Leon smiled, a tiny purple orb manifesting at the tip of his fingers. With a casual flick, he launched it at the two broken demons. The resulting explosion roared through the forest like a localized supernova; the sheer kinetic force was akin to a nuclear strike contained within a jar.
The brothers shielded themselves as the shockwaves rattled the spatial dome. When the smoke finally cleared, the entire landmass within the barrier had been obliterated, leaving a jagged, smoking crater that looked as if a massive meteorite had slammed into the earth.
Disappointed by the lack of a true challenge, the two teleported back to the castle library. They spent the remainder of the evening scouring the hidden vaults for any mention of a stronger opponent, but the archives remained silent.
With the princes set to enroll in the Royal Academy for Nobles in two years, the King decided it was time to provide them with a formal education. He sought a tutor who could teach them the "basics" of the curriculum. After a kingdom-wide search, he hired a mysterious mage from a foreign land. The man had easily outperformed the palace mages in a display of raw power, earning him the position of Royal Tutor.
On the first day of practice, the Chief Guard escorted the princes to the palace training field. As they approached, the mage bowed deeply.
"Your Highnesses, it is a profound pleasure to meet you," the man said. "I am Nolan Del Vonte, and I shall be your tutor until you are ready for the Academy."
The princes shared a look of suppressed excitement. Having heard that this man was the strongest mage in the capital, they had already mentally categorized him as their next piece of "training equipment."
"I am Prince Leon, the sixth prince. The pleasure is mine," Leon spoke first, his tone polite yet calculating.
"And I am Prince Leo, the last prince. It's a pleasure to meet you, sir," Leo added with a charming, innocent smile.
The Chief Guard moved to a distance, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword. He had been ordered by the King to watch the session closely—not to protect the tutor, but to ensure the princes didn't accidentally level the palace.
"We shall begin with the fundamentals," Nolan began confidently. "Let us see how far you have progressed with your elemental manipulation."
Leon stepped forward. With a casual lift of his hand, a roaring sphere of fire ignited. Simultaneously, water condensed from the atmosphere into a perfect orb, wind spiraled into a pressurized gale, and the earth beneath him surged upward to form a boulder of solid rock. All four massive elements rotated above his head in perfect, terrifying harmony.
"Impressive, my lord! You truly are a prodigy," Nolan said, clapping with a genuine smile. Leon dispelled the elements with a thought and stepped back.
Leo was next. He stepped into the center of the field and whispered a single word: "Elemental."
Unlike Leon's manifestation, Leo's elements didn't appear to be gathered from the surroundings; it was as if he had summoned them from the void itself. All four elements flashed into existence instantly and, with a subtle flick of his finger, vanished just as quickly, leaving not even a wisp of smoke behind.
Nolan continued to clap and smile. "You are a prodigy as well! I am truly impressed, my lords."
But behind his professional mask, Nolan's mind was screaming. These kids aren't prodigies... they are monsters! No eight-year-old should have that level of atomic control!
As the day progressed, the princes outdid Nolan in every test he devised. By the time the sun began to set, one thing had become abundantly clear to the tutor: these children didn't need a teacher. They already knew everything there was to learn—and likely a great deal more.
That night, while the palace lay in a silent slumber, the princes slipped into the library for a late-night research session. As they poured over their tomes, their heightened senses picked up a vibration from the depths below. Someone had bypassed the royal security, infiltrated the underground vault, and was attempting to steal from the crown.
The princes shared a look and a knowing smile. To avoid a midnight commotion that would alert the King, Leon cast a subtle Tracking Sigil onto the thief's mana signature, allowing the intruder to escape—for now.
The following morning, the princes once again requested five hours of "uninterrupted study time" from their father. The moment the library doors were sealed, they vanished.
Following the pulse of the tracking spell, the brothers teleported into a damp mountain cave not far from the palace. Inside, a hooded man sat amidst piles of stolen scrolls, seemingly unbothered by the sudden appearance of two children.
"So, you're the one who broke into our home last night," Leon began, his voice echoing off the cave walls. "Did you find anything interesting down there?"
"Perhaps you found something powerful we could... utilize," Leo added, his eyes scanning the room for the stolen goods.
The man stood slowly, his face hidden in shadow. "Ah, the two youngest princes. I have heard much of your potential, but potential without experience is a fragile thing. It is truly a pity."
"You still haven't answered the question," Leon said, completely ignoring the man's condescension. "Was it entertaining?"
"You are as cocky as the reports said," the mage hissed, stepping into the light. "But you won't leave this cave alive. And even if you did, the palace will be a ruin by the time you return. I am Suhi, the Fifth Head of the Ravens."
He raised his arm, revealing a gleaming golden bracelet encrusted with six radiant rubies. "My comrade, the Sixth Head, is currently descending upon the palace. We have recovered the Devil's Band—an artifact that boosts the wearer's power a hundredfold. Even at my normal state, I am far stronger than your highest palace mage. Now? I am a god compared to you."
The brothers shared a brief, silent glance. Without a word, Leo vanished in a flicker of light, teleporting back to the palace to handle the "Sixth Head."
Suhi laughed, the sound bouncing harshly against the stone. "Your brother fled? Does he truly think he can stop the Sixth? And do you truly believe you can stand against me alone? I am a hundred times more powerful than the greatest mage you have ever known!"
Leon let out a long, heavy sigh of genuine disappointment. He looked at the glowing artifact on Suhi's wrist and then back at the man's arrogant face.
"Sadly," Leon muttered, his mana beginning to flare with a cold, terrifying pressure, "a hundred times zero is still zero."
"Really?" Suhi asked with a sneer.
