The Talentless Boy Who Challenged the Devil

CHAPTER TEN:THE AWAKENING

The blade sank deeper.

The attacker withdrew his weapon, thrust it deep into him again and watched Kael's body collapse.

Another student screamed somewhere behind him, but the sound grew distant. The battle, the explosions, and the cries of the wounded slowly faded into silence.

Suddenly, Kael's eyes remained open for a moment.

He tried to breathe, but his chest felt cold; his limbs refused to move, and the world above him blurred into darkness.

In that darkness, everything stopped, but deep within him, something stirred.

A low rumble travelled through the darkness, and he swore he heard the voice clearly in his head.

"Is he dead?"

He felt another voice answer, calm and gentle.

"His body is failing, and the wound is too severe."

"Then what are we waiting for?" the first voice snapped. "Get up! If he dies here, we remain trapped inside him forever!!"

"Thorne, shouting will not change his condition."

"And your calmness will not save him, Madden!"

A brief silence followed.

"Miguel," Madden said, "can you reach him?"

"I am trying."

Then a faint silver light flickered in the darkness.

"Kael," Miguel called softly. "Can you hear me?"

Thorne growled.

"Stop speaking to him as though he can hear you! His heart has stopped!"

"I know," Miguel replied. "But I can still feel him."

"Then do something!"

"I cannot force his body to move while his life is slipping away."

Madden remained silent for a moment before speaking.

"We have been inside him for eighteen years. We have watched him suffer, watched him struggle, and watched him believe he was powerless because our former host had started using his powers at birth, which is why plenty of enemies surrounded him, but if we continue waiting, there may be nothing left to save."

"Exactly!" Thorne roared. "Let me out. I will tear every one of those creatures apart!"

"You will destroy his body in the process," Miguel warned.

"His body is already dying!"

"Enough," Madden interrupted.

And the darkness trembled.

"We cannot keep hiding. He is too weak to awaken us himself, but if we remain dormant, he will die. We must force our power through him."

Miguel hesitated.

"It could overwhelm him."

"It could also save him."

Thorne gave a low, impatient growl.

"Finally, someone is making sense."

"Listen to me," Madden continued. "We will not take control of his existence. We will lend him what his body cannot yet summon. He must remain the one who fights."

"Then stop wasting time!" Thorne snapped.

The three presences began to vibrate.

And a strange force started gathering deep within Kael's chest, spreading through his veins like lightning beneath the skin.

Outside, the enemies were already rounding up survivors to be taken into slavery. Bodies littered the ground, a grim reminder of the bloodshed that had unfolded. Those still alive were forced to march with their hands bound tightly behind their backs, their faces etched with grief and despair.

Some wept openly, mourning the loved ones they had lost. Others struggled to hold back their tears, their trembling lips and reddened eyes betraying the pain they desperately tried to conceal. 

They started looking back when they saw the ground trembling below them, and soon they traced it to Kael.

The ground started shaking violently, and a faint sound came from him.

Kael's fingers twitched.

A thin line of crimson light travelled from the wound in his chest toward his shoulder. His blood, which had spread across the stones, began moving backwards, gathering beneath his body.

The blade wound remained open, and air grew heavy, making the protective runes surrounding the courtyard flicker wildly, and every magical weapon in the vicinity began to vibrate.

Then Kael inhaled.

It was a sharp, violent breath, as though he had been dragged out of the deepest part of the ocean.

Suddenly his eyes snapped open. They were no longer ordinary; one was now crimson red and the other blue.

For one brief moment, they glowed with an unfamiliar light.

Then the enemy started stepping backwards.

"What..." one of them struggled to form a word as his legs shook.

Kael slowly lifted his head.

Inside him, the voices spoke again.

"He's awake," Miguel whispered.

"About time," Thorne growled.

Madden's voice remained steady.

"Kael, listen carefully. You cannot fight them with the strength you have always known. Let us guide you."

Kael struggled to push himself upright, and his chest burned

But he wasn't even paying attention to them. His eyes were solely on the enemies, especially the one who had struck him.

With slow, calculated steps, he started moving towards them.

The enemies started recovering from shock one after the other, and the attacker's sword came down toward his head.

But before it could reach him, Kael's body moved.

He shifted sideways with impossible speed, allowing the blade to cut through empty air. His hand caught the attacker's wrist, twisted it sharply, and sent the weapon spinning across the courtyard.

“Arghhhhhh”, he grunted in raw pain.

But he wasn't done with him yet. He drove his elbow into his jaw, and a crack sounded.

Kael followed with a sweeping kick that struck his legs, sending him crashing onto his back before raising his sword and bringing it down on his neck. Separating it from his neck completely.

He looked at the head as it rolled, then down at his own hands, which were now covered with blood; he began realizing he had not moved like that before.

"Don't admire yourself yet," Thorne snapped inside him"There are more!"

Three enemies rushed toward him from different directions.

Kael raised his head.

The first swung a heavy axe. Kael ducked beneath it, stepped inside the attacker's reach, and struck his ribs with the heel of his palm.

Before the man could recover, Kael seized his shoulder and threw him into the second attacker.

The third launched a dark spear of magic.

