From one canopy to another, Yon vaulted through the forest, nearly fourteen thousand kilometers away from the safe zone.
Beneath him, his partner exploited the vast woodland to swing ahead using golden chains, keeping his rhythm stride for stride.
From afar, their motion seemed like shadows flickering through the leaves, the sound of bending branches blending with the rush of wind.
"I've gotten used to the higher gravity. Might mean we've got a better chance of winning this time."
"Didn't think you were the cocky kind, Red."
"Call me an optimist."
Their white uniforms stood out, a sharp contrast against the canopy's green sprawl.
Once they secured the hexagons calibrated to their suits, the components shifted and reshaped, mending themselves seamlessly to their bodies.
The outcome: fitted jackets with tall collars and long sleeves, detailed with colored piping that traced vertically along the front and sides.
Each bore the Veil insignia on the chest and back. The lower garments, black straight-cut pants for the guys, high-durability black leggings for the girls, completed the uniform.
"Still, are you sure your authority can keep generating that many chains for so long? Especially without Blue around? We've been moving for days," Yon asked, voice edged with concern.
Red was endlessly forming golden chains mid-air, each summoned in quick bursts to swing from before dissolving behind him. It was worrisome. Authorities that created physical constructs tended to drain their wielder's levels in excess.
"Don't worry. The trade-off for having an authority as plain as chains is that I only expend energy when they're strained or broken."
"How convenient," Yon said flatly.
"After all this time, this remains the best method I've found to cross this boundary."
"You should still mind your footing. We're high enough that a single misstep would be fatal."
"I got it. Though falling would be hard for me at this point. I used to do this sort of thing for fun in Simulum, rooftops instead of trees. How about you?"
A sudden stretch of open air separated the canopy ahead, leaving no branch or foothold in reach.
Without hesitation, Yon leapt forward, seized Red's next chain midair, and redirected his momentum to hurl Red across.
Red grasped a branch on the opposite side, pulled the chain taut, and drew Yon toward him until both landed on the far side, resuming their rhythm as if uninterrupted.
Such seamless maneuvers had carried them through thirteen relentless days.
They shared a rare alignment of instinct and wit, making them an almost too-effective pair, especially on a mission meant for escape.
"Back in Umbria, whenever Sis ran from the orphanage, I was the one sent to find her before dark," Red said. "I guess I just learned to do this by habit."
"Did it happen that often?" Yon asked, an unexplainable curiosity rising in him.
"Yeah. She's usually expressive, but whenever her negative emotions flare and she feels like she might lash out, she runs away and hides until I track her down."
"Good thing you do, then. If what he told us was true, his authority forces him to sleep half the day no matter which boundary he's in."
"I don't know how much I buy that. He's caught every single one of us in every chase so far."
"Hopefully things are different this time." Yon glanced back to survey their rear. "We've skimped on a lot of rest till now. We should be farther than not just the Captain, but everyone else too."
The branch Yon had intended to leap from shifted without warning, and before he knew what had happened he was falling toward the forest floor, hundreds of meters below.
'It moved? But there's no wind. That must mean one thing.'
He reached for another branch to stop his descent, but it flicked back and struck him square in the face, almost fracturing his nose and leaving him reeling.
He retained enough composure to cry out one thing.
"He's here! Model three!"
Almost immediately after he spoke, Red did not pause for confirmation before acting.
"Mass snare."
From Red, vast coils of golden chain unfurled like serpents, driving into trees with a force that split bark and gouged deep into the trunks.
In moments the once-quiet woodland became a cage of radiant gold.
Every path was closed off by links that deliberately wound higher and higher.
Someone hooked a foot on one of the chains and spun playfully, while Red held position at the perimeter of the entanglement to maintain full vision.
"How did you catch up?" Red demanded. "The others moved in different directions, and even giving us a head start you should have known where we went. Why waste effort chasing the pair moving the farthest? Or don't tell me you already caught the others?"
"Of course not. That's a strange question with an obvious answer. In fact, you answered it while asking. Why would I not pursue whoever's farthest?" Cosmo replied, then inspected the chains wrapped around the nearby trees. "By the way, what is this intended to accomplish?"
"My heart chain will not be shattered by you. And even though they might not cover every square inch, they won't leave you room to move as you please."
