To put it bluntly, being here in Royal Biblia Academy had changed Alphonse's life. It was a rather...eccentric one to say the least. He had made a few odd, but good friends.

He maintained a good relationship with his professors and what not, most particularly his mentor in all sorts of magic, but she hasn't been around lately. Aside from just being a professor here at the academy, she was also an on-duty mage when it came to dealing with deadly threats and all sorts of other catastrophes that required imminent attention. Her other student, the fill-in professor for her class, was a rather lazy man, but when he did eventually get to teaching, the class did end up being something of a joy to listen to. All these different theorems, equations, and chants to figure out the spellcraft was always something to look forward to and were interesting. Though to explain to a normal person that had no comprehension to magic at all would be a headache—no—a migraine to even remotely explain all the ins and outs to what should be done and learned.

Case in point, his alchemy professor, Lilith Asami, was a stickler for rules and always by the book, but when it came to understanding the material, it was something she always tried to make sense of easily for her students. To explain things that when creating something, you must give something of equal value; The Law of Equivalent Exchange as it is called. Of course, this is all the basic techniques and understanding of magic, and when diving even deeper into the course, it comes to realize that the magic system regarding alchemy can get even deeper and much more complicated. At the very least, when it comes to the studying of one's Thema and Archive, some things are a little easier. One's Archive, most particularly Thema, is usually a direct opposite of one's personality and traits, sometimes even a direct opposite of one's past, which is how it went for Alphonse. His life has had more downs than ups to the point that his own Thema is all about achieving victory; no matter the costs of how it is done. And because of how difficult things were, his magic was relatively easy to learn, more power is put into his spells when he invokes more emotion into his word chants and such. A lot of these things depend on the individual's choice of study.

Then it comes to the other individuals in the school; his fellow students. The first one he met and befriended is Akio Fudou, more upfront toward people and is quite friendly. Not to mention she was a strong woman, having witnessed the raw power of her martial arts during their expedition of going to America and quelling a Breakdown Phenomenon. She wasn't conniving or cryptic, never beat things around the bush and was always honest and cheerful, but was serious when the situation called for it. The more eccentric of friends is definitely Lieselotte Sherlock, or Liese as she is known. Wasn't shy about using her wily charms, confidence, and advantages as a woman to get what she wanted, but he did find it a bit strange that she was always treating him well. Nicer compared to the other people in the academy (aside from her friends and sister). As of now, it had been a couple of weeks since the expedition on quelling that Breakdown Phenomenon and he had already made quick friends with her. Her younger sister required a bit more warming up to, but Selina ended up seeing that her older sister quite liked the company of Alphonse. Studious in his own right, and despite the intimidating looks and aura the black-haired boy gave off, he was actually a kind person. And something they shared between the three of them is that they have their homelands in Europe. It wasn't something they talked about much, it was a topic that would come in from time-to-time where they would reminisce about, even if a majority of Alphonse's time in the UK wasn't pleasant.

Now despite Liese being deceptive (in certain ways), confident, and flirtatious, a stark contrast to this was Mira, the Head of Grimoire Security and essentially "boss" of Akio and Liese. Mira was often cold to him, something he hadn't figured out why she was that way. She barely talked much, nor did it seem like she wanted to anyway, the majority of her time was spent with Akio and talking with her. They were practically best friends at that point (might as well be her only friend). The only thing that Alphonse could really say about her is that she is a very talented mage. Especially with the power she possessed that made it so she could pretty much exterminate anything with a beam of light. She seemed unstoppable. Another individual he's crossed paths with multiple times is one aquamarine-haired young man named Tiburon. He wasn't necessarily an angry person, but he was one prone to be blunt, rude to a degree, and always responding with snide remarks. One might consider him a rebel, a delinquent. Nothing seemed to faze him or bother him, crude with a curt tongue unless something piqued his interest, and was someone who always loved a good brawl. He'd often see him and Akio sparring in the fields outside which got to the point that their blows would send small shockwaves and shake the school. A majority of students in the academy blamed it on the black-haired boy, thinking he was creating some sort of earthquake to kill them all. Alas, those rumors quickly died down when Tiburon crashed through a wall one day, having sustained a blow to his chest from Akio. The young man got up like nothing had hurt him at all, an almost crazed grin on his face as he went back to rush her down. To put it simply, Tiburon was a man that you didn't want to fuck with.

Aside from them, there really wasn't anyone else he could interact with in the school. Some of the other teachers were people he had neutral relationships with and the other students would much rather avoid him than interact with him. It had already been a good couple of months now, almost three, and the boy found it a little irksome that they still stuck to the rumors that he was some sort of menace in the school. Of course, that rumor was entirely false, considering those that actually know him know that he's an actual good person. But considering it has now taken this long for change, he might as well just accept the fact that he's only going to have a small group of people to care for in this academy. Not that having a lot of friends mattered, more so the fact that having people to count on at least mattered the most to him. Those kinds of bonds are often rare nowadays. So long as he could count on these people.

