I Refuse To Be Fate’s Puppet - Chapter 84

A large man sat at the end of a long table. He gave off an aura of regal authority. He had a well groomed beard and long white hair that was pulled back to reveal a stern and aged face. His eyes seemed to hold an endless amount of wisdom as he looked over to the side.

“Calm down, Azrail. He has it in him to do what is needed. They will succeed.”

Azrail, who was pacing back and forth by the table, turned to the man at the table and approached him. The domineering and oppressive attitude of the Angel of Death was put aside as he sighed in worry.

“I know, but I feel that something is off about this mission. Maybe we should just head over and..”

“Azrail!”

Azrail went silent immediately. The large man smiled.

“Trust in our sons. They can do what needs to be done. Plus, you already have Little Hyosuke out there with him. They’ll be fine. Just…”

The man paused, looking to the side. His eyes glowing as he seemed to be trying to see something. He looked as if he was peering into the universe. Azrail noticed the change and approached cautiously.

“What do you see, Master?”

The man remained silent for a minute before his face went grim, his aura exploding as his emotions seemed to be riled up. Azrail, in fear and shock, fell to his knee, bowing to this man. What had set him off? The man spoke softly, but a deep rage was held within it.

“My son’s Energy has been covered by Demonic Energy. I can’t sense him.”

Azrail looked up with a look of urgency. This was not good. He sent a powerful surge of Energy into his Black Crystal. Within his mind, he was holding a silver key. He was looking over 12 statues in his mind. He used the key it to unlock a set of chains that was wrapping around one of the statues.

“Young Master Eamon is in danger. You have free reign.”

On the rooftop, both Arata and Hyosuke were glancing below them, looking at the chaos beneath them. Arata was shaking in fury. Hyosuke felt his crystal pulse. He gave the cloaked man a vicious look.

“Play time is over. My master has given me orders.”

Hyosuke slammed his hands into the ground as Dark Energy burst out from him. Vice Principal Zhang fell to his knee from the pressure of the Energy, even Lady Moriah seemed to be out of breath. The cloaked man also seemed to be affected by this heavy weight. Arata, however, remained perfectly fine. This Dark Energy felt light to him, comfortable even. He could feel Hyosuke’s power rising. It seems that Father had removed Hyosuke’s restrictions.

All of Azrail’s Shadowguards had restrictions and seals in place to prevent their power from leaking out and affecting the environment too much. As Darkness is such a corruptible element, also being able to slowly kill and poison people near by with weak constitutions if they were left around it too long, it was a dangerous tool to use. And with the level of darkness that the Shadowguards reach, it was also highly likely that the Shadow Realm would, in turn, began to corrupt, influence and taint the minds of the Shadowguards. These seals were necessary so that they wouldn’t tip the delicate Elemental Balance of the world with their influence. The only way for their full strength to be unleashed was if their Master willed it.

Shadows burst up from the ground, swirling around Hyosuke, latching on to him as he slowly stood up. The shadows began to layer over him like a blanket. A silver shine began to emanate from him as the shadows began to solidify on him, yet still keeping an ethereal aura overy him. He now had a black and metallic silver armor over his body, the Sato Clan symbol on the front and the back. His face was now hidden behind a black mask. He stretched out his hands and a wave of power burst out from where he stood. Lady Moriah instinctively rushed to where Vice Principal Zhang and Arata was. The cloaked man had a grim look on his face as he also tried to retreat.

At this moment, Hyosuke harrumphed as he clenched his hand into a fist. The cloaked man sensed danger as he dived forward as metal spikes burst up from the ground behind him. Hyosuke brought his hand before him as he began to make hand seals while chanting. The cloaked man sensed danger again as he dodged to the side as more metal spikes burst up from the ground.

The cloaked man realized that Hyosuke’s abilities was all coming from below. The ground. He gathered his Energy as he shot up into the air, his staff glowing as he began to float in the air. As he shot up, Arata whispered in Lady Moriah’s ear. She nodded as she cast a fireball in the cloaked man’s direction. The man casually moved to the side in the air, dodging it and watching it explode, before turning to Lady Moriah with a twisted grin.

“Such terrible aim, my Lady.”

Lady Moriah grinned.

“Wasn’t aiming for you.”

At this point, he turned to see that the explosion was still there, shining a bright light. Unknowingly, he was now casting a shadow behind him that landed directly on Hyosuke, who was grinning underneath the mask, a hungry look in his eye.

“My abilities don’t come from the ground.”

The cloaked man went wide eyed as he watched Hyosuke reach up and visibly touching his shadow in the air. He felt a surge of pain as metal spikes appeared in his chest, piercing his lungs and heart. He coughed out blood as his hands shook, his body filled with pain. A look of fear in his eyes as he glanced at Hyosuke, who removed his mask and showing off his perfectly sculpted features.

“My abilities, like all Shadowguard’s, come from darkness, the shadows I’m connected to. It’s a shame you realized this too late.”

Hyosuke clenched his fist and made a twisting motion before opening his hand. The cloaked man felt the metal spike twist within him, sending him into more pain, before spikes grew out from the spikes within him. Arata and the others watched as multiple spikes burst out of the cloaked man, blood splattering and raining down from the sky. The cloaked man, now looking like a metallic porcupine, fell from the sky, slamming into the ground.

