Chapter 10 - Monster Festival Part V-II

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The kendo team was not letting up. One at a time, they throw an attack at the three headed demon and before it counter attacks, the others immediately attacks it, giving it no choice but to block all the time.

" Don't let up." , Shin commanded as he raised his emerald sword.

: ORIGINAL KAGUYAMA STYLE :

: Mountain breaker :

He swung his sword with a great force multiple times creating massive cleaving shockwaves.

" Get out of the way!", his teammates shouted.

" Hmphh." ,

" Not bad." ,

" Let's do it.", the three headed demon started taking in a lot of air in its lungs.

And before the shockwaves could hit it, it let out a very loud scream from it's three heads.

" GWWWAAAAAGGGHHHHHH!!!!!"

The shockwave of it's scream broke the floor of the arena and sent all the members of the kendo club flying except for Shin who plunged his sword to the ground and withstood the shockwave.

" Ohh, the fight on the other side is over." ,

" You're right. That hydra chief got owned." ,

" Let's just get this over with and go to Master Jamal." , Talked the three heads.

Shin pointed his sword at the demon.

" You have to get through me first!"

" Ohhh, Looks like we got a tough cookie here.", said the middle head.

" He easily deflected president's attack."

" This is impossible."

" I didn't ask to fight a real demon."

The members of the kendo club started to lose their nerves, succumbing to hopelessness.

-------

(At the audience stand)

" I'm back! What did I miss?" , Alex stood beside Christine and Melissa.

" Raven's fight is already over." , Christine replied. " She was carried to the school clinic by her team just moments ago."

" She was amazing! You should've seen her, Alex. Cutting up a giant hydra like butter." , Melissa enthusiastically said.

" Too bad I couldn't cheer for her. ", Alex squinted her eyes and saw Shin on the other side of the arena.

   " Isn't that Shin? What is he fighting?.", She asked.

" That's a three headed demon.", Sebastian replied. " The original three headed dog is called Cerberus, the demon king's guard dog. It could transform into a three headed demon, too."

" But clones shouldn't have demonic abilities. We believe that right now, Shin is fighting a real demon. And a very tough one for sure.", Ms. Mary continued.

" That's a demon? I've never seen one before.", Alex was astonished. " Is he gonna be alright?"

-----------

" It would be harder to fight it alone. I've got to use our numbers." Shin jumped away, keeping a safe distance from the demon.

" Getting scared already?", Asked the middle head.

" Those at the back! Restrain his movements!", Shin commanded.

But no one followed his order.

" Tsk. I said the back! What are you doing!?", He shouted.

" Pres-, we can't mo-", Shin saw his teammates standing still like statues.

" KEKEKEKE!! It's taking effect!", Laughed the right head.

" What did you do to them!?", Shin yelled at the demon.

" My Curse, that's what happened.", replied the middle head.

" Curse?", Shin was confused.

" Common demons and above each have thier own different curse spell. My curse spell renders anyone around me paralyzed if they feel fear towards me. Looks like your crew doesn't have the nerve to face me.", said the left head.

" That's right. We'll take our time killing them after were done with you.", said the middle head.

" It's bothersome, but I've got no choice.", Shin held out his emerald sword and pointed it at the beast. " Come! I'll cut you to pieces!"

" GAHAHAHAH!" , Laughed the middle head. He then dashed towards Shin at a great speed.

He used his long sharp knife-like nails and attacked Shin rapidly. Shin fluently answered his attacks, quickly defending his nails with his sword skills. When both of their attacks meet, sparks would fly in the air and loud steel noises would echo in the arena.

" They are so fast, my eyes can't keep up."

" Jumping in between that is suicide for us."

" There's nothing we can do."

The kendo club was losing hope by the second, seeing Shin getting pushed back by the attacks of the demon. The more they watch the more they fell into despair.

" What's wrong!? That all you can do!?, " Asked the right head.

The demon jumped at him with his right hand pointing at Shin aiming for the kill.

Shin then threw his sword at him. The demon had no choice but to catch the sword with his hands as he was falling towards Shin.

" What are you doing, throwing your sword-", but before he could finish talking, something sharp had pierced his chest through his heart.

