The Martials were the oldest of the Big Four, being founded a decade after Ordo was officially recognized as a nation by the Global Guards. Since its humble beginnings, it maintained a high place in the Fabel Rankings, constantly adapting to new eras throughout history; today, the reins of Martials were in the experienced hands of Master Jin Junjie, internationally renowned for his services to both Ordo and the world. He was the Cultivator Chair of the Three Martial Heroes and the oldest of the four Guild Masters of the Big Four, and the most respected.

And his son, the Righteous Jin Tiehan, was primed to inherit Martials when his father would eventually retire. Though Alexander imagined Jin Tiehan would be quite anxious after Archknell’s passing and the chaos that followed Glory after Silverhonor became the Acting Guild Master. It was natural for a son to worry about his father’s safety regardless of how powerful he was. Any normal son, anyhow.

All Baptists were ordered to meet Jin Tiehan out in the back field of Grendel Arsenal. Alba and the Alumnus were told that he had nothing but the most peaceful intentions. Except for the fact he desired to spar which struck the fear of God into literally everyone there, including Professor Hei.

Vernon openly catastrophized what Jin Tiehan would do to them: breaking their legs, paralyzing them from the neck down, maybe summon a celestial dragon to eat them whole or strike lightning upon them like Levin. Althea argued over his nonsensical ideas and lambasted him, only to say how scared she was too. And the B-Ranks in Alumnus joined in on this pain parade, giving Alexander grief.

“Are you scared too?” Leona asked Alexander after nudging his arm.

“Yeah,” he admitted. “You?”

“Oh, definitely.”

They reached the sparring location: a dirt field which was occupied for various uses: storage, extra parking, tents where civilians could meet with whoever. It was no different than the fields that Systemic Works had or even schools (at least in America), where the former used them for simpler training exercises while the latter had them for sports or other physical activities.

A perfect place, then.

At the far end were two figures who had not another soul present for at least twenty yards out in all directions, and they couldn't look no more different, brought from two different eras yet they stood comfortably well together as one. The masked woman spotted the Baptists first, whose mechanical olive eyes paralyzed them cold and halted them in their tracks. She was a gorgeous Chinese woman who would feature in magazines in a different life—fit and defined and determined, strong—but in the dark she was the monster that men feared—a killer, a man-hunter. The night hid her, wearing an ink-black futuristic bodysuit featuring a hexagonal pattern, and a soft purple light coursed around the edges and into her face-mask.

Blackviper, the No.11 Slayer, a Head Officer in Martials, and the second to the Vice Guild Master. She had no reaction spotting the Baptists, not a single strand of her midnight-shaded hair swayed.

The man next to her noticed. The Perfected Cultivator, who had been crafted by his father from conception to today, whose efforts brought his son to an SSS-Rank potential. The Monster, who consumed martial technique after technique, learning even the most complex and strenuous in the fraction of the time—the title that made Alexander grit his teeth, being reminded of Dad. The Righteous Jin Tiehan, the heir to Martial Guild.

Handsome, yes; tall, yes (he had a centimeter or two over Alexander); strong, absolutely, but he wasn't outstanding appearance-wise. He wore your typical cultivator robes: a magnificent garb that faintly reminded you of the old dynasty days. The colors were white and blue, having a Chinese design to them.

But in spite of his inoffensive appearance, Alexander was comfortable stating that Jin Tiehan was more of a demon than Damien was. This was a man who had been forged to shake the heavens. To bring down Kosmos from his throne. Someone who had been born with all the right talents and nurtured in the perfect environment. Blackviper paralyzed you with fear; the Righteous Jin Tiehan put you on your knees.

The No.7 Slayer, and quickly he was rising.

Alexander had seen him once or twice during events Leona dragged him to, but he had preferred keeping to the sides, being invisible. This was the first time Alexander properly met him.

Jin Tiehan allowed himself to form the smallest of smiles and took a step forward. His hands were behind his back. Every step swayed his high ponytail, his midnight blue hair shining in the artificial light beaming down from the spotlights above. At the ends, the color grew lighter, almost transparent, like sky-color.

