The rest of the week went by peacefully. Mr. Frank didn't pull any weird training for some reason, but it was a godsend for the class.
"Haa..." [Adam]
He stretched in his chair and let out a sigh.
("I want to go home…") [Adam]
The last bell was right around the corner. Many students were already packing their belongings ahead of time.
"And for how this works is-" [Mr. Frank]
The last bell finally rang and all the students began to leave.
("I didn't even get to say class is dismissed yet…") [Mr. Frank]
As they exited the school, Felix brought up a strange rumor.
"Hey Adam. You heard about the rumors lately?" [Felix]
"Rumors? What rumors?" [Adam]
"Apparently, there's been sightings of some men in black suits roaming the streets. They're kidnapping students from this school and only first years like us." [Felix]
"Isn't the school doing anything about it?" [Adam]
"For an unknown reason, the school isn't moving. Maybe it's a test or something." [Felix]
"I really wonder where you get this information from." [Adam]
"I… have my ways." [Felix]
"Is there anything else about it?" [Adam]
"Hm… not really, but there is talk about Luis wanting a rematch from you." [Felix]
"Luis?" [Adam]
"Luis Strotto. You know, the upperclassman that challenged you to a duel?" [Felix]
"Doesn't ring a bell. You're going to have to be more specific than that." [Adam]
"He also has a soul weapon. It was the one with fire and stuff. It also had a flame whip." [Felix]
"Oh~. That guy… If he wants a rematch so bad, I'll give it to him." [Adam]
"Look at you go. Do you have the skill to back up that confidence?" [Felix]
"I know we ended up in a tie, but that was when I just got Krino. After that was endless sword training against Sebastian. Who knows how much better I am now." [Adam]
"You act like Luis didn't train either." [Felix]
"Knowing his personality, he probably didn't." [Adam]
As they were nearing their destination, Felix put his hand out.
"Wait." [Felix]
He grabbed Adam and pulled him around a nearby corner.
"What are you doi-" [Adam]
"Shh!" [Felix]
He held a finger to his lips before poking his head outside.
"So uh… You know the rumor about those men in suits right?" [Felix]
"Yeah?" [Adam]
"Well… they're kind of just loitering around our house." [Felix]
"...Do you want to talk to them?" [Adam]
"Remember what Roy did to me the first time I tried talking to him, no way." [Felix]
"Then how about jumping them?" [Adam]
Felix shook his head in disagreement.
"Can't do that. What if they weren't the people from the rumors. We would be the ones to get into trouble." [Felix]
"...I have another idea." [Adam]
"It better not be stupid." [Felix]
"You circle around, and I'll be a decoy. I'm going to try to talk to them. If they're hostile, then you ambush them from behind." [Adam]
Felix stood there. Contemplating whether or not to agree with him.
"...Alright. I'll link the spaces near our ears so we can hear each other." [Felix]
He left the corner and took another route. A few seconds later, Adam heard his voice.
"I'm in position. Go ahead and talk to them." [Felix]
Adam walked outside and confronted the men.
("One... Two… And three. Three possible bad guys.") [Adam]
Him walking close seemed to have caught their attention. He put on a smile and began to speak.
"Hello there. May I ask what business you have out here?" [Adam]
Before responding, the three men whispered to each other for a moment.
"Ah, yes. We're here to survey the area for electrical surges." [Man A]
"Electrical surges? May I ask what that might be?" [Adam]
"It's when an area gets too much power and the area loses energy." [Man A]
"Oh, if that's all then I'll just pass through." [Adam]
As he was passing through, one of the men stopped him.
"Before you go, I have a question for you." [Man B]
"Hm? What is it?" [Adam]
"Are you a student from Blue Pegasus High?" [Man B]
"Tell him yes." [Felix]
"...Yes." [Adam]
"Can I ask what year you're in?" [Man B]
"I'm in the first year, can I ask why?" [Adam]
"Nothing much. We're just taking a survey of how many students live in the area. You may go now." [Man B]
"Thank you, I'll be off then." [Adam]
He turned around to leave, but Krino called out to him.
"Behind you!" [Krino]
Adam quickly turned around to meet the third man in a suit. A hand chop was already in mid motion, but Adam barely managed to dodge.
("Tsk! It grazed me.") [Adam]
He leaped backwards, trying to gather some distance.
"Looks like the cats out of the back." [Man C]
"Only because you missed." [Man B]
"I didn't expect him to turn around at the end." [Man C]
"Enough. Now that we've already started, we have to bring back the boy. If not… you know what the boss will do." [Man A]
They started to close in on Adam, putting up his guard, Adam inched backwards slowly.
"Felix, I kind of need some back up here!" [Adam]
"Already on it." [Felix]
He appeared from the sky, slamming down on one of the men.
