Heirs of Magic

Chapter Four - Guilt and Punishment

"And these are all the groups of spells that we know in our kingdom" explained the professor.

He used a wand to draw information on the board, a few gestures were enough for all the text to appear, not just text but figures, students thought it was very unfair to have to copy in the traditional way to the notebook.

"In our kingdom, magic is divided into the 8 schools that you know, and within each of them there are several subtypes "he said "sometimes a subtype is part of two different schools, like illusion magic, it is part of both light magic as well as mind magic.

"Professor, aren't there subtypes within dark magic?" asked Derek.

Everyone looked at Derek, he didn't open his mouth in the classroom in those three days, hearing his voice made everyone alert, some wondered how they could forget his presence.

" Ah well, I confess that I don't know anything about dark magic "said the teacher a little embarrassed "I even read some things in books, but I wouldn't know how to explain it, ask who teaches you.

"Okay, I'll do that" Derek said continuing his notes.

"By the way... who is your teacher again?"asked the curious wizard.

Again everyone looked at Derek, the identity of the teacher of that subject was one of the mysteries of the academy, now that there was a student for that subject everyone believed that they would finally find out.

"It's scary" was all he said while keeping the mystery.

The bell rang and the students were dismissed, everyone went to the cafeteria where they met, Derek went to the table he used to use, apparently people avoided that table, they thought it had a lot of negative energy.

"Is not having to fight for a place one of the benefits of the dark?" asked Urick.

"In exchange for your reputation you get some extras" Derek replied jokingly.

The two laughed, Emílio was his only friend in the entire academy, because they shared the same room, Derek was just a little uncomfortable with the way he looked at him when he got out of the shower, but apart from that he didn't see any problem.

Emílio didn't mind his roommate either, the only inconvenience was people asking questions, everyone wanting to know what the illustrious student at the academy was like.

" A celebrity like you will soon find admirers "said Emílio "maybe who knows a secret admirer.

"I highly doubt it, I don't think any girl would be crazy to flirt with a potential psychopath" said Derek.

" I don't know, I think there's one that is already very interested in you "said the other leaving it in the air.

"Huh? Who?" asked Derek curiously.

"Let's just say you're opposite sides of the same coin" he didn't say anything else about that.

He discreetly looked at the table where Merilda was, she was talking to her cousin showing a notebook, he would love to get to know them better, especially that wild and rough redhead, he saw her as a bloody orchid full of thorns.

Already at the table Merilda was explaining her plans to her cousin, in the notebook she had written down the names of the best 2nd year students, and some names of 3rd year students.

" I wanted to get closer to them, but the 3rd year students are very arrogant, they don't talk to us newbies "said Merilda "the 5th year students don't even mix with us, there's a separate cafeteria upstairs, they only talk to us to scold as monitors.

" They've spent a lot here all these years, reaching the last year makes them confident "said Aella "they already think they're trained magicians.

" But I found that in the 4th year there are more students who fail than the 3rd year students who pass " said Merilda "apparently only 10% of the students get the diploma, the final tests must be terrible.

" My combat magic teacher revealed something to me, that a certain number of students die before graduating "said Aella half thoughtful "please be very careful my princess.

" Students die here!? It's the first time I've heard that! "said Merilda scared.

" I went to find out about it later, it seems that 5% of the students who enter do not make it to graduation alive "she explained "and not only that, about 20% of the students leave the academy after failing once or twice, the same number of students are expelled for some reason.

Merilda was perplexed, these numbers indicated that practically half of the students who entered had no chance of making it to the end, the other half fought for grades to get the diploma, those who failed regressed.

"Are you talking about the approval rating here?" asked an incoming girl.

She was Aella's roommate, a student of the mental magic course, they studied the effects of magic on the mind, it was said that the high level magicians of this school could manipulate emotions and even create souls.

"I haven't introduced you yet, this is my cousin Merilda" said Aella "this is my roommate, Isott.

" Nice to meet you, looks like Aella has a side I haven't seen yet " said Isott "she seemed very comfortable with you.

"We were raised together, so it's natural," Merilda explained, "but don't worry, in time she'll get comfortable with you too.

