A groan disentangled from the heavy breathing as Jered scooted backward.

Evelyn looked at him with a coy flutter of her eyelashes, a satisfied smile hanging on her lips. They could have carried their love-making up to the wee hours of the next day, but at some point, they reasoned that the pleasure would have not been worth it. After all, they couldn't squander their mana like that—not when the bombardment slowly tapered off, and they realized that they were still alive.

"I've never had so much sex in one night before..." she admitted, not knowing what to think. On one side, it was fucking amazing. On the other? She couldn't help but brand herself as a pedophile. Jered was a teenager, no matter how powerful he was as a Magician. She had done something that shouldn't have been done. But in the heat of the moment, she was spurred to be a little promiscuous with this attractive man—not teen, because no teen could hold her as he did, or be so confident and calm even when everything around them was positively being destroyed by some godly, unseen force.

He tilted his chin up, staring at her with playful eyes, "I've never thought you were this passionate. I don't know if I'll be able to concentrate during your classes, Evelyn."

"You never concentrate during my classes," she arched one cute eyebrow up, and he had to raise his hands yieldingly. With a sigh, she reclaimed her spot opposite to him, "Jered... I enjoyed our... previous activity, but... there was nothing more to it. It was just a one-time thing. No strings attached. I don't want to lead you on."

Evelyn didn't know how he would take it. The first time was always a bit special, and the circumstances that led them to do that were not forgettable either. It would have been very normal if he was disappointed. But she couldn't afford to get into a scandal like that. If they kept having those relations, it would only make them develop an attachment that wouldn't do anyone any good.

It was simply not worth the trouble.

Contrary to her expectations, however, Jered took it in stride and easily agreed, "You're right. It was just some stress-relief sex. No one would blame us for letting a bit loose in such a situation. We have done nothing wrong," he smiled, "Besides, it's not like we're ought to tell anyone about it."

A sigh of relief rolled out of her, "That's exactly what I wanted to tell you... no one has to know about it. I doubt your parents would approve of it."

"I'm surprised that a Magician has such mundane limitations. I thought that with all the power they have, they could do anything they wanted."

At least that's what Rainey hammered quite subtly in his head.

"Eh, that's not entirely true. Archiland and Earth have been intermingling for a very long time. We assume that this relationship between the two planes dates back to the Pleistocene Epoch. Though the details are very fuzzy, so take what I'm saying with a grain of salt. Anyway, this conjoining ended up with us being vastly different from each other, but at the same time, incredibly similar. We share views about many things."

"And... what has that to do with the fact that we had mind-blowing sex for the past couple of hours?"

She smiled weakly, "You're 16, Jered. You're too young to ha—"

"To have sex?" he interrupted her with a roll of his eyes, "Some of my classmates have lost their virginity at 15, or even 14. Or so they claim. I'm old enough for sex."

"Not with someone as old as me. That's wrong."

"Do you think it's wrong? It's just some harmless sex. We're not hurting anyone."

"Jere—"

"Your input about it is what I want, Evelyn. I don't care what other people think. It's not like we have to get into a relationship. I understand that that would be uncomfortable to you."

She looked deep into his eyes, "I agree with you, Jered. You have killed people, have been stranded in a situation hardly any other Magician would find themselves in, and you're drinking this all with such calmness that it's difficult to think you're actually so young. Which is... why I let myself go with you. Some fucked up corner of my mind saw you as someone at least twice your age, and twice the man anyone my age is."

"But you're scared of what some random idiot might think. 'Oh, he's 16. He's not mature enough to make the right decisions. And fucking his hot, 30 something-year-old math teacher is wrong!'," he shrugged with a sarcastic grin, "If you want to call it a mistake, fine. But I'm a little boy, aren't I? I have a long list of mistakes to do. Might as do all of them right now, so tomorrow I'll be just like any other mindless, idiot out there who tries to be respectable and righteous for the sake of someone else's definition of right and wrong."

"I can't discard a lifetime of teachings and morals just for some sex with you, Jered. No matter how great it was."

"You're saying this right after you kissed me, and begged for my cock?"

Evelyn flushed, "I-I can't control my mouth when I'm... excited."

"That's not the only thing you can't control," he flashed a smile at her, "I'm sad we hadn't a lot of space to use. I'm curious to know how kinky you really are when you can move around freely."

She averted her gaze with a snort, though the light redness dusting her cheeks was visible even in the poor lighting of their shelter.

"Guess you'll never found out."

"Guess I never will," he nodded thoughtfully.

A few tense minutes flew by. The sounds coming from outside seemed to have stopped. Jered, whose mana made a full recovery after hours of intense sex, peeked out through a crack in the stone. The chain of mountains they came from was nowhere to be seen, and he had to begrudgingly admit that it was a frightening sight. Those mighty heaven-piercing peaks were felled, leaving nothing but jagged chunks of rock.

The leg that had stepped down from the sky was severed, lying still on the ground in a lake of blood. It was not the only limb either. Arms as big as skyscrapers, fingers as large as an entire neighborhood block, and slabs of bloody flesh as thick as whales were laying around like missing pieces of a puzzle.

