3 The South Wing

Vice Principal Zhang smiled as Arata rose from his bow. He had heard the rumors of this young man's progress and was curious to see it for himself. He was a powerful child that was hidden away to be secretly trained, and this was the day of his reveal. But even so, many didn't even know that he existed. But those that knew of him knew that he had excelled greatly in many areas, even at such a young age. And him being the son of the legendary Angel of Death, he knew that he wouldn't be simple.

"Young Arata, we have heard quite a bit about you. I, for one, can't seem to get your father to shut up when he gets on to the topic of his great son." He chuckled.

Azrail glared at him but said nothing. Arata smiled and politely bowed again. The Vice Principal gestured for them to follow as he turned around and walked towards the building, the two teachers in tow. Arata noticed his father grumble something before following the three as well.

"This is where you will be staying. Every student lives at one of four boarding houses here and must live here to properly learn and receive all that the Royal Institute has to offer. Your father also stayed here when he was younger, and asked specifically for you to be placed here."

As the Vice Principal continued to talk, Arata started to get more excited as they neared the building. But as he was midway through his thought of anticipation, there was an explosion and debris, fire and a person came flying out of one of the windows.

The person fell 3 floors down and landed with a loud thud next to a very shocked Arata.

Arata could see that it was a boy with fire red hair. He couldn't see his face since it was face planted into the ground.

The boy pushed himself off the ground and dusted himself off. He had red eyes and a rugged looking face. He looked up and started shouting at the window he came out of.

"Too much Green Powder. We'll need to adjust the quantities again."

The sound of coughing could be heard from the window as a blue haired head poked out. The glasses he wore were covered in ash and dust. He shouted back down.

"Obviously. If the quantities were perfect, you would still be up here. I also think you should be a bit more conservative with your heat control."

Arata watched this exchange in shock. What the heck just happened? Azrail started laughing to himself.

"The place really hasn't changed much. This place still houses lunatics."

The Vice Principal smirked at Azrail's remark.

"We prefer the term 'unconventionally gifted'. A term that was once used to describe you I believe. Or one that still applies."

Arata was still confused. His excitement now replaced with nervousness.

'Lunatics? I'm being placed in a house with lunatics?'

The Vice Principal approached the red haired youth who was still shouting and discussing things with the blue haired boy.

"Souji, I believe this is the sixth time this month. How often are you planning on damaging school property?"

The boy turned and was shocked to see the Vice Principal standing before him.

"Sir! When did you get here? Um, yes. We know that this looks bad but it isn't just me. This time was Aoki's fault. He miscalculated the overall quantities of the material we were using."

"Untrue!"

The blue haired boy landed behind Souji. He took off his glasses and was cleaning them as he walked up to the Vice Principal.

"The amount was insignificant; the control of flames was the real reason behind the explosion. Souji has as much control as a toddler."

Before Souji had time to argue, the Vice Principal had already smacked them both behind the head.

"I don't care who did what. Clean up the mess now."

"Yes sir." They both replied in unison before running into the boarding house. Vice Principal Zhang turned to Arata sheepishly and chuckled.

"Not exactly the first impression I was hoping for. But this will be your new home. Welcome to the South Wing."

Arata stood there unmoving. In disbelief at where he was going to be staying. Azrail placed a hand on Arata's shoulder and moved him forward. They entered the building and Arata was stunned yet again. At first glance it seemed like a normal dormitory, corridors and stairs, numbered rooms lined down the corridors. But then you see the burns on the wall. What seems like cuts and slashes across the brick walls. And is that blood on the floor? Arata stared at his father in confusion.

'This is where you want me to stay?'

As though he could hear his son's thoughts, Azrail looked at him and smirked. Arata didn't like that smirk at all. He had seen that smirk multiple times before. Times when his father almost killed him in 'controlled training environments'. They had gone down a few corridors before reaching a certain room. The Vice Principal and the two teachers stood to the side. Azrail went and stood with them and gave Arata a look. The Vice Principal gestured to the door without saying anything. Arata was confused but took the hint.

He walked up to the door and was slightly nervous. He remembered the two boys that had blown up the window.

'They must have roommates for each room, I should probably knock first.'

Just as he was about to knock on the door, Arata didn't notice that the four adults behind him had taken a few steps back. He had barely finished his first knock when the door suddenly came off its hinges and flew towards Arata, hitting and pushing him backwards into the wall.

Arata pushed the door off him as he unsteadily stood up.

The doors of the other rooms in the corridor opened up one by one. Heads poking out to see the cause of the commotion. Out of nowhere, someone shouted loudly.

"New blood!"

The students all rushed out excitedly and stood watching.

Arata had finally regained his bearings and noticed the crowd that was gathering. In the open space, where he and the door previously were, stood a young boy with black hair. He was cracking his knuckles as he slowly walked out of the room into the corridor. His eyes fixed on Arata.

Arata noticed that his father and the teachers weren't doing anything; in fact they all seemed very amused at what was happening. He knew that this place wasn't normal so immediately got into a fighting stance. The young boy's eyes changed as he rushed forward and threw a right punch. Arata responded instinctively stepping into the punch, his body seemed to flow around the arm like water. His shoulder connected with the young boys jaw, using the momentum of the young boys charge. He then used energy to strengthen his arm as he snapped his elbow into the boys gut, causing him to be pushed back.

This all happened in the blink of an eye, but those with a trained eye all caught what had happened. The Vice Principal nodded in approval. Teacher Mei's eyebrow raised in shock while Teacher Lu didn't seem fazed by it. Although it seemed like a simple exchange, the young boy moved at an incredibly fast speed, and yet Arata was not only able to respond, but he countered and used his own force against himself. The students that had good eyes clearly saw what happened.

The young boy was shocked as well, but the shock disappeared instantly as he chanted something and his body glowed with a soft yellow light.

Physical Enhancement.

Arata sighed disappointingly at the sight of the Physical Enhancement.

'Looks like a Copper Grade spell. And based on the speed of his chanting, he is still at a Minor Accomplishment Mastery level. That's no fun."

The boy had finished chanting. He disappeared and in the next moment he was back in front of Arata, his leg connected with Arata's chest, sending him back into the wall. However, even as he flew backwards, Arata grabbed the boy's leg with his left arm and pulled the boy with him. Arata used his left leg and right arm to brace the impact of the wall, transferring the energy to his right leg which had shot up and struck the boy in the face. Arata raised his eyebrow slightly in shock.

'Major Accomplishment Mastery. That's a surprise.'

The boy was hit up and landed on the floor on his back. The students around were shocked.

After seeing the boy cast a Speed Enhancing spell, they assumed the new kid was done, and yet he had again used his own force against him. No one could explain how he did it as they had never seen this fighting style before. Even Teacher Mei and Teacher Lu had no clue what had just happened. The Vice Principal, however, gave a look of disbelief to Azrail. This guy actually taught his son a Sacred Art. Azrail smiled as he watched his son.

Arata breathed lightly as he moved back to the stance he was in before. The young boy slowly got up, confused as to what just happened. He was certain that his kick had connected with him, and yet he ended up on the ground. He chanted the Speed Enhancing Spell again and attacked again, this time being a lot more cautious on his approach. At a speed that the normal eye couldn't see, he weaved in and out around Arata who wasn't moving at all. He then rushed from Arata's right side, focusing his energy in his right hand. As he got closer he felt that something was off, then he saw Arata move back, almost as if he was never in the position the boy thought he was. He then saw Arata smile as his right arm raised up and stopped directly in the path that his face was heading in.

Darkness followed.