✦ The Demon Who Fell from the Sky
The world twisted.
Color bled into color, mana folded into itself, and for one disorienting instant Asura felt as if he were falling through a thousand mirrors of light and flame. The air howled in his ears, his coat flaring like wings—
Then—
THOOM.
He landed hard, boots cracking the marble beneath him. Dust rippled outward in a perfect ring of energy.
When the glow faded, he stood in the center of an enormous courtyard suspended in the sky, surrounded by towering spires and shimmering mana channels. Hundreds of robed students and instructors froze mid-ceremony, their attention snapping toward the crater smoking at the courtyard's heart.
For a long, awkward heartbeat, nobody spoke.
Asura blinked, rubbing the back of his neck. "...Okay. Maybe a little rough on the landing."
The silence shattered like glass.
"Did—did someone just teleport in!?"
"The wards didn't even trigger—how!?"
"No one outside the faculty can breach the Academy barrier!"
Whispers exploded into shouts. A few nobles staggered backward; others craned to see.
Up on the dais, a stern demon instructor slammed his staff against the floor. The shockwave rolled through the courtyard, silencing the crowd.
"Who dares interrupt the Obsidian Fang Academy's entrance ceremony!?"
Asura looked up, hands raised in mild surrender. "Uh… sorry? I think I'm supposed to be here."
The instructor narrowed his eyes. "Supposed to be here? And how, exactly, did you arrive? No student has access to teleportation arrays this powerful."
Asura scratched his cheek, feigning confusion. "I had… help?"
"From whom?"
He smiled, faintly mischievous. "A family friend. Big into teleportation circles. Real perfectionist."
That only deepened the frowns.
The instructor's tone hardened. "Name."
"Asura," he said smoothly. "Satomi."
No title. No house. No bloodline.
The name rippled through the crowd like a spark with nowhere to land. Unknown. Unrecorded.
One student whispered, "Never heard of that clan."
Another muttered, "Then how the hell did he break the ward?"
Before the instructor could press further, the Headmaster himself descended from the dais—an elder demon draped in flowing silver-black robes, his eyes gleaming like mercury. The weight of his mana quieted even the wind.
He studied Asura for a long moment. "You bypassed seven layers of warding, young one. That would take a Grand Magi… or a fool."
Asura tilted his head. "Can't it be both?"
The old demon's eyebrow twitched. "You're bold."
"More like lost," Asura said with a lopsided grin. "I was aiming for the main gate."
A ripple of reluctant laughter broke from the crowd. The Headmaster's lips almost curved. Almost.
"Very well," he said. "You claim enrollment, then enrollment you shall have—after the Warden confirms your mana signature." He gestured sharply to the instructors. "Escort him to the registry. We will speak later."
Asura nodded, brushing dust off his coat as if this sort of entrance was routine. "Appreciate it."
As he walked past rows of staring students, murmurs followed in his wake.
"His mana… did you feel that?"
"It's dense—like a Noble's."
"No, heavier. Way heavier."
Asura smiled faintly, saying nothing. Let them wonder.
If he'd learned anything from his grandfather, it was that sometimes power meant more when left unnamed.
High above, the Headmaster's gaze followed him, thoughtful and wary.
That presence, he mused. Too controlled for a commoner. Too wild for a noble. Who are you, boy?
Down below, Asura looked up at the crimson-lit sky, the spires piercing the clouds like black fangs.
"So this is the Obsidian Fang Academy," he murmured, the faintest grin playing at his lips. "Let's make this semester interesting."
✦ The Headmaster's Curiosity
The sound of Asura's landing still echoed faintly as he was led through the gleaming corridors of Obsidian Fang Academy.
If the Demon King's citadel was ancient and imposing, this place was alive.
Mana coursed through the halls like flowing veins — bright blue streams weaving along black stone walls etched with sigils that pulsed faintly with every heartbeat of the realm.
The chandeliers weren't chandeliers at all, but floating mana crystals casting soft silver light across mirrored floors. Every step reflected the faint shimmer of crimson sky filtering through arched windows, filling the corridors with a glow that made even stone seem divine.
