52 – Cloaked Calamity
Floor 3
Leesoo and Hatsu met at the lobby of the hotel the team was staying at.
"Just us again, Leesoo?" asked Hatsu.
"Nobody else wants to think about taking the next test yet," said Leesoo. "Khun is taking care of Rachel. Sunwoo and Chunhwa went off on their own. I don't know where Rak or Anak are. Parakewl is probably trying to scam somebody right now."
"Figures," said Hatsu. "Aside from Khun, it's up to us to be the responsible ones."
"Hey guys," said Aleksai the Spearbearer, still wearing his red wing attachment.
"Oh, you're joining us too? That's great," said Leesoo. "Come on then, let's head out."
The three of them moved through the streets together.
"I wonder where Axion and Androssi went. Strange that they didn't arrive with us at the landing platform," said Leesoo.
"Maybe they asked to be sent somewhere else," said Hatsu.
Eventually they got to the building that was supposed to be the test information center.
They went in and walked through the crowded hall towards what seemed like an information desk, occasionally looking at the big bulletins and scoping out the other Regulars.
"They all look excited," said Aleksai.
"Everyone must be eager to try the next test. Is there one coming up soon?" Hatsu remarked.
When they'd been dropped off at the landing platform, the information drones had told them that tests between the 3rd and 19th Floor would only take place at scheduled times, and there'd be a cost to take them each time. But unlike the 2nd Floor tests, from now on, they could fail and try again, and they only needed to continue taking the tests at least once a year to avoid losing their Regular status.
While they waited in line at the info kiosk's platform, they saw a little further away there seemed to be a large sectioned off area to their left. The floor was slanted going down and reached an indented arena-like space lower down, which they could see from here. A lot of other Regulars seemed to be watching from the higher ground as well, while some approached one of the machines at the edge and paid for tickets before jumping down.
At the far end of that section were three registration desks behind a metal wall with one gate for each desk and a thick yellow line that demarcated the gate. There was a large sign labeling the whole area "Team Formation Zone".
Of the three gates, one was labeled "Full Team Registration – Minimum 8 Members Recommended", a second one was "Partial Team Registration – 2-7 Members" and a third one said "Individual Registration". Each gate had a light to show whether it was busy or open to accept new registrants.
A line of Regulars had formed at each gate.
Once Leesoo's group got to the front of the info kiosk and picked up an info package, the clerk helpfully explained to them that there was a test that was accepting registration now and beginning within a couple of days, but the registration itself was technically already considered the first part of the test.
"Regulars have to decide which stream they want to participate in. Those with fully assembled teams can go straight to team registration. Those without full teams can try to find additional members in the Team Formation zone, or register directly via partial team or individual streams to be assigned by the test procedure, which may or may not involve different tests."
"Why don't people just build their teams long before the team registration, while they're preparing on the Floor?" Leesoo asked.
"That's the best and recommended way to do it. A larger team can enter the test that way, and there's no limit to the number of members on a team. But the test doesn't always need a large team and the minimum recommended isn't always the same. And sometimes the individual or smaller teams have easier tests separate from the main one, instead of getting assigned to a larger team."
"So it's a bit of a gamble…" said Leesoo. "And because there isn't a limit to the number of members on a team, there could be some very tough competition to enter that stream."
"That's correct. Any other questions I can help you with?" The clerk asked.
"Umm…it looks like some of those guys over there are fighting and stopping others from registering. How come the administrators aren't stopping it? Is that allowed?" Aleksai asked.
Leesoo looked where he was pointing, and saw that indeed, some fights had broken out, and there was a team that seemed to be trying to stop other people from getting into the Partial Registration and Individual Registration streams.
The clerk smiled. "Yes, to help the Regulars find good teammates, they are permitted to demonstrate their skills inside the Team Formation Zone. There are no rules against violence as soon as a Regular steps inside the zone to attempt registration."
There was a loud scream as somebody's arm was sliced off and fell to the ground moaning.
A number of other Regulars that were moving towards the Team Formation Zone hesitated as they saw the sudden violence.
Leesoo's group moved closer to watch the proceedings together with the rest of the spectating Regulars, carefully staying away from the ledge.
Suddenly a very large group of Regulars came through the hall entrance, all wearing an armband or bandana as if they were some street gang.
"That's got to be like fifty guys…? Are they serious?" Hatsu asked. "Is that supposed to be one team?"
