Fade in…
The Normalization of Power
The story resumes eight months after the violent end of the Tribal War. The world, for the moment, has settled into an uneasy, pandemic-driven normalcy. Hakuna is now seventeen, his voice has deepened, and he has certainly grown taller—though, to his perpetual annoyance, he still hasn't achieved the towering height of his older brothers. No matter. His power level has stabilized, refined by months of focused training with the fused Divine Energy of Nolitha and the combat experience of Psycha. Things are about to change dramatically as we enter the next, more complex arc of the saga.
Hakuna was seen walking casually down the quiet, tree-lined streets of Klerksdorp, his massive new smartphone held directly in front of his face, his gaze completely buried deep within the glowing screen. He was completely oblivious to his surroundings, lost in the digital hum of human invention.
He then muttered to himself, the words barely audible around the edges of his mask. "Oh man, Mastar Media just released a video. The notification is right here. Wait a minute—is he seriously making his own full-length Manga? That's dedication. Tell me I'm dreaming, Psycha."
"The sheer genius of creative ambition is inspiring, vessel," Psycha replied in his mind, having developed an interest in human media during her long residency in his head.
So absorbed was he in the scrolling text that he unconsciously walked directly into moving traffic. A familiar-looking, massive delivery truck, fully laden with goods, seemed to be heading straight towards him, the driver laying desperately on the horn. But before the kinetic warning could fully register in his mind, his natural instincts took over.
"Heh…?" Hakuna muttered, only just registering the immense shadow and the blaring horn.
The truck slammed into him. The impact was instantaneous and devastating—not for Hakuna, but for the vehicle. The reinforced steel chassis buckled violently, the windshield exploded, the hood crumpled like wet paper, and the entire truck shattered completely into thousands of pieces of mangled debris. Hakuna simply took the full, unmitigated kinetic impact, absorbing the force into his Titanus Skeleta and emerging unscathed. He adjusted the angle of his phone screen, annoyed by the interruption, and walked away from the wreckage, leaving bystanders—who had pulled over instantly—in utter shock and paralyzed disbelief of the situation. The driver was left unharmed but deeply traumatized, staring at the Prince who had just annihilated his livelihood.
It seemed to be his weekend shift to patrol around the school premises as a mandated member of the BBC, a duty he clearly didn't take seriously. He only cared about the potential for unexpected trouble.
He thought to himself, checking his internal threat assessment systems. "All seems to be fairly peaceful, thankfully. No spikes, no residual malice, right? So I guess I should be heading home and catch up on that new Manga now—"
Before he could complete his hopeful thought, a car—a small, red sedan—was suddenly thrown past him with dangerous, reckless speed. It spun wildly through the air before crashing violently into a nearby parking lot, the sound of tearing metal echoing through the street.
Psycha chimed in, a sense of immediate, fatalistic humor in her voice. "Well, look who is being blessed with perfect timing again, vessel. Your life truly is an uninterrupted, chaotic narrative."
Nolitha, her spiritual presence now calm but sharp within his consciousness, joined the conversation. "You need to stop looking at that frivolous phone so much, Pappie. You didn't even sense the immense spike of Angelic Demonic Energy behind you until the air was disturbed by the incoming car."
"That dude's got terrible aim. Why didn't he hit the parking lot first? But yes, this really feels like a terrible case of Déjà Vu, Nolitha," Hakuna said, referring to the demon's familiar lack of targeting precision.
A massive Level 8 Ogre Class Angel Blood demon, identifiable by its shimmering, silvery skin and unnaturally serene expression, appeared directly behind Hakuna, its immense fist cocked back and ready to land a catastrophic strike to his unsuspecting head.
In a split second—a micro-temporal shift that defied physics—Hakuna moved. He didn't turn around; he simply thrust his hand back and caught the massive fist. The sheer force generated by the demon's strike blew everything else in the vicinity, including loose debris and parked cars, violently away.
He looked back at the demon over his shoulder, his eyes narrowed. "Huh? Another one of these Angelic abominations? Oh, come on…!"
He threw the demon forward with a controlled kinetic surge, sending the hulking creature crashing into the remnants of the destroyed truck.
But before the Level 8 demon could even come to a full stop or regain its footing, Hakuna was already there. It was utterly unknown when he moved or how he moved; at this current moment in time, Hakuna's speed, now fused with Nolitha's dimensional warp ability, was just too powerful to be observed.
His right arm instantly became shrouded in searing purple-red flames as he used his left arm to pick the demon up effortlessly, holding it at eye-level.
"Alright, go on. You know the drill. Say it," he said, waiting for the necessary villain monologue.
The demon, confused and overwhelmed, managed only a strangled, inaudible sound. "Huuugll?"
