Chapter 289 A Leader's Burdern
?During the group's punishment, Commander Sable visited every single one to offer his condolences and guide them to forge a path ahead. It was tough for the commander to talk to Erin and Bill who were hurting the most.
Iris was Bill's new girlfriend and Erin's childhood friend. The connection they had formed with her was far greater than what Leon, Mako, or even Nathan had with her.
In his many years of service and battles, the commander had experienced his own fair share of losses, some that even he had yet to recover from and some he would rather never talk about.
He had seen what could happen to people after experiencing extreme loss and excruciating pain, and he didn't want that life to befall his students, not after what happened last time.
Thanks to the commander's several visits, Bill and Erin slowly began to heal as they opened up to the commander after he shared some of his war stories with them and taught them lessons such as that they couldn't always save everybody and that dealing with this loss and forging ahead will make them a lot stronger than ever before.
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Mako, Leon, and Nathan on the other weren't in such a bad state as Erin and Bill, but they were also far from being whole.
Leon was still being hard on himself for always letting everyone around him down. He clutched up in the last fight where he was able to increase his speed, but that was pure luck.
He couldn't rely on luck to get him through even more complex and tough situations where he could potentially lose another friend which was not an option for him.
Leon committed himself to improving every aspect of himself and honing himself to the absolute maximum so that he would be prepared for any situation next time.
Thanks to all those resources that his father had provided him, he had ample resources and now time as well to really get strong and close the gap in power level between him and his friends.
Even though Leon was being optimistic, Nathan was taking it completely differently. In the last 3 months of his life, so much had happened that had made him question everything he had experienced up till this point.
The way Mako and his other teammates treated him before, during, and even after the mission was over was very eye-opening for him to say the least.
However, his inner self still remains reluctant to accept this as a reality and still wants to believe in his old ideals which were the cause of so much pain and agony for a very young Nathan.
Out of all of them, Nathan interacted with the commander, the least as his hate for the military was still evident in his heart despite the commander's best attempts to try and reach him.
Nathan mostly remained in his room, only leaving for occasional training and to eat food. He spent most of his time trying meditation which helped with him increase his perception even more and also the fact that meditation could help him find some answers that he knew were locked within himself.
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Lastly, there was Mako who blamed himself for Iris' death as he should have been a better leader.
Unlike Nathan, Mako spent every possible second in the training room trying to make the guilt inside of his heart go away by training intensely but to no avail as the pain would never leave him.
"Clever..." The commander stated that Mako actually was able to make the commander move from his spot.
However, frustration and all the pent-up emotions from the last two months were now leaking from Mako's heart as he now took it as a personal challenge to defeat the commander so that he could prove his worth.
Mako's red fire aura flared and flickered as it encased both his arms. He dashed in a fight the commander in hand-to-hand combat, hoping to at least land a couple of strikes but Commander Sable just danced around him, dodging every single strike and demonstrating a mastery of combat that Mako had not yet achieved.
It was clear that the commander was holding back, allowing Mako to struggle and get even more frustrated.
After the commander could see that Mako was reaching his breaking point, he finally switched on the offensive and landed a light blow on Mako's abdomen.
The "light" blow knocked Mako back several feet and saliva came out of his mouth. He could barely stand but Mako had taken worse hits before, he wasn't going to give up just yet.
"So what do you think Mako? Do you think I made the wrong decision when I made you the leader?" The commander suddenly questioned while Mako was still recovering.
Mako was caught off guard by the sudden question but the question nonetheless did make his anger rise.
"Do you think, if you were a bit stronger, you could have changed the outcome of what had happened?" The commander questions further.
Now Mako's eye's widened with anger, his teeth grinded against each other, and breathing became short and quick. All the different thoughts in his mind of different scenarios of the mission started to play as Mako though about everything he could have done differently during the mission to make it a success and so that everyone came home safe.
"Do you think Iris would have blamed you for her death in her last moments?" The commander asked once again.
Mako's anger shot through the roof after he heard the last question.
"SHUT UP!" Mako shouted as he activated a skill that he had begun charging ever since he received that blow.
[Energy Stream has been activated]
After a series of intense questions, Commander Sable decided it was time to deliver a powerful lesson. He gathered his energy and created a crystalline barrier in front of him that protected him from the massive green ray of energy that Mako shot out at the commander in a fit of rage.
The crystalline barrier absorbed the devastating move with ease leaving Mako bamboozled, but the commander wasn't done yet as a second later, the commander released the green ray that his barrier had absorbed back at Mako using only 10% of his true power.
The force of the refracted green ray was enough to send Mako sprawling to the ground, his body sizzling from the heat and strength of the attack as the hit he just received was much more powerful than the attack he had actually released.
Mako lay there, panting and defeated, his body aching from the fierce attack.
Commander Sable extended a hand to help Mako up and then began to speak, his voice filled with a sense of purpose and wisdom.
"Mako, being a leader is not just about giving orders or making tough decisions. It's about accepting the consequences of those decisions, even when they lead to casualties. You cannot run from the blame or the guilt; you must face them head-on."
"I pushed you to your limits today to make you understand that strength alone is not enough. A leader must also possess unwavering resolve, the ability to adapt, and the courage to take responsibility for their actions."