Alex kicked back a charging prisoner behind her.
Another one came at her, swinging a wooden plank.
Max stepped in and blocked the plank, then swung hard and cut it in half.
The prisoner backed off.
On the street, all thirty escaping prisoners and twenty-nine soldiers were in a brawl.
The criminals were punching and tackling desperately, trying to knock down and steal equipment from the soldiers to level the playing field.
One came running at Edric with a wooden chair he grabbed from outside a cafe.
Edric noticed and raised his Great Axe in a defensive position.
The attacker swung.
The chair landed on his Great Axe hard and broke into segments with a crack.
The prisoner slowly backed off.
Edric raised his head and looked at him with dangerous eyes.
A shadow loomed over the prisoner's head. He looked up.
A slender female figure, long blonde hair, a white backwards cap on her head, face hidden behind a battle mask, a white and yellow instructor tracksuit beneath a standard gear, and a pair of white, customized, and sharp Sais in her hand.
Sayuri closed in and landed a hard kick on his face, knocking him out.
She dashed forward at the remaining criminals still standing, from one individual to the next, landing kicks and punches on their faces.
In a matter of two minutes, all the criminals were lying on the ground unconscious.
Sayuri finally stopped still at one spot.
"Get to work," she ordered the soldiers.
They picked themselves back up and started cuffing the unconscious prisoners.
Max, Edric, and Alex regrouped.
She looked back over her shoulder.
"Head back to the academy and report back to the director."
She finished speaking and instantly sprinted forward, jumped on a low building with a wind boost, and headed straight for the containment facility.
Max blinked, then let out a long gasp.
"That was Instructor Sayuri Harukaze!"
A loud gong echoed from behind the large, heavy metal doors of the prison.
Twenty prisoners in groups of ten were ramming the prison doors with thick metal beams they had stolen from the cargo area.
Over a hundred prisoners were loose from their cells and rioting in front of the gates, in the courtyard illuminated by floodlights.
Soldiers were aiming down at them with rifles from the narrow path above the gate that connected two watchtowers in a straight line at the corners of the prison.
"I repeat. Return to your designated cells! Riot suppression teams are on their way!" the Prison Warden yelled into the megaphone.
"Shut up, ya @#$%!" a prisoner yelled back.
Everyone in the courtyard chanted together,
"FREEDOM! FREEDOM! FREEDOM!"
The two groups of battering rams screamed and pushed forward again.
GONG!
The Warden lowered the megaphone.
"We have to do something quick before the elemental suppression on them wears off."
Sayuri flipped in from above.
The Warden looked up in awe.
"Huh?!"
She aimed at the courtyard and leaped straight in, landing with a heavy impact of wind that sent the two groups of battering rams flying in either direction.
The beams dropped on the ground violently.
A bunch of tall, muscular prisoners stepped forward.
"Who the hell's this chick?"
One prisoner in the crowd took a closer look.
"She looks familiar…"
The muscular ones stretched their arms and charged at her.
"She'll make a perfect hostage. Grab her!"
The first one aimed a punch at her.
She rotated her shoulder ninety degrees, her foot shifted in a perfect arc, her head tilted back just a little, and her eyes locked onto his, tracking so smoothly as if she had all the time in the world to kill him right then and there, but chose otherwise.
The prisoner shivered as he looked into her eyes. Every instinct in his body yelled at him to run, or he might die right there.
Sayuri swung her right leg hard into his waist with a boost of wind and sent him flying.
Three more jumped at her.
Sayuri's hands quickly shifted to position the sharp ends of the Sais backwards so she could use her fists.
She dodged their attack and punched the first one's jaw, knocking him out.
A kick followed to another's head.
More prisoners charged at her from all three directions.
Someone tried to tackle her.
She sidestepped.
One came with a metal pipe.
She kicked his balls before he could even swing.
He fell on his knees, groaning.
People kept coming from left, right, and front, only to be sent back flying with a single punch or kick infused with wind.
Twenty more sprinted at her.
She channeled, spun, and swung her right hand.
Wind converged in front of her like a coil, forming a tornado that went straight for the group of twenty.
The prisoners stopped dead in their tracks, screaming in panic.
