Level 7 – TRUE BOSS

"HOW MUCH MORE TIME DO WE HAVE LEFT?" Momoi shouted as she ran around the room, her eyes spinning in panic.

Midori was busy frantically refreshing a website on her computer, her eyes glued on the monitor. "We only have just over eleven minutes left before the deadline!"

"P-please, Arisu!" Yuzu cried out as she fell to her knees, hugging the black-haired Robot girl tightly. "You're our last hope!"

Alice was busy typing quicker than anything I'd seen before, her hands flying over the keyboard as windows opened and closed in a blur. She was muttering aloud as she worked, her eyes flitting from window to window. "Code Compilation Nearing Completion. Patching Connection To Millennium Prize Servers To Improve Data Transfer Speeds…"

I sipped from my cup of coffee as Suzumi sipped from her cup of hot chocolate. The chaos had only grown as the time had grown closer and closer. And, well, now we are at the very end of the deadline.

"Five minutes left!" Midori called.

Alice nodded, the typing speed increasing. "Understood. File Transfer Beginning. Inefficiencies Catalogued, Switching to Peer-to-Peer Network for Increased Transfer Speed."

"I-I can't watch anymore!" Yuzu suddenly cried out before the salmon-haired girl dashed into the cleaning locker and slammed the door shut behind her. "T-tell me if we make it or not!"

The tension grew as Alice's hands moved ever faster, the typing becoming a blur as the time clicked down. Then, she stopped. The silence was instantly oppressive as the busy sounds that had grown so familiar vanished.

"Well, Ms. Alice?" I asked, setting down my cup.

The Robot girl slowly turned around to face everyone with a serious expression. One that lasted all of a second before she broke out into a bright, cheerful smile. "It Is Finished! Tales Saga Chronicles Has Been Successfully Uploaded!"

The alarm on Midori's computer went off, signaling the deadline. There was a silence before the room broke out into cheers, with even Suzumi joining in. I merely picked up my cup and took a well-earned swig.

"Well, now that you have submitted the complete game, what is our next step?"

"W-we wait for the judges to make their decision." Yuzu answered, peering out of her locker with relief.

Momoi had collapsed on the ground, tears welling up in her eyes. "We did it, everyone! Now we just need the judges to give us a prize so we can prove we're a real club!"

As the emotions swelled, I paused in my drinking. I kept the frown from forming, but I couldn't help but feel an itch in my right arm. Something was skulking on the edges, something that I couldn't quite put my finger on.

What had I forgotten?

The window exploding promptly answered my question.

Fortunately, the experience of the last two and a half weeks revealed itself immediately. People moved as soon as the glass shattered. Yuzu slammed the locker shut once more. The twins scattered, each one jumping to a different side of the window. Alice had rolled behind her cannon and was quickly going through the process of arming it.

Suzumi jumped behind the sofa, and I followed her after a second. Her automatic rifle was already in hand. My handcannon joined her after a few seconds, the familiar tension of twisted will settling as heavily in my mind as the steel in my hand.

"Mentor Nelson?" Alice called out as my focus returned back to the world around me. "Are you prepared?"

I glanced around the side of the sofa, noting the change. A second hole had opened up in the television. The distant sound of boots on concrete echoed from outside as well. I sighed, rubbing the bridge of my nose in exhaustion. "Seminar forces, I take it?"

"I-it looks like it," Yuzu muttered from her locker. "T-there's a lot of them moving towards us!"

"I can't believe they're still pissed about our attack! It was over a week ago!" Momoi griped, peeking around the window frame. The window frame above Momoi's head exploding interrupted her attempt to look outside. The pink-clad girl fell over with a panicked cry as fragments of wood and dust filled the air and covered her.

However, it seemed like there was a plan in place. Alice was peering around her cannon, her head tilted and brows scrunched up in thought. She spoke as soon as the dust settled, "Ranged Attack Confirmed. Position Is Rooftop, Bearing Northeast Forty-Four Degrees. Distance Is One And A Half Kilometers. Preparing Counterattack!"

"Arisu, wait!" Midori hissed. "If you fire that in here, you'll ruin all our electronics! We'll be as good as dead next semester if you do that even if we survive this one!"

It was the perfect moment for me to intervene. I cleared my throat, drawing everyone's attention. "I believe I can be of assistance. We have an enemy sniper who, presumably, is intending to keep everyone pinned while their more mobile forces advance upon us." I paused, sticking the barrel of my handcannon around the sofa. "What say I introduce myself to them?"

"That sounds like a plan, Sensei!" Midori shouted. "What can we do?"

"Draw their attention for a moment."


Karin frowned as she fired another round into the room. She had the pipsqueaks pinned down, but they weren't panicking into her line of fire. She also knew that Schale and its guest were in the same room. Attacking like this was dangerous and opened them up to counterattack. But Neru needed to see what the people who so thoroughly trounced them were like.

