CHAPTER 5

CENT THOUGHT that carriages were long gone, but riding a grand black carriage with her father to the Transylvania Academy was something that Cent would not even imagine hours ago. She thought that he would just snap his fingers, and voila, they would arrive at the so-called prestigious school. But no. According to his father, he could not use his magic freely in a neutral zone like the island of Ygdrasil. Apparently, Ygdrasil was the tree of life where all fates were tied in the Ambivalent world. This island was guided by the great beast, Kraken, who would also become her new principal.

The Ygdrasil was one thing. But the carriage was definitely the highlight. Dude, it is the only carriage with no horses but large two-headed dogs! 

“Are you sleepy, Maleficent? Do you want me to turn Gukasho into a pillow for you?” Anyone would think that it was supposed to be a joke, but the dead-serious look of her father told Cent that he was far from joking if he ever knew what a joke meant.

Smiling forcibly, Cent shook her head. “No, dad.”

Tilting his head in front of her as if he was trying to solve a puzzle, he replied. “Then are you feeling what humans mostly feel? The sin of sloth, are you perhaps feeling bored?”

Is getting bored a sin?

Reading her mind, he fed her curiosity. “Yes. The sin of sloth will lead to the sin of gluttony and the sin of greed, and the cycle goes on. That is one of the roots of depravity in the human world, which demons feast on daily. I can turn Gukasho into a toy for you if you are bored.”

Shaking her head rather forcefully, Cent decided to tell the truth to save the poor Gukasho, who was sweating like crazy since her father suggested turning him into a cushion. “I am just anxious for a new environment, dad.”

Indeed, she was. The thought of being the center of attention as a new student scared the heck out of her. But the need to obtain her desire to be with her father overwhelmed her fear. She wanted to be with her father. And so she decided to go to Transylvania Academy. All she had to do was to stay out of trouble to avoid being the center of attention. She would be a monster in the background. That way, she would not be an outcast and be with her father after becoming the monster. Whatever that means.

“Never forget. You are Beelzebub’s daughter, the Malevolent World’s Grand Duke. Your heritage is enough to cause havoc in that place.”

Yeah, right, dad. The identical horns are enough to know that I am your spawn. Though my wings can be summoned and dismissed whenever I want, these horns stick around.

I KNOW it is an island, but no one told me it is a floating island!

 Cent was busy having a mental breakdown as she gawked at the enormous floating island she saw from the windows. Glancing at her father and Gukasho, who were both engaged in discussing demon territories, Cent could understand that these two were from the supernatural world. Hence, the typical reception she observed from them when the blasted carriage started to float in the air against the wind as they ascended to the magical island.

Her face almost kissed the window as she leaned to see everything. The vast greenery, the lush forest, the pristine river flowing from the island’s eastern side to the edge, and the gigantic castle-like building at the center with a more enormous tree at its backdrop looked like a scene from a fantasy novel. “Wow,” uttered Cent, which earned her the attention of the two.

“Looks like we arrived faster than the carriage can travel,” Gukasho commented.

Her father cleared his throat. “I used the portal. Since Maleficent has yet to manifest her demonic powers properly, she can still feel the fatigue from traveling a great distance. And we are in a hurry,” explained the Grand Duke.

Cent felt nostalgic for no particular reason. Would she grow up differently if she had stayed by her father’s side? The nuns in the shelter, Sister Tasha in particular, treated her well. But she never felt like this, the sense of belongingness.

Looking back at the castle-like building, which she could guess was the Transylvania Academy, Cent felt determined.

The carriage finally landed swiftly in a vast meadow in the lush forest. As Gukasho carried her luggage that her father’s shadows took into her room from foster care, her stone-cold father guided her out from the grand carriage.

“Dad, do you think I can take some of your shadows with me here?” Cent asked her father as they walked towards the academy gate, which was only a few meters away from where they had just landed. Though she could not tell if the suspicious-looking rabbit hole was supposed to be the ‘gate’ of a ‘prestigious’ school.

The moment they fell from the rabbit hole, she did not feel like falling as she stood still after a blink. Her right hand was being held by her father, which warmed Cent. 

Cent remembered the shadows, which were her father’s shadows. Ever since she met her dad, she could not feel them anymore. Maybe because they returned to their original owner.

“You will have your own shadow after manifesting your demonic attributes in Transylvania Academy. I can teach you myself, but I know it will be different if you can meet the other children of the great demons.”

Cent understood her father, so she nodded in reply as she gripped his hand tighter. But at the back of her mind, she wanted to avoid her fellow half-demons. She already decided to live in the background. I don’t have to excel to be a monster, right?

