Riding once more on Rodius's back, Tokito could already feel the oppressive heat of the volcano creeping in again. But this time, something else felt wrong.
When he tried to glance at Rodius's face, he noticed a shift—his master's eyes were wide open, sharp, and cold with tension. His muscles were stiff. His mana… thick enough to sting the air around him.
Tokito wanted to ask, but he was scared of the answer.
Even as he clung to his mentor's back, the dense, pressurized magic Rodius was holding in his hand disturbed Tokito's balance. When they reached the volcano's rim, Rodius leapt upward and gently set him down.
That's when Tokito saw it—Rodius's hands were trembling.
Approaching him, Tokito placed a hand on Rodius's arm. "What's wrong, Rodius? You seem… uneasy."
But Rodius recoiled, stepping away.
He clutched his own shaking hands, forcing them still with mana before turning back to his master.
Rodius: "There's nothing, my lord. Everything is fine."
Tokito narrowed his eyes. He didn't believe him.
His voice rose. "You're lying! I felt it. You were suppressing your hands the entire way here!"
Rodius tensed, then steadied himself again.
Rodius: "It's… normal. For me."
That was it.
That was the last straw.
In a flash of anger, Tokito slammed his right foot against Rodius's left leg.
There was a crack—a horrible, unnatural sound. Despite his steel-like body, Rodius's leg broke completely.
Tokito turned his head away, teeth clenched, voice breaking with fury.
"If you loved me… you wouldn't hide things from me."
Rodius said nothing. He lowered his head—and vanished.
Tokito stood alone now, fuming. He walked back toward the volcano's edge, his thoughts ablaze. His mana was fluctuating, chaotic. He felt like he could blow the volcano sky high.
He lay near the rim, trying to calm himself. But his emotions made his mana burn twice as fast.
Far away, Rodius sat on a mountaintop, watching his master.
He healed his shattered leg with magic, but his spirit remained broken. He punched the mountain over and over.
Why… must I hide things from him? If I hurt him by protecting him… what's the point of living? If I let him break my leg, I should have let him take my head too. No matter what—I will protect him. Even if I have to burn this world to ash.
Down below, Tokito continued training—but it was chaotic. His mana spiraled wildly. But around the tenth minute, he began to regain control. His anger, paradoxically, dulled the heat.
"The soul is approaching resonance threshold."
He was too focused to notice.
At the fortieth minute, his mana was running dry. His internal organs began to burn. Before collapse, Rodius appeared once more and pulled him away.
Tokito awoke again beside the lake. As he slowly recovered, he decided to climb a nearby tree to grab an apple.
The branches were chaotic and tall—but he jumped, grabbed one, and as he pulled it free… he fell.
Rodius opened his eyes the moment he heard the sound. In an instant—like a predator—he leapt forward and caught Tokito mid-air.
But in his arms, Tokito was crying.
Rodius gently set him down, but Tokito didn't say a word. He just walked away—toward the volcano. Apple in hand, silent.
Rodius followed.
When Tokito reached the rim, he stepped up to the edge and stared deep into the lava. Rodius moved beside him—but what he saw startled him.
Tokito's eyes… were black. Hollow.
He stared, unblinking, into the molten abyss.
Rodius knelt behind him, placing warm arms around Tokito's shoulders. But the boy didn't move.
Tokito (softly): "You're all the same… None of you care about my feelings."
Rodius flinched. Then, with an open palm, he slapped Tokito's cheek.
His master blinked, dazed—but his eyes remained the same.
Rodius sat beside him, stretching his legs out over the volcano's edge. The two stared out into the lava in silence.
He didn't know what had broken inside Tokito—but he had to bring him back.
Rodius: "When the time comes… you'll understand why I did what I did, my lord."
Tokito didn't respond. His body sat still—too still.
Trying to comfort him, Rodius offered him an apple.
Then, with calm determination, he looked into Tokito's hollow eyes once again.
Rodius: "No matter what happens… I will protect you."
Minutes passed. At last, Tokito slowly turned toward him.
Tokito: "Rodius… I'll ask you only once. Why did you hide it from me?"
His eyes hadn't regained their light. But his voice… was painfully clear.
Rodius stared into the volcano and clenched his fists.
Rodius: "Because… you're not strong enough to live in this world yet. The world is too cruel."
Tokito's body trembled. Then, he stood up.
Rodius followed. But then—Tokito hugged him.
The once-fearsome lion broke.
Looking down at his master's snowy white hair, Rodius began to cry.
Huge, unrelenting tears streamed down the face of the beast who had once survived lava.
Tokito tilted his head and looked up at him.
Tokito: "Do you think… if I died, it would change anything? With powerful people like you around… what's the point of someone like me?"
His eyes began to shift—slowly—from black to soft pink.
Rodius wiped his face with his clawed hand and gripped Tokito's shoulder.
Rodius: "You are our king. Without you… we cannot exist."
Tokito looked up at the blue sky above—the clouds drifting softly, birds gliding peacefully—and took a deep breath.
Then, still beside the volcano, he turned to Rodius.
Tokito: "Go. I'm ready for the next lesson."
