4 Entrance Ceremony
Sakura Tojo stepped out of her Bentley Mulsanne limousine and on to the immaculately flawless asphalt. Her heels clicked as she took a step away from the car, her driver to respectfully bowing while he held the heavy bullet-proof door open for her. Her bright green eyes scanned the spectacle that greeted her in silence. It was as if the entire view had come alive to dissolve into a mesmerizing dream she'd had a million times before. Shukuto-Kodo High-school. She observed the breathing painting with a perfect mixture of anticipation and nervousness; SK High...finally. All throughout her life in Elementary School and Middle School, she'd always heard about the great Shukuto-Kodo from everyone she ever knew; how only the most powerful young Divines could get entry, how ruthless it was, how the students survived on power alone...how it transformed all those who manage to graduate it into Divines with unrivaled power and prestige. It was one of Tojo-clan's greatest assets...but, despite being in awe of it, she could never attend it herself because of young she was. Now, though, finally, it was time. On her fifteenth year, she'd graduated Middle School with full honors...and now she was here. Finally eligible for SK High; a heir to Tojo-clan itself stood in front of their school.
Shukuto-Kodo was a huge sprawling compound stretching all over Oze Park of Kanto Province. The academy consisted of tens of buildings: halls, grounds, dorms, offices...each different in some aspect and serving different purposes and hierarchy within the school. A gigantic wall mercilessly ran around the entire compound, completely enclosing the academy in an unbreakable shield that towered over any who looked at it. She remembered her grandfather telling her the foundation of the walls consisted of more than just bricks and mortal; how magic dwelled deep in its roots. As she looked at them right now though, the walls looked impassive...but normal.
Sakura continued to stand at the main entrance, still drinking in the scene before her. Her eyes finally focused on the subject of this entire painting; a huge, pearl-white building sitting inside the compound. The very first building any who entered the school would see...and have to go through; the Entrance Ceremony hall. The colossal, almost 2 storey high, iron main gates were thrown wide open, and hundreds of new students were pouring in. Most walked, nervously talking amongst their groups, but a few arrived in ostentatious limousines, parking on the wide empty road that ran perpendicular the front gates. Some Divine students arrived in flashy supercars, loudly revving their engines to make the poorer Divines get out of their way. A few Divines were even landing their helicopters on the open field across the main street as they stepped out like kings. Sakura allowed herself to look around, her shoulder-length light pink hair wafting in the gentle breeze; there were students from everywhere. Any and every family, international students, national students, even a few local, powerful Divine students were walking in in modest clothes anxiously worried as they stared at the expensive cars or helicopters approaching.
Sakura stared in silence for a second more, taking in a deep breath to calm her mind. She didn't have the luxury of all the other students here. She was a Tojo. She had to hold herself with respect here and prove to every single student the pride of the Tojo-clan. Alright. Let's do this. Just as she was about to take her fist step, out of nowhere, her instincts suddenly shot up. Her green eyes widened and a dose of sheer fright ran through her spine in an instant. Before she could even react or move, a figure from the sky landed almost right next to her. No noise, no shockwave; it was like a ghost had descended on the asphalt as silently as a mirage. She stared in utter shock, unable to move her lips. What? There was something off about the figure...something was horribly off. He was...different than all the other people here. He had sparkling white hair, gently swaying in the slow wind. A black flowing overcoat fell over his shoulders, waving as it caught the breeze with snow white gloves covering both his hands...and bottomless, infinitely cold, black eyes.
He didn't even glance at her. He looked sideways at the huge building for a moment and as his icy eyes scanned the structure and people pouring in, a thin, arrogant smile spread over his lips. Without another word, he put his hands in his coat pockets, turned around, and crossed the road to the enormous gates, vanishing in an instant in the huge crowd.
