Aceprience

'Alas, I yearn to undergo the agony of defeat, for I have been exalted as the Demon Lord, and even those who were once my comrades regard me as a non-human entity..' the white-haired man of angelic beauty thought.

Luciel De Mevius waved at the crowd of people who praised him without end. He wore a face of bittersweetness.

To the unobservant eye he seemed like he was happy, but he truly wasn't.

His dreadful notoriety has transformed him into a mere natural phenomenon, and this fills him with great despair.

'I long for the bitter taste of defeat, no matter how agonizing it may be. My hope is that if I am brought to my knees in battle, my former comrades will once again accept me as one of their own...' his face said one thing; false happiness. And his mind another; true sadness.

His greatest desire will forever remain unfulfilled as there is no longer an adversary with the capability to overcome him.

He stood there in his regal garments, his long white hair flowing behind him. His subordinates, once his friends, knelt behind him in a display of unwavering loyalty.

The most striking feature he possessed was his uncanny resemblance to Nyx, or rather, Nyx bore an eerie resemblance to him.

It is worth noting that Nyx was believed to be his reincarnation. Frankly, the whole concept is quite unique.

...

Upon awakening, I discovered that the events of the previous night were nothing more than a mere figment of my imagination.

During my slumber, I had the opportunity to lay eyes upon the individual whom the Di-Primordials had referred to as the "Primordial Demon Lord."

It was the first instance in which I had ever encountered him. The realization of this fact left me feeling somewhat melancholic.

I was able to perceive his thoughts and emotions, and it became apparent that he was a man who lived a life of merciless solitude. Despite his yearning for companionship, he had never been able to attain it.

Around me were statuettes made of ice. I'd been making figures to help practice my grasp over [Ice Magic] I must've ran out of deconverted magicubes (mana) and passed out.

"I've been getting pretty good at using mana, but I think I need to work on not pushing myself too far..."

I don't want to end up like those wizards who burn out too quickly and end up looking like a raisin. No thanks. So yes, I'm gonna start being more aware of my limits and not overdoing it. It's all about balance.

"Speaking of taking it easy.." [Enhanced Hearing] was able to pick up on how Lady Lerna Wymarc moaned with pleasure and squirmed with delight.

Lord Dreward must've been going the extra mile tonight. They sounded like animals wrestling on the bed.

It was unfortunate that I could hear them. Sigh.

.

.

.

The morning was upon us. We were supposed to have started training an hour ago but Hermoine wasn't present.

I've been here for a week and three days now. Hermione's teaching were top-notch - her lessons were always engaging and fun.

I'm proud to say that I could now use magic at the Veteran class (3rd rank) without even breaking a sweat. Honestly, I felt pretty good about myself.

In the meantime I had to go search around the manor for her. All the elven maids I asked all told me the same thing. And that was to ask Talia the head maid.

I decided to do just that, "Good morning Miss Talia.." I greeted her moments after stepping into the kitchen. She was preparing the family's morning meal.

"Good morning, Master Nyx... how may I be of service.." she wiped her wet hands on her apron and walked over to me. Almost like she was at my beck and call.

It made me a bit nervous. "It's nothing important, I'm just looking for Hermoine... any idea where she is?" this was the first time she'd done this.

She always took the study of magic pretty seriously so I was a bit worried, unless she'd already gone out this morning.

"She must be in her room, have you checked there?" Talia gave the best answer I'd heard all morning. I thanked her and left.

The house was large, so it was hard to find one's way around. There was this one time I walked for twelve minutes searching for the bathroom. It was worse because I was pressed and there were no latrines in sight.

When I finally did find her room, [Mana Sense] was able to get a good read on her. This in fact meant that she was in the room, sleeping maybe, "It'd be great to wake her up and then lecture her on what a good teacher should be.." I cackled silently just in front of her door.

I opened the door. Unprepared for what I was about to witness.

What flashed before my eyes in that moment, was not the pure short sword I've grown accustomed to. What should've been there, simply wasn't. And what was there stung me in my core.

