Chapter 8 - Infinite Power, Raze

"Whoa, so this is the gym? So huge!" said Yukio, but this time, he wasn't as impressed as before anymore.

The gymnasium was impressively big and very really clean. The students were flocked together among their own respective friend circles, while the tests were being carried out one student at a time. Towards the further side of the gym, was where the coaches sat behind their desks, conducting the designated tests.

There were no class restrictions, so the entire batch was together here. Only, the space was divided into two halves, dedicated to each gender, including a coach dedicated to either of them.

"Hey, you three! Over here! The test is gonna start!" called out their homeroom teacher.

"You kept us waiting. Y'guys ready?" said the boy they first met during the incident at the rooftop. Ryan was his name. He and his friend Sami were sitting together. During the month, these five got pretty close to each other and hung out a lot.

"Yeah, we've prepared just for this day!" Shin replied as they grouped together.

"Next!" the coach called out.

"I'm up. Wish me luck!" (Sami)

"Yeah, knock 'em dead!" (Ryan)

"Choose your test." (coach)

"Speed." (Sami)

"Huh? Why speed? Wouldn't the test of offence be easier? I heard it was just 8 planks of wood." (Shin)

"That's what people would normally think, but in fact, speed would be the easiest test. Even if it's just 8 planks of wood, you should keep in mind which wood is being used. Purple Oak. A tree found abundantly in the northern forests and is known to have wood almost as strong as iron. That's the wood they use. You'd break your arm before you even break the second plank." (Ryan)

"Oh, well that's no fun." (Shin)

"You! Don't tell me you plan on choosing offense!" (Ryan)

"No, no. I have something else in mind." (Shin)

"Well, whatever. Look, he's beginning."

Sami stood on the far corner of the room and bent over. With a stopwatch in his hand, the coach put his whistle on his lips and blew. A peep, and Sami dashed forward.

"So fast!" (Yukio)

"Of course, he's supposed to be. Speed test is where you have to run 500 meters within a minute. It would've been much easier if it was a straight route, though."

Once at the finish line, with another peep the coach blew the whistle again and pressed his stopwatch, "50.58 seconds."

"Ow! So close!" "He almost got it!" commented students here and there.

"Hey, why are they disappointed? That was superb timing, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, that's for sure. Sami is actually one of our fastest students here. Although you pass if you could just do it in less than 60 seconds, some guys like to set records that are hard to beat."

"And the current record is?"

"47.03 seconds."

"No way! For real?! Who was it?"

Ryan hesitated for a moment, but answered, "...Claude Brandt."

"That bastard!"

《"How was that, coach?"》

《"Yeah, you've really worked hard for this, I see, Sami."》

《"That's not true. I just go for morning jogs everyday!"》 Sami smiled.

"Hey Ryan, why aren't they saying anything?" (Yukio)

"Oh, it's telepathy. The second test already began," then noticing how quiet Diavolo was, he turned to him, "By the way, why so quiet, Diavolo?"

But he didn't answer and simply looked forward with a straight face. "Sorry about that. He's just not in a good mood right now. He'll come around eventually," Shin apologized on his behalf.

"Yo!" (Sami)

"Great job there! You aced it!" (Ryan)

"Next up! Yukio Hitoshi!"

Nodding to the call, Yukio gulped and stepped forward. "Yukio..." Diavolo glared at him, "Make sure you win!" his expression felt like it was piercing right through them. Ryan and Sami included, the three were scared stiff with all the menacing aura he was emanating.

Shin locked his arm around Diavolo's neck and rubbed fist on his head, "Stop scaring him! This isn't a competition!" out of annoyance.

"Ow! Okay! I got it! I got it!"

Yukio walked towards the coach, "Choose." As he was about to speak out, the sudden mumbling of the students stopped him. They all directed their gaze at the figure entering the gym.

"Hey, what's he doing here?" "He better not cause trouble this time." "What does he want?" they muttered.

It was Claude. He walked towards the coach with something in his hand.

