Sa:cryd ZERO

Chapter 4

Class was soon over as the students took turns wrapping up and leaving for their respective homes. To the shock of the class once more, Vanessa got up, grabbed Lexus by the collar and dragged him away with both their school bags. Linda had a worried look on her face as she watched the two exit the classroom. The two walked all the way to a shopping district. “Uhh so about yesterday…”, Lexus attempted to start a conversation. “Stop talking”, Vanessa said sharply. “Yes ma’am”, Lexus kept quiet as the two kept walking. They entered a pawn shop as Vanessa talked to the shopkeeper. The shopkeeper pointed to a certain door as we both entered. However, it wasn’t actually a door but an elevator. Vanessa pushed a few buttons as the elevator took them down and came to a stop abruptly. The doors opened leading to a huge hallway filled with all sorts of people. The scene was magnificent as Lexus couldn’t help but to gawk at everything as Vanessa dragged him across the place like an animal. In a room there was the young man that came to their rescue yesterday. “Thanks for bringing him here Vanessa…uhh you can let go of him now”, the young man said as Vanessa finally let go and exited the room. “Well, she did get beat up because of me so I don’t blame her”, Lexus thought as he looked at the young man. “Sorry about that, Vanessa is the type that likes to hold grudges you see”, the young man apologized for her rough behavior. “Yeah, no s**t”, Lexus couldn’t help but to think that. “Have a seat”, the young man said as he also sat down. Lexus took a seat as he kept looking at the guy. “Oh, pardon me, I’m Ezekiel. What’s your name kid?”. “Lexus”, I replied. “I assume you know why you’re here right?”, Ezekiel asked. “I’m not a monster”, Lexus said with a straight face. “Well, I have eyes, don’t I? I can see you’re human but I can still sense their energy radiating from you, so what exactly are you?”, Ezekiel asked. “I…I don’t know”, Lexus replied. “Oi, isn’t it a bit too late for that?”, Ezekiel wasn’t buying it as he asked once more. “I watched all that transpired and you clearly knew the monster. It even called you his son, so what exactly are you?”. “I was raised by him and the monsters. He goes by the name Adierra”, Lexus answered. “That was Adierra?! I thought it was strange that we hadn’t heard from him in years, but now I get it. He was trying to raise another monster”, Ezekiel spoke to himself as he watched Lexus. “Umm what exactly is he? What are those monsters?”, Lexus asked with a hint of desperation. They’re monsters that we have codenamed ‘kanizors’. They’re vicious beings that plan to invade our world and devour humanity. They can also take on human forms, which makes them even more dangerous. In any case, it’s impressive that you managed to survive and also make it back to our world. You’re a tough kid”, Ezekiel was truly impressed. “Thanks, that means a lot”, Lexus said as he tried to process what he had just heard. “You mentioned being raised by Adierra and the monsters, right? I can’t begin to imagine how that must’ve been. Even among the Kanizors, Adierra is recognized as an elite with a demon shatter level,”, Ezekiel said. “Shatter level”, Lexus asked, with visible confusion. “Oh, I mean when the kanizors transform from their human form, it’s like their flesh and particles around them are shattering right? Which means the more powerful the shatter effect is, the stronger the kanizor is, hence the term shatter level. The kanizors have been given a total of five shatter levels, which are ‘stray’, ‘phantom’, ‘king’, ‘demon’ and ‘beyond’ in the order of weakest to strongest. Most kanizors you’ll encounter are usually stray or phantom levels at best, but to meet with a king or a demon doesn’t usually happen. As for those at the beyond level, they usually don’t appear for years and when they do, entire countries get wiped off the face of the map”, Ezekiel explained with a dire look at the last part. “I see”, Lexus felt like he finally understood something. “Well, whatever you’ve been through is clearly not your fault and they are definitely to blame for all that you’ve faced up until now. Alice… right? Such a lovely lady. I’d hate to get her involved in this”, Ezekiel said with a slight shake of his head. “Can you guys keep her safe? I don’t want her to get hurt because of me”, Lexus pleaded. “Oh no worries, but you gotta make a choice here kid. It’s either you help us hunt down the Kanizors or you get erased permanently and Alice gets her memory wiped”, Ezekiel said with a cold face. “What’s there to choose? I’ll help you kill them, especially him”, Lexus said with a complex look on his face. “Great choice. Welcome to Farkria, home of the guardians, elite humans who have dedicated their lives to ridding the world of Kanizors. Come on, we’re going to meet the Chief-guardian”, Ezekiel said as he got up. I also got up as we both exited the room and walked into a separate hallway. In the hallway were several paintings hanged on the wall depicting past legendary guardians as it was all too epic to witness. We finally reached a double door as Ezekiel stopped. “Ah I almost forgot. Whatever you do, don’t piss him off, if you value your life”, Ezekiel said with a smile. “Uhh okay”, Lexus said, as he was starting to get nervous.

