"Remember. Whatever happens.. focus on the objective... you have to reach the end before the allotted time sub-cedes... understood?..." the static blasted from a radio, followed with a muffled deeply monotone voice, the rather familiar wiseness noted "take this as serious as possible."
"Huh?....don't worry. I got this...if Rose can do it... I can do it too!..." The white hair gleamed with the lights that swam by rapidly, blue eyes shined with the stars.. it was a luminescent night sky. The waves of water colliding as the Giant Naval Vessel sailed; he looks down below.. his armored attire was different, refined; a true Knights uniform. Standing on top of a Cargo Bin he had a clear view of the Ship "this is gonna be a piece of cake.."
"Dante. This is your second attempt at this.. don't forget that. Get it right... if you want to be cleared for field operation. And stop playing around. you have to actually strategize a game plan. Get passed the Guards, unlock the elevator system on the bridge.. get to the target below... simple." Daisuke's voice was very clear on what needed to be done, reminding Dante Kudo.. Third Rank Knight.. his nephew exactly what had to happen. "Don't take this lightl-..."
"Yeah, Yeah! I get it already!..." Dante cut off the radio, crushing it with his barehand and tossing it overboard "Geez...stop nagging me viejo..Alley Oop!" Grabbing the side of the bin; and launching himself off the side with precise acrobatic skill; landing in the dark; he had begun maneuvering around. Stealth was his advantage, dodging flashlights and guard patrols; taking some out one by one... he made his way toward the center of the vessel 'Alright... easy parts over with.. now. Let's get cracking...' he thought with a smirk finally showing himself walking right into the open..
The Order Uniform he wore was different in nature; unique. Shoulder guards and Knee guards that covered up to his shins; a black with white trimmings that matched his Snow White long pants and collared up trench coat; as the black matched up with his shoes, gloves.
Dante's broadsword was gone... strapped to his back was a steel long sword; the hilt was like a golden cross with blue gems sealed into it; it's sheathe midnight black throughout.
A guard in all black armor; was looking around from the bridge and in a sudden surprised motion "The fuck?!.. Intruder alert!!... We have an unidentified Knight on board!... Code Red!..." As the announcement over the PA system was made; a swarm of guards.. Hovering artificial gun units.. enemy Missile Launchers arrived in time.. spotlights from around the Ship illuminated their target. "By Order of the Aragoto Empire.. surrender!..."
"Surrender? Actually! I think maybe you folks should just give up instead. I mean...." Unsheathing his blade as it reflected the flashing lights with pristine beauty.. his air shifted. "Your really not good enough to handle me with how I am now.." his determined vision was looking passed them all towards his objective; the dual doors that led into the ship... the only entrance that led to the bridge.
"OPEN FIRE!! Sword units flank him!!..." flicking his wrist, as he cut the air beside him.. Dante's confidence seemed to have been increased with quick speed and rapid agility dodging fire left and right as his blade cut down several guards like butter.. his skill is notably greater than before. "Your making it too easy!.." watching another group of guards charge him from the left flank with swords in hand; made the blue eye'd male huff as in another swift movement; stepping down with a sharp turn he countered their incoming strikes breaking their defenses and ending them with a final slash "Hyah!!"
The gun units opened fire once again, Dante rushed away from the defeated sword unit and leaped rather high grabbing hold of one of the hovering weapons; directing their fire at each other hopping down through the smoke of their explosions.. missiles fired towards him and as if reading the coming momentum using his sword to deflect the missiles in opposite directions causing significant fire explosive damage to the Vessel. Not giving them a chance to reload their launchers the Knight moved at them quickly taking down the three remaining missile guards.. "heh!... it's easy since I've done this before.."
Turning his head to see the havoc he had created in this brief battle.. the white haired knight cringed at what he had done 'oof... I really gotta work on collateral... here they give out fines for that..' he thought with a chuckle; stopping in front of the door.. he reached for the handles stopping midway a small smirk on his face.. ears perked up.... Touching them gently a split second hadn't passed before the flaming sounds of gunfire could be heard.. a backflip to safety as Dante dodged the fire from.. below "there you are.... I was wondering when you'd come out... you got the best of me last time. But I ain't gonna lose to you again!...."
