The Depths Of The Earth...

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Though most of the Depthsroot Residents were humbled by the beating they'd received from their God-King, Ophiuchus, and were ready to learn from him at the Academy, there were some who were still upset about the war and plotted to sabotage his teaching with their own devices.

Mike, Sally, and Jim were aware of their powers and how to use them, which was part of the reason why they weren't worried about who they fought. And they could easily mess with Omaru from afar.

Mike -- seemingly the leader -- would outstretch his hand and begin to tamper with the air around Omaru from afar, making it harder for him to breath and to move. He only did this a little bit, and it was done to wear Omaru out faster, which would happen if he had to breathe and move more heavily.

Sally and Jim watched on with the Valparaiso Denizens, confident that Mike's power would be able to slow down Omaru.

The Valparaiso Denizens were paying attention to everything, being quite aware of their surroundings from naturally being in an environment of survival, which honed that skill in them. Their awareness brought attention to Mike, who was doing something to Omaru.

"Pal?" one of the Valparaiso Denizens asked to his partner sitting next to him, having a devious smirk on his face just like he did.

Without warning, the Valparaiso Denizen elbowed Mike in the face and fell backwards, likely knocking them both down, if not just the Lawless One himself. "Whoops," he said in an almost sarcastic tone, "Clumsy me!"

The other Valparaiso Denizens helped their fellow chum up.

But not Mike.

Meanwhile, Ophiuchus was minding the fight between Omaru and Leslie. He was curious about what the outcome would be, especially since Leslie was somewhat accustomed to her power, as was seen by her ability to manifest the axes on her hair. Omaru would be in a bind if any of them were to strike him.

But, as Ophiuchus watched on, there was a ruckus in the back. Students and their horseplay. "Be Mindful!" Ophiuchus chastised the Valparaiso Denizen student, "Someone Could Have Gotten Hurt."

That was all that Ophiuchus had to say about the matter.

Karu remained unimpressed by Omaru and in fact found his display to be quite lackluster. She sighed heavily, wondering if he was one of the 'traditional' types that liked to fight with a sword and shield just because it was a token part of the warrior's style. Karu wasn't rooting for Omaru or anything, but she didn't want him to fail IMMEDIATELY.

That would be pathetic.

No, Karu still wanted Omaru to be victorious in the end, but she was looking forward to him getting his ass kicked for a little while. If he couldn't handle himself, that is. Karu could only think about who she was going to kill in her battle and what poor, unfortunate soul might be paired up with her. The thought made her smile... A bit. Cutely, but in a tomboyish fashion.

Omaru felt the air around him change but that didn’t stop him. He trained his anaerobic cardiovascular system to be able to continuously strike even when feeling fatigue. He blocked the axe attacks repeatedly and counter striked with his sword this time creating a gust tornado attack with a mighty swing. “DRAGON TWISTER” Omaru shouted as his tornado attack engulfed Leslie blowing her off her feet.

The 'Dragon Twister' that Omaru created knocked Leslie for a loop. Unprepared for him to unleash such an attack, she flew across the room and far away from Omaru. However, she launched some axes with energy chains attached out of her hands and cut them into the ground, then pulled herself in. She slung like a slingshot straight at Omaru, spinning her body so that the axe-bladed hair would cut him up when impact was made. Moving headfirst, it was bound to be a direct hit somewhere.

Omaru took a direct hit from the spinning axe attack cutting his chest and stomach wide open, but his demonic regeneration abilities allowed him to regenerate at highspeed. He took advantage of that factor and grabbed the spinning Leslie and stopped her rotation with the brute force of a Falshin, locking her in a tight embrace. “Whoa...I’ve never felt power like this before....feels kinda nice...hahaha!!” Omaru laughed as his inner demon took over engulfing him and Leslie in another dragon twister tornado blowing a hole in the classroom ceiling and lifting them a several hundred feet off the ground. He then dived back into the classroom headfirst at rollercoaster speed just barely avoiding the ground. Leslie passed out from shock, Alter Omaru just dropping her an inch from the floor. “Don’t worry she’s fine...just a little shaken up.” Alter Omaru reverted back to his human form. “Whoa....what was that power...!?” Omaru stood atop a laid out Leslie who was unconscious. “Was that Falshin chakra...?” Omaru looked puzzled as he turned to the teacher. “Um...did I win?” he asked scratching his head.

