Out of nowhere, Zhang jumps out of the forest–a phantom in motion— katanas stretch outward. Everyone scurries back to create enough distance, unaware of what's happening.
"What's happening?" Adam asks.
"Is this part of the training?" one recruit questions.
"Are they doing a demo for us?" another voice ripples.
"Everyone step back—" Zhang orders, before a crescent blade locks with his. Molten sparks fly by between the two fighters. Slicing through the air, Alwin leaps forward, the tip of the blade shooting out.
Zhang sidesteps, a wisp of death touching his chest.
"Chi: Tempestuous Whirlwind Strike," Zhang says, bringing his arm over his head. The wind dragon head envelops his arm before violently crashing into Alwin's shoulder. His flat palm breaks and burrows deep into his opponent.
The force sends Alwin bowing to the ground, looking up at Zhang above.
"Woah," Kiara gasps.
"This is not training, guys," Seth says.
A grey blur approaches Zhang like a stinger, but the warden instantly blocks it.
Sparks kiss the mossy ground.
Zhang doesn't blink. So does Alwin.
Alwin and Zhang step back, before confronting with a flurry of strikes, before returning to where they started. Zhang slashes right, Alwin narrowly parries the attack, static wrapping his blade.
Crackles burst in the air like fireworks.
His body spins in a pirouette, a chain of rotating turns. His rice hat falls off, showing more of his angular facial features.
The breeze tugs on his short hair as Alwin raises his hand.
"Barrier: Shattered Shield," He says, voice flat and raspy. The spell slowly cracks and forms like glass around Kiara and her peers.
Kiara's eyes dart to her surroundings as she leaps before anyone can react.
"Kiara!" Adam screams.
She rolls her body off the grassy floor, bones aching. She watches as the shimmering dome forms fully around her peers, trapping them like bugs. She bolts into the distance, limbs twitching with anticipation--waiting for the perfect time to strike.
Alwin hasn't noticed her yet.
Zhang swings his katanas as air slashes ripple through the trees around them, leaving behind imprints. Alwin's pupils dilate as his body gushes a geyser of red, painting the forest floor. He stumbles, clutching the wounds that used to be his shoulder.
No sound.
No warning.
"You should not have challenged me, Alwin," Zhang warns, blade pointed at the man's heart.
Alwin steadies himself.
"You can't defeat me, Alwin," Zhang states. "You're too low-ranking for me."
Air slashes slice through the air, grazing Alwin's body. He grits his teeth as his feet slide on the muddy forest floor.
"Yes, I am," Alwin agrees, bending his body down, steel glaring at Zhang. "I can't win…not in a fair fight, of course."
His body suddenly unravels like thin water vapor. Zhang's eyes tighten, sensing his surroundings. The world falls into an eerie silence; only the birds above bring any sense of life.
Zhang turns his head, clasping his katanas. "Stealth is a useful skill a Warden can learn. However, it is also easy to counteract as well."
The trees flicker nothing.
"Oh no," Alwin's voice echoes off the trees, his words whisper through the unseen breeze. "It's not stealth. Like you said–it's easy to counteract."
The breeze shifted. Not randomly.
"Spells are essential tools that a Warden should always know. Barrier. Defense. Offense. Protection," Alwin explains, voice sliding from tree to tree. "Requires focus and power."
"Skills are more passive if you say. Innate traits. Useful but not real powers. It falters against a powerful spiritual technique—a real pinnacle of true power."
"What're you trying to gain by explaining what I already know?" Zhang asks, unable to sense Alwin's figure. Multiple versions of Alwin's voice echo out, some mocking, some calm, and some mocking.
Each word sinks into the bark.
I can't hear exactly where he's coming from, Zhang worries, eyes darting across the treeline.
The wind suddenly moves–following something.
Alwin's voice fractures again–beside. Below. Now above. It's coming from everywhere.
"My passive skill is Camouflage."
"Camouflage?" Zhang cuts back, tone sharpened. "It's a skill that is much easier to defend against than stealth, Alwin."
"What if it was paired with a spell?" Alwin offers, voice folding into the wind. "Secret Defense: Hollow Whisper"
Alwin appears below Zhang, body crouched, wisps trailing around him.
Zhang turns his head, watching his enemy appear right below him. Alwin's blade shoots out like a stinger, ready to pierce his enemy.
[Secret Defense: Hollow Whisper. Ability–Counteract and partially disrupt spiritual energy, spells, and spiritual techniques with a limited short range. Effects are temporary.]
Seth quietly watches, seeing the shimmering veil around Alwin's body. His eyes narrow with interest.
