When the bus dropped him off his destination, Maxence did not immediately head for his friend’s house. He went up to the closest vending machine to buy a carton of chocolate milk, the only thing he knew that could cool him off from all the negativity tainting his psyche.

While inserting a coin into the machine, Maxence caught a glimpse of himself on the clear glass window and glowered in disdain. He chose his precious chocolate milk then went back to his reflection, fixing his brown hair that looked as if he had just rolled out of bed without combing through it and consciously cupped at his unshaven chin. No wonder people had been giving him judgmental looks.

He looked like a total mess.

Rolling his eyes and straightening up to his full six-two feet tall height, Maxence decided he didn’t care what other people think about him. It’s not like his looks really held any significance to them nor does it matter that he hadn’t been taking care of himself properly due to the fact that every single time he’s free and not burdened by mortal workload when he’s at the Citadel, he’s quickly pulled into the training rooms by the triplets who would harass-slash-hone his skills in combat.

Mood uplifted when the delicious chocolate drink finally graced his taste buds and trickled down his throat, Maxence took his time walking down the pavement to the direction of his friend’s house.

To be honest, Maxence’s mortal life wasn't any better. His mortal peers all seem to unconsciously sense that he’s a loser and he’s a black sheep in the demon world so they deem him as a loser and a misfit as well in the mortal world. Truly, he can’t deny the fact that he wasn't the coolest boy around, but he's decent and the people around him just seem to be all stuck-up and too full of themselves that they don’t wish to get to know other people better. This even continues on in college long after high school, only with less vicious people since no one had the time to fuck around with some person they didn’t really care about.

But at least, there's Lucille Banks and her brother, Leo, both who were the only people he really treated as friends. He met them way back in middle school, when his insistence successfully sowed fruit and he was allowed to attend mortal school. Ever since then, the three of them had been inseparable, with Leo occasionally hanging out with his own peers since he is two years younger than the two of them.

"Meow."

Maxence stopped in his tracks. A cat had stopped in front of him, meowing loudly as it nudged against his leg.

Sinking down to his knees, a smile crept up his lips as he caressed the little thing's dirty yet soft white fur.

"You pretty thing, are you hungry?" Maxence cooed, reaching into his pocket for a cat snack. He always have some ready specifically for situations like this, always taking pity on hungry stray cats. Since he cannot adopt them or do anything to ease their condition, this is the only way he knew to help.

After the cat finished its food, it meowed happily at Maxence, nudging against his hand before running off. The cambion stared at it as it walked away, admiring its small, adorable form. When it disappeared, Maxence proceeded with his day.

"Why didn't you tell me you were coming over beforehand?!" Lucille shrieked when she greeted Maxence at the gate only after he texted her just a couple of minutes ago. She looked like she just rolled out of bed, her short ginger hair sticking out in every direction while she wore just a large shirt and a pair of white pajamas.

Even if he found this weird, Maxence can't blame her. It's a Sunday after all.

"Shit happened," Maxence said with a nonchalant shrug as Lucille let him enter. He's immediately greeted by the sprawling grounds in front of a massive family mansion.

The first time they met, Maxence thought Lucille's just some normal girl who's actually nice and had manners. Later, he's quite shocked the first time Lucille and her brother brought him home for a sleepover and he found out that she's not just a normal girl, but she's also a normal but an insanely rich girl.

"Come in. I do apologize for the mess," Lucille apologetically said after a long walk to the main entrance hall. When they enter, Maxence gave his friend an obnoxious look.

What mess was Lucille talking about?

Aside from some things stacked upon the table and on the floor in the living room, nothing seemed out of place at all. Everything was neat, organized and clean.

"You're exaggerating Lucille, nothing is a mess at all," Maxence chuckled as they made their way to the familiar hall that lead down to the living quarters.

"Oh, why are you here?"

A carbon copy of his sister except for the ginger hair cut short, Leo emerged from one of the rooms with an easy smile.

"Why, can't I be here?" Maxence grinned, reaching out to ruffle the younger's hair. Leo flashed a look of disdain as he shoved him away but then laughed as he playfully punched Maxence's arm.

"You didn't inform us you'd be crashing here," Leo said.

“Surprise, I guess?” Maxence chuckled. “I bet you missed me. How’s our senior high schooler?”

