Chapter 10—Pest Control
IN THE COURTYARD OF SURWICK
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Thick smoke had enveloped in the once peaceful, immersive courtyard of Surwick, with the statues of the Principal's late wife desecrated before his very own eyes. Many orchids and flowers beds, chosen of his beloved wife, rotten from the mechanical abominations known as Reapers and Daemons. How dare you.... The anger of the Principal had started to reach new lengths, as kept on attacking the forces of evil with such ease; engaging in long range combat due to the Reapers lacking in ranged attacks. They almost had to attack in close quarters since they could not steal Aether by whipping their tentacles, like an anaconda, coiling their victims in the end.
There are two outcomes: A bedridden coma or being cremated by a machine.
Although seemingly immortal, it would takes days for Lino to fully replenish his strength if a Reaper actually gotten ahold of him. Yes, the Reaper could potentially explode due to overloading from Aether consumption.
42 days, forty-two days for Lino to regain his absolute strength, to be exact. Until then—he would have to be in one of the most important rooms that only a few selected knew about: The Aether Regeneration Chamber. There, the process of regaining back Aether takes less time than usual, with the addition to enjoy some peace from the hectic life of being the N0.1 Hero of the N.U.S.N.
He wants to take a nap and let his Assistant do his errands——but his students are his number one priority: That puts his students above his needs.
No one thinks otherwise, albeit is a warped dedication to his school.
"Whoever sent has you fiends to attack us: you will pay with your life!" He declared as he sent his blade to destroy at least another two squadrons of Reapers. Following afterwards, his Wayfinder's Spirit began materializing a fiery aura around it and destroying anything not a hero.
All the while his faculty members were handling the hordes quicker and easier than the students inside. Then again: they were professionals. They can handle situations like these—it's their jobs.
To the students—Reapers were invincible cockroaches. Cockroaches that did not have weaknesses to exploited upon so easily.
Yet, for the staff—they were more like puny maggots to stomp on; they were insignificant to them since these heroes have netted many years of experience.
Gosh.....Sora thought, intimidated of how Lino decimated so many of those Reapers. I really wish I could do that..... He did not even look behind and countered a Daemon with a swift punch to the the face, there was barely any effort in that punch and yet it was stronger than an average human strike.
Ah... He began on reminiscing on the old days of traveling with Lady Lulu. Those were the days when I did not have any care in the world; all when I was just a kid living the life. The life of a guardian..
Surrounded by another horde, yet this time many Nightcrawlers and undefined ones came circling around him. Despite them being perceived as mere pests, a rookie would make the biggest mistake by underestimating them.
Huh? More of them? Feisty little bastards....Sora analyzed his current situation, he usually kept a good eye on things, including how easily this horde can defeated by a non-lethal technique. Killing you guys will bring more of your kind like how wasps do with their pheromones. If I could convert some Aether and just turn into a concussive wave.......
And so he did with ease, as he was being proficient in channeling his Aether into anything he needed for the situation. He felt if the school had Mosquito or Chief Apex or even that heroine back from the days of the Cold War: Truly no one would really dare to attack them or else.
Especially that Cold War heroine, the posters that are still being sold to this times. even reckoning that five of them were being auctioned during these dubious times.
His Aether was gleaming with a blue hue, increasing in strength each second. The horde simply closed the distance slowly before He finally released it. It had simply blew all of them away like leaves by the autumn breeze. The concussive wave was more of a nerve agent that was more effective to daemons than humans in general, since they contained different nerving systems due to them originally made from the remnants of carcasses of any living organism.
Sora had looked a bit sad for the Daemons, uncommon for a man in his occupation to feel pity for it. He always had a soft spot for them, extremely aware of how many of them were born by non-supernatural means.
Wish I could do a prayer to pacify your souls, I truly am, however, I'm still on the job. Sora thought, before looking at his fellow colleagues in the far distance south from him, another squadron of super heroes fighting the forces of unwilling evil.
They were enjoyed themselves. Even going so far is that they reveled in exterminating all of them in the midst, a far outcry from Sora's ideals.
