Chapter 30 - Mythical and Demonic Beast

The Mythical and Demonic Beast class was situated in the basement of the school. A strange choice for location, but once Aether steeped into the lecture hall, it made sense. The lecture hall was situated so that the students would sit above the center of the room. The tables that circled the entire room were filled to the brim with students who were idly chit chatting amongst each other. Aether's eyes drifted around the room. His eyebrows rose slightly, when he noticed that he didn't recognize anyone in this class.

'Could I actually have a class without any issues?' His eyes narrowed slightly. Although he couldn't see anyone staring at him, he could feel their intense glares. He frowned and gazed down at his hands, 'Maybe not.' He internally sighed.

'Just one class. I just want one normal class.' He silently prayed to whatever entity had sent him here.

The Professor patted Aether on the shoulder, breaking him out of his thoughts. Without a word the Professor led him to a seat in the front row with a sour-faced Leon following closely behind him.

He glanced back at Leon every now and then. Taking note of his posture and the small glares he would give the other students when passing. He couldn't say for sure why Leon had such a sour face on, but after everything that had happened, he could only assume that he was once again in trouble with their father and was taking out his anger with anyone who even glanced in his direction.

"Here, this will be your seat from now on. It has the best views of the creatures." The Professor gestured to the bubble like cages that were floating in the air above a patch of grass. Every now and then they would spin in a circle or dart over to a different side of the small patch of grass they were in. With wide eyes Aether watched as one floated directly in front of him.

'So cool!' Aether's eyes sparkled.

He gazed up at the Professor and gave an excited smile, "Thank you!"

The Professor smiled back, patting him on the shoulder once more before making his way to the middle of the patch of grass.

Aether watched this with wide eyes. 'Is he-No way! He's going to teach with the creatures floating around him! That's so cool!' He could barely stay in his seat, the excitement for what's to come was slowly starting to get the better of him.

The Professor clapped his hands together, immediately silencing any conversations. "Now, I know that class is almost over, but we still have time for a small demonstration." Despite speaking normally, the Professor's voice boomed throughout the hall.

'A demonstration?' Aether's eyes sparkled. His hands clenched the desk in front of him and he scooted in his seat until his stomach was being stopped by the immovable desk. He didn't think he would get to see a mythical creature so soon.

Leon watched Aether from the side with a dissatisfied pout. He let out a small huff of annoyance.

"Now I know that a few of you are thinking about making a contract with one of these creatures." He chuckled at the end, probably knowing how useless their attempts were. Despite that, a few students immediately raised their hands. The Professor raised an eyebrow at their enthusiasm.

"Today I have a Relantu who is showing promise to make a contract. Who would like to volunteer."

The Professor flicked his wrist and one of the bubbles flew to his side, growing in size as it did so. A creature that resembled a bunny, but was four times its size jumped around in the bubble-like cage. Its eyes were a bright red and it had four horns coming out of its head. Its fur, though soft looking, was burning with fire.

"The Relantu is a perfect contracted beast with a person with a fire ability. Not only can it amplify your ability, but its fire also has special properties." The Professor gestured to the Relantu again, "As you can see right now it's flames are a bright red, but depending on the situation its fire can take on other properties. For example, it can freeze its opponents."

As if to demonstrate what the Professor was saying, Relantu's eyes and fire changed to a startling blue. The classroom grew colder and the grass underneath the Relantu began to freeze.

Aether's eyes sparkled even more.

Leon leaned back with his arms crossed. His gaze complicated as he shifted his focus between the Relantu and Aether.

"Tina. Why don't you give it a try?"

A young girl with long blond hair and bright green eyes stood up once she was called. She gave a quick smug look at those around here before her smile turned into one of pure excitement and hope. She practically leaped down the stairs. Once she took a step on the grass though, the Relantu began to growl, the fire on its back growing in size.

The air in the room cooled even more. Aether found himself rubbing his arms, chasing away the cold. He could see the girls breath in front of her, but she didn't back down. Her eyes were filled with determination.

The Professor stood to the side, his gaze calm as he watched the creature. "Don't show any fear. Keep your focus on the creature and be confident. Show it what you are capable of. And remember if you don't make a contract don't be upset." He laughed, "No one has made a contract with a creature in years."

"Yeah, don't be upset when you fail Tina!" A girl's squeaky voice called out playful.

"Make sure it doesn't bite you when it rejects you!"

"You can do it!"

A few girls cheered from the back, though their cheers sounded more like playful teasing.