The tornado grabbed all of them, spinning them through the air in circles for a few seconds before throwing them away in all directions.
One of the lying prisoners saw a metal pipe in front of him and reached out.
Sayuri aimed and threw one of her Sai with precision.
It landed on the back of his hand, tearing through and pinning the hand to the ground before he could grab the pipe.
The prisoner cried out in agony.
The remaining half paused.
Some froze on the spot.
Some were already running back inside.
Sayuri cracked her knuckles.
"Who's next?"
At the East-Wing Warriors Academy container zone, armed guards were on routine patrols as usual.
One guard was walking by the perimeter wall like every other day of his life.
He paused, confused, when a small beeping sound reached his ears. He looked around, finding nothing, and tried to track the source of the sound.
He pressed his ears against the wall, realizing that it was coming from the other side.
The beeping became more frequent.
His eyes widened as he realized and instantly bolted away from the spot.
The beeping became faster and faster until it dissolved into one loud beep, and then
BOOM!
The perimeter wall blew up into chunks of bricks and dust.
From the main road on the other side, two medium-sized container trucks drove in fast through the large gap in the wall.
The guard ran away to regroup and alert everyone before anyone could notice him.
The container trucks stopped with a screech at their targeted spot, just a few meters away from stacks of containers.
The front door of the first truck opened, and the mercenary leader, now geared up, stepped out with his twin cleavers.
He slammed one of his cleavers against the container. "HAHAHA. We're in. Come out, you idiots!"
The container doors of both trucks burst open. Thugs jumped out, thirty from each.
A group of ten container zone guards was on their way after hearing the explosion. They spotted the thugs, and were just about to settle into a firing position.
The thugs spotted them too and, without hesitation, pulled the pins and threw a dozen grenades at them.
"TAKE COVER!" the squad leader yelled.
Everyone ran to reposition.
The grenades landed and exploded.
Boom after boom after boom.
The noise traveled past the academy building and reached the student dormitories.
Madoka threw the can of her suppressant drink in the trash, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.
The sound of explosions reached her. Her head snapped in that direction.
At the boy's dormitory, Kyoya was in his dorm room, sitting on the sofa, watching the news of the prison break on his phone.
The explosions startled him, and he almost dropped his phone. "What the?"
Soon after, a loud siren could be heard from the container zone.
The security cameras caught and showed the live footage of the explosions on the big screen before Stelle.
The operator at the main console worked fast.
"Commander! Security breach at the container zone! Establishing communications!"
"How many are there?" Stelle asked.
"A dozen or two more than us! We're thirty-eight units across four squads!" replied a squad leader through the comms.
"Can you handle them?"
"Negative! They're armed! We need backup!"
Stelle's eyes narrowed. "First, the containment facility, now the academy container zone? The prison break was a distraction for this?"
A smaller screen to the left of the main console showed live feed from all the security cameras inside the academy building.
Stelle's eyes snapped to one camera as it showed two black figures running through a corridor in a blur.
She stared at the small screen, then looked back at the big one.
"I see…"
The console operator looked at her. "Commander! The academy guards and cadets are on their way to the site. Should I call Black Scorpion and Resilient Knight for backup as well?"
Stelle thought for a second.
"No. I have a different task for them. Call Leviathan."
"Understood!"
Kageri and Andreas sprinted down the corridor on the fourth floor of the academy building.
No guards were there to stop them.
"Room 407," Hector comm'd.
"Copy," Kageri replied.
After seconds of sprinting through a few turns, they reached room 407.
Kageri stepped forward and twisted the handle. "It's locked."
She stepped back.
Andreas stepped forward. "I got this one."
He aimed and kicked the door hard near the lock.
The lock broke apart. The door burst open.
Kageri stepped in and turned on the lights.
She noticed multiple consoles and scientific equipment positioned throughout the room.
"A research lab…"
"One of those consoles should have admin access. If not, I have another location," Hector said.
Andreas entered behind Kageri.
"Let's hope this one does. I'm not a fan of running around so much."
Down on the first floor, Madoka was sprinting towards the staircase, already geared up.
From behind, Finn smiled as he caught up to her, also geared up.
"Good evening, ma'am. What brings you here?"
Madoka smirked.
