Chapter 4:

Lust's Decree and the Fool's Awakening

"This… this is the school, right?" the blonde boy asked.

Revland looked at the sign for what he assumed was for the school, it read 'Shujin Academy' and gestured to it. "Well according to the sign, it would appear to be so…" Revland stared up at the battlements and saw an odd banner that had a symbol he didn't recognize.

"Though, I don't think that's the school's sigil." Revland said as he pointed to where he saw the banners hanging. They were of a red fabric laced with silver edging with a symbol in the middle. The symbol was white circle with a yellow one in the middle and a black band across the middle as if it was wrapped around it.

"You have any idea what that is?" Revland asked.

"Not a fuckin' clue…" the boy responded.

"Well, if this is the school… shouldn't we head inside?"

"Then pretend like nothing crazy is actually happening."

"And if it isn't?"

"Then I get my wish and go home…"

The boys started towards the castle and realized that there was no way to get to the castle proper as a thirty-foot drop to a moat surrounded the castle.

"Ah, would you look at that, no way in, guess that means we can just turn around and go… well fuck me…"

As the young man trailed off, the draw bridge lowered as if welcoming them. "Guess you had to go and open your big mouth didn't ya...?" Revland prodded.

A glare that Revland swore could melt ice was the guy's only response.

"Guess we have to go in now, don't we?" the blonde asked.

"You mean to tell me that you're not at all curious about this giant castle, in the middle of the city, that seemingly appearing out of thin air?"

"Not enough to find out what might be at the bottom of this drop."

Revland caught the nervousness in the young man's voice, He must not be a fan of heights… might be a good idea to divert his attention.

"You sure they aren't just holding a festival or something?"

"None that I know of and I don't think they would've been able to put something like this together this quickly."

"Well, let us storm the castle then… though it may take a miracle…" Revland stated with a small grin.

"I'd don't know about miracles but there doesn't seem to be anyone around." The blonde was saying as they crossed the bridge and entered the castle.

Revland sighed that his reference wasn't caught but it was a gem and about 40 years old at this point. At least it didn't go unnoticed last night… wait… oh shit, that means she knew what it meant… I think I might be in trouble…

Upon entering the castle, Revland was greeted with a sight of luxury. A velvet carpet went from the door to a large staircase, the floor was a black and white design that reminded Revland a lot of a chess board. For a moment, he could've sworn he just saw the entrance hall of the school come into focus before being replaced by the scene of the castle.

"Wait, did you see…?" he asked.

"See what?"

"I could've sworn that I just saw the school, but only for like a second."

"Well, other than the sign outside, this doesn't seem like any school I've ever been in."

Revland heard clanking metal coming from the hall to his right. A moment later, a figure immerged in bronze colored armor carrying a shield with a red cross emblazoned on it and a sword that was as long as Revland was tall. The whole outfit looked really authentic and the sword looked awfully sharp.

I'd really hate to find out what that could do to the human body… Revland thought as he was subconsciously stepping back to the door sensing the danger.

The blonde seemed oblivious however, seeing the figure in armor and asked, "Hey cool suit, looks real as hell, are you a student?"

"You two are trespassing on our lords sacred ground, leave now or suffer the consequences."

Revland's curiosity got the better of him, "Your lord, who's your lord?"

"You had your chance naïve, now seize them at once! For the glory of our king!"

Hearing the summons, three more armed figures appeared behind them as if they came from the floor itself with the sole intention of cutting off their escape.

"Whoa now, we don't want any trouble we'll be leaving now." Revland said not taking his eyes of the guard's weapons each one of them carrying a sword similar to what the first guard was holding.

Now very aware of the danger, the young man placed his back to Revland's. "Hey, do you have a way of getting us out of here?"

"Not unless we want to be run through by one of those sharp looking swords they have."

"Well fuck that, I aint't dying here today man!" the blonde rushed one of the guards blocking the exit, knocking him to the floor. "Come on we gotta run!"

"Run where? Not like we have a lot of options here." Revland shouted

The pair turned toward the exit but had a guard on them within moments. The Blonde took a heavy blow to the stomach from the pummel of a sword that knocked the wind out of him, bringing him to the floor gasping for air, effectively removing him from the fight.

"Sure he may be bigger, but that means little if you know what you're doing. Use his size, his weight, anything you can get your hands on, FIGHT DAMN YOU!"

