Nova stands inside the control room, watching the giant screen at the other end. Everywhere are tables with PCs; sitting at them are Soul-Corps scientists.

  "They got stronger so fast. Especially Teon."

  She propped her elbow on her palm, fingers curled lightly against her lips.

  "I should ask Lucius to grant him special training like Kai."

  While Nova is still lost in thought, Cole enters the room behind her.

  "Oh, they're improving really fast."

  "Yeah, the nightmare they're fighting right now is on the same level as the one that beat them up a few weeks ago."

  Cole looks impressed as his eyes are glued to the screen. Nova turns to leave the room. Cole's eyes follow her before going back to the big screen.

  "Where are you going, Nova?"

  "They can't improve much further with the training they receive right now. So I'll ask Lucius to give them personalized training."

  Kaia runs through streets of a destroyed city, a nightmare following her close. She jumps over houses, while the nightmare crashes through them.

  "Shit! I should've been more careful. Separated from the others, I have no chance against this thing!"

  She jumps up a high building and looks down to see the nightmare climb up the house facade.

  "Fuck!"

  She looks around and spots Teon atop another building.

  "Kaia! Stay there; it has to move as little as possible!"

  The girl nods understandingly. While the monster continues to climb up the building, Teon takes a deep breath in and stretches his hand out. His spread fingers aiming at the nightmare. Kaia yells at it to hold the attention on her. Just as it reaches the top of the building, looking Kaia straight in the face, and opens its mouth, highly concentrated streams of blood shoot out of Teon's fingers, cutting the nightmare as well as the whole top of the building. Kaia jumps from the crumbling top and lands right next to Teon.

  The moment the nightmare is about to hit the street, it dissolves into black sand.

  "Thanks for holding it in place, Kaia. Try to not get separated next time."

  Teon says and grins at her.

  "Are you alright?"

  "I'm fine. Thanks for the rescue."

  The two look around and spot Lloyd and Max fighting a few smaller nightmares in the streets.

  "Hey guys! Where is Percy?"

  After killing a small one, Max looks up at them.

  "I don't know. Lost sight of him earlier."

  "You help the two; I go and find Percy."

  Teon says, "Quiet." Kaia nods, and without a word, she jumps down into the streets to help her friends.

  Teon jumps up higher to get a better view of the city. Standing there in the air, he looks around.

  "There he is!"

  He uses a flash step to get to a rooftop closer to Percy. Looking down, he sees a bus flying through the air and landing in front of Percy, stopping him in his tracks. The boy turns around and looks at the monster who threw it.Facing him stands a 9-meter-tall nightmare, holding a car in his left clawed hand. It chuckles before throwing the car in Percy's direction. Before it can hit him, the car is sliced in half. The separated parts slide past Percy.

  After switching his sword from the right to the left hand, he reaches into the air beside him and pulls a spear out of his pocket dimension. He throws and pierces the nightmare's shoulder, sending it stumbling backwards. Percy dashes forward, switching the sword back to his right hand. Sliding through beneath the nightmare's legs, he cuts both feet off. As it falls backwards, he jumps out of the way and cuts its head clean off.

  "He really is an amazing swordsman!"

  After every last nightmare is eliminated, each of the group, except for Teon, gets picked up by a transport helicopter. He looks over the destroyed parts of the city.

  "As strong as we are getting, there are still so many people who died today."

  Averting his gaze from the damage, he uses a flash step and appears right in the transport helicopter. They arrive back at the base, and after taking off their damaged battle armor, they go back to their quarters.

  Max kicks open the door and lets herself fall onto her bed.

  "We're fucking amazing!"

  Lloyd ignores her and runs towards the bathroom.

  "I'll call dips on the shower for the boys!"

  "Yeah yeah, shower first, dickhead."

  Percy gives her a surprised look.

  "Since when are you so generous, Max?"

  Max grins while looking up at the ceiling.

  "Just because the mission today went so amazingly."

  Before entering the bathroom, Teon bows down and smirks.

  "Thank you very much, mi-lady."

  "Hey, stop making fun of me!"

  "Oh... I would never."

