Yasu slowly walked toward Jesse, each step echoing lightly across the arena floor. His eyes softened at first, watching the boy sleep so heavily, but when he bent down and tried to carry Jesse, his knees almost buckled. Jesse's weight dragged against his arms, and Yasu staggered, struggling with a grunt.
"Man, these people are heavy," he muttered, his voice somewhere between frustration and amusement. He scratched the back of his head, sweat glistening faintly against his brow.
He stood upright, inhaled deeply, then suddenly raised his voice.
"Dummies!!!" he called out, his tone sharp and commanding.
Almost immediately, with a faint hiss of gears, a part of the roof opened. A mechanism shifted, and three training dummies descended gracefully from above. They landed with surprising precision, each one upright on their feet, standing in a row like disciplined soldiers.
The dummies bowed their heads in eerie unison, and their robotic voices spoke as one:
