The next morning arrived and the boy groaned. His body forced him to wake up as it was that time, around eight in the morning.

Lifting himself up from his bed, taking a gander around his apartment, he sighed in annoyance. He didn't remember much from last night, but it seemed that he caused a mess last night. Soon, however, it piqued into his mind. He got fired from his job, a slight fury had risen up within him and he pretty much trashed his apartment before crying himself to sleep, lamenting the death of his family.

To this day, still unaware of what happened to them. For all he knew, it could have been a mysterious killer that was still on the run somewhere. As much as he wanted to get justice for his family, he wasn't one for revenge. If he ever did find the person that did it, he would simply question them. Why?

Why was it his family that was targeted?

He soon heard a bit of a slipping noise, two objects running against one another. Getting up from his bed, he looks to the short foyer toward his front door, spotting an envelope at the bottom from where it was slid from under the wooden barrier. Bending his knees and crouching down, he picks it up. He spots his name in the top left corner. Alphonse Euclidus. However, he lets out an aggravated sigh as he slumps down to his knees. It was just one thing after another, the big large red label that went diagonally on the envelope said "Rent Late."

First, he lost his job, and now, he was on the verge of losing his apartment if he didn't scrounge up enough money. Things were just not going his way.

---

Alphonse hung his head low, trudging down a couple of stone steps before he sat down. He was dressed in a simple black suit, tidy as it could be, a small bag containing papers, binders, and a few resumes. He had just got done after another failed interview, promptly denied the job due to the history of his other jobs he had done where things would constantly and randomly explode, costing the company quite a bit of money.

It was frustrating, really. He was close to being kicked out of his current home and he can't find a single job to even sustain himself. Alphonse was truly in the gutter at the moment, and it didn't help that he was finding himself at his lowest, prompting him to have thoughts of depression and sadness. With an irritated sigh, he fishes out his phone from his pocket, seeing the time. It was around the late morning, eleven thirty at the moment. His next interview was in an hour, and the place he had applied at was halfway across the city. And he didn't have enough money for a taxi fare to take a black cab so he would be forced to walk.

But of course, the cycle of dismay only continued for him. Alphonse arrived late at his interview, just about five minutes, and the CEO running the place wasn't at all happy. Not even a single minute into the interview, he was fuming and ran the black-haired teen out. Once again, finding himself on the streets of Britain as he trudged the muck-filled sidewalk, his loafers letting out a satisfying click as he walked along the now mid-afternoon streets. Although, it seemed Alphonse was in a bit of a daze, his head hung a little low as he trudged along, some oncoming people looking at him in disgust because of how poorly his attitude is. Some would make way so they wouldn't bump into him, others wouldn't care much less and gently shove him to the side. As he continues to trudge along, he bumps into quite the tall and slender man, dropping his bag in the process. It took him a minute to register that he bumped into someone, blinking his eyes a couple of times and shaking his head, clearly exhausted from the long morning he just had.

"Sorry," he muttered, bending onto his knees and picking his bag up.

"Ah, it's quite alright," the man spoke, his voice a bit slick and had the speech of a silver tongue. "I was the one that stood in your way, so the fault is mine. I apologize for that."

"Right..." Once picking his bag up, Alphonse picks himself up and faces the man.

The man held quite the wide grin, pushing his glasses up, pale hair put into a ponytail with piercing red eyes. He also had a uniform on, not like a standard-issued tux, a "V" area that showed off some of his chest and the lines of some well defined abs. To go along with his uniform, he also had a black coat, black pants, and boots.

However, Alphonse merely gulped his spit down and grew a bit uncomfortable due to the mysterious man in front of him eyeing him intently. Readjusting his tie, slinging his bag over his shoulder, he prepared to leave.

"Well... If that's all," Alphonse began, "I'll be on my way, then. Excuse me."

As the black-haired teen went past him, the man gained a grin and spoke up, "You're Alphonse Euclidus, correct?"

Alphonse stops in his tracks, "...I'm sorry?"

"I believe you heard me," the mysterious man says, a cheshire grin on his face. "You're quite the remarkable boy."

"...What are you getting at?" The black-haired teen simply narrows his eyes at him.

"How about we go somewhere more comfortable," the man offers. "Perhaps some tea? It'll be my treat."

Alphonse, however, was skeptical. But he slowly nodded.

"Sure... I've got some time."

---

Just as the mysterious man offered, the two of them moved to a café of sorts. Alphonse ordered a simple Chamomile tea while the man in front of him ordered an Earl Grey.

The fragrant smell of the Chamomile fills the black-haired teen's nostrils, giving a sense of serenity and calmness, his pale grey eyes relaxing. Gently taking his cup, he lifts it to his mouth, slowly opening it and allowing the hot liquid to pour onto his tongue to taste it. He took it in little sips at a time, getting the delicious, delectable flavor of it while also being careful not to burn himself.

