8 - Chemistry Lesson

Hayk’s death affected all those close to him. The kids were devastated, and another reason for that was that there was no longer a caretaker, a “mentor” for them. All kids need guidance in their lives.

The last adult in the group was the one who was affected the worst by the death, but at the same time, accepted it rather quickly. A soulful who harbored immense tragedy and hatred in her heart.

Rin, hearing the rumbling and sensing a multitude of soul presences, rushed outside. She saw Ausra descend, she saw her wounded body. She saw Ichika’s mutilated body, missing half of her limbs and in great pain. And worst of all, she saw a huntress that was enjoying the fight to its fullest.

“Ausra, get her inside, give her some morphine and seal the wounds.” Rin said. Ausra quickly went inside, assisted by Rin. Reina descended and entered the gym. Her body was covered with strings, she looked like the child of a human and a knitting machine.

“Look at you, how adorable is that.” Reina said. “Little kids running to their mommy for protection.”

Rin took a few steps back and sat down on the mats. Her overflowing hatred for this wretched woman transformed into a feeling of utter concentration and determination. She manifested her soul-bound weapon, a katana-like blade with a unique black hilt.

Ausra quickly laid Ichika on the ground and carried out Rin’s orders. The issue was, she couldn’t find the morphine stash anywhere.

“Rin, there’s no morphine!” Ausra called out. But there was no response.

“...”

“Rin...?”

“Difficulty processing things? Is the grief too much for you to handle?” Reina mockingly asked, before attempting to cut Rin down with a series of string strikes. But something stopped her. A certain type of presence that indicates unavoidable trouble...and causes fear and anxiety.

“Remind me of their souls...and instill sorrow and hatred into mine.”

“Etch that hatred into my hands...”

“And allow me to take action.”

The sword gained a distinct hue of dark purple.

“The sequence that shapes all...”

“Shine your light on this blade, and poison it with my soul.”

“My hateful hands...”

“Will be the executioner.”

“ ✦ Divine Acclamation ✦ ”

“ ✦ Soul Particle Experimentation Sequence ✦ ”

The room went dark. The soul presence pouring from Rin’s blade sang the symphony of sorrow and defeat. It escaped, it dared run away, but it was still bound to Rin’s own heart.

“Ichika, listen to me.” Ausra said. “Let go of trying to mend your wounds. Focus all of your energy into protecting yourself from soul dimming.”

“H-huh? What?” Ichika said, slowly coming to her senses. “What do you mean?”

“Rin is going all out from the get go.” Ausra sighed.

“She’s treating this fight as seriously as possible.”

“A result...of her hatred.”

Reina found herself trapped in a unique scenario. In front of Rin, a desk emerged, resembling that of a teacher’s workplace in a busy classroom. There were some blackboards behind her, and the desk itself had equipment for chemistry experiments on it. Reina tried to break free, but it was to no avail. She was now subject to the rules of Rin’s ultimate attack.

“All that’s left is to make sure the bitch doesn’t have her own acclamation. If she doesn’t...she’s screwed. In every definition of the word.”

“Do you know what types of chemical processes exist?” Rin asked. Her voice was stern and deadly, she locked eyes with her prey. “Reactions can either absorb or exert energy. The most common indication is heat.”

“Soul particle alpha.”

She picked up a match from her desk and lit it on fire. On a transparent glass tray there was a small batch of wheat. She set it on fire and watched as it slowly began to wither away - leaving an unpleasant smoky scent. Simultaneously, however, Reina herself could feel something burning. Her arm that was covered in a defensive arrangement of strings had caught on fire.

“No, impossible! My strings are resistant to fire or whatever garbage she’s trying to pull off!”

“Could it be...”

“Her flames burn things unconditionally?!”

“The simplest way to attain heat is by setting things on fire.” Rin said. “Do you have any questions?”

Her soul presence shifted. Reina could finally move, despite being in pain, she tried to fight back. She swung a pair of strings, knocking some of the equipment over and chipping at Rin. But the more she tried to attack, the more the flames hurt her.