Karin was also still a little bit upset about the pepper spray and milk shower she received, courtesy of Schale.

But only a bit.

Karin put that thought aside as she spotted the movement. The green twin had propped her rifle out against the window frame, pointing in her direction. She was clearly intending to counter-snipe her. But the pipsqueak had forgotten an important fact. A scoped battle rifle might make for a good marksman rifle, but it was nothing compared to an armour-piercing anti-material rifle like Hawkeye.

She didn't need to shoot directly at the girl to knock her out. She could do that through the wal-

Long blonde hair and grey steel flashed in the corner of Karin's scope. She quickly pivoted to find herself staring down the barrel of a truly massive literal handcannon. Schale's Sensei seemed to notice the attention, flashing her an apologetic smile. But she still had the time to shift her target and take the sho-

Her opponent fired first, and the hand cannon thundered. The flash of the weapon was far larger and brighter than a weapon of that size had any right to be. Karin had to pull her face away from the scope to keep it from blinding her. However, that same action caused her to jerk her rifle up as she pulled the trigger. Her shot went wide and sailed into the unknown.

Karin barely had the time to blink the lights out of her eyes when something slammed into the building. The concrete apartment shook for a second before the floor beneath her exploded. She didn't need any further incentive to leave. She got up and barely took a half dozen steps before the rooftop under her buckled. Cracks spread out, all originating from the burning façade of the building behind her.

"Oh," Karin muttered, as the roof groaned ominously. "You can't be seriou-"

Then the roof collapsed under her.


"H-hold on, I-I need to catch my breath!" Yuzu cried out between panting breaths as she leaned against a wall to rest.

The rest of us stopped our advance at the anxious Department Head's request. Midori and Momoi ran over to their friend to ensure Yuzu wasn't injured. However, that left Suzumi, Alice, and me to keep watch for our pursuers.

"I don't hear anyone chasing us," Suzumi muttered, staring down the hallway we came from. "That's strange... After all the work they did to chase us here, the smart thing to do would be to follow us in."

I nodded, hand on my sword. Even with the sniper down, it had been a running firefight to get to safety. It would be an otherwise normal day for Schale were it not for the individuals attacking us. Our foes were all Millennium Security Officers, supported by Millennium Security and Seminar drones. But there were never any crimes declared, surrender offered, or surrender accepted. They just attacked, forcing us to move out of the GDD's Club Room and deeper into old Millennium. However, they had stopped chasing now that we were in this building.

It didn't make any sense for them to stop now. Many of the problems surrounding us didn't make sense. But I could see the pieces, even if I couldn't see the board state. "They herded us here for some purpose they have yet to reveal."

Suzumi nodded in agreement as her expression tightened. "We should try to leave as soon as Yuzu-san is ready."

I was about to answer when I realized the third person present in this conversation had been oddly silent. I looked up to ask for Alice's opinion, only to find her staring down the dark hallway ahead of us. Alice wore a firm frown on her face as she slowly turned to look at Suzumi and me.

"Mentor, Adjutant," Alice said with her voice uncharacteristically tight. "There is a maid here."

I heard it a second later, the sound of rubber hitting the linoleum tiling at an even pace. A maid stepped out of the darkness with her hands casually stuffed into her well-decorated jacket. Despite her relaxed stance, the air around the jacket-wearing maid bled a promise for violence. The red-orange hair and red eyes told me all I needed to know.

Maid 00, Neru Mikamo, the Ace of Millennium's C & C. The school's answer to the likes of Head Prefect Sorasaki and Chairwoman Kenzaki. One of the Students who I could easily say outmatched the accumulated average of my personal combat skills. It was fairly obvious why she was here, in this abandoned building far away from everyone and everything else.

Still, manners demanded I try. "Good evening, Ms. Mikamo. I take it this is no coin-"

"Zip it," Neru snapped, sharp red eyes focusing on Alice and me. "I ain't here to make friends."

"It was worth an attempt," I answered idly as my fingers drummed the pommel of my sword.

Neru chuckled darkly in response, her steps never quite slowing or speeding up as she walked down the hall. "So, you're the famous Sensei of Schale. Yuuka tells me you didn't do nothin' to Millennium directly. Just things that nobody can easily prove."

I glanced back to check how everyone else was faring, keeping Neru in the corner of my sight. The twins and Yuzu had frozen in shock. Suzumi had a slightly worried frown as her one wing rustled uncomfortably. Alice was watching with rapt attention, although her expression was unreadable.

I turned my attention back to Neru, hand never quite leaving the pommel of my sword as I asked, "Is that an accusation, Miss?"

"Naw, nothin' like that," Neru answered as she came to a stop twenty paces away. "Doing somethin' like that takes guts." Behind her, Akane stepped around the corner. "So, I got curious. I asked Akane to do some diggin' for info about both of ya'. And ya' know what she found out about you two?"

