「4:17 A.M」
The training arena was dead silent at this hour. Cold air. Darkness. Only the magitech torches lining the walls cast weak light across the sand.
In the highest bleachers, three dark figures sat. One imposing shape rested two rows below them.
"So that was an act?" Zen asked.
G6 had just finished explaining—the real plan, the cold confrontation in the Queen's office.
"Next time, include us," Zen said, clearly angry. "Did you know there's tension between Leo and Edmund now?"
"I don't mind." Edmund crossed his arms, calm. "I pledged my loyalty to Lady Reise. I won't hesitate to draw my sword on anyone who crosses her."
"We're lucky Her Majesty holds Lady Reise in high regard!"
"You're loud, Zen." G6 leaned back against the bleachers, arms crossed. "You complained, yet you didn't hesitate to draw on Leo."
Zen looked away in frustration. "Don't misunderstand. I thought you let the Queen play tricks on us. I was ready to sever ties right there."
"Pft." G6 leaned closer, whispering, "To the very woman who saved your mother?"
Zen moved his head away. "That debt is long paid. She said it herself—I have a new boss."
"Oh?" G6 leaned back. "Anyway. That's that."
"I can't believe you." Zen shook his head. "You're making the royal family into your family. How many times have you threatened Her Majesty's life now?"
"It was Her Majesty's fault for tricking Lady Reise," Edmund defended.
"I'm just telling her to be careful!"
"Enough." Daunt's voice rumbled from below.
The two immediately fell silent, turning away from each other.
Daunt studied G6. "Tell me the plan now that the deal is sealed."
G6 opened her eyes and stared at the sky. She stood, positioning herself before Edmund and Zen, her back to them.
"I'm dismantling this party."
The two exchanged wide-eyed looks.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, MY LADY?!" Edmund asked, his voice a little higher.
G6 didn't turn around. Her silhouette was imposing against the faint moonlight.
"This path I'm taking is not for fun," she said. "It's not for everyone."
She glanced over her shoulder. Her grey eyes shone like a predator's.
"Especially not for those who still hold onto their humanity."
"We know what path you're taking. We heard everything." Zen's voice was serious. "Are we not trustworthy enough?"
"Edmund was forced into this because I threatened him." G6's tone was flat. "And you were forced because you owe the Queen, Zen."
She turned back to face the sky.
"I don't want to force this on you. I can do this alone. I have Daunt."
Silence.
Then Zen let out a mocking scoff.
"We saw you kill the bandits. We stood with you when you threatened the Queen. We entered a Pact of Promise. And you're telling us to back out now?" He shook his head. "Forgive me, but I'm having too much fun to quit, Captain."
Edmund cleared his throat. "Same here. I pledged my loyalty to you. I will follow you."
G6 turned to face them fully, moonlight shadowing her back.
"Even if this path goes beyond the normalcy?"
"Even if," they answered.
"Even if you have to abandon your mercy? Your humanity?"
The two met her eyes.
She was empty. Cold.
"We choose to follow you," Edmund said. "We'll abandon everything you're willing to abandon."
"Besides," Zen added with a shrug, "my line of work isn't that different from yours."
He paused.
"You're just more evil than us. That's the only difference."
Edmund and Daunt snorted.
G6's voice dropped. "Did you just call me 'evil'?"
Zen gulped and looked away, feigning ignorance.
Daunt rumbled, "Looks like these two have been thoroughly influenced by you, Reise."
"What a pair of fools," G6 said.
"We heard that," Zen shot back.
G6's voice lowered to something almost gentle—which made it infinitely worse. "We may target criminals. But that doesn't change what you'll become."
She let the words settle.
"Murderers."
Another grim silence.
"The Queen may have our backs. But the King and the Three Pillars? They could be our enemies." Her grey eyes swept over them. "They believe in due process. In 'fair justice.'"
She smirked—a terrible, knowing thing.
"Well, we are the fairest one."
She laughed. The sound sent sweat down their spines.
"Isn't that fun?"
Zen sighed. "Well. It's not like they can kill us if we're caught."
"Oh?" G6 tilted her head, intrigued.
"We're the only ones who truly understand the Dead Zones. The Queen knows of them, but not our recent discoveries." Zen's smirk turned cunning. "The only others who know the truth are Archbishop Tolentino and his people. And if they let the cat out…" He trailed off.
Edmund and Daunt stared with open mouths.
"I used to respect you for being the rational one," Edmund said.
