47

"So you're really going to try and stop me..." Blade muttered. "Interesting human. You may be a teacher, but it seems you're lacking some brains."

Secille's eyebrows twitched. "I'm more than the average human, punk. Get lost or I'll make you," the teacher stated, holding her ground.

A wicked smile formed on the reaper's face. He licked his lips, unable to control his lust for blood. "Make sure the Light is watching..."

"What?" Secille thought to herself. "Of course...that's the reason this bastard's here." The teacher reached into her pockets and pulled out a pair of pencils. She gripped them both in her right hand and readied into a battle stance.

"Pencils? Pencils? Hahaha! You've got to be joking," Blade scoffed with a loud laugh. "It's going to take a lot more than little sticks to take me down, woman."

Secille chuckled. "You should see the last people who said that." With quick steps, the teacher took long strides towards the reaper and jabbed the pencils straight at the reaper.

The man took a leap back and caught Secille's attack by the wrist. "Ha...I won't even need a weapon to destroy you."

"Shut up," Secille replied, escaping out of Blade's firm grip and then stepping back.

A sudden breeze calmed the battle. Both Infernals, unaware of each other's status as an Infernal, watched the other's movements carefully.

"Just what do you want here? Are you a terrorist or what?" the teacher demanded an answer.

"I guess you don't know. As expected of a mere human," Blade mentioned with a sigh. "Why bother telling you if you won't understand?"

Secille clenched her fists in anger. "This guy...He's treating me like a piece of trash. What the hell is his problem?"

vvvvvvv

"Guys...do you think Miss Vallimont is doing alright?" Leth asked, pressing his face against the glass window.

Aoi pushed up his glasses and stood up out of his seat. "It's just the beginning of a battle, of course she's doing alright."

"Please don't go anime-nerd on me, man..."

He reached into his school bag and grabbed a couple of soda cans and two bags of chips. "Here, Makoto," the boy said, offering a bag of chips and a soda to his friend.

Leth narrowed his eyes on the pair. "You didn't bring any for me..."

"You never asked." Aoi popped the can open and took a sip of soda. "Refreshing!"

Makoto patted Leth on the back. "It's okay, maybe next time, Leth," she said with a cute smile.

Sol squinted at Aoi. "Umm...Could I ask what you're doing with all that food?"

The boy removed his glasses. "Well, Sol...the answer is simple! Ah damn it...I can't see without these things." He placed them back on his head and then returned to his previous pose. "Well, as I was saying! The answer is simple! It's anime time!" he exclaimed, with his cat-eared pal copying each action.

"A soda and a bag of chips is absolutely necessary to enjoy anime battles and epic moments! Nyan!" Makoto added.

"Don't you two have something better to do?" Reiko asked.

Aoi shrugged. "Not really."

Cera dragged Sol aside from the rest of the class, who were all pressed against the windows waiting for the upcoming battle.

"Sol...you need to hide somewhere. A human has no chance against an Infernal of that level!" Cera whispered. "Miss Vallimont won't last very long!"

Sol raised his eyebrows. "No one told you?"

"No one told me what?"

"Miss Vallimont is an Infernal, Cera," Sol murmured, surprising the girl quite a bit. "I know you might have some trouble believing me, but-"

Cera smiled. "Of course I believe you," she interrupted. "Besides, with her crazy strength and attitude, anyone would have figured that eventually."

Both laughed, sharing another moment with each other. The girl glanced out the door and then back at Sol. "You really want me to hide...don't you?"

"It's probably for the best..." Cera muttered, turning her head to the ground. "Unless...you really want to stay here," she added, looking towards the rest of the class. Following her lead, Sol turned his head as well.

"I cannot believe you just said that, Leth," Aoi scolded, setting his soda can down calmly. "Naruto...is NOT the best anime in the world. You know nothing!" The entire class's attention turned to the pair.

"Lies. That show is amazing!"

Aoi laughed, pushing up his glasses. An epic battle was about to take place inside the building as well. "Naruto is probably the only thing you've watched!"

"Ooooooh!" the class chanted once.

"Nope! I've also watched Balls of Dragon or something...Bleach...and One Piece!"

Makoto poked Leth's back. "I think you mean Dragon Ball Z. Nyan!"

Leth slowly nodded in agreement. "Yeah...that."

"My point exactly! And seeing that you've only watched mainstream anime...that's further proof that you know nothing!"

Leth chuckled. "But we're talking about how Naruto is the best!"

"Do you really expect me to believe that an anime led by a blonde FOB fox boy is going to be the best anime ever? Someone! Bring me a coffee table!"

"Got it covered!" Makoto exclaimed gleefully, dragging a coffee table into the room literally out of nowhere. She set the wooden piece of furniture in front of her friend. "What're you going to do with it, nyan?"