“Ugh, shut up,” Leo groaned, kicking Maxence who giggled and ran down the hallway with the younger chasing after him, following the way to Lucille's room. Her room was outrageously wide, with one area that looked like a living room and then a hidden area which served as her official inner room.

The life of a rich person will always be flabbergasting to Maxence.

"Bad news," he said as he crashed into the bean bags laid out on the ground. "Something is coming up tomorrow at home, I can't celebrate my birthday with you."

Lucille pouted in disdain as Leo just silently nodded in understanding. Ever since they met, Maxence had always celebrated his birthday with them since demon culture did not hold much importance for birthdays unless it is coming of age or something auspicious.

"Should I make the chef cook all your favorite food, then?"

"N-No! It is absolutely not necessary!"

Lucille raised an eyebrow. "And why not? Do you not like the way our chef cooks your favorites?"

His best friend may be kind and considerate, but sometimes Lucille can be so conclusive and it's a bit troublesome to deal with. How she makes her logic is like a connect-the-dots puzzle and she ends up with a weird figure yet stayed with it, it's baffling.

"Don't put words in my mouth," Maxence argued, reaching out to poke her side. "I'm just saying that it's not needed… I don't want to disturb the chef who's probably resting."

"They get paid for their jobs, you know?" Lucille chuckled, rolling her eyes. "But anyway, what do we do? I want to treat you to food since you don't accept material things anyway."

Maxence smiled, gazing at them endearingly. He knew how to repress his emotions (how do you think he survived all those years of bullying at the Citadel without his father knowing?) but right now, he's specifically feeling all soft and mushy and extremely gross in the inside.

"I'm glad I got to meet you guys."

Surprised by the sudden sentiments, Lucille and Leo glanced towards each other then gave back the smile Maxence offered to them.

"We're happy we met you too," Lucille clasped her hands together.

"You're so cheesy," Leo awkwardly laughed.

Lucille placed her arms over both of the boys' shoulders.

"Let's never leave each other, okay?"

Maxence simply nodded, index and middle finger twined together in an avoidance of the promise behind his back.

They're too different, worlds apart. Maxence can never stay with them for long, and he has known this since the start. Eventually, he'll have to leave and try to forget about everything that he has shared with them.

This is a ceremony of goodbyes.

And it's all against Maxence's will.

He spent the whole day with the two, watching films and talking with each other while munching on food that Lucille made the chef bring in and Maxence had no choice but to indulge as well. They enjoyed being in each other's presence so much that they never realized that it's deep into the night and simply fell asleep on the floor among the bowls of food with the television still on, playing the series that they had been watching.

Because of his body clock, Maxence automatically woke up the next morning at four in the morning. He was still feeling drowsy, but his mind was clear of what he was going to do today.

Getting up, he gathered his things that had been strewn over the floor, moving around as silently as he possibly could while his friends remained deep into their slumber. After changing into a fresh set of clothes, Maxence shouldered his bag and hesitantly headed for the door. He glanced at the siblings, face grim.

“Ah fuck,” Maxence swore under his breath, rolling his eyes in annoyance at how things need to be this way.

But before he could sneak out, Maxence abruptly stopped in his tracks when he heard the scuffling sounds, followed by a drawled out yawn.

“Maxence? Where are you going?”

He closed his eyes, stopping himself from groaning at how his plans are about to be ruined and turned around to face his best friend, grinning at her widely.

“Good morning,” Maxence said. “I just thought that maybe I should go back home.”

“Nonsense,” Lucille protested as she scrambled up to her feet. Her red hair is sticking out in every direction, but it wasn’t a strange sight because it always seemed like that anyway. “Class will start in two hours, might as well stick around to eat breakfast first. You yourself told me you hate how food is prepared where you’re from.”

Maxence chuckled, lowering his head. Food didn’t really suck, it’s just that he didn’t enjoy it that much compared to when he eats with Lucille and Leo.

He realized that maybe a few more hours sticking around wouldn’t hurt.

“Alright,” Maxence nodded. “I will wait downstairs-”

He barely noticed that Lucille had moved closer towards him. The boy tilted his head in confusion when Lucille suddenly reached for his hand and placed something there. A second later, Maxence realized it’s a chain bracelet, with intricately made charms that were actually suns and stars up close. He looked up to Lucille with a grateful, light smile.

