Unrelenting part 5

"Haa!"

A trainee hurls an attack that exudes a purple aura, in a form  of several slashes, heading towards the  beat up and deceased corpse of the Nephilim.

BOOM!

A cloud of dust lifted in the air, some nearby trainees cover their eyes to prevent them from getting dirt in their eyes. as with dust settles the Nephilim's corpse comes into view, revealing as if it seemingly  wasn't hit at all besides the already existing bullet holes. the entirety of the group stared surprised and in awe, the commander remained silent, his gaze sharp and expression unreadable.

"Huh?! not even a scratch...?"

"Next..."

"RAAAAH"

Another trainee who's physique is much more bulkier than the previous trainee, stepped up and reeled back his fist his arms imbued with aura that flickers in and out, its form clearly not stable. with a twist of his body-

BAM!

The bulky trainee lands a solid punch onto the corpse, A great gust of wind blows throughout the area. once again the results were the same, there's no sign of damage, the trainee are just staring in awe while the commander maintains his serious expression.  meanwhile the buff trainee is grabbing his bleeding hand that has already begin to turn a deep shade of purple. tears prickled at the corner of his eyes.

"Gaaaah!! m-my hand!"

The commander glances over to the support solder who is standing to the side. meeting the commanders gaze she immediately understood and hurriedly runs over to the injured trainee helping guide him to the side for healing. with the cry of the muscular trainee fading into the background,  the commander turn back to the rest of the trainees making them all flinch slightly.

"Next..!"

One by one the trainees in group B went and demonstrated there abilities many of them failed  to  scratch the nephilim's Armored hide. that is with a few exceptions.

Yuki, who to the shock of many trainees managed to cause a very visible dent to the Nephilim's shell. despite her alluring appearance she's clearly more than what meets the eye. her bright green aura  with orange accents, appeared round and jelly like, it had enveloped her body briefly before eventually fading out. Yuki's expression was oddly blank as she seemed deep in thought, quietly analyzing her results. it was only then when the medic approached, her gesturing towards Yuki's left hand, which can be seen  bleeding from the knuckles. Yuki, as if not aware of the pain looked at her hand with a bit of surprise before holding up her other hand stopping the medic from proceeding further, she gives a reassuring smile but it to anyone paying attention its clearly a false smile on her lips. before the lady could protest, Yuki already begins  walking back to the group holding he injured hand to her soft lips, which parted slightly, just enough for her to lick her bleeding knuckles, quickly catching the blood that were threaten to fall of the tip of her middle finger. The sight, although alluring had weirded many of the trainees out. a few whispered amongst each other as Yuki finally stood back in her original spot. Yuki didn't seem to mind as she licked a bit of blood off her lips with a thin smile, her focus directed to the Nephilim's corpse...

Fwoosh!~

Kuzu, who left a shallow claw like mark on its hide. he stands there with a calm expression silently observing his work. His face slightly hardened as if displeased with the outcome, lets out a small hum, the vascularity on his forearm were prominent as a fiery crimson red aura with a blend of a purplish pink accent, dissipated from around his hand. The surrounding area had  became hot, the trainees closest to observe had already began sweating from the heat wave immitted from Kuzu's brief display of power. Kuzu mumbled some words to himself, something that could only be interpreted as a low grumble by onlookers before heading back to his original spot amongst the group. 

Crackle!~

Tsss..

Faint blue sparks of lightning briefly flickered and dissipated before quickly dissipating about the open area where Ataka stood. The Nephilim's corpse had a tiny although clear crater where within it was a faint red glow where it was seemingly singed.

"whew.."

Ataka blew out white smoke, her expression nonchalant even as the knuckle of her index finger could be seen bleeding, her hand slightly trembling. The medic wasted no time to attend to Ataka's wound. The group of trainees  stood a bit bewildered and in awe their hair sticking up straight due to the static from Ataka's ability.

"hm?" 

"...."

All the trainees turn their gaze to the commander who met their eyes with an although stoic expression his eyes showed a hint of confusion as the trainees seem to be trembling  as the hold in there laughs, some face turning red and others shut there eyes as if to think happy thoughts while simultaneously trying not to burst out in laughter in front of the commander. the commander who's hair stuck up in an unceremonious manner like that of a startled cat, stared seriously, greatly contrasting his hair's current state.

