"Huh…?" A confused voice came out of the Charm Caster's mouth after hearing Valry's update.
"She's… already…?" Christina sounded a little devastated over the microphone she spoke into.
They couldn't believe it…
Even with their combined efforts, they weren't able to keep up with the speed of one girl acting alone.
No… It was much more than mere astonishment.
Situational analysis, judgement, tactics, and ability to act under stress… She displayed the zenith…
It made them so… envious!
"Tina? Fritz…?" Betty wasn't able to understand why they suddenly became quite over the call.
Only the crimson beauty saw through their state of mind and offered 'consolation' to her teammates:
"You guys did well enough. Well, at least for weaklings. It's just a difference of inheritance."
These cold yet mocking words fell like cold water.
Like oil on a flame, it ignited something that had been silently burning within them all this time.
Now her words had gone too far…!
'What did she say?' Speechless. Fritz couldn't articulate the rebellious emotions within him.
It made him think of the past…
Far back, before he became Anti-Martial Student.
"Once you start on the wrong path, it would be hard to change lanes. You just HAD TO learn that incomplete technique, didn't you?" In the midst of infiltrating the building, he remembered his Master.
The words that influenced him the most, and the peaceful scene that would burn into his memory.
He always felt that old demon had it out for him.
After all, it wasn't his fault their base techniques differed… It was like the man was from the past.
An era of war that had long passed…
He lived in a shed. Not much of a place to stay for someone who our Clan treated like a shining star.
There, Fritz ate breakfast like it was a normal day.
It was just another morning listening to the geezer go on and on about training from that day forth.
About the 'inheritance' he'd pass onto him…
And as the boy was about to take another bite of the cereal his Master procured to suit his tastes…
…a wrinkled hand gently rubbed his shoulder.
The boy 'adopted' by the old demon looked up to see the man's expression soften for a rare moment.
"I've lived longer than most, and you're the only one who has ever taken my interest. I know you think everything is over, but I'm sure you'll move past this." These words made him bite his lip.
Pity… He understood what it was even at a young age. Which is how he saw deeper into those words.
"Are we… the same?" Fritz asked him bravely.
When he looked at that demon again, it was almost as if he could feel the colours draining his face.
The expressionless geezer merely patted his head and continued with a blandness in his tone:
"We're not…" Those words were nailed down with a hammer, before sighing: "Maybe you'll one day become like me- No, I know you'll eventually become 'me'… but… for now… just don't look back.
Put the past behind you. I know everything seems lost, but… you have to at least try to rebuild.
You'll find your 'family' again."
Fritz was unable to accept these words. He felt as if doing so would deny what 'they' were to him…
His mother was always strict. She was a strong housewife who looked after the house while her husband was out fighting for a salary. It was as if she had already achieved all her dreams in life.
Back then, he'd always gravitate more to his more lenient and easy-going dad and share stories.
He remembered loving them with all his heart…
But time gradually turned those affectionate feelings into an obsession he couldn't deny…
Was his 'love' fading away…?
Time could heal scars, but why was he unable to accept forgetting them as he was growing older?
'I wish we had more time together… ' He mused to himself, and suddenly came to a realisation.
'Oh…' He realised that this was the exact reason he couldn't accept a 'new family' with all his heart.
Others might say he was trapped in the past, and they'd be right. Still, he would still reminisce.
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He'd do it everyday and every second…
Especially, when he was using 'their' techniques.
["Remember to pray everyday."]
'Okay, Mum.'
["Loosen up; don't rush."]
'Yeah, Dad.'
Two figures he vaguely remembered appeared in his head while recovering from the earlier incident.
His mother taught him their family's customised energy circulation technique unique to their Clan.
Rather than moulding 'Internal Energy', the 'Bluewind Ward' of the Lazrik Clan inscribed Holy Energy into his internal organs… via the circulation of breath. It blocked his meridians in the process.
However, 'Hidden Strength' was useless to him.
His Clan wasn't made up of true 'Martial Artists' anyway. They were no longer such a lineage.
'I am, and will always be… a Charm Caster!' He thought while readying himself to continue forth.
An air of determination emanated from his body…
At the same time, Christina was also burning with an angst born from resentment and inferiority.
Unlike others, her parents never taught her anything unique. Only the basics of hunting.
With time, she improved herself from a blank slate until she reached the level of an Academy student.
She by no means didn't have any sort of 'grand' inheritance, but she was proud of her family.
To her, Valry's words were an intolerable insult!
She had to make her eat those words!
"Hey, Tina…?" The only one who wasn't affected by the crimson beauty's taunt reacted to her allies.
The brat was using fiddling with her Limiter Inverter. She clicked a few mechanisms…
Then, a faint glow stared to manifest around her.
'Life Seal Composition Switch?' The girl at their base of operations thought with a surprised look.
Fritz also used the same technique as her.
As allies with the same innate talent, codenamed 'Radiant Disposition', they had their own Crafts.
This particular one was special…
"Stop now, the both of you! Fritz, don't you remember how weak you are? You're not going to do anything reckless, right?" Her words only made him more stubborn. The youth grit his teeth…
"I have some time to prepare now, unlike before. It will be different this time." He denied while remembering the techniques his father had taught him. The skills he's sharpened unrelentingly!
