"Tch. I'm going to get him," Heber said abruptly, turning on his heel.
"I'm coming too," Azazel said, right behind him. Ryan, Ezekiel and Cassiel trailed quickly after.
"Yeah, count me in," Adam added, moving beside Poseidon and Seraph.
But Feng, stationary at his place, fists clenched so tight his knuckles blanched, said, voice low, "Don't… not right now." Then louder, desperate: "I said stop! All of you!"
The middle schoolers froze, startled by the force in his voice. Louder than anyone had ever heard from him before.
"Please… not right now…" Feng added, his voice quieter this time. His head lowered slightly, teeth biting down on his bottom lip.
The rest didn't understand yet.
Feng wanted to say it. He almost did. "He'll break if you see him like that… and if you do, you'll break too." But the words stuck in his throat. His hands trembled at his sides. His voice barely a whisper now, "I broke too… watching him push himself like that… watching how far he's willing to go. It's unbearable…"
He looked up, his eyes red-rimmed, his voice stronger now, "Who the hell said he's a king? Right now, in their eyes, he's not even a commoner." He turned sharply to the high schoolers, his eyes locking with Zachariah's icy gaze.
"And in mine…" Feng's voice trembled with conviction, "Not one of you is worthy of even being compared to him."
Silence followed. A silence that burned.
Zachariah didn't blink. He stared back, impassive as ever, the phone resting in his hand like none of this had touched him.
Feng turned without waiting for a response, heading back toward his room.
Ezekiel exchanged glances with Azazel and silently followed.
Alan sat rooted in place, words caught in his throat.
All of a sudden, Zachariah's finger twitched. His gaze sharpened, "Isa."
"Hm? What is it?" Isa looked up calmly.
Zachariah remained silent for a moment, then spoke with quiet finality, "He's overcome it."
The words seemed to hang in the air. A beat passed. Then another.
The high schoolers froze, stunned into silence. The middle schoolers stared, blinking in disbelief.
"What…?" Aaron breathed, not sure if he'd heard right.
"You mean… Kenzo ShahJahan broke through your ability sealing technique?" Senri asked, genuinely shocked.
Zachariah didn't move, simply shifted his gaze toward the long glass windows. His hand rested under his chin, his voice cool, unreadable, "Go see for yourselves."
In a blur of footsteps, the middle schoolers sprinted out toward the practice grounds, trailed by the first and second-year high schoolers, their hearts pounding with a mix of hope and disbelief.
Silence fell over the room. Only Evan, Rauf, Kazuna, Elias, Isa, Ren, Zachariah, and Alan remained behind.
"I…" Alan began, but Zachariah cut in gently. "I know you warned me. But take this…" his tone was level, calm, "as my way of helping them."
Alan blinked in surprise. Then, his lips curved into a warm smile, "Thanks."
There was a beat of quiet before Zachariah said again, voice a touch softer, "Alan."
Alan looked up.
"Don't ever take me the wrong way," Zachariah added, expression firm.
Guilt tightened in Alan's chest. He stepped forward, offering his hand with a small, apologetic smile, "I'm sorry. I promise I won't doubt you like that again. But… you knew I still believed in you, right?"
Zachariah's large hand wrapped around Alan's smaller one in a firm shake. For a flicker of a moment, something rare, something gentle, softened Zachariah's features. "But more than me," Zachariah said, "you believed in Kenzo."
Alan blinked at Zachariah's words, gaze dropping for a brief second. Then, with a soft exhale and a barely-there smirk, he muttered, "Who knows."
The answer was light, casual, almost evasive but Zachariah caught the quiet weight behind it. He didn't press further. Instead, a faint, quiet, understanding smile touched his lips.
"Zach… sorry, and thank you," Alan said again, this time more warmly, more grounded.
Zachariah gave a slight nod, his grip on Alan's hand still firm. "I did my part," he said, glancing out the window again, where the wind stirred faintly across the empty field. His voice low, amused, expectant, "Now let's see what this Young King shows us."
As the middle schoolers reached the practice ground, their eyes immediately found Kenzo, standing at the center of the pitch, shoulders heaving with exhaustion.
"Hey, you idiot king…!" Adam called out, taking a step forward, only for Helios to halt him with a firm hand. "Don't," he said quietly, "Just watch."
The group froze, their expressions a blend of anxious concern and awe as they turned their attention to the pitch. Three bowling machines were lined up ominously, and without warning, they fired five balls at once. Each with different spins, speeds, and angles.
