Chapter 27: The other side of the moon

Under the glaring sunlight of the training grounds of the Divine Blade Academy, Priya and Pufima stood uneasily. Their eyes darted around to see the various squads busy with intense drills. Bellar stood beside them and glanced at the two girls with a serious look on her face.

In front of them, a girl with a bubbly grin and bright pink hair styled in double buns bounced on her heels. Her eyes sparkled with an almost infectious enthusiasm. She sized up the newcomers. Her shoulder-length hair swayed gently after she tilted her head. She wore the standard Divine Blade uniform.

"Yo, yo, yo! Name's Cordelia! 4th Seat of Divine Squad 2!" she said while throwing up a peace sign and winking. "And I’m your resident newbie trainer! Sword combat’s my jam! I’ll make sure you two get the basics down—well, if you don’t crash and burn first, hehe.”

Pufima and Priya exchanged nervous glances.

Bellar stepped forward with her arms crossed.. “The gals ain’t your usual recruits. The situation’s a bit... complicated. They don’t have Mystcry training, and they’re not exactly, y’know, equipped with weapons or anything special yet, though one of them did wield a Divine blade..”

Cordelia’s eyes lit up at first with a wide grin forming. “Wait, for real? No Mystcry, no magic, and they wielded a Divine Blade? That's like, next-level rare!”After saying that, her face quickly shifted into a look of disappointment. “Buuuut… without any Mystcry, no offense, they’re pretty much toast here.”

Priya stiffened. "T-Toast? Like, in danger toast or...?"

Cordelia shook her head. “Yeah, in-danger toast. Sword magic training ain’t like your typical PE class. People with magic barely survive the drills. So, like, no magic at all? I dunno, gals. This might be a total drag for you. For reals.”

Pufima, who had been silent clenched her fists and then pumped them in the air. “I don’t care how tough it is! This is my dream! Just show us what we need to do.”

Cordelia blinked in suprise. “Ohhh, look at that! Big Brave Girl energy,” she teased with her grin now returning. “Alright, alright, if you’re down, I’m down. I’ll push you two to the limit, and hey, if you survive, you might even be able to hold your own in combat.”

She turned to Bellar. “But like, for real, Bells—if these two get wrecked, it’s on your head, kay?”

Bellar rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah, Cord. Just do your thing. They’ve already survived a run-in with Cera who was possessed by a Senodokidatsu...I’ll be honest, I dunno what the Head Captain’s thinking by telling us to take care of them.”

Cordelia's eyes widened. “They survived what? Okay, now I’m officially intrigued. This’ll be more fun than I thought.” She turned back to Priya and Pufima. “Alright, ladies. Welcome to the pain zone. Let’s see if you’ve got what it takes!”

Soujin stood at a distance, watching as Cordelia introduced herself. His attention, however, soon shifted to the looming presence beside him—Miko, the Captain of Squad 2. She had her arms crossed and locked onto the girls with a glare.

She didn’t waste any time. "You're lucky, y'know?" Miko said in her typical gruff tone. “If it weren’t for Mirumaru pulling some strings, I would've reported the entire mess with Cera to the Head Captain. You wouldn’t be standing here like everything’s just peachy.”

Soujin bit the inside of his cheek. Lucky? He wasn’t sure if he'd call that luck or just another bullet dodged. Still, he owed Mirumaru a lot more than a casual thanks, and Miko... well, she wasn’t wrong. “I’ll keep that in mind,” Soujin muttered while sounding half-grateful yet half-irritated.

In his mind, he couldn’t forget that he still owed Miko something, too. While he owed Mirumaru a date, he couldn’t really think of what to do for Miko right now. He shot her a sideways glance. Curious, he ventured, “So, what exactly did Mirumaru do to get you off my back? I mean, you were pretty set on blowing the whistle, right?”

Miko turned her head and gave a sharp look that was practically etched with annoyance. "That's confidential."

That only piqued his interest more. “Oh, come on, you can tell me. It’s not like I’m gonna—"

WHACK!

Before he could finish, Miko’s hand came down on the top of his head like a hammer to a nail. Soujin winced and rubbed the sore spot.

“There are more important things to worry about, idiot,” Miko snapped. “Like those girls." She nodded toward the training grounds, where Cordelia was revving up Pufima and Priya for what looked like a brutal initiation into sword combat. “What was the Head Captain thinking, dragging civilians into this mess? They’ll be toast by the end of the day.”

Soujin watched as Priya nervously fidgeted under Cordelia's scrutiny, while Pufima seemed to be standing her ground, though with a shaky confidence. “They survived a possessed Cera. They might be tougher than they look,” Soujin said, though there was a sliver of doubt in his tone.

Miko sighed heavily. “Surviving one incident doesn’t make them soldiers. They need Mystcry and a discipline which they do not have to even wield a blade. If this is the Head Captain's idea of preparation, we're all in for a rough time. They won’t last."

Cordelia had already started barking orders, leading Pufima and Priya into some rudimentary sword drills. Both girls looked wildly out of place among the seasoned squad members but there was something in Pufima’s eyes despite her nerved that Soujin picked up on. He’d seen it before, in himself. He broke the silence. “Miko, do you believe in connection?”

Miko, who had been frowning at the clumsy form of the recruits turned to him with a raised brow. “What are you talking about?”

Soujin’s gaze didn’t leave the training grounds. “Connection. Like... things that are linked together for a reason. Fate, or whatever you want to call it.” He folded his arms. “I think something brought those two here, just like something brought me here.”

