24 - Threat

When the trio finally regained consciousness, they immediately realized what had happened - they had been utterly defeated. Mase had a ridiculously large bruise on his cheek, which caused Finn to burst out in laughter. The moment didn't last long, as his own headache intensified due to the laughter.

Albert looked around, wondering how long they had been unconscious. Suddenly, the sound of the door opening filled the room as Osvaldo walked in. "Oh, you're awake already," he said with a smile. "Before you ask, you were only out for a couple of minutes."

Finn let out a discouraged sigh. "I guess we'll have to start training from the basics again."

Osvaldo shook his head. "I never said that."

Confused, Finn asked, "What does that mean?"

"It means you all passed my test," Osvaldo replied, his smile growing wider.

"Well, to be honest, I never expected you guys to beat me. The real requirements to pass the test were to showcase mastery of the first form of your weapon and overcome your mental barriers. Let me explain why each of you passed.

Mase, despite being the one who performed the worst, you still passed the test for two important reasons. Firstly, you didn't hesitate for a second and overcame the fear of hurting another person, making you the first one to attack. Secondly, your lunge was splendid and your form was nearly perfect, despite being too obvious. These two things were enough to meet the minimal requirements to pass the test.

Finn, you worked quite well with your brother and your thrust was perfect, it was truly impressive.

Albert, you were the only one to hit me, and the strategy you pulled off with Finn was clearly your idea. What impressed me the most was your lack of hesitation. Even after your brother was taken down, you immediately shot another arrow without losing composure. However Finn is overall the best performer. Albert you didn't fully utilize your range and tended to shoot from a distance of 15 meters at best. Additionally, after shooting your third arrow, instead of going for a fourth one, you should have retreated to increase our distance until you reached your maximum effective range."

With that detailed and insightful explanation, each boy fell silent, lost in thought as they replayed the fight in their minds.

"Oh, by the way, while you were out your phones went on ringing like crazy."

Albert slowly made his way to the table. He was still a bit unstable so he took his time. When he checked the phone he was even more shocked. He wasn't used to receiving lots of calls, but this was particularly weird. He received over ten calls from Lele which notoriously almost never called or texted, Albert forgot how many times they had to pick him up from home because he forgot to check the messages and resulted in him not knowing that the group wanted to go out. 'This must be either a joke or something really bad.' Without wasting any time, he decided to call Lele back, and almost immediately someone picked up on the other end.

"Lele, why did you call me 13 times?"

"I'm Simonetta, Lele's mom since you are a friend. He looks up to please talk some sense into him or is going to get killed." Her voice was shaky, Albert had never heard her like that.

"What the hell is happening?"

"Well…"

[4 Hours prior]

Lele was lounging on his couch when a loud knock on the door interrupted his relaxation. He groaned as he stood up and made his way to the door. When he opened it, he found a man he recognized standing there.

"What is it?" Lele asked, slightly annoyed.

"I'm Roland Trevisan," the man said, "I'm extremely sorry I told you that I wouldn't bother you, but we have an emergency that we believe only you and Miss Kohaku can handle."

Lele allowed him and his secretary to enter his home. Trevisani wasn't looking too good, he was visibly tired.

"Who are these people?" Lele's mom suspiciously looked at them.

"Oh, don't worry, they work for the government."

Lele should have chosen his words more carefully. His mom reached a shocking conclusion: 'Government employees, Has my son done something illegal?' Simonetta's complexion turned pale. "Can I listen to what you have to say to my beloved son?"

"Of cors…" Christina apprehensively tried to say.

"Of course not!" Lele exclaimed, he remembered that he had to keep his secret.

Roland spoke "I'm sorry to say, but if you are the person that I think you are and you accept to do what I ask you to do, no what I beg you to do, then the whole country if not the whole world will know."

Lele wasn't an idiot, 'If it's something that big, they really must be desperate.'

Simonetta's icy glare remained fixed on Lele, her mind racing with questions about what he had been keeping from her. "Well?" she snapped. "If it's so urgent that you couldn't even give us a notice, then go ahead and speak."

Christina presented a video on a tablet and said, "This is the current situation unfolding in Rome. The media is not aware of it yet, and we are doing our best to contain the damage, but more than 30 Awakeners have already lost their lives in the last 10 minutes."

The video showcased a Chinese green dragon, wreaking havoc on everything around it. Lele had only witnessed that level of destruction in footage of earthquakes or post-war scenes.

"You are only 15 years old, but just two days ago Kohaku's secretary contacted me, informing me that she wouldn't be available for at least a week because someone shattered her forearm in a spar. There is no way a common human could do that. I have a feeling that it was you, wasn't it?"

Lele felt a sense of guilt as he replied, "Yes..."

Roland, as in ancient Greece, seized Lele's knees "I implore you, please defeat that monster and defend our country."

Lele could see the fear and worry in his mother's eyes. He gently put his hand on her shoulder and said, "Mom, it's okay. I can do this. I have to try and help." Simonetta shook her head and tears rolled down her cheeks. "But you could get hurt, or worse," she said, her voice quivering.

Lele looked at her with determination in his eyes. "I have to try. It's my duty as an Awakener to protect people. I can do this." Simonetta hugged her son tightly and nodded, knowing that she couldn't stop him.

"Let's go."

[...]

After hearing the story from Lele's mom, Albert and his friends hurriedly left the house. To their surprise, a familiar limousine was waiting for them, and Kohaku stepped out with a plastered arm. Seeing the boys' faces, she knew that they had somehow received the news. The group turned to Osvaldo and bowed their heads, saying, "We are sorry, but we must go now."

"Sure, do what you must," Osvaldo said with a nod, watching as the group quickly got into the waiting limousine and sped off. As the car disappeared from sight, he couldn't help but reflect on his sudden surge of emotion. "When did I become so sentimental?" he mused to himself, silently hoping that everything would be resolved without any complications.