The high schoolers, who had just arrived, stood silent as they too began to observe, their expressions sharpening with concentration. The wicket behind Kenzo had already been reset hundreds of times, this was his 889th round.
Kenzo stood motionless, hair falling into his face, his bat tapping gently against the popping crease. The moment the balls surged toward him: violent, precise, seemingly impossible to defend, his bat moved with breathtaking speed.
Each ball was struck back with such explosive yet controlled force that the sound echoed across the grounds. His grin stretched wide, every stroke pulsing with conviction, his movements fluid, fearless.
As the light caught his face, his hair shimmered gold, flaring like a flame igniting in the dusk. Radiant and uncontainable. His Pinnacle activated without fail. He wasn't just playing anymore. He was roaring.
"The Pinnacle's second phase," Helios said with a slow, awestruck smile, "It's fully unlocked!"
"His abilities are back!! YES!!" Adam shouted, punching the air.
"Seriously…?" Poseidon chuckled, "And he just pulls himself out of a sealing trap like it's nothing. I swear, that's why I never worry when it's him."
"Feng should see this," Xavier grinned, "That dumb, emotional idiot."
"What's the new ability, though?" Seraph murmured, eyes narrowing with curiosity.
"Right?" Aigou added, "He's still on the second stage of his Pinnacle: The Pre-eminent King's Order. There has to be something new in there."
"Or… maybe he just unsealed what was sealed and didn't unlock anything new?" Aaron suggested.
"That's not possible," Nagi spoke up, arms folded, "A lock doesn't open unless you have a stronger key. Zachariah's sealing ability is absolute unless surpassed. The only way to break it… is to awaken something even greater than what was sealed. A new ability. Something powerful enough to shatter the seal from within."
Silence followed as they turned their eyes back to Kenzo, who struck another ball with such sharp precision that the impact cracked the air.
"So, what exactly did he do?" Helios asked, eyes narrowed in curiosity.
Just then, Kenzo turned toward them with a grin, casually pointing his bat in their direction like a sword raised in triumph. "Reversal!" he announced.
Seraph, Gabriel, and Helios exchanged glances.
Kenzo's smile widened. "The Inverse Curse," he declared, his voice rich with mischief and pride.
Nagi's brows furrowed in immediate contemplation, while Aaron's eyes narrowed sharply.
The middle schoolers, however, wondered at first then beamed at one another, their faces lighting up with recognition and admiration. They understood. And they were proud.
"Don't tell me…" Aigou muttered, stunned.
"Oh~ Great seniors," Kenzo drawled playfully, "You'd better brace yourselves. The King is back and he's stronger than ever before."
Helios couldn't help the soft laugh that escaped him as he covered his mouth, stepping toward Kenzo with amusement in his eyes. Seraph and Gabriel shook their heads, suppressing a smile, while Xavier and Poseidon let out knowing chuckles.
Adam was the first to burst out laughing, and in seconds, they all closed in around Kenzo, drawn by the magnetic force of his spirit.
"Haha! Still as flashy as ever, huh, Captain?" Heber laughed, throwing an arm around him.
"Flashy?" Kenzo quipped, "That's called confidence." But then, his gaze drifted to Azazel, who stood slightly apart from the others, eyes lowered, silent. Kenzo's smile softened. He stepped forward and gently ruffled Azazel's hair. "What's wrong?" he asked, voice quiet.
Azazel didn't look up. He spoke in a near-whisper, "You didn't tell me."
Kenzo knelt slightly, grin steady but eyes warmer now, "Well, then I'm telling you now."
Azazel lifted his head, uncertain.
"Kenzo ShahJahan," Kenzo said firmly, "is back."
"He didn't just nullify Zachariah's ability, did he?" Aigou asked, turning toward Nagi and Noah.
Senri exhaled, running a hand through his hair as a small, startled smile crept onto his face. "Not just that," he said, "He reversed it."
"You mean…?" Aigou questioned further. "He took the seal off his own powers," Senri clarified, "and redirected it. Zachariah's ability sealing got turned back on him. In other words: The Inverse Curse. Now, Kenzo can't be sealed by anyone. Ever. Any attempt to seal him or even suppress him or his abilities gets inverted. It's the attacker's abilities that end up locked."
Aigou and Orion swallowed, visibly thrilled. Nagi was already scribbling rapidly in his notebook.
Aaron gave a low whistle, half-impressed, half-concerned, "Are we… building monsters?"
Noah chuckled, but his eyes were dead serious, "That's hauntingly true."