'I can't believe I'm back.'
Vahn had considered leaving school after everything that had happened, but it seemed his sister had other plans for him. Strangely enough, he understood her reasoning.
'Do it with friends, right?'
He thought about the people he had met at school. Could he even call them friends? His roommates were an exception, but things were still awkward with Carla and Han, the last person he had spoken to.
Then, as if struck by a realization, he remembered the weapons his parents had given him and immediately started searching for them.
'Where is it?' He frowned after checking his surroundings.
'Wait, she said it can change to my desired shape, right?'
Glancing at his uniform, a black camouflage suit, he hesitated before reaching into his breast pocket. His hand kept sinking deeper than it should, and then—
'So, this is it?'
Vahn marveled at the hidden dimension within his clothing. Experimentally, he thought of the sword, and in an instant, he felt its weight in his palm. However, he didn't draw it after all; weapons weren't allowed unless they were heading for an outing.
'Haa… now what should I do?'
With his belongings secure, he relaxed. But his moment of peace was short-lived.
"Student Vahn, you have visitors," the nurse called out.
'What?'
Vahn was genuinely confused. Who would visit him?
"Wow, I thought you were dead."
There was only one person who would greet him like that, Han.
"Well, there's work to do," Vahn replied without looking at him.
"Why do I feel like I'm about to regret this?" Han muttered under his breath.
"How are you feeling?"
The next voice made Vahn glance up. To his surprise, Carla stood there, her pale skin and dark hair making her presence even more striking.
"You didn't expect me, did you?" Han chuckled, glancing at Carla in shock.
"Um, yeah… Thanks," Vahn scratched his head awkwardly.
"Yoo, why didn't you thank me?" Han huffed.
"You don't need it."
"Do you even know me?"
"We just click, don't we?"
"Yeah… and why didn't you tell me you have a dragon sister?" Han shook his head.
"You saw her?" Vahn was genuinely surprised. That meant she had appeared at the school.
"But strangely, no one remembers except us." Han pointed at himself and Carla.
'She did it on purpose.' That was the only logical explanation.
"Where did they take you?" Carla asked.
"This is going to sound crazy, but those demons. They aren't real. They're humans injected with demon blood."
"What?"
"Ehh?"
"Don't be too shocked yet. There's more to this world than we know."
"Wait… is this the bad feeling I was getting?" Han asked, rubbing his temple.
"Definitely. But let's leave here first."
Since the nurse had cleared him, Vahn left the clinic with Han and Carla.
His next destination? The cafeteria.
He hadn't realized it until now, but he hadn't eaten in what felt like forever. The energy he had absorbed from his battles had sustained him, but it wasn't food.
However, just as they were about to enter the cafeteria, they were stopped by a peculiar pair of twins. The boy had blue hair and white eyes, while the girl had white hair and blue eyes. What made them even stranger was their physiques; the girl was muscular, and the boy looked frail.
"Vahn Clay, I've been wanting to meet you," the boy said. His voice carried an air of intelligence.
"Who?" Vahn asked, unimpressed. His stomach had no patience for distractions.
"My name is Dante, and this is my sister, Darla."
"Alright, Dante and Darla, can we talk inside?" Vahn pointed at the cafeteria.
"Sure."
And just like that, they all entered the cafeteria together.
—
After an unknown number of days without proper food, Vahn wasted no time collecting his meal, along with Han and Carla's. As he ate, he looked at Dante, signaling him to start talking.
"The truth is our family has been in hiding… thanks to your family."
Vahn nearly choked on his food. "Eh?"
"And we've been monitoring you since we first heard of you."
"Eh?"
"Not just us, the alliance, too."
Dante proceeded to reveal all the ways the alliance had been keeping tabs on him. From his apartment to his school, they had even bent the rules for him to awaken.
"Eh?"
"Hey, can you pick another reaction?" Han groaned.
But Vahn ignored him. 'I was been watched that much?'
"And the third truth?" Carla pressed, sensing more to the story.
"We've always suspected there was more to this world than what we see. But now, it's confirmed. Your sister's presence proved that."
"So, you want to join?" Carla summarized their intentions in one sentence.
"Exactly!" Dante grinned.
"But why?" Vahn asked, still skeptical.
"As I said, my family was forced into hiding because of yours."
"Is that a good thing?"
"Yes. You can't imagine what we've developed with the limited resources we had. Imagine what we could achieve by following a descendant of your bloodline."
"Alright, shock me. Tell us one thing you've made." Han challenged him.
"A teleporter."
Boom...
Their minds exploded.
"Will you allow purchase?" Carla, ever the pragmatic one, asked immediately.
"I can give it to you for free. And not just that, everything else we've created, as long as you let me in."
Gulp.
The offer was tempting. If a teleporter was something they considered scrap, what else did they have?
"How can we trust you? You're suddenly giving us everything?" Han questioned, cautiously.
"Then how about I give you information instead?" Dante countered.
"What kind of information?"
"The Supreme kind."
"Alright, let's hear it."
"First, as you may already know, people have been injecting themselves with demon blood. But there's another group of non-ability users implanting beast parts into their bodies. And they gain abilities from it."
"Marvelous," Han muttered in fascination.
Carla shook her head while Vahn simply nodded. Wasn't that even better than Demon Blood?
Then Dante pulled out his phone, showing them a headline.
It was highly confidential information that Dante couldn't access.
[Death of a Supreme]
That was all the title said.
Boom.
"What?!"
"How?!"
"…"
The trio stood, their shock evident. Vahn had stopped eating the moment he heard the word 'teleporter.'
But now this.
"So, do you trust me now?" Dante smirked.