CHAPTER 5
[AT THE FOSTER HOME…]
It had been more than a month since the incident in the alleyway.
More than a month since the missing parcel.
More than a month since The Six were summoned, questioned, and subtly scrutinized by Big Sister Evelyn—again and again—under the guise of concern.
Life at the foster home appeared to return to normal. But beneath the foundation of the building, far from innocent eyes, something far from normal was taking place.
[SECRET TRAINING FACILITY – UNDERGROUND]
The underground training hall echoed with the faint hum of fluorescent lights and the metallic scent of sharpened steel. Dozens of children trained across the vast space—some sparring, others drilling forms, others practicing with firearms and bladed weapons.
At the center of the hall stood Ms. Evelyn.
She held a katana in each hand. A black blindfold covered her eyes.
Encircling her were The Six—Draco, Lupus, Norma, Orion, Cygnus, and Corvus—each gripping a katana of their own. Unlike the others in the hall, their expressions were tense. Focused. Uneasy.
They knew who they were facing. The Iron Lady.
This wasn't their first time fighting Ms. Evelyn. But this time, the rules were different.
No holding back. No wooden blades. No mercy. Real steel.
A suffocating pressure filled the air as Ms. Evelyn stood completely still. Yet despite her lack of movement, an overwhelming presence radiated from her—cold, crushing, predatory.
Bloodlust.
It intensified with every passing second.
The Six tried to respond in kind, forcing their own killing intent outward, attempting to match hers—
but it was pointless.
Their combined presence barely made a dent.
She stood there, blindfolded, yet utterly dominant.
Then—
Without warning—
Draco moved.
In a burst of speed that blurred his form, he lunged forward, katana slicing through the air in a lethal arc aimed directly at her neck. The strike was clean, precise, and carried enough force to decapitate her instantly.
But—
At the very last moment—
Ms. Evelyn ducked. Just slightly.
The blade passed less than an inch above her head, tearing through the air and leaving behind a violent gust that rippled across the hall.
Draco's eyes widened.
What—!? She dodged that!?
Point-blank… blindfolded!?
At this point, she's not even human—
Before the thought finished—
BAM.
Ms. Evelyn drove her fist into Draco's solar plexus.The impact was brutal.
Draco's body folded instantly as he was launched several meters across the hall, crashing hard into the stone wall before dropping limply to the floor.
The remaining five froze for a fraction of a second.
That was all it took.
They were reminded—again—of the gap between them.
Blindfold or not, Ms. Evelyn was still a monster.
Corvus seized what he thought was an opening.
He rushed in, unleashing a rapid barrage of katana strikes—each one calculated, fluid, and relentless. His blade screamed through the air as he aimed for vital points, hoping—praying—for even a single clean hit.
But Ms. Evelyn blocked every strike.
Effortlessly.
Steel met steel in rapid succession as she countered with overwhelming precision, forcing Corvus into a defensive retreat. Her twin blades pressed him back step by step, her timing flawless, her movements unnervingly calm.
Frustration flared in Corvus' eyes.
Then—
He leapt.
Straight upward.
Far higher than any normal jump should allow—his body cutting through the air as gravity itself seemed to hesitate. As he created distance, Corvus made a dangerous decision.
He reached behind his back.
And drew a gun.
Bringing a firearm into a sword fight.
The moment his fingers tightened around the trigger—
Ms. Evelyn stopped.
Her head tilted slightly upward.
Despite the blindfold, it felt as though she was staring straight at him.
And Corvus realized—
He had just made a very serious mistake.
Corvus—the Silent One, nicknamed The Crow—was never meant for blades.
Guns were his language.
Precision, distance, inevitability.
So when Ms. Evelyn's relentless barrage began to overwhelm him, instinct took over.
Mid-air, he twisted his torso, his free hand snapping to his side as he drew one of his custom-made firearms—a compact design engineered specifically for high-speed combat. Before gravity could reclaim him, he fired.
Three shots.
The first bullet screamed toward her head.
Ms. Evelyn shifted—barely—her body tilting just enough for the round to skim past her blindfold.
The second and third followed instantly.
Steel flashed.
With movements so precise they seemed unreal, she slashed both bullets out of the air, her katana carving clean arcs that split them apart before they could reach her.
Corvus' eyes widened—but his focus shifted.
He was landing.
That was the mistake.
His boots hit the floor, knees bending to absorb the impact. He snapped his head up, searching desperately for confirmation—damage, anything—
Instead—
A blade filled his vision.
The edge of Ms. Evelyn's katana hovered mere inches from his right eye, closing in with terrifying speed.
Time slowed.
His breath caught.
One fraction too late… and I lose an eye.
Pure instinct saved him.
Corvus twisted his head just enough—just enough—and the blade missed by a whisper, slicing past where his eye had been a heartbeat earlier.
The Iron Lady paused. Just for a moment.
Surprise flickered across her lips.
She had been certain.
Certain no one could evade that attack.
