Chapter 67.

PART 1.

Josh is welcomed by his father and brother. Unlike their previous meeting, George tries to be nice, without saying anything upsetting.

“So, how was this year?” he asked.

“Oh, it was great. Much less chaotic than the previous year.” Said Josh. “It helped that no one tried to kill Hatori, so we didn’t get caught in the crossfire.”

“Always a good thing.” Said George. “You should take peace wherever you can, son. It is important to relax.”

Not understanding why his workaholic father was singing a different tune, Josh smiled and nodded. Forget understanding. He just knows this won’t last long. He’ll go back to his default setting. Best enjoy his good mood as long as it lasts.

Once it is over, run back to the castle. That is what Josh has planned.

PART 2.

Raven is telling about his year in the Academy to his mother and father. “I do think this year was easier than the first year.” He said while enjoying the fruits sliced by his mother.

“The first year is always hard.” Agreed with Magpie.

“Did you make any new friends?” asked Panshi, mother of Raven, here on screen, for the first time.

“Not many. With everything, I feel like this year just went by too fast.” He spoke.

“No matter.” Said Magpie, thumping Raven’s back. “I’m sure you’ll make more friends yet.”

“Don’t act like your namesake, dear.” Said Panshi.

“What? Of course not. But what could be more valuable and glorious than collecting friends?”

PART 3.

As soon as James entered the house, Lucie took him to her room and has been grilling him on Hatori’s weaknesses for two hours, not letting him have a shower, or even change his clothes. James is very disturbed by this constant interest in his friend.

“Come now,” said Lucie. “You’ve been around him for at least two years now. You mean to tell me that you don’t know any weakness of his?”

“I don’t.” Said James. “And even if I knew, I wouldn’t tell you.” He pushed Eva out of his way, and marched out of the room, ignoring the threats to tell their mother behind him.

Though this year sailed smoothly, James has a feeling that it wouldn’t be the same in the upcoming year. Opening the door to his father’s room, James banished thoughts about the future for now.

“Dad?” he said softly to the figure sprawled on the bed in a stupor.

Opening his eyes, Jimmy Flora greets his son, recognizing him through his alcoholic stupor. “Hi, son.” James walks to his bed and sits next to him. “So, how was your year?”

While James talked about the year in the Academy to his father, he hoped that he would stop consuming so much alcohol. His health is fine, but that one thing has become a slow poison to him, allowing vultures like Mathis to take over their house.

PART 4.

Shin is surrounded by the younger children of the orphanage; they are delighted to hear the stories from the Academy. “So, you fought your scarry friend?” asked one six-year-old, referring to Hatori.

Chuckling at the given name to Hatori, Shin describes how he tied Hatori in silk. “And when everything was said and done, he looked like a silk doll.”

The children laughed after hearing that. Shin hopes that Hatori will never meet them later in life, or else he’ll tear his hide anew.

PART 5.

Hatori walks close to the house. Zeko has already gone inside. He feels as if someone is humiliating him, but he has no way of getting back at them. For now, though, he is more worried about a threat in front of the house. Shadows and spirits usually threaten him, denying him entrance into the house, until he defeats them.

And he was right. Just when he was about to reach the door, a tall statue blocked his path by breathing fire at him. He had to scramble out of the way in a hurry because he was not expecting that. looks like he won’t be dealing in Piercers and Slicers this time.

Staying out of the range of the fire of this statue, Hatori fires Piercers and Slicers at this statue. But much like the skin of Ishwar, they did not have any effect on it, failing to damage the wood. How this wooden statue doesn’t burn itself with its fire is beyond Hatori, because he doesn’t have the time to think about it.

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Firing a Blast spell, Hatori gets closer to the statue, hoping that the attack would have dazed the statue. But this does not affect the statue, aside from a few scratches on it from the rubble. He’ll apologize to Zeko for tearing up his porch later.

The tactic backfires, however, as the statue kicks Hatori right on his stomach, sending him flying with a loud thwack! It also sent a fireball after him as a salt on the wound, since Hatori doesn’t know a fireball spell yet. Falling to the ground, he rolled out of the way of the fireball in a hurry, cradling his stomach.

Unable to think of anything, and sitting on the ground with his throbbing midsection, Hatori thinks of what could he do. The statue seems impossible, like a computer in chess, hellbent on winning at any cost. It prepares another fireball to lop at him, which Hatori had to avoid, even though he didn’t want to move at all from the pain in his belly.

Elemental magic seems the only remaining option. But he only knows how to produce some flames, not any specific spells. He won’t be able to damage the statue like that. Dodging another fireball, Hatori decides to copy the statue in mid-battle and tries to learn the fireball from it.

He focuses on sensing the flow of magic as it performs the fireball, and the specific movements the statue does before firing the spell. Dropping his foci, he copies the movement and tries to mimic the flow of magic. but the statue was faster, and it disrupted his concentration.

Scrambling out of the way, Hatori thinks to himself. ‘It would have been better if I could conjure up some oil. Few flames, and a nice crispy burning statue.’ But since he doesn’t know how to conjure oil, Hatori mimics the fireball spell once more.

He gets the spell, but he loses control of it just as quickly. The fireball explodes on his face, singeing his hair, and another fireball from the statue lands too close for his comfort. At least he can claim confidentially that the statue has failed to burn him so far, and the only damage he has is that kick and his spell exploding on his face. This is nothing to be happy about though. Hatori knows that if the statue gets any hits on him, he’ll be finished. Zeko will get only his half-burned body then.

But he doesn’t want to die; he has so many things to do. The world won’t cry itself; it needs a terror like him. So, he focuses once more on his fireball, and this time, not only did the spell work faster than before, he even lobbed it at the statue’s wooden face, making a direct hit.

But that was not enough to burn the statue. Maybe get some smoke out of it, turn the face black, but not burn it, and make it disappear from Hatori’s miserable life. He goes closer, taking the risk of nearly getting burned and kicked, and throws more fireballs at it, until its body finally catches fire with a loud crackle of wood. As the statue begins to fall, it nearly burns Hatori once again from its burning body. But it disappears before it could do anything more than make some hot coals fall on his head, and the door is open for Hatori to enter the house.

Hatori walks in, hoping for a shower, and a peaceful sleep. He doesn’t feel like dealing with the shadows and spirits of the house right now. Though he does get his wish for a peaceful sleep, he wouldn’t have slept so soundly if he knew what was happening in the basement at the same time.

“That went well, didn’t you think?” asked Zeko.

“Yes, though the child nearly lost his life several times.” replied central yantra. “His disregard for danger is rather worrying. “But I’m sure he’ll develop it soon enough.”

“Yeah, now we can attack him with elemental magic!” said one spirit.

“Yes, I’ve been waiting to come out. I need to test that boy. Hehehehehe!” said another spirit.

“Now that he has mastered the fire element to a suitable level, I can teach him more destructive spells,” said Zeko.

“Just be sure to not burn down any more cities.” Reminded central yantras. “I doubt you would be able to afford the fine now, due to inflation.”

Zeko shuttered. “Banish those evil things from this house!”

Other sentient yantras and spirits from the house howled in agreement. Inflation has no place in their lives unless it is the inflation of their power, magical, or financial.

(End.)