Lich reborn as a magic school student - 6: Getting taken care of

We use Ancestral Demon as the term when referring to the remains of ascended mortals. When mortals ascend, they leave behind their flaws in the mortal vessel, while their soul and essence ascend to the divine realm. These mortal vessels of only power and flaws become a demon that holds no rationality.

“Teacher I did it”

They seem to be drawn towards power, and that brings a question into my mind. The Berescola mountains that I had just visited are often called the “Den of Ancestral Demons.” This name comes from the fact that out of any place on the continent, the Berescola has the highest concentration of Ancestral Demons. There must be some source of power in the Berescola.

“Teacher, are you listening? I did it”

I stop my pondering and look down to see a young boy seven years of age with blond hair and a smile that outshines the sun. He is Prince Edward of the kingdom of Vutia, and my only student. In his hands, I see a ball of fire.

“Great job Edward. Now, how about you try to let it dissipate?”

“Yes, Teacher!”

Edward looks back at the fireball and frowns, which is his sign of concentration. Slowly, the fireball becomes smaller and smaller until it finally vanishes. At this point Edward is panting, it seems that conjuring and then dissipating a tier 1 spell is the maximum for him in his current self. However, I do note that this is much better than most people. The average mage can only cast rudimentary tier 1 magic at the age of 9 or 10.

After catching his breath, Edward looks up at me again and smiles, “I did it, teacher!”

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My mind feels warped, like a hurricane is trying to twist all of my thoughts. What could this feeling be? Previously when I became a demon lord, while I felt the corrupting power of the heart trying to twist my desires and ideals. However, this time it seems to try to break my mind completely. Ah, right last time, I was using the heart of an existing demon lord, while this time I am creating a demon lord from nothing using ancient creation magic. It cannot try to twist my desires and ideals, for this heart does not understand such things.

The corrupting force of a demon lord’s heart will grow weaker with time, so I have nothing to worry about, as I am able to manage while in this state. Anyway, I believe I fainted when I opened the door. It seems that my protection magic did not activate, meaning I am not in any immediate danger. I slowly begin to wake up the body by first opening my eyes, and I see the ceiling.

It seems I’m in my bed. I put strength into my body and rise up seeing my empty room, but different this time is the same girl from yesterday sitting at the table with books out. “Ah, Thank God you’ve woken up.” She speaks, her voice soothing to my ears. She gets up and walks to the kitchen area of my one-room apartment and brings over a tray with a bowl of soup with some sliced apples on the side. I look down at the meal now resting, and then I feel one of my cheeks a little wet.

I wipe the singular tear and then look up to see her with a strange expression. I say “Thank You.” “You don’t need to thank me.” She responds. Right, this was the feeling I’ve been missing. I pick up the spoon on the tray and begin to eat. It is delicious. Without my awareness, a small smile has materialized on my usually blank face.

“Why did you decide to help me?”

“Did you not also try to help me?”

“That is fair.”

“How are you feeling?”

“Much better”

“I am sorry for yesterday. I was rude to you without meaning to.”

“I do not mind.”

“It is getting late. If you have no more problems, I shall take my leave.”

“I am fine. How should I return the tray and bowl to you?”

“Ah, right, you don’t seem to remember it, but we are neighbors.”

“I see. Then I shall return them tomorrow.”

After those words, she leaves, but I still with a slight smile stare at where she was. Right, I don’t even know her name. I rise up from my bed and place the tray on the kitchen counter, and then approach the table where I see the gem I made from a soul. Channeling my magic into the gem, I conjure forth a shadowy warrior and speak while pointing at the wall. “Beyond that wall, there is a girl. Your objective is to protect her, but you must remain hidden at all times.”

The Shadow Warrior blends into the darkness, but I am still able to sense the faint magic as it slowly approaches the wall and goes through. As a repayment, this should suffice. A Tier 5 shadow warrior is able to defeat tier 4 mages in complete silence, and in the case of a Tier 5, it can defeat them by breaking the rule, and finally in the case of a Tier 6 it can at least put up a decent fight, especially considering the lacking combat skills the people of this world seem to have.

Thinking back on that dream, the Berescola mountains, the actual power hiding within, I found it out during my journeys with Kythinu. It was the ruins of an ancient magic civilization that the gods destroyed. In fact, in that place, I discovered the truth about the devil of names and the god of fate’s connection.

“A devil who carries names came to our king and gave a power.”

“So our king went and conquered the lands, but the god of fate sent a hero.”

“And this hero knew our king’s weakness, his true name.”

“The king died, but we, his mages, worked to uncover how the hero knew his name.”

“Then we learnt the connection of the devil of names and the god of fate. “

“For they are one and the same. We performed a grand magic to seal a part of the god.”

“However, we know that our fall is near. In the future. Far into the future.”

“The God of Fate will take up the mantle of the Devil of Names once more.”

“And try to crown a new evil king and send a hero to kill him.”

“For that is the way to break our curse, but we hope the new king will win.”

That prophetic text written by the ancient mages foretold my own existance as the evil king that would rise to dominate and then die by the hands of the hero. I give a small chuckle. Now that I think about it, that curse remains, for I remain. Then I feel myself starting to become tired and step towards the bed. I lie down and pull the blanket over me.

Tomorrow I would go and meet up with Bluefang and get some money and return that tray. Then I guess I could continue to rebuild my power, since whatever goal I may find in this life, I know I will require power to achieve it. With those thoughts, I drift off to sleep.