Zhang effortlessly spins his katana, aiming low.
No shimmer. No trail. Only motion, precise and bare.
With no effort, Zhang's katana halts Alwin's blade momentum, sliding off steel. The shavings cut off Alwin's blade from Zhang's katana, turning into tiny amber droplets.
Zhang, tilting his head, dodges the incoming blade. One of the droplets fell into Zhang's eye, silent, exact.
Alwin takes a deep breath, seeing Zhang's other katana inches away from his skin.
He smirks.
Zhang felt a fiery stab in his eye, muscles slightly twitching. His left eye grows inflamed, puffy, and bruised as the flesh begins to darken.
A sign of tissue damage.
"What is this?" Zhang mutters, a sharp sting to his eye. Heat radiates off his body, sweat pooling down his body in waves, as the warden leans on his katana. "That droplet… no…you're a—"
"Poison manipulation," Alwin cuts off, slowly walking forward. "A silent killer's art."
Zhang's breath falters. "Impossible."
"Did you really believe my Spiritual technique was electricity?" Alwin mocks, raising his thin brow. "I always made sure not to allow any shavings to hit any skin."
Zhang swings his katana, but Alwin sidesteps away.
"Feeling sluggish? Do your arms now feel heavier by the second?"
Zhang retaliates, swinging an air slash at Alwin—a mere scratch on the assassin.
"How sad," Alwin taunts.
Zhang collapses on the ground, sweat pooling below him like a puddle of broken promises. The barrier hums. The forest holds her breath. Everyone inside the barrier didn't know what was next.
"I'll just let you die from the poison," Alwin says, pulling Zhang into an inconspicuous position. "Now I need to create a fabricated story. I need to create something realistic enough to trick them."
He moves Zhang's body beside a tree. "Maybe you died protecting everyone from an ambush. No, this position wouldn't make sense."
He pulls Zhang's back into a fatal position. "Or I can blame you for the assassin plot….that wouldn't make sense as well.
"Hey Alwin!" Seth shouts out, alerting Alwin's attention. Anby and Adam look at Seth as if he were trying to get them all killed.
Alwin rushes forward, the glimmering barrier, eyes glaring over Seth.
"How can you fabricate your story?" Seth stalls, seeing Kiara moving in the distance. "We all watched you do that."
Adam shakes Seth's shoulder, trying to get him to be quiet. Seth looks at Adam–no words were spoken between them–a flicker of understanding. Adam nods his head. He leans next to Anby, telling her the plan.
"It started as a simple training demo for everyone," Alwin explains, trying to pursue the students behind the translucent barrier. "Until I realized that Zhang was the one behind the assassin's plot. He's the one who started the bounty on Edward Meitner."
Eyebrows shot up instantly.
"Then he ordered the bounty on you, Adam Lazarus and Kiara Meitner!" he continued. "He never liked you anyway, Adam."
"Okay, that was uncalled for," Adam says, crossing his arms.
Anby raises her arm, waiting to be answered. "If Zhang started the bounty, then why did he fight you alone? Why not send assassins to do the dirty work?"
Alwin stares at her.
"Why were you intentionally moving the body like it's a crime scene?" she asks, probing for more answers.
Adam sees Kiara's silhouette in the distance.
"Yeah, where is your proof?" Seth asks. "We're the witnesses, and you just lied about what your power was just then."
Alwin stays quiet, looking down on the students inside. "I'll just erase your memories."
"What!" Doran stammers.
"You're all my hostages," Alwin yells, pointing his blade. "Every single one of you!"
Everyone tenses, holding onto their weapons.
"Get down on the floor!" Alwin orders, raging like a drill sergeant. "You'll forget about all of this before morning draws. I need your silence. You will forget everything about this fight, and you'll thank me for saving you."
Adam nods his head, signaling Kiara to act.
"What are you nodding at?" Alwin asks before seeing Kiara's reflection in the barrier. His body twists, blocking Kiara's strike. Sparks hiss at the floor below.
Alwin pushes Kiara back with his blade. Shards of his blade fall out, instantly morphing into poison droplets. Kiara smoothly blocks a flurry of strikes, her eyes darting to find the rhythm. Her arms scream out in pain, burning from the pressure.
The droplets land on her suit, absorbing into the wool fibers.
A lucky save.
Alwin holds one hand over the hilt, the other flat-palmed below the steel.
Kiara stumbles back, her low-top skate sneakers skidding off the ground. Her katana hums in her grip. She flickers to the dark stains on her suit, thank god that saved her from the poison. She takes a deep breath before adjusting her grip.
