"Yonu..."
'Yeah?' I glanced out the window to see Kana walking out to the arena.
"I know Shimino isn't the strongest, but she's definitely one of the top few. She always hung around with the strongest third-years at school, making life miserable for anyone who crossed her path. She was relentless; even the best first and second-years couldn't match up to her..." The girl's voice trailed off as she spoke, addressing Kana.
'I see. I'm sorry. I didn't catch your name,' I turned to her, extending my hand.
"Oh, I'm Kohane Kouga... I'm the class leader of our group."
'Nice to meet you, Kohane. I can understand your concern. I didn't expect her to be this formidable, especially here.'
'I don't mean to be rude or condescending, but I thought the standards at this school might be lower. She's quite skilled.'
"Yes... she's from the Suzume family, the second highest-rated air manacian family, right after Ichizen. Though, they are actually ranked 5th overall."
"I see... Suzume, huh? I'm sorry, I'm still not familiar with the familial rankings. I only recently joined the Hino family," I replied, watching Kana go toe-to-toe with Shimino. They dodged and punched as if locked in a close combat duel between two manacians, yet Kana gradually gained the upper hand...
. . .
Kana dodged to the side as Shimino's punch flew past her. Her veins glowed orange, and the steam emitting from her body was instantly blown away by the powerful gusts from Shimino's punches.
"Hino Technique..." Kana backed up, clasping her hands together. "Draconian Release!"
"FUCK OFF!" Shimino yelled, clapping her arms. The mana Kana had gathered dispersed instantly.
"COME HERE!" Kana lunged back in, dodging Shimino's punches with lightning speed. Anticipating Shimino's next move, she caught her punch, turned, and swung Shimino's body over her back, slamming her into the ground.
"Gravity Pool!"
The ground cracked, and a circle of earth sank a few centimetres as Kana threw Shimino. The downdraft wind continued, but both Kana and Shimino seemed unaffected. Shimino hit the ground with a thud. As she lay there, Kana wound up for a punch and tried to shoot some fire, but nothing came out. It seems the concentration of air mana in the area is too high.
Shimino seized the moment, grabbing Kana's foot and pulling, causing her to fall. Shimino quickly got up and swung her leg into Kana's rib cage. Kana blocked with her arm but was sent flying. It was all part of her plan to escape the mana field.
"Hino Technique… Sword of Flames…" Kana declared as she landed.
"Haha… no way…" Shimino muttered in disbelief, mirroring the shock of everyone in the observation room. Kana placed her fists together and pulled them apart, revealing controlled blue flames swirling in the shape of a blade extending from her hand. The sheer heat and speed at which it was rotating seemed to distort the air around it as Kana pointed it at her opponent.
"I hate to do this, but… Territory…" Shimino muttered, her voice tinged with a manic edge, as she pressed her palm toward the ground. A glowing ring began to form on her forearm, but before it could fully manifest, Kana launched a roundhouse kick aimed at Shimino's left cheek.
Shimino backed up to dodge the kick, a wild gleam in her eyes. "Yes! More!" she hissed as Kana lunged with her fiery sword. Shimino's grin widened, intoxicated by the thrill of the fight. She hesitated for a split second, then decided to do both.
Do both. Yes. Push beyond limits. Risk everything. Only then is a battle fun!
Shimino's mind raced, adrenaline and madness fueling her resolve. Her heart pounded in her chest, the thrill of the fight pushing her into an ecstatic frenzy. She blocked the sword with her hands, yet they made no contact. Shimino was desperately blocking the sword by shooting a large amount of wind just to keep it at bay. Her muscles strained as she pushed through the standstill while the ring on her forearm spread out.
"Oh, come on, more!" Shimino shrieked, feeling the strain in her arms and the growing pressure from Kana's sword. She poured more mana into keeping the sword at bay while the air howling around them finally started to shape up into a dome swirling in a chaotic dance.
Kana's fiery sword pushed closer, inch by inch, the heat searing the air. Shimino laughed, a high-pitched, crazed sound. "Yes, that's it! Give me everything you've got!" The wind ring finally completed its formation. With a final surge of effort, she released a powerful gust of wind, forcing Kana back momentarily.