" GAAGGGHHHHH!", groaned the demon as he knelt to the ground with his blood gushing out his chest and his mouth.

" Getting your attention by throwing my sword at you and using a different sword to pierce your chest was not a bad idea.", Shin walked towards him.

" Heh, you slick human. Where did you hide that other sword?", Asked the middle head.

Shin grabbed the sword impaled into the demon's chest and pulled it leaving the demon's chest with a large hole flooding with blood. " I can produce any sword whenever and wherever I like with the use of my Aura armor."

" AGGHHHH!", screamed the three heads of the demon.

" Stay sill now, I'll try beheading all your heads at once.", Shin grabbed his sword with both hands in front of the kneeling three headed demon.

" What an arrogant human, you are.", Smiled the left head and immediately swung his left arm.

" Tch!", Shin immediately reacted but was off by a milisecond and got his left shoulder slashed by the demon's long nails.

Shin kept his distance while his left shoulder was bleeding a lot and blood flowing down to his left arm. " How are you still alive?"

" KEKEkE, he doesn't know.",

" I'll tell you because I'm amused by the fact that a human could actually get one of my hearts."

" One of my hearts?", Shin was confused.

The beast stood up and pointed at the hole in his chest.

" The heart that you stabbed-....was only one of my five hearts.", Said the left head while smiling.

" Five!?", Shin gripped his sword with his right hand tightly after realising that he has to get rid of four more hearts with his left arm probably out of commission.

----------

" What's happening over there?", Alex anxiously asked. " I thought I saw for sure that Shin pierced through that demon's chest. Why is it still moving?"

" That's because Shin only got one out of five of his hearts.", Sebastian replied.

" You mean he has to take out four more hearts? He doesn't look like he's in any shape to do that.", Melissa said while looking through her weapon's scope. " Ugh, that demon's terrifying looking."

" On top of that, nobody's helping him. His team mates aren't moving an inch to help him at all.", Christine said looking very agitated.

" I'm guessing that the other kendo club members are under that demon's curse.", Ms. Mary replied.

Sebastian used his magic detection eyes and saw a purple aura coming out from the other members of the kendo club and is flowing towards the demon.  " You're right, Mary. The demon has the other students under it's curse. Maybe that's why they are unable to move."

" Curse?"

" What's that?"

" That sounds ominous."

The other students began asking and mumbling.

" Most demon's have their own special spell. They call it a "Curse". ", Sebastian calmly explained. " These curses are commonly activated through negative emotions like fear, anger, jealousy and saddness."

" These abilities of the demon clan made them one of the leading clan's in Underground World for many years.",

Ms. Mary looked through her notes.

" Until the Great Unification War happened, wherein the human race, led by the Central king, defeated three of the four great Kings of the underworld. Namely; The Lich King of the North, The Beast king of the South and the Demon king of the West. The Mage king of the East had no choice but to cooperate with the Central king's agenda to avoid any bloodshed towards his people."

" Now, almost all races in the Underground world are living in harmony thanks to the laws passed by the central king and his advisors.", Sebastian continued.

" What the Central king did is a very amazing feat. I would like to meet him someday.", Ms. Mary said with sparkling eyes.

" He's been under your care for the past month now.", Sebastian thought to himself and awkwardly smiled. " Ehem. Uhmm, we should add curriculums about the Underground World so the students will have sufficient knowledge if ever they come accross problems pertaining these matters again."

" You're right, Principal.", Ms. Mary replied. " Shouldn't we help Shin? He clearly is at a disadvantage with his lack of knowledge with demons and his left arm badly hurt like that."

" Don't worry. I already made preparations around the arena." , Sebastian raised his staff and showed them about 200 spells that he had laid around the area where they are fighting.

" Woah!"

" That's a lot of spell circles."

" The principal is definitely in a different level than the rest of us."

Everyone was amazed by what they saw.

" If I notice a slight chance that Shin might lose, I'll rip that demon apart in an instant.", Sebastian calmly looked at Shin and smiled. " Besides, Shin hasn't even shown all of his cards yet."

--------

" RAHHHHHHGG!!",

The three headed demon continuously attacked Shin with his razor sharp nails. Shin could only defend with the limited strength his right arm could provide.

