Silva trailed after June and Julie as they left the academy, but his mind was far away.
Mana Devourers. Dragons. Save the world.
Just days ago, his biggest worry had been passing the academy entrance exam. Now, thanks to Nella awakening an ancient dragon within him, he carried a responsibility he'd never wanted.
Why me?
From deep within, Pandora's voice answered.
"Why not you?"
Silva frowned.
"I'm young and inexperienced."
"I know."
"So how am I supposed to save the world?"
Pandora paused, her tone turning sharper.
"First, drop the arrogance."
Silva almost froze.
Arrogance?!
"Yes. Thinking you alone must—and can—save this world is arrogance."
Silva stayed silent as Pandora went on.
"Even at my strongest, I couldn't have taken down the Mana Devourers alone. Dragons, demons, and so many others fought alongside us. Some enemies are too big for one person to handle."
Flashes of Pandora's memories flickered through Silva's mind—shattered skies, ancient armies, and dragons fighting alongside each other against creatures from the void.
"Strength is important. But so are allies."
Silva glanced at the twins walking ahead.
I'm still just a kid. I don't even know where to begin.
Pandora's patience finally broke.
"Even so—because you are a child!"
Silva winced.
June glanced back, but Silva kept walking.
Pandora's tone stayed firm.
"Fear, confusion, uncertainty—these are natural. Stop expecting yourself to have answers you haven't lived long enough to find."
Her voice softened as her anger ebbed.
"Grow. Learn. Find people you can trust. When the time comes, you will not face it alone."
Silva looked again at June and Julie.
Pandora noticed.
"For once, you could start with the two foxes beside you."
Silva blinked.
Foxes?
"The twins."
They're girls.
Pandora went silent.
"Demon foxes, you fool."
Silva's steps slowed.
His eyes immediately moved toward June and Julie.
They're demons?
"Obviously."
It wasn't obvious to me!
"Very little appears to be."
Silva shrugged off the insult. Suddenly, it all made sense—their unnatural speed, Julie's illusions, June's black flame, their complete lack of fear in battle, and the way they'd been oddly interested in him from the beginning. He went still. "June. Julie."
The twins turned at the same time. One look at his face told them this wasn't just another casual question.
"I want the truth."
Julie shot a glance at June.
Silva went on.
"You knew who I was before we met in the forest. You faked needing my help, stuck with me through the examination, and all along you've been hiding what you really are."
A tense silence settled as Silva fixed her gaze on the twins.
"You're demon foxes."
Julie's eyes went wide, while June's reaction was far more restrained.
"How did you—"
"Doesn't matter."
Silva closed the distance between them.
"Who are you? And why did you really befriend me?"
The twins stayed quiet.
For once, Julie had no joke to offer.
At last, June began to speak—
"Silva?"
A familiar voice broke through the noise.
Silva glanced over and spotted Cornelius in the crowd outside the academy.
"Grandpa."
He moved toward him, with June and Julie trailing behind at a slower pace.
Then Cornelius noticed them.
He stopped, his expression tightening as an old memory stirred—two small fox demons.
Years ago.
Scarlet.
"You two..."
June recognized him instantly. Julie let out a sigh.
"So much for keeping things simple."
Silva glanced between them. "You know them?"
Cornelius studied their faces. "I've seen them before. Years ago." His eyes narrowed. "They were with Scarlet." Silva froze at the familiar name. "Scarlet?"
June and Julie exchanged a look; there was no point hiding it now. Julie exhaled. "Fine." June nodded. "We'll tell you everything."
They left the bustling academy gates behind and walked along the calmer road. The twins finally dropped the facade they had kept up since the Secular Oak Forest. They were fox demons, members of the Torikku family. They'd known Cornelius long before Silva ever crossed paths with them, and their encounter in the forest had been anything but chance. Silva's face darkened. "So you planned it all." " Julie confessed. "Yes."
Silva fixed her with a stare. "You weren't in danger." June shook her head. "No." "Marcus couldn't have hurt you." Julie almost looked insulted. "No."
Silva remembered bursting into the clearing, certain he'd saved two helpless girls. He rubbed his forehead as Pandora's faint amusement echoed inside him.
Don't.
"I said nothing."
You were thinking it.
"Perhaps."
Turning back to the twins, he asked, "Then why?"
June's expression softened.
"Because someone asked us to find you."
Silva froze.
"Who?"
June glanced at Cornelius, then back at him.
"Lucia. Your mother."
His breath caught, the sound of her name pushing every other thought aside.
Julie's voice lowered.
"She sent us to the Holy Empire to check on two people."
She gestured toward Cornelius.
"Her father."
Then toward Silva.
"And her son."
Cornelius's expression shifted.
"Lucia sent you?"
June nodded.
"She wanted to know how you've been."
Silva barely caught the rest. His mother knew where he was, had been thinking about him, and even sent people across the continent just to make sure he was okay. One question pushed out all the others. "Where is she?" The twins hesitated. Silva stepped closer. "Where is my mother?" June finally spoke. "The Sien Domain." Cornelius's eyes hardened. Silva only knew the place from stories—a land of demons, cut off from most of the human world. Dangerous. Far away. None of that mattered.
"Take me there."
Julie blinked.
"Silva—"
"I want to see her."
His voice was steady.
He wasn't going to let that chance slip away.
June studied him before glancing at Julie.
The sisters exchanged a silent look.
Finally, Julie sighed.
"Getting there won't be easy."
Silva tightened the strap on his staff.
"Then we'll make it happen."
From the shadows, Pandora watched quietly.
Her earlier words echoed in his mind.
Find people you can trust.
Silva eyed the two fox demons, still unsure if he could fully trust them—though he wanted to, and maybe that was enough to start.