"Oof!" [Man C]
He chained his movements to a high kick against another one of them.
"Not so fast!" [Man B]
He grabbed Felix's leg and threw him at Adam.
"I got you!" [Adam]
He braced himself for impact, but behind Felix was the second man running after him.
"Oh crap." [Adam]
As he caught Felix, the man drop kicked both of them.
"Augh!" [Felix]
"Guh!" [Adam]
The two of them tumbled around before slowly getting back up.
"Hehehe… Just like taking candy from a baby." [Man B]
He looked at the man on the ground and crossed his arms.
"Are you gonna stop pretending or what?" [Man B]
The man on the ground started moving. He picked himself back up and dusted himself off.
"Why did you have to ruin all the fun?" [Man C]
("What?! I hit him while hardening my fist! How could he have possibly stood back up after that?") [Felix]
"You know what time it is." [Krino]
("Yeah, I'm not sure how I feel using you on people… But, I think this is an emergency.") [Adam]
He reached out and began his chant.
"Balance the Scales! Krino!" [Adam]
Adam grasped the lightning bolt, revealing Krino within his hand.
"Oh~. A soul weapon. It's not everyday we get to see one of those." [Man C]
"Quit your yapping. Even if they're children, it's a soul weapon. You can never be too careful around those things." [Man A]
"Yeah, Yeah~" [Man C]
Without a stance, the two men approached Adam.
("Are they making light of me?") [Adam]
"Show me what you got." [Man C]
"Scales of Libra!" [Adam]
"Phase." [Man C]
Although the blades flew straight through the man, it didn't seem like he was hurt.
"What just…?" [Adam]
"Is that all?" [Man C]
He casually walked up to Adam and stopped in front of him.
"Go ahead." [Man C]
Adam stared back at him with a confused look, but it quickly turned into anger and he slashed at him.
"HAHHHH!!!" [Adam]
He continuously slashed over and over until his stamina had reached its limit.
"Haah… Haah…" [Adam]
("Did… I get him?") [Adam]
"Too bad~" [Man C]
Unfortunately for Adam, he was completely unscathed. Not only that, he mocked Adam as he wore a huge grin with his tongue out.
"My turn." [Felix]
Felix appeared from behind Adam, going for an uppercut.
"And a new challenger arrives!" [Man C]
He dodged Felix's fist just by tilting his torso, but didn't counter.
("What is he…?") [Felix]
He tried to punch him multiple times, but he couldn't even touch him.
("Could've sworn I hit him!") [Felix]
He ceased his attacks and pointed at the man.
"Hm? Why did you stop?" [Man C]
"You're ability… Is called Shifter isn't it? It allows you to phase through objects of your choosing, but you can't turn back to solid form when you're already phasing through an object." [Felix]
"Bingo! You got it right! That's amazing!" [Man C]
"No need to say it. I know I'm amazing." [Felix]
"For finding out my ability, you get a reward." [Man C]
"...What did I win?" [Felix]
"A quick beating!" [Man C]
Felix immediately put his guard up sensing incoming danger. The man pulled his arm back to punch, but it stopped midway and his leg hit the back of Felix's knees.
("A feint?!") [Felix]
With his guard down, the man took the opportunity to punch Felix in the face and slammed his head against the ground.
"Agh!" [Felix]
"Felix!" [Adam]
Adam tried charging in again, but the man grabbed his hands before he even swung.
"I'm boosting!" [Krino]
Electricity shot up Adam's arms, shocking the man.
"Ababababa-" [Man C]
"Let go!" [Adam]
He kicked the man off of him and readied his blade.
("I need to watch his movements!") [Adam]
The man recovered quickly and shook off the numbness.
"You got me good there." [Man C]
"Hey! Quit playing around!" [Man A]
The man in the back yelled at Adam's opponent, making his playfulness disappear.
"...Sorry about that. I'll finish this quickly." [Man C]
"I don't think it's going to be that easy-." [Adam]
The man quickly closed the distance and kicked to the side. Adam tried slicing his leg, but it fazed right through.
"Ugh!" [Adam]
The man's leg hooked onto Adam's chest and he bent his knee downwards. Adam was slammed down into the concrete and bounced back up only to meet a fist to the face.
"Buh!" [Adam]
The man controlled the momentum and repeated the same thing he did to Felix. Slamming the back of Adam's head into the ground. Adam had already lost the energy to fight, his body unwilling to move. Felix had already passed out and Adam's eyelids were already getting heavy.
("Must… Fight…") [Adam]
As he was drifting away, he could hear some of the words the men were saying.
"So we got the right kid this time?" [Man B]
"Yeah, tie them up and bring them to the van." [Man A]
Those were the last remnants of what Adam heard before he finally blacked out.