Alwin calmly steps forward, steadying his stance. Legs wide apart. Blade pointed outward.
"You arrogant little girl." He insults, raising his arms in the air. "Look around you."
He steps closer, blade glinting menacingly. His voice drops to a venomous whisper, sharp to cut through the heavy silence. "Stop dragging everyone into the mess you've created. Ever since you arrived here as a Warden, the world seems to be punishing us, bringing disorder and chaos."
He lunges forward, blade sweeping in a controlled arc. Kiara pushes back, narrowly feeling the taste of death kissing her.
Alwin's lips curl into a cruel smile. "Now give up, and everyone else is spared. If you don't, then that's a result of your selfishness--a need to prove yourself superior to everyone else."
Kiara holds her katana, not letting the gaslighting affect her.
"Why were you trying to assassinate my grandfather?" Kiara questions, pointing her finger. "Also me. And my friends. Very rude."
Alwin scoffs. "This is far bigger than you will ever realize."
Kiara rolls her eyes. "Oohh, bet you practice that in your sleep."
"Doesn't matter. Your grandfather refused to die when ambushed," Alwin monologues dramatically. "Now that you guys have an elite assassin for interrogation. I had to get an extra third party and rescue him. The Carnal Requiem."
Kiara arches her brow, trying to connect the dots. Something about that doesn't add up. Also, that's a pretty dumb name for an assassin's group.
"But I learned that you and Adam Lazarus are threats, so I also had the Carnal Requiem try to eliminate you," he continues. "You two just refused to die as well. Defeating your designated assassins. Now that the third party is dead— look where we are right now."
An eerie silence draws over the forest. Behind the barrier, Adam presses his lips together in a thin line. Anby and Seth shrug their shoulders, either confused or scared.
"Dude, that's just… really weird," Kiara bluntly says, almost pitying.
"But it worked, didn't it?" Alwin remarks. "Now I have three out of the four targets right where I want you in this disgusting forest."
"Pretty sure you just RSVP'd to a field trip," Adam cuts back, voice bouncing off the barrier.
She turns her head, seeing her peers trapped behind the barrier. Zhang is currently lying on the floor, paralyzed and basically dying.
He wheezes— ragged and shallow.
"You wish to protect them?" Alwin wonders, maintaining a good distance. "Really? The ones who dismissed you and wanted to see you fail the most."
Kiara shrugs her shoulders.
"Why not?" She explains, clenching her katana. "I'm not letting them die. That's edgy."
Alwin scoffs.
"I have no other reason. I already have people I want to protect," Kiara retorts, raising her katana, catching the sun's rays like an oath. "I'm protecting them… because I chose to."
Alwin's face tilts downward.
"Let's have a rematch, shall we?" Alwin takes a step back, standing en garde. "Let me teach you the ropes."
His figure shifts and dissipates into the air, followed by nothing.
Kiara plants her feet onto the ground, lowering her center of gravity.
Sweat trails down her temple.
A slight exhale escapes her lips.
The recruits behind the barrier watch on, holding their breaths. Kiara slowly turns her head, trying to sense where Alwin is moving. Nothing.
If only he were using stealth? Kiara's mind races, clenching her hilt. The unseen breeze rustles the spring leaves, while the clouds overhead momentarily block the sun. A dark shadow draws over the forest.
"Protect your weak points," Adam yells, eyes darting across the forest floor. "Chest. Abdomen. Joints. That's where he'll—"
Alwin's form slowly reveals itself behind Kiara, his body bent low. His body lunges forward, the blade towards his opponent. Snapping her body back, Kiara turns and blocks the strike.
Sparks fly out like small fireworks.
Alwin's blade glides off Kiara's in an arc, the momentum nearly jabs Kiara in the head. Shifting her head, she dodges the incoming crescent blade. The curve sings near her ear. Poison drips off the point like venomous rain.
"Not bad," Alwin compliments. Using his blade, he pushes his weight onto Kiara's, pulling her off balance. Keeping his leg apart, he lunges his blade forward. Gritting her teeth, Kiara plants her feet on the ground, planning to counterattack.
Slashes traded mid-step.
The gleam inches away from her heart.
They recoil just as fast, retreating into the distance. They strike again.
Their crescent steel arcs and dance around the other in a waltz, recoiling from the brink of contact. They advance nearly in sync. Strike. Retreat.
"You're playing very safe," Kiara taunts, wiping sweat off her brow. Her footwork snaps forward, slicing through the distance. Her crimson arc, once dancing out of reach, was intercepted by Alwin's blade.
