"Hey, Faith. It's me, Hugo. Can you hear me?" Hugo held his earpiece with a smile as they entered the training room.

"Loud and clear, my man," Faith replied. "Just finished organizing my wares."

"We're already in the training room, and about to start," Hugo said.

"Hey! You could have called me earlier!" Faith whined.

"Relax. We still have to go over the rules before we start," Hugo chuckled. "Be on your way here."

"Gotcha," Faith replied. "I'll see ya there."

Then Hugo nodded before putting his hand down. "So, since we have a bit of a time crunch, we have to make a few rules. First, each match will have a time limit of 5 minutes."

"Just five minutes? Really?" Zeke grimaced.

"Five minutes could be a lot," Lulu replied. "You should know that in combat, everything could happen fast in a span of seconds."

"Alright, fine," Zeke groaned.

"I'm perfectly fine with just 5 minutes," Trista smirked. "That means I can go all out on ya from the get go, and kick your ass within 5 minutes."

"It's also to allow us enough time to spar with different opponents," Hugo added. "Besides, I have a few others in mind. Not just the She-Wolf."

"Ohh, that's interesting," Zeke grinned. "Who are your other spar targets? Me?"

"Not gonna say yet," Hugo shook his head with a smile. "Also, I want to let you all know the most important part of this. Winning, and losing isn't everything here. It's all training, and mainly why I proposed this idea is to see your own, and each other's weaknesses so feel free to critique during your matches.., and be damn professional about it. Most of us are adults, and no personal grudges afterwards…maybe except me, and Tris since we have our own score to settle. I want all of you to give your all against each other."

Then Jerad snickered. "You hear that, sis? Better give your all to me because I'll give all of mine to you..whether you like it or not."

"Of courrrse, brother," Misha sneered back. "I'm not holding back."

"Also, try not to disappoint brother-in-law," Jerad flashed his eyebrows as Misha grimaced, and Zeke, and Shin snickered.

"Oh, man. Their fight is going to be lit," Zeke chuckled.

"Yeah, I hope we can find a shelter," Shin also chuckled. "A nuclear fallout is about to happen."

Then they laughed.

"Wow, I've never seen God Eaters become so enthusiastic with fighting," Levin murmured.

"Me, either," Frida quietly shook her head.

"Do AGEs tend to be..warlike?" Levin raised his eyes. "There's Jerad, and then there's Trista…"

"Please..I know we're not all like that," Lulu giggled. "I don't particularly enjoy fighting, but I am heavily interested in honing my skills, and sparring just happens to be one of those ways."

"I-I see," Levin nodded. 'Perhaps, this is what it means for some of them to be child soldiers. How terrible.'

"Lastly, a match ends when one has their weapon touch their opponent's vital spot," Hugo finished. "Just like last time. Any objections or questions that I might address?

"No probs here," Jerad smiled. "I agree with Tris. Short time would put me on the edge which means…"

He turned to his twin with a grin. "We have to go out on each other as hard as we can. Haha!"

"Likewise, bro-ther," Misha smirked back.

"I'm cool with it now," Zeke groaned.

"Speed is my game," Shin bragged. "I prefer to end matches quickly, anyway."

"Alright, let's get this show rolling," Hugo smiled. "Tris, and I are up. Who's the referee?"

"I'll go for it," Zeke raised his hand with a grin.

"...Alright, then," Hugo nodded, and gave him a whistle he took from a shelf earlier. "Your only job is to stop us if things get a little too crazy, and make sure to keep an eye on our time limit. Use that clock over there."

He pointed at the wall clock. "Blow the whistle if the match needs to stop for any important reason."

"Gotcha," Zeke grinned again.

"Heh, I'll probably end the match before five minutes," Trista smirked.

"Let's see if you eat those words later," Hugo smiled.

"Wow, H-Hugo looked so cool," Misha covered her mouth.

"Yep, and you'll have your turn to show him," Jerad flashed his eyebrows.

And then Misha snorted.

"Alright, get in your positions," Zeke waved his hand as he walked into the middle of the ring.

"Claire and I will practice together in the meantime," Jerad turned to the rack before glancing at his sister again. This time, with a serious look. "We're up after them, just saying."

"Can't wait," Misha crossed her arms with confidence.

Then Jerad smiled. "Yep. No changing it."

And the two left to grab their training weapons, and headed for another ring.

"You two ready to duke it out?" Zeke raised his hands.

"More than ready," Hugo held his sword back.

"I'm already tired of waiting," Trista snorted as she held her wooden moon back, and smirked at seeing Hugo's posture.

"Readyyy..?!" Zeke took a few steps back to avoid obstructing two competitors, and glanced at the clock, waiting for the red hand to reach twelve.

"FIGHT!"

Zeke blew his whistle in two short bursts before swinging his hand down, and ran backwards completely off the ring. Then the two mighty AGEs swiftly leapt at each other.

As Hugo closes in to his opponent, he was quickly shocked to see her closing in faster than he does, and add to it that she was holding her moon outwards with one hand which made him believe she was going side swing him. However, at a split second notice, he saw her retract her arm back as if she was preparing to punch him, and considering how wide her moon is, Hugo raised his sword to shield himself.

'Shit!'

"HRRAHH!"

With a loud clash, Hugo and Trista finally crossed their weapons, and Trista snickered.

"I'm a little surprised you managed to block that," she smirked. "But you're trying to win against me in my own game of strength, and offense? Lunatic!"

"Tch!" Hugo gritted his teeth before he parried her off, but Trista quickly recovered from the shove, and began swinging relentlessly at him. Hugo dodged a few of her heavy swings, and began retaliating, but Trista also dodged his next few swings before blocking him with the flat side of her heavy moon.

"Haha! I have both offense, and defense, you know?" Trista chuckled as they grind their training weapons. "I don't just use my heavy moon's shield for defending, and I learned that from fighting Shin. What are you going to do when I have both?!"

"Then I'll figure out how to crack your defense!" Hugo replied.

"And I'd like to see how you'd do that!" Trista kept her hold. "Because not even a combat nerd like Shin could!"

Then Trista shoved him off this time, and rushed to him, but Hugo blocked her downswing, and parried her in return. He leapt against her, and swung a few times before Trista counterattacked with a few swings before Hugo found a potential opening after her backswing. However, his hopes quickly shattered when Trista quickly spun as if she knew he would move in with her opening, and followed with another backswing which caused him to jump back to a retreat.

"That was quite an unexpected, but good move," Hugo chuckled after taking a deep breath, and held his sword up.

"Of course," Trista grinned. "You actually thought I'd leave you an opening that easily? After Pennywort, I trained myself a lot to cover a lot of holes."

"That's admirable," Hugo smirked. "Because I also trained, and critiqued myself, even after every mission. I even studied some combat techniques."

"Like Shin, huh?" Trista glanced at her vice captain who was quietly watching. "Well, then. I'd like to see how you'll hope to beat me with your new tricks."

"I promise not to disappoint you," Hugo said with a serious tone.

"No need to worry about that," Trista snickered. "Cus' I'm already having fun! Hrah!"

Then she leapt at her opponent with her moon raised.

On the other ring.

Jerad was repeatedly thrusting his wooden staff at Claire, but she kept swerving from them, firmly holding her own staff in case she needed to defend. He paused for a split second before he sped up his attacks, inducing more stress in her.

"You're having better reaction time. Keep it up!"

He continually hastened his speed, and no longer able to keep up with his swift thrusts, Claire began parrying and dodging his thrusts at the same time until she swung her staff to the side, and parried his staff off.

"Nice one, and I almost had to stop myself so I won't accidentally hit your face," Jerad smiled. "Let's stop for a bit."

"Phew," Claire sighed. "I must admit that it's a bit tiring. I just can't keep up with you."

Then Jerad chuckled. "You'll get there, and you've even gotten better than before. If we go a few months back, you won't even last me a few stabs."

"Oh..," Claire paused before blushing. "Thanks. I'll keep at it."

"Wow, mommy's so good," Phym smiled.

"You're good, too, Phym," Jerad grinned. 'And I still can't handle your strength. Maybe I should borrow some bandages from Claire, and wrap my hands with it before I train you again.'

And he glanced at the scene while resting his staff on his shoulder. "Whoa! Those two are really going at it."

Then he laughed.

"Oh, my," Claire raised her eyes. "That match they were having. It's like they're in their own world."

And Jerad chuckled. "Yeah. I gotta admit that Hugo likes to put all of his head in everything, including fighting, but I'm not sure if he could handle that She-Wolf's savagery. The way she swings that moon, I'll say, is a little scary."

"Scary..?" Claire smirked.

"What's wrong?" Jerad glanced at her.

"I always thought you're not the type to get scared," Claire giggled.

"Very funny," Jerad said with a plain face before the two chuckled.

"Daddy is scared of something?" Phym murmured.

"Everyone has something they're afraid of..," Jerad murmured. "Like Zeke being scared of spiders. Heh."

"Spy-there's..?" Phym blinked her eyes.

"You don't remember?" Jerad made a mischievous grin. "Spiders are like this."

He sat down, leaned his staff on his shoulder, and grabbed Phym's little arm. "They crawl like this."

Then he started crawling his hand from her hand towards her shoulder while making a 'tiki-tiki-tiki' sound before Phym gasped, and then Jerad lightly pinched her neck with his index finger, and thumb. "Bite you like that."

Phym giggled from his light tickles, and tilted her head sideways to pinch his hand before he pulled it out. Him and Claire chuckled afterwards.

"So, who do you think is going to win?" Claire smiled.

"Huh," Jerad stood up before glancing at the two participants. "Can't tell. I don't see any of them having the upper hand yet."

"HAAA!"

In a hard clash between two AGEs, Hugo and Trista kept grinding their training weapons against each other.

"You just don't let up, do you?" Trista gritted her teeth.

"I'm not about to give up!" Hugo kept his hold. "But I gotta say, you've been damn good with using a heavy moon. Better after those few years!"

"I became a master of it, and no one in our Port has ever matched me yet," Trista replied. "Not even Gustav!"

"Then it's only right that I make this match worth it for you!" Hugo cried as he adamantly held his sword against her.

"Damn right, you would!" Trista pushed back. "I'll remind you again that I have a score to settle with you!"

"Then have at it!" Hugo shoved her away. "I intend to keep winning, and I won't yield for you! Huah!"

With a powerful downswing, Hugo landed another block from his opponent, and Trista hissed before shoving him away again. She swiftly followed with her flurry of swings, and Hugo had no choice but to assume the defensive as Trista became more aggressive. He is now having a difficult time finding an opening to strike her as Trista's swings combined with spinning attacks made it frustrating for him, making it a barrier for her, and adding to it that she can easily reverse her spinning direction before quickly following up with new swings. It also does not help him that there is a tremendous weight in Trista's swings, and to be hit by a single swing could be crushingly devastating.

'Must stay calm. Must stay calm..!' Hugo mused as he saw Trista held her heavy moon low, and anticipated an uppercut. He drew his sword in front of him to defend himself, but was shocked by the delay of her upcoming attack.

"HRRRAH!" Dragging her heavy moon on the deck to build up the pressure, Trista swung her moon upwards, and broke her opponent's guard wide open.

"Ho shit!" Zeke's eyes widened. "Hugo is in HUGE trouble!"

"Mm," Levin nodded while Frida covered her mouth, already shocked by her senior's ferocity, and her unexpected, but well improvised move. "He must think fast, or he's done for!"

"Hugo..," Misha murmured as she remained stiff watching.

"I have you now!" Trista cried as she thrust her crescent blade towards him sideways in hopes that its width would prevent him from escaping to the side.

'There's no way I can defend against that!' Hugo gritted his teeth as his adrenaline allowed him to see his opponent's heavy moon approaching in slow motion, and he tilted his head and shoulder to his right to duck under the moon.

Trista gasped at his response, and turned her eyes at him as he held his sword low, preparing for a counterattack.

"I got you instead!" Hugo began swinging his sword up, and like him earlier, Trista's eyes widened with adrenaline, and saw his sword begin swinging upwards, aiming for her chest.

'No! I'm not gonna LOSE again!' Trista gritted her teeth, and in a desperate lapse of a millisecond, glanced behind her as her point of escape.

Hugo finally swung his blade up. Though he was going to hold it a few inches from her chest to avoid injuring her, he gasped after seeing his opponent suddenly vanish from his sight.

'What?' Blinking his eyes with disbelief, Hugo saw Trista jumping away in a back somersault before roughly landing back, and slid a few feet back in a kneeling position.

"Whoa!" Zeke, and his brother almost dropped their jaws. "D-Did she just backflipped…like Jerad does?!"

"Yeah..," Shin blankly nodded. "I've never seen her do that. That's a first."

In the other ring.

Jerad, and Claire were intensely trading swings until Claire swung a tip of her staff towards his left temple, but he blocked it.

"Hm..?" Jerad glanced at the spectators' direction.

"What's wrong..?" Claire grunted while she kept the pressure of her staff against him.

"Sorry that I got a little distracted," Jerad turned back at her. "I thought I heard someone mention me."

"Hmph! Not focusing on our training, hm?" Claire grimaced. "That might cost you!"

Then she pulled her staff back, and followed with a swing with the other end aiming for his left rib, but he also blocked it, and counterattacked with his own. Claire also defended herself, but he quickly followed with a shove with his staff to put her off balance before he thrusted towards her. To his pleasant surprise, Claire leaned her head away on time, but he spun the hold of his staff upside down, and swiftly swung towards her left neck, making her gasp in shock as she instinctively raised her staff to defend it.

"Too late," Jerad laughed.

"Goodness," Claire sighed at her loss.

"Didn't expect that, huh?" Jerad chuckled again, still holding his staff on her neck. "Should have just jumped away from that, but good job anyway. You lasted way longer than before. Just that next time, stay alert as long as your enemy's weapon is still dangerously close to you. Some Aragami are tricky."

"Understood," Claire murmured.

"We're done for now. Gotta save the rest for my sister," Jerad finally pulled his staff back, and rested it on his shoulder. "Hoo…"

"H-Huh?" Claire blinked her eyes. "You're actually…"

"Well yeah," Jerad chuckled. "You keep getting better, and you'll tire me even faster."

"Oh..," Claire paused before smiling. "W-well, thank you for spending your time and energy teaching me."

"U-Uh, you're..welcome. Jeez, d-don't thank me like that," Jerad blushed before Claire giggled. "We'll practice again later. Count on it. I'm going to get really serious with my sister once our turn comes, so watch me and you'll probably learn more stuff…before I kick her butt in front of Hugo."

They chuckled together, and then Jerad's face slowly fell.

Bewildered with concern, Claire bent forward and squinted. "Um, are you alright?"

"Oh, uh," Jerad scratched his head, and Claire could now clearly see that something was bothering him. "I'm alright. Don't worry about it..."

"Mm," Claire nodded. "You are..truly skilled in spear fighting, and I think you can even beat my aunt."

Then Jerad shyly chuckled. "I don't know about that, really. I think I'm weak against older people, but that only makes sense…"

"Not true," Claire shook her head. "You're among the first who slew an Ashborn…Where did you learn to fight with a spear?"

Then Jerad suddenly froze. "Oh..Uh, well…"

"Daddy…Zeke just said big sister jumped like you," Phym pointed at the match.

"Wait, what?" Jerad blinked his eyes. "I knew I heard something."

And he turned to Claire. "Let's go there, and see what's up."

"...Alright," Claire nodded before her eyes furrowed, and watched Jerad and Phym walk towards the spectators for a few seconds before she followed them.

"Is this something unusual for her?" Levin raised his eyebrows with his arms crossed.

"Ohh, yeah," Shin plainly nodded. "She was never an acrobatic type."

"Huh," Levin turned back to the scene.

"The hell just happened..?" Jerad suddenly spoke behind them, holding his staff on his shoulder. "And I thought I heard someone mention me. What's the deal?"

"Hey, man. Trista just backflipped Hugo when he swung up," Zeke replied. "Like you often do."

And Jerad snorted, "Oh?"

"And I almost thought he had her," Zeke finished.

"That's..interesting," Jerad faintly smiled.

"Finished your training with Claire?" Levin smiled.

"Yep, we're done for today," Jerad tapped his shoulder with his staff. "I'll save the rest for my sis."

"Save the rest..?" Misha tilted her head.

"Yep, she's starting to tire me out," Jerad smiled. "She might catch up to you."

"Mm," Claire bashfully held her arm. "Jerad, please don't describe me like this."

"Hm?" Jerad turned to her. "I'm not lying, really."

"Hmm, maybe I'll challenge Claire later on," Misha smirked.

"Ah..!" Claire paused

"Fight me, first," Jerad grinned.

Back in the ring.

Hugo was still holding his sword up with astonishment before he finally held it down, and Trista glanced at her shoulder to see a small mark where Hugo's sword grazed it.

"That was damn close..," she grimaced before her eyes widened by the shock of her recent evade. 'But what the hell..?'

"Heh, nice dodge," Hugo smiled before resting his sword on his shoulder. "Honestly, I didn't expect you to move like that. That was impressive."

"Damn you..," Trista hissed. "This ain't over yet..!"

"Of course not," Hugo shook his head. "I'll definitely finish this grudge match…with me on top."

"Tch..!" Trista gritted her teeth.

"Hey, you two!" Zeke called out. "You only got two minutes left. Break a leg!"

"Heh," Hugo held his sword down. "You heard him. Better wrap this up because the twins are still waiting. What do you say?"

"Definitely," Trista gripped her moon. "And I'm done playing with you a bit. You won't be able to fight back once I get rolling."

"Oh..," Hugo raised his eyebrows, and assumed his fighting stance in kind. "Then let's have at it, shall we? Come!"

Then Trista snarled as she charged him, and Hugo responded in kind, eventually clashing with each other. Trista parried him first, and immediately moved on offense by aggressively swinging her large weapon to him. Feeling intense pressure from his opponent, Hugo narrowly dodged her swings by taking steps to save his energy, and blocking her savage swings when his side steps could no longer keep up.

"HRRAH!" Landing a hit against Hugo's sword, Trista kept her pressure on him.

"Hngh! You're pretty relentless, are you?" Hugo gritted his teeth as he resisted his opponent's heavy moon.

"I'm an Alpha Wolf for a reason!" Trista gritted her teeth. "And I don't work out for nothing!"

"Fair enough," Hugo kept his grip on his sword. "Either way, it's gonna be my turn! HUAH!"

Pushing her away, Hugo also followed with his ferocious swings, but Trista easily defended herself by both evading and blocking his attacks. Able to gain her footing from her opponent's less potent swings, Trista began counterattacking.

"What did I tell you before? Never challenge me in a game of strength!" Trista began swinging at him again, forcing him into a defensive situation. "And I can defend myself just as much as an armadillo! You'll have no way of getting through my defense! HRAH!"

She slammed her heavy moon on his sword again, and feeling an immense weight of her down swing, Hugo grunted.

"I could care less how well you defend yourself!" Hugo gritted his teeth. "I'll just have to find a way to break through your shell. If there's a will, there's a way!"

Then Trista laughed. "Please keep trying with your sheer will. I'm getting sick of waiting already, either for me to beat you in front of Misha, or you get a bright idea for me."

"I'll have to say, I seriously believe her," Levin murmured. "Trista does indeed fully utilize the size and width of her weapon to defend herself against just about any strike, and also exploits its size to overpower her opponents. I never even thought a God Arc like that could be used as a shield. I can definitely feel the immense pressure she has been pressing on him."

"Really..?" Zeke glanced at him. "Are there any heavy moon users you've seen in Gleipnir?"

"Not many, I'm afraid," Levin shook his head. "Like the variant scythe and biting edge, not many people can proficiently use it. There is a saying among the ranks that only the strongest God Eaters can wield these enormous God Arcs, and from the few I have seen, the majority of them were wielded by AGEs which now made sense to me after learning that you are physically stronger than the older ones like us."

"Haha! I feel honored," Zeke grinned. "I bet I can one up every regular God Eater who uses boost hammers."

"Most certainly," Levin chuckled.

"Heh, I'm a bit flattered about mine," Shin smiled. "But that made me think of Gustav. He must be really something as a regular God Eater himself to wield that."

"Oh? I did hear your captain mention him," Levin paused.

"Yep, and he is quite dangerous with it," Shin grinned.

"Oh, man. Big 'dong,' big God Arc, huh?" Zeke grinned before him, and Shin laughed.

"Dong..?" Lulu blinked her eyes.

"Don't…worry about it," Jerad shook his head before giving Zeke a sharp glance, and Claire sighed.

Then he leaned towards Claire. "Look at sis. She's so quiet, and I don't even think she heard us behind her."

"Huh?" Claire paused before glancing at Misha, whose eyes were fixated on the match.

"Soo cuute, right?" Jerad snickered.

Then the two quietly chuckled together.

"Huah!" Hugo and Trista clashed against each other again.

"You just don't let up, do you?" Trista gritted her teeth.

"Hey, you only got ten seconds left!" Zeke cried. "You guys better finish this!"

"Tch!" Both competitors hissed.

"Sorry, Hugo. I'm going to end this!" Trista shoved him back. "And I'll come out as a winner this time!"

Then she continued her ferocious swings, and Hugo could only dodge now as he was already exhausted from bearing the brunt of his opponent's attacks.

'There's really got to be a way!' Hugo stepped back from Trista's side swing with his exhaustion feeling close. 'I got to think fast..or else!'

"Getting tired now, huh?!" Trista smirked. "You've been slowing down, and this is where I'll be taking your belt. You're done!"

He gasped as Trista raised her heavy moon with her right hand. However, while staring at her in fear, he also found a gap between the blade, and the shaft, more so that she was holding it with one hand as she prepared to strike him down. With a little more push, Hugo sidestepped to his right as Trista's heavy moon swung down only a few inches from him, and slammed the deck.

"Not this time, She-Wolf..!" Hugo finally finished his sidestep, and leaned his tired body on the flat side of her moon. "You're mine!"

He thrusted his sword through the gap between Trista's blade, and her shaft before he began pulling it away from her.

'What..?!' Shocked by Hugo's unexpected counter, Trista eventually lost her grip, and the force of his pull eventually made her stumble forward, seeing her heavy moon slide on the deck towards their spectators.

"Whoa!" Zeke raised his foot and stomped the sliding giant disc as everyone else jumped in surprise with Frida making a brief whimper.

"Dammit..! Nice save," Jerad held his breath. "That thing would have made bowling pins out of us."

In the ring, Hugo, and Trista were close to each other.

"I win," Hugo exhaustingly murmured with his eyes fixed on her.

Trista paused in response, and felt a long object pressed just under her breasts. Her eyes widened after staring down, and saw Hugo's blade pressed against her, envisioning that if this was a real fight to the death duel, his strike would have been fatal, and she would have fallen down with her blood gushing out of her chest.

"Shit..," Trista closed her eyes in despair, and hung her right hand down.

"Just remembered what I told you in Pennywort," Hugo smiled. "Work smart."

Then Trista snorted. "Disarming me, and then striking me dead, huh? Yeah, whatever."

"Oh ho," Jerad smiled. "I..did NOT expect that."

"Haa..," Misha beamed.

"Truly brilliant," Levin complimented.

"Two seconds before time's up, huh?" Zeke chuckled before blowing his whistle. "Alright. In this match, Hugo..wins!"

Then everyone clapped.

"Hugo! You're so awesome!" Misha cheered on before Trista glanced at her. Seeing her so happy, she smiled, and perhaps this gave her a bit of relief from her pain of losing to him again. It also gave her a realization that at least she was still able to go all out; to show him how far she had come.

"Hey! Watch that next time, OK?" Zeke furrowed his eyes. "This isn't a bowling alley. That damn slick move you made almost knocked all of us down."

"Sorry," Hugo scratched his head. "Gotta do what I gotta do."

"Wait, what?" Trista glanced at her heavy moon that was still lying there where Zeke stopped it. "Oh, dammit. This is what I get for having butterfingers."

Then she walked over to pick up her heavy moon, and examined it.

"Wow…" She blinked her eyes. "This thing is terribly beat up…"

"You alright..?" Shin smiled.

"Uh…yeah?" Trista irritably replied. "The hell you ask that for..?"

"Just checking..," Shin shrugged. "Thought you might be salty, but you did good in that fight. You had Hugo totally on the edge there, and I honestly thought you had him this time."

"Oh..," Trista blinked her eyes before sighing. "I appreciate the consolation, but I'm well over it. I'll just practice harder."

"Cool," Shin chuckled. "Glad I was wrong. You're still my captain."

Then Trista paused before growling. "Of course I still am! Don't say such stupid things!"

"Hey," Hugo called.

"What..?" Trista turned to him.

"Good match, let's fight again," Hugo extended his hand for a handshake.

"Ugh..," Trista closed her eyes. "Yeah…"

And they shook hands.

"Gotta get these twins started," Hugo chuckled. "You can chill, and watch them in the meantime. I'll give Zeke a break, and referee them."

"Here you go," Zeke passed him the whistle, and Hugo wiped the nozzle with his jacket.

"Hell yeah, I already got started," Jerad grinned while already holding another staff. "Here you go, sis."

He threw his other staff at Misha, and she plainly caught it with one hand. "What's wrong? You nervous?"

"No..," Misha shook her head.

"Don't worry, sis. You're not the only one who's worried about being sent to hell by a Devil," Jerad snickered. "I'm nervous, too. Scared of having my tortured soul sliced out of this mortal coil by the Grim Reaper."

Then everyone including Trista laughed, who recently stowed her wooden heavy moon.

"I had enough of this..brother!" Misha pouted.

"Alright. Settle down, you two," Hugo stood between his two best Hounds. "I'll be your referee in this match. Let's go over the rules as a reminder. Five minute time limit, and whoever lands a weapon to an opponent's vital spot wins. Neck, chest, or anything that would kill you in the real thing."

