Elemental Zodiack

Chapter 11: The results of the training

"Have you heard?"

"About...?"

"The potential fall of Black Cross in Dinsfurd."

"...What makes you think that?"

"I saw it... The potential fall. Moreover, the main threat is the apparition of a troublesome existence. A kid..."

"A kid...?"

"More than a kid... A potential monster. It's going to be so exciting... New times are coming!"

 ---Yoso's house, Dinsfurd Kingdom

 Just after waking up, Yoso ran straight towards the living room of his house, hoping to find someone that could answer the questions he had at the moment.

"What happened?! Is everyone fine?!"

 Rushing to his living room, he finds Kein's group, as well as Laure in the jacuzzi. Saki Kurata was also here, standing on the sofa next to them, waiting for Yoso's return. 

"What... happened?" says Shouko while not knowing how to answer Yoso's desperate question assault

"Welcome back, Yoso!" says Laure

"You've become better, kid," says Kein while waving with a smile

 However, Yoso looked at Kein and couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"Yeah... You changed a lot too, mister Kein. Or should I say... kid?"

 Hearing this response, Shizuo tears up and starts laughing like he never did before.

"Wahaha! He called you 'kid'! I told you this is going to happen, Kein!"

"Shut up..."

 In the four year gap in which Yoso and Kein didn't see each other, Yoso started growing and becoming more muscular, mainly because of his long training, while Kein didn't get to get much taller. ( Yoso - 174 cm | Kein - 160 cm)

"Mister Kein... What happened with the bet?"

"Bet?" many people ask while not exactly knowing what they are talking about

"Don't worry about it... You didn't lose. But thinking about the circumstances, you actually might be the loser. What in the world did you think by using such a skill?"

"I wanted to finish this faster, and I also don't like losing bets."

"I bet it's former in 9 out of 10 of the situations," thinks Kein

"Yoso, get ready and come here, we have to talk."

 This time, it was Laure's turn to break into the conversation, telling Yoso to get into the jacuzzi. At least, he didn't throw him in with his clothes on.

 After he joined them in the jacuzzi, Laure approached him and put his hands on his shoulders.

"You've grown stronger, Yoso..."

"Thank you! I am ready to take on Authorania!"

"I am afraid that it's not the best time for this. Even though you are stronger, it might still be troublesome to fight Authorania at this stage. Also... We can't ignore the problem with the Black Cross anymore."

"I will defeat them! It will be a piece of cake if they are all as weak as the last group."

"On the first hand, you are not allowed to fight them now. This is a problem regarding Authorania, which mean that you shouldn't be allowed to face it now, as easy as it might look to you."

"This means...?"

"Yes... You should get prepared to fight the Zodiacks, and just after beating them, we will launch our attack on the Black Cross."

"The Zodiacks... this means?"

"Yes..." Kein breaks into the conversation to clarify Yoso's thoughts now

"You are going to fight me, Yoso! Be prepared..."

"Kein... How in the world did you become a Zodiack?! You should be some really awesome person to become one, right?!"

"I don't understand if you are praising me, or are making fun of me... I became a Zodiack two years ago, after defeating the former Gemini Zodiack. He was a Nature affinity user, so my wind had the upper hand from the beginning."

"So you challenged someone that you had an advantage on? Lame..."

"What should I have done? He was prepared to step down from his position since he was pretty old. He was one of the first-ever Zodiack's in existence."

"I see... So, when will I fight mister Kein?! Now? I am prepared!"

"Didn't you literally faint a few hours ago by exhaustion?!" shouts Shizuo after showing towards his back

"His back is probably still hurting since he had to carry you all the way," says Shouko

"I am perfectly fine right now!"

"Of course you are... Your healing power was obvious from the very beginning, however, you shouldn't neglect your time of recovery," says Saki from the couch

"You and Shimada will have your fight tomorrow morning, at the school grounds where you took the final exam against me. Until then, both of you rest a bit..."

"Yes, sir."

 And so, the group left aside the problem of Yoso's fight with Kein and started talking about Yoso's adventures in Melyndor, and the results of his training. He was talking modestly about the results of this training though, where Kein and Saki denied all the time.  This is how they spent their night after Yoso's arrival, just before the day of the first fight with an actual Zodiack.

 --- The training grounds of the Dinsfurd Military Academy

 Lots of students and novice soldiers gathered around the training field, to witness the fight of the Wind Zodiack, Kein Shimada and a face they have never seen until now. There were also several figures that recognized Yoso.

"Is that... that guy?" says a sole girl with a hood on while looking from between the big group of people

 Other students and also novice soldiers around Kein, Shouko and Shizuo's age were all talking about the possible results of the fight, of course in the favour of Kein, since nobody knew Yoso's strength or who he was.

