(Outdated) The King of Elements (part 2)

Chapter 71

"Are you guys getting any better at your incantations?" Dre asked as he, Kim, Megumi, Keiko, and Michael all stood outside of the cafeteria, each bundled up to protect themselves from the surprisingly harsh winter chill. The three girls sat on the lower steps while Michael and Dre stood on the top one.

"Not really," Kim answered, turning to meet his eyes. "I've only been able to say one of them correctly, and I've only just learned that one last week."

"Seriously?" Megumi chimed in. "Wow, I've already learned, like, four of them."

"You lie!" Dre exclaimed.

"Nope." Megumi shook her head. She began counting each on a finger. "First, there's Orgí̱ tou Drákou, which is Rage of the Dragon; a fira attack. Then there's Foínix flóga, which is Phoenix Flame. Then there's-"

"Okay, okay. Show off," Dre grumbled. He turned to Keiko. "How about you? Keiko?"

Despite her matured appearance, she gave her usual childish frown. "I have way too many of them to learn," she pouted. "I only need to have six of them learned before graduation, but still..."

"Well, that's at least one good thing about being a Human," Michael said with a smug expression. "I don't have to spend my time learning all of these different incantations."

"Yeah, but you also don't have an element to use," Megumi said before sticking a piece of pocky in her mouth.

"I've got something better than that," Michael said, holding up a gloved hand.

"And that is..."

"You'll see soon."

"Eh, whatever." She turned to the rest of the group. "So, how far are you guys on learning your sub elements? I've almost got all of mine under my belt."

"We do, too," Kim said, gesturing to Dre.

"Hey, now that you mention it," Keiko began. "I've almost learned all of my sub elements, too. Though we just call them abilities for Spirit elementals. I wonder what we'll do after we finish learning all of them, since graduation isn't until April, right?"

"Yeah. That's a good question," Dre said. "We could probably ask one of the masters once we get to Amity-"

"Oh, you guys are here." Ichi's voice interrupted, making all five of them turn around. Wearing his usual formal attire, he placed his hands behind his back, his sneer wiped from his face. "If you wouldn't mind, go to the basketball court. I've got an important announcement to make."

"Does it have to do with Death?" Ichi's eyes widened under his glasses as he looked at Michael. "I noticed that Death followed you when you and McManus were walking past us. What happened?"

Ichi fell silent. He looked around at the students chatting among themselves in front of the entrance. "What do you mean, you noticed Death following us?"

"I work for him. How do you think I basically became a superhuman?"

"Hmm... I see. Yes, it does have to do with death. It also has to do with Sirens. Toney will fill you in on the details at the academy-"

"Aw, come on, uncle," Megumi groaned. "Can't you just tell us? Or at least give us a hint."

Sighing, Ichi mumbled to himself, "I know I'm going to regret this. Okay guys," he began saying to the students, "there was an attack in the JV baseball field. Three Sirens took control of some students and devoured their life essence. We're still trying to figure out how to tell their parents. Not just that, but I have to tell the students."