Kael turned instinctively.

And a spear passed close enough to tear through his sleeve.

He extended his hand and the space before him rippled.

For a fraction of a second, the spear seemed to lose its direction before vanishing into a distortion in the air.

Kael blinked.

"What was that?"

"Space shifting," Miguel replied. "Keep moving!"

Another attacker approached from behind.

Kael turned, but the man was already swinging.

A sudden force erupted from Kael's back.

Two enormous wings of pale light unfolded behind him, scattering dust and broken stones across the courtyard.

The attacker froze, and Kael smirked at him.

He swept one wing forward, sending the man crashing into a nearby wall.

The remaining enemies hesitated.

Their confidence had begun to disappear.

"Who is he?"

"Don't let him move!" Their leader yelled

They attacked together.

Kael stood in the middle of the courtyard as dark magic gathered around him.

"Thorne," Madden called.

"I know!"

A strange sensation spread through Kael's arms.

His hearing sharpened.

He could hear the movement of every foot against the stone, the whisper of weapons cutting through the air, and even the faint breathing of enemies hiding behind the smoke.

One attacker leapt toward him.

Kael turned before the man reached him.

He caught the incoming blade between his palms, twisted his wrists, and broke the weapon in two.

Then he drove his knee into the attacker's stomach and sent him flying backwards.

Another enemy summoned a circle of dark flames beneath Kael's feet.

"Jump!" Miguel warned.

Kael sprang into the air.

His wings opened fully, lifting him above the flames.

For the first time, he was not struggling to keep up with the people around him.

He was moving faster than they could follow.

He descended with his fist drawn back.

The impact sent a shockwave through the courtyard, throwing several enemies off their feet.

The ground cracked beneath them.

Kael landed in the middle of the destruction, his chest rising and falling.

He could feel the power inside him.

It was enormous.

And yet, he barely understood how to use it.

"Focus," Madden instructed in his head again. "You are not fighting with ordinary strength anymore."

A towering attacker emerged through the smoke, his body covered in dark armour. He carried a massive blade that glowed with black energy.

He raised his weapon.

The air around him twisted as dark magic gathered along its edge.

Kael planted his feet.

And the attacker charged, their weapons colliding.

The impact sent a violent wave through the courtyard, scattering debris and forcing the nearby students to shield their faces.

The enemy swung again.

Kael ducked, allowing the blade to pass above him, then struck the man's knee with a precise kick. As the attacker stumbled, Kael caught his arm, twisted beneath it, and drove his shoulder into the man's chest.

Then the remaining enemies rushed him.

Kael stepped forward.

He moved through them like a storm.

He dodged incoming blades, redirected attacks, and struck with a precision that seemed impossible for someone who had never demonstrated such skill. When enemies surrounded him, he shifted through space and appeared behind them. When dark magic threatened to overwhelm him, he summoned barriers of light that shattered the attacks before they reached him.

One by one, the attackers fell.

Some were thrown against the walls. Others collapsed beneath the force of his strikes. Those who tried to flee found themselves trapped by invisible barriers.

The last group gathered near the eastern passage.

Their leader looked at the destruction around them.

"Retreat!"

They turned to run.

But Kael stared at the ground beneath them, and it swallowed them whole.

And then, finally, there was silence.

Kael stood among the fallen enemies.

His wings remained spread, but their light had begun to fade.

He looked around the courtyard, and his lips parted as he tried to catch his breath.

But he could not take a breath when his knees buckled, his sword slipped from his hand, and he fell forward.

His wings disappeared before his body struck the ground, and his entire body felt as though every bone had been emptied of strength.

"He used too much power," Thorne growled. "His body was never ready for this."

Kael's eyes slowly closed, and the voices faded in his head, collapsing into darkness once more.

*****

A sharp medicinal smell invaded his nostrils.

It was a mixture of antiseptic, rubbing alcohol, and bitter herbs that invaded his senses, and Kael's nose twitched. He inhaled again, only to grimace at the unpleasant scent.

His eyelids fluttered before slowly opening.

Pale morning light slipped through the infirmary windows, falling across the unfamiliar ceiling.

For a moment, he simply stared, trying to move, but a dull ache spread through his chest, forcing a quiet groan from his lips. His head throbbed painfully, and his body felt unusually heavy, as though he had been dragged through a hundred battles.

He slowly pushed himself up, wincing as the movement pulled at his chest, his gaze wandering around the room.

White curtains hung between the beds, while the faint smell of herbs lingered beneath the sharp antiseptic scent.

His brows drew together.

Then his hand instinctively moved to his chest.

A thick bandage covered the spot where the weapon had pierced him. His uniform was gone, replaced with a clean set of clothes.

Then, his eyes shifted to the bed beside him.

A boy around his age lay there, watching him.

He had a rather delicate appearance, with smooth, fair skin, soft features, and long lashes that made his eyes look almost feminine. His slightly tousled hair framed a pretty face, giving him a gentle, almost girlish aura that contrasted with the usual rough appearance of the academy's male students.

The boy blinked when their eyes met.

Kael stared at him for a second, still struggling to make sense of his surroundings.

"What happened?”