Chapter 38: Grade One Advancement Test (2)

[Third Person's Point of View]

Under the flickering streetlight, the trio's shadows stretched long on the cracked pavement. August walked ahead, his gait steady and his mind relaxed, unbefitting of a man who just exorcised half a dozen cursed spirits.

Kusakabe and Naobito trailed a step behind him and gazed at August with their eyes full of awe and disbelief.

Kusakabe finally broke the awkward silence, his voice now laced with a newfound respect. "It seems we have underestimated you, Blackwood-san. Your power is far greater than we anticipated."

Naobito, usually composed and stern, could only nod in agreement. "To think you've hidden such power... Your advancement to Grade One seems almost a formality now."

August stopped and turned, the light casting deep shadows across his face. "I didn't purposely conceal my abilities," he stated casually. "I only discovered them a few months ago and was introduced to this world just a few weeks ago."

"You know that is even more outrageous, right?" August shrugged at Kusakabe's disbelief and continued walking, heading towards their next destination.

Since the Grade One spirit at the apartment complex, August was taken to three more locations to exorcise cursed spirits. Normally, sorcerers would rejoice if their mission was easier than expected, but not August.

Besides the initial one, the rest of the spirits were only grade two, causing him to feel let down because he couldn't fully try out his new elemental spells.

None of them survived the initial impact of his spells; they either evaporated into thin air or disintegrated into clouds of dust.

"What is your innate technique?" The old man asked him curiously, after all, he had just witnessed the young man in front of him exorcise decently powerful curses in a single move.

"I call it The Elemental Order" August replied with a mysterious smile, implying that he had no intention of sharing further details.

"Hoh, that's a bold name. Say--" Before the old man could finish his sentence, Kusakabe interrupted him with an urgent tone. "I just received a message from HQ."

Naobito raised his eyebrow as he read the contents of the message on his colleague's phone and nodded in understanding.

"We have an urgent mission, August," he explained. "Normally, you would have to wait until we return, but I'll let you decide. Do you want to come with us?

"Naobito-san!" Kusakabe protested. "You know we can't bring Blackwood-san along!"

"I don't see why not?" Naobito countered.

"He is still an unregistered sorcerer."

"He will be a registered sorcerer soon anyway. Consider it a field trip."

With a sigh, Kusakabe realized there was no point in arguing with the stubborn old man. And to be fair, his reasoning made sense. After seeing August's abilities firsthand, Kusakabe was certain that he would become at least a Grade One sorcerer.

After reaching a consensus, the three of them hurried towards the coordinates sent by headquarters. Roughly 10 minutes prior, the sensors had picked up an unusual surge of magical energy in that area, prompting the nearest trio to be dispatched for investigation.

As they approached their destination, the walls of a school loomed into view. However, they stopped at the front gate, marked with the words 'Kōyō Gakuen' as their eyes sharply scanned the surroundings and soon zeroed on a faint barrier surrounding the school, almost invisible except for a subtle shimmer in the air.

"Seems like a concealment barrier," August noted, his eyes squinting in suspicion. Kusakabe and Naobito exchanged a quick look before nodding in unison.

"Exactly. It's meant to deceive, not to prevent our entrance," Naobito explained with certainty. With a shared understanding, they crossed through the barrier and proceeded onto school property.

As soon as they crossed the threshold, chaotic waves of energy washed over them, the residual magic in the air crackling with intensity. It was clear that a fierce magical battle had taken place here, the lingering energy a testament to the spells that had been unleashed.

They ventured deeper into the school, lured by the powerful magic emanating from its centre. The sight that met them was one of chaos and ruin, the aftermath of a fierce magical battle evident in the scorched walls and broken windows.

Amidst the chaos and wreckage, two men loomed over a dead body. One frantically rummaged through the body's belongings while the other muttered incantations and conjured spells. The area around them showed signs of their powerful magic, with scorched earth and lingering mystical energy in the air. 

As the trio approached, the two men abruptly stopped what they were doing and pivoted to face them. Their eyes widened with surprise and panic as they took in the newcomers, intensely scanning each of their faces.

"Oi, who the hell are you lads?" August shouted, his voice deep and gruff as he tried to intimidate the group of men standing before him.

These men were clearly not native, as evidenced by their appearance and the destruction surrounding them. Their panicked behaviour also suggested they were up to no good and didn't expect to be discovered until they were finished with their illicit activities.

