Nobaru gave a side smile, raising her chin with an air of one who knows more.
"Zulian, your family spreads rumors that they are the only ones who can control dragons," Nobaru said.
Zulian immediately retorted. Her body stepped forward, and her brow furrowed in defiance.
"But only my clan can do that!" Zulian replied.
"Is that what you think, or is that what your family taught you?" Nobaru took a step forward, her gaze fixed on Zulian's.
"Do you know Kakai?"
Zulian did not look away, her body tense as a drawn string.
"Yes, one of the strongest and most powerful," she answered, her voice clipped and cautious.
"He can also summon dragons!"
Nobaru exclaimed, widening her eyes, as if the word were sacred.
Nobaru raised her hand with a sharp, decisive movement. Her gaze, once severe, now carried a cold presumption. She addressed the student, Zulian, directly, with a voice that allowed no argument.
"And I can summon too," Nobaru declared, her voice cutting the air like a whip.
Zulian clenched his fists, feeling the weight of that authority. He wasn't the only one watching; the other students looked at her with tense expectation. Nobaru did not shout; she merely announced with calculating power:
"Seal Break."
In immediate response, the ground trembled, and the sky seemed to be torn open. A deep, ancient roar echoed, not of uncontrolled fury, but of absolute power. From the dark clouds that formed in seconds, descended a creature of shimmering scales, long, massive, and with the majesty of a river god. It was the serpentine dragon, Rigoro.
"This is Rigoro," the sensei Nobaru announced, without changing her tone, pointing to the gigantic beast hovering above them. She held Zulian's gaze.
"One of my weaker dragons."
Nobaru crossed her arms, the image of absolute dominance.
"You may be from your clan, Zulian, but you are not the only one who can summon dragons. I know a lot about your family. They have lived in isolation for over two hundred years," she continued, her voice icy.
"Keep this in mind, Zulian. Many things have changed since then."
Nobaru turned to Fukuoka.
"A beautiful little boy, but dreamless, who connected with a special spirit."
"Do you know his story?"
Fukuoka trembled slightly under the teacher's gaze.
"No, I don't know anything," he replied, barely a whisper.
"He is a legendary, or just an innocent little child who, when his father went crazy, killed several people, including his mother and sister, and when that poor little boy tried to kill his own father... Oops, his father killed him with a stab right in the middle of the chest."
"But no, no, he couldn't just die like his father's other victims."
Nobaru took a dramatic pause, the silence echoing the violence of the words.
"He became one of the ten supreme spirits who, even today, more than 700 years later, we do not know the limit of his strength. Do you find your story similar?"
"I guess so," Fukuoka replied, his voice barely audible, resignation and fear mixed together.
Nobaru leaned in, her face dangerously close. Her smile widened, but there was no warmth, only a glittering cruelty.
"The weakling who was going to commit suicide, there is no room for weaklings here."
"Calm down, our dear Nobaru has a little problem with people who have spirits," Yagato provoked with a cynical smile.
"Shut up! I just think I should have gotten one, an easy one like that,"
Nobaru replied, her voice irritated.
Nobaru is the daughter of a human and an Osmo, and because of this, the part that comes from her father's lineage is cursed. To maintain control over this part, she has to earn merit from the gods.
"Nanai, one step forward! The lovely and precious Nanai, whose body and face were deformed by her own friends, now hides her face."
"But, nevertheless, she gained an elite spirit, class 4. Good girl. Now you can take revenge." Nobaru pronounced the last words with an icy, almost commanding, intonation.
"You are dismissed," Nobaru declared, abruptly ending the session.
Fukuoka saw Nanai sitting alone and, with visible hesitation, went to talk to her.
"Nanai, is what the teacher said true?" Fukuoka asked, his voice low and careful.
Nanai did not raise her head.
"What? That I'm a friendless coward and my only friends did this to me and I'm a coward who doesn't have the courage to take revenge?"
She laughed, a dry and bitter sound.
"Then yes, that's me."
"You are very brave," Fukuoka replied, with conviction.
Nanai abruptly lifted her face and stared fixedly at Fukuoka. For a second, it looked like she was going to give in and cry, but she managed to hold back. She had just heard what she had never heard from anyone before.
She always covered her body and part of her face because she didn't like the scars.
Fukuoka then slightly lifted the sleeve of his own clothing and showed all the scars he had on his arm.
"I knew it! You're talking to me because you feel sorry for me! I don't need your pity!" Nanai exploded, her voice full of anger and hurt.
"No, no," Fukuoka replied, shaking his head in denial, his voice urgent.
"Get out of here!" Nanai replied, yelling and turning her face away, putting an end to the interaction.