* * *
Lucifer had landed in Kanto Province on the morning of the Entrance Ceremony of Shukuto-Kodo High. Arata Noguchi, the butler Arima had sent with him told Lucifer he'd gotten into the school on a recommendation which was a very rare thing and which also meant he hadn't had to take any tests to be admitted to the academy.
Arima had a helicopter prepared at the airport to take Lucifer to school, but as soon as he had stepped off the private jet, Lucifer ignored all the reception party of silent Tojo bodyguards, cast Flight Magic and instantly flew off alone. Whizzing through the air towards Oze Park leaving Arata alone on the airstrip to take the helicopter to Tojo-clan's residence with an unsaid command.
Lucifer landed across on the other side of the road perpendicular to the school building so he could get a bigger view of the building from the front. Old Habits. Even as he'd been flying, he had seen these hundreds of students eagerly pouring into the building like ants. He turned to look at the white building and then scanned the different figures of the students more closely. It almost disgusted him to see them walk with such pride. Rats...bunch of protected and spoiled pieces of shit, drunk on their family's power. Call themselves Divines of all things? Heh...I'll make this fun. Without another glance at the building, he turned around and headed straight towards the huge entrance compound.
* * *
Yet neither Sakura nor Lucifer noticed the black limo parked among the crowd of other expensive cars. Nobody saw the dark figure quietly staring at the arriving students through the half-open window of his car. A black hat on his head shaded his face, brown curls falling over the sides. His fingers drumming in his lap, an ornate golden ring on his right hand.
"Shall we go right now?" asked his chauffeur from the front seat. The figure calmly scoffed. "Don't be reckless. They'll kill us if we move right now; we're not ready...yet."
Like an ominous statue, he continued to stare at the academy without moving...he was waiting...still waiting...waiting for something...
* * *
All the students walked down the long pathway and towards the main building where they were ushered in in a single a file. Sakura quietly joined the girls' line behind a short girl with dark green hair. Almost subconsciously, she ignored the stares she got from the boys' line as the two queues quickly processed down to the entrance with uncanny efficiency.
When she finally reached the door of the Entrance Ceremony building, Sakura was given an ornate box and told to draw a pin badge from it. She put her hands inside the velvet covered box and drew a badge embossed with the number 15 in gold. There, the attendant noted her number, verified her name and photo with their records, and then allowed her to step inside. For the sake of fairness, just so no family would get offended at being called later than another family, the school was taking the roll call with random numbers the students themselves had to draw so there would be no so-called favoritism. Sakura already knew this and walked in, her held held high in subtle pride, her eyes gleaming nervously as looked around at the massive crowd of people attending her school.
As the students stepped into the building, they were greeted by an utterly massive hall. The entire first floor of the Entrance Ceremony building was made up of just one auditorium. There were no other rooms, no furniture, no divisions. It was all completely open space except for a few pillars which bore the weight of the upper floors and a huge stage at the far end. There was an enormous LED screen mounted above the stage, blankly staring down at the students at the moment. Otherwise, the hall was just a massive open space where the students were to assemble.
Before she knew it, Sakura was standing in the far left line gathered in front of the stage. The students had formed queues by themselves with an unsaid consent. No adult had appeared since the door, and with an almost omniscient command, they had all formed in front of the stage. There was an ominous silence hanging over everyone. Barely a few nervous whispers whizzed between the queues, but every student was anxious and anticipating what would come next.