"This!" Aoi placed both hands underneath the coffee table and with all his might, flipped the table into the air. The table made an impressive ten flips while mid-air before finally crashing down on another desk. But it wasn't just any desk. It was Secille's desk. "Ah...shoot."

Sol turned his head back to Cera. "So where should I hide?"

Cera looked back, her eyes twitching. "Well...The gym sounds pretty safe. Yeah...Hide in the gym, that's the perfect place!" Using her arms, she positioned Sol towards the door. "I'll call you if anything important happens."

Sol nodded. "Got it," he said, dashing off towards the gym, avoiding anyone monitoring the halls along the way.

vvvvvv

"You're after Sol, aren't you," Secille asked, narrowing her eyes on the reaper.

With a venomous grin, Blade began to pace around the teacher. "I guess you're more aware of the situation than the normal human would."

"What do you want with the Light?" Secille added, ignoring the reaper's comment. After a few moments, she knew that she wasn't going to get an answer. She pointed her index finger at the man. "Answer me!"

The reaper wasn't shaken by her roaring command. Instead, he merely approached her without a hint of fear. "I'd rather not tell, but...since you're a bit more special...I'll tell you." Blade stood right in front of the teacher, who's height only reached the reaper's nose. "If you can defeat me."

With a smirk, Secille quickly pulled her right arm back and jabbed both pencils straight into Blade's body. "Ha! Big mistake letting your guard down."

The reaper gazed down at his flesh wound. Both pencils pierced into his body, just barely missing any vital organs. "This...Is this all you can do?"

Secille's eyes widened. "Wh-What?"

Blade grabbed the teacher's hand and snapped the pencils in two, leaving two halves of the sticks inside his body. "Big mistake?" Applying his strength into his hand, Secille could feel cracks coming from her right hand. "I think you're the one who made the big mistake."

Holding an eye shut and trying to ignore the pain, she attempted to release the grip with her left arm. "Damn it...This guy isn't just any normal Hybrid..." In another attempt to escape, she used both of her feet to kick Blade's new wound.

The reaper didn't budge. "Haha...Your first mistake was stepping out here, woman," he whispered, applying even more power into his grip

The teacher began to panic and squeal. "Ah! D-Damn! Wh-Why isn't my blood acting up yet?" Her hand fell numb and white, unable to move.

Blade's right hand formed a fist. He jabbed it into the woman's stomach, knocking the breath out of her. "A mistake indeed, but it was pretty...bold." He released the grip on her hand. Blade watched as Secille fell to her knees, staring motionlessly at the ground. Grabbing the teacher by her hair, he held her face up to his own. "Oh c'mon...What happened to that bitchy personality of yours?" he mocked, swinging her body around by her hair and slamming her down onto the hard, concrete ground.

"Fear...Is this fear?" she muttered silently, gasping for air.

"Still alive, huh?" The reaper walked over to Secille's motionless body. Her stare was blank and her life slowly began to fade away. With a single stomp on her stomach, he forced the woman to cough a gush of blood out of her mouth. "A much better sight."

"I can't beat this guy," Secille thought to herself. "Not without my Artifact...Damn it...Why isn't it activating? I'm...a normal, powerless human without it...Damn! This reminds me of before...that one day I felt this same way...Damn it!"

Blade raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Crying now, are we? Are you sad? Do you regret confront your superior?"

Secille whimpered. "Wh-Why does he intend to keep insulting me like that?" she thought, wiping away her tears. "What a terrible day."

Blade chuckled, removing his eyes off the bloody sight. He took a step towards the school. "Usually I show no mercy towards trash like you...but killing pathetic wimps would stain my hands. Just lie there and suffer, woman."

"I'm no wimp," Secille murmured.

"You just don't shut up..." Blade replied, not even turning his head around to look at her. "Tell me that on your feet. Your words mean nothing when you can't even stand. Protect Destello? Ha! Good one. Just stay there. Maybe people will think twice before having you protect something."

Secille gnashed her teeth out of pure rage. The blood pumping in her veins began to boil. The red liquid began to form a strong bright glow. Wiping away the last of her tears, Secille used her newly regained strength to pick herself up. "Blade...or whatever your name was."

The reaper ignored her, doubting the fact that she had actually stood.

"Blade...Blade!" she yelled, released a powerful wave of energy, stunning the reaper.

Blade raised his eyebrows, turning his head back around. "What the...That was...Hybrid energy."

"Don't insult me...I may not be able to protect anyone, but..." Secille clenched her fist. Her skin's usual fine tone was now mixed with a bright red tint from her blood. "I will destroy you." She released another more powerful blast of energy at the reaper, who still didn't budge.