“Slayer Team Alba and Alumnus of the Dawn Baptists,” he began, his voice stalwart like a stagnant cloud refusing to be moved by the world, “I am honored to have you as my cohorts. Forgive me for my hauteur but I will assume you know of me and my subordinates, so I will make this introduction brief. I am the Righteous Jin Tiehan, son of Master Jin Junjie, Vice Guild Master of Martials Guild. My second is Blackviper.”

She stepped forward, bowing. She stared at Alexander with the slightest animosity. Damien’s fault.

Jin Tiehan continued, “And the Five Distinct Journeys have accompanied me to assist in our investigation but their priority remains to their projects, in order to better combat the Kreutz Sungrazers. I trust you have met them already. But I, on the other hand, will assist you in this subjugation, and my second Blackviper as well. She…”

He clapped his hands together, uttering a well-practiced laugh. “There is no Slayer more reliable than her. She is my right arm. Despite her intimidating appearance, she is quite amicable—" (Blackviper glared at him,) "—so do not hesitate to reach out for her help if you require it. You'll find no better hunter than this one."

Alexander gulped. Yeah, he was intimidated alright. And he had met all sorts of people: Prominence, hideous monsters, hell even the Comets themselves. But Jin Tiehan was a different breed. His rank was high-S according to recent gossip before the disaster, but he must have been months away from ascending to SS.

As much as Alexander feared Jin Tiehan, he was equally reassured that the investigation will be a success. Or at least no one would get hurt.

At the same time, the fear prevented the Baptists from speaking, even Professor Hei.

Blackviper whispered to Jin Tiehan and he chuckled, nodding.

“Of course, you’re afraid knowing what I want from you, but have no worries. We'll go easy on you. All of you. I don’t mean to sound vile but if we truly wanted to, you’d be dead before you can blink.” A quiet, sharp laugh seeped from his lips but he cleared his throat. “Excuse me. Anyhow, I’ve taken it upon myself to do some preliminary research on the Dawn Baptists as a whole.

“As I heard, your name is derived from the phrase ‘baptism by fire’ because for most of you, this is your first experience in serious combat. I’m certain your abilities have improved throughout the past week. To what extent? We will see.

“I know many things about each of you: the fae-like manipulator, Gul; Uprise and Forest Master, the awakened esper and the student of the exiled Sacred Leaf; Victor, the prominent SS-Rank as I often hear; and of course, Alba themselves.” Jin Tiehan paused for effect. “What more can I say about them?

“But let’s begin. Blackviper, please demonstrate your abilities to the Alumnus. And Gul?”

Professor Hei perked her head.

“Please sit out for this.”

“Yessir.”