In current present day matters, classes have finally ended. Alphonse ended the day off with Lilith's basic alchemy, a bit of a hefty load of homework and assignments given to them that were due by the next two days. The young man let out a loud yawn, finally able to rest for the evening and not worry about his due assignments for about a day. Though he did have to worry about some minor pop quizzes and test next week so that was a bit of a head scratcher for him.

As the crowd before him made way for him, paying no mind to the murmuring and whispers about him, Alphonse pondered whether to spend the remainder of his day studying or rest. But it seemed that question was answered for him when a certain blonde girl was barreling toward him from behind, ramming her head into his back. The boy yelped, crashing onto the floor as he dropped all his notebooks and textbooks, pens, papers, and pencils sliding about as he fell face first.

"Al!~" Liese chimed cheerfully. Clearly didn't realize that she knocked the boy over... Or maybe she did, perhaps doing it intentionally.

Alphonse clicked his tongue, a sharp pain still ringing throughout his face. "What the hell, Liese!? You didn't have to charge right into me!"

"I tried calling out to you several times already!" The girl replied as her rebuttal to the argument.

"At least tap my shoulder like a normal person!" He sighed, standing up and collecting his things together. "So? What is it that you want?"

"Nothing much, really," Liese said, brushing her bangs a little to the side. "Was wondering if you wanted to study in the library with my sister and I."

"Well... I was sort of thinking that I would spend the remaining evening resting...and I also wouldn't want to take away your bonding moment with your sister in the first place."

Liese pouted. "I spend time with her almost every day. Is it wrong for me to invite another friend to study with us in the library?"

"When you put it like that, it isn't a wrong decision at all. But do you really think your sister would want me there? I mean, I know she's warmed up to me and all, but—"

"Come oooooooonnnnnnn.~" Liese began to pull on his arm dramatically. "What if we need some big strong hunk to take care of us while we're there, huh??"

He deadpans. "I'm pretty sure you can take care of yourself just fine, Liese. Fine, if it makes you feel better, I'll come along. But if your sister doesn't want me there, I'm heading back to my room. Capisce?"

"Sounds good! See you at six!" The girl pranced the other way with a wave, a great big smile on her face as she left.

He stared at her receding figure for a moment before he shook his head. What an odd girl. But an odd girl he has grown to be fond of.

As pretty and seductive as she was, Alphonse did like her attitude and the way she cared for others. Especially with how rare of affection he was always given by others. There were some nice people in the UK, but not many were as cheerful and outgoing like Liese. It almost felt like she could be classified as a different species because of that behavior alone (as strange as it is to say that).

But Liese sure could be a handful sometimes. With a small chuckle, he began to walk back down the hallway and down some other corridors to head into his room.

Lieselotte Sherlock. Still an odd girl to him. 

---

Six o'clock soon dawned upon Royal Biblia Academy. As per the plan, Alphonse met up with the sisters at the library at precisely that time where they entered and found themselves a table. There were some people studying there, too engrossed into their materials to pay attention to the newcomers that had showed up.

Once they found their spot, Alphonse flicked open his alchemic textbook and began to sift through it, reminding himself of the basic knowledge to memorize for the upcoming test. Some processes required drawing a magic circle and then running the proper amount of mana through it, some of the theorems to create certain objects also relied on some math to determine the weight and mass of the desired object he wished to create. With this amount of material to remember and take note of, it was quite amazing for him to actually put it into practice and into thought, keeping it all in his brain and what not. Part of these processes and theorems seemed rather cumbersome to even comprehend in the first place that the beginner steps seemed like the advanced stages.

They continued to study in silence, Liese humming away at her own work whilst her younger sister, Selina, was far more quiet and diligent in her studies. She was truly concentrated at the material before her, some light scribbles from her pencil and an ever so often glance at the textbook nearby, her index finger plastered firmly on the page as she read the paragraph quietly to herself. However, Alphonse couldn't focus any longer, some sort of ticking sound letting off in his head. The young man exhaled loudly, glanced at the window that mirrored the outside world, noticing that it was rather dark now and a slightly loud pitter patter noise as rain was bombarding the side.

Alphonse furrowed his brow. "When did it get this late?"

"A while ago," Selina replied, not looking up from her notebook. "Time flies fast when you're absorbed into something."

"Mm-hm." Liese hummed.

