Chapter 8:

General Assembly (part2: Hasta la vista)

The OCTAGRAM's CLASSROOM

Later that night...

Akira and Goro headed toward Chikao's room at 9 PM, on the dot.

"No, no, no, no, no!! Stop!!" Goro yelled loudly in the middle of Chikao's room.

"Huh? What's wrong?" Chikao asked.

"Stop this already! This is ridiculous!" Goro repeated himself, louder.

"I don't understand what you're trying to tell us. Why are you making such a fuss over something like this?! It doesn't matter how many people there are! It's just a game!" Akira stood up as he replied.

"A game?"

"Yes, a game. Truth or dare."

"Truth or dare?"

"Yeah, that's it. It's just a game, a simple game. So, stop being so weird!"

"I am not 'weird'!" Goro protested. "I am not the kind of person who would play a silly game like that!"

"We agreed to play this game to kill some time until Kamitani arrives, right?" Akira asked.

"Right..."

"Well, whatever," Chikao shrugged.

"I get it now! You're trying to hide something! Maybe you need to confess to somebody? Or maybe you're trying to lose weight? Or how about this? Maybe you're trying to ask someone out?" Akira took a few steps toward the exit. Then, suddenly, he swiftly turned to face the two boys who were following him with their eyes. "By the way, I noticed something interesting today during the lecture!"

"You did?!"

"Yup! And it's really amazing!"

Goro and Chikao exchanged glances before turning back to Akira. The boy had a huge grin on his face, which made both of them feel uneasy.

"What happened?" they asked simultaneously.

"Well, Goro beat a new record today. He kept staring at Cindra for 15 minutes straight."

"That's... Anticlimactic..." Goro whispered.

Goro gazed at the ceiling above them. He lost interest in both the game and the conversation.

He sighed once, then twice.

He looked at his watch to check the time, and then, finally, asked, "Is this game going to end soon?"

"Of course! It only takes a few seconds to finish!" Akira answered.

"Then let's go back to our rooms," Goro suggested. "Kamitani won't be coming, probably. He's been so busy lately..."

"We've already waited for about 30 minutes," Akira replied. "We can surely wait for another 10 minutes."

"Okay..." Goro looked at his watch again, then continued. "Kamitani is having a rough time lately. He has to attend extra classes alone. Baal is giving him a run for his money."

"Is he really that bad at studying?" Akira asked. "I thought he was expelled because of his behaviour."

"That's correct," Goro nodded. "But he wasn't expelled from the school. He was expelled from the dorm. At the beginning of the year, he got into a fight with a boy in the dormitory. He was sent to the disciplinary committee, and then to the principal's office."

"He probably has his reasons," Chikao added. "What about you? How did you end up in this situation?"

"I was expelled too." Goro stood up as he continued the explanation. "I didn't attend school for two months straight. The dean called me to her office. I wasn't allowed to come back to school after that. My parents were furious, but they couldn't do anything about it. They still support me financially, though."

"I..." Chikao paused, trying to find the words to explain what had happened.

"This is getting quite awkward," Akira commented. "I think we should continue the game."

"Agreed," Chikao said. "Are you sure you don't want to join us Goro?"

"I'm fine..." Goro smiled.

As he was about to finish his sentence, a strange light appeared in the middle of the room.

"Oh, look! There's something on the ceiling!"

The three boys looked up to see a small ball of light floating above them.

"What is that?!"

"It looks like a star," Chikao speculated.

"Maybe it's a sign," Akira suggested.

"No, it's not a sign! It's a magic spell!"

Goro stared at the ball of light. He knew that he had seen it somewhere before. But where?

A memory flashed across his mind as he realized the gravity of the situation. "This is a summoning orb! What's going on here?"

Suddenly, the ball of light vanished.

"Huh?"

Akira and Chikao gazed at the empty space.

"Where did it go?! That orb was there just a second ago!"

"Did you cast a spell or something?" Akira asked.