"Ahem." someone loudly cleared their throat on the mike from behind the red curtains of the stage. Everyone craned their necks to look at the drawn curtains and a man holding a tablet stepped forward on the stage. His hair was well-combed and he wore a gray suit with a purple tie. "Welcome to Shukuto-Kodo High-school!" he announced. Sakura noticed there was no enthusiasm in his voice as he said it. "You all are permitted here because only you were the ones who passed the rigorous testing and entrance examinations of Shukuto-Kodo High. Out of the thousands who took the tests, only you were chosen because only you could conquer those tests." The man looked down on his tablet's screen. "All of you were admitted through your test results except for," he looked down on his tablet again, "two students who were admitted here on recommendation and hence didn't need to take the test." He looked up at the crowd. "Congratulations to all of you!" he exclaimed. "Not many can even make it this far, so you all are powerful Divines even as you stand here right now." A few students smirked proudly at each other. "However," the man continued. "that was the outside world with the commons. Here, you are just one more student among the hundreds of elite Divines. Where you stand in this school will be determined only by the power you possess and your ability to apply it as you please. So," he stared intensely at everyone. "before we begin the Entrance Ceremony, there is one little detail that every student here must take part in." The smirks vanished. "And that," continued the man, "is the Charismata Determination Ceremony. A ritual where your power levels are measured right here in front of your fellow first-years so everyone can see where they really stand. All your misconceptions about your own power or others' power will be cleared here right now with this ceremony." He turned to the drawn curtains. "Well, bring it forward." he said almost exasperatedly to the people still standing behind it.
The curtains drew apart and two assistants walked onto the stage, pushing a small cart in front of them. A dumbfounded silence of pure awe slowly descended over the crowd. Everyone simply stared, spellbound by what had been brought forward. A huge, glittering white crystal stood proudly in the cart. A tall chiseled rock reaching around 5 feet, towered above every student from atop the stage. It was almost twinkling as the sunlight hit its various angles, and the crystal reflected them back tenfold, bathing in the glory it shined on the world with an ancient magic no one could deny.
Sakura had had no notification about the 'Charismata Determination Ceremony' from anyone from her family and now she realized why. It had been nerve wracking when she'd heard the announcer proclaim it, but now her heart slowed down a little. She knew what purpose this crystal served.
"This," said the announcer, "is a God's Light crystal. A type of holy crystal that shines when it comes into contact with divinity. The more charismata the Divine possesses, the brighter the stone shines." The cart below the crystal mechanically clicked and two flaps flipped over from the sides, anchoring the cart in place. Sakura noticed that the cart wasn't exactly normal. It had a few blinking lights on its dark gray paint, large wheels, a few lasers aimed at the crystal's surface, constantly evaluating it. "In the ancient days, the power of the students was measured by eye-balling the God's Light crystals and an ambiguous scale intended. However, with the technology of today, we do not leave anything to ambiguity. We measure power-levels with more scientific precision, and pin-point accuracy." The announcer walked over the crystal. "Lasers mounted on the cart constantly measure the brightness of this crystal. There, the output is fed into a computer, converted and," He pointed upwards, without looking up himself. "displayed on the screen above the stage. That television will show you what your charismata level currently is...and everyone else in this hall." The announcer's gaze intensified once more. "It should be noted that charismata levels are not permanent. Charimsata can increase as the Divine trains and grows in his meditation. This is to be taken as your starting point, not your level-cap." he rumbled. "Any student who does manage to graduate Shukuto-Kodo will easily have increased his or her charismata level by more than 10 times at the very least." His glance turned ominous over his steel glasses. "Conversely, charismata can also go down in a Divine. Inaction, lethargy, and laziness will result in charismata falling. If that continues to happen, you will be cut out from this academy immediately. If you want to pass this school, you will ensure that that never happens." he said, the tone of cold warning apparent.
Everyone looked up, almost involuntarily, at the big screen. It was absolutely massive, putting even some stadium screens to shame. Except when this one blinked on, the display was crisp and sharp as the LED pixels shined through. No one's gonna miss the number on that.
"Well, shall we begin?" asked the announcer. "I will call on the students by their roll-call numbers from the badges they withdrew. Each student must come up here alone, touch the surface of the crystal, and wait for their number to be displayed."
Lucifer noticed some students nervously shuffling and he smiled slyly when he saw a few noble Divines anxious as well.
"Number 1, Cho Fujita!" thundered the announcer looking up from his tablet.
