The school was still settling from the massive earthquake that ripped through the ground. It specifically targeted the school and nothing else, disappearing not long after the building. Dust clouds billowed out from the debris choking off the screams of students. There was a deep rip through the new and old ses of the school.

  For the moment, none of the students had anything more than minor injuries; however the colpsing ceilings and fractured structure made it uo stay. Teachers started leading them out to the safety of the ground, most still not certain what happened. They believed that a real earthquake had struck.

  “Yuki Hayashi!” Demosthenes’ voice pierced through all walls. His repeated demands only fused the students further.

  Chapter 57 – To Challehose that Threaten

  Yuki became paralyzed in fear hearihenes booming through the school. ‘I thought he was dead! Didn’t Ayumi kill him? Did he have a fake like the st one?’ He tried to move his legs, but his body remained in his seat. As everyone else in his css had fled from the room, Yuki sat at his desk appearing ued by the threat.

  Saki quickly whipped around from her pbsp; She stood alerted by the vibrations, when the school suffered its attabsp; The voice wasn’t ohat she reized, but her mind immediately went to the ohing that she knew. ‘An assassin’s e for Yuki! During school?!’ She looked down at Yuki seeing him frozen. It made her pause, getting the feeling that it was more than just fear that held him this time. A heavy lead weight grew iomabsp; She rushed over to the scattered windows hoping to see the assassin through all of the chaos.

  Hiroshi te on the floor when the earthquake hit, but was left fused with the aftermath. ‘Why is someone calling out to Yuki? What’s going on?!’ The other students tried to get him to leave, but it had left him stunned. Only Kazuhiro and Tatsuya stayed behind trying to pull Hiroshi up to his feet. They refused to leave him, attempting t him out by his arms.

  Yumi along with everyone else had been pulled along with the teachers. She wao stay, but couldn’t disobey the teacher. The wave of students swept her away. Yumi saw Yuki left behind and tried to reach out with her hand towards him. “Yuki!”

  Across the school on the lower floor Fumiko escorted students out of the school quickly. The lower floors started to crad groan from the stress of losing the tral supports. ‘What’s going on now?’ A couple female students bumped into her, snapping her out of her momentary tranbsp; “Are you twht?” She offered hands out to them.

  Ayumi acted frantically, trying to wake up Yuki. She yanked on his uniform futility until she colpsed to the ground. Tears were already starting to stream down her fabsp; “Yuki! Please, wake up!”

  The cries of Ayumi pulled Saki bato the css. She ran and hopped around the cracked floor. Out of the er of her eye she saw Hiroshi. She expected that Yuki would have e out of his terror, but it was tightening around him. ‘Yuki’s what’s going on? What’s got you so scared?’ Saki grabbed him up from his chair and carried him over her shoulder as she bent down to get Ayumi’s attention.

  Yuki fell further into the void of his fears. ‘It’s really him! I know it!’ Hundreds of spears felt like they sent through him each poisoned with a limitless horror. The pain crawled under his skin like snakes. He tried to cw at his own body to relieve his tortured shell, but nothing moved. ‘I ’t beat him! I don’t want to die! He’s going to kill me this time!’

  ‘Yuki…please…don’t hurt anyone…you’re a kind boy…show them…’

  ‘Mother!’ His mother's voice became distant from him. He could suddenly move his body, starting to chase after the fading image. His hand stretched out pleading for her to stay with him. ‘Don’t leave me! I promise I won’t fight! So e bae, mother!’

  ‘Yuki…please…don’t hurt anyone…’

  Yuki ran until his heart pounded and she was still fading away from him. He colpsed in the by tuhat he found himself in. His arms and shoulders were hung over with his back bent down. ‘It’s all my fault! She died because of me!’ Yuki tightened his fists, pounding them into the ground. ‘She’s gone because of me! I killed her! I killed mother!’ The world shattered around Yuki leaving only a bck void to surround him as he went deeper away from reality.

  ‘You’re a kind boy…show them…’

  ‘No, I’m not!’ Yuki ched his hands around his head falling further into the ground. ‘I’m not kind! I only know how to hurt people!’

  ‘You don’t have to hurt anymore…’

  ‘No?’

  ‘I’ll fort you so you don’t have to do anything anymore, Yuki.’

  ‘Mother…’ A warm glow surrounded him, providing peace to his troubled mind. All of his thoughts disappeared granting him silenbsp; He did not want to leave.

  “Hurry, you guys!” Saki shouted to Kazuhiro and Tatsuya, still struggling with Hiroshi. His zoned out state was uncharacteristic of Hiroshi. ‘I ’t carry them both aher of them look that strong. Damn it, Hiroshi!’ She wound up a fist. It did not take them loo figure it out. Both dived for opposite parts of the floor as Saki whacked him hard in the face sending him through several desks. “Damn you, Hiroshi!”

