"Snap out of it, Magnolia!" cried Gustavo as he rose back to his feet, "Get out of the way!"
Pulling herself out of her daze, the girl managed to roll out of the way just before the monstrous attacker's football-sized fist split the brick path where she had been lying. The powerful impact sent vibrations through the ground and up Magnolia's spine- a grim warning of her narrowly avoided fate.
Having scampered away until she had put some distance between herself and her assailant, Magnolia got to her feet and took in a view of the enemy. Standing at nearly twice her height, the hulking behemoth of a man was protected by a thick metal chest plate, massive square pauldrons, and an angled helmet and mask ensemble. The helmet itself was of the "fire police" variety, adorned with that model's distinct metal ridge. Beneath its visor shined two round, red lights, standing in for the eyes they likely obscured. When combined, the features of the enemy's protective garb mingled to create a terrifying image. This opponent was as much a tank as he was a man.
Heart pounding, Magnolia cried out to Gustavo, "What in Heaven's name are you waiting for?! Poison him!"
"I can't..." Gustavo replied, "His face is covered, my frogs won't be able to get him anywhere that matters."
Eduard, positioned behind the enemy, tapped himself on the chest twice with his left hand. With his weight reduced, he leaped high into the air and prepared to strike the enemy's head.
If I can just bang on his helmet a couple of times, it will float off into the sky and leave his face exposed, Eduard plotted internally.
However, just before the young knight candidate reached his target, the giant spun around with shocking haste and swatted him from the air. Eduard was launched downward with such momentum that his body uprooted the small, decorative garden it collided with, projecting soil and plant matter in all directions.
"Damn it..." growled Gustavo, "Go help him, Dominic!"
Dominic shot a glance in the direction of the destroyed garden and then back at Gustavo. Without a word and to Gustavo's total surprise, the boy suddenly turned and ran off the entry path into a nearby hedgerow before disappearing.
"W-what?" Magnolia stammered, "Where is he going?"
Taken aback, Gustavo shook his head in disapproval before returning to the matter at hand, "Forget about him, we need to bring this guy down."
"Are you daft?" challenged Magnolia, pointing at the shattered bricks strewn about the crater marking the colossal enemy's entrance "We'd best follow that little cretin's lead and beat a hasty retreat before this oaf does that to us!"
Before Gustavo could respond to the girl's argument, their opponent raised one hand into the air and snapped his fingers. As if beckoned by command, the hedgerows on either side of the pathway burst into a roaring inferno.
"You have got to be joking..." Magnolia spoke quietly as the dancing flames reflected in her wide eyes.
Taking his place beside her, Gustavo prepared to face the enemy. "It's either through him or through the fire. We have no other options."
"So then we'll run by him, then?" Magnolia inquired, hopeful that a battle could still be averted.
"No," Gustavo replied, "There's no use trying to run. You saw how fast he was. Turning you back on him would be a death sentence."
Magnolia's jaw dropped at the implication. "Then you'd have us take on this beast directly? Have you lost all sense of reason?"
Fed up with the girl's constant rebuttals and under immense stress, Gustavo finally lashed out. "Enough, Magnolia! We're fighting, stop being a coward!"
Though such aggression would normally throw her into a rage, Magnolia's sense of terror overwhelmed her ego. Just ahead, their assailant stood motionlessly before the candidates in the center of the pathway.
"Why isn't he moving?" questioned Magnolia nervously.
"He knows that we have to come to him," Gustavo explained, "All of that armor has to exhausting to carry around, even for someone as strong as him. He probably doesn't want to waste any more energy than he has to."
Magnolia took a deep breath in a bid to suppress her mounting fear. "Then what do you suggest?"
Pausing briefly, Gustavo considered the possibilities and weighed them against his observations and deductions. "Assuming the armor he's wearing is proportional to what a regularly-sized soldier might wear and will have a similar effect on his stamina..." Gustavo started, "Then I would say we should notice a drop in his speed after just a few more attacks. Once that happens, we can rush him from both sides and pry his helmet off. Then... well, you already know."
"And if that doesn't work?" presented Magnolia.
Gustavo shrugged. "Die? I don't know what you want me to say."
Suddenly, a familiar voice chimed in from the half-open doorway behind the candidates. "That might work, but you'd better take a good look at your friend in the garden before committing to anything."
Both Gustavo and Magnolia turned their heads to meet the new arrival and, sure enough, found Captain Scharf leaning against the archway, smoking a cigarette.
"Eyes forward!" shouted Scharf, "The enemy is in front of you. Have I not trained you better than that?"
Two immediately came to their senses and obeyed.
"Apologies, captain," said Gustavo, "You caught me off guard."
"A lot of things will," Scharf replied, "That isn't an excuse to let your guard down."
"Of course, Captain..." Gustavo answered.
"Now, why is Max upstairs while you're out here?" the captain inquired. "And where is Sturm?"
Gustavo perked up in response to his instructor's continued interrogation. His words suggested that he had seen Max already. However, if that was the case, where was Max? Why would the captain have made contact with him and subsequently left him behind under such dire circumstances? Something about the prospect left Gustavo feeling uneasy.
"You saw Max, captain?" asked Gustavo.
Scharf flicked his cigarette, shaking free a rain of glowing ashes. "I did," he replied, "But you know better than to answer a superior's question with another question."
Warily eyeing his patient opponent as he spoke, Gustavo quickly explained the situation. "Sturm went off to help Whirlwind and Max took off with Emmy to help someone trapped upstairs. Are Max and Emmy alright?"
