"... You guys are pretty weak."
Ciara's sudden words hit the her two friends like a sledgehammer. Their hearts were broken, and the relieved look on their faces vanished once again.
"A-ah..." Serah and Sam simultaneously mumbled, a little glint of tears forming in their eyes.
Ciara instantly realized that she had chosen the wrong sets of words and unintentionally struck a nerve within her friends.
"No, no! I didn't mean it that way!"
Serah and Sam didn't appear convinced by her words. She wasn't wrong, now was she? Both of them were weak. Ciara knew it, they knew it, and now Ciara had just told them point-blank.
"You don't have to sugarcoat it, Ciara. We get it..." Serah sniffed.
"Yeah. Especially after seeing someone like you. There's nothing you can say to convince us." Sam added.
Ciara was in a tight spot. She had to come up with something, else her friends would be the new ones in depression, and not her.
'Sigh... well then. I guess there's only one way...'
Ciara increased her pace and walked ahead of the two of them. Her sudden action stunned Sama and Serah, causing them to stop walking. She also halted her advance and turned to her two friends.
A wide grin formed on Ciara's face, and she felt somewhat nostalgic. After all, compared to a particular someone... She was hopelessly weak.
However, she didn't intend on remaining that way!
"You guys should stop moping. It's unsightly." Ciara said, folding her arms while making an excited grin.
"Eh...?" Serah and Sam jointly muttered.
Wasn't she supposed to be comforting them? Instead, from her stance, expression, and tone of her voice, it seemed like Ciara was going to dote on them.
"If you're weak, then there's no need to look so down. There's only one way out of it. Get stronger!" Ciara continued.
Just as when she realized her terrible lack of strength and had to seek Noir's aid in teaching her, she would give her two friends an opportunity to get stronger.
Of course, she didn't have any superior ability or cheat code to make them easily advance to a higher Tier, so most of their training would be based on effort, and their progress would be determined by the hard work the two put into study and practice.
"Why don't I train you guys a little? I can't promise anything, but I can at least guarantee that you'll be a little bit stronger than now!" She declared.
'I can't instantly make them Tier 2 like Noir did for me. But, those months I spent training with Noir and reaching Tier 3... they weren't in vain. Just as Noir was my teacher and friend, helping me in my weakness... I'll also help them!'
"So, what do you say?"
pαпdα Йᴏνê|,сòМ Serah and Sam expressed shock upon hearing Ciara's offer. From the fierce look in her eyes, she wasn't kidding around. She was certainly serious about training the two of them.
While the two felt shitty for relying on Ciara's help once again, they realized that there was no other path to take in order to improve themselves.
To stop being a burden to their friend, they had to seek her help. Serah and Sam looked at each other and gave a mutual smile. There was no need to hesitate. Their answers were already certain.
"We'll do it!"
Seeing the resolve in their eyes, Ciara was reminded of the past once more. Just like her, they desired to go stronger.
'Good! They wouldn't be my friends if they didn't have this much guts!'
Serah and Sam's joint voices filled with resolve pleased Ciara, making her remember the pain and countless effort she went through when faced with Noir's teachings. Of course, she wasn't alone. She had Galand and Lorna with her, and both of them also made considerable progress.
Even now, she wondered how they were faring.
'Don't worry... I promise to train them well! I don't want to shame Noir's teachings after all.' A wide smile appeared on her face as the gave the thought.
Things were bound to get interesting from hereon out.
"Well, we'll start tomorrow. I really am beat." Serah suddenly cut into Ciara's lofty thoughts.
Snapping out of her delirious state, Ciara realized that the three of them had been in the same spot for very long, making it very awkward.
"Y-yeah. You're right. It is getting quite late, isn't it?" Ciara smiled.
Her friends nodded, causing her to face the direction of their dorms, while Serah and Sam caught up to her. Quickening their pace, the three friends dashed away from the path and headed to their dorms.
With the evening sun setting and the cool breeze blowing about, hardly anyone was nearby to witness the three goofy teenagers making loud noises as they raced to their respective rooms.
***************
>BZZZZ<
Flies hummed as they hovered around an object on the ground. The room was dark, so whatever the insects perched on and flew over was not visible.
A somewhat putrid odor filled the room's atmosphere, and the constant buzz of the many bugs made the ambiance irritating.
However, the sole figure who sat in the darkness was unbothered by the discomfort of the room.
Rather, he even seemed to enjoy it, basking in the disgusting atmosphere around him.
A glowing white orb stood before him, clasping his fingers around it, the silhouette of a man saw the images that were being displayed by the magical item.
"Ahhh... the joy of youth." His deep voice whispered as his reddened eyes were fixated on the scenery within the orb.
Ciara, along with her two friends were racing, looking as happy and joyous as they could. Somehow, this strange figure was monitoring them, giving an ecstatic grin as he did so.
"Just as I thought, Ciara is quite the interesting girl. So pure, so energetic... haaa..."
As his voice reverberated through the darkness, he made a burst of sickening laughter that could chill anyone down to their bones.
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