I Refuse To Be Fate’s Puppet - Chapter 73

The room went silent at Arata’s words. Everyone had dark faces as they looked at Arata. Arata looked at Eamon and began explaining what he had seen.

“In the notes that I saw, they spoke about gathering enough “resources” for the seal. They spoke about how they needed to gather enough “young and ripe resources” with just the right amount of “strong and mature resources.”

Their faces went more and more grim as he continued.

“The notes then began talking about how the Royal Institute has everything they need. The “perfect breeding ground for all the resources we need.” So, I’m guessing that they are going to use the teachers and students to activate this seal, which I saw over a map of the Institute. From what I gathered, they already have the base of the seal set up. And they are planning to use the distraction of the Class Ranking tournament to initiate their plan.”

Eamon nodded as he scratched his chin in thought.

“The senior tournament next week will be the biggest event, the whole school will come to watch. That will most likely be when they will act as the whole school will be gathered in one place.”

Granny Mo nodded.

“The place of their attack will definitely be the Arena. With everyone gathered in a single spot, it will be easy for them to sweep through. I just don’t understand how they are going to get through the schools outer barriers and defences.”

Eamon seemed to be deep in thought as he replied.

“I think that will have something to do with the kid. We need to find out his mission and see if there is a way to thwart it.”

Arata looked up.

“I got your piece of Truth Energy into the kid’s messenger. Can you sense it?”

Eamon looked over before closing his eyes. When he opened them, they were glowing white. He spoke softly.

“I can feel it. I was able to input a small detail, which shouldn’t be detected by him or anyone else, so no one will know that anything is wrong. I was also able to pick up on some minor details. He is planning for the kid to act in two days. I was able to input a false memory that will disappear. Because of it, the messenger will inform the boy that he will meet up with another student for the mission. Once the message is delivered, I will pull back my Energy and he will forget about this detail.”

Eamon blinked and his eyes went back to normal.

“We will need to send someone to meet him, go undercover and work together with him to discover his plans. Unfortunately, none of us has the right Energy for the boy to trust us. Ryouma’s Kurou no Tatsu would be effective, but it is too risky for him to use it at the moment.”

Arata nodded.

“Also, after the small interaction with me, he won’t exactly trust me. And it isn’t exactly a secret that Ryouma is my Shadowguard, so he won’t be trusted either.”

The room went silent as they tried to think about who they could get to go undercover. Granny Mo chuckled softly as she looked at Arata.

“Are you forgetting a certain someone from your class, Little Arata? You and your Clan were rather focused on him the past couple of weeks. I think he would be the perfect candidate for this mission.”

Arata was confused for a second before his eyes widened in realization. He then looked at the great Phoenix with eyes filled with hesitation.

“Granny Mo, do you think it will be safe? He is still a little unstable, and honestly it would be a bit of a risk, but his Energy would be perfect for gaining his trust.”

Granny Mo grinned.

“I think he will be OK. It will also be something good for his character to do this. And I think, after the help he has gained from you and the Sato Clan, he will be more than willing to help.”

Thoughts raced back and forth in Arata’s head before he finally nodded his head resolutely. He looked at Eamon.

“Master Eamon, I believe I know someone that will be able to fulfil this mission.”

Eamon scratched his chin.

“Can he be trusted? As you know, most people with corrupted abilities also have corruptive personalities.”

Arata chuckled.

“That isn’t a concern. He is a boy with a pure heart. His power is the polar opposite to his nature.”

Eamon nodded curiously.

“Interesting. May I meet him?”

Arata nodded.

“My Father is already in the process of having him join the Clan. He will hopefully grow to be one of my Shadowguard’s, however, he is not yet ready for the Shadow Trials, so he will be taken in as Hyosuke’s disciple for now.”

At this, Eamon’s eyes lit up.

“The Child of the Source! I heard from Father that you had found a young boy with the Demonic Source.”

As Arata nodded, Ryouma turned to Arata.

“Damien? Captain, do you really think it is wise to send Damien in for a mission like this? Although his Energy and aura is perfect, it is still dangerous considering his personality. Why can’t we just get someone from the Sato Clan to step in?”

Granny Mo shook her head.

“To avoid suspicion, we need as few people in on this as possible. Even more so, we need to keep this within the school. There were will be less leaks that way. We need to use students or teachers that we can trust.”

Eamon nodded in agreement.

“If too many people know, there could be a slip of information and we could scare the Demon’s off. We need them to continue believing that we are unaware.”

Ryouma slowly nodded as he listened to their points. Arata turned to him and patted him on the shoulder.

“Don’t worry about Damien. I have an idea on how we can help him accomplish the mission with ease.”

Fifteen minutes later, Arata was leading Ryouma, Eamon and Eva towards a training area within the Institute. They entered a locked room that Arata had the key for. Inside was a dark, metallic room. In the middle of the room were two people meditating, a man and a young boy. The man opened his eyes as he saw Arata and the others enter. He grinned as he looked at Arata.

“Coming in to check on how the little one is going, or did you just miss yours truly?”

Arata chuckled.

“Miss you? As if.”

As Hyosuke was laughing, he then spotted Eamon and Eva. His eyes opened as he instantly dropped to his knee.

“Young Masters Eamon and Eva. It is an honor to be in your presence.”

Eamon smiled warmly.

