Chapter 67

"All of you come at me, at once!" Maria's voice, sharp and commanding, cut through the stillness of the training hall/

Kai, Ryu, Kaori, and Kaida, their brows furrowed with confusion, exchanged baffled glances, their hands lingering uncertainly.

"I don't understand." Kai finally spoke up.

"What don't you understand?" Maria barked, "Are you all that slow?"

"You're joking, right?" Ryu quipped, his lighthearted tone a stark contrast to the intensity of the moment.

But as he turned to face Maria, his smile quickly faded, replaced by an expression of chagrin as he met her unrelenting stare.

"I don't joke when it comes to training," she said, her voice like a whip crack, silencing all traces of mirth in the room.

Kaori, her expression a mixture of amusement and disbelief, chuckled at Maria's bravado.

"I know you're strong, but taking on all four of us at once?" she said, her tone light and playful. "You've got to be joking."