I Woke Up In A Completely Different World! 5 Discipline & Demons

Steven: "Yeah."

It took longer than I antic.i.p.ated, but I finally got sent to the headmaster's for fighting with Malin a couple days ago. I actually thought I was going to get away with it.

Composed Student: "You got into a fight with Malin?"

Steven: "Yeah, what about you?"

Composed Student: "I was caught ditching cla.s.s."

The academy is full of more normal people than I thought. Well, I always thought Elves would have a "we're superior" att.i.tude towards others, but they're just like the people back home, or back on Earth, as Everhand is starting to feel like my new home. We were just making small talk, as we waited for our punishment on the other side of that office.

Composed Student: "You're the round-eared student. Man, you must get a lot of hate because of that."

Steven: "Just the n.o.bles, everyone else doesn't seem to care."

Composed Student: "What about your parents? Their n.o.bles from Feles Isle, right?"

Steven: "Well, kind of, I was adopted by the Nekomata."

It was a complete lie, I only told it because it kept people from asking a lot of questions. In truth, my parents owned a restaurant and we lived above it. I do miss them, I wonder what they're doing right now, without me.

Composed Student: "Oh, sorry I asked."

Steven: "Don't worry about it."

We both stared at the ceiling, bored out of our minds. After what felt like an eternity, Livia finally came out and brought both us in. I've only been in here once before, yet I feel like I'm familiar with the place.

Headmaster: "Let's start with you, says here you were caught ditching cla.s.s."

Composed Student: "I was."

Headmaster: "Alright then, if you don't like cla.s.s so much. I'm giving you a 3-day suspension."

Composed Student: "Is that all?"

Headmaster: "Yes, now get out of here, I don't want to see you around here for the three days."

He put me to shame, I was nervous while the student kept calm. It probably isn't his first time being sent to the office. He then leaves the office and it became just the three of us. I looked at the headmaster, ready to nervously fight against my soon to come punishment.

Headmaster: "You like fighting, Steven?"

Steven: "No, headmaster."

Headmaster: "Then why'd you hit Malin?"

Steven: "To protect Livia, it was an act of self-defense."

Headmaster: "Livia said the same thing, alright, Livia give me a minute with Steven."

It didn't bode well for me, seeing Livia leave has me more on edge than usual. The Headmaster had to be doing it to intimidate me. It was the only explanation I could think of.

Headmaster: "Steven, don't lie to me, why did you do it."

Steven: "It was self-defense."

Headmaster: "Is it, or did you do it because you like Livia?"

Steven: "She's a friend, that's all."

Headmaster: "I see, wait back outside and tell Livia to come back. I need to talk to her."

I stepped back outside and let Livia back in. I sat down where I was originally and went back to staring at the ceiling. As I was lost in thought, another student came up.

Steven: "You in trouble too?"

Mischievous Student: "What does it look like? I'm here to see the Headmaster with a fresh basket of apples."

It didn't seem that I would be able to chat with him like the student from earlier. He was obviously mad and I didn't want to antagonize him. I went back to staring at the ceiling, counting the little holes, as it was the only thing I can do that'll pa.s.s the time. After yet another eternity, Livia came back and brought me in. This time, I wasn't as nervous.

Headmaster: "Alright, it was self-defense, but fighting is strictly forbidden."

Steven: "So what are you going to do?"

Headmaster: "I've talked with Livia, and I'll cut you a deal, we need help."

Steven: "What does it have to do with me?"

Headmaster: "That's where you come in, you're going to help us."

Steven: "And I don't get kicked out or suspended? Fine, what do you need help with?"

Headmaster: "Yes, we believe there's a demon in Everhand."

Steven: "Woah, the last one I ran into stabbed me and left me on a beach. You're crazy if you think I'm going to help!"

Headmaster: "Are you familiar with Lilith Klein?"

Steven: "No, I'm not, who is that?"

Headmaster: "She probably came to you screaming for help, and then attacks you when you're alone."

Steven: "No, it can't be."

It couldn't have been her, the same demon girl that threw me into this world. Doesn't she ever let up? It's been 3 months since and she's still out to get me.

Steven: "What are demons doing this far out anyways? I thought they were far in the east."

Headmaster: "They show up here and there, but I'm sure she's here for you."

Steven: "Me? And what did I do? Why can't the guard deal with it? I can't fight a demon!"