There was a second of awkward delay as everyone stood still, then a a short boy ran forward, almost stumbling as he did. Nervously, he climbed the stairs of the stage. His steps grew shorter and shorter as he apprehensively approached the crystal, pausing right in front of it. He looked up at it in dread, frozen at the sight of it so close. The announcer cleared his throat behind him. "You need to touch it." he said. The boy slowly extended an almost jittery hand, and taking in a deep breath, put his entire palm on the crystal with a final abandon.
The God's Light crystal glowed with a white light, as if a million fireflies had suddenly woken up in its belly and the screen started beeping. Within a second, the screen lit up with life and displayed the charismata level. "2000!" shouted the announcer, with almost the same level of dispassion as the screen. The kid looked at him awkwardly over his shoulder as he kept his hand on the stone, but the announcer was already looking down on his iPad for the next student. "Number 2, Goro Kimura!" he boomed once again. The first student quickly removed his hand and rushed off the stage as the next student approached with the same nervousness.
3,000
2,400
7,000
10,000
4,000
The numbers kept piling on as one student after the other walked down to their reckoning. Sakura noticed that the non-noble students had started to relax a lot more, while the noble Divines were agitated. "Number 6, Haruto Miyazaki!" declared the announcer. A boy peeled off from the silent queue and walked over to the stage. There was no apprehension or nervousness in his gait as he walked. His hair was neatly combed to the side, thin, sleek glasses on his eyes. His clothes were impeccable, yet it was impossible to tell whether they were ostentatious like a nobles, or simple like a plebeian's. The student climbed the stage and walked up to the crystal. For a second, he clenched his palm into a fist just as he was about to touch the God's Light and closed his eyes as if in prayer. Then touched it with confidence.
"5000!" heralded the announcer. The student almost grinned as he looked up at the screen and walked away without another word.
Sakura quietly stared at the boy as he descended the stairs of the stage. "He's suppressing his charismata so that the crystal won't be able to pick up all of it...so nobody can see his real power level." muttered Sakura to herself. "Wonder why...?"
"I'm surprised you could tell." said a voice behind her. She jumped and turned around to see the same kid she had seen outside, lazily leaning against a pillar. His white hair falling over his eyes almost entrancingly, his gloved hands crossed, yet his coat still flawless under them. He'd perfectly stayed out of her field of vision the entire time he had been behind her. "As for the why," he continued, "there are only two reasons anyone hides their power. And in this case," he looked up at the bespectacled student rejoining the line. "it is the latter."
"Who are you?" Sakura suddenly blurted out. She couldn't sense his dark aura as severely as she had outside, but she could still feel his terrible presence...the fear he oozed without saying a word. "You're not Japanese. Why are you here in Kanto?"
A slick smile spread over his lips. "Oh, I'm a nobody. I'm just here attending this school for...ah...business." Lucifer scanned the girl in front of him with great interest. Her short pink hair flowing softly yet menacingly. Her bright green searching him with nervousness...yet shining with determination despite the odds she felt. The way she looks at me as if she can see my spirit... A Seer? A real Seer?
Sakura turned around completely. This guy is bad news. He continued to lazily stare at her as he leaned on the pillar, but his cold eyes had changed...as if the predator had found his prey. Sakura noticed that and her heart started beating faster. Was he an enemy of the Tojo-clan? Why was he at school? Trying to kill a few students to make an international incident? That would be suicide...the security would descend on him like hawks and slaughter him...won't - won't they? Wait, why am I thinking he's a killer so quickly? Sakura just stared at him, and he did the same, amused by her nervousness. Sakura extend her hand out to the side just a little bit almost instinctively, ready to cast a spell if he pounced on her. But he just stood there in silence, completely calm, engulfing her with his black eyes. He emanated an aura she had never ever sensed before...it made her spine turn cold. But she couldn't move yet. Couldn't just throw a student based on some feeling. For all she knew, he could come from a very powerful family which wouldn't take kindly to the affront. Yet her heart kept beating faster. She couldn't figure out why this boy made her so afraid.
