Zirco lay on the ground, breathing heavily. His entire body was sluggish, and it felt like his muscles were worn out, even though he had not ran around, or done strenuous exercise.
He did it. He saved his trump card for the perfect moment.
He had saved this lava-spewing trick throughout the entire tournament for a last resort, in the event that he was going to fight a tough enemy that was resistant to simple flames. He didn't want to use it until the opponent showed an opening, but that was as good an opening as it gets. Even if the round was over, it didn't matter. Even if he didn't get the prize, it didn't matter.
All that mattered was that Katachi was dead.
A bastard child off the planet was always a good thing, so he thought.
Zirco took deep breaths, and readjusted his blood pressure. He felt the slight bursts of energy returning to his body with every breath taken in.
It was over.
Z : "..."
Zirco stared silently at the azure sky of Cosmatral Silo, a beauty that couldn't normally be seen over the skies of Mielfeud. It was not a scene common to anywhere in the world, perhaps - The only place with such scenic visuals was probably Auser, with their mountains and wide, open areas. But traveling to Auser for this view wasn't really worth it when this dimensional plane was beautiful enough-
Z : (!?)
A sound.
A loud, wooden sound, that was not made from the bubbling lava. A sound of wood dropping onto metal, that was not made by Zirco's wooden sword.
Z : (... That's probably from Katachi's dagger.)
Zirco reassured himself a little bit with the information, and slowly closed his eyes-
K : "A surprise attack, huh."
Z : "!?" (Katachi!?)
Zirco widened his eyes.
Did his attack miss? No, it couldn't have. Lava provided an immensely powerful burst of heat, one that surpassed the flames he used in the tournament. Even if he barely dodged the lava itself, its heat should be strong enough to wound him, its heat should be powerful enough to make him scream in the pain of the burn, or grate and drag himself over the metal floor. It should have at least produced some form of sound should he have dodged it.
But it didn't make sense.
There were no excessive noises. The delay the wooden dagger took to drop was far too long. That means... Something else happened?
With the tiny bit of regained energy, Zirco forced his body up to see what happened.
...
Amidst the lava, was a naked boy.
It was a boy, bending down to pick his dagger up. It was a boy of hair the blackness of charcoal. A boy, with a magic circle on his left shoulder.
It was the bastard child he had looked down upon so.
But, something's wrong. The naked boy is standing on lava, and he's bending down to pick up a dagger. How is he not dead yet? Can anyone actually stand in lava?
As he stood up straight, something even more baffling caught his eye.
Z : (! A golden word... 定!? What... That thing on his chest is a Word of Power...!)
A Word of Power.
The feared magic that could make anything within its boundary happen. An event magic that can absolutely defy and deny the effects of a curse, a magic, a prayer. An event magic that is said to be so ridiculously powerful, one had to be saintly, or even divine, to even fight on par with those things. An absolute power where even the slightest modicum of its knowledge would have sufficed.
Katachi, has a Word of Power on his chest.
Z : (Where... Where did he get that from? Did he ask for that Word of Power from one of the teachers? That's cheating!)
K : "... Are you happy now, Zirco? I've worked so hard, to hide this power from everybody."
Z : (Hide... The power?)
With a snap of his fingers, Zirco suddenly felt an immense pressure.
The air around him was heavy. It weighed his body down, and he couldn't get up at all. Was the energy he regained that miniscule?...
No. That wasn't it.
It felt like something was pulling and chaining him down.
Zirco tried as he may, but the force was too strong - He gave up after a few seconds of meaningless struggle, and was pinned onto the floor by an unknown force.
Opening his eyes, Zirco saw the huge, golden 定 on the floor he was sprawled on.
Z : (!!! There's one here, too... So, that scum didn't borrow the power - He HAS the Word of Power itself!!!)
K : "... All the effort I've put into learning water spells..."
Gripping the dagger by its handle with only three fingers, Katachi positioned it above Zirco's immobilized left hand.