  The boy disappears into the bathroom. After a few minutes the three boys leave the bathroom again, laughing. Suddenly they stop as they see Nova standing in the middle of the room, while Kaia and Max are sitting on their beds. In shock the three boys salute. All three greet her at the same time.

  "Good day, miss!"

  While doing this Lloyd forgets to hold on to his novel, and it slips down. He and all three of the young women blush. Nova averts her gaze and yells.

  "Put some clothes on! NOW!"

  Moments later the three are dressed up and sitting on their beds, with Lloyd still blushing. Nova clears her throat.

  "I'm here because of Teon and Percy?"

  Percy looks at her confused.

  "Why us two specifically?"

  "Individual reasons. Percy, the only way for you to get stronger at the moment is to improve your swordsmanshipand gather stronger weapons. So Lucius got you a master."

  Her eyes wander over to Teon.

  "And you need a stronger training partner. Pack your things. You'll move as quickly as possible."

  Without letting anyone reply, she leaves the room. After the door closes, Max pouts.

  "Now they're splitting us up again!"

  "Maybe it's only temporary."

  Teon responds.

  "Or it is like with Kai!"

  Lloyd murmurs angrily.

  "We haven't seen or even heard of him in weeks."

  Percy is already packing the little belongings he got.

  "We can't change it."

  Max pouts again before turning her back on her friends who are packing their stuff. Kaia walks from her bed to Max and hugs her from behind before giving Teon and Percy an angry look, leaving the two boys confused. Teon walks over to the girls.

  "Look, I'm sorry, but we can't decide against our superiors."

  "Just shut up already and go!"

  Teon winces at Kaias sudden outburst. Moments later the two boys leave the room.

  "That was quick."

  Nova leans against the wall. The two follow her until they arrive at one of the hangars, where Lucius is already waiting.

  "There, I brought them to you. Can I go now?"

  Lucius nods before turning his attention to Percy and Teon with an apologetic look.

  "I'm really sorry to separate your group even further, but after I spoke with Nova about your recent achievements, I decided it is better if you get individual training."

  He starts walking through the hangar.

  "Percy, I'll send you to meet an old friend of mine. He is a sword master that'll train you."

  The man stops in front of a transport helicopter.

  "Teon, you will train with Kai from now on."

  Teon's face lights up at these words.

  After the helicopter, with Percy inside, takes off, Lucius walks towards a massive open gate, watching as it disappears into the distance.

  "Are we going to take a plane or also a helicopter?"

  Lucius smirks and shakes his head.

  "You are able to stand in the air, right?"

  Teon nods.

  "Perfect. Then you should also be able to fly. If not..."

  The old man chuckles.

  "You'll have to run through the air."

  He leaves the hangar and starts to fly.

  "Also, try to keep up with me."

  Lucius starts flying with Teon, trying to keep up with him. Just three hours later, Lucius lands on the beach in front of his estate; a moment later, Teon crashes, panting and exhausted, into the sand, stirring it up.

  "Took longer than I hoped."

  Teon gives Lucius a thumbs-up.

  "I'm fine. Thanks for asking."

  After he crawls out of the small crater he left in the sand, he sees a pair of shoes right in front of him. Looking up, he sees a tall woman looking down at him with an interested expression.

  "So that's Teon? He looks a lot weaker than Kai."

  "Ouch!"

  Teon thinks to himself as his gaze jumps between Lucius and Rumi.

  "He is."

  Lucius replies while walking past Rumi. Teon pouts.

  "You don't have to be so direct."

  Rumi looks down at him.

  "Yes, we have to. If you think getting here was exhausting, just wait till tomorrow.

  Teon sighs.

  "Great, sounds awesome."

  Rumi shakes her hand before turning and following Lucius into the estate, leaving Teon lying in the sand. After a while, he manages to stand up and limp towards the house. On the front porch waits Kai, smiling.

  "Long time no see."

  "Yeah."

  Still smiling, Kai pats Teon on the back.

  "Let me show you your room."