Revland didn't know who was guiding him at that moment. It sounded like his father's voice, but it didn't sound right.

Whoever it was, they have a point. This guy is twice my size if not more and he's dressed in full armor that looks bulky. So why not use it to my advantage. Revland surmised.

The guard in front of Revland tried to bash him with its shield. Seeing the attack coming, they hit only air as he side stepped the strike. Seeing his opportunity, Revland managed to trip up his opponent by sliding his foot between the guard's legs and, while rotating his body, pushed the guard's foot off-balanced allowing Revland to bring the guard to the ground by grabbing the collar of the armor and placing his other hand in the middle of its chest plate, while using his leg as a tripping point.

The ringing of heavy metal hitting the ground got the other guards attention. "This one has some fight in him…" one said eagerly. "We haven't had any real fun in quite some time." Said another with equal intensity. Revland, in a ready stance, faced the three others and looked to the young man on the floor who was still gasping for air.

We need to get out of here… but they're still blocking the way and I don't want to leave this guy behind…

"…I knew I choose well…"

Wait, who was that?

Is someone there?

With no further response, Revland focused on his efforts on the guards once more. To Revland's surprise, one of them stepped forward next to the blonde and spoke, "For some time we have waited for someone to challenge us and you haven't disappointed young one. However, we must abide by our lord's law and capture any and all intruders." The guard then placed it's sword by the blondes neck, "For the sake of your friend, I ask that you surrender."

"Hey, don't listen… get out… while you still..." the blonde stated weakly as any further protest was quieted by the guard placing his armored foot on the young man's back.

It didn't take long for him to come to a decision, "… Fine… you win…" as Revland placed his hands in the air surrendering. The guard laughed and stepped forward, the last thing Revland remembers is that of a golden gauntlet rushing towards him and stars exploding in his vision.


Ms. Kawakami was becoming impatient. School was supposed to start in a few minutes and Antrie was nowhere to be seen. Some of the student say they saw the delinquent transfer student on the train and that he gave off an aura of menace everywhere he went.

But those are just students gossiping as per usual, it's hard to discern fact from fiction at that point. But how did they all find out about his record?

She had heard from different students of Antrie's escapades on his short trip from his house to the school, they ranged from petty theft and mugging to outright murder.

I never got that impression of him when I saw him yesterday. But there was that look of malice when the principal was goading him but it was to see if he would kept himself in check. Other than that… he didn't seem like a bad kid.

The first bell rung for student to prepare for homeroom and slowly her irritation turned to worry.

Maybe he got lost? There was that train accident yesterday, maybe he fell behind? No, other student described him on the train and saw that he was nearby. Would it be better if he didn't show up at all?

This thought reminded her of another troubled student and how her worrying caused him to get himself killed. Taiki… Never again… Kawakami stood from her desk and walked to the door. I still can't help but wonder if he's alright.


"I think it's time for you to wake up…"

Revland's eye's fluttered opened, he saw that he was in a medieval looking cell complete with a brick interior and chained shackles embedded in the wall. The cell seemed to be used for storage judging by the presence of a few barrels or at least until recently.

"Oh thank Christ, you're alive!" a voice cut through the remaining fog.

His head still swimming from the blow, Revland tried to focus on the voice and found it belonged to the blonde boy that he met just before this mess started.

"Starting to wish I wasn't though." Revland stated weakly.

"They really did a number on you didn't they, you got one hell of a shiner."

"Shiner?" Revland reached up gingerly and felt his face but found that his glasses were missing. "Great, not here two fucking days and I already loose a pair of glasses."

"I mean it could be worse… you could be dead."

Revland sighed and nodded in acknowledgement of his point, things could most certainly have been worse than a broken or missing pair of glasses that could easily be replaced. "I guess you're right… I don't know your name yet do I… my name is Antrie, Revland Antrie."

The young man looked perplexed, "Kind of an odd time to be introducing ourselves isn't it?"

"Well as you just said, we were just about to be killed a moment ago. I don't know about you but I'd rather die in the presence of a friend than a stranger." Revland stated calmly.

The hell is wrong with this guy, a moment ago he was pissed about losing his glasses and now he's just so… so… calm… I mean he has a point. Ryuji thought to himself and nodded. "Guess you're right Antrie, My names Sakamoto, Ryuji Sakamoto."

