THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS VIOLENCE THAT MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR SOME READERS
The man who barged through the wreckage was not a man at all. He was a machine, built with a "physically fit" frame that mocked the human form it imitated. He was tall and so were the guards beside him who held guns that looked larger than their own arms. Though they had large arms
Damon didn't wait to see more; he vanished, turning himself invisible before the dust even settled.
Cythera's body coiled like a spring. Her hand moved toward her waist, ready to unleash a torrent of water that would have levelled the front row, but Damon's hand clamped down on her wrist. He held her firm, pressing her arm down. She turned an intense, burning gaze toward the empty space where she knew he was.
Wake up, Daichi, Damon shouted telepathically.
In his pocket, the small creature stirred, groaning. What is the problem? Daichi peeped out, his eyes widening at the sight of men in tactical suits pointing ultra-defined, lethal-looking rifles at the students. In the center stood the leader—the physically imposing machine.
Uh-oh, Daichi whispered into Damon's mind.
The robot bowed with a mocking grace. "Students of Class 12, Final Stage Intellects. I am pleased to welcome the best minds in your textbooks, rivals of your famous Tolrex, and the most popular scientist of all... myself."
The panic in the room was replaced by a hollow confusion. The machine lifted its head, scanning the bewildered faces, then glanced down at Kael. The teacher lay bleeding from his side, a dark stain spreading across the floor.
"Oh, I suppose you must be shocked. In this robotic body, it is hard to recognize me," the machine said. "I am Doran Volcav."
The air left the room. Breaths hitched; teeth gnashed. The name was a curse, an evil terror from the history of their wars. Doran began to shake madly, a mechanical tremor of pure ecstasy.
"YES! YES! I LOVE THOSE REACTIONS! THOSE FACES!" his voice shrieked, echoing off the walls. "IT'S ALMOST AS IF I CAN SMELL YOUR FEAR AND RESENTMENT IN THE ROOM!" Suddenly, the voice dropped to a cold, predatory low. "Never worry. Soon, I will only smell your despair when I am done."
"Cythera, stop," Damon whispered, his invisible form leaning close to her ear.
"I have to help them," she hissed back.
Damon pulled out the circular device he had handed to her in art class and clicked it behind his ear, signalling for her to do the same. What are the chances that if you fight, a student won't die? he asked telepathically.
"99%," Cythera replied.
"Okay. Let's save the one percent."
Doran paced the front of the room. "What I need here is simple. I am looking for a girl. She is the most useful person here, second only to the Chosen One, who I am also in search of."
"Can he not see you?" Cythera asked.
"I've made myself invisible. Only you can see me," Damon replied. He studied the machine. "Who is this guy?"
"Remember when King Zoltar said the researcher who made the perfect AI was killed in a war with us? That's him," Cythera explained, her mental voice tight. "At least, that's his name. He seems to be in a robots body."
"What does he—"
"There's no time," she cut Damon off. "Quick, help me heal Kael."
"How??" He questioned her with a whisper.
Doran suddenly raised his arm and fired another blast into Kael's prone body. The unconscious teacher let out a guttural yell of pain. But his ears bled and so did Damon and Cythera's and they groaned under their breaths with hands at their ears.
"I hear some idiots talking," Doran said, his metallic voice echoing. "One more word and I will shoot a final blast at max capacity. It will kill your teacher... and everyone in this room except me."
Though he had no lips, the malevolence in his tone suggested a wide, jagged smile.
"Damon," Daichi whispered into Damons mind from his pocket. "What if she stretched her water all the way to Kael to heal him, and you made the water invisible like you do for yourself?"
"That could work, Damon replied. I could use my light directly, but seeing how the wound looks it might hurt him and cause him to scream..."
"And he would get shot again," Daichi finished.
Doran Volcav gestured, and one of his men stepped forward, placing a small device on the floor. Blue electricity rippled out in a wave. The devices behind Damon and Cythera's ears sparked violently, sending a jolt of pain through their nerves. They both stayed perfectly still, tanking the pain without a flinch, acting as if everything were normal.
