"Young'uns these days… always in such a hurry."
Gareth muttered, shaking his head as Judas' silhouette became nothing more than a tiny, fading dot in the distant sky.
"Well… we can't afford to fall too far behind either. Everyone, prepare to move out."
Finn commanded before sprinting forward.
"Yes, Captain!"
The rest of the Familia shouted in unison, their voices echoing off the heavy city gates before they immediately sprinted forward behind him.
…
Meanwhile, back in Melen near the shore.
"A sea cave?"
Tiona walked into a dimly lit cave, looking left to right.
"The smell of blood… they must be down here."
She picked up her pace, transitioning into a full sprint through the winding tunnels until she finally found a massive, hollow chamber.
The cavern was completely surrounded by dozens of Amazons from the Kali Familia, all standing along the rocky ridges like a bloodthirsty audience waiting for a show.
"So you made it, Tiona."
Kali said, to which Tiona lifted her head to look at her former goddess eye to eye who stood at the highest point, looking quite relaxed.
"Where is Lefiya, Kali?"
Tiona demanded.
Her absolute first priority was the safety of her dear friend.
Even knowing this entire setup was an elaborate trap designed by the enemy, Tiona wouldn't hesitate to dive headfirst into whatever challenge they threw at her.
"Do not fret, my dear Tiona. We will let her go the very moment this ritual rite is concluded."
Kali replied, her lips curling into a sadistic, wide smile.
"This is a battle between a former teacher and her prized pupil. Please, give me a magnificent show."
As the Goddess spoke, a powerful figure slowly walked out from the shadows, stepping directly into the center of the chamber.
"Prepare yourself, Tiona."
Bache Kalif, Tiona's former mentor stepped forward, meeting Tiona's gaze with a sharp glare.
"Bache… do we really have to do this?"
Tiona muttered with a sad expression.
"Focus on what matters… this is a fight to the death, only one of us can walk out of here alive… you want to save your little friend right?"
"Then you are going to have to go through me."
Bache stated coldly, her voice echoing off the stone walls.
"But… I don't want to kill you, Bache."
Tiona spoke, almost pleading.
"…"
Bache stared into Tiona's eyes and noticed the sadness within them.
"Reading those hero stories to you was a mistake."
Unlike the toxic, venomous hatred that Tione shared with her own former mentor, Argana… Tiona's relationship with Bache had always been entirely different.
…
'Ah, I killed another one again.'
A younger, smaller Tiona thought as she looked at the corpse on the ground, an amazon that was the same age as her.
When she finally dragged her exhausted body back to her room, Tiona found Tione huddled tightly in a dark corner.
Her sister's expression was completely hollow, looking as though her very soul had been drained away.
'She must've killed someone as well.'
At that time, Tiona couldn't form any words to comfort, she could only sit quietly next to her sister in total silence.
By the time they survived long enough to reach Level 2, both Tiona and Tione were officially selected by the senior Amazons to undergo specialized, one-on-one training under a designated teacher.
"Argh!"
Tiona screamed out in agonizing pain as a brutal, heavy kick slammed directly into her stomach, sending her skittering across the dirt.
As she writhed in pain on the ground, the terrifying woman she had just been assigned to merely looked down at her and spoke as if it was a matter of fact.
"Come on… get up. Our training is nowhere near finished."
Tiona looked up through her tears, her small frame trembling with terror.
'She's… Bache… one of the strongest in the familia…'
That was the first time that Tiona ever felt fear.
Just like that, the hellish days bled into weeks, and the weeks into years.
Before she knew it, Tiona could no longer remember the faces or names of the sisters she had slain in the colosseum.
There were simply too many.
The only small comfort left in her entire world was that Tione was still alive and by her side.
However, they didn't even have time to despair before the two sisters gets dragged by their teachers for another round of training.
Emotions all but dulled.
This routine continued for the rest of their childhood, until one day, under the scraps of discarded piles of paper…
'What's this?'
Tiona couldn't help but be curious when she held a worn cover of a story book in her hands.