"Come to think of it, neither of those three were here, right?" (Shin)

"Don't tell me you didn't know this either. Claude passed the final test of his first year with his Material Natura. Hence he's automatically qualified and doesn't need to give the test. You should've known that since Prez isn't here either." (Ryan)

"I guess that's true. Is it the same for Garth and Nicolas?" (Shin)

"No, I'm not sure what exactly happened to those two. They should be here."

"Then why isn't she here yet?!" Diavolo thought, frustrated.

Claude put down a couple of stones (crystals?) on the coach's desk, "Garth and Nic won't be coming. Take these."

"You're still as impolite as always, I see," to which Claude simply 'hmph-ed' and turned back.

"What was that?" Shin asked.

"That's when you can't arrive on the day of an exam for some reason. If you can provide some kind of proof of reason, then you could pass without attending."

"Hey coach, I've got nothing to do for the time being, so I'll stay here. Don't mind me. For today, I'm just an observer," Claude said as he leaned against the wall beside the entrance.

"Tch! He pisses me off!" said Todd poking his head in between Shin's group.

"Why are you here?" (Shin)

"Now then, let's continue." (Coach)

"Defence test, please!"

"Finally, we have someone who's got guts," the coach sighed, "Hey Vicky!" he called out to a sleeping boy holding a mop.

"Y-Yes!" he woke up, surprised. The boy was slightly taller than Yukio. He had jaw length brown hair, and a very tired expression. He was very soft spoken and looked quite feeble.

"Come here."

"Vicky?" (Shin)

"Yeah, he's Coach's apprentice. In several types of tests, he'll be your sparring partner." (Ryan)

"You're kidding! He wasn't just a janitor?!"

"Nope. Despite his looks, he's actually quite skilled."

"Last year, when I had chosen defense, he knocked me to the ground. I got a 'Fail' thanks to him! He pisses me off!" (Todd)

"I'm telling you, why on earth are you with us?" (Shin)

Todd was a boy from Ryan's class. He was tall and thin, and had a hunched back. Shoulder length, wavy black hair with blue streaks, and dark circles under his eyes. He always seemed stressed out and frustrated with something.

He wasn't very popular. In fact, people didn't generally talk to him. Apparently, after Ryan once called out to him, he somehow got attached and followed them around from then on.

"You'll see soon enough, why most people take the speed test."

Yukio and Vicky stood in their stances. With the whistle finally blown, Vicky charged at Yukio with a clenched fist at super speed.

Yukio was surprised by the no-greeting-sudden-assault and knew that he needed to respond quickly. He reflexively defended his face with crossed arms. But that was not all. Vicky continued with a barrage of hard punches, each taking no more than 120 milliseconds.

"Okay! I just need to defend like this and I should pass," Yukio thought as he focused on defending with his arms. But of course, it was merely Vicky's ploy. With Yukio's attention mostly at his arms, he kicked him on his left waist, which sent him flying to the far side of the gym.

But Yukio was not done yet either. Before his back touched the ground, which would automatically disqualify him, he pushed the ground and flipped back up to his feet.

However, there was no time to take a second breath. As soon as he landed his eyes on Vicky, he could see him charging at him again, and this time, with much more force!

"Here it comes! A killer punch!" he thought, "I'll block this with everything this time!" and he raised his left palm, his arm being supported by his right hand, so the elbow wouldn't fold back.

The punch hit, and he successfully blocked, but for some reason, it didn't seem strong enough for a finishing blow. That's because it was indeed… a fake! Since Yukio was grabbing onto Vicky's fist, he didn't have time to dodge a second incoming attack.

Taking the chance, Vicky swung his leg upward. "His leg?!" Yukio panicked. He was kicked on his chin, sending him flying upwards.

"Whoa, what is he?!" (Shin)

"See what I mean? Vicky may look like a tipsy fella, but inside he's a well-built fighter. You won't even get a chance to build up energy properly when you fight him. There are two fates that await you if you only plan on defending: either his rapid punches will slowly diminish your aura on your arm and break your defence, or, he'll catch you off guard somewhere else and knock you out."

"But isn't this supposed to be just a defensive test?"

"This fight will end when one of them will drop to the ground. If you want to be a defensive fighter, you'll need a strategy. You can't just defend all day and hope that your enemy would just go away. This is why I said that the speed test would be the easiest."

