Chapter 51: Real ’Training’ Part Four

"BISHOP IS UP THERE!" the man screamed, and before they knew it, Nathan vanished from where he was and instantly appeared behind the group.

Cashel had already jumped off along with Wolf. Amia, who hesitated, was right in front of Nathan.

She sighed and held up her hands in surrender.

"Don’t," Nathan stopped her, and she slowly lowered her hands. Then he smiled. "I’ll give you a heads-up if you agree to meet up for a drink after this."

Amia frowned behind her mask. For a moment, she seemed to consider it. Then she smiled, and at once, her smoke grenade exploded right in his face.

She was gone before he could even realise it.

Nathan vanished from his spot, completely ignoring the two Hunters frozen in place around him. He reappeared on the ground floor and dragged his eyes around.

But then he spotted Cashel not far away. There was a rifle in his hands, and the man who owned it was unconscious, still hanging off the rock, but he was being held up by Cashel’s own gun.

Nathan narrowed his eyes. "Hm." He looked at Cashel. "Apologise."

"For what?"

"You touched my glasses and dirtied them with those filthy fingers of yours. Apologise, and I’ll reduce my attacks."

Cashel narrowed his eyes as well, considering the offer, but he just chuckled and pressed his fingers to the trigger.

"Well, I hope you have a lovely time with fingerprinted glasses," he said and pulled the trigger.

Before the bullet reached Nathan, it slammed into his barrier and was reduced to a flat slate.

Nathan then lifted one finger. A tiny pulse of energy appeared at its tip.

Cashel’s expression changed immediately.

"Wait! You’re going to regret that!"

Nathan ignored him.

Boom!

A silver needle-like energy flashed past Cashel and slammed into the rock behind him, and it exploded.

Cashel rolled away from the rock and quickly scrambled back onto his feet.

"You bastard!"

Nathan slipped his glasses back on and adjusted them twice, clearly annoyed by the fingerprints still clouding the lenses. Then he looked at Cashel.

"Take notes... Bishop."

Cashel fired at Nathan without even thinking, and his aim was spot on.

Bang!

Ping!

Bang!

Pong!

The bullets struck Nathan’s barrier and bounced away harmlessly.

Cashel didn’t wait to see the result. He was already running with the gun hanging across his back.

Every time he thought he had found a safe position, Nathan destroyed it.

Every time the other Hunters attempted to surround him, Nathan forced them apart.

Every time someone tried to attack him directly, a burst of compressed energy sent them flying.

The training ground gradually stopped resembling a training area and started resembling the aftermath of a natural disaster.

One of the Unaffiliated Hunters crawled out from beneath a slab of concrete.

"Is this really training?"

The BMM Hunter beside him spat out some blood and sighed.

"I don’t know anymore."

Another explosion sounded in the distance. Both men looked at each other.

"Run."

"Agreed."

They immediately ran in opposite directions.

Meanwhile, Cashel had somehow managed to regroup with Wolf and Amia behind a massive stone formation.

Wolf was breathing heavily, his wolf mask cracked along one side. His staffs were completely broken, and the chain wrapped around his body was scorched in several places and chipped.

Amia wasn’t doing much better.

Her clothes were dusty, her hair was slightly....no very disheveled, and the small flash grenade she had been carrying was gone. She looked very pissed.

Cashel leaned against the rock, breathing heavily.

"We need a plan."

Wolf looked at him.

"Do you have one?"

Amia glared at both of them.

"I’m not particularly pleased about looking like I’m going through hell, and I sure as hell don’t want to go to hell," she stated furiously. "Think of something. Seduction won’t work, and a distraction won’t either."

"And we’re losing ground too."

Cashel sighed. "Then we’re screwed."

For once, nothing came to mind. No trick, no opening, no obvious weakness to exploit. He didn’t even have enough time to start spending his points on something useful. All he could do was attack head-on and keep dodging.

Besides that, he barely knew anything about Nathan. Unlike Gregory, whose strength had been a hassle but whose inexperience gave Cashel plenty of openings, Nathan was on another level.

And that made another thought creep into his mind. ’How the hell am I supposed to fight Shelly Jones if she’s anything like this bastard?’

"Maybe we should surrender," Amia said, lifting her mask to brush off the dust underneath her eyes.

Cashel and Wolf both stared at her.

"Absolutely not." They both said in unisom.

Suddenly, a low rumble came from behind the rock, and all three slowly turned.

The stone wall behind them cracked clean in half.

Cashel’s eyes rolled.

"Oh, come on..."

"I can hear, you know," Nathan’s voice came through the rock.

Cashel, Amia, and Wolf stepped away from the rock as it crumbled, revealing Nathan standing casually on the other side.

"Hello there."

Cashel raised his gun, and Nathan tilted his head, smiling faintly.

Cashel immediately lowered it and lowered his head.

"Actually, never mind."

Nathan laughed softly, then lifted his gaze briefly to the observation deck above. Behind the glass, the golden mask and the silhouette remained still.

Lionface’s voice came through the comms.

"Nathan."

Nathan smiled.

"Nothing yet, like I said. Relax, jeez," he said, pushing his fingers through his hair. "Just a little more time before it happens."

The other three planned to move, but before they could slide away sneakily, Nathan tapped his feet on the ground.

Cashel flinched, instinctively moving before he could help it, and the others followed.

BOOM!

The ground exploded where they had been standing.

Cashel flew through the air, grabbed onto a hanging metal beam, swung around it, and landed on a broken wall.

He barely had time to regain his balance before Nathan appeared directly in front of him.

Cashel froze, and his fingers tightened around the gun.

Nathan smiled.

"Shit."

BAM!

The impact sent Cashel crashing through the wall. His body rolled across the ground several times before finally stopping. For several seconds, he didn’t move.

Then one hand slowly rose from the rubble over his face.

"God..."

He pushed himself upright.

"...I’m seriously going to die before I get a kid."

Nathan was already a few feet away from him, apparently pleased.

"Again."

Cashel rose and stared at him.

"Again?!"

"Again."

Seeing the unshakable expression and determination in his voice, Cashel had no choice. He laughed weakly beneath his mask, then removed the gun from around his shoulder.

His own gun vanished from where he had used it to hang the Unaffiliated Hunter earlier, moving through the air before landing in his hands. Then he picked up his sword and straightened up.

"Fine."

He rushed forward.

His sword cut down towards Nathan’s shoulder while his gun fired simultaneously from below, forcing Nathan to angle his barrier.

Wolf appeared from the opposite side, his chain whipping towards Nathan’s legs.

Amia followed from above.

For a brief moment, the three worked together perfectly.

Nathan’s eyes sharpened, and he grinned.

"That’s better."