Rise of the White Devil

Rubbing his eyes, Lucas released a tired sigh.

Piles of books were stacked in front of him on the table as he turned the page of yet another thick volume.

He had no idea how much time had passed since he took a shower and made his way to the library.

Each of these books was related to history, and he had already read dozens of them trying to find any connection with the Void or the ancient races.

Unfortunately, he hadn't been lucky in the slightest.

The most he had found were theories about unknown races from thousands of years ago, but nothing was confirmed since there wasn't any proof.

"At this rate, I won't even have to attend any history classes anymore," he muttered to himself, finally deciding to take a break.

He opened his phone only to see that it was already 2 a.m.

"Huh," he rubbed his eyes again, wondering if his mind was playing tricks on him, but the time remained the same—2 a.m.

Eight hours had passed.

Apparently, he had been there for eight hours.

He hadn't even noticed how long he had been engrossed in the books.

The library had been empty the entire time since no one wanted to come here during the weekend.

Putting his phone back on the table, he released another tired sigh.

"Looks like some mysterious book won't appear this time..." Lucas chuckled, recalling how easy it had been the first time when he searched for clues about the chaos element.

Just a few hours in the library and he had found his answers so easily.

Recalling the time his memories returned, it felt like a lifetime ago already.

A lot of things were starting to change and would keep changing.

He wondered just what the outcome would be after all the changes that were happening.

"Call me surprised by your actions again, Lucas," suddenly, he heard a familiar voice calling to him this late at night.

Lucas turned to see Professor Julius walking towards him.

"Professor Julius."

Julius stood in front of Lucas, his eyebrows raised in surprise.

"I didn't expect someone to be here this late and on a weekend as well," he said as he gazed at the piles of books on the table.

"...I don't recall any of the professors giving you this much work in a mere week in the academy, and you didn't attend almost the entire week."

Lucas's lips twitched.

"They're not for any of my classes, professor. You could say I was doing my own personal research, though I think I'm done for the day."

Julius looked at him strangely, making Lucas furrow his brows.

"You read all of these books?"

"Well, yeah... it has been more than eight hours after all," Lucas said, starting to realize why Julius looked at him so oddly.

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Who in their right mind would read all of these old books in a single day?

And the one reading them being Lucas Nightstar himself.

Honestly, Lucas didn't expect himself to be reading all of this in a single day either—all of that for eight hours straight continuously.

No wonder his eyes were stinging so much.

"You know, you always manage to surprise me more than the previous time I meet you," Julius said bluntly, making Lucas's lips twitch again.

"Why are you even here this late at night?" Lucas asked, smirking.

"I got bored, what else? Thought I would waste some time reading some old books," Julius answered, then shifted his gaze to the pile of books.

"But it looks like you beat me to it."

'Right, he did say that he was more interested in this kind of stuff instead of fighting...' Lucas thought.

'Perhaps he might know something?'

Deciding to gamble on Julius's knowledge, he asked, "Professor, do you know something about the Void?"

Hearing his question, Julius furrowed his brows in confusion.

"The Void? Is that some sort of spell?" he asked curiously, making Lucas inwardly disappointed.

'As expected, even someone like him who has done a lot of research and explored ancient ruins doesn't know anything about the Void.'

Not giving up, Lucas asked another question, hoping for a different result.

"Do you think it's true that there were races that we didn't know of thousands of years ago?"

The questions and their strange relationship clearly intrigued Julius.

The piles of history books that Lucas had read through gave him enough to at least speculate on his own research.

"I do, actually," he answered, surprising Lucas as he continued.

"But what races roamed around and what happened to them, I don't. I can go on for hours about the theories I have, but I'm sure you wouldn't be interested in them."

"Actually, I wouldn't mind hearing them," Lucas said, making Julius raise his eyebrows in surprise before a small smile appeared on his face.

"Good, let's talk about these things when I teach you how to properly use space magic," Julius said, making Lucas nod in agreement before asking another question.

"When will my training begin, by the way?"

"After the school trip to Sky City," Julius replied.

Lucas nodded again, knowing they were going on a school trip to Sky City in the human domain this week.

They would be staying there for an entire night.

"What will we actually be doing there except for sightseeing?" Lucas asked, but Julius merely shook his head.

"You'll find out once we are there. I can't exactly tell you now, can I? I don't want to look like I'm picking favorites," he said, making Lucas narrow his eyes.

'But you can stalk me?' he thought, though Julius noticed the look Lucas was giving him, causing him to look away and cough before recollecting himself, already knowing what Lucas was thinking about.

"Why are you even researching ancient races?" Julius asked, returning to their previous conversation.

His curiosity was piqued by Lucas's sudden interest in history.

Lucas had originally seemed like someone who didn't bother with academics, especially since he hadn't paid any attention in class last time.

Julius was now seeing him in a more favorable light, impressed by Lucas's willingness to read so many books for his own research.

"Curiosity," Lucas replied simply, making Julius narrow his eyes slightly but then let it go.

He was a bit suspicious that it wasn't just curiosity driving Lucas to read so many books.

As someone who did a lot of research himself, he knew that curiosity often led to deeper investigations.

'He'll find out the real reason soon enough,' Lucas thought.

He wasn't ready to reveal the Void and the ancient races to Julius—not yet at least.

He knew it was only a matter of time before all of this would be revealed to the public by the Voidwalkers when the Void War resumed.

'Perhaps the royal family knows as well,' he pondered.

He stood up from his chair, stretching a bit before speaking to Julius again.

"I'll be going to sleep now, professor. Thanks for spending some of your time with me."

Julius waved his hand dismissively.

"No need. It's always interesting being in your presence, Lucas," he said with a glint in his eyes, making Lucas a bit uncomfortable.

Lucas didn't waste more time and finally decided to leave and get some sleep since he had an important meeting the next day.

********

Standing in front of the mirror in his hotel room, Lucas adjusted his outfit.

He had chosen to stay away from the dormitory after his conversation with Julius to avoid unwanted attention and potential followers.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Luna sat on his shoulder, observing him curiously.

Lucas nodded in satisfaction at his reflection.

Instead of his usual clothes or academy uniform, he wore something much more distinctive—clothes he kept in his inventory for occasions like this.

'Always good to be prepared,' he thought.

He wore sleek black pants tucked into well-worn boots, topped with a soft black coat with a matte surface.

His face was concealed by a mask made of dark metal, etched with intricate, ominous engravings.

The mask covered his entire face except for his eyes and hair, which glowed a vivid crimson from behind the mask's narrow slits.

Two horns protruded from the mask, adding to his fearsome appearance.

The mask was enchanted to prevent anyone from focusing on him for too long.

To complete the look, Lucas draped a long black furred coat over his shoulders.

The coat was luxurious and dense, providing warmth and an extra layer of protection.

He secured the Blade of Chaos at his right waist inside a black holster, adding to his intimidating presence.

"This should do, right?" Lucas asked Luna, who looked at him with a hint of fear in her eyes.

["Are you planning to kill someone, Father?"] she asked hesitantly.

"Of course not. Why would you think that?" Lucas replied, puzzled.

After all, he considered himself one of the most peaceful people around.

["It's just... you look a little scary, that's all,"] Luna said vaguely.

Lucas narrowed his eyes for a moment, which made Luna even more apprehensive.

"Well, that is good then. Being scary is exactly what I am going for," he said with a grin.

It was finally time for him to visit the black market.