Preparing For Battle

"Follow me. " Sneed spoke while walking towards the exit of the task force headquarters with his hands tucked in his pockets.

Elina and James followed him silently with carefree expressions while Adam looked at the trio leave the building with a dazed expression.

"Where are we going? " He asked as his gaze alternated between them and the rest of the task force members, who started preparing for their training.

"Bladeworks is a giant corporation. " Sneed said as he opened the door. "You didn't really believe that a task force working under such a corporation would only have a single building under its disposable, did you? " He continued as he walked out.

Adam gave a slight nod in reply before following the trio through the door.

Outside, what awaited them was a luxurious car.

"Shotgun! " James announced before hurriedly opening the passenger seat.

"You're such a child! " Elina said while pouting before getting in the back.

Adam followed Sneed to the other side of the car and got in the back as well, while Sneed got in the driver's seat and started the car.

____________________

After a short and chatty drive through Manhattan, the car stopped in front of a one-story building in the middle parts of the borough.

The building had a shady feeling about it, even though it was the middle of the day, which gave Adam a slightly uneasy feeling.

Sneed opened the building's locked door and entered with a yawn before switching on the lights. Elina, James, and Adam simply followed him inside to a surprising scene.

Unlike the building's exterior, the interior looked quite pleasing and futuristic, with pristine white floors, walls, and various state-of-the-art training machines in the corners, while a comfortably large space dominated the center of the room.

'This place is perfect for training... ' Adam's eyes widened in amazement as he gazed upon the well-put interior.

"Okay, newbie, these two losers have been training with me for a while now, so they know how it goes, but you don't. " Sneed spoke as he stood in the middle of the large space. "I'm gonna assume that you've never had official hand-to-hand combat training before. "

Adam shook his head as a reply while James and Elina started gearing up for training.

"First, I'm a healer, but I'm able to wipe the floor with the three of you without breaking a sweat, so if you hold back, I might accidentally kill you... This is a warning. " Sneed's tone turned serious.

*Gulp! *

Adam felt the immense amount of bloodlust laced in Sneed's voice and gulped down his saliva nervously.

'He's not kidding... ' He thought.

"Second, my training method is simple. " Sneed continued as he wrapped his hands with white bandages. "Your body does the fighting, so I'll keep pummeling you until it sinks through that overthinking mind of yours. "

James and Elina were now done with gearing up. They both stood in front of Sneed in the center of the space, while holding their weapons; a couple of golden gauntlets for James and a giant silver hammer for Elina, but they only stood motionlessly as if they were waiting for a sign.

"Third, I won't heal you willy-nilly, so you should try to avoid getting injured as much as you can. " Sneed ignored the two, who stood in front of him with determined expressions and spoke while wearing a pair of iron knuckles. "Understood? "

"Yes, si- " Adam was about to give a resolute reply.

*BOOM! *

But before he could finish his sentence, James and Elina took off with a loud boom and started their attack on Sneed.

*Fwip! *

Sneed, however, skillfully twisted his body, successfully dodging both attacks with a light and graceful step.

"Huh?! " Adam exclaimed at the sudden event. He couldn't understand what was going on.

"Fourth... " Sneed noticed Adam's dazed expression and spoke before quickly running towards him. "You reply using your fists... " He suddenly appeared in front of Adam and continued.

*BAM! *

Before delivering a heavy blow to his jaw, sending the shocked Adam several meters back.

"So, stop fucking thinking and start fucking fighting, you wimp! " Sneed roared with a maniacal smile.

And so, Adam started his hellish training to prepare for the upcoming events...

________________

Two days later,

In the Camden borough, Central London, England,

Darius and captain Yamamoto sat inside a luxurious limousine heading up a beautiful hill along with three D-rank High Human officials from Bladeworks. Inc.

"Do we always have to be the ones to travel this long distance every time? " Captain Yamamoto asked while massaging his neck. He seemed quite uncomfortable in his silky black tuxedo.

"She is an S-rank, after all. If we want to succeed in the upcoming raid, we need to gain her favor. " Darius answered while looking at captain Yamamoto's sock. "Do you have to always wear those bizarre socks whenever there's something important, though? You were wearing them ever since we took off. " He asked.