As Yukio started to fall back down, he thought, "Is this it? Am I going to fail? No, there must be a way! Come on, Yukio. Remember what Stanley said!"

He recalled his late night lessons.

「"So you plan on being a defensive fighter?" (Stanley)

"Yes. I really dislike bloodshed. I just want to keep my friends safe."

"You've only learnt to move dilute fluids in a straight line. You're not ready to use it in an actual fight, yet. In that case, I suggest you stick to conventional defence. But never forget. For the road you're taking, as a defensive fighter, you'll need to have a lot of strategies in mind. Even the smallest of actions could have a huge impact on your fight."」

"In that case…a small thing is what I will use!!" and he turned his eye towards the coach, stretched out his right arm at him. With a strong flick of his wrist, the coffee on the table was projected straight at the back of Vicky's head.

"TSS AAAHHH! HOT!!!" he shouted and crouched down holding onto his possibly burnt area.

"Now's my chance!!" he told himself, "Meteor...Punch!!" he randomly thought up a name and smashed him to the ground as he fell himself.

Everybody's jaws opened wide. After all, who expected a newbie to knock down Vicky?

Yukio slowly stood up and took a deep breath. With a final blow of the whistle, the whole gym went up in cheers and applauded at his win.

"ALRIGHT! Great job, Yu!"

"Oi, wasn't that Material Natura he just used?!" (Ryan)

"Who cares? He won!" (Sami)

Yukio helped Vicky get up. "Sorry about that. You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I saw that last punch coming so I was able to mitigate it in the end. But the coffee was unexpected, though. You got me!"

"Hehe! Sorry again!"

"Yukio Hitoshi." (Coach)

"Yes!"

"You get an A+!!"

"Whoa! Today is full of surprises!" (Ryan)

"What do you mean?"

"Coach grades us very unconventionally. For him, there is no middle-ground. You either pass or fail. If you manage to impress him, you get an A. But people rarely get an A+. Looks like you got to his good side!"

"However…" the coach continued, which got rid of the smile Yukio had, "You're getting me another cup of coffee…" he said holding up the empty cup. Yukio giggled in embarrassment.

"Ah~! It's Mr. Igichi~!" shrieked a bunch of girls.

Looking at the entrance, a tall young man with a well built figure and short brown hair entered. He had a very cheerful look and a charming atmosphere around him, "Yo! Long-time no see, Coach!"

"Oh, Igichi! What brings you here?"

"I'm leaving soon, so I thought I'd come over and see how my fellow juniors are doing."

"Hey, who is he?" Shin whispered to Ryan.

"He's Igichi, a third year. An all-rounder in both brains and brawn, so many of us look up to him. He's also famous among the girls."

"Tch! Just look at him, waving at the girls. He pisses me off!"

"Does everyone piss you off?!"

"Yo! Nice to meet ya!" Igichi approached Diavolo.

With a very serious tone, he replied, "Who are you?"

""Oi, it was explained just now!""

"Whoa, scary, scary! So you're Diavolo Signore, huh? I've heard about you," he put his hand on Diavolo's head, treating him like a kid, "Good luck beating my records…" and he went and sat beside Claude.

"I don't like him. He's pissing me off." (Diavolo)

"What are you? Todd?" (Shin)

"Next up! Ryan!" the coach called. Being the easiest way to pass, he too chose speed. "Okay. Vicky! Reset the timer for this gutless loser!"

While Ryan's test was being taken, Diavolo was in deep thought. Noticing so, Shin put his hand on his shoulder and said, "Hey, relax. Just give it your best like you did in the dojo."

"No, that's not it. I'm getting this eerie feeling. I think something bad's gonna happen."

"Eh? What do you mean?"

"Aw man! Just 58.89 seconds. Give me a break!" complained Ryan returning to the group.

"Next up, Shin Yen Ron!"

"Good luck," Yukio wished.

"Who do you think you're talking to? I am Cosmic Island's #1 genius hunter! This'll be a piece of cake!"

Shin walked towards the coach. "Choose," he asked, but then Shin whispered something in his ear. A startled look was followed by a smile. "Interesting. Heard that, Vicky?"

"Yes, I'll bring it right away."

