Dukiel stood a little more to the side than Anerias and Violina, but he still ensured Zach knew he wanted to talk to him. Still, Dukiel was one of Zach's friends, so he wasn't as rude as the other two, who crossed their arms and almost glared at him.
They probably would have been even ruder if not for Yanael's performance during Drupesch's lesson and her looming presence behind Zach.
Anerias was the first to speak.
"How did you activate your skill?" He didn't beat around the bush.
Zach snapped his fingers.
"Like so. Next." He turned to Violina.
"Did the principal tell you what to expect as a way of apology for the entrance ceremony?"
Zach tilted his head slightly. That was actually a smart guess, at least many times smarter than Julius' claims of him cheating. In a way, it was also true. But the principal had only hinted that his suffering wasn't over.
Zach shook his head.
"Nope. I got something else. If you're wondering how I got top marks it's simply because I'm better. Stop thinking with your nose and listen to the teachers. Although Drupesch launched that sneak attack, she never lied."
Violina huffed and stared at Zach, unsatisfied. But she had at least gotten more than Anerias. At the thought of the big black hound next to Anerias, Zach turned back to him.
"By the way, did you find anything in the library?"
Anerias stopped trying to intimidate Zach and awkwardly shrugged while rubbing his neck.
"I mean, a couple of things, but nothing useful. I got the feeling that the pixie didn't give us all the information."
"No shit. Well, if you're ever interested in finding out more, let me know—"
"Are you kidding me? Of course, I want to find out more. Don't tell me that booklet you got held the answers. Is that why you left so soon?"
Zach held up a hand.
"Don't interrupt me again."
"...Right."
"If you're ever interested, let me know, and I'm sure we can make a deal. I'm not giving you the information you want for free."
"Tch. Fine. What do you want?"
Zach shrugged.
"Dunno. I'm pretty set."
Zach pushed through Violina and Anerias, brushing them aside as he grabbed Dukiel by the shoulder and headed off.
"You're curious about something, right?"
Dukiel nodded.
"Just ask. I consider you a friend. I wouldn't hesitate to ask you something if I was curious. It would be nice if you were to treat me the same."
Dukiel hesitated. He remembered how Zach had answered Anerias' question just now.
"T-then…Do you think you can help me train?" Dukiel glanced at Yanael as he spoke.
Zach didn't even need to follow Dukiel's gaze to know what he was looking at.
"Are you thinking about having our familiars duke it out?"
Dukiel gave a hesitant nod.
He wouldn't have worded it like that, but he wanted to figure out what Drupesch meant when she said his Sentinel wasn't just for defense. Naturally, it meant it could fight back, too. But Dukiel wasn't sure what to think more than that without seeing it for himself.
Zach glanced at Yanael, who gave a slight nod. She wasn't against the idea of fighting. After all, she wasn't a maid. She was a battle maid.
Although her purpose was to fight for her master, not simply fight whenever he wanted her to, Yanael wasn't averse to the opportunity of fighting a Sentinel. Her encounter with Drupesch and her pebbles had shown her that she might need a little more experience in cutting down stones.
The Sentinel wasn't made of the same kind of stone as Drupesch's attacks had been. But it would still be great practice for when Yanael sought revenge against the instructor who attacked her master.
Zach and Dukiel, followed by their familiars, walked around until they found an available part of the training grounds where the familiars could fight. It was an open spot of dirt that was wide enough for the two to move around. And there weren't any buildings or anything that could get caught in the crossfire.
Zach didn't think anything would cause damage to the surroundings but he had no idea what the Sentinel could actually do.
He hadn't seen much of what Dukiel did during Drupesch's lesson. But it sounded like the Sentinel had acted like a defensive shield, either on Dukiel's orders or by itself.
Zach didn't think the Sentinel would destroy much of anything. He also trusted Yanael.
Still, Zach and Dukiel stood a bit away from the open spot of dirt so that nothing would happen. They looked at each other before turning to their familiars and urging them to spar.
Yanael pulled out her sword and shield but not the halo or the wings. Those were unnecessary for something like a spar.
Zach was curious about what the Sentinel would do. Honestly, Dukiel was the same. At least until he felt his command connect with the Sentinel.
As soon as it received Dukiel's order, the Sentinel changed. First, perfect circular cracks appeared on its side and at the top.
Up top, a section of the Sentinel slid out like a round slab with eight glowing dots. Out of the four circles, two on either side, on the Sentinel's sides came arms.
Two of the arms ended in simple, double-edged blades. Those two arms were at the front.
The other two arms sat more on the Sentinel's shoulders and instead of hands or swords, ended in claws that cradled tiny red orbs.
Zach frowned and glanced at Dukiel. The Sentinel looked a lot more dangerous all of a sudden.
Dukiel's mouth was slightly open and his eyes held nothing but the Sentinel's new form. His lips started to curve.
Zach returned his attention to Yanael. He could tell that she grew a lot more serious as the Sentinel changed. She tightened the grip on her weapons and moved one foot back.
Zach was curious why she did that until she raised her shield and one of the orbs in the Sentinel's claws started glowing.
Zach's eyes widened.