“Seriously?!” Kaiya whispered-yelled. “But we’re gonna die—!

~~~

Jin Tiehan had used a device created by Yatsar that projected a formidable pearly white barrier, acting as the ring for this lovely little spar.

Or as Victor would put it: a deathmatch where the cards were stacked against them. The only good thing going for him was the fact that Blackviper was the perfect combination of dangerous and sexy but she could also kick his head clean off. He had known several guys who’d be into that kind of thing but he wasn’t. Definitely wasn’t.

Blackviper was an S-Rank with years of experience of being an assassin in her homeworld; ever since she immigrated here, she integrated her futuristic technology with magic and became the ultimate killing machine. No wonder Jin Tiehan made her his second. She was someone you could depend on, just as long as you weren't at the receiving end of her bullet.

Like they were.

“Hey hey, focus!” Kaiya gently slapped Victor’s shoulder a few times to get his attention. “So what’s our gameplan for this? How are we gonna coordinate our attacks? We never fought anyone like Blackviper before.”

“Look man, you know the phrase: no plan ever survives first contact or something like that? Yeah, she’s the extreme version.” Victor gestured to Blackviper who was fiddling with her cybernetic arm. ”Her expertise is us. She knows how to kill a man a thousand different ways so we really can't do anything to stop her."

“Okay, I’m just gonna throw random psychic attacks at her and hope for the best since we got nothing. Hey Chunhua—!”

A spear manifested at her palms. Thorny vines coiled and braided together, and the tip was a shining stone-white spearhead. She wasn't listening to her friends' strategic planning; Victor recognized the look in her eyes: complete focus. All she recognized was the opponent: Blackviper.

Victor rubbed his mouth, dreadful. “You know we’re fucked when Chunhua pulls out the spear.”

Kaiya absently nodded. “Yup. She’s sorta nerdy for that—”

A bullet ripped by their heads and cracked into the barrier behind them, causing the two to creak their necks to find the source: Blackviper, whose right hand was extended with a hole at the center of her palm.

“Rubber bullets,” she told them. “I don’t want to hurt you too much.”

Victor tried to raise [Little Gungnir], his personal weapon created by the Supportive Program, but got caught by a barrage of rubber bullets pelting his armor. These weren't regular rubber bullets. Normal ones would bounce off and he'd barely feel a thing. But these felt like punches. He didn't know how or why but he had to watch himself. No one was impervious against Blackviper.

Unintentionally, he protected Kaiya using his body and she used the opportunity to get the fuck out of dodge.

“Hyah!” exclaimed Chunhua, taking the initiative. She was the bravest out of the three. Perhaps because she had something to prove to the Martials. Whatever reason she had, her determination was as strong as her courage, charging at Blackviper, spear-drawn.

[Skill Activation: Mastery of the Forest - Sparrow Soar]

Her body momentarily transformed into leaves, propelling the spear forward into a crashing thrust. It had enough force that the air audibly rippled, but that was too slow for the S-Rank assassin. Vanished without a trace.

Victor saw a shadow on the ground, moving. He cursed, ducked and avoided a rubber bullet to the brain, spinning his spear around to thwack Blackviper in the side. But she hopped over, bounced off the spear and got behind Victor again moving like an acrobatics on steroids, swifter than anyone he'd fought before. He braced for a bullet and instead got knocked on his ass again by a blast of energy. But most importantly: the same blast knocked Blackviper away.

[Skill Activation: ESP - Great Psionic Aura]

Kaiya. [Great Psionic Aura] was a skill of hers, a positive condition that provided a powerful telekinetic aura. She could do lots of things with that, like creating psionic attacks.

He was sprawling and Blackviper wasn't, crouching on all fours predator-like. Her eyes mechanically evaluated the field. Who was the closest target? Him.

A lurching kick seized Victor and he barely had time to lift his spear to block it, ended up sliding across the dirt field with his breath knocked out of him. Chunhua reengaged with the assassin, keeping her pinned with frequent, flying thrusts.

As Victor got to his feet, something boomed. Looking up, that boom caused Chunhua to be lifted off her feet. The smoking gun, or rather cannon, was Blackviper, whose left arm was unfolded to reveal a cybernetic hand-cannon that could blow a man's head off.

Victor jumped forward and caught Chunhua, giving her a safe landing. Kaiya regrouped with them, bringing the gang back together. “You alright?”

Chunhua nodded and neatly hopped back onto her feet. “Thank you.”

“Y'know, I think we should've talked strategy!” Victor exclaimed. They watched as Blackviper tapped her thigh. Something slid out: a straight, matte black sword with a white handle. “Okay, I’m gonna jump in and take her shots! Rest of you come in whenever you can!”

Victor held [Little Gungnir] in his left hand, reaching into his [Inventory] with his right and retrieving Deon’s [Talonstrider]. Heavy, even for a B-Rank like him. This had been made for the B-Rank Slayer, Griffin. The weight and the size and the aesthetic, all for him. It felt dirty using his weapon but Victor figured he’d do the asshole a solid and get a few scratches on it.

The [Talonstrider], as he recalled, was a two-form weapon that switched between a shield and a greatsword. It had been biometrically-locked to Deon but managed to transfer the ownership to him. Right now, a shield was looking fantastic. Mostly because Victor was pisspoor at using a greatsword in the first place.

