Chapter 14: Chapter 13

“Everyone, listen up. The academy has received a request from the South American United Front: we're to clear out a small city overrun with lesser demons as a support to the Argentinian Reclamation Drive.”

The room broke into quiet murmurs before Mr Pierce raised his hand to silence them, and continued.

“As of 6 pm today, we are setting off across the Pacific, to be anchored off the coast of Peru. ETA is two weeks, your exact teams and jurisdictions will be decided closer to arrival.”

He softened his stance slightly and looked across the group sitting in front of him.

“This one’s pretty routine, no predicted civilian presence, try to keep surrounding damage to a minimum. Hibiki, you’ll be staying aboard along with Ji-Hye. Yuuji, you’ve been specifically requested to partake, but I will not allow that until I deem you ready.”
“Yes, sir.”

Land reclamation was one of the primary causes of demon-related fatalities since the Cataclysm. Demons would still appear occasionally all over the world, but those cases were almost always small amounts of lesser demons and could be eliminated with relative ease.

The remnants of the Cataclysm however were still being felt these 15 years later.

Megacities and huge swathes of populated areas were devastated overnight, and while the demons began to spread outwards causing mass chaos, their attacks were broad and unfocused.

The survivors, and those who were lucky enough not to have their homes attacked in the first place, soon began to discover their newfound powers and fight back until an uneasy stalemate formed. Humanity rebuilt on new ground, but it never forgot the wounds it received, and they had gradually begun to push back.

Yuuji had taken part in many of these reclamation efforts, both alone and as part of a larger squad, as practitioners were taken from religious sites to aid the offensive. As part of his agreement with his grandfather to allow himself and Hibiki to be enrolled in the academy, he was required to continue his efforts in the fight against demons, now as part of a static group of students rather than an exterminator for hire.

“As for today’s study material, let’s focus on spirit designations. There’s still a lot we don’t understand about how spirit power is formed and it greatly differs based on the individual, but as Ji-Hye would have surely been able to tell you had she been here, we currently designate spirit types into 4 or 5 different groups.”

Mr Pierce cast an eye over the empty seat in the back row where Ji-Hye would be sitting whenever she decided to show up. He’d long since abandoned chastising her for being absent, as she did more than enough work on behalf of Helios, and as a researcher, she had far and away exceeded his knowledge on the subject.

“The currently designated groups in ascending order of rarity are; Empowerment which is the most common, Blessing, Conjuration, Imbuement, and Manifestation which is incredibly rare, though Conjuration and Manifestation are sometimes identified as ‘Immaterial Conjuration’ and ‘Physical Conjuration’.”

Yuuji nodded his head silently, while Hibiki’s eyes were spinning as she was trying to take in all the details at once.

Mr Pierce sighed lightly and scratched his head.

“Guess throwing them all together is a bit too much. Alright then, let’s go through some examples, starting with the most common, Empowerment.”

He grabbed a stick of chalk, and broke it evenly in two, then stepped towards the outer window before opening it wide.

“I’m actually an Empowerment user myself, as are many others that are also ex-military. Empowerment users are most common as the spirit often stems from the belief in one’s own strength, rather than from strict religious or idealistic origin. Here, watch this.”

He reared his arm back and threw half of the chalk out of the window as it quickly disappeared into the distance.

“Not bad, right? But if I do this…”

He took a wide stance with his legs and inhaled sharply before tensing his arm into a throwing position.

“Hah!”

The other half of the chalk rocketed from his hand, causing a tiny shockwave that blew away nearby stacks of paper and caused the curtains to rattle on their rails.

“...”
“...”
“...”
“...I guess I got a little carried away, but you see the point.”

Ignoring the mess of scattered sheets underneath his desk, he returned to the front of the class to continue the lesson.

“Physical Empowerment is the most basic of them all, but Empowerment can come in different forms, such as Leona’s Fire and Valeriya’s Ice. Empowerment affects the user only, for example, I couldn’t give my strength to another, and Valeriya’s ice would quickly deteriorate if she tried to throw it from a distance.”

He gestured towards a silver-haired girl who sat in the front, remaining silent at her mention.

“Next, is Blessing. Blessing can be thought of as a type of Empowerment that doesn’t just affect yourself, it can affect other people - it could be people you touch, or people surrounding you. The Blessing always originates from the user, but it is mainly used to support and assist others.”

