---
"Ahhh, Gemi, what's happening?" Alex screamed out loud.
'All the Umbral aether you got from hatching the Demon King egg is more than your natural aether. Your body is forcefully burning out the Umbral aether to balance it fifty-fifty with your natural aether,' Gemi explained.
"Ahhhhhhhhhh!"
"Captain Frank, what should we do?" one of the men beside Frank asked.
"Look, he's going through so much pain. This might be our chance to attack him," another said.
"Can't you idiots see? He's burning out Umbral aether. That means one thing—he's definitely not a demon, and he's definitely not human," Captain Frank said sharply.
"Are you saying we should wait and see what happens, Captain?" the soldier asked. Frank didn't reply; he just moved closer to Alex, who was still screaming.
Then suddenly, Alex dropped to the ground—lifeless and unconscious.
"You two, carry him. We're going back to the 5th Division headquarters," Captain Frank ordered.
"Okay, sir," the soldiers replied, hesitating before obeying.
"Captain Rex, how are your brother and Ivy?" Captain Frank asked.
"Ivy's just unconscious—her vitals are fine. But Nev's in a critical state. My healing abilities may be good, but we need Legendary-tier healers for this," Captain Rex said, opening a portal directly to the 5th Division headquarters.
"I'll head to the Aether Health Center," Captain Rex added as he opened another portal and disappeared.
---
Three days later — The Capital's general market.
"Hey, did you hear? The signs of the prophecy of the first Aether King have started happening," one of the young soldiers said to his peers.
"For real? I even heard they found a demon," another said while shuffling a deck of cards.
"Hey!" the third soldier smacked him on the head.
"Cut him some slack," the most mature one said. "Besides, word spreads like wildfire in the Capital—everyone already knows."
"It's such a shame. With everything happening, they might cancel this year's Tournament of Power," one said.
"And the current Aether King is on his deathbed. If the South gets attacked now, it's going to be bad," the oldest added.
"You can feel it too, huh? The tension. The people are scared."
---
"We may now begin the interrogation," a dark-skinned man in a long white hooded robe said as those beside him took their seats.
Inside a towering chamber, the Captains of all nine Aether Commission Divisions sat above, their vice-captains behind them. Below, judgment would be passed. The acting Aether King presided.
"Bring him in," the assistant Aether King said.
The gates rose, and Alex was brought in, hands chained in 100% Obstainium—the strongest material known to man.
"I want this to be as quick as possible," the man in the robe said. "As the acting Aether King and head of the Edo family, I, Ralph Edo, will now pass fair judgment."
"Fair judgment?!" Alex shouted from below. "I've done nothing wrong and I am—"
Whack!
A heavy blow smashed into his head.
"Who are you to speak!" one of the guards barked, hammer still raised.
"This is fair judgment, isn't it?" Alex muttered, lifting his head as the wound healed instantly.
"Who instructed you to hit him?" Ralph asked coldly, his eyes turning white as tangible aether lashed out, slicing the guard's head clean off.
'What the hell—he killed him instantly! Even before the man's aether could react! Wait… how can he physically deploy aether as a tangible substance?!' Alex thought, wide-eyed.
"Alex, you'll cooperate with us," Ralph said. "Because right now, we decide if you live or die." He sat down.
"As the Aether King has said, we will pass fair judgment," the assistant Aether King added.
'My evaluation ability upgraded... I can see more detail now. That guard was definitely an Elite-tier tank—how the hell did he kill him like that?' Alex thought. 'He's stronger than the Shadow Walker.'
"Now, we all know Alex Hathaway here—from what we've gathered, he's a human with Umbral aether. But we can all sense a faint trace of demon within him. Maybe it's the Umbral distorting our senses. Regardless, we'll treat him as human," the assistant Aether King said. "However, due to what he is, someone will have to keep an eye on him. Whoever volunteers will be responsible for anything that happens related to him."
The room went silent.
Minutes passed.
"Seems like no one wants you," Ralph said with a dark chuckle.
Finally, a voice broke the silence.
"Hey, Alex. What kinda name is that anyway? You're coming with me. You're my responsibility now," one of the Captains said.
Alex looked up and saw a well-built guy in a black tank top, younger than the rest, short black hair, average height.
'That guy's a Captain, he looks so young compared to the rest?' Alex thought.
"Saint, take him to the 9th Division headquarters," the man said. "I'll be there later for his evaluation and everything else." He leaned back lazily. "Y'all are really eating into my hot springs time." He said as he cracked his neck.
Saint nodded and led Alex out.
"Now for the main issue," the assistant Aether King began. "Over the past week, intel from the West confirms they're preparing to invade—but we don't yet know which region. Then there's the incident with Ivy Belladonna, heir to the Belladonna family, finding the Demon-Human, Alex Hathaway. Word has spread across the Capital—it always does—and people are scared. Fortunately, the upcoming Tournament of Power might serve as a distraction."
"That will be all for today. Thank you for your time," he finished.
Ralph stood, his white robe swaying. "Before we adjourn, remember this—something is coming. And we need to be ready, even if the citizens aren't."
He turned to leave.
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