“Congratulations to our winners,” Overseer Helen announced in a crisp voice that cut through the cheery atmosphere. DiOrtho Vant just looked down at his hands. There was some dirt underneath his nails. He was so exhausted that even emotions seemed difficult at the moment. “And especially congratulations to our Squad Number Three, which was able to achieve victory in the Squad tournament… and its Squad Leader won the individual tournament outright. Certainly, fitting for an individual who was taught by the very best. Heh.”

Standing in front of the crowd of dirty and bloody recruits, Jieu Ronault already appeared to possess a regal stature, due to the fact he didn’t possess a physical body that could be contaminated by the mundane filth of the ground. The fire elemental nodded sagely at his victory. “Truthfully, this would not have been possible without your training.”

DiOrtho’s lips twitched and he was forced to suppress a mild nausea in his chest. With more energy, he definitely would have sneered at the elemental. But he had lost; decisively so. Even his misbehaving image remained silent in front of Jieu’s modest display. What could he say to someone who had so thoroughly crushed him?

Nothing.

And he had not even lost to him in the finals. DiOrtho had been defeated by Jieu Ronault in the round of 16. And fighting against others to determine final placement… DiOrtho had ended up 11th overall.

11th. DiOrtho’s bile tasted bitter as it crept up his throat.

“Yes, yes, no need to butter me up,” Overseer Helen responded. But at the same time, a smile that invited more flattery stretched across her face. When Jieu remained silent, she huffed in disappointment and shook her head. “Well, anyway, the winning Squad and the top five individual fighters will be trained personally by the Ghosthound. Meanwhile… ah, the most concerning individuals by far… have to be Recruit Vant and Recruit Ballast. Tsk, tsk, after how impressively you two started… to end up being ranked 90th and 11th…? And I bet in another week, you’ll be 199th and 200th… Heh, everyone else disperse. These two need some special training.”

The recruits looked at DiOrtho with gloating gazes, finally lighting a spark of fury in his chest. Yet at the same time he was helpless.

Overseer Helen was right. What the hell had happened…? The tournament had started so well, but by the end…

Gradually, his sneering fellows walked away from the duo of losers, leaving the two failures to stew in the approaching judgment of Overseer Helen. Even through the haze of numb failure, DiOrtho was slightly nervous about what might be coming. Considering what he had been capable of accomplishing previously compared to his performance in the tournament…

What went wrong…? Why did this image of mine...

Soon, the mustering area was deserted. They stood on the packed dirt with Overseer Helen surveying them with her sharp eyes. She shifted her weight pursed her lips. “Got anything to say about your performances, or should I say it for you?”

“We will accept whatever punishment you deem fit, Overseer Helen,” Raymund Ballast said with a bowed head. If DiOrtho was lightly spattered with mud, the foxman was caked with it. His losses had been even more desperate and fraught.

To both their surprise, Overseer Helen just chuckled. “Honestly, we don’t mean to punish you. In fact, the two of you seem to react negatively to our methods. As far as we can tell… you are too softhearted to handle the training. So we are giving you a break, to try and recover from your over-strained brains. We’ve arranged for a weekend getaway at a beach for you two softies.”

“...What the hell are you saying?” DiOrtho Vant snarled. From that initial spark, his emotions exploded into a conflagration. For the first time in a while, the machine horror in his chest aligned specifically with his own desires; he would attack the Overseer in front of him with as much force as he could muster. Pity was not something that he would stomach, even now.

Yet just as DiOrtho was about to pounce forward, he was pinned to the ground by Overseer Helen’s words. “...the fact that you couldn’t tell that was a joke demonstrates how addled your brain really is. You performed like shit; do you really think we wouldn’t punish you for that? Ha! And Recruit Vant… I think we both know that if you had been willing to so fully embrace your image during the tournament, you wouldn’t have been pushed down to 11th.”

DiOrtho twitched. With a growing smile, Overseer Helen continued to speak. “I think the most embarrassing part… weren’t you extremely dominant right when the tournament started? Yet as the other competitors fought through the ranks… under the watchful eyes of Head Drill Sergeant Ghosthound… they strangely started to experience epiphanies during their fights. Their image was steadily refined. Meanwhile, the discord between yourself and your image… heh. Honestly, it’s rather impressive that you were able to desperately hold onto 11th place, even while completely unable to improve.”

A low growl came out of DiOrtho’s throat, but he couldn’t deny what Overseer Helen was saying. At the beginning of the tournament, even though he was still disturbed by the sudden, unbidden will present in his image, he had gradually relaxed as he looked around and saw that many recruits he could still suppress.

However, as the tournament went on… they grew. Rapidly. It was almost as though the Head Drill Sergeant’s presence spurred them on to a previously absurd level of growth. As the Ghosthound sat with his chin in his hand and watched, things just began to click for many of the previously mediocre recruits. As the corner of the Head Drill Sergeant’s mouth curled upward, DiOrtho’s pride had taken several severe hits. He could only watch as others began to surpass him.

“And you,” Overseer Helen rounded on Raymund Ballast. “You are even more disgusting. I’ve never seen someone so confused about what the fuck to feel. At least Vant here knows what he wants, even if it is a steaming pile of poo. You, Recruit Ballast, are a coward who isn’t able to confront his true nature.

