Tyrant Emperor

"What are you guys doing here?" Tina asked, placing her hands on her waist, her tone sharp and displeased.

"I'm here to fix my ears, you… you…" Edward stammered, his eyes wide with horror. His clothes were soaked in blood, and in his trembling hand were his torn-off ears, the teeth marks still visible on them.

"Hurry up and heal me!"

He yelled at Angela, but the woman didn't even turn to look at him. Calm and unbothered, she continued to patiently tend to Bert.

"I said heal me, you wench!" Edward bellowed, his voice trembling with desperation and fury.

Angela paused. A cold smile crept onto her lips as she slowly turned toward him.

"What did you just call me?" she asked, her voice laced with a dangerous calm.

Edward froze where he stood, paralyzed by her gaze.

"If you have nothing more to say, I'll continue with my treatment," Angela stated calmly. Without waiting for a response, she focused back on her task, grinding herbs with precision to aid Fatty's recovery.

A few quiet minutes passed as she worked. Once finished, she carefully wrapped Fatty's wounds with strips of sheep's skin. Only then did she finally turn her attention to Edward.

"Hu… help me, please," Edward stammered, his voice trembling. Blood trickled steadily from his mangled ears, pooling on the floor as he hiccuped in fear.

"You should have asked nicely the first time," Angela said with a gentle smile. She approached him, her movements measured, and placed a hand lightly on his head, closing her eyes in concentration.

"Can you fix my ears?" 

"…I am a herbalist, not a sage," Angela replied softly, a flicker of irritation crossing her calm features.

"Sorry," Edward muttered, his voice trembling with fear as he stood frozen, patiently waiting for his wounds to be addressed.

"Let's go, Leon." Tina motioned for him to leave with her.

But Leon stayed in place, his gaze fixed silently on Bert.

"Are you worried about him?" Tina asked, glancing between Leon and the injured figure.

"Well…" Leon hesitated, shifting his gaze slightly to catch a glimpse of Angela from the corner of his eye. He was indeed concerned, but not for the reasons Tina assumed.

After a brief moment of contemplation, Leon finally turned and left with Tina, leaving the trio alone in the room.

"This guy is a little interesting," Angela murmured, her eyes narrowing and a creepy smile forming on her lips as she watched the faint figure of Ray departing.

Leon, now deep in thought, returned home silently with Tina and Fatty. Without a word, he entered his home as quickly as possible, shutting the door behind him.

He tiptoed quietly into the house, carefully cleaning his hands and legs before sitting down to eat his breakfast, a cheerful smile lighting up his face.

"Leon, do you really want to train in the family skill at such a young age?" Zara asked with an expressionless face.

"I want to," Leon replied with a firm nod, honestly.

"You're so young. At your age, you should be enjoying life, playing instead of—"

"Because I want to," he interrupted gently, his words simple and accompanied by the most genuine, heartfelt smile.

Zara gazed at her son, a soft sigh escaping her lips. "I was already against you joining the academy so young, but I don't want to stand in your way…"

"Mother, it'll be fine," Leon said confidently, his steady gaze meeting hers.

"I hope so. Also, as per your request, your father has made you wooden shelves for your books. Your training will resume once he returns," Zara said with a soft sigh.

Leon gave a small nod before leaving, retreating to his own room.

"Sigh… Leon, why do you care so much about everything?" she murmured to herself, her gaze lingering on the spot where her son had just stood.

…

Leon stepped into his room, his eyes immediately drawn to the newly installed shelves. Rows of neatly arranged books stood like soldiers in perfect formation, their animal skin covers gleaming softly in the light. He reached out, running his fingers across the polished wood—smooth, flawless, not a speck of dust in sight.

"Not bad," he thought, a faint smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

Scanning the shelves, his gaze landed on a large book tucked into the corner.

"This is the one," he murmured to himself.

With careful hands, Leon slid the book from its place and carried it to the table. As he set it down and opened its heavy cover, three simple words greeted him, bold and striking on the first page:

"Ghosts and Demons."

Leon opened the large book, his fingers quickly flipping through the pages as he began his search.

What he sought was simple...

The image of that terrifying beast still lingered in his mind, replaying over and over like a haunting memory.

In this world, ghosts and demons were not merely myths—they were real, their existence well-documented in human history. 

While this kingdom prided itself as a warrior nation, known for its expertise in battle and slaying demons, its knowledge of ghosts was more limited.

"It is said that Sorcerers dedicate their entire lives to hunting ghosts, while Warriors excel in defeating demons and waging war."

He couldn't help but draw a comparison in his mind: Sorcerers seemed like introverts, solitary and focused, while Warriors resembled extroverts, brash and thriving in the chaos of battle. Both paths had their strengths and weaknesses.

There were eight danger levels for both ghosts and demons: ordinary, unordinary, malevolent, vengeful, cursed, eldritch, cataclysmic, and abyssal.

On the first page of the book, there was the description of Strix. They were quite infamous because of the tale of Anthropos and were among the most widely known creatures.

These beings had a spectral figure entirely composed of darkness, with swirling smoke and mist giving them ethereal qualities. They had elongated claw-like hands and a skeletal face, further accentuated by two sharp, bat-like teeth protruding menacingly from their mouths.

Leon had to admit, they looked ferocious, but their danger level wasn't particularly high, classified as merely ordinary, which meant power comparable to at most ten strong warriors.

"But if they live in groups of ten, it would really be too troublesome to kill them."

There was some validity to the tales of Anthropos because the Strix really liked human meat and blood, even to this day.

They always went out to hunt humans, which had made this legend even more popular than before.

Leon turned the pages of the book with deliberate care until his gaze froze on an illustration. 

Xalorath! 

His hands trembled, disbelief flickering in his eyes. The image before him mirrored the one etched into his memory. 

"They're exactly the same," he murmured, his voice barely above a whisper. 

The accompanying description only deepened his intrigue: creatures of the Forgotten Realm, they were demons who enjoyed healing other beings for their own amusement. 

"Our academy nurse is a demon?" 

His face turned extremely pale. This academy was the sole institution in the entire Karalux Kingdom and the most well-protected place, but there was a demon right in its midst. And, astonishingly, no one seemed to have noticed it, even to this day.