"Summoning orbs are usually cast from a distance. In other words, the caster isn't in this room," Goro explained.

Seconds later, the orb reappeared. It emitted a strong highly concentrated energy as it started to grow bigger and bigger.

"W-What is it doing?!"

"It's manifesting!"

Goro, Akira, and Chikao glanced at each other. None of them could figure out what was going on.

At last, the orb became so large it completely covered the ceiling.

The light emitted obliged them to cover their eyes for a brief moment. That was the moment were the orb finally materialized into a beautiful creature.

"Wow!"

"What is it?"

"Look closely!"

Goro took a step forward. As he peered into the orb, he saw the face of a young girl. Her hair resembled a bird's nest, and she wore a dress made of feathers. She was wearing a necklace around her neck.

"Who is that?" Chikao asked.

"An angel? Or maybe a demon?" Akira suggested.

The summoned creature gazed at the three boys for a brief moment, then said. "You're not the ones who summoned me!"

"This is bad! Guys, prepare for battle!" Goro shouted as he drew his sword.

"Damn it!"

Chikao pulled out his magical gun.

"Let's go!"

Akira unsheathed his katana.

All three boys charged toward the orb. When the boys were near enough, the angel turned to face them. A beam of light shot from her hand, which struck Goro's chest. The impact sent him flying through the air.

"G-Goro!" Akira ran to help his friend.

"Stay back!"

Goro picked himself up and immediately charged at the angel once more.

"A little warning next time!"

"Don't worry about it. I'll take care of her."

Another beam of light shot from the orb, striking Akira. This time, it hit Chikao as well. Their bodies started to hurt, and they fell unconscious.

"Damn it!"

"Who the f**k did summon this angel this late at night?!"

"She wants us dead!"

"You better be careful, Goro!"

Goro quickly aimed his sword at the orb again. The angel shifted her position to get behind him. The orb suddenly released a burst of energy, hitting Goro in the shoulder.

"Ow!"

Goro stumbled backward, trying to recover his balance.

"Ahhh!"

The angel flew forward and launched another attack. Another beam of light shot from her hand. But Goro dodged the attack and swung his sword at her. The blade cut through the orb, sending a powerful shock wave throughout the room.

"Damn!"

The orb disappeared, but the angel didn't. Instead, she transformed into a bat-like monster and flew straight toward Goro.

"Foolish boy!"

The angel swiped at Goro with her claws, but he dodged her attack and countered with his sword.

"Haah!"

He sliced the beast's wings.

"You're no match for me!"

But the angel quickly regained her composure and fired a stream of fireballs at Goro. He narrowly escaped the blasts by rolling away.

"I've got you now!"

"Come on!"

The angel jumped into the air and attacked with her claws again. Goro, however, avoided her attacks effortlessly and continued to slash at her.

Akira, meanwhile, struggled to stay awake.

"Goro! Help me!"

Goro tried to get closer to the angel so he could slice her head off. At the same time, he also needed to protect Akira.

Chikao was still unconscious. If not for the magic gun, he would've been toast already.

"You can't kill me! You're no match for my power!"

The angel unleashed another blast of energy from her hands.

"Hugh!"

Goro blocked the attack with his sword.

"Goro!"

"Take care of the angel!"

"Yes!"

Akira watched the battle silently as he recovered from the angel's attack. He couldn't believe that Goro was able to fight toe to toe against a rampaging angel.

"One more time!"

"Too far!"

The angel flew farther into the air and started to circle around Goro.

"I am an angel of . . ."

The angel stopped talking when she noticed something strange: Goro had lost his sword.

"BURN INTO ASHES!"

The angel turned toward the source of the sound.

Kamitani had appeared out of nowhere. He was standing in the middle of the room.

"I thought you invited me to hang out, not to fight rampaging angels!"

Set on fire, the angel charged mindlessly toward Kamitani

"Tch! What a tough creature!"

Kamitani raised his right arm. He looked at the angel with a smile on his face.