Chapter 23

The following week, there was a surge of portals opening and demons erupting out now. This rise was due to the Phoenix demon. Even though he is nowhere to be found currently, he had opened many portals before disappearing. We vanquished the demons and closed each portal to the point it was starting to become exhausting,

For the first time, we met a couple of members of the Heavenly Council who were trying to give us intel. The Phoenix demon wasn't the only mastermind behind this upheaval; small groups of enemies were causing a disturbance among the people.

What their objection was was still unknown. Soon after the end of the school year, they wanted us to start traveling. I know I don't have a problem to worry about, like Micah and Beck having families, and they being underage.

Baby, our substitute teacher, was also trying to help plan. We could plan a field trip during summer break, giving us the freedom to travel. But then that creates another problem for the other students, which means she would have to supervise them. If ever we were in need, that would leave her unavailable.

However, if she made it a paid trip, that would help limit the number of people who could go. That means we come back to the same conclusion that she would be stuck babysitting.

We decided to just move our focus right now to working hard at the cafe and hoping to save up the money for the trip. It was hard from time to time with demon spottings; we were constantly leaving our work. We had to rotate who would go to avoid overexerting ourselves, and if the situation were too much for one of us to handle, we would call for backup.

I'm unsure because the portals were only mere cracks and not fully opened; only small demons were leaking out. These cracks were like turning on the lights in a room with roaches; they were scattered everywhere. They might be small, but there were many sometimes.

Baby, there's got to be some way to upgrade this device, much like cell phones getting system updates or newer models with faster and better technology. Is there any way that we could request that a power level meter be placed on the device?

I most certainly will submit a request to HQ. However, I'm not quite sure. It's honestly reasonably new technology, so it may take some time to put it together, and even when it arrives, there might still be some bugs.

Yes, please. That could immensely benefit us. We would know the urgency of the need, so it would not overwhelm our day-to-day lives and exert our energy.

I can start helping you sense the spirits a little bit more thoroughly. It won't work in long-term areas, but within your capabilities, you still should be able to determine the power level of the spirits around you.

You say spirits, not just demons. I don't quite understand what you're saying.

You heard me right. I'd be able to give you the ability to sense spirits and energies that dwell within others, such as Beck and Micah's strength levels. When you sense the power levels within the energy around you, it's not just for the demons that you're attempting to go after. You'll soon be able to adapt to all the energy that flows around you, within yourself, others, and even living plants and animals.

Every single thing that brings life has energy, a spirit, a source of life that is knitted together, connecting us all.

Do you remember me telling you about this?

Certain currents, such as warm freshwater river currents, naturally flow in a positive direction. Some, like the chilly channels of the saltwater ocean, are radically opposed. Similar to the species that coexist with them, few can endure the distinct streams that make up their broadly diverse habitats. As if they are too dissimilar ever to combine, there are even spots where the freshwater and saltwater oceans are visible, separating one another.

I see much like the light in the dark within the world and within the people in it.

Yes, but people's light and dark sides are much like those of creatures; they can learn to adapt, overcome, and change themselves, thus changing the environment around them.

I think this would be a great idea and would help me to help people, maybe before they begin to change when people have negative energy, illuminating them before it consumes them. I have felt darkness around people many times before.

Another thing I'd like to teach you that might help all of us is how to control some of your spiritual pressure. You tend to leak out a lot of energy. This has affected others around you and made you see your target, which is why I originally made our training grounds the inside of the mountain.

Oh wow, I apologize for that. I never knew I was doing that.

You and the girls will come to the training grounds when you leave school today. Thanks to the Heavenly Council for coming down; we have made some extra modifications to the barrier now. They put up a much stronger barrier so that we won't have any more problems from here on.

(Later after school)

Okay, ladies. As you know, Kaysi brought you here to train. I know you already know some of the basics of sensing spiritual pressure. An example is sensing the little ghost girl. You guys can also sense the demons. Lastly, you know how to apply some of the spiritual pressure to manifest your weapon.