The power of a Falshin was much too much for Leslie to handle. She was handled gingerly by her classmates and carried off to the school nurse.

The Depthsroot Residents looked at Omaru with awe and surprise, almost literally blown away by his tremendous boost in power so suddenly. "Wow, that was cool!" some started to say. "What did he do?" others asked. "Was this his power already?"

Now popular with the class, Omaru would find everyone gawking at his power, trying their best not to say things about it.

With what happened to Mike when he tried to hinder Omaru, Sally and Jim were starting to catch on that these Valparaiso Denizens were not exactly in alignment with what the three of them had cooked up. Wary of this, they each started to try messing with the Valparaiso Denizens and getting even with them. They pulled up Mike and told him what they thought, and Mike deviously began to tamper with the air around the Valparaiso Denizens' necks...

But, Omaru's blowout stole the show and left Mike, Sally, and Jim in a state of shock that was something like amazement. Now they still had it out for the teacher, but Omaru was off of their shit list, for sure. For now, they would just watch.

Watching was not the best idea for Mike, Sally, and Jim right now, as the Valparaiso Denizens were still very much trying to hamper their plans. They figured that if they could decommission Mike, Sally, and Jim right now, they wouldn't have to worry about them later and could leave this place to get back to Dr. Money for their pay. This shouldn't have been too much of a problem, but it was the teacher that made them cognizant of their actions whilst within the classroom.

The Valparaiso Denizens knew that Mike, Sally, and Jim were now targeting them after what one of them did to Mike, but they were prepared all the same. They weren't cutthroats for no reason. In fact, they'd deliver the first blow -- if the previous one couldn't be called the 'first blow'.

"You don't look so good..." one of the Valparaiso Denizens said to Mike, "Maybe you should drop out of the tournament. It doesn't seem like you're... Fit to fight." As he spoke, the other Valparaiso Denizens crowded around Mike, Sally, and Jim, trying to cover them from sight of the teacher. After they did this, they would place their hands behind their backs and slip their fists through portals of darkness that would pummel Mike, Sally, and Jim from the darkness of their shadows and anything else that bore darkness to it.

In no time flat, the trio would be pummeled into submission in secret.

Ophiuchus was watching the entire time as everything transpired. Pretending not to know what the Valparaiso Denizen students were doing, he focused all of his attention on Omaru and Leslie, who was incapacitated by Omaru.

"Hmmm..." Ophiuchus hummed, his hand covering his mouth and chin pensively, "... The Battle Goes To Omaru. Well Done." Though he congratulated Omaru, his voice did not sound like it was as pleased as it should be. Ophiuchus restored reality to what it was before things were destroyed and walked briskly over to Omaru. He said to him in a serious tone, "That Power You Summoned... Was The Power Of A Falshin." Ophiuchus looked at Omaru in his eyes, very much concerned about the situation at hand. "Though You Have Been Victorious In Battle, You Are Now Closer To Becoming A Falshin Since You Have Tapped Into Its Power... Which Could Spell Doom For You, Omaru." Ophiuchus did not blink as he said, "Be Warned: You May Become Extremely Powerful From Becoming A Falshin, But You Will Then Be On The Hitlist For The Veritas. We Don't..." Ophiuchus paused, turning his head away. "... We Don't Want Another Falshin Crisis Here. At Least Not In The Mainland. If You Aren't Hunted And Destroyed By Us To Prevent You From Causing Destruction And Spreading Wickedness In The Veritas Or Tainting Others By Your Power, You Will Be Banished Out Of The Mainland To Protect The People." Finally, Ophiuchus closed his eyes and furrowed his brow, saying, "I Hope You Understand What This Means, Omaru."

After that, he stood straight up and said, "Prepare For The Next Bout. Karu Versus Jim." Ophiuchus did not go to look at what was happening to Mike, Sally, and Jim, and in fact, ignored it completely. He just awaited Jim and Karu to make their way to the center of the class.

