Elana Feuer (3)

"I heard you got a very good subject this time, is it true?"

"Yes, it is!"

"I can imagine from how happy you look now that I mentioned him."

"Hehehehe... I thought the project was doomed to failure but looks like it isn't the case."

"After uncountable years of research and trying to stay under the Pantheon Gods' radar, I also thought it was bound to failure, but... Looks like you still have a chance."

"Yes, I know... Those fucking Gods, I really hate them. If wasn't for them hunting me down I would have already been done with this project a long time ago."

"I understand your frustrations, but are you sure that this subject will survive the uncountable torments that await him?"

"He will, I'm certain if it. His will to survive is stronger than any previous subject. And I got a bonus, his soul was almost completely darkened. It was only a few years away from achieving demonification."

"Then half of the work is already done... Will he really survive the torments and be granted the Law of Darkness without going through demonification?"

"If everything goes according to plan, it's going to work."

"That's assuring... Oh, by the way, what's the name of the subject?"

"Ha! That's the funny part, you know. His name is actually... Daemon..."

...

Neo's eyes flared open as his entire body became covered in cold sweat. His body was completely rigid and shuddering.

The memories from his past flashed in his mind.

The killing intent and intense dark aura in him exploded without restriction as he was reminded of his bloody, tormented past, through the dream.

"Ajax..." He spat a name through his gritted teeth. His eyes were filled with rage and madness at this moment. [I promise that I'll find you, and I'm going to personally enjoy torturing you in the cruelest way that I can imagine, and then I kill you...]

"Ah..." A low painful moan coming from his side woke Neo from his particular.....situation.

He glanced at the side and realized that there was a beautiful young girl at his side.

She looked very young, about 16 years old. She had a slight curly, black hair, and a black, bright eyes. Her lips were very rosy and thin. Her skin was white and looked like porcelain. She had a well-proportioned body without too much sex appeal, but only enough for her to be considered a beauty.

She was dressing what appeared to be a simple, blue summer dress. It really looked like she was an ethereal fairy in her current outfit.

Unfortunately, her face was pale at the moment and she was biting her lips like she was in pain.

But nothing of this really entered in Neo's eyes.

She was a stranger and he was in a strange place. Neo was a cautious and ruthless man, so the way he stared at her was rather rough and completely without the appreciation a person would have when looking at such delicate beauty.

He glanced at her once again and soon realized why the woman had moaned in pain.

His hand was tightly gripping in her arm. Looks like even though it was only a dream his body was affected outside and decided to fiercely grip on the closest thing of him.

"Who are you?" He coldly stared at the young woman. "Where am I?" He didn't even wait for her to respond before he impatiently threw another question.

He was tensed as he looked at unfamiliar surroundings. The last thing he remembers was the fell unconscious after he overused Mana when he was in the warehouse.

He was currently in what appeared to be a modern house's living room and he was lying in a dark brown sofa.

The woman bit her lips even hard because of the pain coming from her arm. Her teary eyes looked at Neo at his eyes.

Neo narrowed his eyes at the woman but still weakened his grip a little, just enough to make the pain bearable for the young woman.

The young girl sighed in relief and opened her mouth to speak, "I'm-"

"Kelly, I'll take over from here onward..." A harsh, but feminine voice sounded throughout the living room.

The girl looked at the source of the voice and surprise and swiftly broke free from Neo's clutch because he had weakened the grip previously.

She was crouched by Neo's side, but she stood up and created some distance between herself and Neo.

"Miss Elana..." The girl respectfully bowed and greeted the young woman who had just appeared.

Neo squinted his eyes and analyzed the woman before him.

Different from the young girl, the one in front him had a lot more sex appeal. She had a very sexy body type, a rather voluminous breast and also bigger waist.

She was wearing jeans, that ragged in some places, and a casual t-shirt. On her back, however, she was carrying a scabbard with what appeared to be a sword.

But what really caught Neo's attention was the face and her hair.

Her hair was surprisingly a very bright red with a mixture of yellow in some places.

Her fiery red eyes, coldly and cautiously, stared at Neo. She was completely expressionless and her rather relax composure betrayed her cautious, and in guard stance that she was currently at.

"There is something in my face? You are staring at me for quite a while?" Elana woke Neo from his trance.

"Who are you?" Neo asked the woman. His eyes locked in every single movement that she did.

Neo tried to move, but he soon realized that there was a spell in his body, a spell that made his body almost unable to move. Basically, the nightmare he just had when sleeping had such an effect on his subconscious that he was even able to break free from the restriction of the spell and move his arm.

"I think I should be asking this question, and not you, right?" Elana watched Kelly, the girl that was beside Neo, swiftly disappearing from the room. Then she locked her eyes at Neo and retorted at his question.

Neo dangerously narrowed his eyes. A dark aura started to rise from his body. His golden eyes fiercely locked at Elana.

When she felt the aura coming from Neo, Elana unconsciously reached for the sword in her back.

Both of them stared at each other. The atmosphere of the room was frosty as their eyes met.

"I'm Neo... Just Neo." He said with an expressionless face.

He knew that he was at a disadvantage against her. She was more powerful than he currently was, and he was under some kind of restriction spell which made him unable to control Mana or even move.

Elana narrowed her eyes when staring at Neo, she was looking for any indication that he was lying, but... She was unable to tell whatever he was telling the truth of lying.

"I'm Elana Feuer." Elana said expressionlessly. "Now that we are over with the introductions, the real questions that I have to ask you."

"Are you a... Demon?" She asked cautiously while her grip over the sword tightened.

"Do I look like one?" Neo retorted while rolling his eyes.

