Before Melakios could ask Lilitu what she meant, the whole carriage lurched backwards and then forwards again, as if it hit a bump and went over a cliff.

He looked outside to see the land far below him. To Melakios, who never saw such a sight, this was only the beginning of what this journey would bring him.

Surprisingly enough, when he sat back down again, he noticed Lilu was strapped to his seat.

“What’s wrong?”

“You might want to buckle up, hippogryphs don’t fly smoothly. And we might end up having to fight something.”

Melakios looked over and saw Lilitu was doing the same thing.

“Is it really that bad? Let me go check.”

As he began to stand up again, Lilitu and Lilu both tried to stop him.

“Don’t do it, you moron!”

“Hey! Why don’t we talk about that Soul Monger stuff I was talking about before?”

“Hmm? Isn’t that what someone is called when they reach a specific level of Soul Energy or Quantity?”

To that, Lilitu was surprised.

“You already know the stages of power?”

“I know the first several. Soul Keeper, Soul Stealer, Soul Collector, and Soul Reaper. Right?”

“Well, yes. After the Mortal Stages comes the Demonic Stages. Each major stage of the Noble Stages has 4 smaller Levels.”

She paused to make sure Melakios sat down to pay attention.

“Good. The first major stage is called the Noble Stage. These stages are leveled like actual Demon Ranks. A Soul Lord is the same as a Demon Lord. The difference lies in the way they attack. True demons have special techniques and powers. They also have followers and soldiers. Soul users tend to use Soul Items and Soul Attacks to deal with problems. They also tend to be alone.”

“For some reason, I don’t think I will be in the same category as normal soul users.”

“Indeed. Your way of manipulating souls means you are more like a Soul Demon. Soul users are more like really wealthy Demons that are extremely weak otherwise. Maybe they found a lucky item, or gathered a lot of money.”

“So, Demons have military power, like Eligor, and Soul Mongers and such have monetary power?”

“Exactly. You catch on quicker than my brother.”

“Hey…”

“Anyways, even if a Soul Lord might be physically weaker than a true Demon Lord, the Soul Lord could have hidden weapons or medicine. The Noble stage is made of Lords, Barons, Counts, and Dukes. After the Noble Stage comes the Royal Stage. It is made of Rulers, Princes, Kings, and Sovereigns. After the Royal Stage comes the Sage Stage. It consists of Emperors, Legends, Myths, and Superiors. The final stage holds just one Level. It is the pinnacle of power. God Stage.”

“Okay, I’m bored. I am going outside now.”

“WAIT!”

“WAIT!”

As the twins tried to unbuckle themselves, Melakios had already climbed through the window of the carriage.

The next thing they knew, he disappeared from their vision, sent flying by the oncoming wind.

“Shit!”

“Damn, ack!”

Lilitu shoved her brother back as she leaned out the window.

She did not see the falling figure of the human boy. Could he have already been out of sight so quickly?

“It’s nice up here.”

Lilitu jerked in astonishment as she turned to look above her. What greeted her was Melakios sitting cross legged on top of the carriage.

Fatigued by the sudden thought of failing her mission, she slumped down back into her seat.

Lilu, on the other hand, did not see or hear Melakios. He saw his sister slump onto the bench with a sad face. He quickly pulled out a pill with the design of wings etched into the surface.

Seeing her brother grab the Winged Messenger Pill, she yelled at him,

“He’s fine! He’s on top of the carriage! Don’t waste that pill!”

Startled, Lilu stopped what he was doing.

“Oh. Sorry.”

Dejected, he too sat on his seat.

While the twins were being depressed, Melakios crawled along the top of the carriage to see the front. He sat behind the driver and Ardat Lili.

“Oh? I’m surprised you can handle this pressure! Even I have to be kept tied down.”

The driver was indifferent, but Ardat was alarmed by the aura emanating from Melakios. He was using most of his soul spirits to keep in place, after all. To anyone who can sense the fluctuation of souls, they could tell Melakios was doing something.

“How long till we get to the Academy?”

“Oh, about 2 more hours. That is if we don’t encounter any trouble.”

“That sounds foreboding.”

“Hahaha! What monster in their right mind would mess with a Demon Lord, 3 Demons at the peak of the Mortal Stage, and two hippogryphs?”

“Maybe that.”

Ardat Lili was still observing Melakios, so she did not notice the black cloud heading their way. In fact, even if she was paying attention, she might have missed it. It was actually an attack!

Melakios could see a swarm of Spirit Crows crashing towards the carriage. Upon hearing his words, Ardat Lili turned and quickly rushed forward to meet the incoming threat.

Taking the chance, Melakios went back to warn the twins.

The twins were still moping around when a head popped out from the top of the window. Melakios then asked,

“Hey, if we get attacked, what are we supposed to do?”

“What?! Lilu, it’s time for that pill. We have to get Melakios out of here.”

“Got it, sis.”

The two swallowed the Winged Messenger Pills and were filled with a strange light. When the light died down, their wings grew bigger, and some new wings appeared behind their ears and heels. If they were stronger, then perhaps they could have sprouted wings on their own, but for now, these pills fashioned after a Lesser God's attire would suffice.

“I got Melakios, sis. Let’s get out of here.”

“Is this really necessary? I mean, Ardat Lili is taking care of it.”

The two stopped what they were doing and stared at each other in horror.

“We have to go. NOW!”

“We have to go. NOW!”