There was a massive explosion that was seen by everyone in the academy. Haruto, Jason, and Marlo saw it from a distance and sprinted towards the site, their hearts pounding.
Jason: (desperate, to himself) Please... please be alive…
Haruto quickly noticed Jason's tension
Haruto: Don't worry. They'll be fine…. Probably.
Jason: Probably?!
Marlo's eyes narrowed.
Marlo: We're approaching someone. Stay sharp, could be the students or the enemy.
Haruto: (to himself) I hate when he gets all serious.
Suddenly, Haruto sensed a rush of movement to his right. Veto burst onto the scene, a wild grin plastered on his face, eager to lay his fags on someone. In a flash, Haruto drew his needle sword and countered Veto's onslaught just in time.
Veto: (laughing) You countered it?! No one has been able to keep up with me before!
Haruto: (smirking) Guess you've been fighting weaklings up until now.
As Marlo and Jason charged in to assist, they were abruptly halted by the large number of Shadow monsters they sensed coming their way.
Marlo: There's that many Shadow monsters here?! We can't waste time here. We still need to rescue the students!! Jason…
Jason: I know! I'll head toward the explosion and find them. You handle the monsters coming here!
Marlo: (to himself) Good call. Jason's faster, so he can reach them first. (to Jason) Yeah go ahead. Haruto and I will be fine. It's better this way.
Lightning crackled around Jason's body and in the next instant, he vanished in a flash of blue light rocketing toward the explosion, while Marlo turned back to face the oncoming horde alone.
*****
Meanwhile back at the explosion, Giles wore a look of satisfaction on his face seeing that the energy blast was able to break through the glass barrier.
Giles: (closes his book) At least they tried to avoid death even though it was inevitable for them. If only he didn't run into his friends. They would've survived too. (shrugs) Oh well.
Giles waited for the smoke to clear, fully expecting to see nothing but scorched ground; if the explosion had left anything at all.
What he saw instead made his breath catch. Rin had thrown himself in front of Kazemaru the instant he realized the glass barrier wouldn't hold.
Using his Beast Synthesis Technique, Rin tapped into his ape-like strength and met the blast head-on, forcing the raging energy off course. At the same time, Kazemaru made one final, desperate effort, conjuring another glass barrier just in time to shield the others from the explosion's aftermath.
No one died, but it didn't come without a price. When the smoke thinned, it was clear what Rin had sacrificed.
His right arm, the one he'd used to deflect the blast, was gone.
Giles' eyes widened in fascination.
Giles: He... deflected it? Even at the cost of losing an arm?! Magnificent!
Rin glanced down at his missing limb, breathing heavily.
Rin: (hoarse) Lucky that's all it took...
Rin stumbled but before he fell, Takimo caught him. A look of shock and worry was written on his face.
Takimo: You idiot! You were reckless!!
Rin: (smiling weakly) Shut up...
Giles: I'm impressed. I didn't expect you to survive, let alone deflect my attack. Your technique is fascinating.
Giles smiled.
Rin: (breathes heavily) Compliments from a terrorist? Am I supposed to feel honored?
Takimo: (holds Rin) Hey, don't encourage him.
Giles: What you did was truly impressive but was it really worth it? If I decided to launch that attack again, you can't survive it.
Rin steaded himself as he stood to his feet.
Rin: But you can't, can you? Because after launching an attack like that, there's got to be a cool down moment before you can use it again.
Giles smirked.
Giles: Oh… you're a smart one ain't yah? It'll be a waste to kill you with an impressive technique like that. Why don't you join us? We'll be more than willing to take you in.
Takimo: Huh?!
Giles: I'll pass... but I'm not done blowing your mind yet. [WHITE: BEAST SYNTHESIS – STARFISH!]
Steam hissed from Rin's injured arm, curling into the air like smoke from a furnace. Then, everyone's eyes widened in disbelief as they realized what was happening.
Giles: (shocked) He's… healing?!
Ervin Hashido had once said some techniques could accelerate mastery of Harmonic Restoration, but seeing it in action was another matter entirely.
Rin Aikawa was living proof.
His Beast Synthesis allowed him to mimic the traits of the animals tattooed on his left hand: Eagle, Ape, Wolf, and Starfish. By channeling the regenerative powers of a starfish, Rin could repair his own injuries, even regrow lost limbs.
But it wasn't perfect. Parts of his skin hadn't fully formed yet; raw flesh showed where tissue was still growing, and some of his fingers weren't fully restored. The sight was both horrifying and awe-inspiring.
Rin: (smirking) Like I said… I'm not done blowing your mind yet.