"Please identify yourself, or else we will be forced to take action," Kusakabe demanded sternly, his hand resting on his katana's hilt in preparation for a fight.

Watching the newcomers getting ready to battle, the duo stood up and flared up their magical powers in response.

"Che. It seems our Japanese counterparts are quick on their feet. Leave no one alive," the leader of the group muttered as his partner nodded in agreement.

"Fight it is then."Naobito sighed, gesturing towards their opponents who immediately launched into an attack.

The ground around them transformed into thousands of sharp metallic needles at the flick of their wands, forcing the trio to quickly dodge out of harm's way.

Kusakabe kicked into the air, his hands tightly clenching the hilt of his swords as he locked onto one of the attackers.

'Battō' Blue cursed energy coated the silver blade of his katana, as Kusakabe reinforced his body cursed energy and swung down the blade towards his opponent.

[Cutting Curse]

A dark, X-shaped slash, as large as the school building itself, burst forth from the wizard's wand and clashed with his blade. In addition, the wizard unleashed a relentless barrage of spells towards him to edge out in their battle.

Meanwhile, on the other side, August swiftly leapt backwards to dodge the flying metal objects, but they appeared to have a will of their own as they zeroed in on Naobito next to him and closed in on the elderly man. 

"Targeting the elderly first? You need to be taught some manner, boy!" With a laugh, the old man invoked his Innate Technique and quite literally streaked across the distance between them, reaching their assailant in a flash. 

The wizard was taken aback by the old man's crazy speed, but his instincts warned him to steer clear of the palm reaching towards his chest.

crack

With a loud crack that sounded like a car backfiring, the wizard vanished from Naobito's sight and reappeared behind August. He extended his hands, ready to launch a surprise attack on his unsuspecting opponent.

To his shock, a hand ablaze with an array of colours caught his fist in mid-air. August leisurely pivoted around, enjoying the expression of surprise on his opponent's face.

To him, the wizards' surprise attack felt as slow as a snail inching along the ground. His heightened senses allowed him to see their movements in almost agonizing detail.

Tightly gripping his opponent's fist with one hand, August brought the index finger of his other hand towards the wizard's chest as a bright white ball of intense energy formed, no bigger than the size of a tennis ball.

"Try not to die." With a sadistic grin, the energy ball exploded and engulfed his opponent, sending him flying back due to the resulting shockwave of the explosion.

This caused a brief distraction for the other wizard in the midst of their battle. However, Kusakabe, his adversary, was not one to miss an opportunity.

'Late Evening Dusk Sword Drawing', Kusakabe swiftly swung his sword in a counter-clockwise motion, landing two powerful slashes on his opponent's chest and quickly ending his fight.

The battle paused for a moment, creating an eerie silence. The trio took advantage of the break and huddled together, anticipating the status of the last remaining adversary.

A raspy cough reverberated through the battlefield, followed by a gust of wind that cleared away the dust, revealing the injured form of the wizard.

Burned in various patches around his midsection, torso and dominant hand, the sorcerer glared at them with bloodshot eyes seething with fury as he struggled to catch his breath.

"Surrender, and you will live." Kusakabe placed the last offer on the table.

That was a sensible offer to make, as the battle had already reached its conclusion, and instead of futilely fighting on, accepting defeat was the most logical choice for the wizard.

"Live? I have accepted death. Have you?" In a last-ditch effort, the man apparated behind them, attempting to take them out in a suicidal attack.

[Corruptio mortisque dominus, Tenebris nunc invocamus]

Ethereal smoke in shades of black and red emanated from the tip of the wizard's wand, surrounding the trio in its mysterious fog. Naobito quickly activated his innate technique and pulled Kusakabe along with him as they bolted out of the area before the smoke completely cut off their exit.

That only left August, draped in a form-fitting cloak of swirling, myriad colours; his [Elemental Protection]

To his utter disbelief, the dark and crimson fumes ignored the protective barrier and struck his right hand just as he teleported away from that place

Dark lines slithered steadily across his right hand, inching closer to his shoulder as the decaying flesh disintegrated at a rate easily visible to anyone watching until his hand crumbled into a pile of black dust.

A strong feeling of nausea hit him as his eyes drooped and he felt his consciousness slowly slip out of his grasp.

'Shit'

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Author-san here!!!

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