"Gotcha. Well, I'm gonna take a breather and browse the library for a bit," the black-haired boy said, stretching his arms and legs for having sat in the chair for so long.

"Have fun.~"

Nodding his head at the two, Alphonse made a short beeline for the nearest shelf. Though he noticed that they were the only ones there in the library now. The people that were once there studying had most likely gone to the congregate somewhere else or retire to their rooms for the night.

His eyes scanned the bookshelves, quietly whispering to himself of the titles of the many books that spanned the horizon. Alphonse had visited the library beforehand but he hadn't really spent time to really fully explore the selection of literature and books this school boasted. There were all sorts of topics that one could select from here. History, biographies of certain known Magus' throughout the years, fiction, nonfiction, and all sorts of books one could pull from this single shelf. It seemed endless. The young man, however, did eventually find himself in the "history" section in a different aisle of shelves. It seemed that his desire to research more of his bloodline had resurfaced within him, unsure of how it fueled him in the first place.

Alphonse carefully scanned each book and each title, even going back and forth and picking up a few books and skimming through them. But he only frowned, something to show that he hadn't found anything regarding his bloodline at all. He was feeling disgruntled about it, but it was a bit of a high hope for him to see if he had any family members that were famous Magi or magic users in general. The more he thought about his predicament, the more he chalked it up to the idea that these powers were just somehow magically bestowed upon him. Whether someone put these powers on him as a benefit, prank, or curse was a different question entirely. Though now it was beginning to feel like this scavenger hunt of looking through the histories catalogue was nothing more than a wild goose chase.

It seemed like he was ready to give up, only for something to drop on his head and let out a slight yelp.

"Ow! ...What the...?" He glanced down. It was a book, but the cover was unlike any other he had seen. A dark, lacquered brown leather, a dusty and rusted looking gold title. "'The Untold Legacy of Silas Brandt'. Who the hell is that?"

"Al!" Liese called out. "Everything okay?"

"Uh, yeah, yeah... Everything's all good. I just... Hit my foot against something accidentally. I'm fine."

He was so enthralled by the sudden appearance of the book that he didn't realize he had lazily replied to Liese. Instantly, sitting against the shelf, he propped the book up against his legs and knees and opened it, starting at the first page. The first thing that showed upon opening it was a rough drawn picture of the supposed person in question, Silas Brandt.

The book depicted Silas as a rough looking man. Chiseled features on his face, short, grizzled beard and stubble. His hair was a little messy and wavy, but still a bit kept and not looking like it was all over the place. To be honest, upon examining his facial features a little bit more, Alphonse couldn't help but think that he looked a little bit like him, just that Silas was significantly older. By about twenty or thirty or so years. Tired eyes, a well-built figure, but the picture of him alone seemed to radiate that Silas was a great leader.

Though the greatest resemblance was his outfit, which the black-haired boy could see where they seemed to share similarities. A red and black vest, chainmail on the arms and protective armor, black metal gauntlets, greaves, and knee guards. Sword of a blackened steel and was depicted with a core that supposedly illuminated with fire. The last thing to complete Silas' outfit was a tattered and ruined cape with a hood, the cloak meant to give Silas a menacing, intimidating, but mighty look to him. It was certainly doing it. With the way the man's expression was presented, Alphonse could surely feel the commanding presence radiating off of the figure, even if it was shown on a page of a book.

Bit by bit, he took in the information that was presented before him. But he wondered, a man such as commanding, pivotal, and great as Silas, why was he forgotten by history? The book seemed to have praised him highly and yet Alphonse himself had never heard anything about a Silas Brandt during the era of King John. Known as a pivotal commander in the early days of King John's reign, Silas was an accomplished military leader and commander, particularly during the battles of Normandy. Although King John lost the Normandy campaigns, he recognized Silas as an accomplished warrior and well-revered leader of might that he was granted many more special privileges among the lords. This was only boosted by the fact that he was the only lord in King John's retinue that was capable of using magic in the first place. And yet, despite all this, he was erased from history. Why?

Alphonse continued to scroll through. The book detailed very little of his family, only showing a picture of his wife and their only son. Sophia Brandt and Carlisle Eldrigde Brandt. Strangely enough, the woman known as Sophia had an uncanny resemblance to that of his teacher. An almost too uncanny resemblance, actually. The only difference was that Cecilia had her hair as long and flowing whilst the woman in the picture had her hair put up in a bun, all neat and kept well. Though perhaps it was just coincidence, at least, that's what his thinking was.

