Al Kel dismissed his class. His students quickly gathered their textbooks, composition books, and pens before standing up and filing out of the classroom. Al Kel, meanwhile, stayed behind and erased the whiteboard.
He stopped what he was doing when he noticed that one student hadn't left yet. The student was still seated at her desk, watching his movements.
This female student was named Mi Fou. Mi Fou had an aura that piqued curiosity. She was like a closed book with an intriguing cover. Al Kel was Mi Fou's literature professor.
"Why are you still here?" Al Kel asked. "Don't you have another class after this?"
"No," the student replied simply, her eyes intensely fixed on him. "I've read your novel, and I have to say, you need to write a sequel because I was left hanging in the story. I'm here to get you to sign my book, but since you're busy, I didn't want to disturb you yet."
Al Kel looked at Mi Fou with a mix of amusement and annoyance, but as her teacher, he tried to understand her.
Al Kel is a punctual teacher. When he arrives at school, he heads to the tennis court to smoke. While puffing out smoke, he gazes at the forest shrouded in fog, but on this day, the fog spews out Mi Fou carrying coffee.
Al Kel is taken aback by the girl's posture and attire, reminiscent of characters in the erotic novels he writes. Mi Fou has coffee for him.
"Do you live in the forest?" he asks.
"I live in Poppy Hill and just take a shortcut through the forest," she replies.
Mi Fou snatches Al Kel's cigarette and takes a puff. The teacher disapproves, but given Mi Fou's stubbornness, he lets it slide, especially since she's of age.
Every day in his class, he and Mi Fou are left alone in the classroom. The two develop feelings for each other and sometimes cuddle under the teacher's desk.
Al Kel learned that Mi Fou's parents work abroad and she's left alone in the big house. After class, he'd visit Mi Fou or sometimes walk her home.
Before long, the two became lovers. They both attend book signing events, shindigs, and pottery sessions which Mi Fou loves. But one day, while Al Kel was lecturing in front of the class, the students outside suddenly rioted.
When he went to investigate the cause of the commotion and stampede, he was shocked by Mi Fou's sudden change in behavior. It turned out she was possessed by a berserk entity and was now crushing her schoolmates' heads like acne with her mind.
"Stop it!" Al Kel begged, but his beloved continued randomly crushing people.
After the killing spree, Mi Fou didn't remember what she had done. She was expelled and shunned. Fearing imprisonment, she went into hiding. News of her tragedy reached a group of exorcists.
"I don't understand why you're showing me this event?" Kintsugi asked, confused, to Professor Kooky. "What I want to know is Al Kel's location, not the fate of his loved one."
Professor Kooky laughed at him.
"You're in a hurry to finish your mission, but didn't you even bother to background check the life of your target? Well, you're just following the mission details on your panel, nothing more."
"Tell me honestly, are you Al Kel?"
"Do you think I am? If your instincts are strong, well, follow them - kill me."
Kintsugi stared intently at the playful Professor Kooky until he let out a sigh.
"If there's a hint in the latter part of your story about where I can find him, I'd like you to continue your story," Kintsugi said.
The images painted on the ground came to life again.
"Since Mi Fou was being hunted by slaying exorcists, Al Kel decided to take his girlfriend away from the hunters. He learned that in the middle of a desolate continent, there was a temple that could serve as their shelter, and a mighty monk who could resolve their problem. On their way, riding an air rover, Mi Fou went berserk again and started popping passengers and rover crew members. Luckily, they still managed to reach the temple."
The extraction ritual was performed as the solar eclipse approached, and while the Superior Monk chanted in indistinguishable languages, Mi Fou floated in the air, driven mad by what she was hearing.
The Superior Monk thought he would succeed in extracting the berserk entity from Mi Fou's body, but it turned out it wouldn't be easily removed. It needed a new host, and the old host would die. The Superior Monk failed to seal the entity, and instead, it possessed Al Kel. Finally, the entity had found a perfect host.
"Let me guess, Al Kel learned a resurrection spell from the Superior Monk to revive Mi Fou," Kintsugi hypothesized.
"You're wrong about that," Professor Kooky said. "The berserk entity controlled Al Kel and made him its slave. Under its command, Al Kel was able to wreak havoc. He killed the exorcists, searched for other hosts, and absorbed the berserk entities. He also absorbed the powers of the Defender Monks from various continents, especially the Supreme Monks. When he had drained all the power in Kepler, he spread terror to other planets."
Kintsugi didn't expect the plot twist in Al Kel's life, and now he faced Professor Kooky with a determined stance.
"Why did you make a pact with the berserk entity, Al Kel?" Kintsugi asked.
Professor Kooky turned his back on him.