I'd like you to learn how to sense the good and bad spirits within people long distance. Kaysi has already shown some of the applications needed to sense bad humans and the negative spirits that might linger before corruption.

Over a vest distance, I'll be at least a good 10 miles of reach once better perfected. This skill can very much come in handy while you're battling, even before you need to be on your guard.

Your charms for your weapons have dual purposes. Not only do they contain your spiritual weapon as needed, but they can also be used as an antenna, so to speak, for your spiritual pressure. You'll notice that each gem placed on your charm has a specific color that is the same as your physical image of your aura, which reflects around your body.

I want you to start by concentrating hard enough until you can physically see your aura. After that, I want you to start pushing to see each other's auras.

I already figured that one out a while back, said, Micah. I have a sense of my spirit and have more recently started being able to see other people's spirit pressure.

Okay, then, are you able to assess a target from a far distance?

Being able to sense further out the distance just started. I can't go that far more like I could sense Kaysi when she was in the same building as me, a couple of floors up, when we were fighting that demon Phoenix.

What are you visualizing when you see the aura? Baby asked.

The soul ties very much like Silk ribbons that flow around people

I also noticed from time to time that they seem to resonate with each other. Interweaving, connecting, and even leaving fibers behind attached.

Yes, this is correct. The residual that you see is because, much like emotions, each other's spiritual Aura can affect another person's, sometimes leaving behind scatters of their essence connected to us.

The same goes for our relationships with living things. Some have longer-lasting effects but are still normally temporary. Imagine playing with a small kitten whose essence is yellow. If, for example, Beck plays with the kitten, she may have small traces of yellow within her ribbon or soul tie for a short amount of time.

We will do a few exercises of spiritual hide and go seek once you have fully harnessed the ability to help you sense your spiritual pressure as well as your teammates.

Through these exercises, it wasn't long before we started being able to pick up on each other's presence easier. Baby wanted us to take it a step further by heading outside the barrier to see if we could pick up the location of any demons nearby.

After finding one or two and defeating them, we decided to call it quits for today and head home. Baby told us to also cut down on our time and resources. Our spiritual pressure, awareness, and strength should depend on the size of the demon ranking we went for.

For smaller, weaker demons, Beck could hunt, though she had just manifested her weapon and could take down small opponents at levels one to two.

Beyond that point, Micah would be able to do two if there were multiples or a problem. Even battling up to three.

In certain emergency cases, if need be, I would be able to accomplish a three-soldier mission, but I was told that would be my allowed Max. Even though I had the strength to possibly be able to do four, some of my reckless nature put me in danger if I was not able to have others help me.

Also, the rule has been that if any of us were struggling, we would call on one another if there was a need. In cases where there are multiples, the need for extra help is probable.

The next morning, when I was going to school, I kept having this uneasy feeling in my gut.

Kaysi, are you okay? You're looking a little greener on the gills?

Yeah, I'll be fine. I just might have been training a little too hard here lately. Thankfully, there are only a couple more days left of school, and we can start our vacation before heading deep into work again.

Finally, the field trip plan was set. Baby told the parents about the pricing, and rejecting it lowered our headcount. She also has another teacher coming to help in case a kid has an emergency that would give her time away.

She played it off like if somebody got sick or sprained an ankle. That way, she could be able to get some time away if need be to take somebody to the hospital.

The walk to school was a bit gloomy; it was quite cloudy today. I did not bring my umbrella; the forecast did not call for any rain. Honestly, when we stepped out, it wasn't all that cloudy. The clouds seemed to have rolled in, with some maybe because of the soon-approaching summer season, so we didn't get so soaked.

We hurried our backpacks over the top of our heads and ran to school as the rain slowly started to trickle down. Thankfully, the sky began to open up and start letting loose until we were through the doors.

I haven't seen it pick up this fast in a while. Is there some type of tropical storm off the coast creeping in?