"Heh. The same reason why you're here."
Then her expression turned serious.
"Fourth floor. Let's go."
CLANG!CLANG!CLANG!
Kuroha swung her swords behind him.
He spun and blocked.
She blinked out of sight and reappeared behind with an upswing.
He didn't even look back.
Her blades hit his staff.
Blocked!
Didn't stop her from blinking in and out, though.
Left, right, behind, swing for his head, swings aimed at his arms, sweep kick, wheel kick, more swings, all in five seconds.
He ducked to dodge, blocked, jumped to avoid the sweep, blocked again, and parried.
No one was landing clean strikes.
A wind pad formed.
He backflipped onto it and shot himself forward fast.
She blinked out of the way.
More wind pads formed.
He landed on another, jumped to the right one to switch angle, and shot himself at her again.
She sidestepped.
He continued bouncing around rapidly.
Coming from up, coming from left, down, right, left again.
Four attacks per second.
She blinked out of the way each time.
He passed by her one more time.
His staff's blade hit her sword with a clang.
Blocked!
He landed on the ground this time, lunging his staff into the concrete to stop his momentum.
Kuroha's expression didn't shift.
Pain spiked. He gritted his teeth, clutching his left arm.
"Crap!"
She took slow and relaxed steps forward.
"Aww... Tired already?"
Zen pushed himself back up using his staff.
She blinked at him and pressed a kick into his stomach.
He went sliding and hit the railing at the edge of the roof.
The concrete cracked.
Zen carefully pulled away and got up.
"If we keep fighting like this, these buildings around won't hold."
She burst out laughing. "What's wrong? All you have to do is defeat me, and I'll let you go, you know. It's not that difficult, is it?"
Zen didn't speak.
Her laughter slowly died into heavy breaths.
"It used to be fun, you know. Spending time with you. Practicing with you."
Her gaze shifted from him to the night sky above.
"The thrill of dueling you. Competing with you. Onee-chan's best student. And after that..."
She closed her eyes. "...you would help me treat my wounds. It was so... so sweet of you."
"I wished to do the same."
Her voice softened and began cracking as tears streamed down her cheeks.
"But you were never the one to lose."
"I doubled my training, practicing every day, for so long... And when I was so close, you... you..."
Her blurry gaze shifted to the concrete below.
"You left. You are left to fight for the world. You left... me. Just like that."
She sniffed, wiping away her tears with the back of her left hand, regaining her tone.
"No matter. You were busy. You didn't have time for... someone as weak as me."
"I forgive YOU."
She tilted her head back and looked right, straight at him, eyes wide, smile possessive.
"I'm back now. Stronger than ever. The only one worthy of being by your side."
"I'm finally here to take you. You want to fight evil? Come with me. With the Null King's Rage and The Queen's Blessing combined, we will cleanse the world of evil."
She turned and walked towards him slowly, her voice growing louder and more urgent.
"Heck, we could rule the world. How does that sound?"
"Or do you want a peaceful life in a house by a lake? We could do that too. Just YOU and ME. Just like the time we spent at the park. Oh, I wanted that to last FOREVER."
Zen took a step back and hit the railing behind him again.
She kept walking forward.
"Come with me, my love. We're destined to be together, you know."
"You don't need to waste your time with those pests at the academy."
"I'm all you need. I'll caress you, cherish you, protect you, every day, every minute, every second. Whatever you ask, I'll do it for you."
His jaw tightened.
"The King's Rage is pushing hard on her emotions."
He turned, stepped up on the railing, and jumped straight down towards the road below.
She groaned.
"Stop running from me, WILL YOU?!"
Two white modern cars rolled down the main street of the city at night.
Cassie, Viara, and Julianna in the first one, the Solheim family guards in the second.
Both cars came to a stop behind a long line of traffic.
Cassie peeked from the back seat.
"That's unusual. I've never seen traffic this dense in the city before."
Viara, seated by the left window, was counting cars only on her side.
"The cars aren't even moving."
Julianna had been scrolling on her phone.
"Perhaps because of this."
She turned the screen towards Cassie and Viara, playing a live stream of local news reporters standing three blocks away from the East-Wing Containment Facility.
