Chapter 12.
Saint just stares back at the robed-figure in confusion,
"What?"
Mari sighs, then unties Saint from his bonds,
The robed man takes his hood off and smiles innocently.
"We're not going to hurt you, if you have any questions, I'd be happy to answer them to the best of my knowledge." The robed man appears to be in his twenties, with dark blue hair and lime green eyes.
"We can start with why we brought you here first." He waves the other 9 off and the 9 members disperse from the abandoned warehouse,
Saint's mind is filled with questions, he doesn't even know where to start.
"My name is Jovi." He pulls up a chair,
"Before we start, I want you to know that, the answers you're seeking won't be easy to take in. After this, the life you've been living up until now will cease to exist."
"What? No! I don't want that! You're telling me I don't have a choice? You're not gonna write my story for me." Saint grabs Jovi's robe aggressively and pulls it towards him,
"I understand your frustration, but unfortunately, these are the cards you've been dealt." Jovi says calmly, with a serious expression.
Saint's frustration grows, and his hands start to tremble, but he calms down and releases Jovi.
Jovi fixes his collar and leans back in his chair,
"Let's start with your power, you see, a long time ago, just decades after humans discovered they can harness Mana they store within themselves, a miracle happened. Eons ago, a hyper massive star in a faraway galaxy collapsed into a black hole, unleashing a titanic gamma-ray burst. That same radiation, that rode the cosmic winds, had been hurtling silently toward Earth for billions of years. On a fated day during the late Medium Aevum era, a rare hybrid solar eclipse occurred. That eclipse created an invisible tunnel, at precisely 14:12:43 local solar time, a coin-sized region struck an abandoned infant. It was a one-in-a-quintillion geometry."
Saint's brain is fried by now, Jovi senses this and stops for a brief moment, he smiles kindly.
"Shall I continue?"
"Y-yeah…" Saint responds hesitantly,
"And it rewrote him, not like radiatio-" Jovi gets cut off by Mari entering the abandoned warehouse, she marches over towards Jovi and Saint,
"Bla-bla-bla, baby got hit by something impossible → got super strong → had children → he's your ancestor. Got it?" She says, sarcastically and annoyed,
"Well, yes, but there's more to it…" Jovi says as he chuckles,
"I'm lost… so my ancestor is a really strong guy? That still doesn't explain why I'm here!" Saint responds,
"Here is the thing, this power that you have… gets passed down, fairly easy too. Once Nibiru had a child, his red Mana disappeared from his system, making him substantially weaker. Instead, his child gained the red Mana. Do you understand where I'm getting at?" Jovi says carefully, Saint's eyes widen in shock
"Wait… So I'm the only one that bears this Mana right now?" He asks, whispering,
"I'm afraid so." Jovi nods,
"Got real big shoes to fill kid…" Mari says as she leans on a wall nearby their conversation.
"So my dad… he's… powerless?" Saint asks, there's a hint of fear in his voice.
"Not necessarily, Nibiru's genes and DNA are still potent inside each one if his descendants. The amount of Mana output is not, though." Jovi explains,
"I need a minute…" Saint stands up and starts breathing heavy,
…
Meanwhile, the school Sangre De Reyes is being rebuilt, all students are at their local homes until further notice, Ari is laying in his bed at home, patched up, staring at the ceiling. His thoughts are running wild.
'If it weren't for those guys… I would've died there. I. Would've. Died. And they took Saint… Who were they? Why were they after him? Is he dead? No, he wouldn't. Why were we so outmatched? Is there really people that strong out there?' Ari starts breathing heavy as he gets deeper and deeper into his thoughts,
Just then Ari's door gets knocked on, he gets scared and startled out of his thoughts.
"Be out in a sec…" He says,
…
Meanwhile, a couple of miles outside the school's vicinity, the Reiki Five are training hard.
Taiho, is their substitute as Brugger is currently out of commission after the beating Prince gave him.
"Look at Hazu, he hasn't slowed down since… well… that happened…" Alys (Rank: 3) says to Reira (Rank 5), another member of the Reiki Five. She is referring to Hazu getting effortlessly beating with a mere slap to the face by Mari.
Hazu is laser sharped focused, precisely sparring with Taiho.
'I'm never losing again.' He thinks to himself angered,
"I can't blame him, must've hurt his ego getting done like that after being the strongest student out of us all…" Reira says,
"Alright, enough." Taiho says after blocking one of Hazu's punches.
"I understand your frustration, Hazu, but there's nothing you could've done. Even our instructors couldn't keep up with them." Taiho says firmly, despite his goofy nature. It's clear that this infiltration has soured a lot of people.
"So WHAT!" Hazu yells,
"-Is this my level? I should be satisfied with where I currently am? No fucking way. I'm not falling behind again, I'm gonna be the strongest. I'll show them. Nobody is gonna humiliate me ever again." He says, his mind is clogged with frustration,
"Oh? Is that so? Seeing how emotional you are right now, I reckon even Alys (Rank: 3) and Seyo (Rank: 4) could take you out right now." Taiho says teasingly,
Hazu impulsively lunges forward against Taiho,
"Shut your fucking mouth!" Hazu yells, Taiho blocks effortlessly and holds Hazu's fist in the air,
"Though, Todai (Rank: 2) would definitely beat you right now." Taiho teases even more,
…
Back in Chile, Ana has just finished packing her bags and is ready to embark on a journey to find Saint. Her plan is to warn and tell Saint about the scriptures she had found in her father's room.
Ana is at the doorway, putting her shoes on as her little brother Santiago is sad and confused as to why his older sister is leaving,
"Don't worry, Santi. I'll be back soon, Auntie will come and stay with you in the meanwhile. Okay?" Ana says with a warm tone,
The little kid nods and wipes his teary eyes, Ana pulls Santiago in for a hug.
"I pinky promise I'll hurry as fast as I can, I love you so much." They pinky promise and shortly after, Ana leaves.
…