Another Regular, a bald man with a frown beside them spoke up. "Yeah, that's the Musha gang. They've been around for a long time. Their leaders are pretty strong and they operate a 'test carrying' service for anyone that pays or is willing to join them for a while. The rumor is that they're part of a larger organization from higher floors that's running a racket to collect favors and big debts from Regulars. The leaders get swapped out periodically and are paid well while they're here."
"You mean…they help their gang members and clients get through the test, then deliberately fail the test at the end to stay back and do it again?" Leesoo asked.
"Yes, exactly. You can give up and fail on these tests at any time, and try as many times as you want…which sounds nice until you realize that these bastards use it to keep strong guys around and make everyone else fail unless they group up with them. That's why some people are willing to risk the partial and individual streams," the Regular explained. "For a chance at a different test."
The mood in the hall had shifted once the gang had arrived.
They moved through like they owned the place and some of the smaller groups and individuals made a rush for the registration desks that were behind tight gates, the thick yellow line drawn on the ground represented a safe zone beyond which violence wasn't allowed.
But oddly, the team that was blocking the way to the registration hadn't moved.
"Hey, those guys…they might be in cahoots with this gang," said Leesoo with a look of realization.
"You saw through it pretty fast," the man beside them said.
"Move aside if you're not taking the test!" A Musha gang member yelled and roughly shoved people aside. Then they started to descend onto the Team Formation Zone and moved to the Full Team Registration gate. There was a tense standoff between them and the rest of the teams there, but they didn't start a fight.
Eventually the fights over at the Partial Team and Individual streams stopped as the gates continued to be blocked off. The gate lights were green, showing that they were open to take registrants, but nobody was able to get through.
The ones who hadn't been too injured started to group up warily.
Regulars still at the ledge talked and whispered, trying to decide how they should proceed. Some left entirely, deciding to take their chances another day.
Others tried to form groups first, before heading down to the Team Formation Zone.
"Should we keep watching?" Hatsu asked. "Even if we don't join this test, it would be useful to know what happens here."
"Yeah. Let's do that," said Leesoo.
The Musha gang members that were gathered around the ticket machines thinned out and eventually most of them went down. Some stayed back at the ledge and the info kiosk and went around soliciting the Regulars that were still hesitating or loitering there, handing out cards.
"Hey stop ignoring me, newbies!" Another Musha gang member with spiked hair and nose piercings followed after a couple of brown cloaked figures that had entered the hall at some point and were walking straight towards the ticket machines.
"I said, stop ignoring me! And what's with those cloaks, trying to act all mysterious?!"
The loud shouting got everyone's attention, even those below the ledge.
The figures continued to ignore him and then went to the ticket machines.
"Grr…you're lucky this is a combat-free zone, or I'd show you your place, newbies! I saw you two at the landing platform…you just passed the Floor of Tests and you think you can just breeze through the next test without a second thought?"
"Shut up, you're annoying," said the shorter figure, revealing it to be a haughty female voice. "Go bother someone else, we don't need whatever you're advertising."
"What's this? A couple of newbies are trying to take the test right away? Idiots. Leave them, Gascone, let them find out the hard way why that's a bad idea," said another Musha gang member, holding the angry spiked hair one back.
"Maybe because this is the first floor after the Floor of Tests, arrogant types like them aren't that unusual…but they'll learn that as you go up, the pond gets bigger and so do the fish in it. Unless they're from one of the Ten Great Families, but in that case they ought to have their family emblems," said the bald man who'd explained things to Leesoo's group earlier and was still with them. "Whoever these guys are, wearing cloaks like that, they're probably in over their heads and will make the wrong enemies soon enough."
Leesoo and Hatsu looked at each other meaningfully.
"Did that voice sound a little familiar to you…?" Hatsu asked in a whisper.
Leesoo responded with a nod. "Those cloaks too…geez, where have we seen those before?"
"You guys know them? Were you from the same Test Floor cohort?" the bald man asked.
"They just reminded us of some people we used to know," said Leesoo.
"What the fuck? Are they going to the Full Team Registration? Do they not understand or are they just stupid?" Another voice asked from the spectating crowd at the ledge.
"They really are…they're going to die, aren't they?"
The two figures marched forward, and by now much of the hall was watching their every move.
"Hey…what the fuck do you two think you're doing? You think this test is a joke or what?" One of the Musha members that were down in the Team Formation Zone demanded as they approached. "This is the Full Team Registration line…minimum eight members. Can't you read?"
