Another enemy or a new friend?

He stepped directly onto the field where a fierce battle was raging between a horde of demons and an unknown creature, but what really struck him was that the blood-soaked field was strewn with countless dead demon bodies, and against them, just one small creature.

The air crackled with energy as a blinding blue-white light pierced the ranks of demons, destroying them one by one. Lear could hardly believe his eyes, watching in awe as the mysterious beam, alone, destroyed an entire army of demons. With mixed feelings of wonder, admiration and fear, Bel watched the battle until the last demon fell.

Towering over the scene of the carnage, the creature hovered in mid-air.

Lear stared intently at the stranger, his heart pounding with curiosity and fear. Sensing his presence, the creature turned to him and shot him a piercing look, "Who is that? It doesn't look like he's in league with demons."

Lear felt a shiver run down his back. He couldn't help but wonder about the creature's true nature - through the bright halo of light surrounding the creature, he could see the silhouette of a man, but was it human or something entirely different?

As if sensing Lear's thoughts, the creature descended to the ground and began to approach, staring intently at the boy. "I feel as if his vessel has just awakened, but then how could such a weak child be here?"-and beyond that he had another question that caused alarm-"Why is he covered in blood and reeking of dark manna?"

Coming close to the boy, the creature stopped. Its eyes were deep and enigmatic and its voice sounded powerful and confident: "Speak," it commanded. - "Who are you?"

Lear tried to answer, but his voice caught in his throat. With no strength left, he felt his legs begin to shake. He could no longer hold on and, fainting, began to fall to the ground. The last thing he saw before his eyes closed was an impenetrable expression on the stranger's face.

He was not prepared for such an answer, however, before the boy fell, the stranger still managed to catch him.

Laying the child on the ground, he decided that he had to check his condition. Concentrating and placing a hand on his chest, he closed his eyes, but after only a second, his face was suddenly distorted with an expression of alarm and shock - the boy's vessel was being consumed by a dark manna.

Without wasting a second, he once again placed his hands on the boy's chest and closed his eyes, concentrating on a single thought: "I have to stop it somehow."

A golden glow began to emanate from his palms and the light surrounding the stranger began to slowly fade, gradually revealing the true form of the man behind it. "Looks like I'll have to seal the vessel to stop the distortion."

So, beginning the ritual, the energy began to flow over to the boy, filling his body. The ground around them trembled and the wind howled angrily, causing fallen leaves to fly upwards like feathers, but unaware of all this, the stranger continued his work.

His whole body was tense - the ritual was only getting harder by the minute. "I've already spent so much manna, but it's still not enough to complete the seal. His vessel is literally sucking all the energy out of me, at this rate, I'll be in danger myself !" However, a glance at the boy's face made him realise that the ritual was equally painful for both of them.

Suddenly, everything around them froze, the stranger's hands stopped glowing and silence enveloped the place where they were - despite the difficulties, the stranger still managed to complete the ritual. With a final burst of energy, he removed his hands from the boy's chest and, breathing heavily, collapsed to the ground. The boy lay beside him, his breathing intermittent, but his face finally lost the expression of pain it had before.

Wiping the sweat from his forehead, the stranger slowly rose to his feet and looked at the boy, who was now sleeping peacefully. "This should work," he muttered to himself. - "But I'll still have to keep an eye on him. The dark manna is too dangerous a force and it won't be easy to contain."

Lifting the boy in his arms, the man looked at him with a sense of overdone duty. "Yeah, that's just crazy, apart from that one time, I've never lost my manna so fast in my life. Who is this guy anyway ?"