"Me?" "Oh?" Alice and I asked at once, even as I had an idea where this was going.

Neru's smile sharpened. "She found nothin'. Neither of ya' existed before ya' suddenly popped up in Kivotos."

Alice and Suzumi stiffened, even as I kept my expression carefully neutral. "That is quite the theory, Miss. How can you be so certain?"

"Don't give me that bullshit," Neru scoffed disdainfully. "The Council might've locked down yer' personnel record, but they can't get everything'. There's no record of yer' entry into Kivotos on any of the immigration systems, the symbols and style of yer' uniform don't match anything' in records, no social media presence, no media presence, and swordfightin' died out decades ago."

Neru turned to point at Alice. "As fer lil' Miss Cannon here, Nelson might be good at making legit papers, but she can't fake yer' lack of school records before ya' popped up. Even if the official enrollment exists, we know ya' came from somewhere else."


The hall had fallen into silence as Akane finished closing the gap to end up behind Neru. She stared at Alice and me with razor-sharp eyes, while I stared back with a forced, even expression.

"Well," I finally said, breaking the stalemate. "What do you plan to do with all this?"

"Nothin'." Neru declared with a shrug.

I blinked. Alice blinked. Suzumi blinked. Even Akane blinked in surprise, staring down at her leader with the faintest hint of surprise.

"Really?"

Neru nodded. "That shit doesn't matter. It was interestin' but that ain't why I'm here today. The two of ya' better listen up, because I ain't saying this twice."

I nodded with forced casualness, even as my hand tightened around the grip of my sword. Unfortunately, it seemed that while Neru and I may have been on similar pages, Alice clearly was not.

"Oh, I Understand The Situation Now!" Alice suddenly cried out, drawing both of our attention. The Robot girl nodded with her lips flattened seriously. "Next Line Will Be "I Have Never Felt This Way Before". This Is The Scene Where The Small Maid Love Interest Confesses To The Hero. As I Am The Only Hero Here, I Must Reject Her."

Silence filled the hall again before Akane turned away to giggle. I could hear Suzumi laugh helplessly behind me, even as the twins snickered. Neru was simply staring at Alice with her mouth agape and a fierce blush filling her cheeks.

Then, as if reality had caught up to her, Neru stamped a single foot forward. The ground shook as a palpable malice filled the air.

"The hell are ya talkin' about?!" Neru shouted, her eyes glowing carmine as her bellow stifled the sounds of amusement. "And who the hell are ya callin' small?! You wanna die, is that it?! Why, I'll…"

Akane cut Neru off with a single hand on her shoulder before the redheaded maid could continue. "Neru? Remember why you're here."

Neru bristled at the contact, but she didn't fight the reminder. Instead, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, held it, and exhaled slowly. She appeared much calmer when she opened her eyes again, even if her face was still flushed with embarrassment.

"I'm gonna cut to the chase before ya' say somethin' that's gonna make me kill ya'," Neru said slowly, as she unclenched her teeth and fists. "I'm pissed as fuck about it, but ya' still beat us fair and square. But I ain't here for revenge."

Neru paused as she whipped her arms up in a sudden, violent motion. The chained submachine guns dragging behind her flew up into her waiting hands. Her grin turned bloodthirsty even as her eyes glowed lightly. "But ya've done and caught my attention. So, I'll let ya' walk free. But only if the two of ya' can beat me. Nelson and Cannon Shorty."

"And what does violence accomplish?" I asked, keeping my voice casual as I stepped in front of Alice. Neru's heated gaze met mine, and I cleared a sliver of steel from my sword's scabbard. I didn't expect a real answer. Our paths were set long ago, even if Alice and I had yet to accept the challenge.

"Everything," Neru answered. "There ain't a better way to figure out a person than by fightin' 'em. So all that shit about yer' mysterious pasts? Yer' attacks on Seminar and Millennium? I'll figure 'em out like this."

I sighed and nodded, recognizing the failure in negotiation for what it was. "And what say you, Ms. Alice?"

"Okay," Aris answered as she drew her cannon. "I Understand The True Scenario Now. This Is An Arena Event."

"If it helps you all, then it appears I have no choice." I declared before drawing my sword.

Neru smiled. It was a true, bright, genuine smile, not unlike some of the other Students I had seen. "I know you'd get it!" Then the smile was gone, replaced with sharp teeth and bloodlust. "So, let's do this th-"

"LIGHT, HEED MY CALL!"

Electricity filled the hall as the blue beam slammed into Neru, sending the tiny maid through the wall at the end of the hallway. I blinked, never having had the chance to close the distance. Akane was likewise flabbergasted, staring at the spot next to her where Neru was standing a moment ago. Suzumi peeked down the hall, squinting as if to look through the dust.

Momoi whistled in appreciation at the sight. Surprise and reverence was clear in her voice as the pink-clad girl cheered. "That was amazing, Arisu!"

