The next day, the real training began.
Shuri was a strict and careful teacher.
She didn't just teach him how to shoot fireballs.
She brought out a long wooden pole with a curved wooden blade at the end.
It was a practice weapon for a Naginata, a traditional Japanese spear.
"Magic is important,"
Shuri told him in the garden.
"But magic takes energy. You must also know how to fight with your body. You need to know how to move."
At first, Shuri knocked him down easily. She was fast and highly skilled.
She hit his arms and legs with the wooden pole, leaving dark, painful bruises.
But Elias didn't complain. He just gritted his teeth and stood back up every time.
Because of his Adaptivity, the bruises healed in seconds. His body remembered how Shuri moved.
His muscles grew thicker and stronger to take the hits. His eyes became sharper to see her attacks coming.
Within a few months, Elias was moving just as fast as her. He could block her strikes and spin his Naginata with perfect control.
His body was turning into a weapon.
He also mastered the real Onmyudo spells. He learned how to make strong magic shields to block attacks, how to track energy from far away, and how to use the magic paper talismans in battle.
On top of all the fighting, his brain adapted too. Learning a new language became as easy as breathing.
He was now completely fluent in Japanese.
He could read the old magic books on his own and talk with Shuri and Akeno perfectly.
Time passed, and the seasons changed.
One cool morning, Elias was sweeping the front steps. He saw Akeno peeking through the wooden gate.
She was watching the neighborhood kids walk down the street to the elementary school.
Elias stopped sweeping. He saw the sad, jealous look in Akeno's violet eyes.
She watched a group of little girls holding hands and laughing.
Akeno looked down at her own empty hands. She wanted to hold a colorful backpack.
She wanted to learn math and play tag at recess. She wanted to be a normal kid so badly.
Elias walked up to her and gently patted her head. He looked back toward the house.
Shuri was standing on the porch, watching them.
Elias nodded at her. Shuri smiled and nodded back. It was time.
"Hey, Akeno,"
Elias said softly in Japanese.
"Come inside. Mama and I have a surprise for you."
Akeno looked confused, but she followed him into the living room. Shuri was sitting on the floor. Next to her was a large shopping bag.
"Come here, my sweet girl,"
Shuri said.
Akeno reached into the bag. She pulled out a brand new, shiny red school backpack. Underneath it was a neat, perfectly folded school uniform.
Akeno gasped loudly. She dropped the bag. She looked at her mother, her eyes wide with shock and hope.
"Mama? Is this...?"
"Yes,"
Shuri smiled, wiping a happy tear from her cheek.
"You are going to school tomorrow."
Akeno squealed with pure joy. She hugged the red backpack tightly to her chest.
Then she jumped into her mother's arms, crying happy tears.
Elias watched them, feeling a huge warmth in his chest. This was exactly why he trained so hard.
After a moment, Akeno pulled away. She looked at Elias, and a little bit of fear crept back into her eyes.
"But... what about the bad people? Mama said it wasn't safe outside."
Elias knelt down so he was right at her eye level. He gave her a confident, brave smile.
"You don't have to worry about the bad people ever again,"
Elias promised her.
"Because I am going to be your secret bodyguard."
Akeno tilted her head, her twin tails bouncing.
"Secret Bodyguard?"
"Yep,"
Elias chuckled.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a special piece of Onmyudo paper.
He placed it on his chest, closed his eyes, and pushed his magic into it.
Slowly, Elias's body started to fade.
His colors blended in with the wall and the floor behind him. In a few seconds, he was completely invisible.
It was an advanced camouflage spell he had worked very hard to learn.
"Whoa!"
Akeno clapped her hands, looking around the empty space where he just stood.
Elias took the paper off, and he appeared again right in front of her.
"I will follow you to school every single day,"
Elias told her in a gentle, serious voice.
"I will hide in the trees, or on the roofs, or right behind you. The other kids won't see me. You can play and make lots of friends. But if any bad guy tries to come near you, I will stop them before they even get close. Deal?"