"What's with all these dumbasses trying to give us advice?" the female voice asked loudly. "Buzz off, loser. It clearly says 'recommended'. That means it's not a requirement."
"Hey girl, I don't know where your confidence comes from, but think carefully…there isn't a maximum either. That's why those guys can bring fifty teammates in here," said a man with slicked back hair as his group approached after forming up from the scattered Partial Team and Individuals. "Maybe you should consider joining us, if you don't want to be on a team with those scumbags. We're the ones that didn't have a full team either and just formed one."
"Thanks, but I think you're misunderstanding something. The two of us are a full team. So good luck, and try not to get in our way," said the hooded girl.
The other figure's voice joined in, revealing it to be a man. "If the test doesn't assign us as enemies, then we'll leave you be. Who knows, maybe you'll get a lucky break and can pass easily after we crush the rest of these annoyances."
"What did you just say? The two of you, crushing all of us here? I think it's time we taught these fuckers a lesson, what do you say boss, can I take them out right here, right now?" Gascone jumped down and walked over.
"Go ahead, show them the power of the Musha clan," said a calm voice, from a man in a suit whose armband had a gold highlight.
"Really? You want to start something right here, out in the open?" The cloaked man's voice asked.
Several other Musha gang members formed a circle to surround them, while the slicked hair guy backed away with his group, shaking his head.
"You fucking dimwits. Didn't you even listen to the rules before coming down here? This is a combat allowed zone! The test administrators aren't gonna stop us even if we kill you!" Gascone said with a grin before charging forward, needle flashing with a burst of Shinsoo.
'All that big talk for nothing!' Gascone thought as he stabbed deeply into the cloaked figure's chest, the needle coming out the other side.
"Pathetic, you couldn't even react to my speed?" Gascone asked, smirking widely.
"How sad…" the bald man with Hatsu and Ship shook his head. "Gascone is one of the fastest members of the gang, having mastered the Shinsoo jump. They pissed the wrong person off."
"Look again, there's no blood on the needle edge," said Hatsu.
"Huh?" The bald man blurted with a surprised expression.
"Huh?" Gascone realized that something was wrong when he couldn't pull out his needle.
Suddenly, the needle shattered into pieces. "Wh-what?!" Gascone jumped back.
"He must have let it go through the gap between his chest and arm," said Hatsu.
"Listen…I'm not a violent person and I don't enjoy killing weaklings, especially when the test hasn't even started. Why don't you settle down and wait quietly to register with the rest of your team?" said the male figure.
"It must be a trick of some kind…you bastard, I'll show you!" Gascone pulled out two more needles and charged again.
This time the cloaked figure blurred and caught his neck, raising him into the air single-handedly, revealing a dark crystalline armor covering his arm with red and purple highlights like veins.
"This is your second chance. Drop your weapons, and quietly register," the male voice. "I won't give you a third."
Gascone choked but struggled in the air, refusing to put down his needles. "A-argh!"
"Get him," the boss ordered.
Five gang members charged in.
Before they took two steps, the shorter female figure disappeared from the vision of most of the Regulars there, and then there were screams. All of the charging Musha gang members fell down with bloody spurts.
"Sorry, my partner might not be a violent person…but I certainly am!" The female figure standing beside the larger one again flicked the blood off her needle, her hood having fallen off to reveal a girl with hair tied up by a hair pin made of a red and purple crystal and wearing a masquerade mask made of the same crystalline material, but mostly silver in color with red edges and glossy purple pin pricks splattered over the silver parts.
"She's pretty…" A voice among the spectating crowd commented.
"But dangerous…"
"Who is she?" Another asked. "That was so fast!"
Gascone's face began to turn fearful and his needles dropped to the ground.
The figure holding him tossed him towards the apparent boss of the gang, sending him crashing through a couple of other members before it was intercepted by a lieutenant with a silver highlight on his armband.
"How dare you disrespect the boss like this?!" The lieutenant shouted.
"Hm? Didn't I say to wait quietly?" The larger figure asked, tilting its head.
By now the Full Team Registration gate's light was green, but everyone was frozen watching the fight.
"Hey, Chroma, it looks like the gate's open but these idiots aren't even going in…?" the girl remarked. "How about we just kill them all for wasting our time?"
"Three is the magic number, my summoner. So we should give them a third chance," said the figure called Chroma.
"Fine, fine. One more chance then," said the girl.
