While Travis was attending to the demon warlords, the academy’s courtyard was quiet again.
No more hissing squirrels, no more light-bursting demon worshipers, and—tragically—no more tea on Travis’s lap.
But what remained was the heavy, inescapable weight of truth.
And suspicion.
Especially as everyone stood (or in Alex’s case, squatted) in a loose circle around Raven, the sun barely peeking through the canopy, casting long shadows that felt too appropriate.
"So, uh..." Alex raised his hand like a third grader asking to go pee. "We’re not gonna pretend a freakin’ tentacle monster boy just teleported away in front of us, right?"
"Alex," Clara said, pinching the bridge of her nose.
"What?! That thing ca outta his back! It was all ’wraaaghh!’ And then poof—he went Doctor Strange on us! You all saw it!"
"Doctor Strange? Who’s that?" Rufus tilted his head.
"Dunno, it just ca to my mind and I said it," Alex shrugged.
Raven, looking at this, held his head.
"I saw it," Siris chid in cheerfully, kicking her feet like she hadn’t just witnessed soone use demon magic. "It was kinda cool. I want a back-tentacle too."
"...You’re not getting one," Raven said flatly.
"Aww."
Everyone turned their attention to Raven now, who stood calmly in the center, arms crossed, the squirrel now perched on his shoulder like so divine emissary of truth.
Jessy adjusted her specs, which weren’t there before, making Raven wonder if she had an inventory. "Raven. You need to tell us what’s going on. You clearly knew sothing about Travis from the start."
Raven nodded slowly. "Yeah. That squirrel—" he tapped its tiny head, earning a proud chirp, "—can sense demonic mana. It’s a rare trait. Only a handful of creatures in the world have it. That’s why it bit him. Because Travis is—or was—connected to demons."
So students in the surroundings who had gathered due to the commotion heard those words as well, but instead of seriously listening to them, they just walked away.
"Crazy Vaise bastards..." One muttered.
"Demons? Are they for real? Even children don’t believe in those things nowadays," another shook his head.
But the mont Alex turned toward them, they scurried away with their tails tucked between their legs.
"...Demonic mana," Clara, seeing the distractions gone, murmured, frowning. "You ntioned that before. But what is it, exactly?"
Raven’s expression hardened. "Think of mana like a river. It flows naturally and peacefully, giving life and power. Demonic mana is oil in that river. It corrupts it. Twists it. And once it infects your soul... it doesn’t let go."
There was a short silence.
Then Rufus, timidly: "C-Can it be... cured?"
Everyone looked at him.
Even the squirrel.
Rufus slumped under the stares. "I-I an, like... theoretically..."
Raven sighed. "If it’s early enough, maybe. But usually? No. It spreads, and it rewrites people. Slowly. Permanently. Travis was completely converted."
Selena tilted her head, her voice cool and curious. "So... does that an people like Travis are beyond saving?"
Her voice was calm. Too calm. It was as if she were acting, but no one noticed that, not even Raven or Clara.
Both were too deep in thought.
"No," he replied, "he chose to serve them. Worshipped them. That’s different from soone being cursed or tricked."
Selena gave a slow nod, her heart trying very hard not to explode in her chest.
’I’m different. I didn’t worship. I didn’t want this. I just needed strength...’
"Wait," Siris leaned in with interest. "So if demonic mana’s so yucky, then how co no one else noticed Travis was bad until now?"
Raven pointed at the squirrel.
"Because these things hide well. You’d never detect it unless you had a creature that could sense their presence. That’s why the squirrel is... valuable. Too valuable."
The squirrel puffed its chest, proud.
Alex clapped. "ALL HAIL THE DEMON SNIFFER!"
"Alex—"
"DEMON DETECTOR SUPRE!"
"Alex," Clara growled.
"Okay, fine, I’ll stop—but it is kinda badass."
Jessy, arms folded, brought them back to reality. "The scroll. The one Travis used. Was it a teleportation scroll?"