Although he was severely injured and near death, the cloaked man’s life force was being held together by his Demonic Energy. Hyosuke’s Energy vibrated within the metal spikes, locking the cloaked man’s Energy and soul in place.

Hyosuke quickly moved over to Arata, a look of urgency on his face.

“Young Master Eamon is in trouble. The Demonic aura has taken hold of everything below us. He seemed to be able to connect with some of the teachers Fate strings, and bind them to him. But he is being suppressed by the Demonic Energy caused by the explosions. You need to banish the Energy from this area.”

Arata had a look of shock.

“Me?”

Hyosuke nodded.

“You and your Father are the only one’s capable of banishing one of the 13 Immoral Energies, especially of this scale.”

Arata had never heard of this before. Immoral Energies? What was that? And since when was he able to banish Energy. Arata had a look of confusion, but from the looks in Hyosuke’s eyes, this was an urgent situation. Arata didn’t know what was going on, but he understood his duty as he nodded.

“What do I need to do?”

Hyosuke placed his hand on Arata’s shoulder.

“No clue. Ask your Father.”

Hyosuke’s Energy surged into Arata. He gasped as the power overwhelmed him with it’s strength and purity. As he was being overwhelmed, Arata heard a voice speak within his head.

“I’ll guide you. Trust in your bloodline and repeat after me.”

Arata felt calm hearing his father’s voice in his head. He took a deep breath as he resolved to do what he could. Word’s filled his mind, he felt that the power in the words felt familiar. Like they were a part of him. He felt his Energy circulate. He felt Hyosuke’s Energy and, through him, his Father’s Energy. He felt the darkness around him gathering, almost as if they were waiting on his call. Waiting for his orders. He closed his eyes as he chanted the words in his head, speaking with power, his voice causing vibrations in the air around him.

“I am a descendant of the Sato Clan, Masters of the Shadows. I decree my authority over this space. The Demon is strong. He is unruly and fierce. But he is only born from the darkness.”

The Shadows around Arata began to vibrate around him, pulsing as if it were breathing. Arata opened his eyes, they were now pure black. Blacker than black, they were pools of darkness.

“The Demon only hides and operates in the Darkness. But I am the Darkness. I invoke my authority on you. I banish you from this area.”

Arata slammed his hands into the ground beneath him as he shouted.

“Demon, leave!”

Arata felt his Energy tap into the shadows that covered the entire Old Infirmary. He felt that he could feel every part of the building as it was completely covered in darkness. He instantly found where Eamon and the teachers were. He was in a meditative position, eyes shut in tense concentration. There was Life Energy surrounding him and a barrier outside of that. The barrier seemed to have brought the Demonic Energy to a stand still, yet it was pushing hard against the barrier, like a ravenous beast, wanting to devour what was inside.

As Arata’s Energy took control of the shadows, the Demonic Energy sensed that something was wrong. The Demonic Spirits within began to screech and cry in a shrill tone, as if they were painfully being torn a part. Arata felt the attention of the Demonic Energy lock onto him, yet they were no longer aggressive. Instead, they wear fearful and afraid. Arata sent his will out, and they screeched loudly as they fled. The windows of every floor burst open, the Demonic Energy bursting out of the building, running from the terrifying Energy that Arata held. Eamon opened his eyes, a grin on his face.

“Well done, Little Arata. Let me help.”

Arata felt Eamon’s gaze on him, even though his body was on the roof. Arata felt another surge of Energy flow through him as he cast the remaining pieces of Demonic Energy out of the building. As the Demonic Energy left the building, Arata’s Energy didn’t seem to be finished with it, as it sent a powerful pulse at the fleeing Demonic Energy, sending a large part of the Demonic Spirits back to the Demonic Realm. The remaining Energy could not survive by itself, as it slowly dissipated into nothing.

Eamon, who was still sitting in his meditative position, looked at the surrounding shadows, a proud look on his face.

“You may go back. I must return those that I was able to seal away. Unfortunately, I couldn’t…”

Sadness passed by Eamon’s eyes briefly. He went back to meditating as he gathered his Energy and the floating Life Energy around him. Arata felt his consciousness and Energy retreating from the shadows heading back to the roof. As he found himself back in his body, he glanced around, seeing Lady Moriah and Vice Principal Zhang looking at him.

“Are you OK Little One? That was a large spell you just did.”

Vice Principal Zhang nodded. Arata blinked and nodded.

“Yeah, I feel…”

Arata instantly saw nothing but black as he collapsed, falling into Hyosuke’s arms. Hyosuke chuckled.

“He really is his Father’s son. Just as mental. Yet the same heart and will to extend past his current self whenever he needs to.”

Vice Principal Zhang looked over Arata with a worried look.

“Will he be OK?”

Lady Moriah was the one to chuckle now.

“Banishing the Demonic Energy just drained the little one. He’s as stubborn as his Father. He won’t die from this.”

Hyosuke nodded as he looked past Arata, looking downstairs using his Shadow Awareness, he sighed softly.

“Now it just comes down to how many Young Master Eamon can save.”