Reading even further, it was stated that Silas was allegedly executed for his crimes of going against the crown, although the book dictates and explains that the king was a tyrannical ruler and Silas was merely doing his part as a servant for the people; taking down the tyrant king for the good of all. Whether this fact was true or not, Alphonse could not say. The book also stated that no surviving members of Silas' bloodline and legacy were left alive, alluding to the theory that Sophia and the young Carlisle was executed alongside the unknown "hero" Silas Brandt. As soon as he finished reading the book, Alphonse let out a sigh as he clamped the book shut, which let out a slight thud upon closing it.

He was conflicted. More so about the fact that his mentor held too much of a resemblance to this Sophia Brandt character. While he wanted to consider it a coincidence, the back of his mind was biting at the fact that his mentor was perhaps a distant descendant of Silas' bloodline. But if that were the case, why hadn't it been known? Perhaps it would be a question he'd ask his teacher some other time, but for now, he realized that he left the study group unattended for quite a while now. In fact, he could finally hear the echoing shout of Liese calling his name.

With a grunt and a heave, the young man stood up, still keeping the book tucked under his arm, and began to head back to the table.

"You're late, Al!~" Liese complained with a slight pout. "Where were you?"

"Big sister had been calling your name for like ten minutes now," Selina spoke, an exasperated expression on her face. "It was enough for me to knock myself out of my concentration."

"Yeah, but it felt like forever! At least thirty minutes or more!" Liese chided.

Selina sweat dropped. "Now you're just being over dramatic..."

Alphonse looked sheepish, "Sorry, got pretty preoccupied with a book I found."

"Oh, really? What made it so special that it took it all to ignore me, huh?" The elder blonde sister let out a 'hmph' in the process.

"Again, sorry. Was just reading up on a lord that I had never heard about during the era of 1200s England."

Selina perked her head up, "An unknown lord? Let me see!"

She dawdled on over and snatched the book from Alphonse's hands and pried it open, scanning it intently. He laughed at her initial excitement, the black-haired boy's attention soon drawn to something that Liese had sketched out on a piece of paper. It looked to be a magic circle.

"What's that for?" He asked.

"Hmm? This? Nothing special," Liese replied. "Just something related to my magic, Logos Art."

"Huh..."

The design of the magic circle was unlike anything he had seen before. The inscriptions and glyphs that sat within the eight-pronged circles were unrecognizable in any of the textbooks he had to look over during lessons. Granted he had never studied Logos Art, considering it was under a different Archive and Thema, he had seen a few of the sigils and glyphs in some of the textbooks he'd see Liese and Selina studied. But the drawings were nothing like the ones Liese had sketched out.

His interest got the better of him and bent down a little to grab the paper so he could inspect it. However, things then happened in the blink of an eye, a flash of lightning happening outside that blinded the trio momentarily. At the same time, Alphonse's fingers had already touched the paper and made contact with the magic circle. Upon contact, it seemed to had activated and reacted, a sudden explosion causing it to occur as both Selina and Alphonse screamed, the two were sent flying and crashing into some book stacks and shelves. A crumbling noise and clattering objects falling all over the floor, a smoky smell had quickly filled the library. It had begun to linger, not overstaying its welcome as windows began to shatter, broken glass all over the floor with books, making it a hazard to cross anywhere.

Alphonse groaned, his eyes slowly fluttering awake, seeing an orange hue had cast itself all over the library room. A black and greyish cloud filling the roof, the howling wind outside combined with the violent shrieks of thunder and imminent crashes of raindrops. He looked to his left, Selina lying on the floor, unconscious. Her school uniform now a little dusty with ash, some parts of the clothes having been ripped a little due to broken glass shards or having burnt ends. The black-haired boy then casts his gaze back to where the tables were, where Selina should've been standing. She wasn't there. The only thing there was a giant flame, fueled by the nearby pieces of wood, seemingly growing stronger by the second.

He grunted, getting onto one knee, "Liese! Liese!"

His voice was hoarse and strained, almost like something was caught in his throat. He coughed a couple of times as he had inhaled a bit of smoke. The young man blinked a couple more times, as if he was trying to clear his vision, his eyes widening, heart beginning to pound louder than before, the evident thump in his chest made it feel like it might just burst out into the open.

Some sort of demonic beast began to awaken within the rubble of the aflamed wooden desks, a deep and low snarl as it opened its glowing and ominous looking eyes. A glowing pupil, dilating as it focused on the black-haired boy, opening its mouth to reveal its long and sharp teeth, almost razor-like. Sparks and embers flickered off its tongue, drops of lava falling from the elongated organ as it simulated saliva and spit. The fires that came off the creature's body only grew hotter and bolder, rising as the beast tried to stand up properly. It seemed like it was being transported or something like that, perhaps even formulating from the burning ashes and smoldering flames below. It raised one of its paws and reached out, almost like it was trying to crush him, but to no avail. No matter how much it tried to flail its body about, it couldn't free itself, struggling to escape whatever captivity it was in.