Moments later, Vicky brought a weird box-like device connected to three bulbs. "A circuit box? What's he gonna do with that?" muttered a few students.

"He! Don't tell me…!"

"Yeah, it's exactly what you're thinking," Diavolo assured Ryan.

"But… But…"

"The time has come, huh?" Shin cracked his knuckles, "I remember everything like it was yesterday."

He recalled Stanley's words, 「"If you show them your Material Natura, you automatically pass. That's because it involves commands much more complex than Pure.

Now that you know the feeling of being electrocuted, things should be easier for you. Just collect Natura around yourself and 'add' the feeling of electricity to it. Keep in mind that you'll need to do the two simultaneously to maintain the electricity or it won't work.

Also, I wouldn't recommend charging yourself bare handed. If you accumulate too much charge, you'll electrocute yourself again. Only, it will be worse this time. That's why, instead of charging it up, I want you to continuously discharge the energy into this device. You'll know you're doing well if the bulb lights up.

But remember one thing. Never get too excited, or you'll lose your concentration and cause an explosion. Due time, you'll be able to light up more. Just make sure you use both hands for safety."

"But why am I charging bulbs? Won't it be easier if I learnt to add it to my punches? It should just flow out, right?"

"Nobody learns to use Material Natura in direct combat off the bat. Trust me. Especially not if it's Plasma."」

Shin grinned from end to end as he looked down at the device in front of the coach, "Screw it! I'll finish this with one hand!!" and he put his right hand into the box. Anxiety filled the room. "Now, to charge it up!" and so he did.

The bulbs lit up nicely.

"Well done! A+!"

"Whoa awesome! Both of you learnt Material Natura in such a short time?!"

"Are you sure nobody taught you anything before?!"

"HELL YES!!!" Shin shouted, but he got too excited and started discharging too much electricity all at once. The whole gym lit up too bright too fast. "Oh crap…"

BOOM!

The smoke quickly cleared and Shin's black faced, spiky hair appearance was out on display. The coach, on the other hand, managed to block his face with his clipboard.

"That idiot!" Diavolo retorted, coughing.

"Hahaha! Seems like my juniors aren't half bad! Is he a new student?" asked the amused Igichi.

"Yeah. However…he's not the one I have my eyes on…" replied his unfriendly company.

"Um coach, I have a favour to ask. I know I passed and all, but just wanted to try out the plank breaking for once."

"And why is that?"

"To test myself out."

Thus Vicky brought them over. Ten 10 cm thick Purple Oak planks all piled up together in a vertical stack. Each plank was a square of sides somewhere around 1.5 meters.

"He's gonna do it, isn't he?" Ryan gulped.

Shin took a deep breath and jumped. With a loud shout, he landed a punch on the wood. The planks cracked, but so did Shin's knuckles.

"AAARRGGHHH!" he screamed and shook and blew his hand vigorously to make the pain go away.

"Ow, that must've been painful!" the students cringed.

Vicky inspected the boards, "Three blocks broken."

"Only three?" (Yukio)

"The outcome was pretty obvious. But still, his improvement is remarkable!" (Ryan)

"Sorry about that, guys. I must've looked so lame," Shin slouched in disappointment.

"It's okay. Don't mind. Don't mind." (Ryan)

"Okay, it's three blocks so… that'll be 2,100,000 krinds," the coach announced.

"WHAT?! I have to pay for that?! And isn't that way too much?!"

"It can't be helped. You wasted three boards with a lousy effort. If you yielded impressive results, then the school would've paid for them. You couldn't even meet the minimum demands so, that's your penalty."

"You're kidding!" and Shin started crying.

"There, there…" the others tried to console him.

Meanwhile, outside the school, two very suspicious looking men stood at the entrance. They were in black suits and wore large sunglasses. One couldn't see their entire faces with a single look.

"Sir, I see no sign of these 'bodyguards' yet. Should we just attack when she comes out?" one of them spoke on the phone.

[It could be a trap. We don't know for sure. And weren't your orders to attack at a non-public place? You're in front of a school aren't you?!] the other side replied.

"But we've been spying like this for days! If someone sees us, they'll think we're a bunch of stalkers!"