"It's just like Jin's territory…" Kana muttered, watching the scene unfold as she backed off. But Shimino, with that wild gleam in her eyes, started chasing her down.
"...Her control is so damn good…" She continued, noting how the surrounding air swirled around Shimino rather than travelling into the vacuum she created.
She had formed an absolute zone within her territory. However, she wouldn't be able to catch Kana, as she couldn't speed herself up… but the sheer intensity of her pursuit was terrifying. The air around her was a chaotic vortex; her eyes locked onto Kana with a ferocious, battle-crazed intensity.
Blades of wind shot from the swirling column of air, aimed directly at Kana. She glanced back, narrowly dodging the incoming blades, but a sudden pull from the winds almost caused her to slip.
Shimino controlled the winds from inside her zone with manic precision.
"Hahaha, she's good," Shimino cackled, her eyes wild with the thrill of the battle. The only way to beat her was to destroy her within the vacuum, relying solely on physical attacks.
Kana knew this. She wound up, her muscles tensing, then bursting towards Shimino with a sonic boom.
Sensing the imminent threat, Shimino stopped running and tried to dodge to the side. Kana's fiery determination met Shimino's crazed intensity head-on.
"Got you," Kana muttered right before entering the vacuum. She launched a punch aimed directly at Shimino's face.
For a split second, Shimino's expression flickered with worry. But then, a smirk twisted across her lips. She had been waiting for this moment.
When Kana snapped her fingers, her fist was inches from Shimino's face. Instantly, blades of wind shot out from every direction inside the vacuum, aimed straight at Kana.
Kana's eyes widened in shock. The blades were fast, too fast to dodge.
However, the next moment never came.
'Oops, Kana admits defeat.'
I slammed her onto the ground outside her territory in a neck-hold.
"Wha- did you do…"
'You were really going to drive those blades into her? Without protective uniforms?'
"SHUT THE FUCK UP! I DO WHAT I WANT!" She tried to punch me, but a blinding streak of lightning exploded through the duel arena the next moment with a deafening roar. The raw energy scorched everything in its path, leaving a trail of blackened destruction and filling the air with the acrid scent of burning.
'You okay? It is still a bit hard to control the direction, haha…' I knelt to grab Kana's hand before pulling her back up.
"Thanks, Yonu. How's your body doing? The lightning pill takes up so much stamina and strains your muscles immensely. Are you doing fine?"
'Yeah…The training I'm doing with your dad has been paying off,' I said as we walked out of the room. A silence fell upon the arena and the observation deck. The student watched in awe as the black burn marks scattered around the room showcased the individual brilliance that is Yonu's newfound power.
The Lightning Pill.
. . .
As the stare-down continued, Matsuda found it within him to step down first. He knew his responsibility as the family head and how his stubbornness to keep Yonu as the next heir could be detrimental to familial relations. He decided a compromise would be for the best.
"Fine, I'll gift you this newfound power," Matsuda said. "Maybe then you'll understand that you cannot beat Yonu in your current state."
Matsuda moved his finger and grabbed an orb out of thin air. It looked like a regular ignition pill.
"An ignition pill, Matsuda?" Yousuke snickered but was quickly silenced.
"This one has a different name, courtesy of Yonu." Matsuda clenched his fingers, making a pulling gesture from the glowing orange orb. Moments passed as he tried to sense the inner workings of his mana. Then, the orb suddenly split into two disparate spheres, glowing with different coloured brilliance. A crackling sound followed, filling the room with a bright blue light.
"No way…" muttered Yousuke as he approached the source of the crackling.
"He discovered it about a month ago," Matsuda explained. "He was very insistent that he could change the ignition pill into something even better. Perhaps this is what he meant. Essentially, he used his mana to attach to the free electrons within the flame. By pulling this mana out from the orb, he causes the free electrons to separate from the plasma itself. Once you rotate your mana at high speed, these flowing electrons practically form current—electricity."
"It's… a lightning pill?" Yousuke's eyes widened with realization.
"Yes," Matsuda stated. He popped the pill into his mouth, disappearing for a split second and reappearing behind Yousuke. "Its potency is much higher than that of the ignition pill."
