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Words Count: 5303
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Half an hour later, our group quietly made our way to the entrance amidst the leaving customers. It's not too crowded, but neither was it too deserted. "I'll split up and wait near the door, you two try to draw their attention for as long as possible, 'kay?" I quickly left, disappearing into the stream of people. Although I admitted, I was quite curious as to how they were planning to lure the guards away, the mission was more important. A few minutes later, I was at the entrance, leaning against the wall with my hood pulled over my head. It was cold outside, so no one thought anything of it.
My eyes darted around the area and quickly located five guards. Two were stationed at the entrance, while the other three were standing at various locations that would cover the entire area. 'The Akayashi Corporation takes its security quite seriously…' I clicked my tongue, frowning as I tried to reduce my presence further. It was surprising to say the least, but once I gave it some thoughts, upping the security was a sensible decision on their part. Most of the customers didn't seem afraid, probably because the local government was still suppressing the news outlet, but a corporation as big as Akayashi likely had more than a couple politicians in their pockets.
And while no major parts of Shibuya had suffered, with the war between Ragnarok and Kiyoshi escalating in recent weeks, having additional guards were certainly understandable, expected even. My gaze shifted towards the cameras nearby– Only one directly faced the maintenance room, the rest was scattered all across to cover the more inconspicuous places, corners that the guards couldn't pay as much attention to. [Structural Gasp] told me they had been recently installed, exactly a day after our attack on Ragnarok's less reputable establishments in fact.
Honestly, with all these security measures, it would have been hard for even a Martial Artist to sneak inside and cause troubles. Unfortunately for them, I was a Magus. I ruffled through my pockets, fishing out the coins I had saved up for the vending machines and flicked them at the cameras. The first three shots missed… Imbedding into the walls next to their targets. 'Right, nobody saw that!' Thankfully, the subsequent five hit their targets, breaking the lenses with little fanfare. "Alright, they should be here any second now."
Sure enough, I saw Okamoto and Shibata approach from afar. The latter was carrying two porcelain pots in her arms as they happily conversed with one another. Frankly, if I didn't know anything about them, even I would have been convinced they were little more than ordinary school girls. Their gazes swept past the crowd, landing on my form for but a short few seconds before moving towards the entrance undisturbed, not a lick of anxiety or concern could be found on their faces. It didn't take long for them to reach the entrance, and that's when Shibata acted.
She was bumped into by someone, or at least that's how it looked like to the untrained eyes, but I could tell. The slight movements of her legs, the twitches of her hip, she tripped the poor guy and deliberately made him bump into her. Of course, with the porcelain pots still clasped tightly in her arms, Shibata fell directly on them, causing the pots to shatter as sharp pieces pierced the skin of her palms and arms. 'Jesus Christ, woman!' Her blood stained the white blouse as people rushed to her aid. "Oh my God, somebody call an ambulance!"
Our gazes met once more. Go, she mouthed discreetly, which I gladly obliged as I slinked away from forming crowd. At the corner of my vision, I could see the guards chasing after the fleeing man who had 'bumped' into Shibata, while those that remained jogged towards the fallen girl in order to help, not that I blamed them. I didn't know how she was doing it, but the blood that pooled beneath Shibata's legs was quite frightening in quantity, seeming to sparkle and pulse with life as it spread.
"How ridiculous." I whispered to myself, head shaking in disbelief. How many times had she used this scheme? Okamoto didn't even seem fazed by the blood, the worry look she was putting up was just that: A façade, I could tell. Moments later, I snapped out of my self-induced haze and began to cautiously approach the locked door, all while the commotion behind grew ever louder with each passing second. I tapped the door, sending invisible bursts of Mana to engulf the entire hunk of metal. 'Interesting…'
Despite appearing to be another electric lock that needed the correct numeral password, the inside was completely made of bronze mechanical components. Any locksmith that came prepared for an electric lock would likely have a ton of troubles unlocking it, since all the electric parts were for appearance only. Luckily, I wasn't a locksmith and this design, while clever, didn't pose too much of a problem to me. Of course, this did not mean it posed no problem whatsoever. Most, if not all mechanical locks relied on the same principal.
