First Manifestation

Raw, unbridled anger.

That was what Isabella felt as she practically stormed her way toward the training hall.

Just a couple of seconds ago, she had sensed Leofred unleash his Supreme-class aura and just moments after, she felt her son's emotions all over the place.

Hade was in danger!

"That crazy bastard!" Isabella could hardly contain her fury.

It was only a few days ago that she had nearly lost her son to that deranged lunatic Nobu, and now this, and in her own home no less!

Homicidal, that was how she felt right now.

*Boom!*

The hall's towering wooden doors could barely withstand her wrath as she barged in ready to kill. But the sight that greeted her was heartbreaking, to say the least...

Isabella arrived just in time to see the scare of her life- a burning sword of pure white light streaking towards her son!

"No!" She screamed.

At that moment, a hundred possible scenarios played in her head but sadly, none ended with a favorable outcome.

There was nothing in her arsenal she could use to save her son, nothing that could guarantee his sanity afterwards.

'Is this it? Will I watch my son die right in front of my eyes?'

It was then that Isabella saw a scene she would never forget, an image that would forever be engraved in her head.

One second, the sword was about to blast Hade to oblivion, and the next, almost as if a glitch had happened, it magically teleported behind him, before continuing unabated in its path of destruction!

*Boom!*

The sword crashed and broke through the castle wall, leaving rocks and debris in its wake, but no one no longer paid it any mind.

The hall was in utter and complete silence. What the hell had just happened?!

Isabella's teary eyes were wide with both relief and confusion. And it wasn't just her...

Leofred, too, was dumbfounded. Of all the possibilities, this was not one he had anticipated nor predicted...

If Hade had somehow broken free of the bonds and escaped by a narrow margin... then that would've been more acceptable.

However, to switch positions with the sword, and escape unscathed...

"This..." Leofred was astonished, to say the least.

A Mortal-class weakling who only two weeks ago did not have the slightest idea about magic was now casting Manipulation-type spells? Just what the hell was going on here?!

Isabella was the first to recover. She still had a traitor to deal with, after all.

Focusing her telepathic sight on Leofred, she utilized her strongest Mind Manifestation spell to assault his mind with full vengeance.

The blindfolded man was caught unawares.

*Baaam!*

He was sent flying over 50 meters away, bleeding from all of his facial orifices! He crashed into the wall with a loud bang and for the next few seconds, just lay motionlessly on the floor.

He did not look like he was getting up any moment soon.

Her heart finally freed from the thirst for payback, Isabella turned her whole attention to her son.

...Hade was a pitiful sight. His clothes were charred, his skin had suffered mild burns, and his face was so pale that he looked more dead than alive.

'F*ck.'

Hade had never felt as weary as he did right now. Forget all that had just happened, all he wanted to do at that moment was just rest.

With Leofred nullified, the chains binding his legs also came undone. As it turned out, they were what was keeping him upright since as soon as they dissipated, he slumped helplessly to the floor.

Isabella rushed to catch him whilst Bartholomew, now back in full control of his body and limbs, went to restrain Leofred.

"You little brat," Isabella pouted, her eyes red and tears on the verge of falling.

"Will you ever let me have a moment of peace?"

"Relax, mom, I'm not dying any time soon, I promise," Hade muttered with a weak but reassuring smile.

"You're damn right you're not."

Despite the situation, Isabella could not help but feel proud of her son. Twice now, he had cheated death, but this time, it was a testament to his own strength.

As Hade lost consciousness, Leofred, on the other hand, was showing signs of a very speedy recovery. The blood he had lost was slowly retracting back into his body... like some spooky time reversal spell!

Barthololew, however, was having none of it...

"Stay down!" He warned, baring his teeth.

Sadly, Leofred barely paid him any mind. He groaned as he quickly got up to his feet, his gaze transfixed on the mother and son duo in the distance.

Coincidentally, he no longer had the blindfold tied around his face. It had fallen off during Isabella's powerful mind attack, giving way to a pair of keen and inquisitive green eyes.

Bartholomew, however, was not at all amused at being ignored. Upon his command, his hands started to morph rapidly into sharp green bestial claws.

'Pseudo-transformation spell... not bad for a late Sage class,' Leofred thought.

Even then, his gaze still did not grace the bald man. Instead, it traveled past the angry butler to the man with long black hair and blood-red eyes who had just entered the hall.

"Wasn't that a bit too excessive?" Castus asked, his face as blank as usual. He did not look angry at all, even though his youngest son had almost died.

"It worked, didn't it?" Leofred answered nonchalantly.

"You could've killed him!" Isabella cut in, expressing her displeasure. Only now had she realized what Leofred had attempted to do.

"Had he not managed to react in time, I could've easily cancelled the spell. Besides, given how you attacked me earlier, I think we are pretty much even."

Isabella frowned upon noticing that Leofred now barely had a scratch on his person despite suffering the brunt of her attack earlier.

'How did he manage to heal so quickly?' She wondered to herself.

Meanwhile, Bartholomew was the only one who still looked confused. Had all this been just a ruse Leofred concocted to manipulate Hade into using magic?

If so, even he could not help but be slightly impressed. The whole thing had looked so convincing!

"I'm sorry by the way," Leofred told him.

Bartholomew, however, chose not to answer. Even though he had mostly recovered, that first attack still hurt...

"Bartholomew," Castus interjected.

"Please help my wife carry Hade back to his room. I will be there shortly." 

The bald man bowed respectfully and withdrew, but not before scowling at Leofred who sheepishly ruffled his spiky black hair.

Bartholomew lifted Hade onto his back and gently carried him out of the hall, with a worried Isabella in tow.

An awkward silence lingered between the remaining two men.

"Your wife is quite strong," Leofred commented blithely.

Contrary to his statement, he looked perfectly fine for someone who had just been the target of an attack capable of killing anyone below Sage class, especially if they had been caught by surprise as he had.

Leofred hesitated for a few moments, then continued:

"But your son, oh he is even more interesting. Believe it or not, but that spell he used was actually a manipulation-type spell. How amazing is that? The spell must've drained all of his energy reserves in one go, no wonder he passed out soon after casting it."

Castus's blank look did not change, but Leofred did not seem to mind.

"Maybe I might have overdone it a little bit," he admitted openly.

"But what other choice did I have?"

"Get to the point, Leofred," Castus hissed impatiently. Only he had noticed throughout this whole ordeal that Leofred's blindfold had come undone.

The Light Supreme laughed.

"As usual, you are no fun, old friend," he said, before donning a serious expression on his face.

"So, who else knows, wait, does he even know?"

"Know what?" Castus asked, his tone low and menacing.

Unfortunately, Leofred wasn't one to back down easily, especially when dealing with matters of such gravitas.

In fact, if you didn't factor in Castus's high dragon familiar, he was fairly confident of holding out his own in a one-on-one fight, for a certain period, of course.

"Does your son know that he's a host?" he asked defiantly.

That would explain everything. From the artifactual blindfold, to the boy's freakish physical abilities, and finally, his trouble learning magic. If the boy was a host, it would all suddenly start to make sense.

"Wait, is that why you also easily agreed to send him to the Schools in the first place? So that he could meet August?"

"Stop drawing conclusions, Leofred," Castus sighed exasperatedly.

He paused, turned abruptly, then started walking away.

"Yesterday you gave me valuable advice. Today, allow me to give you mine. Stay out of my family's business. You came here to repay a favor, I expect you to do nothing more and nothing less."

Leofred watched him leave.

"You won't be able to hide him forever, Castus," he mumbled to himself.