Who he was referring to?... a crisp burst through the steel hull; from the smoking hole emerged... a rather large metal contraption... climbing up.. it's gold visor bright; the guns mounted on its shoulder we're anti-tank strong and powerful.. it was an all white mecha suit with cape of energy.. a giant blade in hand. A massive robotic swordsman.. 'I forgot how big this thing is... three times bigger than Regis was that time...' Kudo thought impressed still as he gripped his sword gulping nervously.
The Mecha swordsman held its blade in a samurai like position; preparing to charge forward it seemed to understand Dante's words as the dual was to begin.. The white haired knight began to emit his blue aura naturally not wanting to lose.. "let's do this!!...." Dashing at each other with blinding speed; the mecha crashed its blade down with immense strength trembling the ship as Dante stepped to the right continuing forward and striking its shoulder cutting into the suit precisely "got you now!..." with its free hand; slapping Kudo to the side harshly the robot dashed forward at blinding speeds to follow up and surprisingly it's reflexes we're incredible as it through several slashes in slashes in succession.
Dante found himself having trouble keeping up at this point as this Mecha suit was practically reading his movements 'Tch! Damn!....' Stopping himself from getting pushed back, and guarding against one of its slashes in a power collision of blades Kudo's eyes glared at it "I'm not going to.. lose to you!... AGAIN!!! Hhaaaaaaaaaaaaahh!!" Using Mana concentrated into his own body; Kudo pushed The Mecha backwards with incredible strength causing it to crash into the side of the ship with a large bang..
Falling to one knee as he had lost his footing Dante looked forward holding himself up with his blade as he had to catch and steady himself 'This things relentless... the power behind it is like three Regis's in one...except not losing control but focused... and minus the cursed mana....it's not even trying... damn!...'
It's visor could be heard beeping, crawling out of the crash zone it stood tall and nearly unscathed besides the large hole on its shoulder.. deeming Dante as a serious threat it held its blade upward in front of it... as its energy cape disappeared... wings of mana emerged from its metal back, the Mecha going into its second phase of battle..
"Shit!.... I'm gonna have to put it all on the line here...." Dante began building up his Mana... gradually it exploded little by little and became more intense, profound. "Your not going to win!! I won't let you! Come and GET IT!!!"
The White haired Knight pushed forward with loads of mana backing his attack.. as the White Mecha did the same it's wings giving it an immense boost in power, speed and strength.. inching closer and closer their collision would shake and break the ship entirely "AAAAGhhh!!!!!" The bright light of colliding mana the followed was blinding and incredible... an interesting sight to see.
"You Failed... again." Was the only thing said that cut from the battle straight to the aftermath.. inside a large metallic locker room standing tall, arms crossed with a look of pure disappointment on his face was the black haired knight.. the youngest from the Dragonknight trio of legend. Daisuke Kudo himself... looking down at his Nephew with a sigh practically ready to strangle him "how did you fail not once but twice... Dante.. it's an easy course to pass. Every candidate that has taken it has passed.. except for you.. this is your second attempt at it, what the hell's the matter!"
"Oh shut up!... I don't know what happened Viejo!.. I had it! But that thing second phase is no joke... I was close too during the last part but I didn't know it had more of a boost to give...caught me off guard.." Dante tried justifying himself as he sat on a Mech, wet towel on his neck as a nurse treated some of his bruises "oof!.. that stings!.."
"Dammit Dante! This is all you need to be cleared for field operation... that thing is a cakewalk compared to what the world has to throw at Knights of our caliber... the 'Sentinel' is designed to test your field skills. It's usually run to battle a single third rank but I have the operators level it up to battle at least a First Rank knight.. don't you get that?...the other divisions go through regulations but this team I have of you and Rose is special that needs extra attention.." Daisuke continued to rant at him, trying to get him to understand "if you had it.. why did you choke in the end?... your mana's strong, your control has progressed well.. but during a struggle you lose focus.. why?... you have nothing to worry about so why?!..."
"I don't KNOW!" Dante yelled back as a silence flooded the locker room.. his eyes wavered before glaring at the floor.. "I don't know." His trench coat was removed as the nurse finished working on his bruises standing up awkwardly and bowing at them; taking her leave. "I just.. can't get passed it.. theirs something making me lose it. I don't know what it is or why?..."
Daisuke pinched the bridge of his nose, over the years he had gotten used to his nephews outbursts so it wasn't new to him; as he walked over and patted his shoulder "I don't mean to be tough on you... but I've been training you and Rose for 5 months straight... you've both gotten extremely better but your the only one that didn't pass the field course yet...how long is it gonna take for you to do this?... I know your tired of being tested but for a long time the Order wasn't this advanced to train its Knights this efficiently we have to be sure all Knights are truly ready for the field.....I need you to figure this out.. if not... well. Your gonna get left behind.. no more handouts just because of who your dad is..."
Dante let out a breathe as he could here Daisuke's footsteps, and his presence leave the room leaving him alone... gripping his fist in frustration he punched a hole into the wall beside "fuck!..this is annoying!" He let out angrily standing up and grabbing his coat, leaving his blade inside a locker and locking it up he exited the room; making his way through several corridors.. his mind was foggy as he replayed the battle with the Sentinel several times. The feeling of utter defeat imminent... 'damn Daisuke... why does he make it that strong anyways?! What makes us different from the other divisions?!...' these thoughts we're causing quite a headache in the young Knight; after all this time the entrance exam turned out to be not the only trial he had to overcome after all. "This is bullshit..."
"Sounds like I don't even have to ask What happened do I?..." the female voice suddenly spoke out of nowhere, it was quite and mystique as always... she was slender and had grown a bit taller with her red hair more radiant styled as long in the back and short in front, with two braids at the side. Long Sharp ears more exposed that confirm her status as a Dark Elf, seemingly showing a bit more confidence in herself. She wears a green sleeveless archer corset, shorts, a pair of uneven black gloves, knee high boots, a hood and she wears an additional black sleeve over her left arm. The beauty that she presented was that of a unique elven race barely respected by anyone.. Rose Atarah.. "do you need me to spell out why your failing so bad?..."
"Oh quit it Rose... it's not like you have to worry about it. You passed with flying colors... practically leaving me behind." Dante huffed being really bent out of shape over his failed attempt;
making the dark elf scoff "You really are an airhead." She said lowly shaking her head in response "We're part of the same team. I was alone before I joined The Order and If it we're before the entrance exam I would leave you behind but we have gotten passed that... so stop beating yourself up. Get your head in the game and pass it... we've sparred together to many times for you to pull this sorry excuse of behavior."
"I.. I don't know what's wrong with me?... I keep choking during the struggle.. I know I have the Mana to push passed the Sentinel. But I just can't seem to generate enough..." Dante admitted that their seemed to be something in his mind or spirit keeping him from truly utilizing his power.. it was annoying. "I'm sorry... for snapping like that."
"If that's what you classify as snapping at someone you really don't know much..." The Dark Elf had watched him take the course twice now and fail. "Spirit cores.. can be utilized further through emotions... memories.. thoughts.. will. Mastering a spirit core means to master oneself. It's really impossible for anyone to perfectly use it since not just humans but even elves though blessed as our race is... can have trouble. A Mana blessed being may have the Mana of an Ocean... but if there is no gravity to make waves... it will remain still. If something is troubling you. Then you must find a way to resolve it. To get your core to push out Mana with no trouble. We have spent five months training together. Still we no very little of each other... but that may not be the problem. You are growing as a human. Perhaps... there is something in you that you refuse to let go...think on it.." pushing her braid to the side and turning on her heel she sighed "that's all the advice I can give you. Do not press for more. I am not a fortune cookie."
'Mastering a Spirit core means mastering oneself... an ocean with no gravity to push and pull.....' Dante thought taking her words into consideration "wait. Did you get that from a Fortune cookie?!..."
"I did no such thing!...." Rose huffed at his comedic accusation before moving on from the subject "Come. You promised to visit him during his break from R&D... somehow dragging me into it as always..."
"Huh?!.. I didn't drag you into it! He thinks of you as a friend too Yah know. Maybe act like it instead of being..." Dante's usually bright and energetic face shifted into a mocking serious expression "brooding and silent type looking.."
"What do you even mean?.. I do not look like some vampire..." Rose rubbed her temple at his attempted imitation of her that failed horribly as she lead the way towards an elevator. "Also remember we're on library duty tonight. I will not be embarrassed by you skipping out with that idiotic Lionheart again. It's a two man job after all and you are expected to be there.."
"What?!... my third attempt is tomorrow morning!... how am I supposed to focus on the course if I'm tired from being up in that Stupid Library all night! Nobody even reads books anymore! It's on computers! Bling is their friend!..." The white haired Knight hated the idea of having to tend to some dusty books all night and organize them.. "it's not my fault Yuma wanted to show me around Titan city... it's amazing!! There's so much stuff. It's a Technical Marvel!..."
"Humanity has definitely embraced technology more than any other species... I dare say their hundreds of years ahead of anyone... communicators aren't even a thing in Denathan... much less a phone. They use Raven's to send messages..." Rose explained comparing Humanity and Elves in structure "though mankind isn't exactly known for their 'sharing' nature..."
"Huh?!.. a Raven messenger?... so what?.... The Raven's have communicators or.... They record stuff for elves and fly to play the recording?..." Dante tried to wrap his head around how modern humanity was compared to other parts of the world, it was an odd thing to hear. The dark elf girl just ignored his ignorant comments before slapping his shoulder harshly "This is why you fail! Concentrate on the task at hand not on sight seeing Dante..."
"Yeah.. yeah..." a sudden chill went down kudo's spine, as his eyes glanced up at the large digital sign, pointing toward the following corridor.. 'R&D.. 5th Division barracks...' Comander Subashī Jest left quite the impression several months ago.. "I hate coming here... that creepy guy could pop out of anywhere..."
"Your telling me.... I'm pretty sure he's been wanting to experiment my elven dna for a while now... he keeps sending a request which Daisuke-sama continues to deny...thank Megami for him.." Rose shuddered as she herself wasn't a fan of him, stopping short the duo felt a small tremble followed by piercing screaming.. sort of like a horror movie. "That does not. Help."
"That's coming from the R&D Labs...come on! I wonder what happened.." Dante rushed forward without hesitation with Rose on his tail as smoke could be seen seeping from Laboratory doors "Crap!! A fire!!" The doors swing open... two individuals in lab coats step out coughing up a storm "Agh!! The capacitor overheated!! It was too much juice..." the taller male spoke distraught while the other much shorter girl was heavily angered, as they comedically argued with each other..
"You idiot! How many times do I have to tell you to dial it down! Your gonna get me and Cole-Kun! KILLED!!" The woman slapped him silly, as the male huffed "it was Cole-sama! That told me to bring up the capacity levels you nincompoop!.."
Walking out of the smoking lab as the sprinklers inside began to put out the fire, covered in ash... lab coat disheveled, eyes glowing bright in wonder shoulder length hair tied in a ponytail; black piercings on his right ear.. "C-calm down you two... I-it was my mistake. Really!.. I should have r-ran the numbers twice rather than once..like you taught me.."
The two scientists looked over at Cole.. and... suddenly... started to cry emotionally "Ah!!!! He's so Amazing!! Your kindness and genius knows no WONDERS!...." The male cried out as the woman blushed heavily and yelled "You are the absolute best thing that's come to this division!! COLE-KUN!!!!!"
"Yo!! Cole!...." Dante finally interrupted their banter waving at his friend happy to see him getting along well with his companions, not really noticing the clear.. unhealthy worship those two had of him meanwhile Rose was caught off guard 'd-does Cole have.. a fan club?... I knew they liked him but.... Oof...that's... an odd way of showing it...'
Cole turned toward Dante and Rose, his face went from wonder... to immediate joy as he moved past his companions and stood in front of Them with a big smile "D-Dante!... Rose-Chan!....your both here! I-I'm so glad you came to visit me!.." pointing behind him he introduced them "Y-you met them last month... this is Corporal Yoshi Yamada and Rear Corporal Kyoshi Yamada! Their my superiors, Commander Subashī jest-Sama's assistants....and siblings! they have been teaching me a grand amount..." Kyoshi
Wore extremely long luscious brown hair with piercing green eyes, while Yoshi wore long Forest green hair in a ponytail with brownie eyes.. signifying their differences as siblings..
"They do seem rather nice...." Dante chuckled at their energetic personalities, as if they we're competing for Cole's favor. Yoshi placed his hands on his hips and smirked "Haha! See that Kyoshi... he introduced my name first... it is clear who Cole-sama favors!..."
"Eh?!!! Are you stupid! He obviously left the best for last!!... don't get coy Yoshi!!!" She was clearly the more temperamental one, as they locked eyes and a rivalry spark could be seen
"P-please calm down you two... don't fight in front of my friends..." Cole waved his hand in front of them, getting them to calm themselves immediately though not before they cursed under their breathes at each other. "Gomen'nasai they can be very enthusiastic"
"That's an understatement..." Rose huffed sarcastically, as Yoshi beamed "Ah! Dante Kudo! Third Rank Knight! And Rose Atarah! Second Rank Knight!.... It is a pleasure to see you two again. It was brief but I see why Cole-sama speaks highly of you both frequently!"
"Any friends of Cole-kun~ is welcome in our barracks!" Kyoshi smiled genuinely taking a liking to them both "I hear you we're retaking the field operation course... how did it go Kudo-San?"
"Umm...." Dante suddenly looked away at the question not really giving a clear answer but his change in body movement was more than enough, as Yoshi titled his head observantly speaking "oh! You failed again I see.... Hm. I analyzed your battle prowess in all areas during the entrance exam months prior. You should be more than capable of excelling even acing the course... Most Third Rank and Second knights get it on their first or second tries..."
"W-well... you see I sort of... I don't know... choked?...." The white haired male sighed deeply hoping he could sort of just forget about his failure for the time being; Instinctly Cole Young spoke up "actually! I had a feeling something was strange with this particular course and why you could not pass it.... So I did some digging and research on my off days for you!...come with me!..." Motioning for his friends to follow, his corporals also followed along curious as to what the young intellectual prodigy found.
Entering the now cleared up Laboratory as multiple bots we're cleansing the area of smoke and dust.. sitting at a desk and opening up his computer.. the black haired genius began pulling up files he collected and put together "you see. The Sentinel has certain settings that can be adjusted... the setting is meant to challenge the tester according to their rank.. fitness, finesse, strategy and power... unfortunately for you both. Daisuke-sama adjusted it to what should be for First Class Knights."
"In that case! Why is it that Rose was able to pass but Dante is having trouble..." Kyoshi questioned curiously "I agree. I took the course and though it was tedious I still passed as the others did..." The dark elf added not quite understanding...
"I know! T-that's why I dug down and found something... when Rose took the Course it was set at First Class Settings but when Dante took the course the passed two times?.." Cole pointed at the screen showing the anomaly in the system "see... it is set at the same settings as Rose but. Someone hid an adjustment behind the code.. t-technically only high level corporals could get into the system but I know my way around this stuff... the level is set for mirror matching mana.."
"Mirror what now?..." Dante questioned still not really understanding what was being said as Yoshi chimed in marveling at how Cole was able to somehow get past the security for this "Mirror matching. The Sentinel is meant to test all capabilities... but when set at that adjustment. It will not only test you... but everytime your mana output increases it will adapt and match you... it seems the course is rigged for you to lose on purpose...even if you do choke it should still not be able to match your spirit core regularly.. as it is an artificial spirit core planted inside of the suit of armor.."
"What your saying is.... Daisuke-Sensei set the adjustment so that Dante would lose every time....but why?... I believed he wanted us to be cleared for field operations as soon as possible..what's the deal with this?..." Rose began to question closing her eyes in thought "knowing him... there must be a reason."
"I know what it is....." Kyoshi interrupted suddenly sitting beside Cole at her own computer and opening the files from the entrance exam "Take a look at Dante's stats...their incredible. The Mana his Spirit Core Generates is massive.. but reckless. It looks to me like.. Daisuke wants Dante to tackle an enemy that'll match him not just blow for blow, but pound for pound..."
"In the real world battles such as this... enemies with different capabilities.. skills and techniques will be against you... the Sentinel is a means to test your mettle against a general consensus of enemies...if it's adjusted to such a degree... it's too push you further... to prove your worth in the field. Would you rather have someone that beat the course normal watch your back...or someone that beat it at its maximum..." Yoshi chimed in giving his take on the matter before Cole finally added his own two cents "hmm. A spirit core is tempered not just by the mind... but by the heart... e-emotions play a big part of it.. if your choking Dante.. then maybe your still unsure of the path ahead of you..."
"The path ahead of me?... I'm a Knight now. Im not sure what you mean?.. my whole life was based on the fact of me becoming a Knight.. just to protect and serve Bushido..that's what I trained for!" Dante spoke on his goals though their wasn't much to elaborate on, but Rose cut him off critiquing it fairly.
"Your saying you wanted to become a Knight.. to protect the people you care for and to serve this country.. you accomplished your goal. Passed the entrance exam.. so what could possibly be holding you back?... choking is a bit anxiety and fear.. what is scaring you during the course?...what is shaking your drive so much?"
"I. Don't know...there's... a lot.." Dante's eyes shadowed quite a bit as a thought crossed his mind, the feeling of missing nostalgia... the feeling of unfamiliarity.. "I just... feel-...
I'm missing-.."
"EMERGENCY! EMERGENCY!..." Cole's phone lit up suddenly blaring a code red message, making him stammer panic H-huh?! W-what is this?!....it's..." opening it up.. on the screen was.. Yuma Lionheart contacting him "Cole! We have an emergency!! You gotta get Dante and Rose down to the Lobby! Quick! Shits going down..."
"Y-Yuma San?!..." Cole stood up abruptly unsure of what this could possibly be.. before looking toward his two friends "L-looks like he needs us down there.. I've never heard him this panicked before..."
"Well what are we waiting for?.... It's not like that playboy to lose his cool all of a sudden...we'll get back to this later.. come on Dante..." Rose patted Dante's shoulder motioning for him to move as she lead the way out of the R&D laboratory
"Right!..." Dante's ears perked up at the mention of Yuma calling for them.. he hadn't seen him in quite a while for him to be calling like this was.. drastic "let's go COLE!!"
"A-ah! W-wait Dante! Don't drag me like a ragdoll! I- I have legs you know!!!" The poor genius was practically levitating in the air as Dante grabbed his arm and dragged him out of the labs "Kyoshi! Yoshi!! P-please finish our work on the explosive Mana M-mine!! I-I'll be back!!"
"Hai! Cole-Kun~!! Have fun!!~..." Corporal Kyoshi giggled and smirked with a hint of confidence "See that~ little brother... he called my name first this time!-..." she said causing Yoshi to fume as they continued to work on their research and development.
"I-I wonder... what has got Y-yuma so worried all of a sudden...I-it's not like him at all..." Cole questioned as they reached the central elevator, Rose pushed the button calling for it as she scoffed unamused "it better be important we can't lose focus on the task at hand... if Dante doesn't get cleared for the Field... then we're in trouble..."
'Yuma?... what the hells going on?...'