After sharing about their powers, Lucas and Ellie started to feel a bit closer than normal. Normally, after their magic lesson, Ellie would go straight to the garden and hold a tea party by herself. She even put up a barrier to keep Lucas away from her tea time. But now, after their time in the library, Ellie had started to invite him over for some time off together. Although there was still an awkward tension between them, the two were starting to open up a little to each other, as they shared almost the same power.
But the reason for this openness was different for the two. While Lucas wanted to understand more about his eye, Ellie, on the other hand, wanted to build a good relationship with Lucas to manipulate him more easily.
Three days later, Ellie decided to start practicing using their eyes instead of magic. True Sight—as she called the vision that Lucas entered when he activated the power—could expose the true nature of the world. But there was still one problem. There was something else about him. This power had awakened the day after the incident, not when it happened. She recalled that day:
"As I remembered, when that cult started the ritual to summon a Sin's devil, I was brought there because Wrath was inside me. When I arrived, that Lucas guy had already died, but then he suddenly came back to life with his right eye awakened. The guy seemed to have lost his mind when using it—he didn't even remember killing all the cultists in a single blow. Still, what was that energy wave thing he used back then? Moreover, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't kill him—any wounds inflicted on him just healed, no matter how serious they were. And the feeling when he uses his power now is just… different."
"Hey, we're already very far from the castle. What are we doing here anyway, Ellie?"
Seeing Ellie dive deep into thought without even paying attention to her surroundings, Lucas tried to start a conversation. But Ellie seemed to be ignoring him still.
"You really just pretending not to hear me or what?" Lucas sighed.
"Just shut up. I have a lot to think through right now."
Before Lucas could say anything, his mouth sealed, as though some invisible chain had wrapped around it. Did she really just use the servant mark to force my mouth shut? Really, Ellie?
"Yes, I am—and please just follow. I'll explain later," Ellie responded.
"And if you're wondering how I know what you're thinking, it's all showing on your face—very obvious. Now, let's just move on while I'm sorting this out," she added.
The two kept walking deeper into the woods. But the sky suddenly turned black, even though the sun was still up above. More precisely, only this part of the woods was dark—like a thick black air was blocking the sunlight from coming in.
"We're almost there. Remember to pay close attention to your surroundings."
Minutes later, the pair entered a place that seemed to be a cemetery. It was old—so old that parts of the walls looked like they were about to crack and fall over. Even the front steel gates had fallen to the ground. Based on the construction of the place itself, this cemetery seemed to be hundreds of years old. It appeared to be the source of the environmental change, as all the "thick air" seemed to be emitting from this exact location.
"What is this place?" Lucas questioned Ellie, not even realizing his voice was back.
"We're here today due to a request from a nearby village. Not being a big city, they don't have the required equipment to deal with demonkind, which is why they mostly hire sorcerers around the area to handle these anomalies."
"Wait—you even take commissions?"
"I still have to make a living, you know? I can make food and stuff, but some of this era's things I don't know about need to be bought from the city," Ellie replied.
She then pointed toward one of the graves deep inside and asked Lucas:
"Can you see that thing over there?"
Lucas followed her finger and looked inside. Even with the eyesight of a werewolf, it was still very hard for him to spot what Ellie was pointing at, as the thick dark air covered the entire place. But Lucas still managed to spot a human-like figure where the girl was pointing. Although it looked human, something about it seemed off.
"Why does that thing over there look like a human but… it doesn't smell like one? The scent is like… a corpse?" Lucas asked Ellie.
"That thing over there is a ghoul. A ghoul is a dead person who got possessed by a devil and came back to life. I believe you'd call them zombies or undead, but that just describes the type. 'Undead' is the general term for these kinds of monsters, and in front of you is an undead that's not only stronger than a human, but also capable of using magic. They're like the second rank of undead—just below Banshees."
After explaining, Ellie walked into the cemetery toward the ghoul. She asked Lucas to follow her and just watch from behind.
"Several days ago, you managed to show me how you fight and it was… not bad, I suppose. With enhanced senses and physical strength from being a werewolf, you did pull off some tricks to block low-level magic. But the way you move and try to attack is just… too clumsy. Which is why I want you to see what a real fight looks like."
"Hey, I know I'm bad, but why would I ever need to learn how to fight? I was just a normal college student until that incident, you know?"
"Just stop complaining. You're now part of demonkind. If you want your life back, you should learn how to keep it first."
Sadly for Lucas, what Ellie said was completely right. Although Lucas had become a werewolf, his strength was just slightly better than a normal person's. The only difference was that Lucas could run faster and longer without feeling tired, and also had enhanced werewolf senses. Looking at his body—besides white fur, a long tail, and a wolf head—Lucas seemed to be "more human" than "more wolf." Werewolves should be able to reach 3 meters in height at max, and their bodies should be big and muscular—completely different from Lucas. With a body like this, the only thing he could rely on was magic—and yet, that was the thing werewolves were bad at. The only lucky thing was that Lucas could use True Sight, even though he had no idea what that really was.
The two stopped when they were about 3 meters away from the ghoul. The monster also seemed to acknowledge their presence, and it started to charge toward Ellie while screaming something that neither of them understood. Following the ghoul, a black mist beneath its feet trailed along as it moved, and Lucas didn't need anyone to tell him that the mist itself wasn't something good.
In response, Ellie started to chant something—but she only mumbled it inside her mouth, so Lucas couldn't hear the spell clearly. The girl then put both her hands in front of her, palms facing inward, and then a small flame appeared in the middle. From the flame, a warm sensation emitted outward, pushing the black air away, making it brighter and easier for both of them to see.
When the ghoul was about one meter away from Ellie, she clapped her hands, and as the flame faded, a shockwave of heat shot out from her palms, blowing the ghoul away. The ghoul landed on a nearby grave and was set on fire upon impact. It only took seconds for the ghoul to burn until only bones remained.
"And that's one of the fastest ways to kill a ghoul: burn them until nothing is left!" said Ellie.
What she just used was a level 3 magic spell named Heat Wave. The spell creates a wave of heat in front of the user that pushes back enemies and sets them on fire. Although it seems strong, this spell can easily be countered with defensive spells or magic tools. So in a situation where the opponent is an undead like a ghoul, this spell works perfectly fine.
"There are still more ahead. Remember to stay close to me. If any approach you, just throw a fireball at them or use Frostbite to freeze them. The ghouls in this area are still very weak, so even you can hold them in place—or kill them, if you do it properly."
Hearing this made Lucas feel a bit down, as the only spell he could cast quickly was Frostbite. For other elements, he had to focus for several minutes to channel them into an attack. The last time he used Fireball, it took him about two minutes just to form it properly—otherwise, the ball would fade before even leaving his hand.
Far deeper inside the cemetery, a hooded man was watching them from afar without them noticing. As the two ventured deeper inside, the man quickly left the place—leaving behind some sort of doll.