You must push the pins to unlock them, but this was a password one. I couldn't just project the key and be done with it and my knowledge on lock-picking was limited to the few shorts I had watched back when I was still an ordinary college student whose problems were essays, exams, the occasional bouts of existential crisis and shitty professors out to fuck over their students. I could have used the usual method of identifying the numbers that looked worn out, then guess blindly until I got it right, if not for the time constraint…
Basically, I had no clue how to pick open the lock, nah-dah, none whatsoever. But, then an idea hit me. My Mana slithered its way under the pins, slowly solidifying to form the correct cuts and biting. Once I had the finished product, I tried turning it by connecting strings of Mana to it. That proved to be a failure when the strings snapped as more and more pressure was put on them. Oh-well… Though the idea might be solid, I didn't expect that to work on the first try anyways, thus I was not discouraged.
I reconnected the strings like before, but instead of turning the pins immediately, I began using [Projection] to create solidify their forms. With the strings now held tightly in my palms rather than floating out from the tips of my fingers, I carefully pulled and manipulated them to unlock the pins. Seconds later, I heard a satisfying click and was soon welcomed into the maintenance room. Honestly, it should have and would have taken me much longer to open the door, were it not for [Structural Gasp] allowing me to gaze into its inner-workings, but I wasn't complaining.
It's not like I was planning to become thief, so this was sufficient for me. "This is…" I barely managed to get the words out before coughing violently as dust entered my throat and lungs. "Shit, do they ever clean this place?" I grunted, trying to get the dust out of my agitated throat as I took a handful of my shirt and used it to over my mouth. My eyes swept through the tools left to collect dust on the shelves, eventually finding the small, narrow path leading down the basement, where I hoped the electrical box would be. I cautiously navigated the darkness, nearly tripping several times while my vision adjusted.
I continued on the path, descending down the stairway as the darkness grew far darker and deeper. I was a mere step away from touching the basement when I felt a familiar tingling sensation at the back of my head. "Bounded Field?"
I frowned, Mana surging to my eyes and sure enough, there it was, an invisible field that sparked with statics. It was incredibly weak, and from the look of it, was simply there to notify its creator of intruders. It wouldn't take more than a minute for me to just brute-force the whole thing wide open, but that would be like me broadcasting our presences here to the Mages... Fortunately, Kotomine had made sure I was trained to solve Bounded Fields far more complicated. Although it would take longer, it's much better than the alternative.
I got to work straight away, pulling on my knowledge about Bounded Fields. There were many types of Bounded Fields, each region of the World had their own methods and ways. Scandinavia and many parts once controlled by the Vikings often utilized Runes and Runic Dolls in their Bounded Fields, the Japanese and most Asian countries instead used Talismans and older characters of their languages. This Field, however, had none of the trademark associated with Viking or Asian. "Wardstone?" That's more England, but the Runes carved into its matrix seemed altered…
"Hmmm… No, French?" This was going to be easy. French had never been particularly famous for their Bounded Fields, at least not compared to their neighbor and long-time enemy– The British Isles. This fact had not changed for the last few centuries. Older Houses might, and that's a big might, have stronger Wardstone Matrixes, but it should not prove too problematic, especially for a weak Field like this one.
Each type had its strengths and weaknesses, Bounded Fields based on the Viking's system could be easily dismantled once you located the scattered dolls and Runestones, Asian's Talismans couldn't automatically refresh themselves, needing to be charged up by the creators or those keyed into the Field, and as the Talismans were made of papers, they could not be fixed if destroyed, unlike Wardstone or Runestones. British Fields, on the other hand, were like the an OS(Operating System).
If the two prior systems relied entirely on Mysticism and Concepts long engraved into the Akashic Records or Gaia's History, then the latter was likely made by an incredibly scientific man.
Now, since France used the same kind of Bounded Fields as Britain, you would expect theirs to be just as powerful, right? Wrong. The reason was simple, really: The British fucked them over. As the first ever Wardstone was created by a British man in the British Isles, they couldn't possibly allow their nemesis to possess the same system one of theirs made, but they also realized they couldn't keep a monopoly on Wardstone technology forever, so they shared the knowledge with French Mages at the time.