"He promised that in exchange for being his vessel and following his orders, he would revive Mi Fou. I thought it would turn out well, but I was just disappointed. Her first impression of me was horrific. I was the only one by her side during the times everyone hated her, but when unforeseen circumstances put me in her shoes, she didn't reciprocate the love and care I gave her. She repaid me with hatred and disgust."
"I know she wasn't afraid of Al Kel. In my new form, she was afraid - of Professor Kooky. Because of this, I killed her, but I'm still grateful to her for being the bridge for Al Kel to meet the Entity. The Entity reminded him of the traumas he's been through, the belittling he suffered when he was nothing, and now that he has everything, I can do whatever I want," Professor Kooky added.
"But what did you gain in the end? Loneliness, that's the ultimate price of your plan.
"You're right, despite my triumph, loneliness still prevails, but I have a new plan."
Kintsugi gripped the stiletto, his alertness heightened. Professor Kooky's aura transformed from bonhomie to infernal, causing a vibrational presence.
"You'll have to get past me first before you can execute your plan to infiltrate the Upper Echelon," Kintsugi warned.
"How can you stop me when your system is glitching? You can't even channel your forms."
Kintsugi smirked, remembering that Professor Kooky seemed to have forgotten he could still utilize his physical strength with the help of his Musk attribute. Without hesitation, Kintsugi performed the Musk ritual dance. A fragrant smoke enveloped him, and he unleashed a smoldering punch at Professor Kooky. However, the Keplerian's face was malleable, and on Kintsugi's next attack, he caught Kintsugi's fist and hurled him back.
Kintsugi couldn't summon elemental powers, so he relied solely on his Musk strength. The Keplerian's body was incredibly tough, rubbery, and scorching hot.
"You smell amazing," Professor Kooky couldn't help but compliment.
"Your scent is intoxicating," Kintsugi retorted before spitting out blood.
"Your scent, known as Yvestal Saint Assisi, causes intense lust, and any woman who smells it will experience strong carnal desires. This is the scent of a high peripheral alpha, an apex predator. I need to acquire your scent."
Professor Kooky opened his palm, and in an instant, he managed to levitate Kintsugi in the air. A hole appeared in his palm, and it acted like a vacuum, sucking in Kintsugi's Musk. Kintsugi endured the pain as he was drained. His highly contrasted hair lost its color vibrancy, and his moist skin dried out. His charisma, personality, and ideology were also drained. When Professor Kooky had sucked out everything, he dropped Kintsugi to the ground like a dried leaf.
Moreover, Professor Kooky's physical appearance changed. His circular eyes became spherical, and his eyeballs, once colored like the universe, were now transparent.
"You're defeated," Professor Kooky said to Kintsugi. "But if you swear allegiance to me, I'll spare your life and grant you new strength. Not only that, I'll make you my right-hand man in leading the Upper Echelon."
"Right-hand man? You think that's as high as I want to go?"
Professor Kooky's ego seemed hurt by Kintsugi's response. He looked up as he heard the sound of giant drums from above. The loud noise caused the world they inhabited to shake.
The Supreme Ruler watched the events unfold from a vivarium. Due to the impending threat to the academy, he responded to Kintsugi's situation. This was the first time he had sent aid to his professional Cyberclassical Cutthroat.
He dispatched the Umbramen, Echelon Guards, Angel Cherubils, and Supremechs - the guards of the Upper Echelon. Their objective was to crush Professor Kooky and prevent him from entering the academy.
"You're quite the coward, aren't you, Supreme Ruler? You could've faced me yourself, but instead, you sent your pitiful soldiers," Professor Kooky taunted.
For the Keplerian, the countless guards hovering above were blessings in disguise. In his eyes, the Supreme Ruler had just handed him a gift. Professor Kooky raised his hands and opened his palms, creating a black hole-shaped funnel.
Professor Kooky can't just create a portal to the Upper Echelon, regardless of the numerous magic spells he's learned and mastered. Since he's not a professional Cyberclassical Cutthroat, he can't access the portals they use for traveling. As an outsider, he needs to meet the strength of the Supreme Ruler to create one. Now, the head of the Upper Echelon is essentially enabling him to achieve his goal.
He absorbed all the energy from the guards, and due to his insatiable hunger for power and desire to surpass the Supreme Ruler, his stomach began to bloat. Professor Kooky lost his sanity and became completely deranged.
Kintsugi was left dazzled by the explosion. Professor Kooky vanished, and the Supreme Ruler ensured that even if Al Kel were in the afterlife, he wouldn't be able to see his beloved Mi Fou.
•••
MISSION FAILED
•••
This was all that greeted Kintsugi as his system recovered.