I can't do anything right now. "I don't know who you are yet," whispered Sakura warningly, "but I've got my eye on you from now on. I will find out who you are, why you're here, and what you are. If I find you making any suspicious moves, anything out of the ordinary, I will deal with you myself."
"Now, now, is that any way to treat a student of your school, Tojo-san?" asked Lucifer smoothly.
Sakura gasped. He knows me by sight? She took a breath to calm herself. "You know me?" she asked quietly.
"Well, I do hear things." grinned the white-haired boy.
Sakura clenched her fists. This guy will be a problem. She forced herself to take a breath and steady her nervous heart. "I want you to know, you have my attention now." she said calmly. "And you will not like what I'll do with it."
"Your attention isn't really something to brag about, though, is it?"
"What?"
"Because if it was, you'd be paying that 'attention' right now and noticing that it is your turn to go up there." smiled Lucifer, nodding at the stage without taking breaking eye contact with her.
Sakura contained her shriek and spun around, her senses focusing on her surroundings once more. "The first student admitted on recommendation! Number 15, Sakura Tojo." repeated the announcer loudly. Sakura immediately snapped her mind back and in a split second shelved her emotions. Taking a deep breath, she raised her head high with the same Tojo pride. Serenely, she stepped out of the line and started waling towards the stage with perfectly steady and calm steps. This is no time to get distracted.
As reached the front and climbed on top of the stage the announcer gave her the smallest of bows which she acknowledged with her green eyes. Her steps still calm, she reached the crystal and stared up at it. This is it. At this point, she didn't even need to keep her hand calm; her mind was in perfect confidence as she reached out and touched the cold surface of the crystal.
"200,000!" exclaimed the announcer loudly. Lucifer picked up a tinge of pride in his voice. Immediately whispers rushed forward from the assembled students. Some even exclaimed out loud at the huge number shining on the screen. 200,000? 200,000!? She's a Tojo for sure! 200k? That student just barely reached 10,000!
Sakura heard the whispers of awe, but her pride didn't allow her to smile. She looked over to where she was standing to spot the white-haired boy, but it was already empty. Almost with a panic she scanned the entire assembly, but the boy had already vanished.
"Tojo-san, if you please." whispered the announcer behind her. Sakura quickly walked off the stage as the announcer continued announcing the next student.
"30,000!" Sakura heard the announcer declare just as she reached her spot back in the line. Where did he go? But nobody answered...no one cared. Had anyone even noticed the white-haired boy? Sakura kept looking around, but there was no flash of white hair. The announcer relentlessly went on as usual. "Number 17, Yasu Serizawa!"
A short girl with long, dark green hair stepped out and started walking. Lucifer perked up and watched her go past from behind another pillar he was leaning against now, stood behind a big student who shielded him from view. The girl's eyes were the exact same shade of dark emerald green as her hair. But it wasn't that which interested him; it was the complete lack of expression on her face that did as she filtered through the queues without so much as a glace at anyone. Lucifer continued to follow her as she reached the stage and placed her hand on the crystal with no regard or trepdiation.
"220,000!" thundered the announcer. Lucifer grinned as another breeze of nervous whispers whizzed through the entire assembly. Everyone looked at the girl in utter shock, their eyes staring at her as they murmured among themselves in disbelief. However, the girl didn't care for it at all and spared the students no glance from the stage. Without another expression, she walked off the platform and down the steps.
Lucifer watched her approach with interest. Her features were pretty, but figure was petite, her height short. Her clothes clearly labelled her as a non-noble, but the fact that they were so neatly pressed meant that despite appearances, she might actually still care about the opinion of others. Bullied? Her shoes clicked on the floor as she walked and the boys grinned at her trying to get her attention, but she ignored everyone and continued to stare at the floor.