“Hyosuke, the Soldier. Please stand up. There is no need for these formalities. We are in a rush.”

Hyosuke looked up with a serious glare.

“What do you need from me?”

Eamon shook his head.

“You are not the one I’m here for.”

Everyone’s eyes landed on the little boy that was still meditating in the middle of the room. Hyosuke had a concerned look on his face.

“I don’t know how much help the little guy will be. He still doesn’t have a firm grip on his power yet. Although he is able prevent his Energy from lashing out, he is still under the risk of losing control if he uses his power in combat.”

Eamon nodded.

“Thankfully, we won’t need him for battle. Hopefully. We need him to meet with an enemy, using his aura to win over their trust.”

Hyosuke looked at them with a look of disbelief. He then turned to Arata.

“Did you tell the Young Master about his personality? Forget about going undercover and meeting with an enemy, he can barely speak to those he knows confidently. He isn’t ready for a mission like that.”

“Y-Yes, I am.”

Hyosuke turned to see Damien standing behind him. Although he had a resolute face, his hand was clearly shaking. Even so, he mustered up all the courage he had and spoke.

“You have given me so much, Master Hyosuke. Control. A-a place of peace and b-belonging. If I can help in anyway….I-I want to do it.”

Hyosuke looked at the little boy with a curious expression. He grinned.

“Interesting, kid. You got some guts, I’ll give you that. But you need to know what to say when the time comes. And how to act.”

Arata grinned as he nudged Hyosuke.

“And that’s where you come in, Master Hyosuke.”

Hyosuke looked at Arata for a moment and clicked.

“You want me to shadow the kid.”

Arata nodded.

“You will be able to guide him. With his aura covering you, you could disguise yourself as a being from the Demonic Source, communicating with him.”

Eamon hummed in awe.

“So that’s your plan. Quite a good one. With Damien’s aura and Hyosuke’s guidance, the meet should go smoothly this way.”

Hyosuke pushed Arata.

“Dumping your responsibilities on me, huh? Typical.”

Arata gave him a droll look.

“You’re a Shadowguard. It is kind of your job, ya know?”

Hyosuke smirked.

“Your Father’s Shadowguard. Not yours. OK, Young Master Eamon, what’s the details?”

Eamon blinked and his eyes went white. Hyosuke closed his eyes. A white light began to emanate off of Hyosuke for a moment, he then opened his eyes as he gasped. He took a few breaths before nodding in understanding. He looked at Arata.

“Sending a Demon to meet a Demon, huh?”

Arata nodded. Hyosuke turned to face Damien. He rubbed his hands together with a look of glee.

“Alright kid, we got a lot to work on for your first mission. Let’s get going.”

Hyosuke sat Damien down and began going over details with him. Arata, Ryouma, Eamon and Eva walked out. Eamon left a small box by the door before he walked out. He closed the door behind him as he turned to Arata.

“It’s late. Go back to your rooms. I’ll contact you both tomorrow and we will sort out when a good time to send Damien to the kid. For now, pretend that nothing is going on and continue with the Class Ranking tournament. You will have the Class vs Class matches tomorrow. Although you can’t compete, it would be weird if you weren’t there to support and instruct your class.”

Arata nodded his head as Eamon and Eva left. Arata turned to Ryouma and the two of them headed back to the South Dorm. On their way, there were a couple students waiting outside their rooms again. After Arata knocked out a couple students and Ryouma sent a student flying out of the window, they heard a giggle from behind them.

“There always seems to be something happening at the South Dorm.”

Arata and Ryouma turned around and found Akari leaning on the wall. Arata smirked as he headed to his room, Ryouma and Akari followed her in. Arata jumped on to his bed, snuggling with the blanket.

“Why can’t I just stay here? Why is there a need to leave this bed? Everything is just better when it is fluffy.”

Akari sat down on a chair and looked at the two of them.

“So what happened? Where did you two disappear to?”

Ryouma looked to Arata. Arata stretched as he spoke into his pillow.

“Hhh….w….d…..d….ehh…bbb….s…o…?”

Akari frowned.

“One more time, please? Maybe without a mouth full of pillows?”

Arata raised his head.

“How did the battles go?”

Arata then slammed his head back into the blanket. Akari made a face.

“We won, obviously. Now stop skipping the question, where did you guys go?”

Akari gave Ryouma a fierce glare. Ryouma looked at the ceiling in fear, doing his best to not make eye contact with her. Arata, with his head still buried in his blankets, pointed at Akari.

“St…..sc….ng…mm….Sh….”

Akari growled.

“Arata!”

Arata lifted his head again.

“Stop scaring my Shadowguard.”

He then slammed his face back into his blankets. Akari was about to say something else when Arata lifted his head up.

“Some Clan business, don’t worry about it.”

Arata slammed his face back into his blankets. Akari gave Arata an annoyed look before standing up. She sighed.

“You could have just said that from the beginning. I get that there are some things that I shouldn’t know. But I am the Heir to the Ise Clan, I think I deserve to know a little bit about what is going on.”

Arata sighed. She was right. He rolled over.

“The school is in danger. People are trying to kill everyone in the school. We can’t tell anyone so those that are going to attack won’t be alerted. We are working together with the Principal to solve this in the shadows. So yeah. Don’t say anything. And try not to die in the next few days.”

Akari had a stunned look as Arata rolled back over on to the blanket.