" I hope so, unravel" it has become my study material "said the other laughing "when I learn magic I will test it on it.

" I challenge you, I will show that I am strong both physically and mentally! "said Aella in defiance.

"And speaking of which, beware of upper-grade students," warned Isott "there's a reason the repetition rate is so high: upper-level students sabotage lower-level students to lessen competition.

"What a horror! What a low thing to do," said Merilda.

" If you go through that they accept you more easily, it shows that you are on the same level as them "the other continued "or they are more motivated to knock you down, there are all kinds of crazy people out there.

The bell rang announcing the remaining time until the next class, those who had already finished were heading to the rooms, the others ate faster, but Derek took a different path, he went outside the tower, more specifically to the woods behind the institution, that was where the nature magic classes took place.

"Since I have the rest of the day off I should check out the other classes" he said.

Following through the woods he noticed unusual things, many trees were twisted into strange shapes, in fact it seemed that they had grown into these shapes, soon he reached a dome made with these trees, vines were intertwined forming walls and stones carved in the shape of tables and chairs, something only possible with magic.

"Today I will show you something very interesting: the ability to store magic in seeds "said the professor "the technique of “planting magic” requires some procedures, but it has a huge advantage, using the Mana that is in the earth its effects are much greater than using the Mana of the body.

The teacher dropped a shiny seed on the ground, it buried itself soon after, when it buried itself the teacher made a gesture with his hand, and soon the earth shook, a sprout grew and then it formed roots that curled and grew, at the end a humanoid figure appeared next to the teacher, the figure was made of intertwined roots and leaves forming a cape.

"This is a root golem, a high level magic" he explained "I put the magic of its creation in the seed and then nourished it with my Mana for a while, when I planted it the seed absorbed the Mana of the earth, and he did in moments what would take a wizard days.

Everyone was impressed, creating a golem requires days of work even for the best of magicians, but apparently a magician who knows the magic of seeds can use it, the professor explained that the seeds were special, and that recording a magic in it was not as easy as that.

" The technique of "planting magic" is most useful for magic that requires great power and time "explained the professor "now we are going to practice the basic magic of nature: early twinning.

Derek saw that it was going to get complicated and decided to leave the place, he needed to rest for the class he would have that night, when he was going he noticed someone behind him, when he turned around he saw the teacher who was teaching just now, Derek didn't understand why that he was there.

" I realized you were watching my class " the teacher said " are you interested in nature magic?

"Sorry, was I in the way?" asked Derek.

"Not at all, I'm the one who was curious about you" he said "you look nothing like the last dark wizard I knew.

"Maybe because I'm not a dark wizard yet" Derek said "I haven't even learned basic magic yet.

"I'm more surprised you survived Onyx, that succubus is merciless" commented the other.

"Do you know her?" asked Derek interested.

" She's been here for about 200 years, since the last big invasion ", he replied "I've worked here for 30 years, in that time I've seen several teachers who fell into her clutches, anyone who ventured into her territory.

He smoothed his beard remembering when he started working as a teacher, he heard about the mysterious succubus of the catacombs, he and other novice teachers decided to explore the place and thus get to know "it.

"Hey old man, that face of yours says you know her very intimately" said Derek seeing his perverted face.

He coughed twice and turned to the side, he and two other professors ventured out with the succubus and spent the whole night with her, in exchange for keeping the secret she asked for more visits, they came back a few more times, until one of them didn't. survived the night.

"Anyway, be careful with her, if she gets tired of you she'll kill"you" he warned "or she'll do something much worse, she'll turn"you into her slave.

The teacher's body turned green and crumbled into leaves, he had used magic to create a copy of himself while the real one was teaching, Derek was still impressed with what magic could do.

********************************************

"Your father said your mother was crying," commented the Dean, pouring himself a cup of tea.

" My mother is so dramatic... " said Merilda embarrassed.

" I taught your father magic, so he made me his godfather " he said " so at the moment I'm welcoming you into my home as family.

"I would also like to see" you in this condition, but I have questions about the academy "she said "like why have a dark course here.

