Cover Art=Chapter 25
Derick continues to look around, and notices that there is a fence made of wood and a place also being built as if it were a shelter, a very large lake next to this shelter and notices that there is a demon building them, and the others helping, he is a little at a loss to understand why because on the day of the Test these demons seemed aggressive, he asks Luan:
"Why do these demons seem to have a conscience of their own, and don't seem to be so aggressive today?
Luan then explains:
"They were being controlled, as I marked them with my elemental dagger, I started to have control over them, I believe that this would be the normal condition of a demon and I realized that that level 2 had a consciousness very close to ours, he automatically started to make this shelter, he hears me and follows me, but he doesn't speak, so I started to study them, after all, time here in Hell passes much more slowly than in our normal time, and that's exactly why I need to pause time in order to open a portal."
Derick then confirms:
"So you're controlling them at the moment?
Luan nods:
"Not necessarily, but I can."
Derick and Luan stare at them for a while, then Derick asks another question:
"Well, can this be considered assembling an army of demons or something? You're not going to mutiny and go to war with the King of Hell, are you?
Luan laughs, and replies:
"Wow, how much imagination do you have Derick, but your reasoning is actually correct, I don't intend to mutiny, let alone try to take someone's place, but there are probably people who want to do that, that's why we're at DSO, we need to find out how things really work there, so I'll have a place in case I need to hide."
Derick calms down a little, and finishes by saying:
"Whew, not so bad, honestly there are times when you sound like a child, but at other times you sound very mature, like those wise old men talking."
They laugh, in fact Luan seems much more mature than he appears to be, Derick then thinks for a moment, the weather here seems hot because it's a semi-arid climate, but now it seems to be getting dark, making the temperatures drop a little, but it's still hotter, he takes off his shirt and remembers that he brought something in his pocket, he seems distressed and anxious about something, he takes a deep breath and then asks Luan:
Luan, can you check out this guitar pick, it was with my dad, he picked it up at Hope Cave the day we went camping, he wanted to ask you about it, but we didn't find a good time."
Luan picks it up, looks at it and asks:
"This is your older brother's pick that disappeared, right?"
Derick doesn't seem surprised that Luan knows about it, as that was the main reason Derick didn't accept Luan as his partner in the Awakening Test at first, it was supposed to be his older brother, but he disappeared on a day when the family was walking on the beach, three years ago, there's not a single sign of his disappearance, no footage, nor anything they can cling to in the hope of finding him.
Derick has the only hope that Luan can help him with in his eyes, but Luan sees a specific coloration in them, meaning that he is alive and may not be missing, but he doesn't want to spoil the only hope that Derick and his uncles may have of finding him, Luan instantly disguises his reaction, smiles and replies:
"Oh, I see a coloration here, it's a bluish coloration, that indicates that he may be lost, but he can be found."
Derick smiles, and his eyes fill with tears, this is the first time Luan has seen Derick with tears in his eyes, he's usually so serious and closed off with his feelings, so Luan lets him say something first, he hugs Luan and thanks him, he thinks for a moment:
(Honestly this was my last hope of meeting you Bro, I hope to meet you again one day)
Luan feels his heart tighten, for lying at first, but he can't say what really happened, nor that it's all over, a lack of coloring doesn't indicate that he's missing, just as before looking at the mask of his grandfather Han's friend it's possible to hide your location using magic, for the moment Luan will investigate to find out what really happened, he'll probably have to go to Grandpa Han's house again, his magic is much stronger, whether he wants to or not Luan has been doing his magic training since he was 10, but his magic will only improve with practice. It's time for them to go back, Luan fiddles with his watch and adjusts the coordinate, he opens a portal again that takes them to his house, exactly where they were, Derick says goodbye because he still has to study for this week's exams, and reminds Luan to keep studying too, so they can finish the exams and pass the year at school, and go on vacation at the end of the year, it's only a few days but it helps, they usually go snow skiing these days.
Luan is currently feeling a mixture of emotions, he doesn't know how to define it well, he decides to look for information about Derick in the DSO, if he was going to participate in the Awakening Test, there must be some information about him somewhere.
"His name is Dylan Becker."
Luan remembers hearing this name before, until something comes to mind like a forgotten memory, it's a playground with toys, and a face comes to mind, but he still seems to be a child, he decides to keep this information, it's nothing concrete, he probably has to look at some old photos and some more recent ones too, he writes down some information in his personal notebook.
The exams are finally here, Luan is studying as hard as he can, he's tried to at least keep his grades average and has managed to pass the year by going on to Second Year, Mary and Kenji are doing very well in their grades, they're always competing with each other and are also passing the year by going on to Second Year, Theo's performance is average like Luan's but he's also passing the year by going on to Third Year, if they tried a little harder their grades would improve a lot, Derick's performance is above normal, he's very committed to his studies, he passed the year and is now in the third year of high school, and yes, he ends up attracting Luan's attention, to improve his grades, but Luan is happy with his average of 7, they do the last band rehearsal of the year, and they always schedule to rehearse on weekends now, since Luan and Derick will be much busier now, especially in the afternoon and may extend into the evening, they finish the band rehearsal and are going home, Luan ends by saying:
"Finally a little vacation, I can't believe it, Uhuu!!!
Derick then reminds him:
"We're not on vacation at work Luan, we have to go to Hell's Gate, our trip starts tomorrow."
Luan feels her pre-holiday excitement fading, she really had forgotten that detail.
...