"I learned from the best," Alwin calmly assures, clenching his hilt. "Remember, fighting is about pace." He strikes. No mercy, just momentum.
Kiara jumps back, feet landing with a soft thud. Lifting her head, Alwin rematerializes in front of her, mid swing.
"Sentinel form positions now," Adam barks, almost like a drill sergeant.
Kiara's arms move forward, keeping her arms tucked and snapped together. Katana across her shoulders. She meets Alwin's blade with her katana's edge.
The force drives her backwards. Clenching her hilt, she pushes Alwin to her left, opening space between them.
A smile tugs at Kiara's lips.
That smile again! Alwin's eye twitches. His pupils dilate. His finger clenched harder around his hilt, nearly bleeding. I'm going to kill her–what I should've done from the start!
He snaps his body forward, whipping through the air, a dance of deadly grace. Kiara's head moves back, sweat flying from her temple. Alwin's blade ripples through, cutting through the air like sand to stone.
Kiara grabs his wrist, repositioning herself, as Alwin moves off course.
His body twisted like a marionette. His boot digs into the ground, steadying his momentum. Kiara takes a steady breath. The two fighters stand still, eyes locking. They lunge forward.
Alwin's blade glides through the air, strikes coming in through ripples. Each swing was like a blur, a seamless barrage of attacks. Tucking her arms in, Kiara parries the strikes, twisting to avoid the deadly edge.
The clash of steel roars like thunder over the battlefield–sparks cascading between them.
"You're alone. You're separated from everyone," Alwin taunts, his voice clawing into Kiara's ear. "You have no one to help you."
His blade rattles over Kiara's. Clenching her katana, she does not back down.
"You talk too much," she taunts. She's not going to give him that satisfaction. Wind blows over the battlefield, slicing through the air. Alwin presses his weight down on his blade, stripping Kiara's katana out of her hands.
Stepping back, she clasps her hands together, summoning her daggers. With her breath held tight, Kiara strikes forward–ready to face Alwin's next move.
Her heartbeat quickened. A flash of steel dances around the air as a crescendo of clashing metal shortly follows.
Alwin blocks the daggers with ease, intercepting with a shower of sparks. His eyes dart to the design of the blades. An aggressive S-curve, almost as if a sickle merged with a traditional dagger. He loses his concentration for just a second.
Taking advantage of the situation, Kiara uses one of her daggers to bite deeply around Alwin's arm.
Pushing her weight down, the dagger drags Alwin's arm to the ground. He crouches, grimacing. He maintains his grip on his katana. Using his free hand, he clenches a ball of dirt and throws it at Kiara.
"Ahh! What the–" Kiara stumbles, nearly tripping on her feet. She clenches tightly on her daggers. Her eyes closed shut like an iron lock. Opening her eyes, she sees Alwin spinning into a slicing arc, blade flashing in the sunlight.
She steps off the ground, steel nearly cutting her. Her shoes slide off the ground, abruptly halting her momentum. Wiping her eyes with her sleeves, she resumes her stance.
"Are you toying with me?" Alwin insinuates. "You dare insult me."
"What?" Kiara frowns, loosening her shoulders. "You're insane."
"Your skills are way too high-end for a D rank," Alwin scoffs. "No way someone of your caliber should be able to survive this long."
Kiara stares, befuddled. "But I am a D-rank."
"How were you able to see and block all my strikes, girl?" Alwin grits his teeth, clenching harder on his hilt.
"There's something called eyeballs," Kiara mocks, pointing towards her still irritated eyes. "Light comes into your eyes and the brain processes it."
Alwin's knuckles turn pitch white, fingers wrapping harder around his blade.
"I just train. Enhance my stats," Kiara continues innocently. "I guess I'm leveled up faster than you all expected. Nothing fancy."
Alwin lunged sharply. Steel shrieks through the air. Kiara angled her daggers just right, letting the crescent blade glide harmlessly.
"Do not flatter me with your lies," Alwin screams, mildly insulted. His movements were calm yet fluid, a deadly waltz.
Kiara's feet shift and turn like a shuffle. Leaves crunch underneath her weight. She dodges with a nimble step. Alwin carves through the empty distance.
"You think taking out a couple of assassins can make you handle the big leagues?" he warns. "You're still a naive brat pretending to be a hero."
"Still monologuing," Kiara mutters. She swings her daggers at Alwin, but he swiftly blocks them with his katana.
