Part one:
As mentioned, Zafer had no idea what the procedure for becoming a National Security member was.
He could only hope there wouldn't be any special requirements—giving up his place in Temper for nothing would be a blow he couldn't afford.
The NS lacked members anyway and there should be no reason for them to decline or make it difficult for someone to join their organization.
He also hoped he wouldn't need to visit their headquarters in the capital.
The capital of Pashtrik stood just a stone's throw from the city of Koth, but between them loomed a colossal mountain, its jagged peaks cloaked in mystery. Rumours claimed it was utterly impassable, a natural barrier defying even the bravest travelers.
This meant that everyone who traveled to the capital from Koth had to go around the whole mountain which was a huge hassle.
It was only logical for Zafer to inform himself in the city of Koth first and only then decide if a voyage to the capital was worth it.
After standing still for 10 seconds everything around Zafer shifted colors and he was already at a different place.
It was dark and quiet.
He teleported to the TP inside of the grinder.
Talking to Mio about the possibility of joining the National Security could wait until the afternoon. The humble-dressed man was guaranteed to be there anyway. He was always there, at the Arena.
What was more important to Zafer was to see how everyone from Knuckles'es small gang was doing.
Ever since the incident with Skil, he hasn't bothered to check a single S-mail.
To his surprise, the grinder was completely dark.
Even the big hall where the flame flowers used to be cultivated was completely dead and empty.
Some garbage and random materials were thrown all around the stone floor, but it was too dark for Zafer to see what it was.
His lifeless eyes scouted the entire space as he took slow strides, stepping onto the dead weed and debris.
This cave was God knows where. There was no way someone accidentally found it from the surface.
Someone had to have insided them (that was a term for a raid that occurred from the inside, mostly through treason).
Another weird thing was that the Transport Point was still working, but Zafer completely overlooked that, hence nothing ever happened.
He activated his other "escape" TP and teleported back to the Koth city to check into his inn room.
Once there, he sat at the table and forced himself to check on any unread S-mails.
There were none.
With a deep exhale and a last drop of willpower, he wrote an S-mail to Knuckles.
"Hey, it's Zafer. What happened to the grinder farm? Are you well"
"Hi, I've been in the capital since 2 days ago! I am doing alright! It was Semi who destroyed the place and took everything. Aside from that, please have my condolences for Skil, I know how close the two of you were. I'm looking forward to talking to you in person as soon as possible! 10:32"
Quick note, Knuckles still has no idea that Zafer left Temper and decided to join the NS.
Either way, his unexpected response gave Zafer enough motivation to reply with another S-mail.
"Why did Semi do that?"
"He said he did it because he didn't trust the Lieutenant! I don't know what has gotten into him so suddenly. He has also been avoidant for the past few weeks, if you find something out please let me know or tell him to contact me! I am already working on a new grinder project so do not worry! 11:02"
Zafer wrote an S-mail to Semi as soon as Knuckles responded with this but will receive no response until several weeks later.
He was heartbroken, and as much as he tried to excuse Semi's behavior, deep inside, Zafer felt as if he lost another friend the same month.
One of Zafer's main priorities was to repay Semi for always looking after him like his older brother, but the time wasn't on his side.
What was the point in repaying someone for something if they hated and avoided you?
It sure wasn't impossible, but, if no friendship can bloom from the repaying, isn't it only making Zafer look weak and pathetic?
Furthermore, what could Zafer possibly repay Semi with, if the guy got way richer than him?
He rubbed his eyes with his hands and after some time being stuck in that position, he cursed at Semi out loud.
In the Arena, there was nothing new.
It was still full of paladins and freelancers, but there were also even more banters than before.
That was a nickname for those who didn't come to the Arena to train and spar with others, but only to lay around and talk to others.
The majority of these people were females who were looking for a capable partner. Possibly a paladin.
As a consequence, there were also a lot of male banters who were trying to look tough and act as if they were training to attract these females.
Many actual paladins didn't mind, but to Zafer, these banters were a very disgusting part of the community.
A disgrace to humans in general as well, especially females.
This was the reason why Zafer very frequently tried to scare them out of the Arena, and the persistent ones had to be kicked out by force.
He took no pride in that although it made him feel very satisfied.
Zafer was not strong compared to an average paladin, but the regulars had to know their place.
The arena was exclusively for training and fighting, and if one didn't want to participate in that, they could leave for what he cared.
This behavior irritated some of the young freelancers in the Arena who enjoyed female company, but Zafer would usually also kick them out as well.
