Leonard had watched with his own eyes as his squadmates were dragged back one by one. There could be no mistake about it. All twenty of them—none had escaped.
He had been the first. Estonev had been the thirteenth. The squad's newest recruit, Kai Tuen, had been the last.
Quintus's night was still far from over, but for the Blade of Punishment Squad, it was already over.
Leaning against the rooftop of a building, Leonard was firmly bound to the ground by bitterly cold ice. To be fair, the position was not comfortable. Although Leonard had endured worse, if he had been given a choice, he would have liked to move.
But he had no choice.
And he did not understand.
So he asked directly.
"Why, Instructor?"
He watched the giant toss the unconscious Kai Tuen onto the ground, then spoke in a parched voice. "Why are you doing this?"
The giant did not answer. He merely removed the recruit's helmet with great gentleness—Leonard had initially thought he was afraid of hurting Kai Tuen, but that was not the case at all.
He saw their instructor, who had held the post for barely more than a day, press two fingers from the same hand against Kai Tuen's temple the instant the helmet came off.
Then he began to apply pressure.
Kai Tuen had undoubtedly been awakened by pain, yet his expression after waking was remarkably relaxed. Once he realized he could not move, he remained so calm that even Leonard was surprised.
"Feeling better?" Karyl asked coldly.
"Much better than before, Instructor," Kai Tuen replied in a low voice. "I didn't expect them to have weapons like that."
"Nostramo has every kind of gun. Sonic weapons are nothing unusual. They may be rare, but that does not mean they do