched and before he could react...
BOOM!
An explosion erupted with a thunderous roar, shaking the very foundations of the ancient stone walls that surrounded him.
Adrien sighed in resignation, "Fuck".
Footsteps could be heard running across a long hall then the door of his room opened violently, "I heard an explosion, is everything oka- PFFFF!!!!"
Seekvaira who had barged into Adrien's room saw her brother standing in the middle of it, his face was scorched black and his hair was sticking out in every direction like an electrified porcupine.
Adrien glared at Seekvaira, he knew what was coming.
"BWAHAHAHA" Seekvaira the cold, serious and aloof girl exploded into laughter upon seeing her brother.
Adrien flicked a strand of singed hair away from his face, "Glad to provide some comic relief," he drawled, brushing off the soot from his charred clothes. "Now, if you're done laughing at my misery, could you hand me that towel?"
"Yeah... Yeah..." Seekvaira said through her laughter. Holding back her laugh she brought Adrien a towel. "So... what were you trying to do?"
"I was trying to create an electric poison" Adrien said in all seriousness.
"A what?" Seekvaira was genuinely confused by the nonsense Adrien was spouting. "Andy, what does that even mean?"
"Well, it's quite simple," Adrien replied, his tone as light as if discussing the weather. "A concoction that electrocutes and poisons at the same time. Perfect for those pesky intruders. Or, well, it was supposed to be."
"Can't you just electrocute them?"
"Well I could, but they wouldn't usually last long. So it's really not suitable for torture or information purposes, you see. I thought I'd try something a bit more... lasting. So I concocted this thing I call electric poison using the feather of a lighting raven and a bunch of herbs. Well it should have worked, but it seems I miscalculated something"
Adrien's eyes twinkled with mischief despite his soot-covered face. Seekvaira shook her head, her earlier laughter subsiding into a fond exasperation.
"I do wonder whether you actually think these things through, dear brother, or if your whims simply carry you away into chaos."
Adrien chuckled, wiping his face with the towel. "A bit of both, I guess. Keeps life interesting, don't you think?"
Seekvaira sighed, casting a glance at the scattered remnants of the experiment. "Interesting is one word for it. Destructive might be more accurate."
"Hey, destruction's just creation's loud cousin," Adrien countered "Well anyways..." he said as he finished cleaning himself up. "Why were you close anyways? you rarely come to this part of the mansion"
"Father is calling for you" Seekvaira said.
"Huh... why?"
"Come and find out yourself"
'Wait I have a bad feeling about this'
<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>--<>
Adrien and Seekvaira walked toward the main hall.
The castle was massive—every step they took echoed through long corridors lined with expensive tapestries and old suits of armor. The whole place felt old and powerful, like it had seen way too many generations come and go.
Moonlight slipped through the tall windows, spreading across the marble floor. Adrien glanced outside for a second, looking over the Agares estate stretching out under the night sky.
Seekvaira walked next to him, calm and composed now, all that earlier teasing gone. Her long hair moved with each step, catching the light slightly.
They kept going until they reached the main hall. Two maids pushed open the huge doors, and they stepped inside.
The hall was built to show off the Agares name. The ceilings were high, covered in detailed paintings of devils from the past. Large chandeliers lit up the room with a soft golden glow, reflecting off the velvet curtains and old furniture.
At the far end, sitting on the throne, was Valerius Agares—the Archduke himself.
He had long dark green hair, neat and smooth, and sharp emerald eyes. His presence alone should've been overwhelming.
But right now?
He was leaning forward, one hand on his forehead, staring at the ground—looking like a man who was just tired of everything.
"Adrien Blade Valerius Agares"
'Oh shit, he's calling me by my full name. What did I do? I don't think I've done anything bad this week'
"I'm sure you're thinking 'I haven't done anything bad this week'"
'Huh how did he know, can he read minds?'
"No I can't read minds", Lord Agares's response contradicted himself.
"Wait I'm confused, did I do something?"
"I have just received the atrocious news that you blew up a forest" He said still looking at the floor.
"Forest? Ohhhh! news travel fast I guess. But it's just a random forest"
"In the PHENEX territory!" He shouted the word 'Phenex'.
'Was it? I didn't know... nor care.'
"He's pissed..." Seekvaira whispered in her brother's ear.
Adrien then raised his hands in mock surrender, "Well, when you put it that way, it sounds bad. I promise it was totally an accident."
Valerius finally lifted his gaze, his emerald eyes sharp and discerning. "An accident involving explosive magic in another clan's territory does not bode well for diplomatic relations, Adrien."
"Ah, diplomacy," Adrien said with a sigh, "Isn't that just a fancy way of saying 'talking until everyone agrees you're right'? I'm sure the Phenex will understand. It was all in the name of science."
"They want compensation, they asked that you clean up your mess"
"They can go fuck themselves" Adrien retorted in a low voice.
Valerius closed his eyes for a moment, his patience visibly waning, yet his voice remained level. "Adrien, this reckless behavior cannot continue. The Phenex clan is not a minor player in our world. You must learn to control your impulses."
"Like I care, I didn't even know it was their territory anyways" Adrien sighed, then in the palm of his hand, space distorted in a spiraling vortex and a sort of Erlenmeyer flask formed in his hand, it contained a greenish liquid with silver precipitate still left in it. A silicon stopper appeared in his other palm, then he closed the flask. "Give them this, it will accelerate growth of flora by 7 times in a 25 meter radius, but let them swirl the flask for a minute before splashing it on the ground"
Seekvaira and Valerius looked at Adrien in confusion, Seekvaira was the first to speak. "How did you even come up with this?"
"You mix monster bone dust, purified spring water, dry sage leaf, and a unicorn horn but you can substitute it with holy chalk instead. Not that I would recommend using holy stuff but you do you", he shrugged.
"Why did I even ask" Seekvaira face-palmed as Lord Agares looked at the concoction that his son had created. "It's not enou-", he tried to say but was interrupted.
"Throw in a hundred thousand gold coin in there and they'll be happy, now see you later" Adrien gave the flask to Seekvaira and waved playfully, then disappeared from the room in a flash, the magic circle that he had formed disappeared from the room with him.
Valerius Agares lowered his gaze to the ground as he sighed in resignation.
"You should have been stricter father" Seekvaira said as she adjusted her glasses.
Her father, his head still lowered to the ground said, "you think it would have worked? threatening him is as useless as scolding the wind"