  The next day Teon wakes up slowly. After opening his eyes slightly, he sees the blurry silhouette of Kai kneeling beside his bed. His friend grins at him before grabbing the blanket and pulling it off the bed.

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  "Stand up already. Rumis is waiting for us."

  "Yeah, yeah. Wait at the beach for me."

  Teon groans while sitting up in bed.

  Kai stands outside the house on the front porch. The door opens, and Teon steps outside.

  "I'm ready."

  Kai smirks, and without saying a word, he walks towards the forest; Teon follows just one step behind. They arrive at a big clearing; on its edges are fallen trees lying around with Rumi sitting on one.

  "You're late!"

  "Sorry, that's my fault."

  Rumi glares at Teon and sighs.

  "Don't be late again."

  Teon nods rapidly.

  "Good."

  Rumi stands up from the trunk and walks towards the two boys. Teon is already fidgeting excitedly, which causes Kai to smirk.

  "So what does the training look like?"

  "Right now you are way too weak to really train with us."

  The moment these words left Rumi's lips, Teon's excitement from just seconds ago leaves his face.

  "Ouch."

  Kai chuckles and walks past his friend to the middle of the clearing and lies down. At the same time, Rumi stops in front of Teon.

  "Before that will happen, you need to become faster and gain more stamina."

  "And how do I do this?"

  "You will run, fly, or whatever, around the globe as fast as possible."

  A look of disbelief spreads over Teon's face.

  "Y...you're joking, right? Please tell me that is a joke."

  "It's not."

  Kai speaks up while still lying on the ground, watching the sky, a big grin on his face.

  "I had to do that too. Have fun."

  Defeated Teon sighs and starts warming up. Moments later he is already flying off. Rumi watches him for a few seconds as he disappears on the horizon before turning around to Kai.

  "Stand up, lazy ass. If you don't perform better than yesterday, you'll run with him tomorrow!"

  Kai remains on the ground.

  "Don't worry. I just finished a new anime and have ideas of what I can use from it."

  He slowly stands up before releasing his Soul-Pressure.

  "I won't disappoint you."

  "I hope so."

  Rumi responds, unimpressed by the pressure coming from Kai. Without a warning, Kai rushes towards her. A massive cleaver-like sword, with a broad dark blade that tapers to a deadly point, a short wrapped hilt, and a long white cloth trailing from its end, slowly materializes in his hand. As Kai reaches her, he performs a downward slash to cut her torso open.

  Rumi effortlessly catches the blade between her palms and breaks it before kicking Kai in the gut, sending him flying through multiple trees.

  "Not impressed."

  She throws the broken blade away, and it disappears. Kai comes out of the forest holding his hurt stomach.

  "Not impressed? Okay, how about this!"

  He hides his left hand behind his back while closing the distance. Rumi smirks.

  "Hiding something, are we?"

  Kai doesn't respond. Instead, the hand he hid behind his back snaps forward, throwing a golden shuriken. It hits the ground next to Rumi's left foot. She looks down confused before her attention is directed back to Kai.

  "What was that?! You missed!"

  "No, I didn't!"

  A cold feeling spreads through Rumi's body. As she looks down again, she sees ice coming from the shuriken and enveloping her lower leg. Surprised, her gaze snaps back to Kai, who is now right in front of her, holding a golden katana with a unique design. Its guard is the head of a dragon, mouth open. The blade has a flame-like design on it, coming out of the dragon's mouth.

  Rumi ducks backwards under the incoming attack before breaking the ice on her leg. With the other, she aims to kick Kai in the stomach a second time. He manages to block the kick with his sword but still flies a few steps backwards before landing.

  "Nice try! That's what I want to see from you."

  With a cocky grin on his face, Kai moves into a stance. His right hand holding the sword next to his head, the tip pointed at Rumi. At the same time his left hand is slightly stretched out, fingers spread. Suddenly the blade bursts into flames, throwing a shadow over Kai's form.

  The boy breathes in and closes his eyes. Less than a second later, he breathes out and thrusts the sword forward. A huge flame shoots in Rumi's direction. She stands still, only moving her arms to shield her head. The flames engulf her completely, leaving a massive swathe in the forest behind her. As the flames start to subside and Kai looks at the place where Rumi stood before, there is only emptiness. Suddenly he takes a punch to the side by a big black-purple-ish hand.