"This is... no, I have no words to describe it," Jered didn't know what expression to wear, "You should see it for yourself."

With a push of his 'Low Telekinesis', the wall next to him came down.

The barrier that they had been holding up had long fizzled out—courtesy of Jered and Evelyn's rash decision of unclothing themselves. it had all boiled down on where to invest the mana. The barrier, or copious amounts of sex. Doing both at the same time risked leaving them mana-drained, so only one could be chosen. And by the sweaty tang lingering in the air, it was obvious which option reaped the most votes.

Evelyn crawled out of the rubble. She couldn't stitch back her clothes, but thanks to 'Cleanse', she didn't smell funky. She held a hand over her mouth as she saw the burning destruction left behind, "I have once witnessed my grandfather fighting," she started, reminiscing, "I thought it was the most divine spellwork that humans could achieve. But this. I don't dare to imagine what existence is capable of such destruction. Was it one of the Fallen Angels?"

"It was definitely a flying creature," Jered pondered, "Though I don't know what that leg was... I would have assumed it was a Titan, but the size wouldn't match. Even adult Titans aren't as half as big as that leg."

"W-We need to go..." she suggested hurriedly. And who was he to disagree with her? He didn't want to dilly-dally there either. Then again, continuing their exodus from where they had left off, would have most likely led them to that bunch of lunatic mass-murderers. It was either go back, stay where they were, or go forward—none of them was a good option considering the risk they posed. But the latter was safer, at least.

They briefly discussed which direction to go for, and once an agreement was reached, they quickly left.

Evelyn was still a bit shocked—either from the fact that she fucked Jered, or because their situation didn't seem to get any better, no matter what they did. That cosmic altercation did leave a big impact on them.

Even Jered was slightly unsure whether they'd make it out of there alive. While his system was incredibly helpful, he doubted it could help him deal with such overwhelming power. The best thing to do was to be discreet and avoid getting on anyone's radar. This time Evelyn didn't seem keen on stopping to rest; what happened hours earlier still swirled around her head. He didn't blame her.

If he was wired to feel fear, he would have probably been a walking, empty shell right now. On the other hand, that spectacle was like rose-tinted glasses, a glimpse into the future he could have if he pursued power to such a maddening degree.

And he liked it.

It was not because he'd feel safer if he had so much power, it was more because he might feel something if he had it.

If his father hadn't been there for him, he didn't know how he would have turned out. At least, he wouldn't have cared for his family. No matter how muted his feelings were, the fact that he cared about someone in his own way, was a good sign that he was learning what his father had taught him. Or was he? Honestly, he didn't know. If an empty tank had a few drops of water in it, would it still be considered empty?

'You're doing great, son.'

His father's voice whispered in his head, as if he was still alive—like in the good, old days. The man would always have a solution to everything in his sleeves, not unlike Rainey. Jered wondered what John would do if he was there, next to him.

"Jered?"

Evelyn called out, her eyes looking for something into his.

"Hmm?"

"You were spacing out," she said, slowing down her stride for him to catch up, "Is something on your mind?"

It was unbefitting of him to get distracted like that.

"Oh, I was just thinking about my family."

Evelyn nodded weakly, the shadow of a smile ghosting her lips, "I'm sure you'll see them again. We will survive," she enforced her will with a steady gaze, and with a clenched fist. She was scared shitless hours ago, but now she looked like nothing happened and they were just taking a stroll around the school premises. Maybe it was just her coping method, or maybe she was special.

"What about your family, Evelyn?" he returned the question back to her.

"I have no one else left beside my grandfather..."

"Really?"

"I used to have a daughter," she said, a fond light dancing around in her eyes, "They took her away from me."

It looked like his teacher had a rather tragic backstory. He wished he knew how a normal person would react to such words, but he was not normal, so he kept silent.

"Magicians are not free. If you're weak, you're a slave. You have no rights. No one will stand up for you. No one will give a shit about what you say," her eyes hardened with old rage, "But if you're strong. You're a king. Literally. Having power can get you whatever you want. Even a fool could lead a kingdom if stronger than anyone else. Power speaks more than words."

"May I ask... where is your daughter now?"

She wrinkled her nose, her lips quivering in a mix of sadness and anger, "Gone. She was just like you, Jered. So incredibly talented that she shined like a supernova in the sky. My grandfather loved her a lot. Everyone loved her."

He chose his words carefully, "And... who was it that... took her?"

"A cult," Evelyn replied, "Someone in the organization relayed information about Ava to this... disgusting cult, and now she's gone... and I don't even know who did it."

"Is there a chance she's still alive?"

She brought a hand up to prevent the tears from falling, "I don't know. A small part of me thinks she's still alive, somewhere, hoping her mom would come and get her. But I'm weak. I'm terribly weak. That's why I need to get to the top of Ashy Petals," she gnashed her teeth, "To do what my grandfather didn't."