"So with introductions out of the way, any idea how to get out of here?"

Revland stood from the cot and walked over to the bars to inspect them. They're made of iron… means breaking or bending them will be almost impossible if we don't have a lever, assuming they are weak enough to be manipulated. Revland's thoughts started to wonder thinking of possible solutions that would get the both of them out.

"I don't have a clue honestly, it seems like we've been locked in here and the bars look real enough that I don't think we be able to break them." Ryuji asked.

"Oh, they're real alright." Scratching one of the bars to cause them to ring. "Iron has a distinct ring to it and, if you know what to look for, tells you the quality of the metal. These are defiantly real, thick and well maintained so breaking out by force wouldn't be an option." Revland stated flatly.

"You got all that just from scratching one bar?" Ryuji asked incredulously.

"Dad was raised on a farm and took up blacksmithing at a young age." Revland said plainly. "He also taught me a few tricks on how to defend myself while using a weapon."

"So that explains what I saw back there, you knew how to fight them off and get away. So why didn't you?" Ryuji asked.

"Well we came in together so I figured we should get out together."

"You almost got yourself killed because you weren't leaving me behind… you hardly know me, are you stupid?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"You should have left me and saved yourself, it's what I would have done."

"Then for your sake, you should be glad I'm not you…" Revland said coldly.

Feeling embarrassed, Ryuji look to the floor. "… Okay look… obviously I'm not very good at this… just… thanks for saving my ass man…"

"Think nothing of it, we are both getting out of here… alive."

"You have a plan then?"

"Not yet but I'm sure I'll think of something."

As Revland finished his sentence, he heard several sounds coming from the corridor up ahead. Revland put up one had to cut off Ryuji's reply and cocked his ear in the direction of the oncoming noise.

It sounds like four individuals, three in armor and one that isn't judging by the foot falls. I think they're heading this way.

"Then I suggest you ready yourself for the coming bout."

You again, who are you?

"…"

Why so quiet, I know your there.

Before his mystery voice could respond, Revland had four figures stop in front of his cell. As he guessed, three of them were guards dressed in similar armor to the ones they saw earlier. The fourth member however was someone they knew but… wasn't possible.

"Here are the intruders my lord." The guard stated motioning to the two of them.

"How did vermin like this make it in to 'MY' castle?" A baritone voice asked.

"We don't know my lord, we are looking into the matter as we speak." The guard responded nervously.

"No matter, it's been a while since I had something new to play with…"

"No… you can't be… Kamoshida…?" Ryuji said not quite believing what he was seeing.

Kamoshida approached the cell but this person was different than the man Revland met just a few moments ago. His eyes were golden and all he was wearing was a red cape with a white fur trim that looked to have hearts glittering within it along with a pink speedo as well as a small crown on his head.

"You mean the guy you were telling me about, the perverted teacher?" Revland asked.

"Mind your tongue peasant, you are in my presence so you will refer to me as your king." Kamoshida stated giving Revland a glare.

If looks could kill…

"Sakamoto, I'm surprised you'd defy me again especially after I dealt with you so thoroughly." the king stated with a smirk.

"Look, we don't even know how we got here, we can just leave and never bother you again." Revland appealed.

"I don't remember asking for your opinion, matter of fact your sentence for trespassing has just been decided…" a look of pure glee came across the demented king's face. "For trespassing and the assault of the king's royal guard, I sentence you both… to death."

"What?!" the two boys said with equal disbelief, "You can't do that!" Ryuji started, "You're supposed to be a teacher. You can't kill students!" Revland finished.

"Can't I? This is 'my' castle, I can do whatever the fuck I want here and there isn't a damn thing a disrespectful little shit like Sakamoto or a piece of garbage like you can do about it." The king said now with a wicked smile as his voice grew with excitement. "So… shall we carry out your sentence?"

Filled with a sudden panic, Ryuji did the only thing that made sense at the moment… he fought back. As the guards entered the cell Ryuji swung his bag at one of the guards and a hard right hook at the king's jaw. Kamoshida simple stepped back and delivered a devastating punch to Ryuji's gut, knocking the wind out of him as he crumpled to the floor. Revland took the opportunity and stepped forward to get on the king's flank but was stopped by one of the guards and pinned to the wall.

