The grand, imposing gates of Babyls Demon School loomed before Iruma, a sight so magnificent it made the human schools of his past seem like dollhouses.
A tremor of fear ran through him. His father had taught him well—he knew the history of this world, a history of power, of violence, and of a strict hierarchy where the weak were devoured.
He was half-human, a fact he now understood could be seen as a weakness, a vulnerability in this savage world.
The thought of being discovered, of facing the monsters his father had described, made his stomach clench.
He recalled their conversation from the night before, a hushed meeting between himself, his father, and Grandpa Sullivan.
"I'll make an appearance first," Delkira had said, his face solemn.
"The Thirteen Crowns are on edge. I'll need to calm them down and explain my absence." He had a plan, a temporary solution until he was sure no one would harm his son.
"You will be introduced as Sullivan's grandson," Delkira explained,
"and you will live with him. It's too risky for you to be seen as my son just yet."
The last part made Iruma's heart sink, but he understood the reasoning. His father was the king; his absence had created a mountain of work.
Delkira, the once-solitary king, now had to balance his royal duties with his responsibilities as a father. With Sullivan busy assisting Delkira, Opera, their stoic and ever-capable butler, would be Iruma's temporary bodyguard.
Iruma took a deep breath and stepped through the gates, a small, timid figure in a world of powerful demons.
He made his way to the opening ceremony, where he found himself lost in the sea of powerful auras and booming voices.
The school was a marvel of demonic architecture, a place built for power, not for the faint of heart.
Iruma wasn't the top scorer. That honor belonged to Asmodeus Alice, a charismatic demon whose presence commanded attention. But, his ever overly doting grandfather, Sullivan, forced him into the spotlight.
The opening ceremony proceeded as normal until Sullivan, in his new role as the school's principal, called Iruma's name that made Iruma yells on his mind
'what in the world is he doing?!',
A hush fell over the crowd as Iruma force himself to walk timidly to the podium.
With a mischievous glint in his eye, Sullivan presented him with a magical curse.
"It's a spell for a 'good' school life," Sullivan said with a wave of his hand.
Iruma, confused, had no choice but to recite the curse,
"The more curses I receive, the happier I become."
(A/N: and I honestly forget the chant he says so I just made on my own and make it so ridiculous so it fits right on the story.)
The crowd erupted in a mixture of awe and bewilderment, and after the ceremony, Alice, the top student, confronted him.
"You, the grandson of the headmaster, dared to stand on the same stage as me, and you recited such a ridiculous curse!"
"I... I'm sorry," Iruma stammered, "My grandfather, he just... forced me to."
Alice, however, was not one for excuses. He unleashed a torrent of fire toward Iruma. Iruma dodged, not wanting to fight, but the flames arced toward a group of terrified students.
He didn't have a choice.
Using his knowledge of non-verbal magic, he swiftly forced himself and Alice down, avoiding the magical fire.
The spell he'd recited earlier, however, worked in a different way.
He wasn't allowed to "fall" on his first day, so his body refused to give out, accidentally turning his dodge into a perfect German suplex, sending Alice flying into the stage floor with a loud thud.
That evening, Iruma retold the entire story to his father and grandfather over dinner.
Delkira, listening to the tale, couldn't contain his laughter, a boisterous, booming sound that shook the house.
"A German suplex!" Delkira roared, wiping a tear from his eye.
"I'm so proud of you, my son!"
After dinner, with a full belly and a happy heart, Iruma retired to his room, a smile on his face. He may have been in a new world, a scary world, but with his father's love and his grandfather's guidance, he knew he would be just fine.