He looked over at a girl in the second row as she sat up straight.

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“Elis, would you mind?”
“Oh, right!”

She rose to her feet but remained in the middle of the class where she was sitting rather than heading to the front. Long flowing bubblegum pink hair drooped over her back, and while Yuuji couldn’t see her face from where she was standing, from what he’d heard of her he knew she was a very cheerful and caring girl who was well-liked.

“Gentle Eir, bless these souls with your grace!”

She held her hands close to her chest, before reaching upwards as her palms began to glow a mellow white. A warm feeling circulated through Yuuji’s body, and he felt as if whatever fatigue he might have had was sapped away and only contentment remained.

“I’m sure I don’t need to tell you, but you just received a Blessing. This one being for good health, if I’m not mistaken - a nice touch, Elis.”

The girl gave a nervous bow and then quickly sat back down.

“Another Blessing user is our own Dr Natsumi, though her Blessing is more specialised to healing as opposed to Elis who can provide a variety of Blessings, less potent but more versatile.”

As expected, the academy doctor wasn’t just a medical practitioner, but a Blessing user as well. Even so, Yuuji swore to stay out of harm’s way if he could: the pain was one thing, but the idea of being alone in a room with her somehow seemed even more dangerous.

“Next is Conjuration. This one may be less common than Empowerment or Blessing, but that’s only due to the high number of practitioners in the older generations that make up those numbers. For you and others your age, being less set in traditional ways has proven to expand the ability of spirits, and Conjuration is one of the best examples of this.”

Mr Pierce scanned across the room once, twice, thrice, then sighed with resignation.

“...Mitra, if you’d please.”
“Gladly!”
“Don’t get any ideas. I would have chosen Claire or Wang Bao, but their spirits aren’t suited for enclosed spaces like this.”

Mitra didn’t seem to hear the second part as he was already enthusiastically posing with his left hand raised high in the air.

“Rama, grant me your bow!”

A beautiful golden bow appeared in his left, while a shimmering arrow appeared in his right. Their designs were simple but elegant and seemed to fit naturally in his grasp.

“Loose that arrow and I’ll have your head, Sahni.”
“Aye, sir!”
“...In any case, as you can see, the bow has been conjured from nothing. While he is indeed holding it, it doesn’t have a stable physical form and is closer to a bundle of spiritual energy being held together by his will rather than a solid object. Think of it like a comparison between a water balloon and a ball of ice.”
“Water balloon!?”
“It’s just a metaphor you idiot, release your spirit and sit down.”

Mr Pierce massaged his temples as Mitra sat back in his chair with a sulk.

“Next would be Imbuement, but we don’t have a practitioner with Imbuement here. Imbuement is very similar to Blessing, but instead for objects, and not people. It can be as simple as Imbuing an object to be harder, or sharper, but in most cases, it’s used for empowering defensive gear or granting ‘Anti-Demon’ properties, like turning water into holy water.”

Without a demonstration, he instead drew some quick sketches onto the blackboard, with a few rough examples of what he’d been describing.

“Imbuements last longer than Blessings, but they do still run out eventually, so they aren’t too commonly seen in the smaller skirmishes you’re used to.”

It was a shame Imbuements weren’t permanent, or everyday members of society could have potent demon-killing weapons laying about, and mass-produced ‘Anti-Demon’ bullets could stock shelves.

“Finally, we have Manifestation. This is often tied together with Conjuration for a reason - the spirit is formed into a perceivable shape, but this time, it remains even after it has been conjured. We have two examples of Manifestation in our class which is a rare sight, though I’m afraid their spirits are not allowed on academy grounds for the same reason we can’t have morons shooting arrows of light everywhere.”

He directed a sharp gaze at a specific seat towards the back of the room.

“Most incredibly, Manifestations are self-conscious, and while they have a direct link to the one who summoned them, they can act independently. Many even have a trait unique to them, such as Sid’s ability to control flora, and Ji-Hye’s ability to access, understand, and process digital data.”

Mr Pierce took a deep breath and eyed the clock above his head.

“In the end, what really matters is that you understand how you can use your spirit not only for your benefit but for the benefit of those around you too. Understanding the strengths and weaknesses of your allies can sometimes be more important than understanding that of your enemies. Keep your heads screwed on straight, and I know you’ll be fine.”

*Ring!*

The bell at the front of the classroom chimed to mark the end of the day.

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