“Alright, let’s do this!” Victor whacked his spear against the dirt.

[Skill Activation: Channeling Enchantment - Lightning Lash]

[Lightning Lash] was a cross between channeling and enchantment that turned [Little Gungnir] to a purple, electrified whip. Could it actually stop Blackviper? A man could dream.

Victor charged, keeping his shield high and protecting his body, but not too high where his vision suffered. Bullets bounced off, felt like he was getting hit by baseballs thrown by pitching machine. Blackviper aimed high, low, center-mass, trying to find an opening but Victor wasn’t giving her any. No way. Once he was adequately close he lashed at the Martial, who effortlessly dodged in a smooth, perfect flip.

An irritated “Crap!” left his lips and looped back around for a second lash. She leapt over that one too. A black flash pounced on him, smashing a foot against the shield’s center, kicking so strong that he slid backwards, again, nearly falling over.

Chunhua took this opportunity to leap over Victor and came down, missing Blackviper by inches, the spearhead embedded in the dirt. Before the Martial could react, the immediate area surrounding Chunhua was flooded with sharp leaves in a geyser (a technique). Some thwacked against Victor’s shield, cutting, alerting him that these leaves were deadly if caught in the vortex.

And of course Blackviper wasn’t. She was gone, and Victor knew who she was targeting.

“Matte matte matte!” shouted Kaiya as Blackviper was dashing towards her, sword drawn. She tossed energy blasts that Blackviper dodged by strafing side-to-side, even cutting one down the middle smoothly without issue.

Some of the remnants struck Victor as he chased after Blackviper, staggering and knocking him around but he wasn't going down that easily. Of course the assassin herself had a different opinion—she wasn't planning on giving him a chance. [Talonstrider] got hit straight on by her hand-cannon, the impact so great that he was knocked onto his knees, groaning. What the fuck was that thing?!

“Kaiya!” Chunhua zoomed past Victor but even with her movement techniques she’d be too slow.

Until a brown opaque cloud began to form around Kaiya. She was using her esper powers to telekinetically move the dirt itself. Blackviper slowed right before the cloud combusted into a thick fog, giving Kaiya the concealment she needed to escape.

“I got her!” Victor clamored, approaching the fog and making a wide lash, cutting through like a hot knife to butter. It struck something! As the cloud faded, he saw that the whip was wrapped tightly around an arm.

Blackviper was holding it.

Victor’s exuberance died right there. “Hey Chunhuaaaa—!”

Possessing superior strength, Blackviper was able to pull Victor off his feet and towards her. Spinning around, she kicked (again!), driving her foot into his armored stomach. The whip unfurled and he crashed into the barrier, dazed.

Chunhua clinched with Blackviper, spear against blade. The black blade darted out and banged against the shaft at twice, clang clang. And the rest became an artwork: the swirl of flourishing leaves clashing against magical-like technology. Victor blinked a few times, flinched when the hand-cannon went off again, and wobbled back onto his feet, heaving and panting.

The women separated themselves, and Chunhua had enough distance to thrust. Blackviper inched backwards but her back foot slipped. Blackviper slipped.

Victor saw that the ground beneath her feet was moving. Kaiya: instead of potentially interfering with Chunhua’s fight, she was giving support by manipulating the battlefield in non-obvious ways.

That little moment of forced error gave Chunhua the advantage. So she capitalized, twirling her spear fancifully with every spin generating leaves that faded away after a passing second.

[Skill Activation: Mastery of the Forest - Four Season Wake]

First was the reincarnation of Spring, the season of growth, where the forest flustered alive in a festivity of new life. The first strike. Next was the strength of Summer, the season of sweltering heat. This was when the leaves were brightest underneath the golden sun. The second strike. Third was the descent into Autumn in which the leaves turned into different shades, maturing with age. The third strike. And last was the coming of Winter, where the cold turned the forest barren and snow caked the boughs. The fourth strike.

They followed one after the other in a natural, breathtaking motion. Masterful movements, so much so that even Jin Tiehan had to be amazed. Whoever Sacred Leaf was, they taught Chunhua well, as she put Blackviper on the defensive. Each attack arrived like the coming of the seasons and met the black blade. Although they were blocked, it was enough to make an S-Rank uneasy.

Even after the finale of [Four Seasons Wake], the women danced, with Chunhua manning the pace.

Victor mustered the courage for another attempt and charged, taking Blackviper from behind while she was distracted by Chunhua. But as the Martial sensed him—which was almost immediately—he realized he may had inadvertently given her an out because she ran towards him.

She used [Talonstrider] as a springboard, leaping off. She soared like a hawk, revealing her hands.

“Behind me!” yelled Victor, pulling Chunhua who was nearby behind him, raising his shield to block the oncoming rubber bullets. They pattered against the face like rain. Or hail, more accurately.

“Victor!” Chunhua exclaimed, grabbing his shoulder. Too late.

Blackviper had already struck like a phantom. His knees were kicked out from under him, and Chunhua could only blink as the assassin’s blade hovered against her throat.

With her other arm, she aimed it at Kaiya, who was standing off to the side awkwardly. She raised her hands.

Victor groaned, head going limp. “Aw man.”