"Yeah, I didn't think you'd end it so quickly," Midori muttered.

"Did I Kill Her?"

"Please don't say that," Suzumi muttered, even as she gripped her rifle. "But I've been with Sensei enough to know that it's not over."

"Damn straight!" A shout echoed out as a hail of bullets flew out of the smoke. Yuzu, the twins, and Suzumi scattered out of the way even as they struck Alice. The Robot girl regained her wits enough to block a part of the burst with her cannon.

"Morizuki! Keep the others back! Ms. Alice, I shall be your vanguard!"

I didn't wait for Suzumi's answer, already knowing she would. The rapidly approaching red comet demanded my attention. My blade clashed against her chained weapons, and the battle began.


Most people throughout Millennium saw Neru as nothing more than an element of destruction. She was an event that you survived and escaped from, not one you could stop or fight. It wasn't unfounded, and Neru revelled in the legends and rumours that surrounded her. A reputation was like any weapon, after all. It could tilt fights in just the right way if used correctly.

But there was a truth to violence that few others in Millennium understood. There was truth that all the eggheads, nerds, and dweebs didn't understand no matter how many times Neru tried to explain it. It was a truth revealed to her over the course of countless battles and fights. It was an epiphany built on the broken bodies of countless mercenaries, terrorists, thugs, and criminals.

Violence was a language of its own.

Violence was the most primal of languages. Violence communicated far better than any speech or syntax. The exchange of gunfire, blows, and weapons could tell her more about a person faster than words ever could.

Every measure of a person's worth expressed itself in how they approached conflict. Cowards never stood their ground, running whenever a window became available. Smart people skulked, waited, and struck with precise, calculated attacks. Impulsive people charged, disregarding advantage for momentum. So on and so forth for every archetype of person. Neru had come to understand them all.

"Come on!" Neru snarled as she rolled under an arc of moonlit steel. "Where's that scary monster all those weaklings talked so much about?!"

Nelson didn't respond with words. Instead, the Adult flipped the sword in her grip and drove it downward in an attempt to pin Neru's jacket to the floor. Neru had to admit, Nelson's skill with a sword was undoubtedly far beyond anyone else that she had fought before. She could see why the Adult had gained a reputation for being such a terror in melee.

But it still wasn't enough.

Neru kicked out of her roll and pushed herself into a dive. The sword harmlessly passed next to her even as her weapons, Twin Dragon, roared in her hands. Her paired SMGs jerked in her hands as she unleashed a long burst into Nelson's exposed stomach. The bullets ripped into the Adult's uniform, tearing chunks of it off and leaving angry welts visible in the flesh. Neru watched as the slightest wince leaked through the controlled mask that was Nelson's expression. Despite the reaction, it didn't stop the offhand punch the Teacher threw at her. The air snapped like a bullet as the fist sped towards her.

It was one of the fastest punches Neru had ever seen.

It was still too slow.

Neru leaned back as she let go of one of Twin Dragons' halves, kicking the SMG and its attached chain up and over the incoming arm. She saw realization flash in Nelson's eyes as the Adult attempted to flow from a punch into an elbow strike.

Far too slow.

Neru leapt up out of the way, letting the Adult's elbow fly just behind her and deeper into the length of her chain trailing in her wake. She snatched the still airborne half of Twin Dragon as she landed against a wall and pushed herself forward towards Arisu. She opened fire as she flew through the air, suppressing the strange girl with a hail of bullets and giving herself the space to manoeuvre.

So far, Neru was confident that she could keep Arisu from firing again. The only problem was she still didn't know how to deal with Nelson. Against a normal foe, she would pull forward with all her strength and topple them. But Nelson wasn't a normal opponent. Neru's test strikes and sweeps revealed two truths. The Adult was abnormally heavy and was equally stable. Toppling Nelson with pure strength was dangerous. It opened Neru up to a tug-of-war that she couldn't risk.

So, Neru twisted Twin Dragons chains around as she landed and pulled. She didn't need to look behind her to know that the chain had dragged all the way up into Nelson's armpit, and the twist would have clamped the chain around the Teacher's arm like a tourniquet. The Adult was far tougher than someone without a Halo should be. But she still felt pain faster than most students. So, while pure force might not work, pain compliance just might.

The smell of ionized energy was all Neru needed to know she would never find out. She dropped Twin-Dragon from her left hand and whipped the weapons forward with her right. The length of the chain ripped behind her and flew forward at Arisu. The metal frame of the linked SMGs slammed into the girl's forehead before she could fire, forcing her to stumble back and sending a bolt of metal through the ceiling.

It also gave Neru enough time to roll out of the way of a vicious downward slash that cratered the ground she had been on a moment ago. Neru pushed off the ground to bleed the momentum off, sending herself skidding behind Arisu. She had given a bit of ground, but now the strange girl was between her and Nelson.