"I guess we'll start with you then Sakamoto… but first…"

Kamoshida gestured to the two other guards as they lifted Ryuji up from the floor and placed him against the wall. With tyrannical glee, Kamoshida started to beat Ryuji. Punching his face, ribs and even some shots to the groin for good measure.

Jesus Christ… what's wrong with this guy, why torture him like this?

"The world is unfair, are you going to just sit there and do nothing?"

What do you mean nothing, you imply that I could do something when I'm pinned and unbalanced.

"What's the matter...? Are you simply going to watch?"

You make it sound easy…

"Are you forsaking him to save yourself?"

What… No I…

"Death awaits him if you do nothing. Was your previous decision a mistake then?"

I don't know… Maybe… I wouldn't be here if I hadn't…

"You speak out of fear yet you yearn for action, is this regret?"

No… Regret implies that I would have done something differently…

"So… what say you?"

I am NOT dying here today!

"Stop!" Revland finally screamed.

Looking up, he saw that the king was about to order Ryuji's death by impalement. Kamoshida slowly turned to Revland. "What… did you… just say… to me?" each pause brought him a step closer until they were face to face. Revland faced his glare unflinching and returned it.

"I think you heard… every word I said… Leave. Him. Alone…" Revland Snarled

"That look in your eye… that tone in your voice… it sickens me!" Kamoshida yelled as he struck Revland across the jaw. "I guess you wish to take his place in a vain hope that I may spare him… guess I have a change of plans, you die first… then I can deal with Sakamoto at my leisure."

A second guard came to hold Revland to the wall as a third held a sword to his throat. "End this troublesome welp." Kamoshida ordered.

Never again… I won't… ever… let that happen again… Pain shot through Revland's head and soon every inch of his body felt like it was on fire.

"Very well... I have heeded your resolve. Vow to me. I am thou, thou art I... Thou who art willing to perform all sacrilegious acts for thine own justice! Call upon my name, and release thy rage! Show the strength of thy will to ascertain all on thine own, though thou be chained… to Hell itself!"

As the guard holding the sword reared back to impale Revland, his eyes shot opened as a wave of azure flame rushed passed everyone in the room, slamming the guards to opposite ends of the room. Kamoshida wasn't thrown however, but was knock off his feet by the sudden outburst of power.

Revland felt different, the voice in his head repeating a single phrase, "Rip it off…" Feeling as if his glasses were back on his face, he lifted his hand and gently felt for what was covering his eyes.

What is this thing? Is it a mask? The mask was a pale white, domino mask with black designs around the eyes reminiscent of full eyeliner and sharp lashes

"Rip it off… show me your true strength."

Revland pulled at the mask, trying to pull it off but found that it was stuck to his face as if it was part of it. Getting a better grip with both of his hand, he started to feel his skin begin to tear.

Endure it!

He started to scream as he ripped off the mask, blood started covering his hand while dripping to the floor. The task complete, he stared down to the floor as the warmth from his chest started to manifest into that same azure flame he saw only a few days ago. The flames wrapped around Revland as he revealed his own maniacal grin.

Kamoshida was stunned into silence as was Ryuji could do nothing more than watch as his classmate was engulfed in flames.

His eyes… they were golden… and that smile… it's as if he was enjoying it…

The flames cleared and left Revland in an ankle length black coat with a high-necked collar with gold accents, cinched black pants, brown-black boots with taller heels and a pair of red gloves. Behind him erupting from the flame was a figure dressed in a cropped red eighteenth century suit worn open with the collar popped, stitched heart designs on the shoulders, a white ruffle tie and a black tailed corset running down its torso. The creature had large, black, feathery wings starting at around the small of its back. A very tall top hat rested on its head with a long-horned mask on its face with red ruby eyes that ran the length of its head. Its hands were what looked to be claws that matched the color of Revland's gloves but were black on the tips of each talon. The leggings were red, covering its legs resembling pants and boots with blade-like heels.

"Yes… this is the time! Show me what you are capable of… Show me who you truly are… REVLAND ANTRIE!"

"I hear you… take everything… and leave nothing… PILAGE THEM ALL ARSÉNE!" Revland shouted with all the strength he had.