"We are witnessing an actual battle of the youngest Zodiack in the kingdom!"

"Who is the other guy though? They seem to be the same age..."

"Who cares... If it's like this, then he doesn't have a chance against the Wind Zodiack."

 Facing the crowd, Yoso tells Kein:

"I don't feel like many people are by my side in this fight... Every time I fought in Melyndor, they were all cheering for me."

"This is going to change today, Yoso. After seeing your true colours, they will be cheering for you as well."

"I don't feel it. It seems that you are pretty popular among those guys. I am really invidious of you, not gonna lie."

"This has nothing to do with being popular. People tend to respect the strong ones, that's how it always was..." says Kein while seeing the image of his brother, seeing him from behind...

"Kein!"

"Huh?"

"I am not going to lose... So give me the best you've got!" shouts Yoso, loud enough to make everyone hear him

"Yeah! Don't lose too fast... Yoso!" shouts Kein just as loud as Yoso

  "Let the fight between Kein Shimada and... Yoso Edroch, start!"

"Edroch?"

"He has the same name as the principal?"

 Many of the spectators were questioning Yoso's name since they didn't know it until now. Laure didn't ever make the announcement of having a son, so nobody actually knew about Yoso's existence.

"Here I come, Kein!" says Yoso while drawing his catalyst from its sheath

"Yes, give me a good fight..." responds Kein while readying his steel claws

 Yoso charges at Kein with regular speed, getting ready to strike him with his sword, but his attacks being easily evaded by Kein's incredible speed.

"Spirit of Zephyr!"

 Kein creates a huge wind spear and launches it towards Yoso, but Yoso easily evades it while running towards Kein, at the same pace.

"Aren't you going to be serious?" asks Kein while assaulting Yoso with continuous wind attacks, which he evades every time at a narrow margin.

"What do you mean? I am serious!" and so, Yoso leaps towards Kein and strikes him with his sword, however, Kein evades by jumping backwards and going up in the air, throwing another barrage of wind blades towards Yoso.

"Are those steel claws just for decoration, Kein? Come back here!"

"No... I don't think I will. No matter how you put it, I am at a disadvantage in melee range."

 The spectators are looking at the scene dumbfounded, watching Yoso evading Kein's attack, without any means to attack him."

"Umm... Is that sword just for show?"

"He didn't cast any spell until now... Didn't he?"

 The voices could reach Yoso's ears, but he simply chose to ignore them, and keep going at the same pace.

"Didn't you say that you wanted me to go all-out?! What are you doing?!" shouts Kein, irritated by Yoso's decision to not use his powers at all.

"I am doing my best! For me, you are the one that isn't trying at all! I am completely unscratched."

"If this is how you are going to act... I might as well finish this before it even starts!" shouts Kein with an irritated figure

"True Wind Magic: Never-Ending Cyclone!"

"I-Is that? My old catalyst!?" shouts Yoso

"It was... I adjusted it after Mister Principal gave it to me!"

"Well... I am glad! You finally chose to fight me with all you've got!"

"Huh?! You are the one that didn't do anything at all until now! It's too late to think about it now!"

"Yeah, that's true. This is too large-scaled for me to evade it now. That means... I will face it head-on!"

"What...?"

"Thunder Element Original Style: Blue Lighting!"

 Yoso's hair and eyes changed colour for the first time in the entire fight, the shining yellow being the first colour they changed to.

"I am sorry that I am using this against you... But you are not an opponent I could take easy."

And so, Yoso's Blue Lightning nullified Kein's Never-Ending Cyclone, and missed him by just a millimetre, leaving a small scratch onto his cheek.

"So you're finally taking action!"

"It might be too late, but I might give you the fight that you wanted, Kein."

 After saying this, Yoso charges at Kein with his thunder affinity and hits Kein with the lateral part of his sword, thus making him lose balance.

"I thought I could evade it... What did just...?"

"As I thought. You are having a hard time adapting to my speed now since you saw me at regular speed until this point."

"So this is what he was doing... He wasn't just limit-testing, he was making me underestimate his thunder speed by going with his regular speed for extended periods." thinks Kein

 Kein uses his wind magic on the ground to propel himself up and take distance.

"I think it's time I go for some melee as well. Wind Style: Hunter's claws!"

 Kein empowers his steel claws making them look longer and sharper and engages in hand to hand combat with Yoso. Even though Yoso managed to block Kein's steel Claws, there was no way he could block the wind so he got a few scratches on his hands.

"Wow, this is a cool fighting style. Way better than until now," says Yoso after backing up a few metres

      "Show me what you've got... Yoso!"