12 St. Dexter High School

Meanwhile, the moment Juin "released" them, Patrick and John ran out of school, and they dashed all the way until they were 10 kilometers away and close to their homes.

"F*ck! That should be far enough!" Patrick hissed as he took deep breaths. "What the f*ck was that?!"

John looked at him while trying to catch his breath. "I don't know… But… I think it has something to do with the field trip."

"Do you think he has the Sword of the Daemon King?" Patrick asked as he looked at the direction of the school. He was angry at how he lost his reputation when he ran out of the toilet like a weakling earlier. Everyone at school would have known how he basically half-crawled out of there with John.

John shook his head as he glanced back at the direction of the school. He was still sweating, not just from the exertion, but also from the memory of that horrible aura. As he touched his ears, which had dried up blood, he replied, "Just having the sword wouldn't make him strong… Besides, he didn't even use the sword."

"Then what's that?" Patrick asked angrily. "He was in the room when the Sword of the Daemon King disappeared, and now, he managed to suppress us, US!" He pointed to himself as he snapped, "Supernatural beings! He did so without even using anything, just his aura!"

Just as John was about to reply, he felt a cold shiver running down his spine and felt that something was wrong.

"Hey, kid… What's this about the Sword of the Daemon King?" a voice suddenly asked, and it seemed that the voice came from the sky.

The two teenagers looked up, and they saw a young man on the roof of a mansion. The young man, who had short, spiky brown hair and brown eyes, was dressed in the uniform of a posh, private school on the other side of the town.

"Who the f*ck are you?" Patrick hissed. His eyes turned and glowed. After how he was humiliated earlier, he no longer cared about keeping his identity secret. Worst come to worst, the Order would step in and clean up his mess. His parents could afford the penalty anyway.

"Hmm," the young man smiled and said, "didn't your mother teach you proper manners?"

The young man narrowed his brown eyes at Patrick, and he reached out a hand and grabbed the air in front of him, upon which, Patrick felt something choking his throat.

"URgh…" Patrick groaned as he clutched at the invisible hands.

"An Elementalist!" John gasped as he tried to decide whether to stay or run. Elementalist was what they called people who could use magic and/or the powers of the elements.

"I wouldn't run if I were you…" the young man warned in a friendly tone as he looked at John. "My patience is limited, just so you know."

"W-what do you want?" John asked warily. Even though he was a supernatural being, he was at the very bottom in terms of strength. An Elementalist would be able to kill them easily, and the Order would not care. Earth had a lack of Elementalists, and these people were protected by the Order.

The young man smiled. "You were talking about the Sword of the Daemon King. It was stolen yesterday, but you seem to have a clue of where it might be. Now, please tell me where can I find the sword?"

John gulped and looked at Patrick, who had now turned blue. He then immediately said, "St. Dexter High School! We're not sure if it's correct, but a kid named Juin might know something more about it!"

Juin was a little scary, but John felt that this young man before him was scarier. To him, Juin would not go overboard, but this man… John looked at him with fear and shivered as he thought, "He wouldn't hesitate to kill at all…"

"Juin? St. Dexter High School?" the young man repeated as he released his "grip" on Patrick.

While Patrick was sputtering on the ground, the young man then cracked his knuckles before jumping down from the roof, landing softly on the ground without making any sound. It was almost as if he landed on a cloud. "Which direction is that?"

Both Patrick and John pointed at the direction of their school in unison. Without even glancing back at them, the young man just walked in the direction that they pointed out.

…

Meanwhile, back at St. Dexter High School

Max kept looking back at Juin, who seemed to be in a daze. He was looking at the teacher, but his eyes appeared to be glazed over slightly. He did not even notice that the kid behind him had placed a gum on his backpack.

Rrrrring!

When the bell rang, Max went to Juin, who was trying to get the gum off his backpack as much as possible.

"Let's go to the kitchen. Ice would help it come out faster," Max said.

Juin agreed, and they both walked to the kitchen. While walking, Max asked as she passed a piece of Cadbury hazelnut chocolate to him, "Is everything alright? What happened in the boys' room earlier?"

"What?" Juin was confused as he accepted her offer of chocolate. After unwrapping and putting it in his mouth, he said, "Where's your boyfriend?"

"He has practice today," Max replied. "Anyway, I heard some of the kids said that Patrick and John came out with blood splattered all over their shirts and that they seemed terrified. Plus they weren't there in class."

Juin thought about it for a moment. "Erm… I don't know…?"

"But they went in while dragging you behind… Everyone expect--" Max stopped herself, but Juin knew what she was going to say.

He stopped, and when Max stopped and looked back at him, Juin asked, "Max… Do you think I'm a weakling as well?"

Max stared at him, and after a few seconds, she replied, "I think that what you lack in physical strength, you make up for it in other areas."

"As politically correct as usual," Juin said with a deep sigh. "Max… I got straight Ds for the last semester."

When Lucifer heard that, he facepalmed himself and looked up at the sky as he thought, "Why, Izzy? Why?!"

Max shrugged and said, "I didn't say that you are book smart."

Juin felt his heart crashing through the floor and all the way through the 18 floors of hell before hitting an imaginary Lucifer who was sitting in his throne while laughing at him.

"Max… That's not helping," Juin mumbled as he continued walking.

Max chuckled as she walked next to him. "You are more… street smart, I guess?"

"How?"

"You always run away from battles that you can't win."

Juin gave her an "ouch" expression as he held his chest, while Lucifer facepalmed himself again and mumbled, "Even a girl could see that…"

"Can you… not insult me anymore?" Juin asked in an almost pleading voice. "Max, you're my friend… Right?"

Max chuckled. "I'm sorry��� Anyway, I don't think you're a weak person. Maybe you just need a boost."

They walked into the kitchen, and after Juin got a few ice cubes from ice dispenser, he asked, "What kind of boost?"

Max shrugged. "I don't know."

She then sat next to him as he iced the gum. After he finally got rid of it, they walked out of the school together.

"Aren't you taking the bus today?" Max asked when Juin kept walking toward a different direction from the bus stop.

"I need to think," Juin mumbled as he kept walking with his head down while Max looked on from behind him. His depressing back, and the way the kids kept throwing things at him as they ran past him, made her worry.