"To think that, that student would go so far…I truly never anticipated this…" Carter voiced his surprise as he stood by the side of Zephyr. The two were currently in his office, going over a number of papers and travel permits that Zain would need in the near future.
"Someone who hardly has any record is not only a Black Mage, but he can go head to head with the majority of nobility in this school, and is the chosen vessel for Suzaku…and to think it's only been a few months since he enrolled here…"
"Yes. It's quite impressive, isn't it?" Zephyr held a warm smile on his face as Carter had come to recognize Zain's ability and strength.
"I'm sorry for doubting your reasoning Sir."
"It's fine. You had every right to be suspicious. Most people wouldn't be willing to put their full support behind someone with no past."
"But even so Sir, if what that letter said is true then!-"
Just as Carter was about to continue speaking, the door to Zephyr's office opened up, showing Zain on the other end.
"You called for me?"
"Ah yes, perfect timing. Come on in."
Zain closed the door behind himself as he walked closer towards Zephyr's desk.
"We've prepared a number of documents for your trip. You'll have to head to a village in the west tha-"
"Wait wait hold on. Trip? What did you even call me in here for?" Zain was surprised by the mention of him needing to go somewhere, and at his question Zephyr looked up to him in confusion.
"Hm? You mean you don't know?"
"Know what?"
Zephyr chuckled a bit as he looked towards Carter. Without a second's delay he began explaining what he meant.
"What the headmaster is talking about, is your duties as Ashiya's guardian. Once you merged with Suzaku, you took on those responsibilities. You should have heard Suzaku mention it a few times during the battle royal."
Zain thought back to the announcement Suzaku made. Now that he thought about it, he did mention something about becoming Ashiya's guardian, but he didn't know what that entailed.
"Yeah, I vaguely remember that."
"As Ashiya's deity, Suzaku is able to spread out his mana in every direction. He can use it like a sonar in order to watch over all of us at once. He used this ability to ward off any demonic beast or threat that we couldn't handle by ourselves. The ones we can handle ourselves are usually dealt with by the hunters in the vicinity."
As Carter continued to explain, he took a folder from the table, and handed it to Zain. Once he looked inside, Zain saw a number of photos of a small village, surrounded by nature and greenery.
"However there are also cases where said hunters can't make it out in time to deal with the threat, or it's simply too powerful for them to handle. That's where Suzaku comes in. Using his powers he would deal with the threat and protect his people."
"And now that you have merged with him, those responsibilities lie on you now." Zephyr finished the explanation as Zain could only look on in confusion.
"Wait, why the hell do I have to deal with this now?"
[As I now reside in your body, I cannot move as freely as I used to. Hence, why my actions must be realized through you.] Suzaku's sudden voice echoed in Zain's mind, causing him to jump. Carter and Zephyr looked at him, confused by his sudden movement.
"Zain? Is everything alright?"
"Yeah yeah…just getting used to some new things…" With a grumble Zain looked at the photos in his hand.
"What's the issue with this place?"
"A number of demonic beasts have encroached on their hunting grounds. Emboldened by their success, they've started raiding certain sectors of the village and harming its residents. However, there are no hunting guilds that are close enough to deal with the issue."
"And somehow I'm supposed to be able to get there quicker than the hunter guilds?"
"I assume Suzaku has a way of getting you there quicker than anything we can provide." Zephyr smiled as he handed Zain a number of documents before patting his shoulder. "Speak with him and figure out the best way to deal with this problem. We're counting on you."
'Do you really have a way to get there faster Suzaku?'
[Yes, I do. I am able to disperse my flames at one point in time, and reappear in another in an instant. As you are my vessel, you also have this ability. We should move there quickly, there's no telling how long that village will last without help.]
'Hold on, there's still one more thing I need to take care of.'
Zain had already left the office and was walking down the hallways of the school. His eyes looked over a multitude of the passing by students before he finally found the one he was looking for.
"There you are. I have a favor to ask you, Vira."
Said girl stopped in her tracks after seeing Zain again. She gave him a smile as she turned to face him properly.
"Well, if it isn't Ashiya's guardian. If there's something I can do to help, just say the word." Vira even gave a small bow towards Zain, causing his face to scrunch up in discomfort.
"Stop patronizing me, I'm being serious here."
Vira laughed again as she stopped messing with Zain finally.
"What's the matter? I didn't think you'd come to find me after the free for all we had."
"I need something that only you can do"
Zain took a deep breath before lowering his head, bowing slightly to Vira.
"Please, teach me how to wield fire magic."
The nearby students all looked towards Zain and Vira, wondering what was going on. As Zain lowered his head, Vira's expression changed drastically. She grew more serious as she saw Zain's sincerity.
"You really want me to teach you how to use fire magic? For what reason?"
Zain was silent for a moment before he raised his head up again. As he looked into the fiery orange eyes of Vira he could tell she wanted an honest answer out of him.
"I was given these powers, and with them come responsibilities that I have to take care of. If I don't know how to use the weapon that was given to me, then I'd only end up hurting myself, or worse, others. I don't want anything like that to happen."
Vira could tell just by looking into Zain's eyes that he was serious about not wanting to hurt anyone. Controlling a new power would take time, something he didn't have the luxury of at the moment. There's no telling when he'd have to leave the school grounds in order to fight off something attempting to harm Ashiya. But just before she could give him her answer, Zain's eyes grew cold and dark. The next words that came out of his mouth sent shivers down his spine.
"Besides. A weapon that can't be used properly is meaningless."
'Eh..?' Vira was confused by what Zain meant with those words. 'A weapon..? Used properly? Used properly against what? Demonic Beast?' Questions flooded her mind as to what Zain could possibly mean by that sentence. His face was filled with hatred and malice towards something, but she couldn't figure it out.
'Well…I'm sure he doesn't mean anything bad. He's the serious type it seems, so he must take this new responsibility of his pretty seriously…' Vira passed it off as nothing more than Zain being super serious.
"Well, while I'd love nothing more than to help you, I can't just ditch my classes to watch over your progress."
"Hm? Then that shouldn't be a problem." Zain started digging through his bag before pulling out a crystal from within.
"These can record our lessons for us should we need to leave school grounds. I also have a number of slips to be excused from classes due to my guardian duties. I struck a deal with the headmaster in order for you to use these as well."
"You…you really thought of getting these for me too?"
"I need someone to teach me, and you're the best fire mage in this school at the moment. Please.."
Once again Zain asked Vira to guide him, and with a large sigh she finally agreed.
"Alright. I'll see what I can do."
"Thank you. As a matter of fact, there's a perfect chance for you to start teaching me now."
"What?"
[Hurry! The demonic beasts are about to charge into the village! The resident's are in danger!] Suzaku's voice shouted in worry within Zain's head, telling him of the imminent danger they were in.
'Let's hope this works!' Without warning, Zain grabbed onto Vira and held her close to him as the two were enveloped in a blazing orb. The scene before them quickly changed to that of the wilderness. Huts and trees were in view, along with people running away from a hoard of giant wolves that trailed behind them. Zain's body leapt into action right away as he crushed the head of one of the demonic beasts into the ground.
The snaggle toothed animals turned their head to his direction as a blaze of fire erupted from Zain's hands. A grin appeared on his face as he stared down the intense hoard before him.
"Alright…training time!"