Asura slowed his pace, golden eyes wide as he took it all in.
"Man… this place is gorgeous," he murmured to himself. "It's like Hogwarts and a cathedral had a magical baby."
Behind him, the escorting instructors exchanged wary glances.
"His mana flow isn't normal."
"It's too refined — like it's… aware."
"Could he be a noble's illegitimate heir?"
Asura ignored them, pretending to study a floating rune tablet while quietly grinning.
Finally, they stopped before a towering onyx door veined with glowing sapphire lines. The surface thrummed like a heartbeat before parting silently down the middle.
"Enter," came a calm, resonant voice from within.
The office beyond was breathtaking.
Rows of floating tomes orbited shelves like lazy planets. A floor-to-ceiling window bathed the chamber in scarlet twilight, overlooking the sprawling sky-bound courtyards below. The light caught on the Headmaster's silver-threaded robes, painting him half crimson, half shadow.
Headmaster Azelar Vaen — scholar, Grand Mage, and legend of the academy — sat behind an obsidian desk carved with runes that shimmered faintly under his touch. His eyes, silver and sharp, studied Asura the way an astronomer studies a new star.
"You may leave us," he said to the escorts.
When the door sealed behind them, silence settled like a quiet spell.
Azelar laced his fingers, gaze never leaving Asura.
"You arrived in quite the spectacle, young man. The wards of this academy have not been breached since its founding. Care to explain how you managed it?"
Asura smiled faintly, scratching his cheek. "Ah… I didn't really manage it. Someone… teleported me here."
The Headmaster's brows lifted. "Someone?"
"Yeah," Asura said casually, already realizing his mistake but rolling with it. "A, uh… family member. He's good with that kind of magic."
Azelar tilted his head. "Good with teleportation?"
"Yeah."
"Good enough to breach my wards?"
"…Apparently."
The old demon's expression turned grim — then fascinated. "And who, may I ask, is this master of spatial sorcery?"
Asura shrugged, feigning nonchalance. "Just someone… old. Cranky. And yells a lot."
Azelar blinked once, intrigued but patient. "I see. And what of you? Do you practice teleportation yourself?"
"Oh, I would have," Asura said before he could stop himself. "If I knew where the academy was… I might've tried coming on my own."
There was a pause.
Then the quill in Azelar's hand snapped.
"You what?"
Asura froze. "...Did I say that out loud?"
The headmaster's mana flared slightly, papers lifting off his desk. "You said you would have teleported here yourself! You—good Abyss, do you realize how absurd that sounds!?"
"Uh… pretty absurd?" Asura offered.
Azelar stood, pacing in disbelief. "To bend space without a rune circle or coordinate focus requires centuries of mastery! Only Magi, Djinn, or Majin can wield such control — and even they burn through reservoirs of mana doing so!"
"Magi, Djinn, and Majin?" Asura repeated, blinking. "You're just making up words now."
The old demon stopped mid-pace, staring at him as if the boy had just confessed he didn't know what air was. "You don't… know what those are?"
"Nope. I've heard of a Magi but not of the other two."
"Okay well, Magi are beings who can rewrite magical laws as you know," Azelar said slowly, trying to decide if Asura was joking. "Majin are incarnations of chaos and creation — walking mana storms. And Djinn… are ancient spirit gods who shape reality through will alone."
"Oh." Asura nodded solemnly. "So like… final-boss tier people."
The Headmaster blinked, then let out a short, startled laugh. "Final—what?"
"Nothing," Asura said quickly, waving it off. "Different world reference."
Azelar sat back down, rubbing his temple. "By the Abyss… this is going to be an interesting year."
Asura grinned. "You have no idea."
Azelar chuckled despite himself, shaking his head. "Very well, Master Asura. Since you've given my heart a mild attack before lunch, let's at least ensure your enrollment proceeds properly."
"I'll try not to fall from the sky next time."
