(CHAPTER 23) SECRET

A few minutes went by and lunch was over, it was the students day off as it was a Sunday so they could do whatever they wished, but they were encouraged to train and hone their skills on their days off as after the Iratheon attack the military school received, they had no idea what could happen next but one thing was for sure, when the Iratheons would show up, the only one they were interested in was Neon, or should I say the entity that's residing within his body....

As Riyu, Karla and Neon began making their way out the lunch hall, Riyu started to speak about what had been bothering him for quite a while. "Now that I think about it, when the Iratheons invaded the colloseum and attacked us, there were magical barriers everywhere so just how did they even get on Earth, let alone the military school." Said Riyu making the others think. "Maybe there was a breach on the Earth's barrier or maybe on the military school. " replied Neon trying to think of a logical answer. "No that can't be it, if there was a breach in either the Earth's barrier or the schools barrier, don't you think we would have been notified about it. " Said Karla joining in on the conversation. "maybe we don't know anything about how the Iratheons got in but one thing is for sure, they will come back and when I get my hands on them....I'm going to kill them.....Every last one." snapped Neon with such an intense and aggressive look on his face, it would cause anyone to crumble in fear. Neon felt nothing but hatred for the Iratheons. Of course everyone hated them but for Neon, they were a nightmare as even if their name was mentioned, it would trigger a horrible and painful memory. Neon will never forgive them for what they'd taken from him. He truly despised them with all his heart.

"I have another question but its about you Neon and I'm sure Karla is wondering the same thing I am." Spoke Riyu. "Whats on your mind Riyu." responded Neon with a curious look on his face. "Well you see, during the Iratheons attack. You transformed into what I believe was the demon that resides within you and when you did, you actually managed to kill them. Just how the hell did you do that?" Asked Riyu wondering what Neons answer would be. "Yes I was wondering the same thing, no one has killed Iratheons in any way but by exposing them to radiation or if we imbued the radiation in weapons like swords and used them to kill them, however, sometimes the radiation wasn't strong enough to be put into weapons. But you....you managed to kill them with some kind of scythe you created." Said Karla, also intrigued on what answer Neon would give. "Wait what are you talking about?" Neon said confused. " What!" Shouted both Karla and Riyu. What the three of them didn't know was that when FH takes over Neons body, as long as FH is in control, Neon would not be aware of what he's doing and when FH would revert back into Neons body so that Neon would be in control, he would have no recollection of what FH did. "Aahh, they must be talking about when I killed those Iratheons back at the colloseum." FH began to speak. "What! you killed them. How!" Exclaimed Neon. "Oh that's right, I forgot to tell you that when I take control, your not aware of anything until your in control again. As for how I killed them, it was with a powerful weapon I conjured called the shadow scythe which only demons can wield. It's so powerful that even a cut would cause the demons to die on the spot, however, it requires a tremendous amount of Chi to conjure up." Explained FH. "And you didn't think to tell me this sooner." Neon said angrily as he turned towards Karla and Riyu who were still waiting for an answer. "Well I just found out that when he takes over, I'm not aware of anything until I gain control again. And as for how he killed them, he said it was with a weapon called a shadow scythe." Said Neon shocked that there was another way to kill Iratheons. However, he had heard from FH that demons could be killed via excorsism too, but he never truly believed it as no one has ever killed a demon in any way except using radiation. But just now, he had heard that the Iratheons were killed with something other than radiation. "Could it really be true..?" Thought Neon."I see, I guess maybe there are other ways to kill Iratheons after all." Said Riyu intrigued on the matter. "That's amazing, we finally found another way to kill them. Hey Neon, can you tell your demon to create the scythe so we can use them? If we can, then this is a big step for humanity." Said Karla with excitement in her eyes. "I'm sorry Karla but unfortunately, the shadow scythe can only be wielded by demons." Said Neon. "Dammit, I knew it wouldn't be that easy, well as long as we have you, then our chances against them will soon continue to improve." Karla spoke trying to think positively. Although it was good that humanity had Neon as an ally, the fact that there were limited ways of killing the Iratheons wasn't good enough and could be detrimental to humanities survival. If they wanted to win the war against the demons, then they needed to find more efficient ways to kill them, and quickly...