“Happy birthday, you better like that.”

Maxence admired it for a few seconds, noticing how it didn’t seem new yet seemed well taken care of. The silver is aged, and for some reason, it seemed like it held some kind of energy. It’s barely there… but it is powerful. He didn’t know what’s the use for, though.

“Is this an heirloom?” he wondered, running a finger over a series of charms, tinkling delicately.

“How did you know?” Lucille scrunched her eyebrows together. “It kind of is, but I didn’t really directly receive it. I found it at grandma’s house after she died, just strewn around in her office. I don't personally like it, but it held importance and you seem to be into this kind of stuff.”

Maxence chuckled as he patted his wrist and pulled Lucille in for a hug. He's wafted with her warmth, her light rosy perfume overwhelming him.

“Thanks, it’s really cool. I’ll keep it well for you.”

After the exchange, Maxence and Lucille proceeded down for breakfast. Since it’s his birthday, Lucille demanded the kitchen crew to make everything Maxence felt like eating today plus his favorites. He kind of felt bad, so Maxence took it easy and didn’t make them cook a lot as much as he could with Lucille chirping after him to not be shy about what he wanted.

“FUCKING HELL WHY DID NO ONE WAKE ME UP!”

Leo came dashing down the stairs, disheveled yet already changed for the day. He rushed towards the two just chilling at the dining table with so much food, eyes round and wild as he hurried to gather as much food as he could and stuffed them into a separate bag with the help of a servant.

“That’s what you get for not being responsible about your body clock, you brat,” Lucille laughed evilly like the sibling that she is. “You’re a senior already, get your shit together!”

“I don’t need your nagging,” Leo pleaded as he finished up packing everything.

“Aren’t you gonna eat anything?” Maxence asked, worried as he handed him a toast.

“Just this,” Leo said, leaning down. “Oh, and happy birthday.” He then quickly bit down the toast Maxence offered him and he dashed out of the door with a muffled bid of goodbye as a servant rushed after him with his separate bag of food.

“He’s always so hysterical,” Lucille sighed. “Were we ever this hysterical back in senior year?”

“Leo is better than us, we were always crying back then,” Maxence snickered, memories of how stressful senior year was for the both of them, with the pressure of getting into a good university

After enjoying breakfast and with Lucille finally physically ready, they drove off to university. They luckily got into the same one, so suffering was a bit more bearable because they can still meet around campus despite their different majors.

Maxence has been doing so well, it’s a pity he’d have to leave everything behind.

“See you later, let’s have lunch together,” Lucille told him before they parted ways.

“As if I’d have a choice,” Maxence laughed, since he didn’t really eat with anyone but Lucille.

While Lucille went off to class, Maxence went off somewhere different.

It’s not that he wanted to take advantage of the situation and leave already. No, Maxence actually planned to attend a few more of his classes before leaving.

But that had to change when he accidentally saw a bizarre sight on his way to his classes.

Down a secluded hallway where no one was around since classes close by have started and rarely did anyone pass by unless they were late, Maxence sensed a strange presence. He took a detour and followed the presence, making sure he was as quiet as possible as he also conjured his scythe to its full form if by chance it was something that he had to deal with by force.

And then, he saw it.

Sprawled in the middle of the hallway was a winged-person in an all-white uniform sprayed with scarlet that almost seemed like a morbid pattern on the fabric, with some of it tinting his white plumage. His golden sword lay meters away, smoking as if it was hot, and since he lay face down, Maxence couldn’t see at face value what was wrong with him.

“Why is an angel unconscious here, and smeared with blood?” Maxence mumbled, falling to his knees and putting his scythe down just next to him. With a shove, he flipped the angel to his front. He was even more confused when he confirmed that his breathing wasn’t troubled and even though there is so much blood on his face, he didn’t see any wound on him.

Looking around for clues as to what the hell was happening, Maxence narrowed his eyes and reached down for his scythe, clutching it tightly. Moving his gaze around, he finally takes notice of a room half open, seemingly void of any life.

Heart pounding fast, Maxence inches towards the door. He has his scythe poised, ready to fight whatever was inside despite his great lacking in the art of combat. Yet, what could he do? He cannot just let this matter be when he's one of the only people around who stood a chance in dealing with this before everything escalates and more people get hurt.