Only problem was: All the knowledge they shared was ridiculously faulty, which led to the current situation. While France's Moonlit World had made significant advances within the last century, they simply couldn't keep up with their nemesis, not when the Wardstones they developed still had their roots in the defective information given to their ancestors. Did the French know this? Yes, yes they did. Had they done anything about it? Well, rumors had it that more and more French Houses were finally developing their own version, but they had a long distance to cover.
Even if they managed to develop their own version of Runic Wardstones, it would take at least another two centuries, one-and-a-half if they truly, and I meant truly dedicated their minds and resources to it, in order to completely erase the remaining influence of the trickery their ancestors had fallen to. 'They have no one to blame but themselves.' Seriously, Britain and France had been at war for centuries! Fucking centuries, and they thought the British Mage's Association at the time would just give them such important knowledge?
Mages might act like they were beyond such trivialities, but I knew for a fact they weren't beyond blood feuds, and since the older Houses of both sides once served as court-wizards… Let's just say blood was spilt aplenty.
It wasn't even free either, several of the noble Houses at the present were born precisely from the information the French had traded for the Wardstone Matrixes back then. When they realized they had been played, the French Mages couldn't even do anything against the British since they couldn't break through their more advanced Bounded Fields, not without massive losses at least… I knew I should feel bad for these guys or something, but their stupidity was at fault here, the former British Mage's Association, now Mage's Association was merely taking advantage of their weakness.
Once I recognized the Bounded Field's origin, breaking it was a simple matter. Thanks to various errors and holes in its defense, I managed to finesse my Mana inside the Matrix and 'slip' my name, plus Mana signature into the list of people keyed into the Matrix itself. I didn't even feel proud while doing so, this stuff was child-play compared to the training Kotomine had me do. Say you wanted about the Church, but there was a good reason why they could contend with the Association's ever expanding influence, and it's definitely not due to the easily frightened, rage-filled, crazy mobs that made up a majority of their ranks during those Witch Hunts and Crusades.
'As much as I hate to admit it, those priestly, self-righteous, pedo-looking bastards have got real Skillz…' It's really ironic that the very same religion that denounced Magecraft and all its practices would have the most knowledge about it. What's even more ridiculous was how when an unaffiliated First-Gen was born, it's heresy, but when a priest was granted Magic Circuits, it's a blessing from God. 'Carlin-sensei was right, when it comes major league bullshit, no one can hold a candle to a clergyman.'
On a side note, I was genuinely surprised that the Mages would put down a Bounded Field in the maintenance room. But, when I thought about it, their action made sense. Before my arrival, their enemies wwer all Martial Artists, if they wanted to attack the Mages' HQ and besiege the HITC Tower, occupying the one place that directed and controlled the entire skyscraper's power would be crucial. It's a shame their defenses were designed to detect Martial Artists who could only brute-force their paths through the Field, not another Magus trained under a powerful, former Church's Executioner.
My index and middle fingers quickly pierced the invisible barrier, then the other. After making sure the Field hadn't been activated and no problem had occurred, I strode inside the Bounded Field with a smirk. The entire affair, including me 'hacking' the Matrix totaled up to thirteen, maybe fourteen minutes max. My vision instantly zoomed in on the five closed electrical and the various junction boxes strapped near the main ones. Breaking open the locks weren't hard, and each one held twenty breakers with the only exception being the last one.
A majority of them were 'Off', which wasn't surprising, given the sheer cost of keeping an entire skyscraper powered and unused for the most part would dip heavily into the Akayashi's profits. The ones 'On' were far and few in between, amounting to twenty-six altogether. The first fifteen floors were crossed off the list, that left the upper ones. I frowned at the eleven active floors, carving them into my mind. "It's not the most efficient outcome, but it will do, unless…" I put my hands on the third box, sending bursts of Mana running along the wirings.
I thought, 'Hey, maybe this might work and I won't have to use [Future Calculation] at all.' I was wrong. Halfway across, my Mana was met with a strong current. "An electricity leak?" I retreated in time, but not without consequences. The entire box breakers turned off, and even then, it still sparked with electric currents that nearly hit me square in the face. "Fuck!" Thankfully, the currents finally subsided. I hurriedly throw shut the boxes and put the locks back on before jumping on top of a shelf nearby as footsteps neared my ears. I pulled my hooded jacket in just as security reached.
