As Piers and Zen walked through the forest, Piers asked, "By the way, Master, what will happen in the Devil Hell Branch?"
"The Devil Hell Branch is a teaching hub," Zen explained. "You'll be taught how to use your devil powers there. They'll also give you a book on dark arts to learn, but you might not be able to use it since you don't have any devil powers."
"Then won't it be a problem if I can't use dark arts?" Piers asked.
"Dark arts are something people rarely use," Zen said dismissively. "And you have strong devil powers, so they definitely won't be suspicious if you don't use it. However, there is something else."
"What is it?"
"You can't use your white arts in the Devil Hell Branch. You're allowed to learn it, but you can't use it."
"But why?" Piers asked.
"Because your white arts are harmful to devil energy," Zen replied. "People would mind if you used the white arts." Zen thought to himself, "If he uses white arts, he'll definitely attract attention, and some would consider him a spy. I can't let that happen yet."
"Okay, then I won't use it," Piers said.
"Sure." Suddenly, a voice came from the trees. "So you're going to the Devil Hell Branch, and even though you have devil powers, you can use white arts? Interesting."
"Who is it?" Zen demanded.
A boy jumped from the trees. It was Bret. "I see that many prodigies are being born in this era," he said.
"Young man, we're not looking for trouble," Zen warned.
"Yeah, you're not, but I am," Bret said, pulling out his sword. "You're a threat, so you need to be eliminated."
A black whirlwind formed around Piers, and he charged forward, pulling out his sword, Phantom Insignia. "So you think you can take me on your own?" he asked.
"Stop, Piers!" Zen yelled.
"Too late," Bret said.
Piers ran around him and attacked from behind, but Bret easily blocked the attack. "You are too weak to fight me," Bret said. But before Bret could attack, Piers retreated and kept using his Mephisto powers to run around, then attacked Bret from the side. Bret blocked it again and then jumped, dodging an attack from Zen, who was using the Phantom Sword Style to conceal his presence.
"Do you think I am a fool?" Bret asked.
"Let's combine our powers," Zen said to Piers.
"Okay," Piers agreed. Piers used his Mephisto powers to run around, ready to attack, while Zen engaged Bret in a sword fight. While they dueled with their powerful techniques, Piers attacked from behind, but Bret dodged the attack. Bret frowned. He didn't like the odds of a long fight. "This time, you two win," he said. "If fate wishes, we might meet again."
With that, Bret jumped from tree to tree. Piers was about to follow him, but Zen stopped him. "Don't go. He seems like an external factor who doesn't have much interest in us. We can ignore him for now." Zen was irritated that someone knew their secrets but decided not to act since Bret didn't seem to be from any devil factions. Piers sighed and followed Zen.
After a month of travel, Piers and Zen finally reached the Devil Hell Branch. The building was huge and black, with gargoyles on its walls and roofs, and it exuded a pressure Piers had never felt before. Though Piers didn't see it, Zen looked at the building with disgust and anger. Piers made a determined face, promising to get stronger and protect everyone, even if it meant killing. He and Zen went inside.
Meanwhile, Ben, Emilia, Luc, Adreil, Hella, Sentry, Kaiser, Lyla, and Tenko stood in front of a cozy hut. "This is one of the huts the kingdom made in secret," Luc said. "No one knows about this location except the kingdom's spies, and this spy work happens very rarely."
As everyone went inside, they noticed Bret eating a sandwich. Bret, seeing them, immediately drew his sword. "Who are you? How do you know about this place?" he demanded.
Luc drew his sword. "That's what I should ask you. How does a kid like you know this place?"
Kaiser recognized Bret and came between them. "Wait a minute, are you Bret?"
Bret looked at Kaiser, then at the familiar scarf he was wearing before leaving Orville. "What, Kaiser? Why are you here?"
"Long story short, Rei is in danger, and we're here to save him," Lyla said.
Bret put his sword back. "I'm listening."
Back in the Astria Kingdom, Bart was sitting in the house of the puppet maker. "Here, look," the puppet maker said. "Using wind in these joints helps move the puppets without any strings, though some types require a person to use a string to send their magic to move it."
"I see," Bart said. "These puppets are complex, but I need to learn how to make them."
The puppet master laughed. "By the way, what's the important reason you want to learn to make a puppet? I mean, even if you gift a magic user these puppets, it will take him years to learn the mechanisms."
"I want to become strong, that's why I need to make these puppets," Bart said.
The puppet master laughed harder. "You want to become strong by making puppets? You're a very funny boy." Bart knew the puppet master wouldn't understand sorcery, so he just let it go.
Inside the Devil Hell Branch, a black smoke suddenly appeared in a room where four people were sitting. "Masters, we have seen the arrival of a boy," the smoke said.
"It's just a boy. What's the bother talking with us?" one person asked.
"We tried to peer into the boy's soul, but we were stopped," the black smoke said. "And not only that, we have an unsettling feeling about this boy. His red eyes seem to show the destruction of our branch, and his black hair seems like it will engulf us in darkness."
"An unsettling feeling? Is this a fate you're watching? What is it?" a woman asked.
"We don't know what it is currently, but every fate seems to tell us that this boy is someone we should not invite," the shadow replied.
"Then we shouldn't invite this boy," a man said.
"What?" another man asked. "Are you scared that a boy will be the downfall of a branch that has stood for 10,000 years?"
"Not to mention that we have many branches," the woman added.
Another man said, "Okay, but if we're going to enroll such a dangerous boy, we should check if his power is stronger than usual. Only then will we enroll him."
The black smoke said, "He has the power of Mephisto, and even the Hellfire and physical strength. And even though he has those powers, it does not corrupt him."
"For a boy like that, it's worth taking a risk," a man said.
"It's no risk," the woman countered. "Even with those powers, he is no match for our branch."
"Yeah, I think so too," another man said.
"I'm a little skeptical about this matter," the last man said.