Two more days passed, and the blueprint for the academy was ready and was approved by Jericho and Clover, now they were working on the materials they would need to start it's construction, Jericho suggested using the Luxton star as the core of it's foundation, as there would be a lot of student using Soul Energy, sometimes all at once, so the building can withstand the pressure, a suggestion that was highly welcomed by the people in charge of it's construction and the king of Warmark, but that also hinges on Jericho successfully completing his own mission at the mist mountain, which he promised he would see through.
They were introduce to the people of Warmark as the saviors, and a huge parade was thrown in their honor by the people, which completely surprised Jericho, everyone in Warmark knew their name at this point, no matter how far the cities are from one another.
Soon the time came for Erica and Jericho to set out back to Righteous to prepare for the Mist Mountain mission…
"uncle Leo.. (he bowed)… thank you for your amazing welcome and hospitality, you truly made me feel like family in the time I spent in your great nation, am so happy I got to see you again uncle Leo, and I promise I will make it a regular thing" Jericho stated his good byes to King Leohart with a huge smile on his face, then moved on to the others…
"Duke. Konrad, it was a pleasure seeing you again, please do take care of my uncle Leo as you always have" Duke. Konrad smiled, then responded… "of course lord Jericho" Jericho then proceeded…
"Princess… oh I mean, Diamond, it was an honor meeting a great future ruler as yourself, I will see you soon too, keep practicing the basics of soul energy just as you were told… and twins, Spade and Ace do protect your family" ….. "of course… (went and gave Erica a hug)… you two better take care of yourselves" …. "of course Teacher, we are super strong now, no one can defeat us (dawned a bold look on her face)… come back soon okay teacher" Spade and Ace added, Jericho smiled as he nods a yes…
"Vetra… it will be an honor to fight by your side, keep on surpassing your limits" Vetra bowed….
"and finally, Clover… I simply have no words for you, you are just so amazing, the world would have been lost without you, just make sure you remember not to over do it okay, your health is more important, do take care of yourself" Clover moved forward as if she was being controlled by something, and hugged Jericho in front of everyone, something she would never normally do, which also took Jericho by a huge surprise…
"please come back to me Jericho, don't want to lose you a second time" she whispered to Jericho, hearing how worried she sounds, Jericho smiled then slowly hugged her back and whispered to her … "I won't be going anywhere any time soon Clover, I promise, I will be seeing you again" hearing what he said sent relief flowing all over her body, as finally she smiled as he slowly let him go, she then return her face back to the way it was…
"Rose, do keep an eye on Clover for me, she tends to over do it, make sure she rest every now and then, am trusting you with this" Jericho made a request… "you can count on me lord Jericho" he smiled as he heard her response…
"okay everyone we are off, take care, will be back soon" Jericho declared, but as he turned to leave Clover called for his attention, which he answered swiftly…
"I have something for you Jericho" she said… "oh, what might that be Clover?" he asked with curiosity, then from the corner of their eyes, they saw a strange looking vehicle, it looked nothing like a carriage or a coach, it was so smooth and compact, and looked really light…
"Clover, what is this?" Jericho asked the question that was on everyone's mind as they stared at it in awe…
"this is the third generation of transport am currently working on for the world, I call it an Auto Mobile or a Soul Vehicle, cause it uses soul energy to operate… it was something I was working on for quite some time now, but the result I was receiving was not what I wanted, but had to make due, that's one of the reasons I was adamant to distribute it to the masses, I wasn't satisfied with the energy source, it was too unstable, but now with soul energy, it made all my ideas for it's true design come to life, and that's the result of it… I do plan on distributing it to the other rulers of the three powers, and our other allied nations, and soon to the nobility and the masses… for now this is yours, you will officially be the first person to use this third generation model"
Clover proudly explained, some had a look of utter disbelieve whiles others had a look of respect and awe…
"you are telling me you have already mastered your soul control to this degree that you are able to already implement it in your research?" Jericho was so impressed by Clover he couldn't stop smiling…