It nudged its head at the roof above, shaking the entirety of the school and making debris and scaffolding fall. Alphonse could only stare in shock, horror, and fear. His body couldn't move, even if his brain were screaming at his muscles to move a single inch, he couldn't. The beast in front of him was utterly terrifying, many thoughts whirring throughout his mind as he tried to find an answer as to how this beast appeared. He'd be doubting himself if he didn't think it was him that summoned this monster, but with the way the magic circle instantly activated upon his contact with his finger, he was slowly believing that it was him that caused this entirety.

As the beast continued to try and fight out of its prison, which ended up giving up entirely, it opened its mouth and a heated ball of flame began to form. A slight whirring noise to the creation, swirling winds as it fueled the power behind it, it almost began to be a bit much to just want to outright eliminate one boy and an unconscious girl. Normally, Alphonse would've gotten up and retrieved Selina to get out of this moment, but he was so caught up in his own conflicted thoughts about the dilemma that he was quite literally petrified with fear. Sweat pooling down his face, his eyes shaking and quivering with distraught, a perplexity of emotions within him that kept his place on the ground. He was too terrified.

Looking like everything was about to end here, Alphonse wanted nothing but to close his eyes. Just so he didn't have to watch everything around him disintegrate into ash and nothingness. Only for him to hear a sharp howl as a wet presence brushed by him, just grazing his cheek. In what seemed to be the visage of large jaws, comparable to that of a shark, the black-haired boy watched as it tackled the demonic beast by the neck and pinned it to the floor. A hitched breath in his throat, he whipped his head around. Met with an elated gaze, a sharp, curvy grin plastered all over his face, the tips and fringes of his aquamarine hair flowing moderately with the swirling winds and updrafts. His hands shoved into the pockets of his dress pants, Tiburon glared at the beast with an excited look.

"Who let the fuckin' dogs out, eh?" The aquamarine-haired man chortled. He looked down at Alphonse, "Oi, Shrimp. The hell you starin' at?"

Alphonse's lips merely quivered. He didn't know what to say. A light scowl formed on Tiburon's face as he walked up to the terrified boy and grabbed him by the front of his uniform.

"Oi, maggot, stop squirmin' already and get up! Get that girl out of here already!"

"But, Liese—"

"Yeah, yeah, I got it. I'll find her for ya. Now scram!" He yanks the boy away from him and chuckles, beginning to walk toward the best that had now recovered. "All right, ugly. Let's fuckin' dance."

With a snap of his fingers, ethereal jaws and the visage of a shark appeared next to him once more. The beast howled and snarled, firing a blast of fire charges toward Tiburon, who only laughed at the danger in his face, not even fazed or bothered by it. A mere sidestep, the fires not even burning the fringes of his hair, he had dodged it flawlessly, a smooth pace as he ran forward. He leapt, snapping his fingers as the ethereal shark appeared once more and chomped onto the beast's face. It yelped and cried in pain, the fires being extinguished in seconds as the bite of the shark would morph into water, the extinguished fire turning into steam with a loud hiss. The demonic beast against Tiburon's attacks were futile and an evident bad pair to clash against. Things would be different if the beast was completely free and not stuck in a portal it was trying to come out of, its movements restricted and unable to deal the potential destruction it can so gladly do. And it didn't help that Tiburon was a man who didn't sit still, always toying with his opponents or running in with quick powerful jabs and kicks, along with the help of his corporeal assistant.

Despite being given instructions, however, Alphonse could only watch helplessly. Unable to do anything at all as he slowly began to feel like he was drowning within his sorrows and doubts, a world of darkness began to consume him as it seemed like his vision was crumbling all around him. And when it felt like the world was just nothingness, he suddenly felt this choking feeling around his neck, like a hand had grabbed him. Was it the surfacing regrets of his past doing this? His sins?

He didn't know. He didn't want to know if it was or not. Alphonse was simply and completely, utterly terrified. The feeling of being unable to breathe was unbearable and uncomfortable. Simply trapped in a nightmare.

Then the environment returned to normal, back in that trepid and destruction-filled library. The fires were slowly coming to a close, but the orangish-yellow glow still filled the room, the floor still filled with debris and burnt books. Someone had grabbed his shoulders, now being face-to-face with coffee brown eyes. Akio held him at attention, her face slightly distressed and worried, slight bits of grime and ash on her face. He could see her mouth moving, though the words she was speaking were muffled and just warbles in his ears. A loud ringing in his ears soon erupted, causing him to wince in pain as Akio looked at him worriedly, only to turn her head back to see the blonde-haired girl, Mira, ordering her to come help Tibur and herself. With her gaze turned back to Alphonse, the boy reading her lips as he tried to comprehend the matter, all he could read was her mouthed words of "stay here." As he watched her receding figure, he looked around. He wasn't actually in the library anymore, more so in the hallway, the orangish-yellow glow still prevalent. Selina had been pulled up right beside him, still in her unconscious form as she had many other students supporting her or trying to wake her up. In fact, a lot of students have gathered around here now.