Setting the tea cup down, which lets out a "clink" on the small plate, he faces the pale-haired man in front of him. The pale-haired man took a two second sip of his Earl Grey, letting out a satisfied gasp and licking the remnants of the tea on his lips.

"Mmm, what a delicious cupper of tea, wouldn't you say, dear boy? I do hope you're liking it."

Alphonse sighed, "Just get to the point already. I didn't come here to waste time."

He chuckled, "Just making light conversation, is all. Now, where was I?"

"You said that I was quite the remarkable boy," Alphonse says, taking another sip of his Chamomile. "Though, I doubt that statement."

"But you are a remarkable boy. You possess a splendid amount of power. You've experienced it multiple times, haven't you?"

The black-haired teen froze, his hand just hovering over the tea cup. He slowly resumed and lifted it up, his eyes closed as he let out another brief sigh and took another sip.

"I haven't an idea of what you mean, old man. You're imagining things." He then stood up, having finished his tea and slinging his bag over his shoulder. "If that's all, why don't you bugger off. Thanks for the drink, though."

Once again, he goes to leave and walks past the pale-haired man. The mysterious man had one leg crossed over the other, leaning back in his chair with a smirk on his face. Taking another sip from his Earl Grey, he spoke up again. However, this time, this sentence of his caught Alphonse's attention.

"Over the past month, you've been fired from seven different jobs. With the complaint of burnt objects and leaving nothing but ash. Is that correct?"

Alphonse halts in his tracks. In one swift motion, he whips around and grabs the pale-haired man by the front of his uniform and lifts him up to his level. Visibly annoyed, he brought him closer to him and looked at his red eyes, dead straight. Normally, he wasn't one to use violence or any sort of conflict, but if it gets under his skin, he will act on it.

But the pale-haired man's smirk never faded, looking straight at Alphonse with a mocking-like bravado of sorts. This only ticked the black-haired teen off even more, causing him to scoff and shove him back into his seat. Once he was seated, the pale-haired man simply dusted himself off and readjusted his uniform and regained a more straight and professional posture.

Sitting himself down back in his chair, Alphonse leans back a little and props one leg up onto the table. Still annoyed, however, he beckons for the man to go ahead with his stare.

The mysterious man clears his throat, soon gaining a serious gaze. "Like I said before, you possess an extreme amount of power. There's just one problem. It's unstable."

"Unstable? How?" Alphonse questioned. "You saying I have magic or some shit like that?"

"Precisely correct, Mr. Euclidus." He finishes the rest of his Earl Grey. "Your magical power is quite exuberant, full of destructive nature. However, you are unable to control it, hence its unstable nature right now."

"Which would spell a bad omen. Got it," Alphonse nodded.

"Indeed. If you don't learn to control it, you will be shunned by society and quite possibly... Well, more or less be killed once they find out how destructive you can be with your uncontrollable powers."

"Okay. Then what brings you here?"

The man leaned forward, placing both hands onto the table. "I'm here to offer you a deal, Mr. Euclidus. A very enticing one, indeed, but I know it will be worthwhile for you."

"Heh, fine. Sell it to me. Tell me why I should take your deal."

"Like I said, it will be very worthwhile to you. Since you've been fired from your most recent job, and you weren't able to land another one, I can tell that your living situation is most dire right now. Therefore, I have come up with this proposition of mine. You come to my school where you will receive the finest education there is. Education in learning all sorts of magic and being able to control your abilities. Most importantly, you'll be provided with food, living space, and all sorts of other accommodations."

Alphonse furrowed his brow and crossed his arms. "Sounds too good to be true if all that's for free. What's the catch?"

He chuckled. "Astute, you are, Mr. Euclidus. Correct, this will not come for free. While attending this school, you will be under my orders. In order to test how well you've gotten ahold of your powers, I will send you out on missions. Mostly ones to take down demons and other sorts of monsters."

"Demons and monsters? Wait, they exist?"

"But of course. If magic exists, so do they. I'm surprised you're taking this well."

Alphonse scoffed. "When you've been kicked out of your jobs because of your exploding hands, you'll pretty much start to believe everything at this point. But that's it? So long as I attend your school, I get to learn how to control these weird ass abilities of mine while also having a home?"

"Correct. Instead of paying tuition like normal students, you will simply go out on extermination missions for me. Do we have a deal, Mr. Euclidus?"

His pale grey eyes stare at the mysterious man for a little bit. With a long sigh, he hung his head a little and stood up.

"...When do we start?"

The man's smirk still stayed. "Right now, if you'd like. Welcome to Royal Biblia Academy, Mr. Euclidus."

[0.1] | An Invitation