"120!!" Yelled out a menacingly, huge man with the head of a furry walrus with albinism, smashing one large Daemon into bloody bits with a hard swing from his spiky hammer. The large man wore a heavy cape made from the smooth pelt of a polar bear, and his hero suit had norse themes to it. He even wore a small Viking helmet with his Hero Suit. His face was bloodied up from from the Reapers, numbing his face because of it quite numbing for his face. As a brave Reaper came across him, he managed to quash it with one swing, all of its organs over his body, as his body was the canvas and the blood the painting to fill the canvas up with extravagant art.
But he didn't mind on how bloodied he looked.
He mattered if these "bastards", or how he perceived them to be, posed a threat to his students and he was indeed correct.
He was simply brushing off the entrails stuck onto his hammer.
That man, the man-made warrior, whose skin was Wulfuric Waxweiler, or also known by the moniker "Wrecker Walrus". A Wrecker with unmatched power.
"I could do this all day, god damn it!!!! Hey, Lewis," he called Mr. Lewis by his last name as he did with everyone else.
"Uh, I think it's 57 now!" He announced his kill to Wrecker Walrus, performing a hefty kick that managed to defeat several daemons as if they were butter at room temperature. While he did not really enjoy slaughtering these creatures (since the odor excreted from their pores were extremely putrid), he did like it as the anger in him was subsiding within every swing of his blade, within every counter.
His temper needed to be quelled, intensifying from every time his coworkers' provoking. "Oh, I'm disappointed in you, I thought you could do better than that, Nevaeh! Weren't you the Horseman of Light?" He could feel his blood boiling, it was inevitable until his anxiety overtook his rationality. Before all those terrible things happened... The memories permanently etched into his brain... Negativity affected his powers, evidenced by his armor gleaming a deep orange color.
No....Today isn't the day to lose it!! He had coached himself, and instead threw a large beam of light, destroying more unfortunate enemies that were caught by them being nothing more than ashes. That felt good. That felt extremely good, in fact.
"80! One hell of a difference ain't it, huh, W.W.?"
"Sure, if you consider a 23 point difference impressive—then good for you!"
"Still to believe that you're a teacher that specializes in math...." Brandon Lewis uttered under his breath, followed by another kick to a Daemon's jaw.
"WHAT?!" Wrecker Walrus yelling to the top of his lungs as he ripped a hulking daemon with his bare hands, more blood spattered on his body. A psychotic smile was once again present on his furred face of his.
How in the Sam Hill did this Norse god worshiper managed to even become a teacher in the first place? Brandon Lewis thought to himself. He was incredibly dismayed about how this math teacher for first-year acted in combat. If I was the Principal—I'd checked the resumes three times over before accepting him into the school.
"I'm joining this game now!!!" The Assistant Principal, Haruka Uteshiki, shouting to the top of her lungs while bashing some heads before noticing the number. Every day when she thinks the day could run smoothly, events like these appear randomly. Yet, unlike the two of her friends: She can fully adapted to the hectic lifestyle of a hero. She is the one who can truly lose it all, not batting an eye when it came about her position as the Assistant Principal or the strict rules when it came to heroism. She was surprised on how Lino has not fire her yet despite her imperfections.
Her electric guitar was still in top shape, making a melody of pain as each swift bash caused agony for an unlucky enemy of hers.
Along with her adaptability, Haruka Uteshiki was extremely efficient when using magic that involved weight control, which prove useful when it involved a rampaging, hulking Daemon that stood about two meters tall choosing her as its next meal.
The color of it was common for the lower ranking Daemon, a dull brown as the stronger Daemons exhibited more vibrant colors and articulation that of a human or even superior to a human. Its forearm were barrel sized and lime-green, on top of them spikes.
Its attempt on picking up one of the statues made of marble for a weapon was feeble. It needed a bludgeoning weapon, to be exact. Since one of its arms was completely crushed after a brief skirmish with Wrecker Walrus, it was a struggle for it at first. One attempt made the Daemon look like a fool. Second attempt made the Daemon look determined now, groaning in frustration as the pain made it unbearable to wield such a stature. Even Haruka was galvanized by the creature's willpower, her eyes were shining brightly for a fight. "Hey, ya big sack of shit!!!"
Its immediate answer was at first staring at her with its emotionless face. Its pain was no longer relevant , as the Daemon was concentrating into a desire to consume her soul at any cost. It started to pick up slowly from the ground, uprooting in a slow, drastic pace.
It wanted to eat her soul quickly and painlessly.
