Smoke curled from the blazing undercarriage of the treadmill. The machine itself turned into a ruined sculpture of tal and lted synthetic belts.
A groaning sound echoed as it ground to a halt.
Leon got thrown backward at high speed, but he didn’t fall. He stood before it, sweat tracing through the dust on his face as his chest heaved.
A wild grin ford on his lips. "THIS IS FUN!" he shouted into the ringing silence.
The joy drained from his face as soon as he tilted his gaze to Zoe’s.
She stood four feet away, frozen. Her face had the mask of pure shock. Her eyes were wide, that kind that is of dawning understanding.
They flicked from his face to the destroyed machine and back again, as if trying to reconcile the two impossible images.
"Why that look?" Leon asked, the grin trying to reset itself as a confused smile. He followed her gaze to the tal that still glowed a faint cherry-red.
"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!" Zoe’s scream tore through the gym, shredding the last of Leon’s brief triumph. "I WILL NEVER BRING YOU HERE EVER AGAIN!"
Before Leon could form a response, the lady from the sparring ring walked toward him. Her earlier amusent was gone and replaced by sothing that seed like a frantic reverence.
"Who are you?" Her voice dropped to a breathing whisper.
Before Leon could react, she dropped to her knees. She pressed her lips to the toe of his boot in a gesture that seed both absurd and unsettling.
Then, as she stood up swiftly, her hands moved to the front of her loose training shirt. She grasped the fabric where it covered her breast and tore a strip from it.
Though her breasts were as big as lons, her nakedness wasn’t that exposed.
She bent down again, carefully wrapped the cloth around the spot on his boot she had just kissed, and tied it in a clumsy knot.
Leon beca numb as he stared at her, fully confused. His heels scraped on the gritty floor as he took a step back.
A sharp exhale of disgust exited from Zoe’s nose. Her footsteps echoed loudly as she turned and marched toward the exit of the Grimforge.
"Zoe, wait for !" Leon called in a strained voice. He shoved past the kneeling lady, ignoring her wide-eyed stare, and then hurried after Zoe.
The bright late afternoon sun shimred on their faces as they stepped outside. Zoe kept a twenty-pace distance ahead and walked stiffly.
Leon fell into step a few feet behind her as he jogged to catch up. "Are you angry?" he asked.
Zoe didn’t speak. She didn’t even look back.
"Zoe," he tried again, this ti in a frustrated tone. "Why aren’t you answering ?"
He sped up, moved in front of her, and planted himself in her path. He searched her face the mont he forcefully made her stop.
The playful teasing, or even the severe, harsh stare Zoe had before, was gone.
"You are my teacher," he said in a childish tone, almost trying to lure her.
"If you won’t answer anything else, just answer this one thing." He forced his expression into one of earnest pleading.
Breeze flew from her nose as her eyes closed abruptly. When they opened, she stared at him. She opened her mouth as if to speak, but stopped.
Behind Leon, a shadow fell across them, which made Leon’s bones shiver a little. The shiver vanished when he turned and found Mr. Lee approaching.
He had an unreadable expression as he ca to a stop. "How was his training at the Grimforge?" he asked, settling his gaze on Zoe.
Zoe’s jaw tightened as she looked from Mr. Lee to Leon with a hardened gaze. "He..." she stopped and shook her head.
"Ahem..."
She paused, cleared her throat, and pulled her datapad from a pocket on her hip. Her fingers danced across the screen with practiced speed.
After a few clicks, she thrust the device toward Mr. Lee.
Leon’s stomach twisted. Though he couldn’t see the screen, the sound he heard made him swallow hard.
Mr. Lee took the datapad and kept his eyes locked on the video being played on the screen.
Leon watched as the man’s eyebrows climbed slowly toward his hairline. Mr. Lee pressed the play button, repeating the video.
The muscle on his jaw twitched as he paused it and stared at the now-dark screen.
His face beca blank when he finally looked up and handed the datapad back to Zoe. But his eyes held a strange, intense light as they settled on Leon.
He didn’t look angry; he just looked... reassessing.
A slow, unreadable smile tore on his lips, followed by a nod that seed not to stop.
"Leon," Mr. Lee’s voice echoed calmly. "Follow ." He placed a hand on Zoe’s shoulder and gave it two firm pats.
He smiled, then turned and began walking back. He didn’t turn to check if Leon was following; he just went on.
Leon glanced at Zoe, who was already looking away. He waved at her, then turned and hurried after Mr. Lee.
They walked in silence for ten minutes, cutting across courtyards and green pathways.
The destination beca clear as the severe, wine-colored building of the proctor’s lood ahead. Leon’s steps began to falter slightly when the air from the fruitful trees brushed his face.
"Here again?" Leon asked when they stopped at the front of the twelve-foot black door.
Mr. Lee didn’t answer. He simply pushed the heavy door open and gestured for Leon to enter. The strange smile remained on his lips when he followed.
The hallway inside once again beca a tunnel of judgnt.
Leon’s skin prickled as he walked, having the sa feeling of being watched by the painted eyes of the images hung on the wall.
He kept his gaze forward, trying to ignore the weight of their stares, yet he faltered whenever he moved past one.
As they reached a junction, Mr. Lee paused by a particular door, then tilted his gaze to Leon.
Leon’s attention, however, remained on the wall to his left as if his soul had been sucked there.
A new black picture fra hung there. Inside it was a photograph of Lieutenant Haye, not in the casual gear Leon had seen him in, but in full ceremonial dress.
His expression in the photo seed to hold authority. Beneath the fra, an etched panel read: Lieutenant Hayes – The One-Man Army.
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