12 Crack in the Armor

Lucifer knew things would be different at school after the duel...knew he would be feared. And that had always been the plan; to scare everyone so that he wouldn't be bothered with constant challenges ever again. To make the common Divines think he was unbeatable. But even he hadn't expected the response to be this great. As he landed into campus the next morning, it seemed like every single student was just jumping out of his way with respect, almost meek, giving him furtive, awed glances as he stepped past. Murmuring his name in hushed voices, too afraid to speak the Demon's name, yet their eyes shining with silent admiration. He had become legend after all; a first-year on his very first-day in SK had made history.

Lucifer ignored the crowd as he walked to his building. He was long used to dealing with the stares of Divines, unbothered by it just as long as he didn't have to bother to make pointless conversation with them. He stepped into the entrance hall of the first-year building with Sakura and Yasu by his sides, yawning and already bored. 'Today is gonna be normal day.' Yet he noticed even here, inside the building, there was a huge crowd gathered, waiting for the late arrival of their black horse prince.

No one dared to speak up as he entered, but everyone stared after him; the sheer power he was exuding and how effortlessly he seemed to wield it, made everyone subconsciously vie for his attention. The odd charm to him as he seemed bored by everyone, as if waiting for SOMEONE special enough to grab his attention, draw his sharp eyes to them.

"Is that - ?" whispered a girl from the crowd.

"Yes, it's him. That's Lucifer." shrieked her friend. "And it looks like Tojo's already trying to make her move on him."

Sakura clenched her fists but ignored her. It was a real headache dealing with this guy. She threw a quiet glance at his flowing silver hair as he walked, his almost unnaturally fair skin, then firmly shook her head. 'No. I just don't want him to make any further scenes or disgrace SK, that's all. That's why I'm staying close to him.' she thought, increasing her proud stride suddenly so that Lucifer would be behind her.

Suddenly, a shadow shot past her side. Sakura froze. She couldn't react at all. She couldn't HAVE reacted at all. It had been so sudden, so fast, so unexpected, that all she'd seen was a black blur that slightly grazed her as it dashed past. Apprehensively, dreading whatever horror it could've been, she slowly turned around.

A boy in wild, burgundy hair, had punched at Lucifer's face, dashing through the entire crowd in an instant to get to him. And Lucifer stood blocking his the punch, barely an inch away from contact, his expression almost shocked at the audacity of the attempt.

"Oh, you blocked it?" asked the wild haired boy, amused.

Lucifer's cold black eyes flashed with anger. "You've got a death wish so bad, dipshit?" he asked angrily.

"Now, now. Is that any way to talk to your senior, let alone a Seraph, Lucifer-chan?" asked another boy, slowly and dramatically clapping as he walked over. Lucifer turned to see the newcomer; his voice was smooth and gentle, almost patronizing. He had long dark blue hair, parted on either side as they fell to his shoulders. His grayish blue eyes were lazy, but they were glinting in the sunlight as he approached. Behind him, walked another boy; a hulking giant with slightly darker skin and a crisp buzz cut on top. The two stopped behind the wild-haired boy, staring at Lucifer.

"A what?" asked Lucifer as the burgundy-haired boy finally lowered his fist.

"Oh, where are my manners?" asked the boy unfazed, his blue eyes glinting. "This," he said, grandly gesturing to the burgundy haired boy smiling widely at Lucifer, "is Hikari Yoshino, the Sixth Seraph of Shukuto-Kodo." Lucifer noticed a large platinum badge shining on his attacker's chest, proudly bearing the seal of SK with a Roman numeral 'IV' embossed underneath it.

The blue-haired boy continued. "And this giant to my side is I am Taro Uehara." He took an elegant bow. "and Nao Fujimori, at your service. We're Yoshino-san's underlings."

"Wh-"

Yasu suddenly stepped in and hugged Lucifer's arm to her chest to try and pull him away. He realized she'd seen he was angry rather than calm. "We're very sorry, Yoshino-san. We had no idea who you were. We deeply apologize for the rudeness and pray you forgive us."

To Lucifer's amazement, even Sakura jumped in. "Yes, please forgive us for Lucifer's rudeness at addressing you. I'm sure he didn't mean it. We...er...have to get to class now, so will you please excuse us?"