Just as they were beginning to exit the lunch hall, a familiar voice was heard. "Hey Riyu, I'm sorry to ask you this but I need you again, you see I'm still not finished." Said the familiar voice as Neon began suspiciously looking at him. It was Keith...

"FH, I know Keith is cleared from suspicion but my instincts are telling me he's up to something, I don't know what it is but something just seems off. " Said Neon agitated by the situation. "I agree with you completely, keep listening to what your instincts are telling you and just like I said before, both of us need to keep a close eye on him, but for now, just act like you don't know anything. maybe he'll let his guard down." responded FH. Neon nodded in agreement as Riyu began to speak. "Your still not done, well I'll be happy to help." Spoke Riyu as he made his way towards Keith. "Glad to hear it, your effort is much appreciated." responded Keith as he glanced at Neon before turning around and walking away with Riyu by his side. "He doesn't even suspect a thing." Keith said quietly as he smiled menacingly putting his hand over his mouth in attempts to conceal his full expression. "Hey is everything okay?" Said Riyu. "everything's fine, don't worry your pretty little head about it. come along now dear Riyu. We have work to do."

"Hey Neon, the teachers have been encouraging us to develop our abilities and fighting skills. So I was thinking maybe we could spar with each other...? Asked Karla looking at Neon waiting for a reply. " just what is he up to. And why does he need Riyu for what he's doing ; just what did he mean by I'm still not finished...." "NEON!" Shouted Karla jolting Neon out of the intense battle he was having in his mind. "I shouted your name like three times. Why are you spacing out. Is something wrong." Said Karla as she wore a concerned look on her face. "No nothings wrong, don't worry about it." Responded Neon as he laughed nervously. While he looked at Karla, he saw Kain behind her who was waving his hand signalling for Neon to come to him. "Kain's calling me? just what does he need me for?" He thought....

Karla noticed that Neon was looking at something behind her so she turned around our of curiosity. "it's Kain from the protective security team...it looks like he's calling for you Neon. " She said turning her head back to Neon. "yeah I noticed too, I gotta go so I'll talk to you later okay." He said as he was making his way towards Kain while also waving Karla goodbye. Karla responded to his goodbye with a wave of her own however, it was less enthusiastic than his. She sighed as she turned around and made her way to the training section which was just outside the first years building. "I guess I'll just go train by myself." She muttered.

"I really hope he's not hurting as much now. It would make things easier, I mean I've got to tell him sooner than later." Kain thought looking at Neon who was now standing in front of him. "So what do you need me for." Asked Neon. Kain didn't wanna waste any time on the matter so he spoke without any hesitation. "I need to talk to you, its about Pain. Follow me Neon. " Said Kain bluntly as he opened the door behind him and made a left turn down the hallway. As soon as Neon heard his words, he felt a stinging pain in his heart. He was definitely still in hurting. Of course anyone would be if they had lost a loved one but the closer the person is to you, the more it hurts and in Neons case, he was extremely close to Pain, they were like father and son. Everytime Neon thought of him, he is reminded that he will never see him again. The pain was unbearable.

Right now there was about two and a half hours left until the students had to go back to their dorm rooms and right now, Neon just wanted the day to be over. "Will I ever get over this suffering, its like I'm getting tortured over and over with no break. it hurts so much but when I look at my body, I see no wounds and then I realize, this kind of pain can't be patched up with something as simple as a bandage. No medicine can help me escape from this torment. I will just have to live with this agony for the rest of my life." Neon thought as he began plunging his way into misery and darkness. Neons walking speed started to slow which was separating the proximity between the two. Kain realised this while also hearing whimpers which seemed to be coming from Neon. Kain couldn't take any more of it, he turned around but stopped in his tracks as what he saw made him shocked to the bone. Neon seemed to be clenching his fist so hard, his nails dug into his hands causing blood to trickle down his fingers and onto the floor. He was also gritting his teeth trying his best effort not to cry but despite this, tears could be seen flowing from his eyes like it was an open tap of water. However, this wasn't what startled Kain. In this moment, while Kain was looking at Neon in this condition, he was bursting with power. Although he couldn't see his aura, he could still feel the overwhelming power that was emanating from Neons body, however, if he was able to see Neons aura, he would be left open-mouthed to see that right now, Neons aura was in fact engulfing the entire first year building. Teachers all around the first year building as well as some of the students could feel this overwhelming power. "What is this power I sense, I've never sensed anything like it." He said intrigingly. There was one more who sensed Neons intense and vigorous power. It was the head of the first years. Mr Cardinell.

