Chapter 24

  Cogs in the Machine

  The next morning arrived, the bathroom was filled with the sounds of pouring water and guttural retching.

  “Urgk…” Anastasia grumbled as she clutched her head. As she closed the tap, she opened a small yellow bottle and popped one of the pills into her mouth. “I shouldn’t have… had so much... to drink last night.”

  The events of the night before flashed in her mind, where she had lifted Felix above the ground and suffocated him.

  She slipped to her knees and covered her face with her two palms. “Oh god… why did I do that to him? What if he doesn’t come back for training later? What if he hates me? I don’t want my own student to hate me…” She worriedly whimpered. “Ahh, blyat.”

  Gripping the sink, she pulled herself up and looked into the mirror, staring at the scar on her left eye. Her fingers softly brushed against the burnt red skin of her left eye, before promptly covering it with an eyepatch.

  As she headed down the hall, a girl with deep, maroon hair waved at her, accompanied by a woman in teal armor similar to the one Carol had, “Yo, Anya!”

  “Good… good morning.” Anastasia smiled softly before quickly covering her mouth.

  “Are you okay?” The girl titled her head.

  “I’m, I’m fine Saya… J-just a little headache. Just came back from your mission?”

  “Yeah, was gonna deliver some documents to Chief Vivian. Would you like to come join us for breakfast?”

  “You go on ahead, I just finished eating. Besides, I have somewhere to go.”

  “Ah… alright then. See you later, then.” Saya waved and began walking ahead.

  “That’s Anastasia Frost? She looks like a wreck.” The armored girl replied.

  “Sheila, don’t be mean.” Saya replied to her as they walked away.

  As Anastasia headed to the door, she swallowed before reaching for the knob. As it creaked open, she saw that Felix was just sitting there fidgeting with a pen between his hands, “Y-you’re early.” She greeted.

  He put down the pen and gave her a determined gaze, “Good morning.”

  “So, then… let’s get started.” She replied back in her cold, professional tone.

  Soon, the repetitive sound of gunfire could be heard in the training room while Felix dodged one after the other, or at least tried to.

  Few of the rubber bullets still struck his limbs, narrowly grazing him as he slowly adapted.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  “You were taught to avoid bullets by watching where the gun is aimed, but what happens when you’re in total darkness?”

  Anastasia shot the lightbulbs above them, and the darkness filled the room. Felix held in his breath and moved silently, his steps barely audible.

  “Your eyes are a dead giveaway!” She yelled out.

  “Stop, ow! wait! Ow!” He yelped as he got shot repeatedly with rubber bullets.

  “I said stop!” From his hand, a stream of electricity, then a burst of psychic energy. The bullets stopped in his palm as it burned with blue haze.

  Anastasia lowered her rifle and was all ears, “What is it?”

  “I was actually thinking about last night…”

  “Look… about what I did. I didn’t—”

  “I was wondering. Is it possible to stop a person’s movements the same way I stop bullets?” He asked as he pointed to the rubber bullet in his hands.

  “Eh, you mean like keeping them in place?”

  Felix nodded.

  “It is, but it’s different from when I… um… last night… It takes too much aura. It’s different from moving your own body with psychic power. You have to envelop their body in aura, stopping them from moving and keeping them in place.”

  “Then… then that means…” Felix remembered his spar against Maria, “Can you give me a demonstration?”

  “You’re gonna need to turn off your aura.”

  “Okay.”

  Anastasia nodded and raised her guard in response. Felix threw a slow strike towards her, only to find his arm being enveloped in a bright orange haze.

  The bright aura quickly enveloped his entire body, rendering him immobile. He tried to pull back his arm, but it felt like a hundred hands gripped it in place.

  “Like that?”

  “Alright… that’s enough.”

  The haze around his body dispersed, but his expression was left puzzled.

  “Is something the matter?”

  “That felt… completely different. It just feels like being submerged in water. I couldn’t move, but… I can still feel my body in control.” A blue flame emanated from his hand and he was able to pull it back.

  “You need to create more energy than the person is using if you want to stop them from moving. It’s different from just lifting up someone by their— hurk… urgh.” She grunted, quickly placing her hand to her head.

  “I think we should… skip training for today.” She remarked as her face turned green.

  The two exited the room.

  “I asked Murphy to make you some herbal tea. Should help with your hangover.” Felix said with two mugs in his hands, before sitting beside her.

  “You could tell?” She asked in an embarrassed tone.

  “The smell of alcohol was all over you since last night, so yeah… I could tell.” He replied as he sipped from his coffee.

  She sipped her tea, “Look… I’m sorry about last night. I’ve had some time to cool my head, and to tell you the truth… Two of my men died recently on a mission. My team was pinned down, and I ran out of energy protecting everyone. One second, they all stood by my side, and in the blink of an eye... they were a puddle. I guess I lashed out on you because of it.”

  “It’s no problem. Nothing you said was wrong, and I can’t imagine how that could have felt like.” He paused, remembering how Maria’s blood splattered down his face, “Well… maybe I can. Just a bit. It’s just that I can’t control it yet. I don’t want you to think that I’m not trying my best.”

  Anastasia flattened her lips, not having the heart to tell him about who died. She then chopped him on the head and showed a relieved smile.

  “Ow.”

  “My adorable little pupil is worried. You’re learning much faster than I did, so I’m glad. Truth be told, I’m actually a little jealous of the others. They learned how to effectively use their powers in just a few months.”

  “No one had to teach you.”

  “True. Still. I shouldn’t have done what I did.”

  “Maybe you could go a little easier on me next time.”

  “Yeah. I’ll try not to almost kill you next time. Hopefully you won’t have to learn the way I did.” She chuckled as she got up and stretched out her arms, her face then immediately turning green again.

  “Anastasia…”

  “Call me Anya…” She pushed the bile down her throat, “Actually, because you chose me to be your mentor, address me as Anya-sensei.”

  “Okay… Thank you for putting up with me, Anya-sensei.” Felix replied with a smile.

  “Eh… was that not funny?” Anastasia put her hand over her head and mumbled to herself. “Am I out of touch?”

  The two of them look as Murphy walked up to them, “Miss Anastasia, Sir Felix. Chief Vivian summons you.”

  ~