"Mhm," Jerad confidently nodded, and smugly rested his staff on his shoulder.

"Right," Misha murmured in monotone.

"You two have any questions?" Hugo smiled.

"Nope," Jerad shook his head.

"Can't wait," Misha plainly replied.

"To show off to brother-in-law?" Jerad flashed his eyebrows before tapping his staff on his shoulder. "Do your best, sis. I can't wait, too."

And Misha growled.

"Oh, man. It's gonna start," Zeke laughed. "The Fight of the Century. I'm already feeling the tension."

"The atmosphere certainly feels heavy," Levin chuckled.

"Sure am glad I decided to put off work to watch this," Faith grinned. "The battle of two devils. I really wish my sister was here. Haha!"

"Oh," Levin blinked his eyes. "I just remembered that you had one. I almost forgot."

"You probably won't be able to tell the difference once you see us," Faith grinned again. "Other than what we wear."

"OK, then," Hugo nodded before raising his hands as a gesture for them to move apart. "Get to your positions."

As Hugo took a few steps backwards with both of his arms raised, the twins turned away, walked a good distance away, and then faced each other again.

"Good," Hugo glanced at both of them. "Ready? Start!"

He blew his whistle, and dropped his arm before stepping away from the ring to avoid being in their way. Shortly after, Jerad raised his eyes in shock as Misha already leapt at him at high speed with her staff drawn, and he instinctively raised his staff to defend himself.

"HIYAHH!"

With a loud clash, the twins are grinding with their wooden staves.

"Oh ho ho ho!" Zeke swung his head back. "The Grim Reaper made the first strike. How is the Devil of the Chrysanthemum going to take that?!"

"Good move for her," Trista snickered. "For Misha to go out on an all out offense like that from the start? I bet Jerad that surprised him."

Then Trista, and Zeke laughed.

While holding their staves against each other, Jerad snickered. "You of all people to make the first strike."

"And I'll make sure to beat you down to the pulp, brother," Misha gritted her teeth before shoving her staff towards him.

"Oh?" Jerad's grin grew wider into something more diabolic, and somehow while staring back at him, Misha seemingly saw her brother's green irises glow. Could that be out of reflection of their lights in the room? Nevertheless, she will not allow this to intimidate her. She will have to show him what she could truly do. "You really wanna have it, huh? How about you try beating me on offense first. I'm about to get started."

Then he started pushing back. "HRRRAH!"

Pushing his sister back, Jerad shortly leapt at her with frightening speed before she could completely recover, but was able to anticipate her brother's upcoming attack. She raised her staff to defend, and as she thought, Jerad made a hard downswing at her. Not wanting to spare her beastly brother a single moment, Misha pushed him away and quickly followed him with a series of swings, imagining herself wielding her trusty scythe. Jerad was able to block, and dodge a few swings before counterattacking against her with his own swings and thrusts. Misha also responded in kind, mostly parrying his swings, and dodging his thrusts before she found one of his thrusts to be slow enough for her to parry to break his guard open. With this opportunity, Misha made a hard backswing, but her brother swiftly backflipped.

"You're not getting away," Misha hissed before leaping at him while he was still in midair landing, and as soon as Jerad touched the deck with his forefeet, he instinctively looked up and already saw Misha leaping close to him.

'Shit!'

"HIYAHH!"

Another loud clash occurred, and the twins had their staves against each other again.

A few minutes earlier.

"Oh, man," Zeke grinned. "These two were really intense, and if I blink my eyes even once, I could miss a clip or two."

"Indeed, they are," Lulu murmured. "It was a bit of a struggle trying to keep up with my own eyes. It was so fast, so savage."

Then Hugo chuckled with his arms crossed. "I guess this is what happens when you make two devils fight."

"They've never fought until now?" Lulu turned to him.

"Not like this," Hugo shook his head with his eyes closed. "All we had were practice sessions whenever we could squeeze time to practice our skills while on mission, and had to use our God Arcs during that time so we had to be careful. But now, we can do this safer with wooden stuff, there's no reason for them to hold back."

"I see," Lulu nodded. "But I don't think that completely answers the question of why Misha was so skilled."

"Hmph. Yeah, there's indeed more to that," Hugo murmured. "Something more Jerad did to harden her up..but I'd rather not talk about it now. It wasn't a pleasant thing…"

"Oh," Lulu paused, but unaware of this, Claire was listening, wondering what Jerad did to Misha in the past to transform her into the way she is now. She has always known her for being quite innocent, and at the same time, being highly skilled and aggressive enough that some people could perceive her as a mindless killer which does not seem to fit her nature.

"I also could not believe what I'm seeing," Frida murmured. "I..I thought I was proficient with my scythe, but watching Misha fight against her own brother like that..made me somehow rethink. Every swing she made always looked…murderous. Watching her wield her scythe must be terrifying."

Then Trista laughed. "Pretty humbling, huh? Now you're starting to see why she's the Grim Reaper, and you'll see even more why once we're in the field with her. Any Aragami that comes close to her gets sliced in half in split seconds. The walking death for Aragami."

"But what about her brother?" Frida pressed. "Isn't he the same?"

"Hm, let me try to explain," Hugo rubbed his chin. "Jerad is the backbone of the team. They are both skilled AGEs, but Jerad is better at killing stronger Aragami than Misha, and as a matter of fact, that's what he purposely does. He always looks for the strongest Aragami in the area to kill, but Misha kills more Aragami than him, albeit taking on the smaller ones. With them together, I'd say, Misha could wipe out hordes of Aragami as cover while Jerad fights the strongest one alone without anything interfering with them. That's how they are roughly in comparison."

"I see," Frida murmured. "They compliment each other on that. It must really run in the family…"

"Indeed," Levin nodded. "I remembered that both of their parents were God Eaters."

'Maybe not Misha,' Hugo quietly winced. 'She wasn't a natural warrior at first…Jerad had to..!'

"Just make sure you learn from watching instead of just entertainment, you hear?" Trista smiled. "I'll be challenging you, too. Muhahaha!"

And she turned to Hugo. "By the way, who's fighting after them?"

"Hm," Hugo paused. "I haven't decided on that, actually."

"I guess that will be me versus Lulu, then," Shin smiled before glancing at her, and Lulu nodded in agreement.

"Ohh," Trista snickered. "Go get her, then."

"I'll try..," Shin murmured.

"Oh, shit! Did you guys see that?" Zeke pointed at the twins. "Misha almost had him, but damn, Jerad blocked her just in time. Ooh!"

"Huh," Hugo raised his eyes before turning to their direction.

"You..!" Jerad faintly growled, and while he was holding his sister's staff tip with his hilt above him, he happened to glance at it, and then his eyes suddenly widened, projecting a large, curved, pointy razor blade at the end of her staff pointing down at him. In turn, he glanced at his right shoulder, and he shivered at the thought of that goring his shoulder…just like what she almost did to Lulu once.

"HAA!" Jerad parried his sister away before retaliating with a hard thrust, and Misha swerved away before also retaliating with a hard downswing. With his quick reaction, Jerad swatted her staff away with his own, and in a defensive position, Misha jumped back and held her staff in her usual stance, panting.

"Nice one, brother," Misha smiled. Her adrenaline is already giving her a sense of exhilaration. "I honestly didn't think you would escape that. Tee hee."

"Heh. The hell you take me for?" Jerad forced a grin. "You know I'm a tough bastard, and we just got started. How long have we had so far? About two damn minutes? We still got three minutes to go to hell."

"Ohh," Misha smiled back. "The more time we have left, the more I could spank you, then."

Then Jerad evilly laughed. "You're also enjoying this, huh?"

"Of course," Misha smirked. "Because I'm about to teach you a LESSON!"

"Good, good. Then let's not waste any more time," Jerad assumed his battle stance. "Let's start having real fun for those three minutes."

"Sure," Misha responded in kind before her brother, this time, took the offensive strike.

"Here I come!" Jerad leapt at his sister at high speed, and Misha readied herself.

"Is it just me, or is Misha acting a bit weird?" Trista glanced at the two.

"Hm, you're not the only one," Hugo murmured. "She is a bit unusual."

"Yeah, I've never seen her enjoy fighting before," Zeke shook his head. "Kinda feels like watching two Jerads fight each other right now..well except that the other one is the girl kind of him. Misha always just fights like normal."

Then Trista laughed. "Yeah, but to be honest…I kinda like this new side of her. I want her to be like that."

"Tris, please do not encourage her," Hugo shook his head. "The last thing we'd want is another bloodthirsty God Eater in our group."

And Trista laughed again. "What? You never liked me and Jerad being your gung-hos?"

"Not necessarily," Hugo chuckled. "But you two worry me at times."

"I think I agree with Hugo," Claire murmured. "It is a bit unbecoming of her, and I personally find it quite worrisome."

"Tch. You guys are dull," Trista murmured. "Learn to enjoy life a little more, would ya? Right, Shin?"

"Yeah," Shin plainly nodded with a smile.

"Please don't get us wrong," Hugo chuckled. "We meant that as having fun in a 'good' way."

"Enthusiasm also begets success, you know?" Trista argued. "Is that right, Shin?"

"Well, I don't particularly enjoy fighting," Shin smiled. "But I'm proud of the way I fight."

"There you go," Trista and Shin armlet bumped.

"You fight in a ninja style, right?" Levin raised his eyes. "I witnessed your battle once. Pretty underhanded."

"No honor for the Aragami," Shin smirked.

"Mommy, what is..oh-nor?" Phym tugged her.

"It's like..chivalry," Claire smiled. "It's how you morally conduct yourself as a person everywhere you go."

"Does daddy have honor..?" Phym asked again.

"Hm..," Claire frowned. "I don't know…"

Then Hugo chuckled. "Don't worry. Honorable or not, your daddy is still a good man."

"Really..?" Phym started smiling.

"Of course," Hugo nodded.

"Ooh, man," Zeke murmured. "You guys have been watching, right? These two just won't let up."

Then Hugo turned back to the match.

Misha was ferociously swinging at her brother, but her swings could not keep up with his agility as he continued dodging them. Finally able to move ahead enough from her attacks, Jerad began his counterattack with another series of swings and thrusts, and Misha raised her eyes as she realized that she lost her grip on her opponent. She then took on the defensive, evading his attacks twice before she blocked his third swing, but the powerful force recoiled her, and almost lost grip of her staff.

"HAA!"

In another attempt to break his sister's guard, Jerad made another strong downswing, but was surprised and yet proud that his sister reacted quickly enough to defend herself. Their staves grinded against each other, putting the two opponents in a stalemate.

"You just don't give up," Jerad snickered. "Eh, sis?"

"I'm…not about to lose to you," Misha hissed. "I said that earlier!"

And her brother snickered again. "I'm not going to lose either, and I've been enjoying this, you know? Are you?"

"Of course I am," Misha smirked.

Then Jerad laughed. "Good, good. Keep impressing Hugo, alright?"

And in response, Misha hissed, and shoved him back. Knowing now that the best way to keep her brother from escaping her is to attack him before he regains his footing, Misha rushed in before he could recover, and anticipating this, Jerad raised his staff in response and successfully blocked her downswing. Jerad shoved his sister back to keep her at bay, but Misha relentlessly leapt back in before the two entered a series of clashes, and eventually gaining the upper hand, Misha sent him flying back with a strong downswing.

Meanwhile in Hilda's office.

"Remarkable," Sitting on a couch, leaning forward with his clenched hands under his chin with a steaming coffee on the table in front of him, Abraham was closely watching the Hounds' training using one of their vessel's hidden surveillance cameras from a large screen. "Truly..remarkable."

"I'm not very fond of using cameras to eavesdrop on our crew," Hilda sipped her coffee as she stood in front of her desk. "But I figured it was the least I could do to keep you entertained..and it could also improve your confidence in them for the reclamation."

"Much appreciated, Hilda," Abraham took his coffee for a sip. "Thus far, I have been very impressed."

"I'll admit, this was a good idea," Ricardo sat back with his hands behind his head, sitting beside Abraham. "I'd rather watch them in secret since being their senior, some of them still get a little uptight around me, sometimes. I think they still have trust issues with people like us."

Then he laughed.

"Hm, I see," Abraham turned back to the screen with a frown, closely watching the twins fight each other for a while. "I do not fault them for that…"

"Governor-General, I've been noticing that you had interest in those two," Hilda placed her coffee back on the table. "And it's something more than just because they are incredibly skilled. Do you mind if you fill us in on that..if there's any?"

"Hmph," Abraham closed his eyes. "You are as sharp as ever."

Then Hilda remained quiet..

"Yes, indeed. I felt a connection for those two," Abraham reluctantly murmured. "Especially for the boy. He highly resembled..'him.'"

"You mean, Jerad?" Hilda murmured.

"So, that is the boy's name..," Abraham murmured. "Jerad Alexander. Hm."

Then Hilda's eyes widened.

"And that cutie sister of his is Misha, just so you know," Ricardo smiled.

"I see. She truly resembled 'her..,'" Abraham glanced at Ricardo before turning back to Hilda, who remained still.

"You seem to also have information about them."

"I..," Hilda lightly pulled her collar. "I've looked into their backgrounds..after we took them from Pennywort. From their records, they are the children of Emilio, and Catherine Alexander who are both God Eaters stationed in Fenrir Satellite Base 18, but perished during the Ashland Calamity."

"Precisely," Abraham closed his eyes with a sigh. "They were our regrettable losses."

"Governor-General, what else do you know about them?" Hilda furrowed her eyes.

"Their parents were among our finest officers in Fenrir," Abraham replied. "Lieutenant Commander Emilio, and his wife were stationed in Satellite Base 18, and were placed in charge to protect the populace. It was also worth noting that Lieutenant Commander Emilio was a rising star in our ranks, and was personally mentored by Randall Victorious, a great man who founded our organization."

"Wow," Amy held her coffee cup with both of hands, who was sitting beside Ricardo.

"Randall?! Isn't that Claire's dad?" Ricardo started laughing. "Now THAT'S getting more interesting."

"Emilio was also gifted with a great power of resonance," Abraham continued. "He was also a great contributor for the data needed for the design of resonance radars, and I could also speculate that one or both of their children must have inherited this from him."

"Resonance..," Hilda almost gasped before she regained her composure, and calmly placed her coffee on her table. "Governor-General, let me make this clear."

Then she stood straight from her desk. "I will NOT hand over the twins to you under ANY circumstances for whatever you might be planning for them. Mainly because they are under my full jurisdiction as their owner, and more importantly, their PROTECTION."

And as the atmosphere tenses, Ricardo and Amy sat up to brace themselves, but Abraham kept his unfazed glance at Hilda before he turned back to sip his coffee. "Peace, Hilda."

However, Hilda remained silent with her firm glare, unsatisfied with his response.

"Our organization owed a great debt to our two late officers for their service," Abraham placed his coffee back on the table. "It was the best we could do for them by leaving their children in your good hands."

Then he turned back to Hilda. "I would sincerely like to humbly ask you to please look after them."

"...Absolutely," Hilda replied in monotone.

"Hm," Abraham closed his eyes to relax before turning back to the screen as the twins kept fighting. Relieved, Ricardo and Amy also sat back.

"If the two were watching them right now," Abraham murmured. "They would certainly be proud."

'My turn!' Misha rushed in, and raised her staff for the kill. However, anticipating this again while on the defensive, Jerad raised his staff.

'You'd think so,' Misha lowered her staff to her right, and her brother raised his eyes in shock. "Hiyahh!"

With a loud clash, Jerad blocked his sister's side swing by quickly holding his staff vertically to his left, narrowly blocking it.

'Shit!' Jerad glanced at his sister's tip, and then projected her variant scythe's curved razor again. This time, it could have pierced his left ribs. "Fuck..!"

"What's wrong, brother..?" Misha sneered. "Getting scared?"

"Tch..!" Jerad turned his gaze back at her before he broke his hold, and counterattacked with a series of swings. After blocking, and evading a few swings from him, Misha made a narrow, but distant backflip from her brother's reverse swing, and landed her feet smoothly on the deck.

"Whoa, that's an unusual move from her!" Trista leaned forward.

"Speak for yourself," Shin chuckled. "You were the gossip earlier."

"What..?" Trista turned to him.

"Yeah," Hugo chuckled. "That's also a first like…"

And he suddenly paused. "Wait…"

He recalled the time when they were fighting Ra, their first slain Ashborn, how Misha jumped forward from its swing, and counterattacked with Dystopia.

"This..actually wasn't the first time she did this," he muttered.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Zeke turned to him with shock. "I've never seen her do that!"

"You were there," Hugo replied. "Back when we killed that floating Ashborn. I didn't know where you were at that time, but I once saw her spin midair with her scythe completely stretched out before her brother finished it off."

"W-what..?" Frida paused. "With the average height a God Eater can jump versus the maximum length a variant scythe could reach, it would be too long to execute such a move, and the razor would scrape the ground. That shouldn't be possible."

Then Hugo chuckled. "Believe me, she did, and it was quite spectacular, too. She did jump pretty high now that I think about it."

"Remember that AGEs are physically stronger than us," Levin smiled. "I actually find this quite..believable."

"Ah," Frida paused. "I see."

"Uh, I can jump about 30 feet high," Shin grinned. "Just saying…"

'Dammit..!' Jerad grimaced while watching his sister on the other side of the ring trying to regain her breath. 'She already 'gored' me TWICE, and just simply dodging her won't do enough shit! Too fast. I've got to find a new way to not let her blade reach me, or else..!'

Then he glanced at the middle of his sister's staff before furrowing his eyes. 'Hm…'

"So, brother..," Misha finally recovered her composure, and smiled. "You seem to be holding back now. Are you trembling in fear? How very unsighting for my dear future sister-in-law."

"Ooh!" Claire pouted while Levin quietly covered his mouth, chuckling.

Then Trista laughed while glancing at Claire. "Did you guys hear that?! Damn, that's some spine she had!"

And Zeke also laughed. "Yeah, and I gotta say, she's become more badass like that! Get him, Reaper!"

"I bet she struck a damn nerve in him," Trista grinned. "Sister-in-law..?"

Then she and Zeke laughed again while Levin now covered his face, and beside him, Claire furiously blushed.

"Heh," Hugo smiled. 'I think you underestimated her, so you gotta be more careful from now on. No more games.'

"Hmph..!" Jerad grimaced before he smirked. "Don't let this go over your head, sis. I'm not done yet. FAR from it!"

"Oh, I'm not done yet, either," Misha stroked her bangs. "Think about it. This takes us back, doesn't it?"

"What..do you mean?" Jerad furrowed his eyes. "Pennywort?"

"Of course not," Misha grimaced. "I'm starting to remember all our good times together, especially with mom and dad, but didn't you and dad also used to practice together? Just like what we are now?"

"Hmph..," Jerad's eyes darkened.

Hearing this in the meantime, Claire raised her eyes while Hugo remained unfazed, keeping his arms crossed.

"Whoaa..," Zeke murmured. "Jerad had a dad who taught him how to fight? No wonder why he's so good! His dad must be a one badass God Eater."

"You never heard about it?" Lulu turned to him. "Oh, that's right. Misha told us while we're drinking tea together, and that they did practice a lot."

"I always thought he had a natural talent," Zeke scratched his head. "Thinking back now, he was always a bit mysterious. He never talked about himself."

"I was also a little taken aback by that, but..," Shin murmured. "I suggest you guys stop gossiping. This looks too personal, and I don't think Jerad is feeling alright with it…"

"Huh?" Zeke turned to the twins.

"Brother..?" Misha raised her eyes. "What's wrong..? I thought…"

"Nothing..," Jerad replied in monotone. "Don't mind me…"

"I don't get it," Misha shook her head. "You and dad were so close. You looked up to him! I just remembered you told me that you also wanted to be..!"

"Enough!" Jerad growled. "I'd rather not talk about that. More importantly, I want to forget about it. Don't remind me again."

"What..?!" Misha grimaced.

"You know, sometimes when I think about mom and dad, I've wondered from time to time what would they think of us, if they're still alive?"

And she raised her eyes, also while slowly shaking her head. 'No..! Dad, and mom would never think..!'

"Hey, you two!" Hugo suddenly blew his whistle. "You only got one minute left. Wrap it up!"

"One minute left..?" Jerad murmured. "Felt like only a minute passed. Tch..!"

"You purposely did that, huh?" Trista snickered. "Good call."

Then Hugo sighed. "He's always like this, Tris. He hasn't changed."

"Alright," Misha took her stance, and her brother responded in kind. "Here I go!"

"Let's do this!" Jerad grunted as the twins leapt for each other. The two continuously swung their staves at each other, evading, and blocking until Jerad jumped a few inches back from Misha's wing before he thrusted his staff straightforward, but she swerved to her left, and quickly followed with a swing towards his face. Jerad gasped before ducking to avoid her swing, and the two passed each other to the opposite sides of the ring.

"Whoaa!" Zeke cried. "That's two close calls at the same time. Wooh!"

"They just had me at the edge of my seat there," Trista laughed. "They gonna go really all out from here. Gonna be awesome!"

"I almost believed this was over," Levin sighed. "But I was very astonished by their reaction times. Impressive."

"Oh, you noticed that, too, huh?" Shin smiled. "And jeez, I thought they were going to hit each other for real."

'Both of you,' Claire held her chest. 'Please be careful.'

"Mommy, who's going to win?" Phym tugged her. "Daddy or auntie..?"

"I don't know..," Claire shook her head.

'This is it,' Jerad furrowed his eyes. 'Gotta wrap this up..but NOT without trying something on her FIRST.'

"We're out of time, brother," Misha murmured. "I'm going to finish this..with me on top."

"Heh," Jerad snorted. "Right. Let's get on it, and no more staring contests, got it?"

"Right back at you," Misha firmly held her staff. "Here I come!"

Then she leapt at her brother, and swung at him. Jerad kept his distance as Misha continued swinging, and as she started advancing closer, he also began swinging and thrusting back to push her back at bay. However, being used to his ferocity by now, Misha dodged a few swings before moving in close and attacking him again, forcing him into the defensive, and Jerad jumped.

"Tch..!" Jerad grimaced. 'Not yet. Just need to..!'

"Haayah!" Misha swung down, but Jerad leapt to the side and Misha slammed her staff on the deck. He quickly rushed in for the kill, but Misha also evaded his thrust with a sidestep.

Seeing him still recovering from his missed thrust, Misha raised her staff, and was assured that she would land her 'kill.'

"I got you now."

However, to her shock, Jerad suddenly stepped very close to her, and raised his staff to hit the middle area of her shaft between her two hands. He took a quick glance, and projected where her razor blade would be. He was relieved that he was too close for it to strike him.

"No. You're mine instead!"

He parried her staff to break her guard, and to her sudden fear, Jerad thrusted his spear toward her face. Misha instinctively shut her eyes, bracing for impact, and when she felt nothing but wind that blew her hair, she slowly opened them. She found her brother staring at her with his staff only a few inches from the left side of her cheek…and their audience fell silent.

"I guess you win," Misha gloomily closed her eyes.

"No..," Jerad murmured before his sister opened her eyes again, and saw him slowly shaking his head. "You already did…twice."

"What..?" Misha furrowed her eyes. "You're NOT making sense. Stop playing with me."

"Think about it," Jerad murmured as he pulled his spear back. "If we're fighting with our God Arcs, what would have really happened?"

Then he raised his staff sideways, grabbed Misha's, and laid it on close to the tip, also making sure it was above his shoulder. "Remember this at the beginning of our match? If this was your God Arc, imagine what you would have done to me."

Being able to visualize it, Misha raised her eyes in shock. "My god…"

"And then this," Jerad moved his staff to his left, holding it vertically, and like last time, placed his sister's tip to his. "I died twice. You get it, right? Now you see why I suddenly stepped very close before I parried you?"

"Oh..," Misha blinked her eyes. "Yeah…"

"Now I know why Lulu had such a hard time with you," Jerad chuckled, and to her relief, he does not seem bothered by his loss. "You owned this match today."

Hearing this, Lulu raised her eyes. "That's right…"

"Huh?" Trista turned to her. "What happened between you, and Misha?"

"Misha, and I fought once..with our God Arcs out in the field," Lulu murmured. "I guess we didn't talk about that part during our dinner with Sofia, and it was around the time I met everyone..before we stopped in Chrysanthemum. Jerad himself realized this, and I did have difficulties against Misha's scythe because as you all realized now, fighting a polearm with a long, curved pointed edge is something that was extremely hard to counter. I knew I couldn't defend against that, and it was too risky to use my buckler so evading was the only choice I had. I eventually could not keep up with how aggressive she was anymore, and just when I thought I would suffer a horrible death being struck on the shoulder by her…she held back. That's when I was taken prisoner."

"Ohh," Trista slowly nodded.

"I must admit that I'm ashamed that her brother figured this out before I did," Lulu closed her eyes. "I should have thought more of it. I failed myself as a warrior…"

"Nah, don't be," Hugo chuckled. "This is why I decided on this mock tournament, remember? Not even I was able to see what Jerad was thinking over there, but that is a good perception on his part."

"Heh, you're lucky Misha was nice," Zeke grinned. "A little too nice, even. Like Hugo."

"Pshh, you're lucky, too..," Shin whispered with a grin. "Maybe you should thank her…"

"What did you say..?" Zeke turned to him.

"Huh? I didn't say anything," Shin shrugged while Trista snickered.

"Let's ask our combat nerd here," Trista smiled. "Shin, if it was you who fought Misha instead of Lulu, what would you have done before Jerad pulled his trick?"

"Hm, let's see," Shin rubbed his chin. "I definitely would have kept my distance from her, and then strike when she leaves an opening…but seeing how aggressive she is, and her swinging that long scythe around, that still won't be easy. I'd be scared as hell fighting her. One slip, and she'll cut me in half."