Miko stared at him for a moment before responding. “You mean like some mystical force that ties us all together?” She scoffed. “That’s just nonsense. They’re here because they survived something they shouldn’t have, and now we have to deal with it.”

Soujin let out a small, humorless laugh. “Maybe…. By the way….”

Soujin shifted uncomfortably. He sighed and started slowly, “I wanted to ask you about Muffet—”

Before he could finish, Miko’s cut through with her arms crossing tighter. “Let me stop you right there. I don’t want to talk about that woman—if we can even call her that. She’s more like some rebellious girl playing dress-up in a Captain’s cloak.”

Soujin held his tongue for a moment before speaking. “Look, I get it. But it’s been what, two days? Her and her squad haven’t come back from that mission yet.”

Miko frowned. “You were at the same meeting as I was, Soujin. Muffet was sent to investigate an area flagged for a potential Divine Blade. You know that’s dangerous business. The fact that it’s taking her this long probably means she’s encountered some trouble.”

“Exactly. Which is why I’m saying maybe I should—”

“Don’t even think about it.” Miko glared so hard at him that her look alone could cut through stone. “You have your own duties and responsibilities. You need to start acting more like a Captain. What do you think the Head Captain would say if you went running off to rescue another Captain?”

Soujin’s jaw clenched. “I wasn’t talking about running off like some hero. I’m just saying... something feels off.”

Miko shook her head. “You’ve got to trust that Muffet can handle herself. As much as she annoys me, she’s no pushover. Her Mystcry and strategies have kept her alive this long. If she is in trouble, it’s up to her to get herself out of it.”

Soujin grunted, “I’ll keep that in mind... for now.”

A few hours passed in what felt like an eternity to Pufima and Priya. Both of them lay sprawled across the training grounds utterly defeated. Sweat dripped from their faces and their arms were limp and heavy from countless swings. The burning sunlight didn’t help either. They were being grilled alive like burgers.

Cordelia, still as energetic as ever skipped toward them with a broad grin plastered on her face. "Yo, yo! How y’all holding up?" she asked with her hands on her hips. "We’re not done yet! C’mon, 100 more sword swings!"

Pufima groaned with her head lolling to the side. “I’ll do it... after, like, eighty bowls of food,” she mumbled. She was barely able to keep her eyes opened.

Priya’s speech came out as a pitiful whimper. “Please… no more… I think I’m seeing ghosts... or maybe that’s just the light fading from my eyes.”

Cordelia laughed and waved them off. “Food? Heh, nice try. But you can’t eat yet. You two just got started, babes! No food without effort, that’s the drill here. So push on like everyone else does!”

Priya made a loud moan and flopped onto her back. “I’m gonna diiiiieeee,” she whined with her eyes closed.

Pufima clenched her fist weakly and gave a halfhearted pump of the air. “Alright… alright... I got this. No biggie…” She paused with her mind scrambling for something motivational. Then she muttered with the last bit of strength in her, “...I am… inevitable…”

Priya lifted her head just enough to squint at her friend. “Isn’t that… from some movie?”

Pufima blinked and thought about it. “Yeah, but, y’know... it sounded cooler in my head.”

Cordelia clapped her hands. “Alright, Puff! Nice try with the movie line, but no time for quoting—back to work! You can quote as many movies as you want after those 100 swings!”

Priya rolled her eyes in pure exhaustion. "Please, someone tell my mom I loved her…"

Pufima somehow managed to crawl to her knees and gripped the hilt of her new sword shakily. “We got this, Priya! One hundred more... we’ll be so strong after this, the Senodokidatsu won’t know what hit ‘em!”

Time: 2 Nights ago

Didi and Saya of Muffet’s Squad had a journey that had led them straight into the jaws of the enemy. Upon encountering Yokuni, they found themselves drawn into a deadly game orchestrated by the cunning Senodokidatsu. What began as an attempt to retrieve the Divine Blade soon spiraled into a brutal fight for their lives. Despite their valiant efforts, Yokuni's strength, bolstered by her inhuman powers and transformation overwhelmed them. Saya's ice-based attacks left some damage, but it wasn’t enough to change the outcome. The two warriors were bloodied, broken and utterly outmatched.

Yokuni wiped her hands casually while her monstrous form recedied. She exhaled with her breathe misting the air. Saya and Didi was motionless at her feet. They were just barely conscious and bleeding onto the dirt. The eerie calm that followed the violence was broken only by the sound of her footsteps.

Cerebro lumbered with shards of ice still embedded in his thick skin from Saya’s desperate assault. His eyes glinted with hunger while looming over the fallen duo. His lips curled into a snarl and from his teeth, drool drained down. He looked ready to feast on their broken bodies.

"No." Yokuni's command cut through the silence. "Not yet."

Cerebro hesitated but growled low in his throat with frustration. "But I'm starving," he muttered while swiping a claw through the air.

Yokuni spoke calm but gave a sense of finality. "These two will be coming with us. They’ll be... transformed tomorrow." She paused while glancing at the pair’s limp bodies. "For now, we have something else to attend to."

She stood over Saya and Didi. Then, her gaze turned upward to the night sky. "There's one more task for us to do tonight," she continued with a sinister undertone. "Before we leave, I’ll leave their precious ‘Captain Muffet’ a little gift." Her eyes gleamed wickedly. “We will enjoy their screams.”