The Twelve Celestial Guardians

"The Twelve Celestial Guardians, powerful beings created to keep the balance of the Mortal Realm from all evils. These Celestial Guardians are called Zodiacs. From the beginning, these Zodiacs have protected the Mortal Realm from the army of the Underworld, keeping some of the few powerful Fallen Legends at bay."

"As the time progressed, old Zodiacs fall from battle or old age and the new Twelve Guardians are needed to keep the safety of the Mortal Realm intact. Without these Guardians, even if one is missing, the great evils known as Fallen Legends will be able to invade the Mortal Realm... Potentially threatening the livelihood of all who inhabit it..."

I yawned as our teacher was teaching the class about the Twelve Celestial Guardians and their importance. Honestly to me, this was a boring lesson as the teacher was only telling the history of these Zodiacs.

"August, are you still with us?" My teacher asked.

"Yeah, I'm still here...just waiting for the interesting parts of the lesson to start." I said.

My teacher stared at me then smirked. "Well, I guess all of this explaining does get a little tedious so I'll skip all of this and just tell you all about who these Guardians are."

"Finally..." A student said.

"Yes, finally something interesting. I'm tired of these boring history lessons." Another said.

"Alright class, settle down. Now listen, these lessons are very important because these Guardians are still alive today and we need to show them upmost respect! Now back onto the lesson." The teacher said then pressed a button, showing the next slide that had all twelve Guardians on the screen.

[Aries: Rama]

[Taurus: Taurus]

[Gemini: Twila]

[Cancer: Fideline]

[Leo: Leona]

[Virgo: Imogen]

[Libra: Harmony]

[Scorpio: Ishara]

[Sagittarius: Mehira]

[Capricorn: Imara]

[Aquarius: Althea]

[Pisces: Cerealia]

"These are the current Twelve Zodiac Champions. All of them having their own strengths and weaknesses." The teacher explained then noticed one girl raise her hand. "Yes, April."

"So these Zodiacs, where did they originally come from exactly?" April asked.

April was one of my best friends at this academy since our first year. She's always been a courageous and headstrong person, even protecting me as I am powerless amongst the group of students who all had an ability or two.

"Good question. These Zodiacs came from a realm named the Celestial Realm. The Celestial Realm is split into four regions: Fire, Water, Earth, and Air. There are three Zodiacs per region, for example, the Leo, Aries, and Sagittarius are all Fire Elemental Beings that belong to the Fire Region of the Realm." The teacher answered then heard the bell ring.

"Alright class, we will continue this lesson next week! Remember we have a test tomorrow based on our material then we have the Annual Hero Tournament happening in a month so make sure you're all still on your game, especially you August!" The teacher said and smiled at me.

Some of the other students softly laughed, knowing I was powerless.

I stood up and grabbed my bag then headed for the door. "Got it.."

April watched me then gathered her things and hurried after me. "August, wait up!"

--------------------------------

I walked outside the building then felt someone grab my arm. I looked back and noticed April. "What's up?"

April panted softly as she was catching her breath after running after me. "How do you move so fast..? For a powerless guy, you're really fast.."

"I mean I do train everyday so I can at least physically keep up with everyone else. Why were you chasing after me anyway?" I asked.

"Because...I could tell what Ms. Ray said got to you. Even if you're powerless, you're still unique in your own way. You're really just indifferent to what others think.." April said.

I smiled at April then shook my head. "It's not that I'm indifferent, but it's just that I don't care. I'm not 14 anymore, I'm not gonna let some words bring me down. I know what I'm capable of and what I'm not. I'll just prove to this entire academy that someone as powerless as me can get far...however it would be nice to finally obtain some form of ability..."

April looked at me then smiled. "I bet..~ I can always ask my grandpa to make you an ability serum, but he can only grant fire based abilities since my entire bloodline has always had fire affiliation."

"You don't have to do that, April. I am fine just how I am for now, but thank you." I said then looked at my watch. "I gotta go, but if you want you can come over later. You still remember where my spare key is right?"

"How can I forget?~ You're the only guy to put an entire spare key under one of the boards of your porch..~" April giggled.

I chuckled softly and walked backwards. "As long as you know. If you get there before I'm done training, can you make sure to lock the door? I don't want us getting broken into again, not that I had anything valuable in the first place."

April blushed as she knew the incident was her fault. "Y-Yeah! I'll be more careful next time!~"

I gave her two thumbs up then walked off to my home. As I walked home, I thought about the Annual Hero Tournament that our academy holds every year as a graduation ceremony. Only the top heroes who studied here pass and when they do pass, they are rewarded a Hero License to prove they are ready to tackle the world head on. I had the undying desire to win, so I could prove to everyone that even a powerless being like me can become a hero.

Once I made it home and walked in, I set my stuff down and went to my room to get changed into my training gear and headed out to the forest. The forest was the best place for me to train as it was quiet and I had time to concentrate on my technique. Strangely enough, every time I do train here, I always feel someone watching me. I couldn't tell who it was as I couldn't sense their energy, but I knew they were there.

I struck the training dummy and broke it then exhaled. "Alright..time to upgrade to a harder material."

I walked to the makeshift shed I built and walked in, grabbing a steel training dummy then turned around and felt something off. I walked out of the shed then looked around. I looked at my arm and noticed goosebumps then felt the winds growing stronger. Suddenly, an explosion happened and I noticed a woman flying across the area and land on the ground. I grunted and hid in the shed then watched from the window.

The woman slowly stood up and grunted softly. She watched as a cloaked figure walked forward. She fixed her platinum blonde hair then smirked. "I don't know who you are, but you're far stronger than the others."