"Please do," Azelar said dryly. "The courtyard's still smoking."
Asura turned toward the door. "Got it, Headmaster. Oh — nice office, by the way. Feels like it's judging me and complimenting me at the same time."
Azelar smirked faintly. "That means it likes you. Don't make me regret it."
Asura's grin widened as he left, his reflection fading against the scarlet light.
When the door closed, Azelar leaned back in his chair and let out a long, incredulous breath.
"Teleported by another… and claims he could've done it himself." He chuckled softly, shaking his head. "Either he's lying — or the realm just birthed its next headache."
✦ The Hidden Power
The corridors outside the Headmaster's chamber were quiet — almost unnaturally so.
Asura walked alone, his hands tucked into his coat pockets, the faint hum of mana lights following him like curious ghosts. Students and faculty gave him a wide berth; even when they whispered, their voices trembled with the same mix of awe and wariness.
"Did you hear? He broke through the wards…"
"Not even the Headmaster can do that without a circle…"
"Maybe he's from one of the outer kingdoms…"
Asura ignored them, his golden eyes fixed ahead.
Too much attention already, he thought. And I've barely been here an hour.
He sighed softly, brushing a lock of white hair from his face. "If this keeps up, I'll have nobles tripping over themselves just to offer tea."
A flicker of irritation crossed his gaze. He didn't want worshippers. He wanted freedom. To explore. To test. To learn.
Then, as if in answer, a soft chime echoed in the back of his mind.
[ Skill Detected: Reminiscence Codex ]
[ Access Granted. Would you like to access a memory archive? ]
Asura's breath stilled.
A slow grin crept across his face.
Oh? Haven't seen you pop up in a while.
He closed his eyes, focusing inward — his consciousness slipping between thoughts and memory. The world around him blurred.
In that silent, timeless space within his mind, countless fragments of his old world shimmered — things he'd once seen, read, or imagined: anime heroes, RPG systems, and forgotten spells drawn from fiction and fantasy.
"Alright…" he murmured to himself, sifting through them. "I need something subtle. Something that hides the storm, not feeds it."
Pages of glowing memory drifted before him, translucent and alive.
Each one whispered of skills from other worlds: Ki suppression. Mana sealing. Cloaking arts. Concealment arrays.
Then one page glowed brighter than the rest — an old game memory, one he'd half-forgotten.
『Skill: Mirage Veil — Conceals user's mana presence and suppresses all detectable energy signatures to chosen thresholds. Can imitate average-level readings.』
Asura smiled faintly. "Perfect."
He reached out, touching the glowing glyph.
[ Memory Conversion in Progress... ]
[ Reminiscence Codex: Transmuting Conceptual Data into Reality... ]
[ New Skill Acquired — Mirage Veil (Lv.1) ]
A faint pulse of mana rippled through his chest, then faded instantly — like a heartbeat swallowed by shadow.
The air around him grew still. His overwhelming aura dimmed, compacted, folded into something entirely ordinary.
He exhaled, flexing his fingers. His presence now felt… average. Just another promising academy student with a bit of talent. Nothing divine. Nothing royal.
A quiet smirk curved his lips. "There. Now nobody'll be licking my boots."
Asura muttered "Hopefully this thing doesn't slip. I don't actually know how stable it is yet."
He started walking again, relaxed and almost humming under his breath.
A passing group of students didn't even glance at him. The instructors' wary stares softened, dismissing him as a typical transfer.
Exactly what he wanted.
Moments later, an academy officer approached, bowing politely. "Asura? The Headmaster requests you report to the Warden's Chamber for mana evaluation and affinity registration."
"Got it," Asura said casually, following along.
As they entered the chamber — a towering hall of runic crystals and humming energy conduits — the Mirage Veil shimmered faintly once more, perfectly tuned.
Above him, unseen in a high corner of the room, a crystal eye flickered to life — the Headmaster's scrying device.
Azelar's voice drifted faintly from the arcane relay in his private office.
"Let's see, young Asura… let's see what you're really hiding."
