The line crackled softly before a familiar voice broke the silence among the overseer cadets.
"Hey guys... I'm starting to miss our ice princess Aki now," one of them chuckled, half-joking, half-serious.
A few snorts of laughter followed.
"Man, say what you want about her cold stares, at least she didn't make us watch people break their bones on repeat."
"Yeah, but don't forget the mental gymnastics she puts you through. I swear I had nightmares of her asking me theoretical questions mid-combat."
"Still better than Jannet's boot camp—I mean, have you seen the way she makes them run drills? My legs hurt just watching."
Seyfe kept his eyes on the field, watching the way the Spearhead cadets moved—disciplined, sharp, almost robotic. Yet his lips twitched slightly at the banter.
"You guys really like getting attached to people who treat us like tools," he muttered through the line, dry.
"Ah come on, admit it—Aki has that... scary charm. You never know if she's gonna help you or kill you."
"Exactly my point," Seyfe replied flatly. "It's like praising a snake for not biting you today."
One of the others laughed. "Ice Princess and Iron Sergeant. We're really living the dream, huh?"
"Just wait," another said ominously. "They'll pair us with a third one who actually breathes fire."
Seyfe rolled his eyes. "Then I'm putting in for early retirement."
The laughter over the comms eased some of the weight from the morning. But Seyfe's gaze lingered on Jannet a moment longer.
Scary charm, huh?
Seyfe sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose as he crouched a little lower behind the stone ledge he was using as cover. The voices over the earpiece crackled again.
"Man… at least let us interact with those beauties," one of the cadets said, almost wistfully.
"Who knows? Maybe once we become Veilers, we could hit our shots."
Seyfe groaned audibly. "This damn conversation again?"
"Come on now, don't kill the mood—wait... are you gay or something?"
There was a pause on the line. A sharp one. Even the wind seemed to take a breath.
Seyfe's voice came through cold. "Or maybe I just have better things to focus on than drooling over people who could kill me with a stare."
A few of the other cadets chuckled nervously.
"Relax, man, just messin' around," the same voice said, tone a little less smug now.
"Then maybe mess around with your aim, not your mouth," Seyfe shot back, then clicked his comms to mute with a sharp flick of his thumb.
He exhaled, steadying himself as he turned his eyes back toward the Spearhead Squadron's movements. Unlike his fellow observers, Seyfe wasn't here to ogle or joke. He was here to learn, watch, and plan.
Some people dreamed of becoming heroes.Seyfe had only one goal: survive long enough to never need anyone again.
"So do you guys have a thing?" The line broke once again.
Unamused, Seyfe let out a sigh."I met her during the time I got swallowed in the Broken Layer Phase," he muttered. "She was the one who escorted me out—with some Machine Veilers. Happy?"
The line went dead silent for a few seconds. Then someone whispered, "Wait… Broken Layer Phase? You're serious?"
"No way, and you're still breathing?" another voice chimed in.
"You mean like those mechanical Veilers from the files? I thought only top-level missions ever brought those out."
"Sounds like you've seen more action than all of us combined, man," someone said, half in awe, half in disbelief.
"I thought Aki was just hard on you 'cause she liked messing with you," another cadet chuckled. "But now it sounds more like you're her little project or something."
Seyfe leaned his head back against the tree bark and exhaled slowly through his nose."Keep fantasizing," he said flatly. "It's what you're good at."
A round of snickering filled the comms again.
One of them added, "Still, I'll give you that—surviving Broken Layer? Mad respect. Guess there's a reason Aki doesn't kick you around as hard as she could."
Seyfe didn't respond this time. Instead, he refocused on the drills below, eyes sharp. Let them talk. He'd already taken note of where most of them were stationed.
And when the time was right… he'd get the last laugh.
"But do you guys know what they call our handler Aki?" one of them asked through the line, a grin practically audible in his voice.
There was a brief silence, then another cadet replied, "You mean aside from 'Ice Princess'? I've heard a few… like 'Queen of Spite.'"
"Nah, I heard someone from another unit call her 'the Smiling Guillotine,'" another chimed in, trying to hold back a laugh.
"Smiling Guillotine? That's so dramatic," someone muttered.
"Fitting though," said another voice. "She smiles while putting you through hell. Can't even tell if she hates you or wants you stronger."
"Pretty sure it's both," someone snorted.
Seyfe shook his head. "You guys do know she can tap into this line whenever she wants, right?"
The line went quiet for a second.
"...You serious?"
"Guess we'll find out soon enough," Seyfe muttered, a smirk tugging at the edge of his lips.