" Lightning Roar!", The right head opened his mouth and released a bolt of lightning towards Shin.

" Ugh! Earth Sword style : Land Mower!", Shin slashed the ground and used his right leg to strongly step on the ground forcing a large part of it to rise up and deflecting the lighning bolt.

" Hmph! You're quite the fast thinker.", said the right head.

" What about this!?  Lava Fountain!", Shouted the left head.

Suddenly, the ground beneath Shin began to crack and a stream of lava bursted out of the cracks.

Shin had to leap away to avoid the hot lava. The demon quickly followed and jumped behind him.

" Die!", said the middle head preparing to rip Shin to shreds with his sharp nails.

" Original Kaguyama style : Cresent Moon Strike!", He held the sword vertically straight and spun 180 degrees forward blocking the demons attack and sending both of them flying away.

" UGHH!", Shin groaned as he hit the ground. He then stood up and confidently pointed his sowrd forward.

" Gahhh!! You're stubborn kid, I'll give you that!",

" This is getting nowhere. ",

" If he won't come to us. Then we'll make him come."

The demon suddenly leaped towards one of Shin's team meates.

" Wai-", Shin immediately dashed towards them after realizing what he was up to.

" Come over here!", the demon shouted as he was quickly desceding with his nails directly pointing at Shin's teammate.

" I WON'T LET YOU!!", Shin arrived just in time and parried the demon's nail with his sword protecting his teammate behind him.

" How heroic of you!", The demon suddenly sent a powerful kick towards Shin's gut. Sending him and his teammate behind him flying.

" Gahhh!" , Shin groaned as the two of them landed at the other side of the arena.

" Are you alright?", Shin asked him as slowly stood up while coughing blood.

" I-I'm okay, president. B-But I still can't m-move. I-I'm sorry.", he said while shaking in fear.

CRASHHHH!!

The three headed demon made a huge sound after jumping a great distnace and landing in front of them.

" It's over, brat!",

" At least you died a hero, boy.",

" Let's get this over with! We need to find master Jamal!"

-

" Ugh-", Shin plunged his sword to the ground. " I didn't want to use this because I won't be able to move for a week after using it. But you've left me with no other choice."

" What are you mumbling about, brat?",

" Maybe his death wish. HAHAHA!",

" Whatever. Let's kill him already."

Shin closed his eyes and placed both of his hands on the handle of his plunged sword. He then took a deep breath and shouted-

" ANGEL MODE : ACTIVATE! :

A flash of bright emerald light shone from the sky. It was so bright that everyone had to cover their eyes.

" What's happening to Shin!?", Alex had to look away from the bright light.

" Where did this light come from!?",

" Don't let your guard down!",

" I can sense the brat's power increasing!", the three heads closed their eyes and used their other senses to prepare from what's coming.

The emerald light covered Shin's whole body. His emerald crown began to expand and turned into a pair of emerald angelic wings and his armor was covered with a transparent emerald colored robe that angels wear in pictures.

He raised his sword and strenuously waved it in the air, releasing a strong shockwave that stopped the light and everyone saw his majestic armor with little sparkling emerald lights shining all over him.

" WOW!"

" It's my first time seeing an angel class armor!"

" So majestic, it's giving me goosebumps!"

Everyone in the audience stand was astounded.

" Shin's angel class armor-, it's beautiful.", Alex couldn't help but admire his appearance.

" He really is a level above us.", Christine had to admit this simple but amazing fact.

" So that was the card that you were talking about, principal.", Ms. Mary said.

" Yes, Mary.", Sebastian looked at him with a very proud look. " Now, end this Shin."

-----

" This is bad! This is really bad!",

" He's still hiding this much power!?",

" We need to run! We can't waste too much energy here!"

The demon turned around and tried to run, but Shin quickly threw his sword that passed through the demon's right shoulder and plunged into the ground.

" GAAHGHHHH!", groaned the demon.

" Do you really think that I'll let you run away that easy?", Shin looked down at him as he was slowly flying close to him.

" Even if you run away or fight me, you'll die either way. Have some pride in yourself and face me like a man."

" You sound like you've already won, brat!",

" We have no choice but to kill him first.",

" Are you serious!? Even if we kill him, we'll be out of gas and the others will kill us!"

" We'll think about that when that time comes!", shouted the right head.

The demon jumped towards Shin and started hitting him with a barrage of slashes with his steel nails. Shin deflected every attack and struck the demon with a heavy blow. The demon shielded himself with his nails but the impact sent him falling hard to the ground

" My turn.", Shin grabbed his sword with both hands and quickly descended. He then mightily swung his sword directly down.

The demon's instincts told his body to block Shin's attack with his nails. But Shin's sword cut through his nails like butter and directly down cutting his left arm.

" GAAAHHHHHHH!!!", The demon screamed in agony.

The demon tried to jump away to keep distance from him, but Shin immediately threw his sword and impaled the demon through his right shoulder. Shin then opened the palm of his hands and the sword came flying back to him, bringing the demon along with it.

He grabbed the sword with his right hand and dragged it down, effortlessly cutting down the demon's right shoulder along with it's right arm.

" GAAAHHHHHGHH! IT HURTS!!!", cried the three heads as he kneeled to the ground while blood still gushing out of both his shoulders. " THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE!"

Shin slowly flew closer to him.  " Hahh, I'm running out of fumes. I need to finish this."

Shin raised his arms and held his sword up.

: ANGEL MODE SWORD ART : HEAVEN'S JUDGEMENT! :

Shin's emerald sword began to shine brightly until it turned to gold. The demon looked up and saw Shin preparing to launch a final attack.

" PLEASE SPARE ME! I WON'T DO IT AGAIN! PLEASE!",

" HEY! BRAT! W-W-WAIT! WHAT ARE YOU PLANNING!"

" Too late.", And as Shin swung his sword down, the left head abruptly shouted.

" BLACK MIST!!!!!"

And black smoke rapidly came out of the demon's body covering the arena with a thick black fog.

Shin continued his attack since his sword was only a few inches on hitting it's mark. And as he swung his sword down, even if he couldn't see the enemy. He felt the sensation of cutting through flesh in his hands. He knew he had surely hit the demon.

...

After a few seconds, Shin's armor disappeared and he collapsed face first to the ground. He looked around and saw nothing but smoke. He then rolled himself so he could face up.

" Phew! I did it! I really beat a demon!", Shin laughed as his body was shutting down and he was close to passing out.

-

-

-

-

" Ughh, too bad, but you didn't kill me-, brat!",

" That was close though, kekeke."

Shin was surprised when he heard the demon's voices coming close to him. The demon stood in front of him and he saw the demon covered with his blood, with a severed left head. His blade had cut the demon's left head going down to his abdomen.

" KEKEKE. That black mist saved my ass.",

" Luckily, you barely missed my last heart in my right chest.", said the demon while coughing out blood.

" Shit.", Shin tried to stand but his body wouldn't listen to him.

" Well, that's it for me. I did my best. I have no regrets."

Shin closed his eyes and was about to lose consciousness. All he could do is listen.

" Don't die on me now.",

" Not before I kill you first!", the right head opened his mouth and prepared to launch a lightning bolt directly at Shin.

" Having fun, aren't we?"

The demon suddenly heard a voice within the fog.

" Who's there!", " Come out!"

" Look like someone forgot to put a leash on their dog.", the man stood in front of them. The demon saw his face and was shocked. He began trembling so much that his legs gave out.

" W-W-W-WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!!?", " C-C-C-CENTRAL KING, W-WADE!!"

-----

" What's happening there!? I can't see through the fog!", Alex was getting restless by the second. " Ugh! I can't take it anymore! I'm going in."

" Hmm. I can't detect any aura from there either. We should take a closer look to see what's really happening there.", Sebastian told everyone.

" It may be over. Anyway, let's go.", Christine dispelled her water wall and everyone ran towards the arena.

-------

" I can't see anything! What's with that fog!?" , Alex shouted as while running.

" Let's take a closer look.", Sebastian replied while riding on his flying staff.

