Rise of the White Devil

Walking towards his room, Lucas couldn't help but feel happy about what he gained today.

He had been stuck for a while with how to proceed with his space affinity.

Sure, he managed to create a black hole, but that would deplete all his mana currently. He didn't want to have spells that would drain all his mana instantly.

So, having Julius as his personal teacher would help him gain more spells that would be useful.

There were not many mages with the space affinity, and those who did have it rather kept their spells to themselves.

After making a deal with Julius, he only had combat class left for the day, which was just sparring with others.

As he was about to arrive in front of his door, he suddenly felt his phone vibrate.

Taking it out of his pocket, he saw that he had a message.

As he read the message, the expression on his face turned complex.

'Could it be...'

An unknown number had sent him a message saying to meet at a park in the capital.

'The Voidwalkers? Who else could it be? But I really didn't expect that they would contact me like that.'

Sighing, he put his phone back into his pocket and entered his room, changing his uniform to a normal black hoodie and some cargo pants.

Walking towards his bed, he saw Luna still asleep and just left her as he pulled the hood over his head.

'She has been sleeping more often than usual...'

Standing before his door, ready to leave, he put his hand on his head, rubbed it a little, and sighed to calm his nerves.

'If it really is the Voidwalkers... no, if it is them, I have no choice but to go. If they kill me, then that is that. I made my choice, and I need to live with it now.'

Resolving his mind for what might come, he opened his door and closed it behind him.

But before he could leave the building, he suddenly heard the voice he least wanted to hear at the moment.

"Lucas?"

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Glancing to his right, he saw Klaus exiting his room at the same time Lucas did.

"Klaus," Lucas merely greeted him before calling his name and walking past him.

But, as he expected, Klaus called his name again.

"W-wait, Lucas, are you free at the moment? Want to hang out?"

Turning around to look at Klaus, he responded,

"No, unfortunately, I have some things I need to do, so I won't be free today."

Lucas spoke, trying to end the conversation here, but Klaus wouldn't let go so easily.

"Oh, is that so? Is it that important that you even had to change your clothes?"

Klaus asked, since normally most students just wore their uniforms outside the academy as it represented a symbol of pride.

"I'd just rather not have people recognize me. These clothes will help me."

"I see... I understand that. But are you sure? Leo is joining me as well. We were planning to hit the arcade."

'Should I just knock him out...'

"No, I'm fine. Thank you for the offer, but I really need to go now," Lucas said, not intending to listen to him anymore.

He left even though he heard Klaus call his name again.

He didn't know how long the person would wait for him, so he was in a hurry.

*****

"Why was he much ruder than usual..."

Klaus asked himself as he looked at the empty hallway where he had been conversing with Lucas just a second ago.

He wanted to shrug it off but...

Something felt off about Lucas this time.

He was used to Lucas talking to him with no expression on his face, but this time he noticed something that just made him confused and question everything that happened.

"Why did he seem... nervous?"

What could make a monster like Lucas so nervous?

Klaus kept thinking about how much Lucas wanted to leave. He even went all the way back to his room just to change his clothes.

"Why does he not want to be recognized by anyone? Is he meeting someone so important?"

Klaus knew that he wasn't meeting with Sylviette or Seraphina since the two were actually already together with Amaya.

They had gotten much closer after eating together in the cafeteria and were planning to hang out today after the academy.

Klaus was planning to hang out with Leo and perhaps even join the girls and wanted to invite Lucas, but...

"Something is wrong..."

Even though he wanted to dismiss everything that happened, the nervous expression Lucas made for some reason kept appearing in his mind.

He felt like something important was about to go down with Lucas at the center of it.

"I really shouldn't but..."

In the end, his curiosity got the better of him as he ran towards the exit.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

But as he exited the building, he saw Leonne standing there already waiting for him.

"Why do you also seem in a hurry?"

Leonne asked Klaus with a frown on his face.

"Also?"

Klaus asked, noticing the words he chose.

"Yeah, I just saw Lucas. He just nodded and left as if he needed to go somewhere fast."

'Should I tell him... I can't just leave him here.'

"That is why I was in a hurry, actually. I am trying to follow him since something seems up with him. He actually seemed... nervous."

Hearing him, Leonne's eyebrows shot up, intrigued.

"Nervous? Him? And so you are planning to tail him to find out what is happening?"

"Y-yeah, I know I shouldn't do something like that but—"

"Count me in."

Before Klaus could finish, Leonne cut in, making Klaus's eyes widen in surprise.

"W-what..."

"As I said, count me in. I will join you."

He said, and this time there was a small smile on his face unlike his normal stoic face.

Klaus smiled as well, a little relieved that instead of scolding him, Leonne wanted to join.

"Alright, did you see what direction he went?"

Klaus asked.

"I did. He went that way. Let's hurry up before we lose him."

Leonne answered, pointing the way Lucas went. Klaus nodded, and both ran towards the direction Lucas left.

*****

They had been following him for a while and ended up in a park.

The sun had already set, and the place was devoid of any people for some reason.

They had to put a lot of effort into keeping up with Lucas.

Even though he wasn't running, he wasn't exactly walking either.

They also had to make sure to stay far enough for him not to sense them.

They knew Lucas was much stronger than them and could easily sneak up on them without them ever noticing, meaning he probably could detect others sneaking up on him as well.

'Just why the hell is he here?' Klaus thought as he and Leonne followed him into the park.

The park was quite huge, filled with trees and other typical park features.

It was eerily quiet, with no one inside except for Lucas and them.

Realizing that they would be easier to sense due to the lack of people serving as cover, they had to let him get further ahead until they couldn't even see him anymore.

"Something feels wrong..." Leonne said next to him, making Klaus nod in agreement.

"Yeah, it is quiet... too quiet, even if the sun has already set."

"Who do you think he could be meeting?"

"Don't know, but it must be someone important and perhaps... dangerous for being so secretive."

Klaus responded, but he really hoped that the last part about being dangerous would be false.

He and Leonne both felt their hearts beating against their chests in the desolate park.

It felt like they were thrown straight into a horror movie, ready to be attacked by a monster at any moment.

"Just who is he meeting to make him this cautious and nervous..."

Klaus and Leonne retraced Lucas's steps, their every footfall echoing in the suffocating silence.

As they ventured deeper, they felt as if a sinister presence began to close in, making them feel suffocated.

They felt it first in the prickling of their skin, the hairs on their necks rising as if electrified.

A primal instinct screamed at them to run, but their legs refused to obey.

Cold sweat trickled down their spines, freezing their limbs.

In the next heartbeat, an overwhelming force crushed down upon them, driving them to their knees.

The ground beneath them fractured with a bone-chilling crack.

"K-khuh!" Klaus and Leonne gasped.

The sheer weight of the unseen entity pressed their bodies, forcing blood to gush from their mouths, mingling with the taste of terror.

'W-what!?'

Klaus screamed inside his mind at the sudden turn of events.

He felt paralyzed as he and Leonne both couldn't move an inch under the tremendous pressure bearing down on them.

Making things worse, they suddenly heard a voice so cold it chilled their entire bodies and bones.

"I did not expect two champions of this generation to follow a fellow classmate of theirs. Just what type of devious schemes could you two have been planning, Leonne Velheim and Klaus Ceviel?"