There was a pause as Neru took a second to read the room while Arisu and Nelson turned around. She had just enough time to understand what she had learned. It was like Akane said. They were both hiding something. Whether they knew it or not, they held back far too much even in this fight against her. Whatever the two were hiding was slowing their responses. They weren't able to commit to attacks as easily as they should.

Arisu was easy enough to read. The black-haired girl didn't want to hurt Nelson. That big cannon she carried around knocked out Asuna on a fully charged shot. Neru didn't want to imagine what that could do to the Adult. The way Arisu handled a weapon of that size spoke of some instinctive understanding. But the hesitation also meant that the girl didn't trust in her ability. Even if Arisu had the right nerves for combat, the weird girl was painfully and obviously new at this.

But Nelson was much harder for Neru to read. Each slash and strike of the Adult's sword spoke of training and practice, skills that would have taken years to develop. But there was something missing there. It felt like Neru was fighting a shadow or echo of someone else rather than the Teacher herself. But it wasn't all just a facade. The hand-to-hand combat, the punches, and the grapples that the Adult fell to were real. They were reactive, almost instinctive. Neru knew it was where Nelson was most comfortable.

Neru just needed to see what happened when she pushed these two mysteries to the edge. She was just a bit further from the truth.

"Well," Neru said, drawing out the word with a vicious smile. "Now that we're warmed up, I think it's time to get a bit serious."


Alice and I were losing this fight. It was a truth that I knew, it was a truth that Neru knew, and I was willing to bet Alice knew as well. The lack of concern from the twins and Yuzu made sense. However, the way Suzumi's eyes narrowed and Akane seemed to relax as the fight dragged on told me they knew as well.

The window for us to win was near the start, when we could rely on Neru's lack of direct experience to rush her down and defeat her. The longer the fight dragged on, the more the odds stacked against us. Neru was quickly learning how to handle our particular quirks. Alice's opening shot represented the best chance for us to score a decisive victory.

My teeth ground together as another burst of gunfire from Neru tore up the side of my chest. The blur of orange and black was too nimble for me to land a direct hit. Without any options, I responded with a wide, sweeping slash across the breadth of the hall. It failed to connect as Neru leapt back, but it accomplished its task of breaking off her advance. I pushed myself back to disengage, heels sparking as I slid right back in front of Alice.

"Mentor Nelson!" The Robot girl called out in alarm as she got a close look at the various injuries that I was fast accumulating. "You Need Healing!"

"We shall have time for that later," I answered. It was a consequence of acting as the vanguard, and Neru had yet to fight seriously either. She wasn't aiming for soft points yet, just the spots she knew would slowly accumulate in pain.

My answer didn't seem to reassure Alice. Instead, she tilted her head in thought. Her expression scrunched up in concentration before she righted herself and nodded.

"Mentor Nelson, I Have A Plan! Can You Hold Small Maid Neru Still For Thirty Seconds?"

I ignored Neru's indignant sputtering and cursing from down the hall. 30 seconds was a short time in theory, an eternity in a fight. The fact I had yet to actually hit the Millennium Ace spelled a particularly poor chance of success.

"Are you certain that it will finish this fight?"

"Yes," Alice said with a determined nod. "I Have Calculated A 98.4% Chance Of Success."

I hummed in thought as I stretched. Neru watched us from down the hall, curiosity clear in her eyes but a smirk still visible. It wasn't ideal, and I was hoping to avoid it, but it seems there was no choice.

"You shall have your 30 seconds."

I kept my sword pointed forward and my right hand behind my back. The air was still with everyone watching in careful anticipation. I took a breath and felt the familiar weight of the token. I held that breath, even as the aches and fatigue of combat settled in. I focused my emotions, focused my senses, and breathed out. I felt a familiar coldness settle over myself, even as warmth slowly began to radiate outwards. But I tamped it down and looked down the hall. Neru met my gaze.

The ground shattered as I burst forward and charged down the hall. Neru's smirk grew feral as she met my charge with her own. The dozens of meters between us shrank in seconds as we clashed in the middle. She no doubt heard we had a plan. She knew I had to pin her somehow. So my opening move was to thrust forward with the sword, aiming to nail her jacket to the floor.

It was the best move possible when she was faster and nimbler than I was. It was the only move that made sense with a sword. Neru knew it as well. She spun to her left and let the blade fly harmlessly past her. My left arm and torso were overextended, leaving her in the perfect position to try to throw her chain over my neck or to unload both her magazines into my torso. It would have been a fatal mistake for any other.

Alice knew it. I knew it. Neru knew it.

But I was prepared to see this fight through.

Neru's eyes grew in shock when I let the sword free rather than trying to draw the sword back for a guard. It would be an insult to the Department's efforts for me to hold back now. I had to give them everything I could after all the troubles they've experienced, after all the trials they've overcome, and after all the effort they've put in.

