~Training Grounds- Junsui Academy-Wakaba Prefecture~
As the morning sun rises, the forest becomes illuminated with beams of light, making it much easier for the group to navigate. They run together, but it's hardly a coordinated formation—there's no real plan in place. Despite being the last to make a move, Noah easily catches up to the others and takes the lead.
A sharp screech suddenly echoes from their right, high above the trees. Before they have time to react, a Feral jumps down directly into their path. Its red eyes glow brightly in the early dawn. "Well, hello, ugly," Nik taunts, causing the creature to snarl and fixate on him. Its body edges forward, preparing to attack.
"I'm not so sure it was a good idea to provoke it like that, Nik. It looks really vicious," Lili cautions nervously. No sooner does she speak than the Feral pounces, aiming directly for Nik, who blocks its blow.
As he jumps back to give himself some distance, Nik responds smugly, "That's what I'm hoping for. Won't be much fun without a challenge." He grabs his bow from his back and, rather than go straight for the arrows as one might expect, he turns it horizontally, transforming it into a crossbow-like weapon. As the Feral charges him again, Nik fires off a quick succession of bolts, each piercing the Feral and causing it to roar in pain. While the creature reels, Nik seizes the opportunity to load an arrow and shoot, aiming for its heart. This arrow, however, is no ordinary arrow—it's imbued with his demonic force, surrounded by fire that sears the Feral after it's been pierced. The creature falls to the ground.
"Hey, come on, Nik, you gotta leave me something to do. This is a paired battle, remember?" Gunther complains.
Wearing a smug grin, Nik replies, "I'm leaving the finishing blow to you, Guns. You should do it quickly."
As if on cue, the Feral, writhing in pain, enters an enraged frenzy and finds the strength to stand. With a growl that shakes the trees, it lunges for Nik, but unlike before, he doesn't make an attempt to counter.
"Hey, are you just going to stand there and get yourself killed? Do something, you idiot!" Mai shouts at him, her voice a mix of anger and concern. Just before the Feral makes contact, she reaches for her katana, but before she can unsheathe it, something whizzes past and strikes the Feral, leaving a gaping hole in its heart. The creature staggers, snarling weakly, but doesn't attempt to attack again. It's clearly done for, but Gunther decides not to leave anything to chance.
"I'm not done yet, you freak!" Gunther charges at the Feral, spinning his warhammer above his head. Earth pellets pump out of the slots in the middle of each hammerhead, bombarding the Feral and causing it to collapse. With a final effort, Gunther jumps up just before reaching the creature and, with both hands securely wrapped around the hammer's handle, he slams it down with full force, smashing the Feral's head like a grape—savage.
As Gunther catches his breath, Nik pats him on the shoulder with a smile. "That's the way, Guns. Good job."
Gunther smiles weakly, his eyes full of remorse. "Thanks, but I still hate having to kill, even if they are Ferals." Gunther definitely has a heart of gold, which the group all admires. But as he just proved, despite his passive nature, he'll do whatever it takes to protect his friends—something they admire even more.
Mai turns to Nik with a frown. "What's wrong with you? Do you know how reckless that was? You not only put yourself in danger, but possibly us too. Don't you ever think of others?"
Nik immediately becomes defensive. "I knew what I was doing! I had him right where I wanted him, and if I needed to, I could've deflected. But I trusted Guns to take care of it, and he did. I actually give my partner moments to shine—unlike you, who totally takes over all for the sake of 'protecting' yours."
Mai clenches her fists and takes a step forward. "I give my partner plenty of chances, thank you. But if things get intense, yes, I do take over—but not to have control. I do it to keep us safe and keep Lili from having to take unnecessary risks. We work just fine together, and it always proves successful for us."
"Yeah?" Nik smirks. "Well, looks like it's your chance to prove it, then." He points upward.
"Huh?" Just as Mai turns around, the group sees a second Feral spring from the trees, gunning straight for Lili, who screams out. Frozen in fear, she's unable to reach for her scythe and instead instinctively guards herself.
Noah prepares to take down the Feral, but just as he starts to charge, and as the Feral's claws near Lili's neck, a loud clang resonates through the area—the impact between Mai's katana blade and the Feral's claws, which are as strong as steel.
"Ma—Mai!" Lili cries, tears welling up in her eyes, shocked by Mai's sudden save.
Mai gives her a reassuring smile. "I've got you covered, Li Li." With burning rage, Mai refocuses on the Feral, her eyes seeming to blaze more brightly than the creature's. She thrusts forward, knocking the Feral back a few steps, allowing her to draw her second katana. "How dare you go after my partner, you dirty scum! You will not be forgiven!" Wasting no more time on words, she takes off running, her blades angled at the Feral from her sides. As she runs, the blades develop a gleam, and Noah immediately recognizes what's happening. That Feral is done for, ten times over.
