Chapter 33: It's In His Nature

The arena was empty except for the principal, vice principal, trainers, and infirmary staff of the academy.

Sam's dark and holy powers spiraled out of control, threatening to obliterate the arena into thousands of pieces.

Yet, the expected explosion never came.

Instead, the volatile energy receded back into his body, leaving nothing in its wake, and Sam collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

Principal Agor ordered the students to evacuate the arena, allowing only Isabelle, Yuki, and, strangely, Lucy to remain, who stood a bit farther from Sam's roommates.

He didn't want to risk Sam's powers spiraling out of control again.

Agor calmly inspected Sam and determined that his powers were no longer unstable.

Sam didn't seem injured, his aura was normal, and it appeared as though he was in a deep sleep, one from which he could not be easily roused.

"Roman, take him to the infirmary and don't let anyone near him until I give the all-clear," Agor instructed.

Roman was a highly talented mage and an even more gifted healer, though it was a mystery why such a mage was working at an academy for heroes.

"I will take care of him," Roman replied, snapping his fingers. Sam's body began to float, following Roman towards the infirmary.

"We're coming with you," Yuki and Isabelle said, their worried expressions revealing their concern as they followed Roman.

He halted, turning to face them.

"I don't think this is a good idea," Roman said, trying to dissuade Isabelle and Yuki from following.

"It's alright, Roman. Let them go with you," Agor nodded reassuringly.

"Let's go then," Roman said, leading the way with Sam levitating in front of them, Yuki and Isabelle close behind.

"He shouldn't be alive. How is he surviving with two opposing forces inside him?" Ragnar asked, his gaze fixed on the principal.

"He's right. By all accounts, he should have been blown to pieces by now. But it seems... his existence remains intact," Trainer Austin added, equally perplexed.

"Whatever has happened, it is because of who he is and who he will become. We need to keep this incident from reaching unwanted ears and inform the other members of the High Order. I'm summoning them for an immediate meeting," Agor declared, looking intently at each of the trainers.

"First, inform Jin Tatsuya and the Hero King. I imagine they would want to see the boy," Agor instructed before disappearing from the spot.

He reappeared at another location within the academy.

The new location resembled a shrine.

A massive, seven-foot-tall silvery stone hovered above a podium, emitting a soft golden glow.

Inscribed in the center of the stone were words of prophecy.

𝑯𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆𝒏 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒅 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒅𝒆𝒇𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒓. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒖𝒍𝒆𝒔 𝒅𝒐 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒃𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒎, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍, 𝒇𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒅𝒐𝒘

"The rules do not bind him," Agor repeated, fixating on a particular sentence. "The signs are revealing themselves. I hope you are truly him... Sam Tatsuya."

...

The Ancestral Mansion, Tatsuya Clan

Jin Tatsuya, the clan leader, was meticulously reviewing some official documents when his wife, Hana, brought him a cup of tea.

"Thank you," Jin accepted the tea with a smile.

As Hana sat before him, he noticed she seemed unusually happy. "You seem to be in a good mood. Any particular reason?"

"No particular reason... Have you heard from our grandson?" Hana asked.

"He sent me a message saying he challenged a second-year student," Jin replied with a weary smile.

"And you let him, didn't you?" Hana asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Well, it's not like he listens to me."

"I just don't want him to get hurt. No matter how powerful or talented he is, a first-year challenging a second-year is risky. He could get seriously hurt," Hana said, crossing her arms and looking at Jin accusingly.

"What did I do?" Jin shrugged, not understanding why he was being scolded for something beyond his control.

At that moment, a dark brown, shiny-feathered owl flew in, hooting as it landed on Jin's shoulder.

It was gripping a small parchment scroll with its legs.

Jin took the scroll and read it.

"What does it say? Is it about our grandson?" Hana asked, noticing the scroll bore the emblem of a fiery crimson bird with three burning tails—the symbol of the Academy.

"It's from the Academy. Agor has asked us to visit as soon as possible," Jin replied, looking at the scroll.

"Did something happen to Sam?"