Using brute force. Thankfully, he was strong enough to do so, and now, given his mental state, that was the first thing he did after entering Arena.
"You are doing God's work", someone complimented Zafer's actions from behind.
It was Mio.
They both watched a squad of tearful females and beaten-up males walk towards the exit of the Arena after Zafer "confronted" them.
"Thanks", he forced a smile.
"If I could, I would do the same. There is no place here for horny and money-hungry bastards in this sacred place".
Zafer lightly nodded in agreement, turning around towards Mio.
"I wanted to ask you something. What are the preconditions to joining the National Security?"
Mio frowned, pondering for a second.
"Well, there are no fixated preconditions. Most members had to undergo a test, but I got accepted right away".
"Tell me how".
"Why do you want to know so bad?"
Zafer made a brief pause before answering. Wasn't it obvious already?
"I want to join".
Mio laughed tapping him on the shoulder, "You need to get a lot stronger first!"
Zafer frowned stepping away irritated, "I want to join to become stronger".
Mio laughed again, "No, no. It's the other way around".
Zafer argued, "I think I can still serve some purpose".
"Have you ever seen someone who was designated Threat Level 1 or 2?", Mio asked, "probably no. Do you know why? It's not because they didn't get accepted, but because they are all dead".
Zafer was taken aback by this but didn't show it on the outside.
"You can try taking the test but I doubt you will pass", Mio continued.
"What is the test?"
Mio shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know. Haven't done it".
Zafer exhaled realizing this tiring and useless conversation was at its end. Although he and Mio had many common opinions, asking someone else seemed like a better option.
"Is Wabler around?"
The Book of Runes and Curses: Paragraph 19:
Accumulator is a Rune that increases the overall weight of a weapon while maintaining the weight its user experiences while holding it. This makes some weapons with the same amount of runes far stronger than the others. The precondition to the Accumulator rune activation is mainly the number of lives it has taken, the number of times the weapon was used, and the number of times the other runes were activated.
Part two:
"Wabler!", a boy screamed.
It was Luch.
"Get ready to have your ass kicked!"
This was the first thing Zafer heard upon entering the dessert area where Wabler was known to be.
"Again?!", laughed in excitement.
Since Zafer was gone, Luch seemed to challenge Wabler to a duel quite frequently.
The young lad was always in some rush to get stronger. Probably because his source of motivation was far more noble than that of Zafer.
"Yes, again", he laughed pulling something from behind, "Now I've acquired this!".
Wabler's eyes widened slightly in surprise. This wasn't expected.
Luch held a unique type of weapon called "Rod".
It was a weapon only some of the most skilled and tenacious people knew how to use, and their number in today's age was only 3!
Nevertheless, the weapon has existed for a long time now, its inventor being dead for many years.
When deciding one's Threat Level, the only thing that could be taken into account was that person's anomalies, martial arts skills, and stamina.
Nevertheless, Rod was a weapon that was the only exception to this, since using the weapon required an enormous amount of precision and skill.
Not every experienced paladin could use it, and not everyone even knew about its existence.
Rod was basically a shorter fishing rod, with a Miyalin blade along one side of its stick. The bobber was very bouncy and was pierced with several Miyalin blades, and the string it was attached to was also made out of Miyalin, sharp as a saw.
Yes, this weapon was very expensive and only a handful of people were skilled enough to craft it! Even so, the value of the weapon was quite low since nobody knew how to use it, and the Miyalin it possessed weighed very little.
Luch let the string loose and then kicked the bobber right at Wabler's face!
The former dodged it simply by stepping aside, but that wasn't the end of it.
The bobber went past Wabler, hitting a sandstone and bouncing back.
Unfortunately, it bounced in a completely irrelevant direction, but Luch wasn't giving up just yet. If nothing, he could use it as a distraction!
He dashed at Wabler and swung with the Rod before the bobber bounced off the second time.
What was interesting was that Wabler never attacked first.
He either dodged or blocked Luch's swings before hitting him back lightly.
Zafer had never paid attention to this, but it seemed like a very useful technique since one would always be wide open while attacking.
What was the point in attacking first if you know you will be wide open for your opponent to swing back?
Thinking back now, when he fought against Marek, that guy's fighting style was very aggressive.
Zafer couldn't help but wonder how Wabler's technique would go against Marek's aggression.
After some time of "exchanging" blows, Luch got entangled in the string of his own weapon!
Wabler saw this coming from a mile away. With every swing Luch made, the string dragged even more.
"You forgot to lock the pulley".