Though many gawked at him, stares of fear and scorn as they looked at him with one mere thought. Monster. Demon. Devil.

No one wanted to make sure if he was okay, their muffled yells, although slightly incoherent, made it apparent how much they disliked him. That this incident was now the last straw for them. They began to throw things at him, whatever they could get their hands on. Books, cans, pencils, pens, whatever were in their hands at the moment. A void feeling in his heart, nothing but hollowness within him. Alphonse wasn't even sure if he could respond to them to change their minds—No—He can't change their minds about this. From the moment he had set forth into this academy, a majority of the student body wanted him gone. The explosion and fires in the library have been the tipping point to finally voice their arguments.

Despite his legs feeling numb, almost like they were jelly, he stood up. Alphonse choked on his own breath, keeping his head low, feeling a wetness begin well up at the corner of his eyes. For so long, he didn't let the actions and belittlement of others get to him, but it seemed that this incident also served as the tip of the iceberg itself as well. The threats, the judgement, the scorn was finally getting to him. With a surge of desperation fueling him, he got up onto his feet and pushed his way through the crowd, pushing past others and not even caring if he pushed some down. He had only one thought; get out of here. That's the only thing that echoed in his mind.

Get out of here.

---

"Hey, Tibur! Get back so we can coordinate an attack—"

"Hah!? Don't get in my fuckin' way, Amazon!" The aquamarine-haired young man responded. His attention was focused on the coffee-eyed girl, to the point he wasn't paying attention and was struck with a fireball to his face. And although he stumbled, he only looked back at the Cerberus-esque looking beast with a wicked grin. "That didn't even do shit...is that the best you can do, you dumb mutt!?"

Mira clicked her tongue and sighed. "Akio, restrain Tiburon so that I may—"

"Launch a fucking a shot at this motherfucker and you're getting it, Midget!" Tiburon screeched. The young man then sustains a slash from the beast's paw, ripping part of his suit up. But he didn't care, not even fazed by it that he cackled, "You actually did something for once. That's more like it! Give me more! More!"

Tiburon's crazed lunacy of a laugh filled the library, a majority of the students watching the bout between him and the beast occurring literally thought the young man was bat shit insane. However, whatever pain and strike that was being inflicted upon him was literally nothing. He had dealt with worse. Much, much worse.

Dodging another attack, Tiburon pulled his fist back, his arm seemingly bulging as the fabric of his suit was ripped apart and exposing his arm, the veins and muscles present to see as the aquamarine-haired young man rushed forward. Simultaneously, the ethereal visage of a shark's jaws appeared behind his arm, encasing his limb in a surge of water. The young man figured out that after an attack, the beast goes on some sort of cool down of sorts, even if it is a relatively short one of a few seconds or just one. But just that weakness alone was enough for him to exploit and get his opening in. A powerful leap forward, Tiburon let out a war cry of a punch and struck the beast's face, dislodging the lower jaw of the monster and a loud impact was sounded out. Tiburon's punch was so powerful that his fist and knuckles were literally steaming from the impact alone. The beast falls limp, tongue hanging out as it slumps against the burning rubble, dissipating into ash.

The on-watching students looked elated and cheered, happy that the crisis was now averted, only to be alarmed and disturbed by Tiburon's loud roar of frustration. The young man was clenching his punching fist vigorously and stomping his foot with anger.

"GOD DAMMIT!!!!" He cried. "One hit!? Just ONE fucking hit!?!? What in the ACTUAL FUCK!?!? I was looking for a goddamn challenge and you died in ONE fucking hit!?!?!? You piece of fucking shit!!"

Tiburon quickly went to kick the debris of ruined and burning wooden desks, unbothered by the fact that his pants were now beginning to catch on fire. Both Akio and Mira merely sighed in exasperation, Akio sweat dropping in amusement and turning his head toward the crowd of people, hoping to see a particular black-haired boy. She paused, however, her eyes scanning the crowd carefully but she didn't stop him. It was like he simply disappeared.