But the reading that came through made his eyes widen in disbelief.
"…C-Class?" he whispered. "No… that can't be right. His energy reads like a common initiate."
He leaned closer to the mirror, eyes narrowing. "Either my wards are broken… or that boy is masking himself."
Below, in the chamber, Asura placed his hand upon the affinity prism — his face calm, expression unreadable.
He smiled faintly, thinking to himself:
Let's keep things interesting.
✦ The Elemental Veil
The crystal chamber shimmered like the inside of a living star.
Mana rippled through the air, soft but heavy — dense enough that every breath hummed in his chest. Floating runes drifted lazily across the vaulted ceiling, shedding lines of light that twisted into spiraling formations over the floor.
It would have been intimidating for most.
Asura just thought it looked expensive.
He approached the testing dais, where a dozen instructors stood in orderly formation — all in black robes trimmed with silver glyphs. Their faces were serious, expressions a blend of professionalism and barely contained curiosity.
One of them cleared his throat, speaking in the tone of someone who'd said this speech a thousand times.
"Candidate: Asura. Please stand before the Elemental Prism for mana resonance analysis."
The prism itself dominated the center of the room — a monolith of translucent crystal, perfectly cut, runes pulsing faintly beneath its surface. The air around it shimmered from the concentration of mana.
Asura stopped a few paces away and tilted his head. "Big crystal."
The lead examiner blinked. "...Indeed. That 'big crystal' will reveal your elemental affinities and base mana composition. Please refrain from making jokes during the scan."
"Right, right." Asura nodded solemnly, expression straight-faced — though his tone betrayed amusement.
He stepped forward and raised his hand. Just before his fingertips brushed the crystal, he whispered inwardly:
Alright, Mirage Veil. Let's play nice.
[ Mirage Veil (Lv.1) Activated ]
[ Masking Output: 0.03% Power Signature. Elemental Compression: 46.15%. ]
A thin ripple spread through his aura and vanished, the light of his true mana dimming to a comfortable flicker.
To anyone else, he was just a gifted kid — not a living natural disaster.
When his palm met the prism, the entire chamber brightened in response.
Lines of color raced through the crystal — red, blue, green, white — until it became a storm of shimmering energy. Gasps echoed from the instructors as glowing elemental sigils began to manifest in midair.
"Fire… Water… Earth… Wind…"
A pause.
"Lightning… Ice…"
Six elements, perfectly stable, orbiting the prism like planetary rings.
The head examiner raised an impressed brow. "Six affinities. That's exceptional for someone of your age."
Another instructor leaned in. "Especially with this level of balance. No conflicting resonance — remarkable."
On the observation balcony above, Headmaster Azelar Vaen sat with his hands folded, staring at the readout. His silver eyes reflected the glowing symbols below.
"…Six?" he muttered under his breath. "Only six?"
His assistant — a younger demon with too much enthusiasm — nodded quickly. "Still a rare result, sir. Some of our best graduates had only three or four affinities!"
Azelar didn't respond immediately. His gaze was fixed on Asura. The boy's mana didn't move like normal mana — it didn't fluctuate or flow. It was still. Contained. Precise.
He narrowed his eyes. "That's not balance. That's suppression."
Below, Asura was feigning awe at his own results, tilting his head like a curious kid. "Huh. Six. Neat."
The examiner smiled politely. "Neat indeed. You're quite gifted."
"Guess so," Asura said, scratching his cheek with mock modesty.
"Are you disappointed?" the woman asked, almost teasingly. "Most students would be ecstatic."
"Oh, I am," Asura said lightly. "I just thought the crystal would explode or something."
The examiner laughed nervously, not sure if it was a joke.
Meanwhile, on the balcony, Azelar tapped the scrying mirror, muttering to himself. "The mana displacement ratio doesn't match his reading… even his resonance signature is off-frequency. He's disguising it. I know he is."
The assistant frowned. "You think he's using an artifact?"
Azelar's expression darkened slightly. "No. Whatever it is — it's internal. He's cloaking himself from the inside out."
