After the encounter with the Wyvern, the flight back to the base was silent.

  Aoi sat in the cockpit, her mind replaying the clinical, cold efficiency with which Aether had dispatched the beast. She didn't say a word to him; she didn't know how to talk to a human who treated a life-or-death battle like a level in a video game.

  As the jet touched down, they were greeted by Lilith. The Lamia officer slithered forward, her tail flicking with idle curiosity.

  "Dealt with a rogue Wyvern already, did you, Aether?" she asked.

  "I just solved the problem. That’s all," Aether replied, stepping off the ramp without a backward glance. He walked away with the same lazy, unhurried pace he had when he was playing his games.

  Aoi followed Lilith into the Wrappers planning quarters. The room was quieter than before. The woman with the plasma sword—Sera—was there, along with the other tentacle-user and one of the poison-spitters.

  "Where are the others?" Aoi asked, looking around the nearly empty room.

  "Different mission," Lilith replied briefly. "In this unit, we’re rarely all in the same place at once."

  Before Aoi could ask more, the other tentacle-user approached her. She moved with a strange, fluid grace.

  "So," she said, her eyes scanning Aoi’s frame. "Are you like me?"

  The question caught Aoi off guard. She didn't know how to define herself anymore—was she a person with a parasite, or was she just a parasite in a human skin?

  Before she could stumble over an answer, the girl smiled.

  "I’m Cassey."

  "I’m Aoi," she replied simply.

  Cassey led her over to the poison-spitter, who was buried behind a mountain of paperwork.

  "This is Harry. Don’t mind him; he’s a total bookworm. If it’s not written in a document, he doesn't care about it."

  Aoi watched as Lilith and Aether slipped away for other duties, leaving her alone with the two inhumans.

  "Well," Cassey said, her eyes sparkling with mischief. "I assume Aether showed you the basics? Do you want to do something fun? We could go take a peek at the male cadets' locker rooms."

  Aoi’s eyes widened.

  "A big NO! We aren't that kind of people! Isn't it usually the boys who try to do the peeking?"

  Cassey let out a melodic laugh.

  "Times have changed, Aoi! Besides, it’s not just about the view. Haven't you heard about the new human cadet everyone is talking about? He’s only fifteen, but Lieutenant Rose is personally mentoring him."

  Aoi paused.

  I thought only Mitsuo took people under his wing, she thought. I guess I was wrong.

  Cassey leaned in closer, her voice dropping to a gossiping whisper.

  "And that’s not the only thing. Rumor has it that Lieutenant Rose and the White Wolf don’t exactly get along. There’s a silent war going on between them."

  "For real?" Aoi asked, genuinely intrigued. The idea of anyone standing up to Mitsuo was fascinating.

  "Oh, and that’s not even the juiciest part," Cassey added, grinning. "Some people say they actually like each other."

  "WHAT!?" Aoi exclaimed, the image of the cold, arrogant Mitsuo in a relationship making her brain short-circuit.

  "Relax, it’s just a rumor," Cassey giggled.

  Aoi tried to chill out, but her mind immediately drifted to Claire.

  If that rumor is true, then what about Claire? She follows Mitsuo like a shadow. Where does she fit in?

  Her thoughts were abruptly cut off by a sharp, mocking voice.

  "Well, well. Is this the Wrappers' newest little recruit?"

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  Aoi turned toward the voice. Standing at the entrance was a lean girl with an air of immense self-esteem. Brilliant, fiery feathers were attached to her arms, shimmering with a majestic, metallic light.

  Aoi looked to Cassey for an explanation, but the newcomer spoke first, her chin tilted high.

  "I am Haether. I am a Phoenix, and I belong to the elite group: Feathers."

  Aoi stood there in awe.

  Haether didn't look like a "monster" or a "tool." She looked like a goddess.

  But as Aoi looked into her eyes, she saw the same sharp, elite arrogance she was beginning to recognize in every high-ranking member of this facility. She wondered how she was supposed to interact with someone who looked like they were made of sunfire.

  Before Aoi could muster a respectful greeting, Cassey waved a dismissive hand.

  "Don’t mind her, Aoi. Just ignore the 'self-proclaimed' elite and we can get back to our conversation."

  "Hey! I’m standing right here, Cassey!" Haether shouted, her majestic aura instantly evaporating as her cheeks flushed a bright, indignant red.

  "And what do you mean self-proclaimed? I am an elite!"

  She stomped her foot, her pleas sounding more like a frustrated child than a mythical bird of prey.

  In an instant, the image of the divine Phoenix that Aoi had just formed in her mind vanished, replaced by the image of a dork who tried way too hard to act cool.

  "So are we," Cassey countered with a bored shrug.

  "You—that’s not the point! You ruined my entrance!" Haether wailed, looking genuinely distressed.