"... official report suggests roughly forty criminals managed to escape the facility. Armed forces have been deployed to hunt them down. All civilians have been instructed to return home and lock their doors until the situation is under control. Prisoners still behind the prison gate are..."
"There has been a prison break," Julianna said.
Cassie and Viara remained silent, eyes still on the screen.
A small burst of wind exploded, and their car shook, startling everyone.
Cassie steadied herself.
"What was that?!"
Viara and Julianna noticed cars around them shaking and going still as well.
All three girls scanned their surroundings through the windows.
Other people stepped out of their vehicles, looking around.
The girls and their driver did, too, eventually.
Solheim guards stepped out from the car behind.
"What just happened?" Julianna asked out loud.
"I think… I just saw two black ghosts of some kind run by," replied a young man standing beside her.
Viara's eyes widened.
"Run by above the cars?!"
The young man looked at her with a tight face, then gave a single nod.
Viara blinked, THRICE.
"Umm... I'm getting spooked out now. We should head back."
She quickly got back in the car.
Cassie crossed her arms.
"That's nonsense! Ghosts don't exist."
Julianna continued looking around.
"Whether they exist or not, I agree that we should head back."
"It doesn't feel safe out here right now."
She walked back to the car.
"We're heading back to the academy."
Cassie and Julianna got inside.
The guards did too, and reversed their car.
Both vehicles took a U-turn and started back towards the academy.
Zen boosted himself forward in a row with wind pads, cutting through the air rapidly above the traffic on the street.
Kuroha chased after him with no signs of stopping, blinking from the tops of cars, street lamps, and low ceilings, one to another.
He turned left following the main road and briefly glanced back.
"I need to find an open field. I can't outrun her speed or stamina."
"My left arm hurts like hell."
His eyes narrowed. "Open field… open field… open field…"
He boosted back up to a tall building using wind pads and bolted in a planned direction. "Alright…"
Solheim guards patrolled the perimeter of the boys' dormitory, already on high alert due to the chaos unfolding at the container zone.
One was guarding the building entrance, eyes flicking between the four other guards at the main gate and perimeter walls.
His eyes became heavy and closed as he yawned.
Then they instantly snapped back open at the sound of a body dropping.
His sight landed on the guard by the left wall, lying on the ground, blood pooling around his corpse.
Before anyone else could even register what had happened, another body dropped. Then two more.
Right before his eyes, all four guards were shot dead from the shadows.
And the moment he realized he was next, he bolted inside the building for cover, took a turn around the corner, and stopped.
Pressing his back against the wall, he pulled out his phone, heart rate spiking.
On the sixth floor of the dorm, Kyoya was still on the sofa, silently listening to all the gunshots and explosions that echoed from the container zone.
Werner's phone rang, breaking the silence.
"My apologies, Master Aquila," Werner said before receiving the call. "Voss speaking."
"Mr. Voss, we have a problem!" the surviving guard said, panicking.
Werner listened to the guard's words, unfazed.
"Ensure your own safety. I'll take care of the rest here."
He ended the call and looked at Kyoya, who already had his dual pistols and combat gear deployed.
Kyoya looked at him through the corner of his eye.
Werner nodded.
Kyoya stood up.
"Call Lysandra and Elysia. Now."
Cassie, Viara, and Julianna's car was nearing the academy.
A phone rang.
Cassie picked up. "Hello?"
"Where are you two?" Kyoya asked.
"We were out for dinner, but we're heading back to dorms right now."
"Did anyone try to intercept you on the road?"
"No?"
"Good. Listen carefully. Don't return to the dorms."
"Huh? Why not?"
"There are hostile infiltrators near the academy and dormitory area. Just stay away from the academy right now. It's dangerous. I'll call back again as soon as I can."
"What?! Hey, wait—" The line disconnected.
"What's wrong?" Viara asked.
Cassie paused. "There are… invaders at the academy zones…"
"Huh?!"
Another phone rang—Julianna's this time.
She answered, but didn't even get the chance to say hello.
The car continued moving forward as she listened to instructions on her phone, and once close enough, gunshots and explosions from the container zone reached them.
Cassie and Viara looked out the left window, catching sight of the smoke flying from beyond the tall walls.