He simply let go.
The dagger was forced into the ground at a shocking force - One powerful enough to penetrate Zirco's left hand cleanly in a horizontal.
Z : "GAAAAAAAHHH- AHAHH!?!" (The dagger just went straight right through me!? But, it's made of wood! How is that even possible!?)
The searing pain flowed through his body. Blood was coming out of the hole in his left hand. The middle and ring fingers slowly grew cold, limp and numb. He could feel it. As he clenched his left hand to relieve the pain with pressure, he felt the sticky, crimson liquid over his index and little fingers. It smelled of iron, and it was staining over the wooden blade.
His middle and ring fingers didn't move at all.
They were dead - Their nerves were severed cleanly with that attack.
Stepping on his left wrist, Katachi pulled the dagger out from his hand. Zirco didn't even notice that the word on the floor was gone - He grabbed his left hand with his right to ease the pain as much as he could, but then...
K : "All this time, I had to use my Word of Power in discretion, so nobody will see it..." (设定! Set dagger weight - 700 fold!)
The dagger was sent piledriving downwards once again into him - This time, on the right hand clutching the left.
Z : "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!"
His screams were being broadcasted over the coliseum, intensifying the feelings of fear the audience had further. They were all staring at Katachi in horror at his misuse of his Word of Power brutally hurting Zirco over and over again. Katachi plucked the dagger out once again, before wiping and spreading the blood off on Zirco's sleeve like it was butter.
Clutching his hands in pain, Zirco's breathing turned erratic as he tried to relieve the pain on both hands. They were both bleeding - One with a horizontal wound, while the other with a diagonal wound. Both punctured cleanly through his hands, and there was no way to apply pressure on the both of them effectively to stop or lessen the bleeding.
K : ".. All of it, ruined by you and your stupidly large ego."
Katachi grabbed Zirco by his left arm, wrapped it around his neck, and hoisted him up. He then picked up the wooden dagger with his free right, and began walking.
He could have just left Zirco to himself.
He could have returned the abuse even more.
He could have just outright killed him.
But he didn't.
Mother Rin told him that the teachings of Segus were sacred, and ought to be treated at the highest respect.
If Segus forbade killing, he shall not kill.
If Segus encouraged him to feed his body to the needy, he would gladly follow.
If Segus said to resolve situations with the least damage, he would oblige.
And he does.
Because to Katachi, Segus made sense in his teachings.
Katachi slowly staggered with the dazed, hyperventilating Zirco to the obelisk in Cosmatral Silo.
And with a light tap on the crystal with the dagger, they were both out.
*** ***
Ba : "... Katachi..."
Resting Zirco on the bench, Katachi placed his dagger on the bench and headed towards the barrel with a wooden cup. He scooped within, and out comes a cup of healing syrup.
Ba : "Katachi!"
Katachi moved the dagger to a side so he could sit.
K : (... The bench is hot... Then again, I don't have clothes on, so I'm probably feeling the full brunt of its heat raw.)
Resting Zirco in an upright position, Katachi slowly pours the disgusting, viscous fluid into his mouth.
Ba : "KATACHI!! Don't ignore me!"
K : "Just say what's on your mind. I don't care if it's an insult or something."
Ba : "... You had a Word of Power with you? All this time?"
Katachi puts the empty cup down on the bench, and looks at Bael with cold eyes.
K : "Yeah."
Ba : "Why were you trying to hide it?"
Katachi looked away to the side for a bit, before looking Bael in her eyes again.
K : "... Because it wouldn't be fair using such an absurd magic in the tournament."
A 定 formed on Katachi's right palm, and he looked at it, lips curling down with a bitter light.
K : "Because having this meant being ostracized."
Ba : "Why would I ever ostracize you for it?"
K : "... I've read it in bamboo books. I've noticed how the one person who's the oddity is always looked down upon, who's always the target of others. I've had enough of that in Mielfeud. That's why... That's why I wanted to just zip past everything in life, to just move along without making friends. Then you showed up."