"No, the letter says our grandson is fine. Agor just wants us to visit, and the Hero King is also invited, it seems," Jin said, glancing at his wife.

"You're going, right?"

"We're going. The letter specifically mentioned that I should bring you with me. They have some questions for you. You can decline if you don't want to go."

"It's alright. I will go with you. I want to see how our grandson is doing. I don't mind answering a few questions while I'm at it," Hana replied with a serious expression.

"Alright then, we will leave in an hour."

...

After a few hours, in a private chamber, the principal, vice principal, some of the trainers including Austin, the Hero King, and Sam's maternal grandparents gathered for a not-so-serious discussion.

"What you're saying is he won against a second-year student without even a scratch on his body?" Jin asked, a smirk playing on his lips.

"Did you even listen to what I said?" Agor looked at him, his expression filled with concern. 

"Your grandson possesses both dark and holy powers. After his battle with the second-year student, he spiraled out of control, yet, for some unknown reason, he is still in one piece. Aren't you curious about this?"

"What's there to be curious about? We all know he was an anomaly. Maybe it has something to do with that," Jin replied casually, as if it were no surprise that Sam could harbor two opposing forces within him.

"You have to take this seriously, Jin," Agor said, sighing.

"There are rules in this universe that cannot and will not be broken. Breaking these rules disrupts the order... Well, no one's ever broken the rules before until now," the Hero King said slowly. 

"Your grandson has broken the most fundamental rule of all."

"He has forces of opposing nature, both positive and negative, inside him, and he is still in one piece. What do we make of this?"

"Nothing. What's there to think about? I don't even know why we're even discussing this. We all know he's an anomaly. It's part of who he is. Breaking the rules is in his nature," Jin said, rolling his eyes as if stating the obvious.

"I too think this is pointless. We don't need to break our brains trying to understand him. He's an anomaly, something unexplainable," Ragnar said.

"Shall we change the subject then?" Jin suggested.

"I've been meaning to say, you made a bold move by having the saintesses move into his residence at the academy," Agor remarked, looking at both Jin and the Hero King.

"Aren't you afraid he might figure it out? He seems pretty smart."

"Not when it comes to women... He still thinks it's because Isabelle's mother is worried about her that his mother, my daughter, is making him live with her to keep an eye on her," Jin replied.

"Same here," the Hero King added.

"Do the saintesses know about each other?"

"Yuki and Isabelle know about each other and their connection to him," Austin said, pursing his lips.

His main job was to teach students martial arts and manage the arena.

He was also assigned by the High Order to watch over Sam and his saintesses from the shadows.

"What about the third and fourth saintesses?" Jin asked.

"The third saintess is doing fine. She hasn't made contact with them yet, so they don't know about her," Ragnar said, side-eyeing Agor.

"It's pretty inconvenient that the saintesses can recognize each other if they're in close proximity."

"As for the fourth saintess, she is perfectly safe in her castle in the Mystic City."

"I would hope so. King Magnus is a lot like me in that subject. He keeps his daughter away from everything," the Hero King replied.

"Enough about the saintesses. What do we think about telling him about the prophecy?"

"No," Hana outright rejected the idea, shaking her head vehemently. "My grandson doesn't like being controlled. If he learns that his life is being led by a prophecy told thousands of years ago, he will freak out."

"My wife is right; he wouldn't take it well," Jin agreed.

"Maybe we can have the saintesses tell him after they get a little closer to him," Agor suggested.

"That feels wrong. Let's not do that," Hana shook her head.

"Look, my grandson is smart. Eventually, he will figure out something is wrong, especially if we keep pushing the saintesses on him."

"The saintesses are meant to be with him. Even they understand this," Trainer Austin said.

"That doesn't mean we have to push them into this prophecy thing. Let them do it on their own time," Hana said with a threatening tone.

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[A/N: If you enjoyed this chapter, please consider supporting it with a few Power Stones. And if you absolutely loved it, you can even contribute a Golden Ticket. Your support means a lot to me! Thank you very much! - Arigato! 🙏]