"Marth, you have been found guilty of cheating on the entrance exam using condemned Astral methods. Now you must die!", Aldo-sensei proclained, his expression going from stone faced to hysterical. His arm stretched towards Marth. The other students nearby stopped in their tracks, watching as the bizarre instructor made his threats.

Marth knew he was guilty, but what was this about condemned methods? With a dumbfounded look on his face, he took a step back as he processed what Aldo-sensei had just said.

"Wh.. What are you talking about? All I did was use HYPER DRAGON EYE!" He rebutted, not minding that the name he had given to his remote viewing projection may come across as ambiguous.

"Ah, so that's what you call it. A user of a projection such as that cannot be allowed to exist.", Aldo began. "It's a shame, really. A talented Esper such as yourself could have been an asset to this Academy.", Aldo went on with a pained look. "It's no matter, the law is the law, and this world has no place for a deviant such as yourself.", Aldo said with a bent smile.

Marth was in a state of shock, not fully comprehending the situation. In high school whenever he would use HYPER DRAGON EYE to cheat on a test, he'd get a slap on the wrist and an F. Was a teacher here seriously about to kill him? This must be some kind of sick joke!

"I.. I... WHAT!!?", was the only thing the frozen up Marth could think to say. None of this made any sense, that was sure. Marth had even read about St. Ezreal's Esper operatives who use projections similar to HYPER DRAGON EYE to scope out the terrain and blueprints of the facilities they're about to raid. HYPER DRAGON EYE isn't a condemned spell, it's practiced at this very academy!

"Prepare youself, heretic.", Aldo warned, as a ball of energy began to form at his palm. The other students began to express concern, one letting out a scream of terror.

"Where are my manners, please forgive me.", Aldo apologized with a crooked grin, as he used his free hand to reach for the sky. As he did so, the blue sky Marth saw seemed to go black, as well as all the surroundings. Marth and Aldo were alone in a void. Marth had read about this projection as well, but never seen it used. Cryptic Isolation. This was Aldo's personal Astral realm, and Marth had been dragged into it. Much like Marth's own Astral realm, nothing existed unless Aldo created it within his mind. Aldo was good. This projection isn't simple, and it's something Marth had never accomplished.

The steps to project Cryptic Isolation are in reverse order of HYPER DRAGON EYE. An injection if you will. The process begins with a reality bridge, splicing another person's reality into one's own Astral realm. Injections are the most advanced class of projections because the creator must be aware of the other person's personal reality, seizing it and making it part of their own. Using Cryptic Isolation on a stranger would be impossible, because the creator cannot know the stranger's mindset. The better a creator knows the target, the more effective the injection. Aldo did his research; Any teacher would have what they needed with access to Marth's educational history.

"The other students are innocent, they need not see your death.", Aldo spoke as the ball of energy before his hand grew larger. Marth recognized that projection as well. Ionic Shock. Using the body's natural electricity as a reference, the creator projects a concentrated clone into the world, repeating the process until an energy ball of the desired size is formed. At small sizes, the ball of electricity is harmless and feels like a static shock, but at large sizes it turns deadly as it's high voltage would devastate a person's nervous system. In the past, Marth had used this projection to start fires and play pranks, but never maintained concentration for long enough to create a ball as large as the one Aldo was creating. This one was already the size of a watermelon, and it's size was still increasing!

"Any last words?" The instructor asked with a crazed look in his eyes.

Marth wanted to believe that this was a joke, but all signs indicated that Aldo-sensei was serious. Except for one, Aldo's accusation that Marth had projected a condemned Astral method. HYPER DRAGON EYE, or Remote Viewing is not a condemned method in this Academy or even this region. Marth concluded that Aldo must be bluffing, and this is his twisted way of punishing a misbehaving student. No, this wasn't a punishment at all, it is a test! Someone finally saw through his apathetic exterior, and recognized his brilliance as an Esper! This had to be the beginning of the course for the advanced students.

"Ok then, I'll play along.", Marth said with a mischievous smile. He assumed his fighting stance, a pose he had seen in a Kung-Fu movie. One leg crouched, with the other stretched out and planted on the ground in front. One fist near his face, and the other pointed at his opponent.

Aldo looked confused as the size of his Ionic Shock grew larger.

"Are you mocking me? This is not a game, this is your execution!", Aldo said as he became increasingly upset. "Now, show me your afraid face!", he yelled, again looking crazed.

"You're pretty good, but I'm on to you.", Marth laughed. "You almost had me thinking you were some kind of psychopath. Anyway, come at me, bro!", Marth yelled, clenching his fists. Marth had already figured out his defense against the incoming blast.

Aldo's expression revealed his ticked off state. He let out an uncomfortable laugh on the verge of hyperventilation. "You annoying braaaat!", as he let Ionic Shock fly, now the size of an open umbrella.

Marth closed his eyes as Aldo's Ionic Shock rapidly moved towards him. His face brought on a look of contentment and he smiled. The ball of energy sped closer, and the black void suddenly returned to sky.

"What's this!?" Aldo cried as the two were returned to the campus. Students still standing there, looking on as the Ionic Shock almost reached Marth.

Marth's forward fist became engulfed in the light of Ionic Shock. The energy engulfed his entire arm, then shrunk rapidly as his body seemed to absorb the voltage. A loud "TZZAP" sound permeated the air, echoing off the surrounding buildings.

Marth stood there motionless, smoke raising from his charred sleeve. Aldo became overjoyed.

"Ahahaha! Take that you little brat, there's nothing left but an empty shell!" Aldo boasted as he flicked his hair, looking up at the sunlight.

"Sunlight?" Aldo quickly realized what had just happened. Cryptic Isolation had broken down mid flight of Ionic Shock. Looking back at Marth, from his drooped head, Aldo could see that Marth was still smiling.

"Is that all you've got?", Marth spoke up, staring straight at Aldo.

"What!? You should be dead!", Aldo replied, shocked that his opponent had not been.

Opening his fist and clenching it again, Marth revealed how he had survived the attack. On his hand hit by the blast, he wore a thick metal gauntlet.

"A metal glove? But that's just a conductor, you still should have been electrocuted!",

"Yes, if it was just a metal glove.", Marth ripped off the sleeve of his charred school uniform, revealing an entire metal shirt below. Then he pulled up his pant leg, exposing metal trousers and a metal boot.

"You grounded yourself!", Aldo caught on. "But you were in my Cryptic Isolation, you shouldn't have been able to project at all!"

"That's right. A normal Cryptic Isolation compartmentalizes the target's personal reality into the projector's astral realm.", Marth explained. "It wasn't possible for me to project from inside your realm because you created the restriction that I could not project. It was a perfect situation, really. Leave me completely without defense so you can take me down. But you forgot one thing. Because Cryptic Isolation is an injection, a projection which pulls my reality into your own, you first have to have a firm grasp on my personal reality. You must have done that by researching my past and hypothesizing my personality, but there's only so much school records can tell you about me."

"I can tell enough from your school history. I can tell that you suck at sports, you're incompetent at all school subjects, and girls ignore you! That's all I need!", Aldo replied, ticked off.

Marth smiled again. "Yes, you got that right. I'm not good at school or sports. I'm a loser and girls ignore me. But that's just what you can see on the surface level."

"Surface level? Anything deeper is nonsense. You're empty inside!"

"That's where you're wrong."

"Get to the point! How did you escape from my Cryptic Isolation!?"

Marth smilled his biggest smile yet. "Shizuma Mizu, 153cm, 90-65-89. Tanaka Aoi, 159cm, 83-59-84. Those two, naked with cat ears pinning you down and nibbling at your chest seemed good enough."

"Wha.. ", Aldo-sensei was speechless, as he instinctively covered his chest between his partially buttoned shirt.

"Easy enough, I just had to imagine something you wouldn't have guessed I'd imagine.", Marth casually explained.

"You.. You're so perverted you broke my projection?! That's impossible!"

The confrontation had caused quite the stir on campus. Students had gathered around in shock and awe and the fight they had just witnessed. From their point of view, a teacher had approached a student with death threats, the two disappearing for an instant before returning half a second later with a giant ball of electricity striking the student.

Marth prepared to follow up with a punch with a metal gauntlet to Aldo-sensei's face, but before that could happen, another teacher arrived on the scene, breaking up the fight.

"Aldo-sensei", the woman's voice interjected as she spread her arms to block Marth's view. "This is not how we do things at St. Ezreal's. You more than anyone should know we are different than that place."

Gritting his teeth, Aldo took a step back, relaxing his stance and closing his eyes. “Tsubasa-sama, this one used Nemesis of Time. YOU more than anyone should know he must be dealt with."

"And he will. But using that transgression as an excuse to go off killing a new student is unacceptable.", The teacher barked back. Aldo looked away, letting out a "tsk".

Marth looked up at the woman in front of him. [To be continued]