The line went silent until a voice broke through with a chuckle.
"Woah, what a nice joke there, Seyfe. You almost had me."
"But seriously, what do they call her?"
Another cadet chimed in, tone a bit more thoughtful this time. "I heard from one of the head instructors… she was the youngest ever appointed as a Veiler Handler. Got the title at thirteen."
"For real?" someone said, surprised. "That means she's been a Handler for four years already... We're pretty much the same age as her, right?"
"Yeah, which makes it even more terrifying," another muttered. "What were we doing at thirteen? Definitely not commanding squadrons and torturing recruits with a smile."
"Well, that explains a lot," Seyfe mumbled, leaning on a chunk of stone, eyes trailing the movements of the Spearhead cadets down below.
"She's either a genius or a sadist... or both," someone added.
"Maybe that's why she doesn't bother socializing with us. She probably thinks we're toddlers," another laughed.
Seyfe stayed quiet. His memories of Aki were a little different. Cold, yes—but not heartless. And definitely not ordinary.
The conversation grew quieter as the cadets processed the new information. One of them finally spoke up.
"I think she was given the nickname The Decimator since she has records of just completely eradicating Echoforms and Twisted, leaving absolutely no traces behind. Like, completely wiped off the map."
"That fits," another cadet added. "And it might also have something to do with her Weaver Ability."
The conversation continued with a more serious tone, the cadets' curiosity piqued by the mention of Aki's abilities. One of them spoke up, clearly impressed.
"I heard Aki's Weaver Ability is insane. She can reduce or increase the mass of anything she touches, or even completely delete the atomic structure of her target."
"Wait, she can delete the atomic structure?" another cadet asked, incredulous. "Like, just erase something at a molecular level? That's terrifying."
"Yeah, exactly," Seyfe added, leaning back against the stone. "That's why she's called The Decimator. Her ability lets her obliterate anything — creatures, structures, even entire environments — down to the atomic level. That's how she leaves no trace."
One of the cadets, still processing the information, spoke up with a bit of awe in their voice.
"Man, that's the kind of power we're supposed to unlock one day, huh? I mean, our Weaver abilities will be a long time coming, but to be able to do something like that... it's crazy."
Seyfe glanced at the group and shrugged. "Yeah, our abilities will awaken once we hit the Ascension phase, but we need to hunt monsters and gather runes to fill our Weaver Cores first. And trust me, hunting won't be as easy as it sounds."
A quiet murmur of agreement rippled through the group.
"So, we do have to hunt?" someone asked, sounding slightly uneasy.
"Yeah," Seyfe said with a smirk, trying to make light of it, "hunt and get those runes if we want to move forward. It's either that or stay stuck in training. What could go wrong, right?"
"Wait, hold up. If Aki's power is that insane, why isn't she in a higher tier? How is she still in B-unit, especially with her rank as 23rd?"
Seyfe leaned back, tapping his fingers on his leg. "Yeah, that's a good question. If she has that kind of ability, she should be way higher up, right?"
Another cadet chimed in, their voice tinged with a mix of respect and awe. "Well, they say Veilers from higher-ranked Units like A or even S are just a different breed. It's not just about power; it's about skill, experience, and... let's just say, the whole package. The rankings matter a lot."
"Right," Seyfe continued, his tone more serious now. "Even if she has a dangerous ability like hers, there are other factors at play. You could have an ability that could wipe out armies, but if you don't have the right mindset, strategy, and control, you'd still be stuck in a lower rank. And Aki? Well, she's got that balance. Her power is insane, but she knows how to keep it under control, which is probably why she's been placed in B-unit. Not to mention, sometimes it's about politics and connections too."
The cadet who had first asked about Aki's rank nodded, clearly digesting the information.
"So, it's not just about raw power," he murmured. "The higher you go, the more it's about control, experience, and how well you work with the team."
Seyfe smirked. "Exactly. And as for her rank being 23rd... well, that's still impressive. It just means she's got a long way to go before she's seen as 'untouchable,' like those in A or S. Trust me, once you see the Veilers in those ranks, you'll understand why they're on a whole other level."
One of the cadets, a bit overwhelmed by the weight of the conversation, leaned back and sighed. "Great, so we're just starting from the bottom, huh?"
"Yep," Seyfe said, a grin tugging at the corner of his lips. "But at least we have a target now, right? We can't just sit here thinking we'll level up without putting in the work."
The group fell into quiet contemplation, realizing that the road ahead wasn't going to be easy. But with the knowledge of what they were up against, they also understood the challenge was something to strive for.