"this is amazing" Erica adds… "yes, using soul energy in my work was my greatest motivation, and when am motivated not sure there is anything in this world I can't do… I don't mean to brag if it sounds like that" Clover explained…
"how does it work?" Jericho asked as he closely examined it…
"as the name suggests, it uses Soul Energy, and the best part is you do not need much to operate it, and also it's another job opportunity for the people too, if any noble or merchant can't use it, they can hire people who can work it for them, and drive them around… it has a button to start, then you fill it with your soul energy, again it uses very little, and lastly you chose the speed you want to drive with, as you control it's direction with the wheels, and to stop there is a break handle that cut the collection of soul energy, slowly bringing it to a stop, and another that expels the energy all at once to bring it to a complete stop instantly… did I mention it is faster than any horse you can think of, and extremely more faster than the second generation vehicle I created, called the self moving carriage… to put it into prospective, it normally takes two and a half days or more to make it to the other side of Warmark, but with this, it will only take about an hour or two" she conclude…
"are you serious Tio!!"…. "that can't be right, surely" Princess Diamond and Vetra argued in disbelieve, Jericho and the rest laughed…
"oh wow Clover, you've done it again… never stop surprising me (he laughed again)… so, are you sure I can really have this?… it seems really valuable" Jericho asked feeling skeptical…
"of course, please, I won't forgive you if you reject it, I even made it in your favorite colors, Blue and Black" she insisted…
"{hey… how does she know what his favorite color is.. hmmm… am really starting to feel jealous of how close this two are, I didn't mind at first cause they knew each other longer, so I saw it as a childhood friend thing, but now, am getting really worried and jealous of their connection… I have to start being honest with my feelings, if I don't want to lose}" Erica thought with a huge sigh…
"thank you so much Clover, I will take good care of it (he smiled)… ok then, we are off, see you all very soon" Jericho said as he got in the Soul vehicle with Erica on the passenger sit, they both waved goodbye as Jericho fill the vehicle with a little of his soul energy…
"now, how do I do this again?" he said to himself, as he started it up, it made such a pretty sound…
"oh oh oh wow (smile)... this is amazing, it all feels so easy to control"… then finally Jericho drove off as they continued to wave goodbye…
"my dear Clover, you are truly something else (he smiled than pet her on the head)… I am proud of you" King Leohart stated with a huge smile, Clover turn red but tried to hide it, they all made their way back inside, with just Clover still standing and gazing at the direction Jericho left in…
"you really surprise me today Tio… now you can't deny it, something did happen between you two, you have to tell me" Princess Diamond asked Clover, with a suspicious look on her face, Clover sighed, accepting she can't escape her sister's instinct…
"you are right, something did happen… (sigh)… I told him how I felt the night before the gathering" she answered, Princess Diamond's mouth was left opened with surprise…
"a-and… did he give you an answer?" she asked, now burning with curiosity, Clover shook her head as she replied…
"I didn't let him, might be cause I was scared of his reply, or might be cause it really doesn't matter what his reply was, it would never change my feelings… (princess Diamond sighed then gave Clover a sad look)… but, that's not all that happened, I also kissed him" she concluded, the information was so shocking to Princess Diamond that she choked on her voice as she was about screaming "WHAT".
"Wow, this vehicle is amazing, just look at how much ground we've covered already… if we continue with this pace we will be at Righteous in two (2) days" Jericho stated with a huge smile on his face, enjoying every part of the ride, while Erica was a bit quiet which Jericho noticed…
"Hey, Erica, are you all right, you've been surprisingly quiet all this time, knowing you, you might be thinking of something to tease me about" Jericho stated with a laugh…
"Jericho, did something happen between you and Princess Clover?" she asked, not making eye contract, the question took Jericho by surprise as he swerved and came to a stop… "w-why do you ask?" he asked, still very surprised by her question…
"no big reason, it's just I noticed how very open and bold Clover became later on when dealing with you, compared with how she was the time she saw you for the first time since you got back, it was really suspicious, I would be surprised if I was the only one that noticed it" she replied, turning her gaze to his direction this time, Jericho sigh then prepared to answer.