"Oh," Trista chuckled.

"I guess I really owe her my life," Lulu murmured. "There was really no way I could have survived her at that time…and she spared me."

"You don't owe us anything," Hugo shook his head. "We're a team."

"Thanks," Lulu smiled.

"Anyway, good job today," Jerad smiled while massaging his shoulder.

"But..," Misha murmured. "Why did you..?"

"Because like I said, I wanted to see what you can do," Jerad smiled again. "I stopped giving a fuck about winning after you 'got' me, but I'm not totally satisfied with this, though. I want to practice more 'for real' with you. I want to figure out how to make you a 'real' scythe for you somehow, and I'll also think of mine. I want to make my own training weapon more similar to my spear. These plain sticks ain't gonna do it for us."

"Oh, alright," Misha nodded.

"Leave it to me, I'll think of a way," Keith chuckled as he entered the ring with Hugo. "These things are just wood, so it should be easy to craft them."

"Ah..yeah, we would appreciate that," Jerad chuckled. "Please make a replica of our God Arcs. Hell, I'd pay you to make them."

Then Keith chuckled. "No worries, friend. Should be easy, so no need to pay me."

"You two only had ten seconds left to finish, you know that?" Hugo smiled. "And both of you got me worried there. You fought like you wanted to kill each other."

Then Jerad snickered. "It was fun, though. Hey, what did you think of how my sis fought? She good, right?"

Then he flashed his eyebrows.

"H-Hey!" Misha glared at him.

"Oh, I was really impressed," Hugo smiled. "That ferocity you displayed against your brother? That's a new side of you."

"Ah…ah," Misha froze in red.

"Heh, mission accomplished," Jerad smirked before Misha was suddenly hugged from behind by Trista.

"Hehe, ferocity in bed with Hugo, too..?" Trista whispered in her ear. "Just don't break him, OK?"

"S-S-Stop it!" Misha blushed harder, and pushed her off, much to Trista's laughter.

"Alright, that's enough," Hugo said. "Next up is Shin, and Lulu."

"Here we are," Shin smiled. "The staff, buddy?"

"Wait, what?" Jerad paused.

"We're fighting with staves this time," Shin explained. "We're fighting in glaive form."

"Oh, alright," Jerad nodded before he gave him his staff. "Good luck."

"Daddy!" Phym jumped on him, and he embraced her on time. "I'm glad you..won!"

However, unaware of this, Misha has been quietly watching her brother, and furrowed her eyes as she knew very well that he has been pretending as if this never happened. After a few moments, she painfully closed her eyes with a sigh.

"Here, you'll need it," Hugo suddenly spoke.

"Ah..!" Misha suddenly jumped, and almost held her staff towards the direction of the voice.

"Whoa, easy there," Hugo took a step back while still holding a clean towel in front of her. "Still tense, huh?"

And he chuckled.

"Jeez, thanks," she took the towel, and began wiping her forehead.

"Uh, yep," Jerad patted her head. "Now we get to sit together, and watch."

"Here's water," Claire smiled.

"Oh, thanks," Jerad took the plastic bottle.

"Misha, can you lend me your staff?" Lulu smiled.

"Oh, sure," Misha gave it to her. "But I thought you're…"

"We're fighting in glaive form this time," Lulu explained.

"Oh, I see," Misha smiled back. "Good luck."

"Heh, you're fighting her like that, Shin?" Trista grinned. "Good luck…"

"I'll be fine," Shin replied in monotone.

"Alright, take your positions," Hugo raised his hands to signal the two next competitors to stand apart in the ring, and then the two turned away, walking to the opposite ends of the ring. "Same rules as last time. Five minute time limit, and no hitting each other to avoid injuries. Any questions?"

"No questions," Lulu shook her head.

"No issues," Shin also shook his head.

"Alright," Hugo nodded. "On my signal, begin your match. Time starts once I drop both hands down. Ready?"

Then Lulu spun her staff before holding it forward with one end pointing at her opponent while Shin also spun his, and held it behind his back.

"Oh hoo hoo, look at them," Trista grinned. "They're already trying to scare each other."

"Two martial artists, huh?" Levin smiled with his arms crossed. "This could get interesting."

"Start!" Hugo blew his whistle, and quickly jogged backwards out of the ring.

"HAAA!"

The two competitors swiftly dashed, and swung their staves against each other as they passed. With both of them deflecting each other's blows, the two turned around, and began trading blows, swinging at each other using both ends of their staves.

"Ho ho, this fight is pretty different from how the two Devils fought," Faith grinned. "This is going to be interesting."

"Indeed," Levin nodded. "So, this is how martial artists fight."

"It's almost like watching old Far East movies," Trista chuckled.

Back to the ring, Shin and Lulu were still intensely clashing at each other with their sticks. Eventually, Lulu parried Shin's thrust, and tried to counterattack by swinging one end of her stick to his face. Unsurprisingly to her due to the early stages of their match, Shin was easily able to duck from her swing, but Lulu spun and attempted a back swing at him as soon as he stood up, but her opponent also blocked it. Shin counterattacked in turn by pushing the tip of her staff down to the deck with his before swinging at her head, but Lulu ducked, and attempted a swing at Shin's left rib, but he blocked it with the middle of his staff. Shoving her staff aside, Shin began a series of swings, spinning himself sideways while also spinning his staff on his back, forcing Lulu to take several steps back before Shin finished his spin, and attempted a strong side swing at her, but Lulu also blocked it.

"Ho ho, damn! I thought Shin had her there," Zeke grinned. "He totally pushed her close to the end of the ring with that spinning move."

Then Lulu flicked Shin's staff end to the side, and began thrusting at him. Shin swerved and leaned his head a few times before he parried Lulu's staff to the side, and she quickly followed with a back spin to try hitting him with both ends of her staff with one hand…much like what she once tried on Zeke when they first fought.

As she expected, Shin ducked the first end, and jumped back to dodge the other. But in response, Lulu kept her pursuit, and swung a vertical swing at him, but Shin blocked it. He quickly parried her staff, and tried to thrust several times at her to try catching her off guard, but Lulu shifted her lightweight body a few times to avoid them before she strongly swatted his stick to the side. Sensing his panic from that unexpected move, Lulu spun around again to try hitting him with both ends of her staff, and after dodging both by ducking, she spun again in the opposite direction while advancing faster towards him, swinging the same way which forced Shin to jump back to a safe distance. Wanting to keep her pressure to not let her opponent rest, Lulu also began her series of thrusts, and Shin dodged the first two while moving back until he parried the third, and tried to thrust back at her. However, Lulu also swatted his staff to the side, breaking him wide open, and as if wanting to respond in kind to his acrobatic spin earlier, she relentlessly kept her pursuit by spinning her staff vertically forward, randomly switching between her sides while Shin kept his distance from her stormy swings. Eventually, Lulu spun back, and thrusted at him with the back end of her staff, but Shin parried, and also allowed it to slide through his staff to reel her closer for a swing. Lulu, however, managed to duck under, and as a retaliation, swung her end toward his side. Shin still managed to defend himself, but Lulu kept up her barrage of attacks by swinging the ends of her staff in a one-two sequence in different directions. It was a scheme to either throw him off balance or tire him, and when Shin slowed down enough, she suddenly jumped, and swung one end of her staff towards him with all her might. In spite of Shin still blocking it, the impact still recoiled him, and began stumbling back. Seeing it as an opportunity to finish him while still under pressure, Lulu moved in for the kill, but to her immense shock, Shin suddenly jumped back, spinning sideways in the air away from her with both ends of his staff out. Lulu raised her staff, and narrowly managed to block his surprise counter on time, but the upper centrifugal force from his spin also caused her to break her guard wide open, making her stumble several steps back. Luckily, it was his defensive move, albeit an escape tactic, but she can only dread what would have resulted if that hit was successful. A direct hit on her face would have been devastating, or worse, instantly caused her a concussion.

"Whoa, that was unexpected!" Zeke leaned forward. "And I thought Lulu was going to eat that. Good job on getting away from it."

"Ohh, yeah," Jerad nodded with a smile. "That hit wouldn't have been pretty."

"Yeah, but man..," Zeke clutched his head. "Was it just me, or is watching them fight making me all dizzy?"

Then Hugo chuckled. "You're not alone. It's kinda hard trying to keep up with them. They move really fast."

"Yeah, their sticks are just flying everywhere," Zeke groaned. "Dammit…"

"I'd say, try to avoid watching the ends of their staves," Levin chuckled. "Their artistic way of fighting can be, indeed, mesmerizing."

"I've always known Lulu for fighting quite elegantly," Misha murmured. "But this is something else. Her moves are very sharp, and with martial arts on top of that? Who taught her how to fight like that?"

"Beats me," Zeke kept holding his head before finally looking up. "But I do agree with ya. There's just something beautiful about the way she fights."

"You better get used to it, then," Jerad chuckled. "Or else you'll miss out on that beauty."

"Oh, shut up," Zeke spat before Jerad and Trista chuckled.

"I've never seen anyone fight with martial arts before," Frida added. "And I have to say, she was quite frightening with her staff. Is this how Baran AGEs are?"

"Ehh, we don't really know, but..," Hugo paused. "It's best not to talk about this around her."

"...I see," Frida nodded.

After recovering their stances for a few moments, Lulu and Shin stood a distance away from each other, ready for each to strike at any time.

"You're not bad with the staff," Lulu commented. "Not as bad as you claimed."

"Heh, I never said I was bad at it," Shin smiled. "I just said it just doesn't fit my style. I can't move as fast with it as you probably already saw."

"And with that being said, I really believe you should make more use of your glaive out in the field," Lulu replied. "Try expanding your horizons. It's true you may not have speed, but you compensate for it by defending more, and taking advantage of the length of your weapon which is good. That move you just did was dangerous, you know? I also don't like flattering my opponents."

'And I would have been knocked out cold, if that hit me. '

"Thanks for the compliment, but..," Shin spun his staff to the other side on his back. "Brute force was just never for me."

"You just don't understand," Lulu grimaced. "This isn't about brute force, it's about adapting. True martial artists always train their weaknesses with self-discipline, and improvise everything they have. You should have nevertheless trained yourself on it."

"I tried," Shin murmured. "Just couldn't find any use for it."

"Then I no longer know why you proposed this match," Lulu shifted her stance. "If not for self-improvement."

"Because it's only right," Shin murmured. "Our God Arcs can take two completely different forms, so it's only right that we fight in both ways…I also don't expect to win."

"Then, why did you insist?" Lulu pressed on. "This looks like a waste of time."

"To show you that I haven't truly won overall," Shin replied.

"So you wanted to give me consolation by fighting me like this knowing you'll lose?" Lulu furrowed her eyes. "How condescending, and I'm not even bothered by that loss one bit. I just took it as a message to train more, and ever since I came here, I no longer believe in losing or failing."

"You can't win all your battles," Shin argued. "That's life."

"You may be right," Lulu hissed. "But not in this case. You clearly had potential to improve in your staff fighting, and I'm about to show you that. En guarde, Shin!"

Then Shin braced himself as Lulu leapt towards him.

"Heh, even Lulu called you out on that now, huh?" Trista smirked. "Been telling you for these past few years…"

"Hm?" Hugo turned to her.

"You know I use both my moon, and axe form regularly," Trista explained. "I mean, I prefer the axe, but my moon form was never out of my option. I even like dancing with it, and when we fought, I didn't care about not being able to use an axe with that wood thing. I can still make do without it, and I'm not even going to complain about losing to you because of that."

"Ah," Hugo raised his head. "I just remembered something. That book Shin lent me even wrote that you shouldn't be attached to a single type of weapon because from my understanding, it dulls a warrior's mind in the strategy of combat."

Then he looked down. "But now that being said, Shin should know this better than I do. I can understand that due to the nature of God Arcs, but yours and Shin could change into something different. They're like a two in one swiss army knife. Why was he indeed not following this?"

"I could never know," Trista shrugged. "That guy was a bit stubborn, I tell ya."

"But he's also a smart guy," Hugo murmured.

In the ring, the two are still fighting with their staves, but Lulu is starting to gain the upper hand, and Shin was well aware of it.

"Haah!" Lulu swung to the side with one hand, and to her surprise, Shin jumped up in the air in a forward somersault, and began his spinning descent on his opponent that is similar to Cosmic Bolt.

"Huah!" Shin slammed his staff against her.

"Not bad," Lulu gritted her teeth. "But not enough! I'll show you how it's done!"

She shoved Shin back, and immediately dashed at him with her staff raised.

"HAAH!" Imitating Angel's Fall, Lulu made a strong down swing in a wide arc, and to her surprise, Shin managed to block, but the recoil sent him stumbling back.

Lulu opportunistically leapt on offense to attack while he was still recovering his balance, but Shin managed to parry her thrust with his left end, and swung the other end to his left. She quickly jumped in a side somersault to evade his quick counterattack before Shin spun around and followed with his left back swing, but Lulu landed on time to block it. In an attempt to outpace her, Shin quickly spun the other direction, and this time, tried to hit her with a right back swing, but she also managed to defend herself.

"Woo! Nice dodge, Lulu," Trista commented. "Dodging Shin's fast swing like that? That's BAD ASS!"

Alarmed for exposing his vulnerable behind to his opponent, Shin went on the defensive by spinning away to face her before Lulu began her flurry of swings and thrusts.

"Wow, martial arts are truly something else," Frida murmured. "I'm having a hard time keeping up. They're so intense."

"I've been used to it. You don't watch a lot of martial arts movies, do ya?" Trista grinned. "Watched a lot of old Far East ones, and some of them are even weird, like there was one where a guy wastes himself, and fights better with his hands when drunk. I wish I could be like him."

Then she laughed.

"So, you want to try fighting while you're intoxicated..?" Hugo made an awkward smile. "Not sure about that…"

"I wanna try it at least once. Come on," Trista grinned. "Gonna be fun."

"Please no," Hugo shook his head. "Fighting Aragami is not a game."

"Oh, man..," Zeke held his head. "I can't keep watching this anymore. This is making me feel too woozy."

"Aww come on, tough guy," Jerad grinned. "Don't you wanna keep admiring her?"

And Misha giggled.

"Huh..?" Claire blinked her eyes.

"I'm going to say again," Zeke grimaced while still holding his head. "Shut up…"

Then Jerad, Misha, and Trista laughed while Claire bewilderedly stared at them.

"Hm," Levin blinked his eyes. "There's something between them..? I didn't know. Lulu is a bit older, isn't she?"

"Oh ho, man. You'd be surprised, but..," Jerad grinned. "Zeke likes her that way. He likes big mammas."

And the three laughed again.

"Damn you..," Zeke glared at them.

"Heyyy, don't get so mad," Trista patted his shoulder. "Speaking as a chic myself, Lulu's a damn hottie, and she's got that niiice figure. Though, her chest is a little too small…definitely no match for Claire."

Then Trista, and Misha laughed while Jerad, Levin, and Hugo curved their lips. Meanwhile, Claire quietly pouted as Frida watched her.

"Peh. Speaking for myself, I'm not worried about breast size, anyway," Faith shrugged. "Don't like mine? Scram."

"Gah, I don't even care!" Zeke swatted her hand off.

"Oh, good on you, then," Trista grinned. "That takes away one of your worries."

"Not EVEN just that," Zeke's eyes flared. "Every damn thing you said."

Then Levin chuckled. "At least you judge people purely based on character instead of looks. Beauty depreciates, character may not."

"Hmph," Zeke winced.

"Hey, you're NOT saying we girls here are gonna get ugly once we're old, right?!" Trista glared at him.

"I-I didn't mean that specifically," Levin waved his hands. "Just…people in general. It all depends on your genetics, and how you take care of yourselves, too."

"Hmph, fair enough," Trista murmured before Claire giggled. "I heard God Eater women retain their youth longer, anyway. Hah!"

"Really..?" Misha turned to her.

"I hope so," Trista smiled. "We really had it good compared to normal women, haha! Good to be one. Plus, I get to stay in my prime longer so I can keep fighting."

"Damn, when is this going to end?" Zeke whined as he struggled to watch the two opponents fight. "They just don't let up."

"You should be proud of that, bonehead," Trista chastised him. "You don't like rooting for your woman?"

"And…you?" Hugo smiled. "He's your right hand, you know?"

"Frankly, I'm not expecting him to win this one," Trista shrugged. "But I'm at least glad he's still putting in a lot of grit even if he knew he's gonna lose, and I was planning to tear him a new one if he ever gives up on her. Though, I hope he finally learns his lesson. Been damn long overdue. Stubborn fool..."

"Huuwah!" Lulu clashed the right end of her staff against Shin's. "You're definitely ain't bad, but you said your skill was self-taught, right?"

"Correct," Shin kept resisting.

"Have you been looking for someone to teach you?" Lulu asked.

"Heh, who teaches ninjutsu these days?" Shin grinned. "It's a very ancient art, and I'm even surprised I found it. I only have information, and myself to learn."

"I looked into it after our last match," Lulu shoved him back before they started clashing. "It was a study of covert warfare, and covers the art of hand to hand combat, sword, knife throwing, and even spear fighting."

Then she made a powerful swing to send him back. "You could have asked someone like Captain Daris to mentor you on that."

"Heh. You certainly did your homework," Shin smirked. "But I don't need anyone, and I can train myself. That's all that matters."

"Then, that may be just part of your problem," Lulu shoved harder. "You definitely need someone to train you! More humility, less pride!"

She shoved him back, and swung sideways, but Shin ducked. "I got more from where that came from! Haa!"

As she may have expected, Shin managed to block her uppercut from the left end of her staff, and sent him flying back. He landed softly on the deck.

"So, someone taught you?" Shin rushed back at her, and Lulu blocked his strike.

"Of course," Lulu replied. "Why else would I encourage you, if I wasn't?"

"Like I said, I don't…NEED it," Shin hissed.

"Then why..?" Lulu hissed back. "What's wrong with having a senior guiding you?"

"A grown-up guiding me..?" Shin growled. "Don't make me laugh! FUCK THEM!"

And in a sudden fit of rage, Shin quickly shoved Lulu back, and pointed his staff at her.

"I'll tell you exactly why. When I was that weak, sissy kid in that damned place called Pennywort, those bastard guards shit on me for being the weakest in every goddamned training!" Shin cried. "I was never meant to fight, and couldn't win a single duel! Then my own weakness almost got a friend killed! Do you know how I felt about that?!"

"Ah..," Trista froze, and unaware of this, Hugo quietly glanced at her, remembering Shin's story during their shower room cleaning a few weeks ago.

'You're still not over it?' Trista grimaced. 'Idiot…'

"So who the FUCK is such a weakling like myself to ask someone to train me?!" Shin cried. "I'll only end up wasting their time! I could only find strength in myself, and ONLY myself! It was a damn good thing I learned about ninjutsu, and that I don't need brute strength to triumph over ANYTHING! I won't allow anyone to insult me again, and if I EVER see those bastards who called me "weak" again, I'll make them suffer!"

Hugo sighed. "What is going on here..? This is supposed to be just training, but this is starting to become too personal. Should I call this off..? I mean, we could console him later, but…"

"Leave them," Trista replied in monotone, almost to a whisper. "He needed it, and I'm even amazed Lulu pried some out of him. Let him get that out of his system."

"What do you mean..?" Hugo furrowed his eyes.

"That sore loser tends to keep a lot of secrets," Trista murmured.

"So..what?" Lulu hissed before they clashed a few times, and locked on each other again. "Tell me, do you think I liked my master..?"

And Shin paused.

"I HATED his every being," Lulu gritted her teeth. "He insulted my every weakness, and yet, he still taught me everything. That made me stronger!"

"You don't understand what it means to be naturally weak!" Shin cried before he pushed her back, and they clashed staves. "I had NOTHING! No fucking natural talent in fighting, and I only had myself to rely on. I don't need anyone stronger than me to remind me how inferior I am! I'm so fucking sick of it!"

"I was a slow learner!" Lulu spat back before they had their staves against each other again. "How else would you think I learned my culinary skills from? I asked a friend to teach me, and she willingly put up with my shortcomings. I made no excuses, and never gave up! At least you had INTELLECT!"

Then Shin paused before she shoved him back, and followed with a swing, putting both of their staves against each other again. "Get rid of that ego, Shin."

"I..," Shin murmured.

"You could also learn a thing from Zeke," Lulu murmured. "He may not be smart like you, but at least he willingly threw his pride aside to better himself, and I won't complain about that."

And she swatted him off before they began clashing their staves again. However, Lulu can no longer feel her opponent's drive to keep fighting, and with this realization, she has to quickly end it for his sake.

"There's nothing wrong with criticisms, Shin," Lulu held her staff against him. "But don't internalize them!"

She swatted his staff before quickly swiping his leg with her other end, causing him to fall on his back.

After Shin grunted for a few moments, Lulu pointed her staff at him. "This isn't over yet. You're stronger than you think you are, but free yourself from this foolish pride, Shin. Whatever those horrible people in the past told you NO LONGER matters! Fight me for real next time, and I want to see your truest skill with the glaive."

And without saying a word, Shin painstakingly rested his head on the deck, closing his eyes.

"Alright, the match is over," Hugo blew his whistle, already holding a large wooden sword. "Finished just in time."

"I see," Lulu nodded.

"You alright there..?" Trista asked in monotone, staring him down. "Need a hand..?"

"No..," Shin shook his head before he started slowly standing up.

"Good job..," Trista softly said.

"What..?" Shin glared at her.

"I MEAN it, Shin," Trista glared back. "Go chill out for a bit. You earned it."

Then he snorted as he left, and Hugo glanced at him.

"Levin and I are up next," Hugo smiled. "We already talked."

"Indeed," Levin nodded, also holding a large wooden sword. "Feeling a little anxious."

"I'd like to see what you're capable of," Hugo smiled again.

"I…hope I won't disappoint you," Levin chuckled.

"As one trained by House Victorious, I would expect no less," Hugo tapped his wooden sword on his shoulder. "Trista, wanna referee us?"

"I don't mind," Trista shrugged with a smile.

"Here," Hugo handed her the whistle. "Already wiped it."

"Thanks," Trista took the whistle. "Split up."

Then the two participants walked to the opposite ends of the ring.

"Same rules as last time!" Trista boomed as she raised her arm. "Ready?"

And the two men assumed their stance, but Hugo felt quite astonished by his opponents' stance. Levin stepped back, and held his sword to his side just below his shoulder with its tip pointing at him. It has a certain firm sharpness to it, showing him that Levin is fully serious in this, and was not expecting him to be an easy opponent. Hugo smiled before responding in kind, firmly holding his sword forward, and giving his opponent a sincere look.

"Heh. I've never seen that posture before," Jerad smiled.

"Hm?" Claire turned to him.

"Your cousin," Jerad chuckled. "Looks flashy, and I find it…quite intimidating."

And Claire giggled.

"Yeah, he looks cool, daddy," Phym smiled.

After glancing at two competitors to make sure they are ready, Trista blew her whistle, and dropped her arm. "Slug it out!"

"HAA!"

Not wasting a moment, Hugo and Levin clashed their swords. They held against each other for a few seconds before Levin suddenly both pushed and slid his sword across in a thrusting motion.

'Crap!' Hugo held his opponent's sword back just in time, and saw that Levin's blade was close to his neck, almost close enough for any referee to call it a loss on him. Not wanting to give Levin enough time to think for his next move for another attempt to push through his defense, Hugo quickly pushed him away, and swung down, but Levin also blocked him. He is not about to let this match finish too soon with him in the losing end, and that would be an embarrassment for him.

In his turn, Levin pushed Hugo's back, and began swinging ferociously at him, trying to prevent him from having any moment of rest. Hugo could only defend himself in kind by blocking and parrying his swings, but even with parries, Levin recovered too fast each strike for him to find an opening. He will have to figure out how to get past his unexpected aggression with his sword.

Trista laughed. "Wow. Levin is serious business, and Hugo couldn't even fight back."

And Jerad also laughed. "I warned him the other day that Levin's no slouch. I am the first one who saw him fight, and if Hugo doesn't take him seriously enough, then his ass is going to be in trouble."

"Oh..yeah," Trista turned to him. "That is true, but you also saved his life. If he's that good, then how the hell did that happen? That does NOT add up."

"Uh..," Jerad paused. "He…was being overwhelmed..so I jumped in to help."

"Oh," Trista turned back to the two fiercely fighting. "Even so, that shouldn't happen to someone so good like that. Unlikely! He would cut them up quick before they could even pile up on him."

"That's..the truth," Jerad shrugged.

"Jerad..," Claire whispered while furrowing her eyes with suspicion. "...Are you hiding something about my cousin..? What really happened..?"

"Like I said, I'm telling the truth," Jerad gave her a tentative smile before glancing at Trista, and found her chatting with Faith.

"Daddy is a bad lie-er," Phym giggled while sitting on his lap.

"Quiet, you," Jerad lightly pinched her cheeks, and she whimpered.

And he quickly turned back to Claire. "OK. It's true that he was being overwhelmed, but he also slipped up."

"Huh?" Claire blinked her eyes. "What..do you mean? Please elaborate…"

"I saw him trip on an Aragami limb laying around," Jerad whispered. "He fell on his butt, and that's when I jumped in to save his hide. That's the rest of the story."

"Oh," Claire paused. "But why would you try keeping this?"

"It's embarrassing, obviously," Jerad curved his lips. "And he told me not to tell anyone, so please keep this between us…and you too, Phym. You listening?"

He lightly knocked her head. "Help your uncle, got it?"

"Mm. Okay..," Phym rubbed her scalp.

"I don't understand," Claire whined. "It's not like I'll scold him."

"It's your aunt," Jerad murmured. "He told me she might give him hell if she finds out from what I get."

Then Claire giggled. "I see. Aunt is not that strict, but fine. I understand."

