Vane kept his face neutral. He looked at the golden shears in Evangeline's hand.
"She is not a broken tool," Vane said. "She is the only instructor who actually teaches me how to kill things stronger than myself."
Evangeline snipped a dead branch from the bonsai tree. It fell to the obsidian desk with a soft click.
"Senna Valerius was a Rank 6 Expert," Evangeline said. Her voice was devoid of mockery. "She was the youngest General on the Western Front. She held a corridor against a Void-Hydra for six hours after her squad sealed the doors on her. She is not a broken tool, Vane. She is a broken weapon. There is a difference."
She looked up at him over the rim of her glasses.
"And the Silver Fang. It is a terrifying Authority. It does not just cut flesh. It severs the space the flesh occupies. Do you know why Senna ended up in that chair?"
"She overextended," Vane answered.