Now was the time to unveil the 'Gaiasayer Style'!
He had to prove that arrogant girl wrong. He HAD TO show that there was worth to his 'inheritance'!
[Heart Bullet- Cartridge Prep!]
His left arm clicked like he was slipping a bullet into the chamber of a magnum, which then reddened his right arm. This… was the only technique his father was able to pass onto him before death.
It was all the basics of the technique 'Heart Bullet'.
Incomplete as it may be (like the restrictiveness of Western Boxing), it's power was something else.
Each 'Cartridge Prep' acted as a natural feint and fully doped the opposite arm when it was used.
Naturally, this put a lot of stress on his arm.
The only thing keeping his arm from permanently being damaged was the recovery ability of the Bluewind Ward. Without it, his father wouldn't dared to have used it as his own signature skill.
With the limit of eight bullets in each arm, Fritz was then ready to go beyond just physical finesse.
After rolling up his sleeves to show his unnaturally red arms bulging and pulsating with blood veins, a seductive sigh could be heard from his earpiece. It looked like someone was enjoying the show.
"Hey, although I like the fanservice, shouldn't you calm down? You know what happens if you use up too much Bluewind Qi, right?" Betty asked while looking over his condition with observant eyes.
Although she admired how Fritz's sleeves hid his picturesque muscles, she noticed that the illusionary power he always relied on was starting to overflow. This too was a special 'inheritance' of sorts, but not one gifted to him by his parents.
Although the 'Redwind Qi' turning into a kind of transparent mist around his arms boosted his illusionary power, it had a fatal weakness that could only be suppressed by its nemesis: Bluewind Qi.
Since the youth had drained the latter, the former was becoming stronger to the point of concern.
"I'm fine…" Fritz didn't want to talk about it.
He was well-aware of his current condition and the stress he was putting on his arms using his master's 'Redwind Taming'. Still, that didn't stop him from preparing himself to go all out.
Taking out his MagiPen, the youth also used Life Seal Composition Switch to change his Attribute.
With his 'Radiant Disposition' activated, the illusionary power around him was suppressed once more. The Bluewind Qi evolved into what he decided to call 'Azureglow Mist' at that moment.
"I'm ready to roll." He spoke with his fist clenched in one hand and a MagiPen readied in the other.
This was the core of the Gaiasayer Style.
"Roger that. Get ready for a boost." Christina spoke while harmonising her Life Seal with his own.
Both of their Limiter Inverters started to glow…
[Light Craft- Double Limit!]
It was almost as if the blonde sniper's silhouette overlaid on top of him, which boosted his stats.
His 'limits' no longer became his own…
The brat sat back and hugged her arms. She could feel the pain he was in also being shared to her.
"You guys are going overboard…" Betty sighed in exasperation from being unable to stop them.
[Craft Extension- Laplace Vision!]
Seeing as they weren't listening, she decided to just support them in their dangerous endeavour.
She stabilised the link between them using the headgear they had on using her own Inverter.
"Let's go!" Fritz headed upstairs without the protection of his illusions hiding his figure.
He headed in a different direction from before!
There were many thugs in a hallway guarding the entrance to the elevator. It wasn't a good path…
…but he went there anyway.
The world around him started to become more virtual through his headset connected with Tina's.
"Huh?" Before one guard could react, an open hand was already place pointing towards his gut.
The sound of a gun being locked and loaded could be heard, which was followed by a firing sound.
[Heart Bullet- Extreme Inch Bunker Shot!]
An extremely short distance punch rippled throughout the man's body and sent his flying.
This move took two 'Right Bullets'.
"Hey!" The rest of the gangsters in the hallway swarmed him at once. It was their advantage.
Tina responded before overlaying a generated hologram of the enemy locations he marked with his own eyes. She did the maths and also helped by calculating his future actions beforehand.
This way, the hologram of himself projected before him moved at a faster pace than his own body.
All he had to do was follow the motions…
In reality, the dozen guards guarding the only hallway upstairs suddenly felt a sense of danger.
None of them were able to react to his charge.
He didn't move particularly fast, but the lack of hesitation in his moves made him seem illusionary.
Each time his fist struck out, there'd only be an afterimage before another guard was knocked out.
Valry, who was watching from a higher floor, was surprised by the coordination of their techniques.
It made her ask the juicy question:
"Why are you guys always having such a hard time with Missions… if you're this strong already?"
"…" Rather than an answer, Betty kept silent. The only level-headed teammate sent her a text:
{It has to do with our Squad Leader.}
Confused, the beauty raised her brow and glanced at the youth's charging forward with reckless abandon. In response to their efforts, she had already emptied out a hall towards the elevator.
It was an unfair challenge to begin with…
The lazy dexter cut off communications with the duo and privately talked to Valry for a moment:
"Don't tell them anything…" She referred to the thugs the Red Queen was hiding in a nearby closet.
"You afraid it'd hurt them?"
"I'm just taking precautions."
"Against what?"
"Shut it. There wasn't any fairness in this little competition anyway… Little Miss Pureblood Sage."
"Shhh…!" The beauty put a finger on her lip. There was a coldness in her tone seemingly soft actions.
"We both have our secrets." She continued, then started to watch how the 'Support Squad' fought.
The black-haired bombshell said nothing more…