"You, turn on the damned lights! As for you, go check and see what happened to the electrical boxes!" Some guy in blue, topped with a cap at that, whom I assumed was the maintenance worker rushed to the box while his friend ran at the switches. I wasn't stupid enough to think I'd be able to keep to my hiding spot once the lights turned on, so I jumped soundlessly behind the group and slipped upstairs the very second the switches were flipped on. Sadly, that was not the end of my troubles as the room on the first floor had its door wide-open and was guarded by two security officers.
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For the slightest moment, I couldn't help but wonder if my presence had been discovered. 'It shouldn't be, else the whole place would have been crawling with people now.'
As luck would have it, the two guards had their faces away from my location right now, which was good. What's not good was the binding white light that illuminated all the possible hiding spots. Although both weren't facing my way, they were rather close to each other. It's still fine though, I could handle this. I snuck behind a barrel of something, not sure what, didn't care to find out either. While I indeed was much, much bigger than kids this age, I had no problem hiding behind the barrel itself.
I searched my pockets for more coins, flicking them down the stairs. The sounds of colliding metals soon captured the guards' attention as they slowly approached, gesturing at each other using different signs. Their steps were measured, cautious, reminding me of the few times I got to meet soldiers that recently returned from Iraq. 'The Akayashi hired former soldiers?' That's surprising. Back in my old World, security guards were often middle-aged people wanting to make additional income. Oh-well, it didn't matter. I sneakily kept myself to the barrel, waiting for them to pass.
Once they did, I burst out from my hiding spot, disappearing outside with them none-the-wiser. "Finally…" I whispered, trying to appear as natural as I could. Now, all I needed was to regroup with Shibata, Okamoto then I could begin looking for the Mages with [Future Calculation]. I swiftly blended into the leaving groups, eyes scanning the small crowd for signs of the two when someone touched my shoulder. In truth, I had felt him coming, but since there didn't seem to be ill-intent, I just allowed him to get close.
"Hey, kiddo!" I turned around, greeted by the same cab driver that brought us here. "Didn't expect to see me so soon, did ya'? One of the lil' girlies, Shibata was it? Well, she got into an accident, so they asked me to bring ya' back while they went on ahead."
"She was hurt?" Of course I knew, but I couldn't tell him that. "Yea, blood was everywhere. C'mon, let's bring ya' back so you can tend to your lil' girlfriend." I really couldn't understand older people's obsession with love. I supposed it's a means to help them relive their youth? Still, it got annoying real fast. Seriously, stop being so nosy, it's none of your damned business if we were friends, lovers or fuck-buddies. I carefully controlled my expression to hide my irritation, all while displaying a calm, yet worried look as I ignored his teasing. "Let's go then." I urged, concern seeping into my tone.
"Alright, let's get you home to your lil' girlfriend then!" The driver laughed as though he had comprehended something, the smirk on his face twisted perversely. I shrunk, slowly backing away from him. 'I don't know what he is thinking, but I don't think I want to know…'
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Morning came as quickly as every other day while I curled into my blanket, wrapping the thick cover around me like a protective cocoon. It was cold, much colder than I was used to, just putting a foot out made me flinch. I could walk it off if I wanted, especially with my already inhuman specs, but I really wanted to sleep in. Hadn't got the chance in months now, what with Kotomine's training, Gil's ridiculous fixation with waking up early, despite having been a Queen all her life… And my own research. Honestly, I was so lazy today I didn't even want breakfast.
Thus, I pulled the blanket over my face, ready to fall asleep, but then the sound of a loud explosion hammered into my ears. 'What? Is the enemy attacking?!' Needless to say, I rushed to the hallway, pants still at my ankles, shirt wrinkled and hair a disheveled mess, only to find the room furthest from mine had had its metal door blown wide open and several familiar voices echoing within the room. "Bakugou! This is the fifth time this month, Sasaki-sama will kill us!" The explosive blonde clicked his tongue and yelled in return. "Tsk, stop shouting already! I will use my salary to fix it."
"That's not the point." Shibata growled. By the time I was close enough, I could see the two glaring at each other. Shibata's glasses were flashing menacingly, while Bakugou's originally spiky hair stood on their ends like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. As for Okamoto? She was… Well, she was hiding in the corner, shivering in fright. The poor girl, she didn't even have the courage to break up their fight. "What the bloody Hell is going on here?!" I scowled, running a hand through my black locks as their attentions focused on me. "Leo-san!"