Suddenly, a massive magic circle flared to life in front of him, unleashing a blast so potent it tore a gaping hole through the cave entrance. The mountain itself seemed to groan under the pressure.
"I underestimated how much a hundredfold increase truly was," Suhi muttered to himself, peering into the thick, swirling smoke. "It was far more powerful than I expected. I didn't intend to kill him in a single move."
"If you believe that move was enough to stop me," a voice echoed from within the debris, "then you might just be the cocky one here."
Suhi's laughter died in his throat. He was genuinely impressed the child had survived, but with a snap of Leon's fingers, the smoke vanished instantly. Leon stood there, his clothes untattered and his expression entirely unimpressed.
Back at the royal palace, the air was thick with the scent of ozone and charred stone. The palace mages fought desperately to defend the gates, but they were being systematically dismantled.
"How could you?!" the Chief Guard cried out, his voice cracking with rage. "How could you betray the royal family and the king... Nolan!"
The former tutor smiled coldly. He was a mole, sent by the Ravens specifically to confirm if the Devil's Band was hidden within the royal vaults. Now that the artifact was in their possession, they could move to the next phase of their plan: harvesting the blood of the royal family.
The palace mages were no match for Nolan's treachery. One by one they fell, until Nolan waved his hand, conjuring mana-shackles that bound Prince Marcel, who had rushed out to assist the guards.
As Nolan drew the captive Marcel toward him, the space rippled. Marcel vanished from his bindings, and in a heartbeat, every other guard and mage in the vicinity disappeared as well. Nolan stood stunned in the sudden silence until he heard the rhythmic, slow click of footsteps from behind him.
He turned to see a small figure walking calmly across the courtyard.
"Hey there, Mr. Nolan. Long time no see," Leo said, a pleasant smile on his face.
Teleportation? Even through a high-level binding spell? What the hell was that? Nolan's mind raced in panic. "I knew you weren't ordinary kids," he screamed. "Who the hell are you?!"
"You already know that, don't you?" Leo replied smoothly. "I am just a prince. The last prince."
Nolan didn't hesitate. He reached for his own Devil's Band and snapped it onto his wrist. He knew the child before him was a monster, and he wasn't going to take any chances.
The battle ignited. Nolan launched himself at Leo at a speed bordering on the speed of light, but before he could connect, Leo gently stepped aside with a grace that made Nolan look like he was moving in slow motion. Nolan was in shock; even S-rank mages couldn't react to that kind of velocity, let alone an eight-year-old.
Leo countered with a swift, precisely placed kick, sending Nolan hurtling out of the palace courtyard and onto the training field. Before Nolan could even scramble to his feet, Leo appeared in front of him, delivering a punch that sent the mage crashing through the dirt for meters.
Leo began to walk toward him. The distance seemed to blur with each of the boy's movements; in only five steps, Leo was standing over Nolan, who lay in the dirt, gasping in shock.
"Get up," Leo muttered, his expression shifting to one of chilling indifference.
Even with a hundredfold increment... I can still feel the distance between us, Nolan thought, his heart hammering against his ribs. No... NO! I won't lose! Nolan let out a primal scream as the entire field erupted in a violent surge of dark magical energy. The earth evaporated into ash, and the air turned black—except for the small circle where Leo stood. The space around the prince remained perfectly undisturbed, a sanctuary of calm amidst the chaotic dark energy.
"Are you done?" Leo asked quietly.
Nolan sat in paralyzed shock. The massive release of his dark energy—amplified a hundred times by the Devil's Band—hadn't even singed the boy's clothes. The battle wasn't just losing; it felt entirely one-sided, like an ant trying to topple a mountain.
"If that's all, I'd like to try something new," Leo said, his smile returning with a terrifying sweetness. "You seem like the perfect person to test it on."
Leo took a deep breath. Suddenly, two small, intricate magic circles manifested on his cheeks like glowing tattoos, with thin lines of mana connecting them directly to his mouth. It was a Three-Way Resonance Spell. Normally, such a complex casting would require three elite mages working in perfect harmony, yet here was a single eight-year-old attempting it alone.
"Veldros... Sindil... Rekko... Dismer... Lisia... Nolan... Vandris."
As Leo muttered the incantation, the air grew heavy. By weaving Nolan's name into the spell's structure, he had created an inescapable homing attack. No matter where Nolan fled in this world, the spell would follow until it found its mark.
Realizing he couldn't run, Nolan poured every ounce of his remaining mana—and the stolen artifact's power—into a single, Absolute Shield. He braced himself, hoping the Devil's Band could withstand the coming storm.
A wave of transparent energy surged from Leo's mouth, striking the shield with a deceptively silent impact. What followed was a cataclysm. A silent white flash preceded an explosion so potent it leveled a massive section of the palace grounds and tore a jagged rift in the very fabric of space.
When the dust settled, the Devil's Band on Nolan's wrist shattered like cheap glass. Nolan lay broken and bruised on the scorched earth, his spirit completely crushed. The battle had been decided before it even began; he was just a pawn in a game played by monsters.
"You... you believe you've won?" Nolan wheezed through the pain. "Someone far stronger than me is in the mountains... he has a Devil's Band too... he will boost his power a hundredfold... you don't stand a chance..."
"Really? Do you truly believe that?" Leo asked.
Suddenly, a body came crashing out of the sky, slamming into the earth right next to Nolan. When the dust cleared, the Fifth Head, Suhi, lay in the crater. His arm was snapped, his body was battered, and his Devil's Band was nothing but shimmering shards of useless metal.
Leon appeared in a flicker of light beside Leo, his expression one of utter boredom. Leo turned back to Nolan, his smile gentle and mocking.
"Well then... tell me," Leo whispered. "Is this the man you were talking about?"