“I assume the subject does not interest you. In that case, I will move on to the next topic.” Rin said.

“A phase-type acclamation...” Reina thought, now trapped again. She watched as pieces of fabric emerged on the desk. “If I asked her a question, would it delay the next phase?”

“But most importantly...what will happen in the end?”

“I never knew that Hayk had a soulful of this caliber under his belt!”

“Poisons are common in the environment. Various poisons can enter our bodies without us even noticing.” Rin explained. She picked up a small piece of white fabric. “This may seem like an ordinary piece of clothing, but in reality, it is covered to the brim with chemical agents.”

“Soul particle beta.”

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“Soul particle combination: alpha and beta.”

“A weakened, poisoned body and a flaming core are a bad combination.” Rin said. “Your own carcass will betray you and cause you great pain. Do you have any questions?”

Reina’s right arm which was set ablaze spontaneously burst open. It erupted in flames, and Reina herself fell to her knees.

“My body feels completely weakened, is this the poison she was explaining all this time?! It doesn’t matter...”

“The only time I can actively move and attack is whenever I’m supposed to ask questions...or whatever that means.”

“I have one.” Reina said with a smirk. “How miserable must you feel now that your old savior is gone?!”

“You bitch!” Ausra yelled, ripping off a piece of the gym’s mats and chucking the newly made explosive at her. Reina blocked it with ease and charged at Ausra and Ichika, preparing to cut them apiece. Until...

“That question is off topic.” Rin commanded. “Since there are no questions, it appears that the topic does not interest you. I will move on to the next lesson.”

Just as she was about to decapitate the two girls, she appeared in front of Rin’s desk again. She was barely keeping herself together. Every single burning piece of flesh on her body hurt so, so much.

“Soul particle combination: gamma and delta.”

“For this task, you will identify the elements and explain their combined reaction.” Rin said. “Do you have any questions?”

“She’s not gonna explain anything? She’s rushing to the final stage!” Reina said. “That gives me a chance!”

“I figured out how I can stall for time!”

“I have a question. Explain those particles to me. Describe them.” Reina said. She lunged forwards and threw her strings around, until finally noticing that they lacked their usual strength.

“What is this? My soul expression is...weaker?”

“And it’s not just that. This sense of darkness...I have no option but to focus more on defending my soul against dimming. Are those the two particles’ effects?”

She swung her remaining arm at Rin, missing. She threw a kick, but it was blocked and countered. Still, despite the strings being weaker, Rin received noticeable damage. But the determination and hatred that was held in her eyes was second to none.

“She mentioned something about a task...wait...”

“The question cannot be answered, as answering it will render the task worthless.” Rin said. The soul presence shifted once more. “We will move on to the next topic.”

“Oh fuck off!” Reina said. Her worst fear began to come to fruition. The strings that held her body together and acted as bandages or limb replacements began to weaken and fail at their job. She had no option but to channel all her prowess into the difficult task of keeping her alive.

“What happens when a poisonous element, or any particle, gets heated?” Rin asked. “Or if it reacts with another particle? The reaction’s outcome depends on the type of particles present in the reaction. Compatibility is a big factor.”

“Soul particle combination: alpha and gamma.”

A spontaneous explosion destroyed Reina’s pelvis and parts of her torso. The weakened strings barely held her together. Reina’s body was in complete shambles.

“After a small break, we will move onto the final lesson.” Rin said, immediately taking a few steps back.

“This is perfect...the bitch is no longer in condition to fight.” Ausra thought. “If this next minute passes, the final lesson will, without a doubt, kill her.”

“It’s tragic how Rin’s soul holds enough darkness to realize an acclamation like this...”

Reina no longer looked human. The once classy, overconfident and teasing woman now resembled a strange amalgamation that desperately clung to life. But her lethality, despite Rin’s best efforts, was still rather high.

She rushed at Rin, capturing her with her strings. They started to slowly overpower her.

Ausra jumped in, kicking Reina away with explosive power. The gym shook from the impact. Reina whipped Ausra away, trying her hardest to focus on finishing off Rin.