Rodius obeyed, retreating once again to the mountain peak. This time, something had changed.
Tokito was no longer just enduring.
He was growing.
By the tenth and twentieth minutes, he had developed a new ability. Instead of using mana to heal himself, he began to manipulate it to resist the heat itself.
He emptied his mind.
Focused only on the heat.
Only on the lava.
From two kilometers away, Rodius sensed the shift in Tokito's mana. He rose to his feet with a firm smile and said softly:
Rodius: "At last… you've learned the second form of mana, my lord."
Yes. The thing he referred to was the aura—the second state of mana.
Aura was a deeper, more advanced use of mana. If the user could release mana through the pores and condense it into a protective cloud around their body, they'd manifest their aura, or as demons called it… "Yen."
Once activated, Yen no longer relied on constant mana flow. Instead, it was connected directly to the user's mind and intent.
Rodius (thinking): "So he's awakened it… the most vital step. The lesson is nearly complete. But… what's the status of the monsters? Something… something big is coming this way."
Focusing on the lesson, Rodius expanded his own aura and cast it to the far sides of the mountain, laying down a perimeter of defense.
Meanwhile, Tokito was amazed by his new power. Looking at his hands, he whispered:
Tokito: "I finally understand… I don't feel the heat anymore."
As the fiftieth minute passed, Tokito still had mana left—but his mind was growing tired. His eyelids grew heavier, and he fought to keep them open.
Tokito (thinking): Keeping the aura going is harder than I thought. My mana's fine now, but my mind needs training. If I can master this, I'll prove that tiger wrong once and for all!
Peeling off his dark red jacket, he focused harder, amplifying his aura. The cloud of mana shielding his body shimmered and rippled, pushing back against the volcanic heat.
His soaked clothes clung to his frame. He was no longer burning—just sweating. But the sweat cost him hydration, and the aura still wasn't perfect.
After passing the first hour, Tokito's mana was becoming more stable—but he wasn't yet skilled enough to fully control Yen. The pressure finally forced him to release the aura.
With no protection, the heat returned immediately.
Rodius stepped in again—casting his water cage spell, pulling Tokito back to the lakeside. This time, his skin wasn't burned. He had survived by his own power.
Rodius cooled his master's body, then lay down beside him, staring up at the sky with a calm breath.
Meanwhile, in the palace of Veldoria, time had settled into routine after their departure.
But for Kortus, it was anything but normal.
He wandered the halls aimlessly, eyes distant. His thoughts never left Tokito.
Nanagi, after issuing orders to the guards, found him again—this time staring at the throne, tears in his eyes.
Nanagi: "What's the matter, Kortus? The guards say you've been crying… hugging the throne."
Kortus: "Since the day he left… I've felt empty. Do you think… do you think he's alright?"
Nanagi: "Don't worry. He's with our kingdom's greatest weapon—Rodius. Our lord is safe by his side."
Kortus: "Is it right, though? Hiding things from him? I feel like I've betrayed him."
Nanagi: "It was a direct order from the viscounts. We can't distract our king's mind."
Kortus: "Maybe you have to obey… but I don't."
Nanagi: "We talked about this. If you speak… the viscounts' plan will collapse."
Kortus clenched his fists and returned to the throne room. As the guards opened the doors, he sat beside the throne and held it tight.
When Nanagi followed behind and saw the scene, he looked down with a bitter thought:
Nanagi (thinking): If only I could value our king the way you do, Kortus… but I still miss the old ruler.
Kortus remained there, hugging the throne, silently crying.
Nanagi, hiding his own turmoil, left to inspect the city. While he walked the perimeter with his soldiers, a guard ran up and knelt before him.
Guard: "My lord, Viscount Guter requests entry to the inner castle."
Nanagi's jaw tensed. His hand trembled.
Nanagi (thinking): Why is Guter here? Without our king, if he starts a fight now… I won't be able to protect this city.
He ordered the soldier to let him in, then strapped his sword to his waist.
Nanagi (to guards): "Reinforce the castle gates. Be ready."
The inner castle doors opened with a deep groan.
Guter, draped in a massive fur cloak, his eyes like a beast's, entered with his army behind him. He dismounted and walked directly toward Nanagi—sword raised.
The guards reacted instantly, but Nanagi raised a hand.
Nanagi: "Stand down."
Guter (shouting): "Where is your master, useless commander?"
Nanagi: "Viscount Koloton… he's likely in Loropis."
Guter: "Lying to me now, are you?!"
Nanagi: "Please, lower your weapon. Do you plan to declare war on this region?"
Guter: "You ugly demon, you're testing my patience!"
He flicked his sword, the edge brushing Nanagi's neck.
Then—a tiger dropped from the sky.
Landing between them, the beast's claw caught the sword mid-swing.
On the tiger's back stood the Demon King himself—Tokito.
Guter raised his sword again in rage—but Rodius grabbed it, eyes blazing.
Rodius (roaring): "Go any further and I'll declare you an invader and take your head, Guter. Know your place!"
Guter was blind with fury. He hadn't even realized the Demon King was present.
Why had Tokito returned?
How did Rodius get here so fast?
The answer to all of it… lay in the training.