The Astral soul system-Chapter 161: Take care of each other

"Get out of my way!"

"Move"

"This is all your fault"

"My fault? What did I do? You’re the one who..."

The arguing and fighting got louder and louder until four boys who looked like they’d gotten dressed in the dark barged through the class door,some of them still wet from the bath.

Gemma facepalmed. It was always this four, and what was worse was she didn’t really have any reason to be bothering them. In terms of academics, Maximilian and Zen were among those with the highest aptitude in the class. And in raw combat talent, Xavier and Neo were some of the best. Perhaps she should try separating them? But that would be impossible since they lived together.(Everyone still calls Zyro Zen for obvious reasons)

"Glad to see you decided to join us"

Aurora said, unamused and used to it by now as the boys hurriedly took which seats they could under her intense stare.

Xavier found a seat next to Diane who’d saved it for him. Exhausted,he dropped down, yawning.

"Well I’m guessing you aren’t late because you overslept. What’s your excuse this time"

Xavier yawned, resting his head on the desk, struggling to keep his eyes open.

"Guy stuff"

Diane snorted and was about to let him be when she suddenly remembered

"Well you better not be late tomorrow"

Looking up in confusion,he asked.

"What’s tomorrow?"

Diane looked shocked as she hurriedly asked

"You’re kidding right? You’re not prepared?"

Xavier looked at her with a blank innocent stare, making it obvious he wasn’t joking.

Diane felt the urge to hit him as she seethed

"Tomorrow’s the next portal hunt you dumbass"

Xavier’s tiredness seemed to disappear immediately as he sprung out of his seat

"What?!"

He exclaimed, drawing the attention of the entire class.

"Xavier void. Is there a problem?"

"Nonono. No problem, sorry ma’am"

Xavier replied, meekly sinking back into his seat.

"You seriously forgot? I thought you’d never let go of a chance to punch a beast"

Diane said, keeping her voice low.

"Ugh,i must have gotten carried away.... No problem, in fact this is awesome "

He grinned, cupping his fist. All traces of exhaustion seemed to have vanished.

"I finally have a chance to test out those gauntlets. It’s been a while since I’ve been able to hit my limit "

Diane rolled her eyes and focused back on the class, but deep inside, she was seething with the same excitement. Maybe it was because of her beast power, the thought of hunting filled her with a joy like no other. Xavier’s reaction only spurred that joyous anxiety further.

The class quickly ended, although it seemed much longer that day, mostly because of how anxious everyone was for tomorrow. Students rushed out of the class,eager to get their final preparations ready for the next day.

As usual, Zyro and his friends were the last out. Gary had said a quick hi before leaving like he had something to do as well .

"So? Anyone have any last minute shopping to do? Once we leave it’ll be for the entire weekend so two days on another planet. Everyone fully packed?"

Zyro:"..."

Xavier:"..."

Neo:"We were supposed to pack?"

Maximilian sighed, rubbing his temple before taking a seat, looking exhausted.

Diane snorted and burst out laughing before she suddenly paused.

"... wait a minute... Did i...."

Jade suddenly spoke up in all the chaos.

"Um, actually. I have to go somewhere today,so I won’t be around "

"What?"

"Why?"

Zaria and Diane rushed to ask

"Oh, it’s nothing serious. Just some stuff. I’ll be back tonight, and if not, tomorrow morning in time to leave. I already got permission from the school just in case"

"Where are you going?"

Maximilian asked curiously

"The outskirts of the city. It’s just a quick trip"

Although they felt she was hiding something,no one wanted to push it so they just said they’d be waiting for her.

Jade smiled sheepishly, her face flushing as she started walking out.

Halfway to the door, she suddenly stopped and turned around

"Actually... Zyro?"

"Hmm? Yeah?"

"Could you... come with me?"

***********

A few minutes later,Jade and Zyro we’re outside the school gate. Jade wore the black hoodie Zen had lent her during their first meeting over her uniform while Zyro wore a gold one. The city was literally named after the school so it wasn’t too odd to see students walking around.

"So where are we going?"

Jade looked a bit nervous, constantly fiddling with her hands.