"I don't know who Emmy is, but Max is fine," Scharf replied, "I still can't quite grasp why you thought it would be a good idea to split up, but we'll address that later."
Breathing deeply, Gustavo kept his gaze fixed on the enemy. "Understood, captain. Should we follow your lead in this battle?"
The captain dropped the lit stub of his spent cigarette on the bricks below and stamped it out. "No, I'll leave this one to you."
Sweat dripped from Magnolia's brow down her cheek as her heart sank. though she would never admit it, Scharf's arrival had raised her hopes, if only somewhat. Now he was bowing out of the fight.
Overcome with frustration, Magnolia turned and began to shout at the captain. "What are you saying, Captain Scharf?! You'd condemn us to face this monster alone?!"
"You're the one who ran away from home to play soldier. I didn't ask for little girls in my squad," Scharf retorted, "Besides, I turned in my weapons for maintenance like everyone else."
His words stung Magnolia deeply. The context surrounding her departure from home and admission to the academy was to be her secret alone. How had Scharf come by that information? More importantly, how dare he speak of such a thing in front of one of her teammates? At this point, she could hold back no longer.
"You know nothing of my life!" she raged, "But I know enough about yours! You are nothing more than a criminal serving out his sentence through labor at this academy!"
Crossing his arms, Scharf seemed unbothered by the girl's tirade. "What's your point? You're barely an exceptional. In fact, I'm not entirely convinced you are an exceptional."
Feeling her blood boiling in her cheeks, Magnolia clenched her fists. "I could say the same about you, 'captain'. You're an insult to the Iron Knights, just look at you! You're half a man who didn't have the decency to die in the trenches and save your brethren the embarrassment by association!"
Scharf nodded slowly in acknowledgment. "Is that so?"
"Magnolia shut the hell up!" Gustavo interjected. "Captain, with all due respect, this exchange is not helpful. Please assist us and don't allow Magnolia to become distracted in this way."
The captain stretched his back and stepped forward from the archway. "Assist you?" he asked, "How might I do that? Didn't you hear your teammate? I'm half a man and don't deserve the title of Iron Knight. I'd just get in your way."
Gustavo couldn't believe what he was hearing. Had the captain always been so unreasonable? He had certainly been cold, but this was absurd. This petty, meaningless squabble, which came at the worst time imaginable, threatened their lives in the face of a powerful adversary. Had Scharf been brought this low by the pestering of a young girl? Now more than ever, Gustavo's subconscious squirmed in warning.
Then, for no clear reason, the flames that had engulfed the surrounding bushed were suddenly and all at once extinguished. Scharf gave them a quick glance before cracking his neck and proceeding past his students.
"Well, I suppose that means Max was victorious," he said with a yawn as he walked toward the gigantic enemy.
As confused as he was concerned, Gustavo looked on anxiously. "What are you talking about? What did Max have to do with the fire?"
Scharf said nothing as he moved ever closer to their opponent.
"Captain!" exclaimed Gustavo, "Be careful! His power is incredible and he's faster than he looks! Don't get too close..."
Then, both Magnolia and Gustavo were left in awe as the captain simply passed by their opponent without issue. In fact, the juggernaut didn't even spare him a look.
"I-I don't understand..." said Gustavo, "What is this?"
"I knew you were rotten, you damned old cripple!" Magnolia shouted viciously, "To think I had any amount of faith in you at all... I might vomit!"
Now beyond the enemy, Scharf slowly turned to face his students. With his one eye burning a Hole in Magnolia, he said, "That would be exactly the sort of emotional weakness that I've come to expect from you."
Magnolia felt as if she was being torn in two directions. On the one hand, her heart yearned to charge forth and attack Scharf for his constant berating. On the other, her mind kept her body frozen stiff, in fear of the armored monster of a man between them.
Alerted by a sickly grinding, Gustavo quickly glanced to his side to see Magnolia tightly clamping her jaw as small, wet beads began to form in the corners of her emerald green eyes. The noise was coming from her mouth.
"Calm down..." Gustavo urged the girl, "He's just trying to get you riled up... Stay focused."
Through clenched teeth, Magnolia growled, "No one disrespects me in such a way..."
Once more, Scharf turned around and began to walk off into the dim blue light of the cloudy early morning. "Oh, and one more thing..." he spoke without looking back, "The fire is gone but I suggest you don't try to run. Like you said, he's faster than he looks."
The captain then held up his hand in a half-hearted "goodbye" and continued on down the path until his body disappeared behind the massive enemy.
Although this apparent betrayal came as a shock, Gustavo's instinctual sense of self-preservation smothered the possibility of an emotional reaction that could endanger his life. He quickly composed himself and, realizing that Magnolia would likely be more of a hindrance than an aid in combat, resolved to gamble on Scharf's earlier passing statement.
"Alright, I need you to calm down and listen..." Gustavo began to explain, "Scharf said that Max won whatever fight he was in. If we can just hold out until he's back, we'll stand a fighting chance."
Magnolia never looked in the boy's direction or returned any acknowledgment. Truthfully, Gustavo had no idea whether she had heard him at all. The enemy, however, was a different case entirely.
"You don't want to move?" the man spoke up with a deep, booming voice that projected from his metal mask in a warped, alien tone, "I'll come to you, and I'll smear you across the entrance as a warning to your fellow knight candidates."
The standoff was over. Gustavo and Magnolia would have to face this terrible force alone.
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