"Thanks," Jerad awkwardly chuckled before the two tried suppressing their laughs.

"HUUAH!"

Hugo slammed his sword against Levin's before the two held them against each other.

"You're terribly aggressive." He commented. "And you sure hit hard. I guess all that bodywork you've been doing has been helping you."

"I'm gratefully honored," Levin pushed back. "Competing against those who have slain Ashborns, I cannot hold back."

"I see," Hugo smiled. "You're pretty impressive so far, but even aggression has its limits. At first, it wasn't easy to keep up with you, but I'm sure you know why I'm starting to be able to fight back."

"Hmph," Levin furrowed his eyes.

"Going to be my turn now," Hugo smirked. "Get ready. I'll show you how to save a little more energy."

He pushed his opponent back before he rushed in with his sword raised.

"Hah! Looks like Hugo's gettin' the groove, too," Trista grinned.

"Quite surprised the boy blondie could hold his own against him," Faith smiled. "To be honest, watching him makes me start getting the hots for him, if you catch my drift."

Then Trista chuckled with a mischievous grin. "Hey, just for your own good, I think you'd best drop him now. I think he's already taken."

"Hm..?" Faith raised her eyes.

"He has this kid bodyguard with him," Trista pointed at Frida who was watching quietly. "Not trying to put you down, but..being a normal person yourself, you wouldn't want to cross a female God Eater for a guy, right?"

"Wha-? Are you serious..?" Faith gasped.

"Uh huh?" Trista nodded. "That blue haired kiddie may have an innocent air around her, but my hunch tells me that if she catches you trying to get in his pants, she would lift you by the neck, and slam you against a wall in a split second. Haha!"

"Oh, jeez..," Faith slouched. "Just when I could finally find the one…How about Hugo? He seems to be a very quality guy. Is he…available?"

"Whoa! That's even worse!" Trista laughed again. "Now you have a stronger blue haired girl to worry about."

Then she pointed at Misha. "You might as well write a will before you start hitting on him, and for her, I can't even imagine what she'll do to you if you try!"

"Aww," Faith sighed in despair. "I thought by having a bunch of new people here, I could have a shot. Guess I never had a chance…"

"Heyyy, don't lose all hope," Trista patted her shoulder. "Maybe you can turn yourself into a God Eater…or heh, an AGE yourself for a change. I can teach ya how to fight fast with whatever God Arc you get from your twin sis."

"No thanks. I'm not a fighter type," Faith shrugged. "Plus I love my job selling stuff, anyway. I'll just keep looking."

"There you go," Trista smiled. "But hey, I'm 20, and not even a single hair worried about not having a boyfriend yet. How old are you, anyway?"

"I'm only 16," Faith murmured.

"Oh, pshh. Still a kid," Trista shrugged. "And yet, ya already got nice boobies. Can I touch 'em?"

"No!" Faith covered her chest with a pout. "Hands off limits."

"I was just kidding," Trista chuckled. "But damn! I don't think you'll have trouble finding a guy at all, seriously."

Then she glanced at the two blueheads, who were watching very closely. "What in the hell..? Is it just me, or are they still like that for the past few minutes?"

"Seems like it," Faith murmured. "They look totally zoned out."

"Heh, sending their 'love energies' to them while fighting," Trista grinned. "Aww, they're so cute. Wanna give them a stir?"

"Uh, I guess..?" Faith shrugged.

"Let's go," Trista grinned.

"Oh, jeez. What is that She-Wolf up to now?" Jerad murmured.

"Huh?" Claire turned to him, and saw him pointing at Trista who was slowly approaching the two other girls with Faith.

"Oh, whatever," Jerad closed his eyes. "By the way, where is Shin?"

Then he started glancing around, and found him standing alone near the training weapon racks, facing away from them. He frowned in response.

"What is it..?" Claire asked with concern.

"It's fine," Jerad replied. "Stay here for a bit. Just want to talk to him."

"Hm?" Phym looked at him while still sitting on his lap. "Daddy?"

"Stay here with mommy," Jerad stroked her head. "Just want to talk to Shin."

"Can I go with you..?" Phym murmured.

"...Alright, fine," Jerad put Phym down.

"I-I'll go, too," Claire stood up. "Now you mentioned it. I'm also concerned."

"OK," Jerad also stood up, and the three started walking together.

Halfway through, Phym ran ahead of the two much to her daddy's surprise.

"Um, Shin..?" Phym tugged his scarf.

"Oh..," Shin paused before hesitantly turning to her. "Phym..? What's up?"

"Are you okay..?" Phym tilted her head.

"I'll be fine..," Shin turned back. "Don't worry about me…"

"You're so cool," Phym beamed.

"Hm..?" Shin turned again.

"You were..spinning and spinning with your stick," Phym beamed. "It looked so fun."

"Heh," Shin smiled. "I appreciate it, Phym. But…"

"She just had to beat me to it, huh?" Jerad chuckled.

"Oh..," Shin turned to him in surprise before frowning. "Remember those times in Pennywort, right?"

"...Yeah," Jerad murmured.

"How I couldn't win a single duel, and those guards used to call me a 'loser,' 'weakling,' or 'wimp. A "failure of an AGE,"" Shin began gritting his teeth. "Have I always been a drag to you..? Back then when you used to teach me how to fight..?"

And Claire raised her eyes, realizing that she was not the first person Jerad trained.

"Never thought of it," Jerad shook his head. "At least you're trying, and you always did your part, anyway. Attacking Aragami from behind while we kept them busy. Worked every time."

"Heh, it was all I'm good at," Shin murmured. "I don't believe in fighting fair, but sometimes..I think I'm just being a coward."

"But that's what ninjas do, right?" Jerad shrugged with a smile. "If those TV shows are accurate, they're only doing what they can to stay alive. Plus, who cares about being fair? Killing Aragami isn't a game like Hugo used to always chew me with, and no one here ever complained about how you fight."

Then Claire cleared her throat. "And yet you still find joy in fighting, and slaying them..?"

"Because I can," Jerad grinned at her before turning back to Shin. "Anyway, you gotta do what you gotta do, and if anyone whines about you, then that's their problem. They better figure it out themselves."

"Hm," Shin closed his eyes.

"Also, about what Lulu is saying..," Jerad scratched his head. "No one here is gonna give you crap about losing, and no one here thinks you suck, alright? I honestly thought you put up a good fight with her, and you should have heard what everyone was saying while they're watching you."

Then Shin raised his head.

"You had our two new people drop their jaws watching you," Jerad chuckled. "And then I think you almost gave Zeke a heart attack when you did that whatever you call it. You jumping and spinning sideways with your stick out thing. You could have knocked his woman out if that really hit her."

Then he chuckled again as Shin smiled.

"Mmm, that's not funny, you know..?" Claire rested her hands on her waist, pouting. "She could have suffered a concussion, and possibly be brought to emergency care."

"Lastly, hey. Even the She-Wolf was kinda rooting for you," Jerad grinned as Shin raised his eyes. "She said at least you still tried putting up in that fight, even though you weren't good with the stick. So cheer up a bit, OK?"

"Yeah, daddy is right, Shin," Phym cheerfully raised her hand. "You're so cool. Spinning and swinging. Um…"

Then she paused. "Just..trust yourself."

"Heh," Shin smiled as Jerad, and Claire chuckled.

"I got my ass kicked by that Daris guy, if that makes you feel better," Jerad scratched his head. "You're also a vice captain in our Port, and run your own badass unit for crying out loud. What do I have compared to you..?"

'H-huh..?' Claire almost stuttered.

"Anyway, come hang out with us three whenever you can," Jerad placed his hands on his waist. "No one is going to talk you down, and if god forbid someone does, I'll challenge HIM or HER to a duel, and then plant my boot in HIS or HER ass in a few seconds. Guaranteed. I can do another one, just so you know."

"Jerad, that's a bit…overbearing," Claire crossed her arms. "No one is really going to do that."

"I'm just saying it, just in case," Jerad replied.

And Claire sighed in response. "Fine. I digress."

Then Shin chuckled. "It's alright. Thanks."

"Okay," Jerad nodded. "I'll see you later."

He gave him a thumbs up before the three turned away.

"Wait..," Shin almost whispered, and the three turned back. "Could you help me learn about spear fighting..?"

"Huh," Jerad paused before chuckling. "Damn. I've been starting to think about it, actually. Been getting bored of the way I've been fighting, and figured I could learn a thing or two from you after watching you for a while. Yeah, of course I'm down. Gonna do this during this stupid reclamation."

"Huh..," Shin paused before making a faint smile. "Alright, thanks."

"Just curious, but why not Lulu?" Jerad murmured. "She has the same weapon as you."

"...Because she's the one I owed a rematch to," Shin murmured. "It won't be right to ask her."

"OK, you got it," Jerad murmured. "I won't go easy on you, so get ready for a bit of beating."

"I'll really appreciate it if you don't," Shin furrowed his eyes. "Woop me into shape. Do what you have to do."

"Alrighty," Jerad shrugged.

Then Shin glanced at Claire. "And of course, Claire takes priority. She needs your training more than I do."

"It's okay," Claire murmured. "I don't mind taking turns."

"Guess that's settled," Jerad smiled.

"Cha-ching!"

"Jiggle-JIGGLE!"

"Eeek!"

Hearing that scream, the four turned.

"What the..?" Jerad almost gasped. "Sis…"

"T-that damn She-Wolf did it!" Shin widened his eyes.

And Claire grimaced.

"Hm?" Phym glanced at the two men. "She also did that to mommy. It was scary…"

"P-Phym! P-please don't be saying these kinds of things around them," Claire warned.

"Huh?" Jerad turned to her. "What do you mean..? Oh…"

"Jerad..," Claire glared at him as she covered her chest. "Don't be having any lewd thoughts…"

"OK..," Jerad slowly turned away.

"Hm? That sounds like Frida," Levin murmured while holding his sword against Hugo, and glanced at her direction. "W-what?"

"Hmph! Let's put this on hold for now," Hugo withdrew his sword.

"Ohhh," Faith grinned. "We're about the same age, are we? You definitely have good form, and I'm quite envious of that. Tee hee."

"Dammit..! I honestly didn't expect one to scream like that," Trista whined. "But I finally got you, my dear Misha. Not as big as Claire's, but you definitely got that sweet spot of softness and firmness to it. Hmm?"

Then Trista gave her a few more light squeezes before Misha pried her hands away, and glared at her. Frida also broke away in kind.

"B-big sis..!" Misha blushed in bright red, pouting heavily. "What was that for?! That was embarrassing!"

"Why..?" Frida covered her chest, also blushing.

"You two were pretty zoned out," Trista grinned. "Just thought we should wake you up."

"O-of course we are," Misha kept pouting.

"Heh, see? They even admitted it," Trista pointed at them before laughing together with Faith.

"Really? You two..?" Hugo grimaced. "This isn't the time for horseplaying. We're in a training session, and not to mention you're our referee, too. So, please take your job seriously. Levin and I had to put our match on hold just for your few second prank?"

"You could have just kept fighting, you know?" Trista shrugged.

"After hearing my employee screaming?" Levin also grimaced. "I'm sorry but I cannot simply ignore that no matter where I am, because to me, that's a scream of a person in distress."

And Frida froze as she was reminded of the time she was cornered by a small group of Ogretails, and when the one in front of her opened its jaws, she screamed to her seemingly inevitable death before it was suddenly sliced in half by Levin, and then the rest of House Victorious God Eaters soon followed, slaying Aragami in her vicinity to the last. Still shocked and speechless at that time, Levin reached his hand to her, but instead of taking his hand, she suddenly latched onto him and cried on his shoulder. She was the only survivor when he arrived.

"Oh, man. This is so funny," Zeke laughed before glancing at Phym. "Heyy, what's up, Phym?"

He patted her head. "So, anyway, look at that. Trista, and…even Faith? They're really getting their asses chewed by the boss himself."

Then he laughed again before glancing at Shin, and leaned forward, hands resting on his waist. "By the way, you OK, man? Don't let it get you down, alright? I used to get called 'dumb' or 'idiot' all the time back in prison, and I didn't give a single damn. I just wished I had yours, and Keith's brains."

"Heh," Shin turned away.

"You're a smart guy, seriously," Zeke commented. "Probably even as smart as Keith, and yet you can fight better than him."

Then Shin snorted. "There was a saying that strength is everything for AGEs back in prison, remember..?"

"Bah. I call bullshit on that," Zeke waved his hand. "You've been showing us that you can use your smarts in fighting, and you even got Lulu on the run for her money with a couple of surprise moves you did. You should feel lucky that you're born with a brain. Not everyone is smart, but anyone can have muscles. Look at our devil bro here."

He wrapped his arm around Jerad's neck.

"H-hey," Jerad froze as Claire giggled.

"This guy here has a little of both," Zeke grinned. "That's what makes him so dangerous. Haha!"

"...I don't know what part of my fighting makes me smart," Jerad furrowed his eyes.

"You kidding me?" Zeke grimaced. "Can you guess how many times I've watched you dodge Aragami attacks before you hit them where it hurts? I lost count. You seem to have memo'ed how every single one of them move. I can't even react as fast as you, and Shin. I'm too damn slow for that."

Then he released him. "Anyway, just do some more lifting. You've already been doing it with your upside down pushups thing, but you gotta get the pump like all of us boys already did. Got it? Time to hit the weights."

And Shin sighed. "Alright, I'll give it a try."

"Seriously, Trista. These immature pranks can be done elsewhere, okay?" Lulu lectured. "Definitely not in this one."

"Fine, fine. Guilty as charged," Trista shrugged.

"And as much as I like you for your business with us, I'll also have to hold you accountable for this, Faith," Lulu grimaced. "Please do not help her cause any mischief."

"Sure, sorry," Faith replied in monotone.

"Now Levin and I have to 'start' over again," Hugo sighed. "So, please. Do your job."

"OK, got it," Trista plainly nodded. "Alright, split up."

Meanwhile, the four boys including Keith who came to them only a moment ago laughed, and they watched Trista.

"Looks like it's about to start again," Zeke chuckled. "And oh man, Hugo must be really pissed."

"Tch. Now we know she does it," Shin murmured. "Amber and Selene weren't lying at all. What is she? A boob connoisseur?"

Then the three boys laughed except Claire and Phym.

"Amber, and Selene..?" Claire murmured.

"Remember the candy blondie, and the kid newbie in Shin's unit?" Jerad asked.

"Ooh, candy girl," Phym beamed.

"Yes, I definitely remember them," Claire murmured. "But I don't see the relevance."

"Oh," Shin paused. "About two years ago, they confided to me about her. They asked me to try stopping her shower room pranks on them as their vice captain..the same thing she just did, but I couldn't do anything for obvious reasons so I told them they had to deal with it themselves."

"Oh," Claire paused. 'That explains those two warning me and Misha during that time.'

"Honestly, I really wished I could have helped them, but I'm off-limits as a guy," Shin shrugged.

"I..understand," Claire replied.

"By the way, I'm still looking for someone to spar with, but I just can't make up my damn mind," Zeke scratched his head. "I already fought Hugo, and Levin's gonna need a break after this one…"

"How about Lulu?" Jerad grinned. "Kinda surprised you didn't think of her at all…"

"What..? No way!" Zeke shook his head. "And WHAT part of that is surprising to you?"

"Really? I thought you would enjoy getting beaten around by her again," Jerad flashed his eyebrows as Shin chuckled.

"I told you man, it wasn't anything like that!" Zeke crossed his arms.

"Then how about the She-Wolf?" Jerad smiled. "She wields a heavy like you."

"Definitely no-go," Zeke shook his head. "After seeing her fight Hugo, I wouldn't last against that beast woman."

"Just for the note, but don't let her hear that," Shin chuckled. "Or she WILL be your next opponent."

"Oh..alright," Zeke shuddered. "Hmm, how about you and I fight, Jerad?"

"Uh, what..?" Jerad paused.

Then Keith laughed. "Bro, considering your parameters, I don't think Jerad was any better choice than Hugo, Trista, or even Lulu."

"Yeah, but..," Zeke scratched his head. "I think Jerad can match well in power with me..even with a spear."

"Oh," Claire paused.

"I see now," Jerad snickered. "Honestly, I can handle another match. With my sis out of the way now, been wondering who my next opponent should be, but I guess I'll square off with you. Let's do it."

"Hell yeah," Zeke armlet bumped with him.

"Not gonna be easy on you," Jerad grinned.

"No problem," Zeke grinned back. "I won't go easy on ya, either. Let's rock this whole place up."

"Now you're talking," Jerad chuckled as Claire giggled.

"Oh, they're already fighting, so should we go back?" Zeke asked.

"Yeah sure," Jerad nodded. "How about you, Shin? Coming with us?"

"I wanna stick out here a little longer," Shin murmured. "You guys go ahead. I'll catch on."

"Alright," Jerad nodded. "I'll see you soon."

"HUUAH!"

Hugo and Levin already clashed their swords multiple times before Levin managed to parry one of Hugo's swings in an attempt for a quick retaliation, but Hugo was able to react in time to jump away.

"Not bad for a rewarm up, eh?" Hugo smiled. "Starting to like you even more."

"I could say the same, friend," Levin smiled back.

"Let's make the most of these few minutes we have left," Hugo smiled.

"Likewise," Levin smiled back.

"Let's do this!" Hugo readied himself.

"Where have you guys been?" Lulu asked.

"We just had a chit-chat with Shin, that's all," Zeke replied.

"Oh," Lulu paused before glancing at Shin's direction. "Is he alright..?"

"He'll be fine," Jerad smiled. "He said he'll eventually catch up with us."

"I bear no ill will for him..," Lulu turned away, and saw Trista and Faith snickering with each other. "But I truly believe he needs to stop letting his past hold him back. That's all I want him to understand."

"I got it," Jerad shrugged. "He already asked me to train him..if that gives you an assurance."

"Oh..I see," Lulu turned back.

"Heh, you better get ready once Shin stick fights with you again," Zeke grinned. "Jerad will make a devil out of him before he rematches with you."

"Then I'll look forward to it," Lulu replied. "After all, that's what I told him."

"And listen, Jerad and I are gonna fight next," Zeke grinned.

"Oh..?" Lulu paused. "You're quite brave…"

"Can't tell if that's compliment, or sarcasm," Zeke furrowed his eyes with suspicion. "Which one?"

"...Both," Lulu replied. "Not even I'd want to challenge him yet, but I can't stop you. Go for it, by any means. I'd like to see how you'll fare up."

"Thanks," Zeke said in monotone.

"You're gonna have to wait a bit on that, Zeke," Trista suddenly walked over to them. "Frida, and I are up next. I already talked to her."

"I don't mind waiting a little bit more," Jerad waved his hand.

"Wait, YOU versus a NEWBIE?" Zeke's eyes widened.

"I don't know if newbie is the right way to describe her," Trista chuckled. "Her Grace chose her to bodyguard one of her VIPs, so I could expect her to give me at least a bit of fun. Right, Claire?"

"...Yes," Claire replied. "I cannot say Frida is inexperienced, and as a matter of fact, I can certainly tell you that she was a better God Eater than me before I came here."

"Before you met Jerad, and he starts beating you into shape," Trista grinned. "How about now? Think you can stand toe to toe with her?"

"Hm..," Claire mused. "I don't know."

"Heh, to think twice about that, she must be something else," Jerad chuckled. "I wonder how she'll compare to my sis."

"There's only one way to find out," Trista snickered. "By driving her into the edge. Although..she made quite a long face when I challenged her. She looked a bit shaken, but agreed anyway."

"Because you need to stop scaring her," Lulu fumed.

"Bah! I think she just needs more confidence," Trista grinned.

"Experience had nothing to do with it," Lulu shot back. "I've always been confident in my skills. Did you think I was comfortable with everyone here when I recently joined?"

"Oh, hell do I know," Trista glared back. "I wasn't around when you joined our fold, but if I was there when you fought them, you wouldn't-!"

"Hey, hey. Easy now, OK?" Zeke carefully waved his hands. "There's only about a minute now, so Tris, you might want to start keeping an eye on those two, and blow that whistle once it's down."

"Tch! Fine then," Trista withdrew herself. "Going back to playing referee. See ya..!"

Then she left.

"Good job on that," Jerad chuckled.

"Oh, hell," Zeke wearily sighed. "I think we just saved ourselves from another calamity."

"I heard that, Zeke," Lulu hissed. "What do you make me, and Trista out to be..?"

And the two men froze. "Uhh…"

"Lulu, please relax," Claire giggled. "They don't mean anything bad at all."

"Alright," Lulu sighed. "I'm sorry. I must be getting a little tired. I'll just watch the rest of the match, and take a breather."

And she left.

"Did I miss something..?" Shin finally joined them.

"Heyyy, our guy Shin is finally back," Zeke chuckled. "But, oh man. Your captain, and Lulu almost had a fight, and I quelled another disaster."

And Shin chuckled. "Oh..really?"

"HUUAH!"

Hugo, and Levin held their swords against each other. Their sweats are already starting to drench their own clothes.

"Heh, you have quite an endurance," Hugo smiled.

"I don't exercise for no reason," Levin gritted his teeth. "Haah!"

With Hugo pushed back, Levin followed with a few swings but Hugo eventually blocked it. The two held against each other for a few moments before they both broke away, and swung at each other. However, both missed.

"There is a certain style about you," Hugo took a steady deep breath. "A certain pattern that I just can't grasp."

Then Frida raised her eyes.

"Hm," Levin smirked. "I knew you'll eventually figure it out. I was going to save it for a little later, but alas, I'll have to show you quite sooner."

"Hmph..," Hugo braced himself, keeping a firm grip of his sword. "And what would that be, if you don't mind."

"I practiced HEMA, Longsword fighting," Levin smiled.

"Come again?" Hugo paused.

"Historical European Martial Arts," Levin explained. "There are many other disciplines in HEMA, including fencing, and even spear fighting. Longsword fighting is just one of the many."

"Fencing..?" Trista paused. "Isn't that what Adrian is..?"

"Adrian..?" Misha turned to her.

"One of my guys," Trista replied. "He's always so damn proud of it. Annoying at times, but you can't deny his skill for it."

"I think I roughly remember him," Jerad murmured. "The guy who likes poking Aragami?"

"Yeah!" Trista nodded.

"I see," Hugo furrowed his eyes. "That's quite interesting."

"I guess I'll have to demonstrate it now," Levin held his sword. "Are you ready?"

"Come," Hugo provokingly swung his sword over. "Show me."

"Very well," Levin smiled, also holding his sword at the ready. "Here I come."

Then Levin rushed in as Hugo prepared to counter, and as Levin closed in, Hugo thrusted his sword forward, but Levin lightly parried his sword to his right, and thrusted forward in kind.

"Crap!" Hugo watched in horror as Levin thrusted his sword towards him. He swerved his head to his right on time, and Levin's sword zoomed past him. Able to anticipate his next move, Hugo ducked as Levin swung his sword over his head, and somewhat panicking from Levin easily breaking through his defense, he quickly retaliated with aggressive swings, but after a few blocks, he managed to push Levin back.

'Holy..,' Hugo calmly exhaled. 'He's suddenly a different guy, and one reckless move could be a swift end for me. I never imagined he would be like Shin, and Lulu, and coming from a highly reputable family, I should have known! I probably underestimated him a little too much. I must stay calm, and focused!'

And Levin rushed again.

'Crap! Here he goes again!' Hugo almost gasped before Levin clashed with him again. He shoved him back before aggressively following with a strike, but Levin only swatted Hugo's sword with minimal movement, and attempted a strike to his neck. Able to quickly react to this, Hugo ducked before Levin's sword swung over him, and then seeing his opponent open, he attempted a side swing, but Levin blocked his sword before thrusting forward. Shocked by this, Hugo tilted his head to the right as Levin's sword slid past him, and alarmed by this counterattack, he jumped back in retreat, but kept his sword forward in case Levin lunges for him. Surprised and relieved by this, Hugo took a slow deep breath as he watched his opponent resume his stance, seemingly waiting for him to make his next move.

'There's got to be a way to get through him,' Hugo nervously mused. 'But it's like trying to break through a shield with spikes on it. Attacking him only puts me in a bigger pinch…'

Then he raised his eyes. 'Timing. I remembered the Far East guy wrote that fighting in the Way of Strategy is about timing. Maybe I could somehow…'

And he firmly held his sword. 'All attacks have recovery. Maybe if I can somehow strike him in those times.'

Then he dashed forward with his sword pointing forward, and in response, Levin assumed a defensive stance before blocking Hugo's thrust. Levin allowed his opponent's sword to slide with his before firmly holding his own, and Hugo, anticipating this, also stiffened his sword to prevent his opponent from sliding his own toward him.

"Hmph," Levin furrowed his eyes as he kept his push on Hugo, but his opponent would not budge. "Starting to learn my techniques, huh?"

"Heh," Hugo smiled. "It was simple, but impressive, nevertheless."

"I have more where that's coming from, friend," Levin faintly.

"Me, too," Hugo confidently kept his smile. "I have something new to try! Haa!"

"Historical European Martial Arts..," Lulu rubbed her chin. "I've never heard of it…"

"Me, either," Jerad shrugged. "That's the first I heard of it, but don't you also practice a kind of art? You never really know about this?"

"Not at all," Lulu shook her head. "All I know until now are martial arts from the Far East. There's karate which I have, and then there's judo, aikido, jujutsu, and now…"

She turned to Shin. "Ninjitsu."

"I hate talking to others about mine, but..," Shin scratched his head. "But ninjitsu doesn't have a true form of hand to hand combat."

"The hell do you mean, Shin?" Trista grimaced. "In a fist fight, no one could ever hope to kick your ass, even Daris."

"...What?" Lulu raised her eyes in shock.