So, I rode the fine line between frustration and [ANGER]. I chased that instinct that made itself known in Abydos. I chased the instinct that haunted my memories. I chased that instinct that flowed to a pure stream of power and enforced my will.


"Shit!" Neru shouted as Nelson's right hand suddenly ripped forward faster than she had ever seen. She jerked her head out of the way just in time to avoid taking the blow to her face, but not fast enough to avoid it entirely. She felt a bit of sharp pain as the hand, open like a claw, caught some of her hair and tore the vermillion strands free.

Her heart beat in twinned excitement and anger, even as she leapt forward to get out of the way. "Now you're talk-"

Whatever Neru had to say vanished as her jump failed. Instead of bounding away, she slipped as the floor suddenly lost all traction and tumbled to the floor. A quick glance explained why. A circle of thin ice had rapidly radiated out from around them, covering the floor and walls. But she could still recover from this.

At least, Neru could have recovered if Nelson hadn't cleared the distance between them in a second. The ice didn't even slow down the Adult. To the contrary, it seemed to increase her mobility. The Teacher slid to a stop and slammed one heel over Twin Dragons' chain before Neru could pull away. Neru watched with fascination as ice and frost instantly spread from the strike, locking her submachine guns to the floor.

"I finally caught you," Nelson declared with a mercurial smile. Her voice was a discordant mess of clashing echoed voices and the Adult's own even-keeled tone. The shadows around them flickered and struggled to hold back the things that dwelled within them as the temperature chilled. In the moonlit hall, Neru watched as one of Nelson's eyes slowly ignited from blue-speckled grey to electric blue as their gazes met.

That look was something that she knew would have sent most other students fleeing.

Neru met that gaze without flinching and smirked triumphantly. "I was thinkin' ya had to have some sort of ace ready."

"Mentor Nelson! I Am Ready!"

Neru blinked at the shout, then shouted in surprise as Nelson suddenly reached down to grab her by the front of her shirt. She barely had time to react as Nelson suddenly tossed her at the third member of the fight.

Neru could see light crackling off the walls and smell the ionized energy filling the hall.

She could still dodge this if she really wanted.

But she really wanted to see what they had prepared.


Long-absent sensors and programs screamed in Aris's mind, warning her of the presence of inverted thaumic energy. Others warned her of readings that resembled that of a so-called /TATARIGAMI TYPE KIN/. She dismissed them with a sweeping push of her will. She didn't care what they told her. She had more important problems to deal with right now.

Small Maid Neru was flying towards her.

The Sword of Light was a legendary item and as powerful as it should be. But Aris needed to brace the cannon to fire it. It was also big and heavy, and the charge time made it easy to avoid. Up until now, it hadn't been a problem, but Aris now saw how it could be an issue against higher-level enemies. She hadn't been able to land a shot on Smiling Maid Asuna without help.

Small Maid Neru was much higher leveled than the blonde maid. Aris hadn't even been able to land a second shot in this fight. Mentor Nelson was trying her best, but Aris's didn't need her combat protocols to understand the fight as it was. Try as she might, the Adult could not win against Maid 00. Not unless Nelson pushed herself beyond where she was now.

As the hero, it fell to Aris to beat this encounter.

But if the Sword of Light was Aris's sword, then shouldn't she use it fully? Mentor Nelson had mentioned it in passing: every part of a greatsword could be a different weapon. The Teacher might have only intended it to be literal, but it gave Aris an idea. One that she had been processing and modelling since that day.

And with success on the line, there was no better time to try than now.

The ground cracked slightly as Aris charged forward to intercept Neru. Arcs of electricity tore from the Sword of Light's barrel as it neared its maximum charge. The distance between them closed to mere meters, and Aris put her faith in her plan.

Aris jumped into the air. She flipped the cannon as her feet left the ground, reversing her grip entirely and bringing the top of it to a rest on her shoulder. Already, Aris realized a problem. She was jumping too high, and the ceiling was too low. The Sword of Light's arc would slam into the ceiling and become stuck. With the way things are, she wouldn't be able to do what she wanted. But there wasn't any time to do it perfectly.

Like Tales Saga Chronicle, Aris's first attempt would set the path for an even greater one.

So, Aris improvised. She changed the angle of the cannon once again, spinning it to be level with the ground as she continued to soar forward. Aiming algorithms, combat programs, and overclock functions kicked in, and she felt her perception of time slow. Aris calculated flight angles, impact point, and strike force in heartbeats. It wouldn't have quite the same impact as the original, but it would do what she needed the attack to do.

In that moment of slowed time, Aris's eyes met Neru's gaze. The small maid was still smirking, so Aris answered with a bright, heroic smile of her own.

"Light! Guide My Strike!"

Aris pulled the trigger.

The Sword of Light fired, sending a streak of rapidly melting metal out through the wall. At the same time, physics demanded its due. Bereft of bracing and in mid-air, the Sword of Light had only one place to direct the recoil: in the opposite direction of the output and straight towards her target, Neru.


