( Yuuki's POV )
Yuuki: Hey Cougar, can I ask you a question?
Cougar: Sure, but I'm not sure I can answer.
Yuuki: This is simple, I just want to know if there are people like the order within your world.
I explained the methods, objectives, and beliefs of the order of the true one path; Cougar's expression slowly changed to one of confusion and concern, that resonated with an enemy he was facing in his own world, Seig recalled the grim scenario I had laid out earlier regarding the order's true intentions, he looked at me somewhat worried, and I just shook my head.
It's too early to jump to conclusions, but not too early to plan accordingly.
Jubei: Onii-chan! Where were you?
Upon arriving at the castle, Jubei appeared at the entrance, concern on her face, and when she saw me she ran towards me and put me in a tight hug, It seems my disappearing for my secret mission worried her a little.
Yuuki: You two go ahead, I'm a bit busy here.
Seig and Cougar went to the Gateway and I stayed behind to calm Jubei down; she was worried about my safety and also a little scared that I had disappeared, Fumina and Matabei appeared, also somewhat worried, but not to the same degree as Jubei.
Fumina: If you're going to suddenly disappear, you could at least give us a heads-up, okay?
Matabei: Fumina worried Jubei, saying that you could have left us behind.
Fumina: Hey, now, those weren't my exact words. I only said that he might have been contacted by his group.
I suppose it's understandable that they're somewhat worried; they don't know that I do this often. I took a phone out of my storage and gave it to Fumina.
I apologized to the girls and assured them that I wouldn't leave without warning, but that wasn't much of a relief; a certain sense of anxiety was affecting the girls.
Yuuki: Hey, what do you think about having a training section?
Fumina: Huh? Why are you saying that now?
Yuuki: Just sitting and waiting can be frustrating; flexing our bodies is a good distraction and also means we'll be ready when it's time to rescue our friends.
Matabei: Yuuki-san... Thank you again.
Yuuki: Don't mention it, I want to move my body a little too.
We moved to the front of the castle; there were no training fields available here, so I took a piece of forest to create one, Using wind and earth magic, I created a training field, and of course all of that attracted attention, but the one who came to observe was someone I didn't expect to still be in the castle.
Yuuki: Cougar? What are you doing here?
Cougar: Yeah, there's a problem with that.
Cougar went on to explain that to return to his world he had to use the same portal he used to come here, which meant he would have to infiltrate that base of the Order, basically, he was trapped here just like us.
Yuuki: Well, if you have the time, why not join our training?
Cougar: That sounds good. I'm actually curious about what you can do.
Cougar displayed the kind of attitude I like to see in training, but before we could begin, I detected an unfamiliar presence in the forest, Cougar started sniffing the air and seemed to detect the same thing I did, we looked at each other and understood what was happening: enemies.
We both ran without hesitation into the forest, as expected for someone with his beastman build, Cougar was fast and agile, but he was no faster than me.
Cougar: Incredible, I've never seen a human move as fast as one of us.
Yuuki: To be precise, I'm barely human at this point; my blood is a peculiar cocktail.
Cougar: I don't know what you mean, but I understand that you're not normal.
Yuuki: That's an understatement, but correct.
In the place where we sensed the presence of enemies, I saw Seig fighting and losing against someone wearing full armor of the order; he is probably another archivist, Two others were there but were only looking from the sides; one was a girl with a somewhat disturbing look and a man I remember seeing during my first battle against the order, but he used to be fighting on the same side as Seig.
I fired an energy bullet from my finger and it hit the shoulder of the man in armor putting a hole in his armor; everyone turned their attention to me and the members of the order did not hesitate to begin their retreat, I'm gaining some reputation in this world.
Portals opened to extract those members of the order, but the other guy also jumped into one of those portals.
Yuuki: Hey, are you okay, man?
Seig: Dirk... He betrayed us.
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We returned to the castle's great hall and discussed this little attack we suffered; that guy Dirk was dissuaded by the order and set fire to the chronicles, but those things aren't really books; those are artifacts that won't disappear if someone accidentally knocks over a candle.
Marica: Dirk, how could he do something like this?
Yuuki: I told you before, the Order takes advantage of people's weakness to make them fall into their beliefs.
Seig: Dirk is not weak! He wouldn't fall for the Order's lies.
Yuuki: I don't know that guy Dirk, but everyone has a weakness in their heart; that's just how it works, he was your teacher, wasn't he? He probably expected to teach you for years, to fight side by side for the same cause, to celebrate your successes and lift you up when you failed, all those years of happiness, sadness, falls and victories, all stolen in an instant by a book, I would also be angry if something like that happened to me.
The people who grew up with Dirk couldn't contradict my words; maybe I'm letting my teacher side take over when I'm around these kids.
Yuuki: You have to know how the enemy thinks in order to fight him, and I can say that he is not an enemy, If he were a true follower of the order, he would have stolen the chronicles instead of trying to burn them. He was corrupted by the order, but what matters to him is you guys.
Seig: yeah that's right. If the order thinks they can manipulate our friend, we'll just take him back.
Yuuki: Exactly. And you know what you need for that: training!
With the new training ground recently built, it was time to use them to their full potential and get these guys in shape.