"A meeting with the principal?"
The following day, Kai immediately went to talk to Anne.
"Nn. I don't need to hide from you anymore so I decided to talk to you about it directly."
Anne fell silent causing Kai to ask her once more.
"Anne?"
"...You aren't mad?"
Kai raised a brow.
"Mad? At you?"
Anne nodded a couple of times and lowered her head.
"Don't be silly, you're just doing what you have to do, aren't you? In fact, I like that side of you, impartial when you need to be."
Though you weren't really impartial, interrogating Erina more than me.
Anne's face flushed.
"I-I see. So you like me..."
Hmm... Did she just cut out a part of my sentence?
"So about that meeting with the principal-"
"I'll get you one."
Anne cut Kai's words short.
"Really? Thanks."
Kai raised his hand to rub Anne's head but in response, Anne backed away several tens of meters like she was getting out of her opponent's range of attack in a fight.
"???"
Question marks floated above Kai's head. They were in the hallway and Anne's sudden movement caused a lot of attention but then again, there was attention everywhere either of them went.
"D-don't touch my head... it's a nuisance."
You're not at all convincing when your face is that red...
Kai sighed. He raised both of his arms in a form of surrender to indicate he wouldn't but the moment she got close, he rubbed her head as hard as he could causing her to glare at him. She was channeling magic power to attack Kai but she still had a bit of rationality left and dispersed it.
She detained Erina for using magic and fighting someone on premises after all. If she were to do the same, then what kind of example would she set for the students?
Erina was suspended for a day because she was a temporary student, she didn't have much time left while the other transfer student, the angel, hadn't appeared since yesterday's affair.
"You can meet the principal after class today."
Anne had her head turned away from Kai as she spoke.
"Come on, don't pout. I won't ever do it again."
Anne twitched a little.
Is she starting to like it?
Kai remembered Angie. It had been a while since he saw her.
I guess I'll reward her when I come back.
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Alteria
"..."
Kazuki had a grim expression on his face as he sat on a sofa. Directly opposite of him was a table, Umi, and Natsumi.
"Do you think Yoko knows about that?"
Umi asked.
"...Maybe. Even if she doesn't, I'm sure Kai does. All we can do is wait quietly for his return."
Natsumi began to recount the days that Kai and the others were gone.
"The reason we can sense her is because of Kai, isn't it?"
Kazuki nodded at Natsumi's query.
"That's right. It's because we're always exposed to Kai's powers that we were able to differentiate her mana from the rest. If I had to mention a time that the power felt most similar... it's when Kai grew wings."
-meaning that it was a demon's power.
"I've heard that women inherit stronger bloodlines than men but... Kai is four quarters now, originally just three, angel, demon, and human. That means that Emi inherited an enhanced angel and demon bloodline, will her body be able to take it?"
Natsumi thought back. The power Emi produced was something they couldn't fathom.
"It would be different if she was fifteen but she's still quite a few years away from that. Right now, her body and mind are that of a child's. To control her bloodline with just that is quite difficult."
Umi, who could manipulate a bit of life with water, could tell the state of Emi's body quite clearly.
"Your Highnesses!"
A knight knocked on the door several times and shouted.
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"What is it?!"
Kazuki unintentionally yelled back right after he opened the door.
"Near the capital, a village is under siege by monsters! A crevice opened and no less than a hundred Fighter-class beasts appeared! Reports have also said that there may be a Disaster-class beast leading the horde from behind!"
"How long before destruction?"
"There was a caravan being escorted by over a dozen adventurers going through the village and they were caught up in the battle. The fighting force of the village contains the farmers armed with pitchforks numbering in the fifties. They can last for at most a day and a half- if the Disaster-class beast were to attack, a few hours!"
The three of them quickly prepared their equipment and prepared to head out but just as they stepped out of the door, Angie appeared.
"I found you."
"There's no time! A beast horde just-!"
Angie stopped them.
"No need to worry, Master has already made several measures to counter any beasts appearing in Alteria and the Empire. Not even Disaster-class beasts would be a threat. I came here to deliver you all a message from Master, it's about Master's little sister."
----------------------------------------
Just as Kai was walking in the halls towards the principal's office, he stopped.
"...Anne, I'm going to the toilet for a bit."
"Alright, I'll wait for you right outside the office."
Kai nodded and walked away.
"Erina, Amelia, I need your help."
After contacting the two of them and receiving affirmation, he moved near the combat class' room.
"Arata, Kei, come over to the school's backyard. Yoko, Kei, Iori, you can stay in class."
Not even a minute passed after he called them, Amelia and Erina appeared.
"What are we going to do?"
Amelia asked.
"I'm going to shoot an arrow at a village near Alteria."
Not to mention Erina, even Amelia was dumbfounded but what he just said.
"Kai, no matter how strong you are right now, isn't that impossible?"
Alteria was in Soaring Eagle, there was two continents' worth of distance to travel over there. In this world, an arrow shot by a professional wouldn't reach a thousand feet but would be close, an arrow shot by someone like Natsumi who can use wind would reach up to ten times that distance but that would be her best performance.
Even Kai who reached S-class would only be able to shoot an arrow near that. Using the bow he enchanted to shoot from afar, he could shoot through half a continent but it was far from shooting over one.
