’This is annoying.’ Azrael thought, standing in front of Boros’s office.

’Should I kill him now?’

He knocked twice, making sure to use the same amount of physical pressure a human teenager would use.

"Come in," Boros called out from inside.

Azrael opened the door and walked in.

The office was wide and filled with dusty books.

Boros sat behind his large desk, shuffling a stack of official documents with a bored expression.

"Student Shane. Take a seat," Boros said, gesturing to the leather chair with his silver pen.

"I am just finishing up the required paperwork for your trial reward. Bureaucracy never sleeps in this academy."

Azrael sat down slowly, resting his hands on his knees.

’A true king does not wait for a scribe,’ Azrael thought to himself, watching the old man sort the papers.

’But I will play this little game for now to keep the peace.’

"I thought the paperwork was already done, sir," Azrael said, borrowing Shane’s casual, slightly arrogant tone.

"Most of it, yes. But here is the problem," Boros flipped a page very slowly, drawing out the silence.

"The Soul-Stitcher is an ancient artefact. It requires secondary confirmation of integration from the user. How is your chest feeling today?"

"Fine. It just left a small scar on my neck."

"Good." Boros did not look up from his papers.

He just kept writing.

"I was highly worried about side effects. Splitting a core can sometimes cause harsh changes in a person. Personality shifts. Sudden mood swings. A total lack of empathy for your classmates."

Azrael smiled.

"I feel exactly like myself, Principal Boros."

"Glad to hear it."

Boros set his silver pen down and crossed his hands over the desk.

He was spending this meeting taking the measure of the creature sitting across from him. He wanted to see how much patience the demon possessed, testing if the monster would snap under the weight of mundane paperwork.

"So about the academy’s schedule," Boros said softly.

"Next week, the Student Council will be returning from their border expedition."

Azrael tilted his head slightly.

He searched the boy’s lingering memories for the context.

The Student Council.

They were the absolute apex predators of the student body, answering only to the royal family.

They were the strongest fighters the academy had to offer.

"Why does that matter to me?" Azrael asked.

"Because they oversee everything in this school," Boros explained, his voice turning highly serious.

"They keep the peace. And they are very thorough when they find something strange hiding in the student body. We need to tie up all loose ends before they walk through the front gates. If they find a mess, they tend to clean it up with fire."

Boros paused, letting the silence stretch across the room.

Neither of them admitted the truth out loud.

Azrael knew Boros was talking about his possession. Boros knew Azrael understood the hidden threat. It was a careful, polite dance over a pit of spikes.

"Speaking of loose ends," Boros continued, picking up his pen again to appear busy.

"Your upcoming D-rank cave excavation is in two days. I have decided to increase the security detail for your specific group."

"Is that really necessary?" Azrael asked, keeping his face totally blank.

"It is just a D-rank cave. Zephyr and I can handle it."

"Perhaps. But considering the recent cult activity in the forests, I prefer extreme caution. I am sending an A-rank awakener to supervise the freshmen." Boros looked up, locking his sharp eyes with Azrael.

"Specifically, I am sending an A-rank with a unique soul-reading capability. Just to make sure no magic sneaks into the group while we are digging in the dirt."

It was a direct warning disguised as a casual conversation.

Azrael did not blink.

He just nodded his head slowly.

"That sounds very safe, sir. A wise decision to protect the students."

"I try my best," Boros smiled gently. "You are dismissed, Shane."

Azrael stood up, offered a slight bow, and walked out of the office. He closed the heavy door behind him, his expression dropping into a dark scowl.

Melissa was waiting near the stone staircase at the end of the hall.

She held a stack of history books to blend in with the passing students.

"How did it go, my lord?" she whispered as Azrael approached her.

"He knows," Azrael replied quietly, walking past her down the steps.

Melissa followed close behind.

Her eyes widened in panic.

"Should I arrange an accident for him?"

"No. That is what he wants. He is baiting a reaction to see if I am foolish enough to strike first in the open." Azrael touched the small scar on his neck.

"I judged him too quickly. Upgrade the old man from a dying leaf to a genuine obstacle. He is playing a dangerous game, trying to stall us until these Student Council members return."

"Did he threaten you?" Melissa asked.

"He is sending an A-rank soul reader to the cave with us," Azrael said, his red eyes narrowing.

"He wants to corner me underground, where the teachers can fight without destroying the academy buildings. He thinks he has the upper hand because my power is currently restricted by this stitched core."

"We can cancel the trip, my lord. Make an excuse about your health."

"No. If we run, he confirms his suspicions and strikes now. We walk right into his trap and tear it apart from the inside. We just need to get your pendant. Once I have my full power restored, a soul reader will only see their own death." 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Back inside the quiet office, Boros waited until the magical signature of the boy faded down the hallway.

The old man let out a shaky breath.

He slumped back into his large leather chair, rubbing his eyes with rough hands.

Holding a polite conversation with a possessed soul inside his student was the most exhausting thing he had done in decades.

The arrogance of the creature was suffocating.

It did not even try to hide the aura bleeding into the room.

He needed to extract Shane’s trapped soul and put down the demon before the Student Council arrived next week.

’Was it really a demon?’ He doesn’t know.

If the Council found out a demon was walking the halls, they would not try to save Shane.

They would simply execute the boy and burn the vessel to ash to protect the capital.

Boros could not let that happen.

He owed the boy a fighting chance.

Boros opened a locked drawer in his desk and pulled out a small communication crystal.

"Yeah?" Arthur’s lazy voice echoed from the stone.

"I just finished the morning meeting," Boros said, his tone grim and serious.

"And?" Arthur asked, the background noise of a training hall fading away on his end.

"It is worse than we thought. He is going to the cave in two days, and he is fully aware that we are watching him." Boros stared at the closed door.

"I need you to prepare your special unit."

"Understood," Arthur said.

The laziness vanished entirely from his voice.

"What are my strict orders regarding the freshman when we get down in the dark? Do we capture, or do we eliminate?"

Boros gripped the crystal tightly. He closed his eyes, thinking about the determined kid who sat in his office just asking for a way to survive the impossible.

He gave a single instruction delivered in three short words.

"..."