"Uh huh..?" Trista nodded. "He even easily threw him down when he first swung him in a ring during training. Swing at him the wrong way, and you'll quickly kiss the floor."

"Holy crap, Shin," Jerad stared at him in shock. "Daris is even about half a foot taller than you. How did you even-?"

"Hm..," Lulu closed her eyes for a few seconds. "I'm not fond of bringing up my past, but…ever since I earned my black belt in Baran, no one ever stood against me again. I trained hard for it."

"Oh ho, seriously," Trista grinned. "Maybe my right hand man here could give you some fun. Whaddya say?"

"Wait, what?!" Shin turned to her in shock. "Are you cock fighting us?!"

"Oh, stop being a bitch," Trista rebuked. "After Daris, you've been avoiding fist fights ever since, and I even thought you might be looking for a worthy opponent."

"Just because..," Shin paused.

"I'm getting quite curious myself," Lulu put her hand on her hip. "I would like to see your prowess in hand-to-hand combat, and it doesn't have to be today. Can be later on. Whenever you're ready."

"Hm," Shin closed his eyes. "Okay, the truth is, I'm a bit wary of fist matches."

"Hm..?" Lulu raised her eyes.

"A lot of my techniques could hurt or kill somebody, even if used in practice," Shin murmured. "In those matches back in Chrysanthemum, I've been trying my best to hold back so I won't hurt anyone, and after that, I'd rather not risk it anymore. I already almost injured a couple of Daris' men before I fought him myself…"

"Like how?" Zeke waved his hands.

"...Can't say," Shin sighed.

"And why stingy..?" Zeke furrowed his eyes.

"Do you want your enemies to know what you're capable of?" Shin argued. "That's the simple reason."

"I think I'll be fine," Lulu stepped forward. "A lot of people got injured in Baran during training, and I survived them. I also have my own set of techniques that can be fatal, but I can trust you in not misusing yours as much as I trust mine. So, what do you think?"

"Hm," Shin closed his eyes. "Alright. Let's spar sometime later."

"Haa!"

The two opponents clashed before holding their swords against each other.

"Your counters are frightening, I have to say," Hugo gritted his teeth.

"I'm not done yet," Levin also gritted his teeth.

"I'm not done yet, either," Hugo replied. "I still have some tricks to show you."

"Demonstrate it, then," Levin pushed his sword further.

"Gladly," Hugo murmured before he swatted Levin back.

The two went into a series of swings and clashes before Hugo rushed in, and eagerly waiting for this, Levin made a certain stance before waiting for Hugo's strike to reach him. As he anticipated, Levin let his opponent's sword slide with his, and already used to this, Hugo ducked in anticipation before Levin missed his swing. The graze only about an inch above Hugo's head made the two blue haired girls gasp.

"You're starting to adapt to my techniques," Levin grimaced.

"Heh," Hugo smirked. "Yeah, and I'm glad we fought each other. I learned a few things."

"I'm honored as well," Levin smirked back. "Glad to have the opportunity to duel someone who slew an ashborn."

"I'm flattered," Hugo smiled. "It was a great fight. Let's end this, shall we?"

"I agree, friend," Levin smiled back.

"Let's do this!" Hugo gripped his sword before the two charged at each other again. They entered another series of clashes until Hugo began noticing Levin's impatience.

'That's right. Just keep swinging aggressively at me like that,' Hugo calmly mused as he swerved from Levin's swing. 'Just waiting for that right attack…There!'

With Hugo's anxious patience, Levin made a downswing, but he blocked it, and as he anticipated, Levin pivoted his sword on Hugo's in an attempt to strike around his defense for his right neck, but as if time became slow, Hugo watched Levin's blade approach him.

'Just a bit more…now!' Hugo thrusted and slid his sword along Levin's, and in a split second, his blade was near his neck…just as Levin also reached Hugo's neck.

The two men froze for a few seconds before Hugo exhaled.

"Shit..!" Levin almost murmured to a whisper, and to his own shock for accidentally muttering a profanity. He was never the kind who would use profane words, even in dire times, and could only pray that Frida and especially Claire did not hear him.

"I got you, first," Hugo murmured while keeping his eyes locked at him, and twitched his sword near Levin's neck.

"Ah..," Levin almost gasped, but also glanced at his sword that was also near Hugo's neck. "But my sword is near your neck as well."

"You two, which one of us hit first? You were in the best spot to see it," Hugo turned to the girls.

"I..I think it was you," Misha murmured.

"I..," Frida painfully frowned. "I agree with her. Hugo reached him first..by a split second."

"Yeah..," Trista slowly nodded. "It was so hard to tell from where I was at, but between a swing and a thrust, I'd say Hugo likely got this one."

"Oh..," Levin sighed. "Then I'll concede."

"Hoo," Hugo finally withdrew his sword, and stood back. "That was a tough fight, but I really enjoyed it."

Then Levin laughed. "It was truly a good fight, and I fought my best. Thank you for the good match."

"Me, too, buddy," Hugo smiled before they passed their own swords to their left, and shook hands.

"I'll look forward to another match in the future," Levin smiled. "I will make sure I'm stronger next time."

"Count me in," Hugo smiled. "I'll be stronger, too. I'll never settle."

Then Hugo raised his right arm while still holding his sword, and puzzled at first, Levin also raised his right hand before bumping each other with their armlets.

"HEMA longsword fighting, huh?" Hugo chuckled.

"I would teach you, if you are interested, my friend," Levin smirked.

"Uh, yeah. But are you sure?" Hugo rubbed the back of his head. "I mean, we are going to fight again, so it's kinda awkward for an opponent to pass me his skills."

"Rubbish," Levin shook his head with a chuckle. "We are teammates, too. I teach you a few things to help you grow, and I also grow as I spar with you more often in the future. I see no harm in this."

Then Hugo laughed. "Ah, I see now."

"OK, take a break, you two," Trista raised her hands. "Frida and I are up next. Hmhm."

"C-come again..?" Levin paused. "Frida..?"

"Yeah," Trista grinned without a care. "Gotta see what your loyal bodyguard is capable of. Haha!"

And she turned to grab her training heavy moon.

"Uh..," Levin slowly turned to his blue haired bodyguard. "Frida…are you sure of this?"

"Y-yes..," Frida quickly nodded. "I won't back down..!"

"Very well," Levin nodded. "Please prepare."

"Yes, sir," Frida nodded again before she quickly began sprinting, but she suddenly paused.

"U-um, si-...I mean, Levin..?"

"Hm?" Levin turned to her. "What is it? Is something the matter?"

"I-I'm sorry..," Frida looked away with a frown, not wanting to face him.

"For what..?" Levin blinked his eyes.

"I chose Hugo as the winner," Frida murmured. "But I was truly rooting for you. Please believe me."

"Oh, thank you," Levin paused. "But there's no need to worry. I actually appreciated your impartial judgment."

Then Frida finally turned to him.

"I would rather face meaningful defeats than questionable victories," Levin smiled. "Because there are always true lessons with them."

"A-ah, I see..," Frida murmured.

"Trista is a formidable opponent," Levin warned. "Just give your all, no matter the circumstances. That's all I ask."

"U-understood, si-Levin," Frida firmly nodded. "I'll do my best. If you'll excuse me."

Then Frida ran to the rack to catch up with her opponent as Trista recently took her training weapon and inspected it.

"You ready for this?" Trista hung her training heavy moon on her back.

"Y-yes," Frida nodded after she took her staff.

"You better give me your 110%, girl," Trista eerily grinned. "Because I ain't playing around."

"I..will," Frida glared at her before firmly placing the bottom of her staff on the deck.

And Trista snickered at this. "Alright, then. Let's go."

Jerad chuckled. "That girl looks really nervous."

"I don't blame her," Claire murmured. "Considering how much Trista has been pushing her today, and now she has seen her fight Hugo."

"Huh, and that's just the tip of the iceberg," Jerad murmured. "She ain't seen anything yet. She hasn't even seen her fight in the field. She is MUCH worse."

"I know," Claire held her chest. "I would feel the same if I was in her position."

"Don't worry about it," Jerad shook his head with a smile.

"Hm?" Claire turned to him.

"I won't let you fight the She-Wolf yet," Jerad chuckled. "And if she wants to push for it, I'll tell her she has to get through me, first."

Then he snickered as Phym giggled.

"Daddy's protecting mommy?" Phym smiled.

"Quiet, you..," Jerad lightly karate chopped her head. "But yeah…somewhat."

"S-somewhat..?" Claire murmured in a near silent whisper, feeling her heart fall.

"OK, you two are ready for this?" Hugo asked the two girls.

"More than ready," Trista tugged the large wooden weapon behind her back with confidence.

"So smug," Shin grimaced.

"Hey, come on. This should be a fun watch," Zeke grinned.

"I wouldn't worry if Tris' opponent is either Jerad, Misha, or Hugo," Shin replied with his arms crossed. "But against Frida? Come on. She could barely even keep up with that She-Wolf's heavy lifting regimen."

"Hey, didn't I hear that Frida is among one of House Victorious' best knights?" Zeke waved his hand.

"That's correct," Levin suddenly said behind them. "And if I may say so as her… 'master,' I'm also not worried at all, regardless of whether she loses or not."

"Oh," Zeke paused.

"Frida spent most of her time training as a new enlistee," Levin further explained. "And even at times, was personally trained with my aunt among me and Claire. It was almost as if the three of us grew up together."

"Whoa, you three are closer than I thought," Zeke commented.

"She looked up to our aunt very much," Levin murmured. "And with that, I believe she won't let us down."

"I am," Frida murmured.

"Alright, same rules," Hugo replied. "Split on both ends, and ready yourselves."

Then the two girls walked to the ends of the ring.

"Ready?" Hugo placed his whistle in his lips. "Start!"

And he blew the whistle in two short bursts, and jogged backwards before the two girls stood their combat stances. The two opponents faced each other for what seemed like long moments before Frida grimaced, and leapt towards the She-Wolf. In response, Trista made her eager grin before blocking her opponent's attack with the flat side of her moon with ease, and she snickered.

"Been wondering when you'll make your first move," Trista kept her grin. "I was starting to worry that we'll be fossils by that time."

Then she laughed as Frida gritted her teeth with a hiss before she swung her off, and continued her pursuit for the wolf. She continued aggressively swinging at her opponent, occasionally spinning her body with her stick as Trista easily blocked them as she continued stepping back. As Trista knew she was moving near the end of the ring, Frida raised her staff for a hard downswing, and quite to her shock, Trista blocked her staff with the edge of her moon without moving an inch back with one hand.

"Is that all you got..? I can't even feel them..," Trista murmured with a serious tone as Frida kept her pressure on her with their weapons shuddering. "You thought you had me in a corner, did ya?"

And Frida hissed again.

"If you thought that's all it takes to beat me, then you'll have a lot coming for ya," Trista began slowly pushing back. "I just wanted to feel you for a bit, but I'm about to show you how a real God Eater fights. Better brace yourself."

Then Frida's eyes started widening with fear.

"Also, try lasting long enough to entertain me," Trista's grin faded into a cold glare, also baring her fangs as she held her moon with her other hand. "My turn!"

And she ferociously swatted her off before quickly rushing back at her. Without wasting a moment, Trista began her series of aggressive swings, and even to her astonishment, Frida was also able to dodge her, but also during that moment, she was also starting to feel the weight of her swings with that large weapon. The thought of being hit once by that is starting to become more terrifying.

"Quite impressive..," Trista paused as she gripped her moon with an intent to up her ante. "For someone who uses a pole, you're pretty light on your feet, but just how long are you going to keep dodging?"

Then Frida stood her fighting stance as Trista charged at her again, and began her swings. Her tireless ferocity is starting to wear her down.

"You can't win by dodging forever!" Trista cried as she kept swinging at her. "You're also starting to bore me, and even a feather-hitting Shin was able to fight back with just his pair of knives. You better start figuring this out yourself. Am I fighting air, or what?!"

And Shin groaned while Jerad and Zeke chuckled.

"I'd say take it as a compliment," Jerad kept chuckling. "Fighting with knives against a hulk of a woman with a big ass God Arc?"

"Hmph! Turtling all the time is a no-brainer, either," Shin grimaced. "Who is she to talk..?"

"You ready for another round?" Trista smirked. "Next, I'll show you why I'm a captain of an elite squad in my Port."

Then Frida's eyes widened.

"Here goes..," Trista swung her off, and leapt at her again. More relentless than ever, Trista's swings felt heavier for Frida that she started feeling wind with each pass of her heavy moon.

"You better strike back within three swings or I'll end you!" Trista kept swinging. "Three! Two..!"

And after Trista made her back swing, Frida ducked before desperately finding an opening, and rushed at her with a cry, holding her staff on her left side. However, anticipating this with a smirk, Trista quickly folded her right hand in, and pointed her moon at her leaping opponent as if she was holding a brass knuckle. Frida gasped with regret at this.

"Haa!"

With a lapse of reaction, Frida narrowly raised her staff in front of her in time as Trista thrusted her heavy moon at her, and gritting her teeth, Trista continued pushing against her with a single hand as Frida slid her boots several yards back towards the end of the ring until they stopped only a foot from the white line.

With the amount of her strength exerted from successfully bracing the She-Wolf's thrust, Frida whimpered.

"Really..?" Trista grimaced as she kept pressing on Frida. "Even as a regular God Eater, I was still expecting you to land some weight on me because I can even feel Ricardo's, and Captain Daris' when I fought each of them once. Your hits are nothing even compared to Shin! Is this really all you got?! What would Sofia THINK of you if she's watching you right now? Entrusting one of her important relative's lives to you?!"

Then Frida gasped.

"Just give your all, no matter the circumstances. That's all I ask."

"I'm not sure if I already told you yet, but one of my pups also uses the same weapon as YOU!" Trista further pressed her moon against her. "And he puts up better! What's your damn excuse?!"

"You..!" Frida gritted her teeth before she began pushing back, and to her joy, Trista could see that a fire of determination began lighting in her eyes. "Don't you dare insult Your Grace's name..! HAA!"

Frida ruthlessly swung her to the side, and to her surprise, Trista quickly regained her footing, seeing her boot only half an inch from the white line. Hearing Frida's cry, Trista quickly raised her head before seeing her opponent desperately rush at her with her staff raised, and their weapons clashed.

"That's the way I like it," Trista snickered. "Keep it up, girl! Let's make this fun for both of us!"

"I'll win no matter what!" Frida cried.

"Let's see about that, mini Reaper," Trista laughed.

"Mini reaper..," Jerad facepalmed with a smile before he chuckled, also glancing at his sister. "Oh, jeez…"

Then Shin, Lulu, and Zeke began chuckling as Misha pouted, crossing her arms.

In the ring, Frida kept her ferocious swings at Trista, and while her newly found ironwill is much stronger, her body started feeling heavier.

After a few more swings, Trista suddenly raised her heavy moon, and blocked her staff with her flatside. "Already slowing down? I haven't even started sweating yet."

Then Frida hissed before attempting another swing, but Trista also swung against it, and knocked her back. Quickly following up, Trista rushed in.

"My turn again! Let me give you a little break!" Trista began her own ferocious attacks.

"Oh, crap. Frida is now in a big pinch!" Zeke cried, unaware that Levin was close enough to listen while watching with his arms crossed. "Damned She-Wolf. Why the hell would that woman challenge her, anyway? She's a newbie, and I always thought she wanted a good fight. That makes NO sense, whatsoever."

Then Lulu sighed. "Beats me. She has been picking on her since she came here, and I would honestly rather she challenge me instead. I could have given her the fight she wanted."

"Give her a nice ass whooping, if you get the chance, would ya?" Zeke snickered, grinning.

"Certainly," Lulu gave him a firm answer, also stroking her bangs. "I'm a duelist myself."

"She could be mine first, but that depends on situation, though," Jerad smirked.

"What do you mean 'depending?'" Zeke furrowed his eyes.

"If she challenges Claire, she'll have to get through me, first," Jerad made an evil smirk. "And she won't."

"Aw, how cute," Zeke teased before Lulu, and Misha giggled. "You cocky bastard."

"I'm not cocky. I know," Jerad flashed his eyes with a grin. "I'll show you."

"So smug," Zeke growled, clenching his hand. "I'll show you what the Hammer Zeke can do, you damned devil."

"I can't wait," Jerad snickered while the girls giggled again.

Back in the ring, Trista was still relentlessly swinging at her, but Frida's fatigue was starting to wear her down, and after Trista's brassknuckle thrust at her, Frida was sent sliding back with a whimper.

"Jeez, you done already?" Trista lowered her weapon in one hand while Frida breathed heavily, letting her staff hang down with her arms while keeping her eyes fixated on her opponent.

"Not…yet," Frida barely responded between her breaths.

"I don't believe you," Trista casually stuck her pinky finger inside her ear. "Your body is showing that it can't take me anymore. Maybe I should end this, and put you out of your misery now?"

And in response, Frida growled, and forced her staff up with her worn arms. "And I said 'not YET!' I said I'll win no matter what…against the likes of you! I will bring honor to Your Grace."

Then Trista laughed. "I really don't think so. At least not yet."

And Frida gritted her teeth with a hiss, and in response, Trista chuckled.

"You still wanna keep fighting, huh?" She started making a wide grin. "Ooh, this is totally getting more amusing. But that's right, I did tell ya to give me your 110%."

With a cry, Frida forcefully leapt at her with her staff raised, and with one hand, Trista simply blocked her swing with her heavy moon edge.

"You wanna keep at this until the very end, huh?" Trista kept her grin. "Fine, then. Don't blame me if I knock you out."

After recovering some of her strength, Frida swatted her off, and paused for a few seconds before rushing at her. At her limits, Frida kept her ferocious swings at Trista, but she only single handedly parried each of them.

"Hmph, you're hardly even putting a lot of pressure on me now," Trista continued her parries. "I've had enough of this. Time to put you out of your misery."

With sweat flying from her face, Frida murderously raised her staff. "I'm NOT done ye-!"

"HURAH!" Trista abruptly swung her staff off, and as Frida struggled to recover, the She-Wolf was already moving in for her kill. She pulled her right arm back for a thrust as Frida desperately raised her staff for a brace. "HRAHH!"

With a loud blow, Frida was sent flying off the ring, and rolled a few times, dropping her staff. Levin gasped at this, and dropped his arms, but wondered if he should move in to help his employee, but seeing their referee Hugo raising his hand to signal the end of the match, he paused.

"Match set!" Hugo blew his whistle.

After Trista withdrew her arm, and hung her moon behind her back, she began walking towards her fallen opponent. "Hoo, that gave me quite a workout. I was lying, by the way."

Then she chuckled as she watched Frida slowly pick herself up, and just as she was about to offer her hand to help her…

"I'm sorry, Your Grace..," Frida continued looking down.

"Hm..?" Trista's smile faded.

"I've let you down..," Frida shook her head, and began sniffling.

Then Trista's face suddenly scrunched before bending down to grab Frida by the collar with one hand, lifting her up in almost an instant.

"What the hell was that?!" Trista gritted her teeth, holding her up as she saw her eyes welling with a small amount of tears. "Wallowing in self-pity now?! PATHETIC!"

Then Frida shut her eyes.

"W-wait..please!" Levin began running towards the scene to stop the quarrel between two women as Jerad and Claire also stood up, but Hugo suddenly stood in front of him.

"It's OK," Hugo slowly shook his head. "She'll be fine."

"It's been nothing personal, girl!" Trista nudged her while keeping her held above the deck. "But let me get this inside your thick skull. Don't you dare give up on yourself under my watch, got it?! You lost to me? So WHAT?! No such thing as failure until you've given up. Did you think I simply moped around after that damned Aragami made a pigsticker out of me? The hell you think I showed you my scar for?!"

"What..?" Shin almost gasped as Jerad glanced at him. "A scar..?"

"I simply just kept going to better myself so I won't get fucked like this again," Trista continued. "And that's how the owner eventually made me a captain, and I couldn't be any more prouder than that! You fail, you'll get up again until you open your own big can of whoop ass, you hear? As long as you keep going, it's either you WIN, or you LEARN! The ONLY way is FORWARD!"

"Hoo, she was really harsh," Zeke facepalmed.

"Maybe, but I don't disagree with her," Lulu sighed.

"Was she always like this?" Zeke turned to Shin. "Like, to your guys?"

"Hm, kinda," Shin closed his eyes. "But never this bad…"

Then Trista dropped Frida on the deck. She stared at her for a few moments, and seeing that she is now in deep thought, she turned away before walking towards Hugo and Levin.

"Sorry about that..," Trista murmured as she passed Levin.

"Alright," Hugo relaxed himself. "Let's help her out."

"Certainly," Levin proceeded to help his bodyguard, but not without grabbing her staff from the deck near her.

"Are you alright?" Levin kneeled in front of her with her staff in hand.

"Mm," Frida nodded, not willing to make eye contact.

"You did your best like I told you," Levin put his hand on her shoulder which made her jump. "She is indeed a formidable opponent, but you still fought her with all you have, nevertheless. Good work today. You did our name a great service."

"Huh..?" Frida slowly looked up.

"Yes," Claire smiled unexpectedly behind them. "You fought very well today."

Then Frida only stared down with disbelief, speechless.

"Come, we have to get out of here for the next match," Claire smiled before extending her hand to her, and hesitant at first, Frida finally took it.

"I guess I'll be a referee again," Hugo chuckled. "But that's alright. I'm about to see a match between these two brutes who once couldn't work together."

Then he laughed.

"Of course," Jerad grinned, already holding a wooden staff on his shoulder. "Don't you want to see your little brother-in-law kick this meathead's ass?"

And he also laughed.

"You'll eat those words, bastard!" Zeke clenched his hand, but Jerad kept his unfazed grin.

"OK, OK. Save your swaggerings for the match," Hugo scolded. "Now get to your positions."

"Heh, sure," Jerad began walking to his position.

"You too, Zeke," Hugo pointed in the other direction. "Go."

"Yeah, yeah," Zeke waved his hand as he turned away.

While Jerad continued walking to his position, he suddenly paused, and turned at Frida. "Nice work. That She-Wolf was no pushover, so just watch me kick this guy's ass, and maybe you could learn something."

Then he waved before continuing on as Frida dumbfoundedly blinked her eyes, surprised by his seemingly rare interaction with her as Claire giggled.

As the two next participants walked to the ends of the ring, the three finally settled outside the ring, finally away from the upcoming chaos that may ensue.

"Um, Levin," Frida murmured. "I'll stow my staff."

"Hm? Are you sure..?" Levin paused. "You're very exhausted. I don't mind, but-."

"Please, it's OK," Frida looked away. "I..can take care of myself. Thank you."

"...Very well," Levin hesitantly handed her staff, and Frida began walking towards the rack.

On her way there, she noticed that Trista recently finished stowing her's, and wondered how she could take very long to stow her large weapon back. However, there was no turning back for her, so she continued on towards her direction. Before realizing it, she was making eye contact with her, and Trista was only staring back at her with a plain face, not having a glare she had earlier, but before turning away, Trista unexpectedly gave her a wink, and a tongue click before passing her. Shocked by this, Frida continued staring at her former opponent, but she only kept walking towards Misha and Lulu's direction.

You guys ready?" Hugo extended his arms in both directions.

"Hell yeah," Both men eagerly replied as they assumed their stances.

"Alright. Don't get out of hand with this, OK?" Hugo warned them as he raised his hands. "Remember, this is just training. Now, go!"

Then he blew his whistle to start their match, and the two AGEs immediately leapt at each other.

"GRRRAH!"

With Zeke swinging down, Jerad raised his staff to defend against his opponent's heavy attack.

"Haha! What the hell was that, Devil?!" Zeke made a cocky grin as he kept pushing his wooden hammer against Jerad's staff. "Playing defense first thing? You pussing out on me already?!"

Then Jerad grinned back. "I barely even felt that swing. Is your workout, and muscles all for show?"

"Definitely not," Zeke shook his head, keeping his grin. "I'm just getting warmed up."

Then Jerad laughed. "You call that a warm up?! I'll show you what a real warm up is!"

Then he swatted him.

Sitting on a bench alone while everyone not participating were watching and whispering to each other, Frida watched the two male AGEs savagely fighting in the ring as Hugo closely watched, and ever since her first training with them, she has been awed by their way of fighting. She has never trained nor fought with AGEs before, and only heard stories of them; stories of their extraordinary powers, and their monstrous abilities. Now seeing them first hand, she could only wonder if she would ever hope to fight at the same level they do, and with their superior strength, her desire may be out of reach. Frida then looked down on her right armlet, which makes her a regular God Eater, and sighed.

"As long as you keep going, it's either you WIN, or you LEARN! The ONLY way is FORWARD!"

"I would rather face meaningful defeats than questionable victories, because there are always true lessons with them."

"Hey, are you alright?"

Suddenly looking up, she saw Misha standing in front of her with a smile, holding a bottle in each hand.

"Um..yes," Frida turned away from her.

"Here, you could use a little refresher," Misha offered her one of the water bottles, and Frida hesitantly took it. "Please don't take it too hard on yourself. Big sis just wanted you to get better, and that's how I think she is."

"Hm?" Frida glanced at her, still not opening her bottle yet.

"She wasn't like this when we're still together in Pennywort," Misha murmured before taking a gulp from her own bottle. "Granted, she has always been competitive, but she was never the type to be pushy on others. I think something got to her at some point."

"Mm," Frida slightly nodded before opening her own bottle, and drinking it. As Misha said, she felt a little sense of refreshment, her lungs felt more clear, and that somehow, her mind felt less numb. "The scar…"

"Hm?" Misha glanced at her in the middle of drinking.

"The scar…she told me," Frida murmured.

"Oh…yeah," Misha looked down. "You know? I also wasn't meant to be a God Eater…"

"Huh..?" Frida fully snapped out of her mind numbness, in disbelief for hearing it from the mighty Grim Reaper herself.

