Chapter 12 : Forbidden Ritual

It was the end of the school day, Duri and the others were back in the classrooms, packing their stuff up. 

The chatter around went like:

"Man, I keep thinking about what I did! Me!"

"I eliminated 10 people!"

"We have to do that again sometime."

"Honestly we should."

"Did you see who won the Salazar tournament? That shit was awesome! It was live on TV and Bloggerz!"

"Those fights seemed like they were going on forever. But I still enjoyed it."

Duri and Tek were standing beside each other, still putting their stuff in their black bags.

Duri asked Tek, "What's your problem with me?"

Tek replied, "...You remind me of a person I hate. And for that reason, I know the outcome of your destined fate."

"Speak to me like I'm a dumbass. What are you talking about?"

"Pride goes before the fall, fool. You walk around like you're better than everyone. You-."

"No I don't. The hell? This is me, this is who I am, and if you gotta problem with it, we can settle it anytime."

Tek finished packing, and replied, "Hmph."

He started to walk out of the classroom, and Duri watched him on the way out.

'I remind him of someone he hates...imagine.'

Kazuma, Ren-Ren, and Jiyu were talking near Nine and Seven, but Seven was holding Nine back from attacking Ren-Ren, and Kazuma and Jiyu were holding Ren-Ren back.

Nine exclaimed, "Ooooo we can have a rematch, but this time, with our fists!"

Ren-Ren answered, "OOOH! GREEEAT IDEA! I'LL KILL YOU TEN TIMES OVER!"

"HAHA! YOU WISH, NERD!"

Seven and Duri looked at each other, and Seven said, "What are you looking at?"

Duri responds, "You. Who else?"

"Haha, you're funny."

Duri walked up to her, and continued, "What's your issue with me? Do I remind you of someone you hate?"

"Hm? No, idiot. You're cool."

"Cool??"

"That's what I said, didn't I?"

"Obviously you did. I have a question to ask you."

"Walk and talk, dude."

Duri and Seven started walking together, and Seven was dragging Nine with her.

Nine said, "Nooo, Seven! Lemme kill that kid!"

"You can wait until we're like, OUTTA school, ya know? Then you can bash his face in and feed it to the dogs or something. That shit sounds nice."

"AWESOME!"

Duri looked at Seven, thinking, 'Her attitude has more to it than what I had seen. She was kinda quiet and nonchalant, but now she's outgoing and still nonchalant and boyish. Is she warming up to me? Someone like me?'

Duri, Nine, Seven, Ren-Ren, Jiyu, and Kazuma were walking in the hallway along with dozens upon dozens of students.

Duri asked Seven, "How long did it take you to learn the force field skill?"

"Mm, first off, you know what the heck it is, right?"

"Yeah, it's our energy being converted into a field of magic pressure. It decreases our endurance during a fight, since our power energy is being used to protect our bodies. Why do you ask me like I don't know anything?"

"Just wanted to see if you actually pay attention to the shit that Marshy teaches you. And it took me a few years actually. Which leads me to ask, why can't you do it yet if Marshy HAS been teaching you?"

"...I don't know. It's like I'm listening and hearing her, but I can't perform some of the things right. Maybe there's something wrong with me, I don't know."

"Oh god yeah there actually might be something wrong with you."

"Not fucking helping."

Seven chuckled and informed Duri, "Haha! I'm just kidding. I feel you on that though. There are some things I have trouble learning. They seem super easy to do, but I'm horrible at performing them. They laughed at me when I was younger in school for it, and I beat the living SHIT out of them all."

"I would've too. I don't like bullies."

"You're kinda one."

"I don't like myself then."

Kazuma walked in between Duri and Seven, and said with a smile, "Oooh! Are you two dating now even though you just mettttt?"

Seven grabbed Kazuma by the throat, "Say that shit again and I'll rip your throat out and tie it around your ass to make it look like you have a tail."

"Ooo, never heard that before. Hey Seven, you're squeezing me pretty tight."

Behind them, Jiyu, Ren-Ren, and Nine watched.

Nine said, "He should know how Seven is by now. If anyone ever jokes or mentions anything about love or dating around her, she goes mad."

Ren-Ren answered, "You're the exact same way. I can see why you two are friends."

