He reached into his pocket and pulled out more coins, placing them in her hand.

Pixie looked over the amount, nodded, then turned and left without another word. She didn’t care to listen to Kieran’s "I’m sorry..." trailing off behind her.

Kieran curled his hands into fists and cursed his luck deeply.

This sudden visit was never supposed to happen in the first place. No one ever came to his place. Not students, not colleagues, not anyone.

Even the address the academy had on file for him was false.

Therefore, any visitor he did receive was entirely expected.

He heaved a frustrated sigh and walked back into his house where he found Ethan and Eduardo still standing in the area that could loosely be considered the living room.

Neither of them had sat down nor looked comfortable enough to

"I’m sorry you had to see that," Kieran said, his demeanor now changed back to what Ethan knew. "Every man has a private life."

He paused, then added, "But I will ask... how did you know where I live, Ethan?"

Ethan turned to him with, no expression on his face. "Mr. Kieran, I want to leave here so fast that I’m willing to forget you went and exposed my demon identity to the King. So you’re going to tell me what I want to know, and then I’ll be on my way."

Kieran’s expression changed. Surprise flickered across his face for just a moment before it settled back into normal. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

He had been found out.

Then he decided not to bother with asking any further questions about how Ethan had found this place, because he realized he was in a terrible position right now.

He sighed and asked, "Okay... tell me what you need, then."

Ethan extended the clipboard that held the sketch of the markings and said, "Do you know what this is?"

Kieran took it, adjusting his grip to get a proper look. His eyes narrowed on the diagram for a few seconds before he spoke. "The Seal of Carrion?"

Ethan nodded. That was one confirmation.

You see, when Ethan had asked the King for Kieran’s address, he did so with the assumption that if Kieran was supplying Carson with very specific information about the demon territories, then he was probably old enough or knowledgeable enough to know the old tongue.

The King, in giving Ethan the address, had assumed this was just Mr. Stark’s way of getting back at Kieran for exposing him as a demon. Frankly, Carson didn’t mind that at all.

And given that he wanted Ethan’s alliance, he obliged without hesitation. However, he did let Ethan know that whatever he decided to do to Kieran should not result in the demon’s death or inability to speak, as Kieran was still useful to him.

"So you do know what it is," Ethan said. "Then tell me what those marks mean. I was told they were written in the old tongue."

Kieran glanced up at Ethan for a moment, then back at the diagram. He exhaled slowly, then began to explain.

"The Seal of Carrion," Kieran started, his finger tracing one of the symbols on the page, "is an ancient mark that doesn’t appear in every generation of the Dessendre bloodline.

Sometimes it skips two, three, even four generations before manifesting again. When it does appear, it marks the bearer."

He paused, his eyes still fixed on the sketch.

"This seal," he continued, "represents a fragment of a Demon God’s power. Specifically, Carrion, an ancient low-level deity that was killed in a war so long ago no one remembers."

Ethan kept listening intently.

"The fragment was sealed into the Dessendre bloodline by one of their ancestors," Kieran said. "Not to be used, but to be contained and hidden."

"Because if the right person gets their hands on this..." He tapped the diagram. "They could use the bearer as a vessel to resurrect the Demon God under the right circumstances."

Ethan gained an apprehensive look. "What are the right circumstances?"

Kieran moved his hand down to a particular section of the sketch, pointing to a cluster of symbols near the bottom. "This part here. If the bearer of this mark is killed, the one who killed them can chant the words inscribed here to begin the process of the god’s revival. The bearer’s body becomes the vessel for resurrection."

He looked up at Ethan. "But it can only be done by the one who slays the bearer. No one else."

Ethan stared at the symbols Kieran was pointing to. "And if someone else tries?"

"The chant is double-edged," Kieran explained. "If it’s spoken by the killer of the bearer, it initiates the revival process. But if it’s spoken by anyone else..."

He paused. "It triggers an explosive self-destruct."

Ethan’s eyes widened slightly. "Causing a city-wide explosion..."

He finally understood where that threat had come from.

"Well, yes," Kieran said with a nod. "It’s a powerful divine core. An implosion of something like that could level everything within a several-mile radius."

Ethan felt a knot form in his chest. But then something occurred to him. Her captors in House Tisseus probably knew this too.

And yet they didn’t execute her to revive the god. That meant they didn’t want the god resurrected either. They wanted the seal for another purpose.

Kieran continued talking, as if sensing Ethan’s thoughts.

"This is one of the most sought-after things in the demon continent," Kieran said.

"Especially by the demon lords, that sometimes, even if a member of the Dessendre family awakens the seal, they don’t mention it to anybody outside their immediate bloodline."

"Why?" Ethan asked.

Kieran set the clipboard down on a nearby table. "Because of what it can do when wielded differently. Some believe the seal can be used the same way the Demon God once used it: to create perfect soldiers. Enhanced warriors with strength, speed, and durability far beyond their normal class of strength."

Ethan’s gaze widened in realization. This was what Ishtar discovered earlier.

Kieran continued. "If any demon lord were to get their hands on this seal, it would drastically improve their military power. Enough that they could challenge the current Demon King for the throne."

—-

A/N:

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