However, just as she walked past Lucifer leaning against the pillar, something reached her like an ominous shadow lurking right on the edge of her vision and made her stop. Slowly, she turned around, and spotted the arrogant smile on the silver-blonde boy's face. There was something unnerving about that grin; he was smiling like he already knew everything about her as his black eyes seemed to gaze right into her soul as easily as a window.
"The second and last student to be admitted on recommendation! Number 18, Lucifer Night!" repeated the announcer. Somehow, despite herself, the short girl opened her mouth like she wanted to say something to the boy...but no sound came out of her lips. She continued to stare, wanting to try again, but before she could attempt again, Lucifer gave her another grin and walked off without another look.
A few people murmured as he walked past. Who is he? The one other student to get it on a recommendation? Nights? I've never heard of them. Lucifer ignored them all. His hands in his pocket, his black coat swaying as he walked, he kept closing the distance between him and the stage. He grinned to himself. He knew why the announcer was specifically declaring who was admitted on a recommendation and didn't have to take an exam. Telling every student here which people were thought to be 'special' by the school and who they should hate and strive to humble in a fight. Even this entire ceremony was just to plant the first seeds of rivalry between every student who now stood in the school right from the very first day. He shrugged. That will be useful.
Finally, he reached the stage and climbed the steps. Even more students craned their necks to look up at him because of his unconventional black clothes. He spotted the pink haired girl staring at him earnestly, her green eyes almost worried about seeing his power-level. He smirked at her from the stage and easily walked over to the crystal.
Lucifer looked up at the piece of God's Light, and from somewhere deep in his heart, suddenly, he felt a familiar rising hatred. All of these grandiloquences of divines reverberated in his mind for a second as he stared at the shining white surface of the crystal. Desperate, hateful, vain...assholes. Yet He allowed nothing to show on his expression.
"You need to remove your gloves." said the announcer behind him, noticing the white gloves Lucifer wore. "Or the crystal won't be able to pick up your level with accurac-" Lucifer ignored him and touched the crystal.
Sakura watched with bated breath, her mind completely focused on the boy. She saw him reaching out to the crystal as if in slow motion, his hand cutting the air as it drove. Her heart got faster as she focused on the white glove, staring only at that. She saw the exact moment the very tips of Lucifer's fingers brushed the crystal and at that single touch, a huge crack immediately went through the entire crystal. For just one fleeting moment, it was as if the crystal shrieked in a very high pitched noise, and the next, it exploded completely into a million pieces.
It was like a rain of pure glass; the infinite shattered pieces of God's Light falling through the air, glinting in the sunlight as they poured down in a never-ending waterfall of white gold. Lucifer just stood there with his arrogant smile, his right hand still frozen in the air where the crystal had been.
Sakura stared in horror. The huge screen at the top of the stage continued to blink with the number 0 as hundreds of mutters went through the students as the assembly buzzed with amazement and intimidation. Even the announcer was stumped for the first time. He just stared at Lucifer in disbelief, his eyes behind his glasses in complete shock as they stared at Lucifer.
"Well, well, well." said a a voice from behind the stage. Lucifer turned around and noticed that a woman had been standing by the corner just out of sight of the main stage behind the furled curtains. She wore a dark red blazer and black formal pants and shoes. Lucifer noticed how much her blazer had to stretch to accommodate her huge breasts, yet how it still maintained elegance. She was a tall woman and looked even taller in her stilettos. Her long dark hair was done in a pony tail, her face fair, an almost stern expression over it. She walked on to the stage, stepping forward as the assembly turned to her.
"Headmistress?" asked the announcer, still dumbfounded. Lucifer's expression remained unimpressed as he grinned. He'd done as much research as he could on Shukuto-Kodo High on the flight to Kanto Province. Figuring out everyone who was on the school committee, who managed the funds, who founded it...who ran it; people he could manipulate. The director of the school was the first person he'd been interested in. Principal Masami Himura. Surprisingly, Lucifer hadn't been able to find much about her except her photo on the school website and the fact that she was a Shukuto-Kodo alumni herself. That was easier that I thought for a first meeting. She can be very useful if I play my cards right.