~~~

“What did you think?” asked Jin Tiehan to the others.

Professor Hei answered first, as these three were her students, “They did as best as they could against Blackviper but they have several flaws that needs to be worked out. At minimum, Victor and Chunhua recognized their roles and attempted to play them through but Kaiya doesn't have nearly as many tools as they do; but she’s always been uncertain about her abilities ever since she entered OU. A large majority of my criticism can be summed up as, well: they need train their coordination and communications more. Had Victor pulled Chunhua in at the beginning, they could've managed better.”

“I suppose Blackviper will personally act as their training dummy, then,” Jin Tiehan said with a manufactured smile in his eyes. “Or as we all have seen: they will be her training dummy so she could let out some frustration. What about the other Baptists here, what do you think?”

“Uh…” Vernon scratched his cheek. “I’m kinda just wondering what cyberware Blackviper uses.”

“Why don’t you ask her yourself?”

“No thanks.”

“Are you afraid of her?”

“Very.”

Jin Tiehan chuckled. “I don’t blame you at all. I am sometimes afraid during her more…intense moments.”

“How did she end up becoming your second anyway?” Althea asked, then cleared her voice. “Sir.”

“When she first appeared in this world, I personally recruited her. It’s the typical meeting you’d expect between two seasoned warriors: she tried to kill me—several times—but I bested her, purchased her skills through negotiation. You wouldn’t believe how fast she rose the ranks within Martials.”

Alexander watched the B-Ranks chat with the woman in question. She looked naturally alert. Coming from her world, he supposed you had to be that in order to survive. “I can imagine. What is she like behind the mask?”

“What a strange question.” Jin Tiehan turned, staring at Alexander unshakably. Unlike the others who he made eye contact with, his gaze for Alexander was a shaft through the heart. “Are you interested in her? You both share some startling similarities—”

“I’m just curious.”

“Well, if you want to know: Blackviper, or outside her work, Fan Shengyi is quiet. Half the time, I don’t realize she’s present in my office or my apartment or what have you. She’s reflective, but most of all restless. She understands war more than peace, Shen. Our beautiful world is unsettling because all she known is ugliness. She was born in dirt and buried hundreds in dirt, and until she came to this world she believed that she, too, will be put to rest there.”

For a long moment, no one spoke.

“Let’s start the next spars, then,” Jin Tiehan told everybody, looking at Alba. Althea and Vernon froze up on the spot, to which he gave them a smile. “Don’t worry. For you two, you’ll be training with the Journeys. We agreed on this. I am more interested in your leaders here. Ahn, would you like to go first?”

“Me?” Leona gestured to herself, glancing at Alexander but he wasn’t going to help her this time. Besides, he wanted to see how Jin Tiehan fought for himself. “Alright, if I have to. You’ll go easy on me?”

“I wouldn’t hurt you any more than I have to.”