"I was never interested in fighting," Misha closed her eyes. "Until my brother…"

In the ring, Zeke has been dodging Jerad's consecutive thrusts until his opponent's movements caught up to him, and no longer having the stamina to continue dodging, Zeke raised his hammer and blocked Jerad's overhead swing with his shaft.

Then Jerad laughed. "The hell's wrong, Zeke? Playing on the defensive now? Don't tell me you already dropped your balls!"

"Tch..!" Zeke kept pushing back, but his opponent was also keeping his pressure against him.

"This is how you swing hard, especially with you having a hammer for crying out loud," Jerad pushed harder. "You probably need more work for your arms. Less squats, more bench press and push-ups, got it? You gotta get 'the pump.'"

"Damn you..!" Zeke grunted while his opponent snickered.

"Why don't you try a little more offense? It's more fun that way," Jerad flashed his eyebrows.

"I know that, you fucker..," Zeke pushed back, grinding their shafts together.

'That's right, Zeke. Keep at it,' Lulu mused with her arms crossed, closely watching him. 'Don't let your opponent provoke you. Think before you attack. Jerad may be very offensive, but hitting him when he least expects it could be the most devastating for him. Wait for that opportunity.'

"If it's the offense you want, then it's the offense you'll get!" Zeke made another push before he finally swatted him off with his hammerhead. Next he followed up with a side swing, then an overhead, and then a left side swing followed by a right side swing. All four attacks missed however, and growing frustrated by Jerad's mobility, Zeke made another overhead swing. It also missed when Jerad backflipped out of his range, and then Zeke quickly dashed at him as Jerad landed with another overhead, and then it missed with Jerad's side jump, and then missed again with another side jump.

After recovering, Jerad laughed. "What the hell was that? You're fighting me right now, not playing Whack-a-Mole!"

Seeing the opportunity to strike back from Zeke's possible brief fatigue, Jerad spun his staff with his right hand before thrusting at him, and seeing an attack coming at him fast, Zeke desperately raised his hammer to defend himself. To his pleasant surprise, Zeke was able to block the width of his opponent's shaft with his own.

"Whoa!" Trista stood up in shock. "Holy shit! That block! I honestly thought he was done for."

"Incredible," Claire covered her mouth.

"Very impressive," Faith smirked while rubbing her nose.

Not wasting a moment, Zeke quickly parried Jerad's staff, and quickly leapt at him with his hammerhead thrusting forward. Jerad gasped, and suddenly swerved himself to the left, narrowly dodging him.

'That's right. Keep surprising him,' Lulu kept her arms crossed while tapping her left index finger. 'That certainly frightened him, but stop letting your frustrations control your instincts in battle. You need serious discipline for that!'

After the thrust, Zeke followed with a hammer swing to the right, and Jerad widened his eyes before backflipping out of danger. Breathing heavily to recover stamina, Jerad raised his staff back up, but considering the distance between them, Zeke merely rested his hammer on his shoulder, also breathing heavily before making a grin.

"Did I scare ya, buddy?" Zeke snickered.

"What..?!" Jerad growled. "I ain't scared of shit. Don't get over your head."

"Liar," Zeke rubbed his nose. "I saw you pop your eyes wide open..like two times just now. That thrust, and that swing.

Then he laughed. "I'll never forget that face."

Then Trista laughed. "Ooh! Zeke just struck a nerve in him? Pissing off the Devil that much?"

And she continued laughing. "This is gold."

Jerad growled. "No more games, Zeke!"

Then he began gripping his staff. "It's on."

"Well, no shit," Zeke also readied his hammer in response. "You're the one who said I was playing Whack..a..Moh..lee! Maybe you're the one who should stop playing around."

Then Jerad snarled before leaping at him.

A few minutes earlier.

"That's…how I came to be," Misha murmured. "Eventually known as The Grim Reaper…"

"That's…horrible," Frida frowned while grabbing your chest. "Your brother..he."

"It's OK," Misha shook her head before gulping the last water inside her bottle. "It was for the best…He was only doing what he could so we'll survive…and."

She looked down. "I grew tired of being a deadweight. We never really had a choice but to keep fighting.., and it was a good thing our dad taught him how to fight. We all have to start somewhere. You just gotta keep going like big sis said."

"Oh..," Frida paused. "Right…"

"You know? I always thought that in some ways, our parents have been protecting us..even if they're gone now," Misha murmured. "But I wonder if my brother feels the same. I just realized earlier that he owed his skills to dad, and he had so much pride in his skills as a God Eater, so maybe…he still does think about him."

Then she stared at her brother's direction who was dodging Zeke's overhead swings.

"HRRRAH!"

Swinging against each other, Jerad and Zeke collided with their training weapons grinding with each other. Remembering his move last time, Zeke parried Jerad's staff, and followed with a juggernaut thrust with his hammer.

"I won't fall for that again!" Jerad swerved to his left, and quickly spun his staff before thrusting at him. "You're done!"

"I won't fall for yours, either!" Zeke raised his hammer in his defense, and unlike earlier, Jerad's staff slid across Zeke's shaft instead. Next, Zeke allowed his opponent's staff to slide under his arm, and quickly locked it with his right under arm before using the corner between his hammerhead and staff to anchor it. Surprised by this, Jerad gripped his staff before trying to yank it off of his opponent, but Zeke also kept his grip with the help of his left hand, armpit, and his hammer. The two began their grappling struggle with no sign of both of them releasing.

"The hell you trying to do? Disarm me?" Jerad kept nudging his staff on Zeke. "Not gonna happen! I can tear an Aragami limb off with my bare hands! Give it up!"

"Hmph! Like I would," Zeke also kept his struggle.

"I'll crush this stick into two before I could even let go!" Jerad began hacksawing his staff on him.

Then the two men struggled for a few more moments, pulling, swaying, and shoving each other in a grapple, but none would surrender.

"You put up more than I thought. I'll give you that," Jerad gritted his teeth.

"Then you underestimated The Zeke!" Zeke spat back. "Sorry not sorry, chump. I got more coming for ya!"

Then Jerad's eyes widened as Zeke grasped the topmost shaft right under the hammerhead before he pushed it down, and just in time, Jerad stopped the hammerhead from hitting his head with his right hand, losing half of his grip for his staff.

"Shit..!" Zeke gritted his teeth as he started using every ounce of his strength to push his hammer down as Jerad resisted. "Just give up, already! Just a few inches down to your dumbass head, and it's game over for you!"

"You're starting to piss me off!" Jerad growled as he continued resisting Zeke's push. "And you won't LIKE me if I do!"

"...What. The. Hell?" Zeke suddenly paused while keeping his grip, staring at his opponent's irises. He could not be sure if those eyes were faintly glowing green or not.

"No..," Misha shook her head.

"Hm? What's wrong?" Frida sat up.

"My brother..," Misha slowly shook her head, remembering him from earlier. "If he becomes like this, he'll…"

The Devilhound snorted, and yanked his staff from Zeke with all the strength of his tiring left hand, but Zeke was able to keep his grip despite his growing fatigue. Wanting to try again, Jerad shoved his staff, and yanked it again but this time, forced Zeke to hit his forehead on his shoulder with a grunt, diminishing his ability to push his hammerhead on him. Taking the chance to finally break free, Jerad placed his right arm on Zeke's neck before finally pulling his staff away from his grasp, and pushed him away with his right arm. The two took a few steps away from each other before regaining their fighting stance.

"Dammit..!" Zeke grimaced before the Devilhound rushed at him with frightening speed, raising his staff with both hands.

"HAAAA!"

In a loud clash, Zeke blocked his overhead swing, and for the second time with eye to eye contact, Zeke raised his eyes. "You're kidding..! The hell is up with..?"

Then the Devilhound snarled before abruptly swung him off which sent Zeke stumbling a few steps back, and now also annoyed with the Devilhound's tenacity, Zeke suddenly felt a rush of euphoria around his body, causing his arteries to visibly swell.

"Damn you!" Zeke leapt at him in a state of bloodlust, and swung overhead towards the Devilhound. Not having enough time to dodge, the Devilhound raised his staff.

"HAAA!" In a deafening blow, the Devilhound blocked his enraged opponent's pound, and the hit was so immense that his staff chipped with a crack.

Then the Devilhound snickered. "Thaat's it, Zeke. That's how you hit me!"

Not impressed with his opponent's compliment, Zeke wasted no time, and swung him off with a feral growl.

Watching this unfold, Trista cackled very loudly. "Woo! Zeke going total mad in this?! This is gonna be great. Kick that Devil's ass, Zeke!"

Then Keith glanced at Trista while she cheerfully flexed her arm, unsure of what he should feel about the current state of his brother.

Like a Norse berserker swinging his battleax in fury, Zeke kept his ferocious assault for the Devilhound with non-stop swings, some which he followed with spinning swings before he jumped towards him with an overhead swing similar to Lost Memory Burst Art. Still missing his opponent after the Devilhound jumped to the side, Zeke made another deafening overhead crash with his hammer, and the immense amount of strength he swung caused his legs to lift up on impact before landing both on the deck.

"Ohh, shit..," Trista covered her mouth while Claire gasped. "If that swing hit him…"

"By the gods..," Levin also gasped.

"Mommy," Phym tugged Claire. "I do not like this. Can we make daddy, and Zeke stop..?"

"Oh," Claire hesitantly turned to her. "I don't know…They'll be fine."

The Devilhound stood in disbelief as he watched his enraged opponent pick his hammer up, and turned to him, breathing heavily. Zeke was staring at him like a predator to its prey, and raised his hammer again before leaping at him with a feral growl. The Devilhound responded similarly in kind, leaping against his opponent with a snarl, and the two clashed again. They furiously swung at each other until the Devilhound attempted a thrust at him, but Zeke was able to raise his hammerhead in time to block his thrust. Angered by this, the Devilhound snarled, and began pushing him towards the end of the ring with Zeke's shoes sliding on the deck. Being determined to win, Zeke pressed his outsole down harder to glue himself on the deck right before reaching the end of the ring, stopping the Devilhound in his tracks. Zeke wasted no time to swing his opponent's staff away before he furiously began swinging his hammer at his opponent but after a few steps back, the Devilhound blocked his overhead swing with the middle of his staff. They held against each other for a few moments before irritation overcame Zeke, and he pushed his hammer down in an attempt to make his opponent drop his staff. Failing to do this, Zeke made a side swing at the Devilhound, and the impact was so powerful that his opponent grunted in pain and irritation. As if he somehow knew his opponent's next move, the Devilhound quickly withdrew the left end of his staff, switch the hold of his right hand from upwards to downwards, and swung his right end in a diagonal overhead before Zeke could execute his next move, instantly hitting his upper back and slamming him facedown on the deck, also snapping his own staff forward in half. Jerad took a few steps back, breathing heavily, and then held his head for a brief migraine before watching his motionless friend laying down.

The whole room suddenly fell into silence.

"Wha-?" Trista froze. "What just happened…?"

"I don't know," Shin slowly shook his head. "It was too fast. Did I blink my eyes..? Or did Zeke just trip?"

"I also did not see what happened..?" Levin slowly shook his head. "It…happened in a flash."

"Holy..!" Ricardo suddenly sat up while Amy gasped. "That was gnarly."

"Hmm," Abraham hummed.

"Oh, my," Hilda covered her mouth. "Should I have Amy bring a stretcher there..?"

Then the room also fell silent as they continued watching the screen.

Back in the training room, Jerad swallowed before glancing at his staff, now broken in two being held by both hands before dropping both pieces on the deck, and staring back at his friend. The sound of a clanging wood seemed to have woken Zeke before one of the pieces rolled in front of him.

"Uugh," Zeke grunted. "My back…"

Then Jerad gasped. "You alright..man?"

And in response, Zeke rolled over, and is now laying on his back, chuckling. "Of course, I am. Who the hell do you think I am?"

Relieved, Jerad fell to his knees beside him, and took a few heavy breaths.

"Dammit. I lost, huh..?" Zeke chuckled. "But that was a blast, man. I get to go all out."

Then he started laughing, and Jerad soon followed, wearily laughing together.

Seeing this, Hugo quickly raised his hand. "Match over!"

And he blew his whistle before the rest started gathering in the ring.

Jerad grunted as he started moving up to a kneeling position before finally standing up, and offered his hand to Zeke. "Need help..?"

Without a reply, Zeke loudly clasped his hand before Jerad grunted again as he pulled him up.

"Thanks, man," Zeke stumbled a few steps back before grabbing his hammer, and glanced at his friend, who was picking up two pieces of wood.

"Whoa..!" Zeke widened his eyes. "Did you break that stick on me?"

"Huh?" Jerad glanced at both pieces in his right hand. "Uh..I guess?"

"Shiiit, man..!" Zeke gave him a pained look.

"You're damn hard as a rock," Jerad chuckled. "Maybe especially your head."

Then the two laughed again.

"Hey, you guys OK?" Trista put her hands on her waist. "Talk to me."

"We're both standing here with our feet. Don't we look OK?" Jerad smiled.

"Hey, Zeke. Seriously, you good right?" Hugo shook his head, covering his mouth with one hand.

"I'm fineee..," Zeke wearily groaned. "My back just hurts a bit. That's all."

"What..just happened..?" Trista also rested her hands on her waist.

"Jerad just clubbed me on the back," Zeke murmured. "Isn't that obvious..?"

"I didn't even see it," Trista shook her head.

"Heh, maybe you should open your eyes more?" Zeke smiled.

"I didn't see it, either," Shin crossed his arms. "And I know I have good eyes."

"Bah, whatever. I don't care," Zeke waived his hand. "I had fun, anyway."

"What? Going batshit on him?" Trista glanced at Jerad, and then at Zeke with a grin. "Zeke the Berserker?"

"Uh, what?" Zeke scratched his head. "What did you say..?"

"Zeke. The. Ber-ser-ker," Trista spelled it out for him.

"The hell..?" Zeke hunched in annoyance.

"What? You gonna complain..?" Trista chuckled. "You were bad ass while you're at it. Both of you, even."

Then Lulu facepalmed with a groan. "You've been calling yourself 'Hammer Zeke.' How about..Mad Hammer Zeke. Much less cheesy…"

And Zeke glanced at her for a few seconds before turning away. "Call me whatever you want…"

"Mad Hammer Zeke, huh?" Trista grinned before laughing together with Lulu.

"Oh ho," Jerad wearily chuckled. "Really..? Mad Hammer Zeke?"

Then he laughed.

"Great..," Zeke murmured.

And Hugo chuckled. "That kinda reminded me of something the three used to be called."

Then he glanced at Misha from a distance, and after a few moments he glanced at the wall clock. "Whoa, really..?"

"What..?" Jerad turned to him.

"We still got a handful of time, actually," Hugo murmured. "Maybe we can squeeze one more match? Anyone still want to fight? We got 20 minutes."

"I'm definitely done," Jerad replied in monotone.

"Don't even ask me," Zeke waved his hand.

"Anyone?" Hugo glanced at everyone. "The rest of the time is yours, if the two of you volunteer."

In the meantime, Trista sharply glanced at Shin, and in return, he raised his eyes. "I have a nice idea, and it's going to be a little..interesting."

Then she also glanced at Lulu. "I learned that we have two undefeated champions here in fist fights. Did you guys know that Shin is an undefeated champion in hand-to-hand combat in Chrysanthemum? Not even Captain Daris could beat him!"

"Whoa, really..?" Hugo glanced at Shin in disbelief.

"Hmph..," Shin closed his eyes.

"And Lulu just told us she's a black belt in Baran," Trista added.

"Black..belt?" Zeke murmured.

"One of the top levels of that art," Shin explained. "With that, I can't take her lightly."

"So..which is the top?" Zeke further asked. "Like the very top?"

"Red," Lulu suddenly replied. "Those are worn by grandmasters, and I still have a long way before I could earn it." 'Not even master had this.'

"Huh," Zeke murmured. "Crazy..."

"So, Shin. Are you up for it?" Lulu turned to him.

"Hm," Shin closed his eyes.

"C'mon. Aren't you looking for a worthy opponent?" Trista grimaced. "Or are you refusing so you can keep your champion title."

Then Shin growled. "No! I already told you that's not the reason why I've been refusing fights. I could get people hurt!"

"And I said earlier not to worry about me," Lulu argued. "Frankly, I might have been through worse than most of you, and the cruelty of Baran to people like us is unimaginable. A minor injury or two in a practice fight would be nothing to me. So with that being said, would you still accept my challenge?"

And Shin closed his eyes for a few moments before opening his eyes again. "Fine. Let's do this."

"Very well," Lulu nodded.

"I guess it's settled now," Hugo smiled. "Shin versus Lulu, round 2. Hand to hand combat. New rules on top of the ones we already have are, no life threatening attacks, and definitely no serious bodily harm. This is still training, but go as long as you want until time is up. Any questions?"

"No objections," Lulu began stretching her arms as preparation.

"...None," Shin murmured as he also started stretching his arms, and legs.

"Shin, you don't seem enthusiastic," Trista grimaced. "I'll have you know one thing. You better give your all like you always did in our Port..or else I WON'T forgive you. Don't insult Lulu this time, you hear?"

"Hmph," Shin closed his eyes before he finished stretching.

"You two ready?" Hugo raised his arms. "Alright, get to your positions."

Then the two soon-to-be-opponents began walking towards the two opposite ends of the ring.

"Remember the new rules," Hugo held his whistle on his lips, and raised his right hand before blowing it in two short bursts. To their surprise, before Shin would execute his fight stance, Lulu bowed instead.

"Huh..?" Shin paused.

Then Lulu stood straight back up. "This is called 'rei' in the Far East custom of martial arts fighting. A courtesy between two opponents…I thought you would know."

"No..," Shin slowly shook his head in embarrassment. "B-but I would like to know. I'm very sorry."

"Whoa, that's a good point," Levin murmured. "A great way to keep an impersonal relationship between opponents. A way to show humility to each other."

"Oh, really?" Trista paused.

"That's fine. I'll teach you, then." Lulu smiled. "First we bow for two seconds, and once we stand straight up, we can begin our match. Remember to always do this."

"Got it," Shin sincerely nodded.

"Ready?" Lulu took one step back, and bowed just as Shin followed in kind, taking a step back to return her courtesy, and also bowing.

"Excellent," Lulu stood straight up. "Now we can begin."

Then the two immediately assumed their stances. Lulu closed her fists, and assumed a southpaw stance. Her legs a few feet apart, and firmly planted on the deck. Otherwise, Shin assumed a stance quite similar to hers, his legs a few feet apart, and firmly planted on the deck. His left hand defensively held close to his face, and his right hand held in front of him just below his chest level. However, unlike his opponent, Shin did not close his hands. They remained open with his fingers slightly curved, but firm.

"What the hell is that weird pose, Shin..?" Zeke chuckled. "At least you can see that Lulu is just about ready to kick some ass."

"Heh. It's funny until you see him fight," Trista grinned. "Just wait."

Taking Zeke, and Trista's claims into account, Lulu observed her opponent's stance which she has never seen before, and wondered how Shin generally attacks with his hands. Does he use his palms? Elbows? While his open hands clearly show less intent on punching, she was still left guessing in how he attacks. The thrill of fighting an unknown began to swell inside her.

Keeping her southpaw, Lulu began taking small steps forward, and Shin returned in kind, taking small steps toward her as the two opponents started closing in.

"Man, when is the action going to start?" Zeke complained.

"Shin is always like this," Trista replied. "Give them a bit more time before their fists start flying around. Though, I didn't know Lulu is also like this. She's definitely taking him seriously already."

'And that's good, Shin. Give her a fight she won't forget.'

"They're just trying to feel each other out," Hugo explained. "Just wait a bit more."

And as the two opponents close in on each other further, Lulu began making quick glances at Shin's hands, and legs, trying to sense his intent without letting him notice before returning eye-to-eye contact with him. She can see that he sharpened his pose with his arms, but his legs remained the same, which is an indication to her that an attack from one of his hands is likely imminent, and then…

"Huah!"

To her shock, Shin suddenly jumped towards her just above her height, and extended right leg. Lulu was able to react on time to dodge his flying kick, and taking advantage of her opponent recovering Lulu rushed in to try catching her opponent off-guard.

'Impressive leaping distance. Jumpstarting me with a flying kick?' Lulu continued her charge, her right hand clenched tight, and ready for a swing. 'How bold!'

But Shin also recovered just in time to block his opponent's first strike. Lulu obstinately continued her barrage of swings and straight punches as Shin continued dodging, and parrying her quick hands. While staying on the offensive, Lulu was already amazed by Shin's reflexes. He was terribly quick, only parrying her punches if he could not recover fast enough from his last dodge, a good strategy on his part, and after a few more swings from Lulu without a successful hit, Shin parried her punch before he began fighting back, returning his own flurry of his fists at her as she began blocking and parrying his attacks while also counterattacking between his attacks, practically exchanging blows. The sound of their battle was mixed with muscle to muscle hits, and occasional 'clanging' noises with sparks whenever their armlets hit each other. Some of their swings also made wind sounds.

"Ho ho, there. Now they're finally at it," Zeke laughed. "But damn, this fight's lookin' awesome."

"Yeah, this is kinda like the first time I've seen a real fist fight," Hugo chuckled. "Until then, we've been using God Arcs all our lives."

After Shin parried a few from Lulu, he found a window for a counterattack, and while on the defensive against her opponent, Lulu swerved her head from Shin's right hand thrust before placing her palm on his wrist.

'Straight fingers..?!' Lulu's eyes suddenly widened, horrified at seeing Shin thrusting at her face with his straight fingers, which is an attack she had never seen before. No karateka in Baran she knew ever attacked like this. Not even her Master Goh, and she quickly realized that if any of this attack hits her, regardless of which body part, it would cause her an immense amount of pain, and blocking them with her arms would not be in her best interest.

After parrying his hand off in slight panic, Lulu aggressively counterattacked as if to try preventing him from fighting back. After a few more swings and straight punches, she noticed that her opponent concentrated all his defense on his upper body, and wasted no time hitting his stomach with a mid side kick.

"Hah! Lulu got the first strike," Trista grinned.

After stumbling back a few steps, Shin grunted, and Lulu moved in to strike him again. The two began trading punches for the second time, and like earlier, Lulu parried some of Shin's straight finger attacks. She noticed that while Shin's attacks are weak, his attack speed and evasion made up for them, and his finger attacks are something that must be avoided. She also noticed that he has been mixing his punches, and finger strikes in unpredictable ways, which she knew that her sharp eyes are the only way to see them, and had to quickly react to counter them. To curb this, Lulu figured that she can exploit her opponent's weaker strength to strongly parry them, and briefly leave him open before landing him a strong blow.

Eventually gaining the upper hand in trading attacks, Lulu continued attacking Shin. He could only struggle to defend himself from her punches while Lulu kept up her relentless assault, realizing that either she was wearing him down, or her sidekick on his stomach was still hurting him. After a few more punches, Lulu swung a high kick to him, but he was still able to block her with his left hand before she kept the force of her right leg against him, almost completely breaking his guard. Lulu followed with a left punch, and Shin caught it with his left hand, but that was only a diversion for her to leave her opponent's left side open, and she clutched her right hand to prepare landing him a heavy blow.

However, Shin's eyes suddenly furrowed as Lulu already began thrusting her right hand towards him. Her eyes widened, but it was already too late for her to retreat as Shin dodged her straight punch before locking his right arm around her armpit, and spun and hurled her above his back, taking her down with a loud slam on the deck.

"Oh, shit," Zeke gasped.

"Just like what he did to Captain Daris," Trista chuckled.

"Damn..," Jerad froze while Claire covered her mouth in shock.

"Oh, man," Ricardo slowly shook his head with a smile. "Shin totally got her in that one."

"That was really impressive on his part," Hilda giggled. "I honestly thought he was done for, but where did he learn to fight like that? Not that I've ever seen him train himself, though."

"Beats me," Ricardo shrugged. "I've never seen him train, either."

"Most impressive, indeed," Abraham murmured.

"Governor-General, would you like more coffee?" Hilda smiled.

"Yes, greatly appreciated, Hilda," Abraham nodded.

Immediately after his takedown, Shin released Lulu's arm, and backed a few steps away from her before regaining his stance. Lulu quickly stood up with a grunt, and assumed a defensive stance in case Shin attacks her as soon as she stands up. Her left arm raised vertically in front of her with her fist clenched, and her right hand also clenched at her waist level with her arm parallel to the deck.

"You're off to a good start," Lulu murmured. "A takedown, huh? That's the ippon seoi nage, a throwing move you just did. Did you also practice judo?"

"Hmph," Shin maintained his pose.

"Impressive execution, nevertheless," Lulu snapped her stance into a southpaw. "I'm also not just limited to punches, and kicks. My turn to show you."

"Try, then," Shin rotated his right hand upwards, and curved his fingers up two times. "Come."

Then Lulu charged in, and began her series of punches to him. After Shin dodged a few times followed by a parry, he counterattacked with a few punches before raising his right leg.

"HUWATA!" Landing a high sweeping kick at Lulu, she blocked it with her left arm before swatting his leg out before moving in for offense, throwing him a few punches before raising her right leg, as if to give him her own answer.

"HAAYAH!" He also blocked her heavy blow with his left hand, recoiling to his left on impact, and in response, Lulu kept her stand with her left leg, and followed with another kick before retrieving her right leg back, and making a left high sweeping kick at Shin's right side.

"Man, what's up with him?" Zeke smiled. "He makes that weird shout time to time."

"That's how he is whenever he fights with his fists," Trista chuckled before making a light punch. "Huwatahh!"

Then she, Jerad, and Zeke laughed.

