"Exceptionals are those who exhibit peculiar traits that enhance their abilities beyond what we've come to expect of the average human. Under a directive recently signed by the Führer, these abilities are to be recognized as 'abberances'," explained Mrs. Scheller, the academy’s field identification instructor, "Abberances may also be exhibited by anomalies and paranormals."
Gustavo scribbled notes in a small notepad atop a stack of books on his desk, while Magnolia blew her hair away from her face, evidently disinterested. Sturm listened in earnest but found his attention occasionally drawn away by the stark difference in his teammates' behavior.
"Miss Wald!" Mrs. Scheller abruptly called out, shocking Magnolia back to reality.
Nervously, Magnolia stammered, "Y-yes Mrs. Scheller?"
"Both anomalies and paranormals exhibit abilities that we would classify as extraordinary. But what, if anything, separates the two?" the teacher inquired with a hint of smugness, certain that she'd caught the girl inattentive.
"I… w-well…" stuttered Magnolia, unable to recite the information she had almost certainly ignored moments ago, "Anomalies…"
Gustavo spoke up suddenly. "Anomalies generally maintain a physical form, however alien it might be. Moreover, their origin is as of yet unknown."
"Interesting, Mr. Alvarez… and as for paranormals?" Mrs. Scheller pressed on, crossing her arms.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Magnolia slouched in her chair.
Calmly and without hesitation, Gustavo elaborated. "Contrary to anomalies, paranormals tend to lack a discernable physical presence, though this isn't always the case. Paranormals also represent relatively well-documented sorts of phenomena, compared to anomalies. They're spiritual entities, whereas anomalies are... something else entirely. Something unknown."
A satisfied smile crept across Mrs. Scheller's face.
"Nicely said, Mr. Alvarez," she congratulated before snapping her attention back to Magnolia, "As for you… you're lucky that teamwork is our overarching goal, here. Mr. Alvarez has picked up your slack today, but I expect you to be paying attention from now on."
Embarrassed, the girl groaned and ran her fingers through her long blonde hair. When the teacher turned her back to the class, Magnolia shot Gustavo a wicked glare. Hearing a muted giggle from the back of the room, Sturm turned to see a girl with peculiar wavy, shoulder-length black hair, lit up by blue and red highlights showing through from the bottom layer. She was covering her mouth as she seemed to focus on something, or someone, past Sturm. Gustavo, perhaps? Magnolia, apparently taking offense, spun around aggressively but the girl paid her no mind.
"Well then, I'd say that just about catches us up for today," said Mrs. Scheller, tapping a stack of papers against her desk.
She then turned and began to erase a web of complex terms and definitions from the blackboard as her students gathered their belongings. Then, without warning, the door flew open, and in marched Major Krieger with a look of urgency. Immediately, the shuffling of movement went silent. Scheller turned away from the board, her confusion evident. The major then leaned in and began to whisper to her. After a solemn sigh, she nodded in response to whatever he had said.
Quietly, Gustavo tapped on Sturm's desk to grab his attention. "Something is wrong."
"Iron Knight candidates of the class of 1939, your attention please..." Krieger started, his expression particularly grim. "Yesterday, the second day of September, the body of Ida Weber was found hung from the underside of the Moltke Bridge, roughly a half hour from the academy on foot. She was burned beyond recognition and could only be identified by an heirloom ring still wrapped around her finger."
Sitting at a desk in the classroom's front row, Dominic frantically turned in his chair to face Sturm. The boy's face exuded overwhelming horror, telling Sturm all he needed to know. Ida Weber was the exceptional who hadn't arrived for the induction.
Thinking the girl's disappearance completely unknown to the candidates, Krieger went on to confirm the abhorrent revelation. "Ms. Weber was a gifted exceptional and candidate-to-be who failed to appear at the academy on Wednesday."
Though this was terrible news and Sturm had previously sought to keep his and his teammates' minds at ease on the matter, deep down he had prepared himself for such a reality. Krieger's next words, however, were to come as a shock even to the stoic swordsman.
"Ida Weber is the twenty-first female... and seventeenth exceptional to have been found in this manner."
Sturm's blood ran cold. The overwhelming majority of victims were exceptionals. As no such information had been made available by any media source, this blindsided the candidates.
"At this time," the major continued, "I will inform you that the Gestapo has proposed the immediate termination of candidacy for all females currently enrolled in the academy. Their belief is that you girls are safest in a form of obscurity that is impossible to achieve so long as you wear that uniform."
"What?!" a girl spoke aloud from the back of the room.
From somewhere to the right of Sturm, another mumbled, "You can't be serious..."
Looking to Magnolia to gauge her reaction, Sturm found her unresponsive, only staring at Major Krieger with shocked eyes and flushed cheeks.
"However..." added Krieger, "The commandant has rejected this proposal. His opinion is that the academy is the safest place for you to be, surrounded by your veteran instructors and skilled peers."
Many of the girls present in the room breathed a collective sigh of relief. It seemed that General Vogel had secured their continued participation in the Iron Knight program. The fact that the Führer himself was the one who initially called for their admission into the academy had likely played a part in the Gestapo's acceptance of Vogel's opposition.
"That being said..." Krieger spoke up once more, "We have decided to impose a curfew on all female knight candidates, effective immediately. From now until the time the murderer has been apprehended or eliminated, no female candidate may exit the academy grounds between the hours of 20:00 and 06:00 without being accompanied by a veteran instructor qualified in anti-exceptional operations."
Suddenly, Magnolia scrambled to her feet, her chair loudly squeaking against the floor as she carelessly knocked it aside. "So I can't participate in anything after sundown just because my instructor can't protect me?!" she shouted at the major.
Stunned by the outburst, which was notable even for Magnolia, Sturm embarrassedly covered his face with his hand. Captain Scharf had been lenient toward the girl's borderline insubordination this far, but the strained look on Major Krieger's face made it clear that he was unimpressed with her demeanor.
The room fell silent as Krieger slowly made his way down the rows of desks until he stood toe to toe with Magnolia, looming over her with restrained anger. After a tense moment, he spoke up. "You were trained to address your superiors appropriately in the preparatory school, were you not?"
To the surprise of her teammates, rather than protest, Magnolia abandoned her overbearing pride and immediately snapped to attention. "Please forgive for my excitement in addressing you, sir! I am concerned that I will not be able to obtain important field experience because of my instructor's lack of combat qualification!"
Krieger gave a slight nod, himself somewhat taken aback by the girl's abrupt change in attitude. "Your concerns are misplaced. Your instructor is more than likely the most qualified combatant taking part in this program."
Magnolia stood completely still without uttering a word for several seconds before responding stuttering, "U-understood sir!"
"You're in good hands," the major assured Magnolia before turning his attention to the rest of the class, "As are the rest of you! Obey the commandant's directive and we will die before any harm comes to you! We will deal with this degenerate with haste and brutality and policy will return to the norm! Do I make myself clear?!"
All at once, the candidates rose from their desks and came to attention, the steel heels of their jackboots clicking in unison as they shouted back, "Yes, sir!"
The hunt was on. But who was the predator and who was the prey?
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