"Shut…up…psycho nerd."

Jiyu implied with a soft and sweet voice, "I-I wonder what's it like to date someone."

As they walked down the hallway, they saw tournament hosts lined up against the wall, and there were hosts posted up in different areas, watching over some things.

These hosts were weaker than the seven strongest hosts, but they were still strong in their own way. 

Kazuma said, "Ooo, scary."

Nine spoke, "The hosts…guarding this place like guards at a military base."

Duri replied, "A lot of things have been going on I heard. A lot of fighting."

Seven added, "Yeah, and people coming up missing. They think some of us don't know that the former headmaster and his wife are missing."

"I heard that too. But what about those damn fights…who was specifically fighting?"

Kazuma answered, "Randoms going berserk and causing havoc near the school and then killing themselves right after, and some mythical beasts. It's like they're attracted to this school. But I think the hosts are mainly here to keep us from getting taken like the headmaster and his wife, making sure those same people that took them don't come back for us."

Jiyu said softly, "We-we don't know if they've been kidnapped…I mean…I hope they aren't."

Kazuma smiled, "Oh, they are alright! Along with a bunch of other women!"

Seven hit Kazuma in the chest, "Keep your voice down, idiot."

Duri asked, "People targeting women huh? Sounds interesting. None of my business though, so ima leave that shit alone."

They all walked out of the school, with another couple of hundred students outside.

Duri thinks 'I didn't think today would be this damn short. I'll go home and train some more then.'

Duri walked away from everyone, and Seven watched him along with the others.

Kazuma waved at Duri, "See ya, Duri the shadow boy!"

Ren-Ren said, "I may have been beaten today, but tomorrow…I'll DEFEAT YOU ALL IN SOMETHING! IT'S ALL APART OF MY PLAN!"

Jiyu waved at Duri softly, "Se-see ya Du-Duri.."

Duri, Seven, and Nine were walking the same direction on the sidewalks to get to their homes, walking past a bunch of houses. 

On the sidewalk next to them, Tek was walking with a group of emo thug looking boys, and he was still reading his book.

Duri didn't notice anyone around him, because he was deep in thought.

'Zabel…get the hell out of my head..' Duri thinks.

Zabel, who was talking to Duri telepathically, responded, 'Look, I just want to apologize for killing everyone in the shadow realm. And when I say everyone, I mean EVERYONE. Hehe, just kidding.'

'I'll kill you…Zabel. And everyone in the Arcane realm as well. If you have a family, I'll slaughter them in front of you.'

'Do you even care about your people?'

'Not really. They trained us to be killers, to be soldiers only to destroy other realms. But…my friend Jae…was amongst the ones you killed. And there were other children that I knew…and you killed them all. I won't cry about it. I just can't do it. But just know, Zabel, if you find me first, I'll take you down either way.'

'You are on earth.'

'Bullshit.'

'I have like, REALLY good hearing, Duri. I heard Band when he yelled out the realm transfer years ago.'

'That settles this shit then. You know I'm here. Come and fight me.'

'Hmmm, I don't think so. It is true that I need you for the ritual, since you're a hybrid Titan, shadow, and human and all. Having been mixed with all those races amplifies your power by a ton, meaning you may be stronger than the Titans one day. And your power will keep growing…and growing…and growing. You are like no other, I just can't go and get a random Titan, using you for the ritual will increase the effectiveness of the ritual by a lot, since your blood is pure and stronger than anything I've seen before.'

'Then what are you waiting for? Huh? You know where I am, come get me!'

'No. I can't yet.'

Duri felt an ease on his brain, everyone Zabel would talk with him telepathically, he would get a headache. When the headache went away, Duri knew Zabel was gone.

[Arcane Realm]

Zabel was sitting on a white and golden throne, with golden instruments floating high above him. The room he was in was bright white with no other color in there.

Walking into that room, was a man in a suit with black and red wings, and his head was a basketball sized red moon with red smoke coming out. He was Zain, Zabel's advisor.

Zain knocked, and Zabel answered, "Come in.." 

Zabel was holding his own head, saying, "Hurts everytime I'm in that boy's head."

Zain replied, "You should take a break, Zabel."

"Yeah why didn't I think of that?"