She walked over to Lucifer and stared down at the fine dust of God's Light. Her red lips twitched into a small, sharp smile. "Heh, it seems like we have a Demon in our midst!" she announced loudly.
The assembly detonated in a whoosh of shocked gossip. Demon!? A real Demon!? There's no way... What? Holy shit! I didn't know they were real. A Demon! Sakura gaped with her eyes wide. Suddenly, she remembered his name. Lucifer? THE Lucifer? She'd heard faint whispers of him from the highest members of her clan, but none that'd say much. Lucifer? The White Devil? She finally understood why his aura made her so fearful. Arima's Mad Demon...here? As she stared, his bloodlusted aura seemed to rise more and more behind him. Spreading into some dark, terrifying wings shadowing everything in the building as everyone stood blind to the darkness that had descended on them. But...no. No...that's still...that's not all...
Lucifer's arrogant smile spread wide across his lips as he challenged the principal with his eyes. Masami grinned at that almost scornful smug on Lucifer's face. He'll be very interesting. She turned to the crowd. "Divinity does not agree with Black Magic. A Holy artifact would never be able to measure the Repulse of a Demon." She turned to Lucifer. "But still...to completely shatter a God's Light crystal as big as that with a mere touch..." Her smile widened and Lucifer was suddenly haunted by the sight of seeing shockingly red lips spread into the same smile...but he managed to hold his expression. "What you will do in this school will be interesting to see." Masami muttered.
Lucifer scoffed. "Does that mean you're admitting a Demon inside your school?"
"Obviously." said the Principal. "Shukuto-Kodo holds no prejudices. Of course you're admitted."
"Good." said Lucifer, yawning. "Then I'm off to go home."
"Wait, what?" exclaimed the announcer from the side, finally gaining his senses at the first sight of trouble. "You can't just leave. There's still hundreds of students who have yet to complete Ceremony; their power levels yet to be seen. And then there's the banquet where you'll get to know your fellow students, the speech by the first-"
Lucifer laughed. "Does it look like I'm interested in 'knowing' my fellow students?" he asked. "Does it look like I care about their power levels?" His grin burned with arrogance now. "Power levels of a bunch of sheltered little magicians? Spineless Divines who'd get lost right outside their own gardens? You think I care about people like that?" He laughed. "Heh, no, I don't...for I'll beat them all anyway." he mocked turning to the crowd. "None of these Divines can beat me."
WHAT!? A few noble Divines openly shouted at him. "You got a death wish?" "Come down here and I'll show you how much you'll be able to beat me." "You think you're some hot shit!?" "You little punk, I'll show you what power really is!" "Come down here and say that to my face, bitch!" The entire crowd instantly reacted to the insult, moments away opening fire right now. Lucifer sneered at them. Still a bunch of fucking animals.
Sakura stared in silence. What is he? Even as she looked she saw Lucifer float a few inches in the air, his feet hanging; apparently, he could cast Flight Magic without having a need for any visible magical spell. He turned to the principal as he hovered and gave her another challenging grin: he'd stripped away all the pretentiousness of the school and its students with just one sentence. She smiled despite herself at his cockiness. You're right. Satisfied, he turned around, stretched out in mid-air, and immediately disappeared in a shockwave bang of a sonic boom, flying over the entire assembly, out of the main doors of the building, and straight up into the atmosphere like a rocket.
Masami watched him go for a few moments. She could still see the 'ripple' in the air from the subsonic speed he'd left with. He's not gonna be easy. She smiled genuinely for a second, then turned around to the announcer. "Well, Sensei, you've got a few hundred more students to go. Get another crystal and get moving. Chop chop."
"Of-of course." stammered the announcer.
Masami walked away, leaving the bewildered announcer to stare in shock at how the new student's stunt was completely forgiven.