He went on to tell her about the very first time they met and how really close they became, and also returning now, how she revealed the feelings for him she had been hiding for years, Erica listened but was not surprised by anything Jericho said cause it was obvious, that was until he mention the next thing….
"a-and, s-she… she kissed me the night before the gathering" Erica looked shocked….
"oh my goodness, who would have though Clover would be that assertive" she felt jealous but much more surprise.
"WHAT" princess Diamond choked on her voice…
"Tio… so bold… wow, I would never in a million years imagine you doing something like that with anyone, with how devoted you are to your research" she adds still in disbelieve…
"yeah, but he was the reason I put in so much effort, I wanted to make sure I started on what we talked about doing together years ago, and when I thought I lost him I wanted to make sure I kept my promise and make him proud of me for honoring it… (she smiles)… now that he is here and alright, I really want us to continue from where we left off, to change this world, and am excited to see what we will achieve together" she couldn't stop smiling, Princess Diamond also smiled after seeing the look on her sister's face, it was a look she hasn't seen her make in years, it was so refreshing to see…
"I wish you all the best my little sister, you will do great thing together for sure… am rooting for you" she smile as she pat Clover on the head.
"oh my goodness, who would have though Clover would be that assertive" she felt jealous but much more surprise…
"yeah… took me by surprise too… couldn't sleep, had to do something to clear my head, that's when I decided to go help the the army in the front lines" he said…
"s-so did you give her an answer yet?" Erica asked feeling nervous of his response, she felt instant relief as she saw Jericho shaking his head…
"no I didn't… well more like I couldn't, she didn't want me to give an answer, to be honest I still don't know how to reply to that yet, mostly cause I haven't thought about it since that time, but I do really care for Clover, so much, but… their is another person I really do care so much about too… (he shyly moved his gaze towards Erica and back)… that's why it's really confusing and complicated… I don't know what to do, so I choose to focus on my mission and leave that for future me to handle" Jericho concluded his explanation, Erica felt her heartache a little after Jericho said he cared for Clover and another person, she instantly thought of Alice, she sighed and smiled at Jericho...
"oh my, see why I call you a lady killer (laughs)… lord knows the sweet words you used to trap those innocent ladies, you are a huge pervert Jericho" Erica stated with a laugh, trying to get rid of her awkward mood…
"ha ha ha, very funny… am glad my predicament is amusing to you.. (sigh)… shall we go now" he said then he started up the vehicle again, and they were back on their way…
"{well, looks like I can't be holding back anymore, I have to also start letting my feelings known, I have to start being honest with myself… I see, that was what you meant, by declaring me as your rival Clover… (she smile)… well I accept, and I won't lose, and sorry Alice, I love him too}" Erica thought as she smiled and continued teasing Jericho, looking much better than she did before, and talkative too, to the despair of Jericho, whom was now missing the peace and quiet.
Across the vast oceans, thousands of kilometers away from the human continent, stood the northern Continent of the Demonoids, this are beings made in the image of humans, with the only difference they have from human is how incredibly pale their skin are, with mainly red eyes, and any other colored eyed demon is seen as a curse, they are heavily discriminated against and abandoned by they families in some cases, no demon with a different colored eye is safe from it, not even the high ranking demonoid escapes it.
All of them have a distinguished marks on their neck, that shows their standing or rank in the given demonoid nation, it comes in different shapes and sizes, with the higher ranking demonoid having a much larger and thicker mark, which also indicate their soul energy capacity, while the lower level demonoid have a lighter and smaller sized mark, with that they have no say in anything in their given nation, and will forever be seen as a follower.
In this continent, unlike the human continent which have thirty plus (30+) nations, there are only four (4) nations, but the lands in the demonoid continent are the largest in the entire world, each nation have lands that can easily cover four (4) or more nations in the human continent, because unlike the humans, the demonoids have only one ruler that oversees all the nations in the continent, a demon that was granted the authority by the supreme god of the underworld himself to lead his people on earth, a ultimate being, with a godly blessing, a demon called the DEMONOID LORD, he alone have the power to rule all demonoids, and is seen as their god.