  “Gah! I’m sorry, Saki! I won’t do it again!” Hiroshi jumped to his feet from the desk that he was id out on. Kazuhiro and Tatsuya looked between each other, embarrassed not saying a word. It took another moment for Hiroshi to bee fused and nearly angry. “Wait! What’s going on? I didn’t do anything this time, Saki!”

  “You’re daydreaming in the middle of ahquake! You’re making your friends worried!”

  Hearing it from Saki had made him step ba shobsp; He looked over at the two of them on the floor with relieved faces to see that he was back to normal. Hiroshi rubbed the back of his head. “W-Well I…I’m sorry, everyone!”

  Kazuhiro and Tatsuya picked themselves up off the floor and joined him. They were smiling, gd to have him babsp; However, the building suddenly shook again making them all fall to brace themselves. It felt as though another earthquake hit even strohan the one before. Ceiling tiles began to fall down on desks with lights popping. The flan to develop cracks even as far as they were from the ter of the damage. There wasn't much holding the building together ohe sed earthquake came to an end.

  “Yuki!” Saki looked over to che him with the buildiling again. It caught her off when a ulsed out of him. There was only a sed to reabsp; She looked over at Ayumi just as the entire floor disappeared underh them. A moment hung for them before they realized they were going to fall. However, the time never came and they all looked around at each other to find themselves slowly desding to the ground.

  “Ayumi? What’s going on?”

  Ayumi looked over at Saki narrowly as though she was sidering her a. “His Field is removing everything within its radius. It seems he’s pced into it a low gravity Law as well.” She came to a graceful nding in the grass of his Field while his friends fell over, not prepared. The earth suddenly began to shake once more, but this time it came from Yuki. Stone ah pierced through the Field surrounding Yuki before falling against each other in a rough pyramid. The ground still shook though as Ayumi realized that he wasn’t stopping. “Get out of here everyone!”

  Saki trusted Ayumi’s words enough to flee. However, Hiroshi looked fused along with his friends leaving them stuck where they stood. Ayumi raced over to them as eveones rose up from the earth to cover on top. Layers upon yers were being summoo encase Yuki with them losing ground fast.

  “You three o run now!” shouted Ayumi in a demanding voice that they had never heard before. They blinked for a moment before aowledging her and and sprinted away. It was just in time as the earth underh them was torn violently away with rger blocks of stone.

  Slowly the earth stopped shaking allowing the dust to finally settle. A massive pile of rod earth, nearly half as tall as the school, stood where Yuki had nded. Most of the students were across the street keeping their distanbsp; A hemisphere cut out of their school barely rger thaohat surrounded him. Saki and Ayumi ran up to the edge. It appeared that the school ah were almost merged together with how close they were to each other.

  Saki pounded oorying to reach Yuki buried inside. “Yuki! you hear me?! We’ll get you out!” Ayumi grabbed Saki’s shoulder. “Ayumi, what’s going on? you do anything?”

  “This is of his own doing, Saki.” Ayumi thought back to the time that she was first training him. She had seen this defense used before. ‘I don’t know if I ’t break this.’

  Saki turned around fag her, with Hiroshi unknown to her joining them. “You use your power to cel this, right?! That's how it works, right?”

  There ause in Ayumi’s words, not the quick reply they were expeg. “It’s different this time. Normally, Yuki’s Field stretches out to its usual length. However, it’s barely rger than mine right now. He subsciously focused his Field into a smaller area tthen it. His Field strength is already unnaturally high, like this he’s made the perfect defense. I’m not strong enough to cel this.”

  “What?!” Saki stared back at the stone mound. ‘…why Yuki? What’s wrong? This isn’t like you…’

  “You know what’s going on don’t you?” Hiroshi stepped up from the sidelines. A determined look filled his eyes expeg an answer from him.

  Ayumi raised her hand to Hiroshi’s fabsp; “This doesn’t you!” An explosion behiook her by surprise, knog her into Hiroshi ahe three of them to the grass. The bck cloud burst over them c the entire school grounds. A dull ringing was left in their ears whehing passed. Ayumi turned over to see the stone unaltered. Her eyes narrowed for a moment in calcution.

  As the wind blew out the smoke an aged man in a businessman’s suit stood on the school ground. Demosthenes made his appearanbsp; She clicked tongue in annoya seeing him still alive. “A fake…Should have guessed from someone like you.” Her snow Field was immediately released around her and sword in hand.