Akeno threw her arms around his neck. She hugged him as hard as she could, burying her face in his shoulder.
"Deal!"
She cried happily.
"Thank you, Onii-chan!"
Elias hugged his little sister back.
He felt the strong magic buzzing inside his veins.
Let the Himejima clan come, he thought to himself. He was ready to protect his new family.
Far away from the quiet shrine, someone was watching.
Dee stood in a place that wasn't really a place at all.
It was a swirling mix of bright colors and endless empty space called the Dimensional Gap. It was the space between universes.
She held her black umbrella over her shoulder.
Her silver ankh necklace glowed softly.
She had finally done it. She had adjusted her power so she could step into this magic universe anytime she wanted without breaking it.
She could reach out right now, grab Elias's hand, and pull him back to Ohio.
But she didn't.
Through her connection to the mark on his forehead, she saw everything.
She saw him smiling. She saw the fierce, protective look in his eyes when he hugged little Akeno.
She saw how much Shuri and Akeno loved him.
Dee's dark eyes softened. She let out a quiet, happy sigh.
Back in his old world, Elias was lonely. His parents passed away when he was young, he had no brothers or sisters, and the world was just cruel and boring to him.
He only had her.
But here, he had a real family. He had a purpose. He was a hero to a little girl.
"I can't be greedy,"
Dee whispered to herself. A small, loving smile touched her pale lips.
"He is so happy there. I will let him stay. I will wait for him."
"Grooaaan..."
A massive, echoing sound broke the silence.
Dee blinked and turned around. Her sweet smile vanished, replaced by a look of pure annoyance.
Floating in the colorful void behind her was a dragon. But it wasn't a normal dragon. It was Great Red, the True Dragon, one of the most powerful beings in this entire universe. He was the size of a mountain.
But right now, Great Red did not look powerful. He looked pathetic. He was covered in massive black-and-blue bruises.
One of his eyes was swollen shut, and he was holding his giant stomach, groaning in pain.
A little further away floated another being. It was Ophis, the Infinite Dragon God. She usually looked like a creepy, emotionless little girl with black hair.
Right now, she was sitting cross-legged in the air, holding her head.
Right on top of her head was a very large, comical bump. She looked at Dee with wide, fearful eyes.
Dee adjusted her black top hat and glared at the two gods of this universe.
"You two,"
Dee said, her voice completely flat.
"Are absolute idiots."
Great Red let out another weak groan. Ophis just rubbed the bump on her head and pouted.
When Dee first stepped into the Dimensional Gap, she didn't want to fight.
She just wanted a quiet, empty place to sit down so she could watch Elias through her magic.
But these two didn't listen.
Ophis was very territorial. She thought the Dimensional Gap belonged only to her, and she attacked Dee for trespassing.
Great Red was just annoying. He liked to fly around, do loud barrel rolls, and cause a huge mess.
He tried to blast Dee with a breath of pure destruction just for fun.
They didn't know who they were messing with. They were gods of one universe. She was the Death of all universes.
It wasn't even a fight. It took Dee exactly three seconds to beat them both black and blue with her bare hands.
"I told you both to leave me alone,"
Dee scolded them like they were naughty children.
"I just wanted a quiet place where no one would bother me. But no. One of you throws a tantrum about 'your space,' and the other one wouldn't stop doing loud tricks. Next time, when a lady in black asks for some quiet time, you sit down and shut up."
Ophis nodded quickly. Great Red gave a weak thumbs-up with his giant claw.
"Good,"
Dee hummed. She turned her back on the two beaten dragons and looked back toward the human world.
She watched Elias packing his secret magic papers into his pocket, getting ready for his first mission as a big brother.
Dee smiled again. She sat down on a floating rock in the void, ignoring the bruised dragons behind her.
She couldn't wait to see what her boyfriend would do next.