Luch felt somewhat embarrassed, "right…"
He locked the pulley but still had to free himself and undo the knots.
Suddenly someone pulled on the string from where the bobber was and Luch just flew there screaming while the sharp string cut into his flesh and clothes.
The sound of weapons clinging and people fighting was still all over the place, but to Zafer and Wabler, it was the usual.
It was peaceful.
"Hey", he walked up to him, "I need to ask you a question".
Wabler gazed at Zafer with curiosity.
"I want to join the National Security. Can you tell me what I must do?"
A short pause happened. Wabler didn't expect this because although some members of the National Security were paid, it was nowhere near the wealth an average paladin possessed.
Plus it was way more dangerous.
"Well… There is a test you can do…"
Zafer was determined, "Tell me".
"Well, you'll have to go to the capital. They will deal with that".
Zafer exhaled. The journey to the capital was inevitable.
"Can I not get accepted without doing the test like Mio?"
Wabler got puzzled for a second, "Mio also had to do the test…I guess he doesn't remember or didn't take it that way since he was very young back then. Anyways you need to pass the test. Just visit the headquarters in the capital and they will deal with your application".
The voyage to the capital might take several weeks.
That was the time Zafer could spend training and sparring with people here in the Arena.
Zafer had never been to the capital before. A moment of contemplating if it was really worth it passed through his head.
Perhaps was traveling across the mountains a solution to this. The mountains weren't very wide, but were long, so going around them took way more time than over them.
Yes. That was the only solution to this.
Traveling through the wilderness was something Zafer was used to doing anyway.
"Fine!", Zafer said, "can you at least tell me what the test is about? Is it the same for everyone?"
Wabler smiled, "well yes, ever since the-"
He suddenly stopped talking and looked to his left.
A huge sandstone boulder appeared out of nowhere and smashed Wabler against another sandstone hill next to them.
Zafer's mouth dropped open, and eyes widened reluctantly.
"Fuck!", he exclaimed biting his lip.
Had this hit him, the A-11 would have maybe saved him, but what about Wabler?
Despite him being the only human designated Threat Level 6, his vulnerability wasn't much higher than that of a regular person.
He was also made out of flesh and bones.
Zafer quickly ran around the sandstone boulder only to see that Wabler's body got pushed through the small rocky hill!
His hands were stretched forward and buried into the sandstone boulder, and when he took a step backward, his arms fell next to his body.
The flesh from his hands was completely missing, revealing his shiny white bones.
Wabler had bones made out of pure Miyalin!
Not only that, but they also contained many runes!
How was this possible? Was he born this way? Was this his anomaly?
Zafer's mind came back to life with these thoughts of curiosity and admiration.
Wablers hands were trembling and he barely reached for a red potion, placing the flask on his lips.
"An apparition!", a black-haired banter girl ran towards them, "please! Some strong paladin save us!".
She went for the Wabler but after seeing his disgusting appearance quickly wrapped her hands around Zafer's arm.
"Be gone!", Zafer pushed her to the ground, approaching Wabler to assist him.
He was about to ask if he was alright but the latter was faster.
"Stay here".
At that instant, Wabler dashed towards the direction the boulder flew from. Given its speed and size, it was obvious that no regular human went inverse this time.
Zafer hesitated for a second.
He just asked Wabler about the means of joining the National Security. What was the point of him staying here and obeying the orders?
Was it for his safety? Was he being looked down upon?
His face twisted with disgust as he swallowed the entire flask of blue potion, and then, without hesitation, he dashed toward Wabler.
Part three:
After a few minutes of running through the desert, he reached the snowy biome.
The transition between the two biomes wasn't sudden. Thanks to the wind, sand, and snow intertwined, having crossed the border of their biome by hundreds of meters.
Nevertheless, the temperature did fall suddenly.
Compared to the desert biome, here it was freezing. Zafer couldn't feel it, however. His body was already warmed up from sprinting, ready to engage in battle and assist Wabler in taking down the apparition.
He spotted three figures standing in the middle of the snowy valley and buried his feet into the snow to slow down.
"Stop!", Mio yelled reaching out with his hand to catch Zafer, but the latter had already halted.
The second person who was a few steps ahead of them was Wabler, with knees slightly bent.
Finally, the third person was sitting on soil, around 20 meters from them.
She had short black hair and two thick and twisted horns.
That was Laura!
She turned inverse!
Zafer's heart skipped a beat.
Normally the stronger someone's anomalies were, the smaller the chance of them becoming an apparition was.
