The spider beast shot green venom from its mouth and legs, and it was like acid, dissolving and burning down everything it touched.
Marshy and Xenon jumped out of the way, and Xenon asked Marshy, "You enjoyed taking care of that Duri boy?"
Marshy answered, "I mean seem like a hard ass, but of course I enjoyed it. Yeah, he's not the innocent Duri I remember, but he has a lot of things that show that he's on the right track."
"Right track? That boy is a menace, he's probably my son based off the way he acts."
"Doubt that shit."
The spider beast jumped in the air to shoot more acid at Marshy and Xenon, both of them appeared above the spider beast in a flash and punched it's back, making it explode.
But smaller spider beasts came out of it's back, spreading out fast.
Marshy said, "I knew it."
Xenon went, "What's the real reason you've kept him out of school these years?"
Marshy was flicking away the smaller spider beasts with her fingers, making them explode into the sky, killing them.
Marshy answered Xenon, "I was afraid."
"Of?"
"He would go through the same thing that I went through when I was in elementary and high school."
"Because of the birthmark?"
"Yep. Kids are ruthless. They would've hurt Duri's feelings, and I didn't want no one hurting Duri at all."
Two small spider beasts jumped near Xenon, and Xenon grabbed them with both hands, and a loud wind shot out from his arms, and the beasts exploded.
Xenon said to Marshy, "You're really protective over him aren't ya? Imagine."
"Why wouldn't I be? I gotta keep him safe. He's a special case."
"Real fucking special."
A shining white ax appeared in Xenon's hands, and he looked towards the giant spider beast that was still shooting out green dissolving venom.
A bright white and shining Katana appeared in Marshy's hand, and she stood beside Xenon.
Marshy added, "One thing I'm actually afraid of though, is him losing himself. On most nights, Zabel is somehow entering his dreams, or speaking to him telepathically. Shit is driving Duri mad."
"It would drive me crazy too."
The spider beast screeched, "Die!!!"
It leaped forward at light speed, but Marshy and Xenon were faster.
Marshy and Xenon already cut past the beast, and white slashes and lines flew everywhere, cutting the beast up in small pieces.
Xenon said, "Phew! What a workout."
Marshy replied, "You need it."
"I'm only 180 pounds of pure muscle."
"Cringe."
"Whatever, Mark."
"M.."
Xenon inspected Marshy, seeing the look on her face.
"You're worried about Duri?"
"It's his first day of fucking HIGH SCHOOL. HIGH SCHOOL."
"Ever since you've adopted the kid, you've gone soft. The kid's changed you."
"Watching Duri train by himself all night every damn night, getting right up after an injury, and beating up criminals…he was just like me."
Marshy's phone rang in her pocket, and she reached in to answer it.
"What?" Marshy answered, putting the phone on speaker.
"This is Chaos. We need to talk."
"Chaos…what are you calling me for?"
"A meeting of the Seven strongest hosts will be set in one hour at the temple."
"What is it about?"
"...Reborn, the brother of Zabel. We think we know where our headmaster and his wife are."
"Shit…I never thought I'd hear that name again. But Reborn is dead…"
"He is. I know that lazy bastard Xenon is with you. Hurry up. We're all waiting."
Xenon said into the phone, "I'm still stronger than you, Chaos."
"Sure you are, Xenon. You still can't hold your liquor. Even Marshy holds more than you."
"Bullshit. Next time we go out, let's test our stomachs again, idiot."
"Sure thing. Get here, now."
[Kyoto Side High School]
[Rooftop]
[Lunchtime]
Kazuma asked Duri, "What was your biggest battle?"
Duri was leaning against the rooftop gate on the ledge, and he was eating his food.
Duri answered, "Why do you wanna know?"
"The scars on your arm…they look like battle scars. I think they're cool!"
"My biggest fight was against a dumbass named Conan. That fight there, showed me I can beat almost anyone. Even you three."
"Cool!"
Ren-Ren said maliciously, "Cool…cool…"
Duri asked him, "What the hell's his deal?"
Jiyu replied, "Ex-excuse him. He's just….different."
"I can tell."
Kazuma informed Duri, "Ren-Ren wants to become a villain and conquer the universe. He believes he is the main protagonist and everyone is a support character."
