The lights of the Aegis Academy's advanced training room casted a sterile glow on the devastation within. Ethan popped in and out of various shadows strategically positioned around the room. Each reappearance was accompanied by a dark wind in the form of a pressurized slash, carving deep furrows into the reinforced training dummies.
This scene repeated ad nauseum, the rhythmic whoosh of air blades and the thud of impacts echoing through the silent academy halls, until the once-pristine room was scarred with a labyrinth of cuts and gashes.
Finally, with a ragged, heavy breath, Ethan crumpled to his knees.
Iris, who had been watching from the doorway, furrowed her brow with great concern.
She stepped forward. "Ethan, you need to rest," she pleaded. "Pushing yourself to death won't magically make you stronger overnight. Please, listen to me. What happened to Eleanor wasn't your fault."
Ethan didn't respond immediately. He just stared at the metallic floor, the slammed his fist down. The impact rang out and when he lifted it, blood welled from scrapped knuckle.
"It was my fault," he choked out.
"If only I was stronger, I could have held him back more. If only I was smarter, I wouldn't have used that damn Hippogriff feather and just stalled until reinforcement arrived. I let my ego get ahead of myself, thinking I could deal with him. As a result, Eleanor... Eleanor had to pay the price for it."
Tears streamed down his grimy face, blurring the lines of exhaustion and despair.
Iris stood there, powerless, her heart aching for her friend. "Ethan..." she whispered, reaching out a hesitant hand.
Then, a burly black figure with broad shoulders approached, stepping past Iris. It was Jerome, one of Aegis Academy's S-Rank students. He placed a reassuring hand on Iris's shoulder. "Let me handle this, Iris."
Iris looked up at him, her eyes wide. "Jerome, what are you going to do?"
"Beating some sense into him," Jerome replied grimly.
Jerome strode into the scarred training room. The sounds of his heavy boots echoing as he stopped directly in front of Ethan, who was still slumped on the floor. Without a word, Jerome reached down, grabbed the collar of Ethan's sweat-soaked shirt, and hauled him upright. With his other arm, a rippling tide of water swirled around his fist, and he landed a powerful punch squarely on Ethan's face.
Ethan reeled back, crashing against the reinforced wall with a thud. He lay there, but despite being able to get up, he simply chose to remain sprawled on the floor.
"Look at you, Ethan!" Jerome's voice boomed, filled with a mix of frustration and anger. "Do you honestly think Eleanor would have wanted to see you looking like this!? Wallering in self-pity, letting yourself rot?"
A faint spark flickered in Ethan's gloomy eyes.
Another fist slammed into Ethan's gut. Ethan coughed out in pain, a weak wheeze escaping him.
"Snap out of it!" Jerome roared, standing over him. "What happened has already happened! The Hell Gate is already closed by the Headmaster himself, and nothing you do now can change that! You can't turn back time, Ethan!"
Another fist shot out, this time landing on the wall right next to Ethan's head, leaving a fresh, deep indentation. "Now fight me like a man and stop sulking around! Do you know what it feels like to be an S-Ranker, as I stood by powerlessly, utterly unable to do a single thing against that man!? He brushed me off like an annoying fly!" Jerome's voice cracked, revealing his own simmering frustration and humiliation.
"You're an F-rank, yet you were able to do so much more than I could. Where was the Dark Pegasus of Destruction that I know?! The one who fights until his last breath, no matter the odds!? The one who defeated me!?"
Iris cried out, "Jerome, stop it! You're going too far!"
But Ethan didn't react as his body remain motionless despite Jerome's words. Jerome finally turned, a defeated sigh escaping him. "How pathetic. Leave him be, Iris. He's not worth the effort." He walked away, heading for the exit.
Iris ignored Jerome's words, rushing to Ethan's side. Her face etched with worry, she reached out to help him, intending to guide him to the medical ward. However, Ethan merely nudged her hand away, a grim resolve hardening his expression. "Leave me be, Iris. This is what I deserve."
"How could you say that...?" Iris whispered, tears welling in her eyes. "I've also felt the same things as you, Ethan. The helplessness, the guilt. But this self-destructive path won't move you forward! It won't honor Eleanor's memory!"
Ethan said nothing.
Iris let out a deep sighed. Her expression hardened, mirroring Jerome's earlier resolve. "You won't listen to a word I'm saying, will you?" she muttered, taking a page from Jerome's book. Her hand sparked with electricity, and before Ethan could react, she lightly zapped him into unconsciousness. His body went limp.
With a grunt of effort, Iris then began to drag Ethan's unconscious body towards the Aegis Academy's medical ward. Bumping his head on the door as she does.
"So," Kaito remarked in awe, "this is St. Peter's Square." He stood in the expansive, circular ground, surrounded by a vibrant tapestry of tourists from all corners of the globe. Kaito himself was dressed casually in a white shirt and grey shorts, blending seamlessly with the vacationing crowd.
Eleanor observed beside him, her gaze sweeping over the iconic architecture. Her interest, however, wasn't in the monument itself, but in detecting any subtle sign of the supernatural. She wore a simple white dress and a wide-brimmed straw hat. Its brim casting a soft shadow over her face as a gentle breeze stirred, fluttering her white hair and attracting a few lingering gazes from passersby.
'Is this truly the Catholic Church, Kaito? I feel absolutely no holy energy radiating from this place, nothing of the divine power that would normally saturate such hallowed ground. If anything, I sense a faint current of corruption beneath the surface.' Durandal, floating beside him, asked with a profound bewilderment.
Kaito responded mentally, a faint sigh escaping him. 'The Catholic Church has changed a lot since your era, Durandal. Perhaps they've developed some sophisticated methods to hide any trace of holy energy from prying eyes. As for corruption... well, it's an organization made up of humans, and their morals tend to change with the times, for better or worse.'
'But the Church possessed infallible methods to determine its members' loyalty,' Durandal insisted. 'Any sign of corruption beyond an tolerable amount would have been weeded out swiftly by their Inquisitors. Surely, the Church hasn't gone soft, has it?'
'I don't know what to tell you, Durandal,' Kaito replied. 'But the Catholic Church of today has indeed changed dramatically compared to the past. If we have some time after this, we can go over a history book together. I think you'd find it enlightening, if a bit shocking.'
'Regardless of its superficial changes. The Church's inherent power is not to be questioned,' Durandal pressed on, her concern unwavering. 'A mere shift in ideology cannot explain this lackluster feeling. Kaito, we need to find out more about this. Something isn't right.'
'Let's just enjoy our time here first before we start any sneaking around, okay?' Kaito negotiate.
Eleanor, turning her head slightly, caught a fragment of Kaito's internal monologue, or perhaps simply sensed his focus. "What exactly are we searching for in the Vatican, Kaito?"
Kaito considered his answer. "Nothing much, really," he replied. "Durandal simply wanted to visit here, to find out the current situation with the Catholic Church with her own 'eyes,' so to speak."
Eleanor's eyebrows rose slightly. "Your... sword, is alive?"
"Yeah," Kaito confirmed. "She was curious as to why the Vatican hadn't involved itself with the Hell Gate incident in Ohio. She believes they would have traditionally taken a keen interest in such an anomaly.
Eleanor nodded, her analytical mind already working. "The Catholic Church certainly possesses a long, intricate history, and even today, its followers are incredibly bountiful. Perhaps," she mused, "the United States government simply didn't want the Church to get involved with a supernatural situation on their own sovereign lands, and therefore denied their help?"
"That sounds reasonable," Kaito admitted, considering the political complexities.