The group of two Generals, three Sergeants, and one Head General walked down the hallway towards the meeting room, General Nathan slumped over as he walked, looking like a zombie.
As they walked, General Duke narrowed his eyes.
"Getting called to a meeting by a mere Sergeant." He muttered, annoyed. "The audacity of that blind fool…"
Head General Paul glanced over at Duke.
"Enough." He replied, causing Duke to grit his teeth in annoyance, and hold his tongue. "He requested a meeting through the proper channels. The least we can do is see what he wants."
As the group reached the familiar room with the half-circle table, they saw that Sergeant Leo was already in the room, sitting in his seat.
He looked up at them as he heard the door open.
The group walked in, and sat in their usual formation.
Head General Paul at the far back, the two Generals on either side of him, and each General's Sergeant or Sergeants seated in front of their respective General.
General Nathan slumped forward in his seat, using a hand to prop up his head.
Before anyone could even ask what this "meeting" was about, General Nathan's wristwatch began to beep, its screen flashing erratically.
Everyone instantly looked over at Nathan.
Seeing the looks, Nathan let out a sigh.
He brought his arm holding his wristwatch up to his chest, and pressed his fingers against the screen.
"We're just about to start a meeting here!" He muttered in an annoyed tone, his state of exhaustion making him more snippy than usual.
After a moment, a female voice was projected through the screen.
"My apologies, sir." The female replied. "I just wanted to inform you that we just received a report from Ms. Hayley that a first-year student has died."
Instantly, a tense silence filled the room.
Instantly Leo's blinded eyes widened.
He rose from his feet, and slammed his hands on the table.
"There's another student dead?!" He yelled, dumbstruck.
Instantly, his gaze snapped to Shizuka.
Tsukuru's story from earlier was still fresh in his mind, about how she had buried two innocent students ALIVE.
Seeing him glaring at her, Shizuka raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"Why are you surprised?" She asked in a nonchalant tone, before leaning back in her seat, arms folded behind her neck. "You know no one gives a rat's ass about these kids fighting amongst themselves. A few deaths is like a foregone conclusion."
Leo grit his teeth in irritation.
General Nathan glanced back down at the watch. "We'll run an investigation in the morning." He replied, before ending the call.
General Duke put his closed fist under his cheek, him having a look of deep boredom on his face.
Nathan then glanced over at Sergeant Leo.
"Now, please tell me, why are we here?" He asked.
Hearing Nathan's words, Leo then let out a long sigh, trying to calm himself down.
"It has come to my attention that Hikiko Tsukuru is capable of summoning Beasts." Leo replied.
While this caused the majority of the people present to begin murmuring, Shizuka just looked bored.
"You mean his 'Summon' things?" She asked in a nonchalant tone. "THAT'S what this meeting is about?"
Instantly, everyone's gazes snapped to her.
It was as if she had just said something incredibly important, despite her saying it in such a bored tone.
Leo grit his teeth in annoyance.
"You knew we had a student here who could summon Beasts, and didn't think to ever tell anyone?!" He roared.
Shizuka looked at him with a bored expression, and shrugged her shoulders.
"Tsu-Tsu's capabilities are none of your concerns." She replied, her eyes narrowing. "Let's not pretend that we're all friends here. After all, in this world, it's 'use or BE used'."
Leo ground his teeth in pure anger.
The more he learned of the military's operations, the less he liked.
He was quickly realizing that although they protected people, they weren't good people.
Leo let out another sigh.
"In a way, yes." Leo replied "It's not what this meeting is about, but it is related."
He turned to Sergeant Faye.
"Did you get what I asked for?" He asked.
Sergeant Faye nodded.
Reaching into her shirt pocket, she pulled out a thumbdrive.
She walked up to the back of the room, where a cabinet was placed against the wall.
Opening it, she pulled out a projector.
It was the same projector they had used to watch the Ability Level Placement Test.
Carrying it over to the front of the table, she plugged the thumbdrive into an external port on its side, and powered it on.
"This is a clip from the Beast Weapon Hall's security feed from today's classes." Faye replied. "Due to Sergeant Leo's…limitations…he asked me to procure it for him."
The projector then showed an image on the far wall of the room.
Soon, a video started.
It showed Brandon on the floor, and Tsukuru walking away.
The group watched as Brandon charged at Tsukuru's back, trident extended.
Tsukuru then turned to him, an annoyed look on his face.
Tsukuru's hand tightened around his dagger, and he prepared to intercept the trident.
However, it was then that a mass of hard-light pixels began to appear in front of him, causing Brandon to stop roughly a few feet away from Tsukuru.
The pixels formed a slender shape.
There was a flash of light.
When it faded, there was an armored figure standing between Tsukuru and Brandon, its sword at Brandon's throat.
The video feed then ended.