G6 laughed again—sharp, wrong. "Ha! You're right." She looked at Zen coldly. "You devil."
"You're one too, Captain."
"Then starting today, Zero… you are Mavet."
"Copy that."
"Edmund will be Muerte."
Edmund tilted his head. "Muerte? Fancy."
"And our name as a whole…" G6's grey eyes gleamed. "Moris Escadron."
Daunt's brow furrowed. "Reise. What do these words mean? They feel foreign, yet I almost understand them."
"Mavet. Muerte." G6's voice was flat, clinical. "Both mean death. In two different languages." She paused, letting the weight settle. "The name of the whole means the same. Death. Just… more of it."
She crossed her arms. "Any complaints?"
Zen raised his hands. "I assume the name change is for intelligence gathering?"
"We already have the Queen's intelligence. But it doesn't hurt to be certain." G6's gaze turned distant. "Besides… if her intel is flawed, and I end up killing an innocent…"
She didn't finish. She didn't need to.
Who knows what Cryomancy would do to my heart then.
Tsk. I hate all this work. Having these two isn't so bad.
"Then, Captain," Edmund asked, "what will your name be?"
Zen nodded, curious.
G6 was silent for a moment.
This world's language felt ancient. She spoke it naturally, as if born to it. But English had always been sharper. Colder. More precise.
"Reaper," she said.
"Lefer?" Daunt tried.
"No, repfer," Edmund corrected.
"I believe it's Ree-pir," Zen offered.
G6's brow furrowed. Are they serious? They had no trouble with the names I gave them. Idiot tongues can't handle a soft 'r'?
She enunciated slowly, as if speaking to children. "It's Ree-per. Idiots."
"What does it mean?" Daunt asked.
G6 smiled.
Not a warm smile. Not even a cruel one.
Something else.
"In our language…" Her voice dropped to a whisper that seemed to echo in the empty arena. "It means death itself."
She let the word hang.
"Not the peaceful kind."
Her grey eyes caught the fading moonlight.
"The kind that hunts. The kind that feels you before it sees you. The kind that smiles while you beg."
She tilted her head.
"The kind that sends a shiver down your spine… right before it cracks it."
Silence.
She's my boss, Zen thought, suppressing a shudder.
Lady Reise is truly odd, Edmund thought, smiling as if he had already abandoned all sanity.
"That concludes things for now," G6 said, her voice returning to its usual cold monotone. "We'll discuss further after that old hag gives me the ledger."
"So this is settled?" Daunt asked.
G6 nodded.
Daunt stretched his massive body and looked up at the slowly brightening sky. "We have forty-five minutes before the humans wake."
He turned to Zen and Edmund—and smiled.
The two jumped as they felt a sudden chill.
"Let's train," he said.
Edmund and Zen sighed deeply and followed Daunt down the bleachers to the arena ground.
G6 watched them retreat.
Her expression—the faint warmth, the performative ease—vanished.
What remained was grim. Calculating. Hungry.
Don't blame me.
I gave you a chance to break away.
You chose this path yourselves.
Her grey eyes tracked their descending forms.
May you survive the sins of this world.
She turned her gaze to the horizon, where the first pale fingers of dawn bled across the sky.
No regret lived in those eyes.
No hesitation.
No mercy.
There never had been.
There never would be.
-ˋˏ✄ - - - - - - - ♡
The sun was already up. The recruit knights slowly emerged at the training arena, joined by noble knights who also dormed in the Bastion.
Daunt had already hidden back into G6's tattoo after making Edmund and Zen wish for another tomorrow.
They learned new spells of Mana Form from Daunt—spells that made every nerve in their bodies tingle and tremble.
Now, they looked like overgrown vegetables, faces flat on the cold stone of the bleachers.
"You only practiced for less than an hour and you act like this?" G6's voice was deep and cold.
She stood in front of their prone bodies on the bleachers, arms crossed, face disappointed.
"What a bunch of losers," she murmured.
"Good morning, Lady Reise!" a young boy's voice called from the foot of the bleachers.
G6 turned. It was Pete in his black uniform—a recruit's colors.
"Oh? You're here." G6 descended the high bleachers toward him. "What did you do yesterday while I wasn't around?"
Pete smiled brightly. "I practiced my martial arts! And did some sword swinging. After all, I am a knight."
"Hmm. Is that so?" G6 asked.
Pete smiled again, innocent as a child. "Yes, My La—!"
He didn't finish.