This was a very bad and rare occurrence.
The inverse process would unlock all the anomalies within someone and boost them, but since Laura was already at the top of her class, how strong could she get?
Never mind that, did she just die?
Zafer's sweaty face frowned with a hint of worry, not daring to act before his seniors did.
"Laura you are stronger than that, come on!", Wabler called out, but got no response.
It continued to stare at the snow.
She lost her humanity just like that! Zafer was in shock.
Are they forced to kill her now?
"Back off", Wabler turned his head towards them slightly, grabbing his sword's scabbard.
Zafer tried to take a step back but couldn't.
Matter of fact he could not move his entire body!
"I-" he tried to move his leg again, "I can't!"
A momentary squelch resounded as Laura's feet sunk deeper into the snow.
She stood up and stared at them with her wide-opened eyes—slit pupils.
She had a twisted smug smile.
This was weird to Zafer since he never heard of those who lost their humanity showing facial expressions.
Perhaps humanity wasn't all black and white like he thought. Maybe it was more like a spectrum.
Maybe, there was still a bit of Laura left inside, and that was why Wabler and Mio were so hesitant.
The katana's scabbard scraped faintly as Wabler's grip tightened.
"Is that Sakupen or a real sword?", Mio's voice exposed a trace of concern.
Wabler frowned but the 2 couldn't see it since they were facing his back.
"Cover your eyes".
In that instant, a sudden wave of aggressive aura spouts from Wabler.
Laura sensed it of course and as an answer, countless Miyalin blades erupted from her skin, piercing her clothes, extending to Wabler and the others.
However, her reaction was a millisecond too late.
Mio closed his eyes with all his might and covered Zafer's eyes tightly with his arm.
None of them saw anything but darkness, however, the truth was, they were engulfed with light.
As soon as a mere centimeter of Sakupen slipped out from its sheath, rays of pure white light pierced the air in myriad directions, and by the time the whole thing got extracted, the entire environment was pure white.
This wasn't an illusion. It was real. But they couldn't see it.
Nevertheless, they could hear hundreds of Miyalin blades getting broken in an instant, and it didn't stop there.
They continued to break and shatter into million snowflake-sized fragments until they became invisible to the human eye.
The white light broke them since they were a manifestation of Laura's primary Anomaly.
She was the only one affected because she saw the light only those on their deathbeds saw.
It was the same katana thanks to which Wabler contaminated Arcanie.
But will it be that easy with Laura as well?
Mio unwrapped his arm from Zafer's face, and everyone could use their eyes again.
Sakupen was back in its scabbard.
Laura was still standing at the same spot, staring at the snow with a wide slightly opened mouth and relaxed facial muscles.
"She made it back!", Wabler smiled taking slow strides towards Laura.
Zafer wanted to join him as well but noticed Mio's stance and expression in the corner of his eye. What was wrong?
Only those who possessed the Almighty Eye anomaly were capable of terminating inversion. Jean was one example of this.
Unfortunately, Laura's Almighty Eye anomaly wasn't as strong as Jean's, and fighting off the mutation all by herself was extremely difficult.
Just as Wabler was about to touch her shoulder, she flicked and punched Wabler in the chest with all her might.
It seemed as if Sakupen corrupted all anomalies but the Repeater. Many would have died from this punch, but Wabler's body was tougher due to his bones being made out of Miyalin.
He flew parallel to the snowy ground, ramming himself into Zafer and taking the latter with him down the valley.
Zafer didn't immediately go unconscious from this but was on the very edge.
Only Mio and Laura were left on the scene.
"Damn it!", Mio dashed towards Laura, but she dodged his attack with ease.
In base form, she wasn't faster or superior to Mio regarding combat skills, but he was still disadvantaged by not wanting to kill her.
The two went at it with all their might, and Mio didn't play around like he did when confronting banters or other random freelancers.
He had a couple of chances to penetrate Laura's abdomen with his bare fist but hesitated, being scared if she would be able to recover from it, even as a mutant.
This only prolonged the fight which, as the time would tell, didn't go to Mio's advantage. Laura in her inverse form couldn't empty her anomalous pool or get tired.
In the meantime, Wabler's fingers passed through Zafer's strands of hair, carefully looking if the guy had any serious injury that could be fatal.
He obviously knew that Zafer's body was enhanced with a Patronage rune since he would be dead otherwise, but it was still a good measure to check for any possible injury.
Due to this, he will lose a trace of Laura and Mio, but that was all right with him. Like Mio, Wabler understood that the difference between them was subtle, almost imperceptible, hence he trusted him to at least survive until he was done examining Zafer.
