Zensu

Tales began to spread far in wide regarding the Devil of the North. It had only been a week since he arrived, a week since his class was forced into subjection, a week since seven knights were slaughtered before the eyes of everyone.

The Devil they called him, for fear of speaking his name that dare not even be spoken behind hushed doors, much less the shadows. Even Trinity's Professors had taken it upon themselves not to get too close to the blood-crazed professor.

Standing at the forefront of his classroom, hands poised behind his back, Zariel's sadistically arched lips pursed as he looked at the clock just above his door. Tapping his fingers over his desk, he slid his silvery gaze to the silent students. The mockery was all but present for them to see.

"By Order of the Dean, it seems I don't have the power to hold you guys longer despite my classroom being far more comprehensive than most other classes. Lucky you! You all have your assignments, right? They will be due by the end of the week."

Sighs of relief sounded one after another the moment the bell rang, leaving only the pearly laughter of the golden eye girl, who was the only one beside her closest friends to ever ask questions without raising her hand.

Dismissing themselves in a single file line like Zariel liked in alphabetical Order, he nodded at the Order, held within his class, and turned towards his three students plus an owl still seated in the front row.

Aurelia glanced at little Astra, cooing without a care in its seat. Her brow twitched, " Don't you think it was a little much to kick someone out, just to fit Astra? She is just an owl."

"Coo!"

"Agreed," Zariel said, carrying a smirk, " she does have a big mouth."

"Screw you!"

"I swear you two will never learn," Ella added, " At least your not fighting in class. That would be difficult to explain, especially when almost everyone hates us."

"They hate you?" Duke blackwater asked, tapping his fingers against the chair; he touched his chin, " Oh, is it because of me?"

"Who else? Mr. Devil of the North." Sionn joked, lifting Astra into his palm; he chuckled, "It's fine though; friends are overrated anyway."

"Sounds like a cry for help to me," said Aurelia. Rising to her feet, she smiled, " There is a mini-competition coming up to earn some credits. Can you teach me how to use a cauldron or be a blacksmith?"

"Maybe," Zariel mused, taking a step back. He eyed the golden girl and frowned, "I have been thinking about it for a while, and I think it's time you start learning one of the Seven Forms we got from the Redwoods."

"Really! I thought I was too young to start," Aurelia mentioned, as she recalled Eldritch saying the same thing, that till she becomes a fully grown adult that knows who she is, picking any of the Seven Forms would be illogical.

"Well, you are, but you are also trapped between two paths, or maybe three; who knows how it will go." He conveyed, stroking his hairless chin, and glanced at Ella and Sionn, " Unlike your two friends here, who are still finding themselves, you are different because your blood is the one shaping you."

"What do you mean? How can blood shape someone?" Ella was the first to question.

Zariel frowned for a moment and thought about how to answer that question. "For most people, there will exist two bloodlines in them. The mother and the father."

"Most people? Who isn't like that?" Sionn asked.

"Me. I destroyed my father's blood, which is why I can't heal by myself. I need assistance. I destroyed my genetic makeup, but that's a story for a different time." Zariel annoyingly informed, waving off Sionn's questions, quite unwilling himself to explain his circumstance. " Aurelia, within your blood that seems deeper than anything I have ever seen in my life, there exists a weird balance. I wish to explain it, but in the most straightforward words, there is a Yin and Yang that seem dangerously intertwined with one another. Building in such an intricate way, I don't understand how you are even alive."

"For me, it's by sheer will alone that I am alive. But you, I have no idea. These two powers seem to be two extremes, yet they work in tandem with one another. So I think the best Form out of the seven we have is Zensu, which uses the inner you to fight."

"Eh?"

"I'm actually starting with this Form too. It should help train my tendencies."

"like the almost irritating way, you force the class to leave in a single file line like a bunch of toddlers? Or maybe the way you almost killed more than half my class?" Aurelia remarked, narrowing her eyes that carried a glint of mischief.

*Cough*

"Well, maybe. That would be my Order and Chaos Alignment getting bent out of shape. But I think everything has been rather fine these past few days; I haven't killed anyone this past week. So I guess that's a win.

"That's because you have been tormenting them. My god, did you see the dead eyes some of our fellow students have? They look like zombies."

"Just saying! But they are getting some of the best education possible. I'm literally one of Iluthaths, grand geniuses." Zariel somewhat bragged.

"You made that title up, didn't you.

"Pss," He waved, " don't worry about that. Anyway. Zensu is a fantastic Form and will help guide you into what is known as the hollowing, aka what I like to call ultra instinct."

"Whatever you say, dumb-dumb, Aurelia is still waiting on getting into a class of Life and Death." The young lass stated, narrowing her pearly gold eyes that dimmed with the recent lack of progress when it came to these two concepts.

"I don't have much control of that, but your staff should know a lot. Have him teach you a few things. That's the whole reason I gave you the Eldritch staff in the first place."