17 Trust Your Instincts

Boy genius Reed here. How's it hanging? I don't wanna toot my own horn, but I've been doing well as of late. Why? Just because, haha. I can't tell ya the reason, unfortunately.

Boys have their secrets, too; forbidden knowledge we can't reveal to outsiders and the like. You have to understand that if I told you, I'd have to make you swear an oath of trust. This is a confidential matter, after all.

Trust is the bedrock of society, you see. Without it, we'd be still be stuck in the stone age. It's paramount in a genuine relationship between friends.

So.

Are you prepared to face the consequences if you betray us? The brotherhood will surely repay blood for blood if you ever betray us. Even so, you still want in on this...operation?

Just remember that you'll be judged by your own karma if you join us.

That's a good response, soldier! The brotherhood needs more passionate recruits like you. Alright, let me fill you in on the plan...

My days have been pretty relaxed as of late, I had to be honest. My inner eye opened up, and I became a super-genius Anima shaper!

That's the type of update you expected me to tell ya, right? Well, I'm gonna be brutally honest with ya, guys.

I wish... that I hadn't been born a genius. Life's hard when you're as talented as yours truly. The difficulty's raised when you're gifted. I'm playing the game of life on hard while everyone else is coasting on easy. That's total bullshit and you and I both know it.

I. Want. Out.

Where do I resign my status as a genius? Can I speak to the manager, please?

......

Seven brilliant spears of flame flew straight at me, intending on turning me into ash. They tore through the air so fast I couldn't see them fully. All I saw was a crimson flurry heading my way.

I can't dodge them, not with my reflexes. My body isn't fast enough to evade them anyway, so it's pointless even thinking about running.

I need to protect myself, no matter what. That means I have two options.

Strike them down before they reach me, or forgo countering them all together. Hunker down and focus my efforts into purely defending.

I'm completely overwhelmed in this battle. Every single attack I've thrown at her has been countered. Not once have I put her on the defensive.

Every time her Anima skills hit me, I black out momentarily from sheer pain.

I summon my golden aegis and protect myself from her bombardment.

"Agh....!"

Blown back several dozen feet, I survived the strike, but my left shoulder's gone stiff. I can't move it or even feel it anymore; might be dislocated, but I don't care. Need to focus.

Can't give her any more openings than I've already given her. I prepare my next attack and begin visualizing a lance made of light. I can't hope to defeat her strength, so I began to focus on the speed of my attacks.

I'd rely on the speed of light to deliver my strike. Create a weapon without weight and accelerate it as quickly as possible. Summon my lances en masse at different times to bait her into focusing on them.

I raise my hand and point it at her. Holy lances tore through the sky and flew toward her like shooting stars.

None of them pierced her shield, but I paid no mind to my failed attempt. This would be my only chance, while she was still distracted with the lances.

I called forth the hidden weapon I'd been preparing since the start of the match. Deep beneath the platform, something dangerous had been growing all along.

An enormous ball of concentrated Anima lay beneath us both, compressed to an unimaginable degree. Unknown to her, a small star viciously continued to grow underneath us both.

A tinge of fear clouded my mind; even I had not expected it to grow this large so fast. My subconscious must have done this out of anxiety.

Ahh, screw it.

I'm tired. My body feels heavy. Whatever happens, happens.

I'm losing control of the damn thing anyway, so why not go out with a bang?

"...!!!"

She's finally caught on, it seems. No point in holding it back now, haha...

I release the ominous star from its imprisonment.

Blinding white light engulfed both of us, and I lost consciousness.

I shit the bed this time, but she'll probably clean up my mess. Probably...

By the time I came around the sun had already set over the horizon. I knew this familiar scene. This view could only be seen from the villa; it looked like she was finally satisfied with my performance. Thank god.

Violet had a stern, unforgiving look on face as she stared at me. As if I had wronged her in some capacity.

"That was reckless, far too reckless, Reed. I told you to get creative, but I don't remember telling you to become suicidal. You almost blew yourself off to heaven; you're lucky I noticed what you were planning last second."

"The blast wouldn't have killed me, but it would've vaporized you into nothingness had I not protected you. My body's been reinforced to hell and back with the blessings I've earned. At best, you would have singed me a bit."

She would've only been lightly burnt from that?! This she-beast knows how to put people down...

"It was a stupid idea, but I can see where you were coming from. Just make sure to get some distance when you try something like that again. The main goal of a fight is to survive; to kill your opponent and live. You can't do that if you blow yourself up to kingdom come, right?"

"Yeah, I guess so..."

Violett ruffled my hair gently and said, "Don't be so glum. You did well today, all things considered. There's no point in feeling bad about losing; it wasn't a fair fight in the first place. Think of it as nothing more than practice and reflect on your mistakes."

Isn't she the sweetest? She played both roles magnificently; crushing me and bringing me back up from the depths of my sadness. What a fucking joke. I'd wholeheartedly believe you if you told me that she was the creator of the carrot and the stick.

For now, I'll play into her act and let her think she's got me in her hands. Give her the impression that I need some time alone to reflect on my actions, like a good boy.

"I...think I'm going to rest some more, okay? I'm still not feeling too well at the moment. Let's talk some more tomorrow, okay?" I curled up like a sad puppy and closed my eyes slowly.

Violett apprehensively looked at me like she wanted to strangl- I mean, coddle me in her embrace. I wondered why this woman's maternal instincts were so strong. You'd think I was a baby chick from the way she treated me. But it worked to my advantage, and that's all that mattered.

Eventually, she backed down and quietly left my room as planned. The hen had been fooled. This was the victory that we'd been scheming for the whole time. Now that she had left me alone, I'd be able to execute the second stage of the plan.

Tonight, my brothers and I would free ourselves from our responsibilities as trainees and go on a small 'adventure' of sorts. We'd been planning this since the day Astor brought it up in secret. If word got out about this, who knew what Astrid and Ophelia would think of us. God forbid Violett found out...

The brotherhood would not accept failure for this mission. Everything had to be perfect for this to succeed. We'd reach the city of Raku or die trying.

Ah, beautiful moons in the sky. What secrets do you hide in your bosoms? Tonight's events shall be another memory that only you three will know about...

Reed silently walked through a shrouded path as he tried his hardest to keep his excited thoughts in check. He was heading to the place they agreed to use as the rendezvous.

He noticed that three shadowy figures had already arrived at the location. His accomplices had signaled for him to hurry up, so he picked up his pace.

"Good work, buddy. Looks like you gave my older sister the ghost. We also managed to get 'them' out of our hair safely. They don't suspect a thing, so we're good to go."

"So. Are we leaving now? Is everything in order?"

Sebastian and Horatio quietly nodded in acknowledgment; they took out a small map of the island and pointed at a particular location. It was a hidden altar that was used by maintenance workers during the off-season that the residential zone wasn't in use by trainees.

The mission was relatively simple; reach the hidden altar and use it to teleport over to Raku discreetly. Have their fun and come back before sunrise, or at least before the ladies woke up...

Simple, right? The problem was that we'd need time to reconfigure the altar to take us to Raku, and that's where the risk was. If someone noticed us tampering with it, the consequences would be severe.

If Violett caught us... I don't even want to think about it.

But! We! Must! Push! Forward!

That's what it means to be a man. Facing adversity and overcoming it.

This would be a night to be remembered, either way, that's for sure...