When she went to take a step forward, Mira had grabbed her by the wrist. The young blonde had a sharp gaze in her eyes, a simple shake of her head. But Akio merely yanked her hand away and gave a stare of her own. Akio was one to always care for a friend, but she did take serious things or things of importance with great measure. But when it came to dishing out punishments or anything like that, it was always reasonable. Was Alphonse the reason behind this fire? As his friend, she didn't want to believe that it was so, but as the third-in-command of the Grimoire Security, she still needed to question him regarding the matter and give a fair assessment as to what to do with him for the transaction. However, she couldn't believe that he did this intentionally. His face said it all. He looked vulnerable, scared, that visible look of shock and disbelief. There was more to the story than him having evil intentions and setting the school library on fire.

Pushing through the crowd at her own pace, she tried to look for any clues as to where his whereabouts were. She eventually got to the front entrance of the academy, the doors were slightly cracked open. Did he leave the premises of the school? While there was no policy for students saying that they couldn't leave, it was common courtesy to let the staff, teachers, and headmaster know ahead of time if you were leaving on vacation or something like that. The only ones that really had free reign in leaving the premises whenever were individuals like the Grimoire Security, as their responsibility involved heading to places around the globe and helping settling any sort of magical incidents. In any case, she followed, opening the doors, the darkness outside was slightly illuminated by a flash of lightning in the sky, a loud cry and screech of thunder being let out. In that brief flash, Akio's eyes caught the brief moment of a person pushing the large metal gates outside and taking off toward the left. She gave chase, dashing into the heavy rain, not even caring about the fact that she didn't have an umbrella with her. Akio was still quite a distance from the mysterious person, calling out the name she thinks it is. The figure froze for a moment, stopping in his tracks, only for him to resume running into the rain, this time picking up his speed a little bit more.

That was him alright. Akio continued to give chase, for what seemed like fifteen minutes or more. The academy was in a relatively secure and secluded area, so there really wasn't much to go into, but their chase eventually led into the nearby forest. A loud plap and pitter with each footstep, the dirt ground wet and filled with many mud puddles about. Occasional flashes of lightning in the sky illuminated the way, which is how Akio was able to keep up with the black-haired boy in the first place. A slight brush of wind in the air, an earthy and salty smell filling her nostrils. The earthy smell from the area around her and some of the mountains, but the academy itself was relatively near the sea as well. She kept calling out to his name, but the boy didn't respond nor did he listen, choosing to continue along the rough, muddy, and beaten path through the forest. Though his sprinting was erratic and restless, no hint of stride or proper posture, only the feeling of desperation. If he wasn't careful, he would most likely trip up on a large and loose stump leg of a tree, which seemed to be the case, a delay in the flash of light from the lightning above caused Alphonse to be unable to spot the trunk root below. The front of his loafer was caught in the slight gap and he fell over, falling face first into the murky mud, a loud splash being let out. And it seemed exhaustion had finally caught up to him as well, the young man slowly getting up and recovering onto his knees, letting out heavy pants.

By now, Akio had caught up to him, her chest heaved with how much oxygen she had expended chasing after the boy but she was far more composed and relaxed. She was much more built in terms of body and strength when it came to comparing the two of them. Once she was standing over him, Akio only looked at his crestfallen form, the black-haired boy refusing to look at her, a choked sob from his throat.

"Al..." She whispered. "Why did you—"

"I didn't mean to... I didn't mean to cause it..." Alphonse said quietly, keeping his sobs to himself.

The rain only pestered, a loud thunder erupting throughout the sky once more as the lightning illuminated the area briefly. Alphonse had finally looked up at her, Akio seeing tears stream down his face (though it would be hard to tell due to the rain) and the absolute distraught expression.

He looked away again, "I... I d-don't know how it happened, it just... It just did..."

"Al..."

"Liese was just showing me something, a magic circle she had sketched out and...I touched it, that's when it happened..."

Hints and tinges of regret and sorrow were laced within his words, his voice shaky as he tried to explain himself. Akio could only watch him berate himself, saying things like, "I never should've come here." It was when he said those words, she had grabbed him by the shoulders and had him look at her in the eyes.

"'Never should have come here?' What the hell is that supposed to mean, Al? Are you saying that things would be better if you never came here in the first place?" She asked through gritted teeth, her grip tightening on his blazer as her eyes flared in anger. Are you trying to say everything you've done has been for nothing!?"

He didn't say anything. A long pause for what seemed like forever.

"Well? Answer me!"

"That's exactly what I'm saying!" He finally screamed, his hands now gripping her arms tightly, his eyes fierce but heartbroken, "If I hadn't touched that paper, she'd still be here! If I hadn't met her, she'd still be alive right now! If I hadn't accepted that damn Headmaster's stupid fucking deal, I wouldn't have killed her all because of my stupid mistake! If these stupid fucking powers of mine didn't even exist, everything I've done wouldn't have fucking happened! My family would still be here!"

