Headmaster Edon ran across the campus, his stride at once hasty and dignified. Passing curious and panicked students, he reached the west side and was shocked twice.
There was, indeed, a demon at the paladin academy. Edon hadn't believed the report. For a creature of darkness to pierce the campus's barrier of light was near impossible, but the mere chance of a demon powerful enough to do so was an emergency worthy of his attention.
And yet, he found himself gazing upon not a Sun Eater nor an Infernus Behemoth nor even a Lawyer, but instead, a mere imp. Casually walking along, ignoring the armed paladins that flee from its path in confusion. Terrified at the lowly pest that must have slipped through a hole in the barrier.
How ridiculous. Edon conjured a spear of light and hurled it at the imp before barking an order at his attendants to find the hole-
He missed.
The imp stopped, and the spear flew right in front of its face, missing it by an inch.
Edon NEVER missed.
Everyone's eyes turned to him, the imp's included. "Foul creature! Why have you set foot in this sacred place!?"
The imp gave him a wretched smile, and replied in a hideous, shrill voice. "Greetings, fellow paladin! I am Sir Ivan, and I hail from the town of Bloomfield. I hoped to use your academy's library for research; I suspect there may be a demon in my town."
Edon was utterly baffled.
But as the imp turned and resumed walking, he shook off its words hurled another spear of light! The imp leapt over it and landed on all fours like a beast.
Edon clenched his fist. He missed again. "I shan't play your idiotic game, demon! You have walked to your death, and now I shall give it to you!" He charged forward, sword drawn!
"Ah, you grace me with a round of sparring~?" the imp said, tail flicking. "Very well, I accept!"
Edon's sword met naught but air. Again and again, the imp hopped and rolled and leaned out of the way. Its flawless reactions seemed almost as though it knew Edon's every move. That, and that it mocked him by reciting each missed technique's name.
"Eagle's Splendor," it said as it ducked. "That's a favorite. Oh! Zenith Slash! Better for bigger targets, hee hee~ Lion's Pounce- Ack!" Edon's blade grazed the imp's arm, the holy metal burning its flesh. "Must be a southern variation... Or was that just a swing of frustration~?"
"Be SILENT!" Edon lunged forward, and the imp jumped over him, landing on his head and jumping off to send him crashing to the ground! Edon surged to his feet and pointed at the fleeing, giggling imp. "Slay that beast!"
Spears of light flew across the campus, each one a chance for the imp to flip and twist and slide out of the way! They all stabbed into the ground or disappeared into the sky; fortunately, no bystanders were harmed.
Eventually, the imp reached the center of the academy, and stopped in front of the fountain. A barrage of spears flew towards it, and somehow, all of them missed, stabbing into the ground in a circle around the imp. But now it was trapped, and as Headmaster Edon summoned a hail of arrows above the imp, it could do nothing but look up and smile at the beautiful lights...
With a wave of his hand, Edon flung the arrows downward at the imp.
And when the storm cleared, the spears were crossed in the air above the imp, having shielded it from the arrows. The imp was still smiling. "You missed~"
Edon let loose a furious shout, hurling spear after spear at the pest, two, three, four at a time! But the imp waved each one away, curving its path into the air, not needing to move a single step.
When Edon stopped, the imp said "Hey, check this out!" and crossed the floating spears into an inverted pentagram. "Your holy spears are making an unholy symbol!"
"What... What is this trickery!?"
"What? I'm a paladin. I can use light magic."
"No, NO! None of that is right! Even a paladin cannot control another's spell. And you..." Edon drew his sword once more and charged. "YOU ARE NO PALADIN!!"
The imp backflipped over his slash, high into the air, clutching its legs to cannonball into the fountain and splashing Edon with water!
Then it screamed. "OW! SHIT! OW OW OW! FUCK! FUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKOWWWWW!!" The imp scrambled out of the fountain, sizzling and steaming and panting for breath. The spears of light suspended in the air fell and disappeared.
The paladins surrounded the imp, and Edon laughed. "No 'paladin' would recoil from holy water."
"Hah... holy water, eh? Guess it did look pretty sparkly..."
Edon thrusts his sword, but a torrent of water slammed into him, carrying him into the air! With a flick of the imp's tail, the water reshaped into a magnificent bird, its translucent wings catching the sun and glittering beautifully! Its elegance was only slightly tainted by the flailing headmaster on its back.
"Having fun up there~?" the imp said. "'cause if we're done fighting, then I think I'll show your students what light can really do!" More birds took flight from the water, looping and twirling with waves of the imp's hands. The fear and worry of the onlookers began to give way to awe at the imp's performance.
This was the first of the imp's many infuriating and spectacular visits to the paladin academy.