"Get them damn it, get them!" The lieutenant shouted and then charged in. The entire gang started moving towards the two cloaked Regulars.
"Three's the magic number, time to die!" The girl said as the Regulars closed in on them.
To most of the Regular present, it looked like the two of them just disappeared.
And then the screaming started. Blood spurted onto the faces of nearby Regulars who hadn't been able to react.
In less than twenty seconds, almost the entire Musha gang was lying down on the ground.
The gate light flashed green with a beeping sound reminding them that it was open, but the Regulars were all frozen in shock.
The two of them reappeared in the center of the slaughter, their own cloaks now covered in blood, but now both their hoods had fallen off, revealing that the male figure was wearing an open face helmet of the same black color as his armor but with the red and purple lining its edges and forming complex designs, with two curved horns at the top. His eyes were covered by an opaque visor that had a holographic gradient to it.
The boss was the only one left standing, and he unconsciously backed away a step.
The boss looked around at his fallen members, then back to the clocked duo. "You bastards…don't—don't get cocky!" He pulled out a large gun of some sort from inside his suit.
"Boss! We'll protect you!" The two teams that were blocking off the gates to the Partial Team and Individual Registration gates rushed over.
Another ten newly revealed members got into a clear formation around the boss of the Musha gang.
Two sets of two Lighthouse Cubes went up as well. These teams were clearly better than the other ones.
"We're the real elite of the Musha gang…you're going to regret killing our people!" A girl with a long spear shouted.
"They just don't know how to give up…" The girl pushed aside a strand of stray hair with her left hand.
"Hatsu, the ring on her hand…" said Leesoo, whispering.
"Yeah I see it too. If there was any doubt before…" said Hatsu, also whispering.
"Now I'm really glad we weren't with them in the first test," whispered Aleksai.
"Oh yeah, they did something similar back then too, didn't they?" Leesoo muttered.
"So you do know them! Who are these monsters? What Family are they from?" the bald man asked, interrupting them.
Several other Regulars turned their way, curious.
"Nope, we don't know them at all!" Leesoo said quickly. "We have absolutely nothing to do with them."
"You were just talking as if you did!" The bald one exclaimed.
"Yeah, you must know something, tell us!" Another Regular beside them demanded.
"Stop, you idiots, are you trying to get killed?! Don't be so loud!" Leesoo asked with an angry whisper.
"What's going on over there? Do we have some admirers?" The girl asked, turning to them. "Oh, it's just you three. Haha…keep quiet and don't tell them who we are, okay? Don't spoil our fun!"
The figure who was obviously Androssi winked and put a finger to her mouth.
"Come on you two, isn't this a bit much…? Just let them go, there's no need to bully people so much weaker than you. Or are you guys planning to have a massacre for each Floor on your way up?" Hatsu said, his voice carrying through the hall clearly.
"Relax, Hatsu, most of them shouldn't be dead," said the armored man who Hatsu knew was Axion. "And this is self-defense. If a swarm of fleas keeps trying to bite you, shouldn't you swat them away?"
"F-fleas?! You arrogant bastards!" Angry cries could be heard from most of the Musha members remaining as they seemed ready to attack again.
"Stop it, you don't understand what you're facing! If you don't provoke them anymore, you might still be able to leave alive!" Hatsu shouted, trying to warn the restless gang members.
"Shut up kid, whatever trauma you have from the last Floor, leave it there! This is the third Floor, we've all passed the Floor of Tests, and some of us could've passed this Floor long ago!" Another of the Musha gang members with spiked gauntlets shouted back.
"You fools! None of you stand a chance against them! You're just throwing your lives away!" Hatsu shouted. "Even if every Regular on this entire Floor attacked at once it would still be suicide!"
"You must be a part of their team, aren't you? Trying to scare us? No one is that strong!" The boss roared.
"Forget it, Hatsu, they won't understand until they see it with their own eyes…" said Leesoo. "I was never able to really understand it either until I saw them fighting that Ranker."
"…fighting a Ranker? What kind of bullshit are you spouting?! There's no way that's possible!" A chorus of jeers and denials went through the hall.
"Damn it, they won't listen…" Hatsu said through gritted teeth, then tried one last time. "They killed their entire cohort in the first test! And if you don't back off you'll just end up like the rest of your friends down there!"
"If they killed their entire cohort, how the hell are you bloody alive then? It's obvious that this is a scam! You're definitely on the same team!"
