Chapter 126 Second Round— Inter-High VII

Chop!

In a flash, Satoshi gave Primal a chop to the nape, rendering him unconscious in an instant. That chop contained enough power to split a mountain but Primal took it like a champ and didn't even break a neck bone. He did faint though.

"I guess that's done then," Satoshi muttered.

A split second later though, he felt as if his soul left his body. It was an unusual feeling which caused him to lose his balance. After being in a daze for a few seconds, he just had to lie down before his consciousness left him. After defeating Primal, he became unconscious as well.

[Primal, Alexander Whitewing, is disqualified from the tournament for attempting to kill a candidate.]

[Primal, Alexander Whitewing, is disqualified for using a superpower booster]

[Primal, Alexander Whitewing, will be escorted by security officials out of the premises, please remain calm and continue to enjoy the Inter-High Tournament]

[We are genuinely sorry for all the inconvenience this may have caused.]

"SATOSHI!" Midori and the others screamed in unison as Satoshi reverted back to his usual black-haired form, grabbing him by the shoulders and checking his pulse and whatnot. Fortunately, he wasn't in any critical condition. He just fell asleep.

"SATOSHI!" Another voice erupted from the audience and then the Midoriyama Duo suddenly flew towards the Third Stage with the Nurse in tow.

"Is he all right? Why are his appendages— did we hallucinate honey?" Tatsuki asked out of the blue.

"No, I don't think we did," Ayumu said, pointing at the shredded part of the sleeves and pants where his arms and legs were supposedly cut off. "Nurse, is something wrong with him?"

"No, he's just sleeping. He expended a lot of energy after all. I'll heal him a bit so he can recover faster." The Nurse said, placing his hand on Satoshi's head and giving him just enough energy so he'll wake up soon. "Sigh~ and here I was thinking that it was an emergency. Seriously, you two are doting on your son too much."

"No," Sassu spoke up. "A few seconds ago, Satoshi really was on the verge of death! He just managed to act in the last second. If he didn't, he would've been dead by now. You should watch the replay of the live stream and you will know. Also, I'm Sakura Cherry! Great fan! I'm aiming to be your son's girlfriend if anything!" Sassu said with utmost confidence, extending her hands to which Tatsuki and Ayumu properly responded.

"I see, I healed him enough. I'll be on my way then. By the way, Midori, were you the one who healed him? Great job as always, I knew you'd surpass me soon enough. Even I have a hard time reattaching limbs and yet you did all four of them in no time at all." The Nurse said. Of course, she knew the whole story since she was watching the live stream as well. She just said that to Satoshi's parents so they wouldn't panic that much. They are the face of the SAO after all, they cannot behave in an unseemly way in public.

"No... um, it wasn't me. As Sa— er, I mean, as Cherry said, it was all Satoshi." Midori answered promptly, vehemently denying the Nurse's statement. "It was Satoshi who healed himself."

"You mean, regeneration? How could he— "

"He was stabbed through the heart and had his four limbs detached. If you called that simple regeneration then what have we been witnessing up until now?" Kurogami said. "He was able to survive those deadly wounds and heal all of them in an instant. Not only can he control a lot of familiars, he also has immortal-like regeneration."

"I see," The Nurse mumbled. "Your son really is the mysterious one, ain't he? I guess I'll ask him a few questions about it when he gets some free time."

.....

"W-where am I?"

When Satoshi woke up, he saw that his every Familiar was gathered in a circle. It was an empty space with a violet haze and yet even though the space seemed to extend into infinity, it had its boundaries as well. When he looked down, he saw nothing but the violet haze, and yet there was a floor on which he could walk on. No one had to tell him to walk toward his familiars. There was one empty seat and he figured he'd have to sit there.

[You're finally here, Satoshi]

"Dex?" Satoshi asked as a retro computer floated out of nowhere and sat on the empty seat.

? "Where am I supposed to sit then?"

[Of course, in the middle.]

Satoshi nodded and did what he was told. He decided to just trust Dex since he didn't know what was going on. Besides, it's as if all his familiars were in on this so he didn't think too much about it.

[We are in your consciousness, Satoshi, sorry you have to meet us like this but this is an emergency]

[Your superpower has gotten stronger and at this rate, it might swallow you]

"What do you mean it might swallow me?"

[I mean, there will come a time when you won't be able to control your power and it might cause us to... become uncontrollable as well. You should remember Satoshi that we are directly linked to you. If something were to happen to you then it will affect us as well. Just like when you were on the verge of death back then, Sera had to integrate herself into you which caused you to expend more energy than usual.]

[Because of your determination to live, you managed to gain control of Sera even though it was just a few seconds. It did deplete your energy but at least you didn't go berserk.]

"You mean, there's a chance that I become uncontrollable and go on a rampage if I were to integrate with you?"

[In the past, no, but now that your power is steadily rising, you might lose control of it one day. The chances of you going on a rampage increase by the day. If you don't control your superpower, then it will cause us to go on a rampage as well.]

"So... what should I do now?"

[That's the problematic part. In order to gain control of your superpower, you have to either continuously gain more familiars or integrate with another familiar and practice it. If you can control your energy output and not cause a huge influx of energy towards your familiar, then your familiar wouldn't run amok.]

[Of course, that would be difficult, but take things slow and you can master it. If worse comes to worst, I can help you out, Satoshi. But if you rushed things and you went on a rampage, then I'm afraid I can't do anything anymore.]

"All right, thanks for telling me. And everyone, I'm sorry for relying on you too much." Satoshi said, bowing his head towards his familiar. "I'll train hard to become a worthy master."

[You don't have to apologize, Satoshi, we all are right behind you, always.]

"Thanks, Dex,"

[You should probably wake up. Your mom and dad were very worried about you. Up until now, they're still in the waiting room along with your team. They're waiting for the good news.]

"All right, How do I wake up?"

.....

Beep...

Beep...

Beep...

When Satoshi woke up, he was greeted with a blinding white light that was focused on him. He flinched and swayed his hands in an attempt to get the light out of the way. Apparently, it was just the Nurse, pointing a flashlight on one of his eyes.

"I'm glad you're awake. How are you doing?" The Nurse greeted. She didn't need any further introductions since Satoshi knew her all too well.

"Um, how long was I out?" Satoshi curiously asked.

"About five minutes. I've watched the replay to confirm and wow... I never thought that you had such a superpower. Is it rapid self-regeneration? I thought you were a petmaster-type? Do you have two superpowers? Man, kids these days,"

Satoshi shook his head. "No, I only have one." He smiled. "What happened? Is everyone all right?" He asked, wondering if he had gone berserk before he was dragged to this hospital bed.

"Yes, thanks to you. That Primal kid was about to go on a rampage, good thing you stopped him. Well, that aside, how were you able to heal a stab to the heart? And your limbs too, they were reattached as if nothing happened at all. How did you do it?"

"I... I didn't know either. The only thing in my head back then was that I can't die yet. And somehow, I felt unknown energy rushing through me, and the next thing I knew I was standing up once again. I defeated Primal and then after that I don't remember what happened ne— oh, I felt dizzy before I lost consciousness."

"That's normal," The Nurse said, writing something on a paper. "I mean, that bodily reaction is normal when you awakened a new superpower— that, or you used an aspect of your superpower that you haven't used yet."