[Right now, you two are a bunch of stalkers, so stop complaining! And follow your orders! I'm hanging up!] and he cut the call.

The man sighed, "I really don't know why Master decided to team up with these guys…"

"Can't be helped. Orders are orders," the other man replied and the two resumed their work again.

Back in the school gym, it was finally Diavolo's turn. "Pick."

It was finally time. Diavolo couldn't help but be flooded with anxiety. Not because he was giving a test in front of so many eyes, but because he was in a different predicament compared to his friends. In fact, he wasn't even sure if all the hard work he had done would pay off or not. There was no other choice he had. The only thing that could help him out was either a miracle, or maybe, by a slim chance, if he gave his absolute best. After all—

「"Come one! Why isn't this working?" he thought back to his training with Stanley.

"It's okay, just don't stress yourself."

"It has been five days straight! Surely I would've made some progress by now! Am I that bad?!"

"You know, at times like this, one may just conclude that you don't belong in that Material class at all."

"What?! Why didn't you tell me that before?!"

"I had doubts, myself. But I'm mostly convinced now."

"Dammit! Then hurry up and bring me that friggin device already!!"

"Hey kid, mind your tone."

"Kid—? I mean… sorry," he apologized after finally realizing that he was mistreating Stanley's benevolence as something granted.

"Don't push your luck. You can't expect to learn everything in just a week's time. I know you three have remarkable talent, but everything has a limit."

"Then I'll surpass that limit!"

"Even if it's at the price of something valuable?" to which Diavolo stayed silent. That line was too vague. It could've meant anything. But that was what Stanley was aiming for. It didn't matter if he couldn't pinpoint his issues. The idea was to calm him down and make him rethink his decisions to figure out the best course of action.

And so, yes, that line was enough to set him straight. But Stanley still felt bad, "Sorry. That was uncalled for. Also… your request is impossible."

"What do you mean?"

"The device has malfunctioned and is in the storage. At least that's what Master William informed. Getting a new one would reveal our training plans, so you'll have to pass the exam like all the others do: with the basics."

"Understood," he sighed, "I'll punch everything until my arm breaks!"」

And so, "Offense test," he steeled his resolve with a deep breath and finally spoke out.

"What? Offense?!" (Ryan)

"Didn't he see what just happened to Shin? And he could just pass easily by demonstrating a little Material Natura!" (Sami)

"No, his case is different. He doesn't know his Material yet. For some reason, that device didn't respond properly and he was learning the wrong type from the beginning." (Shin)

"I see, so he plans to win the normal way." (Ryan)

"But still. Choosing offense is just too much!" (Sami)

"Going overboard is his specialty. That's why he chose it. Hehe!" (Shin)

However, that was not all. When the planks were brought, Diavolo said something that made the entire batch disbelieve their ears, "Um, Coach. Can I ask for you to increase the number of blocks? Say, to about… 20?"

The room filled with gasps and mutters at the ridiculously insane request made by the newcomer. 'How could he say that with such a straight face?!!' was what everybody was thinking. Even Shin, his very own best friend had sweat pouring down his cheek. He too, thought, that Diavolo's request this time was way too overboard. After all, he himself barely managed to break three.

The coach merely grinned. By now, he already understood that the new transfer students were not normal. Unsurprised, and also having a hint of expectations, spoke no other word and ordered his request to be granted.

And so they brought them. "20 blocks. That means…" "2 meters of Purple Oak?!" the background gossiping continued. Even the girls' side took a break to look. They had already taken notice of them since Yukio's fight and were glancing at the boys' side from time to time. Shin's display basically gathered all the attention. And now, they were about to witness the next transfer student in action.

Diavolo stared up at the tall pile of wood, after a moment of observation, "I'm sorry Coach, but this is impossible," he dropped a bombshell.

The whole gym comically fell to the floor.

"What on earth is your problem?! If you can't do it, then don't increase it in the first place!!" (Shin)

"Hehe, interesting guy…" Igichi giggled.

"He's just making a fool out of himself!" Claude grunted.

"Boy, do you want me to fail you?!" said the coach, annoyed.

