Chapter 3: Eyes of a Devil, Mind of a Strategist
From the moment his consciousness fully awakened at the age of five, Volundr Agares viewed the world through a different lens.
The memories of his thirty years on Earth, coupled with the calm wisdom of Jia Xu now integrated within his mind, granted him a level of perception unheard of in children his age. While others played with toys or learned simple spells under tutelage, Volundr's young eyes dissected the layers of the Underworld's power structure.
He watched the way his father, Lord Agares, responded to letters from other noble families. How his mother entertained guests with the perfect balance of courtesy and distance. He listened to the whispers in the halls, picked up subtle gestures, coded phrases, and political posturing that floated through every interaction in the estate.
To an outsider, he remained the quiet and composed heir of the Agares household, doting on his little sister Seekvaira and studying diligently. But beneath that composed surface, gears turned constantly.
He took walks through the estate each morning, pausing not to admire the gardens, but to eavesdrop on guards and servants. He feigned naps near the library where visiting nobles met with his father. Each fragment of conversation became a thread in his mental tapestry.
In the eyes of his tutors, Volundr was a brilliant but unassuming child. Yet, by his sixth birthday, he had already mapped the political alliances of six noble houses, identified two rival factions forming among mid-tier nobles, and deduced that the Old Satan Faction still had underground support among extremists.
He wrote everything down in coded journals, masking his true comprehension. Jia Xu's wisdom whispered constantly in his mind: "A true strategist never reveals the full map. Let them believe you're only drawing the edges."
His training began with basic meditation.
Magic in the Underworld was a vast and complicated web of laws, equations, and willpower. Volundr approached it with caution, despite his accelerated intellect. His Limitless Aura, now fully active and still undetected by others, ensured that each hour of practice produced exponential results.
At first, he focused on control. The first lesson of any true magician. From the calm breathing exercises taught by his mother, he graduated to manipulating minor elements within weeks.
By age six and a half, he could hold a sustained flame in his palm without wavering. Wind spells became his second focus, useful for both battle and subtle manipulation. He practiced at night when no one watched, drawing magic circles by hand and experimenting with ancient formulas he found in his family's restricted library.
He remembered his Earth knowledge, comparing it to the magical theories he read here, cross-referencing them with terrifying precision. Though Underworld magic was powerful, its rigidity made it exploitable. Volundr began crafting hybrid techniques—combining human-world creativity with devil magic discipline.
Hand-to-hand combat was another priority.
He requested a private tutor under the pretense of physical weakness. His father approved, assigning an aged but deadly veteran named Orvus to teach him.
Orvus was a man of few words, scars trailing up one arm and part of his face. He had seen Rating Games and real war. When he first met Volundr, he chuckled. "Another noble child playing soldier?"
Volundr had bowed politely. "I'd rather bleed now than later."
That earned him Orvus's respect. Training began immediately—and it was brutal. No shortcuts, no coddling. Orvus fought like a beast. Every sparring match left Volundr bruised, winded, and aching.
But with each session, Volundr improved. Limitless Aura subtly enhanced his muscle memory and physical growth. Jia Xu's discipline reinforced his mental endurance. By the time he turned seven, he could hold his ground against teenage devil cadets.
He blended martial arts from Earth—karate, judo, wing chun—with Underworld forms. His fighting style became efficient, brutal, and deceptive. He fought not just with fists but with his environment, his mind, and his opponent's expectations.
He never ignored Seekvaira.
She was one of his few anchors in this strange new life. Though he protected her like an older brother should, he also began guiding her gently. He encouraged her love for literature, strategy games, and military dramas.
"What if you were the general?" he would ask her during bedtime stories.
She would giggle and respond with some dramatic, overly complex maneuver. But over time, her answers improved.
He began playing chess with her, using it as a way to instill deeper thinking. Each time she lost, he would replay the game with her to analyze where she went wrong. Her strategic instincts blossomed under his quiet tutelage.
They became close in both public and private. The noble families admired the sibling bond and began to whisper that the next generation of Agares might be even more impressive than the last.
Volundr let the rumors spread. Every piece on the board had its use.
By age eight, Volundr was attending minor noble gatherings with his parents.
He listened carefully, eyes wide like a curious child, but ears sharper than most diplomats. He watched the children of other houses—Sona Sitri, already planning everything with clipboard precision; Sairaorg Bael, focused on strength and defying his family's expectations.
Volundr introduced himself politely to each one, planting seeds for future relationships. He let Sairaorg see him training alone one morning, drawing the Bael boy's admiration. He lost to Sona Sitri in a board game on purpose—just once—to gauge her reaction.
Then he won the rematch decisively, surprising her and gaining her interest.
His interactions were never forced. Just enough to leave an impression. He knew how to build value over time. Jia Xu's influence made him patient.
The Devil world was a grand chessboard, and Volundr was already setting up his side of the board.
His magical studies accelerated.
He learned teleportation sigils before most were even learning to fly. He could create ten-layered barriers by age nine. He began reading into forbidden magic—illusion manipulation, memory tempering, and soul imbuement. Dangerous arts, but knowledge was power.
He marked every ally he could with his Limitless Aura—his sister, his instructors, even a few loyal guards who showed promise. Slowly, their growth began to outpace their peers.
He built small training routines for them, disguised as "games" or "personal drills."
Orvus once commented, "Your friends train harder than some squadrons."
Volundr smiled innocently. "Maybe they just want to impress someone."
Orvus grunted. "Then they picked a good leader to follow."
His mother began noticing changes.
"You've grown… sharper," she said one evening, sipping tea across from him. "Not just older. You see more than you should."
Volundr met her eyes calmly. "I want to be someone who protects our family. And our people."
She studied him for a long moment. "Just don't forget to be a child, Volundr."
"I won't," he said with a gentle smile. "But I want to be more than that."
The Underworld shifted slowly.
Old families maneuvered in the shadows. Tensions between the progressive devils and remnants of the Old Satan Faction bubbled beneath the surface. The peace between the factions held, but cracks were forming.
Volundr took it all in. He studied the history of the Devil Civil War, the fall of the original Satans, and the rise of Sirzechs Lucifer and his peers.
He admired Sirzechs's charisma but saw the gaps in their structure. The current peace was too dependent on personalities—not systems. Volundr knew that if those pillars fell, the Underworld would fracture.
That could not be allowed. Not if he intended to rise.
He wrote a private manifesto—"The Foundation of a New Era." In it, he detailed his long-term vision: a Peerage of balanced warriors, a political alliance of like-minded nobles, and a training system fueled by Limitless Aura that would uplift the entire next generation.
He was nine when he finished the first draft.
And so, as his first decade approached its end, Volundr Agares stood not as a prodigy, but as a hidden king in the making.
He had no peerage yet. No battlefield to conquer. No title beyond "young heir."
But his foundation had been built in silence.
A strategist's heart. A warrior's will. A ruler's patience.
And the Limitless Aura, quietly turning every step into a leap.
End of Chapter 3
(Word Count: ~3,130)