“Pay attention!” Faela said, bringing the wooden sword down on Anna’s head.

Though she raised her weapon to block, she wasn’t fast enough, and the sword hit her in full. She grunted and pressed the wound, trying to withstand the pain.

“You can’t be thinking of anything else when we’re training,” Faela said, offering the hand. “Focus on the now.”

“I know, master, but shouldn’t you be resting?” She took the hand and looked at the swordswoman chest, where the bandages were underneath the clothes.

“A day is enough for me to recover.”

I hope so, Tetsuko thought. While the women trained, she was resting against the wall.

“Even so, I don’t think we should be practicing,” Anna muttered. She avoided her master’s eyes and looked in the direction of the closest bell tower.

“Worrying about it won’t help. You can’t stop your life waiting for that to ring.”

“I know, master, but still…” Anna still didn’t meet Faela’s eyes.

“I don’t care if you know or not. I want you to pay attention to me. Worrying if the bell’s gonna ring won’t sharpen your skill,” she said in a harsh voice, making her disciple look at her. “If you wanna help when that bell rings, you need to recover the level you were before everything.”

“I know—” Anna stopped herself in midsentence and took a deep breath. When she exhaled, she looked at the swordswoman with determined eyes. “Yes, master.”

“Good. That’s what I want.”

Faela walked away and stopped when they were a good distance from each other.

Anna grabbed her sword with both hands and charged. When she was close enough, she swung it.

Faela blocked with ease and spun to strike her on the back. However, Anna was already expecting that and blocked it with her weapon. She flashed a smile at the same time.

Oh, no, Tetsuko thought, chuckling. Poor girl.

The next moment, the swordswoman became faster, hitting her disciple here and there without stopping. “Okay, that’s enough for now. Let’s rest a little,” she announced, still smiling.

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Anna, on the other hand, was panting and sore all over. “You didn’t need to hit so hard, master…”

“Yeah, I did. Or do you think the worshipers will kill you nicely if you ask them?”

You enjoy hitting others too much, Tetsuko projected her thoughts to the women.

“See? Even your sword gets it, master!”

“I didn’t ask for her opinion. And that means nothing coming from a demon sword who can’t have enough blood,” Faela said, walking towards Tetsuko and turning her around.

You know this doesn’t make any difference. It’s not like I use my eyes to see. I don’t even have eyes.

“Yeah, I know that. But I bet it annoys you.”

In her head, Tetsuko rolled the eyes she no longer had. Anyway, I know it’s important to polish her skills, but this is just wasted energy. There could be another attack at any time.

“I know. But that’s why this is important. Right now, we’re the ones best equipped to fight the monsters and worshipers. We need to be at our best to help.”

Then you should be resting. The doctor said you were lucky you didn’t break a rib.

“If I’m good enough to swing you, I’m fine,” Faela said, waving her hand to dismiss any concern. “More important, did you sense anything.”

No. Nothing strange so far, Tetsuko informed. Ever since they arrived at the small training courtyard Faela knew, she had been sensing the area.

“That’s good. And how are the people?”

Afraid. I can’t sense their emotions well, but there’s almost no one outside.

“That’s expected,” Faela muttered, looking at the end of the street. From what Tetsuko could see, the place was a market. However, none of the stores was open. Even if they were, there was no one to buy. The streets were deserted save for a few people who had to leave the safety of their houses for any reason.

They weren’t the only ones afraid. Even the soldiers patrolling reacted to anything. Tetsuko had sensed a dog knocking over some crates trying to get old food and the soldiers almost killed him.

Huh? What the hell…?

“What?” Faela asked at the same time. Her face became tense as she got closer. “Did you sense a monster?”

No, it’s not. But this is… The energy Tetsuko was feeling didn’t come from within the city’s wall. It was coming from outside. It’s like a massive cluster of… Living metal!

“What?”

Because of the distance, Tetsuko couldn’t figure out what it was, but she focused on that metal resonating with the Celeste. Yeah, it is living metal. There are lots of people bringing it…

As they drew closer, she recognized one of those energies, and couldn’t help but smile in her head. I can’t believe he’s here…

Before Faela could ask, someone came running to them. “There… you… are!”

It was her friend, Camilla. She was panting and out of air, but she smiled when she saw Faela.

“First, breathe,” she said, patting her on the back. “Is everything alright?”

“The lord… has summoned… you!”

“Why?”

“There’s… a messenger…”

“Stop, Camila. Breathe first. It’s hard to understand.”

“There’s… no time… Lady Celia sent… weapons… to help us!”

Faela was flooded with relief. “That’s great. Now this city has a chance.”

“Yes… but that’s not… all… Who came… to deliver them… is Lord Baltasar!”