"Apologies for bringing up the obvious, sir."

"Don't sweat it, Zain. You're still a little new."

"And…I know this may seem personal, but why exactly do you need to wait to kill Duri and take his body? You've dreamt of taking him down for years, he is the key to Arcane's success."

"Haha! You mean my success? The other guardians besides me don't know what I'm up to. They just think I'm gathering enough power to make them all stronger. By any means necessary."

"Why hide it from them?"

"You know how the guardians are. They're soft on kids. They wouldn't want me killing a damn 15 year old boy."

"Oh, well that is true."

Zabel stood up, and started walking around Zain, saying, "The reason why I'm waiting to kill and take Duri's body is because he hasn't accessed his full power yet. He hasn't got a grasp on his true potential. Which I just found out is needed for the ritual to actually work."

"But he has the power inside of him.."

"He does, it is there. But it isn't cultivated. Like a flower in a garden, it has the ingredients and materials inside of it to grow into a beautiful creation, but it needs to grow and manifest it's true form. Something has to happen to make it grow, or overtime, it grows on its own with repetitive training or watering of the seeds. Every Time I get in his head, I can see how much of his power he's accessed."

"It gives you headaches too."

"Yeah it does. But it's the only way I can keep track of his progress."

"And you know about earth…about Marshy and the seven strongest hosts. And don't forget about all the other hosts-."

"Marshy is of a different breed, I only know that she was banished from her realm because of unknown reasons. The other hosts, I'm not sure about. But if it ever came down to it, I can convince the guardians to go to war with earth, just to kill and acquire Duri."

"You are smart, Zabel."

"Hehh? I know I am, fool. This is like how my brother Reborn was. He…nevermind. I don't want to talk about that man. He's dead and that's all there is to it."

"Zabel.."

"ZAINE. I'M STARVING."

"Would you-?"

"I WOULD LOVE SOME FOOD RIGHT NOW! I can't go out getting my revenge on people and killing them on an empty stomach. What they did to me when I was younger should never be interrupted with a growling stomach. An outcast rising out of the shadows and returning the sins of their souls back to them!"

"I understand fully, sir."

[Saitama, Japan]

Duri, Nine, Tek, and Seven were still walking down the sidewalks past the houses behind the fences, and Nine stepped up beside Duri.

"Oi, Duri boy."

Duri answered, "What?"

"Why the long face?"

"You worried about me or something?"

"No, I just wanted to ask that after a movie I watched. So you should FUCKING ANSWER."

"My face isn't long. I'm just ready to go home."

Seven asked, "What are you going to do?"

"Not think about you two. HAHA!"

"Oooo."

"That was my attempt at a joke, Seven. And why are you two named after numbers?"

Seven and Nine looked at each other, then looked back at Duri.

Seven and Nine grabbed Duri by the throat, and said together, "Rude question."

Duri had a straight face, and replied, "I'm not sorry for asking, honestly. But I just wanna know since you two are obviously following me."

Seven responded, "Why the hell would we follow you? You crazy or something?"

"Haha, I think so."

Seven and Nine let Duri go, and Duri noticed Tek and the other thug looking boys he was with were looking over at them.

Duri and Tek looked away from each other, allowing Seven and Nine to see the tension between the two of them.

Duri took a left, taking another way home, leaving everyone else to follow the straight path.

Seven and Nine watched him, and they continued to walk and talk to each other.

Over where Tek was at, one of the boys said, "Your initiation is tomorrow during lunch, Tek. Right when the drop is being made. Gotta see what you got."

Tek answered, "Boring. Will there be fighting?"

"Only if the drop goes bad. Then we get to hit some shit, am I right?!"

The other boys agreed, "Hell yeah!"

"Hard knocks baby!"

"I haven't fought in so long!"

Tek replied, "Interesting. Okay."

"First things first, we gotta ask…why join us? You're kinda set apart from us with your weird and dark and edgy attitude..but you got skill. And you're smart."

Tek lied, "No reason. I'm bored."

"Mmm, oh really?"

"Yes. Is there a problem?"

"Oo, feisty one here. Just making sure you're about what you talk, because this shit isn't a game. It's reality, vanity, and a lifestyle you can't just walk away from. Got it?"

"Understand. Will I be meeting the bosses tomorrow?"