With everything that just happened, Karu, who was normally stone-faced, had eyes as wide as saucers. "Did he...?" she asked herself, wondering if Omaru used demonic power to further become like a Falshin. The power he exuded wasn't to the extent that Karu was accustomed to, but it was a feat for Omaru, and she recognized that. Maybe one day he could be more powerful... And maybe she'd like that.

Regardless, she heard her name called for the next battle and she smirked, rising from her seat swiftly and making her way lackadaisically to the center of the class. "Jim, huh...?" she said with a monotonous uncaring, "Sounds like a wimp. I'll kick his ass." She shrugged. But, Karu looked to Omaru and said to him, "Nice going." That was the only praise she would give him.

As it turned out, the $yndicate, the personal guard of the Veritas, had an urgent message for Ophiuchus, which was delivered by Leapsie, the Google-Eyed Frog. Leapsie had actually been watching everything that transpired as well, though from a different point of view. Leapsie was stationed where no one would notice, looking like a toy, and watching the back of the classroom.

When secretly alerted of the goings on on the mainland, alerting Ophiuchus became priority, and Leapsie stopped casually watching the back of the class. Leapsie hopped to the front and upon Ophiuchus' shoulder, whispering the crucial information about the Veritas to him.

Express concern was given to Ophiuchus once he was informed of what was happening, despite being in the middle of class. He didn't want to end the class here, but he also knew that there wasn't anyone to take his place. People with all sorts of different unstable abilities, and even Karu, could not be handled by any one of the $yndicate placed in the Depthsroot. They alone, though they were the Royal Guard, still had limits to their abilities. They mostly handled minor instances. Granted, the Depthsroot Residents alone, even together, were not able to overpower the $yndicate, Karu... And possibly, Omaru... Could hold their own. Even give them problems.

This was a tough situation, but fortunately, the ever fore-thinking Ophiuchus already had something ingrained in the Depthsroot as an official protector ever since the instance with the Michiogre that was born of the Insanity Of Earth. That was...

"... Class. Unfortunately, I Will Have To Excuse Myself. Something Pressing Has Come Up." Ophiuchus adjusted his jacket and proceeded to start off. "However, Class Is Not Dismissed. Not Only Will The $yndicate Be Here To Watch Over You, But The Protector Of The Depthsroot Itself, The Grand Golem, Will Be Teaching You. Be Sure To Treat It With Respect As If It Is Me. Because It Is Part Of Me, And I Can See Through It." He said most of that really hurriedly, and disappeared through a Dimension Gate as soon as he opened the door leading outside.

Soon enough, a replicant of Ophiuchus walked through the door, almost like a doppelganger. There was virtually no difference in the appearance, but the demeanor was completely different. "My, It's Been A While Since I've Made An Appearance..." The voice was different, as it was much more light, but also much more... Emotionless. It had the nuances of emotion, but they were wholly empty, and seemingly parroted from analysis of regular basic interactions geared toward general communication.

But nothing of any depth or substance, like a real person.

"I Look Like The God-King, But I Assure You, That Is Not Me. I Am Instead A Construct Created By The Grand Golem, Which Was Assigned To Watch Over The Depthsroot. For Those Of You Who Do Not Know Or Didn't Notice, It Is The Gigantic Golem Embedded In The Wall Of The Cavern Outside. I Have Been Instructed To Further Your Education In The Stead Of Ophiuchus, So Here I Am." The golem paused. "... You All Were Fighting Each Other For Combat Training. So. The Next Bout Will Start -- Karu Versus Jim."

The Valparaiso Denizens smirked, hiding the bodies. "Ehhh, Jim said he wasn't feelin well and, eeeh... Passed out right there on the ground. He was beating himself up pretty bad about the competition, but eeeh... I think he needs to go to the nurse's office! Heh heh!" The Valparaiso Denizens grinned at each other. "Oh, you know what, teach? We're gonna just take care of that for yas, cuz uh... Looks like Sally and Carl also fell out unconscious after watching their friend beat himself up. They beat themselves up pretty bad about it, so, uh... We personally volunteer to take these poor kids to the uh... Hospital, or some shit."

The Valparaiso Denizens left with Sally, Carl, and Jim.