That night, inside Al's small building.
This time, Al wasn't in his dimensional room—just lying on the small bed his family had given him.
The dimensional room was already open, quietly inviting him to step in and rest.
Yet Al was absorbed in a book, its once-white cover now worn and aged, the faded surface etched with letters in an ancient script.
It contained a wealth of information about the magical world— Dual dimensions, the third dimension, spiritual creatures like djinn and beasts, demons, divine beings, and more.
A few of those topics matched his current focus: the Imagery Realm, Blood Energy, and, of course, the Dimensional Eye.
Ever since that day at the market, his eyes still throbbed occasionally. Not as intensely as before, but enough to keep his curiosity piqued.
Unfortunately, the book held little concrete data. Most of it read more like myth than verified fact.
It was enough to frustrate Al.
But for now, it was the best source he had to understand the strange phenomena surrounding him—a book he couldn't even remember obtaining.
Then, suddenly—a shadow flickered past the window. Just for an instant. But it didn't look human.
Al's eyes narrowed. He swiftly moved toward the window, activating his magical radar.
No suspicious energy was detected. No abnormal events. It was as if the creature had simply passed by his room.
Just as Al was about to open the window and go out to investigate—
Knock. Knock. Knock!
Someone knocked on the door.
Al opened it to see Nayala standing there.
She appeared with makeup on and a charming smile.
"Nayala?" Al said, eyeing her warily.
"Al, I... I feel bad for being cold and blaming you the other night. Can I... talk to you for a moment?"
Al frowned.
"No," he said lazily, his eyes sweeping around as if to make sure nothing was off.
Nayala tried to push the door open and stepped inside.
"Just for a moment…"
Al, of course, refused without hesitation.
"I don't know what kind of game you and David are playing. I don't know how the two of you managed to deceive this family, but let me make one thing clear…"
His tone turned cold — not in anger, but as if a parent were advising their child.
"...I am not someone you should provoke carelessly. If you insist on doing so, you'll have to bear the consequences, whether I act against you personally or not."
He said it simply, his voice genuine and flat, cutting through the silence.
The threat was enough to stir Nayala's annoyance, yet she had come with another purpose tonight.
"Come on, Al. I admit I was wrong. I'm sorry, okay? I was just messing around that night. After seeing you punished, I think I went too far. So please forgive me, okay?" she pleaded, her voice a little sobbing.
Al, however, grew increasingly uninterested. He did not wish to involve himself any further, no matter what she said.
"I just... don't care. I hope you won't bother me any further. Let's live peacefully," he said lazily, with a hint of annoyance.
He moved to close the door, but Nayala grabbed it and suddenly leapt inside. Al dodged her lunge and, because the room wasn't very large, she staggered and shifted toward the dimensional room.
Seeing that, Al reflexively caught her before the girl could enter. Yet... that was exactly the moment Nayala had been waiting for. Though accidental, she'd still hit her mark.
With a quick motion, she plucked a few strands of Al's hair and hid them up her sleeve.
Then—
"You...! You touched me?!"
Nayala shouted while pushing Al away, then ran out of the room crying.
Al stood frozen.
"What... was that?" he muttered, then shook his head with a hint of irony.
"Hmph... in the end, she didn't listen to my advice. And now, I guess they'll frame me again."
He sighed.
"Same boring pattern. Any second now, a servant will come knocking, I'll get summoned to the family room, and... punished. Sigh."
He then waited for hours... but oddly, no one came.
No summoning. No drama. No punishment that night.
"Huh... That's odd. So no more drama tonight? Or have they come up with a new method again. I must stay alert. Those two hypocritical couples really never run out of tricks."
His thoughts snapped back to the creature he had seen earlier.
While locking the main door, turning off the lights, and stepping into the dimensional room, he thought:
That creature is the same as the one I saw in the alley that time. What exactly is it, and why is it so hard to detect?
And why here, of all places? Don't tell me... someone's targeting me?
---
In David's room.
David and Nayala were cuddling. Nayala handed him a small tissue bundle.
"Here are a few strands of his hair… is that enough?"
David grinned.
"More than enough. Thank you, baby. You were amazing tonight."
Nayala hugged him tightly, hoping she'd helped protect David from the threat Al posed.
"Don't make me get near that guy again, okay? I really can't take it," Nayala said with a pout.
David only smiled.
---
Saturday, late morning, in front of the Virellano estate.
A black car pulled up to the grand, heavily guarded gate. From behind the tinted glass, Rudi peeked at the opening gate.
His eyes widened when he saw a familiar figure that looked like an astral being to him walking out of the estate.
"That... Al?"
Al, wearing a black hoodie and school pants, walked casually through the gate with earphones in. A schoolbag hung from his back. He was heading to school for afternoon classes.
Rudi frowned.
