“…… What kind of wizard is that guy, it's terrifying. ”

Joshua, who was knocked away by Maca's rapid burst of spells, is now running away frantically. He had to flee because it was the first time he had been beaten with a spell since he had this power.

Although he didn't know how powerful his master really was - it must be strong, right? However, the master never used an offensive spell against them, because the master only needed to activate the brand to make them completely lose the will to fight.

No, they are a bunch of timid children, where does the will to fight come from?

“…… Didn't he chase after him? ”

Joshua ran down the alley, looking back from time to time, but there was no sign of anyone chasing him. But he couldn't stop in a state of panic - he didn't even have the guts to breathe!

He ran as hard as he could, just to get farther and farther away from the monster wizard who had suddenly appeared...... The farther away the better!

He didn't think about where he should flee to, he just instinctively fled.

The buildings on both sides of the building kept receding as he ran, and little by little merged with the night. Occasionally, there was an owl chirping or two, so terrible that it was like a child's cry, and it was so gloomy that it made people shudder.

Joshua felt as if he had gone back to his childhood, to a time when he had not been taken away by his master. He thought of his father, the one who was a drunk, gambler, and beat him when he had nothing to do.

He also remembered the image of him running away from that filthy and horrible home one night, only to be chased by his father with a stick and break one of his legs.

Yes...... It was a dark night, without stars or moon, the street lights flickered incessantly, and the neighing of the night cat made his legs limp.

He kept running, and the lame, terrible father chased after him, and the stick in his hand was thick and hard, and scraped on his back was a burning pain.

His father planted a seed of fear for him.

“…… Stay back! Father...... Don't hit me......"

Joshua's spirit was on the verge of collapse, and he dragged his somewhat weak body to run forward with all the strength he could, muttering incessantly.

This chaos seems to have brought him some strength. I saw that as he ran wildly, a black mist emerged again, and gradually covered his whole body.

After a while, he suddenly rose into the air and subconsciously rushed towards the exit of Jackson Square.

The wind whined in his ears, but he didn't hear it at all. He was overwhelmed by his own fears, and the inexplicable power invaded his whole body, ruffled his mind, and forced him to follow his instincts.

He was going home, to the place where "Father" couldn't find him, and then he would honestly accept the punishment. Although the master's punishment was terrible, it was not an alternative salvation for him.

Because no one has ever been nice to him, no one needs him - only the master needs him!

“…… Take the punishment well, and then the master will continue to need me. I'm going back there, escaping from the terrible 'father', and the master will hold my ...... as usual."

There are many children who are taken there, and he is not the first, and likewise not the last. It's not known what the other children were thinking, but that's what Joshua thought.

By the time he rushed through the brick wall and reappeared on the streets of New York, he had completely turned into a dense black fog that flew at breakneck speed.

In the black fog with its long tail, there were many times more "sparks" mixed with it than usual, and it looked like a shining meteor in the air.

The meteor streaked high under the low clouds and headed west of the city center.

……

Somewhere near an abandoned warehouse stands a slightly dilapidated monastery. The monastery's façade is mottled gray and yellow, with dark green creepers covering much of the area, and most of the original fine carvings have been destroyed.

From the outside, it doesn't look like a place for someone to come back from.

"Squeak-"

Joshua pushed open the tall wooden door in a trance, and shuffled in with heavy steps. Instead of lingering in the dusty space, he walked straight towards the courtyard at the back.

There was nothing unusual in the atrium, where weeds were everywhere and the pools of the fountains had long since dried up. There seems to be some strange graffiti carved on the wall, but it has long since become a mystery that no one can solve.

Joshua made his way through the atrium and up the loose staircase into an empty room on the second floor.

In this room, there was a tattered bed and an empty desk. And on the wall opposite the desk, there was a broken and cracked mirror.

The mirror was covered with dust, making the figure almost invisible.

"Thestrals' tail feathers."

Joshua spoke inarticulate the command to the mirror. However, as time passed, the mirror did not change in any way.

"Thestrals' tail feathers!"

He stared blankly at the broken mirror and repeated the command, but there was still no movement—the scene he had expected did not appear.