"Eh? No, you got me all wrong. I just can't jump that high. I can't properly punch them like this. Could they be stacked horizontally, by any chance?" and turning to Vicky, "You can hold them together, can't you?"

"A-ah! Okay!" he replied, startled.

Vicky stood in front of the wood pile on the opposite side of Diavolo. With a simple kick on the ground, he caused the entire pile to wobble and tumble down towards him. As it fell, Diavolo quickly lifted the bottommost plank of wood and pushed the entire pile towards Vicky. The latter jumped back a little and he too pushed the top block as soon as it reached the ground. Thus the two were holding the pile together by pushing from either side.

Vicky took out a bandage roll from his pocket and tossed it at Diavolo. Diavolo grabbed it and tossed it back from the other side of the pile. Finally, Vicky tied a strong knot, holding the pile together.

"Hey, Igichi." (Claude)

"What is it?" (Igichi)

"You were there back then, weren't you?"

"Oh? What might you be talking about?"

"Don't play dumb. I saw you!"

"Yes, yes, you're right. It's true that I was there. But rest assured. I won't tell anyone… that you sent Garth and Nicolas to the hospital…"

"Well it's not like care if you say anything. Just make sure not to get in my way. But more importantly, what are you doing here? I know you wouldn't come here just to see how your juniors are doing."

"Oho, you got me. But it's nothing really. Just… doing a favour for a friend."

At the time, nobody noticed, but Igichi actually had a portable camera hidden in his shoulder bag… tranmitting everything. The recipient, just in another classroom.

"Hey, he's seriously going for it, guys!" Sami worriedly said as Diavolo took a stance.

He observed the large pile of planks in front of him and imagined Stanley right in front of him. The words resonate in his mind.

「『☆ Variant Raze: Crystallization; Square Shield』

And a green, translucent shield appeared in front of Stanley. "This shield is special. If you manage to break this, you'll know you're ready to take the test."」

"Hehe! You definitely aren't a regular butler, are you, Mr. Stanley? I definitely want to fight against you one day," Diavolo smirked, "You sure you can prevent it from flying backwards?"

"Yeah, it's fine. Just do it!" (Vicky)

It was unfortunate, but it seemed that Suzume didn't come. Was she lying? Did she not have any plans to get acquainted in the first place? Diavolo had such muddled thoughts. But there was no point in reminiscing about it now.

Right now, he needed to focus on a different task. This was merely a small blunder among the numerous things he had going through his head. Besides, he could always ask her during regular school time.

"It's finally time, huh… let's get this over with!"

『☆ Anti-Unit Offensive Technique; Pure Natura: Enhancement』 he focused all his energy into his fist 『Heavy Impact』 and punched it.

BOOM!!! The whole pile just instantaneously 'exploded' and scattered everywhere in the direction of the punch.

If one were to look at the phenomenon in slow motion, the first few planks suffered huge cracks, which got smaller towards the end. Once the cracks reached the final plank, the entire pile broke up and were sent flying.

The planks in the further end fell in large pieces around Vicky, while the closer ones were just obliterated. The first plank? Basically turned into large rice grains.

As the dust particles spread everywhere, all the students reflexively opened their eyes wide and their jaws dropped! Maybe some even had snot dripping out of their noses? Even Claude was surprised, "No way! He punched away 20 of them… just like that?!" he muttered under his breath.

"Ah, sorry. I guess I went overboard."

"That's not impossible, you know," Igichi explained, "It's actually easier to break them like that than if they were piled up vertically. Unlike the latter, he doesn't have the floor as an extra obstacle in this case. I wonder if he pretended to not be able to jump that high on purpose."

"Coach, so I pass?"

"If you mean the offense test, yes. But you still have another one to go."

He dropped the bombshell. Initially, the plan was to learn Material Natura, to avoid the double tests. Performing techniques that weren't an extension of his own body was not his specialty. So stuff like telekinesis was out of the question.

However, that had ended in a failure. He was trying to learn the wrong type and thus suffered a shortage of time. He thought that maybe providing groundbreaking results could grant him a sliver of hope. But it turned out that—

"About that… well, um……I can't."

The crowd gasped and stood confused. "What? He can't?" Ryan asked, all surprised.