"Ah yes, the question that bothers everyone" he said, making himself comfortable on the sofa "the black magic course was created during the last great invasion, the objective was to deepen the knowledge about black magic, at that time to combat" it.

"But why keep it? Dark wizards only do evil" she said "this is a disgrace to the academy.

"I like to think that the ones who graduated here were less bad than the others" he said crossing his fingers "this academy teaches ethics along with magic, so they kind of don't do as much evil.

There was one more reason to form them, the dark magicians formed in the academy were monitored, in addition if the identity and capacity were known they were easier to deal with, much worse were the dark magicians who graduated in clandestine guilds or learned the magic with the demons themselves.

" I knew of a dark magician formed here, he used his power to control the criminals of a region "said Androuet "he became the crime boss, but he instituted rules that controlled the bandits, it can" be said that the presence from him controlled crime in the region.

" So he's a necessary evil? How regrettable "she said "the regency should be responsible for putting an end to crime.

" That is impossible my goddaughter, part of the crime happens with the indifference or even approval of the nobles "explained Androuet "you will not end up with something that is profitable for them.

She didn't want to believe that, she knew that nobles weren't saints, but she wanted to believe that those who had power used it for the good of those who didn't, at least she believed that was how it was.

"To end crime you need to solve all the kingdom's problems, but do you think you can? "he asked "Do you think you can create a utopia?

" I can't give up believing that I can, it's hope that lights up the darkness isn't it? "she asked.

" Good point, hope really gives strength to those lost in darkness " he said " maybe that's what moves Derek...

"Derek? What does he have to do with this?" she asked.

" Huh? Ah yes, I was thinking out loud "said Androuet laughing "just know that not all people follow the same fate.

" I also wanted to ask about the deaths I've heard about " said Merilda "is it true that some tests kill students?

"It's true yes, we warned you before putting you in these situations" said Androuet "as a mage you will face life and death situations, if you don't experience such danger in the academy you won't be prepared for the outside world.

Androuet explained that they take every precaution, the goal is to minimize the risks and consequences, but the academy intentionally does dangerous tests, if they didn't do real tests there would be no point in approving students, and the deaths are regrettable but necessary.

" It's not like we try to kill the students, we just apply tests that we know can kill "he said "if you are really prepared you will overcome" them.

"I've only been here for three days, and even so much of what I believed in has fallen to the ground" she said "but I'll move on, if that's how it is then I'll get over it, and when I become empress I'll change whatever is wrong.

" I'm rooting for you, so that you can rebuild our kingdom after the great invasion "he said "now go my dear, it's getting late.

Merilda thanked her for the conversation and got up, the secretary (who was also the residence's housekeeper) took her to the door, the dean's house was practically at the top of the academy tower, but a system made a chamber go up and down quickly through between floors.

" There's a lot I still need to learn " she said looking at the closed door.

The camera stopped and the door opened, Merilda made her way to the dorms, but something caught her eye, someone turning down the hall and heading into another area.

"Was that Derek?" he asked "if "I'm sure it was.

She didn't know why, but she took the same path as him, she wanted to see with her own eyes what he was doing outside the dorms at this hour.

****************************

"Can you explain to me what this is?" asked Onyx.

" heheheh while I don't learn that magic I need to manage " he said triumphantly.

In addition to the lamp Derek brought one more thing from the deposit, it was a helmet with a luminous stone on the front, miners use it to work without having to hold sources of light, it was the way he found to overcome the supernatural darkness of that place.

"Stop pointing that in my face or I'll shove it up your ass" she ordered.

"Sorry I got distracted" he said scratching his head "your eyes are pretty, they look like rubies.

" "The worst thing is that he says it without malice" "she thought with her hand on her face shaking her head ""I can't believe he can make a succubus feel embarrassed!"

"Hi Napilla, how are your wounds?" he asked when he saw the half-feral.

"I'm already healed" she replied.

"Good, I brought this for you" he said showing a bag of cookies "I got it from the cafeteria.

Seeing the bag of biscuits she almost jumped over to get them, she was happy like an adorable puppy, Derek chuckled at her excitement as he ate.

