Arcadia

Nouvelle Luz II : Night Hunters

"What do you want?" asked Jet. It is as if his gaze shot straight through Gerard's eyes. 

The officer chuckled sheepishly. He raised his arms and waved them, along with his head. "Hey. No need to be so hostile. I thought we've been through enough together to stop running into each other this way. I'm just here to do my job."

"I'm keeping an eye on you." Without breaking his stare, Jet walked past the officer. "Don't mess up with your job here."

"Of course!" answered Gerard, with a surprisingly upbeat tone, given the atmosphere seconds ago. He looked at the redhead ex-delinquent until he left. 

After Jet was out of sight, Gerard looked at the man who just commited suicide. He curled his eyebrows and rubbed his chin.

"My, this is gonna be troublesome."

~~~~~

"Behold the Destruction Wing!" 

Professor Mikhail called out the name of the projected artifact on the classroom's elctronic whiteboard in a sharp and snappy tone. He pointed at the said artifact, which looked like a metallic pair of angel wings. Instead of traditional feathers, the Destruction Wing had a series of black metallic blades. 

"... and how is this important in the history of magic? Have you been doing your readings?" 

His eyes shifted around the classroom. Silence followed.

"Well, that's just how it is, it seems. Let's see..."

While his voice trailed off, he turned to Amaya. 

"Sir, the Destruction Wing is one of the earliest and most powerful weapons created by the meeting of magic and technology. It works really similar to how a lot of the modern day weapons are being activated."

Amaya stared at Yura.

"Examples would include that thing Yura Himeji uses, or what those people in the so-called Investigation Team carry around. Similar to them, the Destruction Wing was once used as a tool for maintaining order, one that looks especially intimidating and powerful. It allows flight, and the blade feathers were said to grind anything to dust when activated."

As the usual routine when he gets pleased, Professor Mikhail ran his hand through his spiky hair. 

"I'm never disappointed with you, Schwarz. I presume you already know the bloody history of this weapon, and why it was decomissioned."

Amaya responded without a word or action. She kept a straight face and stared into the professor's eyes.

"Now, I know that these few months as freshmen in Shiratori have gotten you all acquainted with the concept of Rei, the latent magical energy in each of us. While the concentration may vary among people, few can truly harness it without much effort, obviously."

His stare went around the classroom, focusing mainly on Yura and Amaya. He summoned a red orb out of his hands while giving the classroom a somewhat proud expression. After a whirling sound, the orb promptly vanished. 

"Now that we have that out of the way, the Destruction Wing is a kind of weapon unlike any other created after it. You see, it is a powerful engine of annihilation which latches itself into the soul of its wielder."

"Oh!" Leanne raised her hand eagerly, wanting to ask a question. "So you mean, that weapon is like what Yura has, but acts like one of those 'living weapons' in anime?"

Everyone looked at Leanne for a moment in silence. Mikhail looked amused enough and answered in a casual tone. "I guess that works as an explanation..."