"Stop the car!" Julianna said, right as the car neared the container zone main gate.
The driver braked. The car behind them also braked hard.
Julianna opened the door and stepped out.
"You two keep moving and keep me updated."
"And where do you think you're going?!" Cassie asked, realizing what Julianna was about to do.
Julianna deployed her gear and aquatic lance.
"I have orders to follow."
"Don't worry about me," she said before sprinting away through the main gate.
Cassie took off her seat belt.
"Hey! I'm coming with you!"
She stepped out.
"Wait, Cass—" Viara called.
"Stay here, Vi," Cassie cut her off, closing the car door.
She deployed her gear and chased after Julianna.
Two of the five Solheim guards hopped out of their car and chased after Cassie.
"Your Royal Highness! It's dangerous out there!"
Viara watched them go, gritting her teeth, hands clenching into fists, face falling.
"I wish I could help…"
Zen continued jumping swiftly from one building to another.
Up ahead, he could see the outer ring of the sports stadium.
He pushed harder with every bounce of wind pads to increase his speed.
Kuroha was right behind him. She blinked to the top of the front-left building, then the one ahead with the next step. She landed and aimed for the next building in sight.
Pain flared. She clutched her left waist, gritting her teeth.
She pushed the pain aside and kept going.
"No matter. A little pain to achieve your goals."
Zen boosted himself mid-air with five wind pads in a row and managed to reach the flat top of the stadium's outer ring.
But he didn't stop to rest and kept sprinting ahead before jumping down to the open field hundreds of feet below, using the wind to soften his landing.
Only then did he finally stop.
Kuroha followed and appeared in the field.
"Done running yet?"
Zen turned around to face her.
She stared at him, motionless, gripping her swords tighter, eyes gleaming.
He closed his eyes for a moment, voice tired.
"You know… Even attempting to win against you… is insanity."
"But—"
He paused, retracting his staff into his housing unit.
His eyes slowly opened again, right one blue, left one red.
Both eyes flared. "—perhaps… I am insane."
He lifted his right hand forward, palm facing down, and clenched it into a grip.
His gear HUD popped up.
"WARNING: System Overclock!"
Null energy slid over his gear, covering him in darkness dotted with what looked like distant stars.
A dark, heavy sword formed in his grip, labyrinth-like patterns carved over the blade.
The Null Queen granted him her last memories of her king—His Great Sword.
He spun the sword and rested it over his shoulder.
Every second of sustaining Null was hurting his bones like hell.
He didn't care.
The sky above shifted, clearer than ever. Clear to the point of transparency, showing the vast space beyond. The glow of thousands of visible stars dimmed and brightened in such a pattern as if energy was flowing through them like waves.
At that moment, civilians in every country going through the night cycle looked up at the flowing sky.
The thugs at the containment zone paused and looked up.
The soldiers behind cover looked up.
Julianna's sprint slowly came to a halt.
Cassie caught up to her, but her eyes were locked on the sky above.
Max, Edric, and Alex were sprinting down the footpath.
Max paused at the sight.
"Whoa…"
Alex paused right beside him.
"What… is going on?"
Edric stared up, the sky reflecting on his glasses.
"I've read about this… When a Pure Null manifests their energy…"
"What are the chances…? Never thought I would see something like this with my own eyes."
Madoka and Finn paused at the third-floor corridor railing.
Finn looked at Madoka.
"Is this… what I think it is?"
Madoka's eyes never left the sky.
"What are you up to, Zen?"
Kuroha's breathing became heavier at the sight.
She gave a dangerous grin of satisfaction.
"Finally!"
She pointed her right sword at him.
"You're not winning this time…"
Null energy slid over her body, flowing over her swords and covering them in a darkness dotted with stars. Her eyes flared white.
The Null King granted her his last memories of his Queen—Her Twin Swords.
She always carried them. Always used them. Always relied on them. She had grown accustomed to them. Her affinity allowed her to.
Zen and Kuroha stood motionless, waiting for the other to make the first move.
Kuroha's eyes became heavier. Her eyelids closed for just one tenth of a second, and the next moment, Zen had already closed the distance, swinging the Great Sword horizontally from her left.
She positioned her left sword vertically to block.
Blades clashed!
