Chapter 15: An Incident

The chirping crickets can be heard from the forest that sprawled in front of me. A gentle breeze blew past me which was soon followed by the sound of rustling leaves as I bathed in the light of the moon. After today’s events, the balcony provided some well-deserved rest and respite. I leaned against the railings, placing my weight on the steel beams that kept me from falling while pretending to smoke a joint.

It was about seven in the evening with the curfew being at eleven pm which meant that I had a lot of time to lounge here. Besides, I practically own the place due to the lack of students who wished to turn this into a hangout spot, but this was perfect for me. Letting out a long sigh, I retreated to the bench that was behind me as I fished out some food from the paper bag I brought with me from the evening buffet. Soon enough, a slice of bread rested in my hands. However, it vanished as quickly as it appeared, ending up in my stomach where it rightfully belonged.

“Another night… without Shan being released from that Geon…”

I stretched my hands upward before bending my torso to the side as a form of exercise, letting out a small grunt or groan when the stretch hit their perfect spot and vice versa. If only I were with Shan right now, beside some manga… or perhaps Cora, she should love the night! She did covert operations in the evening, right?! Then perhaps times like this would be perfect for a talk! If only I owned a phone like the rest of them.

The silence carried on as my thoughts started drifting away like a vast oceanic expanse. Each wave polluted by yet another memory that I wanted to forget. That time with Wyzen pretending to be Shan, the fact that Cora had kidnapped me here…

“And to think that I’d be spending my time tending to a rock instead of a normal healthy relationship, I guess even as an Epico, I could still be considered a weirdo.”

It still feels new to me, yet here I was, attempting to wield the flames within me, befriending a bat lady and a fox girl. Heck, even standing up against a bully for the first time. These two days might have had more action packed into them than in my entire life, but hey, it’s not like I regret anything after all. Maybe I can even court one of them, but I am too timid to ask for an answer. Perhaps I should be taking chances to get to them better.

I snapped my fingers, feeling that sense of unrest as my palms started to sweat and my heart started to beat louder, almost like it wanted to break out of my ribs. A single flame flared up, resting on my palm. Without anything better to do, I sat there, observing it, lifting it to eye level whilst staring at its flickering embers.

“Just what exactly are you… Just what did you want with me?”

The flame flickered and waved in the air, almost as if it had a life of its own. Funny how I thought that I was crazy, yet here I was, talking to a flame that I made myself. It’s amazing what a rock can do to you within a day’s worth of work.

I let out a soft chuckle, and with one swift fist clench, the flames sputtered out and died as I returned to my usual calm.

That was until I heard the gentle flap of wings from the side of the balcony.

I stood up, leaping away from the balcony’s edge with my fists clenched and blazing with heated flames. The flaps soon grew quieter, like they gotten further, but just when I was about to calm down and put my flames to rest, a black skinned figure leapt at me, letting out a loud hiss when it jumped from the veranda’s rails

The thing looked feminine with her jet-black colored hair and skin. On her hands were talons, about 6 inches long aimed at my neck. Her eyes were a deep shade of red, staring at me with malicious intent. The woman also sported what appeared to a female uniform, reminiscent of a school student. I just had to wonder if she was from this school…

But that would have to wait.

I swung my blazing fist into her face, only to hit the air as she swerved away, revealing the wings that rested on her back. Their colors blending with the night sky.

The woman flew just a few meters away from the railing, her mouth open in shock. But in mere moments, she gritted her teeth and charged once more. This time, it was my turn to dodge. I quickly sidestepped to the right of her path, just inches away from her face. With a swift motion, I slid my left foot to use the momentum for an attack. My right arm soon followed the assault, bashing her face in with a flaming hook.

The creature let out a loud shriek as it was knocked down to the floor while I hurriedly attempted to regain my footing. Once ready, I laid my sights on the creature that clawed at its face, still having smoke from the part I punched. It let out another shriek, shaking off the pain, before flying off into the night, its head drooping when it did.

I let out a sigh, my heart still beating loudly in my ears as my fists shuddered alongside it. P-Perhaps I should report this, yes? Calm thoughts, Pyre, calm thoughts… Think rationally and don’t panic as Xion had told you. I let out another exhale, the flames slowly burning out until only my arms remained. My legs soon carried on to where Silian’s office was, still looking for any possible signs of an attack.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After a few moments of walking, my eyes shifted from the left, and after a short pause, to the right, examining everything before I twisted the door to Silian’s room. I was soon bathed with light as her room was revealed to me once more. The lady, well she was signing papers, nodding ever so slightly as her eyelids slowly started falling shut.

“Silian…”

My soft calls stirred her senses; she blinked twice and stared at me for a few seconds before moving close with a mischievous smile.