"Arisu!" Midori shouted between coughs as she tried to clear the dust from her throat, the stars from her eyes, and the ringing from her ears. "Nelson-Sensei! Are you OK?!"

Suzumi didn't spare a second thought as she ran into the cloud of dust that filled the hallway. Midori followed the Schale adjutant a few moments later, rushing into where she had last seen her friend and her teacher. She could hear Momoi and Yuzu following directly behind her. They stumbled blindly through the cloud before they pushed through to find the corridor gone.

That was really the only way to put it. The windowed wall that looked out into Millennium had been shattered. There was nothing but the frame and a single hole to signal where Neru had once been. The other wall of the corridor had a massive hole punched through it. Portions of the ceiling had collapsed from the strain, sending wiring and debris spilling out onto the floor.

The similarly Neru-sized hole in the building across the street was probably where the leader of C & C had landed.

"I see everyone is well." Nelson was sitting on a chunk of rubble as she greeted them. The Adult was surprisingly nonchalant, even as Suzumi was busy wrapping Nelson's right arm in a cloth bandage.

"Sensei, where's Arisu?!" Momoi rushed past Midori to where Nelson had taken a seat. Midori briefly considered saying something but pushed it aside. Momoi was worried for their friend. She had enough stress as is.

Nelson never got the chance to answer. A split second after Momoi voiced the question, a chunk of collapsed ceiling was violently shoved aside. Arisu stumbled out of the pile of rubble, badly scuffed and scratched but otherwise unharmed. She looked at them all for a second before breaking out in a cheery, large smile. "Aris Is Ok! And We Have Defeated Small Maid Neru!"

"Are you sure, Arisu? A part of the ceiling collapsed on you." Midori muttered as Momoi and Yuzu dashed over to check the girl for wounds. Arisu tilted her head in thought before experimentally rotating her right arm. She winced almost immediately.

"I Have Damaged My Primary Arm," Arisu muttered, poking at her shoulder tenderly. "But It Was From The Recoil, Not The Collapse. Supernova Is Not Currently Designed To Be Used With My Guided Strike."

The black-haired student stared at the ground in serious thought before nodding with a cheery smile. "I Must Request Meister Utaha To Adjust The Recoil Mitigation System After We Win The Millennium Prize."

"Alright, you can walk out of here at least," Midori muttered as she finished checking Arisu for injuries. There didn't seem to be anything aside from what might be a sprained shoulder. Her black-haired friend could at least walk out of here. "Where's your gun?"

Arisu pointed to the pile of rubble that she had dug herself out of. Momoi could see part of the cannon, partially embedded into the ceiling above it.

"How did you even get it stuck there, Arisu?" Momoi gasped as she ran over to the weapon. Midori flinched as Momoi made it as if she was about to pull it down. Fortunately, her sister had more sense than that. Momoi stopped herself and spun about to look at Suzumi and Nelson, the two of whom seemed to be having some sort of hushed conversation that Midori couldn't quite hear.

"Sensei, Suzumi-san, can you help us carry the cannon out of here?"

Momoi's question snapped the two of them back to the present. Midori could quickly catch an embarrassed flush on Nelson's cheeks and Suzumi's small, frustrated frown. Then it vanished as the two quickly schooled themselves before anyone else might have noticed. Yuzu was busy trying to help Arisu limp out of the hall, while Midori was fairly certain Momoi was too far to notice.

"Of course, Ms. Momoi. I believe Morizuki and I should be able to manage it."

Momoi smiled at the Adult's answer. "OK, then pick it up, and let's get out before they dig Neru out of the ground!"


Neru gasped for breath as she kicked the last chunk of the rubble off of her. Holy fuck, that hurt! She coughed a bit and stretched to get the soreness out of her back. She wanted to see what those two could do, but she didn't expect to get hit by a rocket-propelled fridge today. Maybe giving them that free shot wasn't a smart idea.

"Oh, Neru! You didn't get flattened! Well, flatter."

Neru gritted her teeth at the overly cheerful voice. "The fuck do ya' mean by that?"

"Yep, that's our president alright!" Asuna replied with a laugh, with Karin sprawled over her shoulders like a sad cat. "It'll take more than a bit of rubble to bother her!"

Akane stepped around the corner and, seeing the group, sighed. "Asuna, please. Their little club and Schale are on the retreat. They're not as injured as I was hoping, but they'll likely try to bring Arisu to an infirmary."

"Let's go after them. I'm getting sick of this happening to me." Karin growled from Asuna's shoulders. The black-haired sniper was a mess. Probably because she had a building dropped on her. The uniform was a shredded mess, and the black-haired maid was covered in a variety of scrapes, bruises, and cuts. Neru also couldn't help but notice that Karin's rifle was nowhere in sight, although she couldn't pin down where it went.