"My house"

Zyro was a bit surprised although not too much. Jade already said she didn’t have any friends outside the academy or anywhere else to go, but why did she suddenly want to go back? And with him no less.

"Actually i just wanted to see him before we left,you know in case something happens this time too"

"Him?... your dad?"

Jade nodded.

"Yeah, sorry for dragging you into this. You don’t have to-"

"It’s fine. I’m honestly curious. It’s not like I had much preparation to do"

Jade smiled in response and the two started walking down the street.

"Can Zen hear things on the outside in there? And can you hear him?"

"Hmm? Sometimes yeah "

"And Zaine?"

Zyro nodded

Jade chuckled

"I hope you guys are doing well in there. Don’t fight each other too much "

"The fuck did this bitch just sa-"

"What are they saying?"

"They’re saying thanks, and they’re lucky to have you "

The two eventually stopped a cab and Jade pointed it in the direction of her home.

Zyro eventually noticed that Jade was still fidgeting in place like she was scared.

"What’s wrong?"

He eventually asked

"It’s... well. I feel like something...bad is going to happen. I love my dad and I’m really excited to meet him, but for some reason there’s just this pit in my stomach for some reason "

Hearing that, Zyro was briefly reminded of Jade in his vision.

Her eyes were blackened from exhaustion,her fingers broken and bleeding,her hair looked like it was bleeding a strange black substance and the arcade symbol was hovering above her, behind her was a strange light with two unknown figures shielding her. Strangely, the reality around her seemed to be constantly shifting and glitching like an old TV . The ground around her looked cracked and her body had been covered completely in thorns, and a sword plunged into her side.

Zyro quickly put that thought to the back of his mind. He quickly thought of something to get her mind off of it.

"Hey,do you know how the academy and the city got it’s name?"

The change of topic seemed to stun her a bit but she still shook her head in response.

"Well, the story goes,a few hundred years ago, this place was still just a small nameless village, humanity was barely hanging on against the dungeons and beasts roamed free, destroying everything in sight. It looked like the earth would eventually be overrun when suddenly multiple dungeons appeared surrounding what is now the city and on the inside. They all inexplicably burst open sending monstrous beasts and chaos. One of the last strongholds of humanity was right here,so if it fell,then earth was most likely done for. The soldiers and even villagers fought and fought but eventually the stronghold was destroyed. Humanity was about to abandon earth and base on another when a single man suddenly appeared seemingly out of nowhere in the middle of all the chaos and started carving through the chaos. One man with one spear single handedly protected the rubble of the previous stronghold, saving hundreds and refusing to retreat. One by one he took down the dungeons, leading the villagers he saved to clear them all in one fell swoop, and in less than a week,a new stronghold had been created. Thousands of beasts fell to the spear of Gerard sentinel and soon enough, he’d turned the entire city into his own private army against the beast threat. He appointed himself general of what is now the world military, building this city up himself. It eventually became the point from where humanity fought back. Gerard sentinel kept this city despite its obvious danger, stating that he would protect humanity’s most dangerous city,thereby protecting humanity, since this city has the largest number of dungeons directly surrounding it. In light of his contribution,Gerard sentinel was given the rank of supreme commander of earth’s military, and the city was named after him. An academy was eventually built on the old military base over time to train new recruits.

Jade’s eyes sparkled as she let out a small whoa. Her tiny mind overwhelmed.

"So that’s why the academy is built in the center of a bunch of dungeons"

Zyro nodded.

"Sentinel city is the first, AND last line of defense for humanity against beasts. It stands as the vantage point, and a place of power and morale for the earth, and therefore,all of humanity both on and off world. That’s why getting in and most importantly, getting out is so difficult. It may not be the most prestigious or fancy, but it’s definitely the best, and so are it’s recruits "

Zyro finished with a smile towards Jade. His words seemed to have cheered her up a bit as she realized by "recruits" he meant her.

"Are you gonna tell her the reason you know this is because you were taught about the city’s ins and outs in case we ever invaded"

Freya suddenly asked

’No way’

’Hmmm, I wonder if this Gerard was a system wielder. It doesn’t seem impossible. Theia?’

