Underneath the Church of St. Freya, the quiet of night cloaked their movements. Theresa had instructed Kouga to follow her, along with Kiana and Sakura, to the training site where Kiana would soon begin her "special" regiment. The rest of the dorm had already settled for the evening — Bronya, determined as ever, had taken it upon herself to "teach" Mei onee-sama the fine art of video games, while Sakura had reluctantly left little Kallen behind with them, much to the tiny doll's vocal dismay.
Thankfully, the journey through the church grounds was uneventful. The stars offered dim guidance as they passed through the courtyard, their footsteps echoing faintly across the marble. Once inside the ancient chapel, the flickering candlelight illuminated stained glass windows that glowed faintly in the darkness, painting the group in hues of crimson and gold.
Theresa stopped at the base of the grand staircase that led to the upper floors. "This way," she said, motioning to what looked like an ordinary section of wall near the entrance. Upon closer inspection, Kouga noticed a faint seam along the stone surface. With a soft hum, the wall shifted aside to reveal a hidden door, followed by a descending corridor.
The hallway was long and narrow, lit by faint blue strips along the floor that guided their way forward. Their footsteps echoed off the smooth metal walls until they reached a short set of stairs. From beyond them came a brilliant, almost divine glow.
As they stepped through the final archway, Kouga's eyes widened.
A vast golden dome stretched before them — an arena that gleamed from floor to ceiling, its design both sacred and mechanical. Four towering golden pillars stood at the cardinal points, meeting at the center of the high ceiling where light split into four radiant beams that poured down onto the polished floor below. Smaller lights ringed the dome's edge, giving the impression of standing within a living star.
"This is where Kiana will train?" Kouga murmured, eyes scanning the massive chamber.
Theresa nodded, a faint smirk tugging at her lips. "The perfect place for a hellish regimen, don't you think?"
Before Kouga could respond, Theresa latched onto his wrist with surprising strength and pulled him toward a gray steel door off to the right. "Come on, you and Sakura will be observing from the control room."
Kiana, meanwhile, was directed toward another corridor branching off from the arena's side — her changing area, where her battlesuit awaited. She gave Kouga a quick, determined grin before disappearing down the hall.
Theresa led Kouga and Sakura up a narrow staircase that wound along the arena wall. At the top, they stepped into a gray box-shaped control room, lined with glowing blue panels and softly humming machinery. Three wide windows stretched across one side, allowing a clear view of the training ground below.
"So, how does this all work?" Kouga asked, leaning slightly against the control console with his arms crossed.
"I'll tell you once Kiana gets into position," Theresa replied as she approached the central control panel. Her fingers danced across the glowing blue interface, activating the system with a soft hum. The lights across the arena flickered to life, and the massive dome pulsed faintly with energy just as Kiana stepped out from the preparation room in her White Comet battlesuit.
"Alright, Kiana," Theresa's voice boomed through the hidden loudspeakers, clear and commanding.
"Normally, trainees aren't allowed to use battlesuits, and A-rank Valkyries take about three months to master synchronization with them. We made an exception for you — but since you've barely had time to train in it due to your class schedule, we'll be fast-tracking that progress."
Kouga tilted his head, intrigued. "And how, exactly, are you planning to accomplish that?" he asked, his curiosity mirrored by Sakura, who stood beside him with her arms folded.
Kiana, however, wasn't interested in the details. "We better! I don't have three months to get stronger!" she shouted, determination blazing in her eyes.
Theresa smirked at that, her fingers gliding over the controls again. "That's why you're in my special training chamber, Kiana. This arena uses high-level scanners to read your neural patterns and pull from your strongest memories — manifesting opponents from your mind as solid virtual projections for you to battle."
Kouga rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "So this is that place you mentioned before — the one you wanted me to train in?"
Theresa nodded, still focused on the panel.
"Yeah, that wouldn't work for me," Kouga said simply. "My mind's... different. It blocks anything that tries to read or scan it."
He paused, his tone turning slightly more serious. "Besides, it's probably for the best. If something did manage to peek inside my mind, you'd be dealing with beings that could shatter creation just by existing, or outrun the concept of time itself."
Theresa froze, her face paling as sweat beaded on her forehead. "R-right... maybe we'll just... keep you out of the simulator for now," she muttered, quickly shifting her focus back to Kiana.