"A villain? You know what I do to villains?"
"Beat them u-."
"KILL THEM."
"Really?!"
"I'm kidding. Kinda."
Jiyu asked Duri, "Hey…Duri…do you like plants and animals..?"
"Some animals. I'm not really into plants."
"Oh..do you wanna test out some of the stuff I made?"
"Stuff?"
"Like..weapons…that I found from an old wreckage."
"WEAPONS?!"
"Ye-yeah. I would really appreciate it if you gave them a try, ya know..And also..I have some gadgets that I've kinked up together."
"Why me?"
"I-I can tell you're strong. I'm not really that strong, that's why I create things that'll help me fight."
"That's a good reason actually. Not gonna lie. Just be like me. Train yer ass off, even if it fucks you up, got it nerd?"
Jiyu smiled excitedly, "Yes!"
Duri thinks, 'This isn't a bad group of people. I'm just not looking for friends right now. Yeah, I had that dream when I was a child. Now, I don't even know what I want from school anymore.'
Duri asked Kazuma, Ren-Ren, and Jiyu, "So all of you are going to the exams in a couple of days?"
They all nodded, "Mhm!"
Ren-Ren replied, "Yes…and when I do…I top EVERYONE! HAHAHA! AHAHAH!"
"O…kay.."
In the lunchroom, Seven and Nine were finished eating along with their other friends.
Nine asked Seven, "You attacked him in the bathroom?"
Seven nodded, "Mhm."
"For what reason? You don't really KNOW him."
"I thought he was like other boys. They act hard as hell, thinking they're the shit, but when I press them, they either fall in love with me or try to date me. Even when I tried to talk all sweet and shit to Duri, he wouldn't budge."
"What? You like his ass now?"
"I don't like anyone, I never have. You know me, Nine."
"Yeah, we've been best friends since elementary school, of course I do."
The school bell rang, and it was time to go to the next class. All of the students began to pack their things, throw away their trash from their lunches, and made their way to their next class.
Duri's next class was physical education, AKA P.E.
(11 minutes later)
(Gym)
The gym was about the same size as the cafeteria, there was gym equipment laying on the side, the floors were hard floors, there were bleachers on the sides, the school flags were hanging high on the ceiling.
Duri and his entire class were wearing white t-shirts, blue gums shorts, and white sneakers with red socks.
They all stood together, with a pile of dodgeballs laying in the middle of the floor.
In front of them, stood Haruto, holding a volleyball.
He said, "Finally, my favorite part of the day besides lunch and break time. Listen here, I'm gonna get this out of the way cause I finally have a date in the supplies room after all this time. Haha, just kidding. Just tryna warm up to you guys with a little humor. Yea, I'm not funny. To make a long story short, these walls are practically indestructible. So you can go crazy with the dodgeballs. All of you will simply try and eliminate one another by throwing the ball at each other, but it only counts if it's above the waist, not below."
Duri asked, "Is there a twist to this?"
"Good eye, Duri. As you can feel, I'm releasing energy into this dodgeball, to either make it stronger, or manipulate it's movements. In this game of battle royale dodgeball, I want you all to focus and release some of your energy into the dodgeball you grab. Use strategy and plans in this game, because it will be chaos, just like the exams."
One kid from the class asked Haruto, "Uh, how the heck exactly are we supposed to do that?"
"All you have to do is imagine your power going into an object you want to use. It all depends heavily on how much of your own power you have controlled. Everyone grab a ball."
Duri and the rest of the class reached down to grab a dodgeball, and Haruto instructed everyone, "Good, now spread out."
Everyone began to spread out, of course, Seven and Nine went together.
Duri and Tek ended up standing near each other, and they gave each other a malicious expression, then looked away.
Kazuma exclaimed, "Yes! This is gonna be exciting!"
Jiyu added, "I-I could..definitely try this with some of the-the things I have…"
Ren-Ren said with a dark tone, "Hehehe…learning new moves for my villain campaign! Hahaha! You're all side characters!"
Seven said, "The day just got even more interesting."
Nine responded, "Hell yeah! I'm gonna crush everyone's skulls."
Duri heard the other chatter everyone in the class was saying, and he watched how they were closing their eyes, and trying to get the dodgeball to move in their favor.