Her train of thought was interrupted when she finally paid attention to the grandeur before her. Massive columns like those in the Parthenon welcomed Cent with a statue of three beings battling as a decoration of the enormous door. She was wary of the statue’s message for some reason as she saw an angel, a demon, and a huge octopus-like beast fighting. It did not feel like she was entering a school. Instead, it felt like she was entering a battlefield.

The moment she stepped foot inside the school, her father let go of her as he showed a magical pentagram from his hand to a human-looking guard near the door. But the number of pupils in his every eye and his gladiator type of clothing told her he was far from being human. The guard glanced at her and then at her horn before he nodded and opened the door by speaking one word. “Abre.”

Her father walked inside with his head held high, which startled her since she was unprepared to be the center of attention in a buzzing hallway. Dude, this feels like high school again.

Cent looked behind her just to see a missing Gukasho. Where did he go? Just when I need him!

“Maleficent? Are you alright?” A meter away from her, the Grand Duke of the Malevolent World asked her, drawing every attention of those loitering in the ancient-looking hallway of Transylvania Academy. They were curious to whom the Grand Duke of the Malevolent World was worried about.

“Nothing, dad.” Her answer doubled the curiosity of the onlookers. Looking down, Cent walked behind her father. She was only staring at the golden tiled floor as she followed her father’s silhouette.

“Are you uncomfortable with them? Do you want me to get rid of everyone in the way?” He asked nonchalantly at her, which froze Cent. Grabbing her father’s left arm, Cent looked up at him as she shook her head. “No need, dad. I just feel shy. Just a normal reaction. Let’s go?”

“Then don’t look down. You are my daughter. You have nothing to be ashamed of, Maleficent.”

Easy for you to say, dad. Just to satisfy her father’s belief, Cent steeled herself as she dared look around her. And what a sight it was. Aside from the luxurious gigantic chandeliers above or the ancient-looking large hanging photographs on the wall, what astounded her were the bystanders in the hallway.

They were not wearing a uniform, but she could tell they were students from the way they held books and bags. So there are classes here, huh. The alleged students were indeed supernatural beings. Some have horns, but unlike her, theirs were way smaller than hers. Some have multiple limbs. While some have a fire at the tip of their hair as others float or fly. They have one thing in common, they were all looking at them as Cent and her father walked at the very center of the hallway. It’s good that I wore the black dress and black heels that Gukasho brought. If not, I will look like a servant walking behind my dashing father like this.

After many turns and stairs, they finally entered the golden door with a name carved on the door, Headmaster Kirk, it said. Cent thought her father would knock, only to drop her jaws when he blew it up with his infernal green flame. Oh, right, he is a demon lord for a reason.

Timidly walking behind her great demon father, Cent hid behind him, afraid that the Headmaster was fuming from what her father did. But a warm voice laughed. “Zel, my friend!”

Taking a peek while hiding from his father, Cent saw a Santa-clause-like man sitting behind a large wooden desk, an eyeglass dangling from his large nose. Friend? Does my father really have a friend? Dude, shut up!

“Please have a seat.”

Scoffing, her father let her take the seat first before he sat next to her. “Kirk, this is my daughter, Maleficent. Half-human and half me.”

“Good day, Headmaster.” I’m sorry for the door. She smiled at the friendly-looking man only to freeze when he offered his hand, rather his tentacle, to her. “I see that you took her from that forsaken place, Zel. Good for you. Nice to meet you, young miss. I am your father’s friend. You can also call me Kirk.” The image of the statue from the door flashed inside her mind as she took the slimy tentacle, shaking it slightly before letting go. Her smile resembling a wince, Cent replied. “A pleasure to meet you, Headmaster Kirk.”

A slimy substance stuck to her right hand, which her father solved by warming her hand with his flame, and drying it immediately. He did it in front of the Headmaster as if he was repulsed by the idea of her touching the Headmaster. Dad, please. Stop provoking him. Cent could only smile at her father, even if she knew he had read her mind. “Thank you, dad.”

“Aww, I have never seen you this mushy since Aurora. You are such a softy, my friend.” The Headmaster childishly gushed.

“Please spare my daughter from your antics and process her acceptance letter.” Her father’s consistent emotionless tone was still intact, which earned him a chuckle from the octopus-like Headmaster.

“No need, Zel. I already finished it yesterday. Our young miss here can now proceed to her dorm right now.” 

Cent’s attention from staring at the large portrait of a Kraken devouring a ship got interrupted upon registering what the Headmaster said. “Dorm?”

“Oh, your father did not tell you? You will stay in the Malevolent Dorm until you graduate from Transylvania Academy.”