Lucifer looked at both the girls curiously. "Who're the Seraphs of SK?" he asked bewildered, shocked at how polite and respectful they were both being.

There was a collective sound of the entire crowd face-palming at the question. Even Nao's smooth smile twisted into one of disbelief. "Er...what did you ask, Lucifer-chan?" he asked confused.

"Who're the Seraphs?"

Nao smiled, the smoothness returning in his demeanor. 'He's smart.' "The Six Seraphs of Shukuto-Kodo, Lucifer-chan," said Nao. "are the six most powerful students in the entire school. In an academy filled with the most elite and powerful Divines, the Six Seraphs outshine all of them and stand proudly at the very top of the student hierarchy. The six golden pillars of SK to which all the students can only gaze at in wonder. The strongest of us all. They represent SK not only to the teaching administration, but on the world stage."

"So, like a student council?" asked Lucifer, bored again.

Nao winked. "Their duties and powers far extend beyond any conventional student council." His smile widened. "The Six Seraphs are also allowed to carry out 'limited disciplinary actions' where they feel is necessary. The are the ones responsible for keeping order with the powerful delinquents of SK after all."

"Oh, is that so?" asked Lucifer, his interest already evaporated. "Well, that's good. Now run along and discipline someone and move out of my way so I can get to class...and go to sleep." he added yawning.

"Not so fast, Lucifer." said Hikari, his hairstyle glimmering like a burgundy fire in the morning sun of the entrance hall. "I saw what you did yesterday." He grinned. "51 students against 1...I HAD to see how powerful you truly were. That's why I came down here today. I had to see upfront what kind of a mage you are." His eyes almost hungrily scanned Lucifer. "Because I saw what you did during the Impossible Duel..."

Lucifer's eyes shifted from bored to razor sharp in an instant.

"You held back in the duel, didn't you?" asked Hikari slyly. "All that destructive force...but you were still holding back, weren't you? Still being 'nice' to those students...so you didn't end up killing them."

"I have no idea what you're talking about." said Lucifer dismissively. "Now, unless you want to see that destructive force up close, I suggest getting out of my way."

"Is that so?" Hikari laughed. "Well, I want to see it for myself." His hungry smile returned. "Lucifer Night, I challenge you to a duel!" He proclaimed loudly as gasps ran in the crowd. "I want to witness your true destructive force for myself. I want to see what you're REALLY capable of. I want to wrestle the monster you become when you don't hold back anymore."

"I refuse." said Lucifer simply, yawning. "You can't fight me if I refuse the duel, right? Fuck off then."

"I'll wager my position as the Sixth Seraph." smiled Hikari. "And I ask for nothing in return from you."

Lucifer's gaze fell on Hikari's eyes, almost sarcastic. "You'll lose." he said, his tone cold. His entire plan had backfired; instead of not having to waste time dueling, he was already getting dueling challenges AGAIN! "You sure you want to gamble with something so precious to you?"

Hikari burst out laughing and Nao joined in. "Hikari has never cared for the position of Seraph, Lucifer-chan." said Nao, his patronizing tone oozing over. "All he wants is to fight stronger and stronger opponents. The only reason he became a Seraph in his second-year of SK was because he kept challenging everyone he met and then winning almost all of them." Nao shrugged. "Well, one day he ended up challenging the previous Sixth Seraph..." He smiled. "And he won."

"If I get to fight a Demon as powerful as you, that's easily worth risking this little badge." said Hikari, hungry again, his eyes shining not with anger, but with sheer excitement.

Lucifer's lips spread into a smile. 'Under different circumstances...' Yet he allowed nothing to show on his face except an arrogant smile. "You say that, Hikari, yet you have lost to all the other Seraphs, have you not?" he asked. Hikari's smile vanished. "You're the lowest rung of the Six Seraphs of SK. The fact that you aren't the Fifth, Fourth, Third Seraph, etc....is because you lost your fights with them, isn't it?" Lucifer's grinned slyly at Hikari's expression as he continued. "Of course, losing to someone higher won't mean you'll lose your position as the sixth best...but it also means you haven't climbed any further...that you've been bested by people stronger than you....stuck at sixth position."