Sorry to make things a bit "heavy" for ya!!!! Haruka smiled, feeling extremely proud of herself despite the quip was made in only thirty seconds. So Proud of herself that she will not go down so easily to a simple Daemon like this one. All it takes is one spell.
And she knew just the thing, pulling out a little rod of bramble and a single flick of the wrist, she said the word, "Pinguis!!!" She yelled out the magic spell, taught by Lulu herself, this magic spell, as what it meant in Latin, could make anything living or non-living light as a balloon or as heavy as osmium by enchantment or heavier than a mountain range. A rather simple explanation for a magic spell that took rigorous training to fully perfect it. Unauthorized use or failing to do the spell correctly will result in releasing a small black hole, tearing the planet from inside out.
It looked confused, the hulking Daemon, floating now while the statue was on the top of it, also on how it was floating away from her. It reminded her of a hot balloon, floating adrift in the air, having no care. Although the Daemon attacked first, Haruka did not have to toy with it, she could have ended its life the humane way. There was a reason as to why she was playing around, seeing how as some of the Daemons were doing the same with Lulu, her friend mercilessly. "I notice something: Ya don't like the pain—not even a little bit?" She asked, her wrath was becoming more apparent as she even began to torture by twisting its limbs slowly, excluding the head in every direction.
"Look at ya, can't even do anything, just floating in the air like a damn cockroach."
Mrs.Uteshiki: Don't dig up all that hate from the past, you're better than that. The Principal's voice was ringing inside her mind, persuading what she was doing was similar how a sadist would act, communicating with her from a far distance. What she was doing reminded him of his past. The past that caused him immense trauma.
No. Let me torture this pest. It needs to know pain. What they did to my friend was not playing around with her..... Haruka always had sadistic tendencies since se was born. She walks on the path of a hero, only exposing her morbid side to those truly evil by nature. Or simply the misunderstood.
I am quite aware of what happened to the great summoner Lulu. It was a tragedy that day, I did not hire your services not because of your to kill your enemies, but rather your expertise when it—
No, you didn't hire for that. She interrupted him abruptly in their mental discussion, her facial features usually moved the same way she would converse physically, she was no stereotypical Italian from a Hollywood film.
No, you see, you hired me because I'm as stubborn as you, Sir. You dislike authority figures just like me, I'm on your team due to the fact that I resemble your inner you. A hero, so dominant and presence intimidated many strong-willed heroes and villains, did not utter a single word. He was still in the combat in the far horizon, about east from Haruka, Sora, Wulfuric, and Brandon. It was his duty to make there would be no casualties from Surwick.
Now, Let me say this again: Let. ME. Exterminate this sonofabitch.
....Fine. As you wish. He finally spoke, complying with her wish. He closed his eyes as more Daemons and Reapers fell by his hand, dreaming of the calm ocean in Tahiti, swimming with the exotic fishes and wolfing down the best food that easily toppled five-star reviews. Lino and his beloved wife, Lada.
Do it quickly, though. I still don't condone it but if satisfies you, then go for it.
Okay!! One, quick yet extremely messy death coming right up! She thought with a sinister undertone, one of the more somber one out of her friends. It did not seem that way, as she usually carried herself in a happy-go-lucky way; crazy but crazy can work if nurtured properly and raised in a pleasant environment. Right now was the best way to release some of that anger inside.
"Sayonara, Capybara!" Haruka said her half-hearted goodbye with a salute to add to injury, waving goodbye to the Daemon. before making the marble sculpture into the mass equivalent of a large sized mountain, heavy enough to crush a medium sized being immediately after impact.
Its hands moved a bit before fully disappearing. Unlike Sora, who felt guilt in killing them, Haruka felt nothing for her enemies. She was even colder to those of Daemon and Demi-Daemon blood, she had many flaws that make her the human she was.
"69!!! Oh, boy, I'm all juiced up!!!!! I'm ready to kill more of those baddies!"
She yelled out her kill count to Brandon, an extremely immature of doing so, to say the least. Her eyes started to shine a bit differently afterwards. One of the fore mentioned flaws was that she got carried away in battle, as some of her co-workers have theorized that she has ADHD.
Her friend, Sora Minami, whom from time to time had her back even when she did not want it, protecting her back with a quick kunai in the back of another Daemons' head.
"72. And Haruka——keep your head together in the battlefield and not in the gutters if you can." He suggested her, standing on his own feet, knowing what she fully meant by "juiced" up. And she was not a juice head either, as her arms were quite on the "little" side, hiding them away from her signature red leather jacket.