Mio and Laura were already past the desert biome, fighting in a Fungi forest under the shade of gigantic mushrooms.
Many youngsters and adults saw them fight and figured out what was going on barely able to keep track of them, let alone help.
The most well-known paladin who observed the two fight at the time was Banana. He stood upside down on a hat of one of the colossal mushrooms. He held a Rod in his right hand and his both arms were tied to his body with the sharp Miyalin string.
He gazed at them, blushing from the thrill.
"Do you need help!?", he shouted at Mio, but the latter didn't respond.
Not a single voice could reach him since his body was engulfed in many sounds created by the fight.
To be honest it was so loud that even Banana could barely hear himself but he pretended as if that wasn't the case.
"You ignoring me? Playing hard to get huh? I guess you don't need my help then", he shrugged his shoulders and continued to untie himself from the mess he was responsible for.
Banana was not into men. Nobody knew why he chose these words.
By now 10 minutes had passed and Mio could tell that Laura had gotten faster.
Not only that, but her anomalies that were suppressed by the light of Sakupen were returning.
Despite being in top condition, Mio finally received a direct kick, and it sent him rolling on the purple mycelium ground.
Before his body even started to lose momentum, he pushed himself up and skilfully landed on his feet, anticipating the next attack.
Laura dashed towards him almost immediately as she landed the kick but was halfway met with an unexpected event.
Mio spread his long shabby vest, revealing 12 Miyalin cleavers, each possessing only a single rune, neatly hanging from around his waist.
As much as he cared about Laura, he valued his own life more.
Two of the cleavers appeared in his hands almost immediately, while another third one got thrown into the air.
It was too late for Laura to stop her momentum, but it didn't matter that much anyway.
Her predator eyes meticulously tracked all three cleavers at the same time, along with Mio's footwork. A regular apparition wasn't capable of such, but Laura's fighting skill was so ingrained that such observations came effortlessly, buried deep in her subconscious.
Mio frowned upon seeing this. He hoped she might defer even a little bit, but it was too late now to increase the distance between them.
He clenched his right fist that held a cleaver, and the rune it possessed was activated.
VROOM. A lightning bolt struck Laura, stunning her for a second and dealing some damage.
The purge rune cleaver went right back on Mio's waist, and the cleaver he threw into the sky fell into his now free hand.
That cleaver contained the rune called Mischief.
Some time ago that rune was illegal due to how destructive it was, but was made legal when NS figured they couldn't prevent paladins from collecting it.
It was unrealistic since it meant that the Divine weapons were illegal as well.
Mio clenched his fist and activated the said rune.
In that instant, a wind carrying hundreds of invisible cuts and slices blew towards Laura until it hit her.
Some cuts reached deep into her skin, while a couple of them sliced some of her fingers.
Her body bled all over the place and she still couldn't regenerate due to the Purge rune.
This was then Mio dashed forward, going all in.
There were around 100 meters between them and not a single living soul nearby.
Nevertheless, Laura was also full of surprises, and her instinct got used to the new anomalies she acquired.
She did a 180-degree kick in the empty air in front of her, with her foot reaching as high as it could
Mio's 6th sense that was forged by experience got triggered, and he lifted his arms next to his head.
Despite the 100-meter distance between them, he got hit by an invisible force exactly how Laura moved.
She kicked him. Wirelessly.
This was a technique of the 5th anomaly.
Despite blocking the kick, he had momentum from dashing towards her, and it was enough to send him rolling on the dirt once again.
Fighting an opponent who possessed all the anomalies was very challenging since their arsenal of options was uncountable.
It was almost impossible to predict what they would do next. There were just too many possibilities.
He straightened up swiftly, only to have his entire body swallowed by a looming shadow, cutting off the sunlight.
With a single glance above him, he saw numerous 3-meter-long spikes, falling directly on him.
He jumped in a zig-zag pattern trying to avoid them, but more spikes were spawning so quickly that he accidentally tripped over, forced to do a backflip to get back on his feet.
By now they were outside of the fungi biome and were in a regular meadow.
It was good that Laura still could not use multiple anomalies at the same time, but how long would it take before she reached that stage?
An invisible force engulfed Mio, this time lifting him off the ground and pulling him towards Laura.
It was the Force, 9th anomaly.
There was no way for Mio to stop his trajectory, and the only protection he had were his arms.
His primary and most developed anomaly was the Iron Fist after all.
