The Iron Rose: Volume 1

“Kunagi!” Gudomlay pounded down the winding steps that led into the laboratory dungeon. Looking around, her eyes scanned the computers, its desk, and the darkest corners of the room. He could be hiding anywhere. He liked dark places that were hard to get into and anywhere he could keep himself from being seen. Not finding him, her feet shuffled and tapped against the stone floor as she called out for him again.

Albert led Tapp down, still holding her hand tight. They were both breathing heavy as they tried to keep up with Gudomlay. Albert swallowed and led Tapp further inside. She gawked, her eyes wide as she gazed in awe at the great prison of doom. It was so large and dark and surprisingly bare.

“This is where you train?” She asked, forgetting that her fingers were curled in with his still.

He nodded. “If you don’t pass Kunagi’s class, you don’t graduate,” he said. “And you only get one chance to try,” he said, his voice low.

“Why is that?” She asked. Most classes could be retaken. Why not this one?

“Because it means you’re probably dead,” he replied.

Tapp gasped and looked wide-eyed at him. He glanced back at her and smiled wryly.

“Ku-na-gi!” Gudomlay shouted, running through a door connected to the chamber.

“Where’s she gone?” Tapp asked, sticking close to Albert for fear of learning just what kind of place this was. She half expected to see blood splattered on the walls but there was none.

“The kitchen. For someone as gangly as Kunagi is, he sure does eat a lot,” he muttered. But there was a kind of fondness in his voice as he spoke of him that made Tapp wonder. Did the students care about this professor that tried to kill them? The idea was a strange one to her. But having never met Kunagi personally, she wasn’t sure what kind of person he was. It didn’t help that no one really talked about him.

“He’s not here,” Gudomlay grumbled, coming out of the kitchen. She huffed and went to his computers and sat down at them. The chair usually occupied by the professor, squeaked when she plopped down onto it.

Albert came over, only just letting go of Tapp’s hand to click on some of the keys. “Look here,” he said, now pointing at one of the screens. Tapp came to peer around his shoulder as Gudomlay lifted her nose to gaze up at what he was pointing at. “Eight fifty-six pm. Dummy set three level eight,” he said with a side glance at her. “Two hours and twenty-two minutes.”

“That’s how long you were in there?” Tapp asked, putting a fist to her chest.

“Well, the dummies aren’t easy. And if I was really battling at level eight then I should all means be dead,” Gudomlay mumbled. She shook her head, leaning back in the chair. “This has to be wrong. There must be some kind of mistake.”

“What were you doing in there for two hours anyway?” Albert asked, squinting at the screen.

“She was toying with them.” The others gasped and whirled around to face the winding stairs. Kunagi was standing there. His hands were in his pockets and his glasses shined over so they couldn’t quite make out his expression. Though that his hair remained its normal silver was a good sign. “For the first hour, they were punching bags. The next half she was throwing a full-on tantrum. And the last bit she got so angry she tore off one of their heads before smashing her foot through another’s chest. The third was finally able to punch her in the face. But as you can tell, it did minimum damage for it being a metal fist that got her.” He came to them, shoved himself through the bunch they made and started typing.

A video came up then and showed the whole thing. He wasn’t lying. Even speeding through the first hour. It was definitive that Gudomlay had only been venting her frustrations on the dummies. It wasn’t until one of them took a real swipe at her that she reacted meanly.

“What was that?” Tapp whispered, wondering at the strange flash she saw in Gudomlay’s eyes when the dummy finally got too close. It was as if a cruel darkness had seeped into her face. There was even a kind of dark aura surrounding her, but it was barely visible so none but Kunagi knew it was present.

He straightened, peering down at her with a frown and pensive look in his eyes. It was then they all remembered that she wasn’t supposed to be down there. Gudomlay cleared her throat, Tapp straightened away, and Albert stood in front of her.

“Well spotted!” Kunagi said with the raise of his finger, making them all let out a breath. “That was the switch,” he said, pushing his finger against the screen on Gudomlay’s face with a soft tap.

“What?” The miserable horror in her voice told the others that she seemed to know what he meant. They glanced at her, noticing that she’d gone pale, and Kunagi looked at her seriously.

“It seems you’ve not gotten yourself in total control,” he said gravely. “Is that why you haven’t been fighting full on in your classes?” He asked. It was the most logical explanation. If she lost control of herself then her supposed fear of hurting others could turn to a lethal reality. Though stars were allowed to kill in the academy, it was severely frowned upon when there was no cause for it.

“No. I thought. I thought that I--” she glanced at the screen, tears coming to her eyes. “Kunagi?” She looked at him helplessly, and his eyes fell shut. He patted her on the head and turned off the screen. It was obvious the image had upset her, and he didn’t like seeing her distressed.

