If you asked me for my first impression of Lev, I'd say something along the lines of…
– "An eccentric young man who looks like a troublemaker."
But after watching him spar with Laute, my impression changed to:
– "A prodigious monster."
And after talking with him some more, my current impression is:
– "A prodigious idiot."
Overall, he's right… he's not cut out to be an exemplary knight; he isn't even really interested in being a knight for the sake of the vocation itself.
(If anything, it's simply his battle-loving nature that's driving him right now.)
A battle maniac… a nature like that is a double-edged sword.
It can be a force for good or for evil with just one misstep.
(For now, if I guide him correctly… he might be the missing piece…)
Maybe I'm putting too much weight on his shoulders without him realizing it, but he is the spark needed for the coming storm.
------------------------------------------------
Louis rested his hand on his chin, tapping his cheek with his fingertips.
His expression was calm, but it was clear he was deep in thought.
"If I'm not mistaken, Laute said that when he first saw you… you were fighting a bear in a demonic frenzy, right?"
"I was?"
Only to be met with Lev's curious and disinterested response.
"I mean, when we had that sparring session, he did mentioned having watched me the day before, right…"
The young man also rested his hand on his chin, searching his memories.
"I did indeed run into a bear, but it just seemed a little agitated, if you ask me."
Louis straightened his posture, crossed his legs, and took a deep breath.
"Were his eyes glowing a hot red?"
"They were; it was kind of weird; bears don't usually have red eyes, so that stuck with me."
Louis nodded upon hearing his answer.
"Was he breathing out dense smoke from his mouth?"
"You bet. It's not even winter for his breath to be steaming."
"That, Lev, is a sign of the onset of a Demonic Frenzy."
Louis took his phone out of his pocket again and projected a holographic screen, playing a video for Lev.
"Demonic Frenzy, in short, is a phenomenon caused by an accumulation of dense miasma."
The video showed a normal rabbit entering a space with a sinister atmosphere.
"People, creatures, and some objects, under the influence of the miasma, enter a Demonic Frenzy."
As the video played, the rabbit began to exhibit signs identical to those described by Louis and witnessed by Lev.
"It's like an infection, a virus."
Slowly, the rabbit began to undergo increasingly drastic and terrifying physical mutations.
"Little by little, it alters the appearance of whatever it has infected until it becomes a true Demon."
In the end, a terrifying creature that barely resembled the original rabbit was all that remained in the video.
"Preventing outbreaks of Demonic Frenzy is one of a Knight's most important duties."
Next, Louis moved on to an image of a strange place.
It looked like some sort of maze, but its pattern was too bizarre to be the work of human hands.
"Some areas under miasma can dissipate after a few minutes, but there's always the risk of them turning into dungeons."
He moved on to another image then, showing a black crystalline formation that radiated a funeral-like purple at its center.
"This occurs when Miasma solidifies into 'Dark Core.' The more massive these objects are, the more they distort reality."
In the next image, a collage of eight distinct locations appeared.
"Currently, there are several smaller dungeons… and eight large dungeons, known as the Lost Sectors."
Once again, he sent a video to Lev.
It looked like bodycam footage exploring the interior of a strange place.
"We don't know their exact origins, but they've existed for as long as the Knighthood."
As the person recording moved forward, the surroundings grew darker, an atmosphere of deep despair settling in.
"In these places, ancient and powerful demons dwell…"
Suddenly, the person recording saw a horde of shadows coming toward them and began running in the opposite direction.
"They sometimes emerge into the world on certain occasions, a phenomenon we call Pandemonium."
Suddenly, the video footage cut off, but screams of pain and agony continued to echo for some time.
"Repelling threats—and, by extension, finding ways to deal with dungeons—is also one of the duties of the Knighthood."
Louis turned off the holographic screen and put his smartphone away once again.
"The bear you faced, according to Laute's report, was affected by a minor miasma leak."
Lev listened intently, swallowing hard as he sweated.
"Luckily, there didn't seem to be any risk of a dungeon forming. And you neutralized it before it could be turned into a demon."
Louis gave Lev an impressed and proud smile.
"I had my doubts about whether Laute was exaggerating, but your sparring with him gave me reason to believe that was indeed the case."
However, his expression soon turned serious.
"But you were lucky that he—and perhaps the fire lizard from your childhood story—were likely in the early stages of demonization."
Louis closed his eyes, seeming to be reliving an old memory.
"The onset of a Demonic Frenzy only makes them violent, but the further it progresses, the more dangerous and powerful they become…"
Opening his eyes shortly after, he looked at his right hand.
"In some cases, it's possible to reverse the frenzy with a quick application of a suppressant."
Then he removed the glove covering that hand, revealing a mechanical prosthesis.
"Again: dealing with Demonic Frenzy is a Knight's most common, yet most important, task."
Louis then looked at Laute, who was sleeping peacefully by his side.
"When a Frenesi transforms into a new demon, several knights must sacrifice their lives to contain it."
And then he stroked his head.
"The same goes for Pandemonium. There's no way to contain them without causing widespread destruction and requiring great sacrifice…"
Lev, who had been watching Louis's actions closely, asked.
"Laute… did he fall victim to something like that?"
"His hometown fell victim to a pandemonium; although it has partially recovered, there are still many traces of destruction there."
Lev began to stare at Laute, reflecting on what had happened so far—both regarding the Demonic Frenzy and Laute himself.
"Lev?"
"…Yes?"
"For now, you'd better rest for the rest of the trip. That's enough for a while; the Academy will go into more detail for you."
Lev fell silent, still deep in thought.
(Even though all this is totally distorted…)
"Alright. Thanks for the lesson, old man."
Lev crossed his arms, closing his eyes and resting his head against the padding of his seat.
(… Is it wrong for me to get excited thinking about the possibility of facing something like that?)
Louis watched the boy as he settled down to rest, recalling the story he'd told about the knight, the fire lizard, and his sister.
(He's a battle maniac, though…)
A small smile once again escaped the old knight's lips.
(He also has a heart that wants to help. His disappointment that that knight had abandoned his sister was genuine.)
He turned his head, glancing over his shoulder to look out the window of the vehicle behind him.
"… He certainly will…"
In a low, almost inaudible tone, he whispered something that didn't reach the ears of his two companions.