Boom!~

"Huff Huff~"

Nozomi breaths heavily, his arms were shakily extended. As his purple aura abruptly dissipates,  he collapse on to all fours, visibly exhausted. Sweat drips down his chin his head was hung low for awhile before forcibly raising it. His eyes were hazy, clearly on the verge of losing consciousness but  with unyielding determination he kept his eyes open

'come on...just a bit longer...!'

Nozomi told himself desperately, his gaze honed in on the  area clouded with dust. As the dirt in the air subsides, The lifeless body  comes into view. the armored area where Nozomi had struck revealed to be a visible cavity on its abdomen, cracks spiderweb around it. Nozomi's eyes widen and his lips curl into a tired smile.

"heh..."

Thud

With a faint chuckle Nozomi looses consciousness, his body fully gives out. The area goes quiet, everyone stares silently there mouth agape not entirely sure how to respond until-

"Medic!"

The commanders voice cuts in and snaps the medic out of her trance.

"R-right sorry!" 

the medic hurried over to Nozomi's aid who had a small smile on his face.

Kemono Sunbae, the curly brown haired girl who had unintentionally offended Ms. Choi, had stood rather proudly with her gaze focused on the  Nephilim's carcass. what stood beside her was large animal like beast who's appearance was that akin to a Siberian tiger but its size was just roughly that of an adult elephant, its body stocky and furry like a wild bear. the bright yellow aura appearing as if linked to the two, gradually faded away and seemingly  retreat back into Kemono's very being. almost instantly the bear-tiger looking hybrid shrunk down to the size of a small animal appearing like small dog with fur fluffy enough to cover its eyes and a tail fluffy tail that's too long to be considered normal. The nephilim's body showed a fresh claw mark that was stretched along its corpse and close besides Kuzu's original attempt.

"Good job Tiki!"

Kemono says with exclamation, picking up the peculiar furry beast as if it weighed nothing in her arms, she cuddles it with a wide smile.

As expected the group of trainees all watched in awe, mummering words of praise amongst each other. 

few others manage to make a mark on the nephilim's armored hide, all be it barely compared to the 5 trainees who had made a way more significant dent in it, but its still a great feat for first times sake. eventually it was finally Hikari's turn.

Hikari had been silently watching as the group of trainees went before him. he had for only two reasons.

One was being because he was infatuated by all the trainees abilities in action, taking mental notes in hopes of figuring out how he could possibly even make a dent in the nephilim's body.

And two, he was just too nervous to go up there..

seeing all the other trainees display unique abilities just for them to barely make a scratch on the Nephilim's body, reaffirm the thought he had in his mind.

'I can't do this...!'

Hikari places a hand on his head, furrowing his brow as if a headache was coming on. But that was only for a brief moment, as if his worries were a lie, Hikari glares forward his eyes almost betraying the fear he had moments ago.

'But i have no other choice..'

The  group of trainees make way for Hikari as he Strides towards the Nephilim, once he makes it to the lifeless creature he raised his slightly head, taking in its towering height, his eyes fall upon the deep marks made by Yuki, Kuzu, Ataka, Nozomi, And Kemono.

He lets out a deep sigh and focuses his gaze on his hand before balling it up into tightly close fist.

'Even with no mana...i have to give it my all..'                           

Hikari's eyes trembled, despite him trying to completely steel himself, the lingering sense of dread stuck with him. 

The bar was set the Moment the others managed to even make a scratch on the nephilim's body, even those who with those who didn't it was still clear that their blessings, regardless of form were nothing short of  remarkable.

And yet there Hikari stood, with no mana, the very mana that would make it possible to leave a mark on this iron like wall in front of him. and yet

"Haah..."

Hikari, tucking his elbows in, and widening his legs, prepares himself for what he's about to do, knowing its gonna hurt like hell.

He knew what would happen if he couldn't manage to do any damage  to the nephilim. Despite it seeming like a harmless test of strength, it was clear that it was the commander's way of gaging the potential of any promising members, like how a scout observes players on a novice sports team to determine if they're recruiting and investing resources.

and if he failed he for sure wouldn't be here long before getting kicked out and causing  Ms. Choi to get her pay docked or even worse. Hikari didn't know much about business and consequences for mistakes but he knew one thing.

Failure wasn't an option.

Reeling back his fist, Hikari had an image flash through his mind.  The girl he called 'Taka'.

'I can't come back home a failure..'

With that thought Hikari swung his fist with al his strength and then-

PANG!~

CRACK!  

The sound of Hikari hitting the nephilim's armored body was akin to hitting two metal pans against each other, followed up by the sound of Hikari's knuckles cracking.