Chapter 24: What is it that you want?

*FWOOSH*

Loud gusts of wind could be heard as numerous wind elemental spells cancelled at the same time. Levi and the rest of the party had just arrived at the hurricane wolves' den.

The first to arrive was obviously Raja and John followed by Aina and then Levi and Juan, all accompanied by almost a dozen hurricane wolves. Juan released Levi from the bubble.

"Ok. Before we enter, let us do a quick roll call." Raja said as he walked around and confirmed if all of his pack members were present. After some time, he determined that they all made it back alive. 

He had put up a strong front on the battlefield, but he cared a lot for his pack members and was genuinely glad that none of them had died during the earlier clash with the demon bear.

They all entered the den. Aina and her servants were on high alert as they walked into the cave like den, Levi had a downtrodden expression. Completely different things were going on in his mind at that moment.

They walked for a while more until Raja decided to settle in a particular round area at the center of the large den. The space served as a sort of meeting room/ panic room and it was by far the most spacious and formal room in the entire den.

Raja gestured for his guests to sit right opposite him, in the floor obviously 

"I usually don't speak around humans, except Levi over there. But today, I make an exception....." Raja said as he prostrated.

The three humans could not understand what he was saying, but it is was not hard to guess from his body language.

He bowed his head so low that his snout touched the ground then he said: "I and my pack are very grateful for your assistance during our time of need. And as the pack leader, I speak on everyone's behalf when I say, thank you."

Raja thanked Aina and her fellow servants with a humble bow. If it wasn't for their help, they would all be dead by now.

"Oh no, raise your head. There is no need to thank us." Aina said with a smile. 

'yes there is!' John and Juan simultaneously thought.

"We were actually just searching for my little brother here." Aina said while pointing to where Levi was.....or more accurately, where he was supposed to be.

"Huh? Where did he go?" Aina asked. At that point, everyone realized that Levi had gone missing.

John and Juan exchanged knowing glances and started running towards the den's entrance, with Aina and Raja right behind them.

"He couldn't have gotten that far. Find Levi, now." Aina ordered and the two servants obeyed without questioning. They ran into the woods in search of the boy who just kept disappearig

"That boy.....just where could he have gone to...." Aina said, the worry was evident in her voice.

"He doesn't usually behave like this." Raja said.

"...."

"...!"

"Will those two be able to find him on their own or..." Raja asked. Aina, who could not understand what the wolf said just glanced at the beast that was shorter than her.

Raja gazed into her eyes.

'such care... Levi, you are really lucky to have a sister like this.' Raja thought. 

He trotted back to the den, and net up with a single wolf that had black marks on his four legs.

"Help then find him. But do not get engaged." Raja said to the wolf.

The subordinate just bowed and ran off into the woods, the air step spell already active.

——–

Somewhere else in the forest, a few metres from where the den was. There was a clearing.

The area was devoid of trees, only tall grasses, but the surroundings had very tall trees which grew around the open space making it a very convenient hiding spot. 

In the clearing, a figure could be seen, throwing frustrated punches at a rock the size of a grown adult but a few times wider.

It was Levi.

*Bam!*Bam!*

A punching sound mixed with that of tearing flesh and breaking bones resonated throughout the entire area as Levi threw ineffective blows at the hard, unmoving rock.

The skin around his knuckles peeled off as it made contact with the rock's rough surface. Blood, Levi's blood, was smeared all over a particular point on the rock and bones shattered as his fingers couldn't withstand the rock's toughness.

From the bloodied and broken fingers, to the disturbed look on his face. It was quite obvious that Levi was in pain.

He was hurt.

'damn it! What the fuck is this even?!' Levi screamed in his mind as he entered full self deprecating mode.

'i got the shadow grimoire!'

*Crack*

A cracking sound was heard as Levi bashed his already destroyed fist into the hard rock.

'i learnt about aether, and fought that stupid thing!'

*Crack*Crack*

'heck, I even spent the last five days training my fighting skills! Yet, I'm still like this!'

*Crack*

'how the hell can a human being be this useless!'

'lev-'

'everything that was needed to change my f*cking life into something noteworthy was handed to me on a plater. And what do I have to show for it?!'

'nothing! Not even a single f*cking thing damnit!'

Levi was a person with very pessimistic tendencies. He would always view his situation in the worst possible way. What he didn't know was that there weren't many people his age who could actually stand and face off with Mana beasts like Raja or Alpha without pissing themselves.

He always expected the best out of himself. He was the kind of person to push himself and always aim beyond the limits. He didn't have an opportunity before, but ever since he obtained the shadow grimoire his fighting spirit awakened.

Luck was never on his side though. It was always him against the world, and he would always have the worst possible start. In his past life, and even now, he had always been thrown into the worst possible scenario. He did not have any help or any Trump cards, only himself and his unwavering grit, but he still never managed to succeed.

He was not some main character of an anime. The facts were that a twelve year old could not do anything against shady groups, and similarly, a person who was just discovering their abilities would be lucky to even scratch the back of a B-rank Mana beast like Alpha. Such was simply the reality.

'levi.'

His mind was overflowing with sorrow, and he could not hear the voice that was trying to reach him.

'i said that I was going to make a those bastards who shoved me aside and insulted me pay, but how am I supposed to do that when I can't even properly do this?! Huh?'

*Crack* Crack* Crack*

"Tell me!!" He shouted out loud.

'levi!!!"

'huh?'