"When have I ever lied to you two before?"
""...""
"Sorry."
Kai laughed awkwardly.
The school's backyard was a place mostly used to practice techniques and was open to anyone. Arata and Kei were already waiting after Kai and the others arrived.
"Kai, what do you need our help for?"
"...He's going to shoot an arrow at Alteria."
""???""
Arata and Kei made confused faces at Amelia, then at Kai.
"So what's he really going to do?"
Receiving no reply, Arata felt unease.
"Please don't tell me he's really going to do that."
"Stop asking questions, there's no more time. Arata, find some black sand on the floor, the more the better."
Although Kai could probably do it himself, he took out a knife from his pendant.
"[ ]."
Kai enchanted the knife and began carving on the floor.
(A/N: I'm sure that most of you have probably forgotten about this, but this first appeared in Chapter 26.)
First, he created the rune for space, then he created the rune for separating, and then he created the rune for transporting. He created many more after that and then he created a magic circle at the center.
"A magic circle for teleportation? It looks different from what you used to teleport to Central."
Amelia said after inspecting it closely. She didn't know much about runes but she could at least remember what the magic circle looked like.
"Do you know the reason why we aren't teleporting back to the continent despite being able to easily?"
Amelia shrugged her shoulders.
"It's because a teleportation circle takes in a ton of mana from their surroundings and leaves it barren for quite a while. We couldn't use it on Ethereal Moon because we'd be found out by the vampires. We're still in the same situation here. We can teleport back home but only after we've finished all our business."
Amelia then raised a brow.
"Then, why are you making one right now?"
"Teleporting a person may be too much but teleporting an object isn't."
"You're going to teleport the arrow?!"
Erina cut in.
"That's right."
"But, to aim at something you can't even see, is that possible?!"
The corner of Kai's lips raised into a smirk.
"But I can see it."
Kai's left eye changed color and several magic circles overlapped.
"Arata, give me everything you got."
"Here!"
Using the power of earth, Arata could manipulate the iron hand somehow. Kai gathered it all up and formed it into an arrow shape. He wrapped something around the arrow made of iron sand. Then, he tapped his pendant, transporting a bow into his hand and a quiver slung over his shoulder.
"[Artemis' Eye]."
Kai loaded the iron arrow into the bow and drew back the string.
"[Artemis Shot]."
He released his grip on the string and the arrow flew. After about ten-odd seconds, Kai loaded an arrow from the quiver into the bow and aimed it at the magic circle on the floor.
"[Malleable]."
Kai muttered.
"[Activate]."
The magic circle on the floor glowed and Kai immediately fired the arrow. The glow disappeared for a brief instant before appearing once more.
"Kei, launch a fireball in the magic circle right now!"
Kei reacted almost instinctively and shot a fireball inside the magic circle which then disappeared. An explosion occurred somewhere away from them but with their position, the smoke was visible.
"Amelia, leave some blood on the site of the explosion. Erina, confuse the ones who investigate using marionettes, I have to go meet the principal and Anne before they suspect it's me."
After leaving behind those instructions, he quickly dashed back leaving everyone dumbfounded.
----------------------------------------
ROAR
A tiger with burning fur and red eyes was tearing apart monsters in the battlefield. At times, it would use its breath to burn them and then use his teeth and claws to maim the others.
Accompanying the tiger were many beasts of varying types but Kai was more than familiar with them, he had spent some time in the forest with them after all.
Kira, now a Disaster-class beast was tearing apart the monsters at the village near Alteria. Kai had created a rune of teleportation somewhere in the forest and linked it to Alteria. Angie had the trigger to activate the portal. This was both a warning and a preventive measure.
To enemies, 'I even have a Disaster-class army on my side', and to allies, 'I will protect you all, no matter the means'. Though it was true that Angie could've defeated the Disaster-class on her own and it wouldn't take much trouble, showing off more power would intimidate more of his enemies in the long-run.
Right now, though Kai's power was frighteningly high, if a part of the council were to team up on him, he'd still take quite a bit of time dealing with them. Kai didn't stir up the pirates impersonating women near Ethereal Moon because they had means of disposing of S-class, and that goes the same for the council.
No, the council had more ways.
And in the end, he needed to win them over through words and not through power. Kai had no qualms in killing people, but if those people were necessary for the future, he'd do anything he can to save them.
Though now, the council should only have a tiny bit of opposition left against Kai with them, there's still a chance that they might attack. Lessening military might wasn't wise.
"I'll deal with the leader, you all open a path!"
In response to Kira's words conveyed through a roar, the beasts commanded by him charged forward and opened a path to the leader.
Kira started running faster and faster until his very paws were on fire, then his body became coated in golden flames and his speed multiplied tenfold for an instant.
A technique that Kai had taught him, Afterburner.
Caught off-guard, the Disaster-class beast Kira fought had its head ripped clean off from its body. Once their leader fell, the rest of the wild beasts went into chaos and started attacking everyone around them.
It only took Kira a little less than thirty minutes to subjugate the Disaster-class beast and the hundred Fighter-class beasts. Their appearance was a mystery to the populace but with Angie's public statement about how Kai had formed a partnership with the beasts, the whole of Soaring Eagle was once more shocked.