The cloaked figure held his hand out at the woman and fired bolts of dark energy at her, but she deflected them by swiping them away then dashed toward the figure. She swiftly dodged the person's attack then struck their stomach with a powerful blow then went for another attack. The cloaked figure blocked it and struck her with an uppercut, knocking the woman into the air then used the force of his aura to blow the woman away.

I watched their battle and grunted softly. Their battle was intense and I didn't want to move from my spot in case I get spotted and targeted. I heard my phone ringing and grunted. I quickly took it out of my pocket and noticed April was calling me. I looked back out the window and noticed the cloaked figure looking at the shed.

'Shit..! Of all days for this shit to happen, why now..?!' I thought to myself.

I answered the phone quickly and whispered to April, "I can't talk right now... I'll call you back.."

"Oh!~ Sorry I didn't know you were still—" April started then heard an explosion and heard me groan in pain. "August? August?! August are you okay?!"

I grunted softly as I slowly got up and coughed. I looked back and noticed the figure looking down on me. I scrambled to get up quickly and stepped back. "Listen, I have nothing to do with this! I'll go away as fast as possible! I won't even tell anyone what happened!"

The cloaked figure looked at me then held his hand at me then an orb of dark energy formed in his hand. I grunted and saw my life flash before my eyes. My body wouldn't move as I was petrified from this person's presence.

The woman dashed forward then struck the figure, knocking him away then panted. She pushed me back then charged up a powerful ball of flames. She bellowed and the Leo Symbol shined brightly on her shoulder. "Leo Flame Burst Frenzy!"

The woman unleashed a powerful beam of fire at the cloaked figure and it connected. The person groaned as they were hit then a massive explosion happened. I grunted and groaned as the winds blew me away. I hit the ground and slowly sat up on my elbows to see the aftermath of her destructive power. I looked at the woman and realized who she was.

"Leona..?" I said in disbelief.

The woman looked back at me then her lion tail swayed. She walked over to me then held her hand out toward me. I looked a bit surprised and was a bit hesitant to take her hand, but eventually did. She helped me stand up then crossed her arms.

"Are...you the real Leona?" I asked and stared at her supernatural beauty. I still couldn't fathom the thought of being in the presence of a Zodiac Champion.

The woman smiled at me then chuckled softly. "I am the one and only Leona."

We both noticed a burst of dark energy from the counter of our eyes then looked over to see the cloaked figure was still alive. I grunted softly and looked at Leona. She licked her lips and smirked as she watched this person power up.

"Stand back, Human. Seems like this guy has a lot more fight in him. I guess I shouldn't have held back, so this time I'm finishing the job!" Leona said then got into her battle stance.

The cloaked figure dashed toward Leona and went for an attack, but Leona blocked his attack then countered with a palm strike to his chest then kicked him away and rushed after him. She struck his gut with her knee then slammed her fists against his back, knocking him to the ground. Leona jumoed backwards then roared loudly, breathing flames from her mouth.

Leona began to form a ball of white flames in her hands then grunted. "Zodiac Arts: Whiteflame Disaster!"

Leona bellowed as she raised the white fireball to the sky then it grew in size. She hurled the fireball down toward the figure and they looked up and noticed. They made a run for it, but I knew if they lived they would try to come back again. Leona watched me run forward and grunted.

"Human! What the hell are you doing?!" Leona yelled.

I rushed toward the figure and tackled them to the ground. "Even if I have to take myself out, you're not getting away! I won't allow you to!"

April hurried toward my training area and noticed a massive white fireball crashing down. She began to run faster and cried out, "August!"

The cloaked figure tried to escape my grasp, but I kept them pinned down. The fireball crashed down, striking us both then the fireball shined a bright white light then exploded.

April groaned as a blast of hot wind hit her and blew her away. She looked up and her eyes widened. "August no!"

Leona snapped her fingers then the smoke cleared and revealed that I was protected by a barrier made from Solar Energy. I opened my eyes and noticed I was still alive in the crater that Leona's attack caused.

Leona walked toward the crater and looked down at me. "Are you alright, Human?!"

I looked up at Leona, realizing that she saved me once again. "Yeah! I'm okay!"

April looked at Leona then rushed toward her with tears in her eyes. "You! You bastard!"

Leona and I heard April then I quickly crawled out of the hole I was in then stopped April from attacking Leona. April struggled to escape my grasp, blinded by rage and sadness.

"April! I'm still alive! It's alright!" I shouted.

April let out a yell then kept struggling and cried. "No! I won't let her get away with this!"

"April!" I yelled.

April stopped as she finally heard my voice and looked back at me. "A-August..!"

I looked at April then smiled at her. "April I'm fine...she didn't attack me on purpose.."

Leona watched us then crossed her arms. "Yeah the human stupidly rushed into action, but if it wasn't for him my target would've gotten away. Heroic, yet really stupid."

My cheeks grew flushed as Leona said that. "Well...If he would've gotten away, he would come back and try to kill you again."

"Who is that woman?" April asked then looked at Leona.

I looked at Leona. "That's Leona...one of the Twelve Zodiac Champions."

April's eyes widened and she looked at Leona in disbelief. She couldn't believe her eyes as she stared at her. "No way...I was going to attack an actual Legend..?"

"Out of pure rage." I said.

April quickly bowed to Leona. "I'm sorry! Please forgive me as this was a massive misunderstanding!"

"No it's quite alright. I can tell you care for this human a lot. If I were in your position, I wouldn't have been any different truly." Leona said then smiled. "I would love to stay and chat, but I have to go. I have to report that my target is dead."

April and I watched Leona transform into a lion then she ran off into the forest, disappearing within its shadows. April made sure I was okay once more then together we went back to my home and relaxed after such a crazy event. I wondered if I would ever see Leona again and if she could take me in as a student if the opportunity arises. Seeing her in action made me want to know what such power felt like.