He finally noticed the voice which had been calling out to him. It was his partner, Grim.

'stop.' 

'....stop..what exactly?' Levi questioned.

'all of this....just stop.' Grim said in a depressing tone.

'i...don't understand what your talking about.' Levi said as he got into a position to continue his fruitless battering.

'really? Is that seriously what you're going with? Just take a look at yourself....take a look at your hands for sh*tsake!' Grim screamed at his partner.

'my...hands?' Levi said as he looked down to see the abysmal state of his fingers. They were mutilated to the extent that he could see the white of his bone underneath the crimson coloured blood.

'did I...do this?' Levi was quite confused. He had only just realized what he had been doing for the past few minutes.

'yes! You did it all to yourself, by yourself....' Grim said in a scolding tone, but his voice trailed off.

'...and that's why, I want you to stop. Please.' Grim was basically pleading.

"...."

'look. I know, it's all my fault.' Grim started.

'no it's no-' Levi wanted to stop him in his tracks but got cut off.

'let me finish. The reason why I got mad was because of my past experiences with being alone...' Grim said. The memories of before they met flowed into Levi's head like a stream.

Grim was created several thousand years ago, and spent every single day after his creator died by himself. He was utilizing his own lifeforce to sustain himself for all this time. He was forced to spent several millennia living in the fear of someday using up his life force, and completely dying out.

His trauma was once again rekindled when Levi temporarily severed their link. He was forced to rely on his own life force, even though it was only for a short period of time. Every one had their own demons, Levi had awoken Grim's by reminding him of his past.

Even though he was not exactly a hunan, he was still a sentient being with a mind of his iwn. IIt was truly a wonder that he hadn't lost said mind, even after all those years of abject loneliness.

'.....but my personal issues are no reason to negelect my true task, my life's purpose which is training you. I could have taught you more, I could have helped you grow stronger. I failed, as a teacher, as your teacher. I failed as your friend.' Grim said in a very depressing tone.

Levi's eyes went wide at the words, but they quickly returned to normal.

'no, you are not to blame for all of this. It's my lack of talent! I was a wrong choice, I won't ever be able to live up to your or anyone else's expectations!' Levi said as he gripped his hair tightly, fully intent on pulling if out. An action he was no stranger to.

Grim couldn't take it anymore. Levi started out with an aether core at the mid blue stage, a feat which even the strongest mages of the past could never achieve. Levi developed a fully functional aether structure in only five days! It took the writer of the shadow grimoire itself an entire month to accomplish this, and he was hailed as a prodigy.

Levi was downplaying himself, and Grim wanted nothing more than to just scream at him saying: "you're talented! You are a f*cking prodigy!!". But he knew that something like that wasn't going to work so he went about it in a different manner.

'levi, may I ask you a question?' Grim said.

'hmmm?'

'what is it that you wish for? What is your will?' Grim asked.

Levi stopped for some time to think. He thought about it. He wanted to prove everyone wrong, he wanted to become someone by himself, he wanted to become rich. After a few more moments, he summed it up to one thing.

I want...to become strong, the strongest. I want power." Levi concluded.

'your will is power, good. Now may I ask another question?' Grim asked.

'ask.' Levi simply permitted.

'why do you think that you were chosen by me? You are the inheritor of the legacy of shadows, what do you think that means?' Grim questioned.

"...." Levi was speechless. He had no answer to the unexpected question.

'you were chosen because out of the millions of people who reside in this continent, your 'shadow' is strongest. And I should know, I have been to all parts of the continent. You have the strongest shadow on the planet.' Grim said.

'so?' Levi asked.

'did you know that the shadow is connected to one's soul, therefore it reflects your will.' 

'your will is to become the strongest, and you have the strongest shadow. As long as you follow the path of shadow magic, your being the strongest is all but guaranteed.' Grim said.

"....." Once again, Levi was speechless. He was completely dumbstruck at the words of his partner. He didn't expect them, at all and his mouth opened ever so slightly..

The slacked jaw soon transformed into a smile. Levi was now beaming the brightest smile since his birth. It was at this very moment that John and Juan finally arrived at Levi's location, a wolf leading them from behind.

One could imagine their shock as they arrived to see the young master smiling. For all the years which they had worked at the Swordhearth mansion, they had never once seen Levi's teeth, not even a smirk ever formed on his face. Only a frown.

There were no shortage of rumors concerning this situation as a few people believed that he was only capable of frowning due to medical reasons. Some said it was a curse, and there were many more theories surrounding this fact. It was among the top five topics of the Swordhearth family gossip.

"What the heck?"

"I think we missed aomething."

"Definitely."

The wolf did not say anything.

The two murmured in low voices, but Levi's sharp ears picked up on the sounds.

"You guys can stop hiding now." Levi said and looked in their direction. The three were hidden in the bushes.

"Oh cr*p, is he going to do something to is now that we've seen his smile?"

"I hope not."

"Hey!" Levi yelled, disrupting their whisperings.

"Let's go back. Aina would be worried sick by now." Levi said and started walking towards the den.

The two servants exchanged confused glances, then shrugged and followed behind the already moving Levi. The wolf still accompanying them.

There were still a lot of mysteries surrounding the shadow grimoire, but one thing was for certain. The bond between Grim and Levi had grown much stronger than before.

A/N:

First chap of the day, expect 2~3 more in a few.

Special thanks to halis_eren_balaban and Epic_Buddie123 for the power stones.