Laura stretched her hands towards him as well.
Their palms met; fingers intertwined.
They both clenched their fists with all their might.
Despite Laura being inverse, Mio still held his ground. The iron fist was his domain after all.
They both squeezed and pushed, but none of them were moving.
Their feet got engraved into the soil.
Very soon, the dried-up ground started to crack in several places all around them.
Some cracks were even hundreds of meters long!
The earth shook and corrugated. A man-made earthquake.
The huge fragments of soil protruded from the earth, lifting bushes and trees with them, severing their roots as if it were nothing.
"Fuck!", Mio cursed in his mind.
Not only were they going to destroy the whole surrounding area, he was also starting to get overpowered.
In his own domain.
They stared at each other. Face to face.
A wide, smug smile crept across Laura's wicked face as Mio's desperate head gradually dipped beneath hers.
It was then that her mouth slightly dropped and her eyes turned to the left.
BOOM! Something rammed into her and activated the A-11 repelling ability just like it was with Zafer.
The explosion blasted Mio and the unknown person away, over each other.
As they collected themselves managing to stand up, the dust already thinned out.
It was Wabler.
They stood next to each other gazing at the source of the explosion from the distance.
What their eyes could see was only a tiny female figure with horns, wiping the dust from it's clothes after which it returned the stare.
The sinister predator's aura reached them in an instant, making them both bite their lips. Right now, Laura might be too strong for even both of them to try not to kill or permanently disable her.
Another male fell from the sky behind them.
He was bigger and bulkier than both Mio and Wabler, yet in reality way weaker.
That was a member of the Temper faction, who also worked as an Exterminator for the National Security!
Nicpa!
Despite him not being able to match the strength of neither Mio or Wabler, he possessed crucial tools for dealing with mutants.
Mio frowned, "Why did you come?"
Nicpa didn't answer immediately, as if it wasn't obvious. He summoned his comically large sword and leaned it onto his shoulder.
The sword was made out of Miyalin and contained a single rune and countless weird symbols and letters.
"Because we are badass", he spoke in Wabler's name as well gazing at the destroyed meadow, "Let's get this shit over with already".
To his surprise, Wabler's arm stretched before him, blocking his next step.
"She is still there. I know it!"
Nicpa frowned. This was immature.
"She can fight tactically," Mio commented to Wabler, giving him crucial information about Laura's progress.
Wabler grabbed his Sakupen in one and summoned his Miyalin katana in the other hand.
"Well, if it comes to that", he looked at Nicpa, "I will seal her".
Mio nodded to this before they both pounced towards Laura at the same time.
Among the whole National Security, the strongest two.
One's trajectory was slightly curved to the left and the other one's to the right. This was crucial so that they could attack Laura from the opposite sides.
She noticed this immediately of course.
Just as her eyes started to wander at the more populated parts of the Arena, she halted and faced them vigorously.
She lifted her right hand and stretched it towards Mio before he could even pass the halfway mark.
An invisible force swallowed his body and blasted him backward past Nicpa.
Such precision… And Laura didn't even possess 9th Anomaly as her base kit. It truly was terrifying, but Wabler didn't defer.
He let go of Sakupen and grabbed his Divine katana with both hands. It was long ago when he last sparred with Laura, and he was surprised at how many hits and kicks she predicted and blocked even as a mutant.
Nevertheless, her fighting skills couldn't match with his.
With a twist of his wrist, a rune got activated in both his katana and ulna, his forearm bone.
In both cases was the same rune, Coherence, which allowed for smooth and swift movement of the weapon, but since Wabler's bone also had the same rune, its effects grew exponentially.
In just a split second he stabbed Laura's arm dozens of times, completely detaching it from her body.
This was the first time she showed confusion on her face, as her wide-opened eyes watched her arm fly off.
As a mutant, her brain couldn't comprehend how this happened and it made her retreat with a powerful jump backwards.
During the two seconds, it took Wabler to catch up, her arm regrew in its former might, just without the uniform sleeve.
Nevertheless, by this time, Mio fell from the sky, aiming at her arm only to miss due to Laura's careful pathing.
This didn't matter though, as Mio drifted on the ground, redirecting himself towards her once again, this time aiming for the back of her knees.
Wabler realized what was going on, and turned his katana so that he could pierce her abdomen and nail her to the ground.
Their weapons shone slightly, runes activating as Laura's eyes got lost in the myriads of possibilities.
"Wait", her voice froze both Mio and Wabler in place, their weapons just an inch away from her flesh.
She has returned.