'This was one of the first things Marshy taught me when I was 6 years old.'
[FLASHBACK]
[9 YEARS AGO]
[IN THE WOODS]
6 year old Duri was sitting on his knees, holding a rock, and he was also covered in blood and dirt.
Marshy was standing in front of him, and she was out of breath.
She said, "Now…phew! Now that we got the hard shit out of the way, we can start with something small."
Duri smiled, "Oo! What is it?!"
"Object control. You're gonna use your power energy to manipulate the hell out of that…rock. Power is given to us at birth, no one knows where our power comes from, but we do know we can cultivate our powers to our max potential. Our power is made up of our spiritual energy, which is the element that maintains our powers, it mends our powers together like an old man knitting some shit. We can gain powers from the rewards of the tournaments also, and we can cultivate those rewards as well. What I'm trying to say is…power is power. Once you learn how to fully control yours, I think you'll be unstoppable, Duri."
Duri smiled again, "Really?!"
"Mhm. Now, imagine a flow of water entering the rock, and imagine yourself having full control of it."
Duri was staring off into space, he was in deep thought. He took deep breaths in and out, and eventually, the rock started to glow a black aura.
Marshy thought, 'Quick learner. If he practices this, he'll be sure to learn how to take control of his shadow abilities. I hope.'
Seconds later, the rock began to spin really fast, and Duri said, "Look! Look Marshy! I'm doing it! Aren't ya proud of me?!"
"How…in…the…hell? I mean um, yeah, that's great! You're doing damn splendid!"
'How in the helling hell hell did he learn this so fast? If this is happening like this, then how come he can't control or access his shadow powers yet?!' Marshy thought.
Marshy then instructed Duri, "Now, Duri, now that you have that rock in your grasp, sling the rock as hard as you can!"
"At you?"
"What?! Are you crazy?! No! Somewhere else!"
"Oh, haha, okay!"
Duri turned around, and he got in a position to throw the rock. He lifted his leg up, and he pulled his arm back.
His arm had black wind surrounding it, and the rock still glowed black.
Duri yelled, "HIIIIIYA!!"
He slung the rock through the trees as a shot of loud winds came from under Duri and the rock itself.
The rock soared past the trees, and each rock it did hit, it ended up splitting in half and being destroyed.
Duri celebrated, "Yes! Yes! Woohoo! I'll be the strongest ever in no time!"
Marshy smiled, and she sat her hand on the back of Duri's head, patting it.
"Nice job, Duri. Nice job."
[FLASHBACK END]
[PRESENT DAY]
[GYM]
Some of the students in the gym had a grasp on what they were doing, and the dodgeballs all were glowing with different colors.
"This is so cool!"
"Heh, it's okay I guess."
"I'm actually doing it!"
"TEACHER! I need help."
"I can't get it to work right!"
Tek was turning the ball slowly as it glowed red, he was reading a small book at the same time.
Seven and Nine were using their power to hold the dodgeballs above their heads without even touching it.
Kazuma was making his dodgeball float, but it had fire around it.
Jiyu couldn't do it right, but she kept trying.
"I..I can't do it."
Haruto started to walk over to help her.
Ren-Ren was making his dodgeball move side to side, and he laughed an evil laugh, "Ha! I am becoming victorious! Hehe…hehe..hehe.."
Duri was spinning five dodgeballs around his body fast as his arms were folded, and the dodgeballs were moving at a rapid speed.
Tek said, "Tch," when he saw Duri doing that.
Seven and Nine saw Duri performing this act, and Seven said, "He's done this before."
Nine replied, "Of course he did. His mother is Marshy. One of the seven strongest hosts."
Kazuma said, "Alright, Duri! Way to go!"
All the other students were looking at him, and they said:
"I expected this from the son of one of the strongest hosts.."
"Okay, the new kid's got some skills.."
"He mastered it like it was nothing!"
"Eh, he's just showing off."
"He's not all that."
"He's incredible.."
Haruto watched Duri, and thought to himself, 'Good job, Duri. Lemme start the battle royale right away to knock him off guard. I wanna see if he can actually use this method in a heated situation.'
Haruto blew the whistle, and yelled, "Let the battle royale begin! Eliminate your opponents, and let the last survivor win!!!"