A fist drove into his stomach—a force that folded him like cloth. He felt his ribs shift. Then he was airborne, sailing backward over the railing, the bleachers dropping away beneath him.
Above, G6 massaged her wrist, staring at him.
Pete fell. The air ripped past his ears. His stomach was a knot of white pain, ribs grinding against the inside of his skin. He couldn't breathe. Couldn't think. Only fall.
Zen and Edmund, who had been resting, shot upright, startled by the impact.
The knights below turned their attention to Pete, who was now falling from the bleachers.
It hurts, Pete thought, feeling the pain dancing inside his stomach.
Before he could obtain another broken bone—
Cyclone Vortex.
A swirl of wind slowly surrounded his body, controlling his impact and gently setting him down on the ground.
Everyone was in awe. In shock.
Pete coughed blood as he finally lay on the ground.
'Oh… who is that child again?'
'He belongs to 13 Squad.'
'The kid that's been training with the nobles?'
'Yeah… but I wonder what happened.'
A murmur rippled through the recruit knights.
G6 jumped from the bleachers.
Reaper's Ascent.
Her landing was cool. Hands in pockets. Straight drop.
She stood before Pete, who was curled on the floor.
"Pete, didn't I tell you to train your endurance?" G6's voice was cold and flat.
Pete gulped. "It seems I'm still lacking."
"What did you do for the four days I wasn't around?" G6 asked. Pete couldn't help but feel intimidated.
Edmund and Zen, though worn out, peered over the railing down to where G6 and Pete stood.
"Who would've thought the Captain would punch that kid out of nowhere?" Zen said.
"Well, I think it's part of her teaching?" Edmund replied.
The two just sighed.
The recruits began to overcrowd.
Lt. Frenz Libert arrived, along with Lt. Ursal Nocturne. Their attention was immediately caught by the crowd.
From not far off, they saw G6 looking down at Pete on the ground.
"Looks like Lady Worthon's back from her utility training," Lt. Libert said.
"Hmm. What is happening?" Lt. Nocturne asked. "Isn't that the kid she took in under her care?"
"Yeah, but look at the blood on the kid's mouth." Lt. Libert frowned.
"I didn't know she was this extreme. I mean, I know she was called wicked." Lt. Nocturne shrugged.
Lt. Libert narrowed his eyes as he observed the two from afar.
G6 sighed and ran her hand through her hair.
Oh, I know that one, Zen thought from above. She is pissed.
"Cat got your tongue?" G6 repeated.
Pete fully wiped the blood from his mouth with his hand and forced himself to stand.
He straightened his posture before G6 and met her intimidating, cold gaze.
"I have no excuse, Lady Reise!" Pete bowed. "Please forgive my inadequacy."
G6 squinted her eyes and gestured to Edmund above, who was peering down at them.
"Dimensional Vault." Edmund tapped his earring.
A small spatial space appeared in the air. Edmund took a healing potion from inside and threw it down to G6.
G6 clicked her fingers. Wind swirled around the potion, bringing it to her.
"Drink this. You'll be needing it a lot today," G6 said, handing Pete the potion.
"Understood!" Pete said and drank.
G6 turned to the two figures staring from a distance—and to the crowd who had halted their morning drills.
"Do you want to cough blood too?" G6 asked them.
They all jumped like startled cats and immediately turned their attention away from her.
Lt. Nocturne smiled—almost a small laugh. "Lady Worthon is a feisty one."
"Not that." Lt. Libert's gaze remained analytical. "I rarely see her use her magic, but she has great control over it."
"Well, she is a Worthon," Lt. Nocturne said. "Enough of that. Frenz, you handle the first drill. I'll take the second."
"Don't use my name so casually in public, Ursal." Lt. Libert walked toward the recruits doing their drills.
Lt. Nocturne just scoffed. His eyes darted back to G6, who was now ascending back to the bleachers with Pete following behind her.
G6 sat on the first bleacher and crossed her arms.
Edmund and Zen silently remained in their positions, unable to return to their respective seats. Pete now stood in front of G6, his back to the two men.
"Tell me, Pete." G6's face was calm—the kind of calm that precedes a storm. "You had three days alone to practice. Supposedly, yesterday was the first of three days you were meant to train with me." Her voice was measured, deliberate. "How exactly did you spend your time here without me?"
Pete looked troubled. "I joined the usual drill, Lady Reise."
"Did you go senile in the three days I was out?" G6's tone sharpened. "What did I tell you to call me?"