Below, Asura removed his hand from the prism, and the glowing rings dissolved into fading motes of light.
The instructors clapped politely, recording notes on glowing tablets.
"Very well, Candidate Asura. Proceed to the next test — power ranking and mana density evaluation."
Asura nodded, hands slipping into his pockets as he walked toward the next platform. His golden eyes glinted faintly in the crystal light.
Inside, he was fighting a grin.
Six elements. Totally believable. Perfectly normal. Nothing suspicious here.
Behind the glass, Azelar whispered to himself:
"Either my readings are broken… or the gods just handed me the single most terrifying student in history."
✦ The Power Rank Test
The next platform shimmered to life as Asura stepped forward — a large circular seal etched into the floor, glowing faintly with concentric rings of blue and gold.
Dozens of runic patterns pulsed in rhythm, like the heartbeat of some ancient machine.
The lead examiner adjusted her monocle and gestured toward the center.
"This test measures your mana density, core stability, and spiritual pressure. Stand in the circle and release your mana when I give the signal."
Asura nodded and took his place at the center. The runes brightened beneath his feet, scanning his energy in slow, pulsing waves.
Up on the observation balcony, Headmaster Azelar Vaen leaned forward again, eyes narrowing. "Let's see what you really are…"
Below, Asura exhaled softly.
Alright, Mirage Veil. Round two.
[ Mirage Veil: Adaptive Layer Engaged ]
[ Suppressing Core Output — 0.03% Power Signature ]
His aura dimmed to a whisper. Even the ambient mana seemed to forget he existed.
"Begin," the examiner commanded.
Asura raised one hand, letting just the faintest thread of energy flow outward — enough to make the air hum, but nowhere near his true strength.
The runic circle reacted instantly. Rings of light expanded from the center, scanning him from head to toe. The glow flickered once, then stabilized.
A few seconds later, readings began to appear across the floating display crystals above:
Mana Density: 14,520 units
Core Stability: Excellent
Power Output Classification: B-Rank
The chamber filled with murmurs.
"B-Rank? At his age?"
"That's remarkable!"
"Such control at eight years old — unheard of!"
Asura just smiled faintly, pretending to act modest while mentally snickering.
B-Rank, huh? Not bad for suppressing 99.97% of my power.
One instructor turned to another. "Should we verify? The readings stabilized too fast."
The other shook his head. "Nonsense. That's just exceptional precision."
Up above, however, Headmaster Azelar wasn't so easily convinced.
He frowned, watching the energy flow around Asura's body.
It's too steady… too perfect. No flux, no fluctuation. Real mana never behaves like that unless…
He blinked, realization creeping in. Unless it's being actively compressed.
His assistant spoke, voice hushed with excitement. "A B-Rank prodigy at his age could be trained to A-Class before graduation! Remarkable, isn't it?"
Azelar gave him a thin smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Remarkable, yes. But you don't cage lightning by calling it a spark."
Down on the floor, the test ended with a chime.
"Evaluation complete!" the examiner announced proudly. "Candidate Asura — Mana Rank: B-Class, Elemental Affinities: Sixfold Balanced."
A polite round of applause followed.
Asura bowed slightly, trying not to laugh. "Thanks. I'll try to live up to the mediocrity."
The examiner blinked, uncertain whether to be offended or flattered.
Asura stepped off the platform, hands tucked in his coat pockets, the faintest smirk tugging at his lips. He passed a pair of whispering students who looked at him with awe.
"Six elements and B-rank mana at eight years old?" one muttered.
"He's insane…"
Asura suppressed a grin. If only you knew.
Up on the balcony, Azelar finally stood. "Run a secondary scan on his mana residue after he leaves the chamber," he instructed quietly.
The assistant looked surprised. "But sir, the tests already—"
"Do it."
Asura glanced upward briefly, his sharp senses catching the Headmaster's faint mana signature watching him from above.
He smiled knowingly to himself.
So, he noticed. Good. This might actually get interesting.