The person in the carriage

"Don't mimic Mr. Black, Yoru. You are really creeping my out by doing so, especially after what happened last time we saw him."

I couldn't answer Iris, but I also wished I was the one who said it.

In the carriage stood a person, one I had never seen before. The line might have belonged to Mr. Black but the voice clearly was more feminine.

At first, I couldn't make out her features clearly. But then she took a step forward and the rising sun shone right at her.

Before me in the carriage stood this women: white hair, black eyes and skin nearly as white as said hair. A tall figure wearing a cape that barely manages to hide her voluptuous body.

She took another step forward in a prideful and arrogant way, seemingly natural to her.

On her head two large horns bulged out and a long demon tail moved lazily behind her whenever she took a step.

She wasn't a human, nor a hybrid. The women in front of me happened to be a full on demon. According to my knowledge and her looks she should be something like a succubus. But she couldn't be one. Succubi are known for their weakness in battle and underhanded tactics to take on males of all races.

The demon in front of me however didn't give of any sort of weakness. No, rather the sheer pressure emitted from her hindered me from speaking. Staring at her was like gazing into an abyss of unknown depth. And that abyss also gazes right back at you, making you unable to move even the tiniest muscle without spending an extraordinary amount of effort.

By now Iris had also gotten suspicious since I hadn't reacted to her at all. She came towards me but before she could see inside the carriage, the demon extended her right hand towards my face and touched my cheeks.

"My, my. You sure are a special one. But those humans won't be your friends forever."

I didn't get what she talked about at all, but now the others could see her as well. I managed to move my eyes a bit and saw their miserable states. All of them aside from Iris crumbled on the floor out of pure fear. Their legs gave in and they couldn't even move another step away from the demon. Running away wasn't an option any longer. Especially for Althaia, who even fell unconscious.

Of course, I also wanted to run but my body still refused to move. Though she didn't immediately attack us, I could feel how we wouldn't have even a tiny chance against her. She might be on the same level as Mr. Black, our teacher.

The good news was that said teacher should be around here somewhere. He surely wouldn't have planned for us to run into a full-fledged demon.

"Le- Let her go! Why- Why are you here?"

Iris, still on her feet, managed to bring out a couple words directed towards the demon.

"Oh, you are a brave one it seems. I hadn't expected for you to have enough courage to talk to me. After all, most hybrids will try their best to get away from me as fast as possible. Not that it changes anything..."

While saying that, she let go of my cheek and took a step towards Iris. She seemed to take a closer look at her, although I couldn't figure out what she was looking for.

"You are certainly strong and have great potential. For a hybrid that is. But sorry, I'm more interested in a more fascinating toy, else I would have taken you with me for sure."

I wondered how she could recognize Iris strength by simply looking at her. Unlike the demon, Iris didn't give off any pressure at all. Hell even Mr. Black's presence couldn't be compared to hers.

She once again came towards me and took a closer look, just like she did with Iris. According to Lisa I might have great dormant powers but since I can't figure out how to use them, those are rather useless.

"But you… You are fascinating. I do see myself a bit in you. This vast pool of pure celestial energy coursing within you is even giving me goose bumps. You will certainly be a talented fighter one day, but only if you have the right mentor. These humans won't be able to help you, why not go with me?"

I shook my head as much as I could in my current state and her face turned slightly angry.

"Let Yoru alone. Why are you bothering us? We didn't do anything to anger you or did we? If so, I will apologize for everything we did, you can even take our dungeon loot if that is what you want. But please, I beg you.... Let us go."

"Oh, I just happened to go for a short moonlit walk when I spotted you kids. Normally freshlings like you are won't be let out this far, but you seem to be a special bunch. Last time I saw you, you had two teachers with you, but this time you are alone. So I thought I might just have a small chat with you kids, I don't really intend to harm you, if you comply with my demands that is.

But no, I'm not interested in your silly dungeon loot. This worthless stuff lies around everywhere back at home. Why would I bother getting more of this trash? The thing I'm interested in is the girl, who you call Yoru. She might make a worthy disciple or even a successor. And since she won't turn into anything great with the human's half-assed way of doing things, I might just take her with me."

"Please take me instead; I will go with you without talking back. But please, leave my friends alone."

By now I had figured out Iris plan, she wasn't just aimlessly negotiating with the demon, she also tried to stall for time. Stall for time so Mr. Black would come to help us.

"As I said before, no. I won't bother with the second choice, I always get what I want. You may not be entirely useless but your potential is so far from hers, it's like comparing an ant to a human."

"Please reconsider it… I can't let her go with someone whose name we haven't even heard."

"Oh, you are daring enough to ask for this one's name? Oh well I might as well give it to you."

"My name is…, Meteora."