"Poor Hatsu, he's trying so hard to warn you all and you think it's a scam? Hahahaha!" Androssi laughed. "It's just too funny…if only you knew…hahaha…"
"What's so funny…?" The girl with the spear asked.
Axion answered her. "In all likelihood, Hatsu is one of the strongest Regulars in this room right now aside from the two of us. So I suggest you take his advice, because he's telling the truth. No other team survived our first test, so we had to be placed with another cohort for the position lessons. That's how those three know us."
"Enough of this bullshit!" The boss roared and fired his gun right at Axion.
A beam of Shinsoo as thick as a fist erupted from the gun.
Axion raised his armored hand to it, and the beam dispersed harmlessly against his palm.
"…Th-that's impossible! This is an 8E Grade item!"
Hatsu facepalmed, remembering the way Anak had been shocked to see her A-Rank Ignition had been blocked by Axion. Axion used his sword instead of just a hand back then, and Hatsu knew that the item Ranks didn't matter if the user wasn't strong enough to use them properly, but still…getting shocked about a low tier E Grade weapon getting blocked seemed just a bit sad to him.
Below the 20th Floor, Regulars were F-Rank, and except for the Pocket they got in the beginning, the Items they could get within these Floors were usually within the same F Rank. E-Grade items were generally found above the 20th Floor, but Hatsu had seen so many higher Grade items on the last Floor that E Grade seemed terribly underwhelming.
"It must be because of his armor…" said one of the members holding a Lighthouse. "But armor is a crutch that becomes useless on higher floors as Shinsoo density increases, because it doesn't have Shinsoo resistance like the body, making it impossible to move around."
"How do we fight it?" Asked the girl with the spear.
"The armor must have weak points, hidden by his cloak right now! And fortunately, I also learned a special Lighthouse skill to increase Shinsoo density! I'll slow him down so that we can find his weak point!" That Lightbearer took out a round device, pressed a button on it, then attached it to his Lighthouse.
"You're the best Wuoon!" The Spearbearer girl's voice was joined by a bunch of other cheers from their teammates.
Two of his Cubes went to the other set of two Cubes. "Link up with me, Rona!"
"Got it!" The other Lightbearer's Cubes attached to his, before separating again and swirling together as if orbiting. The two paired Cubes went forth and began generating a field of denser Shinsoo that covered half the Team Formation Zone.
Other Regulars nearby that were caught in it found the air feeling thick and much harder to move their limbs.
"You're done for!" The Lightbearer named Wuoon said with a smirk. "I'm a member of the Riorie Lorie family, and we have Tu Perie blood in our ancestry, the best Lighthouse users in the Tower!"
"A-amazing!"
"A Branch of the Ten Great Families here?!"
There were many shouts of awe and surprise from other Regulars. Wuoon looked smug.
"I've never heard of you," Androssi said flatly. "Are you really bragging about being some bastard line that might have the barest Tu Perie blood from like twenty generations ago that might not even be real?"
"W-what?! H-how dare you!"
"Listen, on the last floor, there was a crippled no-name girl with zero training in Shinsoo that became a better Lighthouse user than you after learning for just a month. You can only handle two cubes and you think you're hot stuff?" Androssi said, referring to Rachel. "There's no way you have any real Tu Perie blood."
"A crippled no-name girl?! You…you…!" Wuoon's face looked like he was about to pop some blood vessels.
"She's kinda right…was everyone in our cohort actually amazing?" Leesoo asked.
"Yeah," said Hatsu. "Remember that redhead I fought in the Crown game? She was so strong, but still failed the Position Test because Laure and Baam's talent were too ridiculous and there were only two spots."
"That's right, Laure's from the Phonesekal family, an actual main branch of Eurasia," said Leesoo.
"And then there's Aguero Agnis, a direct son of the main Khun line," said Hatsu.
"And our own princess…good thing she isn't here right now," said Leesoo. "Or we'd be dragged into a fight with everyone as well."
"Not to mention all the Ignition Weapons. Even Rankers can't get their hands on those easily yet there were four in our tiny group," said Hatsu.
"…what the hell kind of group did you people come up with?!" The bald man asked with shock, but this time he was ignored.
"I feel inadequate in front of everyone…" said Aleksai.
"So do I, Aleksai, so do I," Leesoo said with a sigh.
"It can't be helped. Those two are just in a different league entirely, making even geniuses and monsters look pathetic in comparison. Even I feel inadequate," said Hatsu. "But you guys aren't weak at all, we just have to keep perspective."