As he spoke, the chains seemed to brighten; their grips around the trees tightened and the gaps between bonds narrowed.
"Nice. You learned to use the 'Playing Field' to your advantage. That makes three newbies now, counting Blue and Rita."
"It came naturally after I took your advice and trusted in the intentions of my authority."
'Yon was right. He has a peculiar habit of dropping his guard when he speaks about authorities. It's like an obsessive interest in others' tools.'
Across their time together, Yon had observed and quietly taught how to unsettle the Captain's guard through his interest in cultivating their powers.
Although, It had not escaped them that Cosmo rarely divulged the full extent of his own capabilities.
"…thing about constructive authorities. But since you chose to prioritize the strength of your chains, the best course is to—"
As Cosmo talked on, Red would have been lying if he denied a trace of guilt over the tactic, but in the moment it was necessary—
"Rrryah!"
"Trap."
Chains erupted from the one beneath Cosmo, coiling tightly and locking him in place.
Simultaneously Yon returned, and with the force of his upward motion drew his blade in a smooth, decisive arc.
The momentum drove a clean strike aimed at Cosmo's collar.
"Damn… how messed up is that?"
The blade's arc was halted. The swarm of spores that had filled the air converged into a dense sheath around Yon's blade, pinning it immobile.
"Six months… six months and three days, yet you still treat me worse than a stranger. At least show hesitation about cutting your poor Captain's head off."
Cosmo spoke, chastening them for what he saw as cruelty.
"Sorry, Captain, but as per your own words—'If you hope to ever win against me, you'll need nothing less than everything you've got.'"
Yon used the leverage of the stuck blade to execute a roundhouse kick aimed at Cosmo's nape, which was blocked in the same manner as the slash.
"Red, now!" Yon yelled, calling to his partner from Cosmo's blind side. But—
"Yeah, right."
"Tch!"
The chains wrapped around Cosmo split apart, and a punch to the gut sent Yon hurtling backward into a thick branch.
Contrary to his signal, Red was nowhere to be found.
"I wouldn't fall for that any day. It could have worked on someone who knew you two less."
Earlier, Red and Yon had resolved that, in the likely event their Captain intercepted them, their final gambit would be for only one of them to escape while the other stalled.
"It's something you'd do," Cosmo continued. "Contrary to how it might appear, what usually shakes you up isn't fear of harm, it's killing intent, isn't it? You're sensitive to it."
Yon didn't respond, but soon after his breath hitched, he grabbed the blade that had been flung with him, caught his fall on another branch, and leapt back at Cosmo.
"I ain't making excuses for my flaws. Don't mock me. It doesn't matter what I chicken outta action for, I don't want to stay that way!"
He swung vertically, as if to split his Captain down the middle.
"But it isn't an excuse. It's a great weapon."
Cosmo fell backward, avoiding the slash by a hair, his movements minimal, and purposefully effortless.
"I'm aware you're trying to take advantage of the handicap I gave you all—that I'd match my authority levels with your average," he spoke, swinging himself back up to another branch. "But has it crossed your mind that I have no reason to entertain your efforts? Your authority is only reciprocal, a flaw you've yet to solve as I advised."
In truth, Yon had considered it. He was fully aware of those limitations before making his decision.
But he had also considered another factor.
'I understand I have no chance if you decide to go after Red. But I also know you won't pass up a teachable moment. That will be to my advantage.'
"However," Cosmo said, "I'd like to see how much better you've gotten. So I'll humor you."
'Thought so.'
Yon chased him as fast as he could, striking without hesitation, cutting through large leaves and branches alike.
Cosmo only responded with short jabs that still carried staggering force. He gave Yon no chance to activate his authority.
Until the moment Yon's blade finally looked like it would connect, but instead struck one of Red's chains, leaving him wide open.
"Mindfulness," Cosmo said calmly. "This isn't a video game, you know? Your partner's ability will most definitely affect you as well if you aren't careful."
Yon was mid-air when his strike hit the chain, halting his momentum completely. Meaning nothing could stop another fall after Cosmo punished the blunder, slamming him down using a construct made from the spores he'd secretly gathered.
While falling headfirst, Yon kept his eyes locked on the terrain below, tracing for any possible way to recover, searching for a leeway out of his predicament.