Seeing him block her left kick with both arms, Lulu quickly followed with a left mid sidekick, and like earlier, the hit was successful as Shin was pushed back grunting while clutching his stomach. Lulu quickly followed with another series of punches which Shin was able to keep defending himself in spite of his pain, but after forcing both of his arms to his upper body to defend, she suddenly struck his stomach with the intermediate joints of her right fingers before quickly grabbing his collar with both hands, and pulling him towards herself, dropping down backwards to the deck with him before she lifted him off with her right leg, throwing him above her where he landed on his back. While still laying down with both of her legs up after executing her tomoe nage, Lulu quickly swung both legs up forward, performing a Chinese get up before rotating sharply around with just her left foot and using her right as pivot. She maintained her southpaw as she watched Shin grit his teeth in pain before he slowly stood up.

'While he does have an excellent way of executing his attacks, his form has a bit of crudeness in it,' Lulu took a slow deep breath to ease herself. 'But I'm also having this sinking feeling that there's something more than he currently puts on. I have to keep my guard up!'

"Whoa! How did she do that?!" Zeke's jaws dropped. "That was awesome."

"I've never seen someone stand up like that before," Levin smiled. "Truly splendid."

"Oh, my. That was impressive," Hilda smiled before sipping her coffee.

"That throw was nice," Ricardo chuckled as he sat back on the couch with his hands hanging on the back of his head. "That girl is getting really serious. She is probably more 'fatale' than we all know."

Then he glanced at the screen again. "So, Shin finally met his match after throwing Daris down."

And he laughed.

"Daddy, watch me!" Phym suddenly laid on her back, and raised her legs.

Then Jerad's eyes widened. "Phym do-!"

But Phym already swung her tiny legs forward, and landed standing straight up. "I can do it. It's easy. Hee hee."

Jerad, and Claire froze in place before he facepalmed. "Phym, don't try anything stupid, OK? You could hurt yourself if you make one mistake."

"Um, OK," Phym nodded.

"Hehe, wow." Zeke smiled. "Phym copying that get-up in one try?"

Then Phym giggled. "Maybe I can do the Lulu-throw? Want me to try it?"

"Ah ah! No, Phym!" Jerad shook his head with a glare. "You're NOT throwing him."

"Can you still fight?" Lulu murmured as she maintained her pose.

"It will take more than that until I go down," Shin grunted before he suddenly put his hands on both sides of his head, raised his legs, and also swung them into a Chinese get up.

"Oh, damn. He could do it, too?" Jerad chuckled.

Then Trista laughed. "Back in Port, some people dropped their jaws when they saw him get up like that the first time."

Lulu chuckled. "Looks like this match is going to be more exciting than I thought. It's been a long time since I sparred with another martial artist."

"Heh," Shin posed himself with a smile. "And this is the first time I fought another one. It's becoming quite an experience."

"Oh yeah?" Lulu smirked before flashing into another pose. Her left hand is now forward with her palm facing him, fingers sharply straight up, and her right hand clutched at her chest level. "Then let's make the most of this, then."

"Right on," Shin murmured. "Haaa!"

He leapt at her with a left sweeping kick, and Lulu blocked it with her right arm. She responded with a punch from her left arm, but strangely to her, Shin parried it upwards with his left hand before he planted his right leg down, and attempted a counterattack with a right straight finger.

"HUAAH!"

With her adrenaline pumping as a response, Lulu managed to catch her opponent's hand with her right before it landed on her left arm. She stared aghast at his hand's direction, and could see that he was definitely aiming for her left limb.

"These scare you, don't they?" Shin smiled as Lulu also gripped his straight hand with both of her hands. "I've been able to tell by looking at your face earlier, and then you started avoiding my hands ever since I tried striking you a few times like that."

Then her eyes widened, horrified that Shin has also been able to perceive her.

"You're not wrong, though," Shin pushed his hand further toward her arm, but Lulu continued to resist. "Because a single hit from that hand you're holding could really hurt, even if you block it. That's like trying to block the sharp point of a knife with your arms."

And Lulu hissed, and swatted Shin's hand off. She landed him a mid sidekick on his chest before rushing him and began trading punches again. Shin eventually caught Lulu's left wrist with his left hand before twisting it outwards, forcing her to turn and bend backwards before Shin shoved her down, causing her to fall on the deck on her back. Seeing Shin raise his hand, and clench it for a punch, Lulu swerved her head to her left before Shin attempted to punch her, his fist causing a deafening metallic bang on the deck for missing her. Ignoring her ringing right ear, Lulu quickly swung her right leg up, and hit Shin's right shoulder, making him stumble a few steps back before she quickly performed a Chinese get-up. Knowing that they are both still able, Shin assumed his pose.

"Nice getaway, Lulu," Hugo rubbed his chin. "Shin totally had you pinned down like that, and you still managed to slip away."

"Far East martial arts are truly something compared to the west," Levin nodded, also rubbing his chin. "They execute more complex techniques."

"Though, despite the west's simplicity like yours, they're still definitely effective," Hugo smiled. "I would honestly prefer something simpler."

Then he glanced at the three who are moving towards Misha, and Frida's direction, who are also closely watching.

"Hey, sis," Jerad waved his hand as he continued walking towards them with Claire, and Phym following behind him.

"Oh, hey brother," Misha waved back with a smile. "What's up?"

"Just checking on you," Jerad sat beside her as Claire also did, but Phym ran to Frida.

"Frida!" Phym beamed at her with open arms, and Frida also spread her arms.

"Hello, Phym..," Frida murmured before carrying her to her lap.

"What're you two doing here by yourselves?" Jerad leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

"Oh," Misha blinked her eyes. "Just…wanted to talk to Frida, that's all."

"Hm?" Jerad glanced at her, and Frida turned away in embarrassment. "Hey, don't let that She-Wolf bug you, OK? You'll get over it, and if that makes you feel a little better, I lost a match before, too. I don't have my champion belt anymore."

Then he shrugged with a smile. "Which brings me to why I also came here, hehe. I have an idea for you, sis."

"And what..would..that be, brother..?" Misha furrowed her eyes as Jerad stared at his sister with a grin. "Why don't you train this little reaper up?"

"Little Reaper..?" Frida pouted.

"Don't like it?" Jerad smiled. "You're now Friday, then."

"W-w-what..?!" Frida stuttered as Jerad laughed. Claire covered her face, and turned away to try hiding her laugh.

"H-hey, talk to me for a bit," Misha glared at him. "So, you want me to be an instructor?"

"Yep," Jerad flashed his eyebrows before slowly nodding his head with a grin, and then turned his glance at Frida, who was still frozen with her mouth open. "Please close your mouth before you end up swallowing a fly."

And he laughed again as Frida closed her mouth, and swallowed. "You..you want me to be trained by her?"

"Yep, I mean that, literally. Not joking," Jerad chuckled. "Or would you rather have that She-Wolf over there mop the deck with you all the time in training? Think about it, you both use variant scythes, and you two seemingly get along pretty well. I think it would be perfect, so what do you say?"

"I agree with him, Frida," Claire closed her eyes with a smile. "I believe it would be your best interest to take up the offer."

"Um," Frida slowly frowned. "I guess..I'm down?"

"But wait a minute, brother!" Misha pouted. "You know I haven't taught anyone yet, right?"

"Yeah, but you better get used to it, sis," Jerad argued. "There are a LOT of us right now, and I can't train everyone here. You better start getting your feet wet because I already got my hands full training Claire, and now Shin. How about this? You train the little reaper while I supervise both of you for a while until you can teach her on your own? Deal?"

Then Misha frowned for a few moments before glancing back at him with a faint smile. "Okay, I'll do it, but I'll take that as a promise. You better be there!"

"I don't break deals, sis," Jerad murmured. "You know that for a fact. I mean everything I say."

"Alright..," Misha nodded.

"Don't be nervous, jeez," Jerad irritably scratched his head. "I think you got this, OK? And I WILL be there, and if that She-Wolf tries to get in our way, I'll kick her ass out."

'And with him around even for just a bit, I don't think this is any better,' Frida mused. 'But I'll go through it. For Your Grace!'

"And you, too, Friday. Don't be scared," Jerad pointed at her. "You wanna show off to Sofia when you get back, right?"

"Eh?!" Frida jumped. 'How did he-?'

"My sister is nice compared to that wolf," Jerad smiled as he patted his pouting sister's head. "Work yourself hard with her, and blow Sofia away once you get back. Make that happen, and you want to be a better protector for your prince charming, right? Better put your back into it."

"A-a-ah, prince charmiiing..?" Frida heavily blushed while Claire giggled. "Um, OK."

"Good," Jerad smiled again.

"HUAH!"

With both opponents already suffering from a few bruises, Shin made a left high sweeping kick at Lulu's right.

'At least your kicks are harder,' Lulu blocked him with her right arm before swinging it away, and delivered a mid thrust kick on his chest, pushing him back. Lulu followed with a few punches on his upper body before spinning for a reverse roundhouse kick. Shin managed to duck in time, and seeing that he was close enough, Lulu raised her right leg to twelve o' clock. In his horror of knowing her oncoming attack, Shin braced himself by raising his arms before Lulu drop kicked him with an immense amount of force that on impact, he dropped to his knees.

"Holy!" Zeke froze. "That kick."

"He would have been in a world of hurt, if that hit!" Hugo cried.

Lulu quickly retrieved her right leg, and followed for a mid sweeping kick. Still too worn out to fully defend himself, Shin only managed to raise his left arm before her foot reached him. Her left foot broke through his defense, and still managed to nevertheless land enough force on his face, sending him rolling sideways a few yards on the deck.

"Ooh!" Trista covered her mouth.

"Just when Shin thought she was done," Zeke commented.

'Dammit, Shin!' Trista grimaced, clutching her hands. 'Get up!'

While Lulu waited for her opponent to stand up again, breathing heavily. 'I just couldn't understand what his exact fighting style is. Not that he'll ever tell me if I ask. One way he executes karate, and others, techniques from judo, and jiujutsu which makes him quite unpredictable. Just what kind of taijutsu did his kind practiced?'

Then Shin slowly stood up.

"Ready for another round?" Lulu snapped into her defensive stance, her left palm up front, and her right hand closed below her chest. "How many wins and losses do we each have already? I lost count."

"I didn't even bother counting anymore," Shin grunted as he finally stood on his feet, and wiped a small slick of blood from the corner of his lip before assuming his stance. "I don't have my 'undefeated' status anymore, but I just want to see this through to the end."

Then Lulu chuckled. "Me, too. Let's finish this, shall we? Until only one of us is still standing, and able?"

And she turned her left hand upwards, and curved them two times.

"HRRAHH!" Shin charged at her at high speed before jumping, and hitting left, and then right in two consecutive aerial kicks before landing. Lulu retaliated in kind, throwing punches and palm attacks at him until he managed to catch one of her fists. No longer falling to his earlier grappling trick, Lulu quickly twisted her hand to force him to release her before grabbing his next finger strike. The two went into a grappling battle for a few minutes, grabbing each other's fists, and also freeing themselves from each other's grasps until Lulu found an opening to anchor her right foot on Shin's left leg, and lifted it forward. With his balance compromised, Lulu wrapped her arms around her opponent's waist before slamming him on the deck. After the impact, Lulu took a few steps back to allow her opponent to recover and stand back up, retaining her southpaw stance.

Shin stood up, and without saying a word, Lulu charged at him in turn. They traded punches for a few seconds until they transitioned into a grappling fight, and while gripping Shin's hand to stop his finger strike, Lulu kneed Shin's chest, briefly stunning him before landing a mid thrust kick to his stomach. Flinching in pain, Shin could only helplessly watch his opponent quickly raise her leg before the outsole of her shoe landed on his face, sending him stumbling before falling on his back.

Lulu kept her southpaw stance as Shin stood back up before charging at him again. This time, she pummeled him with a combination of punches and kicks, and Shin responded in kind, trading his own punches and kicks until he saw Lulu block his straight punch with both arms, and quickly seized the opportunity to finger strike her stomach. Just as she feared, she whimpered at the excruciating pain, and not given a moment to recover, Shin felled her with a tiger tail sweep.

Returning her courtesy from earlier, Shin took a few steps back, and retained his pose, waiting for his opponent to recover. Lulu stood up a few moments later, clutching her stomach with one hand, and was still suffering from his dreaded finger strike. Now showing her vulnerability to her opponent, her thoughts on Goh's lessons began storming in her mind, and wondered what he would do if he was watching her like this right now…

"Listen! There is no retreat! The only path is forward!"

Glancing closer at Shin, she saw that he is also showing signs of fatigue. He was breathing heavily, and his arms were also shaking, no longer retaining the sharp pose he used to have. She also realized that she landed more successful hits and throws on him than she could remember, and those must have also been wearing him out.

"Yes..sir..," Lulu released her hand on her stomach, and assumed a southpaw stance, gritting her teeth at the pain that still lingers heavily. "Come…"

In response, Shin rushed towards her with a flying kick, and in spite of the pain in her stomach, Lulu swerved to the side before Shin landed beside her. She desperately growled as she swung a left high sidekick, and hit his upper back, but Shin quickly recovered enough to block a followed up right high side kick with both arms. Lulu followed with another attack by lightly jumping towards him, and landed a strong straight punch. Shin also managed to defend himself with both arms, but his fatigue also sent him a few steps back, and not wanting him to regain his bearing, Lulu swung another high sweeping kick to Shin's face which he still managed to block, but she also followed shortly with a middle kick to his chest, pushing him back further.

With both opponents exhausted, Lulu had to allow him to recover this time, and Shin regained his stance, gritting his teeth in desperation.

"This is it, Lulu," Shin growled.

"Let's have at it," Lulu replied before snapping from defensive to southpaw stance.

The two snarled as they charged at each other before they started trading their punches and kicks again. Shin eventually attempted a finger strike at her left arm, but Lulu narrowly caught his hand with her left, and retaliated with a right handed straight punch to his face, sending him a few steps back.

After Shin wiped his blood off his lip, he rushed in turn, and began pummeling his opponent with punches as she defended herself until he landed a mid sidekick on Lulu's stomach. Seeing her holding her stomach again from that pain of his finger strike, he desperately jumped, spun midair to his left, and began extending his leg for an aerial roundhouse kick. Also desperate, Lulu gritted her teeth as she also spun backwards while on the deck, screaming as she also extended her right leg up high and hard as much as she could, and successfully landed a hit on Shin's left chest, and temple while still in midair with her heel and calves. His vision instantly became dark as he dropped back down, motionless.

Seeing this unfold before them, every Hound gasped.

In the office, Hilda also gasped, covering her mouth in shock. "Oh..my..god..!"

"Gnarly!" Ricardo stared closely at the screen while Amy also covered her mouth in silence.

Even despite his usual, calm composure, Abraham also raised his eyes.

"Amy..?" Hilda almost whispered

"Yes..ma'am?" Amy hesitantly responded.

Hilda continued watching the Hounds gather around them on the screen. Claire, and Misha already began examining Shin, who remained unconscious. "Grab a stretcher from the Medical Ward, and bring it down there. Now."

Breathing heavily, Lulu took a few steps back as her friends started gathering around them, and she began wondering if she went too far on him. It was a desperate moment, but she still had no intention of causing him a concussion, and had hoped that their match would end with one of them down, shaking hands, and bowing to each other afterwards.

"Oh, shit!" Trista knelt beside her unconscious vice captain, and began nudging him. "Shin. Shin! Are you alright? Talk to me!"

"I-I can still hear…heart-bits from him," Phym murmured.

Hearing this, Claire grabbed his wrist to verify. "I can still feel his pulses. He suffered a concussion!"

"Hey, Shin. So, have you thought about being a God Eater like me?" His father smiled.

"Um, no. I haven't thought of it, really," Shin murmured. "I mean, I'm not even that strong, but…"

Then his father chuckled. "That doesn't matter, son. What's important is you put your heart into whatever you want to do. Remember me telling you that I wasn't the strongest among other God Eaters? In spite of that, why do you think I enlisted, anyway?"

And Shin stared at his father, who was waiting for his answer with a smile. "Uh…"

"Because I wanted to insist on fighting so I can protect you, and your mother," His father continued smiling. "I met and fell in love with her a few months before I decided to enlist in our homeland, and she was what kept me going. And then you. I haven't looked back a single time about that."

"Oh," Shin murmured.

"Listen, son. If you love someone, you have to be able to protect them," His father put his arm around his child. "This is how I did it. You might have to find it in your own way, and there are other ways to become strong. Fighting is not just about strength, remember that. Our people were taught that hundreds of years ago, and our ancestors used their brains to get around them. Brute force was never our thing, and most of our martial arts were designed to be even practiced by weak people. As a matter of fact, this is why weak people who struggle to become stronger always come to those."

"Ah," Shin blinked his eyes.

"And speaking of ancestors," His father murmured. "Perhaps your late grandfather telling us that we carry the bloodline of the Koga clan is true. I was considered different compared to other God Eaters, and they told me my style was deemed unconventional. Unusual, even."

Then he smiled back at his son. "Maybe one day if you get old enough, and want to enlist, you'll unlock that blood that's been dormant to us. A lot of God Eaters are such brutes, and they will definitely think differently of you, but remember what I just taught you: brute force isn't everything. Show them the brains, and maybe make them regret it."

And he laughed.

"Otou-san..," Shin murmured before his fingers began twitching.

"Hm?" Jerad paused while helping Claire, and Misha. "Did he say something..?"

"My own weakness almost cost her life...and mine."

"I was never the person for strength, so I trained tirelessly so this won't happen again. She was willing to fight for me to the bitter end, and I want to do the same."

" You don't understand what it means to be naturally weak! I had NOTHING! No fucking natural talent in fighting, and I only had myself to rely on. I don't need anyone stronger than me to remind me how inferior I am! I'm so fucking sick of it!"

"I don't believe in fighting fair, but sometimes..I think I'm just being a coward."

"But that's what ninjas do, right? They're only doing what they can to stay alive. Plus, who cares about being fair? Anyway, you gotta do what you gotta do, and if anyone whines about you, then that's their problem. They better figure it out themselves."

"You're also a vice captain in our Port, and run your own badass unit for crying out loud. What do I have compared to you..?"

"I'll have you know one thing. You better give your all like you always did in our Port..or else I WON'T forgive you."

Then Shin opened his eyes with a gasp, and Claire quickly glanced at him just as Amy finally arrived with a stretcher.

"He regained consciousness," Claire murmured.

"Hey..you're awake, right?" Trista started waving her hands in front of him. "Hello..?"

Ignoring his captain, Shin suddenly placed his hands on both sides of his head, and everyone backed away as he raised his legs up before executing a Chinese get-up. Turning his sharp eyes at Lulu, he snapped into his stance.

"Shin, that's enough!" Hugo stood in front of him. "You already got-!"

"No! Hugo! Everyone! Stay back!" Lulu assumed her defensive stance. "This match isn't over yet, and we intend to finish it!"

"Whaa-?" Amy paused. "B-but..!"

"I said, stay back! Everyone!" Lulu yelled, also returning her sharp gaze at her opponent. Though in spite of that, a chill started running in her spine. 'That ominous aura he's making, it was as if…'

"You won't be able to stop him, anyway. Go!"

Then everyone reluctantly spread out before she initiated the first offense with a low aerial kick. Shin easily blocked it before he began fighting back as Lulu parried his first few attacks. Eventually gaining the upper hand, Lulu mid sidekicked him, pushing him back, and not daring to underestimate him, Lulu kept her sharp pose while Shin in turn, went on offense. After a few seconds of grappling, and parrying, Shin eventually locked his right arm around Lulu's right before straightening his left index and middle finger, and struck an area below her right shoulder blade. Lulu whimpered, and her body involuntarily stiffened, feeling a numbing jolt of what felt like stinging electricity running inside her. After recovering, she punched him on the ribs with her left hand a few times before he also managed to grab her other hand, twisted it to force her to turn her back on him without breaking it, and struck the same area on her left shoulder blade. Like earlier, she stiffened, and whimpered again on the feeling of the numbing jolt of electricity running again in her system. Shin shortly released her hand, and performed a high sweeping kick on her upper back, sending her forward.

'What was this…numbing pain?!' Lulu mused, aghast that she is starting to feel numbness in her arms, and shuddering.

Ignoring this, Lulu pressed on her attack. To her horror, she noticed that her arms were starting to tire quicker, and as her offense pressed on, Shin eventually caught both of her hands, and seeing this as an opportunity to rest them, Lulu kneed his stomach before following with a successful side kick, sending him back. Now a safe distance from each other, Lulu struggled to raise her hands to keep her stance.

'My arms..,' Lulu gritted her teeth. 'I never get tired this fast. How..?!'

"Feeling your arms getting heavier..?" Shin murmured as he kept his pose. "I'm just holding back…"

"What..?!" Lulu grimaced before Shin leapt at her on offense.

Lulu is struggling at her best to defend herself against him, but Shin eventually outpaces her, and she begins taking hits on her upper body, luckily from his punches instead of his straight finger attacks. Desperate, Lulu managed to block his swing, and retaliated with a left high sweeping kick. Letting some of her force hit his head, Shin also locked his right arm around her ankle to buffer the impact, straightened his left index, and middle finger, and struck an area behind her knee. Lulu felt another numbing jolt run through her legs, very similar to her arms before Shin abruptly released it. Then he followed with another high sidekick on her upper back, sending her away. Shin continued his pursuit with his series of punches, and swings while Lulu defended herself to slowly bide her time until her next counterattack. Once her opportunity came, Lulu parried his punch hard, and retaliated with a right high sweeping kick, but unfortunately, the weakening of her left leg caused her to lose a bit of balance, and compromised the proper execution of her right kick. Because of this, Shin easily managed to lock his left arm around her right leg above his shoulder.

"Too slow now..," Shin murmured. "It's over…"

He quickly lifted her right leg, causing Lulu to quickly lose her balance, and dropped her on the deck. Still holding her leg under his left arm while pinned down, Shin raised his right hand, and straightened his right fingers, but no longer able to resist, Lulu only wearily glared at his gesture. Then in response, Shin lowered his hand, and released her leg before standing up and taking a few steps back. Lulu struggled to stand back up in spite of her numbing pain in her arms, and left leg, and before she glanced at him, he already bowed. Surprised, Lulu also bowed back, happy that Shin still kept his courtesy.

"It was a great fight," Lulu murmured. "I'm glad I challenged you."

"Same for me," Shin raised his head. "I shouldn't have second thoughts."

Then after Lulu raised her head, she transferred more of her weight on her left leg, and whimpered, limping back a few steps.

"Are you alright..?" Shin raised his eyes, who was about to reach out to her.

"Yeah," Lulu murmured. "My left leg was numb at the moment."

"...You'll be fine in a few hours, I promise," Shin closed his eyes. "I was holding back like I said earlier. I'll never break you."

"Break..?" Lulu paused. "I remember..What exactly..? What were you..?"

"I'm sorry I can't tell you about it, but please believe me," Shin bowed again. "In a few hours, you should be able to completely move your arms and leg again. That's all I can say."

"Alright. I believe you," Lulu smiled before the rest of the Hounds finally gathered.

"Finally had enough?" Hugo smiled with his arms crossed.

"Yeah, we're done," Lulu wearily smiled.

"Damn, you two are the MVP!" Zeke grinned. "But are you okay? I saw you limping a bit earlier."

"I appreciate it, Zeke. I'm fine," Lulu closed her eyes.

"So, we're not going to use a stretcher?" Amy paused. "I mean, I brought it here for things like this."

"Thanks, Amy. But..," Lulu suddenly limped a step forward.

"Dammit! You're definitely not OK! I'm gonna help you out, like it or not!" Zeke suddenly grabbed Lulu's arm, and wrapped it above his shoulder. Then he put his arm around her waist. As a result of his arm around her, Lulu quietly blushed, though she couldn't understand why... "There."

"Let's all take a break in the gym area for about 10 minutes, and talk about everything that happened today," Hugo smiled. "Let's go."

"Woo! Finally done," Trista sighed. "Not sure how I feel about this, though. Part of me still wishes we could have at least another match."

Then as the group began walking towards their break area, Zeke heard a few low chuckles behind him, and he stopped before glancing at Jerad and Shin.

"The hell are you guys laughing at..?" Zeke grimaced as Lulu also stared at them with a puzzled look.

"Nothing," Jerad kept his smile. "You're doing great, though. Just keep going."

"Tch..," Zeke winced before the two moved on.

After they reached the break area, everyone sat on their benches.

"So, what do you guys think?" Hugo glanced at everyone. "Was this kind of training a good idea?"

"Hell, yeah. I'm getting pumped for more!" Zeke flexed his arm. "Let's do this again!"

"Alright," Hugo chuckled. "The rest of you guys?"

"I agree with Zeke," Jerad replied.

"It allowed us to get to know each other better," Levin smiled. "I would say, let's continue on with this program."

"I definitely had fun today after a couple of matches," Trista raised her hand. "Definitely not looking back."

'Fun..?' Frida raised her eyes. 'Even with me..?'

"Hey, I could use a challenge again," Shin crossed his arms. "I'm down for anyone next time."

"Sparring with other people has been my normal," Lulu added.

"Maybe next time, we'll bring First Aid supplies in case an accident happens," Claire also added.

"Good measure," Hugo replied. "So, anyone else?"

"I…just want to keep training," Frida murmured.

"Huh, you don't seem enthusiastic," Trista grimaced. "Maybe you need more ass wooping of confidence!"

"Hold it right there, Tris," Jerad stood in front of her. "I talked to them earlier, and the little reaper's training is under our jurisdiction now. My sister, and ME."

"Huh?!" Trista furrowed her eyes. "Misha? She never trained anyone before."

"Which is why I'll start teaching her to become one," Jerad argued.

"OK, fine. Whatever," Trista shrugged.

Then Jerad turned to Frida, and after eye to eye contact, he flashed his eyebrows.

