Chapter 9: Cruel Master (6)

Surrounded by beautiful trees and flowers, he took the note Merlin had entrusted to him. Then, willing to risk her betrayal, he took the necessary steps to summon her. Standing up straight, Akito nodded to himself and gulped down his saliva. "What if-" He stopped himself and tilted his head down. "No what-ifs now." He told himself as he read out loud. "upon thee, created to serve, created to no bounds of mortal rules, Merlin, upon this time, appear." a shinning array of light began hovering the park. An unbelievable amount of energy disrupted the surrounding areas, and a sudden portal sprouted next to Akito.

"Here she is." He said as he guarded his face against the flying objects. Suddenly a leg appears to be stepping out of the portal. Here she was in all her glory: Merlin, the last hope in, learned everything about this world before him. "Merlin." He said as he looked at her. The energy discharge came to a halt, and the area became calm and quiet once again.

Looking around, Merlin smiled and noted. "Did my summoning cause all of this?" Then, hysterically laughing, she pondered and asked Akito.

Confused by her comment, Akito took a look around the surrounding area only to find that they caused a decent toll on the environment. "Huh? From just a summon?" He asked himself with an agitated appearance.

"Just how much energy did you put into the summon seal?" She asked him while softly chuckling.

"What do you mean?" He asked her as he put away the tiny fancy note. "Well, I imbedded the summon with a seal, and for you to break it and summon me." She said while she walked towards him. "You needed to output a decent amount of energy." She said while she looked him into the eyes. "But this was too much." She explained to Akito while she gestured at the environment.

"Why'd you do that?" He mumbled while blushing.

"Well, because I wanted to see how strong you were." She said while pointing at him. "I wouldn't want to take in a weak student, would I now?" she asked him.

"I guess so." He said while he shook his shoulders. "Your stronger than I had previously examined." She said with a daring look. "I would expect nothing less from a person of your level." She told him with a grin. "Anyways, I'm hungry. So, feed me." She forcefully told him. "Eh, me?" He asked while shaking. "Yes, who else. We need to celebrate this occasion." She said while she drew him closer with her arm around his shoulder. "What occasion?" Asked Akito as he laid his head on her shoulder. "You becoming my student." She boldly stated out loud. "Ha? I haven't agreed yet." He shouted as he tried to get away from her hardened grip. Laughing, she sensed a person behind her.

"Hey, you two." Said a figure standing behind them. looking back, she coldly stared into the person. "Who are you?" She asked him with a frown. "I am a devil. My name is Zail, and I'm here to destroy the will of the Blue Flame master." He boldly shouted at them. "On whose request?" She asked him while they faced him.

Akito finally managed to get away from Merlin, and then he looked at the Devil. Suspicious of the sudden appearance, he glanced at Merlin and back at him. "This is too staged." So he told himself as he allowed mana to flow through his body. Then weary of the situation, he opened the portal to his arsenal with a hand sign and pulled out his sword, the Blade of Dawn. "What's with this staged acting, Merlin?" He said with an angered expression.

"First lesson, keep your eyes on your enemy." She said as pointed toward the Devil who launched himself towards Akito. Placing the back of his sword over his forearm, he held the attacker who had swung his blade towards him. Then, in the loud clinging of the two-blade, Akito looked over to Merlin and pressured for an answer. "Are you up to this?" He asked her furiously as he managed to block another hit.

"Second lesson, when in battle, maintain a constant observation on your opponent." She lectured him as she placed her chin on top of her clenched fist.

"Ahh, are you two serious?" Screamed the Devil as he drew back for distance.

"Merlin, what's the meaning of this?" He asked her one final time, pressuring her to answer with a worried expression.

"It's not of my doing. Whoever that sent him here must've known that I was going to be summoned." She scoffed away his concerns as she raised her shoulders. "Show me, what you can do, Akito." She said with a smile.

"How can I believe you?" He asked her as he looked over back to the Devil. Akito's stare alone sent shivers down the spine of the low-ranking Devil.

"This guy, he's going to kill me." The Devil told himself as he shook in fear. "I don't want to die." He shouted at Akito.

"If you want to leave here alive, tell me who sent you," Akito asked the Devil ferociously as he took one of his hands off the sword. Scared, the Devil stood there, with two options that guaranteed his death. First, he dropped his sword in fear and crouched down. Then, Hibervantling, the Devil, started crying. Unable to speak, he opened his mouth and laughed while holding his head.

"It was the high-ranking general, Lord Azazel."

"What a troublesome fella." Said Merlin as her eyes drew towards Akito with shock. Curious about Azazel, Akito drew his attention towards the Devil and shouted at him. "What's his purpose for sending you here?" He roared in anger.

"To delay the mage's summoning, she poses a threat to their plan." He explained with tears running down his face while thinking to himself. "I'm dead, that's for sure. But if I didn't speak, this guy's aura alone would've choked me to death." Then, looking up towards the pair, he sobbed and begged for mercy. "Please, don't kill me. I have a family, I beg of you." He said while he reached out his arms for forgiveness.

"I won't." Said Akito while signaling the reverse hand sign to summon back his weapon. "More importantly, you can't go back, can you?" He asked the Devil while he placed his hoodie on top of his head.

"No, but at least I can make it back to my family. I want to see their faces before I get my punishment." He uttered as the stream of tears came to a stop. Wiping away the remaining specs, he looked up at Akito.

"Come with me. I can protect you," Akito told the Devil as he faced away.

What's your name again?" Akito asked the Devil as he turned his head around to face him with a smile.

Hanging off the ground with a massive arm through his chest, he uttered slowly. "My name is Zail."

Standing behind Zail, the mysterious horned person started laughing as he threw the dead corps on the ground while it disintegrated into thin air. "I am Azazel, and I am here to embark a message onto you two. The final act is nearing, and soon you, Akito, shall lose it all." He said with a dark smirk. Akito started sprinting towards the Devil with his full power, but instantly he vanished into thin air. "You bastard, face me!" Screamed Akito with his lungs full of air.

Merlin stood there, immediately able to assess the situation. She instructed Akito with their next move. "Come closer. We need to leave this area now." She said while she grabbed hold of him. Teleporting far away, they landed on top of Akito's bed. With her on top of him, he blushed and looked out.

"Uhh, sorry." She said while getting off of him. She sat on the bed as Akito got up and pacing through his room. "I promised I was going to protect him, but I failed." Said Akito as he faced the other way from Merlin with tears in his eyes. "It's starting sooner than I had hoped for," Merlin said to herself as she crossed her arms.

While crying, Akito, with a hiccup, followed with a question for Merlin. "Who was he?" He asked.