At the mention of his name, Arséne threw his wings to either side of the cell, pinning the guards and allowing Revland to focus on the one with the sword that was meant for his heart. With a blur of movement, Revland sped toward the guard and, with force that he was not use to, drove his fist at and trough the guards mask and out the other side of its helmet. With a quick jerk of his shoulder, Revland freed his arm and had a spark of intuition.

Are you actually holding them there?

"Indeed I am, I can interact with creatures and objects in this world just as you can."

Does that mean you know how use those claws of yours?

Revland felt more than heard the smile on Arséne's face. "I can do more than just that… I can do soo much more."

"Then show me!" Revland yelled.

Arséne's wings relaxed letting the guards fall to the floor. Another blur of motion and blood coated the wall where a guard stood before it fell to the floor and began to dissolve. The guard by the bars pulled its weapon close and charged Revland.

"You too have a weapon, I can help but there is only so much your body and spirit will allow."

Revland heard and thought about his weapon. With another flash of that blue flame, a knife appeared in his right hand. The knife had blade that was the length of his arm and was a few inches thick with a fine razor sharp edge that came to a pointed tip.

"A weapon born from your very soul sir Antrie, use it well."

Without warning the final guard attacked. This guard was carrying a spear instead of the sword that Revland was used to, but didn't stop him from finding a new way around the weapon.

Get on the outside of his reached, then I'll glide the knife down the shaft of the spear to disarm him. I may not have to kill this one…

Pivoting to the right of the guard's thrust, Revland followed his action perfectly. Gliding his blade down the spear and finding a weakness in the armor, he drew blood and the weapon fell. "Now would be the part where you give up and run away." Revland stated with the knife pointed at the guard's throat.

"As much as I would wish to, I cannot disobey my king's command… either you die… or I perish…"

Revland hesitated for a moment, trying to find a third option. Before he could however, the guard chuckled, "So naive…" the guard's back suddenly bent backwards at an unnatural angle as blood erupted from its chest. What was left in its place was a creature that was twice the size of Revland and was floating off the ground. "I told you that you would die or I would perish! HEE-HOO!"

Revland jumped back to avoid the gout of flame that came from the creatures lamp. Okay… this one maybe a little tricky… it's floating… Christ sake it's floating in the air… I can't see anything that would give me a hint on when it will attack… no pupils, no movement in its shoulders… it's like it's a Jack-o-lantern from Halloween.

"Creatures such as this are indeed, called Jack-o-lanterns. Obviously you just saw that it uses fire as an attack so you know that it has fire based magic."

Wait, Magic?

"Yes, you heard correctly. I too know of a spell or three if you want me to show you…"

I'm kind of at a loss here otherwise… so yeah, I would like to know a few if you wouldn't mind.

"Very well Sir Antrie, but be warned… all magic has a price that must be payed and some are more costly than others. So use caution when casting any type of spell."

Understood, so what's the…

After a moment Revland was aware of the number of spells that were now at his disposal. More importantly one that he knew would affect him very little spiritually.

The curse spell Eiha… how do I use it?

"Merely think of what you want done to your target, magic is based solely on your emotions. They fuel your magic as well as your power."

So, I need to just think about the spell and it will happen?

"With the correct intent, yes."

Revland breathed for a moment and focus on the creature. A rush of power came to coalesce around his left hand, covering it in a dark red aura with swirls of black. The sudden effect shocked Revland and caused him to hesitate once more. "You're dropping your guard, HEE-HOO! A foolish mistake that shall cost you dearly!"

Revland came back to himself and leaped toward the creature, rolling to avoid the flames. When he had his feet under him, he stood, aimed his left hand at the creature and spoke, "Eiha!"

A ball of red and black energy sped toward the creature and blasted a hole the size of a soccer ball in the middle of its head. The creature floated to the floor wordlessly and began to dissolve until all that was left was the king.

Revland looked to find 'King' Kamoshida cowering near the cell door. Revland noticed that one of the guards had dropped a set of keys and stepped on them in case the king was plaining on making a lunge for them. He slid them over to Ryuji, who hadn't said a word since Revland's sudden outburst.

"Take those and get the door open." Revland said plainly.

Ryuji, finally catching up, nodded and stood with a little help from the wall as he made his way to the door to push it open.

"Turns out it was unlocked this entire time…" Ryuji said weakly.