Ezekiel opened the doors, revealing a large room with a big table in the middle. Seated in the chairs around the tables were five individuals who looked quite powerful; however, one man alone was standing up with his back towards them. He was staring at a large monitor in front of him which was displaying all sorts of information. When both of them drew close, he turned to face them. “I assume that you’re here to report whatever had happened yesterday, right? The man spoke with authority. “Uhh well you see…”, Ezekiel told him all that had transpired and what Lexus told him. The people there could hardly believe all that they had heard as the man standing up looked like he understood everything. “Just as I feared, they finally saw us as a threat worth dealing with. Lexus, was it?”, the man said. “Yes”, Lexus answered politely. “I’m Francis, the Chief-guardian of Farkria and seated here are all the captains of the fighting division. I don’t care about what has happened to you, but on the off chance that you really are a monster designed to kill us, I’ll personally make sure to skin you alive and display you in my room”, Francis said with a squint of his eyes. The others kept quiet as Lexus was the only one who felt like he was going to have a heart attack. “If he has chosen to become a guardian, then let’s see what he’s got. I mean this is a pretty interesting turn of events”, one of the captains said with a smile. The others nodded in agreement. “Hmph fine. If the council agrees, then so be it. You’re hereby officially recognized as guardian. Ezekiel will keep you up to speed with training and some ground rules. I don’t expect much from you, but any additional help would be appreciated at the moment. Begone”, Francis spoke as everyone in the room bowed except Lexus as he stood petrified. “Poor kid froze in fear”, one of the captains laughed as Ezekiel dragged Lexus out of the room. “Sorry about that, our leader can be a bit overbearing’, Ezekiel said. “A bit?”, Lexus thought as he looked at Ezekiel. “Okay so first a tour of the facilities before you meet up with your new team mates”, Ezekiel said as he then showed Lexus around. From what Lexus could grasp, the league was divided into four divisions; the fighting divisions comprised of guardians who hunt down Kanizors, the research and items division in charge of producing items and other useful tools, like the healing potion to help guardians in battle, the development and technical division responsible for all the tech as well the weapons and armor that guardians use, and finally the intelligence and protocol division responsible for locating the kanizors, distributing missions and dealing with all legal matters. Ezekiel and Lexus finally stopped in front of a room as loud arguing noises could be heard. When the two entered, Lexus saw Vanessa in a heated argument with a guy who was slightly older than her. “How many times do I have to tell you that when you encounter a Kanizor while on standby you’re supposed to call for assistance”, the guy shouted. “I already told you that the situation was beyond my control. Plus, I would’ve been able to do something if I had my cartridges with me”, Vanessa spoke in defense. “Let’s say you did have it, you think you would’ve survived if it wasn’t for Ezekiel”, the guy spoke again. “Okay that’s enough guys. Let’s all forget about the past and focus on helping Lexus here get ready to join us”, Ezekiel tried to calm them down. “And where were you when that Kanizor appeared? I had my a*s beat and you were probably just bitching around totally ignorant of your teammate’s status”. “Oh yeah? Well, it’s definitely not my fault that my teammate happens to be so weak and yet refuses to call for help every single time”, Vanessa and the guy totally ignored Ezekiel as they continued to bicker and quarrel. Lexus looked at Ezekiel, who was quietly looking at the two until he snapped. “If you two don’t shut the f**k up, I’ll personally make sure to nail your asses to the ground so you two won’t go making trouble for me, you understand?”, Ezekiel’s eyes were dead cold as he meant business. The three immediately felt a chill as Vanessa and the guy stopped arguing and immediately apologized in unison. “That’s more like it. Oh, Lexus, this is Shin, he’s an international student at your school and also a guardian. He’s your senior and the leader of the team that you’ll be joining, including Vanessa”, Ezekiel said with a smile. “Scary…”, Lexus thought as he tried to process his quick change in mood. “Uhh nice to meet you”, Lexus said as he stretched his hands for a handshake. “Hmph, don’t drag us down”, Shin said as he took his leave. “He’s a jerk right? Why do I have to be in the same team as him”, Vanessa complained as she also left. “Umm well, there you have it. Put on this watch as we’ll be contacting you about it. Come back here after school every day for training and lessons with me till you’re cleared for battle, understood?”, Ezekiel said as he gave Lexus a black watch. “Uh yes sir”, Lexus answered as he put on the watch and left the room too. That day, Lexus came home a bit late as he met a very worried Alice. This time, everything was all good as Lexus managed to avoid unnecessary suspicions. After supper, Lexus came to terms with his current situation as he prepared for the hardships ahead and, as well as for school, of course.