The long shift at the Nocturnal Mercy Ward was dreadful and dragged on forever… but we got it done, right, Nira?
[ WOUNDED: 20 / 20 ]
[ ILLNESSES: 10 / 10 ]
Finally empty.
The ward felt wrong when it was quiet.
No screaming. No rushed footsteps. No wet slap of boots on stone. Just rows of beds made up too neatly, bandage carts pushed back into place, and ward-glass panels still glowing faintly like they didn't realize the emergency was over.
The air still smelled like hot iron and bitter herbs—like the building remembered pain even when the people were gone. Even the sound changed. Just the soft tick of my watch and the faint hum of wards settling down.
Quiet in a hospital is never peace.
It's just the pause before the next scream. Nira floated nearby and sighed.
"At least you finished earlier than usual."
I looked at my watch and, yeah—finally.
Done.
After all the diagrams I sent… all the gold I invested while working here… it was finished. Nira leaned in.
"Hurry up and open it already. You've been waiting all day."
"That damn blacksmith kept complaining about the smallest detail," I muttered. "'These small pieces are too expensive—snap—oh, there goes another one, ha ha.'"
That old bastard. His hands looked like they were about to give out.
Nira blinked.
"Your father doesn't really remember anyone outside of himself getting old, right?"
I opened the box while still complaining about my father.
"Yeah. I need to find someone new ASAP."
The box opened. And there it was. A purple metal case with black straps to wrap around my wrist. The moment I put it on, it connected to my demonic energy.
[ VALAC WATCH — SYNC: COMPLETE ✔ ]
[ POWER: 100% ]
Full battery. And even if I took it off… it would still keep going. I stared at it like it was the best thing I'd ever seen.
"Wow…"
Nira smirked.
"You really thought of everything, huh?"
"You betcha!" I said proudly. "If I'm going to waste all that money, I'm going to push that old man to his limit!"
Nira's eyes narrowed.
"You're beginning to be cruel like your father now."
"Who asked you?" I snapped.
I checked the time again.
2:50 PM.
The hospital was dead quiet—so quiet it felt like the whole wing was holding its breath.
That's when my mom came in.
Lysandra stepped through the doorway like winter wearing silk—elegant, calm, perfect posture, not a single wasted movement. Her presence made the room feel safer on instinct, like everything sharp in the air decided to behave. But the curse always showed itself in small ways.
Her breath came out colder than the room. She looked around the empty ward first—beds, walls, the faint stains that never fully came out—then her eyes landed on me. And even when she smiled, there was something under it.
A wrongness you couldn't unsee once you noticed. Like beauty that had been touched by a curse and forced to stay graceful anyway.
"Looks like you finished early today," she said, calm as always.
"Hm. Yeah… phew."
I saw Aunt Sera waiting by the carriage—not the chariot this time.
…I guess we're looking more like a family now.
I looked at my mom.
"So what brings you here?"
She smiled.
"Since you finished early… what about some training?"
My face lit up instantly. Nira chimed in, dramatic.
"Oh, why didn't you tell me you wanted to learn magic?"
"Tsk. Yeah, but not from you," I said. "Buzz off. I want to spend time with my mom."
Mom smiled calmly and opened the door—and I took off running with Noxx's collar in my hand, basically choking him while I dragged him toward the carriage.
"Ruff—?!" Noxx gagged, paws skidding.
Nira floated after us, offended.
"…So rude…"
We headed out to the training grounds. Aunt Sera told me as we climbed into the carriage that we'd reserved the building for us only.
I grinned.
"Awesome!"
Nira floated closer.
"We're going all out."
Noxx chilled on my lap like a good doggy… ever since he got his teeth back. We arrived at the training grounds, and it was empty…well.
I thought it was.
I ran out of the carriage so fast I even forgot Noxx. He and Nira chased after me, though. I entered the big coliseum and made a left into the corridor like I knew these halls. Then I made a right, going along the wall that led to the exit into the training grounds. Before I even hit the exit, it felt like I hit a brick wall instead.
BAM—!
"Kya—!"
I fell on my butt.
"GUAH!"
A guy bigger than me fell on his too—and he was wearing a hood. Before I got to say anything, I saw another hooded figure behind him.
A girl.
With… a tail.
Before I could speak, the boy stood up and reached his hand out.
"Are you alright?"
He held his hand out to help me up, but I felt Noxx behind me already, pushing me up like a guard dog.
I still reached out for the boy's hand—but then I noticed the girl's tail thumping behind him nonstop.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
I was honestly fascinated… until I saw her mouth. Her teeth were showing and her eyes didn't blink. I grabbed Noxx and looked at the boy.
"Your friend is looking a little… feral."
The boy calmly grabbed her tail and stopped it mid-thump.
The girl instantly let out an "EEEEP!" like she didn't expect him to do that.