  “Eudokia…” His grass Field appeared quickly c a signifitly rger radius pared to Ayumi. A spear formed in his hand, politely waiting. He rubbed his chest recalling what had happened before. “I admire your resolve to a quick battle, but you’re not my oppo. I’m only here for the false King.”

  Saki uood the way their powers work well enough to see that Ayumi was out cssed by this new assassin. She ran up alongside Ayumi taking a defeanbsp; There was a momentary look from the er of Ayumi’s eye at Saki. “This one’s beyond you. I’m not about to let you do this alone. We’ll protect Yuki together!”

  “Hrmph…do what you want.” Ayumi rao pce herself between Yuki and the assassin. Her sword held out challengihenes. “He’s the true heir! He’s your King, our King! And I won’t let you kill him!”

  “Yuki’s my friend! I won’t let you hurt him!” Saki joined Ayumi at her side. While her words sounded sure her body questioheir resolve. It shook on instinct, knowing something she didn’t.

  Demosthenes closed his eyes briefly carrying a warm smile to his fabsp; He opehem and focused owo girls that stood in his way. “I end your resolve and bravery. However…” The words trailed off as he sprinted forward with his spear in both hands. His eyes held firm with no mercy to be given.

  ‘You’re safe in here, my son.’

  ‘…mother…’ Yuki smiled warmly in the f arms of his mother. He felt pletely safe with her. It came as inviting like nothing he experienced i two weeks. Nothing would be hurt by him.

  ‘And I won’t let you kill him!’ whispered Ayumi’s voice through the stone dully eg iiny chamber. It sparked a moment of doubt in Yuki’s heart.

  ‘Yuki’s my friend! I won’t let you hurt him!’ Saki’s voice said weakly.

  Yuki turned his head up, his mother’s arms still ed gently around his shoulders. Painted roughly on the wall was the se outside. He could see Ayumi and Saki standing in front aween them Demosthenes further away running towards them. “No! He’s to for you! You ’t win!” Yuki tried to stand up to reach out to them, but he was held back.

  ‘…You’re safe here…’

  “I-I’m safe…” He began to close his eyes once more, but was stopped by the sound of ons g. Demosthenes exged several quick parries with Ayumi before he caught an opening in her and rahrough the stomabsp; Blood sprayed across the stone as she colpsed to the ground struggling to get to her feet.

  Saki was with only speed keeping her alive, but only for a moment before she was cut down. A deep gash lined from her shoulder down across her chest. They were both taken down with almost no effort. Demostheood finished looking through to Yuki. Yuki’s eyes were shaking violently seeing them both lying there. “Saki! Ayumi!”

  Ayumi fought to get ba her feet. She coughed up blood sprayed over her sword. It shook in her weak hand. Barely able to stand, Saki staggered forward with stubborermination. “No! Stop you two! P-please…” Yuki struggled against the arms that held him back trying to reach for them. All he was shown was a fsh of the spear as blood sprayed through the air with both of them colpsing. “NO!”

  ‘…Yuki…’

  “…mother…I-I…” Yuki colpsed to the ground with tears beginning to build in his eyes. The helplesshat he felt grew into a weight in his chest against his poundi. He couldn't look anymore.

  ‘You call yourself a man! Attag someone already injured!’ Hiroshi shouted dully through the walls.

  ‘We won’t let you hurt our friends anymore!’ Kazuhiro decred standio Hiroshi.

  ‘This stops here!’ Tatsuya added standing opposite Kazuhiro.

  “No! Guys stop! W-why?!”

  ‘I-I won’t let you hurt Yuki!’ Yumi bravely said suddenly joining them.

  ‘Right!’ said Katsumi, smiling.

  ‘Yeah! Yuki’s our friend!’ Kaede announced jumping in beside them.

  ‘You’re violends here!’ Fumikhly spoke standing behind them and still being seen. They were soon joined by others from Yuki’s css and other students. All of them gathered in front of the school standing to protect Ayumi and Saki who had fallen with Yuki behind them.

  Yuki didn't know what was happening anymore, stunned by the sudden surge of cssmates that were standing up for him. Everyohat he thought just ignored him. They were proteg him. He could not move. “W-What should I do, mother?”

  Demothenes outside narrowed his eyes seeing the ging situation. He pulled back his spear letting it rest at his side. Then he closed his eyes, taking a long moment of pause. Those around him waited uain about what was going to happe. The tension in the air slowly built as the man remained ever still.

  “This is truly distasteful. I pray you look away, my King, for what must be done. We’re out of time…” He snapped his eyes back open staring into the crowd. “For the King!” He thrust up his hand into the air snapping his fingers. The sound pulsed through the crowd. Suddenly, the charm on Kazuhiro’s bag that hung at his side lit up before exploding violently in the crowd.

  “NO!!!” Yuki screamed in horror.