Ba : "... Nobody would blame you for having a magic like that."
Katachi stared at Bael, with a fierce expression. His eyebrows loosened, and he closed his eyes while taking a deep breath. Standing up, Katachi walks toward a barrel, and dresses himself in the clothes found within. When he's properly attired, he picked up the dagger, shoved it in the coat, and looked back at Bael.
K : "... This will prove you wrong."
Katachi walked towards the door to the coliseum's spectator area. Opening the door, the students all peered at him. Thousands of eyes pierce the doorway, many mumbles and background chatter were heard, and they were all staring at Katachi.
K : "... Isn't this proof enough?"
Bael, dumbfounded, simply stood there.
It wasn't doing any good trying to confront Katachi in the first place. She too, knew deep down, that the odd one out was always the one isolated. When she experimented with Vithrolu's spells for her traps, she constantly touched the decayed and rotting objects, and she interacted with it so much she began producing a similar odor. It stung the noses of other students who didn't understand her, and they all complained and suggested to Bertund to move her away.
Wherever she went, she was shunned - As much as Katachi was the target of gossip right now.
She knew those feelings well. Yet, in a desperation to stop someone else from feeling the same, she hypocritically spoke up. But something spoken, suggested without actual experience, will never be as solid as something with an actual base.
Her role in this was redundant.
She couldn't do anything to help Katachi be honest, or be relieved.
She couldn't be the 'big sister' role she wanted to be for him.
D : "I figured your magic wasn't so simple."
Deku walked towards them from the outside.
Ba : "!? Deku?"
K : "... I'm surprised you figured it out early on."
D : "I use Dardicel's Reincarnate Art, Golem with Conduit Imbue. Of course I'd notice - You didn't seem to have faith in Soltak at all. Powerful Reincarnate Art users have great faith in the God they borrow power from. You defeating me despite your lack of faith was a dead giveaway."
K : "... I suppose I can't hide anything from a professional."
D : "No. You can't."
K : "..."
Ba : "..."
D : "... Bertund wants to see you. In the atrium."
K : "... Okay. Tell him I'll be there in 10 minutes."
Katachi walked out of the doorway, and towards the atrium, ignoring the spectators and the other contestants. The students were all beginning to follow Katachi, but not in a good, leader-like way.
*** ***
Be : "Ahh, you've come-... With a majority of the school's cohort, I see."
Katachi walked into the atrium, with the huge group of students fearfully following behind him.
K : "... They followed me here. I don't know why, but they did."
Be : "I see no surprise there, mister Kotsuba. The Words of Power are a rare, and powerful magic, after all. Only 292 people could have it in the entire world. They would clearly be afraid and curious at the same time as to what you can do."
K : "... Okay, but how do I get them off my back?"
Be : "Explain it to them."
K : (Ex- Explain?! Is he serious?!) "I- Ex- Explain?!"
Be : "Yes. Explain."
Picking up a plain stick, Bertund 'drew' on one of the curvy pillars the word 解. The stone pillar just eroded off, and formed the word on that section of the pillar immediately.
Be : "Right, then, Katachi, tell me everything you know about this word. To me. Clearly."
A lot of chatter appeared behind Katachi.
"What's that symbol up there?"
"Did you see the principal just draw that effortlessly?!"
"What kind of magic is that?"
"I think that's read as kai in Ohde..."
"Is that in Ohde or Anik?"
"It's probably Ohde, since that guy has black hair."
Ignoring the noisy students, Katachi faced Bertund and spoke softly, but clearly.
K : "The word up there is 解. In Ohde, it's read as kai, but in Anik it's read as Jiě. The meaning it has in Ohde usually means a solution to a problem, or an unlocking or unsealing power. In Anik, it can have different meanings besides solution and unsealing. For..."
Katachi nervously looks around himself, at the students who were now attentively listening to him.