"Yeah, you will. Along with the buyers for the stuff."

"What stuff?"

"You a cop or something? You're asking a ton of damn questions."

"Tsk. Fair enough. I'll keep you all posted."

(3 minutes later)

Duri was almost reaching his and Marshy's 5 story white house.

He couldn't wait to go inside and work on his fighting stances and power control.

"Finally! I'm home!" Duri grinned. 

He was stepping closer, until he felt something a little off. 

"Umm.."

Out of nowhere, something snatched him up by the face, and tackled him through the air.

They were smashing through houses, just blasting holes through a variety of them, and they ended up flying past Tek, Nine, and Seven.

Nine asked Seven, "Was that Duri?"

Seven answered, "I believe so. Shit. What's going on now?"

Duri couldn't see who was dragging him through the air, and he was yelling, "Get the fuck off me! I don't even know who you are!"

Duri struggled to get the unknown hand off of his face, and he continued to yell, "Once I'm free, I'm gonna kill you! Let me go!"

The voice on the other side of the hand replied, "It will all be over soon."

"What…the HELL are you talking about?!"

Suddenly, a golden circle portal opened behind Duri, and he was dragged into it.

Seconds later, Duri and the unknown man were in the middle of an ice place with ice mountains and snow everywhere. 

They both slid on the snowy ground, and Duri pushed the man off of him, and they looked at each other.

Duri asked him, "Who are you?!"

The man had brownish reddish skin with red and black tattoos all over his body, dirty brown wavy hair, red eyes, a red torn up shirt around his way, no socks on, 7 feet tall, and bandages around his fists. His name was Yoshida.

Yoshida replied, "The voices…the screams…I hear them.."

Duri replied, "What the hell are you talking about? Are you stupid? You must be for picking a fight with me! What do you want with me anyway?!"

"I want you to end my suffering. My mother is inside of my head..tormenting me…all because of her accidental death a few years ago…I sensed strong power from you, I will not let anyone weak take me away, I deserve more than that. I'd rather go out in a glorious way…a righteous fight between two warriors. She's inside my head day and night. I let her soul live within my soul by a ritual, only to save her from the fire, but she wants to get out…and I don't know how..there's no way I can get her out. I went to everyone…even the hosts, but they said nothing can be done if it's a forbidden ritual. And I'm paying the price for doing something so risky.."

"....You.."

"I've fought and killed countless power users, they were not worthy enough to help me. You will be the 50th person I've fought."

"Why does it matter?! Just do it yourself if it's such a problem!"

"You obviously do not get soul merging, or any rituals in that manner. I can't just end myself, that's a part of the repercussions of the forbidden ritual being performed. I thought my mother would be happy that I've kept her alive within me…but she's getting violent. She's mistreated me all my life, everyone has…I deserve to have my pain ended by someone who is worthy enough to beat me; if you beat me, you are telling me I'm worth being defeated by someone as strong as you. I just wanna feel worth it. The strong never waste time with the weak, as they say.."

Duri thought, 'Soul merging…rituals…? Rituals are that powerful? He can't off himself? He needs someone strong to do it, in the hopes that he would actually die?!'

Duri said, "Does random shit like this happen all the time?! Dammit. Well, I don't care about your reasons, you attacked me, I'll end your suffering alright!"

"Beating me will free me and my mother from this pain. I can't take it anymore, she's screaming right now…she wants to be free…set us free…boy!"

Duri's eyes went full white, and a black aura surrounded his body. Duri got into a drop stance, which is a Shaolin stance, where Duri gets low with one leg extended across the ground with his other leg bent the other way, one arm extending with the extended leg, and his other hand raised up high at a diagonal angle.

Waves of energy blasted from Duri's body, and a black mist was circulating him.

Yoshida said, "Ho..? A Shaolin stance…you're making me feel…like I matter! Please…do not disappoint me…BOY!"

Yoshida's body aura began to glow red, and red and yellow power streaks flickered all around him, and four black and yellow energy power balls were behind him, spinning fast, and some energy power balls were coming from Yoshida's hands.

Duri thought, 'He's strong, I can tell. His pressure is immense…this is gonna be a tough fight.'

Yoshida smiled, "Let's go!"