As they went closer to the location of the black fog, the fog had slowly disappeared and they saw Shin lying unconscious. They also saw the lifeless body of the demon with no arms, a severed head and 'all hearts cut open.

" He really did it!"

" He beat real life demon!"

" Hooray!! He truly is the strongest student of the academy!"

Everyone celebrated Shin's victory and gently carried him along with his team mates towards the school clinic.

Sebastian made a quick sweep on the area to check if there are any monsters left.

Then he went back to the school grounds to explain the situation to the visitors and the media. He explained the sabotage in the delivery of the beasts, including the rage gems. But he was careful not to tell them about the demon. The students that was there understood their principal's situation and kept quiet about the three headed demon, too.

------

Everyone gathered at the Arena 2, which was located at the back side of the island. Even after the tragedy that's happened, Sebastian decided to hold the Awards Ceremony and the Closing Ceremony for the Monster Hunt Festival. He thought that the festivity of the occasion might help the students forget about the things that happened that day.

: FOR OUR THIRD PLACE-, WITH THE TIME OF ONE MINUTE AND FORTY-EIGHT SECONDS-, THE SWIMMING CLUB! :

Christine went up the stage with her azure blue armor and mermaid tail.

" Congratulations.", Sebastian shook her hand and gave her the trophy.

: SECOND PLACE-, WITH THE TIME OF FIFTY-FIVE SECONDS! THE ARCHERY CLUB!:

Their president Jeremy shyly went up the stage and shook Sebastian's hand. He then received the trophy and stood next to Christine.

: AND FOR OUR FIRST PLACE-, WITH AN OUTSTANDING TIME OF THIRTY-SEVEN SECONDS! THE BOXING CLUB!!!:

Everyone cheered and applauded as Alex went up the stage.

" Congratulations Alex, you did an amazing job.", Sebastian shook her hand and gave her the trophy.

" Thank you very much!", Alex then faced the crowd and held the trophy up and shouted, " BOXING CLUB!!!!"

" HOOOORAAAAYYYYY!!!!", answered her club members. And everyone cheered for them.

Sebastian then stood at the podium located at the middle of the stage and grabbed the mic.

" Once again, I congratulate the winners and the clubs that participated. You all did a good job and I am so proud to call all of you students of the Golden Chalice Academy. Continue honing your skills and talents with the time you have here. And if you did not do well this event, don't be discouraged. We have more events and activities lined up for you for the whole school year. That would be all for my closing remarks. I now declare that the Monster Hunt Festival is officially OVER!!"

Everyone applauded and cheered. And one by one, the students and visitors slowly exited the arena. Some stayed and took photos with heir friends and the winning clubs, while others went directly to their dorms.

-----

( Door opens )

" Too bad you missed the closing ceremony.", Soru casually walked inside the clinic. Shin was already up, sitting upright on one of the clinic's bed while staring at the sunset through the window.

" You should've seen Alex's face, she was pretty darn happy."

" Is that right?", Shin replied with an awkward smile. " What's the situation before you left?"

" Everything's fine, I guess?.", Soru took a stool and sat next to Shin's bed. " Nobody was gravely hurt and the ceremony went smoothly. The principal had to keep the thing about the demon from the media. Everything was secured before we left the arena and we've made sure that everyone had already returned to their dorms."

" I see. Well done.", Shin looked back at the window.

" So? Why didn't you tell us that you have already reached Angel class?"

" Because it's not much of a great deal. I can't even last for more than ten minutes in that state and as you can see, I won't be able to move for at least five days or more."

" It is a great deal! You are the first student in the History of The Golden Chalice Academy to reach Angel Class before graduating! You even single handedly killed a real demon! Well-, I wasn't there though, but with more training, I'm sure you'll be able to use that mode more efficiently."

" Yeah. It would have been great if I had killed that demon, but I was not the one who did it."

" Huh?", Soru was confused. " What do you mean that it wasn't you? What actually happened Shin?"

* Sigh* " After my last attack, I collapsed and was on the verge of fainting. I had thought for sure that I had killed that demon." Shin looked down and clenched his fists.

" But somehow, I missed one of his hearts and he wass laughing while looking down on me, preparing to kill me with an electric attack."