K : "... For example, 了解 means 'understand', and 松解 means to release or loosen and free, which is quite different from unsealing. The word can have many, different meanings depending on how it is used. That's... That's pretty much all I know for this word though."
"That word's different from the one on his chest earlier..."
"Does that mean he has two? But, that can't be possible! Nobody's ever had two!"
"His word was glowing yellow... Do all Words of Power glow? And what color do they glow in?"
"So that's a Word of Power..."
"It's different from that Spy Brim skit... Their 'Words of Power' are completely different..."
"That's real, huh..."
Be : (You sneaky little devil. Coming up with common terms in fear of raising Rekter's precedence level by accident? Smart, commendable, but unnecessary.)"... Good. You've done your research. Now then... Rekter, come out here."
A familiar teacher in brown walks out from a room to the side, with a pen in his hand.
R : "Yeah?"
Be : "I'm afraid you're going to be humiliated, Rekter. The child's already won. You just lost thoroughly."
R : "What? He, beat me? Ahahahahaha, no, no, a mere student can't possibly beat a teacher."
K : "Is that so, mister Rekter?"
Rekter's face turned serious when Katachi spoke up.
R : "... What do you want, a test?"
K : "Yes."
R : (... I figured it'd boil down to this sooner or later, but this early?... Oh well. I can beat him. I've improved my precedence level so I'm not the Rekter from before!) "... Very well. But, if you're so insistent on a test this early... You're going to have to take into account the responsibility of failure, child!"
R : (解开! Unfasten hook - Chandelier!)
A golden word formed on the chain attached to the ceiling. The hook on the chandelier unfastened, and the chandelier on the ceiling fell.
Falling...
... Onto the other students.
K : (Not good! 固定! Fixate object - Chandelier!)
The chandelier froze midfall with a 定 on its rim, and the students were all shocked.
R : "I got you!" (解除! Remove external effects - Chandelier!)
The golden word overlapped the other , and slowly, one faded off.
R : (... The chandelier shall fall, and the students beneath crushed by his failure- !!)
解 faded away.
Not 定, but 解.
... Which means...
Katachi's precedence level is now higher than Rekter's.
R : "What?! How?! When!? Mine should have dissolved yours! How did you raise your precedence level so quickly?"
Katachi pushed the students beneath the chandelier away first, before undoing his 定 to let the chandelier crush onto the floor without causing harm.
R : "... What, exactly what, did you do?"
Katachi looked back at Rekter, with fierce eyes this time.
K : "ARE YOU CRAZY!? Why didn't you use 解救 to pull the students beneath away first?! What would have happened if the students died by your hand!?"
Katachi's hands were trembling in cold sweat, and his eyes burning vibrantly, reflecting his inner rage.
He's furious. He's glad that he managed to push the students away before they got hurt, but still, he's furious.
K : "I can't believe such an irresponsible teacher even existed! Shelly was right - You really are mad with power. So mad, that you neglect the most important and basic of things, like respect, or even ensuring their safety before the test! You... You asshole!..."
*** ***
*Cozy's Notes : yay he sweared. I didn't want Katachi to be a foul-mouth who would swear at every 2 sentences, but times like this where the person just drives him up the wall, I let him swear.*
*T.W.'s Notes : I thought you said you were making this a friendly, all-ages enjoyable psychological fantasy novel with romance and lulzie moments.*
*Cozy's Notes : Shhhhhhhh. Shh shhhhh shhhhhhhhh shhh. quiet, tiat wee. quiet. silence. shh.*
*Cozy's Notes : In the next chapter, you will see something really pleasant. Something super elaborate. Something my style. Sorry about this week's horrible filler-like chapter without anything exciting going on. Obviously, Rekter isn't just some weak teacher who would only raise his precedence level by that little. He's no fool, that's to be sure. Or is he?
Next week, though, you'd see the real reason why Katachi was able to beat Rekter. I promise. And this promise... It's a Cozy's promise. It's not the shitty kind you see in Naruto. K? Look forward to it.*
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