Hakuna continued, his voice laced with boredom and deep-seated annoyance. "You know, at the beginning of every single narrative arc in my life, I always seem to fight a demon who is not quite strong enough to be the true threat, but still powerful enough to cause massive collateral damage. And each time before their inevitable deaths, they always, always say some cheesy one-liner that the writer worked so haaard to come up with, setting up the new plot device."
Just shut up and get to the violence, you brat.
The demon's silvery eyes suddenly rolled back, the pupils disappearing completely as the ancient, demonic consciousness took over.
"Your time approaches, human. You have been selected. Hahahahahahahaaaaahahahahahahahaaaaahahahah…"
As the demon continued its frantic, maniacal laughter, its voice cracking with the sheer force of the borrowed power...
Hakuna spoke, nodding dismissively. "There it is. The predictable one-liner."
He cocked his fist back, still enveloped in purifying flames, as he said, his voice flat. "Fist of Inferno…"
He punched the demon, releasing the concentrated Divine power. The creature vaporized instantly into a cloud of glowing ash, erased from the immediate spatial plane.
The King's Summons
Before the smoke could fully dissipate, Kamohelo, one of Hakuna's Royal Squadron members, appeared silently behind him, immediately bowing on one knee.
"Your highness. I apologize for the sudden intrusion," she said.
Hakuna responded, the action already receding into the background. "Hmm? Oh, Kamohelo. What's up? I just finished my patrol."
Kamohelo then relayed her message, maintaining strict professionalism. "His majesty, King Sehloho, requests your immediate audience. He stated the matter is urgent."
Hakuna then sighed, rubbing his temples in exasperation. "What in the world could my brother want now? I just ended a full-scale Tribal War for him, and now I have to deal with court politics? Ahh, alright, let's go and get this over with."
They both vanished.
…At the Letebele Palace…
Hakuna instantly materialized in the luxurious Royal Dining room, where Kamohelo and Sefate (another Squadron member) stood by his side.
Sehloho walked in, holding a folder of documents.
He commanded, his voice formal. "Leave us, ladies. This is a private matter concerning the state of the Royal household."
Both members of the squadron bowed and vanished instantly, demonstrating their seamless efficiency.
"What's wrong, Sehloho? Are the Tshabadira staging another attack? I've already dispatched a warning to King Thlomamo," Hakuna asked, cutting straight to the point.
Sehloho then spoke, closing the door and walking slowly to the opposite end of the table. "No, things have been rather peaceful since you did what you did at their palace. And I've had ample time to finish a couple of important structural things involving the Letebele clan since you assigned three of your Royal Squadron to protect the palace perimeter. However, there is something personal we have to discuss immediately."
"Huh? Personal? What could be so urgent it requires me to stop vaporizing demons?" Hakuna muttered.
There was a distinct, heavy pause as the atmosphere tensed. This clearly seemed serious to Sehloho.
Sehloho then continued, finally broaching the subject. "So, Prince Hakuna, you will be living at Milner for the foreseeable future, correct? You will be moving into the student residences."
Hakuna, his face turning deadpan, questioned the supposed gravity of the meeting. "Did you really call me back from a patrol to talk about my moving arrangements?"
Sehloho argued, his voice laced with unexpected emotion. "Come on, Hakuna. This is a huge step. It's going to be the first time you live by yourself—sort of, with the BBC—but it's still away from the watchful eyes of Mother and your loving brothers and sisters. It's a taste of true independence."
Hakuna thought to himself, a cold realization dawning. "Say what now? He's acting like this is my first taste of freedom, when in reality, he's just worried about losing control."
He then retorted, meeting his brother's gaze. "Don't give me that emotional crap, Sehloho. I know you're always watching me from a satellite above the sky, even though you allegedly have far more important war-related things to do."
"How did you know that? The satellite's cloaking spell is the best in the kingdom!" Sehloho queried, genuinely stunned by the accuracy of the accusation.
Hakuna then spoke, calmly explaining his amplified capabilities. "In case you didn't know, my intense, multi-faceted training over the last year included gaining perfect control of the two enormous powers sourced from different entities within me. I am no longer just a warrior; I am a sophisticated detection system."
Nolitha and Psycha both exclaimed in unison, their voices echoing in the room. "Hey, hold on! What am I to you exactly? A mere 'entity' or a 'source of power'?"
Hakuna, completely distracted and unaware that he was responding to his inner voices out loud, reprimanded them. "Both of you, quiet down! You know the writer is currently trying to maintain efficient dialogue and push the plot forward!"
Nolitha and Psycha both roared back in unison, utterly offended. "Excuse me?! We are complex characters with emotional backstories!"
Hakuna, still responding to them out loud and ignoring his brother, sighed heavily. "I know, I know! I'm sorry! I'll give you a whole separate chapter later to complain! Okay?"
Sehloho, attempting to make his oddly removed presence known again, cleared his throat loudly. "Uhh, you were saying, little brother? About your energy sensing?"