Selena, who heard that question, quickly broke out of her thoughts, her expression serious. "It was a high-grade ergency teleportation scroll. The kind only the Magic Tower can make."
Everyone turned to her.
She t their eyes calmly. "My father once showed one. It reacts instantly when torn and transfers the user to a pre-anchored point. The mana imprint used in that scroll was identical to the ones used by the White (ice) and Red (fire) Towers of Velmoria."
"aning," Jessy said slowly, "the demon-worshiping group Travis belonged to is connected to the Magic Tower?"
"Not just connected," Raven muttered, his eyes darkening. "Embedded."
Clara’s brows drew together. "But how? Aren’t the Magic Towers supposed to be neutral?"
"They’re supposed to be," Selena said, her voice carefully neutral. "But they’re also powerful. If soone—anyone—inside the Tower got compromised, then..." she trailed off.
"...Then the demons have access to ancient spells. Mana technology. Artifacts," Raven finished.
Jake, who had been silent all this while, finally spoke. "Then we go."
Everyone turned to him.
He didn’t say more. Just those three words.
But the weight behind them was enough.
Raven nodded.
"Yeah. We’ll have to visit both towers—the Red and the White."
Clara frowned. "We’re going to investigate the Towers directly?"
Raven gave a crooked smile. "What else? Wait for demons to drop a nuke on us?"
Clara, however, shook her head. "But we don’t have any justification. And no one would believe us if we told them about a squirrel that can detect demons."
"Oh," Raven grinned, his gaze turning toward a certain tree where soone was eavesdropping on them as he whispered, "I know a perfect way for us to investigate the magic towers while not looking suspicious."
Before everyone could follow his gaze, he quickly added, "Don’t startle the snake, you idiots!"
Their heads stopped mid-turn as they turned back stiffly, now silent.
"I didn’t include you when I said ’idiot’, princess," Raven coughed when he found Selena looking at him with a brow raised, and hearing his words, she giggled.
"Fufu~, it’s fine. I don’t mind."
Alex scratched his head at those words. "You don’t mind being called an idiot? Should I also call you an idiot?"
Selena deadpanned at him while Raven slapped his head.
Clara, on the other hand, threw a rock straight at Alex’s head. "Shut up."
"Ow! What was that for—?!" Alex protested, but looking at Clara’s cold eyes, she shut up. "... as you wish."
Siris then raised her hand, making Raven look at her in doubt, wondering if he should let her speak, but finally, he nodded. "Yes, Siris?"
Tilting her head, the girl asked. "So, we are going on a trip, right?"
"...I guess we are," Raven replied with a pause, making the girl clap excitedly. "Road trip~!"
Alex, already recovered from the rock attack from Clara, fist-pumped. "Let’s go!!! Finally so action. I was getting tired of watching Rufus faint during sparring."
"I do not faint—!"
Raven held up a hand. "Before that. We need to keep the squirrel safe. If Travis were scouting, others would follow. That ans we just painted a target on its tiny, fuzzy head."
The squirrel made a nervous squeak and jumped into Alex’s hair like it was the safest bunker on Earth.
"You’ll be our new squirrel shield," Raven said, patting Alex on the shoulder.
Alex stood taller, like a knight sworn to a sacred rodent.
Raven turned serious again. "And while we move... We’ll need to find more creatures like this. If demons are really making moves in the open, then one squirrel won’t cut it."
Selena asked, "Where do we even find creatures that can detect demonic mana?"
Raven smirked. "We’re close to a perfect place to start, aren’t we?"
Jessy’s eyes lit up. "You an the Bestiary Mountains?"
"Bingo," Raven said. "High-risk, but high-reward."
Selena nodded thoughtfully, keeping her smile in place even as her mind buzzed.
’This is going to spiral faster than I thought... I need to ensure I stay ahead of it. I can’t let them find out about my contract...’
She sipped her tea again, now cold.
But her hand still trembled beneath the cup.
Just slightly.
She wanted to end her contract with this demon, but she wasn’t sure how she could.
After all, there were no texts related to demons in the royal library.
However, she had to do sothing.
And she would.
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