"Unit 009, subject 009, and subject 012 are down!" Subject 020’s voice was flat. "Target subject 015, locked with Iron Wall Shell. Eradicate them!"

  Just as Zilla was cornered, something happened.

  Suddenly, Nugia stood up. Black smoke still drifted from the joints of his suit, but behind the blue glow in his eyes—the Witch’s Eyes—he no longer felt the mundane world; only a sharp gaze that sliced through fear with silence.

  A brief whiff of smoke and gunpowder brought back fragments of his dream from last night—the memory of a clutching iron hand.

  His movements didn't look like someone who had just been struck by thousands of volts. With a terrifying stillness, the air in the simulation arena seemed to be sucked dry. The members of Unit 10 froze; the barrels of their guns, once steady, now trembled violently as if gravity around Nugia had suddenly collapsed.

  Nugia didn't look at his enemies. His glowing blue eyes were fixed straight on Amae, who lay broken in the distance.

  "So what?!" Nugia asked, breaking the silence. There was no poetic tone, only a piercing honesty. "I’ve made more mistakes than you today! I got us punished with cleaning the dining hall, I made us crawl until Meyra scolded me relentlessly! Is that still not enough?!"

  Nugia stepped forward. The weapons of Unit 10 were now aimed at him, but twenty shots missed their mark.

  Tat-tat-tat...

  "Nugiaaa!" Zilla screamed hoarsely.

  Nugia dashed. He danced, parrying and spinning like a whirlwind. "Do I have to look even stupider just to be your friend...?" Nugia’s words hung in the suffocating air for a few seconds.

  Zilla clenched her fists tightly, her eyes glancing at the body lying not far from her.

  "How long are you going to pretend to be unconscious, Mey?" Zilla asked.

  In the midst of the chaos, the gunsmoke cleared to reveal Nugia’s silhouette, holding his Twin Fangs unscathed.

  Suddenly, Meyra sprang up, pulling a Nano Mono-Wire hidden at her waist, lashing it around Subjects 020 and 040 of Unit 10 before they could react.

  "You gave a stupid order, Captain! That electricity almost actually killed me!" Meyra protested to Zilla, even as her hands were busy channeling back the voltage through the thin wire.

  Meyra then glanced at Nugia, who was still standing with his terrifying aura. "And you, Nugia... it turns out you really are an idiot. A true kind of stupidity that makes me look even dumber!" Meyra whispered.

  Subject 020 aimed his pistol to shoot Meyra, but—Srak!—the pistol was parried right before he pulled the trigger.

  It was the sound of Reyna’s Silent Banshee-X from the observation tower; she gave a thumbs up. Reyna was no longer trembling; her aim was lethal once again.

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  But that only saved Meyra from one enemy weapon; more shots began to follow. Nugia moved again, merging with the wind, each of his slashes a gentle, yet precise caress. Not a single electric bullet touched Meyra.

  Tat-tat-tat! Srek! Srek!

  Tat-tat-tat! Sat!

  Amae was stunned. Her consciousness was hit by a new reality. "Nugia... Meyra...!" she cried out. "Why are you crying, you idiot!" Meyra’s voice cut through the chaos. "Who do you think we are?" she snapped from behind the gunfire that Nugia was parrying.

  "Time for a counterattack! Do it!" Zilla shouted.

  Meyra activated the electrical current, shocking two of them until they gasped for air and collapsed. "You better not have a single scratch on your body, Nugia!" her eyes brimmed with tears. Their defense finally crumbled, and before they could form a new one, Nugia sliced through their shield until shards flew, creating a momentary, shimmering glow on Nugia’s face.

  Gunfire came from three directions: from above, Reyna with her Silent Banshee-X; from below, Meyra’s Stingray-27 tactical pistol; and from the front, Zilla acted like a hunter closing in on her prey according to plan.

  The battle ended. Subjects 020, 031, 034, 037, and 040 were down, struck by the Stingray-27’s electric rounds.

