The young troll looked down at his clipboard.
"Tom Fogo."
"Yes?"
He looked around the weapon table before looking back at me.
"You didn't choose a katana..."
"...or a gun."
"Why?"
I smiled.
"Well..."
"I've already got mine."
I reached behind my back and slowly pulled out Senjuro's katana.
The moment the blade left its sheath, the sunlight reflected off its deep black surface.
The young troll's eyes widened.
"...A black katana?"
"Yeah."
I looked at him curiously.
"Why? Is something wrong?"
He became unusually serious.
"There aren't many people who wield black blades."
He paused for a moment before continuing.
"There's an old saying."
"Those who wield black katanas rarely achieve great heights... and they never live long."
The people around us fell silent.
Some recruits even took a step back.
I looked at my sword.
Then I smiled.
"Well..."
"I guess I'll just have to prove them wrong."
The young troll raised an eyebrow.
"How?"
I slid the katana back into its sheath.
"I'll become a High Wing."
"And then..."
"I'll kill Lord Katsuo."
For a second...
Nobody spoke.
Then the young troll smiled.
"That's quite a dream."
He closed his clipboard.
"I hope you do it."
"But remember..."
"Out of every ten thousand Wings..."
"Only two or three ever become High Wings."
Tobisa whistled.
"Those are terrible odds."
Marie crossed her arms.
"Then we'll just have to become the exceptions."
I couldn't help smiling.
"Exactly."
The young troll clapped his hands.
"Now then..."
"Your uniforms."
One by one, we stepped forward.
Unlike the gun users, our uniforms had a different Japanese character stitched onto the back.
刀
"The symbol for 'Sword,'" the troll explained.
The uniforms were completely black.
Comfortable.
Lightweight.
And surprisingly well fitted.
Each one also had our names stitched onto the front.
I quickly put mine on.
It fit perfectly.
Tobisa looked over at me and grinned.
"Looking good."
I laughed.
"Thanks."
"You too."
Marie smiled.
"Not bad."
"For someone who nearly died a week ago."
"Hey!"
"I'm trying to forget that."
The three of us laughed.
Before we could leave, another instructor walked over carrying a small wooden box.
Inside were strange-looking watches.
They were made of black metal and had a small crystal embedded in the centre.
He handed one to each of us.
"This isn't an ordinary watch."
"It allows Wings to communicate with one another."
"And..."
He tapped the crystal.
"It can also be used to locate other Wings during missions."
I immediately strapped mine onto my wrist.
"That's actually really useful."
Tobisa spent the next minute pressing random buttons.
"I think I broke mine."
"You've had it for five seconds," Marie sighed.
Finally...
The last step remained.
A large sheet of paper was placed on the table.
At the top it read:
Wing Corps Oath
By signing below, the candidate officially becomes a professional member of the Wing Corps.
Every Wing must obey the orders of the Corps Leader and their commanding officers.
A Wing must never intentionally harm another Wing.
A Wing must never protect or spare a demon.
A Wing must never reveal the existence of the Wing Corps or its secrets to the public.
A Wing must never sell, leak, or misuse confidential information or Corps equipment.
I read through it once.
Then again.
"...Fair enough."
One by one, we signed our names.
Tom Fogo.
Marie.
Tobisa.
And then the rest of the survivors.
The instructor rolled up the document and smiled.
"Congratulations."
"You are now officially members of the Wing Corps."
A few of us clapped.
Some simply smiled.
Others looked too exhausted to react.
The instructor continued.
"Your current rank is..."
Low Wing.
"Your position is..."
Position Five.
He looked at all ten of us.
"You have survived where many others could not."
"But your real journey begins now."
He smiled.
"So get some rest."
"Because..."
"You might receive your first mission tomorrow."
My heart skipped a beat.
My first mission.
Everything we'd trained for...
Everything we'd suffered through...
It all led to this moment.
I looked at Marie.
Then at Tobisa.
We had started this journey as strangers.
Now...
We stood together as official Wings.
I looked up at the sky and tightened my grip on my black katana.
We had come a long way.
But becoming a Wing wasn't my final goal.
Not even close.
If I wanted to defeat Lord Katsuo...
If I wanted to protect everyone I cared about...
Then this...
Was only the beginning.