"Why? You thinkin' about that right now? With little ol' me?" Haruka Uteshiki asked, pointing herself to him and repeated. Sora Minami shook his head in dismay. You're such a great pervert, but I am glad you are not a telepath, Haruka. I would be on a different scale of pain. "No thanks. I already told you; I'm dating someone now."
"And I think you're a very bad liar, Sora. Haven't even told us her name, where she comes from, her social security number, how her hair smells like strawberries or whatever fruit you like——what's her name?!" She nudged his arm, hoping for an legitimate answer out of him.
"That's irrelevant right now, since you were distracted with one Daemon while the rest of us were fighting through this wave of enemies."
"Penguis, Sora. It's Penguis. despite the silly name that you are referring, is an 2 Tiered Magic Spell that can anything living or non-living lighter or heavier than its mass."
"I know what it is, genius. I learned it when I was fifteen."
She started to mock him, "oh, look at me: I was a child prodigy and I like to wear a skull mask 'cause I'm a edgelord!!"
She continued on: "Apparently you know everything but on and you think you're so great, but you can't even please a woman with one of her toys!"
The man became hot with embarrassment, beginning to sweat profusely and she could see it. "This is not safe for work, Haruka!"
"NSFW or SFW, who gives a kahoot?!"
"You should, Karima."
"What did ya just call me?" One more word, and Sora Minami will sealed his fate. The only one who calls the Assistant Principal her real name, one of beauty, is none other than her estranged mother. A mother, who has not one her daughter's affection.
Luckily before his friend was about to say something that would hasten his punishment, Brandon asked them, "guys, do you really have to argue about the freaky sex and the weirdly named magic at this current time?"
"STAY OUT OF THIS, BRANDON!!!" The two shared a common thought by telling their best friend to make him quiet and become sullen in the background, his attempt for their continuous arguing with another even while they resumed fighting the horde.
This is why you don't work with the people you had sex with..... Wulfuric thought, not paid any more attention as he then, eliminated a few more demons around him with no effort.
Soon, the dog in charge finally shown up and gathered the rest of the forces
"500!" Lino finished the rest of the forces with a mentally squeezing all four hundred of them with such force that even hydraulic presses would be jealous of, his employees' mouths gaping. All what their shared thinking was: How did he even get so strong in the first place.
"Now I understand the concept of this game and your need to be quarreling amongst yourselves, but is it appropriate to do so at this current time?"
"Sorry, Mr.Saon!" The teachers next to him all apologized, dragging the sorry part like grade school students would.
Smoke had dwindled down to a trickle of a water drop, the horde eventually retreated into the ground where they first appeared.
"That shows them, bastards of hell itself!!!" Wrecker Walrus yelled out while popping his chest, flinging his hammers to the ground.
Lino agreed, smiling a bit. "Oh, yes, it seems we did." He reverted back to his casual sternness. "They have their ceased their forces for now.......No casualties on the other side, as I have anticipated. We have done exceedingly well, everyone." His attire seem a bit bloodied up, even himself took a note of it.
Brandon kicked a small rock out of his way, he felt the need to speak. "Then again: We're trained for this, Lino Killing bastards and daemons and reapers and other things are a part of the Hero job..." Sora looked absent-minded, not exactly paying their attention.
Something hooked his attention before he looking up at the school. "I sense it."
"What is it?" Haruka had asked him.
"Where your dignity went." Sora dryly insulted her, once again provoking her into despair, with Lino telekinetically holding her back.
"The Aether: it belongs to children and a Mecha? Wait a sec—It's that new Heart-Bond and some of his friends—They're trying to go to the generators room to start up the school's defenses that way! I thought they were upstairs, the generators...." Sora analyzed the situation occurring in the school, the Principal immediately turned towards one of the most potential in the faculty.
"Yes, great observation from your part, Mr. Minami. But no, those are the decoys."
"Decoys?" Haruka tiled her head, perplexed on what meant.
He began to clarify on what meant,In the olden days, the generators used to be stones studier than concrete, carved with Gaelic Runes made by the Formorians themselves, I had a great relationship with them prior to their kind obliterated by Corheim forces due to prejudice....." He took a long paused, remembering how one of his fourteen sons married of them, whose beauty even made him admired. "....I, along with a few selected, know how to activate it. It was designed as the last line of defense in case when everything else fails. It is still highly functional, albeit very rudimentary to people nowadays." Lino explained, paraphrasing as the origins of the school's defenses were a bit tricky.