Revland looked down to see fear etched on to every inch of Kamoshida's face.

"What's wrong your highness?" he said with a sneer, "Now that you don't have your protection, you shrivel up and hide? People like you irritate the hell out of me… you flaunt your power until someone finally has enough and then you cower…"

"Hey Revland, come on let's get the fuck out of here. He's a piece of shit that defiantly deserves a good ass whooping but we need to run before more of his guards show up…" Ryuji said cradling his arm close to his chest.

He's right… he's done for now… there's no fight left in him until he accepts the change in power… then he'll start to fight back… hard.

Revland walked past the King and out of the cell, "Shut the door and lock it. After that, throw the keys into the stream."

Ryuji nodded and did what was asked.

"You can't do this to me, I'm the king! This is My Castle!" Kamoshida Screeched.

"Sorry you're Highness, but this piece of trash and pile of shit will be showing ourselves out." Revland said with a smile and a small chuckle. He walked over to Ryuji, "Hey, how's the arm, that ass clown didn't break it did he?"

"No, I don't think so but they may have cracked a rib or two…"

Wouldn't happen to know a healing spell or two would you?

"Not in my field of expertise, however if you ever come across one I'm willing to learn it."

"Can you walk?" Revland asked concern lacing his voice.

"Yeah, just need to catch my breath… what was that back there? And what's with the get up?" Ryuji asked visible confusion written in his eyes.

"Get up?" Revland looked down and noticed that his outfit had changed. A flash of blue flame and he was back in his school uniform. He also notice that his eye was no longer swollen. "Oh… would you believe me is I told you I haven't a clue?"

"Maybe, but judging by your own reaction… I'm going to be have to believe you. We can save that conversation for later, let's get the hell out of here first."

With that, the two boys fled in the only direction they could. Kamoshida's screams fading into the distance and hopefully, it will lead them to freedom.


Futaba was at a loss for words by the time lunch came around. She hadn't heard any voices or had any bad dreams since last night.

"I wonder if it was because of him… Revland Antrie…" she said to herself now that she was alone in her room.

She had spent the morning out in the house, for the first time in about two months if you asked Sojiro, and just wondered. She even had a semi-normal conversation with Sojiro, much to his surprise.

She had finally gotten curious enough to ask about her savior and decided to look him up. She found the normal things like his social media pages, that he rarely used, his school records, which were above average levels, and his criminal record. That last one gave her pause for a moment, thinking that it didn't seem right, the same guy from last night that ran up a set of stair to catch her was arrested for assault and was found guilty.

"… I don't buy it… something's up… someone like him doesn't seem capable of a random act of violence… not unless he was provoked anyway…"

Going back over the audio files from the café, she found out that Revland was indeed the mystery helper that Sojiro was talking about.

"He has potential… Sojiro seems to think he isn't all bad either judging by the way he was talking to him about mom this morning."

Realizing her slip up, she prepared for the bombardment of accusations that normally came with the mere mention of her mother, but nothing happened.

"Huh, that's weird… not that I'm really complaining much… what did you do to me Revland?"

The thought of Revland on the other hand had a different effect, her heart started to thump in her chest and she could feel her face start to heat up. She tried to ask Sojiro about it before he left for the shop but couldn't get the question out before he had to go. After some further thought, and research, she figured it would probably be for the best if she didn't mention it to Sojiro just yet. She didn't mind the idea of Revland siting there and answering her questions.

"So, this is what it's like to have a crush huh?" Futaba said to nothing in particular as she grabbed a nearby pillow off the floor and hugged it to her chest.

"It could be that I'm just thankful that he was there when I fell… or something" She whispered, hugging the pillow tighter.

"Maybe I should ask Sojiro about it… wait I know! I can get him a thank you present! And I know just what to get him! Maybe then I wouldn't feel so weird about him saving me anymore."

As she was looking up what type of present she had in mind, she sent a message to Sojiro telling him what she had in mind and asking for permission to use his credit card. Sojiro thought it was a great idea and that he may feel more welcomed. After she placed the order, she felt a little better about the whole thing but those 'fuzzy' feeling wouldn't go away. "Maybe I don't really want these feelings to go away… I think… I think I could get use to feeling like this…"

She gripped her pillow tighter before slowly falling asleep with a large smile on her face.