Headmaster: "The guards won't do anything if there isn't any evidence of a demon. Besides, Livia's going to train you, I'm switching all your cla.s.ses to Independent Studies with her, for the meantime. You'll be with her in G block until we can figure out where they're hiding. I'll call on you when that time comes. Oh, and do you have a sword by chance?"

Steven: "You can't just do that."

Headmaster: "Of course I can, I'm the headmaster after all. Again, do you have a sword?"

Steven: "Yeah, I do, it's a magic sword, turns magic power into physical."

Headmaster: "You'll need it, bring it with you tomorrow. Until then, take Livia with you to G block. She'll teach you everything you need to know."

We took our leave and headed towards G block, I was going to learn even more magic and do mock battles with Livia. Though her element was fire, I learned everything she taught after a bit of trial and error. We kept this routine for a few days, it would repeat between, learning a new fire spell, then doing a mock battle with the new spell. She even showed me how to alternate between magic and my sword quickly. By the end of week, we were reviewing everything I learned.

Livia: "What's Flare?"

Steven: "A fire spell that casts a levitating fireball in the air."

Livia: "Close, it doesn't levitate, it slowly falls back down. Show me how you cast Flare."

I raised my arm to the sky as she requested. Flames surrounded my hands and the ball shot towards the sky, burning brightly.

Livia: "Good, now, what's Ignite?"

Steven: "An explosion magic, it's thrown like a ball and explodes on impact."

Livia: "Now cast it."

Again, flames surrounded my hand and I made a throw movement, like a baseball pitcher. The ball hit the wall and exploded, that was Ignite.

Livia: "Let's take a short break, before we do another mock battle."

Livia was more stern than Kanna when it came to teaching magic. She knew I had a lot of Magic Power and took full advantage of it. I laid down on the gra.s.s, exhausted. Livia is really working me, I feel like I'm going to pa.s.s out.

Livia: "Don't you ever exercise?"

Steven: "I do, but nothing this rigorous."

I stared into the clouded sky, Livia did the same nearby. The gra.s.s and cool winds felt amazing. I closed my eyes and before I knew it, I had fallen asleep. I was peaceful until I was awoken. It was one of the staff from the admin building.

Receptionist: "I know rest is important after working hard and all, but you might give people the wrong idea if you two are that close."

I sat up and noticed Livia resting a couple of feet from me. I always thought of Livia as "serious and committed", so it threw me off seeing her like that. I decided to let her rest as I spoke to the receptionist.

Steven: "Is there something you need?"

Receptionist: "Yes, the Headmaster requested that you both head to his office."

Steven: "Thank you, I'll head there."

I just wanted to return to my rest. Though, the Headmaster probably found something about Lilith. I wasn't too excited, I was going to be looking for a demon that almost killed me. I turned to Livia and tried to wake her, to no avail. She was out, I don't think I would be able to wake her just by poking her. I called out to her, that didn't work either. I then grabbed and gradually started shaking her until she woke up. I took her by surprise, she jumped up and punched me in the gut, knocking me back down.

Livia: "Steven? I'm sorry, you spooked me."

Steven: "Y-you could at least sound sincere."

Livia: "What were you doing anyways?"

Steven: "The headmaster asked for us."

With Livia's hand, I got back up still winded from the punch. We then made our way to the Headmaster's office, who as always, was sitting in his chair.

Headmaster: "You're both finally here, I believe I found out where Lilith is staying."

Steven: "Can't you tell guards now?"

Headmaster: "That's the problem, it's private property that belongs to a n.o.ble. It's recently abandoned, but they're not going to risk their careers over mere rumors."

Steven: "So, I'm going to have to go, watching out for demons and the guard?"

Headmaster: "Well, Livia was going too, but if you insist."

Steven: "Fine, where do we start?"

Headmaster: "Brewer Estate, it's on the other side of the city, between the commercial and residential districts. Livia knows where, just follow her."

Livia: "We can leave now, if you want."

Steven: "Isn't school still in session?"

Headmaster: "You're in Independent Studies, remember? You're only required to be here for an hour. You can head to the estate now, or if you want to continue sleeping next to Livia again in the stadium, doesn't matter to me."

