The Cataclysm's Prelude

Noctis' academy classes were divided into four main categories according to grades and strength; those were Class A, B, C and D.

Beyond class D, there was usually nothing at least as far as normal students knew. But those who had the worst of the worst grades could say otherwise.

Class E, also known as the class of excellence, was the class where malfunctioning students who fought their way into Noctis stayed.

It was also where teachers who had fallen out of favour with the academy were assigned.

But Kai has had one thought since he got assigned to class E.

Who exactly was the professor that was so hated to get demoted?

Standing at the door that held his answers, he couldn't help but hesitate.

'Can't believe I've fallen this far.'

[Like you were ever high to begin with.]

Kai held onto the knob of the door; unlike other classes that were pulled to the side to open, Class E's door was rather basic.

Pulling the handle down, the door creaked open, revealing the modest-looking classroom.

A small room painted in faded brown, a blackboard that looked mundane, a wooden stand, and two chairs placed at the front.

The room was nothing if not depressing.

Looking into the class, Kai froze in place.

A beautiful woman with blonde hair and emerald green eyes stood at the front. Though she still dressed rather provocatively, her demeanour this time resembled that of an actual teacher.

A white shirt that tightly clung to her skin with the upper buttons loose, revealing her skin and fabrics from her under garment.

A straight-cut skirt that made her figure even more defined and black glasses that complemented her flowing blonde hair.

[Why is the cat-like Professor here?]

The figure was none other than Neko sensei.

As if sensing his presence, she raised her head from the book she was buried in. "We meet again, pretty boy."

"Neko sensei." Kai blurted out unconsciously.

"What kind of silly nickname is that?"

'I said that out loud, didn't I?'

[You most definitely did.]

Looking at Neko-sensei once more, Kai couldn't help but feel something growing inside of him.

He instantly looked away as his face flushed deep red.

"Are you blushing because of your teacher?" Neko-sensei asked her tone probing.

Before Kai could retort, he heard a faint chuckle from his side; only then did he notice the girl who sat on one of the two chairs.

Black hair and lightless black eyes, adding in her pale skin, made her look more like a ghost.

'Was she always there?'

[Yes... Yes, she was.]

'Oh.'

Neko sensei's voice soon snapped him out of his thoughts. "Whatever." She said, pointing at the other free chair. "Can we get back to business?"

Without wasting a second, Kai glided towards the chair.

"Now with that out of the way." She added. "Let our class begin."

She looked at the two students who sat right in front of her before sighing. "Kaiser Vanguard, right?"

Kai nodded in response.

"This over here is Christa McAuliffe." She paused, waiting for the two to acknowledge each other's presence. "Ok, if you have any questions before the class starts, ask."

'Should I do it?'

[We need as much information as we can get.]

"I just wanted to know." Kai's voice alerted Neko sensei's attention. "Both Christa and I have our reasons for being here, but what is a high-ranking professor like yourself even doing here?"

A pale smile formed on her pink lips. "Good question; you could say I went against the academy's rules and studied forbidden knowledge."

"The Outer World." Kai muttered.

'Carp.'

A sudden surge of killing intent enveloped the room, causing Kai's breath to become heavy.

Neko-sensei didn't move from the spot she stood, but her transcendent presence continued to weigh down on Kai.

"How do you know about the outer world?" She asked, her tone sharp.

No matter how much she released her aura, the young man in front of her refused to wield, nor was he ready to blurt out the information she needed.

Summoning every ounce of courage and strength, Kai spoke, his tone hoarse. "Are you done yet? If you are, let's make a deal."

Raising a brow, her gaze lingered on the young man's beautiful face. "Do you think you are in a position to negotiate?"

Kai glanced at the girl by his side, and just as he thought, they were connected somehow.

He smiled crookedly. "Why not? I do have the information you need, after all."

Seeing his unwavering courage, she couldn't help but chuckle; her hands swirled in the air, and with it, Kai's breathing began to stabilise.

"Thanks."

"You're a weird one."

"I have heard that a lot."

"So what do you want?" She asked him, slowly resting her hand on the wooden stand.

"Simple, train me."

This was the only thing he could ask Neko sensei, and as of now, he knew that for someone with her character, she would think he was doing her a favour.

But that was far from being the case, and she didn't have to know that.

[So you are using their characteristics you already know against them.]

'Information about power-ups isn't the only thing I know.'

"Just train you?"

"Yeah."

"Isn't too little of a price to pay for that type of information?"

"What can I say? I'm a really good guy."

A gentle smile appeared on her lips. "If that's what you want." She paused. "But if you can provide any information that can aid my research, I will owe you two times the favour."

[Bingo.]

"That settles that."

"We can talk about other details later." She said, looking over to Christa. "You can stop your pretence now."