Hakuna snapped back to reality, realizing the depth of the social disaster he had just caused. "Uh, right. My apologies, Sehloho. That control of my energy has allowed me to sense energy signatures and tracking devices over a far wider area, including your satellite's subtle transmissions."
Psycha chimed in, now fully invested in the mental banter. "Just as long as you're not watching too much low-budget anime and distracting yourself with frivolous media."
Hakuna replied, still out loud, "It was that one time I binged the whole season! And it was important! It helped me fight the cult!"
Sehloho chimed in, utterly baffled by the strange monologue. "Despite that… that is impressive. But how do you feel about the move to Milner, Hakuna?"
Hakuna continued, his voice returning to a serious monotone. "I don't know. I'm supposed to meet the principal along with my friends because we're the most effective combat team in their Demon Demolition Force."
Sehloho then concluded, smiling gently. "I see. Well, enjoy your independence, and try not to destroy the school property before the first week is out."
"Oh my god. I'm leaving now," Hakuna muttered, placing his palm to his face in utter exasperation.
The New Head Boy
…At Milner…
Hakuna appeared a few spaces away from the main door of the reception area. The school was currently closed for renovations and preparing the residences.
He then said, stretching luxuriously and scanning the empty grounds. "Looks like I'm the first one heeerrrr—"
Super interjected, his voice flat and mocking. "I know you neglected your patrol duties, Prince. I was tracking your energy signature. You're an hour late, and I had to cover the full duration of your assigned shift."
Super was seen leaning casually on a sturdy pillar near where Hakuna stood, his arms crossed.
Hakuna retorted, annoyed by his rival's perpetual antagonism. "Oh, give me a break, Super. First, I had to fight a Level 8 demon, then my brother summons me for some urgent business only to find he was just asking me about my moving arrangements! Ugh! I was busy saving the area while you were probably asleep!"
"So, you're moving to school? Into the residences?" Super asked, the hostility momentarily forgotten, replaced by curiosity.
"Yeah, aren't you? I thought we were getting a room together, finally," Hakuna said.
Super replied, shaking his head. "No, I'm not. I'm not leaving my beautifully air-conditioned, comfortable bed at home just so I can save on taxi fare and be subjected to sleeping next to your chronically messy self."
"What a snob you are, Super," Hakuna said.
Super retorted, matching his energy. "Says the cheapskate prince who hides his unimaginable wealth just to fit in with us mere mortals."
Before things could escalate, Enzo appeared, along with the rest of the BBC.
"Ehh? Since when do you wear glasses, Enzo? Are you going for the distinguished scholar look?" Hakuna questioned.
Enzo replied, pushing them up his nose. "Since I became an esteemed member of the EXCO students."
Hakuna then voiced, pointing out the odd power dynamic. "You do realize you're the only one in the BBC who's an EXCO, right? The only one with an official badge?"
Enzo replied, proud of his achievement. "Yep, I do admit, I was aiming for Head Boy, but I was still voted in. It's an honor to be recognized."
Hakuna thought to himself, confirming his earlier suspicion. "He still had the third highest votes, behind the current Head Boy by five votes and the Deputy Head Boy by two. That's a massive political advantage for the squad."
"Who is the current Head Boy anyway? I feel like I'm supposed to know this, but I've been absent," Psycha asked in his mind.
Something massive and heavy suddenly fell from the sky, impacting the ground right in front of the assembled group with a thunderous, earth-shaking thud. Dust and debris flew everywhere.
"What the hell was that? Why are things always falling out of the sky when I'm around? Is the cosmos just aiming for me?" Hakuna questioned, coughing due to the immediate cloud of dust.
The dust settled, revealing a massive, impossibly tall, and intensely muscular young man standing completely unfazed where the object landed.
Enzo then spoke, his voice filled with apprehension. "That would be our new Head Boy, Sibusiso Tshatshu. He doesn't believe in using stairs, doors, or any normal entrances."
"Sup, small people? Did I land too close? Hope I didn't break anything," Sibusiso boomed, his voice deep and casual.
Hakuna looked up at the enormous new Head Boy, feeling dwarfed. "Was he this impossibly big the last time I saw him? His muscle mass and overall height seem to have doubled over the break. He is certainly an intimidating presence."
Mr. Lupuwana walked out of the school reception to meet the group, looking harried.
He then beckoned, smiling nervously. "Ahh, good, everyone's here, thank you for coming! Come on in, the Head Girl is waiting inside. We have an incredibly important, time-sensitive assignment for the entire BBC squad, the strongest student unit in the country."
Hakuna thought to himself, following the principal. "I wonder what this 'important assignment' could be. Another cult? Another demon? I just finished one world-saving mission, and the war is over. This better be quick and worth the trouble."
Fade out…
End of Episode 49.