Predicament

Osaka, Japan

Kaminari Academy

April 1st, 2023

As Mike was engrossed in his conversation with the Prince and their discussion of abilities, he failed to notice that the class had already concluded. Unbeknownst to him, the bell had already rung, signaling the end of the session.

Shino got up from his seat and approached Mike, clutching his stomach tightly. Despite the discomfort, he managed to muster a smile as he reached out to his friend.

"Wanna grab lunch together?" Shino asked, the invitation laced with genuine warmth.

"Huh? Oh, right! Sure," Mike replied absentmindedly, his mind still preoccupied with thoughts of the abilities bestowed upon him by the Prince. He hastily packed his belongings, slung his bag over his shoulder, and stood up.

Together, Mike and Shino made their way to the school canteen. Shino observed his friend and noticed how deeply lost in thought he appeared to be.

"Hey, did the lesson on the king with six wives really capture your attention that much? Are you thinking about having six wives now?" Shino teased, attempting to lighten the mood. However, it seemed that Mike was completely unaware of Shino's remark, his mind consumed by thoughts of the newfound abilities granted to him by the Prince.

"Hey, bro, what's up? What's on your mind?" Shino gently tapped Mike's shoulder to snap him out of his thoughts. Confused, Mike turned to face Shino and replied.

"Uh, what? Sorry, I've been zoning out. I just have a lot on my mind," he admitted, still distracted by the recent events.

"It's alright. So, what do you feel like having for lunch?" Shino asked, steering the conversation towards more immediate matters as they approached the counter.

Mike glanced over the array of food displayed in front of him, lacking any particular appetite. He made a random selection and proceeded to find a table, with Shino following closely behind.

As they sat down and began eating, Mike spoke up, breaking the silence.

"We still have some time after lunch before the afternoon classes, right?" he asked, looking at Shino.

"Yeah, we do. Why do you ask?" Shino replied, his curiosity piqued as he raised an eyebrow.

"I want to go to the library," Mike replied, his tone indicating a sense of purpose behind his request.

"Sure, I'll go with you," Shino replied, hastily devouring the burger on his plate.

"Eat quickly," Mike urged, his eagerness apparent as he swiftly finished his own meal. In response, Shino picked up the pace, eating as fast as he could to keep up with Mike's urgency.

After gulping down a glass of water, Mike stood up abruptly. He reached out and grabbed Shino's arm, pulling him along as they swiftly made their way out of the canteen.

They ascended the stairs and made their way directly to the library. Upon entering, they were greeted by a friendly, ginger-haired woman.

"Welcome to Kaminari Academy library. I'm Rika Nakada. How can I assist you?" she asked with a warm smile.

"We're just looking for some books," Mike responded curtly and proceeded past her without waiting for further assistance.

Shino, taken aback by Mike's brusque manner, quickly apologized to Rika on his friend's behalf, then hurriedly followed Mike into the library.

Mike hurriedly scan the bookshelves, with Shino trying his best to keep up.

"Uhm, what exactly are we looking for? A sci-fi book? An almanac? Maybe a copy of the Guinness Book of World Records?" Shino inquired, slightly perplexed by Mike's specific request.

"A book about a prince in heaven," Mike responded abruptly, causing Shino to raise an eyebrow in confusion. Nonetheless, Shino offered his assistance in searching for the book.

"Wait, what? You're looking for a book about me?" the prince in Mike's head interjected, sounding surprised.

"Yes. If we want to fully utilize your abilities, wouldn't it be better to know your name?" Mike replied.

The prince hesitated for a moment. "I suppose that's true, but isn't it a bit too early for that?" he questioned.

"Do you want this revenge or not?" Mike responded firmly, determination evident in his voice.

"This is not just for your benefit, but for mine as well," Mike thought to himself, recognizing the potential power that lay in discovering the prince's name.

Time had passed since they started looking for the book. It was almost class time, and Shino wanted to give up and come back another day, but Mike persisted in continuing their search. While they were busy looking for the prince's name, a sudden scream echoed from outside the library.