Christa sent Kai a sharp glare. "But, my lady...."

"That's enough; I'm in class right now."

Christa sighed, and before Kai could even blink, she was gone.

[The overpowered maid]

'Tell me about it.'

"Now." She clapped her hands. "On to today's lesson." Her eyes flickered as she added. "The second cataclysm."

"Listen very carefully I wouldn't take my student sleeping during lectures."

Kai smiled softly. "Yes, teacher."

Neko-sensei's class continued for over five hours, maybe because it was her area of expertise, but she was overly energetic and bubbly.

But Kai didn't mind, even though her outfit made him only understand about three-quarters of the entire lesson.

Basically, she was explaining the first cataclysm that happened before more than half of humanity's extinction.

According to ancient scripts, Earth was just like Kai's hometown.

Filled with humans and prospering with technology, until it happened – the day that was later known as Holy Saturday.

At that time humanity never knew that they would face the greatest crisis of their lives.

The cube landed on Earth like an asteroid, but unlike what scientists said, there was zero to no impact from the fall.

That alone should have warned them of the dangers, but no.

They decided to explore and learn more about the cube; every day they ran experiments like shitheads they were, trying to decipher what the cube was and perhaps even awaken it.

According to them, it was alien technology and the next step in evolution.

And for better or worse, they were right, but the evolution didn't happen the way they planned.

Just a random Saturday evening.

A thick fog enveloped most of the world, and as people started to panic, videos of strange phenomenon began flooding the internet.

The first drifter that was born was a young boy who went out during a heavy rainstorm and came back strange, before his parents could understand what was going on, he ate them.

More and more people started transforming into bizarre creatures that didn't obey the known laws of the universe.

Before the scientists could figure out the course, more than half of humanity was gone and most of their lands mutated.

Because of their adaptability, humanity survived by creating seven protective domes.

Soon, a problem occurred: most of humanity's resources were taken away during the cataclysm.

Humanity was, therefore, slowly dying and going extinct.

And just as all hope was lost, the first awakened appeared – just like the bizarre monsters. He, too, had a heaven-defying ability but still retained his humanity.

That began the age of awakening and the start of the fourth genesis; after that, the rest was history.

"Did you understand all I said?"

"Yes."

Neko sensei frowned a little. "Why does it feel like you were looking elsewhere?"

"That's definitely in your mind."

"Is that so?" She said, glancing at the watch on her wrist. "Shit, look at the time; I forgot the league starts tomorrow, and all classes are to end early."

She quickly glanced at Kai to gauge his expression before smiling. "I'm happy you like history too."

'History, what is she talking about?'

[I feel pity for the naive girl.]

"I think we will end for today."

Kai pondered for a moment before speaking. "What about the classes?"

"Hmm… I will come over to your place at the gutter whenever I am free since we can't talk about that topic in school."

Kai nodded without wasting a second.

"Ok, I am happy you agree."

'Haha... Like I would disagree.'

[That is creepy.]

"Tsk."

"What?" She asked confusedly.

"No, it is nothing, just an idiot in my head."

"Ok." She answered, still sceptical.

[Who is an idiot?]

"I can leave, right?"

"Of course you can."

Giving a light bow, Kai left the room and headed for the gutter.

Throughout the journey, he spared no attention to the countless students who murmured as he passed.

For him, anyone who still had time to murmur was a fool.

As he reached the path leading to the gutter, he came to an abrupt halt.

'You can feel that, right?'

[Of course, I can feel everything you feel.]

'That sounds gross.' He turned his back and faced the school before jumping onto the skyscraper's first floor. 'She came at the perfect time.'

[You know who she is?]

'Of course, Rodri's personal assassin and the one who will end up being the assassin king after she kills the entire Lincoln family, Emmanuelle Chevron.'

After some minutes of traversing the skyscraper, Kai landed in the courtyard of his mini manor.

"Home sweet home." He muttered, glancing to the left and then heading inside.

[She is still an apprentice.]

'Obviously, you think I would fight her otherwise?'

[Probably not; you are a coward, after all.]

'It sounds weird coming from your mouth.'

Kai stomped up the stairs, making as much noise as possible.

Opening his room's door, he sat in a cross-legged position, closed his eyes and began meditating.

And as soon as his eyes flickered with light, a sharp dagger swung past him as he dodged left.

"You're impatient."

"How...ho...w did...yo.u.?"

"Enough of that; let me ask you." He paused, drawing closer to the masked female figure. "Are you going to give up or not?"

"What? You're willing to forgive me?"

Kai's eyes widened at her words. "Are you brain dead? You tried to kill me, and you want me to forgive you?"

"Sorry."

"Hah." Kai sighed heavily.

[Do we have the right person...? She is too naive.]

'I am fairly certain this really is the embodiment of death, the shadowless assassin.'