Corvus staggered back, breathing hard, sweat dripping down his face as reality slammed back into place.
The slightest hesitation… and I'd be blind.
She wasn't holding back.
She meant to kill us—
His thoughts faltered.
Evading bullets… blindfolded.
That movement just now—I didn't even see her step.
Reality, as he understood it, cracked.
Then—
She smirked.
The mercy he thought he had earned never came.
A sharp chill crawled up Corvus' spine.
He realized it too late.
His guard had dropped—again.
Blood drained from his face as he sensed it behind him.
The swing came fast—clean—aimed to take his head.
There was no time to turn.
No time to dodge.
Too late—
"CORVUS, WATCH OUT!" —Cygnus shouted.
CLANG!
Steel collided with steel.
Sparks erupted as Cygnus, The Northern Cross, burst into the fray, his blade intercepting Ms. Evelyn's strike with barely a second to spare. Though he lacked her mastery with weapons, his stance was solid—his strength undeniable.
He held.
Orion and Norma moved instantly.
Norma hurled Orion's katana high into the air.
Orion leapt.
A jump that defied reason.
He caught the blade mid-air, body twisting as gravity became his ally. The tip aligned perfectly with Ms. Evelyn's position as he descended—an assassin's strike from above.
At the same time, Norma closed in from behind.
Silent. Precise.
Every step masked by the clash of steel. Every movement calculated. Cygnus had her full attention—exactly as planned.
Three attackers.
Three directions.
One heartbeat.
Above.
Behind.
Front.
They struck together.
Perfect synchronization. Zero margin for error.
She was trapped.
Or so they thought.
Ms. Evelyn crossed blades with Cygnus, appearing completely oblivious—
but then—
She felt it.
A faint trace of bloodlust overhead.
Orion.
Barely there—but enough.
Then another presence—
Norma.
Too close. Too deliberate.
The realization came late—but not too late.
The attacks were already committed.
Blades already in motion.There was no escape.
No opening.
The killing blow was inevitable.
(She smirked.)
All three attacks connected.
Steel pierced through air, flesh—or so it seemed.
It took only a heartbeat for the truth to sink in.
What they had struck wasn't her.
It shimmered, distorted—then dispersed like mist.
An afterimage.
The realization hit them all at once.
They back-pedaled instantly, blades raised, eyes darting across the training hall as cold dread settled in their chests.
Where—
The answer came violently.
Orion vanished from Norma's peripheral vision—
Then—
BOOM!
Orion was launched across the hall at inhuman speed, his body smashing into the far wall with bone-rattling force. The impact carved deep cracks through reinforced stone, debris raining down as his body slid limply to the floor.
"Orion—!" Cygnus shouted.
Too late.
Cygnus was next.
Before his muscles could tense, an unseen force slammed into him, sending him hurtling several meters through the air. He crashed into the wall beside Orion, the sound echoing like thunder.
Silence followed.
Norma's heart pounded violently.
I'm next.
His eyes scanned frantically, mind racing through possibilities—angles, trajectories, evasive maneuvers—
Nothing.
Then—
She was there.
So close her presence crushed the air between them.
Norma barely caught a glimpse of her pale, emotionless face before her palm was already driving forward—aimed straight at his torso.
Time stretched.
His mind screamed commands.
Move.
Twist.
Duck—anything.
His body refused.
In that frozen instant, one truth became painfully clear—
She wasn't just faster.
She was operating on a completely different level of speed.
One where reaction time meant nothing.
Before Norma could even blink—
CRASH!
His body slammed into the wall, the force ripping the breath from his lungs as cracks spider-webbed outward from the impact.
Ms. Evelyn stood alone at the center of the hall.
Still.
Calm.
Bloodlust poured from her like a living thing—heavy, oppressive, inhuman.
A few moments passed.
Then—
She felt it.
A presence approaching from several meters away.
Her grip tightened. Finally.
She pivoted—
But the presence vanished. Her instincts screamed.
It reappeared behind her.
Steel flashed.
She turned just in time, blocking the strike with a sharp metallic clang, sparks erupting between their blades.
"Did he just—"
She halted mid-thought.
The movement.
The timing.
Her lips curled.
Lupus had entered the fray.
"Your footwork is impressive," she said calmly, blades locked.
"You've really improved… Lupus."
He scoffed lightly, pushing off and resetting his stance.
"I picked it up a second ago," he replied.
"Watching you fight the others. You use a special kind of legwork—so I copied it."
A pause.
"…Wait," Lupus added, narrowing his eyes, "you could tell it was me? Even with the blindfold on? Tch. So much for catching you off guard."
Behind the blindfold—
Her eyes widened slightly.
The Double Step…
A technique that took years to master.
And he had replicated it after seeing it once.
A prodigy, she realized.
No—something rarer.
A slow, manic smile spread across her face.
They clashed again.
Steel met steel in rapid succession, sparks bursting with every collision as they traded blows faster than the others could follow. She flipped backward repeatedly, creating distance—deliberately.