  "Oh, don't worry. It wasn't exactly working anyway, was it?"

  Cassey turned to Aoi, expecting her to agree, but she stopped when she saw Aoi’s wide-eyed expression.

  Aoi had actually fallen for the act.

  Cassey burst into a fit of laughter.

  "No way! You actually thought she was some big shot?"

  Haether looked like she had been physically struck.

  "What do you mean!? She clearly recognized greatness!"

  She turned desperately to Aoi, her eyes practically begging for validation.

  "Right? You think I'm impressive, right?"

  Aoi found the nearest wall very interesting and looked the other way, refusing to get caught in the middle.

  The chaotic bickering continued until a sharp, cold presence cut through the noise.

  Sera, who had been sitting silently in the corner, stood up.

  The room went quiet as she approached.

  "Hey, Feather-girl," Sera said, her voice like ice.

  "It’s Phoenix!" Haether corrected, though her voice lacked its earlier fire.

  "Whatever. If you’re here, it means you have a message for us, right?"

  "Oh... yes." Haether straightened her uniform, trying to reclaim some dignity.

  "Actually, our group leader, Lord Eagle Arthur, sent me to invite you to dinner, Sera. He said—"

  "Tell him to get lost," Sera interrupted, not even glancing at the invitation Haether was holding out.

  Aoi watched in awe.

  The way Sera moved—with such grace, pride, and effortless dignity—made her seem like a displaced princess in a world of monsters. To Aoi, she was the personification of elegance.

  Noticing Aoi’s intense gaze, Sera turned toward her. Her crystal-blonde hair swayed like silk as she stepped closer.

  "I am Sera, the Swordmaster," she said, her cool blue eyes locking onto Aoi’s.

  "I am your senior. I heard you achieved impressive results before joining us. I hope you'll prove useful to the Wrappers."

  Aoi stood frozen, her brain struggling to formulate a sentence.

  "I—uh—I’m Aoi. I’ll... do my best."

  A sudden, soft glint appeared in Sera’s eyes. She tilted her head slightly, observing Aoi with a rare, small smile.

  "You’re cute. I like you."

  And with that, she turned and walked out of the room.

  The silence that followed was absolute—

  until Cassey let out a glass-shattering scream of excitement.

  "Did she just call you cute!?"

  Aoi turned to see both Cassey and Haether staring at her in total shock, their own faces flushed red.

  The air in the room suddenly felt very heavy with a different kind of tension.

  Realizing what they were thinking, Aoi’s own face turned a deep crimson.

  She threw her hands up, covering her burning cheeks.

  "No! Stop it! I’m not into girls!"

  After the encounter with Sera, the three girls began to wander through the facility's sprawling interior.

  As they walked, Aoi caught sight of a black-haired teenage boy standing alone, staring intently at a notice board. He looked out of place—too young, perhaps—but she brushed the thought aside, her mind still reeling from the social whirlwind of the Wrappers quarters.

  "Aoi! Aoi! Hey, stay with us!" Cassey said, shaking Aoi’s shoulder to snap her out of her daze.

  They had stopped in front of a massive, reinforced door that hummed with localized power.

  "This is the training hall we were telling you about," Cassey explained, her eyes gleaming with pride.

  Haether pushed past them, jumping up in joy as she approached the main console.

  "You're going to love this! We can actually program the machines to mirror specific opponents. It’s the closest thing to a real fight without actually dying."

  She tapped a few commands into the interface, and a flicker of blue light materialized in the center of the room.

  An advanced hologram of Vice Captain Steve appeared, looking just as grim as the real man, his hands moving with mechanical precision as he "fixed" a holographic firearm.

  "The combat AI controls them," Haether said, her voice dropping into an uncharacteristically serious tone.

  "They operate at about seventy percent of the original’s actual speed and power. It’s perfect for learning patterns."

  Aoi stared at the digital ghost of Steve, impressed by the fluid realism of the technology.

  However, her gaze soon drifted past the holographic Vice Captain to the far end of the hall.

  In a secluded corner, a single figure was locked in a violent dance.

  Aoi’s breath hitched.

  It was Claire.

  The Ghoul girl was drenched in sweat, her movements a blur of desperate, savage agility.

  She wasn't fighting a generic bot or a standard soldier.

  Facing her was a towering, shimmering hologram of the "White Wolf" himself—Mitsuo.

  The digital Mitsuo moved with a terrifying, bored grace, parrying Claire’s desperate strikes with effortless flickers of his hands.

  Even as a projection, his presence felt suffocating.

  Aoi watched as Claire lunged again and again, her eyes fixed on the hologram with a look of intense, almost painful devotion.

  She wasn't just training; she was trying to reach him, even if he was only made of light and code.

  To be continued......

  ? MYukH. All rights reserved.