But as the group descended into discussion about how to press the attack, Neru couldn't help but mull over what had just happened. She'd seen plenty of strange things in her time as the head of C & C, but Arisu and Nelson were entirely different. She was sure that neither of them was Human. They were an anomaly, people who didn't exist in Kivotos until recently.

But what exactly they were was less clear. Neither of them fought like any student or Adult that Neru had ever met. Elemental manipulation was uncommon enough, but there was something in that ice and air that made Neru think. And for all that Arisu was hesitant about attacking Nelson, the weird girl certainly didn't hold back in smacking Neru with a fridge-sized cannon.

"Neru?" Asuna managed to keep her tone casual, even as notes of worry bled through. She leaned in to stare at Neru, her smile dimmer than it was a moment ago. "Is everything OK?"

"We're callin' it off."

"What?" "… what?" "Ok!" Akane, Karin, and Asuna's responses echoed throughout the hall. Neru continued stretching, working out the knots and sore points throughout her body.

"Yep, we're callin' it off. I feel better now after blowin' off that steam."

Neru chuckled as she looked across the street, where a mostly destroyed office floor sat. "I get why Rio's so interested in the Game Development Department and Schale now. They're an odd bunch."

Akane stepped next to Neru with a worried frown clear on her face as she examined the damage. "Are you certain, Neru? They might be a danger to Millennium if we don't clean them up now."

"Nah. I don't think we're gonna have to deal with 'em."

Neru might not be sure of what they were, but she was certain what they weren't. A threat.

Arisu held back at the last moment and angled the strike away from her. It still hurt like few other things Neru had ever experienced, but she knew the butt strike would have hurt even more. Nelson held back just as much. She'd read the reports of what happened in Abydos. The Adult had skimmed the surface of what she could do, just enough to accomplish Arisu's goals.

Even with everything against them, the two chose not to go beyond what was needed.

"Wonder what I should tell Rio," Neru muttered to herself, absently staring across the street. The rest of C & C joined her, and they watched a portion of the damaged building across the street slowly cave in on itself. "She's gonna want answers."

Well, she could probably get away with telling Rio the broad strokes. It's not like the ever-frustrating president ever actually listened to Neru anyways.


"I can't believe you'd be so irresponsible just to win a schoolyard fight, Nelson-Sensei."

Suzumi wasn't quite glaring at me as she said that, but the faint frown and furled brow were about as close as I would likely get. She was quite annoyed, as she should be. The other Schale Executives had trusted her to be responsible for me. It was her duty to ensure that events such as those of last night did not occur. The fact it did could, in some way, reflect upon herself as both my Escort and Second.

A part of me wished to simply downplay it.

"It did not feel right to hold myself back when so many had given it their all. I will take responsibility for this."

I rejected that part of me as I admitted to the truth. Alice was desperate enough to try a new attack to secure the future for her club. For me to limit myself simply because of the possible risk to myself was unfathomable in that situation.

Suzumi stared at me for a few seconds longer before breaking off her gaze with a sigh. "Sensei, you're unbelievable, you know?"

"I aim to surprise," I answered with a smile. The one-winged girl kept her put-off airs for a moment before it lapsed back into concern. Her eyes wandered to the source of her worries, my right arm. I couldn't help but follow it as well.

After our successful escape, there was nothing to do but to wait for the Millennium Prize results. I took the time to head back to the Schale Club Building to get some much-needed rest and repair. Unfortunately, even riding the line had its costs. The faint white lines that covered my forearm had spread, and they now covered a full third of my forearm. It was noticeable at a close glance now.

The other Student Exeuctives were not going to be happy. But I think it was worth it.

Suzumi and I fell into a comfortable silence as the express rail continued its journey to Millennium. Countless moments passed as I watched the passing scenery and the reflection of my companion shuffling in thought through the window next to my seat. Finally, Suzumi spoke up. Her voice was soft, even though the train was nearly empty. "Sensei, aren't you worried about what's happening to you?"

I considered that question. The abrupt awakenings at night, spurred by memories not quite my own and foreign. The ever-growing wrongness I felt when I looked in a mirror. The pressure at the back of my mind and the gnawing in my chest that had been growing slowly since Abydos.

I measured that against everything I'd done. The shared moments of regret with Rin over her missing friend. Helping the Foreclosure Task Force find a future for themselves and their home. Giving the Game Development Department their inspiration to strive forward. All the Students whose lives I had impacted in my wake, the problems I had solved, both major and minor.

There was only one conclusion.

"I am," I admitted, looking into the blue eyes of my reflection. "But how could I be more worried for myself than I am for my Students?"


AN: I don't know why, but something about Neru's art always throws me off about where her arms are. I don't know why, but it's hard for me to visualize where her arms are for some reason. I do like her overall though! And she's definitely a tough cookie.

Thanks as always to my friend who beta reads this for me!