“Captain!” shouted Abeiron, only just notig Chiharu’s presenbsp; He attempted to move to help his Captain, but immediately saw the bde against his throat move slightly. It was unseen by him, but her bde cut into his skin ever so slightly with precision trol. A thin line of blood dripped down.

  Gng down without moving his head, Simoried to put her into his sight. She was too far out of his peripheral vision. “I wondered when you’d make your move.” In spite of his situation, he didn’t flinder the pressure of her bde.

  ‘He’s too fident,’ thought Chiharu, trying to read the situation, ‘Something off about this.’ Narrowed eyes tried to gleahing from the slightest movement from Simonides’ body. ‘He sounds like I’ve pyed into his pns? But how would he have predicted my as without even knowing me?’

  “Is that silen professionalism?” He measured out his tone in deliberate fashion against Chiharu. “…or is it fusion?”

  It felt like he could see through her. Chiharu’s body tensed up. The man had a strange aura about him. She knew he was merely a normal human with no more power than the average adult, yet there was a massive intimidating preseing from him. A strength that she thought she could see bleeding off him.

  It was why she failed.

  Suddenly, a force pulled at her arm. It dragged her sword arm away from Simonides’ nebsp; It owerful enough that all of her struggli nothing. ‘Damn! I lost my ce…’ She already khe reason.

  Behind her, a MP user stood in sloroabsp; The young woman drew Chiharu away from Simonides, keeping her restrained by invisible hands. “It was exactly like you said, sir.”

  “Good work, Agaue.” Casually, he ran a finger across his o remove the blood. Simourned

  around to face Chiharu directly. “Surrender now before y this out any longer.”

  Grindieeth together, Chiharu tried to find a way out of the trap. The intelligence of the man unnerved her. She didn’t know if she could beat him. “Go to hell!” she barked, in an odd burst for her. She immediately regretted it, feeling like the muscle head started to leave an impression on her.

  “Your choice,” he replied solemnly, almost sounding sad. “You’ll find soon enough that you ’t win. Agaue.” He motioo the blonde haired woman to get rid of Chiharu.

  “Sir? We’ve captured one of them!”

  “That is an order, Sed Lieutenant.”

  His anding voiapped her ba line in an instant. “Yes, sir!” Chiharu’s body moved closer to her for a sed before flung forward. The aim put her in the ter of the ring of soldiers and back with her rades. However, she didn’t uand her Captain’s thinking.

  Simonides faced back at the battle watg with the same i as before, ued by the interruption. “You’re w why I didn’t keep the child. It’s simple. She’s too much of a risk right now.”

  Agaue still felt fused by his answer. ‘A risk? Isn't it more risky sending her back with her rades where she help them?’

  “Answer me this. you pletely e her powers?”

  “No, sir. I don’t know what her powers are.”

  “Correbsp; You ’t make her a normal human without uanding her powers. She’s the biggest unknown we have, she’s only fought twid her of those that faced her got a real view of her powers. She’s cautious. She’s held back her secrets knowing not to reveal them. That’s why she’s dangerous.”

  She started to uand his line of logibsp; “Yes, sir!” Agaue should have never questioned him. Her Captain knew what he was doing. She just o follow his orders.

  ‘However, in this battle…yoing to be forced to show me everything. I’ll seal it all.’

  Chapter 211 – Loss of trol

  Chiharu nded safely o Yumi. Rising from one knee, she stared ba the dista Simonides. ‘Why?’ Her eyes narrowed trying to uand it. However, her surroundings didn’t allow her the freedom of time.

  “Chiharu! Are you alright?” Yumi leaned over to her side for Chiharu. It surprised them all to see her flying through the air back at them. None of them knew what happeo her, but just assumed she went to do something.

  Brushing off Yumi’s , Chiharu stepped forward to gauge the numbers. ‘He’s got a mob of soldiers that don’t stand a ce against us. The man’s too smart for that. He’s scheming something.’ Chiharu looked in search of the power users of the Atnteans, but saw none of them. They didn’t stand out to her. It meant only ohing. She looked over at Yumi. “Pull them back,” she ordered.

  “Huh?” It was too sudden for Yumi to react the way Chiharu wanted.

  “It’s a trap. They’ll be isoted and right where he wants them.”

  Yumi turned her head immediately hearing the word ‘trap’. “What?! Do you know what they’re pnning, Chiharu?” Like Fumiko, she worried that it might be a trap. But none of them had anything to go on with how they might do it.

  “I ’t see it all, but this is obvious. Ah a tactical uanding would see it. They already figured they eutralize our powers. The step is pretty obvious at this point.”

  Her eyes widened. Everything suddenly made seo her. She quickly turned back out in the dire of Seiji. ‘It all fits!’ The sword restrained her from the extreme movements she wao make, f to remain subdued despite her emotions. “Seiji! Fumiko! You have to get babsp; Those people with Yuki’s power are mixed among the normal soldiers! They’re wearing the same uniforms to blend in!”

  Seiji tilted his head back while finishing his punch against the test soldier. “Dammit! You mean we ’t tell which of these guys are the real ones?”

  “Their pn is to isote us and seal our powers!”