"Wait, where's Mr. Kresh at?" Soda asked in a concerning way, looking around for him.
"Since Gnost is off with Mr. Henshaw—Mr.Kresh is in charge of the school's defense. Trust me—everyone knows on what to do: Even you too, Sora Minami." He smiled at his employees genuinely, feeling a bit warm inside. "Do not worry: everything will be fine."
All of the teachers dropped their guard, talking to each other about pleasant things like a Sunday morning for breakfast.
All except him, they could not see through him and the only person who was at least close to was the most warped out of the teachers.
I sense your Aether, boy......And your group as well...If you are what I think you truly are—you have no problem completing the task....Even if I am correct: Bring everyone in one piece...Please, the students and everyone else are the only ones that matter to me.
———Track 10 Ended———
CHARACTER PROFILE:
SURWICK FACULTY: BRANDON LEWIS (26)
LIGHTBRINGER
BIRTHDAY: 6-9
HEIGHT: 6'0
LIKES: His friends, Light
DISLIKES: Arguments
THE INSIDE STORY:
Although he ranks beneath far behind his good friend Sora, some thinks he is easily on of the strongest heroes if he put more work into training.
He was inspired by this guy I used to go to school with. I wonder he is doing now.....
CHARACTER PROFILE:
SURWICK STUDENT: SANDA MACHIPAKU (13)
SHOCK VALUE TO THE MAXIMUM
BIRTHDAY: 5-4
HEIGHT: 5'1"
LIKES: Parties, Cities, His iPhone
DISLIKES: Homework, forests,
THE INSIDE STORY:
Wherever he goes—he lightens up the joint!
Sanda Machipaku is a sparkling conversationalist:
wanting to talk to anyone from different backgrounds to gain a new perspective on things.
Overuse of his powers can damage the nerves in his hands and feet.
CHARACTER PROFILE:
SURWICK FACULTY: KAMIRA "HARUKA" UTESHIKI (Almost 26, just a few more
ECCENTRIC SUMMONER
BIRTHDAY: 6-6
HEIGHT: 5'6.5"
LIKES: Rock (Especially Metal), Guitar collecting (Still trying to find the one,) Being a royal pain in the ass (Ya bet ya sweet coconuts cheeks I do!)
DISLIKES: Her actual name (Never call me Karima unless you got a death wish or trying put some kind of respect on my name.)
THE INSIDE STORY:
I made this character out of sheer boredom when I felt there wasn't that (Actually I was born in Takayama, Japan. I'm a authentic Japanese that's not from N.U.S.N.)
Anyway. I wanted to have a fun teacher who's extremely cool yet has a high position in the school. (To be a little honest, I love to be the Assistant to the Assistant Manager—um, I mean Assistant Principal!)
What are you even doing here in the first place? (Umm, ain't cha doing a insider about me? What are you: the Private Eye?)
No. I'm not. ( You sure? Cause I saw you carrying a bunch of books and you just kept reading and reading, getting a little inspired)
Can't you stop Fourth-Walk breaking?! I'm trying to do the inside story about you m, Brandon and Sanda because you guys had no character biographies prior to this. Now, will you just leave me alone?
(No; either gimme a chapter to be the POV in or else my contract is up; you'll know what will happen if this happens.....)
Let me think about it and then—maybe then, I'd consider doing one in the future. (Sounds good to me!)
Are we done here? (Yep.)
CHARACTER PROFILE:
SURWICK FACULTY: WULFURIC WAXWEILER (52)
THE NORSE GODS' FURY
BIRTHDAY: 12-26
HEIGHT: 7'4"
LIKES: Cooking, Battling, War
DISLIKES: Weaklings, Battle Strategies that don't make sense
THE INSIDE STORY:
A man of strong morale and a physical juggernaut, anyone foolish enough to challenge Wulfuric Waxweiler is a man with no direction in life. He is a man who abides to his own set of traditions and anyone who he deems fit to fight and win have his upmost respect for all eternity.
Wants to make his own cook show, but still needs the money needed for that.
His merchandise includes: Plushies, Construction vehicles, Mugs, etc.