Captain Yamamoto's socks were indeed unbefitting from the rest of his classy attire, not to mention they weren't even matching. One of them was an electric yellow with purple dots, while the other was a vibrant green with white stripes.

"A rich brat like you wouldn't understand man's attachment to socks... " Captain Yamamoto replied while adjusting the silver watch on his right hand.

"Suit yourself... " Darius scoffed before looking out the window. "I hope you're ready. We're almost there. "

"If you want to worry about someone, worry about these weak officials, who Master Graham insisted we bring along. " Yamamoto spoke while looking at the men in suits sitting across from Darius and him.

The suited men, however, only stayed silent and motionless, eerily so...

*Sigh. *

"Don't worry about them. They're only here as an entourage. " Darius let out a listless sigh and said before placing his hand on his forehead. "Stuff like this is so outdated, too... "

"Men like him are a dying breed. " Yamamoto spoke while crossing his arms and slightly nodding with a faint smile.

"You old heads are all the same. " Darius said in a slightly annoyed tone.

"Who are you calling old, you snot-nosed brat?! I'm only 32! " Yamamoto turned to Darius and refuted with a furious expression.

"Master Darius, we have arrived at our destination. " The driver rolled down the separating window and announced in a monotonous tone.

"Phew... " Darius let out a sigh of relief at the long-awaited announcement. "We're finally here, at one of the five major guilds in England; Astraea. " He continued while looking at the enormous mansion in the distance.

_________________

After leaving the car in the driver's care, Darius and Yamamoto, along with their entourage, entered through the marvelous golden gates of the Astraea guild mansion. A group of C-rank guild members escorted them through.

Beyond the gate was an aesthetically pleasing garden and various carefully sculpted statues lined up on both sides of the trail leading towards the entrance of the main building.

"It's sunny today. " Yamamoto said while looking at the bright blue sky.

"It's London, so you never know. " Darius replied before pulling out a foldable umbrella from his pocket. "Though it probably won't rain anywhere near this mansion... " He continued while looking at the mansion ahead.

After a short walk and a tour through the luxurious interior of the mansion, the group finally reached a large and beautiful office, with stacks of books related to mana research lined up on the shelves on the walls and a large desk in front of a window overlooking the gorgeous garden at the back of the room.

"The Guild-master will be here in a few minutes. " A C-rank guild member spoke before leaving the room, along with the rest of the guild members.

"Now, we make ourselves comfortable. " Darius shrugged at the guild member's words before grabbing one of the two seats in front of the desk.

"Might as well. " Yamamoto spoke before sitting on the other seat, while the entourage lined up near the door.

A few minutes passed...

"She's here... " Captain Yamamoto lifted his head while his eyes widened.

"Yeah... " Darius's eyes also widened as he wiped the droplets of cold sweat trickling down his forehead. "A domineering presence, as always... "

"Ugh... "

"Gah! "

"Umph! "

The D-rank officials also started sweating profusely while wheezing and letting out pained groans.

*Ka-Chick. *

The office's door finally opened, and from behind it, a beautiful young lady crowned in a splendid white robe walked in.

Her silky smooth, light brown hair gently fluttered in the wind, while her amber champagne, meltingly soft eyes, reflected the sunlight.

*Ka-Chick. *

The white robes slid across her ivory, smooth skin as she closed the door behind her.

"My apologies for the wait, Mr. Darius. " A gentle yet firm voice escaped her rosy, curved lips. "Mr. Yamamoto, always a pleasure to have you. " She turned to captain Yamamoto.

"It's not an issue, Ms. Silvia. " Darius replied with a flushed face. Even though he is an heir to a giant conglomerate and a fairly handsome young man, with a lot of beautiful female acquaintances, this young woman is simply that breathtaking.

"The pleasure is all mine. " Yamamoto kept his composure and replied in a collected tone.

She nodded with a gentle smile as a reply before walking across the office towards the seat opposite from the two.

"Let's get straight into business. " Silvia spoke while grabbing a seat.

_______________

5 days later,

"Are you ready? " James asked Adam as they walked into a subway train.

"Let's do this. " Adam replied with a resolute expression.