The notification arrived next morning.
> AM WEAPON FABRICATION — COMPLETE
COLLECTION AUTHORIZED
No one spoke as they moved through the base.
The weapon development wing felt different now.
Quieter.
The machines were idle. The air still smelled of oil and scorched metal, but the chaos had settled—like a forge after the final strike.
Raizen waited for them.
Seven weapons rested on a long reinforced table.
Covered.
"Congratulations," he said flatly.
"They didn't explode."
Ren snorted weakly.
Raizen gestured. "Go on."
The Misoke twins stepped forward first.
They lifted the covering together.
The hammer was even larger than the schematic suggested—dense AM core, layered shock-dampening runes etched deep into its surface.
Twin A wrapped his hands around the grip.
The floor cracked.
Twin B nodded once.
Approved.
Kaito approached next.
His weapon unfolded smoothly as his fingers brushed it—rifle snapping into form, lenses flickering to life, data streams syncing instantly.
He exhaled.
"…It's perfect."
Raizen smiled faintly.
Ren almost tore the cover off his.
The shield locked onto his arm with a mechanical click, weight redistributing automatically. The knuckle mechanism deployed and retracted once.
Ren grinned.
"Oh yeah."
Raizen pinched the bridge of his nose.
Ayla hesitated.
Then lifted the cloth.
The twin daggers gleamed—balanced so precisely they barely felt real. She tested the grip once.
They disappeared into her hands.
Raizen nodded.
Akira was last.
He uncovered the urumi.
The flexible multi-steel strips trembled faintly, responding to his presence.
When he grasped the hilt, the weapon moved.
Not violently.
Almost cautiously.
Raizen watched closely.
"Get out," Raizen said.
"And don't come back broken."
The training hall was already occupied.
Akirawa stood at the center of the arena, hands in his coat pockets.
He glanced at their weapons.
"…Good," he said.
"You'll need them."
Ren straightened. "So—what's the lesson?"
Akirawa smiled.
A thin, unpleasant curve.
"You're allowed to use your weapons."
The smile vanished.
"And I'm allowed to break you."
No rules.
No warning.
"Come at me."
Ren charged.
Shield raised.
Akirawa stepped inside the guard.
Ren didn't even see the strike.
He hit the wall hard enough to dent reinforced plating.
The Misoke twins moved together.
The hammer came down like judgment.
Akirawa caught it.
One hand.
The arena shook.
He twisted.
Twin A was dragged forward.
His knee struck Twin B's chest.
Bone cracked.
Both collapsed.
Kaito tried to create distance.
Data streamed.
Target lock—
Akirawa vanished.
A foot took Kaito's legs out. A palm crushed the air from his lungs.
The rifle clattered uselessly across the floor.
Ayla went for precision.
Daggers flashed.
Akirawa appeared behind her.
Two fingers struck her neck.
She dropped instantly.
Akira moved.
The urumi screamed as steel ribbons lashed outward, filling the air with lethal arcs.
Akirawa's eyes sharpened.
He stepped into the storm.
Grabbed the urumi barehanded.
Twisted.
Pain tore through Akira's arm as he was yanked forward and slammed into the ground.
The world went white.
Seven weapons lay scattered.
Seven bodies followed.
Akirawa looked down at them.
"…Dead," he said.
He turned toward the exit.
Then stopped.
"Again."
By nightfall, they could no longer stand.
Weapons lay where they fell. Blood stained the arena floor.
Akirawa wasn't tired.
He was disappointed.
"Come back tomorrow," he said.
"Try harder."
That night—
Akira lay awake, urumi resting beside his bed.
For the first time—
Steel felt heavy.
END OF CHAPTER 10