Returning to the present day at Furusato Castle, we witness the Furusato unit crowding around the stand that was holding Kiyo's body and scythe with the use of chains.
This was an important moment, leaving everyone in the gigantic room on edge. They were able to witness the Kekkan no Sosei's power back in Ryakudatsu—but just how much did the curse work? Now was the chance to find out.
Regashi, who was still standing next to Kiyo's dead body, gestured toward Mizuki with a wave; directing the child toward the stand. Suddenly, Mizuki felt his aura fluctuate, reacting to the body that was chained up.
Regashi's eyes remained glued to Mizuki, watching as the child crept toward Kiyo's unconscious form slowly. "You do wish to be set free from that curse, don't you?" Regashi asked Mizuki with a raised brow and a smile, his voice sounding as reassuring as possible.
Mizuki's eyes dilated in horror at Regashi, registering the brown-haired man's words almost instantly. Be set free from the curse that Father Laurence gave him? Was it possible? Mizuki saw a white figure hovering over the chained body, similar to the time in Ryakudatsu, causing the child's Aura Sense to flare violently.
"Grah! Just get it over with!" Itami hollered at Mizuki in impatience, gripping his wooden staff in anger. The atmosphere in the room was too foreign to the green-haired staff wielder.
Doryoku hushed his brother with a smack on the shoulder, "Shh! You aren't helping the kid do the thing!"
Mizuki continued to trek toward the stand, his handings extending outward apprehensively the closer he got. His hands became mere inches away from the white figure that seemingly floated in the air, resembling the form of a human. This was it—Mizuki could finally say goodbye to this hellish curse.
*FLASH!*
Without warning, a green light encompassed the entirety of the room, blinding everyone in the vicinity with its brilliant glow.
"—Damn, that's bright!" The amethyst-haired Heiki Shototsu grumbled, arching his head to the side as he shielded his eyes with his left arm. Shototsu was fully aware of how intense the curse's light was, yet being this near to it made the previous glow pale in contrast.
Regashi's eyes squinted as he cautiously lowered his right arm from shielding his eyes, enabling the light brown-haired man to observe the Kekkan no Sosei's process.
To everyone else, there was no white figure floating above Kiyo's body—but Mizuki could vividly watch as the humanoid figure that reminded the child of a cloud began to descend, being inevitably sucked into the dead body that was chained up. After a few short moments, the white figure had entirely disappeared, entering Kiyo's body entirely. Suddenly, the blinding green glow died down.
"... Did the brat do it?" Itami questioned, hesitantly glancing back at the stand, spotting Mizuki withdraw his hands from facing Kiyo's body. Everyone else in the room proceeded to look back as well.
Silence ensued throughout the entire area—nobody moved. Gimu straightened his vision and set his eyes onto the stand, looking out for any changes. Nothing was happening.
Imawashiki's eyes narrowed—what happened? Did it work? These questions were racing through his and everyone else's mind, waiting for something to happen.
"... oh, I guess it was a failure—" Imawashiki sighed, beginning to walk toward Mizuki, only to be interrupted by Doryoku.
"—Wait, look!"
Everyone in the room froze as they all observed Kiyo's body. Suddenly, the hole in Kiyo's gut began to shrink; the skin began reconnecting itself, appearing to sew itself back together. It was an unsightly occurrence—Shototsu's pale face added to the notion.
A smile began to tug on Regashi's lips, his green eyes drawn to the Kekkan no Sosei's work.
As the hole in Kiyo's gut was closed off by what appeared to be fresh skin, making it seem as though a hole was never punched through his body, Kiyo's fingers twitched—indicating life.
Then, a fresh pair of eyes were opened, greeted by the sight of the Furusato Unit. Kiyo has been revived.
Kiyo glanced at the people standing before him, his eyes gleaming in recognition at some of the people present. Kiyo's mouth opened as the scythe wielder spoke…
"... Hello?"
XXX
Far away from Furusato, we can see the familiar sight of a tall, brick building that is surrounded by multiple wooden bases. It was the Shinkaku Base.