  Simonides watched the se unfold. They had figured things out, but he already gave the signal. “It’s too te. Your strength, your fme…I’ll take it all away!”

  Suddenly, the st punch of Seiji’s didn’t have the same force behind it. The man staggered a little, but didn’t fall over. It left a bit of soreness in Seiji’s hand, one he had not felt for weeks. The feeling was quite nostalgic for him. However, in spite of the familiar feelings, he uood the problem.

  His strength was gone.

  He took another swing, but it resulted in the same effebsp; Worse for him was that the soldiers seemed to uand it as well. They surrounded him quickly, applying the pressure. If he couldn’t punch his way out, his options shrank. “…damn…bastards…” For the first time in the fights in Atntis, Seiji hesitated. The numbers were against him.

  g his fists up at his side, Seiji cursed the frustrating situation. If he had no options, then he only had oion. “Hell! I’m tired of thinking about this!” Seiji went charging into the group of soldiers. His fists cshed with their swords and shields. He tried to meet flesh with flesh, but he was too aced to his speed and strength that nothing moved the way he wa to anymore.

  “Seiji!”

  Fumiko slid back, knocked off bance by the regur soldiers. “…damn…we’re running out of options…” She had already tried to summon her fmes to no effebsp; The magic circles appeared, but no fme came out. They were sealed.

  ‘This isn’t about the individual fights,’ ented Simonides. ‘However, the numbers are merely a s. This is all about the pn, nothing more. Everything for the singur goal.’

  Neriched helplessly from the sidelines. In such a situation, she did not know what she should do. Which side did she belong? ‘Captain…Seiji…’

  Swinging his fists around blindly, Seiji took blow after blow from the soldiers. It didn’t stop him from tinuing to try to muscle his way through the mob of soldiers. Nothing would stop him. Bits of particles trickled off his ed arm. “You’ll have to tie me down if you wao stop!”

  “I see.” Simonides watched Seiji with deep i. The strength stripped away from the boy gave him more insight. ‘So it wasn’t the strength alone. I thought that might be the case. This will bring him to his knees.’ He lifted up his hand, a signal to Abeiron. “Inform squads 39 and 59 to have their MP activate their Fields. Tell them to include a w that sets a body’s hardness, resistao damage to a normal human’s.”

  “Yes, sir!” Abeiron turned around issuing orders to the soldiers in unication with the soldiers out on the front. They had to ge out of the Fields. An overp in Fields happened briefly, as the newly updated Fields from different MPs activated. On, the previous MPs turned off their Fields. All art of the pn to keep a stant seal on their powers and adapt as they learned more. Each time they pushed for something more, it would be taken away immediately until they had nothi. They would pletely uand their potential.

  Blood sprayed into the air. It was less the ford more the surprise that knocked Seiji babsp; He slid a little distance away from the soldiers, but still surrounded. Pain. Blood. He was used to all of it. Yet, it felt different. ‘Something wrong with my body. It doesn’t feel right. I feel heavy…’ Before he felt like he could keep going without end, even without his strength. Yet it felt like the life of his body dragged away. A ess crawled up his fiips.

  Yumi could barely see Seiji through everyohat surrounded him. She could do nothing for him. It was something she uood too well. “Chiharu! Seiji needs help!” The only ce he had was Chiharu. He would be captured without any help.

  ‘There’s a problem with just jumping in,’ she thought. Long before she suggested, Chiharu already thought about joining in the fight. However, she saw it ing. ‘The more we use our powers the more they’ll get sealed off oer another. We need a way to break through and escape. This is a losing battle.’ She hated the thought of a losing battle.

  A failure.

  More failure.

  Chiharu walked out towards the soldiers. It seemed like a long distance away. The chaos of the fight made everything mixed together. ‘What will be the oute? We’ve been out maneuvered…’

  “Hurry, Chiharu! Seiji won’t st!”

  “I ’t. They’ve already sealed my speed.” She kept aride. The men came closer to her, starting to take awareness of her presenbsp; “We have to be smart about this.” A couple of the Atnteans broke off from the muscle head to e after her.

  Their swords bore down on her. She lightly dodged to the right of the first, flipping them to the ground as she passed. The sed, she disarmed with a fast fluid motion that sent the sword spinning off towards Yumi. Once free of the on, she turned his movement against him a him to the earth along with his rade. ‘Even without my strength or speed, I’m still a ninja. An assassin.’ Chiharu’s eyes narrowed into steel resolve. ‘My training ’t be stolen from me.’

  “Impressive child,” remarked Simonides. He motioo Abeiron again. ‘It’s time to see what you really do. I’ll push you into a er and force you to show me your fangs.’

  Suddenly, red strips of a strahin material erupted from the earth. It seamlessly appeared as though grown from it, despite its unnatural appearanbsp; The ends of the strips flew up into the air surrounding Seiji and Fumiko. It moved too quickly for them to react.

  In moments, it pihem to the ground. The red material ed around their arms, legs, ned waist. It restraihem. All of the struggli nothing. It did not budge at all. They could only ko the earth in submission. Both captured in an instant.

  Chiharu groueeth together. She faced the entire army alone. The only one freed still to move and absp; The only one able to rescue them. He taunted her to a. She k, but she had no choibsp; She was their only ce.