But his gaze soon met another pair of eyes, belonging to someone falling upside down in the same manner, as if mocking him.
Before Yon could react, however—
"One more thing. Even if you try your hardest to avoid it, there are plenty of ways to knock someone out without a critical hit. Like so."
Cosmo suddenly clapped his hands just short of Yon's face.
By the time the sound reached his ears, Yon's cognitive functions had already been forcefully shut down, and he blacked out completely.
"You'd be surprised how attuned our senses are to incomprehensible waves and oscillations in the air," Cosmo remarked. "If someone overwhelms you with more vibration than your senses can handle using the air, your brainstem gets disrupted, and you lose consciousness."
Their figures struck the forest floor, scattering moss, dust, and broken leaves in every direction.
"In short," Cosmo sighed, stepping out of the haze, "I end up rambling to myself again."
From the drifting cloud of debris, he emerged, massaging his right shoulder while holding Yon up by the back of his jacket.
He set Yon's back gently against a tree, sheathed his blade, and placed it beside him.
"Now it looks like I'm bullying my juniors," he muttered. "What bad taste."
He sighed before standing up, and without turning around, he spoke.
"Is there a reason you came back?"
The trees above rustled and Red dropped behind him, yet no move was made.
"I could tell," Red replied. "Even if you reduced your level to match ours, there was no way you could have let me slip from your notice so easily."
"That's it?"
"Not quite," Red continued. "I also couldn't shake the feeling that you did something to me. I don't know what, but I could tell it would've been dangerous if I kept going."
For the first time since the start of their exchange, Cosmo turned to look at him.
"You did? How strange…"
"What is?"
Cosmo covered his mouth with one hand, falling deep into thought before muttering.
"As far as I know, you've had little to no experience in life-or-death encounters with other eminents. How could you have sensed 'Intent' so early?"
Red frowned at the muttering but pressed on.
"Anyway, I thought it best to come back and have you remove whatever it was."
"...I see."
Cosmo beckoned with his index finger, gesturing for Red to come closer. But as Red took a step, something flew off his neck, something he now realized had been the true target.
"That was…"
"With these spores everywhere you look, it was easy to dismiss one landing on your neck, wasn't it?"
Red touched his neck, irritation flickering in his eyes.
"A condensed cluster, folded into an otherwise impossible mass, held together simply by my authority." He snapped his fingers, and the spore burst apart like a disturbed dandelion. "If you'd left my range, well… you get the picture."
"Isn't that going a little too far?"
"Too far," Cosmo said, "was turning right around simply on a hunch. You could've changed your direction entirely or hidden. By the way, am I to assume that coming back here and doing nothing means you give up?"
"Of course it does. All options were exhausted from my perspective. There's no way I can take you head-on. Hiding meant you could have set off whatever was on me at any time. And I can't change direction if I don't yet know how you're tracking us."
"There was always the choice of powering through anyway," Cosmo replied. "Say I didn't find you, and you avoided the trap, then I'd have to double back and prioritize the others first. That would've given you a chance to escape."
"That would just be an unnecessary risk. In a real predicament, those odds would be negligible. Choosing the optimal solution outweighs gambling for a better outcome. Does that mentality make me a bad officer, Captain?"
"That's subjective. Pragmatism has its place, and there's no fixed mentality for officers in such cases. But since we're talking about realism—"
He snapped his fingers, and a spore bomb exploded behind Red.
"You…" Red staggered, his body absorbing the shock of the blast.
"Attached two? Yes, I did." Cosmo crouched low enough to meet his eyes. "The rule was to either get knocked out or say the words 'I give up,' remember?"
Red gritted his teeth, glaring daggers at his Captain's calm expression.
"As a real Captain, I can't abide you vitiating your partner's sacrifice. Your mentally isn't bad, but your execution leaves much to be desired."
He rose and turned away, raising one hand lightly.
A high branch bent down, dragging the tree with it.
"Still, good job, both of you. You've improved. When Yon wakes up, return immediately." He gripped the branch. "As for how I tracked you, your chains may vanish, but the scars of your swings don't. Between you and me, nothing around me is ever truly out of sight, no matter how fast I'm moving."
And with that, the tree flung him northwest at breakneck speed, a testament to how he'd caught them. How he would land was left to the imagination.