Chapter 7, Weapons Training

"This is stupid." Austin stated as he was knocked off of a pillar.

As he fell, he dropped the double-blunt staff he was holding as his sister, Alice placed hers directly in his face.

"This is how you signify victory without landing a kill blow." Alice stated. "Nothing stupid about it."

"Why am I on this unstable thing? I would never fight anyone on it anyway." Austin questioned.

"You have so much to learn." Alice commented as she shook her head in disappointment.

She leaped off the pillar she was on and landed near Austin.

"A weapon like this is all about weight placement and control." She stated as she used the double-blunted staff to lift herself off the ground. "Knowing where and how to shift weight is crucial for mastering this weapon. This is part of the reason why we're on this thin pillar in the first place. They may look different, but this pillar and the staff are exactly the same. Find balance and it'll become easy."

"That didn't help at all." Austin stated as he picked himself off.

"Get back on the pillar and I'll show you exactly what I mean." Alice stated.

Austin lunged back on the top of the pillar, but his footing was very wobbly.

"Do you see how you're struggling to stand?" Alice pointed out. "If you evenly distribute your weight, the foundation will be alot more stable."

Alice effortlessly leaped on top of the other pillar alongside her brother, and demonstrated what she had just said. Austin studied her posture for a few moments and then replicated it.

"There we go." Alice replied. "Now, while maintaining your balance, come forth and try to attack me."

Austin lifted his staff in a offensive manner before extending it in Alice's direction.

"Alright, here I go!"

*SWOOOOSH* *BOOM*

Alice easily blocked Austin's strike and used her staff to push him off balance.

"When you attack, your weight should be placed forwards, or to put it simply, on your lead foot. When you defend, do the opposite and place your weight on your back foot." Alice instructed. "You can modify this however you want once you become more experienced, but for now keep that in mind."

"Okay, I understand." Austin replied.

"Good, because I won't allow you to move on to the next weapon until you fully implement this." Alice stated. "It's time for some hard sparring."

*MEANWHILE*

*BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM* *SPLAT* *SPLAT* *SPLOOOSH*

A puddle of crimson red blood was under Suzume and spread until it reached Irons feet.

"I'm sorry, I may have gotten carried away." Captain Irons stated as he examined his hands.

His knuckles were covered in blood, but he was unsure of who the blood belonged to. The skin from the backside of his hands was completely gone, leaving his own blood-stained bones visible.

"Everytime I lose my cool this happens." Irons mumbled. "I need to manage my temperament or I'll end up destroying my own body in rage."

Irons looked up at Suzume and studied the condition she was in.

"I owe a double apology to you. Atleast my hands will heal, I'm not sure if you will."

Irons body became like a mirror, and reflected what was in front of him. Suzume looked up at his body and saw that she is what was being reflected. The skin on her face was gone. Her nose, lips, and ears were crushed to mush. All that was left was a blood soaked, cracked skull with a few strands of hair on top. Despite losing most of her facial features, you could see hints of what was once there. Her eyes became watery as her lips began trembling as she realized the damage she's received.

"w-what did you do to me?" She cried. "WHAT DID YOU DO!"

Suzume's cries summoned the others to come and investigate what happened. Once they saw what was left of Suzume's face, they had essentially the same exact reaction.

"Damn, Captain." Oneida stated. "How is she still alive?"

"My unique function will wear out soon enough." Michael stated. "Once that happens, I doubt she'll live."

"I feel bad about this." Captain Irons stated. "Let's have a vote. She would allow her to live her last moments free, or should we just let her die here?"

"Let her die here." Oneida quickly replied.

"I say we let her go." Matthew voted.

"I'm undecided, so Michael's vote is going to have to be the tiebreaker." Irons stated.

"Hmmm." Michael uttered. "I estimate she has at most two minutes left. That's not enough time for her to get back to her boss and send him after us. But, then again, we should never take such a risk."

Unknowingly to the group, Suzume had activated her mech suit. The outline of the symbol on the vision breaker's pendant formed on her skull.

"Okay, I think I've decided." Michael uttered. "I saw we let h-"

"I'm not going out alone." Suzume uttered.

"Wha-" Irons uttered.

The Vision Breaker sent a beam of energy that shot into Captain Irons forehead, but it didn't damage him at all. Instead, an identical symbol formed where the beam hit him at.

"Captain!" Oneida shouted as she equipped her Devil's Silk.

"I'm...losing control....over my body!" Captain uttered.

"She's going to take control of his body and use it to fight us!" Michael hypothesized.

"Not on my watch!" Matthew stated as he rushed towards the Captain and placed his hand on his chest. "Primary Husk!"

Captain Irons grabbed Matthew by his neck and lifted him up off the ground.

"It's too late." Irons stated. "Listen, you all won't be able to beat me if you try to hold back. I'm giving you permission to go full force. I promise my body will be able to handle it!"

"Captain...?" Oneida uttered.

Michael rushed forwards and landed a punch to Captain Iron's chest, which loosened his grip on his brother's neck.

Oneida swung her Devil's Silk threads until they wrapped around Matthew's torso, and she pulled him free.

"I can't disable this ability." Matthew stated as he leaped backwards once being freed. "We're going to have to fight the Captain seriously."