" Thank" the right Napilla "said Onyx laughing.

The girl went to Derek and put her hands on his shoulders, he turned all red when he saw her approaching, Derek thought she was going to kiss him, but in fact she licked his cheek.

" This is much more erotic than a kiss! " he shouted scared.

" You pervert, having wrong ideas? "asked the other to tease" him "go to the table now, or do you need to relieve yourself first?

He grumbled about her teasing, then Derek went to the table, with the extra light he was finally able to read without any problems.

"In basic classes you already learned how to form arcane writing, right? So I want you to learn this magic" she said pointing to the page "today you will focus only on that.

"It's the magic to see in the dark isn't it? Could it be that I can already use it?"he asked himself.

Derek read the magic characters, in the last few days he tried to memorize their meaning, even though it was difficult to turn that into an activation phrase, he asked Onyx to read the magic so he could understand the pronunciation.

"[Show yourself to me O darkness]" she recited in arcane tongue "it is not that difficult.

Derek imitated her pronunciation as he wrote the arcane letters in the air, Onyx could see that he was doing well, but the letters disappeared before he could complete the sentence, at this rate it would take him another three days to master the technique to complete the sentence.

" "That bitch was right, I like to teach" "thought Onyx remembering the previous dean ""but I feel more pleasure in seeing what my students do out there, I want to see what this one is going to do"

Onyx looked to the side and saw Napilla growling as she looked into a corner, she then turned her attention to the corner, Onyx saw a girl huddled behind a bookcase, she seemed to be trying to see what Derek was doing, Onyx smiled as she imagined her new toy.

"Napilla, get it" she ordered.

The wild girl jumped over the furniture going towards her prey, the girl screamed in panic and started running towards the open door, Derek shouted for Napilla to leave that person alone but she didn't listen, she was acting like a dog on guard now.

Merilda desperately ran towards the exit, the light of the corridor seemed to be her salvation, while she was chased by the beast she was one step away from getting out, but Napilla grabbed her leg knocking her to the ground.

"No! Let go of me!" screamed Merilda, grabbing the door.

"What do we have here? A little girl who got lost? "asked Onyx walking towards her.

" You! You are a demon! "said Merilda crying.

"That's right, and it's time to eat" she said licking her lips "what will your soul taste like? I haven't eaten a girl in years!

Merilda screamed and struggled, kicked Napilla who responded with a bite on her leg, Onyx laughed as she went after her prey, that's when Derek was between them.

"Leave her alone, you don't have to do that" he said.

"It's not a question of needing it, it's what I want to do" replied Onyx "I want to abuse her, suck every drop of her Mana and watch" her slowly wither away.

" I was almost forgetting that you are a demon " he said " very well, I'll take her place.

" You're already mine, I can do whatever I want with you "she said "and you can't stop me from doing what I want.

" So think about it this way, if she disappears it will cause a commotion " he said "our classes have barely started, do you want that kind of problem right away?

Merilda was going to say something but Napilla squeezed her neck, she immobilized her so the prey wouldn't run away while her master decided, Derek didn't look away staring at his teacher.

"Boy, you don't reason with demons, and you definitely aren't going to manipulate them with such ridiculous arguments," replied Onyx "but since you volunteered for it I'm going to make them both suffer, you're going to take the punishment for her, and she's going to watch .

Derek didn't protest and didn't back away, he saw Onyx going to a table and taking a whip, Napilla lifted Merilda from the floor who begged for them to stop.

" You're going to take 10 of these, it's much less than what Napilla takes every week "explained Onyx "and you girl, you're going to watch everything, and if you close your eyes I'm going to rip them out, is that clear?

Merilda started to cry more while Derek took off his uniform, when he took the first lash he screamed like an animal falling to the ground, Merilda screamed his name and that excited Onyx more, she continued with the lashes laughing like crazy.

**********************************

"Please! Someone help me!!" shouted Merilda in the hall.

The nurse got scared and choked on the sandwich, he quickly left the ward and looked into the hallway, what he saw was terrifying.