Nao smiled a veiled grin. 'He's smart.' "Indeed, Lucifer-chan, you are very deductive." he said suddenly stepping in. "The Silver City has witnessed many powerful, powerful duels between the Seraphs. Those scarce few ever permitted inside the arena during battle have seen magic and spells that make the entire school's syllabus seem like child's play ." His eyes gleamed. "Shattering spells that make even your's look like a joke..."

Lucifer grinned. 'That was a nice attempt.' Nao Fujimori, was it? "Oh? Well, see?" he said turning back to the Seraph. "Doesn't seem you're very short on opponents, Hikari-senpai, does it?" He side-stepped the Sixth Seraph and started walking away. "Run along and work hard to win against the other Seraphs instead of bothering me."

"Not so fast." Hikari smiled...and punched. Sakura instinctively dodged as an enormous shockwave erupted from the force of his fist. It seemed travel the entire hall in a radial wave, knocking over students who were close by as ALL the windows of the building immediately shattered with the intensity of the punch.

Her ears ringing, she quickly looked up to see what had happened to Lucifer....and her eyes widened with shock. He had been hit. The punch had been too fast for Lucifer. Hikari had hit Lucifer right in the chest; he stood there, unhurt, not even knocked back a step...but for the first time in her life, she saw Lucifer get hit by someone else.

Even Lucifer was shocked. He had seen the attack coming, but as he raised his hand to block again, it was like Hikari had learned from the previous punch and his fist had suddenly speeded up even before Lucifer could properly raise his hand to stop it again.

Anger flared up inside Lucifer like a roaring tornado of fire. This guy had ruined his entire plan. The Impossible Duel meant nothing now, now that everyone had seen that he could be hit...that he could be reached. Inevitably, they would come knocking on his door again. The mere thought of the entire tirade of challenges that would come crashing on his table once more and having to deal with them all again, their inevitable loss, and then their subsequent investigations into his past life lit a fire in his veins that he hadn't experienced in a long time...because for the first time in a long time, it seemed like one of his plans wasn't falling through with perfection. Instead of his past being shut off, Hikari had just opened a crack in it with this punch.

"Huh?" growled Lucifer locking Hikari in his vision, his eyes shifting to the demonic white-star. "Was that your strongest punch?"

"Lucifer, no!" shouted Sakura, seeing the swirl of Demonic aura rise behind him again like a tsunami of anger.

Lucifer ignored her. "That was weak." he said, his tone vibrating. "Let me show you how you you REALLY punch." Suddenly, Sakura saw the entire left sleeve of Lucifer's uniform shirt burst apart, the cloth disintegrating in an instant from the sheer power his left arm seemed to be flooded with. Demonic white runes she had never seen had appeared on his jet black arm like intricate glowing tattoos, shining brightly on it, unnaturally clear against the vast black night of his arm. "THIS is how you punch!" shouted Lucifer angrily and threw his fist at Hikari.

It was as if a massive bomb went off. The entire building felt like it had exploded with an eruptive wave of sound Lucifer had punched so hard. Sakura flew backwards, knocked off her feet from the explosive force and landed a few feet away, almost struck unconscious against the pillar.

Her eyes blurry, and her ears ringing yet again, she stumbled up, her heart racing with worry. There was thick dust EVERYWHERE to the point where she couldn't even make out her own surroundings. 'Where's Lucifer?' Coughing, she did an irritated swoosh with her hand and the resulting slash of pink fire immediately soaked up all the dust particles and her vision cleared as she stared at the damage.

The entire wall on one side of the entrance hall had been blown apart, shattering directly into the enclosed garden that stood behind it. Piles of bricks and mortar littered the once green grass of the garden, the few bushes lining the school wall buried underneath an avalanche of crushed cement. The trophy case that had lined the interior of entrance hall seemed to have disintegrated into powder, the metal rods inside the wall sheared and bent. A pipe had fractured and now water was flooding over the entire garden and entrance hall. And there, smashed against the trunk of the big tree that the inner garden had, was Hikari, covered in dust, blood pouring from his mouth...and his eyes closed.