Training with Merlin has been very fruitful. I have some tricks of my own now to use against Kurobei.
I've experimented with pure mana and how it affects souls. What I've learned is that I can't directly touch souls.
I'm blocked. Merlin let me experiment on her, and I couldn't touch her soul. Yet Kurobei was able to pull it out.
It has to be due to that book of his, his Arcana Medea. Medea is known as a witch, so having a spell to remove a soul doesn't seem too surprising.
But that makes it more difficult for me. I can't directly get their souls, so I either need Kurobei to do it for me (highly unlikely) or bet on the idea that I can grab the soul once they're free form the body.
It's a risk, but it's one I will take. If I can kill Kurobei and quickly snatch up their souls, I could likely hold them until I can get them back to their rightful bodies.
Overall, I feel much more prepared. I've been sparring, training, experimenting, and getting ready.
The others have also been preparing. They come to the Dojo for most hours of the day to help me train and also get stronger themselves.
Currently I was sparring against Erica.
She swung her fist at me, which I easily sidestepped and deflected by pushing to the side. She sent a kick next which I easily blocked with my arm.
I sent a punch towards her gut, which she twisted her body to avoid. Quickly getting broth her feet on the ground she ducked under a haymaker aimed for her head.
She sent an uppercut which I spun around, sending kick into her back and her sprawling onto the floor.
"Why are you always challenging me to hand-in-hand fights..." I sweatdropped.
"I'll beat you one day.." Erica groaned, flopping over.
"One day...so a couple years, at least?" I grinned, extending my hand.
"You asshole." Erica giggled, grabbing my hand and pulling herself up.
"I wish I was the one kicked..." I heard Yui mutter, as masochistically thirsty as usual.
Ignoring her, I turned to Irene. "Hey, any news yet?"
"No, nothing has happened yet." Irene shook her head.
I've been having Irene check in hour increments per day. Whenever it happens, it's going to be sudden and we'll need to quickly get to the Demon King's point of entry.
Since the seal isn't actually a seal, we can't actually use it until the Demon King returns. Creating a portal to the Void will be useful if the person we want to trap inside is currently there.
However, the fact that he's going to make it out makes me uneasy. I can't help but think that putting him in once more won't work too well.
He's already going to be getting out once, so I'm sure he'll be able to do it again. It's just...how long until then? Well, it's our only plan, and it's better than nothing.
"Hey...Merlin..?" Erica panted.
"Yes?" Merlin asked, turning away from the book to look at Erica.
"If the 'seal' is just a device to punch a hole through to the void, then what keeps the Demon King there?" She asked. "Because Aoi told us that some of the monsters come from where the Demon King is, which would be the void."
Aoi nodded in confirmation.
"I believe it's because the Demon King is just that powerful." Merlin sighed. "Normal rifts aren't powerful enough, they'd collapse if he tried to go through them, and being stuck in between dimensions is certain death."
"So he has to wait for a rift that's strong enough?" I asked.
"Yes. It's the same reason why stronger monsters, like S Ranks, are rarer to come through the rifts. You need a rift that can handle the power of the monster." Merlin explained.
"But since the Demon King is even stronger than that, I don't know if a natural rift that strong is possible." Merlin continued. "So he has to make his own, through the help of the Children of Lupercio."
"When we seal him again, we'll have to then wipe out the Children of Lupercio." Irene stated.
The door to the Dojo suddenly opened, distracting us from the conversation. The Principal walked in, looking around.
"So this is where you all have been." She mused. "Not surprised."
"We've been preparing for whatever will be upcoming." Iris said, taking a break from her spar with Amber.
"Smart. Just don't overwork yourselves." Principal nodded.
"How are they?" Amber quietly asked.
"They're alive still. We have them resting in a hospital. They're being given nutrients to stay alive while their souls are gone." Principal explained.
"You have a plan, Ken?" Principal asked.
"I do." I nodded.
"Good." She nodded. "You and Merlin are the only ones who have the best understanding of magic. I'm sure you can do it."
"I hope so..." I muttered.