"I guess that's everyone. Pretty..unanimous," Hugo chuckled.

Then he suddenly heard a beep in his earpiece. "Hey, what's up?"

"Heyyy, how you kids doing?" Ricardo greeted him. "I just finished my upkeep for our cabin, and I'll go ahead and start cooking for you guys.

Then as Ricardo smiled in Hilda's office, Hilda also smiled from his playful deceit, and Abraham also made a faint smile out of amusement. Amy, on the other hand with the Hounds, remained quiet.

And he continued. "The menu this evening will be ramen. You'll need to recover your carbs."

"Sounds good to me," Hugo chuckled.

"Heh, today is your lucky day, Shin," Trista smiled. "You're so damn Far East…"

"Can't help it, if it's in my blood," Shin smiled back.

"For now, hit the showers while Amy and I cook," Ricardo said. "Wash all that stinky sweat off."

Then Hugo chuckled. "Yep. Been our policy."

"Also, no more training for the rest of the day," Ricardo added. "Owner's order. She said just enjoy the rest of your time."

"Alright," Hugo nodded.

"Reek-ardo, out," Ricardo closed his communication.

"OK, let's all hit the showers," Hugo smiled.

Then Lulu tapped her left leg on the deck.

"What are you doing?" Zeke asked.

"Trying to see if my leg is a little better," Lulu replied. "Seems good enough."

"Catch her like a princess, if she falls," Shin grinned before Jerad and a few others laughed.

"Oh, shut up," Zeke shot back before Lulu started standing up, with him beside her ready to catch her if she does fall.

'Hm, what Mr. Sforza has been telling me is right,' Levin smiled.

"There, I think my leg is better enough," Lulu finally stood up. "I can walk. Thanks for looking after me."

"Alright, let's move," Hugo picked up his jacket while everyone stood up.

"Amy, we'll put the stretcher back for you," Misha smiled. "Just go straight to helping Ricardo."

"Oh, thank you," Amy smiled back. "We'll see you all in the galley."

Then as they started walking towards the elevator.

"Hey, I think Zeke hates your guts right now..," Jerad snickered.

"Huh..?" Shin whispered back.

"For you wrecking his woman like that," Jerad snickered again.

"She'll be fine. I told her that," Shin whispered.

"What..? How would you even know..?" Jerad furrowed his eyes.

"It's one of my secret, and most dangerous techniques..," Shin explained. "I can't tell you anymore. Sorry."

'Secret..techniques..?' Claire mused.

"Ooh hoo, good job today," Trista slapped his shoulder. "But damn, you're probably gonna have a grudge match with Zeke in our next tourney. You better be careful."

"Tch. I welcome him to bring it," Shin grinned. "If he could barely even hit him, then what would make him think he can hit me?"

Then they finally approached the elevator, and the door opened.

In the elevator.

"We'll stop by the Medical Ward real quick to stow this stretcher," Misha pointed out. "See ya up there."

"Later," Jerad and Hugo waved as Misha, Phym, and Claire left, and once they reached the Residential Block.

"We're off for hygiening now," Hugo smiled. "Thanks for looking out for us, Amy."

"You're welcome," Amy waved with a smile. "See you all at dinner."

Then the group stepped out before the elevator door closed between them.

"Hm," Hugo furrowed his eyes. "Now that she's gone. Don't you find it weird that Amy came to us when you got knocked out? The timing was almost perfect. She wasn't here with us before that accident."

"Oh, I'm not surprised at all," Shin shook his head. "We have hidden cameras around this ship for security reasons. Either her, or the owner were definitely watching us. That's how she knew. She probably got bored alone up there, and decided to watch us from the Bridge, to say the least."

"Oh, I see," Hugo murmured. "Well, we got nothing to hide. At least she used it to help us, so I won't worry too much about it now."

"The owner is a very watchful person, too," Trista added. "But she won't do anything to invade our privacy. I'm also not too worried about her."

Then the group split up for their cabins to begin preparing for hygiening, and then after several minutes in the female cabin.

"Lulu, are you doing alright?" Trista put her hands on her waist with her new clothes and towel hanging on her shoulders.

"You've been grunting every time you move your arms," Frida noted.

"Yeah, the kid even sees you," Trista said.

"My arms are better now," Lulu murmured. "The pain is definitely going away."

"Hey, if you're not alright, you better speak up," Faith said. "We have a Medical Ward here for a reason."

Then Claire, and Misha finally arrived.

"Something wrong?" Claire paused.

"Lulu is still hurting right now," Trista replied. "Can you give her a medical check? Like now?"

"Trista, I said..," Lulu grimaced.

"Na ah," Trista cut her off. "Stop acting tough. You WILL have your med check, and our shower can wait a bit more. Depending on your problem right now, I might have to murder that fool tonight."

And in the Medical Ward.

"Hm, that is pleasantly strange," Claire murmured. "Your vitals are fine, but your experience doesn't match it at all. It's like you suffered grave injuries."

"Like I've been saying, I'm fine," Lulu smiled.

"Wait, can I try something? Examining her physically?" Frida suggested.

"Huh? Do you know something, Frida?" Misha asked.

"Um, yes. Just First Aid," Frida replied.

"Ah, I see. Aunt did teach you a bit about First Aid," Claire murmured.

"Wo ho, I didn't know you're good at other stuff besides fighting," Trista chuckled.

"Yes, please do what you can," Claire nodded.

"Well, that means Lulu will have to remove her shirt," Frida murmured. "I saw the areas Shin struck her. Both spots just under her shoulder blades, and one on her left leg."

Then Trista laughed. "You hear that, Lulu? Hope you're wearing bras. Wait a minute, I've never seen you take those off in showers."

"I…don't," Lulu closed her eyes.

"What the hell? How does your outfit not scratch your nipples?" Trista furrowed her eyes. "That hurts, I know from experience."

"Because I sewed soft cushions in all of them," Lulu spat. "I don't need them."

"Ah, I see," Trista glanced at her chest. "You definitely..don't need them."

Then she laughed while Lulu glared at her.

"Tris, should we strip her together?" Faith mischievously grinned.

"Let me tell you one thing for real," Trista raised her index finger. "You better start wearing them anyway, because that's UNWOMANLY of you. You sure enjoy lecturing Zeke about buying new clothes, and yet you don't wear a bra?"

"I got some bras in stock for you, if you're interested," Faith smiled. "Come by my shop anytime."

"Heh, there you go. You're lucky," Trista grinned.

"OK, enough!" Claire yelled. "Lulu, please remove it so Frida can examine you."

"OK," Lulu murmured.

"Don't be shy about your boob size," Trista grinned. "We're all girls here, but you do have the best body of all of us."

Ignoring her, Lulu began removing her upper wear, and as soon as she finished, Frida began examining her.

"There is a small bruise just below her right shoulder blade," Frida pointed at it. "If you don't mind, may I lightly press on it?"

"Sure," Lulu murmured before Frida pressed the area with her index, and middle finger. Then Lulu suddenly hissed.

"Ah, did I press too much?" Frida froze.

"No, but..," Lulu took a deep breath. "It was the same feeling when Shin struck that area. How big was that bruise?"

"About the size of this," Frida showed her index and middle finger tips.

"That doesn't make sense," Misha kept examining the bruise while rubbing her chin. "How could a tiny bruise like this cause a lot of pain on your arm?"

"Hm," Claire closed her eyes, also holding her chin before she sat on a computer desk. "There might be only one way to find out."

Then she began clicking with the mouse.

"What are you looking for, Claire?" Misha walked to her.

"Um, can I put my outfit back on?" Lulu asked.

"Go ahead," Trista nodded. "Still, it was funny seeing you cover your chest the whole time."

Then she and Faith laughed as Lulu blushed.

"Hush! I'm searching right now," Claire silenced them as she browsed the files until she opened the one called 'human anatomy.'

"Human anatomy?" Misha murmured.

"That looks human body," Phym tilted her head.

"I'm trying to get into the nervous system right now," Claire kept clicking. "There."

After examining for a few minutes, Claire suddenly raised her eyes. "I see, but…"

"But what..?" Trista also peeked in as Lulu also stood up.

"Taking the location of that bruise into account, Shin likely struck a pressure point here," Claire pointed at the human diagram on the screen. "But…that's almost impossible. Those pressure points were protected by design, intended by nature, by our muscles, organs, and other tissues. It would take a very immense amount of precision to hit that spot, even with two fingers!"

"You're kidding," Lulu raised her eyes. "So Shin has been hitting my weak spots to slow me down. That's starting to make more sense."

"Lulu, please be specific," Claire turned his seat to her. "What symptoms did you feel each time Shin struck you?"

"I..," Lulu frowned. "At first I felt a painful jolt-like electricity run through my veins, and then it was followed by quick fatigue later on. I was alarmed about why my arms have been giving in too fast, and I know I exercised often. It would take a lot to wear me down, but I still did."

"Hm," Claire furrowed her eyes. "I think I know the effects of that, but let me verify."

She turned again, and clicked a few more icons, zoomed the picture in, and squinted at the diagram with new texts appearing. "Yes! Damages to these pressure points through impact can cause numbness, and even at times, slow the blood flow. This is likely what contributed to your quick fatigue. When you exert yourself, your heart pumps more blood throughout your system to keep the oxygen flowing to alleviate it."

"Which means, Shin did exactly as he wanted," Trista grimaced. "Slowing you down so he'll eventually get the upper hand. Isn't that cheating? Damn him! That's just plain dirty!"

"No, I'll concede," Lulu shook her head.

"Why?" Trista asked.

"Because he didn't break any rules," Lulu replied. "Hugo said 'no serious bodily harm' right? Shin did none of that."

"Hm, yes. Indeed," Claire sat down. "Because that could have been absolutely worse. Had his damage been severe, those pressure point attacks would have caused you permanent paralysis for your limbs. It's similar to having them amputated…except you still have them."

"And I remember he told me that he was holding back while we're still fighting," Lulu added. "This is exactly what he meant. He was trying to make me feel the effects without permanently crippling me. I really appreciate that from him."

"So, Lulu could have lost her arms and legs?" Phym murmured.

"Yes, but not really," Claire replied.

"I want to keep all my arms," Phym murmured before Claire giggled, and lifted her on her lap. "I can't eat with no arms."

"You won't. Don't worry," Claire smiled.

"So, you don't hold any grudge for him at all for this?" Trista worriedly asked.

"Yes," Lulu shook her head. "He's been concerned about my safety, even as his opponent. It was still honorable on his part, so please don't scold him. It was a good fight, anyway. I have no regrets."

"Hoo..," Trista held her head. "That guy is starting to creep me out. I know he's a very smart guy, and knows his ninja antiques, but how much does this guy know?"

"We may never know," Lulu smiled. "He won't even tell me about how it works, but also told me that I'll be OK in a few hours, and he definitely wasn't lying. It's been an hour already, and my arms and left leg still keep getting better. Your vice captain is a very secretive person."

"You're damn right, he is," Trista replied in monotone.

"Since AGEs heal very fast with their P73c bias factor," Claire murmured. "For safe measure, I'd highly recommend refilling your armlets with it, and then dose you with them again. How much bias factor do you still have in your armlets?"

"Let me see," Lulu examined the indicator in her armlet. "I still have half, and my next automatic dosage will be in 30 minutes."

"I see. We'll refill your armlets to full, and override your dosage interval to now," Claire nodded. "I'll get a bag, so please lay on one of the beds. I'll attach a bag to you, and it should only take a few minutes to refill."

"Alright, thanks," Lulu smiled.

"I'd like to help out," Frida stood up before Claire handed her a bag. "So, this is what an AGE bias factor looks like…"

"Mommy, let me see the…ner-voos sis-tem," Phym raised her hand.

"It's very complex, Phym," Claire giggled. "But I'll start teaching you later on, OK?"

"So, wait Claire. I'm just getting damn curious about this," Trista held her head. "You think Shin knows about this nervous system thing as much as..you do?"

"Hm," Claire closed her eyes. "Considering his precision, and knowledge of how those pressure points work, I would say it's very likely. He may even know more than what he did to Lulu."

"Damn..!" Trista groaned. "I definitely wouldn't want to have a fist fight with him."

"He once aimed for my left arm joint with his straight fingers," Lulu sat on her bed as Frida attached a tube on one of her armlets that connects to a P73c bag, and hung it. "He likely would have stopped his hand if I failed to catch it, but imagine if that was a real fight. He would have dislocated my arm."

Then Claire gasped as she covered her mouth. "You mean, the glenohumeral joint?"

"I guess, if that's what it's called," Lulu finally laid down before smiling at Trista. "I guess you won't be able to kill him tonight, anyway. There's no telling in how many ways Shin can break you, but luckily, you're his captain so he would never do that..frankly speaking."

"Aww, you're so lucky, big sis," Misha brightly blinked her eyes while rubbing her clenched hands on her cheeks. "Your Shin is such a sweeet vice-captain."

Then Trista grimaced as Lulu kept smiling.

Several minutes earlier.

"I'll see you all in there," Levin waved before leaving the cabin.

"Here he is again," Zeke chuckled. "Leaving early, huh? I guess he hasn't learned."

"Whatever, and if he doesn't, just leave him alone," Jerad hung his towel on his shoulder. "Because I don't want to piss Claire off again."

Then Hugo chuckled. "Yeah, let's not get into this kind of thing anymore, OK?"

And the rest of the boys left the cabin, entered the shower room, and started dressing down. Meanwhile, Levin was already rinsing himself before using his shampoo, and then heard the voices of his friends approaching.

"Ohh, yeah! Levin finally be a man in the showers! Woo!" Zeke cried before standing his legs apart, and whipping his member up and down as if he was dancing.

"Dammit, Zeke..!" Jerad leaned away from him before others laughed.

"Jaffar, it's good to see you back in one piece, and you said you have something important to report, right?" Sarah said.

"Absolutely, ma'am," A brown, spiky haired male AGE wearing a savage sentinel nodded. "This is why I insisted on coming to this meeting. Werner needs to know this ASAP."

Then Sarah's eyes furrowed, but before she could ask further, Werner entered the room. "Good evening, everyone. Please be seated."

He sat down before his most trusted officers, and those involved in their recent reconnaissance followed. "First and foremost, I would like to say, good work on everyone for the mission today. Leon, and Commander Sarah, thank you for saving Lucia."

"Yes, sir," Sarah proudly nodded.

"Your actions were also commendable, Neal, and Leon," Werner smiled.

"Thank you, sir," Leon nodded.

"Everything for our family, Werner," Neal smiled.

"Heck yeah, Neal," Jaffar smiled. "Always everywhere, and going beyond the call of duty. Brotherhood."

And they fist pumped.

Then Werner chuckled. "And Lucia, are you still feeling alright?"

"Yes, sir," Lucia replied. "Fully able."

"Glad to hear," Werner nodded with a smile. "Now, let's discuss the incident about our last mission. Lucia, please tell us exactly what symptoms you experienced when you were closely observing the caravans for the Fenrir Reclamation joint training operations."

"When I was hiding behind one of the boulders already concealing myself from their resonance radars," Lucia murmured. "I suddenly experienced an intense migraine.., and then I had a strange vision of myself like…flying into one of the four vessels until I had a view of a white haired man inside. Before I reached him, however, I was suddenly back to myself, and returned to hiding afterwards. I experienced no further symptoms again, but was also mentally exhausted. It was quite difficult to even walk."

"Hm..," Werner furrowed his eyes. "This is…very intriguing."

"Sir..?" Sarah blinked her eyes.

"I was once a researcher involved with development of resonance radars," Werner replied. "On account of Lucia's symptoms, I can only believe that you experienced a resonance overcharge. It occurs when an untrained God Eater with high resonance uncontrollably or perhaps inadvertently fluctuates his resonance frequency to his surroundings, and another God Eater with high resonance could also act as a receiver, sensing the presence of another. However, if the receiver is overwhelmed, then it could result in painful migraines. It is synonymous with electromagnetic pulses destroying electrical equipment, and as well as radio interferences. In rare cases, a resonance overcharge could be fatal."

'I see..,' Lucia froze. 'That's very similar to my…'

"So, Lucia was lucky that it didn't kill her?" Leon raised his eyes.

"Fortunately, yes," Werner nodded. "And for resonance overcharge to occur alone, it would also take a God Eater with an immensely higher resonance to happen. Clearly, there was someone onboard one of the four vessels who also possessed such power, possibly much more powerful than Lucia's due to her experience, and her only countermeasure for this is to match her frequency with that person as quickly as possible. It also becomes more difficult at shorter distances as the resonance becomes more dense."

"I see," Lucia nodded. "Understood, sir."

Then Sarah suddenly gasped. "But wait. If a person with a much more powerful resonance like that is in one of those ships, does that mean the three of us have been compromised?! We took measures to avoid their detection in consideration of the average resonance radar range of 30 miles while we rescued Lucia, and they could have attacked us if we're detected."

'We even stayed 70 miles away! I thought that was a very safe measure! Too safe, even..!'

"Hmph. That's indeed true." Werner closed his eyes. "I'll take fault in this."

"And sir, I just remembered what vessel that was," Lucia raised her head. "It was the Ashcrawler Chrysanthemum! It was where I found that person."

Then everyone froze.

"Chrysanthemum..I see," Werner murmured before sighing with relief. 'Hilda…'

"Um, sir?" Sarah murmured.

"Chrysanthemum is a good Port, an orphanage run by a good governor who used to be…a good friend," Werner explained.

'An orphanage Port..?!' Sarah paused. 'Does that mean..? No…'

"Considering what we recently learned, it was also fortunate that it was that vessel who likely found us, but took no action," Werner continued. "From now on, we must take further precautions. Chrysanthemum is not known for their strong military, but they certainly acquired a group of powerful AGEs in their ranks. More so with among them possessing a high resonance ability."

"These people are definitely a package," Sarah smiled. "I used to think we're the only ones who can slay Ashborns, and then here they are, slaying a Nuadha in front of me, and my brother."

"You loved telling us this story as soon as you came back to HQ, commander," Jaffar chuckled. "I had a hard time believing it, seriously. We've been living in the belly of the beast most of our lives, a nest for ashborns, and then we became the beasts ourselves. No one could ever handle ashborns better than us…until now."

Then Werner also chuckled. "And considering that this group did not live in the same environment as us, it was no small feat that they still managed to slay one. At most I could say, they are most admirable."

And he sat up. "So, Jaffar. I've been informed that you have something very important to report. Let us hear it."

"Absolutely, sir," Jaffar also sat up to regain his professional composure. "It may be just as you anticipated. Dr. Inukai's vessel departed his underground facility..just 4 hours ago."

Then the room fell silent.

"And more interestingly, his vessel was headed towards Gleipnir's training area of operations," Jaffar added.

"I see. It's just as I feared..," Werner turned his seat away from them. "His silence about the delay of delivering the humanoid Aragami, his departure from Arrowhead, and now his pursuit for one of the caravans. I do not like this…"

Then Sarah mused for a few moments before Werner turned back to them. "Commander, order all your observation units for Dr. Inukai's facility to return immediately. Their mission is complete, and send escorts for their safe return as necessary."

"Yes, sir," Sarah nodded. "Captain, give them the clearance to RTB, and since it's nighttime, remind them to thread carefully. Aragami are more ferocious at night, and are always on the prowl in the dark."

"Yes, ma'am," Jaffar nodded.

"And I will send my men on their route to ensure their safe return," Neal added. "I will also come there, personally."

"Are you sure, Neal?" Leon sat up. "You were with us this afternoon, and you want me to at least go with you out there as back up?"

I'll be fine, thanks," Neal smiled. "We can handle this, and with me out there, Aragami will have a demon to worry about. I'll put them to the scythe, if they ever come close, even as a whole herd of them."

Then everyone chuckled.

"You've come a long way, Neal," Sarah drank her glass of water. "But very well. We'll leave it to you. Jaffar will coordinate our unit's movements while you make sure their safe return goes uninterrupted."

"Gotcha," Neal nodded.

"So, are there any questions or concerns that need to be addressed?" Werner leaned forward.

The room was silent for a moment before Sarah replied, "I…don't think so, sir."

"Very well," Werner nodded. "Next, we will focus most of our resources on observing the caravans…and Dr. Inukai. I want to stay informed about their current events. From now on, avoid open field transits, and stay between the canyons to avoid detection from Chrysanthemum. Use any underground routes, if necessary. We cannot afford to compromise ourselves again."

"Yes, sir," Sarah nodded.

Then Werner stood up. "You are all dismissed. Our cooks finished preparing our dinner, and everyone should be dining in soon. Enjoy the rest of your evening, and once again, good work."

"Yes, sir," The rest acknowledged before Werner left the room.

"Leon, please tell our cooks to reserve food for us, including for our units who are about to come back and Neal's," Sarah turned to him. "I'm not going to eat until they're all back here. We're eating together."

"Yes, sister," Leon nodded. "Same for me. I'm not going to eat while worrying about them."

"I'll go ahead, and radio them the order to RTB," Jaffar stood up. "I also gotta get geared up. If you'll excuse me, ma'am."

"Wait, Jaffar. Keep me also informed on the radio of what's going on," Leon stopped him. "I'll stand by here as back up anyway. I got your backs."

"Thanks, brother," Jaffar fist bumped with him before he finally left.

"I'll start gathering my men right now before deploying," Neal stood up. "See you guys at dinner."

Then the two left the room.

"In the meantime, I'll clean my god arc, and then take a nice warm shower," Sarah sighed. "And your spear needs it, too. You're coming with me after you deliver my message to our cooks."

"Of course, sister," Leon paused, feeling flabbergasted. "I'm thinking the same, too."

Back in Ashcrawler Chrysanthemum, 2000.

"Hoo, man," Zeke patted his belly. "I'm all stuffed… Pasta, veggies, meat, and soup? I feel ready to kick ass again."

"I was so hungry..," Frida murmured, also having her hand on her belly. "Thanks for the meal…"

Then Jerad chuckled. "Really? I never heard your stomach growl."

"Eh?" Frida glanced at him.

"Well, she did in our showers, and it even echoed around. How embarrassing," Trista laughed before Frida pouted.

"That's a new side of you I didn't know," Levin smiled. "Quite a foodie, eh?"

"H-Huh?" Frida blushed.

"You even ate a little more than half of what my sister, and I did," Jerad also laughed. "I used to think you regies can't keep up with us in eating."

And he glanced at Claire who grimaced. "But I guess I was wrong. All depends on the individual."

"Oh, hush," Claire winced, crossing your arms.

"It was a good meal, nevertheless," Lulu smiled. "Ricardo isn't a bad cook at all, and could even cook Far East food."

"I'll just say I learned many things in my time," Ricardo smiled. "But Italian is still my specialty. It's what I grew up with."

"Food was good," Phym waved her empty bowl. "I wanna eat more…"

"Enough for tonight, Phym," Jerad smiled. "You already ate ten."

"Heh, look at Shin here," Trista pointed at him. "Eleven freakin' servings within half an hour. He just sucked everything out of his bowl before serving himself another one, and then gulped all his soup once he was done."

"Well, what did I say earlier?" Shin shrugged. "I was born eating them."

"No fair..," Phym whined.

"I'll let you eat more once you get a little older," Jerad patted her head.

"So, Lulu. How are you?" Hugo glanced at her.

"I'm already fine for the most part," Lulu smiled.

"Okay," Hugo nodded. "So, should we wrap this up so we can have more time to chill in the lobby? A real decompress?"

"Let's do it," Trista stood up. "Drinks tonight, too. One can per person."

"Sounds good," Hugo nodded.

"Tch! Let's see if you can handle just one can," Shin grinned.

"Hey, I ain't that bad!" Trista spat. "I have self-control, too."

"Whatever," Shin shrugged with a smile.

"Let's grab cleaning stuff, and get to work," Hugo stood up.

"Aye aye," Zeke saluted.

A few hours later, just outside one of their hideouts with a burning cigarette in hand, Werner was standing near a cliff with his pair of red blades near him in case of any Aragami encounter. He was staring into the horizon as the clouds covered the peak of the canyons, but not enough for the large green full moon rising above the ridges.

'Hilda..,' Werner mused. 'Why would you participate with Gleipnir in this..?'

Then he placed his cigarette in his lips before remembering their past conversations. The dream from the distant past they used to happily share together, which is to create a utopia where humanity will no longer live in fear of Aragami in the form of Ports. He also recalled that Hilda used to love visiting the orphanage in Fenrir HQ, and befriended a young girl named Iris. He could only wonder what happened to that headstrong girl whom Hilda greatly cared for, and remembered that she once innocently mistook their trip as honeymoon when Hilda informed her that they will travel to various satellite bases to survey the suggestions of the populace for the construction of their Ports before departing Fenrir HQ.

Werner almost chuckled at this refreshing memory before blowing his smoke, and was still staring back at the horizon where the green full moon is now clearly visible above the mountains. 'No, this is something you would definitely do.'

And he glanced at the distant area below him to see a pair of trailers with their headlights on entering their hideout's entrance, showing him that his beloved people have just returned safely. Once he realized that it was time for him to rest for the night, he pulled a cigarette cutter from his pocket, and lined his cigarette with it. 'That dream still lives on. Just a bit more, and we will be finally free from the ash. Then the next stage for building our utopia will begin. Our future.'

Then he cut the light of his cigarette before storing what was left in his pocket. He pulled his blades off the ground, and began walking back to their hideout.

Jaffar Al-Rashid (Red 4)

Age: 18

Hairstyle: 02

Hair Color: Brown

Face: 09

Eyes: 01

Eye Color: Silver Grey

Accessory A: None

Accessory B: Headgear (Green)

Voice: 07 (US Version)

Upper Body: Savage Sentinel

Lower Body: Military Battlesuit

God Arc: Ammit Twin 0/Mayfly's Will/Crimson Night