Upon yelling out his last sentence, another flash of lightning with the crash of thunder erupted again. That brief moment of light between the two, Akio's mouth hung open slightly, her mind still processing what he had just said. His family would still be here? What did he mean by that?

Alphonse once more let his head hang, "When I saw the fires again in the library... I felt déjá vu all over again. Something like this...wasn't the first time that had happened..."

Akio didn't say anything, the grip on his shoulders beginning to falter as her lips quivered. "...What happened?"

"Seven years ago... It was a night, just like this. The...memory is all fuzzy and jumbled, but... I had picked something up, and it all happened in a flash. When I opened my eyes again, everything...everything had been burnt to ash. And do you want to know what was even worse? I could smell it... The smell of burnt flesh."

Her eyes widened. He looked up at her again, pain far more evident all over his face, mud and dirt on his complexion as his arms finally went dead and limp.

"My family... They were... I—I can't even," he croaked out. "What if—What if I was the reason they're dead? My fault? So when I saw that Liese was gone after everything happened... Am I the reason that she's dead...? Are they right, Akio? Were they right all along? Am I some monster, some goddamn devil that didn't realize what they were the entire time, is that it!? Am I born to be some destructive force of nature, is that my fucking purpose in life!? Tell me, is it!? I don't even fucking know anymore! I'm confused about what to do! If this training isn't going to help me control it, then what the hell am I supposed to do then!?!? Tell me! What do I do!!!"

"...I don't know. I really don't know, Al."

Alphonse's eyes only widened for a bit before they began to dull, looking down as he began to accept the idea that there might not be anything for him to do in order to resolve this. Hope began to fizzle out, dissipating into pitiful embers... Though they were soon reignited.

He had felt two arms wrap around him, those arms belonging to the girl in front of him. Akio pushed his head to have it nuzzle against her own shoulder, a sense of comfort and warmth beginning to well up within him as she only held him close. Alphonse could feel her breath tickle his ear, her mouth positioned right before it, she opened her mouth to speak.

"What I do know is... I'm not going to leave you."

"...Huh...? Wha—What do you—"

"It's exactly as I said, Al. I won't leave you. Not now, not ever."

"But what if—"

"No 'ifs', Al. None of that. There's nothing that won't make me turn away from you. Things were different then, another mishap happened now. But you've come too far to just give up now, Al. So don't say things like that. People may leave your side, but I won't. I promise."

Promises were something that she didn't take lightly. He knew that, just by the tone in her voice. When Akio promises something and means it, she truly means it.

The words alone were enough for him to just cry into her shoulder. He had met a lot of people in his life. However, not many were able to go as far as to say things like this. Perhaps... Perhaps there was still something he could cling onto. Another reason of hope, that is.

[0.9] | Reason of Hope

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(A/N) Edit: Jan. 22, 2025 (10:20 PM)

Hey, folks! The author here! Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter!

Really proud of how I crafted this chapter (despite there being quite a bit of angst and edginess in the end lol) so I really do hope you guys enjoyed it. Anyway, just putting this message here to explain some things; a TLDR so to speak.

First thing's first, this is the end of the first arc of the story. I originally wanted the first arc to be like five or so chapters with it only being like ten to fifteen minutes each, but due to how my planning evolved and so many ideas sprouting, I ended up exceeding the limit I had set for myself. In some cases, it is a bad thing, other cases it is good. This is a good case. I felt like I was able to flesh out the things I wanted to tell in the ten chapters I have written (excluding the prologue) while also keeping it vague as to what I have planned. Obviously with the title of the story, Alphonse is in fact a Demon King, but the process as to how he becomes it? Well, you'll just have to wait until things progress, which things will really pick up in Arc 3 of the story, which will most likely be the final arc of the story. The next arc will begin to get into the anime side of things, but will also not follow the episodes completely. There will be some episodes I might omit in order to fit my own story. Arc 2 is going to focus on the movies that take place, and then Arc 3, the final arc, will focus on the story behind Alphonse and his bloodline. Ideally, I want the arcs to be within ten chapters, with how I'm planning things out now, but that may change and go over the limit just by a little bit.

Secondly, this book will now be going on a break. Just so I can fully plan out the story and brainstorm ideas for how I want the arcs to go about. While I do have a general idea of how I want them to go, my plans may deviate, change, and evolve throughout my process. And I still have to flesh out some backstories, think of more characters that will be pivotal to the story, all that jazz. I do have a LOT planned for this story, so I do hope you'll be looking forward to the story and it's eventual conclusion.

Thirdly... There is none. Just one more thank you because this project here has only become something much more with the research I go to for 1200s England in order to make it relevant to the story is something I honestly didn't think would take so much work, but I it is paying off. So again, and lastly, thank you for reading. And until next time.