Thelia.
The name spun in his head as he took the next flight of stairs.
He had almost forgotten about her. As much as he tried to force her out of his mind, it seemed almost impossible.
Thelia Sonoma, the first born of Jason and his sister. She was the first to face the cruelty of their family.
After the series of events that occurred in their family, she never remained the same. Not to talk about the sickness that occurred after. Which led to her being cast away from the limelight of the family.
"Dammit!"
He didn't want things to be as complicated as it already was. But he couldn't just neglect her.
Thelia had been the only one that stood by him during his young age. Even when the whole family was against him, even when they called him all sorts of names, she had always been sweet to him.
That was before he fully awakened.
Now, he didn't want to get attached to any being of this world, given what he had in store for them. They were just tools in his grand plans.
Getting close to even one would make things complicated and could ruin his plans.
Raziel continued forward, enjoying the quietness of the hall. He took a couple of twists and turns before finally arriving at the passage leading to his room.
He didn't have time to bother himself with human emotions. No. He had to prepare for what was coming.
A sigh escaped his lips as he stared at the distant space before him.
"Can't I get a moment of peace for once." He muttered with a frown.
Moving his head slightly, a blade whistled past his ears.
Tsk.
He didn't have to wait long before the figures finally revealed themselves.
"Ohhh. Will you look at that? The boy has finally grown some balls." A voice echoed across the hall.
"To think we'll see so soon." Another voice echoed over the hall.
Raziel finally raised his head, his gaze locked onto the duo that stood metres away from him, blocking his path. Their identical lean frames and short silver hair revealed their identities instantly.
Another of his cousins. The twin demons. Olsen and ollen.
"What's this all about now?" Raziel muttered.
"To think we were unable to make it into the top three isn't that quite frustrating?" Olsen, the one at the left with silver bangs, said, clenching the short sword he held tightly.
"It's because of you... you damn curse." The other, Ollen, spat out with disdain.
"Haha. Just kidding! Well... don't take it personally. We just wanna let out some steam."
"Yeah. Don't die on us. We'll be done before you know it." Olsen said, charging forward
Raziel watched as Olsen charged forward, his blade gleaming across the scattered light in the hall.
"Ahhh. What a stress. Just what the hell is wrong with this family?"
Raziel didn't even attempt to move. He watched as Olsen quickly covered the distance, sword swinging forward in an arc.
Just before the strike could connect, a presence washed over the hall. One so heavy that pressed down on all.
Olsen felt his knees grow weak as he dropped to the ground, sword clattering beside him. Beads of sweat formed across his face as he struggled to lift himself up.
Ollen wasn't left out as he was also pulled to the ground by the strange force.
"What the hell is going on here?" A figure appeared before them, eyes glowing fiercely.
The only one left standing was Raziel, who still didn't move from his position.
"Elder Avina." Ollen recognised her instantly. A slight smirk slowly formed on his face, seeing it was his aunt. His earlier panic swiftly dissolved as he spoke.
"It's nothing much, Raziel decided to show us his new skill that he used in surviving in the Otherworld." He said with a smile.
"Ohh. Is that so." Her gaze landed on Olsen, who felt a shiver run down his spine.
"What the hell is wrong with her?" He thought. "Why is she acting differently?"
He didn't fail to notice Raziel unaffected by the aura still standing, yet they were pressed to the ground. Sensing her heated gaze on him, he faltered, stumbling to form words.
"Uhm.. uhh y–yes," he uttered, finally. "Raziel wanted to show us his new skill, so he asked us to attack him."
"Does this look like the training hall?" Her gaze bore heavily into his skull, causing him to shudder.
"N–no." His pale face glistened with sweat as he quickly avoided her gaze.
A stretch of suffocating silence occurred for a moment before she finally spoke.
"Off you go then." She commanded.
The heavy aura suppressing them was gone in an instant, leaving them gasping for breath.
Ollen quickly rose dashing across the hall, and Olsen followed behind, not once looking back.
"And I don't wanna see you guys messing around the hall!"
Avina's voice echoed deep within their head, causing them to stumble for a moment.
The overbearing presence around her finally faded away as she walked forward.
"Those damn rats. Had to hold myself back from crushing them right here." She said, her face flitting into a warm smile.
"You saved me the stress." Raziel said, finally moving. "But... you don't have to keep following me around."
Walking past her, he stopped in his tracks. "Actually, was thinking of meeting up with you later on, but it's best if I say it out now.
I plan on joining the Exorcist Academy through the normal entry. I would need your help in the preparation."
"Hold on! You're what?! Well... I guess it's fine since I'll be accompanying you..." Noticing his silence, she turned around only to notice he had resumed walking again.
"Right?" She shouted, this time the words echoing in his head.
"No... I'll be fine alone. Also, I've got an important job for you here. I'll reveal the details later.
But first, I'll need your help in arranging my visit to the family vault."
With that, he walked out of the hall, leaving Avina behind.
Raziel finally arrived at his room. It wasn't much. Just a little space barely holding a bed, table and wardrobe with a connected bathroom.
Collapsing on his bed, Raziel slowly went through his plans for tomorrow.
First, he would need to enter the family vault and claim his inheritance before he began his training. The entry exam was drawing near each day.
With those thoughts in mind, he slowly drifted into unconsciousness.