"Talk is cheap! Insult me all you want, but let's see how you actually do against my Shinsoo field!" Wuoon shouted.
"Let's go!" "Yeah!" "Attack!"
The previously undercover Musha team charged, spears firing first while their Fishermen moved in.
Axion and Androssi swatted away the spears like nothing, then burst forward with no discernible drop in speed and took down the incoming Fishermen with one strike each.
"No-no way! But my Shinsoo field! How?!" Wuoon shouted before he took a hit himself and was sent flying and didn't get back up.
Soon it was just the boss standing there again. 'Damn, I can't show my face to the higher ups if it ends like this! I have to use it!'
"Don't look down on me…! I was chosen to be the leader of the Musha gang because I'm the strongest on this Floor!"
He put away his gun and materialized his Arms Inventory, before grabbing a long polearm.
Then he suddenly had a pill in his other hand and ate it, before his suit burst into pieces as his muscles bulged out.
He got into a ready stance with the polearm, then charged forward.
But he swung before he reached Axion, and the ball tip of the polearm burst out, revealing it to be a Compression Weapon, a chained spiked mace that swept towards Axion!
To Hatsu's eyes, the boss seemed a bit strong compared to most of the enemies he'd faced during the survival test, and even some of the physically weaker members of his current team, but his movements were just so slow and unrefined. He was sure that he could defeat this man, and if Hatsu could, what danger did he pose to the likes of Axion and Androssi?
Axion slipped underneath the flying mace head then grabbed the chain with one hand, causing the mace to pivot back around.
The boss narrowly avoided hitting himself as the chain retracted towards the shaft and he spun the shaft quickly to tie Axion's arm with the chain.
Axion was caught.
Then Axion pulled the chain and the polearm, dragging the boss's whole body towards himself.
'This strength…is he still stronger than me?!' The boss was shocked, but had no time to think on it further as Axion's other hand pushed an open palm towards his chest.
A split second after it landed, there was an explosion of blood and flesh.
Axion retracted his hand and let the man fall to the ground.
Hatsu stared as his theory from over a month ago was proven true. Axion's technique that allowed him to shatter Rak's spear during the Crown game, and probably the needle that the Musha member stabbed into him too—when used directly on a living body, a single touch could kill somebody.
Axion observed the polearm in his hand, then moved it inside his cloak where it just disappeared, probably into an inventory of some kind.
The cloaked duo walked towards the gate, unruffled. The other Regular teams gave them a wide berth as they approached.
"Who…who a-are you…?" The boss asked, barely lifting his head from the ground.
"Oh, you were still alive?" Androssi asked, turning to look at him for a bit. "Well, if you're just dying to know, I guess I could tell you. I'm…"
She lifted her hood back up to cover her head in shadow, and Axion did the same.
"…Andora, the Witch of Calamity. And he's Chromatic, my Demon Knight of Calamity!"
After the declaration, they walked straight to the Full Team Registration gate.
After they were processed and went through the next door, the green light lit up again, signifying that the desk was open.
But still, nobody approached it. Instead, as the door closed, the other Regulars present seemed to remember to breathe, whispers and murmurs covering the hall.
Those who were left and still able to move in the Team Formation Zone began to move to the Partial Team and Individual registration gates, splitting up their teams as if trying to avoid the disaster that just passed by.
The few remaining members of Musha that hadn't gone down to the Team Formation Zone finally went down to check if any of their downed members were still alive.
Leesoo, Hatsu, and Aleksai left the hall as well, heading back towards the hotel.
"You all agree…we definitely shouldn't join the test this round, right?" Leesoo asked.
"Agreed," said Hatsu with a nod.
"No complaints from me," said Aleksai.
"Yeah…we're going to have to work hard to catch up to them," said Leesoo. "Anak won't be happy about this, but it's probably a good thing that they're taking the spotlight away from us with their antics."
"They're hiding their own identities as well," said Hatsu. "Andora and Chromatic…"
"I think they're just messing around with that. Their disguises seemed more like cosmetic props than actually concealing their identities from anyone who already knows them," said Leesoo.
"Maybe you're right, and this is all just a game to them," said Hatsu.
"Must be nice to be that strong, treating it all like a game…" Leesoo said with a sigh. "The pond has gotten a bit bigger, but in front of true sharks from the ocean, everyone around them still looks like small fish…"
O O O