Everyone in the room, with the exception of Shizuka, stared at the now-blank wall, eyes widened.
Leo turned to the others.
"Luckily, the boy was able to call off the Beast before it killed Brandon." Leo replied, before narrowing his eyes. "Yet it seems the boy still ended up dying later that day, anyway." He muttered.
Head General Paul, General Nathan, and General Duke all exchanged looks.
Leo coughed into his fist, getting everyone's attention once again.
"However, THAT isn't the reason I called this meeting." He replied.
The two Generals and the Head General looked at him, now confused.
"I called this meeting to pass on a request from a student." He explained. "Student Erin Heyley has expressed interest in fighting Tsukuru's…Beast. She has requested to be allowed to fight it."
The trio of Paul, Nathan, and Duke exchanged looks.
Eventually, Paul spoke.
"I have a suggestion." He replied, causing everyone to turn to him.
He turned to Leo. "What tier is this…Beast?" He asked.
Leo narrowed his eyes.
He put his hand under his chin, thinking.
"Judging by the amount of Beast Energy I detected from it, I'd say it's an Intermediate-Tier Beast." Leo replied.
Paul stood there, stunned for a moment.
"Intermediate-Tier." He muttered, somewhat surprised. "Damn."
He quickly recomposed himself.
"Anyway, seeing as how the first-years will be going on their first portal outing next week, this is the perfect way to show them what they'll be facing." Duke smirked.
"You're talking about an exhibition match." He replied, his hand under his chin, stroking it as he thought it over. "That's not a bad idea…"
He looked back at Head General Paul.
"And lucky for us, the assembly hall just finished repairs."
At his words, Paul quirked an eyebrow in confusion.
"Wait, what the hell happened to the assembly hall?" He asked.
Duke looked away, somewhat annoyed.
"Where was…an altercation between the Blade boy and the second-years." He muttered.
Paul thought about Duke's statement for a moment, before eventually letting it pass.
"We will schedule the fight for right after breakfast tomorrow." Paul replied. "Right before the students head off to their individual combat classes."
He turned to look at the first-year Sergeants.
"Be sure to inform the two students involved beforehand." He replied.
Shizuka smirked.
"I'll inform little Tsu-Tsu." She replied.
Leo looked over at her, and sighed.
"And I guess I'll inform Erin Heyley." He replied.
Paul nodded, then turned to the others.
"If no one else has anything else to add, I'll call this meeting adjourned."
No one else said a word. In fact, General Nathan bolted out of his seat, and sprinted towards the door.
Sergeant Faye and Sergeant Shizuka popped their heads out the door, and saw Nathan making a mad dash down the wall, a smoke trail behind him.
They heard his voice reverberating from down the hall.
"Sleep! Beautiful Sleep!"
Shizuka and Faye exchanged looks.
Head General Paul looked around the room, seeing everyone stunned.
"I…I guess we're done." He replied, getting up.
However, before he left, he turned to Shizuka.
"Oh, and Sergeant Shizuka."
Hearing her being called, Shizuka turned to him. "Since you're seeing him anyways, tell student Hikiko that his next Glathrium delivery is due in three days." He replied.
Shizuka nodded.
Soon, everyone began to depart, until only Sergeant Shizuka and Sergeant Leo were left standing in the room.
Sergeant Shizuka was about to leave, until she heard Leo speak up.
"Tsukuru told me what you did." He muttered.
Shizuka turned to him, an amused smirk on her face.
"You're gonna have to be more specific." She replied. "I've done a lot of abhorrent shit in my life. Do you have any idea how little that narrows it down?"
Leo grit his teeth, and he gripped his hand around the handle of his sword so tightly that his skin was turning white.
The fact that she could say that with such amusement showed how little regret she felt towards her actions.
"You buried two innocent students ALIVE!" He growled.
If anything, his words made Shizuka's grin even wider.
"Oh, that?" She replied, nonchalant. "Yes, it's a damn shame. Such a waste of such perfectly goodmeat-shields."
The very next second, Leo burst into action.
He dashed at Shizuka, sword drawn. Shizuka smirked at him, unmoving, as he swung his sword.
Leo's sword cut into Shizuka's throat.
But something was…wrong.
The area he had cut looked like loose gravel and rocks, and the "wound" was dripping loose dirt instead of blood.
Also, it felt like to Leo that he was cutting through a pile of loose dirt and rock, not a living person's throat.
Shizuka smirked as she saw the pure rage on Leo's face.
It was as if she was looking at a child throwing a temper tantrum.
"Careful, Sergeant Leo." She warned, that tone of amusement still in her voice.
Leo noticed that there was also a certain…gravely tone in her voice.
"Attacking a fellow Sergeant is quite the punishable offense. She leaned in closer, his sword cutting deeper into her neck, and then whispered. "And as for those kids I killed, you're the only one who cares."