“So this is what’s going to happen. You two will no longer be joining the normal recruit schedule. In fact, for the next week, you will just be doing physical fitness training. At a degree higher than in the past, because you won’t need your image for anything else but moving. That’s basically all they are good for. Your mind may be reheated vomit, but your bodies are at least honest.” Overseer Helen pointed toward the far end of the training area, where a new training pod had been erected. “Congratulations; you were so unfortunate that the Ghosthound felt it necessary to intervene in your lives.”

“Just… physical fitness…?” Raymund muttered. DiOrtho turned and looked at the Vulpine with wide eyes. Did this fool really have the gall to sound relieved that we would be only doing physical fitness…? Fuck, how much did I mess up to end up lumped in together with this empty-headed fool…?

The physical training was already brutal… to exclusively do such training for the next week… DiOrtho shivered.

“After that, we have a new type of training lined up for you, in a bit of a sensitive location.” Overseer Helen’s smile widened. “Should be fun. I haven’t been able to run wild recently.”

*****

“Hmmm… I think I’ve seen enough for today,” The overwhelming voice of Head Drill Sergeant Ghosthound boomed out over the assembled recruits. Even with just him speaking, a sense of weight accompanied every word that made it difficult to withstand. He pressed and folded the surrounding space, making him the center of it. “I’ll think a bit about your training regimen. In the meantime… you are dismissed.”

Then, as Charlotte Wick was bowing with her fellow recruits, the Ghosthound spoke again. “Except for Recruits Ronault, Wick, and Clamman. You three stay for a bit.”

Although Charlotte was shocked by his sudden words, she was nothing compared to Vizzeret’s reaction. The shaggy grey dog literally popped off the ground like he had purposefully hopped, such was the suddenness with which his entire body tensed. Meanwhile, the other recruits exchanged a few looks and then steadily retreated from the training room.

Once they were gone, an ominous silence descended over them. Charlotte looked up at the Ghosthound, wondering why she had been chosen to remain. Meanwhile, the Head Drill Sergeant was looking down at his metal left harm, studying his fingers seriously. The silence began to stretch.

Only Jieu seemed completely unaffected by the heavy note in the air, although Charlotte had basically never seen the flame elemental display any sort of discernable emotion. She sometimes wondered if he was truly mortal at all and not some construct.

Eventually, the Ghosthound raised his emerald gaze and looked at each one of the recruits in turn. “Heh. You three have my attention. I’ve already designed a specialized training regimen for the three of you. When you return to your shelters, you will find an object that has been touched by my image waiting there. Expose yourself as you deem appropriate; I believe there to be synergy between you three and my images, but it is not a guaranteed process. If you can incorporate my image…” The Head Drill Sergeant’s lip curled upward, perhaps displaying how unlikely it was in his mind that any one of them could survive his image. Charlotte wouldn’t disagree with him, either. This was a meaningless gamble, from his perspective. “I’ll have further pointers I can give you as well. Any questions?”

The silence arrived once again, sudden and heavy. The power with which the Ghosthound spoke made breaking through the silence seem simple, but without his voice, the darkness of the training area turned thick and restricting. Yet despite that heavy taboo that seemed to exist, Charlotte forced herself to clear her throat. “Sir… why me…?”

The Ghosthound’s emerald eyes zeroed in on Charlotte. “What a pathetic thing to say, recruit. If you don’t believe you deserve this opportunity, feel free to withdraw.”

Charlotte’s blood seemed to freeze in her veins. Directly experiencing the Head Drill Sergeant’s ire, she could barely breathe. “No, I… that’s not… these two are just-”

“Most disappointingly, haven’t I already answered your question? You...” The Head Drill Sergeant folded his arms. His eyes continued to burn holes in Charlotte’s chest. “As I said, the true reason you were selected was because of synergy between my images and the three of you. These two were coincidentally the first and second-place finishers in the tournament… while you were fifth.”

The air around the Ghosthound began to buzz. “Truly, a disappointing showing, considering I felt some small amount of potential from you, recruit. I hope I won’t come to regret this decision. Dismissed.”

Almost blinded by the hanging afterimage of the Ghosthound’s emerald gaze that had been seared into her mind’s eye, Charlotte Wick stumbled out of the training hall behind Jieu and Vizzeret. Both looked at her with sympathy, but they didn’t stay to commiserate; both made beelines toward the recruit living area. They would only have so much time to rest as it was and an item with the Head Drill Sergeant’s image was waiting for them back in their personal quarters. Of course they would like to investigate before anything else.

Even as Charlotte hyper-ventilated for a full minute outside of the training building, she couldn’t help but also get excited. Aside from her grandfather, the Ghosthound was the most powerful man she had ever met. She had personally felt how overwhelming his images were. And considering how much she had already improved with the help of his subordinates…

Charlotte sprinted back to the well-constructed shelter and threw open the door. But as soon as she did so, Charlotte went pale and began to tremble.

In the middle of her inner sanctum, a small rock sat, releasing a powerful aura of growth and life energy. It appeared that the Ghosthound had given her his tree image, to combine with Charlotte’s Primal Force.

But whoever had been here had rummaged through her drawers. The hundreds of freehand sketches she had made of Overseer Helen were strewn across the floor. Even some of the more… explicit, albeit tasteful, depictions were included. And along the far wall, a line of text was carved.

Very bold, Recruit Wick. Show me your resolve… or I’ll show everyone your hidden talents. Heh.

Charlotte felt tears welling up in her eyes as she slumped to the ground. The sneering face of the Head Drill Sergeant was so vivid before her eyes that she began to tremble. Those emerald eyes hung over her like a guillotine.