He saw Merilda carrying Derek who was bleeding a lot, her uniform was already all stained with blood, she shed tears as she used all her strength to carry him, the man then went to them and took the young man in his arms.

"My god! What happened to him!? "asked the man.

"I can't speak now! Please save him!" Merilda begged.

The man carried Derek into the ward, instead of putting him on a stretcher he placed him on a cloth on the floor face down, he quickly ran to a crystal ball and called the doctor, it would take a while for him to arrive, so the nurse took a bucket of water and used it to wash the wounds.

Derek screamed every time his body moved, the nurse saw the depth of the wounds, he figured this young man had been whipped several times, he tried to ask the girl but she was in shock, it took 10 minutes for the doctor to arrive.

"What the fuck is that!? "he said, so surprised was he.

The doctor quickly began to conjure one spell after another, first using one to anesthetize the patient, then one that created a sap that entered the wounds as if it were plugging the holes, finally a spell that created a protective “cover” and accelerated The recovery.

Healing magic was part of nature magic, high-level mages could even reattach amputated limbs or restore internal organs, but healing magic wasn't all that convenient, the user and the patient couldn't leave the place, and the user needed to maintain constant concentration, even if the treatment took hours.

" Now you're going to tell me what happened! "ordered the nurse while the doctor worked.

Merilda was totally lost and in shock, Onyx had warned her that if she opened her mouth she would kill Derek next time, and she herself didn't know how to explain it, the nurse questioned her again when the dean appeared.

"No need to ask anymore, I know what happened" he said "leave that matter to me, how is the treatment going?

" Whoever did this to him did it with pleasure, I've never seen wounds that deep "said the doctor "without treatment he would have died in a short time, although he seems to be very strong.

" It was my fault..." said Merilda crying with her head down.

"It was, it was your fault he almost died" said the rector adamantly "I only have an idea of ​​what happened there, but you are the only one responsible.

His words were harsh, but it was necessary for her to understand her mistake, the doctor continued treating Derek who was suffering a lot, as he could not be moved the dean used magic to lift him off the ground on an energy platform, then used another to transfer part of your Mana to the doctor, all to speed up the treatment.

" The treatment will take all night, and he won't be able to attend classes tomorrow " said Androuet " and neither will you, because you will be taking care of him.

"I know, it's the least I can do," said Merilda, clasping her hands together.

"You should already know, but you're not going to tell anyone about it, no matter who asks," he insisted, "you'll carry this burden forever.

She nodded and sat in a corner, after a while a nurse came, she took Merilda to the bathroom and helped her wash and get rid of the bloody uniform, gave her an outfit like a patient's and some tea. to relax.

As Androuet had said, the treatment lasted almost until dawn, the exhausted doctor went to rest and the nurse cleaned up the mess, the nurse transferred Derek to a stretcher and carried him to the next room, where he would stay to recover.

" Normally this is my job, but Mr. Androuet said that his punishment would be to take care of him "the lady explained "I don't know when he will wake up, you need to change this cloth every 3 hours, you will find several inside that drawer.

She took a cloth and placed it on Derek's back, the cloth had a complex arcane symbol stamped on it, when placed on his back it began to glow, it was a magic that mimicked the effects of a healing medicine.

" When he wakes up I'll bring him something to eat, now let's let his roommates know "she explained "and his teachers about the absence they will have, what are their courses?

"I take the light magic class" replied Merilda still downcast "and he... dark magic.

" Oh my god..." she began to pray softly.

She soon left the room in fear of that young man, Merilda sat in a chair beside the bed, Derek unconscious and lying on his stomach followed with the cloth on his back healing.

Merilda looked at the clock, it marked the 10th hour of the night, the sun would soon rise with the arrival of a new day, she would miss a class but at the moment it was her least concern, what really worried her was what she saw in that dungeon, what he heard from the dean and the injured boy in front of him.

"Why? Why would anyone put themselves through that?" he asked himself.

Merilda remained vigilant until it was time to change the bandage, as the nurse instructed she removed the previous one that had already lost power and replaced it with a new one, looking at the wound it was indeed healing fast, but it was still raw flesh closing in, no skin to to cover.

