Hidden Potential [Stories of Kawali Series 3]

The school lobby used to have a calm atmosphere, but that wasn't the case for that day, as even the glass walls and the library door were just barely holding back the murderous intent from the two sides. Johannes reacted first, pointing finger guns at Keith and firing, only for it to be blocked by a transparent yellow cross that appeared in front of him. Jang Jin-Suk had shielded him, his arm stretched at his feet, his palm pointing at the GOWA forces. 

Keith instantly pulled out his Ability Journal and wrote something down. Just as one of the soldiers tried to shoot him, he put out his hand, forming the same cross, and pushed it towards the soldier who attacked him, clenching his hand into a fist to make it explode.

"How did you copy my ability with ease?" Jin-Suk asked, surprised in his ability.

"Just making a few notes. It's vital for my ability." Keith replied, creating multiple green shards to block the oncoming bullets.

"Once we get intel of his third ability, we'll be able to finish him off!" Johannes thought.

"Thinking about overtaking me?" Keith asked.

"FIRE AWAY!" he shouted. However, the only thing happening were the guns firing, as Keith blocked all of them. "Wait, where are all the helicopters?"

"I destroyed them not long ago." Jin-Suk said, "If it weren't for him, we would've seen more than one outside force. Instead, there's only the reporters attempting to take notes of this event."

"Here we are at Chaysin School, where Judgement Day is currently taking place. Following the events that happened the evening before at Leewan District, GOWA is currently attempting to execute a Neutral known as Keith Kennevin."

A female reporter took the spotlight as she stood near the front of the school, unaware of the attacks going on until an explosion occurred. They all looked, and it came from Keith creating an explosion as he charged towards Johannes, Jin-Suk and Ka-Yeong fighting against the two soldiers. Keith landed a kick to the chin as Johannes landed a punch on his left shoulder, and as Keith jumped backwards, he saw an extraordinary power being charged.

It was only a year ever since he learnt that more than one person can hold the same ability. Their rarity ranges from its power. Amplify and Fire were in the common category, or a rarity rank of C, as extremely rare abilities like Material Manipulation were SS. He had studied them for a while, and came up with a tier list of abilities as time passed. By the time 2 months had passed, 78 abilities had made their way onto the list, yet only one ability was at SS rank. He decided to keep on studying, until the day of the Execution.

"That's... That's the SS ranked ability Violent Overture!"

Keith exclaimed those words as he saw music symbols appearing behind Johannes.

"I wanted to be a musician at first. Such a shame I had to be enlisted by the government." he said, breathing a sigh. "Although, it doesn't seem bad in the fact that I'LL ENJOY DESTROYING YOU!"

Music notes tried to bind him, but they didn't work. Every single note was absorbed by his ear. Keith then said, "The only weakness to Violent Overture is that people who truly enjoy music are immune to it."

"Who the hell listens to all kinds of music?"

"You're seeing such a person in front of you."

"What the- HUACK!"

Keith landed an organ-crushing blow to his stomach, causing him to fall. He looked at the soldiers surrendering to the principal and his daughter, and as Johannes tried to get up, Keith said, "Your soldiers have surrendered. What about you?"

"Ah, I wanted to deal with him after I did that soldier in." Jin-Suk said.

"Oh, you both want to have a fight with each other?"

"Nah, nah. I've dropped that now."

"Alright then."

Just then, an explosion occurred as students ran out from the library. "What the fuck's happening?" Jin-Suk asked.

"Johannes, paranormal activity has spiked nearby your location. You have to evacuate, now!" Johannes' communication device sounded. As Keith healed him, he got up, and said, "Alright. Let's drop this Judgement Day stuff for now. What the hell's that thing?"

Ka-Seong pulled on Keith's jacket sleeve, and her voice echoed, "That's my Parallel. That's the reason my dad put me in that tube."

"I know you..." the Parallel said. Shrouded in darkness, it stepped through a portal on the far side of the library. "I... know... you..." it repeated, taking short steps towards the group.

"What is it that you want?" Keith asked.

"To reunite... with myself..."

Ka-Seong was visibly shaking, and Keith looked at the both of them. "Just so you know, she's an experiment we did. She is still my biological daughter, but because of her two abilities, something called a Parallel appears whenever she's conscious." Jin-Suk said, seeing the Parallel get closer.

"What happens if the Parallel touches the person?"

"Bad things. Really bad things."

He looked at the Parallel, but instead of it having a vicious intent, it looked scared, as if it were a young child looking for their mother. As it got closer, the shadows started to disappear from each step it took. Johannes had ran away in fear, and the trio stood there.

"What happens if you attack them?" Keith asked.

"You can't. They're impossible to land a hit on."

The moment the Parallel got within a small distance between it and Ka-Seong, it reached out its right hand, and said, "It's okay. Nothing bad... will happen..."

She hesitated, but eventually grabbed its hand. A light shone at the spot where they touched, and Keith only stared in shock as Jin-Suk quietly said, "No... You're going to die..."

Once the light disappeared, Ka-Seong was lying unconscious on the floor. He picked her up, and hugged her tightly. Keith said, "At the very least, she's alright. Although, she won't be waking up for the next hour or so."

Judgement Day hadn't ended, however. Just as the trio were making their way towards the clinic, a long line of soldiers blocked their way and threatened to shoot them. Keith stepped forward, and said, "Move."

"Not until you're down."

"Was I talking to you?"

The students at the back ran into the clinic, and Keith said, "Much better."

He used Wind Kick on the soldiers, sending some of them back, and used Plasma to leave wounds on the rest them. He cleared a path for the trio to advance, and once they got back into the clinic, the students greeted the principal before going back to their own business. After setting down Ka-Seong on the bed, he turned to Keith and asked, "So, what exactly happened yesterday?"

"Numerous executors attempted to kill me, but I survived."

"No wonder Judgement Day rained hell on all of us. Anyways, I heard you entered the secret armory. I'll only tolerate it for now, since you got my daughter out from there, but please return the stuff you took once this day ends, alright?"

"Alright."

As Jin-Suk tended to the other students, Keith couldn't help but feel a sense of worry. He looked at the door, then at the window which led to the outside field. The stadium, although quite further than he thought, was also visible, the flags waving in the wind.

"I really hope Judgement Day can end sooner..." he thought. However, at that exact moment, someone knocked on the door. Keith opened it, only to find a huge group of reporters with their microphones aimed at his mouth.

"Tell us, Keith, how did you manage to end Judgement Day earlier than expected?" one of them asked.

"W-Wait, it's over?"