Sneakily and careful not to make a single sound, Maxence peeked through the gap. His eyes widened in shock when he saw a body there, the abdomen area cleanly cut open yet with its flesh and innards messily exposed, some dropping down the side of the pool of blood that has collected around the body.

And suddenly, he's stricken with a horrible realization.

Along with this came a literal strike from behind, causing Maxence to topple over, barely steadying himself if not for his scythe.

"What in Pandemonium!" Maxence hissed, now pushed inside the room as he faced the culprit.

Right in front of him stood the angel that had been unconscious. He glared at Maxence with pitch black eyes, his feathers falling in huge lumps to the ground. His skin had started to crack open, revealing the flesh underneath. As he approached Maxence, he let out an inhuman growl and raised his hands, now lined with sharp nails that seemed as dangerous as any blade used for hallowed or demonic purposes.

"Angel Timothy, what an honor to finally meet you," Maxence mocked, recalling what his Aunt Xifeng had told him. "I'm surprised you still managed to keep your angelic form even after a week since your first murder spree. I'm curious about what drove such a malevolent killing intent."

Timothy gurgled as blood spurted out of his mouth. Angels and even demons who have stained their hands with blood are bound to transform into hounds, monsters that attack anyone, may it be a human, an angel or a demon. They physically attack angels and demons but with humans, they possess their body, feasting on their souls and eventually eat away on their flesh and blood as well. Their descent into such monstrous entities can come from multiple situations. They may have been corrupted by any evil object or entity, might have been driven by vengeance or sometimes it's an accident. No matter why or how, staining one's hands with the blood of humans is an ultimate taboo that no one, demon or angel, may be able to do without heavy consequences.

Whatever happened to Timothy, it did not matter anymore. What is important now is that Maxence has to either chase him out of the school or completely annihilate him to be finally done with him.

Timothy did not seem to have any consciousness. He seemed to be like a mere puppet, moving to the whispers of an invisible force. His movements at first were awkward but suddenly, Timothy let out a haunting roar and shot towards Maxence with a godly speed.

Demonic instincts kicking in, Maxence raised his scythe and slashes at the hound, who caught the blade. In a formation, Maxence moved step by step, pulling the scythe out of the hound's hands and repeatedly slashing at his vulnerable openings but every time he did, Timothy caught the blade.

"Die already so I can go to class!" Maxence shouted in irritation as he sped up his attacks. Adrenaline has taken over him and enabling him to be twice stronger than he actually is, yet he was obviously no match for a supernatural being.

Yet, Maxence held up. He battled the creature, twirling with the skill of someone unspecial yet with years of combat training. He slashed at the hound, able to get in some wounds and nearly even chopped his arm off if he hadn’t been able to catch the blade before it pierced through his flesh. And when he did, Timothy pushed the cambion back with his scythe, using such a great force that it made Maxence shoot across the room, his scythe flying to the other side. With a loud thud, he fell to the ground just near the door at the same time as his scythe clangs noisily against the floor, groaning at the force of the impact. He pushed himself up, warily eyeing the hound that was taking its lovely time walking towards him, as if on the prowl.

‘Should I keep on dealing with this thing until it grinds my bones to dust or look for help? Surely there might be angels nearby-’

Maxence's train of thought abruptly stopped when the sound of glass breaking resonated through the room. With wide eyes, he averted his gaze towards the window and found two women in red suits suddenly tumbling in, standing back up to their feet with scythes in their hands, glowing red. They are in their demonic form, with pairs of black horns sprouting out of their foreheads and long tails that are pointed at the end, dripping with potent venom. When Timothy turned his attention to them, they bare their fangs at the hound, their eyes glowing a bloody red and immediately attack, not even sparing Maxence a glance.

“Sister Lily and Alice...” Maxence murmured, recognizing the pair as one of the most outstanding members of the infernal demons. He rarely saw them, busy roaming Frost City doing their jobs exterminating hounds.

Seeing that they were capable enough to deal with Angel Timothy who was now decapitated with an arm from Alice’s blow, Maxence made his exit. He summoned his scythe to him, transforming into a ring that appeared in his palm. He mindlessly slipped it into his back pocket then dashed out of the room.

This time, he definitely needed to leave before anyone could follow him.

And never return.