“I’m surprised.” She said in a corrupted voice, squeezing Rin’s body and causing many cuts. “Soulfuls like you...give the most pleasure when hurt.”

50 seconds left. Ausra jumped in again, only to be captured. She was tied by her feet and slammed into the gym’s floor repeatedly. Finally, a participant that was supposed to be out of commission intervened.

“I don’t care...about the dimming...”

“I had enough time to think everything through. I managed to heal my foot back up.”

Ichika charged in and shoved her left fist into whatever the hell Reina’s body looked like.

“Soul interpretation: Flash Freeze”

Reina jumped back in fear, watching as more of her body was destroyed. She rabidly swung her strings around, but Ichika kept pushing forwards with nothing but raw perseverance. 30 seconds left. Reina finally landed a clean whipping attack and carved a painful wound on Ichika’s stomach. The follow-up attack was aimed at her neck, but Ichika evaded it and pushed forwards.

Reina’s body erupted with strings that pushed both her and Ausra away. She rushed at Rin, who tried to fight back, but was soon overpowered.

“The despair on your face feels so damn delicious.” Reina said, grabbing Rin by her clothes and throwing her on the floor. The strings soon began to restrict her arms, wrists, and finally, her neck. 20 seconds left, and Ichika pierced Reina’s chest with an ice spear. She rushed in, and instead of attacking Reina directly, she touched the ground.

Another flash freeze was activated. The maths on the ground froze, and a powerful icy leg kick knocked Reina down. Quickly, Ichika started to conjure something that wasn’t seen before.

“Sakuto, I’m scared.”

“What if my trust in you...gets destroyed?”

An ice formation emerged from the ground. It served as a podium and launched Reina upward, breaking through the roof and carrying her into the air. The more the ice grew, the more it resembled a human arm. It erupted into pieces as Ichika destroyed it, the impact wounding Reina heavily.

“No, I cannot go down!” Reina though, remaining suspended in the air.

“I need to stand by Otto’s side, if he loses, most of my pleasure will be gone!”

Reina threw her strings around, dismantling the shards of the frozen hand in the air. She began weaving all of her strings into a giant whip.

“I’ll purge you and slurp up every bit of the pain and despair on your faces!”

“Break time is over.” Rin said, staring at Reina through the crater in the gym’s roof. Her soul presence was elevated, and her blade gained a powerful purple shade. “The final lesson will now commence.”

“Ichika!” Ausra said, rushing to her friend. She grabbed her and slowly laid her down on the mat, by that point, Ichika was completely exhausted. Miraculously, almost subconsciously, she started to regenerate her missing arm...

“Particles that affect your body can be combined, and so can the particles that affect your soul powers. But if a particle that affects the body interacts with a particle that affects the soul, a reaction of rejection takes place.” Rin said. She launched a flying slash with her blade which struck the trapped Reina. Four small orbs appeared around Reina, with a fifth one positioned right on her soul.

“Soul reaction base: epsilon.”

“Soul particle combination: alpha, beta, gamma, delta.”

The four orbs spun around the fifth one and eventually combined into one. It was a small black and purple spark of unstoppable self-rejecting energy.

“Erase thy vessel and cleanse thy soul.”

“Soul particle: Prototype.”

In a violent reaction, the orb expanded and completely devoured Reina’s body leaving nothing but a powerful shockwave. All of the strings, all her fancy clothes and jewelry...completely gone. This was the final phase of Rin’s divine acclamation - the creation of a particle that rejects the target’s existence and deletes it. After so many chances to free themselves, if the target somehow ends up here, unless they have something that can reject the prototype particle, they perish with no questions asked.

“Thank you, Ichika.” Rin said, walking over to her. “I’ll take care of you two now.”

“Thank you, Rin...” Ausra said.

“Ausra, it’s rather convenient that you came here.” Rin said. “We got dispatched to America. We will be flying out tonight.”

“U-understood...I’ll handle the preparations while Ichika’s healing...” Ausra said. She tried to walk away, but collapsed, unable to walk properly from the blood loss

“Don’t you dare go anywhere. You’re staying until you recover.” Rin said.