Ketis glowered as she changed into a training outfit and picked up her Bloodsinger.
The talk with Taon went just as poorly as the talk with Lanie.
The former citizen of the Ylvaine Protectorate had completely changed after returning from the Emperor Tree.
The old Taon was dead, and so was his living mech.
What remained was a fallen expert pilot who had become defined by his traumas rather than his virtues.
Though Ves and Ketis attempted to talk sense into the morose expert pilot, 'Venerable' Taon remained completely unmoved by their arguments.
Just like Lanie, Taon expressed an extreme degree of mule headedness when it came to his new beliefs.
Ketis found it unbelievable that just because an enemy took advantage of Taon's faith, the expert pilot immediately turned against Ylvaine and every other 'false god', whatever that meant!
The expert pilot and his owl-like companion spirit became completely out of sync with the rest of the Larkinson Clan. Venerable Taon's trust had been struck so hard that he found it difficult to trust others anymore.
It was deeply depressing to see a once-promising champion and example of the Eye of Ylvaine fall to ruin due to honest mistakes on the battlefield.
Was there a way to treat Taon's severe traumas and restore his mind to a healthier state?
Possibly.
Was the Larkinson Clan capable of performing such a difficult transformation?
Maybe.
Turning Taon into a productive expert pilot was doubtlessly a herculean task. The Larkinson Clan owed it to its own mech pilots to honor their sacrifices and invest a good amount of resources to treat the injuries they accumulated over the course of their service, but… there was a limit to how much the clan was willing and able to spend.
Was it really worth it for the clan to redeem Taon? Did he even deserve this treatment?
Ketis could not make up her mind on this matter. She was not suited to this sort of decision making. She was a mech designer and a swordmaster. She possessed a lot of expertise in the fields she was passionate about, but she still had much to learn before she could excel as a leader.
The fact that the latest mission spun out of control in such an extreme fashion clearly taught her a few painful lessons about relying too much on assumptions.
"Ves is right." She muttered to herself as she strode into one of the large training compartments of the Wild Torch. "When you play with fire, you will eventually get burned."
It was the job of a good leader to take these potential scenarios into account and prepare enough contingency plans to mitigate the damage.
Ketis had not arranged enough redundancies and backup measures that could have stopped the two newly arisen expert pilots from developing a deadly feud with each other.
Now, she feared it was already too late to repair the damage. Taon and Lanie had become completely hostile towards each other. There was no way the Larkinson Clan would be able to remain in harmony anymore!
Ketis stopped glowering when she began to sense Venerable Dise's powerful sword intent.
The high-tier expert pilot had taken refuge in the training chamber shortly after Ketis recalled her and her expert mech back to orbit.
The dark-skinned Swordmaiden clearly turned introspective after her turn from her encounter with the Emperor Tree. She barely spoke with the other Larkinsons and hardly registered what was taking place around her. She had practically closed herself off from every external stimuli.
This was why Ketis decided to go through the trouble of talking with Dise in person as opposed to talking to the expert pilot by remote.
As Ketis entered the sparring ring, she did not choose to confront Dise directly. The Journeyman Mech Designer instead warmed up her body by jogging in circles while swinging her personal greatsword in a relaxed and graceful manner.
The wind whipped as Ketis steadily built up her momentum. The Bloodsinger began to exude more eagerness as Sharpie began to look forward to locking blades with Dise's own greatsword.
Dise finally snapped out of her stupor and looked up at her fellow sister.
"Ketis."
"Dise."
The two did not exchange any further words until Ketis finally completed her warmup. Her athletic form shone as a sharp sword aura covered her body like a small protective layer.
Though Ketis was not able to pilot a large and powerful war machine like Dise, an orthodox swordmaster still possessed her own tricks!
Dise did not possess the ability to generate a resonance shield outside of the cockpit of her mech, but she carried a personal shield generator that could offer similar protection.
Not that the two Swordmaidens cared about that. Both of them had become so skilled in their swordsmanship that they were confident they could avoid accidents!
As Dise rose to her feet and gripped her Unending alloy greatsword, her demeanor changed as her instincts as a warrior took hold again.
The vulnerability she exhibited a moment earlier had disappeared, but Ketis knew better.
Dise still couldn't get over the mistakes she made during the last mission. She just hid her feelings behind her habitual combativeness.
"Hah!"
Ketis decisively stepped forward and chopped her Bloodsinger at her fellow sister!
Clang!
Naturally, Dise easily blocked the incoming strike, but did nothing more.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The two extraordinary swordswomen proceeded to exchange blows. They started out at a slow pace, but steadily escalated their speed. They exerted themselves increasingly more, causing their blood to pump faster and their body heat to rise!
"It's not your fault." Ketis said. "Accidents happen. No one knew that the Emperor Tree was that smart and powerful."
Dise snarled and began to channel greater power into her greatsword, causing her next swing to unleash a blade of sword energy that Ketis easily deflected.
"You do not get to say that! I failed, plain and simple. I am an expert pilot. I should be better than this. People call me an ace pilot candidate because I have reached the ceiling of my current rank. I used to believe in their words, but it is only now that I have woken up to the truth. I do not deserve to break through to ace pilot and catch up with Tusa. I still need to develop my swordsmanship."
"Your swordsmanship is fine." Ketis spoke between blows. "You are the most skilled swordswoman in the Larkinson Clan. Even I struggle to keep up with you due to your superior resonance strength and the time you have invested in your training. How many powerful sword techniques have you learned?"
"Too many, and that is precisely what is holding me back!" Dise declared as she executed a Bladestorm.
A storm of sword energy attacks swept across the sparring ring, striking the energy shields protecting the venue bot got dispelled by Ketis' exquisite defensive move.