"Danzan, next in line," Ortega said, his voice almost militaristic, leaving no possible debate to be made.
"He is really going to test even the captains," Kairo squinted his eyes slightly.
Then he stepped to the side and waited for Ortega to complete the test with the others. Although he was done, Kairo was curious about what kind of assessment he had prepared for the captains. Even if they didn't have resonant cards like him, they were in no way weaker.
A disinterested smile on his face, Danzan stretched his body and moved out. "Hope you have something more challenging for me. The island will surely be full of fun. My cards can't stay out of the party," he said.
Ortega said no more and simply raised his fingers, switching between the second and first card in his finger. He moved with such agility and fluidity that Kairo wondered if the cards were glued to them. Ortega had three cards in between his fingers and was effortlessly activating them in turns.
"Not only must this consume a lot of aura to keep them active in hand," Kairo remarked. Yet David was not showing any sign of fatigue or whatsoever. Far from that, Kairo had the impression he was just starting.
"By the way, Mirelle, what are card sets? I briefly listened to your conversation earlier," Kairo asked.
Mirelle shifted her expression to him. She appeared quite delighted he was turning to her for knowledge. She said, "This is not the typical type of rare cards you know," she started.
"Actually, there exist several types of cards. The exact number of them is unknown. From mirror cards, to complementary cards or even counter cards. Your switch cards and the others all fall in this rare category."
Kairo nodded. He knew quite a few already. Given how his deck was composed, sometimes he too felt slightly envious of himself. He had a good number of rare ones.
"Now think of card sets as an extension of those rare cards. In some sense, they are only rare depending on who uses them. They are cards that can act individually but have an incredible destructive potential when used together, in succession, or in opposition. To obtain card sets requires incredible skills and sometimes luck, because the innerself is volatile like our emotions. In the card mage police, there exist few card sets. One is the Titan set from Captain David Ortega."
"This is fascinating. I have never seen a card set in action," Kairo said. His attention unknowingly returned to David Ortega, eager to learn more about his Titan set.
"Then observe, you could learn a few things," Fabian reminded him from behind.
Kairo nodded and the trio went silent, observing what was going on in the gym.
Like earlier, David started with the Titan aura, releasing its monstrous waves outward, thus sealing every possible escape for Danzan.
"How will he escape this one?" Given it was a non-physical attack, Kairo believed his captain would be in a tight spot. His speed was incredibly useful but only if he had a way to use it.
Danzan had activated the Echo of Tears but was paralyzed in the middle of the Titan aura. Unlike with Kairo, his legs were trembling as if they would bend at any moment. This difference in intensity was palpable. For Kairo it had just been a teaser.
"I have never been able to stay in one spot. And this ain't going to happen today. This little thing can't stop me." Despite the sweat flowing down his face, Danzan kept his smile. A smile that said they were far from having seen it all.
"Oh, then how will you get out of it? I know from verified sources that thinking is not your forte," David taunted.
"He isn't going to buy something this cheap. Come on, Captain Danzan, you're smarter than this." Kairo was almost biting his lips for him. At first, Kairo would have naively thought Danzan was nothing more than an overexcited guy who could run fast. But after his plan and foresight saved all the prisoners and themselves, Kairo had his respect grow for this unconventional figure. He wasn't the smartest of them but was far from being stupid.
"The thing I hate with you guys from the reaper is you believe to know more than all of us. You think your job is far more dangerous than ours. As a little reminder, we are all card mage officers," Danzan smirked.
Gathering his last bit of strength, he began running. To be precise, using the Echo of Tears, he blitzed like lightning. Each round of sprint caused his face to tighten, constricted by the Titan aura, but he kept running.
Even when bleeding from the nose, he never stopped nor complained. He looked even livelier than Kairo had ever seen him. As if this was what he had always asked for.
"He is creating a storm with his speed," Kairo's eyes illuminated.
Around Danzan, the Titan aura was circulating like a whirl. Using his speed, he didn't try to run away but directed the formless aura to move around him, keeping it close but far enough to hold himself safe. Then with a last push, Danzan's body flew like a bullet, drawing a clean arc forward.
In mere seconds he had closed in on David, his fist aiming for his face. Resentment edged on his face. He was willing to reach the end.
"As a captain, I can't objectively assess your strength, but your attitude I can. And believe me, with such a bouncy mindset, you wouldn't last long against the card fossils. They don't care whether you're faster than them. They only care about how they get you killed. You aren't apt for this mission." David shot his hand in a grabbing motion, completely unfazed by the speed. A real Titan roar echoed in the gym, causing the windows to shatter, drawing spiderweb patterns on them.
Shielding his ears, Kairo squinted his eyes, trying to see what had happened.
In the middle of the chaos, Danzan was sealed in Ortega's palms, unable to move any further. "You're too chaotic to survive in the chaos of the island."
"Impossible," Fabian said. His eyes betraying the disbelief in his voice.
Mirelle was shaken but her reaction was measured. A sad smile on her face, she had resigned to Danzan's fate.
However, while everyone was languishing at Danzan's failure, Kairo had an amazed smirk on his face. "This is not over. Danzan might not be the best. But believe me, if he wants to survive on that island, not even Slayer will stop him."
The trio all had skeptical gazes until the scene unfolded at the gym center.
A frown on his face, Ortega released the body in his hand. His eyes moving back and forth between the shadows that were now jumping left and right around him. It was like thousands of Danzans running in every direction.
"I wasn't the only one who changed my deck composition for the island," Kairo said inwardly, eager to see what was coming. Given how things had gone at the fountain, everyone had gone through another round of optimization, carefully selecting their cards to match the challenges that might occur.
"Not bad, but it will not be enough in front of the Titan Roar. I just need to touch you to nullify all forms of resistance. How will you counter my Titan set?" Ortega said, stepping on his feet. He moved slowly in a circle, trying his best to keep the Danzans in sight.
While observing the chaos, Kairo noticed that the Danzans were now wearing a strange form of gloves. Cut from some sort of golden metal, they were ornated with crystals and hieroglyphics, similar to the hexagonal patterns of the circuitry of the void. Around the gauntlets was an aura that was slowly mounting like a cannon gathering energy. The more he ran, the faster the aura grew.
One after the other, the Danzans would charge, using their speed and the gauntlets to strike from unpredictable angles. Each impact on Ortega's body made him quiver. When the gauntlets reached maximum power,
Mirelle acted. The mirror reflection appeared in between the two fighters, causing both to vanish in opposite directions from each other. "I think this is enough for today," she said.
"Calm down, Danzan, this was just a simple timing," Fabian stepped in his way. Danzan, on his part, desperately tried to get past Fabian like a brawler who had just gotten heated.
"The Myriad clones for distraction, the Echo of Tears plus the Thunder Gauntlet as complementary cards. Have I forgotten something?" David asked.
"Yeah, you almost got your ass beaten by the bureaucrats," Danzan spat.
Ortega's face curled into a smile. "Now you're ready for the island."
"Incredible. Each and every one of them has an aura that sets them apart," Kairo could say. Even though he was looking at them from the side, he felt how much work he still had to do to reach their level.
"I don't need to test you, Mirelle. It would be an insult to your abilities. As for Fabian, I think we have him covered," Ortega said, making his intention clear now. All of this was just a show to test Danzan. After all, he was the only four-star officer not like Mirelle or Fabian. "Get ready, officers. We are leaving for the island in two days."