Chapter 9: chapter 9
The woman reached into her robes, and pulled out a remote of some kind. After pressing multiple buttons on the controller, the mechanical muzzle attached to Vin's face hissed, and fell down to the floor with a clatter. Soon after came his arm cuffs, and then his legs.
"Come, sit down over her, Mr. Corsetti," The woman gestured to a chair sitting across from her.
Rubbing his wrists, Vin limped over to the chair, hissing quietly as his bruised body made contact with the cold steel seat.
"Your 'superpower' that you've displayed is something that appears in a very rare number of humans, called a Sacred Gear. These are abilities gifted from God, and bestowed upon humans. There's multiple different known classifications of Sacred Gears, and each one has different abilities. Do you remember the rings you had on your fingers?"
"Uh yes…" Vin looked down, before his eyes widened, "What? Did you guys take them?"
The woman smirked, as if amused, "No, we haven't taken them, they simply dematerialized. Each Sacred Gear physically manifests in different ways when used. For you, it's those rings."
"Oh, I… um… I see," Vin said dumbly.
"I know a lot of what's been said is heavy, and a lot's been left out for the sake of not overwhelming you with details. Do you have any questions you'd like to ask? No matter how illogical you may think them to be, I would be more than happy to answer to the best of my abilities."
"...Uh, sure. Let's see."
Vin pondered for a moment.
"Oh! So, what was up with Irina and Xenovia wearing all those costumes, and why did they have swords?"
To give the lady credit, her reaction was limited to a single amused eyebrow raise.
"Well, to give you a proper answer, I should likely introduce myself," The woman stood up, pulling down the hood of her robes to reveal her azure eyes and dirty-blonde hair.
The woman extended her hand, "My name is Griselda Quarta: high-ranking exorcist of the church and the forces of Heaven."
Vin slowly shook her hand, "Uh… Vincenzo Corsetti: high ranking… high schooler? Ah, call me Vin: Mr. Corsetti is my Dad."
Griselda retracted her hand, to cover her mouth as she gave a light titter of a little laugh.
"Very good, Vin. It's important to have humor at a time like this."
Vin scratched the back of her neck awkwardly, surprised a little at how cute Griselda's laugh was, "Thank you, Ms. Quarta- Oh! Xenovia!"
Griselda nodded, "My ward. A wonderful girl, I teach her and Irina. Both are hoping to become exorcists, and with a little more time, I'm sure they will."
"That explains the records…" Vin mumbled.
"I'm sorry, I beg your pardon. What 'records'?"
"Um, Xenovia holds pretty much every record in the school for anything physical. She's even been unofficially declared the strongest girl in school because of her weightlifting record."
"Oh? This is the first time I've ever heard of any of this. Usually with Xenovia, it's training-this, training-that, so I admit, I do somewhat want to indulge in this knowledge. What was her record, if you know."
Vin put a finger to his chin, "Hmmm… Maybe around 510 pounds, if I'm not mistaken."
Griselda giggled.
"Um, is there a problem?"
"Oh no, not at all. I was just amused because 510 pounds is nowhere close to how much she can actually lift."
Vin paled, "What."
"Oh yes, I tell my students to hold back, but it seems like her 'holding back' is still quite eye-catching."
"Um, dare I ask what her usual record is?"
"I'd say about 800 pounds is the usual we put her at for bench-pressing."
Vin thought back to the one teenager brave enough to say he wanted the school's strongest girl to step on him, and silently prayed that they would never get that wish. Not to spite him, but to save him from getting his nether regions destroyed by a girl who could casually press 800 pounds.
"Alright, any other questions, Vin?"
"Oh! Rizzo, what happened to him?"
"He's innocent as far as we're concerned," Griselda answered, "He can still live a normal life, so we erased his memories of last night, and let him go. For all he knows, he just did his job as usual last night, and then went home."
Griselda sighed, "Unfortunately, that same courtesy doesn't extend to you, Vin."
Vin looked up, shocked, "What do you mean? Can't you just erase my memories too, and then I can go home, live without knowing about any of this?"
Griselda shook her head, "No, I'm sorry Vin, but once a Sacred Gear is awoken, it's stuck with you for life. And as long as you have a Sacred Gear, you're going to attract danger; not just to yourself, but potentially your family. It's crucial to sever the connection between you and your family as soon as possible, before anyone who might look to exploit you finds out."
"That's…"
"It's a rational line of thinking, Vin. It's happened to people before."
"So I don't have much of a choice, huh?"
"I'm afraid not, Vin. As we speak, people are setting up your transfer here, your family are currently under the pretense that you're attending a special camp for mechanical engineering. But after you say your last goodbyes, we're going to wipe any record of your connection to the rest of the Corsetti family. They won't remember you, your teachers won't remember any connection between you and your family, and all your legal documents will be altered to reflect that. All that would be left is for you to choose a new last name."
Vin stayed silent for a while, looking down and not making a peep. Minutes passed, before he looked up from his lap with eyes that looked a little more tired, a little more dead.
"Alright. What time is it?" Vin asked, his voice a little hoarser than earlier.
Griselda reached into her robes, producing a phone.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone