In the Conclave Chamber, Jaden and Kenzo turned towards the voice that had just echoed through the room. It was a female voice, confident and dripping with sarcasm. She knew she was proposing an impossible condition for the two "brats."
The room didn't seem surprised; apparently, everyone knew that this was her way—she was a real tigress. There was a collective sigh of despair, as if to say she would never change.
"What's your problem, you barbarian?" Rush was the one who responded to Sera—the woman who had just asked two barely capable teenagers to fight her in front of everyone. Rush was evidently irritated by this reaction.
Why did she always act this way? Why did she have to stick her nose into their business? No one had asked for her input. The more he thought about these things, the darker Rush's expression became.
The icing on the cake was that every time she pulled stunts like this, it was almost impossible for him to refuse. A real headache.
'She's older than us and is always in combat; how are we going to fight such an animal?' Jaden thought, furrowing his brow. What was Sera's problem? Jaden almost thought the same way as Rush.
Kenzo, on the other hand, had a face that radiated excitement. He couldn't have wished for anything better than going up against a CREDHOS elite, testing his skills against the cream of the crop.
"Scared, kid?" Ignoring Rush's remark, Sera stood in front of Jaden. She was taller than him, so she lowered her head to be at eye level with him. She had one of the most mocking smiles.
Anyone else might have lost their temper after this provocation, but Jaden thought it was too much drama for nothing. After all, why resort to violence? Weren't they civilized?
'Besides, why is no one opposing her?' Jaden wondered thoughtfully.
She was the only one asserting herself, but in this kind of situation, once the majority had made their choice, the others didn't matter anymore.
'Maybe everyone here wants to see if I'm really up to becoming a CREDHOS.' he concluded logically.
Jaden didn't blame them; it made sense to see if he was up for it because many lives would depend on him.
Normally, his membership would have been rejected as soon as Rei had made the proposal because he had never really trained to fight HOUMs. Although his record proved he was skilled, there were probably others like him out there.
The root cause of all these things was his Lavender lineage. People believed that Lavenders were only involved in management and other things, but the highest-ranking members of the organization knew better.
Jaden didn't even know that his easy acceptance was due to his lineage.
He then turned to Kenzo and said. "You wanted a fight, Ken, here you go."
Once she received confirmation that the two kids had agreed, Sera turned her head towards the old man presiding over the meeting, still wearing that mischievous smile. Just then, without saying a word, the three—Sera, Jaden, and Kenzo—vanished from the Conclave Chamber and appeared in another large room.
'Does this kind of affinity even exist?' Jaden was astonished by the turn of events.
His face was filled with shock. Who would have imagined such an affinity? One capable of instantly moving people from one place to another? What was the logic behind all this?
Jaden had always held a very scientific view of elemental affinities. But what science could explain the instantaneous displacement of people from one place to another?
'There must be the concept of time and space. Just one of these concepts is almost impossible to master.'
The more he thought about it, the more shocked he became. But he snapped out of it when Sera's voice rang out again as she took loud steps towards one of the empty rings.
"Hurry up, you brats."
The room was rectangular with high ceilings and reinforced walls to withstand the impacts of intense battles. Powerful lights hung from the ceiling, evenly illuminating the space, eliminating distracting shadows and creating a vibrant and energetic atmosphere.
'Is there anything here that's not amazing?' Jaden was exasperated.
Since he had arrived, he had come across such beauty that he was at a loss for words. Even the lighting in the room was magnificent.
The floor was covered with shock-absorbent, non-slip material, ideal for rapid movements and intense combat. Colored markings were drawn to delineate specific areas, such as dueling rings, moving targets, or obstacles for mobility training.
"Wow!" Even Kenzo, who had trained with the CREDHOS, was amazed because the room was much better equipped than the one at the academy.
It was larger and more beautiful, which wasn't surprising since the real CREDHOS were here, while the academy had only aspirants.
There were plenty of obstacles and equipment, metal structures, movable walls, and covered areas in different compartments of the spaces marked by the lights. There were places for simulations that, at first glance, seemed to be state-of-the-art and very advanced.
"Stop acting like bumpkins and get into the ring." Sera said once she was in the ring and noticed that her "opponents" were admiring more than they were moving.
The two then hastened their steps, but they didn't get into the ring until Jaden received some training equipment. He was the only one in this HQ wearing "normal" clothes.
Once in the ring, Kenzo spoke up.
"I'll go first, genius!" Kenzo exclaimed, and he started running after that because he was eager to start the fight. His excitement was not just visible on his face; it could also be felt.
The other CREDHOS remained in the Conclave Chamber, while a giant screen displayed the ring where the three combatants were.
"Oh, what courage! He's going in all alone." Karim's voice remarked.
As always, he had that curious look, always wanting to discover something new. In front of him was an exception, not just a Lavender but also an immortal. So, when it came to piqued curiosity...
Once in front of Sera, Kenzo delivered a spinning kick towards her ribs, only to hear the sound of the wind being cut by a great force because his opponent had merely moved the upper part of her body before returning to her normal position.
Kenzo immediately followed up with another direct kick, as if he were stomping on a tree in front of him. Sera had merely placed her left leg behind the right one to let Kenzo pass by.
He was carried by the pressure of his own kick but just before he could go any further, he regained his balance with the same foot and kicked with the other foot as if it were a scorpion's tail, making a half-circle towards Sera, who just leaned her head backward before saying.
"Not bad, kid! But with that, even after a lifetime, you'll never touch me."
Kenzo tried a few more combinations, but it was futile. He had never managed to touch Sera, not even to make her raise her hand to block one of his attacks.
'Much tougher than I imagined.' Jaden said with a very serious expression. Even after watching the fight as a spectator, he didn't believe he would do better than Kenzo.
'Now it's my turn, hero.' Jaden said to his teammate once he was far enough away from Sera.
Kenzo was a bit disappointed, but he hadn't given up. He wanted to view the fight from a different perspective, and maybe then he would find a weakness.
Sera, however, didn't let this exchange go without a comment. It wasn't her style at all.
"Oh, is it Daddy's boy's turn?" She had a mocking smile, irritating Jaden a little.
Jaden tried to stay composed, but he really wanted to make Sera eat her words from the past. So he tried for naught.
Jaden suddenly sprinted toward his opponent, throwing a quick punch. Sera reacted instantly, gracefully dodging by leaning to the side, feeling the wind of the punch graze her cheek.
Jaden immediately followed up with a hook punch aimed at her head. Sera bent her legs slightly to let the punch pass over her head.
'I got you.' Jaden had said.
He expected this reaction from his opponent; he was the one leading the dance. So, he swiftly launched a spinning kick.
'What?' Jaden thought, furrowing his brows.
He was certain this strike would land; it was impossible to miss after such a combination. How had his opponent dodged it? She had bent herself with fluid grace, almost like a bridge without touching the ground with her hands, then immediately performed an acrobatic flip and hopped back a few steps.
"Not bad for a little girl." Sera had commented with a nod, showing Jaden that she had put in almost no effort.
Jaden continued with different strategies but succeeded only in hitting thin air. After a while, it was Kenzo's turn again, but the result remained the same.
"They fight well, but at this rate, they won't even touch her." Karim commented, voicing what all the CREDHOS present were thinking as Jaden and Kenzo took their turns getting beaten.
Back on the ring, Kenzo looked at Jaden before asking him after several failed attempts to land a blow.
"Did you notice it too?"
"Yeah, it's like she knows what we're going to do" Jaden replied, but before he could finish his sentence, Kenzo added
"Right before we do it."
"Right before we do it."
Something then clicked in Jaden's mind, and with a serious expression, he asked Kenzo.
"Ken, can you take a few hits?" Because at a certain point, Sera had stopped just dodging and was now retaliating with blows, each of which landed hard and hurt a lot.
"If I can? Of course, I can. A hero doesn't fear getting hit." This time, he looked even more focused than before.
"Oh? The little guy seems much more serious now." Sera said with the voice of a psychopath tormenting a victim.
Kenzo's combinations became more precise, even though they didn't change the outcome of the fight because he was still getting thrashed.
"Is it just me, or is this kid getting stronger?" one of the CREDHOS in the room said after noticing this apparent fact.
Meanwhile, Jaden watched the fight closely, and Kenzo was launched again despite his improved performance.
"Good job, Ken. Mind if I take it from here?"
"That's what I was planning to do, after all." Once he replied, he stepped back, giving the stage to Jaden.