"Interesting...This...might actually be better than fighting Destello. Alright then, woman...bring it on. Hahaha!"

vvvvvv

Sol's phone began to shake. He looked around the empty gym. Seeing that the coast was clear, he opened it. "Hello?"

"Sol...Is that you?" Cera asked.

"Yeah..." he muttered, looking out to make sure no one was there again. "What happened?"

"Miss Vallimont...She's..."

"Dead? Damn it!"

Sol could hear a sigh coming from the other end. "No, Sol! She's fine...Only thing is that. she's glowing pretty bright red."

"Huh...Could that be her Artifact?" Sol thought to himself. "Alright...What e-" The sound of clanging metal surprised the boy, forcing him to quickly shut the device down. "What was that?"

Stealthily moving around the gym, Sol moved towards the noise. "Who's there?" he asked.

There was an eerie silence, followed by a sudden sound of footsteps.

Sol glanced around the gym, looking for their source. "Show yourself, damn it!"

"Quite a child, Destello," a voice spoke. The figure stepped out from the darkness, revealing himself to be a mysterious old man dressed in a dark robe. His neat gray hair and his wrinkles clearly revealed his age.

"Who the hell are you, old man?"

The man made his made towards the closest seat. Brushing the dust off the chair, he spoke, "You may call me a fortune-teller...One that knows both the past and the future."

"What?..." Sol took steps toward the old man, completely confused. "What are you doing here?"

"You are the Light, am I right?" the old man shot at the boy.

Freezing in his tracks, he gulped. "Yeah..."

"Then you know why I'm here."

Immediately, Sol's powers activated. His eyes grew gold and an intense, yellow aura formed around him. "To kill me, I know."

"Then you will proceed to ask me why I want your power..."

"Wha...How'd you know?"

The old man chuckled. "We don't have much time to speak..."

"Who said I wanted to speak to you?"

"What if I told you...anything."

Sol's eyes widened. The aura around him faded away. "What?"

"Now that I have your attention." The old man stood and approached the boy. "I must tell you that I am your enemy."

Sol gritted his teeth. "Then why are you playing innocent? Fight!"

"It's not my time yet...We will meet again next year...Our meeting, you will not remember however."

"This guy makes no sense..." Sol thought to himself, carefully examining the old man's actions. "Who is this guy? He didn't even give his name..."

"Ask anything...and an answer will be given."

Sol glared at the man. "Alright...Tell me...Why do you want me to ask a question so badly?"

"Because it's my destiny. My destiny controls my actions and it is also why I am here now."

The boy took a step backwards. "What is this guy?..."

"I already know what you want to ask..."

Sol's body shook. "There's something about this guy...I'm not sure about, but...I don't like it."

"You want to know the truth, don't you?"

The boy's eyes widened. "H-How-"

"I know your destiny," the man replied.

"The...truth?"

The old man smirked. "You've been lied to, child." He put his hands behind his back and strolled around the gym. "The Hybrid theory..."

"The truth to the Hybrids?"

"Seems you've been misinformed, child," the old man spoke. "The blind one..."

Sol was stunned. Nothing came to his mind other than the fact that this man was reading the future and the past of others. He completely forgot about Blade, Secille, and the school which was taken hostage.

"A very good liar."

"What?"

The old man nodded. "I see...So you've been informed of his own lies. Child, demons do not exist on this planet."

"Wha...Then that means..."

"Hybrids are not born from the mating of demons and humans. There is no Hybrid race, child."

Sol's eyes widened in shock. "That's insane...but..."

"The ones you call Hybrids are merely humans. The true Hybrids are the ones who possess an Artifact...like you. There is so much that you need to learn...but...take my word. Think back to the past...and think...Think of each fact he says as a lie. That is the truth."

"What?...But that's..."

"That's not all of the truth though, child. You still believe you are a Hybrid...but you're not."

"What do you mean?" Sol asked, taking another step back.

"Neither are you human."

Sol took a few steps back, but ended up tripping on his own feet. "What?"

"Stop right there!" a familiar voice yelled.

The old man turned around and motioned towards the door. "We will meet again...next year...and our meeting...won't be as friendly. Haha."

"Sol! Are you alright?" a recognizable woman asked, checking on Sol.

"P-Perel? What are you doing here?"

She smiled, helping the boy up. "I felt some crazy energy over here, so I decided to come take a look."

"Perel...that old man...He just..."

The trainer remained silent.

"Did you hear what he said?"

Perel nodded. "Yeah...Sorry for not...showing up earlier."

Sol walked over to the same seat the old man sat in. "Was all he said...true?"

"I didn't hear the last thing he said, but...everything else. It's true."

"You mean all that stuff about Ryan..."

Perel nodded. "But that's not the point...we need to stop the fight outside."

Sol gritted his teeth. "So all of the things he said were just lies? Damn blind bastard!"