Shino and Mike were startled by the sound, their gazes meeting in concern. Mike quickly dismissed Shino's hesitant expression, determined to find out what was happening.

"Don't worry, keep searching for the book. I'll go and see what's going on. I'll be back," Mike assured Shino. Nodding reluctantly, Shino agreed, and Mike made his way towards the window to investigate the source of the commotion.

There, Mike saw a massive black wolf-like creature trapping a female student against a wall. The scene was filled with panic as other students nearby trembled in fear and exchanged worried remarks.

"It's a damned," the prince informed.

"A damned? What's that?" Mike questioned.

"The damned are one of the three types of tales. The normal tales are the remnants left behind by people after they die. The exiled tales, like myself, are those who were banished by the god tales, the leaders of our kind. And then there are the damned, demonic tales that originate from the fears and horrors of humanity," the prince explained.

Mike looked at the woman who was being threatened by the wolf-like creature, and a wave of recognition washed over him. He realized that she was a fellow student from his class.

"She's in my class," Mike whispered to the prince. "Tell me how to summon your sword."

"No. Using my powers in public is not advisable. Only our hosts should know about us. Revealing ourselves could disrupt the delicate balance," the prince explained.

"But I can't just stand by and watch someone die," Mike argued.

"I thought you were indifferent," the prince responded, but his words were cut off.

"I may be indifferent, but I can't ignore someone in danger!" Mike exclaimed, his voice filled with determination.

"Yeah, that just broke your indifferent personality or whatever. Alright, fine. Just drive him to a place where nobody can see you using your abilities," the prince said.

Mike hurriedly left the library and went downstairs. He ran through the corridors and headed straight to where the commotion was.

When he arrived there, he saw the wolf lunging towards his classmate.

"No!" he screamed. But to his surprise, the wolf-like creature flew towards a nearby shed. It winced in pain and let out a threatening growl.

"There's another host here?" the prince asked.

"What? Another host?" Mike asked as his gaze scanned the crowd, looking for a suspicious suspect.

The wolf-like creature stood up and bared its fangs toward the woman. Just as it was about to lunge and bite her, a metal pipe flew towards it and pierced its head, dropping it onto the ground. Gasps of horror echoed as the students horrifically looked at the mutilated beast.

"Mike, look up there," the prince signaled Mike to look at the nearby fence railings. There, a purple-feathered bird was intently looking at the dead beast.

"Is that the host? A bird?" Mike asked in disbelief. "Can animals be hosts?"

"Animals can be hosts, but that's not what I mean, stupid. It's a host with shapeshifting ability and some sort of telekinesis," the prince explained.

When Mike tried to approach the bird, it suddenly flew away and vanished into the trees.

"Forget it, Mike. They seemed to be an experienced host. Just go to the dead body and see what we can find," the prince said.

Mike approached the body of the dead wolf-like creature. Its brain was splattered on the ground, and blood pooled in the nearby area.

"Now stretch out your arms and close your eyes," the prince instructed.

"Wait, what? You mean right now? There are a lot of people looking," Mike replied.

"We don't have a choice. The creature could disappear any minute. Now stretch your arms and close your eyes," the prince commanded with a stern and hurried voice.

Mike reluctantly followed the instructions. He stretched his arms towards the body of the wolf-like creature and closed his eyes.

"Now imagine there's a mystical energy in your hands, drawing in the mystical energy around us," the prince added.

"What's mystical energy?" Mike asked, confused.

"Just imagine it!" the prince exclaimed.

Mike concentrated his thoughts on his palms. He envisioned a void, a swirling vortex in his hands, drawing in the air around him like a vacuum. He imagined the vortex disintegrating the body of the wolf-like creature and drawing its scattered pieces towards it.

And it happened. The magical energy of the deceased wolf-like creature began to disintegrate and was drawn towards Mike's palms. The energy surged as it attempted to enter Mike's body, seeping through his skin and settling into his core. He had now absorbed the essence of the damned.

[New Ability Acquired]

[Ability Upgraded]