"This one will leave a mark" grumbled Derek groaning in pain.

"Are you awake? How are you feeling?" asked Merilda worriedly "is it hurting a lot?

" How do you think I'm feeling? That bitch skinned my back " he replied " aiaiaiai I can't even move.

"I'm so sorry! It was all my fault!" said Merilda wiping her eyes "I should never have gone there!

"That's right, and what were you thinking anyway?" asked Derek.

Merilda was ashamed to say that she was suspicious of him, when she saw "him walking through the corridors at night, she thought he was going to do something wrong, so she followed him, if he really did something he shouldn't, she would denounce" him to the dean.

"My teacher sleeps during the day, so I've moved my classes to the night," he explained.

" I'm so sorry, because of me you suffered all this! "she couldn't contain herself "and all because I wanted to harm you!!

"Forget it, you're the one who almost died there" he said leaving the subject aside "no, knowing that damn thing she would torture you until you begged to die.

"But why did you help me?" she asked "you had no obligation to do that, and you even agreed to be skinned...

" I've seen a demon playing with people, I just didn't want to see that again " he replied " it wasn't for you or altruism.

She figured Derek had been through hell at some point in his life, she wanted to know but it felt horrible to ask, physical pain was enough and he didn't need heartache.

" I think I'm going to need your help..." he said awkwardly.

"Huh? Anything!" she said, getting up.

"Don't say that, it gives wrong ideas" he replied "I need help to turn around, it's hard to breathe like this.

"But your back...

" If I stay like this I'll have my back and chest hurting "he said "I can handle it, the worst is over.

Even though she thought it was wrong, she helped him, at first with difficulty she sat him down, then she stretched the healing cloth on the bed and helped him to lie down slowly, he moaned in pain with his body arched, but still he continued, as he leaned his back against the bed. bed he made a pained expression, but then it was relieving.

"Much better this way" he said.

Merilda looked at his chest, in the turmoil before she hadn't noticed, but now she saw the scar on his chest, she had seen similar scars on wounded soldiers, the mark that something had pierced him.

"Did she do that too?" asked Merilda.

"No, that's old stuff" he replied.

"I think I'm going too far, but I really want to know" said Merilda with her hand on her chest "why do you want to learn dark magic so desperately?

"There is something I need to do, no matter what means I have to use" he replied "even if I have to get my hands dirty I will accomplish my objective.

"But you protected me, such a good person shouldn't fall into darkness" she argued.

" I'm not a good person, if Onyx didn't accept the proposal there would be nothing more to do and I would leave the matter aside "he said "as long as I don't have power I can't protect anyone, bleeding in your place was the only thing that I could do.

"That's more than I would have done if they were reversed positions" she confessed.

The nurse came and so the two stopped talking, Merilda continued to take care of Derek helping him to eat and (with cloth and bucket) washing his body, when night fell Merilda was released from her duty as Derek was already much better.

"Still I recommend that you don't go to class today" said the dean who came to see "them at dusk" your body is healed but you are weak, she might want to do something else.

"Sorry about that, but I already missed a day, I have no intention of delaying any longer" he replied "besides I feel that if I make you wait it will be worse.

"Lord Androuet, can't you do anything about that creature?" asked Merilda worriedly "she was going to kill me without regret, and she tortured Derek in front of me.

" She abused yes, but there's not much I can do, there are no others to replace" her "he said "actually she's been doing these things for centuries, it would kind of be wrong for "her now...

"Never mind, I'll be fine" said Derek wearing his uniform "and when I graduate maybe I'll spank her, although she might like it...

"I'll do it! When I graduate in light magic I'll teach her a lesson!" said Merilda hitting her own chest "and you too if you step out of line, so behave yourself!"

Derek laughed, he never imagined that he would end up becoming her friend, even more so because she was a user of light, in the end the beating he took brought something good.

" So... if you stay in line, I promise I'll help you with whatever you need "she said "so don't try so hard to be such a good dark magician.

Derek laughed a lot and went to class, Merilda went to the dorms accompanied by her cousin, Androuet was already satisfied, despite the scare he saw something interesting happening there.