Hard block!
The force of his swing passed through her, shot out, and hit the wall far away, smashing it into pieces.
She kept the left sword steady and swung the other.
He ducked to dodge.
She pushed his blade away, dashed back, and swung both swords relentlessly, sending rapid slashes of Null energy.
He sent one large diagonal counter-slash with a fast spin.
His slash cut through every one of hers.
Her eyes widened.
She held her swords in an X-shape.
The slash pushed against her swords, sliding her back.
The ground behind her exploded in a diagonal cut.
He snapped his finger.
BOOM!
The slash exploded on her.
Black smoke covered the field.
He stared at it.
His eyes narrowed.
The smoke cut in the middle and blew aside in either direction violently as Kuroha raised her right sword. Behind her, a large red identical projection of the blade formed with Null, three-fourths the length of the field itself.
Warning signs popped up on her gear HUD.
"WARNING: Energy Output Overload!"
"101%"
"104%"
"115%"
"…"
"238%"
"…356%"
"…POWER AT 400% CAPACITY!"
She swung vertically at him.
The projection followed.
He sidestepped.
The blade violently slammed on the ground, three feet away from him, and blasted away the dirt underneath and everything in its way.
Zen flipped and slammed the Great Sword on the ground.
The ground shook. The force tore through the surface at Kuroha.
She put her swords in the way.
The force slammed into her, sending her flying back.
She lunged her swords into the dirt and landed on her feet.
Zen spun to gain kinetic force and launched his sword at her like a spear at the speed of a bullet.
It closed the distance in the blink of an eye.
Kuroha rotated her shoulder and moved away just enough.
The sword passed by, cutting through the air right in front of her face, igniting it.
It came to a hard stop and flew back in reverse.
Her eyes snapped back to Zen.
He came sprinting at her, jumped, caught his sword mid-air as it came back to him, and aimed a heavy strike at her.
She swung both swords to match his strength!
Forces collided, violently blowing away the air around them!
Zen went flying back and landed on his feet with a slide.
She blinked out of sight and appeared behind him with a swing of her left sword.
He instantly turned and blocked.
She swung both swords relentlessly, chaining strikes and upswings!
One!
Two!
Three!
Six!
Nine!
Eleven!
FOURTEEN!
EIGHTEEN!
TWENTY!
All in three seconds!
Each strike met the blade of his Great Sword!
The force of each strike violently cut the air around and the ground below, sending grass and dirt flying.
His gear shield chipped away fast!
"64%"
"48%"
"WARNING: 33%"
Several more warnings popped up on his HUD.
"WARNING: SHIELD DEPLETED!"
"WARNING: SYSTEM OVERLOAD!"
"WARNING: SYNC RATE CRITICAL!"
He gritted his teeth. His gear became heavier.
"Can't… sustain… too long…"
"Any more… and I'll be no different than her."
Every movement of his arms felt like pulling against heavy chains.
She didn't show any signs of stopping, eyes wide, jaw tight, swords swinging left and right.
Her muscles ached. Adrenaline kept her going.
A corrosive purple energy leaked from the left side of her waist like flames.
That caught his eye.
He parried her next strike, pushed her back, and lifted the Great Sword by the handle with his right hand, pointing the blade at her.
Above him, Null energy converged into a large projection of the Great Sword, matching the length of the field.
Kuroha brought both her swords to her left, combining their strength.
The projection of both blades formed behind her, violently pulsing with Null energy.
Zen pushed the Great Sword down at her!
Kuroha slashed her Twin Swords!
The giant projections of the Great Sword and the Twin Swords collided with a violent metallic clang!
Kuroha pushed harder!
Zen did too!
A flowing barrier pulsed at the point of collision between the projections.
They were in a blade lock, just like he wanted.
Holding the grip of his Great Sword with his right hand, he pointed the palm of his left hand towards her waist.
The corrosive energy around her waist reacted.
It latched on and began dissolving into his left hand.
Kuroha flinched as pain exploded in her waist.
But she didn't let go of her swords.
The trail of purple energy continued dissolving into Zen's left arm.
Kuroha's body weakened. Maintaining equal strength against Zen became harder by the second.