“I’ve already had you excused from completing fencing and hand to hand combat,” he said, picking her up out of his chair and sitting in it in her place. He’d been thinking about it for a while. She wasn’t getting much out of attending those hours. The curriculum obviously wasn’t suited to her, nor were the instructors hard enough on her to make her take it seriously. And after seeing that she had switched even just temporarily like that last night, he thought it best she not fight the other students. Not until they knew she was in total control. Control he thought she’d had for several years now. It was frustrating that they were both wrong.

She stared down at him looking miserable as he gazed up at her.

“Don’t worry, M’lay. It’s not a weakness, only something that you must learn to command.”

“What is it, professor?” Albert asked. He glanced at Gudomlay and wondered at the completely forlorn look on her face. “How was she able to take a punch from one of those things and kick a hole through one? There’s no way that should be humanly possible without her being seriously injured.”

“Because Gudomlay isn’t totally human,” Kunagi replied easily as if it were no secret.

Tapp gasped and Albert stared in alarm as Gudomlay slumped back against the desk.

“The switch, however, is a very human trait inherited by the human part of her family. I suspect they were Orsgar, for a berserker gene is most common in their race.”

“Berserker?” Tapp gawked, her eyes wide. They flew to settle on Gudomlay. This skinny, petite, powerless little girl could go…berserk? That. That didn’t seem within character at all!

“Yes. The individual experiences a great surge of adrenaline caused by an emotion of power. It is one similar to anger in which they black out and become extremely violent. They become stronger and feel less pain while in this state. Some even become more durable while others are actually capable of regeneration. It makes them more dangerous towards their enemies, friends, and even themselves.” He glanced at Gudomlay, his face troubled. “Many a person has died from entering berserker mode. They cannot gage their own injuries and energy. Some have dropped dead from blood loss while still in a fight. Others have completely depleted themselves of energy so they never wake up again.”

“And there’s no way to control it?” Tapp asked, a little panicked to learn her friend was suffering from something so dangerous. If she accidently went into this state, she could die?

“There is. We thought Gudomlay had a grasp on it, but it seems not. Though.” He twisted to face her, leaning against the back of his chair and lifting an ankle onto his knee as he stared at her. “That that is not the reason why she has avoided violence surprises me. There is something else?” He asked.

Gudomlay didn’t answer but simply stared at the ground.

He sighed, deciding there was nothing left to do. He couldn’t risk the other star students. They just weren’t strong enough. “Your training is now private with Albert and myself.”

“But, professor.” Albert crossed his arms and lowered his brow. “What about her fighting ability? Is that something that comes from her blacking out or is she just messing with us?”

Kunagi was silent a moment before he slid his gaze at Gudomlay. “Well?”

She blinked and looked at them and sighed. Kunagi knew, but she suspected he didn’t feel like doing all the explaining. “I can evade. That’s all it really is. When I black out is when I seem to take the theory I know and apply it. I forget to hold back in strength and forget defense. But it’s not perfect. It seems that I rely solely on strength when I should be applying efficiency and skill.” She glanced at Albert, frowning. “I’m not completely lying. What you did for me today was real. My form and application isn’t perfect because I’ve not worked to make it so.” She sighed. “I need to be able to beat those things without having to black out.” She shut her eyes. “I need to win before I do...”

Albert stared at her a moment and then glanced at Kunagi. “Why did you put her at such a high-level setting when you know she’s not ready for that sort of thing?” He asked, his brow low as he studied the professor.

Kunagi did not answer but continued to stare at Gudomlay. Whatever his reasons, she seemed to know them. The way she avoided his gaze. The others could tell he’d purposefully pushed her into a corner.

Albert sighed and nodded. “Dummy set two point two level four,” he said.

Kunagi whirled around then to face his computers and started typing fast. As he did, Albert took Gudomlay by the wrist and dragged her toward the tube. He went in with her and the doors closed. With a glance at Tapp outside, he grinned. She worried her hands together and watched as lasers pointed down from high on the walls. They started to build up two dummies from a panel in the ground. Her eyes wide, she came a little closer to watch.

“Ready?” Albert called to Gudomlay.

“What are we doing?” She shouted, a little panicked. Her eyes shifted to watch the metal beasts forming.

“Applying the moves we went over today. Only use the ones you know you can do perfectly.” He jumped up and latched onto the side of one of the walls, holding onto two bars on either side of him. He set his feet on two more below so he was in a crouch and looked down from above. She gasped and stared up at him. “I will call it out to you. If you’re not confident, evade. If you can apply the move, do it,” he said.

Gudomlay swallowed. Then, she shifted on her feet and watched as the dummies lifted their chests as they had the night before. And then they took on a fighting stance and came after her.

“Pos. two two point zero three!”

Gudomlay grit her teeth. Double-punched one of the dummies, ducked under the second, and kicked it from behind.