"Did he use up all his energy with just that one punch?" (Sami)

"No, that's not the case. We had two weeks to learn Material Natura. His first was wasted in trying to learn the wrong type. And it would've been impossible to do it in the remaining time. So he dedicated his final week purely excelling in his offensive capabilities."

"But he's gonna fail like this!" (Ryan)

"It can't be helped." (Shin)

"No way. Even after all that, he'll…" (Sami)

The coach sighed, "It seems I have no other choice then," and he picked up his red pen.

"Please, coach! Isn't there any other way?! Anything!" Diavolo desperately requested slamming his hand on his table.

"No. Rules are rules."

Diavolo clicked his tongue. All hopes seemed lost. If he failed this test, there wouldn't even be any meaning in calling out to Suzume in later days. It's almost as if she knew that he won't succeed and hence decided not to make an appearance. But—

"Don't be like that, Coach!" Igichi broke the gloomy atmosphere as he walked towards the subject of attention, "We still have 'that' option, don't we? Just let him do what you let me do!" he said in a jolly tone.

"That was an exception! And you were a first year back then! He's a second year!" the coach got annoyed.

"Even so, that was the finals. Moreover, he's just a new student. It's remarkable he was able to come this far in just a month's time."

"His friends were able to learn Material Natura by this month. Yet you still want to side with him?"

"Side with him? Now that's just cruel. Come on, Coach. Consider this a favour before your favourite student leaves the city, 'kay? After what he just demonstrated, as a senior, I just can't bear to watch my junior fail like this!" he displayed a disappointed act.

"What are you talking about?" Diavolo finally asked, lost.

"It's an optional test given in exceptional cases. Whether you pass or fail depends on your aptitude for Natura. A special meter is used that measures how much energy you can maintain. If you meet the minimum requirements, you pass! Simple, right?"

"Tch! Sometimes I wish you would just stay quiet," the coach sighed, "Fine, then. After all's been said, I'd lose my job if I didn't give him a chance. If you can bring the reading up to a 1000, you pass, got it?! Vicky! Bring that contraption over!"

"Is that a lot?" Diavolo asked.

"Hm? Ah, it's the minimum aptitude needed to be able to use Material Natura. Rest assured and simply give it your all! I'm sure you'll do great!" Igichi cheered him on.

The device was brought over and wires were taped onto Diavolo. How the machine worked? One simply needed to power up oneself with as much energy as possible! That easy!

Igichi giggled, "Even for very skilled individuals, concentrating virtually ALL their energy in a single part of their body is impossible. Hence, if someone can throw a punch like that, it's pretty much settled that you can produce far more energy! Now show me… ! Why is Suzume so interested in you!"

Once everything was prepared, Diavolo was given the green signal. He took a deep breath and, voosh, enveloped himself in the energy. Without a delay, the reading jumped to a thousand very easily. It was fluctuating between 1003~1005.

The coach gave a very unenthusiastic look, "O~kay. This settles it. You p—"

"I'm not done yet!" he interrupted and seemed to clench all his body muscles. "Hngh!" and the meter reading quickly rose! 1100. 1300. 1600. 1900. "HAAAAHH!!!!" 2200. 2500!

"H-hey wait! You already passed!" Vicky panicked.

"No, let him be," the coach's lips curled up in a devious smile.

"Yeah, he's not gonna listen anyway. He's completely determined to give it his all. He doesn't care about the grades," Igichi seemed to respect his determination.

"But… if he goes too far, the machine will break!"

"It's fine. The school will pay for the expenses. Remember? Breaking stuff doesn't matter if it's worth impressive results…"

"HHAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!" and the meter shot up to 5000 and gave off sparks.

"Okay, okay. Stop. It's no use going up any further. The meter is already at its limit." Hearing that, Diavolo calmed down.

A very obvious and predictable response, but yes, the students' jaws dropped yet again, except for Shin and Yukio. Unlike the rest, these two weren't familiar with such numbers, so they weren't bothered.

"He broke it." (Ryan) "Yeah, he broke it." (Sami) "I think he's pissing me off." (Todd)

"Well, I guess that settles it! Congratulations!" Igichi winked.

