The Demon Shiva

Velios, however, was in no hurry to go off and search for whatever he needed to find. He decided to stay back until he had read every single book on magic there was to read in there. Velios had already researched many different topics concerning mana and magic theory, and he was not done yet. Velios wanted all of it for no other reason than self-indulgence and pleasure. He had done his fair bit of research on mana theory and mana manipulation, as well as more unique types of magic such as the ability to control and manipulate sound, magma, light, lightning, nature, and much more. All of it had multiple books with distinct tests and theories based on research, but the author was unknown. It would not have been weird if it weren't for the fact that every single book that did not cover magic had its author written on it. Velios didn't honestly care that much about any of that. All Velios wanted was to learn as much as possible that could be practically used.

Velios had spent the second half of his reading session trying to successfully use one of the new magic types he had read about. In the end, albeit difficult, Velios successfully managed to control it to some degree. With it, he could essentially manipulate what people see to a small degree. With the help of the new magic, Velios could essentially turn completely invisible, which made his cloak pretty useless considering all he did for it, but at least it worked out in the end. The magic which Velios had learned was light magic, the manipulation and control of light. With it, he now had a sure-proof plan to casually walk around the Royal Palace without anyone so much as batting an eye to him. With it, he now had exited the library to begin his search to find the library.

All of the reading had taken its toll on Velios mentally. The seemingly huge castle located at the center directly at the base of the volcano was sure to be the Royal Palace he was looking for, but not did he think of that when he first began searching twenty minutes ago. At the very least, if it was not so obvious to begin with, Velios would have had to spend a much longer time looking for it. Now, all Velios had to do was to just waltz directly in as if it was his house. The Royal Palace was massive at first glance but bigger the closer he got. It was probably as a small town considering just how much ground it covered, and that was not accounting for the massive interior of the place. It was many times more luxurious than the buildings even in the capital. Made from strong yet finely crafted marble and quartz, Velios just stood in awe as he admired how big and spacious everything was.

Velios didn't know where to begin his search. He didn't want to just run around since he was currently manipulating a huge amount of magic which would break his concentration. He decided to just look around the place for now. Even if Velios didn't find the chamber within the first few hours, he would still probably already have found tons of valuable items that even he would keep. Wow! This place sure is huge. I wonder if they have some sort of library in here too? If they do, there might be more books on magic. But still, didn't that history book say that the demon was trapped inside a book? Well... Guess I will have to find the library now. Velios had multiple ways he could easily get what he wanted. He could blow up the whole place, revealing the location of the cursed book. He could simply use up his massive pool of mana to strengthen himself to the point where he could search for it in mere minutes. But while Velios was thinking to himself, he had seemed to have accidentally walked into a giant hall with a lone person talking to what appeared to be the king himself, sitting on a throne by the far end of the room.

Velios would have either left or just looked at who they were, but there was something that piqued his interest. He had heard one of them, the dragon knight, reporting on what had happened in the city at their arrival. No doubt about it, it's that dragon knight. He was a little bit underwhelming, but I guess he didn't take me seriously. Velios just slowly started getting closer and closer while making as little sound as possible. "King! This is urgent; there is an immensely strong human in the city! I sensed his presence, and as soon as I tried to attack him, I got countered, and as soon as the smoke had cleared, he was gone!" The king didn't look like he fully believed what the knight captain was saying. "Are you telling me that a mere human got through our barrier and not only that, is strong enough to potentially kill the captain of the second division? I think you need to rest a little. No doubt that you were attacked, yes. It is probably also true that there is someone or something among us that is dangerous. I understand that you are fully not aware of what you are saying since you are injured, so I will let it slide this time. But a mere human? How foolish. This matter shouldn't concern you anymore; report to the first division and let them handle it."

The dragon knight was left speechless and frustrated by the words of his king. Not even someone as powerful or smart as him understood or believed him. It was like everyone was slightly against him. He was the only one who actually saw Velios' face and knew what he looked like. With his experience, he wouldn't struggle to tell what kind of creature someone or something is, but even he had started to doubt himself. "...Yes, your majesty." Velios was left wondering just how much dragons looked down upon humans. Velios wouldn't say that humans altogether were a strong species, but he had realized that he must be some sort of exception. In Velios's view, dragons were just playtools, a species so naturally powerful that Velios could have all the fun in the world fighting them. But, there was one thing he had learned from watching the two converse. The dragon king is strong! Velios could sense that the dragon kind himself was in a league of his own. The sheer amount of mana he emitted was proof of that.

Velios had eventually gotten tired of just looking. Every time a guard or some noble dragon passed, he would either completely ignore them or play small pranks on them. After following one of the guards that had passed him, he eventually arrived at a massive gate, multiple layers thick with at least five guards guarding it. Even if Velios hadn't tried it before, he could most likely open up a hole in the metal by using magic or he could turn it into metal dust. Either way would work but they would both take some time. Velios had instead opted for the third choice. He caused a distraction that made the guards turn around and chase after him while he blows up an entrance for himself. All Velios had to do was open a small enough hole for him to fit through and close it, which was over in a few seconds, leaving minimum trace behind him. Once the guards had caught up to the distraction made by Velios, they had realized that it was just some small stones lit on fire. "Those damn nobles always want to play with us, do they?" The guards had no idea that Velios was the one behind it.

Upon entering, a massive stairway was seen that led down to the actual chambers of the Royal Palace. Velios walked slowly to fully take in what he was about to see. The chambers were nothing like the rest of the palace. It was as if they were two different places. It looked like it hadn't been opened for a hundred years, and the place itself looked worn down. With all of which Velios had seen, he was not prepared to see what was now in front of him at the lowest part in the chamber. It was another massive library that looked clean and well-kept compared to the stairway. It had massive bookshelves, and the whole place was arguably much bigger than the library down in the capital. Velios gave it a quick scan but saw something odd catch his attention in the corner of his eye. A single book had been placed so that it was facing the other way. All of the other book spines were facing outwards while this single one wasn't.

Velios had decided to go to it first. It looked weird with how well-kept everything else was that a single book had been placed wrong. Velios could also feel it. A faint aura that Velios had never felt before. Something so unfamiliar that he wasn't even sure if it was even magic. Velios slowly started walking towards it. Just before he could grab it, the book suddenly started talking. "Who dares try to grab me just because I'm sealed?" Velios just stared at it weirdly before actually taking it out and observing it. "Why is the book talking?" Velios lifted the book up and down as if he was looking for a reason to why it was talking. "Oh? It's just a kid, how lucky..." A mouth with sharp yet white teeth and an eye the color of blood had appeared on the face of the book. "I am Shiva, the demon. Could you give me a little hand, kid?"