"You think making jokes is gonna save your life?" Alwin's voice cuts through like a blade. He swings his katana in a rapid display of power, quickly overwhelming Kiara.
She jumps back, trying to create enough distance. Lifting her head, she sees Alwin had already disappeared—gone like he never existed. The world whispers around her.
I need to watch for that poison blade, Kiara's eyes dart. The leaves rustle softly, and birds' wings flutter in a frantic rhythm in the stillness. Her heart slams against her chest. Her breath steadies as spiritual energy pulses and coils around her.
She readies her katana, ready to guard any of her vulnerable points. Her peers behind the barrier watch anxiously.
Alwin appears behind Kiara, looming over. Kiara snaps back, swinging her dagger. She slices through nothing.
"Sight. Hearing. Two of the most important senses for dueling," Alwin's voice echoes, reverberating off the treeline. "Without these two, you'll be powerless."
"You're talking, though," Kiara states. "Doesn't that defeat the point?"
Alwin's elbow crashes into the side of Kiara's neck. She stumbles back, clenching her neck.
Kiara steadies her stance.
I must find a crack in his armor, she breathes. Even ghosts leave traces.
"Kiara!" Seth's voice rings out, snapping Kiara. "To your right."
Alwin charges forward like a raging bull. A flurry of strikes quickly rains down on her. Kiara parries the strikes, her muscles screaming out from the constant impacts.
"Predictable," Alwin amuses, maintaining the pressure. "Stamina doesn't last forever. Each block drains your energy. One more crack and you'll slip."
Alwin slices through the air, and Kiara dodges. Her body twists and dances through the air, and Alwin's blade meets where Kiara once was. Alwin's foot crashes into Kiara's arm as they parry and skirt around one another.
What is with her reserves? Alwin questions, watching her bend down, dodging his slice. Her spiritual outline dims to normal levels before flaring up to a degree her body shouldn't be able to channel it.
It's like her body is resetting mid-battle, yet it's also damaging her.
It doesn't make sense.
Alwin moves forward.
Kiara steps back, raising her dagger.
Steel clashes.
Sparks hits Kiara, but she fights through it.
Alwin drives his blade forward. Kiara knocks it off balance with her daggers. Extending her foot, she twists into a pirouette, swapping her daggers into a katana. The crescent katana lunges forward, but Alwin parries the attack.
"Your friends will share your fate," Alwin taunts. Kiara's katana slices through Alwin, but he disappears like a shadow swallowed by light.
"Give up, you brat," His voice echoes again, low and ominous. "You never belonged here."
"Don't listen to his words, Kiara," Seth encourages. Adam clenches Anby's shoulder as she tries to break through the barrier. Zhang slowly rises off the ground, poison still running through his system.
The paralysis quickly kicks back in for the warden. He looks directly at Kiara before falling back to the ground.
I need to time this, Kiara thinks to herself, loosening her grip on her katana. She holds on with her other hand one of her daggers.
Her breath hitches. She is not going to run. An electric charge hums around her skin.
Alwin slowly dissipates behind her. His stance crouches down waiting to strike.
Focus. Channel. It's now or never.
Swinging her arm, Kiara loosens her grip, throwing her katana away towards Alwin. He twists his body, the crescent katana flying right past him. It wasn't in surrender but in trust that something greater would happen.
Throwing away your weapon? Alwin's thoughts race, bewildered by Kiara's action. She had at least a couple of seconds—she wasted it? Perhaps she realized she couldn't win.
"Why did she throw away her katana?" A male recruit says worryingly.
Is she going to swap to her daggers to catch him off guard? Another recruit questions himself, clutching his fists.
It doesn't matter, I still win, Alwin cockily thinks. He goes in for a stabbing motion with his katana towards Kiara's side.
What did I do that? Kiara worryingly thinks, her eyes widening and her mind racing as she moves her body to evade Alwin's attack.
A chaotic symphony of tiny bolts charges around Kiara's katana.
Alwin's strike narrowly slices Kiara's arm as her body starts to transition into a pink electric blur. In a split second, she teleports over to her katana, shocking her peers. Her feet skid across the dirt floor, a smoke trail slowly following.
Her body slowly settles as she looks over her surroundings.
A teleportation technique? Alwin questions, his eyes narrowing as Kiara appears directly in his direction.
"She awakened her technique?" Anby gasps, stunned.
Adam smirks. Everyone's mouths were open, stunned at the sudden change in the fight. Kiara nervously pats herself down, surprised at what just happened. She raises her katana in one hand and her daggers in the other.
Yeah, this is going to be fun.
Spotlight's on her now.