A jacket was placed over his shoulders. Aether turned at the sudden action only to find that his brother had taken off his outer jacket and placed it over him. Aether touched the jacket, pulling it over his shoulders a little more, "Thank you."

Leon nodded and glanced back towards the front. Aether smiled at his brother's kind action. The warmth radiating from the jacket told him that Leon had done something to it. He clenched it tighter, his eyes darting to the front.

'Would he have done the same thing for the old Aether?' He shook his head, getting rid of the thought. It wouldn't be good to think about what the last Aether would have gone through, besides he already knew the answer.

CRACK

Aether leaned back as the blue fire erupted around the girl. It cracked and moved like flames, but the coldness radiating off it told him otherwise. The girl, Tina, was on one of her knees. A thin layer of ice was slowly encasing her body. Her left arm was not moving and she was breathing heavily.

CLAP

As if a switch had been turned off. The ice immediately disappeared. The Relantu was sitting peacefully back in its cage, eating some meat as if it didn't just try to harm the girl.

The girl was still breathing heavily. The ice melted soaking her clothes, but Aether was close enough to see that she was actually sweating as well.

The Professor was laughing as he clapped, "Do you know what you did wrong?"

Aether was surprised that the Professor did not compliment her on her attempt, but instead immediately went on to criticizing.

Tina shook her head. Her labored breathing slowly became more in control. She stood up and glared at the Relantu.

The Professor clicked his tongue, "Of course you didn't." He mumbled more to himself than to the students, but it was still loud enough for the students to hear. Tina flinched at the words and turned her glare towards the Professor.

"It wasn't my fault. It was that stupid creature!" She snarled as she pointed at the Relantu. "It didn't realize my potential so it attacked for no reason."

The Professor frowned, "Creatures do not attack without reason." His voice grew dark and the students went silent. Tina stood to the side, her hands shaking while she glared at the ground.

"Remember this. Mythical and demonic creatures have been on this land longer than us. They are intelligent and powerful. Everything they do has a purpose." He walked up to the girl. He towered over her, his eyes dark and his face covered in shadows. Tina flinched.

"You were just too weak."

The air in the classroom turned cold. The creatures once making noises went silent and the pressure was too intense for Aether not to notice that something was horribly wrong.

Tina's eyes had gone wide. Her breathing was ragged and she was sweating profusely. Her posture, once confident and smug, was nowhere to be seen. Her legs were shaking and her hands clenched at her skirt like it was a life line. Her weight was shifting from foot to foot as if she were debating taking a step back, but everytime she seemed to lift her foot, it was planted back down into the same spot. Her eyes never left the Professors, but the wisps of fire coming off her like a shield told him that she was aware of everything and everyone around her.

Aether watched her reaction with an unsettling discomfort. A part of him, perhaps the memories of this body knew what was happening. He could tell in the way his body unconsciously began to shake, the way his eyes began to dart around as if he were looking out for someone. The feelings were overwhelming, if not suffocating. He turned towards Leon wanting to ask what was going on, but his eyes caught the look of those around him. He looked over his shoulder, then around the room.

The students' eyes were eerie. Like animals hunting their prey. The smiles they wore, deranged and crazed.

Aether sucked in a breath, his gaze landed back on the girl in the center of the room whose breathing kept getting more haggard as the seconds ticked on. She hadn't moved, but the fire coming off her grew in size as if she were getting prepared for battle.

Aether couldn't take it anymore. He pulled the jacket up a bit more until his lower face was hidden from view. Although the students' predatory gazes were not focused on him, it still felt like he was going to be killed. His skin felt like it was crawling with invisible hands that were wrapping around his throat, getting ready to squeeze at any moment and the pressure in the room was growing denser, to the point where he could feel his limbs growing heavier.

A hand tapped his shoulder and he jumped at the action, barely holding in the yelp of surprise. He let out a breath of relief when he noticed that it was just Leon.

Leons gaze was complicated. His eyes were just as eerie as the other students, but their was a warmth in them that let him know that nothing bad would come to him. Aether smiled and shook his head trying to convey to himself more than Leon that everything was fine, that he was fine.

Leon's frown deepened.

"We are leaving." He grabbed Aether by the hand and draged him out of his seat. The action went unnoticed by the Professor and students. Aether could do nothing as he was dragged out of the classroom by Leon. Before the door closed behind him, he caught one last glance at the girl in the center of the room.

He had a feeling he would never see her again.