"R-right… Teacher!" Pete straightened, doing his best not to lose his morale in front of this beast.
"Right. I am your teacher, and you are my student, no?" G6's voice descended into something colder.
"Y-yes, Teacher!"
"Then," G6 leaned forward slightly, "how would this teacher feel if her student was being bullied by others?"
Pete's breath hitched.
Behind him, Edmund and Zen exchanged a glance.
A cut on his lip.
A fading bruise at the corner of his eye.
What a useless child, G6 thought, her face remaining a mask of calm.
"W-what do you… mean…"
"My." G6's eyes flickered. "Are you answering my question with a question?"
"I-I'm sorry!" Pete's voice cracked. "Teacher would be… really offended!"
"Hmm. Offended?" G6 looked indifferent, leaning her chin on her hand. "I suppose I am."
Then Pete felt it—a heavy, cold sensation washing over his body with the shift of G6's stare. It pressed down on him like a physical weight, freezing the air in his lungs.
"Pete." Her voice was soft. Deadly. "Whose punching bag are you when I'm not around?"
Pete bit his lower lip. His fists clenched so tightly his knuckles went white. But he knew better than to lie. This woman in front of him never accepted lies as answers.
"A member of the Silver Company Knights," Pete said, his voice barely a whisper.
G6 tilted her head.
"Oh?"
She smiled.
It was not a kind smile.
"Silver Company, huh?" Her voice was laced with intrigue, with something darker curling beneath the surface. "Interesting."
She murmured the word like a promise.
Behind her, Zen leaned toward Edmund, his voice barely audible. "Can she really afford to play around with those fools?"
"Well." Edmund's eyes remained fixed on G6's back. "Pete is… sort of a person of the Captain's."
"Heh." Zen's lips curved. "Figures."
"Pete, this member of the Silver Company. Have you seen him fight? Or perhaps train?" G6 asked.
Pete pondered for a moment. "Well, the Silver Company rarely touches the training ground to train."
"Then where are you being beaten up like a loser?" G6's cold monotone made the insult land like a slap.
Pete looked troubled. Ashamed.
"In the cafeteria," he answered quietly.
"Ah. Is that so?" G6's lips curved into a smirk. She turned her head slightly toward the two men behind her. "Say, you two. Don't you think the cafeteria's menu today is quite appetizing?"
Edmund and Zen exchanged another glance.
And instead of stopping this not-so-important scheme, they smiled. Their eyes met G6's with something between amusement and determination.
"It seems it is," they said in unison.
Tsk. These fools are just looking for a way out of training.
However…
Her grey eyes sharpened.
How dare this fool touch what's mine?
"Alright, you two. Train this foolish child's endurance." G6 stood. "Pete, your training today is titled 'pain tolerance.'"
"A-alright, Teacher." Pete was already sweating.
"Why is she being extra evil right now?" Zen murmured, then raised his voice. "Come here, Pete. I'll take you for now until Lord Earl arrives for my training."
"Then I will take over when your training begins, Lord Zen," Edmund said, all decorum restored.
Zen nodded and began ushering Pete to a distance, whispering something to the boy as they walked.
Edmund lingered. "Lady Reise, you know they are nobles, correct?"
G6 didn't look at him. She was already adjusting her gloves, her gaze fixed on the path toward the main building.
"I am just going to eat at the cafeteria, Edmund."
FIVE HOURS LATER…
「CAFETERIA」
All the staff and knights froze mid-bite, utensils hovering in the air, eyes wide with shock.
"Lady Reise!" Eliza called out in panic.
"What's wrong? I said my hand slipped." G6's voice dripped with nonchalance.
"ARE YOU CRAZY?! YOU FUCKING POURED YOUR FOOD TRAY ALL OVER ME!" Knight Bellard's face was crimson with fury.
He looked ridiculously humiliating. Celery clung to his head and shoulders like grotesque confetti. Meat stuck to his knightly uniform in soggy patches. Soup had soaked through his white undershirt, staining it an unfortunate brown.
He was incredibly furious.
G6's playful eyes shifted—emptied, cooled, hardened into something ancient and predatory.
"How dare a lowlife raise his voice against someone superior to him?"
She stepped closer. The knight's bravado evaporated with each click of her heels on the stone floor. His back hit the edge of the table. There was nowhere to go.
Her grey eyes pinned him in place.
"You want me to make you chew this food tray right now?"
Her voice dropped—deeper, colder, a blade wrapped in silk. The entire cafeteria held its breath.
— To Be Continued… —