The system chimed, signaling that the scan was complete. "Alright," Theresa announced. "It's found your first opponent."
Without warning, metallic clinks echoed throughout the arena as chains burst from the ground and wrapped tightly around Kiana's arms and torso. She struggled, eyes wide.
"Huh?! What's with the chains?! Sakura doesn't even use chains!" Kouga exclaimed, glancing over at the pink-haired warrior beside him — who looked just as confused.
Indeed, standing before Kiana now was a virtual recreation of Yae Sakura.
Kouga frowned, remembering clearly how often he and the real Sakura sparred during her stay at St. Freya — with Mei, Bronya, and Kiana often watching from the sidelines. Not once did she use chains.
Theresa merely shrugged. "Probably something from Kiana's subconscious. The system pulls from her perceptions and memories — maybe she associates Sakura with restraint or discipline somehow. Don't ask me how her brain makes the connections."
Kouga exhaled and leaned forward, watching intently as Kiana began struggling against her bindings. "Well," he muttered, a faint grin crossing his face, "let's see how she gets out of this one."
Beside him, Sakura raised an eyebrow and whispered under her breath, "Chains, huh? I'll have to ask her about that later."
And so, the training began.
Meanwhile, back at the apartment, Mei was sitting beside Bronya, a controller in hand, while the tiny Kallen doll perched atop Bronya's head watched the game with rapt attention.
Mei wouldn't call herself anything close to a gamer. She had played a few games when she was younger, but between studying, helping around the house, and training in kenjutsu, the hobby quickly faded.
So saying that Bronya completely annihilated her would be an understatement.
"No more! There's no way I can win against you, Bronya! I've been losing all night!" Mei cried out, trying desperately to counter Bronya's latest attack, only to fail miserably again. "I just want to win once before going to bed…"
Bronya's calm, unreadable face didn't change as she watched Mei slump in defeat and toss her controller aside. Quietly, she reached over and tapped a button on Mei's controller.
On-screen, Mei's character suddenly unleashed an ultimate attack — wiping out Bronya's in one brilliant explosion.
"I–I won?!" Mei gasped, eyes wide, before a huge smile spread across her face. "I won!" she shouted, leaping up with both arms in the air.
The excitement faded when she glanced down at her controller with a puzzled look. "Wait… how did I even use my finishing move just now?"
Bronya didn't respond, though the faintest smile tugged at her lips. Kallen, perched atop her head, crossed her tiny arms with a knowing smirk.
Before Mei could question it further, a firm knock sounded from the front door.
"I'll get it," Mei said, standing up and padding toward the entrance.
When she opened the door, she was greeted by a tall man dressed in a dark blue hooded coat layered over a black and blue shirt, with bandages wrapped around his arms. His expression was neutral — too calm, too polite.
"Pardon the intrusion at this late hour," the man said smoothly. "I am Principal Theresa's newly appointed secretary. The Principal requests that you accompany me to her office immediately."
Bronya's head lifted slightly at the words. "Bronya will come too," she said flatly.
The man gave a courteous but firm shake of his head. "I'm afraid the Principal asked for Miss Mei alone."
Bronya narrowed her eyes. "Then Bronya will call Principal Theresa to confirm."
The man's polite smile vanished. "Tsk. Suspicious little devil, aren't you?"
Before either girl could react, his hand shot forward — seizing Mei's wrist. A surge of black lightning crackled from his palm, running up her arm. Mei let out a startled cry before her body went limp, consciousness fading instantly.
"MEI!" Bronya shouted, summoning Project Bunny in an instant. The mecha cannon materialized beside her, charging with a high-pitched whine as Bronya aimed directly at the intruder.
"Let go of Mei-neesama!"
A burst of energy roared from Project Bunny — only to collide with a glowing black shield that appeared in the man's other hand. The blast dissipated harmlessly against the barrier, the dark lightning now coiling around Mei's unconscious form like chains.
Bronya's eyes widened in disbelief. "Impossible… he blocked Project Bunny's shot — at point-blank range?!"
The man only smirked, his shadowed face illuminated briefly by the dark orb forming in his palm.
At that same moment, Kallen swiftly activated a communicator, sending an urgent SOS message to Kouga before the signal was abruptly cut off.