Lupus noticed.
She's retreating…
He didn't hesitate.
He locked in.
The Double Step activated—his form blurring as he closed the gap in an instant.
Exactly as she predicted.
Her body coiled, power surging through her right leg as she unleashed a devastating kick, timed perfectly to shatter his jaw the moment he entered range.
The air exploded.
But—
Lupus ducked.
Her kick missed by inches, releasing a violent gust of compressed wind that tore across the hall, sending debris flying.
Behind the blindfold—
Shock.
Pure, unmistakable shock.
For the first time that night—
She had miscalculated.
Immediately after Lupus ducked her kick, he followed up with a low ground sweep aimed at knocking her off her feet. She caught on instantly and executed a gravity-defying leap to evade the attack.
Mid-air, she frowned.
His presence—gone.
She calmly scanned the entire training hall, stretching her senses for even the faintest trace of him, but it was perfectly concealed.
Then she saw him.
Lupus stood upside down on the ceiling, defying gravity for a brief moment as he completely erased his presence. He waited patiently, motionless, calculating the perfect moment to strike.
That moment came.
He pushed off the ceiling, applying the Double Step mid-fall, propelling himself downward at blinding speed toward her—still airborne—attempting a devastating vertical slash with his katana.
Everything happened within a fraction of a second.
The instant her feet touched the ground, all sound vanished.
Unable to detect him directly, she tuned herself into the vibrations coursing through the training hall. Then she felt it—a sudden, violent shift directly above her.
Four inches.
That was all that separated her from having her skull split in two.
She reacted purely on instinct.
Her katana shot upward, meeting Lupus' blade at the exact moment of impact.
BOOM!
The force behind his descent—combined with the Double Step—was so immense that when she blocked it, the ground beneath her shattered. Rubble and pebbles erupted outward as cracks spread across the floor.
Lupus poured his full weight and momentum into the clash, pressing his blade down with everything he had, attempting to overpower her.
She gritted her teeth—and pushed back.
The force sent Lupus flying several meters away, but he twisted mid-air, executed a clean backflip, and stuck the landing.
He stood there, breathing heavily, his body covered in sores.
[Inner monologue]—
What the hell is she!?
It's like she can predict the future or something… I was so sure that last attack would work. She couldn't have seen me coming—and yet she blocked it purely on instinct.
That's insane.
I gave it everything I had… and I still couldn't even leave a scratch.
"It seems you've reached your limit," she said calmly.
"And I must admit—I'm impressed."
She turned toward him.
"You're the only one among the Six who managed to keep me on my toes the entire time. And mastering the Double Step after seeing it only once…"
She paused.
"That makes you a prodigy."
"…A prodigy?" Lupus repeated.
His face lit up with excitement.
"Now then," she continued, "since you're already familiar with the Double Step, I want you to watch carefully."
Her tone shifted.
"I'm about to show you the Triple Step Technique."
She prepared herself.
Then—
She dropped both swords.
Lupus stiffened, instantly on guard. He noted the absence of her blades and prepared to activate the Double Step the moment she made a move.
She took three steps forward.
And vanished.
Lupus reacted immediately—
But before reality could catch up—
CRASH!
He found himself embedded in a wall.
Darkness swallowed him.
When Lupus regained consciousness, the remaining five stood around him, praising him for how well he fought.
The Six lined up as the Iron Lady walked past, removing her blindfold.
"Big Sister Evelyn! May I ask a question?" Norma called out.
"I hope it has something to do with how poorly you performed during training," she replied coldly.
Norma laughed nervously.
"I noticed you were holding back a lot. Even with the blindfold on, you barely swung your sword seriously. Why is that?"
She stopped.
"As you are right now, you are incomplete—merely empty vessels," she said.
"Until you become whole, I will train you the best way I can."
Her voice hardened.
"There are people in this world as powerful as—or even stronger than—myself. Very soon, you'll be unleashed into that world. And when you encounter them, you may have to fight for your lives."
"No way!" Orion blurted out. "There are people even stronger than you!?"
"What kind of people are they?" Draco asked nervously. "They can't all be bad, right?"
She turned back to them.
"They are," she said flatly.
"Remember what I taught you about the mafia?"
They nodded.
"They're known as The Red Valley Syndicate. In your current state, you wouldn't have much trouble dealing with their standard members."
She paused.
"But there's a group within the mafia—one that even the government fears."
Her presence grew heavier.
"They're called The Mercenaries of the Iron Altar."
Little is known of their identities.
"So take your training seriously."
Excitement lit up the Six's faces—
Then vanished instantly when she added:
"Someday, you may have to face me again."
Her lips curled into a maniacal smile.
"And next time, it won't be training. It'll be the real world."
"Kill or be killed."
Orion swallowed.
"Did she just say kill or be killed…? I really hope she's joking, because if not, then that would be a one-sided fight."
"You are all dismissed," she said, walking away.
The training hall fell silent