The elementary school playground was loud and full of life.
It was time for recess. Kids were running, laughing, and playing on the swings.
In the middle of a group of girls, Akeno was smiling. It was a real, bright smile.
She was showing her new friends how to fold an origami paper crane.
When she finished, the other girls clapped. Akeno's violet eyes sparkled with joy.
She finally had friends her own age. She was just a normal kid.
Akeno was also very pretty and kind. Even at this young age, many of the little boys in her class had a puppy crush on her.
A little boy with messy hair walked up to her.
His face was bright red, like a tomato. He nervously held out a small box of strawberry juice.
"F-For you, Himejima-chan,"
He stuttered.
Akeno smiled sweetly and took the juice.
"Thank you!"
The little boy gasped, turned around, and ran away as fast as his legs could carry him. His friends laughed and patted him on the back.
Up in a tall oak tree near the playground, someone was watching.
It was Elias. He was sitting comfortably on a thick branch, leaning against the tree trunk.
But if anyone looked up, they would only see leaves and wood.
His camouflage magic was working perfectly.
He watched over Akeno like a hawk.
His sharp eyes scanned the playground, the sidewalks, and the school gates.
He was looking for any signs of danger. If a stranger walked too close to the fence, Elias watched their every move until they walked away.
He didn't miss a single detail.
Elias felt very confident in his hiding spot. He remembered the lesson Shuri had taught him a few nights ago at the shrine.
"In this world, Elias, magic and power are divided into ranks,"
Shuri had explained, drawing a simple chart on a piece of paper.
"There are Low-class, Middle-class, High-class, and Ultimate-class beings."
Elias had asked how good his hiding spell really was.
"Most normal Stray Devils or basic fighters are Low or Middle-class,"
Shuri told him.
"Because of your Adaptivity, your magic has become incredibly dense and pure. Your camouflage is perfect. Unless a monster or a magic user is at least a High-class being, they will never be able to detect you. To them, you simply do not exist."
Elias looked down at his invisible hands. That meant he was completely safe from regular threats.
High-class beings were usually powerful leaders, famous nobles, or strong generals.
They had no reason to sneak around a human elementary school in a quiet town.
The loud school bell rang. Recess was over.
The kids groaned and started lining up at the classroom doors. Akeno grabbed her red backpack and stood in line with her new friends.
Just before she walked inside, she stopped.
She turned around and looked up at the tall oak tree. She couldn't see Elias at all.
But she trusted him. She knew her big brother was up there.
Akeno gave a tiny, secret wave toward the branches.
Up in the tree, Elias smiled warmly.
He placed two invisible fingers to his forehead and gave her a mock salute back.
"Have fun in class, Akeno,"
Elias whispered to the wind.
"I'll be right here."
The afternoon sun began to sink lower in the sky. Finally, the last school bell rang.
Elias climbed down from the tree.
He took the talisman off his chest.
His body slowly returned to normal, and he was visible again.
He brushed the leaves off his pants and walked over to the front gate of the school to wait.
A few minutes later, a crowd of kids poured out of the building. Akeno was one of them.
She had a huge, bright smile on her face. When she saw Elias standing at the gate, she ran even faster.
"Onii-chan!"
She called out happily.
She ran up to him and grabbed his hand tightly. Behind her, a few of her new friends walked over. They looked at Elias with wide, curious eyes.
"Who is that, Akeno-chan?"
A little girl with short hair asked.
Akeno puffed out her chest proudly.
"This is Elias! He is my big brother. He came to pick me up and walk me home."
Elias smiled kindly and waved at the little girls.
"Hello. It is very nice to meet you all. Thank you for being good friends with Akeno-chan today."
The girls giggled, their faces turning a little pink, and waved goodbye.
"See you tomorrow, Akeno-chan! Bye-bye, big brother!"
Elias and Akeno started walking down the street toward the shrine.
Akeno was full of energy. She talked the whole time. She told him about her math class, the drawing she made, and the little boy who gave her strawberry juice.
Elias listened to every word, smiling at her stories.
But halfway up the hill to the shrine, Elias stopped smiling.
The hair on the back of his neck suddenly stood up. His Adaptivity power didn't just make his body strong; it gave him very sharp senses.
He felt a cold prickle on his skin.
Someone was watching them.
They were far away, hiding in the shadows of the woods near the road. It wasn't just a curious neighbor. Elias could feel their magic.
It felt cold and sharp. It was full of malicious intent—a dark, mean feeling that meant they wanted to hurt someone.
'Magicians,'
Elias thought to himself.
'Someone hired them to find Shuri-san and Akeno-chan.'
Elias squeezed Akeno's hand gently, making sure she stayed close to his side.
He didn't want to scare her, so he kept his face completely calm and relaxed.
"Onii-chan?"
Akeno asked, looking up at him.
"Is something wrong?"
"No, everything is perfect,"
Elias lied smoothly, giving her a soft smile.
"Let's walk a little faster. I bet Mama has a good snack waiting for us."
While Akeno looked forward again, Elias used his free hand to reach into his pocket.
He pulled out a tiny Onmyudo paper talisman. He rubbed his thumb over the paper, pushing a tiny drop of his warm magic into it.
He secretly dropped the paper onto the grass.
As soon as it touched the ground, the paper transformed. It folded and twisted until it turned into a tiny, green ghost that looked just like a floating leaf. It was a simple Shikigami, a magic servant.
Elias didn't speak out loud. He used his mind to give the little leaf ghost a strict order.
Follow the bad magic in the woods, Elias commanded silently.
'Track the spies. See who they are and where they go. Do not let them see you.'
The leaf ghost zipped into the bushes, completely silent, blending in perfectly with the real leaves.
Elias kept walking, acting like a normal, happy teenager taking his little sister home.
But inside his chest, his heart was beating with a slow, heavy anger.
The Himejima clan had finally sent someone. They wanted to take away Akeno's smile.
He looked down at the little girl holding his hand. He had made a promise to protect her.
'I just need to get her inside the shrine safely,'
Elias thought, his eyes narrowing toward the path ahead.
'Once she is safe behind Shuri's magic walls... I am going back out.'