THWAP
Victor lands a kick on Jack's face sending him rolling back. "You know, I was surprised when I heard you got a job here, considering your past," Victor makes a snarky remark looking down at Jack laying on the floor.
"Tha...t was not my fault," Jack looks up at Victor, blood dripping down from his mouth.
"I guess hitting you isn't going to work," Victor puts his feet on Jack's head, before smashing his face into the floor.
"Stop it," Nichole yells out after mustering enough courage, "please stop," she says shakily.
"Oh little girl," Victor turns back to look at her, his foot still pressing down Jack's face, "your professor isn't as innocent as you take him to be, so stay out of this."
"But that doesn't mean what you're doing is right," Nichole pleads.
"The adults are talking, stay out of it kid," Victor turns back his focus to Jack.
What do I do? The door is behind him, I don't think he'll let me leave, Nichole bites on her lips at the helplessness she felt.
"What are you doing Jack," a malignant voice whispers into Jack's ears, "I thought you said you wouldn't run away anymore? I guess I'll have to do it."
"What do you think you're doing?" a man wearing deep scarlet regal clothing with a golden and silver accent appeared before Victor. His face was similar to Jack's, the only difference were earrings of cascading petals on his ears.
Huh! This presence! What's with the bloodlust? Victor jumps back at the amount of sheer force the floating figure was excluding.
"Professor?" Nichole weakly muttered at the suppressing force as she fell to the floor gasping for breath.
Nichole tries to look at the entity floating above Jack's body in the floor, the features were similar, but his expressions were different. The entity's eyes meet Nichole's.
Is he looking at me? Nichole looks back, the air around her getting lighter.
"What are you?" a blue aura shimmers around Victor as he tries to withstand the pressure.
"Are you deaf?" the entity pressed on, "I asked you something."
"What I am doing doesn't concern you," Victor replies, despite the pressure.
"Well then, you shouldn't mind if I do this," the entity flicks his hands. A black wilted tree appears behind Victor, two beads of red energy shining at the top of the withering tree. "Totem of Yearning Spirits."
"Hu—" before Victor could react, ghostly hands grabs and slams him into the tree, restraining him.
"Maybe I should end your pathetic existence right here," the entity muttered as two sets of hands grasped Victor's neck, suffocating him more.
"Wha..." the hands choked Victor, his words getting cut, but the blue hue around him continued to grow, trying to break free of the restraints.
"You're quite the clingy one, aren't you?" Count points his index finger at Victor, a small sphere of red energy forming around it. "Weren't you there after her death too, blaming him," Count looked down at Jack's unconscious body.
"Ha, blaming... him?" Victor said, anger bursting through, "if you were there you... would know, she died because... of him."
"Dark Dragon Fist, Martial Force," the red energy shone bright as a small dragon took shape from the red energy, coiling around Count.
Is he going to hurt the man? Nichole thought, slowly walking towards Jack's body. No that man hurt the professor first.
"You and me,both know it wasn't his fault," Count got close to his face, "so why do you keep trying to hurt him?"
"Not his fault! It's that bastard fault, he—"
"Shush, guess you really are deaf."
...
BOOM
"What was that?" Charla looked at Hailee as the two ran through the hallway.
"Are they fighting? Shit," Hailee cursed as the building shook.
"I don't think Jonathan is one to fight, but Victor..." Charla paused as the two continued to run, "what's his problem with Jonathan?"
"His sister," Hailee tried to recall the event, "he blames Jonathan for his sister's death."
They continued running for some time before reaching the side of the class, but the building had crashed down, wood and stone on the floor, the wall to the classroom blown off.
The two stopped to look at the damage before rushing off inside the classroom.
Charla walks in first and notices Jack unconscious on the floor and Nichole sitting beside him, and Victor shaking in fear at something.
Hailee hurries towards Jack, noticing him while Charla walks towards Victor.
"Hey, snap out of it," Charla puts her hands on his shoulder and shakes him once, "what happened here?"
"I'll tell you later," Victor replies, his voice shook. He storms out of the broken room without turning back, terrified of something.
Charla looked around in wonder, half of the walls along with the ceiling were blown off. She noticed something strange as she looked at Jack's body.
"Hey, what's up with him?" Charla asked Hailee, who looked back troubled.