The brown-haired airhead shot forwards, grabbing my hand as she spun to position herself behind me. My cheeks twitched, seeing how she was acting. 'I'm not a human-shield...' But as my eyes met her trembling ones, I groaned and let out a tired breath. "Urgghh, nevermind–" I whispered before scowling at the two culprits responsible for ruining my morning sleep. "It's 6A.M, what the fucking Hell are you two doing?!" Shibata pointed angrily at Bakugou. "He started it." The blonde threw a scathing glare at her, then looked at me condescendingly. "None of your damned business."
Jesus Christ, no wonder Okamoto seemed nervous all the times when we first met. I wordlessly glanced at the airhead. Thankfully, she understood. "W- We have team training once a week, because of the Martial Art he inherited from his mother, Katsuki-san often broke equipment in the training room…" So this was their gym? Huh, now that I got a good look, it was pretty spacious and quite expensive looking as well. "T- This the fifth time he has destroyed the reinforced door, so Shibata is angry."
I frowned, massaging my forehead as I stared at the two in disbelief. I got that these three's abilities covered each other's weaknesses, but Sasaki-san, was it really worth it to put them together? "You two, don't you feel ashamed? You're scaring Okamoto." Apparently, they still had some shame left in them because rather an argue, they just turned away silently. "Seriously, I'm the youngest here–" Technically true. "Don't make me break up your fights, if you two have problems, talk it out in a calm manner, if you can't work it out then ask to be transferred to another team." It's not a good day when I, of all the people, had to be the voice of reason.
"If you guys keep this up, it won't matter even if your abilities synergize well, you guys will die." They kept silent still, I also didn't say anymore. "No one needs–" Bakugou started, but Shibata quickly interrupted him. "I apologize for showing you something so shameful, Leo-san. We will try to work out our problems, please don't mind us." I nodded and lazily escaped the room. "As long as you understand…"
I didn't get far when Okamoto's voice travelled to my ears. "W- Wait! Do you want to train with us? We still don't know much about your abilities and it will be a great opportunity for us to bond…" She seemed to lose confidence with each word as I peered at her skeptically. If Bakugou and Shibata were like fire and ice, then I was the oil. I doubted anything good would come out of our training. "Please." She mouthed pleadingly at me. Fuck my life. "Fine… If you will have me." And there went my morning sleep, right out the window.
"Just go back to–" Again, Shibata cut in before Bakugou, ever the angry ball of explosive, could finish. "We would love to, Leo-san."
"Okay, just give me a few minutes to get ready. I thought the enemies were attacking so I haven't got the chance to do my morning routine yet." I said awkwardly, scratching my head in embarrassment. My Stats affected my overall being, and they were high enough that neither my breath nor my body had a foul odor, but I feel the grimes on my skin. It's not very pleasant. "Just keep training, I'll be right back." I left for the bathroom, heart bleeding from the loss of my morning sleep. "Guess it's just not meant to be."
…
"So, what can your Magecraft do, Leo-san?!" Okamoto looked at me sparkling eyes. I laughed and shook my head. "Nothing much, I'm a relatively young First-Gen so…" I trailed off. "I don't plan on using any Magecraft other than [Reinforcement] today." Shibata narrowed her eyes at that, while Bakugou seemed ready to erupt like a bad-tempered cat. "And before you say anything, it's not because I'm looking down on you, it's because I have a Sword Style that needs to be refined through training. Using Magecraft will defeat the purpose of this training."
"Tsk, what good Style can you have?" Bakugou sent me a disdainful look. I didn't get angry, since I was about to kick his ass anyways, I opted to chuckle instead. "Oh, you will surprised." I paused, thinking for a second. "Also, can you all come at me?" This time, Bakugou couldn't contain his anger anymore and erupted. "Are you looking down on us, you little shit!"
Again, I shook, scratching my cheek. "No, it's just that this Style is more focused for one-on-one battles, so I want to get better at fighting multiple opponents at once." It was the truth. [Sword God Style] was designed to fight solo-battles, not against multiple opponents at the same time. It might not look like it when Ghislaine was using it in the Anime, but that's due to her sheer speed and strength. When facing multiple foes, all standing in different directions and could get involved at any second, this Style which had an emphasis on sheer physical prowess and relied almost entirely on momentum wasn't what I'd consider optimal.