'Ah… I can't read.'
Knowing that her sister also couldn't read, Tiona swallowed her fear and approached her mentor, Bache to read the book for her.
"Bache… can you… read this for me?"
She asked, looking up with wide, hopeful eyes.
Bache received the half-destroyed book in her hands, only to stare at the text in absolute silence.
She didn't know how to read it either.
She looked at the book, then at Tiona, who waited in anticipation.
Beads of sweat poured down her face, that was the first time Tiona had seen Bache look so nervous.
"Wait here…"
She said before turning around and left.
Bache didn't return for the rest of that day.
But a few days later, she walked back into the quarters, holding the book high.
"I guess I can read it for you."
Bache said, seemingly more confident than before.
From that day forward, the moment their training sessions concluded, the two would sit down as Bache would read the book, word for word.
It was then Tiona finally knew the title of the book.
"Argonaut… he is so cool!"
Tiona's eyes sparkled as Bache continued to read her the story like a caring older sister.
Days like these continued and for the first time, Tiona could finally smile.
"Psst… Tiona, I've got a hilarious story to tell you."
Kali, their Goddess, had suddenly whispered, popping up from behind her one afternoon.
It was only then that Tiona discovered the truth: Bache hadn't known a single word of the story because it was written in Koine.
To read it to her student, Bache had gone directly to Kali, begging the Goddess to teach her how to read.
"That Bache… her face was red! It was hilarious! Hahaha!"
Kali laughed while clutching her stomach.
'She did it… for me?'
As Tiona glanced at the goddess who kept on laughing, Tiona realized that Bache and Goddess Kali weren't as scary as she had originally thought.
From that point, Tiona started to see the world with more colors and started smiling more and more.
It was all because of that day, when she first picked up a hero's story book.
Every time she scored a victory in battle… Tiona would happily go to Kali's chambers and request for more hero stories.
To the point that the number of books in her room had piled up, eventually becoming even taller than herself.
"Bache… when I get out here… I am going to find my very own hero… just like the one in this book!"
Tiona said with a smile as she held out a book in her hands.
"Hmm? Is that so? Then I'll be rooting for you,"
Although the lower-half of her face was covered, Tiona could tell by the crinkle of her eyes that her mentor was smiling warmly.
…
Returning to the present, the sounds of battle echoed all over the cave.
It had only been a few minutes since the battle started, but the spectating Amazons around could see that Tiona seems to be backed into a corner.
"What's with that look, Tiona? I didn't teach you to get easily distracted!"
Bache roared as she landed a devastating punch towards Tiona's face.
BOOM!
A tremendous, shockwave-inducing impact shattered the air as the strike connected cleanly.
Even the surrounding Amazons flinched when they felt the impact rang through the air, stinging their skin.
They knew that if they were the ones to get hit by that attack, their skulls would've been pulverized into dust.
Tiona's head whipped back due to the impact, taking a couple step backwards with wobbly legs, trying to remain upright.
"Tiona… if this pathetic display is truly all you have to show for your time in Orario, then I am deeply disappointed,"
Bache spoke, her gaze dropping into a freezing, disappointed glare.
"It looks like all the years I spent teaching you were completely in vain."
When Tiona whipped her head back up, Bache froze.
Unlike Bache's serious expression, Tiona was smiling ear to ear, drops of blood dripped from her chin.
"Sorry about that, Bache. I was just reminiscing a bit about the old days…"
Tiona chuckled softly, wiping a smear of blood away from her nose with the back of her hand.
"I wasn't being myself just now. So, from here on out… I promise to take this as seriously as I possibly can."
She planted her feet, squaring her shoulders as her grip tightened.
"After all, I absolutely can't afford to die here without seeing my hero one more time."
'Her hero?'
Bache furrowed her brows as Tiona cracked her knuckles.
"Bache, the real fight starts right now."
Hearing those words, Bache's eyes widened a fraction, sensing that Tiona's presence had grown stronger.
---
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