Standing face to face, Nero was not quite as tall as the masked man. But then again, he was only 15 and expected he would grow a little more, especially now that he was a Neophyte. But that height difference did not impede Nero in any way, and he looked the masked man in his eyes, awaiting his answer.
"I don't know," the masked man answered emotionlessly. "All points of contact are anonymous, and we only act when we get orders."
Nero was not surprised by the answer. It was pretty standard, as far as he knew, to keep information on a need to know basis, even in the army, let alone in secret organisations.
"What do you want with me?" he continued asking.
"My objective is to tame you in pursuit of greater goals within the ruins. I do not have the exact details yet."
"Have you targeted anyone else besides me?"
"After you, my next target is a young Neophyte by the name of Clarissa Hunter. She is also on the shortlist to be sent to the ruins."
"How were you able to infiltrate this army training site without getting caught?"
"Around the border-"
The masked man's right arm twitched as he spoke, and suddenly Nero plunged his spear towards his neck. Whether his hypnosis was truly broken or not, he was not planning on taking any chances. Yet his vigilance proved apt, as the masked man dodged to the side.
Even with the distance between them reduced, the speed and reflexes of a trained Initiate should have been enough to easily dodge the attack of a Neophyte - but Nero proved himself to be the exception.
His technique was flawless and his speed far beyond what a Neophyte should have been able to achieve, and so his actions welcomed a spray of blood in the air the tip of his spear cut through the side of his neck.
Even though Nero had not been able to cut through his entire neck, this should have been enough to have the masked man bleed out in a couple of minutes, yet he brought his hand up to his neck and somehow patched the cut and stemmed the bleeding. No doubt he had used a First Aid card.
The failed attack did not give Nero pause, as he pursued the retreating figure and swung his spear once more, even as he recalled all the relevant information about Initiates.
There was an increase in overall physical and mental faculties, but besides just that, the upgrade either resulted in an increase of strength in the person's existing ability, or it allowed the ability to gain a new trait. Which one happened was random, and there was no superior option between the two, as it was always subjective on the ability as well.
More importantly, an Initiate could finally start using cards above 0 star ratings, which was the greatest threat to Nero at the moment. But fortunately, they still had to be physically touching the card to use it. This limited him, as just like Nero, his armour could only support one card per limb, as well as one on the chest and one on the back.
If he wanted to use any additional cards, he would have to grab them, and Nero did not intend to give him the chance.
"Idiot!" the masked man cursed as anger burned in his eyes. He may have been injured, but that was only due to surprise. Now that he had broken free of the hypnosis, he retaliated with full force.
He had no weapon in his hand, but against a child he needed none. He dodged the spear slash and stepped forward and punched. But Nero was not ordinary by any measure of the word.
The momentum of the slashing spear served as no hindrance, and in fact aided him as transitioned from once stance to another, perfectly blocking the punch with the pole of the spear.
At just the perfect time, he boosted his internal aetheric pressure in his arms and legs, providing him the strength to block the full brunt of the attack, before he turned the spear in his arms, swinging its blade at the masked man's legs and slashing his feet.
"Fuck!" he roared as he retreated once more and slapped his right foot with his hand, once again stopping the bleeding. Nero didn't pay attention to the three toes he'd managed to cut off and chased after him, but suddenly the sound of something cutting through the air caught his attention.
He turned his body just in time to dodge a grey dart shooting down at him from up above. More darts appeared in the air around him and shot at Nero just as the masked man shot another beam of pink light at him.
Cyroflame burst out from Nero's body, painting the dark woods in various shades of blue, even as Nero swirled his spear around him, catching the darts on the shaft. Nero kept moving, though he did not seem in a rush. His body moved in tandem with the spear, and it did not seem like he was fighting for his life on a battlefield.
Instead, each and every movement or gesture was filled with flawless grace and elegance.
The pink light crashed into his flames, and though the flames retreated for a moment, they ultimately absorbed the light before it could touch Nero's body.
The teenager made his way to the masked man underneath the barrage of darts, avoiding each obstacle as if he was reenacting a rehearsed dance rather than overcoming the attacks of a stronger foe.
Barely a couple seconds passed. The masked man neither got the time to overcome the shooting pain in his foot nor the shock of how unreasonably strong and fast Nero was, before the teenager was on him again.
But even if he was unready, at least he would not repeat his mistakes. He drew two daggers and rushed forward. The spear was better at a distance, so all he needed to do was approach Nero. At a closer range it would be harder to use and disadvantaged against two daggers. His flames were dangerous, but he only needed to be quick and he could kill him without taking any damage.
But as he rushed past the blade of the spear and approached Nero, his blades ready to slice through the boy's throat, all he could focus on were his eyes. There was no anger in them, nor cold ruthlessness. Instead they were completely neutral, as if looking at a block of wood. A flicker of rage broke through the masked man's forced calm as he roared, swinging to kill.
Yet instead of flesh, his blades only met the cold, synthetic body of Nero's spear.
It was not just the edge of the spear he had mastered - it was the spears' entire body. The shaft, whether on a more flexible spear or a firm one, took up the greatest part of the weapon so how could he not know to use it? After all, besides the spear, he was also an expert on using quarterstaffs.
He spun the spear clockwise, rotating his arms but the masked mans as well, pushing the daggers away before he stepped forward and kneed him. The man tried to retreat, but Nero stayed close, not allowing him to escape.
Being in close proximity to the masked man was also a part of Nero's plan as it forced him to stop using the darts lest they strike him by mistake.
When the masked man attacked Nero blocked or dodged, and when he tried to run he would suffer small nicks or cuts from Nero's relentless attacks. No matter how he tried, he could not escape those indifferent eyes, driving frustration and anger to take control of him.
"Fuck off!" he roared as he finally snapped and once more tried to stab Nero. But his overwhelming strength, which should have made all resistance futile, was once again easily countered by the spinning spear.
Near timed his bursts of strength perfectly, to always give him just the edge he needed to counter the masked man. Yet this time, before he could attack, a screech cut through the silence of the night as something lunged at him from up above.
Nero leaped away, just in time to see a large bat swinging by where he had been standing. The masked man finally got his reprieve and jumped back, ensuring there was a great gap between himself and Nero. Now it was two against one.
Nero heard the sound of something cutting through the air, and moved aside to dodge a dart when his eyes suddenly locked onto a familiar blur. Without hesitation, he swung his spear so that its blade would manage to, ever so gently, like the loving hand of a mother caressing the cheeks of her baby, touch the blurred object. Immediately, he used Ultimate grip, attaching the object to the blade.
It was a demonstration of his great control and timing that he was able to catch the object so gently on his blade, for it was the explosive projectile Charles would throw to cause explosions, aimed directly at Nero.
Then, without any breaks, Nero twirled his body and spear, and threw the projectile exactly back where it came from. In the distance, Charles stood with a bewildered expression on his face, his hand still raised and pointed towards Nero, as he saw a familiar blur come back at him. It was the last thing he saw before the blur crashed into his chest and exploded.