Black Solstice-Chapter 27: Demon’s Doctrine of Mystics [4]

On the way to my next class, Rune Architecture, I saw something that made my entire train of thought derail.

No... not quite.

I squinted my eyes while slowing my pace. The creature lumbering across the courtyard was massive and scaled abomination, radiating enough presence to make the lesser devils give it a wide berth. But the longer I stared, the more I realized something was off.

After a moment, the truth clicked.

It wasn’t a dragon but rather a wyrm.

According to human culture, especially Western mythology, dragons were depicted as towering winged tyrants, four-limbed aerial disasters with scales like plate armor, wings that blotted out the sun, and enough firepower to turn cities into charcoal. They were intelligent, territorial, majestic, and terrifying; creatures that brought ruin simply by waking up on the wrong side of their hoard.

Wyrms, however, were a different matter.

Unlike dragons, a wyrm lacked wings and limbs altogether. Its body stretched out like a massive serpent, each movement rippling through muscle segments thick enough to crush boulders. Where a dragon commanded the sky, a wyrm owned the ground.

If dragons were the apex predators of the heavens, wyrms were the nightmares that lived below.

Seeing one casually moving across the academy grounds was quite the shock... to say the least.

I wasn’t sure whether to be impressed, scared or worried that the faculty allowed something like that to roam around in broad daylight.

Either way, that definitely wasn’t a dragon.

But, somehow, that wasn’t the strangest part.

All because that wasn’t the only the creature roaming about!

One, two, three, four....

I counted like an idiot as more shapes came into view.

To my left, a feathered beast with the head of a stag and the wings of a hawk perched atop a stone archway, preening itself as if it owned the place. A hippogryph, unless my brain was finally giving up.

Beside the fountain, a stone-skinned brute lumbered past a group of first-years, its footfalls cracking the pavement with every step. A gargoyle, alive and not perched on some cathedral as decoration.

And overhead... was that a griffin?

Yes. Yes, it was. Just flying there. Like some kind of majestic, feathered school pigeon that decided the academy courtyard was its personal airspace.

At this point, I stopped counting.

...What the hell is this? A school is supposed to have a policy that doesn’t allow pets on the premises, right!? So why is everyone not bothered by this!?

The worst part was that passing devils would pause, briefly glance at the monstrous abominations, then continue walking as if nothing was out of place. Some even had small creatures perched on their shoulders like a horned rat, a jet-black crow, a floating jellyfish-thing with too many eyes. A mixed parade of tiny and colossal beasts wandered freely, completely unrestricted. One young devil even rode atop a massive lizard, chest puffed out in pride as the creature lumbered forward like a personal steed.

Apparently, this was normal here.

"Soul Bonds."

A voice suddenly spoke behind me.

I snapped my head back to locate the source of the mysterious voice. But no one was there.

A frown gathered on my brows.

Who said something just now? Was my mind playing tricks on me again? Or... was it a ghost?

"Um... I’m down here."

Huh?

I blinked and lowered my gaze. Someone had indeed spoken behind me, just far below eye level.

The young devil standing there couldn’t have been more than 152 centimeters tall. His hair was short, tousled, and dark blue, cut in a fluffy, uneven style. His eyes were a matching shade, half-lidded with a naturally annoyed look that didn’t help his already displeased expression.

He carried an armful of books, stacked almost to his chin, and the moment I got a good look at him, recognition clicked.

It was the Imp who’d been sitting beside me in Basic Reishi Management class.

Realizing that I’d nearly overlooked him, literally, I quickly spoke.

"Sorry, I didn’t see you."

"Don’t worry. I’m already used to it."

"Um... you mentioned something about a Soul Bond, right? What is that?"

The small devil shifted his stack of books, glanced around, then answered matter-of-factly:

"The beasts you’re seeing are what we call Soul Bonds. They’re Hollows that devils tame and fuse to their Soul. Unless they act on their owner’s malicious intent, they’re completely harmless. That’s why the academy allows them to roam, as long as they don’t cause trouble."

"Ah, I see. Thank you."

"Eh? W-What?"

"Hm?"

The Imp tilted his head, staring up at me as though I’d just spoken in an ancient, forgotten language. For a moment, he looked genuinely confused... almost startled.

It made me wonder if this was the first time he’d ever heard someone tell him thank you.

Before I could ask why he looked so bewildered, the Imp abruptly shook his head, as if trying to clear static from his thoughts.

"A-Anyway," he muttered, shifting his books again, "Soul Bonds. Right. You should get used to seeing them. Most students here have at least one."

"At least one? Why would anyone need more than one?"

"You can think of Soul Bonds as your most helpful companion. They have many uses. Some can fly, some can fight, some can even serve as mounts. I’ve even heard rumors of ones that can do your laundry." 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

"Does such a creature exist?"

"I don’t know. But I highly doubt it. I mean, if something like that existed, it would be... unfair, right?"

"How interesting. So you have one, a Soul Bond?"

"If I had one, would I be carrying all these books?"

"That makes sense. Sorry, that was a stupid question."

"..."

Once again, the Imp looked dumbfounded. He eventually recovered and gave me a strange look.

"What?"

His eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"I haven’t seen a devil use ’sorry’ so casually. Could it be that you lack Spirit, or are you a weird type?"

...Shit.

’What’s up with this devil? Stop questioning things!’

To hide my unease, I simply shrugged like it was nothing.

"So what? What’s wrong with using ’sorry’? You talk as if being a devil automatically raises you to some higher power. If we limit ourselves with arrogance, how can we ever truly grow, as a devil or as a person? Isn’t that the point of attending this academy? To overcome these weaknesses and learn to cooperate with others for a better future?"

The Imp blinked rapidly, as if trying to process something completely unfamiliar.

Finally, he said, "How quaint. That’s certainly a strange point of view. But... it’s not necessarily bad. Even so, if other devils hear you say ’I’m sorry,’ they might interpret it as admitting weakness. So... be careful from now on."

Devils were the strange ones, not me.

"Understood. I’ll make sure to be careful with my words."

"By the way, I think I’ve seen you somewhere. Did you attend Ms. Tyrus’s Basic Reishi Management class?"

"Yep. Seems we’re coursemates. I’m Cassius Cain. And you are?"

I stretched out my hand for a handshake.

He stared at my hand for a moment before smiling brightly, shifting his stack of books and grasping it with his free hand.

"Dabble. You can call me Dabble. It’s nice to make your acquaintance!"

What a peculiar name.

Even so, this felt like a rather interesting meeting.

Just then...

"Waaaa! W-Wha...!!"

Dabble screamed as a massive lizard suddenly clamped onto the collar of his blazer and bolted away at incredible speed. The books he had been carrying scattered across the floor as the poor Imp was dragged along.

Wait a minute... wasn’t that the same lizard that smug fellow had been riding?

I froze as Dabble flailed his arms and yelled incoherently.

"Hey! Get back here, you rotten lizard!" The irresponsible owner shouted, chasing after the runaway.

The lizard didn’t even glance back. Its powerful legs pounded the pavement with terrifying speed, tail whipping behind it, sending sparks of dust and small stones flying.

In the end, the owner got a hard smack and flew off like a broken kite.

I couldn’t help but stare in disbelief. This was absurd, even by demon academy standards.

"Is this... normal?"

Judging based on the reaction of other devils, apparently, it was.