I'm not quite sure we have entered the official tornado season, so I wouldn't put it past the weather to change abruptly, Micah said with a faint sigh.

That's true. We're just going to have to remember to grab our umbrella for the next couple of days left at school. Hopefully, it will have stopped by the time we have to head home.

I do have one of my large ones still in my locker. I tend to forget it at school a lot, but at least now, it can come in handy.

Oh, Beck, at least you can save the day if it doesn't stop raining after school.

The Bell rang, and we headed to our first class. Slowly, throughout the day, the rain began to pick up.

Sourusensā began to ring, and the vibration was in my pocket. The first chime was at the worst timing, as Lightning crashed across the sky and made the lights flicker. It nearly gave me a heart attack.

It was a level one demon only about 2 miles out. We could easily get it and get back within a decent time, but with the rain, we didn't want to change it. One small demon can't do that much destruction in a short amount of time.

They are nearly harmless, even though all of them should be removed. We decided not to press our luck and wait until after school to handle this one.

Sourusensā went off a second time. Micha looked at me. What did you do? Hit snooze on that thing instead of silence, she said jokingly.

No, I could have sworn I hit deny, and it should have shut off. Although this was our first time ignoring it, I opened it up to see that there were now three small demons in the exact location. This must indicate that there is a crack in a portal in that area where they're leaking out.

Beck volunteered, and I know I am allowed levels 1 and 2 if I have any problems. She laughed. I can call you guys; I'm the only one with an umbrella.

Yeah, just call us. When you're done, you might want to go back to your house to get a change of clothes as well.

Okay, guys, I hope you have luck. Again, if you get into any trouble, call us immediately.

Yes, I know, Kaysi, I am not like you she said smugly, laughing as she left.

Sourusensā went off a third time. Kaysi, if your phone goes off one more time, interrupting my class, I'm going to have to give you detention, my teacher shouted. Sorry, Mr. Mares. It seems to be a family emergency. I'm going to step out and take this call real quick, I said, dashing for the door.

I'm sorry. When she said family, she was talking about a cousin that we share. "I'll be right back, too," Micah said, ignoring him and telling us to return to class!

Micah asked, confused and concerned. Okay, so what's the situation?

It's another small demon. This one, however, is a level two not too far from Beck's location.

I really can't make sense of the situation. In theory, if the portal is large, it could have more than one crack. We can head out there and help Beck; she'll need it.

I'll go out there and clean up a few small ones. Also, I will help Beck finish. Also, if you stay, it will help the teachers to be less suspicious of us. There is no sense in all of us going,

Okay, but you know the rule: if anything becomes too serious, call for help.

Yes, that's fine. You don't have to worry about it because I'll go with her.

Oh, Baby, you got some time away from class to head out Micah asked as she walked up.

Yes, I want to investigate the portal. I noticed it is rather large and has multiple cracks, which also gives me a chance to seal it.

I feel a lot better that you'll be out there helping them. I'll stay here and hold down the fort. I light-heartedly chuckled. You guys, be safe, and don't get too wet out in the rain.

After a little while, I started to feel a little better and realized that everything would be well despite feeling uneasy. I adore storms—the way the raindrops fall, the fresh air they carry, and even the sight of lightning streaking across the sky. It's awful that my friends have to brave this weather.

I cautiously made my way back to Mr. Manes's classroom, attempting to come up with a plausible explanation for Beck and Micha's continued absence. I chuckled, thinking I could blame it on Baby. She is a substitute teacher, and their absence was caused by having to do an errand for her. You can't be angry with a teacher, right?

Sourusensā Rings. My heart felt like it stopped. I held my breath with worry. Was it too late for the portal to finally open? I was almost too scared to open up the phone.

The uneasy feeling I had been trying to choke down all day was right. This time, it wasn't the demons; this was a level 5 demon that was right here, almost in the school, from the image that I could see.