Departing; The Aggrieved Sir Thornwel

"GUGH-"

Arthur received a single fist and was sent flying across the yard, slamming into a tree. Some yellowish leaves were shook free and fell from above, scattered in the air before him. He struggled to catch his breath before looking toward Rachel, who had just sent him flying.

With a hand on her hip and the other hand casually outstretched, a single finger pointing forward, she smirked. The short grass between them was parted by this finger, which was also what had sent Arthur flying.

Arthur looked at her as if he was looking at a beast, and he hurried to say, "I give, I give!"

Rachel chortled crazily before walking over to Arthur and offering him a hand. Bitterly smiling, he took her hand and she helped him up.

"Did you notice the tell," Rachel asked while walking away. Arthur frowned, his eyes narrowed as he recalled the moments leading up to his crushing defeat.

"Mana typically settles on the surface of the body and can be sensed; that is true for simple bodily enhancement. However, mana-infused attacks cause the mana to vanish from the senses. That's the tell: being unable to sense the mana."

Rachel nodded and her raven hair hopped behind her. She walked over to the gazebo, where the morning sun was just beginning to hit. Arthur followed wordlessly behind, making his way to it and sitting directly opposite her.

She was looking toward the rising sun when he arrived, seeming lost in thought. Arthur's gaze lingered on the look in her eyes, and he became lost in them.

For a moment- just a fleeting instant- he felt the most genuine amazement and gratitude. His thoughts traversed time and space, taking him back to the moment they first met. From then till now, she had surprised and mesmerized him constantly. There were no questions she couldn't answer, no spell she couldn't deconstruct and carefully explain.

Then, finding out that she was the result of two soul fragments, belonging to Rachel and Razalith, colliding... It was all like some kind of fantastical dream to him.

Rachel turned around and saw Arthur staring at her, and she licked her rubina lips with tantalizing appeal. Arthur's eyes widened and he looked away in haste, making Rachel giggle.

"What's wrong with you?"

"With me? What's wrong with you? Licking your lips all- eugh!"

Rachel shook her head and walked over to sit next to him, placing her arm around his shoulders.

"My lips were dry. There's nothing wrong with me licking my dry lips, is there?"

Arthur groaned, tried to free himself from Rachel's hold then gave up. "Whatever you say."

Rachel let him go and he scooted away, increasing the distance between them by a little.

He glanced at her and saw that she was staring at the floor, so he cleared his throat and said, "The exam is two days away."

"Mhm," Rachel nodded.

"I held up my end; you have the required skill and knowledge to pass any First Mage exam. I have to say, you've done well to come this far in two months. You're quite talented, you know that?"

Arthur turned his face further away, not daring to let Rachel see the redness on it. They sat there in silence for a while, and time passed.

Later that evening, they have gathered their things. Rachel stored her items in an astral space, and Arthur did the same. Since his 'astral space' was actually his entire soul space, he could easily transfer items into and out of it.

Margaret was with them, standing on the brick road that led off of the property and onto the main road.

"Sorry your Papa isn't here to see you off, Rachel. He was chosen to take charge over the first years this time, so he'll be gone for quite some time."

Rachel nodded and Arthur tapped her gently on the shoulder.

"Even so, he sends his best to both of you and eagerly awaits your future visits. The same goes for me as well."

Following that, Margaret proceeded to get up close and personal with the skin on Arthur's face. She tugged at and 'smooshed' together every bit of him while telling him how much she would miss him.

She did the same to Rachel, then they were off.

Margaret watched them until she could no longer see them, then waited a bit longer. Her heart finally settled and grew calm, so she returned to her room.

As for Arthur and Rachel, they went as far out of sight as they could and made sure they weren't being watched.

Rachel yawned and waved her hand with a royal air, "Draw us up a circle then, Arthur."

Arthur nodded and got to work, releasing mana in a steady stream through his fingers.

In a matter of seconds, he drew up a functional magic circle. His visualization was clear thanks to the two days Rachel spent forcing him to draw and look various magic circles. It was a boorish and brutal task, thanks to Rachel- so much so that Arthur's eyes got dry and red after being prohibited from blinking.