"Wait... why is Al coming out of that house?"
Just then, David arrived and greeted Rudi with a calm smile.
Rudi (sarcastically):
"David, I just saw that orphan kid. Why is he here? Did you call him over? Or don't tell me... Al's working here as a servant?"
David gave a faint smile.
"Come in first. I'll explain everything inside. There's a lot you need to know."
Thn they walked in together.
The house was in the middle of being decorated—staff bustled around hanging elegant ornaments and new curtains. The place was lively, like it was preparing for an important event.
In a corner, Nayala was laughing softly with Lysha. Rudi turned and stared at the two beautiful girls.
"Who... are they? They're gorgeous."
But before Rudi could step forward, David stopped him with a hand on the shoulder.
"Rudi. Don't go near them."
"Why not?"
"That one—Nayala—is my soon-to-be fiancée," David said, pointing.
"And the other one, Lysha, is my sixth sister. Don't you know her? Anyway, just stay away from them. Trust me—my life's a lot easier when you keep your distance from those two."
Rudi swallowed his disappointment and gave a small nod.
"Ah... Lysha. Got it. What a shame…"
---
Later, in David's room.
David sat in a sleek office chair, facing Rudi, who was seated across from him. Then, David dropped a bombshell.
"Al... that kid really is from an orphanage. But in truth, he's the biological son of the Virellano family."
Rudi jolted.
"WHAT?!"
"And I... am the one who was switched at birth. He returned to this house two months ago," David added.
Rudi tried to process everything.
"So you...?"
David leaned in and lowered his voice,
"That's right. I'm not their real son," he said, his tone carrying a hint of discomfort.
"But this family still can't accept him. It's been two months, and they haven't announced his status publicly. They only gave him a tiny room near the garden to stay in. Their treatment is clear, isn't it?" he explained.
Rudi nodded, now understanding.
"So they still prefer you. But what are you planning to do with him? Do you want him gone, or just let him be?"
"Not entirely." David said, his worry about Al evident.
"For now, my family's aim remains to accept him as their child. After all, he is their biological son. They're still giving him chances. It's that chance I want to destroy."
Rudi only nodded, understanding his friend's anxiety.
David took a small wooden box from his desk drawer.
He opened it, revealing a few black strands of hair.
"This is Al's hair. More than enough for the ritual. Keep it safe. It wasn't easy getting something that disgusting. Help me get rid of him."
Rudi grinned, relieved to finally have what he needed.
"Oh right, use it tomorrow night. Not tonight," David added.
"Tomorrow night?"
David nodded.
"Tomorrow night is the engagement annulment between Al and Nayala. Her family will be there. It's the perfect setup... not only will Al be humiliated, but he'll also suffer horribly from the curse"
Rudi chuckled darkly.
"You really are a genius, David... this is even crueler than I imagined."
They both laughed with satisfaction.
Al's hair was placed in a small wooden box—an innocent-looking object holding a malicious secret, evidence of just how vile their plan truly was.
A cruel irony, coming from two teenagers who were supposed to be too young for such malice.
Not long after, Rudi finished recounting everything he had experienced while dealing with Al.
Then he asked something that had been bothering him.
"By the way, David… do you know anything about that kid? I mean, his ability to fight?" Rudi asked, a hint of excitement in his tone.
His curiosity about Al's martial prowess was overwhelming—especially the possibility that Al had some kind of protector, something he and Daraka had been suspecting.
"Why are you suddenly asking? Didn't you see it yourself that day? He was nothing but that girl's punching bag," David replied, referring to the incident at the interschool festival.
Rudi shook his head.
"That's not what I meant," he said awkwardly.
"It's just… it seems that kid really is skilled in martial arts," he explained.
"Huh? Skilled in martial arts?" David frowned.
Without another word, Rudi took out his phone and played the CCTV footage of Al beating up the thugs and market guards a few days ago.
David's eyes widened slightly, genuinely surprised that Al had such fighting capability.
But the video only showed a one-sided beatdown. Al barely moved, and those large men looked no better than training dummies.
David couldn't understand the details, but one thing was clear—Al could take down multiple grown men at once.
"Is this really that kid?" David asked, still unable to believe it.
Rudi nodded.
"The video's clear. And look at his clothes. If you're familiar with him, you should recognize his style," he pointed out.
Even though he still couldn't fully accept it, David could only nod.
"So? Do you know anything about it? And... does he have some kind of teacher… a martial arts master or something?" Rudi asked.
David fell silent for a moment, thinking through everything he knew about Al.
Then he shook his head.
"I don't know. That kid's past is sealed by the Ministry of Child Protection and the orphanage. Even my father doesn't know much," he explained.
"But he's nothing like a martial artist. All he does is laze around, sleep, eat, stare into space on a garden bench, and go to school at noon. I've never seen him train—not even warm up."