“…… How, how could it be...... There is nothing wrong with the password...... Thestrals' tail feathers! Thestrals' tail feathers! Thestrals......"

He swooped down in front of the mirror, his hands pressed against the wall, and his mouth began to mumble wildly. He wanted to go back, to the place that dreaded and attached him at the same time.

But the cold reality in front of him made him gradually despair. The broken mirror seemed to tell him silently that the last salvation in his life, the last light in his darkness, had quietly extinguished at some point.

"It seems...... You've been abandoned, huh? ”

A voice suddenly sounded behind him, causing him to weaken his feet and fall to the ground in panic. He didn't hesitate, and crawled almost to the dirty corner of the wall, trembling and shrinking into a ball.

In the direction of the voice, Maca's figure gradually appeared—he was standing at the door of the room, silently watching everything that was there.

"Did you get the news so soon?" He squinted, staring at the mirror and muttering.

The other party's response to Sirius was to immediately start erasing it, because it was not difficult for the silent to deal with Sirius.

If Maca hadn't come, if Maca hadn't arranged for the eight-eyed giant spider to protect it, I'm afraid Sirius would have been quietly eliminated.

No, even if there is one more Alienated Eight-Eyed Giant Spider, the other party can send reinforcements to try to exterminate it. Therefore, there is no reason why they would choose to abandon a silent person who has been cultivated so decisively.

There are not many reasons why they abandoned Joshua, then, and the most likely one is the arrival of Maka.

He reached out and groped around the mirror, carefully sensing the magic fluctuations in it. A large amount of magical knowledge flowed rapidly in his mind, comparing it with the magical feedback in front of him.

After a moment, he lowered his hand.

"Your name is Joshua...... Right? Maca turned her head and looked at the shivering young man in the corner and said, "Do you want to come in with me?" I think you'll want to ask them a few questions......"

He paused slightly, then chuckled and said, "...... Assuming they haven't run away, of course. ”

As soon as he finished speaking, the staff in his hand was already raised, and in the midst of the magic surge, a series of complex magic characters faintly flashed from the tip of the staff, and fell into the hazy mirror fragments one by one.

Immediately after, the already broken mirror suddenly shrouded in a layer of silver light, and the original defects and old places began to be repaired automatically.

After a while, a brand new dressing mirror that was incompatible with the dilapidated environment around him appeared in front of him.

In the mirror, which was as clean as new, Maca could not see herself, all he could see was the scene of this room. What can be different from the actual environment is that the room in the mirror is not the slightest messy and old.

Maka turned her head again, and the young man named Joshua got up as the mirror glowed silver, and walked up to him in a daze.

But when Maca's eyes fell on him again, he took a few steps back in horror and inexplicably, and stood with his neck hunched and his back hunched to the side.

"To go in or not to go in, it's up to you."

Maca didn't have time to waste on him, and after dropping a sentence casually, he walked straight into the mirror.

The convent in the mirror has a lot of traces of life, the hanging lamps in the corridor are still exuding a gentle glow, the red carpet is soft and clean, and the landscape paintings on the walls are vivid and clear.

Maca walked softly through the porch, occasionally opening a room to take a look, but finding no figure.

He came downstairs into the hall, where the fireplace seemed to have just been extinguished, and the embers still smelled warm.

In front of a few seats on the long table next to it, there were even leftovers from eating, and a pot of unfinished pumpkin cream soup was even steaming a little.

"Haven't you been gone for a long time?" Maca frowned and said, "The clue is broken again......"

He tore open a reclining chair and sat down, bracing his forehead in thought.

A short time later, while Maca was still gathering her thoughts, Joshua walked in nervously. He saw Maca sitting at the dining table at a glance, and suddenly paused in a bit of a panic, and stopped at the door without saying a word.

He seemed a little confused and didn't know what to do. He didn't dare talk to Maca, he didn't dare to turn away—he didn't even know where he was going from here.

He could only sit there silently, staring blankly at the pattern on the carpet with his eyelids lowered.

"Do you know where they went?"

As Maca asked, Joshua's whole body trembled.