Neon kept on walking till the two were now in close proximity and when Neon noticed Kain standing in front of him, he looked up to see sadness on his face. "I've been such a fool. " Kain uttered with a pain in his throat. "There was nothing you could've done to prevent Pains death so don't blame yourself." Neon exclaimed in a crying tone. "No I'm not talking about his death, I'm talking about after his death. There should have been someone who could've comforted you and shared your pain. That person should've been me Neon." He said as his voice started to break into a million pieces. "I'm sorry I wasn't there for you when you needed someone Neon, because of that you've been through so much emotional agony and now it's too late for anyone to comfort you." He cried as he now knelt down grabbing both of Neon's shoulders. "I'm sorry Neon I truly am but you have got to use this negativity somehow." Kain said as he paused before speaking again and when he did, the words struck Neon like a lightning bolt.

"This overwhelming torment and pain your feeling Neon. USE IT! Use it as a source of power! Use it to fuel your anger! You've got to turn that negativity into power Neon! This is the only way for you to move forward and for this agonising pain to mean anything to you!" Said Kain as he embraced Neon with a hug. Neon now realised he was left with these feelings whether he liked it or not. He realised that he had to use these feelings as a source of power. He realised that this was the only way.....to move forward.

Neon embraced Kains hug and wrapped his arms around him tears still flowing from his eyes. When he looked forward he could barely see anything. His vision was so blurry due to the intense crying he had done. When his vision started to become more and more clear, he could see someone standing there as if they were patiently waiting. She smiled as she started to walk towards them. " Lucy." Neon said realising that she was the one standing in front of him. As soon as Kain heard Neon say her name, he quickly jolted up in embarrassment. He turned around to face Lucy while wiping the tears of his face. "You were there all this time?" He asked. "I was here for the most part, I didn't want to rudely interrupt the moment you boys were having, so I kept my distance till now. But I did come because of the intense surge of power I sensed a minute ago." She said glaring at Neon who wore an apologetic look on his face. Right now Neons aura had settled down as Kain's hug seemed to have calmed him down. "It can't be helped Lucy, as a result of Pains passing, he was in hurting. All this time the suffering he was going through was just building up inside him, he had to let it out somehow." Kain explained as Lucy began walking her way towards Neon who had his head down. Neon felt a warm sensation on his head which felt cozy as if someone was rubbing something soft on his head.
"You've been through a lot haven't you Neon. It's okay, we're here for you now." She said softly as she rubbed her hand on his head while also realising something in the corner of her eye. As she looked towards her right which was where Kain and Neon had come from, she could see what seemed to be a trail of blood. "This is fresh blood." She thought to herself as she followed the trail of blood. it seemed to be getting closer and closer to her until it stopped right beside her to where Neon was now standing.

She assumed Neon's hand was bleeding as the trail of blood stopped right beneath it and as soon as Lucy layed her eyes on Neons hand, she saw just how amazing his regeneration power is. "Its already healed?" Lucy said with a surprised look on her face. "I didn't hurt myself intentionally, I...I just got carried away." Said Neon in a panicked state. "I know you didn't, and besides, sometimes getting carried away is just what a person needs." Said Lucy with a gentle smile. "Now then, it's time to show you the real reason for why we called you. Follow me Neon." Spoke Lucy as she turned around and started walking down the hallway. Both Neon and Kain started to trail behind Lucy till they reached Lucy's office which was on the right side of the hallway. As the three entered the office, it was a fairly spacious room, however, it was cramped because of the many shelves that held many files and books which were on the left and right sides of the room. In front of them however, were three chairs and a desk which was set horizontally. Lucy and Kain sat at on the chairs which were facing the door while Neon sat at the one nearest to the door. Kain didn't waste any time and went straight to the matter of which he planned to talk about. "As you know Neon, we brought you here to talk about Pain. He was supposed to be the one to tell you this but now that's no longer possible." Kain said with a melancholic tone in his voice. "Tell me about what!" Said Neon announcing his eager of curiosity to Kain who was beginning to speak. "What he planned to tell you is that which resides within you as we speak. It's the secret...to his power...." Spoke Kain switching to a serious tone.