Then she calmed down right away—hands together, looking weirdly happy about being grabbed.
"…Alright then," I mumbled.
I cleared my throat.
"Well, my name is Sophia Valac, and this is Noxx."
Nira chimed in fast.
"Don't forget to introduce me."
The boy blinked like he was impressed.
"Wooow, look at that. They are so cute…"
Then I heard him mutter, "Shut it," like he was talking to someone… but I didn't hear the girl talk at all.
"Uhhh… you okay there?" I asked. "What's your name, by the way?"
"Oh—sorry," the boy said. "Sometimes I hear voices…"
The girl laughed.
"Oh, my name… it's B—"
"SOPHIA!" Mom's voice echoed down the hall. "Where are you?"
"That darn child… so full of coffee…"
I took that like an insult.
I turned around and yelled back, "I'm over here! Talking with a boy and girl my age—she also has a tail! Come look!"
Mom's voice changed.
"A tail?"
She turned the corner, and I saw her. Then she asked, sharp and mother-radar perfect,
"Who are you talking to?"
I turned and pointed—And the only person standing there was Aunt Sera, staring out the window like she knew someone had just gone out there.
She didn't look surprised. Noxx ran to Lysandra and started guiding her toward us. I turned to Nira—but Nira was grilling Aunt Sera with a hard stare.
I asked, "Hey… where did the boy and the girl with the tail go?"
Nira answered like she was enjoying this way too much.
"Well, while you turned around…"
Then Nira painted a goofy image in the air with her tone, like a cartoon.
"The girl with the tail opened the window, grabbed the boy's hood, and dragged him out the window."
She still didn't tell me why Aunt Sera was there, but Aunt Sera was staring at her like she already knew the answer.
"…You people are funny," Nira said loudly.
I didn't even care. I ran into the training grounds. Aunt Sera stared at Nira, then moved into the training grounds with me. My mom was still being guided by Noxx. The time right now was 3:50 PM, and I was sweating buckets…
"Again," Lysandra said.
"I'm trying, but it's not coming out!" I wheezed. "Huff… huff…"
My mom kneeled down next to me and said, "You seem to misunderstand the way we handle magic compared to humans."
She looked me right in the eyes.
"Humans ask for blessings and power," she said. "Since you are a demon, my child… you have to demand it. Reach deep within, as if you are seizing the power inside you."
Then she added—like she had to be honest even while teaching me:
"For demons like you," she said, and it sounded like she wasn't including herself, "I'm not included because I don't carry your father's blood."
My breathing slowed a little.
"But my power comes from a dormant state," she continued. "And even that… demands to be controlled."
She raised her hand.
Calm.
Perfect.
"…Like this, child."
"Umbral Ice Copy."
Cold gathered around her like it was listening. A perfect copy of her was created out of the air—ice made from winter itself—then she infused it with umbral magic like it was nothing.
My eyes lit up. I stood up again, then I tried again.
And again.
Deep within the borders of the Neutral Grounds—
WHOOM.
A disaster was coming to the Demon Kingdom.
WHOOM—ROOOAR!
"That's right," Ragalia said, standing on top of the Calamity Dragon like he owned the sky. "We're arriving ahead of schedule. Just you wait, Demonic Saint… I'll have your head."
WHOOM…
The Calamity Dragon stopped in midair like it got rejected. Ragalia narrowed his eyes.
"Hey. Why did you stop advancing?"
The dragon didn't answer. It just stared at something ahead. Its scales bristled… but it wouldn't move. Ragalia walked up on its head and looked around to see what was causing it to stop. And then he saw it.
A child—about my age.
A boy.
Not the same face…but the horns were the same shape as Malphas.
Ragalia's voice went sharp.
"Little boy… what are you doing here?"
The boy smiled and said, "Ooo, I thought you were giving out free dragon rides."
The moment he spoke, Ragalia already knew. Ragalia's smile turned thin.
"What do I owe the honor… Malphas?"
Malphas smiled crookedly.
"I'm just here to take a good look at you," he said, lazy and calm, "because we seem to have history."
Then he tilted his head like he was giving advice.
"Anyway… you could, you know, stop all of this before you wind up dead—along with your lover."
Ragalia's expression snapped. He barked an order.
"Fire."
The Calamity Dragon started to charge its fireball. Malphas sighed.
"Just like her… you jump the gun."
Ragalia's face twisted.
"YOU BASTARD!"
Before the dragon could fire, Malphas rushed in—And kicked the dragon's jaw up like it was nothing. The attack canceled instantly. The dragon stayed hovering in midair, stunned. Malphas straightened like he didn't just kick a calamity in the mouth.
Then he smiled again.
"Now…" Malphas said, voice smooth, "let's catch up."
His eyes locked onto Ragalia.
"Hero Ragalia."
The Calamity Dragon stayed in midair, waiting for orders…
…but Ragalia was livid now.