Kapitel 23: C23: A Dangerous Ability
When flesh melted it turned into something that looked like brown mushy yogurt. With a sizzling sound of something boiling coming from it.
It has been a long day. I didn't have the energy to feel disgusted.
After making sure professor Chain was leaning against a tree. I threw my sword like a spear at the screaming creature and pierced its side, almost missing the demon. The prick of getting stabbed didn't seem to grab the creature's attention.
I started walking toward the demon. It hadn't noticed me, so I shouldn't get scared. That's what I told myself as I tried to replicate the feeling of using my Perfect Me technique.
Be logical, no decision should involve emotion in this matter. Don't think about the future or the people who died around me. Don't think of how this could go horribly wrong. Be cold… colder than ice.
In contrast to my thoughts, the heat coming from the snake was blistering hot. The demon was burning up a lot more than I thought it would. I grabbed onto my sword that was stuck into its body and swung it upward.
The slash went by so fast that it felt surreal as I was covered in boiling blood in a split second.
Hot! Shit that burns!
It was like boiling water scattering all over me. I had my clothes to stop the blood from scorching my skin. I jumped back, in time for some of the snakes to bite at the place I was at a second ago. They stared at me like delicious prey.
While in Perfect Me state, I learned not to rush into battle. Always do it with a plan, and know when to back off. Don't involve emotions and nervousness. Trying to get one more hit in when you have an advantage could end up in death. Be patient.
Humans were way squishier than demons.
"Kon! Be careful!" Called out Bets, the fatigue in his voice was as clear as day.
Perfect Me was one of the best abilities for me. That was something I had realized after using it only once. Slowly but surely, I will shed the weakness of my previous world.
In my last life, there was no risk where I used to live. At most, there might be a car accident or some homicide that had nothing to do with me.
Growing up in such a safe environment would dull anyone's instincts for survival. In this world, even sleeping was a dangerous activity. A demon might have the ability to enter dreams and kill you in them.
So many thoughts going through my mind. It was like my body was moving on its own. No, it wasn't, every slight movement was with full consciousness.
I took a couple more steps back and threw some projectiles. Which didn't do enough damage, but the ball of serpents was cautious enough to try and dodge.
Seemed like this demon had some intelligence, despite being low class.
The creature rolled toward me. I jumped to the side, the whiff of burning flesh was uncomfortable as ever. Their body wasn't maneuverable. But with the snake leads extending out they got close and were about to bite into me.
Taking out a talisman, I used a minuscule amount of Ord and it created a translucent barrier around me. Of course, the talisman was cheap and made only to ward off lingering spirits. But it still stopped the snakeheads from reaching me for a split second. Which gave me enough time to back off.
"{Shadow Bite!}" Someone from Bets' group yelled.
Did he call his attack name out loud?
A giant wolf head came from the creature's shadows and swallowed it whole. The wolf was made of shadows and it chewed on the demon a couple of times. Before spitting out what was left of it, just inert parts of meaty chunks.
The user of the technique was a wild dark haired classmate, who was huffing and puffing. It seemed like the last attack had exhausted him.
Still, attacks at that level were something he shouldn't have been able to handle until years from now. Until his Ord would grow to a level where he could handle it, and the control of his energy became better.
Him being able to use his Shadow Wolf ability at such a level. He pretty much brute-forced the technique into existence by using a huge amount of Ord. Something he shouldn't have now, and wouldn't have even in the future. What was happening? What changed?
Well, whatever happened, I will have no choice but to adapt to it. Unless the delinquent, Gem, formed some contract with a demon that will take his soul in exchange for Ord, then everything should be fine. "You guys okay? Anyone dead on your side?"
"Someone died?!" Bets was the first to catch onto my wording and read between the lines.
"Yes, almost half of my group is dead. Also teachers Rana and Fort are also dead," I broke the news immediately and some of their faces paled.
Since none had died in their group yet, it seems like the reality of the situation hadn't sunk in yet. Some might even think this was still a test.
One of the students started crying. "What about professor Chain?"
Immediately everyone cringed in worry. I decided not to tell them that he was just sleeping while leaning against a tree there.
"He sacrificed himself for us," Gem, the delinquent, clenched his fist.
Yeah, Gem might seem at first sight like a bully character. Many readers of the manga, myself included, thought so at first. But he had a heart of gold, and he even helped stray puppies sometimes.
It seemed like professor Chain stayed back to buy the others time. Just like in the manga. Since Chain was an Elite Exorcist, then there had to have been at least two high class demons for him to worry about his students.
"Don't worry about professor Chain," I went to the tree behind a bush, where I had hidden the teacher. "Though it seems like he has used a technique that had drained his life permanently."
"Teacher!"
"Professor Chain!"
The students didn't listen to me at all and just went and crowded around the teacher. I couldn't help but smile a bit. Despite being harsh as hell, Chain saved their lives with the intention of sacrificing his own. This was something many students would remember.
In the original, he would have made a similar sacrifice for another student group that the main character was a part of. That's why I never got mad whenever he acted like an asshole. One of the main reasons was that despite saying it in a mean way, his lessons were genuinely good. But also because he had the will to sacrifice his life even for those students that seem like he doesn't like them.
Amongst everyone, Gem stood by the side and I walked closer to him. His face was in a permanent sneer as if looking down on the people around him.
"That shadow wolf was your special ability, right?" I asked, wanting to pry some information.
"Yes," he answered simply, despite his delinquent appearance even though he knew that it wasn't smart to reveal his Special Ability's nature.
Well, the Kuro Clan's abilities weren't a secret. Since the clan was one of the four great clans.
Though I knew it from the manga and even knew the weaknesses of the ability he hadn't even discovered yet. "Never thought I would see such a strong ability like yours in here. Seems stronger than most of the teachers."
Gem would develop this ability years later after a long period of training to raise his Ord. His main affinity was 50% Blaster. He was better than the average exorcist at best. But due to being born in the Kuro Clan, he was eventually going to reach a high power even with talent less than most.
Exorcist Clans essentially breed through generations of people using similar abilities. Normally a Blaster at the end of their growth would be able to change their Ord into an element, and control said element.
It wouldn't be strange to see some Blaster who was an Expert or Elite Exorcist shooting fireballs. But the training needed to achieve that would take months for the talented. For someone like Gem it would have taken at least two years.
Also to control elements, it wasn't only the Blaster affinity that one needed.
Since Gem was from the Kuro Clan. His family had been using shadow abilities for generations he was able to create the ability within a little over a year.
Their Ord could be imbued into a shadow, and Kuro Clan members can mold that shadow into many different forms, depending on the person.
But here he had achieved similar results as in the manga that had taken him over a year. My first suspicion was that he had sacrificed his lifespan. But sacrificing lifespan wasn't something any inexperienced Exorcist could do. Unless it was a Creator, which one could stumble through by accident in a stressful situation.
Sometimes someone can get a bunch of Ord through extreme restrictions on special ability. Ord control was something that can only improve with training. So the answer to how Gem could gain so much power in such a short time had an obvious answer.
Someone else intervened… and a dangerous ability had formed.
**
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