The patriarch of the clan, ...

-Toc, Toc.

"...Who?" 

A man's fluent voice rang out from behind the two doors.

The pressure and vibration the voice contained were so powerful that the echoes could be felt by those behind.

"Patriarch, it's Mystic Shadow."

At these words spoken by Mystic, a moment of silence that made the guards smirk settled.

But soon, the answer came from within.

This time, despite the speaker's efforts, his voice was slightly bridled as he spoke.

"Come in!" 

Mystic enters without caring about the guards who are struggling to overcome their embarrassment.

When she pushed the doors open, a huge room opened up to her.

About twenty paces away from her, a man with a fierce look of the same features as her, was sitting behind a desk filled with paperwork.

Mystic stopped after five steps forward and kneeled in front of that man.

"Mystic Forret Shadow of the third generation, …greets the esteemed patriarch of the clan." 

"Hmm?"

The man stops what he is doing and slowly looks up at Mystic.

His horns are pointed upwards like a humanoid dragon, and his pupils which were shaded by his bangs, began to shine brighter than the light of the blood-red crystals in the room.

Although he is essentially dressed in a mere black Yukata, his build exudes power and majesty that surpasses the commonality of mortals.

The spiritual pressure that naturally emanated from him was powerful enough to give Mystic the shivers who had just entered his office.

After a moment, the fierce glint in his eyes softened.

"I see, you didn't come to greet me only."

He then whispers with a slight sigh.

"Yes, father."

At these words, He frowns.

"...Show me that." He then orders.

It was strange to hear him say these words.

Since the second he said them and reached out, the grimoire got out of its sheath from Mystic's waist and flew towards the patriarch.

When he retrieved Mystic's grimoire, his eyes shone once more.

On his desk, among the piles of documents, a book that shone like a diamond stone overshadowed its fellows because of its majestic appearance.

It was like a diamond among a pile of stones. In fact, Its cover is really made of diamond.

Moreover, its size and thickness were not ordinary, it was as if it contained all the knowledge of the world.

Mystic did not frown despite the intrepid actions and emotionless looks of his supposed father.

She was there, kneeling, and sometimes stealing glances at his actions.

—

Platinum-tier grimoires exist, but only three world figures possess them.

One of these three figures considered the hero of darkness, is Pettriddas Ber Forett Shadow—that guy before Mystic.

He alone has fought fierce battles, leaving a bloody theater behind him before being here at this very moment.

How can one not be envious of such a legend that imposes respect in humans and fear in his enemies' hearts?

The clan under his rule is also one of the three rare and powerful clans to undergo a mutation!

Mystic's traits and the other demon-like humans in the city took their roots from this man's seeds!

If Mystic calls him 'father', it is not in the exact sense of the term.

All orphans of the clan are, as is their custom, automatically adopted by the patriarch of the clan.

A vestige of the past existing only in the minds of warriors and a martyr, that is what Mystic Shadow's biological father is right now.

Aside from this clan, two other clans have the same authority and status as them.

It is no wonder that humans are now thriving on the surface considering the power of these three superpowers!

—

After inspecting Mystic's grimoire he returns it to her in the same manner he took it from her.

Then, still with the same indifference, he gets up and leaves behind his desk.

As he walked towards Mystic, his footsteps echoed like a giant's through every corner of the room.

He stops in front of Mystic and looks at her like a small ant under him due to his height which is about ~230cm!

Now that he has exposed himself to the light, his resemblance to Mystic has become more striking.

Although his complexion's darker than Mystic's, their facial features overlap, like the older male version of Mystic.

His hair was spiky and messy, with two scars along his left eye to his chin, passing through his cheek, and a coarse mustache.

This man, Pettriddas Ber Forett Shadow, despite his middle-aged appearance, is over two centuries old!

"Lift your head and look me in the eyes."

Mystic writhes slightly in pain as the patriarch's voice imbued with his spiritual energy hits her eardrums. 

Her ears started bleeding in the same second. 

Yet, Mystic didn't let out a single grunt of pain. 

As the patriarch wanted, she raised her head, looking at his bloody red eyes that were looking at hers with her heart boiling with oppression. 

The two look at each other for a long time without saying a word. 

Mystic knew what kind of test she was undergoing. 

This test is nothing complicated, she must maintain eye contact as long as possible in front of this monster in the skin of a monster.