"Oh boy, you did it now, you dumb Feral. You're about to get wrecked!" Nik laughs, enjoying the spectacle.
Only a few feet away from the Feral, Mai jumps into a spin-swipe attack, launching multiple ice shards from her blades that impale the creature all over. As she begins to descend, she angles herself so that, as she lands, her icy blades slice through the Feral, cutting it right down the middle and splitting it in two.
As the Feral collapses to the ground, Mai stands in a fierce pose, her blades at her sides. Noah finally understands why Lili always calls her a prince—she sure as hell fights like one, making both boys and girls swoon. Noah isn't ashamed to admit it: Mai is easily the strongest fighter among them all, and he's the demon.
As Mai sheathes her blades, Lili shakily walks over to her and falls into her chest, wrapping her arms around her back as she cries like a child. "Mai, I'm… I'm sorry. I was… I was useless once again. You always have to protect me. I… I—" She tries to talk through the sniffles, but fails, continuing to cry.
Mai immediately softens, smiling tenderly at Lili as she holds her against her chest. "Don't be silly, Lili. You're very strong and capable. We all know that from seeing you battle in our normal training exercises. But fighting these things out here isn't the same, and it's only natural you'd get scared—we all do, even me. But because you're here, I can overcome my fear and fight my hardest, so that you don't have to. I don't want you to be in danger if you don't have to be."
"I'm tired of always needing to be protected! I want to fight these things just like everyone else. I want to be strong like you, Mai. Will you teach me how to do that? How to not be afraid?" Lili looks up at Mai, her eyes pleading.
"Of course I can, but it's not the skills you need, Lili—it's the confidence. Either way, I'll help you."
Lili smiles and snuggles into Mai's chest. Mai smiles too, and a faint blush appears on her cheek. However, their sweet moment is abruptly cut short when the third Feral jumps out from the trees directly above them, falling so quickly that even Mai has no time to react. Noah, however, sees it before anyone else and has plenty of time to eject his hidden Sai knife blades from his gauntlets and stab them right into the Feral's back as he hoists himself up to meet it, ending with a body slam onto the ground.
The Feral cries out in agony, but the blow is little more than a scratch. It quickly bucks Noah and his Sai blades off and hops back. Noah easily lands on his feet and positions himself to charge again.
"Holy shit! I didn't even see that one. This one looks vicious—and bigger, too. How unfair," Nik comments.
Noah knows this isn't the best time for jokes, but when Nik makes comments like that, he can't help but respond. "Sorry, Nik, but it's for the best. Even you wouldn't be able to handle one this big."
Gunther snickers, and even Mai lets a small smile slip, though the joke seems lost on Lili. Nik just nods, acknowledging the quality of Noah's jab. "Alright, I'll give you that one. It's my fault for leaving it wide open for you. But I don't think you have time to be making jokes when that thing is about to literally be up your ass if you don't start fighting it. Let's see how big you can handle it." He smirks, and Noah grins, satisfied with the banter. He finally gives the Feral his undivided attention.
The creature charges at Noah, and ready for it, he easily dodges its slash and delivers one of his own, swiping at its face and leaving a nasty claw gash, causing the Feral to roar in pain and anger. "Guess that didn't feel so good, did it?" Noah taunts. The Feral charges again, this time at twice the speed, and unlike the others, it's smart enough to utilize its powers—its claws now burn with a flame brighter than the sun. Noah narrowly dodges as it slashes at his neck.
"Bringing out the big guns now, I see. I was wondering if any of you pea brains would be sensible enough to use your powers, but even with all that, it won't be enough to save you. Not with my powers." Noah lights up his Sais to match the Feral's flames, but adds his personal touch for more impact. He stabs the creature right through the chest with his right hand and slashes through its flesh with his left, shocking it with bolts of electricity as he does. Noah has the ability to control the higher-order elements that utilize the basic elements as their base. In this case, fire leads to lightning, so he's burning and shocking the Feral at the same time. The creature feels the impact and roars, falling to its knees.
"Yeah! You got this, Noah. Now finish him and show him who's boss so we can go back and eat," Nik cheers.
"Only a fat ass like you would think of eating at a time like this, Nik. You seriously shoul—" Noah is interrupted by Lili's sudden warning.
"Noah, watch out!" she cries.
He quickly looks forward, thinking the Feral has somehow found a way to attack again, but it's still reeling from the pain of Noah's Sais in its chest. The real danger, however, is coming from behind, and Noah realizes it too late. A sharp pain surges through his shoulder, down his arm.