495 A New Generation (1/2)
\”DAD! YOU ARE BACK!\” shouted the two jet-black haired kids with joy while running towards their father. Before the two could reach Daniel, however, their motion was interrupted by the demonic wolf, who instinctively stepped in front of his companion and sat on the ground in an attempt to showcase its majestic appearance.
The appearance of the demonic wolf seemed to be enough to attract the attention of the little girl, who jumped into the softness of its absolute-black fur with a bear hug. Her twin brother, on the other hand, ignored the demonic wolf and ran around it to reach his father, who welcomed him with open arms.
While feeling the small arms of his son around his neck, Daniel could not help but feel both happy and bitter. What made him bitter was the fact that his adored daughter had chosen to welcome back her father's companion rather than himself. If that was not enough, this bitterness was turned into irritation the moment he noticed the wagging tail of his beast companion, which waved left and right in satisfaction, and tapping rhythmically against his leg.
\”Dad, when did you get back? Where have you been?\” asked the young boy right as Daniel wrapped his right arm around his son's legs, and lifted him above his waist, making him match his line of sight.
\”Nowhere important. We just came back.\” Said Daniel after kissing the side of his son's head. He then reached for the left pocket of his pants, from which he took out a pink bead the size of a fingernail. \”Here, for your collection.\” He said while handing over the bead to his son.
\”Cool! How did it form?\” Asked the kid while looking at the many shades of color hidden within the pearl.
Overjoyed by his son's reaction, Daniel said, \”I've seen the entire process personally. A huge meteorite fell onto the planet I was visiting. The explosion flash-melted an entire beach. I cut this one just for you.\”
The young boy looked at his father with interest, but this interest did not match his previous enthusiasm. \”That is awesome, but I want to start a new collection. Grandpa said he'll take me to collect gems from different dimensions!\” He said with enthusiasm.
\”Did he now?\” said Daniel while turning to look at Edmund with narrowed eyes, not looking away even when the latter pretended not to notice his grim look. A few moments later, Daniel turned to look back at his daughter, and asked, \”Lia, Where is your mother?\”
The little girl who had dived face first into the fur of the large demonic wolf suddenly emerged from it, and said, \”She left Eli and I to grandpa before going to the academy. She said she had to test the students before they could graduate.\” As she finished speaking, the little girl pushed herself away from the demonic wolf, and walked in front of Daniel. She then extended her arms, and opened her palms.
\”What?\” Asked Daniel with feigned confusion.
Lia looked at Daniel with bright eyes, and said, \”What did you get me?\”
Daniel wanted to pretend to have forgotten his daughter's gift to get back at her for not greeting him first, but seeing his daughter's expression, his intentions quickly fell apart. He put down his son, who ran straight into the house with the new additions to his collection in his hands, and reached for his spatial ring, from which he slowly pulled out a white fencing sword with a light pink blade.
The very moment Edmund noticed this sword, he prepared himself to scold Daniel for giving such a dangerous weapon to his mortal daughter, but he quickly stopped the moment he noticed that on the pink blade of the sword were engraved numerous small spatial formations. The purpose of these formations was to deaden the impact of this sword, be it piercing or slashing, turning it into a completely useless weapon.
\”So cool!\” Said Lia while examining the sword like one would expect a kid of her age would.
Daniel looked at his daughter's reaction with satisfaction, and after a few moments, he fell down on one knee next to her, and said, \”What do you say?\”
The little girl immediately lowered the sword, and said, \”Thanks dad!\” She then kissed Daniel's cheek before going back to focus on her new toy.
\”Good.. now go back in. I have to check on your mother. Grandpa will take care of your dinner.\” Said Daniel before standing back up on his feet, and turning towards the academy, which was built on the other side of the planet.
Daniel was ready to leave, but before he could, his daughter's voice reached his ears one more time, relying on the words, \”Aunty Rei already cooked us dinner. She made some for you too.\” By the time Lia reached the entrance of the house and turned to look back towards her father, however, he was already long gone, leaving Edmund to stare at the empty space where he once was, by himself.
\”Your dad is a quick thinker..\” muttered Than before gently pushing his younger cousin in the house. In his heart, he hoped he could have skipped this meal as well, as he, more than anybody else, was familiar with his mother's cooking.
-----
During the last few years, Hiel academy had grown to a size larger than that of a normal empire. Its students now numbered in the tens of millions, who occupied half a dozen cities interconnected with one another throughout easy and free-to-use spatial formations.