"I don’t know. My memories are erased whenever I get a new host so i couldn’t tell you"

’too bad’

The drive lasted a few hours but since they’d left early,it was still bright out. When Jade said the outskirts, she really meant the outskirts.

Zyro paid the taxi driver and the two got out. Jade immediately pointed to a cozy looking two story duplex. It wasn’t huge, but it also wasn’t too small either.

Jade suddenly grabbed his sleeve and started running towards it excitedly.

In a few seconds they arrived at the door. Jade pressed the door bell a few times, basically vibrating in place. She seemed to have completely forgotten about her nervous feeling earlier. Her energy was also starting to rub off on Zyro who was getting really curious.

A few seconds passed and no one answered the door so Jade tried opening it but it was locked.

Zyro’s ears twitched and he asked.

"Your dad lives alone?"

"Yeah. Just me and my dad"

’Then why do i hear-’

The door suddenly opened as a middle aged man in an apron with dark brown hair opened the door.

"Dad!"

Jade basically jumped on the poor man, wrapping her arms around him.

"Whoa, Kitty? Is this really my Kitty?"

Jade chuckled

"Who else would i be dad?"

"Kitty?"

"Oh, it’s my middle name "

Zyro blinked

"... Your name is Jade Kitty Callisto?"

The man suddenly turned to the young man,immediately noticing he was wearing the same uniform as his daughter.

"And you are..."

"Oh. Zen. My name is Zen,sir. I’m your daughter’s classmate. Nice to meet you "

Zyro said, extending his hand for a shake. Literally the entire school knew him as Zen by now so he might as well go with it.

Taking his hand, Jade’s father replied

"John,John Callisto. I’m this troublesome kitten’s father, and I know, she looks nothing like me, she got ger looks from her mother "

"Dad,i told you not to call me that in front of other people "

John chuckled

"Sorry if I took a while. I was dealing with some customers over the phone "

"Customers?"

"My dad runs a repair and pawn shop on the first floor "

"Oh..."

Zyro looked at John a little closer,he had bags under his eyes from a lack of sleep and his hair was messy. His apron was dirty from dirt and liquids, everything checked out... but something didn’t feel quite right.

[Read]

[Name : Jonathan Martin Callisto]

[HP: 10/60]

’I knew it ’

John might have been good at hiding it from regular people but the man was definitely not in good condition.

His eyes peered inside the house curiously, looking to see if anything suspicious was here.

"Well come in"

John said, leading them in.

"Don’t mind the mess, please. It’s an occupational hazard"

Zyro didn’t really care. It was a workshop, dirt was expected. He was more focused on what wasn’t supposed to be here.

"Take a seat. So, you’re in my daughter’s class"

Zyro nodded, sitting somewhere while Jade kicked off her shoes, making herself comfortable.

"Yeah,we met on the day of the test. We actually took it together"

’Something’s not right here’

"I hope she hasn’t caused you any trouble"

"Not at all, Jade’s awesome"

’why can’t i find anything?’

Zyro thought, getting frustrated. He knew that something here wasn’t right, but his senses seemed to be failing him.

"Yeah,we went on the last portal hunt together and we’re about to go on another tomorrow so I just wanted to see you before we leave for the weekend"

Zyro looked at John and figured he’d try to find out what was going on directly with soul bridge.

His eyes glowed as he activated it, but as he looked at John, he suddenly felt a burning sensation in his eyes and mind. The skill was rejected.

A huge portion of his astra was used and he had a splitting headache but he’d gotten used to the mental pain by now and dealt with it as easily as he would physical pain, simply flinching a little and brushing it off.

’What in the world? Did he...’

Zyro looked at John who was still happily chatting with his daughter he got rid of that thought. He didn’t even noticed. Then why had it failed.

Zyro kept looking around while speaking with john and his gaze eventually fell on a family photo.

In it was a younger Jade, John, and a woman with long green hair and eyes. His first thought on seeing her was that she really did look like Jade. You’d have to be stupid to not see the resemblance. The only difference was that she was more developed in her facial structure and... other features.

