♦Kaya's PoV♦
I watched in awe as my little brother used magic for the first time in his life. I momentarily forgot the danger we were in and our location. Instead, my attention was entirely on his back and the dark blade he wielded.
"Isn't that—?" I started to ask, but the so-called goddess, Dhumavati, answered.
"A conjured blade. And, in the spitting image of your father's."
"...Did you know them?" I asked, scared of the answer. The freak staring down at my brother said our parents were killed for being heretics. And this lady, whom I kept hearing in my thoughts, was apparently the one they were devoted to. Honestly, it still didn't feel real.
"As I told your brother, I've had several names over the centuries. Most recently, Void."
"..." I didn't even know what I was supposed to say to that. It felt like everything I'd known and understood was being overwritten.
"I did not know them on a personal level. After all, I did not form a contract with your parents, like I did with your brother. In fact, your brother is the first."
"The first? Really?" Kai asked, still focused on the bony figure in front of us, his arm still extended in front of me.
"This is way too much to understand and accept in this situation," I said bluntly. I had stopped crying. I was captivated by the shadow sword my brother was wielding. How many times had I watched our father practice swinging that thing?
"Don't worry, girl, you won't have to think about it much longer! [Encase and Ensnare: Quake Wall]!" The bony figure reared an arm back before slamming it to the ground, palm down.
A shockwave rippled across the ground, and the spectator stands started to shake and shift. The cobblestone began to morph, forming rising walls that surrounded me, my brother, and the bony asshole. We were cut off from the others in the training grounds.
"What the hell?!"
"What is happening?!"
"The ground is shaking!"
"Where the hell did these walls come from?!"
Many of the spectators yelled in surprise, and some kids who must've been watching the Assessment with their parents started crying, but I felt that if I took my eyes off of Kai's back, something bad would happen. So I didn't. But I could tell that spectators were fleeing the area, and students and teachers were looking in this direction, confused. The Final Assessment matches have no doubt been stopped.
Kai maintained his balance, despite the rippling stone beneath his feet. Undeterred, he continued to stare the Bone Man in the eye. Meeting his unbothered gaze, the Bone Man's disgusting smile only grew wider, as if my brother's unwavering look was something that excited him. From all he's said before, there's no doubt in my mind that he's the kind of man who gets off on breaking other people's spirits. A vile, disgusting hobby.
"Yes, those eyes! The very same eyes your father had when he found me with his freshly slaughtered wife! It's a shame I had to flee at the time. I would've loved to see his rage twist into pain, desperation, and despair," the freak cackled again, this time more maniacally.
"You're the one who killed them?" I heard myself ask before realizing it. Kai didn't speak. Instead, he just continued to stare at the ugly man.
"Heavens, no. I only killed your mother. Your father was too strong for me to handle. Even without using magic, I couldn't get around his swordsmanship. I had to retreat," the man explained. But then, his sickening smile somehow grew even more sinister. "But don't worry, girl. Someone much stronger than I dealt with your dear old dad."
Kai said nothing.
"Kaya, this isn't good," Dhumavati speaks up. "Being contracted to your brother, I feel his emotions. He looks calm, but he's burning with an unholy rage."
As if on cue, I noticed blood dripping from my brother's hand. His fist was clenched so tightly, it drew blood.
"Wh-what do I do?" The words stammer out of my mouth. My warp magic can't get us out of here. At most, I can open small gateways to transfer things from one place to another. And since most of my time up until now has been spent looking after Kai, I was only able to practice enough to get through the Academy. I certainly can't use it to transport something as big as a person. Let alone two.
"Just do what you can to back him up. I've tried talking to him, but he won't answer. Being contracted to him, I can feel his emotions as if they were my own. I can separate his feelings from my own, but the anger he's feeling is getting out of hand. I'm worried that he isn't thinking clearly."
I was scared, but found a small measure of resolve. My brother, who couldn't even use magic this morning, was staring down the freak that killed our mother and knows something about who killed our father, despite the danger he, himself, was in. He's not a stranger to fighting, even without magic, but this is entirely different from the usual back-alley scraps he's used to. The air around him made me feel more confident that we would be okay.
"It'll be fine," Kai finally spoke. "You've always watched over me and protected me. It's my turn, now."
I felt goosebumps spread across my person, and tears welled up. I couldn't answer him. All I could do was look at his back. An overwhelming sense of pride in my brother boiled up from within. No matter how high the odds were stacked against him, he never once stopped trying. Even when he believed he'd never be able to use magic, he studied responsibly and trained with Father's sword.
When did his shoulders become so broad? "Kai, please be careful. We need to get out of here, now."
The freak cackled again, madly, and pointed a gross, bony finger towards us.
"Okay, okay, enough. Let's get to the fun part, already. Time to reunite you with your worthless parents, you little shits! Get ready, because— GYAH!" To my confusion, he yelled out in pain.
Kai no longer stood in front of me. In the blink of an eye, he was behind the Bone Man, who was now clutching the hand that he had extended towards us a moment ago. Blood was gushing from between his fingertips.
"Wha—?"
"FUCK! You little bastard! My fucking hand!" the Bone Man screamed in confusion, pain, and anger. Clutching his bleeding hand—well, what was left of it—he turned around and saw Kai standing with his back turned to him. "You–!"
But he was cut off mid-sentence, again. "Quiet."
Kai's voice was so cold, but his eyes were colder. He looked at this monster of a man with eyes devoid of any emotion other than anger and disgust. It reminded me of something that happened when we were younger.
We were wandering around the Commoners' Quarters, looking for a way to earn some money, when we found guards from the Noble Realm hurling abuse at a young woman, simply for being born common. He's never been able to fully accept the role commoners and nobles play in Centuros. The abuse nobles and those who guard them casually deal out is just as blatant as their favoritism.
Before I could say anything, he ran towards them. Even without magic to use, he couldn't sit still. He launched off the ground and grappled one of the guards to the ground. The other guard tried to pry Kai off his partner's back, to no avail. But when he started kicking my brother, I jumped in too.
We took a real beating that day. The expression on my brother's face was twisted with disgust, anger, and frustration. And it was a lot like the one he was wearing now, dealing with Bone Man.
"You'll pay," he muttered under his breath. I almost didn't hear him. "You'll pay for what you did to Mother, the pain you put Kaya through."
A mass of energy that resembled a dark, burning fire encased his free hand. I blinked, and in that half a second, Kai had shortened the gap between them, his fist in Bone Man's stomach.
"GU-HA!" An unpleasant sound left his lips, and he was sent flying towards the same wall he had created. He slammed against it and gasped for air, the impact leaving him winded. Gasping for air, he looked up, only to see Kai standing over him, the pointed blade directed at him. But he didn't speak a word.
His cold gaze was scary, even for me. Then, he smiled. It sent a chill down my spine.
"What?" Bone Man sneered. "The country may view you as adults, now, but you're just kids." Somehow, his voice grew cockier, sure that Kai wasn't going to take his life. "Now, stop this foolishness. The foul goddess is a plague; she must be–"
He was cut off by the sounds of crumbling walls, the very ones he built to attack us. Kai finally tore his eyes away from the monstrous man and adopted an expression of surprise. I followed his line of sight to the smoke and rubble made by the wall's destruction. When the smoke and debris cleared, I was thrilled to see two men standing on the other side of the debris.
Everest Snowbell, the Headmaster, and Professor Rosewood of Kurosa Academy.