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"In a battlefield, roles define survival."
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The classroom hummed with nervous energy as Yaga-sensei spread mission reports across a table. First-year students clustered around, their usual casual banter replaced by focused attention.
"Today's assignments will test your ability to function as coordinated teams rather than individual fighters," Yaga announced.
"Real missions rarely allow for solo heroics."
He gestured to a map marked with several red X's.
"Multiple Grade 3 manifestations in the warehouse district. Intelligence suggests they're connected, possibly organized. Each team gets one target, but expect the unexpected"
Ryu found himself grouped with Nanami and Haibara, a combination that felt both natural.
"Nanami," Yaga continued,
"you'll lead. Your approach to combat makes you ideal for the leader position."
He turned to Haibara.
"Range support. Your cursed energy projection has improved significantly, use that advantage."
Then his eyes settled on Ryu.
"Support role."
"Your technique versatility makes you valuable for battlefield control and teammate assistance. Try to think beyond direct attacks."
'Support...…When did I become the support?'
Across the room, Ryu noticed Makoto being paired with a quiet student named Yugo. The former seemed focused, nothing like the hostile figure from yesterday's encounter. The normalcy was almost unsettling.
"Questions?" Yaga asked.
Haibara raised his hand.
"Sensei, what kind of surprises can we expect from those Grade 3 curses?"
"Good question. Grade 3 typically show individual cunning but limited coordination."
"However, recent patterns suggest something is compelling them to work together.
Stay alert for unusual behavior."
---
The warehouse district felt rough in daylight, industrial, mundane, the kind of place where supernatural horrors seemed almost ridiculous.
Almost.....
"Target building is three blocks northeast," Nanami said pointing towards a building while holding a ttablet.
"Cursed energy readings are... complex. Multiple signatures, but they're mixed."
"Mixed how?" Ryu asked.
"Like they're hiding behind each other. Or inside each other." Nanami's expression was serious.
"Could be a nesting situation."
Haibara slung his equipment bag higher on his shoulder.
"So instead of one Grade 3, we might be dealing with multiple smaller curses that add up to Grade 3 collectively?"
"Possible. Which means team coordination becomes even more critical."
Nanami fixed his tie with a sigh.
"No improvisation. No individual initiatives. We function as a unit."
"Hai!" X2
They approached the target building. It looked abandoned and old.
"There," Haibara pointed to a service entrance on the building's east side. "Readings are strongest from that direction."
"Multiple entries," Nanami observed.
"We could split up, create crossfire opportunities."
"Or we could stick together and not get picked off individually," Ryu countered.
"Valid point. Together it is."
Nanami activated his technique, cursed energy flowing around him.
"Haibara, support me with ranged attacks."
"Ryu, be ready with crowd control if we face multiple opponents."
"Crowd control? This isn't a game..... But sure I'll immobalize any that come closer"
---
The interior of the warehouse was a maze of broken machinery and industrial debris.
Haibara's footstep on a loose metal plate caused something spider-like to scuttle across the ceiling, visible only as a shifting shadow against the dusty skylights.
"Contact, above," Haibara whispered, raising his hands. His technique, 'Critical Shot' manifested as concentrated cursed energy projectiles that moved with guided precision.
The spider-thing dropped just as Haibara fired, causing the shot to miss and punch through a support beam instead. But that revealed two more curses hiding behind it—slug-like things that seemed to be made of industrial grease and cursed energy.
"Multiple targets,"
Nanami confirmed, moving to engage the nearest slug with strikes. His ratio technique found weak points easily.
Ryu activated Shadow Grasp, sending tendrils to restrain the spider-curse before it could reach Haibara's position. The shadows wrapped around its limbs, holding it in place for Haibara's follow-up shot.
'This is working. It feels easy this way!'
But as the first three curses fell, something became apparent, there were more. Lots more.
They began emerging from machinery, from wall cracks, from places that shouldn't have been able to hide curses.
"Nesting confirmed,"
Nanami said grimly.
"This isn't three Grade 4s. This is a colony."
"How many are we talking about?"
Haibara asked, shifting position to get better firing angles.
"At least fifteen. Maybe twenty."
'Twenty Grade 4s working together effectively equals what? Grade 2?'
Ryu found his role shifting from support to crowd control to defender as waves of small, fast curses swarmed their position. His shadows tendris worked overtime, creating barriers, restraining attackers, buying time for his teammates to reposition.
It was exhausting but oddly satisfying.
'This is what teamwork feels like.'
Haibara's shots began finding their marks with increasing frequency as he adapted to the chaotic target environment.
"Critical Shot isn't just all about power," he called out between attacks.
"It's about timing too! Finding the moment when defense becomes weak."
Nanami flowed through the swarm with great efficiency, his technique creating weak points faster than the curses could adapt. "Ratio scales with target" he replied. "Understanding structure leads to understanding failure points."
(Meanwhile the curses cursed as they were beaten while being told about the techniques used to exorcise them.... RIP or not RIP as they are bad ..)
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*Pant *pant
Haibara sat down while being half exhausted.
Twenty-three curses, by final count. The warehouse floor was littered with dissolving remains.
'If only they were not just grade 4, perhaps I could have gotten something from them ..*sigh'
"Efficient operation," Nanami noted, checking his equipment for damage.
"Total time: seventeen minutes.
Zero injuries.
Acceptable cursed energy expenditure."
"Speak for yourself," Haibara panted, slumping against a concrete pillar.
"I think I fired more shots in the last twenty minutes than in my entire training career."
"But you hit what you aimed at... Most shots at least," Ryu observed.
"Your accuracy under pressure improved significantly during the fight."
"Thanks. Your shadow technique kept me from getting overwhelmed. That technique buys a lot of time."
As they prepared to leave, Ryu noticed Nanami watching him with serious expression.
"Your technique usage was good" Nanami said as they walked back toward school.
"Thanks... that's high coming from you. But Namami why were you trying to debate with that computer curse in the end?" Asked Ryu.
"I was trying to find out if a sorcerrer's brain could defeat a digital curses brain."
"You do know it was just a screen type right?" Haibara said smirking.
"Also you made him lag out by asking weird question.... Although that helped us so all good."
Nanami placed a finger on his head.
"Perhaps someday my words would be enough to exorcise a curse... I should start the trainin for that".
"No.... I don't think we will se many type of those curses again Nanami.."
Said Ryu.
---
They parted ways at the school gates, Haibara heading to the infirmary for an assessment and Nanami toward the library for what he called "research."
Ryu started toward his apartment, but found his steps slowing as he approached the main road. The warehouse encounter had been satisfying in an unexpected way, but it hadn't addressed the larger questions raised yesterday.
Instead of turning toward home, he found himself walking in the direction of the abandoned warehouse district.
Not far away from the building they have cleared.
Behind Ryu, at a carefully maintained distance, A shadow merged and began following him unnoticed.
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