A few days after the battle against Mongrel, Samael had to return to the government facility.
The day had finally come to meet the Legacies who would participate in the secret mission alongside them.
Once again, he walked through the enormous metallic corridors of that cold, gray installation.
Artificial lights reflected across the polished steel walls while the sound of his footsteps echoed through the silent environment.
Samael looked even worse than the last time.
Long dark circles stained his beautiful face.
Ever since the fight against Sunny, he had been training even more obsessively.
Especially during the late hours of the night.
That was when he felt the most comfortable.
Calmer.
More… empty.
However, that ended up revealing a problem he had never noticed before.
His Flaw.
The two versions of his body were beginning to develop different levels of skill.
Until now, his female form had remained slightly behind his male form in physical combat.
But now…
She had already caught up.
And was slowly beginning to surpass him.
That was dangerous.
Very dangerous.
Imagine switching genders in the middle of a fight and becoming weaker…
Samael frowned slightly.
That would be an obvious weakness.
Especially in real battles.
Both his male and female bodies needed to remain balanced.
Otherwise, his own Flaw could become a fatal vulnerability.
With that troubling thought occupying his mind, Samael finally arrived in front of the meeting room.
The door opened silently.
The moment he stepped inside, he saw familiar faces.
The blindfolded white-haired girl, Liu.
The gigantic Kafka.
Bel, the black-haired boy.
And the handsome Master Yuji.
Samael calmly walked over and sat beside Elizabeth.
At the very least, this time he had managed to arrive on time without getting lost.
Which could already be considered personal progress.
Elizabeth glanced at the heavy dark circles under his eyes.
"You look like a corpse."
"Thank you."
"That wasn't a compliment."
"I know."
She sighed.
The two remained silent while they waited.
A few minutes later, the door to the room opened once more.
Master Wein entered first.
Behind him came three unfamiliar figures.
The first face that immediately caught Samael's attention was a familiar one.
Layla.
She slowly walked into the room wearing the same exhausted expression as always.
Her half-lidded eyes made her look like she was about to fall asleep standing up.
So she really managed to come.
Samael felt somewhat relieved upon realizing that.
Honestly, he did not particularly enjoy meeting new people.
The second individual was a boy with medium-length white hair and gray eyes.
Beautiful.
Very beautiful.
However, his expression was cold and closed off, as though he had no interest in speaking with anyone there.
The last person was a young man with medium-length black hair, apparently slightly older than the others.
He was also extremely handsome.
But unlike the white-haired boy, he observed everyone in the room with calm curiosity.
And then—
Samael's instincts immediately screamed at him.
His entire body went on alert through pure reflex.
Strong…
Very strong.
After the Masters present in the room…
That boy was probably the most dangerous person there.
Master Wein stopped in front of the group.
"These will be your teammates during the mission."
His gaze calmly swept across everyone present before he continued:
"Introduce yourselves."
Layla was the first.
"Layla Stern. Nice to meet you all."
Her sleepy voice sounded like someone who had just woken up.
Samael observed the girl for a few seconds.
Is she naturally tired all the time…?
At this point, it was starting to feel like a racial trait.
The black-haired boy stepped forward.
"Vanitas, of the House of Night. A pleasure."
His voice was calm.
Controlled.
But distant.
Finally, the last young man spoke.
"Griffin."
That was all.
Short.
Dry.
Definitely the grumpiest among the three Legacies.
Master Wein crossed his arms.
"These are the Legacies who will be working with you during the mission."
Then he slowly turned toward the exit.
"Now follow me to the training hall."
The youths immediately began moving.
Before leaving, however, Wein cast one final glance at them.
"Take this opportunity to familiarize yourselves with one another."
His voice became slightly more serious.
"This will be your last chance before the mission begins."
A few minutes later, the group arrived in front of an enormous training hall.
The place was colossal.
Reinforced metallic walls surrounded the entire area while dozens of combat platforms occupied the interior space.
It was the kind of absurd facility that only the government or the great Legacy Clans could possess.
Samael silently observed everything.
Even for him, it was impressive.
Master Wein walked toward the center of the hall before calmly speaking:
"Split yourselves into groups of three."
His gaze swept across them quickly.
"And preferably choose people you don't know very well yet."
The moment he finished speaking, he simply turned around and began leaving the room.
Clearly, he had no interest in watching their training.
Ugh… I actually have to team up with people?
Samael complained internally while watching the others begin to move.
His gaze quickly swept across everyone present.
Griffin? No chance.
That guy looked like the type to answer questions with violence.
Bel and Kafka… no.
The two had carried a strange tension between them ever since their first meeting.
Getting involved with that sounded like a terrible idea.
Yuji?
Samael turned his head—
And froze.
Yuji was already standing beside Elizabeth and Griffin.
The three had apparently formed a team instantly.
…What a hellish group.
Samael almost felt sorry for Yuji.
Griffin looked extremely difficult to deal with.
And Elizabeth definitely was not an easy person either.
"Let's team up."
The calm voice made Samael turn his head.
Vanitas had approached him silently.
His blue eyes observed Samael with a certain degree of interest.
Hm…
Samael tilted his head slightly.
He doesn't seem that hard to deal with.
Then another thought immediately surfaced.
I also want to find out how strong he is.
Ever since the battle against Sunny, Samael had become far more competitive than he used to be.
Vanitas looked around for a few seconds before frowning slightly.
Clearly trying to remember names.
"What about… Layla?"
"I know her."
The answer came out automatically.
And a little shyly.
"Right… then…"
Vanitas looked around again before his gaze stopped on the blindfolded girl.
"Liu."
Samael followed his gaze.
The beautiful albino girl remained silent near the wall, completely isolated from the rest of the group.
For some reason…
Samael had a good feeling about her.
"That works."
Vanitas nodded before walking directly toward Liu.
"Hey, albino girl. Want to team up with us?"
The somewhat rude approach almost made Samael sigh.
He really doesn't know how to speak normally…
Liu remained silent for a few seconds.
Then she simply gave a slight nod.
And just like that, the teams were decided.
Samael, Liu, and Vanitas.
Elizabeth, Griffin, and Yuji.
Layla, Bel, and Kafka.
For a brief moment, the enormous training hall became strangely silent.
Then—
The atmosphere slowly began to change.
Essence started vibrating through the air.
Gazes sharpened.
Relaxed postures disappeared.
The sparring matches were about to begin.