"HEY! Wait a minute!" the female coach shrieked, "What was that?! That wasn't Natura at all!!" and all eyes were darting here and there out of confusion.

"Oh~? I see you noticed as well, ma'am..." the male coach grinned.

"Eh? What? What do you mean?" was not a question only Daivolo had in mind.

"Young man, I'll tell you something interesting. You already know what Natura is, right? It's energy you can control and use from your surroundings. But till now, have you ever thought, no, felt that you were doing such a thing?"

Diavolo took a moment, "I… don't quite understand, but I'm guessing the answer should be a 'no'? It just comes out normally for me…"

"Heh, I bet it does. After all, that wasn't energy from the environment, but your very own power. Why don't you take it from here, ma'am?"

"That's right! Natura always requires you to draw energy from your surroundings. If certain levels of expertise is reached, it is possible for people to sense that the energy from around them is being drawn in by a source, as in, a person. However!" she pointed at Diavolo with a panicked expression, "With that much energy being used, it is absolutely impossible for us instructors to not sense the scarcity of Natura around us! And yet… we didn't feel a thing like that! That was definitely not Natura!!"

All eyes were on Diavolo now. "That's right, young man," the male coach continued with a satisfied smile, "What you are using is not Natura. It is…"

"It is…" the female coach added.

""Raze!!""

The silence in the gym was no more. Students who knew what it was were gasping as their eyes widened at their utmost surprise. Ignorant students kept urging their neighbors what the commotion was about, while some who wished to confirm what they had just heard, spoke out—

"Raze? You mean the energy that is called upon from one's own self, their soul?!" "The energy that is known to have quality higher than that of Natura?!" "The energy that doesn't have such environmental limits like Natura does...which is basically an endless supply?! THAT Raze?!!!"

Diavolo got a little nervous and couldn't grasp at what was being spoken about. But he could more or less guess that Raze was something really amazing.

"Listen, young man. Right now we don't have much time, so I'll leave the explanations to the Rose girl. But know this. To be able to use so much Raze so freely at such an early stage, you are truly a lucky man. Just make sure you utilize this gift to its utmost potential, and I'm sure you'll turn into an unbelievable… 'monster', should I say?"

"Y-yes...understood..."

"Hey, hey! You need to sound more happy than that! This Igichi right here was only able to use it recently, right?"

"I feel like I lost somehow," Igichi sighed, "But yes. About over a month ago. It was quite difficult, I must say."

"That's right! Oh, but don't let it get to your head, okay? The fact that you did it so early is the only thing special. The world is filled with Raze users. Us instructors can use it too, by the way!"

"Wait, what about my reading?"

"Hm? Just as you saw, the meter's limit is at 5000," Igichi explained, "But at the rate you were going, I'd guess you went up to around 7000 or so. What do you think, Claude?"

But he was not there anymore. "Ah, he's gone…"

Claude, who left the gym, frustrated, punched on the hallway wall near the staircase. "Shit! I'm getting excited! But I'll admit, this is also kind of irritating! Power level over 5000 and he doesn't know Material Natura yet?! And what the fuck?! He can use Raze?!! What's up with that?!"

A memory was triggered.

「"What will you do once you become stronger?" (William)

"Huh? What's that supposed to mean, ya shitty old man?!" Claude gave an evil smile, "I'm becoming strong because I want to! That's just it!"

"Then I suggest you wait. Right now, you're just a lost pup wandering around without any destination. You're growing all alone. But someday, there will come a person who'll put you in your place."

"What nonsense are you spouting? Aren't you gonna get back at me because of Hannah?"

"It's true that I can't forgive you for what you did to my granddaughter, but rest assured. It's not up to me to teach you a lesson. Now hurry up and get out of here! Never return to our house!"

"Don't worry. The next time I set foot on this land, it'll be when I destroy it!"」

Claude now stared down at the empty school field.

"Daivolo Signore…" and he made an outright vicious expression! Eyes open as if enjoying a scene of massacre. A grin so large, almost all his teeth were visible. The ends of his mouth made very prominent folds on his cheeks. Veins protruded from his forehead and clenched fist.

"I'll make sure that I crush you…nice and slow!!"