I seriously hate how smart he gets and there was nothing I could do about it other than deal with it. Livia was blus.h.i.+ng, but kept her composure. I was trying to do the same, though, I wasn't too sure if I was doing a good job at it. We left the office and the school, heading towards the estate. Livia took the lead as we started getting into the areas of the city I wasn't familiar with. The way, unfortunately, wasn't uneventful as I had wanted. At first, we ran into a guard who thought we were ditching, Livia was able to convince him otherwise. A flower merchant then came across us, mistaking us for a couple and tried selling me flowers. We kept pace, going through either guard or vendor, until we arrived at the estate. The estate looked like it was just built, the gra.s.s was green all around and the fencing smelled like fresh paint. Livia stated the owner hasn't lived here for half a year and was trying to sell it, but wasn't able to. Now, the usual maintenance came once a week, to keep the value from dropping. Security was even patrolling the front. It was far from abandoned as the headmaster stated and I wondered why a demon would hide in a place like this.

Steven: "This place isn't abandoned, why would a demon hide here of all places."

Livia: "She likes to hide in plain sight, it's almost too perfect."

Steven: "How do we get inside anyways? There's security at the gates."

Livia: "Let's walk around and see if there's another way in."

We looked around the estate and tried different approaches, none of them worked. I couldn't scale the fence as it was too tall. We kept looking until we saw a storehouse at the back of the estate. I thought I would be able to boost Livia to the top and have her give me a hand up until I noted the fencing. It looked like it was in disrepair and with a bit of force, I could tear it off the hinges, giving us enough s.p.a.ce to fit through. We were going to be trespa.s.sing so vandalism didn't really matter to us. I was able to open up some s.p.a.ce so that we were both able to slip through without a problem. We then crawled through the garden to avoid getting caught by the security and found ourselves at the back entrance of the estate. Livia slipped through one of the windows and opened the door, letting me inside. The estate was unfurnished and not a single sign of habitation was visible. It was looking like Lilith wasn't here to begin with.

Steven: "I don't know, this place is empty, you sure she's here?"

Livia: "Let's look around, just to be sure. Go check upstairs, I'll be down here looking around."

I went upstairs as Livia said, searching room to room as the wood creaked under every footstep. I searched the first set of rooms and saw how carefully the house was built. It wasn't like the home I lived in with Kanna. This house was ma.s.sive and every room had its own unique feel to it. I kept searching until I reached the master bedroom. This was different from the others, as I approached the door, I started feeling more uneasy with every step. I had my sword drawn as I opened the door. I checked every corner, and to my relief, it was empty. When I looked at the floor, there was a pentagram with candles lit in the middle. I wasn't sure what it was for but I knew Lilith had to be nearby. I left the room to tell Livia what I found when the door slammed shut behind me. I jumped and ran downstairs, almost tripping on the steps. I went towards Livia, out of breath.

Livia: "Easy, what happened?"

Steven: "There's a pentagram, and candles, the door slammed when I left."

Livia: "Where's the pentagram?"

Steven: "Upstairs, in the master bedroom."

Livia: "Catch your breath, here look at this. This hidden door leads down into the bas.e.m.e.nt."

It truly was a hidden door, how did Livia find it? She took the lead as we slowly made our way down. She used Candlelight. It was the same as Flare, but was able to hold it in her hands. So it made a improvised flashlight. The bas.e.m.e.nt was where the true terror came. The further we descended, the stronger the smell of death became. When we reached the bottom, blood covered the walls and floor. There were even more rooms in the bas.e.m.e.nt. I drew my sword, and with Livia, we searched the rooms one by one. Nothing, no bodies or anything, just blood splattered everywhere. We approached the last room and the same uneasy feeling came over us. I took point and opened the door, revealing another pentagram with candles. After looking around, we went back upstairs, no longer able to handle the smell.

Livia: "There's pentagrams, so she might've used this place for ritual sacrifice. That could explain why the bas.e.m.e.nt is like that."

Steven: "Great, what do we do now?"

Livia didn't respond, she was staring down the hallway. I tried to call her out and even tapped on her shoulder, she didn't do anything. Before I was able to turn to her and face her, she collapses in front of me.

Steven: "Livia!"

To my horror, I grabbed her and noticed blood dripping from her nose. She wasn't responding to anything I said.

Steven: "No, no, no, Livia!"

I lifted her up, ready to make a break for the front entrance. Before I was able to make it to the door, something pierced my foot and I fell to the ground, dropping Livia. In pain, I tried picking her up again until a shadow came and stabbed me in the leg, causing me to scream. I then heard a familiar voice calling me. The only voice I know of that'll send a chill down my spine and cause my hair to stand.

Lilith: "Long time no see, Steven!"