I had only ever seen one as a child, unable to comprehend what it was. But then I realized, what I'd just done was not okay at all. Hermoine, was naked and I'd seen her honey hole.

"Huh?" I uttered.

We stood there looking at each other. I couldn't even blink.

Her face slowly rose to a light red colour while her body vibrated, she was enraged, embarrassed and flummoxed all at once.

But I had to be smart. Before she could attempt making any move I spoke, "Okay, wait!" I averted my eyes, "It's ridiculous how society expects men to react when they see a naked woman. Like, seriously, why should we panic and act like we've never seen a pair of breasts before?" I did my best not to look at her while I spoke.

"It's a clichéd turn of events that needs to be addressed. And don't even get me started on the whole keeping your hands to yourself thing.." not my proudest words.

Getting beaten up over a glimpse of a nude woman is just not worth it. Let's be real, it's not like we're going to attack her or anything. It's time for society to stop treating nudity like it's some kind of taboo.

This even made her much more furious, but I was too oblivious to have known.

"So... I'll burn this sight into my eyes!" I stared at her barebody once again, but with an intense gaze.

Like a projectile, I was sent rocketing out of the room with blood flowing like a stream out of my nose. I crashed on the ground unable to move, at the time I was in shock. To even breathe had become a difficult task.

"You bastard!" she shouted loudly enough that her voice echoed throughout the house. Immediately, she pulled her towel which used it to cover her body, heavily embarrassed. This was the first time such a thing had happened to her.

Honestly, that was intense. Room spinning, stars flashing before my eyes, all thanks to a punch from Hermoine.

I never knew she had that kind of strength. And let's be real, her barebody was pretty amazing. I mean, forgive me for noticing, but, my word. It's a shame I harbored such impure thoughts.

"Try that again, and you're dead!" she walked over to me who lain on the floor on the brink of passing out.

.

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Upon my return, I found myself in my quarters with a throbbing headache inflicted by a young lady of petite stature, yet possessing the strength of ten men. It appears fortune was not on my side. Despite the poor lighting of the room, I could still perceive my surroundings.

I was seated on the chair in front of my desk, which happened to be adjacent to my bed, I continued to jot down some new theories on magic that I had been working on.

It is worth noting that my brain has a faster learning capacity than the average person, and therefore, I must expand my skill set while I still have the opportunity.

Knock! Knock!

"Huh?" someone was behind the door, one of the maids. I didn't recall her name but [Mana Sense] clearly revealed her to me.

"Excuse me Master Nyx, I have a package for you.."

...

I had the privilege of retrieving the package and transporting it to my bed. The package was a substantial wooden container that I carefully placed on my thighs while seated on the bed. "What is this? It's heavy.."

I couldn't believe my luck when I found a scroll inside the box after pulling out its lid. And the icing on the cake? The Bradley House emblem was marked on it! It was like finding treasure.  "It's from Belitha! She wrote back!"

"Ahh it even still smells like her.." I articulated after taking a nice, long sniff of the scroll. I wore a satisfied countenance.

I carefully extracted the paper from within the scroll and unrolled it with anticipation. The paper had been neatly rolled and I was ready to unravel its content. As I read through the words, I couldn't help but feel a sense of excitement.

...

~ Belitha:

Dear Nyx, great to hear from you! I got your letter and I'm glad to know you're doing well in Zestria. It's impressive to hear that you're staying with the Wymarcs family in Elgard and learning Veteran class elemental magic. You must have grown so strong since we last spoke. As for me, I'm still practicing for the magic sword tournament exposition and if I make it to the main tournament, I'll be even busier. Keep up the good work!

By the way, I just wanted to remind you that we only have a few days left until the academy resumes. It would be great if you could resume early so that we can practice together. I'm really looking forward to it! I'll be in touch soon.

...

Arranging the scroll, I fell back on the bed staring at the ceiling. "Belitha.." I was happy to have heard from her, but it didn't fail to remind me she was in danger.

Still, I'll protect her.