"I see…" Shibata fixed her glasses, then nodded. "Very well then, I'd very much like to see this Style of yours." Then she bowed, cupping her fists she was a character in those Wuxia dramas. "Shibata Eri of the Heaven's Slicing School." Okamoto followed soon after, face serious for the very first time I had seen her. "Okamoto Chika, Jorōgumo's Web School." Seeing his teammates all fired up and ready to fight, Bakugou had no choice but to reluctantly join as well. "Bakugou, Bakugou Katsuki." Hmmm, he didn't say his School… Oh-well. "Leonis Magnum, Sword God School."
My blade flashed to existence, shining as it gleamed ominously under the artificial lights. Okamoto had fallen behind the line, leaving Shibata sandwiched between her and Bakugou, who stood at the foremost.
No more words were traded as we spoke through our eyes. I took the initiative and dashed forwards, just as dozens of metal wires converged to where I had stood, my blade sang in delight as it neared Bakugou, the imperfect imitation of [Longsword Of Silence] sending out sharp, yet nigh inaudible whistles while the edge cut apart the air itself. Bakugou himself looked surprised at my speed and the attack, though he quickly recovered, sending out balls of fiery Ki in both hands, one aiming at my torso, the other at my head.
[Longsword Of Silence], however imperfect, still sliced them apart as easy as the air they travelled through. Shame, I totally forgot Shibata was approaching, her katana coated in Ki that distorted the air. I hurriedly brought my blade to block, the momentum I had built colliding with Shibata's Ki-coated sword and dissipated as I fell from the air. I managed to push her back at least… It's then that a dozen more wires shot towards me, and with me still in the air, I had no choice but to twist my body to dodge.
Sadly, Okamoto's wires were too numerous. While I did indeed avoid the majority, I was still caught as the wires dug painfully into my flesh. I swung my blade to cut the ones holding my legs, but was thrown at the wall by the threads seizing my left arm. "Shit." Guess I was getting quite cocky after all, this was exactly the wake-up call I needed. Kotomine had been going easy on me, and the one time he didn't I got my ass kicked black and blue. Regul and his little abominate army were powerful, but they weren't actual fighters.
Regul was a researcher at heart, and the puppets were mindless drones enslaved to their instincts. As for Ragnarok… They were cannon fodders at best and that was being generous. These three? They were completely different. If I had fought them one-on-one, with [Reinforcement] and my already ridiculously high Stats, I'd have won for sure and would have learnt nothing, achieved nothing besides getting another stroke to my ego and confidence. It would have hampered me more than help.
Against all three, however, displayed perfectly my weaknesses. I was prone to tunnel-vision, hence why I didn't realize Shibata was coming before it was too late; resulting in me being caught by Okamoto's wires. Next up was my Sword Style, it's still too rigid and I still allowed my instinct to dominate the fight, which led to a lack of foresight. I needed to be better than this, I had to utilize both instinct and rational thoughts somehow, and what better way to do that than to fight people who could actually match me, but weren't strong enough to completely dominate and overwhelm?
I should have felt bad, instead I smirked. This was better, much better than sparring with Kotomine– That damned sadist, he couldn't display his full strength since he wasn't aiming to kill me, but when he did it was too bloody one-sided for me to learn anything. I spun in the away to arrest my fall, pulling Okamoto towards me and as she panicked, she already was well-within my range. Obviously, I wasn't about to hit her for real, just tap her cheek with my blade… Wait, not like that. I meant, I was just going to eliminate her from the fight in a none lethal way.
But, the plan was stomped to the dirt before it could be realized. Bakugou shot towards me, the soles of his feet bursting with fiery Ki and his fist slammed against the side of my blade, the resulting explosion sending me flying back and would have rattled my bones had my blade didn't have an Enchantment that nullified most, if not all kinetic energy. Still, I could taste the tang of blood as I slammed against the wall. ""Leo-san!"" Both Okamoto and Shibata shouted at my slumped form.
I wiped the trail of blood from my mouth, smirking. "Keep it up, I can go on still." This pain was nothing compared to the bullshit I had to deal with while sparring Kotomine anyways. Thus, the battle continued,