The Demonoid Lord can not be seen by any ordinary demon, as he is the ultimate being to them, but he put together a total of four (4) high ranking demonoids he sees as worthy to share his power and influence, this beings are known as, DEMONOID KINGS.
The demonoid lord created and divided four (4) nations in his continent… the KINGDOM of BLAC… the KINGDOM of NECRO… the KINGDOM of VEVARIA… and the KINGDOM of LUTE.
He offered it to the four worthy demonoids to rule as they saw fit centuries ago, demonoids have long lives, longer than humans, but even they can't live forever too, except the Demonoid Lord, whom is seen as immortal, of course those chosen ones pasted down their given kingdoms to their respective descendants, with the permission of the Demonoid Lord, up until the current generation.
he doesn't interfere much with their decisions, as conflict between nations are very common, as some greedy demonoids try to calm the land of the others, as the main rule of the continent and it's people is 'Survival of The Fittest'.
They all worship the Demonoid lord as their god, not having anything to do with the six (6) gods of the humans, with the permission of their main creator, the supreme god of the underworld and brother of the All Father.
That is also why soul energy wasn't anything new to them, as they have been using it since the world's creation, thanks to their god, the lord of the underworld.
But even in a continent like the demonoid continent, they are some very respectable and kind demons, one example being the new demonoid king of the Kingdom of Blac, His name is Casto Vel Blac.
He was the youngest at eighteen years old and the only surviving offspring of the previous Demonoid king, his siblings killed off one another in a civil war to get the title of demonoid king, Casto was seen as weak and incompetent because he had two different colored eyes, one was the normal color of red, while the other was blue, cause of this, he wasn't even seen as anything by everyone in the nation, including his own father, so the siblings didn't take him seriously and ignored him during their civil war, as he would never be seen as worthy, and he can easily be dealt with at anytime they wish, but as faith would have it, Casto ended up as the only surviving descendant of the previous king, and was immediately given the kingdom, which divided opinions but the decision was final as it's the law made by the Demonoid lord himself, and no one can defile it.
Casto started his march as demonoid king by abolishing some of the wicked practice of the kingdom, he voided any invasion plans that was in the works before he took the crown, and started making preparations for peaceful negotiations with the other kingdoms of the continent, a decision that divided opinions again among the people of Blac, some saw it as a good decision, as they needed to evolve as a race and catch up to the humans, while others saw it as a weakness shown by their demonoid king, blaming it on the fact he has one different eye color.
They were never ready to let go of their one ultimate rule which was 'Survival of The Fittest', on that note they didn't want a weak king that will make the other kingdoms look down on them, so a Coup d'etat was instigated by the head of the Demonic guard at that time, whom was Pyon, to take the kingdom from someone he saw as weak and unworthy to be Demonoid King.
He rallied some troops and citizens that shared his believes and went to war against the people that were standing on the side of Casto.
But he failed to win, and most of his allies were captured, while others went into hiding as he also did, he was deemed a traitor and had a bounty on his head.
He was on the run as a fugitive, before he was found by Jace and recruited as one of the Grand Four Generals when he was making his way to the human continent.
In the present day, a now older (about twenty years now) Casto had made huge progress in his friendly relations attempts with the other nations of the continent and he is much more closer to the Kingdom of Lute than any of the others, cause he is engaged to the second daughter of the Demonoid king.
Thanks to his push, the continent was slowly evolving, there are still discrimination among it's citizens, and the privilege by rank is still very much practiced, as it is even in the human continent, but it was still better than before, as the almost daily wars between nations stopped, and they have started to trade with one another, they still have a long way to go before they can catch up to the humans in advancements, but it's not looking long anymore, as the leaders are now contemplating extending their friendly relations to their neighboring continents, the Human and the Drakziel continents, of course some older demons are against it, as their detestation for the other continent dwellers especially the humans, runs very deep, it is still in it's early stages of discussions with their heads, and nothing has been decided yet.