Inside the Shinkaku Base, one of the wooden buildings on the ground was occupied by a masked man who was sitting in a chair with a wooden desk placed directly in front of him. This particular man was the leader of Shinkaku, Lord Phoenix.
On the desk, Lord Phoenix was arranging pieces that were placed atop a checkered board. Each square was colored in either black or white. The pieces resembled various things, such as animals, people, buildings, and others. However, the piece that Lord Phoenix had his fingers wrapped around was one that resembled a beautifully sculptured bird, and its beak was open as the wings were extended outward.
As Lord Phoenix eyed the board through his kitsune mask, he gently placed the wooden bird piece on a white square, releasing the piece shortly after.
Unexpectedly, a bright ball of magic that was strikingly similar to a red Genso-Kyu appeared, swirling inches above the desk. The action caught Lord Phoenix's eyes instantly. Eyeing the red orb, Lord Phoenix's breath hitched slightly, his shock being practically visible, even from outside his mask.
"What a pleasant surprise—it seems that I have found my locator."
XXX
*SHUNK! SHUNK! SHUNK!*
The sound of three magic-filled shurikens hitting a wooden board could be heard as Apiru Naderamu stood on the training grounds of Buraunmajikku. She was currently training, just as Mr. Oshieru had told her to.
Everyone in Class 1AB appeared to be training, each of them in their own respective spots that are dedicated to their Aura Prints.
Her teacher was correct—she did get exhausted easily. After about ten minutes of forming and throwing shurikens that were created from her Aura Print magic, she felt awfully tired. She never had the need to throw this many shurikens in such a short amount of time, and the consequence of that is surely showing—a lot.
"It's said that our Aura Sense is a part of us. It equates to our stamina, apparently." Standing behind Naderamu was, ironically, Mr. Oshieru, observing her tosses. "We still don't know much about magic, but what we have learned is that it is ingrained in our bodies at birth—practically becoming another bodily function."
Naderamu huffed, "What am I supposed to do with that information?"
Mr. Oshieru glanced at Naderamu through his long, blue hair. "Do what you wish with it. I was just hoping to help you find a new perspective when you use your magic. Some people see their Aura Print as a hindrance when fighting, or as a human's predatory function—similar to how animals have claws or sharp teeth."
Naderamu looked back at the wooden board that was placed many meters away from her. She didn't reply to her teacher's words, merely keeping them in mind.
"So," Mr. Oshieru suddenly continued, "how do you see your Aura Print?"
Naderamu started to feel slightly annoyed at her teacher's incessant questioning. However, before she could utter a single word—*BOOM!*—a loud explosion could be heard off in the distance.
Glancing over to the cause of the disturbance, everyone could see Tanjo waving his hands frantically, probably a result of mismanaging magic.
"Go help Tanjo, teach—he looks like he needs some assistance." Naderamu grumbled, forming even more shurikens into her hands.
With an exasperated sigh, followed by a tiring yawn, Mr. Oshieru traversed across the training field toward Tanjo. The jet-black-haired teen was struggling with maintaining consistent magic and even potentially drawing out an Aura Print.
Stepping behind the oblivious teenager, Mr. Oshieru observed as Tanjo made both of his palms face each other and attempted to draw out magic. A spark of his aura managed to appear, beginning to take a spherical shape—only to die after a few seconds. But, in the process of Tanjo's attempt, Mr. Oshieru spotted something intriguing.
"You're condensing your magic way too much, Tanjo." Mr. Oshieru spoke out to Tanjo, startling the teen and eliciting a small holler.
"Hah! Mr. Oshieru!? I thought you were helping the students out?" Tanjo exclaimed, standing straight up.
Mr. Oshieru raised a brow and replied, "I am, you're a student too, Tanjo."
Tanjo hesitated to speak, catching himself in his own confusion. "... Yeah, I guess I am." he really needed to think before speaking sometimes.
Mr. Oshieru hummed lightly, "But, as I was saying, you are condensing your magic too much. It makes your Genso-Kyu implode, as well as your beams less direct."
