"Let go, melonhead!"

"You let go first, fishbrain!"

Two teenagers rolled across the backseat of a large armored van, clutching at each other's hair with mutual determination and unholy sibling fury.

"You started it!" the boy snarled, yanking a dark lock.

"Did not!" the girl snapped, her nails digging into his wrist. "You called me ugly first!"

"That's because you are ugly! Your face looks like a pancake someone stepped on!"

"Oh yeah? At least I don't look like a pancake that was run over twice!"

The rest of the van erupted into snickers.

Despite their ongoing assault on each other's appearance, the fighting pair looked almost identical—down to the defiant spark in their matching blue eyes. Both had the same sharp cheekbones, the same straight black hair, and the same nose that wrinkled when they were about to throw a punch. The only real difference was that Jasmine's hair fell past her shoulders while Jasper's had been chopped short in a style meant to mimic one of the hottest male celebrities lately…although in Jasmine's opinion he looked stupid.

From the driver's seat, Jax groaned loudly. "If you two look that much alike and both think the other's ugly, I guess you're just ugly together!"

Laughter broke out among the younger passengers. A high-pitched giggle—Melody's unmistakably—bubbled from the back row.

"Shut up, Jax!" the twins screamed in unison, momentarily forgetting they were supposed to be enemies.

"Language," came a calm voice from the middle seat.

The boy wearing glasses didn't even look up from the book open in his lap. His tone carried the kind of tired authority only an older brother could have.

"Milo, tell him to stop calling me names!" Jasmine huffed, still digging her nails into Jasper's arm.

"I'm not the one who—" Jasper started.

"Both of you, quiet down," Milo interrupted, pushing his glasses up his nose with a single finger. "It's barely past sunrise, and I'd like to start the morning without a migraine."

The twins united again, grumbling something under their breath about Milo.

Milo pretended not to hear, though his left eye twitched.

At nearly seventeen, he had grown taller and broader-shouldered since that year had started. The once-scrawny bookworm now looked every bit like someone who could actually use the spear Kain had initially bought for him (and had since bent into junk).

Even his voice had deepened, though he still clung to his studious demeanour.

Across from him, Cherry—twelve years old—was humming to herself, feet swinging as she snuck glances at Gabriel sitting nearby.

The shy eleven-year-old Key, was sitting on her other side glancing nervously at his siblings' chaos and pretending not to exist.

In the back row sat the trio: Parker, Sunny, and Charlie—all ten, all grinning like devils. Parker was the biggest, a whole head taller than the other two despite their same age, while Charlie and Sunny passed an apple back and forth, timing each throw perfectly with the bumps in the road.

Melody, the youngest at eight, sat between them. She looked half-asleep but smiled dreamily whenever someone said her name.

None of them were in school uniforms. Instead, each wore lightweight training gear—black sleeveless jackets reinforced with faint formation lines, spiritual fiber gloves, and protective boots.

"Why're we training again on a weekend?" Charlie groaned.

"Stop complaining. This has all been arranged by Big Brother Kain," Milo replied coolly. "Whatever the reason, it must be for our own good."

"Teacher's pet," Jasmine muttered.

"Suck up," Her brother Jasper echoed in a not so muffled cough.

The van slowed to a stop on a dirt road on the outskirts of the city. Before them rose a tall wall of dark alloy and sigils carved into it. The faint hum of barrier formations pulsed through the air.

The gates opened automatically after scanning the vehicle's plate, and they rolled into the compound.

When Kain had first purchased the property, it was modest. Now it stretched across several acres after he'd bought the nearby land as well, its expansion concealed by illusory veils and high walls that kept unwanted eyes away.

The van parked, and the siblings piled out with practiced ease.

One by one, they approached the entrance, placing their hands on a glowing scanner by the door. The runes lit up as each identity was verified, and the heavy doors swung open to admit them.

They entered like regulars. Because they were.

Ever since Kain had received the news about the Abyssal invasion predicted to occur within ten months—now barely nine remaining—he had realized he couldn't continue to coddle them. His siblings were young, the youngest only 8, but the Abyssals wouldn't care about not killing children. So he'd left instructions with Darius and his crew.

And those instructions were simple: train them until they stop being easy prey.

The elevator descended deep underground and when the doors opened, they stepped into a vast, open space resembling a hybrid between a gym, a dojo, and a high-tech military headquarters..

Recruits moved about in formation drills. Rows of newly awakened men and women practiced controlling their new contracts and using spiritual skills. The air buzzed faintly with spiritual power fluctuations.

Milo led the group confidently toward a familiar training arena. At the side was a rack full of weapons for them to choose from that they all took with familiarity. He, himself, grabbed his favourite spear from the shelf.

The red-headed loli Cherry picked up and swung around a massive hammer, almost twice as tall as herself; the twins Jasper and Jasmine, despite their conflicts, were united in their selection of twin swords; the shy Key favoured shooting arrows from afar but picked up a spear instead after being scolded to improve his close combat abilities; the same-aged trio of Parker, Sunny, and Charlie liked to move as a team and so the largest Parker picked up a heavy shield and sword, Sunny a bow and arrow, and Charlie a spear; finally, the youngest Melody picked up a sharp dagger—one of the few things she could wield comfortably.

Gabriel, as the only one with a contract, went elsewhere for separate training.

"Same routine as usual?" Jax asked, walking beside them once they all collected their weapons.

"Unless you're volunteering to fight in our place," Jasper said with a smirk.

"Not in my job description, so not unless you pay me overtime, brat."

They reached arena number 01 where a circular barrier field was already active. One of the newer recruits stood beside it—a young woman who still had lingering excitement in her eyes from suddenly becoming a beast tamer.

"Ready?" Jax called.

She nodded nervously and summoned a hulking creature that looked like a cross between an ox, a bear, and a wolf. Its crimson eyes gleamed as it sniffed the air, letting out a low rumble.

The children collectively gasped.

"Whoa," Cherry whispered, clutching her hammer. "It's ugly."

"It's huge," Key corrected softly.

"It's drooling," Melody pointed out. The beast, in fact, was drooling due to hunger. It had never seen human beings until recently, much less such tender-looking ones. It stoked its appetite.

Jax chuckled. "Alright, who's first? You can go solo or in groups. Your choice."

Hands shot up.

The sight would have stunned anyone who remembered their first day here—when the same group had cried, screamed, and hidden behind Jax's legs at the thought of fighting anything larger than a puppy.

Now, they were all eager.

"Milo first," Jax said, nodding toward the eldest. "Show the others how it's done."

Milo adjusted his gloves and picked up his spear. "Understood."

He stepped into the barrier field. The ox hybrid snorted, pawing at the ground, then charged.

Milo moved like flowing water. He didn't try to meet it head-on. Instead, he sidestepped, sliding along the edge of its momentum, the spear flicking out to slice tendons and joints.

After a few minutes, the creature staggered and fell, defeated but not terribly injured.

Milo lowered his spear, not appearing to be proud of the victory.

His siblings erupted into cheers.

The young recruit hurried over to her contract, red-faced and pulled its ear hard. "No more snacks until you finish this week's drills by the end of today."

The ox hybrid gave a pitiful groan, eyes watering.

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