Noticing him looking at the picture, John smiled.

"That’s Kitty’s mom. The only woman i ever loved."

Jade’s face got a bit gloomier as the topic was brought up.

"Mom was a hunter. She usually went out to hunt beasts. She’d be gone for days, maybe a week at a time but she always came back okay, and with a souvenir for me from her trip. Until..."

John sighed

"Jynx had an... unfortunate accident during an expedition . Not even her body could be recovered "

"O-oh"

Zyro suddenly stood up and walked closer towards the picture, staring directly at it.

"I’m sorry "

John smiled but didn’t speak

Zyro’s mind was a storm right now regardless of how he looked on the surface for multiple reasons.

The three continued their talk and even had an early dinner together, and the sun had started setting when they made to leave.

As they were about to leave,John suddenly stood up

"Wait"

"Hmmm? What is it dad? You don’t need to walk us off"

A tired smile played on John’s lips as he suddenly flipped the sofa Jade had been lying on before, revealing a hidden compartment.

He bent down and pulled out a set of pristine looking leather armour with silver and steel covering some vital areas, making it look rugged but functional.

"Dad?"

John didn’t react and brought out a box, handing it to jadet, and although he couldn’t see well, Zyro felt like it looked like an unstrung bow.

"B-but this was mom’s"

John smiled, nodding his head as he hugged Jade, softly stroking her hair.

"I know."

Looking at Zyro, he spoke

"Zen. Make sure my Kitty stays safe. Both of you,protect each other, and take care of each other"

Zyro nodded,a bit confused by the atmosphere.

"Z? Do you mind?"

"Not at all"

He bent down and held the armour, placing it in his storage ring and surprising Jade’s father.

"Thanks,dad. I’ll take good care of it"

"I’d give you more if I could, but your mother wasn’t exactly fond of armour, and I’m no adventurer so it may be be a bit low level. The bow on the other hand is still good. It was only her backup, though. Her main weapon was lost with her"

After another round of teary eyed goodbyes, Zyro and Jade walked away as John waved them off before going back in.

For some reason though, Zyro was still on edge. Something about that picture irked him, he just couldn’t stop thinking about it.

After a few more seconds,he suddenly stopped, stuck in place as it hit him.

His vision,the two shadowy individuals behind Jade, their figures, positions, height and even stature, everything was a match with the picture, even the background was a complete replica of the picture with... Jade’s parents,both of them.

Now that he thought about it, the way he acted when he was giving Jade those gifts,it felt more like....

Zyro suddenly turned around and started running back towards the house, surprising Jade.

He forcibly opened the door running in. He found John standing in the center of the room.

"Zen? What are you doing?"

Zyro looked at the corners of the room and although he still couldn’t feel anything, his instincts kept saying danger.

"Oh, it’s just. I wanted to ask if you were okay"

"What? Boy I’m -"

"Are you okay,John?"

Zyro asked more firmly with a knowing look.

This time John stayed quiet for a few seconds,a grim look on his face before he replied.

"Yes. You can leave, don’t leave Jade waiting "

’He called her Jade? Not kitty?’

At this point, Jade had finally caught up

"What’s going on?"

She asked, confused.

"Oh it’s nothing. Your friend here was just worried about my health is all. I’m going to close up early and sleep in tonight so you don’t need to worry "

"Are you sure dad? If you need i can -"

"Kitty. I’m fine. Now go. I’d hate if you were late because of me "

"Oh... okay "

"Let’s go Z"

"Zen. Make sure you take care of each other okay? For me?"

"..."

"Go"

Zyro nodded, a smile on his face

"Okay,i won’t bother you anymore. Get better "

Zyro said, turning around to leave with Jade,a strange black sludge dropping from his finger onto the ground before making it’s way towards John.

*******

"Thanks for coming with me Z. I feel...relieved. That weird feeling I had is gone now"

"Glad i could help"

Jade suddenly linked her arm with his, dragging him to go faster.

"Now come on. You’re already likely to get there late. We both need a good night sleep before tomorrow"

"... yeah"