I wanted to apologize to Tessa ahead of time, it wasn’t that I wanted to get this over with quickly but found this as an opportunity to actually talk and get to know each person some more. With all of them deciding to spar I couldn’t do any of that, but if they see how ruthless I am with Tessa, just maybe they might reconsider. We both took our places, ready with several meters of space between each other.

“Tessa, I won’t be going easy on you this time since you’re the one that wished for this sparring match.” My voice turned icy cold and my casual threat turned into something much worse than I intended.

Several people fell to the ground like the floor had been pulled out from underneath their feet. Even Tessa’s reaction turned feral, almost like she was in a life or death situation, backed into a tight and small corner.

I raised my hand out of concern only to see the fear run rampant on her face as she dashed at full speed towards me.

“What’s--” I tried calling out to grab her attention, only to be forced to dodged her initial punch and follow-up sideways fist strike. My attention stayed split between her and the crowd. It almost felt like they were staring at a scary demon that sought to end their lives.

There was something that I did to cause this but I had no clue as to the reason. Normally, dodging Tessa required my full attention, especially with how dangerous a single hit from her caused broken bones.

Only now, her form was a disaster, flailing about wildly in utter desperation. I needed to end this fast, something really wasn’t right with her.

I grabbed her wrist as she made another jab, using her momentum to trap her into a firm hold. I held onto her from behind with both hands applying pressure to her wrists to control any struggling.

“Tessa, calm down-” Her squirming only worsened with her head bashing about violently. I felt a dulled pain of teeth sinking into my arm. Without any other options to resist she had used her mouth to bite, in hopes to escape.

This wasn’t getting anywhere and I could feel her teeth continuing to dig further into my flesh. I decided on the safest way to stop her, by loosening my grip on her wrists and going in for a chokehold. I used both arms to squeeze her neck, maintaining enough pressure to slowly relieve her of consciousness.

Her failed attempts at escaping slowly turned into her slumping down into my grasp as I transitioned into a gentle carry, now that she had fallen asleep. I laid her down on the ground and noticed the blood dripping along my right arm.

It wasn’t enough to cause worry about fainting and my pain tolerance made it barely noticeable. I felt more worried about Tessa and the rest of the group still keeping their distance.

Tessa’s breathing calmed and the blood boiling complexion gradually faded from her cheeks. I brushed away some of the sweat from the side of her forehead and stood back up, to take a look at the others.

“Anyone going to say something or just stand and stare?” Some of the ones that fell back on their bottoms, ended up soiling themselves, only to start recovering their sanity when I called out to them.

“What in the world is going on?”

“Looks like you unleashed some type of fear-based ability. There is no effect on me but based on the reactions of everyone else, it seems rather powerful.” Iris hovered closer as the first one to respond to my questions. Her prior childish attitude disappeared, replaced by an appropriate one for the situation.

My thoughts landed on the mystery of the minotaur core. There was finally an answer to the results of its absorption.

“Iris, could you handle the situation here for me. I’m going to head back up to Eris and Alexa. Join me once things are better here.” This was another power I’d have to learn to control. I hoped the effects would disappear once I made some distance from everyone else.

“A starter training regimen will be initiated for them. Will this suffice?” Iris talked about some type of pre-planned workout routine and I agreed before heading back towards the elevator.

“Master, wait!” From the voice, I could tell it was Rhea running to catch up.

“I’m sorry I didn’t respond to you earlier!” Her eyes were no longer glazed with fear, but easy to tell that she was forcing herself. Her legs shivered as she bowed her head profusely.

“Don’t worry about it, you did nothing wrong... Could you please look after Tessa for me? She’s probably going to freak out once she wakes up.” I stopped my hand from reaching for her shoulder after I noticed her shirk away ever so slightly as if she was fighting against the urge to do so.

I sighed, then consoled her again and entered the elevator. She remained head bowed the entire time until I could no longer see her.

An unexpected sight welcomed my arrival back to the rooftop.

“Welcome back, Volatis! They are doing much better now and have begun to follow the training instructions.” Another floating Iris device updated me on the matters. It was back to her default speech pattern.

“There’s two of you? ...How are you here right now?” I wondered if there was a faster elevator she never told us about and rode.

“I’ve got access to many bodies. One of the great perks of being me.” It sounded like she was showing off, proud of the fact. I found it confusing to fully understand though.

“Do you know everything that's going on with the other Iris then?”

“Of course! We are one and the same and share the same mind. I will do my best to serve our inheritors!” It was almost like she was treating me as the child here, a bit ironic given her childish demeanor. Part of me was amazed at the amount of processing power she possessed that allowed her to multitask to such an extent.

“Well then..., let me know when Tessa wakes up if you can.” After she agreed, we made our way into the altar room past the sliding glass doors.