“Joey…”

The president giggled softly, moving ever so closely towards me like a sleep deprived zombie. I took a few steps back, wide-eyed and scared. I wanted to let out a scream, but no voice escaped my lips. Silian hurriedly ran towards me, arms held out before barreling into me with a bear hug. Her body pressed against mine and after a few moments, my virgin soul departed from this mortal coil.

“I missed you, I missed you, I missed you so much!”

The woman nuzzled her cheeks against my face while I did my best to push her away, screaming and kicking but to no avail; her legs locked me in place as she carried on with her work. The principal leaned in close, her lips puckered and ready for a deed. I was defenseless, fearing that my first might be taken. I let out a scream of terror, shouting her name.

“S-SIlian!”

The president finally took a pause, staring at me with wide eyes. She blinked again, twice, before slapping me across my face and backing off with a loud shriek. Her doors the burst open as yet another person revealed themselves, the short batgirl to be exact.

“Silian! Are you alright?!”

There was a long awkward pause between us, her face darkening for each second that passed. She looked at me with a frown, revealing her clenched teeth, and knit brows.

“Pyre…”

She clenched her hands into a fist, before cracking them loudly as she walked over to where I was assaulted. At this rate, I was the one who had to run off! Cora leapt into the air, raising her fist above her head as she yelled out my name. I let out a loud shriek, closing my eyes in terror. This was soon followed by my arms flaring up as I attempted to cover my face to defend from the angry bat lady’s attack.

But the punch never came.

I opened my eyes to see the President in front of me, her arms extended to the side and her feet a few feet apart, like she was defending me; Although, her body shivered a lot, shaking uncontrollably as she put on a scowl. Her friend was in the air, looking at the two of us with a raised brow and a closed mouth frown. She then let out a sigh as she descended from the ceiling with a red-faced pout.

“Fine… Silian, explain.”

Cora held a hand to her forehead, massaging it whilst letting out a groan. She shook her head slightly, as to show her disappointment and confusion, I guess?

After a bout of explaining, a lot of sighs and a few liters of water to sober up the poor Silian who had a secret sip of wine underneath her desk, Cora finally nodded in understanding. I also narrated the fact that there was a black monster that assaulted me from earlier which piqued the interest of Cora who looked at me and nodded.

“That monster, dare I say Epico should still be out there, is that correct?”

The bat lady gazed at me intently, her red glare fixated on me as I responded with a nod.

“It reminded me of a local tale… of a local monster in our country.”

Cora’s brow raised ever so slightly at the mention of her opponent. She walked over to me, staring me down with her red eyes.

“Information.”

“W-What?”

I flashed her a crooked smile out of nervousness, shuffling back a few steps while laughing nervously. However, she instantly closed the distance between us with a few steps of her own.

“Give me some information, in exchange…”

She let out a deep sigh before hugging my arm.

“I will be your protector until the culprit is caught, and all this blows over.”

She continued, looking away from me with a bright red blush on her face. Part of me wanted to say yes, I mean, who knows what I could do against a feral Epico like that, if they were even an Epico to begin with… that thing might straight up be a monster.

However, I also understood her general value as a school asset or unit. She was strong enough to scare Geon, someone with strength and power to possibly casually uproot a tree. With her skill and finesse, she should have been a well enough fighter to defend and keep order to our school.

Keeping her to myself is certainly a no go, but what can I do to get her off my case?

“Hey Cora… That reminds me, you passed out cold earlier… Are you alright?”

Hearing my words, the bat girl’s eyes widened as she let out a soft gasp. Cora hurriedly looked away with a soft whisper escaping her lips…

“….ring… up ….no..”

“I am sorry, I couldn’t quite hear that.”

The bat girl looked right at me with her brows knit together, a scowl painted on her face and a soft growl escaping her lips. However, amidst all this anger was a soft rosy blush that accented her face.

“Y-You didn’t have to bring that up you idiot…”

I flashed her a frown as a reply before flicking her forehead with my free arm.

“Is it a sin to be worried for a friend you moron. Besides, I don’t want you going out of your way to look after me and missing out on actual rest and your duties… not that I know of their significance, but you at least seem to enjoy fulfilling them.”

The bat girl paused for a bit, her frown contorting into a pout, until it eventually became a scowl.

“Fine… what do you even want?”

She detached my arm from her grip before giving it a weak smack, her face still flared up into a bright red pout.

The table has been set for me by the lady herself, perfect.

“How about hanging out with me for the time being. Then maybe we can think of a compromise.”

“B-But it’s almost curfew you moron!”

The bat girl closed her eyes, leaning forward with a slight raise in her tone. Cute.

“It should be fine if I am with you. I promise not to mess around and just talk…”

I took a pause to meet eyes with Cora, and after a few seconds of eye contact, the latter broke up the tension before dragging me outside with a huff…

“Fine… If that is what you want.”

In that evening, the bat lady held my hand in hers, and while they weren’t big…

They were certainly warm…