Her hands finally gave up. The projection of her Twin Swords showed cracks and then shattered into glass under the Great Sword's pressure, dissolving into the air like red sparks.
She fell on her knees, dropping her right-hand sword, clutching her left side.
The projection of the Great Sword came down at full speed. But instead of piercing through the ground, it stopped short. The tip suddenly cracked, and it broke.
The projection pushed down, shattering away into shards of glass as if dissolving into the ground, covering the entire field in black sparks.
The black sparks lingered, and after a whole minute, finally mixed away into the air.
Kuroha slowly opened her eyes, vision blurry before returning to normal.
Her Null energy faded away. Her gaze landed on the ground beneath her, which wasn't absolutely destroyed from his strike as she expected.
She looked ahead, finding Zen on one knee, right hand gripping the Great Sword that was now half into the ground three feet away from her, groaning, gritting his teeth, eyes wide, arm flaring with bone-crushing pain as the last of the corrosive energy flowing in the air around his left arm dissolved into it.
He didn't land his strike on her.
He never intended to.
He finally started breathing again, left hand shaking, mind heavy.
The Great Sword in Zen's hand faded away into thin air.
The Null energy over his body slid away, revealing his gear as damaged but functional.
He stayed down for another minute before pushing himself back up with shaky legs, clutching his left arm.
His eyes landed on her, but he didn't say anything.
After staring at her for another few seconds, he turned to leave.
"Aren't you… supposed to arrest me or something?" she asked, panting.
Zen paused, catching his breath, and briefly glanced behind.
"If we had something to suppress your powers… I would."
He continued his slow walk.
She watched him slowly walk away.
Her eyes shifted to the sword in her left hand and the other one lying on the ground by her side.
Her mind replayed every moment since she had lost her human senses.
"I really… ended up saying all that."
As her memories returned to the present, she deactivated her gear.
It retracted into its housing unit. Her hair shifted back to its original color.
She slightly lifted part of her shirt over her left waist to check, revealing dark, veiny, branching lines across the pale skin that made it look as if it had cracked.
The lines were glowing with corrosive energy before the fight.
Now they were not.
Her eyes darkened, and her grip on her shirt tightened.
"I didn't ask for your help, you dummy," she murmured, blushing.
The sun had just begun to set.
Little One picked up a stone and threw it across the water of the lake.
It skipped twice and sank.
He looked down to find another stone near his feet.
He picked it up, and just as he was about to throw it, another stone flew in from his right, skipping five times on the water before sinking.
Little One lowered his stone and looked to his right.
A girl with red eyes and long white twin tails, about his age, stood there watching the stone skip and sink.
She looked at him and smiled.
"I win."
Little One tilted his head.
The girl tilted her head, hands clasped behind.
"What? Surprised?"
"I know I'm awesome."
She cleared her throat.
"Allow me to introduce myself."
"I am Kuroha Akagami," she said with pride.
Little One blinked, his voice soft.
"Akagami… You're…"
She nodded.
"Yes, Kurenai Akagami is my elder sister."
Little One looked back at the lake.
"Oh. Okay."
She pouted.
"Jeez, what's with that reaction?"
"My sister is a famous Warrior, you know."
She placed her right hand over her heart and smiled with pride.
"And I want to be just like her when I grow up."
Little One glanced at her briefly before shifting his gaze back at the lake.
Her eyes narrowed with disappointment.
She regained her composure.
"Enough about me. What's your name?"
"I didn't see you last time I visited. But then again, it's really boring here, so I only visit once every weekend or two."
Little One's face fell.
"I… don't have one."
She blinked.
"You don't have a name?"
He nodded subtly.
She realized.
"Oh, you're the nameless one Kageri mentioned."
"So you're the one everyone calls Onee-chan's best student."
She took a step closer.
"You managed to become her best student in just two weeks? Are you really that good?"
Then another one.
"You know, I'm always bored when I come here because no one can match me."
"Show me some of your moves. It'll be fun!"
Little One took a step back.
"Umm… I'm not that good."
She grabbed his hand and pulled him along towards the training field.
"Come on. I'll go easy on you."
The training field was covered in the sunset's golden glow.
Kuroha grabbed a wooden sword from the weapon rack.
"Take your pick."