" At that moment, I really thought that it would be the end for me. Then suddenly, the demon started trembling, as if he saw a monster and he fell to the ground as his legs gave out."

" The last thing I heard before passing out, the demon sounded very terrified. It sounded like he fell to the ground and said :  "What are you doing here? Central King Wade." "

" Wade? You mean the new student?", Soru got more confused, " What does he mean by Central King?"

" I don't know.", Shin looked directly at Soru.

" But I'm sure about one thing. It's that it was not me who killed that demon."

--------

" W-W-W-WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!!?", " C-C-C-CENTRAL KING, W-WADE!!", said the demon with a trembling voice.

" I'm here cause I saw a demon breaking so many of the Unification Treaty's laws.", Wade looked at him with a cold stare.

" But we're not in the Underground World!!", the demon shouted in his defense.

" As long as you are a being that hails from the Underground world, it is incumbent upon you to follow the laws enlisted in the Unification Treaty .",

Wade lifted his hand and counted with his fingers, "Let's see. Hmm, first; you've entered the territory of a different race without the knowledge it's person in charge. Second; you caused havoc in the arena, endangering the lives of many innocent people including the children who goes in this academy. And third; you've intently used your cursed spell on human beings and tried kill one.  Punishment : Death Penalty."

" Death!? I haven't even killed anyone!"

" You haven't killed anyone here because I stopped you. And you have the scent of human blood all over you. Which means you have killed people recently."

" Can't you just let me go this one time? Promise I'll never do it again. Please!"

" These laws are made to protect every race from beings like you. So sorry, but I'm afraid you will die here."

" Fine! Kill me! But don't think that Master Jamal would forgive you! He will hunt you down!"

" Jamal? Oh, you mean him?"

Wade threw Jamal's horns near the demon's feet.

" T-These are-"

" He put up quite a fight, but in the end-"

" GRRRRAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!! I'LL KILL YOU!!"

The demon prepared to dash towards Wade in full rage mode. But before he could take one step, he felt a sudden pain in his last heart. Before he could've react, Wade had already pierced the demon's last heart with his bare hands.

" GUAAHHHH-", groaned the demon as he vomits blood.

" Protect everyone-, mo-re like, put-ting a leash a-at anyo-one who g-goes aga-against y-youhh-"

" If that's what it would take to maintain the peace of the world that I built-", Wade pulled his hand and looked down at the demon as his body laid flat on the ground.

" I can't see anything! What's with that fog!?",

Wade heard Alex's voice so he quickly ran towards the opposite side of the fog. Making it look like Shin was the one who killed the demon.

-------

" Ughhh. It's finally over." , Sabastian groaned as he walked towards his office to rest for a bit.

" With all that commotion, I expected Wade to help even for a little bit. But he didn't even showed up. What a -"

Sebastian stopped on his tracks as he was in front of his office door. In his door was a note that says:

I caught the culprit. Do what you want with him.

PS. I knew you'd chew my ears out if I didn't help out.

- Wade

Sebastian quickly opened the door and promptly walked inside his office. And he saw, behind his desk, the unconscious Jamal with broken horns, torn wings and his tail tightly tied around his body.

" Amazing work as always, Wade."

--------

Five days has passed since the incident. After an event, the academy gives the students a week of rest and it's been a week since Melissa had last seen Wade's face.

" I promised myself I'd treat him for convincing the principal and giving me a chance to train with Raven." , Melissa thought to herself as she walked placidly through the boys dorm's alleyways.

" I think this is his room." , Melissa stood infront of Wade's door and rang his doorbell.

" Coming!",

" Yes, who is it?", Alex smiled as she opened the door wearing her cute orange apron.

" Idiot! Don't open the doo-!", Rafaela tried to stop her but it was too late.

" Oh! It's Melissa! What's up!", Wade called out to her while sitting in front of the TV.

" Wha-", Melissa was dumbfounded.

" Didn't I tell you not to answer the door if we're at his place?", Rafaela placed her palm in her face and the other hand on her waist clearly showing her cute purple apron and maid outfit.

" Sorry, force of habit. Hehe", Alex scratched the back of her head.

" WHAT'S GOING ON HERE!!!!!!!!!!???"