  Silence suddenly gripped the arena. There was no cheering from Unit 009.

  Meyra sank to the ground, panting heavily, sparks of electricity still dancing at her fingertips. Nugia stood stiffly, thin smoke rising from his burnt circuits, his eyes fading to a pale blue—a sign his energy was depleted. Zilla leaned her head against her cracked shield, eyes closed against the pain.

  Amae was still there. She hadn't fired a single shot. She hadn't moved an inch. But her heart was shattered seeing the scene before her. "If only I wasn't '1 Newton,' you guys would surely be a great team!" she whispered.

  "You guys... are idiots," Amae whispered softly, her tears falling onto the concrete dust.

  In the distance, the instructor announced their victory in a cold, indifferent voice. Meyra limped, leaning on Nugia’s shoulder, dragging her injured leg, while Nugia hid his trembling knees. Zilla and Reyna held hands; they all gathered in front of Amae.

  "Amae... perhaps their insults are true, that you think falling alone will make us stay away from you," Zilla said fiercely. "But you forgot, Nugia was willing to get us punished just so he could match your condition. Meyra even sacrificed herself to be shocked just to fall with you!" For a moment, Zilla’s eyes welled with the tears she never showed.

  "Amae... perhaps you forgot why we have to be together? We made a promise, Amae. The formation of Unit 009 is our promise!" Reyna nodded in unison with Nugia. "We will always be together, right?" Zilla asked.

  Amae clenched her fists until her knuckles turned white. She tucked the sight of her friends' devastation into the deepest corner of her memory. A silent promise began to grow in the midst of her heartache: "Forgive... me..." Amae wiped the salt from her face, and suddenly her pupils changed. "Will you be my friends again? Will you accept me, the 1 Newton?" Amae wailed loudly.

  "Of course, you idiot!!! But you have to scrub the bathroom until I tell you to stop!" barked Meyra, while turning her face away.

  "Really??" Amae shot back.

  "Don't forget, wash all of my clothes and theirs too," Meyra replied nonchalantly. Suddenly, their laughter broke out, seeing Amae return to her old self.

  Amae stared blankly, receiving a "punishment" she couldn't argue with. In the middle of the laughter, Nugia pulled something from his pocket.

  "Amae... are you hungry?" Nugia offered the dry bread he had secretly saved from the dining hall earlier.

  That warm moment momentarily erased the traces of Nugia’s nightmare, blurring the bitter fact that they were merely experimental subjects, treated inhumanely behind the walls of Sector 7.

  "Match over!"

  "Unit 009 vs. Unit 010. Winner: Unit 009." Instructor Jean took over.

  "Congratulations to the five units still breathing. You have proven that you are not just meat waiting to be harvested, but assets worth keeping... for now."

  Jean stood tall, arms crossed behind his back, eyes staring blankly at Unit 009, covered in blood and sweat.

  "As of this moment, the hierarchy of Sector 7 is officially restructured. Units 001, 004, 005, 007, and 009... You are elite units, meaning you will become soldiers. You will undergo intense training during the scanning period. If your performance is good, you will be moved to a special facility for high-intensity training like you've never imagined. You will be the spearhead, frontline soldiers!"

  "As for the remaining units..." Jean paused, his voice as flat as a death line "...you will remain as usual. However, Mr. Vier does not like to waste resources. You will remain in this arena as reserves."

  "Which means? If you show good performance, you will be given one chance to fight the top five elite cadet units. If you can win the physical training and combat trials, you will be promoted to soldier candidates."

  "Use your rest time before Cycle 12.00. You are free to do whatever you want on this field!" Jean left after giving the signal.

  At the side of the field, "Listen, it won't be easy from here! On the contrary, we need to discuss this!" Zilla babbled, breaking the tension. "I want you to..." Zilla's voice slowly faded in Reyna's ears as she handed out access cards containing their future plans to her teammates. Reyna became absorbed, watching Unit 008 on the other side of the field. The sounds of crying and emotion felt more real in her ears.