Little One grabbed a medium-length wooden staff.
Both stood two meters apart in the middle of the field.
Kuroha took a stance.
"Ready when you are."
Little One took a defensive stance.
Her eyes narrowed playfully, confident.
"Here I come."
She charged forward and swung her sword.
Little One blocked.
She stepped forward, chaining strikes consistently.
Little One defended consistently.
Her smile became competitive.
"Not bad."
She pushed harder, chaining faster and faster.
Little One's expression never shifted.
Swing from left, swing from right, upswing, and then she went for a quick finisher with a vertical strike.
The sound of wood against wood echoed through the entire field.
Kuroha blinked.
"Huh?"
She had successfully performed her strike, but there was nothing in her grip.
A few meters behind her, her wooden sword fell from above.
She stared at her palms.
"What just happened? I didn't even see his parry."
"Everything okay?" Little One asked.
"Hmm? Oh, umm… yeah, everything is fine. You win this round."
Little One looked at her hands, noticing a small cut on her right thumb.
"…I'm sorry."
Kuroha blinked again.
"Huh? What are you apologizing for…?"
He pointed at the cut.
Her gaze followed.
"Oh, that. Don't worry. It's nothing."
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a one-time bandage.
"I keep these on me."
She shook it off.
"Really, it's not necessary…"
He peeled off the thin wrapper, gently grabbed her hand, and wrapped the bandage around her thumb. "Done."
She stared at her thumb, blushing.
"So, you're over here. I've been looking all over the place for you." A woman in her early twenties approached—casual clothes, slender figure, red eyes, dark hair with a few red strands tied into a messy bun, face expressionless.
Kurenai's gaze shifted between the two.
"I see you two have met. Getting along well?"
Kuroha briefly glanced at Little One from the corner of her eye, slightly blushing.
"Uh… yeah."
Little One remained silent.
Kurenai nodded and turned around.
"Good. Now, time to go home."
"Oh, and Little One, Morgan Sensei will be here to pick you up soon."
Kurenai walked away. Kuroha stood there for a moment longer.
Little One nodded at Kurenai's words and turned around to put away his staff.
Kuroha grabbed his shoulder.
He paused.
Just as he was turning around, she closed in and pressed a kiss on his cheek.
Little One blinked.
She waved, smiling—
"Bye⁓"
—and ran away.
Little One didn't react. He didn't know how to.
He watched her leave, then walked over to pick up the wooden sword lying on the ground and put it away in the weapon rack.
The next evening, students gathered in a small crowd, surrounding Kurenai and a senior student, who demonstrated defense techniques with wooden staffs.
"Alright, everyone. Form groups of two and practice exactly as I showed," she said.
The students dispersed and began forming pairs with their friends.
Little One looked around in the crowd, staff in hand, trying to spot anyone solo.
"Looking for a partner to practice with?" a familiar voice said from behind.
Little One turned around.
Kuroha smiled, spinning a wooden staff in her hand.
"I thought you only came here on weekends," he said.
She walked closer.
"Only because I'm usually bored."
"I don't mind coming every day as long as something keeps me entertained."
She got into position and took a defensive stance.
"Let's start. You attack. I'll defend."
Little One took his position.
"Okay."
He charged forward.
She gripped her weapon tighter.
The sound of wooden staffs clashing echoed throughout the entire evening.
The sun was setting, casting its last golden glow of the day over the training field.
Students were calling it a day, wiping sweat, drinking water, and chatting with each other.
Kuroha stared at her left hand, filled with cuts and bruises.
"I'm sorry, again…" Little One said, embarrassed, rubbing the back of his head.
"This is why others don't want to practice with me."
She gave him a reassuring smile.
"It's okay. If they can't handle a few injuries, then they're not cut out to be a Warrior."
"I'll go get a first-aid kit," Little One said and quickly walked away towards the armory.
Kuroha watched him go and looked back at her palm.
"It's been months since I got injuries like these. I missed them, honestly."
Her smile widened at the thought.
Little One returned with a first-aid kit.
"Let's sit down at the bench."
He led the way.
She chuckled, blushing, and followed behind.
"Okay."
"Can you help me put the bandages on?"
"Umm, Okay…"