Tanjo glanced at his teacher with a light gaze. "What am I supposed to do then?"
Mr. Oshieru put his right hand up to his chin in contemplation. "You appear to have a higher abundance of magic compared to the others. Your beams from the beginning of the year exemplify that quite well." The blue-haired instructor declared, eyeing Tanjo's hands. "Try making another Genso-Kyu."
Tanjo looked at Mr. Oshieru questioningly. "Okay…" The jet-black-haired teen then raised his arms once more, making his palms face each other—building a figurative bridge between the two hands.
Tanjo then pushed magic into his palms, the flow circulating until a small illumination became visible. The Genso-Kyu formation started out small but then began to grow. However, the Genso-Kyu faltered, its bright blue illumination fading slightly.
"Relax a bit, Tanjo. You put too much pressure on a small amount of magic." Mr. Oshieru informed, hunching down slightly to watch Tanjo's Genso-Kyu.
Tanjo's slightly strained hand relaxed some, making the Genso-Kyu between his two palms begin to glow brighter, becoming more structured. A small grin adorned Tanjo's face at the sight.
Mr. Oshieru nodded as he then said, "Good. But I want you to try something: Put your Genso-Kyu in one hand."
"Hah!? How?" Tanjo asked in surprise. To the teenager, it didn't seem quite possible. He only just barely got a hold of his first proper Genso-Kyu.
Mr. Oshieru kept his eyes on Tanjo's blue Genso-Kyu. "Concentrate all of your magic into your desired hand, and try to branch off of your other hand. It's easier than it seems."
With those words, Tanjo quickly attempted to supply more magic into his right hand, almost cutting off his flow in his left hand completely, only leaving some to continue supporting the Genso-Kyu. However, as Tanjo was transferring magic into his right hand, the Genso-Kyu's blue began to dim—almost as if it was becoming another color.
Mr. Oshieru's expression hardened at the sight, narrowing his eyes at the altering Genso-Kyu. "... What the?"
Suddenly, Tanjo's hand tensed as a powerful beam blasted out from the Genso-Kyu, leaving a long rut in the ground. What was peculiar about the blast was how potent it was, even though Tanjo put less effort into the Genso-Kyu than before. The color was a mix of blue and a faint red. Something was up. But, it was certainly a start toward Tanjo's handling of his magic.
"All right, that'll just have to do. In the meantime, practice your hand-to-hand combat as well. You seem to be quite the expert at that." Mr. Oshieru explained, fixing his posture.
Tanjo shyly rubbed the back of his head with an awkward smile. "Well, someone outside of the academy has shown me a thing or two…" The jet-black-haired teenager could vividly remember the old man's training.
—Flashback—
"Ooww…"
Tanjo could be seen on the ground in his backyard, the white-haired Nozomu standing above him.
"Get up and try again." Nozomu ordered, slowly walking back to his previous position stood in a stance once more, waiting for Tanjo to attack.
Tanjo, with his face in the dirt, groaned, "This sucks…"
—Flashback End—
Mr. Oshieru nodded at Tanjo's words. "Well, that someone must know quite a lot."
Tanjo nodded slowly, "Yeah, I guess."
Mr. Oshieru then looked up at one of the other students. Akogare seemed to be taking a short break from his training—the humanoid wooden stands were all battered from his whip.
"Oh, well why don't you spar with Akogare? You two seem to be close." Mr. Oshieru suggested, gesturing toward the blonde off in the distance.
Tanjo began walking toward the said blonde, but not before turning around and glancing at his instructor. "Okay, I'll keep practicing my magic! Thanks, Mr. Oshieru!"
Watching as Tanjo ran off, Mr. Oshieru took a quick intake of breath, scratching his scalp lightly.
"His Aura Sense… problematic as always."
XXX
Hey! I hope you enjoyed today's chapter! Kiyo is back and alive! Only taking a gruesome healing process! And what did Lord Phoenix see? And what will happen with Tanjo's Genso-Kyu training? Stay tuned to find out!
Have a Great Day!
Peace - Cr1ticalz_