Elana scanned the young boy on the sofa, from head to toe.

He really didn't look like a demon, at all. Despite the fact he was incredibly skinny that looked like he would die from starvation at any moment, she was unable to see him as a demon.

Demons usually have the signature red skin and completely black eyes. The stronger demons also have pointy tails and horns, but Neo hadn't any of those characteristics.

She had taken a closer look when she carried him to her home, but she was unable to see any indication of illusion spell or artifact that could possibly alter his appearance.

That being said, the only characteristics that could make people mistake Neo as a demon was his pitch black soul and the fact that he could use black magic, or dark magic.

"How are you able to use dark magic?" She asked the essential question that kept bugging her mind since she heard from him that he wasn't a demon.

"Do you think I know the answer?" Neo said while eyeing the woman that was starting to annoy him.

This time Neo really said the truth. He doesn't know why he was different from most people, he had a hunch and understood a little about his own body and soul, but he didn't know why and how he was different.

"Really?" Elana carefully scanned Neo's face, searching for any indication that he was lying, but she was unable to spot anything.

"Now... Can you take this restriction spell off from me?"

"No!" Elana immediately answered after Neo asked.

"Why not?" Neo's eyebrow lifted and he questionably eyed her.

"Because..." Elana stopped speaking when she realized she doesn't a clear reason for why she should keep Neo around. "You're different and I want to understand what makes you different." Her eyes lit up when she was able to suddenly came up with a reasonable reason.

"Are you going to leave me locked here, on the sofa of your living room?"

"No..." She hadn't really thought this far. She was almost certain that he was some kind of demon and was ready to kill him off, but now... She was uncertain if Neo was or not a demon or something like it. "I can free you, but only if you promise a few things." Elana came up with a plan and decided to go along with it.

Neo dangerously narrowed his eyes when he looked Elana. "Speak..."

"You have to attend my school's classes and-"

"No way." Neo rolled his head to the side and closed his eyes, completely ignoring Elana.

"It isn't a normal school you know-"

"Not interested."

"We teach magic and-"

"I already everything about magic that I need."

"Forget it." Elana threw her hands in the air and gave up. "I'm not going to free you from the restriction then. I'll have to lock you up and make you into a lab rat of sorts." She started to threat Neo.

"..." Neo kept his mouth shut and his eyes closed.

Suddenly he felt something and flared his eyes open.

When he looked around he realized that Elana was standing at the sofa's side, unmoving.

She was looking at Neo with her fiery eyes, but she wasn't even blinking.

"Time has stopped..." Neo came up with the realization as soon as he tried to hear Elana's heartbeat, but there none in her chest.

"That's not cool..." Neo looked at an empty space in the living room, the place from where he heard a familiar ethereal voice. "You should agree with her, you know..."

"Why would I..." Neo squinted his eyes and flashed a wide grin. "Mad God..."

"You still remember me, that's good." A figure shrouded in a white light appeared in the empty space and joyfully spoke with Neo, "I was worried that you might have forgotten about me..."

"How could I have forgotten? It hadn't even been two days since my reincarnation."

"Hahahaha. True, true..."

"What's your purpose then? I don't think you came to just to make me agree with her, right?"

"In fact, that exactly why I came to you."

Neo became speechless at the God in front of him. [You really have way too much free time, don't you?]

"You know I can read your thoughts, right?" The God grinned, he didn't look at all offended about how Neo thought about him.

"I forgot about it."

"Alright, let's stop with this chitchat. After I leave you are going to agree with her conditions. Don't worry too much, you're going to thank me later for making you agree."

"Do I have a choice?"

"No" The Mad God immediately answered Neo's question.

The answer was exactly what Neo expected, so he wasn't that surprised.

"Don't be so upset." The Mad God said when he realized that Neo wasn't happy at all with his intervention. "I'm telling you, you are going to thank me later."

"Okay, okay. I agree with you, happy now?"

"A lot happier." The God happily bounced around. "That was it. I'm going to leave now. I don't want other Gods to notice your existence so early. See ya around." The God waved his hand in goodbye and then disappeared.

"What was that?" Elana returned to her senses and looked around.

She was talking with Neo and then she suddenly felt like she was dragged into some kind of dream... And then as swiftly as the sensation came, it disappeared as well, and everything returned to normal.

"I agree with you... Conditions." Neo's lips twitched and his face became bitter when he spoke until there.

"Really?" Elana threw a side glance at the boy on the sofa. "You were so resolute in disagree and then suddenly agree. What happened?"

"I already agreed with your conditions. What else do you want?" Neo angrily opened his eyes and stared at Elana.

"Alright. But just to be sure that you talking seriously, I need you to swear by the Gods that you agree with my conditions and won't turn your back on them." She said with a serious and stern tone.

Neo helplessly let out a long sigh. "I, Neo whatever, swear by the name of the Gods, that I agree with the conditions set up by the woman in front of me." He spoke with a lazy and casual tone like he was doing nothing much. "Satisfied?"

Elana frowned her eyebrows and stared at Neo. "You are very disrespectful, I tell you that." Then she sweetly smiled. "Don't worry, here, at the school, we are going to teach you everything about the magic world, how to respect and worship the Pantheon's Gods-"

"Why would I respect Gods?" Neo lazily glanced Elana and interrupted her in the middle of her speech. "They have forgotten me. They have abandoned me. They have disgraced me. They even killed me, believe it or not." A dark and eerie smile appeared in Neo's face. "If I'm given the chance I would, without doubt, kill all of them."

Elana shuddered when she saw the eerie smile plastered in Neo's face and the maddening light that flashed in his eyes.