"Where have you been Principal?" Lily asked.
"I was also preparing." Principal replied. "I've increased security, and set out multiple adventurers out on patrols. I've told them it's in case the Children of Lupercio attack."
That's close enough without letting out mass panic about the fact the Demon King is returning.
"I've also called a couple of people. One being your mother, Ken." She stated.
"My mom? Why?" I asked.
I was hoping she wouldn't since I'm here.
"I'm going to need her help. She is one of the five S Ranks of Japan after all. She agreed to it, of course." Principal explained. "With two of us down, we're at a huge disadvantage. We need as much help as we can get."
My mother is the fifth S Rank?!
But when I researched them, I found that the fifth S Rank was a masked woman who only went by the name of...
...Shadow.
Oh.
Seriously?
"Shadow is Ken's mother?" Gasped Iris, surprised.
"It makes sense." Irene nodded to herself. "Shadow is the English word translation of Kage. I should have noticed the connection sooner..."
"Wow. No wonder Ken is so strong." Amber weakly chuckled.
This talk definitely reminded her of Goku.
"I need to introduce myself to her..." Erica muttered, likely voicing the thoughts of all of the other girls.
Please don't...
...
This isn't good. Unlike every else I've interacted with, she will definitely notice that I'm not her son. The others didn't know me, and Principal likely hadn't seen me in a long time.
But she's quite literally this body's mother.
"...When does she arrive?" I slowly asked.
"She'll be arriving today." Principal stated. "She's taking a plane here to Tokyo."
"Okay." I nodded.
"You better be ready." Principal sighed. "That woman is going to immediately rush to you once she gets here. She's one clingy woman, though you should already know..."
Great. I shook the thoughts out of my mind. Now was not the time to think about this.
Irene suddenly jolts upwards as she looked towards her phone with wide eyes. "It's happening." She muttered.
"What?" Erica asked, turning towards Irene with a fact of worry. "You mean...?"
"Yes." Irene nodded. "Multiple rifts have suddenly opened in Tokyo. And even more are opening judging by this live footage. It's started."
"Hopefully she can make it in time." Principal muttered. "Alright, we all know the game plan, correct?"
"Yes." We nodded.
"Alright. Irene, any idea of which one is likely the arrival point of the Demon King?" Principal asked.
"There's one that's much larger than normal opening in the middle of Tokyo." Irene stated. "It's quickly growing, and a team of adventurers were sent to check in on it. None have returned yet."
"I don't know about the rest of you, but I don't like the sound of that..." Lily sweatdropped.
"Neither do I." I stated. "We need to get there quick. I have a feeling that..he...will be there to greet his 'king'."
The air became tense.
"I'll show that fucker not to mess with my students." Principal growled, slightly surprising me.
She doesn't usually cuss.
We walked out of the Dojo, heading through the streets. It didn't take long until we encountered a Minotaur, Principal quickly taking it out with a blast through the chest.
It reminded me back at the beginning of this school year when we took the exam at the beginning.
As we crossed through the streets, we came across fleeing civilians, injured adventurers, and non-injured adventurers fighting monsters.
It was just as chaotic as I had expected. Didn't make it any less harder to watch.
"Help! Help!" A man screamed as a Lupinus bit into his leg.
Bianca quickly rushed over, spearing the wolf and flinging it away. It growled as it stood up, rushing at Bianca with a limp.
Lily easily appeared behind it, stabbing a dagger straight into it's skull. It fell down like a rag doll, completely limp. Completely dead.
Yui quickly ran over to to the man, healing his torn up leg. Her healing abilities has become a lot better as she advanced up tiers.
An injury like that could be healed in a couple seconds, and she didn't even need to take out her arcana Asclepius to do it.
She slipped him a small pamphlet which I swear read "Join the Cult of Loki!" before dragging him over to us.
"There's a safe house at the jewelry shop down the corner." Principal stated, pointing down the direction. "There are multiple adventurers there who can keep you safe."
"Thank you!" The man graciously bowed to us before running the way that Principal had instructed.
"Alright." Principal stated. "Let's keep going."