"It's his mana, it's not letting me heal him, my own mana can't get past his," Hailee replied as a faint gray glow emnated around her.
"Nichole," Charla finally looked at her asking, "what happened here?"
"The other sir came in here and started beating him," Nichole looked down, "and some sort of doppelganger of the professor came out and..."
"Shit, it's not working Charla, his mana is too thick, it's repelling mine."
"Wait, let me see," Charla puts her hands on Jack's chest, her hand glowing orange before letting some of her mana into his body, but surprisingly her mana was able to go in. "Hailee, I can do it."
"Yes, that's why, it's his cold mana, you're able to open it, can you continue holding it open, I'll try to heal him."
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Grandpa dies during a mission in two years, but how could he die? He was one of the strongest, Finn cleared his mind as he recollected his thoughts. He left for some unspecified reason a month ago, but this is what he was up to.
MISSION ALERT
TALK TO VICTOR AMBRON
ACCEPT/REJECT
What is this now? Victor Ambron, is that his full name, and why the sudden popup?
But grandpa, I can't let him die, he's the only family I have left, Finn's eyes filled up in tears once more. The foreign memory felt real, the thought of the death threatening to drown his heart in sorrow.
No, I will save him, I will have to get stronger, and I'll make use of this information, maybe even as—
BOOM
"What was that?" Finn looked towards the source of the sound. He could see the smoke rising from a nearby building as the loud sound travelled through the air.
Should I go check it out?
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"An upgrade menu, but what's with this menu, it's asking for a token? How do I get that?" Daniela looked at the shimmering system in front of her.
A hand fell on her shoulders, "How did you advance to one star?"
"I have my tricks," Daniela looked at the hand before looking back to see Houdin.
"You beat him fair and square, I don't think he'll ever bother you again."
"I just want to live my life in peace, but too many obstacles, anyways how is your clu—"
BOOM
"What was that? Something happened?" Daniela got up.
"Let's go see what happened," Houdin walked first.
It's only the second day, what is it? Daniela felt a sense of unease gnawing at her.
The children all murmured as they walked gathered and walked towards the source of the sound but the crowd suddenly stopped.
Professor Siena and Professor Joseph stood at the entrance, "All students are to disperse," Professor Siena announced, continued by Professor Joseph cutting in, "No one is to cause an issue."
"What was that sound?" the children began murmuring as they all turned back to leave, disappointment and curiosity flashing their faces.
"Ah, let's just go back Dani," Houdin walked back.
"Something's wrong, I think something serious happened," Daniela muttered, "what do you think happened if the teachers had to come here to tell us to not go?"
"Maybe it's not as serious, we'll find out tomorrow anyway, let's go back."
Although Houdin's words of dismissing it as something inadequate had comforted her, the feeling of worry still held on, thoughts like, Was it because of me? Am I the reason? Is this because of my meddling? The thoughts kept on interfering.
I hope it's nothing serious.
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"I hope he is alright, he's been unconscious for sometime," Nichole sat on a chair pulled close to the bed.
Jack was laying on the large bed, his eyes still closed, bandages wrapped around his abdominal area. They were in Jack's room after the incident.
Your professor isn't as innocent as you take him to be, what did he mean by that? Nichole looked at the sleeping man, an odd sense of responsibility mingled with worry.
If he isn't innocent, I don't know what is. Even during the incident, he stood back and took the strikes, not once did he retaliate... he must have some reason, a yawn escaped her mouth, the day's tiredness catching up.
That thing, it looked just like him, what was that? There are so many things I want to ask him, but I don't want to pry.
Nichole puts her head down, her head sinking into the soft mattress, the feeling of sleepiness taking over.
Ah, so soft I could sleep for years, nope that means something else, I shouldn't think of stuff like that, anyways he's like a sleeping beauty.
Nichole got up a bit admiring the beauty of her professor, his wide shoulders and powerful arms, characterized by his sharp moustache and crimson hair.
"The belly feels like finishing touches," Nichole let out a small chuckle looking at the small slouch around his abdomen where the bandage was wrapped.
"Ahem, focus Nichole," she muttered, barely audible.
"But when are you waking up, sir?" the restlessness caught up as she fell to the bed, her eyelids closing on its own.
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