"Where will this take us?" Like a lazy princess, Rachel folded her arms and stared down her nose at Arthur and his work. It wasn't exactly due to her looking down on him, but it was her finally letting loose and being herself.

Leaving the manor finally allowed for her to do this.

"The main travel station. Once there, we can teleport directly to the Demon Realm's teleportation hub."

Rachel gave an exasperated sigh and shook her head, "Tut, tut, tut, how pitiful..."

Arthur tilted his head slightly and looked at her, mumbling, "...tut? Who says that...?"

"If this human body weren't so restricting, I could just take us to the College immediately."

Despite the fact that Arthur knew she was being honest, he could not help feeling like she was just saying that for boasting's sake.

They left through the magic circle, which vanished completely after use.

...

The Demon Realm, known today as the 'New World.'

It consisted of 28 continents, making it the largest of the three realms. Due to its size, total colonization took upwards of 2,000 years. 8,000 years later, today, it was home to the vast majority of humans, gods, and demon slaves.

The 29 continents were divided between the two races, making both sides responsible for working the land allotted to them. As for the odd one out, it was decided that both gods and humans would share it.

It was on this continent, dubbed Fantasia, that the College of Magic Arts was founded. Unlike other colleges, the College of Magic Arts had both Human and God founders, making it the most recognized, respected and prestige college existing in the world today.

On a massive area of land on Fantasia's northern coast, a giant castle-like structure hulked over the horizon. It's towers oozed the perplexity of powerful magic and the mana in its aura was breathtakingly potent.

All who looked upon this place would be robbed of their coherency for a few short moments, forcing them to appreciate the majesty of that place.

Giant, permanent clouds of differing type hung above a number of the castles location, some releasing either endless rain, lightning or snow.

Seven-colored lights beamed about the structure, shedding light on places the eye could not see from the outside. Beyond the castle was the castle town, surrounding it and walled off. Just this piece of land was around 30 million square kilometers, and it was just a fraction of Fantasia's total size.

Of course, this castle and the town around it was the College of Magic Arts' campus. The castle town was the equivalent of student dorm rooms, club houses and fraternities.

Currently standing atop the castle wall, on the ramparts, were various troops of soldiers in suits of armor. Upon closer inspection, however, one would find that these 'soldiers' were actually living suits of armor. Each of them, on the breastplace, bore a single consistent insignia.

It was a depiction of a single being with two serpentine heads. The heads seemed to be fleeing from each other with no indication as to why.

Atop the highest tower of the castle was someone wearing an entirely blue suit of clothes, but no shoes or sandals. They were barefooted, sitting comfortably on the slanted roof.

It was a man, face cleanly shaven, with thick brows and faint red eyes. They seemed lifeless and despirited, giving him the appearance of someone tired of living.

He scratched his honey colored neck, which was dry and ashy. When he did so, the light of the semi-obstructed sun bore down on the back of his hand, revealing the image of a beast with two separating heads.

He groaned listlessly, and stood up.

"Damn those two. Everyone knows the entrants are the worst bunch, absolutely unruly and overconfident."

He got on his feet and looked down at the castle town. "Ugh! Why me!?"

While he was lamenting his situation, wearing an aggrieved expression, someone had come up the stairs and stepped out onto the tower's balcony.

"Sir Thornwel, sir."

The man on the roof looked down to see that it was a short fellow dressed in servant's clothes. He was of an odd complexion, almost a very bright blue, and had fangs that peeked out of his mouth when he spoke.

"What now, Hector?"

"The Headmaster, Headmistress and First-year Dean have all sent letters for you," the servant, Hector, said while presenting three sealed letters.

The man on the roof, Sir Thornwel, grunted and dropped from the roof onto the balcony. A trace of rage arose behind his eyes, and he grabbed the letters.

"They aren't here yet? They sent letters?"

Hector gulped and lowered his head, saying nothing and just walking away slowly. After Sir Thornwel read the first letter, he clenched his teeth and ripped it up.

By the time he read the final letter, a pile of torn paper was at his feet and he was practically blowing smoke from his nose and ears.

He snapped his finger and several tongues of yellow flame devoured the bits of paper, then he looked to the sky and shouted, "FUUUUUCK!"