Chains Of Pride

As the aircraft sped away, a pair of exquisite jade-like hands parted the curtains to take a look at the outside.

"So, is that him?" A melodious voice asked.

"Mhm, what does big sister think, my big brother is pretty awesome looking right?! If you want, I can put in a good word for big sis." Haru asked the impeccable beauty next to him. This was another holder of the moniker of S-Class Digium, a very aloof existence.

A faint shade of red flushed the cheeks of the beauty that sat beside him, "Hush, what are you saying right now? Who's going to put in a good word for who?" She pinched Haru's cheeks in a teasing manner.

"Ah! Ouch! Ow! Haru is sorry, Haru will not bring this up again, big sis wins." Haru cried out in defeat when she easily overpowered him.

"Hmph, it's good you know." When she saw Haru rubbing his cheeks after she let go, her eyes softened and she began to rub it to help him soothe it.

Her eyes gazed out the window, but she was much too far away to see the hub much less a single person. However, that vision of crimson hair flashed in her mind once more, as she mumbled to herself, "So it is you…"

…

"So let me get this straight. He invited you over to his house because he was bored?" Asked an incredulous Kia.

"Can you believe it?! My precious time and this idiot urgently invites me over because he's bored of all things!! I should have killed him right then and there, but it's- whatever." Gero ranted on the important matter that Lanzo had invited him over for.

"So what did you do, did you storm off?" Kia asked, more amused that Gero even went over there, to begin with.

"W-Well, I'll tell you what I did, I told him that-...oh look there's the mansion let's get this thing started." Gero quickened his steps, not answering Kia's last question, much to the latter's confusion.

How could Gero admit that he and Lanzo had an awesome time yesterday? They did everything from racing with the ground vehicles to playing games in Gero's Full-Dive VR capsule. Even if you beat him to death, he would never admit it.

By the team Gero and Kia reached the front of the mansion, the door had opened to grant them passage into Shepherd Hide's abode.

They took off their shoes, learning their lesson the first time, and entered following the same path from their memory to the main living room.

When they arrived, they took in a quick glance of all those in the room, Shepherd Hide, Siren Vizio and Lanzo, he really did arrive before them.

"You're here, now we can begin." The austere air of Shepherd Hide hit them full force, they almost forgot what this man was like. However, there hid behind that rigid demeanour a trace of fatigue.

"You'll be glad to know that I made sure that your families are all being watched and are protected by the organization. I was able to pull off some favours successfully so you can focus on the most important thing here, me."

When Kia and Gero sat down, they both took in a breath of cold air when they saw the tired and exhausted appearance of the man before them. Just what sort of disadvantage did he have to suffer from the organization for him to end up like this?

Kia and Gero's hearts warmed somewhat when they thought of this, he might seem cold and aloof, but he keeps true to what he said even if he has to suffer for it. Just what kind of man is this Takeshi Hide?

"A damn fool, that's what I am! Next time Vizio says another round, I'll kick her out of the goddamn mansion, that's what I'll do!!" Takeshi thought. The poor man was wrung dry by Vizio several times every night and morning since he granted the boys these days of reprieve.

"I'll admit, I'm a bit out of my element here when it comes to you three. You're an unknown, an enigma, I can't help but doubt that the normal ways of awakening will work on any of you." He finally said.

Vizio sat on the armrest of the chair he was sitting in, just taking this all in. She had a wide grin on her face, like the troubles of the world couldn't affect her.

"Why don't you start by telling them how some Taliusm undergo their awakening?" The purple-haired beauty said after some time.

"Yeah I should," Takeshi nodded. "Taliums can awaken a number of ways, it can be done under extreme stress like a massive burst of emotion...grief works best." His countenance saddened when he said this.

He quickly collected himself and continued, "It can also be done consciously by the Talium, one who is highly attuned to themselves and can carve out their own path by what feels right, you can think of those Taliums as geniuses, and they are undeniably rare."

"Of course you three are beyond that, releasing your own pressure and aura before returning to the origin. You guys are beyond the demonic geniuses within the organization. The only thing I can think of for now is to do everything that can normally be done to trigger an awakening but many times amplified."

"Why do I feel like this is not gonna end well for any of us." The first to comment about this was Kia.

Takeshi stared in his direction, and, as if to console him, stated, "Don't worry, you won't die."

This statement stunned the three youth into silence, even Vizio had to give him a sideways glance. How does one even begin to answer that? Wait it's not a question, then how does one go about rebutting that?

"Success! And they say that talking to teenagers is hard? Pfft, this is easy." This was the naïve thought of Takeshi. The man took their silence as an acceptance of his consolation.

"Well, let's get started!" After saying this, the Shepherd just up and left, without looking back, with Vizio in tow.

This action shook the three out of their daze as they quickly followed after him with something of a hurried pace.

"So quick?! Where are we going?" Lanzo asked as he and the other two quickly hurried after the Shepherd.

"I'll be showing you what a Talium's primary goal is. Since you're now under my umbrella you have a right to know." He said as he just exited the mansion.

"Goal? Isn't it just to defeat that Azure Sky group or whatever?" Asked Kia with a hint of confusion.

"That's something that just popped up on our radar relatively recently compared to what we primarily deal with. What I'm about to show you guys is something straight out of your worst nightmares." This was the last thing he said before he locked down the mansion as soon as Gero, the last one, exited the building.

"Vizio, how are we doing so far? How long has it been out?" Takeshi turned to Vizio as they continued walking along one of the many beaten paths within the Academy.

"It' been wreaking havoc in Korea for a while now, the containment team is having a hard time keeping it under control. No one stepped forward since I told HQ I was going to take care of it," Vizio replied with little concern.

"Good, then, hopefully, this will work. We're heading to the teleportation hub." Shepherd stated not missing a step.

A few minutes later, the shadow of the hub came into view. It was a bit odd that they just came from the hub not too long and now they had to go through it once again.

At least they didn't have to pay anything this time, this was an all-expenses-paid trip to Korea courtesy of Shepherd Takeshi, they might as well enjoy it.

"Go over to those hubs over there, I'll take care of everything." Takeshi sent them off to get ready for the send-off while he stayed behind with Vizio to finalise the travel plans.

When they were some distance away, Vizio finally asked, "Takeshi, is it really alright to have them go against this? I mean it's a rank 2-"

"I know, but we have no choice, they're like us but at the same time, not like us." He answered her question, as he continued to explain, "The required stimulation for their potential is something that I'm wondering if what we have now is good enough to unlock."

Vizio evinced shock when she heard this. "Not even this may not be enough? If the danger level were to increase anymore, their deaths would be guaranteed."

"Don't think about it too much, if necessary I will take action," Takeshi stated with a sturdy resolve.

"NO! Absolutely not, it's different in Cendo Academy where you were exiled, but if you unleash yourself outside, this won't end with them just sending you back!" Vizio viciously whispered in a near state of panic.

"Don't worry, everything will be alright, we'll get through this, I am betting everything on those three." He had already sorted out everything and was now heading to where the hubs were.

The light from the teleportation hub lit up once more and sent all five of them to Korea's teleportation receptance hub.

When they arrived, the Kia, Lanzo and Gero stepped out of the hub. After they looked around they found that they were surrounded by twenty-odd people in what appeared to be combat suits. Oddly enough, the people that surrounded them seemed to give off the same feeling as the Shepherd did.

That was right, the group that surrounded Kia's group were Taliums, every single one of them. The pressure the encirclement exuded was hard to bear.

One of the many men stepped forward and proffered the question with undisguised suspicion.

"Who are you?!"