Concept: World - Chapter 8: Concept: Foam (3)

Silence filled the training room.

Everyone stared at the door, almost expecting Oenone to burst back in and announce that it had all been a joke.

But the door remained firmly shut.

Not only the squad members—even Yinbing wore a look of complete disbelief.

A few moments later, the room erupted.

Some were thrilled that they might finally return to the battlefield.

Others looked visibly nervous.

The three Lost Ones reacted differently as well.

Abby looked uneasy.

He knew his Concept was practically useless against demons.

Lyle wore a solemn expression, looking fully prepared to face whatever awaited him.

Surprisingly, Yinbing seemed the most troubled of all.

Ethel had assumed she'd be excited about returning to battle.

Reality, however, seemed to be the exact opposite.

So he deliberately lingered behind.

After everyone else had left, only he and Yinbing remained in the training room.

"You wanted to ask me something?"

Yinbing had already guessed his intentions and got straight to the point.

"Why do you look so worried?"

Yinbing looked at him.

"You've been to the battlefield before, Ethel."

"What kind of place do you think it is?"

The question struck him where it hurt most.

He had been on the battlefield—

but never at the front lines.

To put it bluntly, he didn't truly know what the battlefield was like.

He could only shake his head honestly.

Yinbing looked slightly puzzled by his reaction, but continued anyway.

"I don't know how Commander Tia managed to achieve zero casualties."

"But the truth is that every demon hunt carries the risk of someone dying."

"I don't think many people truly understand how cruel the battlefield really is."

"What's the normal casualty rate?"

"There isn't one."

"It depends entirely on the strength of the demon's Concept and how long it's lived."

"If you encountered a Concept similar to yours, we'd probably just have trouble landing attacks, while it wouldn't possess especially powerful offensive abilities."

"But imagine running into a Concept like Commander Tia's."

"...That would be a disaster."

"Exactly."

She sighed.

"Well..."

"We'll just take it one step at a time."

"Maybe no demons will even appear tomorrow."

"I'm heading to dinner."

"Wanna come?"

"Sure."

The two left the training room together and headed toward the cafeteria.

After dinner, Ethel returned to his room.

He wanted to rest in preparation for the possible battle tomorrow.

Compared to the First Squad—whose members were all seasoned veterans—the Third Squad was likely to face far greater danger.

He would need to stay even more focused than before.

Ring... Ring... Ring...

The sudden sound jolted Ethel upright.

After looking around, he realized it was the telephone in his room.

It was the first time he'd ever heard it ring.

"Hello?"

"Hi! Ethel? It's Oenone."

"Are you free right now?"

"Yeah."

"What's up?"

"Great."

"Could you come to my room?"

"Sure."

"I'll be right there."

Curious why Oenone wanted to see him so late at night, Ethel headed to her room on the fifteenth floor.

Knock knock.

"Come in~~"

"The door's unlocked~~"

The first thing that entered Ethel's mind upon stepping inside was—

This room is huge.

So this was the kind of accommodation reserved for squad commanders.

Compared to his tiny apartment-like room, this place was enormous.

"There you are~~"

"Come sit."

Oenone was sitting on a three-seat sofa.

She patted the empty seat beside her.

"Commander, what did you need to see me about this late?"

"We're making final preparations for tomorrow."

"Ethel, when you're with the First Squad, you stay in the rear providing support, right?"

"Yes."

"Then you'll do exactly the same tomorrow."

"You don't need to worry about formations."

"They've trained those for years."

"Just keep doing what you've always done."

"Warn them about attacks coming from blind spots."

"And if you detect a large-area attack, give the evacuation signal."

"Understood."

"Oh, and Tia will be observing from nearby."

"If anything becomes dangerous, she'll immediately take over the battle."

"..."

Ethel immediately recalled what happened whenever he fought alongside the First Squad.

He couldn't help wondering whether Tia might rush in over the tiniest little thing.

"It's fine."

"I've already talked to her."

"She won't interfere unless it's absolutely necessary."

"...Alright..."

"You don't believe me at all!"

"Haha..."

"Anyway, what I really wanted to tell you is this."

"Don't be afraid of failing."

"At least not this time."

"Just do your best."

"Yes, ma'am."

"But don't tell anyone about this."

"No one knows except the two of us."

"Not even Yinbing?"

"That's right."

"Not even her."

"If they knew, they might lower their guard."

"I don't want that happening."

"I'll keep it secret."

"Good."

"Now for the real reason I called you here."

"Ethel..."

"I want you to become the Third Squad's field commander someday."

"I want you directing the battle from the rear."

"I thought that was the squad commander's job."

Oenone shook her head.

"No."

"The commander's job is to charge into the front lines and lead everyone into battle."

"We're Complete Ones."

"We possess more options to deal with unexpected situations."

"So we're always the spearhead."

"Our role is to be the squad's strongest weapon."

"But you..."

"Ethel."

"I want you to become the squad's brain."

"The one who issues the critical commands that prevent the worst possible outcome."

"I..."

"Relax."

"That's a long way off."

"You'll need far more experience fighting alongside the Third Squad before that."

"Then why bring me here tonight?"

"I want you to fully understand my abilities."

"How much do you know about my Concept?"

"You can fire a ridiculous amount of bubbles."

Oenone laughed.

"That's the most obvious part."

"But I can also control their size, hardness, and transparency."

"There are countless tactical possibilities."

"But you only need to remember one."

"The defensive applications."

"Exactly!"

"You really do have talent."

"My presence gives you another option."

"If you determine that an attack is too difficult to dodge—or that someone simply can't evade it—you can tell me."

"I'll create shields for them."

"But I can't judge how powerful an attack is."

That was the greatest weakness of Ethel's Concept: Heart.

He could only see trajectories.

He had no way of measuring destructive power.

"I can block the vast majority of attacks."

"I can even withstand Tia's Supernova for five seconds."

"If we ever encounter a Concept powerful enough that even I can't block it, I'll let you know beforehand."

"Alright."

"I'll factor that into my decisions."

"And then there's my Concept Release."

"You saw it during training today."

"You mean the one that spread outward from you?"

"Exactly."

"But I don't actually know what it does."

"I only saw Lyle's left foot get caught before he immediately fell over."

"My Concept Release is Friction Erasure."

"It removes all friction within its area of effect, centered on me."

"I see."

That explained why Lyle had slipped.

The friction between his foot and the floor had vanished.

"It only lasts for one second."

"But one second is enough to change a lot."

"And because it's so brief, activating it doesn't place much strain on me."

"I can use it several times in rapid succession."

"I'll remember that."

"Good."

"Now..."

"Let's go over everyone's combat habits."

"You've probably picked up most of them during training."

"But I'd still like to confirm everything with you."

"Just in case."

"I'd appreciate that."

"Thank you, Ethel."

Oenone smiled warmly.

She pulled out the personnel files, and together they began discussing every member of the squad.

"Let's start with..."

Time slipped by as the two continued their discussion.

It wasn't until well past midnight that they finally finished.

To prepare for whatever tomorrow might bring,

Oenone and Ethel had done everything they possibly could.

ns216.73.217.114da2

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