June eventually nodded. "We'll take you."
The four made their way back to Cornelius's home before sunset. For the first time since arriving in the Holy Empire, June and Julie no longer had to hide who they were. Cornelius welcomed them in, and what began as an awkward reunion soon turned into a long meal filled with conversation. Most of Cornelius's questions were about Scarlet and Lucia, and the twins assured him both were doing well.
Scarlet was much the same—unyielding and intense, especially in training Lucia. Cornelius almost winced at their stories: Scarlet had pushed his daughter hard, through combat, mana control, aura refinement, and survival drills, always finding new limits for her to break. But it paid off. The gentle woman Cornelius remembered had grown tougher, skilled in battle, and had already reached the Elemental Aura Stage. Cornelius paused at that revelation. "Elemental Aura?" June confirmed, noting how quickly Lucia was advancing—so quickly, the twins joked she might soon catch up to them.
Cornelius leaned back in his chair, a quiet pride softening his expression. Years ago, Lucia had been someone he always felt the need to protect. Now Scarlet had apparently turned his daughter into someone others had to think twice about facing. Silva listened more closely than anyone. He remembered so little about his mother that every detail mattered—like what foods she enjoyed.
She often clashed with Scarlet.
She trained relentlessly.
She still worried about him.
The twins talked about everything from the ordinary to the profound, leaving Silva even more intrigued about his mother. By the end of their conversation, his decision was clear—he was going to see her. There was just one problem: the distance.
Julie unfurled a map across the table.
Far to the south lay the Sien Domain.
From the Holy Empire, their journey began with crossing the vast Aurelian Spine into the Dacian Kingdom. From there, they had to traverse Dacian territory before arriving at the great desert beyond its southern border. Only after braving that desert would they finally reach the Sien Domain..
By conventional means, the journey could take months.
Silva stared at the map.
Months was far longer than he had expected.
Cornelius studied the route as well.
Part of him clearly wanted to accompany them.
But he couldn't.
Even with the academy's admissions canceled, Cornelius stayed on as an instructor. What happened with Nella had only made his role more critical. Walking away from the Holy Empire without warning wasn't something he could do.
Silva understood. He didn't have to like it, but he understood. Before nightfall, Cornelius slipped into his study and came back with a sealed letter. He handed it over. "Give this to Scarlet." Silva studied the seal. "What's in it?" "Something meant for Scarlet."
Silva locked eyes with him, and Cornelius met his gaze. Silva decided it was best to stop asking questions. He tucked the letter carefully among his things, comforted that Cornelius would stay behind knowing Lucia was safe. At least Silva wouldn't be traveling alone—two demon foxes were with him, which Pandora saw as an upgrade. June shifted her focus back to the map. If Silva wanted to reach Lucia fast, regular travel wouldn't cut it. They needed teleportation stones.
Such stones contained spatial formations capable of transporting their users across enormous distances when infused with enough mana. With several properly linked stones, they could cross portions of the continent in moments rather than months.
Getting them was the hard part. They were rare, pricey, and almost never sold in the open. Luckily, Julie had a connection.
Julie grinned. "A broker named Talon."
Talon was an information broker, and if something existed in this world, odds were he knew who owned it, where it was hidden, the price—or what needed to be traded to get it.
They stayed with Cornelius that night.
By sunrise, Silva was ready. His wooden staff was strapped across his back, Cornelius's letter tucked safely in his bag alongside enough supplies for several days. Cornelius walked with them only as far as the main road.
Before Silva left, his grandfather placed a hand on his shoulder. "Listen to the twins. Don't take unnecessary risks, and remember your grandpa will be here." Julie smiled. "We'll protect him." Cornelius looked at her, then at June, then back at Julie.
''I'm more concerned about the mess you'll drag him into.''
Julie looked offended.
June quietly agreed with Cornelius.
Silva smiled before saying goodbye.
The three made their way toward the outskirts of the capital. The farther they went, the more the city changed. Grand stone buildings vanished, and clean streets grew narrow. Merchant shops gave way to cramped workshops and deserted houses. Before long, even the sight of city guards became rare. Silva glanced around.
"This is where your information broker lives?"
"Information brokers don't usually work beside palaces," June replied.
The district ahead looked almost forgotten by the rest of the capital.
Buildings leaned dangerously close together. Laundry hung between cracked windows. Narrow alleys twisted between old brick walls, and suspicious eyes occasionally watched the three children pass before disappearing behind shutters.
Julie walked without hesitation.
She knew exactly where she was headed. They wandered deeper until they reached a narrow street by the outer wall. At the very end stood an old house that looked more abandoned than lived in. Julie stopped. "We're here." Silva eyed the place. Nothing about it hinted that one of the sharpest information brokers called it home. June knocked. Once. No answer. Again. Still nothing. Then Silva caught it—a faint breeze, so subtle he almost dismissed it.
Just a moment ago, there had been no wind.
The current swirled around his ankles, crept up his clothes, and vanished.
Pandora shifted slightly.
"Interesting."
Silva's gaze sharpened.
What?
Before she could reply, the sound of locks clicking came from the door.
One.
Two.
Three.
It swung open.
A tall man stood there.
His long, dark hair spilled over his shoulders. A black bandana hid his eyes, but couldn't mask the old wounds beneath.
Jagged scars stretched from under the cloth across his cheeks, as if something had once raked claws straight through his face.
He was likely blind, yet his unseen eyes moved straight to June, then to Julie, and finally to Silva. A faint smile played on his lips as he turned toward Silva.
"So, how can I help you?"
Julie smiled.
"Talon."
The information broker stepped aside.
"Oh, sorry—how rude of me. Please, come in."
Silva walked in, and the door closed behind them.