Death Heir’s Devouring System

Shortly after Azrael got hold of his senses, Seraphina did as well.

"We… are back?" She exclaimed slowly, scanning the area. The way her body moved and felt, she knew her power had increased severalfold. Even her senses had jumped drastically, as had her awareness of her surroundings.

Still, her legs remained locked; the injuries she had accumulated before ascending might have been gone. But the scar they had left on her psyche wasn't so easy to gloss over.

Isolde and Victor seemed to get ahold of themselves around the same time.

The girl had her head locked to the ground. Her powers had to do with observation, so her improved senses increased the load on her mind several times over.

Victor, meanwhile, had his gaze locked onto the sky. His finger slowly curled upwards to his lips. There was no smile on his face, nor unnatural joy that made him forget himself. He wasn't in any kind of danger.

Azrael didn't pay any attention to them nor his surroundings; his focus was solely locked onto Arthur.

One second the man sat calmly upon the corpse of the slain Apex.

The next he was gone, causing Azrael's eyes to widen in awe.

'My eyes were on him the entire time.' A frown appeared on his face. 'He moved so fast that I wasn't even able to perceive it?'

It stung a little. Despite growing stronger, there was still such a wide gap between himself and the principal.

"You did well."

Before Azrael realized it, a firm hand patted his shoulder. And a new ID device had appeared on his wrist since his old one had long been lost.

There was not even the slightest reaction from Azrael's instincts. Arthur's movement speed was not just as fast as teleportation in his eyes, but the old man also didn't have a problem escaping the senses of the Proven.

"I—" Azrael's lips parted; it took a moment to organize his mess of a mind.

"What happened?" Was the most pressing question he judged he should know the answer to.

Arthur's eyes twitched a little.

"An attack—that's what happened. The Moon Breakers were infiltrated by dozens of Marked that had Remembrances they should have never possessed." He said coldly.

"Pure chaos erupted; most of the Marked died. Few like yourselves managed to enter the Rift that opened in the middle of the base."

Arthur threw a quick look towards the other Chosen. "And by the looks of it, most of you didn't make the cut."

"A lot of Proven died." The man continued. "But most managed to escape amidst a few injuries."

Even if Azrael hadn't had a lot of free time in the Rift, he had speculated about what the damages done to the human realm as a whole had been. The words of the principal didn't come as a surprise.

"Enough talk about this; you must rest."

Before Azrael could ask any more questions, Arthur cut him off.

"You have survived hell and come back to us. You will pass through an official mental and physical examination to determine the state of your mind and body. Until then you are to let your nerves relax. Rest is just as important as training."

As Arthur said that, he gazed at Seraphina and Isolde, who had managed to pick up on the conversation from the halfway point.

Azrael wasn't an expert when it came to reading people, but he was much better than the average. That was why he noticed the way the old man's facade twitched in anger when looking at the two so-called angels.

'Is he hostile towards them?'

The next moment Arthur stunned the onlookers as he bowed.

"I want to express my deepest apologies to members of the Elite School, both from the Flameborn clan and the Vaelthorn clan. All this happened because of oversight on my part and the Moon Breakers as a whole. I can't return the dead; all I can do is apologize and hope that this doesn't damage our relations in the future."

'Yes, our camp did indeed have members from both of these factions.' Azrael mused, paying attention to the Marked who had survived the Rift and ascended to the Proven Level.

His gaze immediately locked onto Seraphina; a weight was lifted off his shoulders. He was glad that she at least had survived.

'It's not because I particularly like her company.' He reminded himself to not get attached to anything. 'Her Inborn Trait, whatever it is, could very well aid me in the future.'

Victor and Isolde were alive as well. Unsurprisingly true to Seraphina's words, Logan, the once timid healer, was nowhere to be seen.

James was next to the group, eyes unfocused, still not with his full senses after the euphoria that the Rift made them experience. However, there was a particular emotion etched into his face as a tear fell down it.

Rachel, his girlfriend, was nowhere to be seen. She had perished as well as many others.

Azrael recognized every face here, still he hadn't bothered to learn their names. Why should he? After spending so much time with them, he knew who the exceptional ones were and had taken care to remember them.

For all he could care, the others weren't useful to know or interact with in the slightest, so he didn't bother.

"Please raise your head." Seraphina spoke, unsurprised by the principal's actions. "The fault doesn't just lie with you; our school hasn't taken enough precautions for our safety when going into foreign territory."

"You have manners befitting the Flameborn clan." Arthur exclaimed, raising his head. "I hope when we meet again we won't be enemies."

Seeing the confusion on her face, the man explained. "As soon as the Rift disappeared, the representatives of your clans were notified. Any moment they would come and snatch you from the scene."

'So I will not see them for a while,' Azrael realized. It wasn't an ideal situation, but having just recently Ranked up, his Corruption was at 0. There was no threat of going insane at the moment, so he should be able to hold up.

With a simple nod, Seraphina instinctively gripped Isolde's hand, ensuring that she was by her side.

Then her sight fell on Azrael.

"My offer still stands." She said, "If you need help, don't hesitate to reach me."

"Good to know," he nodded before raising an eyebrow. "But how am I supposed to do that?"

Her eyes widened momentarily; in a flash she took his palm and typed her and Isolde's contact information in his ID device.

"Like that."

She said, taking a step back.

A heartbeat later a shadow loomed behind them, only to vanish, taking them with it.

Azrael glanced around; every Chosen was nowhere to be seen with the exception of Victor himself and Arthur.

"You got their contact information?" The old man exclaimed in genuine surprise. "What kind of stuff were you up to in the Rift? Courting maidens?"

Before Azrael fired back at the absurd question, a familiar voice resonated behind him.

"Nice to see you alive, pupil."

For a moment, Azrael had forgotten that he too was under the care of an extraordinary human whose power could rival the great ones.

"Seyra…" He spun, wondering when she got behind him.

"Surely, you won't object to my pupil reporting to me first about his time in the Rift, correct?" She flashed a pleasant smile at Arthur. Even the blind could see what she was implying.

"But of course." Arthur nodded, taking a step back.

"Alright, pupil." Seyra said softly, gently putting a hand over his shoulder.

"Let's go somewhere more private."