Who Knows?

『-dead!』[Nova]

Nova stayed still, as if expecting it to rip out his throat regardless of whatever he did.

But before anything further could happen, a hand appeared in front of his face, grabbing the skeleton by the skull.

『E...』[Nova]

Nova's eyes stayed locked on the skeleton, even when its head was being thrown into the ground.

『E...h.?』[Nova]

A foot swiftly stomped on it, driving it further into the floor.

『What..?』[Nova]

Nova looked up and made eye contact with his savior.

His burning golden eyes stared right back at Nova.

『Eh…?』[Nova]

The man's eyebrows creased, before he raised his foot and stomped down on the Remnant again, digging it further into the floor.

『...Okay, Nova. I'm gonna teach you some stuff, right now.』

The girl behind Nova stared in awe as well.

『Wait… Dad?!』[Nova]

The man looked back and waited for Nova to speak.

Nova remained speechless, his mouth wide open.

『...Yes, Nova?』[Solane]

『Wha..Wha...What are you doing here?!』[Nova]

Solane creased his eyebrows again, giving Nova a disapproving look.

『See, Nova, you really shouldn't get distracted in battle...』[Solane]

『No, no, no! I think the fact that you're stomping on a Remnant is-』[Nova]

Solane looked at him strangely.

『What in the world is a Remnant? The thing under my feet?』[Solane]

Nova nodded vigorously.

『Yes! The thing that you are stomping on! That's what I call it!』[Nova]

Solane paused for a moment before looking down at the thing with a disgusted face.

『...Why? Call it a Shade. That's what its called from now on, got it?』[Solane]

Nova seemed to think about it for a second before suddenly shouting at his dad.

『No, wait! More importantly, why are you here?! I've never pried into your past before, but you just beat up a thing that was about to murder me! Why?! How?!』[Nova]

Solane put his foot off of the Remnant before forming a big greatsword and shoving it through some of the Remnant's ribs, causing it to be stuck in the ground.

『Nova. It is a father's job to beat up anyone that wants to harm his family. Isn't that obvious?』[Solane]

The girl was shocked speechless, listening to the weird father-son conversation.

『But… How the heck are you supposed to…. BEAT UP SOME DEMON FROM ANOTHER WORLD IN A COUPLE SECONDS?!』[Nova]

Solane walked over to Nova and put his hand on his head, messing up Nova's hair roughly.

『He-Hey!』[Nova]

『It's the power of a dad, Nova. Dad power.』[Solane]

He stopped messing with Nova's hair after a bit, opting to glare at him instead.

『Hmm...』[Solane]

Solane poked Nova's forehead a few times.

『He-HEY! OUCH!』[Nova]

『Did nobody teach you how to use your mana properly? Your body has signs of mana fissuring. Did you not learn the wisp spell I gave you for your birthday? Who the hell is your teacher? Do I need to show up for a parent-teacher conference?』[Solane]

『DAD! How do you even know I've been practicing my mana?! I haven't seen you for almost half a year!』[Nova]

『I make sure to check home when I have time. I also ask people, like Mrs. Heather. On top of that, you have my phone number, right? Why don't you call, or send texts?』[Solane]

Nova was speechless.

『...You barely know how to use a phone… The last time I called you, you somehow smashed the phone into the floor...』[Nova]

『...Regardless, you don't need to worry about the circumstances behind me or my job.』[Solane]

Nova finally realized what clothes his dad was wearing.

There was many kinds of adornments on his military vest, and his general outfit made him look incredibly important.

『You… ARE in the military… Are you royalty?』[Nova]

Solane clicked his tongue and kicked the suffering Remnant.

『Ach...cha-cha-cha… I just told you to stop asking questions… You can worry about our extended family once you're old enough to bring your future girlfriend to them.』[Solane]

『What?! I-』[Nova]

He shushed Nova, making sure he wasn't allowed to talk.

『Shhhh… Just… be quiet for a moment. We'll have more time to talk later, just… let me take care of this.』[Solane]

He ripped out the greatsword from the Remnant before placing his hand on the Remnant.

『Fluxoria.』[Solane]

The Remnant suddenly compressed into a pitch-black orb in Solane's palm, letting it stay afloat in midair.

Nova and the girl stared in shock.

『...Is that… the spell card you put in our house?』[Nova]

『Yes. The outcome of the spell is directly proportional to the desired outcome. Simple. Effective.』[Solane]

He swung the greatsword with one hand, cleaving through the orb, causing black dust to fly toward the sky.

『You're lucky I was the one called as...』[Solane]

He suddenly looked startled, grabbing Nova and jumping back a far distance.

Nova watched as the girl was suddenly left behind.

『WAIT! DAD?!』[Nova]

A giant wave of dust rolled over the surroundings, causing the girl to be enveloped by it.

Solane raised his hand up at the giant cloud.

『Fluxoria.』[Solane]

The cloud was suddenly pulled to a giant ball of dirt in the middle of the air, but the girl was no longer there.

『W...What just happened?!』[Nova]

『...She was taken.』[Solane]

『By who?!』[Nova]

He looked far off into the distance as if he was staring right at something.

『...Who knows?』[Solane]