  He is sent flying and crashes through many trees again, which all fall down. Lying there coughing and looking up at whoever just hit him, he sees a woman, even taller than Rumi. Black-purple-ish skin, an extra pair of arms right under the normal one, claws at the end of all fingers, fangs in her mouth, long white hair falling down her back, a pair of big horns coming out of her forehead, and bright purple glowing eyes. The woman crosses her arms in front of her chest and smirks at the boy, still sitting on the ground.

  "Congratulations. You finally manage to force me into using my innate ability."

  Rumi lets her arms fall back to the side.

  "That fire was incredibly hot; if I hadn't transformed, it could've left a little sunburn."

  Kai coughs again before slowly standing up. The sword he held before disappears, and instead a golden scythe materializes. The one he used before in a sparring match against one of his friends.

  He coughs up blood before dashing at Rumi, swinging the scythe wildly around. Rumi blocks and dodges the attacks without much effort. Then, as she dodges one downward attack, the blade of the scythe bores into the ground. The earth shakes before the ground splits open. Rumi jumps into the air with wide-open eyes, staring at the fissure growing more and more until it splits the whole island in two. Each of them lands on one side of the 3-meter-wide fissure.

  "Shit... I forgot this could happen when I hit the ground!"

  Rumi transforms back to her original form and steps closer to the edge of the fissure, looking down.

  "Lucius is going to kill you for this."

  Kai nods slowly and swallows hard.

  "Don't use this in training anymore."

  Kai nods again before jumping to the other side, landing right next to Rumi. The scythe disappears, and instead a slightly curved metal handle appears, just slightly bigger than his hand.

  "You should turn back into your... what was that form?"

  "Oni."

  Rumi replies.

  "My innate ability turns me into an Oni, a being of destruction."

  Kai activates a button on the handle, and on both ends come out two semi-transparent blades, emitting a blue hue.

  "Better turn back. This can cut through near anything!"

  "I'll be the one to decide if it can push me that far."

  "Well, I warned you!"

  Without another word, he spins around and thrusts the weapon in Rumi's direction. She just grabs one of the blades without any sign of damage. This leaves Kai shocked, and before he can move, Rumi punches him straight in the face, planting him a few meters into the ground.

  "Don't use this ever again; it's way too weak!"

  Kai shoots out of the hole with the lightning spear in hand, yelling.

  "I GIVE A SHIT ABOUT WHAT LUCIUS SAID ABOUT NOT USING THIS!"

  While standing in the air meters over Rumi, he aims to throw. The spear grows and turns into red lightning. He lounges down towards Rumis. She shields herself with her arms. The impact pushes her backwards, and red lightning spreads over the whole forest, destroying many parts of it. The spear returns into his hands as Kai still stands in the air, glaring down at Rumi. She looks at her forearm; a small bruise forms where the spear hit her.

  "You cheeky brat! You should've listened to him."

  She releases her soul-pressure. Blood starts to run out of Kai's nose, ears, and eyes, and he falls to the ground. He is fixated there, unable to move at all.

  "Rumi, that's enough!"

  Her eyes widen in shock, and she winces before stopping her attack.

  "I...I'm sorry, Lucius."

  The number two slowly descends from the air where he stood and walks over to Kai, helping the boy stand on his feet.

  "Did you forget the difference between the two of you? This is only training."

  Still supporting Kai, Lucius turns around and looks at Rumi.

  "Where is Teon?"

  "I... I send him built-up speed and stamina."

  The reply causes Lucius to sigh, slightly annoyed.

  "So he is running around the planet."

  Rumi nods and looks down, as if she's ashamed.

  "There's no way to change that; we just have to wait until he returns. Change of topic... what happened to my island?!"

  Rumi points at Kai, causing the boy's mouth to open in shock.

  "Did you just snitch on me? What are you, like five?!"

  The interaction makes Lucius smile inwards.

  "Enough for today; let's go back to the house."