Rudi stared, stunned by the absurdity of the reality David described compared to what he saw on the CCTV footage.
David continued,
"As for his fighting ability… aside from that time he fought that girl, he once got punched by one of our family's bodyguards and was sent flying with injuries from just a single hit," he said.
"But… hmph… he did punch a servant once, knocked him out with a single blow. That's the only victory I've ever seen from him. Other than that, we all just thought he was some stray kid who got into street fights."
He paused, then added,
"So about him having a master or anything like that—I don't know. I've never seen him interact with any martial artist besides Rina. And even after I checked, he has no connection to Rina in terms of martial training."
Rudi could only gape at the long explanation—disappointed there was no clear answer, yet relieved because Al having a so-called protector seemed less likely now.
"I see…" Rudi muttered.
"But what do you think about his fighting ability? Is he strong?" he asked again.
"By the way… the men he beat up at the market were essentially just big-bodied amateurs. I suppose it makes sense for a street kid like him to beat them easily," he added for context.
David analyzed it briefly before speaking.
"In terms of pure skill and movement, he's definitely above amateurs. Since you said his opponents were amateurs, it's reasonable that he won," he explained.
"Maybe he's good at reading weak points. That would explain how he can finish fights quickly. I don't know how he'd fare in a long fight, though—if you remember, that girl completely obliterated him in drawn-out fight."
He continued,
"Oddly… after that fight, he didn't look too injured. That's why I think… at the very least, he has some skill in minimizing damage."
Rudi nodded, simply listening. He didn't know how to respond to something he barely understood. But he trusted that David, as a martial artist, could properly assess Al's ability.
David then added,
"And one more thing… do you know about magical energy? Or what martial artists call internal energy?"
Rudi thought for a moment, then nodded.
"I don't really understand it, but I know about that 'inner strength' thing. Can Al use it?" he asked.
David shook his head.
"He's empty. Completely zero. All his skill comes purely from physical technique—no internal energy at all. But that's exactly what's strange…"
He let out a slow breath.
"Someone without internal energy shouldn't be able to swat grown men like flies. I think… I should raise my guard a little."
"Me too," Rudi replied. "I've been bullying him all this time, and he just stayed quiet… even though he apparently can fight."
"I guess he held back before because he knew I'm from the Norvalien family. But now that you said he's actually the Virellano family's biological son… this could be troublesome for me."
David chuckled lightly at that.
"You don't need to worry that much. He and this family are bound by a one-year agreement. They won't publicly acknowledge him—or let him use the Virellano name—until the assessment is over."
"Really?" Rudi asked.
David nodded.
"Yup. Which means even if you bully him, this family most likely won't interfere."
"That's good, then," Rudi sighed in relief. "But still… I should be careful around him."
A sly smile crept onto his face.
"And I suppose using black magic is the perfect method to bully him now. Hehe."
David also smiled at the mention of black magic.
The mood between them lifted again.
Just imagining Al being crushed in the near future was enough to amuse them.
And so, their day ended—filled with their malicious little plans.
---
The next day, Sunday.
Morning sunlight streamed through the curtains. Al slowly woke up, rubbing his eyes. He sat at the edge of the bed and looked at the clock.
"Sunday. I have plans with Indra today. Time to enjoy his mom's cake."
But before he could move, his phone buzzed. A message from Indra appeared:
"Sorry, Al. Today's research is canceled. Family emergency. And the cake failed too. Hehe."
Al stared at the screen blankly.
"Nooooo!! My cake... and cold soda… Whyyyy?!"
And then paused for a moment.
"But Hmph... Is everything really okay?" he murmured to himself. "I should check on it later."
Moment later, he called someone.
On the screen: Sebastian
"Have you investigated it yet?"
Elsewhere, Sebastian—Al's subordinate, working undercover as a teacher at HIHS—was wiping off sweat after an intense training session.
His athletic body was marked with old scars. Sweat dripped onto the wooden floor of his private gym.
He picked up the phone and replied briefly,
"It's done, Master."
Sebastian gave a full report. Not only about Daraka's curse, but also suspicious movements by a secretive organization.
Hearing it, Al simply smirked.
Just then, a knock came at the door.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Al ended the call and walked to the door.
Harun appeared, standing tall as usual.
"Young Master, Master Edward has requested your presence in the sitting room."
"What's going on today?" Al replied lazily. "Isn't this the breakfast summons?"
"You'll find out when you get there."
"Alright…"
As Al opened the door and stepped outside, sunlight shone through the windows—along with the reflection of Dedy's bald head as he mopped the floor.
"Oh, I thought you stopped monitoring me, Dedy. Haven't seen you these past few days."
Dedy didn't reply. He simply stood and saluted respectfully.
---