"This revolutionizes everything!" Yousuke exclaimed, a subtle smirk emerging at the corner of his mouth.
. . .
"So, what do we do now?" the Vice President asked, his voice tense.
"Shimino losing is her problem," the President replied coldly. She brought it upon herself by constantly challenging random transfer students. It only makes sense that she loses when challenging the elite students, even if they are only first—and second-year students."
The Vice President leaned forward, a shadow of concern crossing his face. "But what about Yonu Hino?"
The President's eyes darkened, his voice dropping to a low, menacing tone. "We ignore him for now. He has shown no hostility and seems indifferent to the school. We leave him and the girl alone," he paused, a sinister edge creeping into his voice. "However, if he seems to threaten the plan, we take him down. And as of now, he is high on that list."
The Vice President nodded slowly, absorbing the gravity of the situation. "Alright... Anyway, isn't it soon that they will be choosing the first-year representative for the council?"
"That is correct," the President confirmed, his eyes narrowing to slits. "We need to ensure our interests are protected. You will do the planning." He pointed a finger at Manabe, who stood at attention.
"Yes, Prez," Manabe responded.
The President looked around the room, making eye contact with each member, his expression stern and unyielding. "The rest of you, follow accordingly," he commanded. "And remember our goal."
"Yes, Prez!" The council members echoed in unison, a murmur of agreement rippling through the room.
As the council members dispersed, the President remained seated, his face etched with fatigue. Dark circles shadowed his eyes, evidence of sleepless nights spent planning and coordinating. The weight of responsibility left upon him by his family felt heavy, but he pressed on, fueled by his hatred for the four great families. He wondered why he had to endure such pains to exchange information with the other families and coordinate their actions. But then he was reminded of the injustices and monopolies held by the great families, a stark anger boiling within him, welling up to the point of hysteria. He slumped back down and continued to coordinate his plans.
. . .
"Dad... it was Hino Yonu... I saw him today," the girl said, her voice trembling with awe and apprehension.
"He's in your school?" her father asked, leaning forward, his expression sharpening.
"Yes... he used lightning."
"Lightning?! Is it a new mana type he awakened?" Her father's eyes widened in surprise.
"It seems he can use fire too, though," the girl continued.
Her father's face darkened, but a cunning smile crept onto his lips. "It's okay...His powers won't matter." He fiddled with the chess pieces on his table. "Their relations with the sub-families are fragile…one tap..." He flicked the queen on the chessboard, sending it tumbling over. "...and it all comes falling." He mutters with a poised smirk, mapping out his intentions very clearly.
Behind the toppled queen, a bishop stood poised, strategically positioned to snipe the king from the back line. The metaphor was clear, and the girl felt a shiver run down her spine.
"You mean... we can exploit their internal conflicts?" she asked, hushed.
Her father nodded, his smile widening. "We can? Love, we already are. They have come into contact with us for this exact sake. They are foolish, but that serves to help us…Finally, we can stop this stupid monopoly that the Great Families have…" He said as he looked at the picture frame on his table's corner.
The girl nodded, determination filling her eyes. "I understand, Dad. I'll do my part."
"Good," he replied, his tone decisive. "Keep an eye on Yonu. Observe his strengths and weaknesses. We'll use every bit of information to our advantage."
As they both leaned over the chessboard, plotting their next move, the air was thick with anticipation. The game was far from over, and they were ready to exploit every opportunity to dethrone the Great Families.
###
The Four Great Families were established a decade after the evolution of mana in humans. The still-acting Minister of Beast Subjugation, Sir Tendo Hoaqin, hand-picked these families and is now aged 64. His reasoning for creating these families included the security of the country and its citizens and the increased productivity of mana cores, which could be more efficiently harvested during raids. The first members chosen to form the Four Great Families were selected by Sir Tendo, who explained that they were the strongest individuals in society by his standards.
However, the public was initially unaware of their existence. Decades later, the Four Great Families monopolize Mana Beast Subjugation Missions as they see fit, leaving lower-yield raids to the lesser-ranked families. While it is natural for them to tackle the more difficult missions, it has become clear to the other families that they are primarily interested in taking profits for themselves. This growing resentment has been festering ever since the covert war, but that is a story for another time.