Fan art Story (ZNathan Animations): The Eternal Conflict Prequel

Chapter 4: Orion

     "So uh, what was that you wanted to talk about...?" Orion asked as he slid into one of the four seats in Daemon's office.

     "Let's let the others come in first." Just as Daemon said that, Nathan and Tefuel walked in. Both looked nervous. Orion was pretty sure his expression was similar to theirs.

     Nathan sat beside Orion's left side, and Tefuel sat at Nathan's left side. Now, there was one empty chair left, which was beside Orion. "Who's that last chair for?" Tefuel asked. "Is it for a teacher?" 

     Daemon shook his head. "No, it's for someone else. A student, to be exact. I believe his name is..." Then a red-tomato haired boy stormed in. 

    "...Vlad." Daemon finished. Orion, Tefuel, and Nathan stared in horror was Vlad took in the scenery. He scowled when he saw Orion and the others. 

     "Oh great, you guys. Sir Daemon, is this your idea of torture in detention? Or is this your way of 'making out with enemies?' 'Cuz this, I do not like." Vlad immediately turned toward the door to open it. It didn't budge. Vlad pulled it again. He growled. "What a stupid prank. Get me out right now." 

     Daemon stood up. "I locked it. You can't get out. Only people from the outside can open it, or I can open it. For this case, you're not getting out right now.  Sit down, my friend. Just bear with me." He gestured to the chair. Orion scooted his chair away from Vlad as he sat down, who looked even grumpier than before. 

     Nathan and Tefuel glared at Vlad, then Daemon, who was still as calm as ever. Orion really wanted to smash something right now. Maybe a desk, then he'd get into detention. Not worth it.

     "So, what is it that you want to talk about? Don't waste my time, or you'll be sorry." Vlad slammed his fist on the table to empathize his point. Daemon ignored him.

     The blue-haired boy stayed silent for a while. Then he sighed. "Alright. For the past few days, I have been thinking. You all have supreme arcs, which, as we all know, have more power, control, and can enhance your strength to whole new levels. You have all been learning in the simple and easy levels, for which I mean, is normal white arcs. You guys are higher than those levels, so I wanted to personally help you all train with those arcs with a...proper teacher." Everyone stared at him.

     Then Vlad snorted. "You want me to learn with these guys? Oh no, in your dreams, old man. I'm outta here." He stood up, and remembered that the door was locked. He sat back down looking disgruntled. 

     Tefuel looked confused. "You're the one that gonna teach us? But...we're all about the same age as you." Both Nathan and Orion nodded.

     Nathan piped up. "Not to mention, are you sure you can teach us all at once? Isn't that—"

     Orion jumped in. "Better question. How can you teach us? Are you powerful? No offense, but you're probably about as strong as us." 

     Vlad snorted once more, and answered, "gotta admit, I agree with Sky-High boy. I bet I can beat you all by myself on a battle field." 

     Daemon managed to look amused without even smiling. "My friends, I am not the one that's going to teach you. Instead, I have called in a former soldier, who is also my friend, to help teach us. He is specialized in hand-to-hand combat, sword-fighting, and a lot more. I believe he should be here any minute."

     Daemon leaned on a book shelf as he spoke. Orion wondered how he managed to look like this everyday. He must have a lot of sanity for this. It almost made Orion want to duck under something. He didn't like being in the center of attention, like his friends. They preferred to be known lightly. 

     Then, a knock on the door jarred the students back to reality. "Come in," Daemon called. The door opened. And in walked a man.

     Orion took in the newcomer's features. He had black-brown hair, light gray eyes, what seemed similar to a goatee. His clothes looked like casual combat clothes. A knee-length jacket of some kind with a hood was draped over his shoulders (no, he wasn't wearing it). He wore a black T-Shirt with black pants, and was finished off with dark brown combat boots, with the pants tucked in. By his side was a silver sword with curved sides. The handle was obsidian-black, with a small cube-shaped orb in a curved hole carved into the handle. The man looked so where in his mid-twenties to late-twenties. Probably almost thirty. Definitely at least several years older than them. 

     The man took in his surroundings. He looked at Nathan, then Vlad, then Tefuel, and finally, his eyes landed on Orion. The goatee guy studied him for a second, and the  something else caught his eye.

     "Ah, Daemon. My friend, it's been too long." The man smiled. Daemon let out a chuckle and walked over. Both men shook hands. "So, you gonna introduce me to your students, or what?" 

     To Orion's surprise, Daemon actually laughed. He said something in a language he didn't understand, and the man laughed and slapped Daemon on the back. "Seems like you kept yourself busy learning new languages. How many?" Goatee man smiled as Daemon answered. 

     "Seven." 

     "Seven? Too much, I'm afraid we're going to have to lock you in a cell with no books, nothing. You're getting too smart." The man glanced at Orion's and the others, and nudged Daemon. "Tell you what, how about you start introducing these kiddos to me, and we can start with torturing with work, no?" 

     "Oh, heck no!" Vlad got up, but the man gestured him to sit back down. Vlad looked ready to explode. Orion had to hold back a smirk. It was fun to watch Vlad get treated like a child.

     "...Sir Daemon, who is this guy?" Tefuel glanced at the goatee-man. "Sorry, sir." 

     The man only laughed. "You got some manners, girl." He walked over and and held out his hand. "You may call me Derek. The one and only."