"Who can tell me what I just did?" Doran asked.
Silence stretched.
Doran raised his weapon and fired. A student screamed as a bolt hit him in the chest. He fired again, hitting another in the arm. And again hitting a girl in her shoulder as she screamed. Each time he fired every student clamped their ears and Damon and Cythera bled. "If you don't answer me when I speak, I will believe you are animals. And animals are made for killing." Doran said.
Daichi growled lowly in Damon's pocket. Damon pressed his hand on his pocket more, steadying Daichi.
"I won't ask again," Doran warned.
"You deactivated all forms of technology in the class!" Mirea screamed, her voice trembling.
"Good, good. The Highest Intellect class lives up to its name," Doran remarked.
Under the table, Damon grabbed Cythera's palm. With his finger, he traced the word: INVISIBILITY.
She nodded subtly. She began to draw water from the air, stretching a thin, liquid thread above peoples heads, toward the wounded students and Kael. As it moved, Damon extended his veil, masking the water from sight.
"No one try any funny business," Doran said. "You can't sense us because we are machines. And these men behind me? They are a combination of man and robot. My men have ambushed your teachers in every class. They are currently fighting your Headmaster."
Cythera's eyes widened. Grandpa. She thought.
"Old man's probably dead by now," Doran added carelessly.
Suddenly, the air in the room grew heavy. Cythera's ki erupted—a cold, overwhelming intent to kill. Her face remained calm, but her eyes brimmed with a lethal, greenish blue light. It was so potent that some students nearby began to see flashes in her eyes—a mental replay of Cythera tearing Doran apart.
Doran paused, noticing the shift. "Huh? Why're you all looking at her?"
Damon clamped his hand over Cythera's wrist again, anchoring her to the floor.
"We searched every class," Doran continued. "We had to torture at least twelve students to tell us where the Chosen One was. A girl called Alya Varkus... daughter of King Cassian Varkus.
Alya froze. Damon and Cythera felt a flicker of Ki from the side of the room. A tall, radiant girl with golden hair and molten-gold eyes stood trembling. She was Alya Varkus—the living embodiment of a sunrise, now eclipsed by terror. Her hands were clamped to her chest.
It was tiny—just a tightening of her shoulders, a sharp inhale—but Damon saw it. Her molten-gold eyes widened for a fraction of a second before she forced them down to the floor.
"I hope we have to torture some more. It's not a last resort." Doran paused for dramatic effect. "You're wondering why the authorities aren't here? We left men in every room that had students, holding hostages. You literally can't call for help."
Cythera withdrew her water. Kael's wounds were closed, though he remained unconscious.
"So," Doran said, stepping into the center of the room. "Which of you is the Chosen One, and which of you is Alya? In ten seconds, I will scan each of you with a laser. It hurts. It also takes a lot of time to scan a hundred kids. So, which is it?"
"Ten." A ripple of panic moved through the room.
"Nine." Damon felt Cythera's aura quietly spike beside him.
"Eight." Alya Varkus flinched barely but Damon caught it again. Her golden eyes darted to the floor, her breath stuttering.
"Seven." Doran paced slowly, savouring the fear.
"Six." Alya's hands trembled against her chest. Damon and Cythera felt her ki flicker like a candle in a storm.
"Five." Damon leaned toward Cythera. "Get ready."
"Four." Alya squeezed her eyes shut.
"Three." Her ki spiked in fear, not power.
"Two." She inhaled sharply.
"One—" Doran lunged, grabbing a boy who was trying to manifest a water attack.
"I'll lead them away," Damon whispered to Cythera. "Come find me at the crypt."
"I'm Alya Varkus!" the golden-haired girl shouted, as she stood up, her voice cracking.
Immediately, Damon dropped his veil. He became visible in the center of the room, his eyes locked on Doran.
"And I'm the Chosen One," Damon said.
Before the robots could react, Damon moved with a burst of speed that blurred the air. He snatched Alya around the waist, ignored the mechanical blasts behind him, and threw both of them through the reinforced glass of the school window, diving into the open sky.