After thirty seconds, his eyes, nostrils, and mouth also started bleeding.

But the patriarch didn't utter a word or alleviate her suffering despite her miserable state.

After a minute,

"Good!"

These words rumble in the room by him after a while.

Mystic, with a body in sweat and blood, finally blinks as her body is as helpless as a leaf at the mercy of the wind.

"What do you wish?" The patriarch then asked.

Cough! Cough!

When Mystic tried to speak, she coughed up blood, staining the black-marbled floor with her blood.

But the patriarch's eyes didn't blink, he waited for her to speak, no matter how long it would necessarily take.

"I want...one day...to overtake my father," Mystic difficulty answered but with determination.

Following Mystic's words, he began to think for a moment.

"Your father was sure a powerful pillar of our clan, but...??"

He stops halfway through his sentence when he sees Mystic shake her head.

"Who is it?" 

"The father I want to get ahead of is you, father!" 

"...Me?" 

"Yes, you, esteemed patriarch!" 

"..." Although he looked silent and steady, flames of surprise danced deep in his pupils as he gazed at the determination in Mystic's eyes. 

'If the others heard her right now, they would laugh out loud. But...that brat, since when did she become so...'

He didn't dare to finish his words when he saw Mystic take her grimoire from her sheath. 

She then spoke. 

"I still remember what you told my fellows and me fourteen years ago." 

"..."

"According to your words, the most important thing is not to contract a grimoire of high rank, but to know our deepest desires first." 

Mystic places her grimoire on her lap with her hand placed on it as she speaks these words. 

Pettriddas frowns as he remembers his own words. 

'That kid... I already knew she was pretending to be dumb up to now, but now that I see her take off that mask, …looks like she's wearing a second one under the first one.'

Pettriddas was at a loss for words as he stared into Mystic's empty, bloody eyes.

'When she was born, the clansmen and I thought that a prodigy had been born.

Born from the genes of a proud and powerful warrior who could probably surpass me in the future if he had not perished in the last bloodiest battle, this child had shown her qualities from an early age.

No matter how many tests I had put in place to develop the talent of my descendants at a young age, this brat was among the best.

But it was only during the awakening ritual that her talent had begun to fade. The elders and I had done our best to help her cross this cape but without success.

In the end, I could no longer afford to favor a former genius who had become a waste; her fate was sealed, or so I believed.

But then... what if I was wrong?'

His blood began to boil in his veins as a glimmer of hope appeared in his eyes.

However, he extinguished his excitement with a simple blink of his eyelids.

"I remember. Our grimoires evolve at the same rhythm of our inner will and transform us into war machines."

"I...

He cuts Mystic off.

"However, wishing something is different from making those wishes real. So tell me, my son's offspring, what do you desire deep within your soul!?" 

As he asked, his spiritual energy exploded from his body like a devastating tsunami.

The walls of his office and the ground under their feet began to tremble fiercely from the devastating effects of his dark spiritual energy!

"Would you dare tell me the reason behind your previous failures?"

The more he spoke, the more spiritual energy he deliberately put into his words, and the more Mystic struggled to keep her mind clearer.

She could feel her mind wavering between lucidity and madness with every second she spent in this hell.

Yet she did her best to ignore the excruciating pain in her whole body, and the wrenching pain in her soul.

Gradually, her eyes began to show more lucidity than pain.

'...that glint in her eyes…?' Pettriddas frowned as he stared at his daughter's bloodied face.

For some reason, the cold glint in his daughter's eyes seemed somehow familiar.

It didn't take him long to understand the nature of that glint.

'I see, children grow up fast these days.'

After saying these words, he erases all the effects of his mind pressure on Mystic.

"We'll see with time." 

He coldly pronounces these words while watching Mystic gasp before his eyes. 

"Now that said, let me see what you got back last six months." He switches on another subject. 

As for Mystic, despite her entire body being numb, and her consciousness hanging by a thread, she hasn't given up yet.

With trembling, bloodied hands, she opens her grimoire and summons her guardian beast.

After a small black portal, a shabby skeleton leaps urgently out of the portal as if waiting for this opportunity.

'Finally!'

Newly emerged from the darkness, Devon stretched his body with a joy no one in the room could see.

'...??'

This time, the patriarch failed to keep his calm when his eyes landed on Devon.