Training Remnant

Team PERN ( the team name has not changed for simplicity's sake) was undergoing training, Pyrrha, Emerald, Ren, and Nora versus Silva in 4 against 1 in melee sparring. The four surrounded the snow leopard man while he waited for them to make the first move. The thunderous girl charged for a frontal assault while raising her hammer high, but Silva smirked and parried the attack with a backhanded swipe. The quiet guy came to the snow leopard man's exposed flank but was met with a swift kick that knocked him back.

The polite spartan worked in tandem with the mint-haired girl as they attacked from different angles. Silva grabbed the javelin when before the two attacks could connect and swung Pyrrha as she still held her weapon at Emerald and sent them crashing against each other. Nora soon returned with a vengeance and struck at the snow leopard man, but he simply grabbed the hammer coming his way and stopped the attack before sending the thunderous girl flying with a kick.

Ren ran around Silva as he tried to find an opening, the snow leopard man stood still, and the quiet guy leaped at his opponent's exposed back. Unfortunately, Silva has high spacial awareness due to his Semblance Door To Darkness evolving multiple times, so sneak attacks are rarely effective from his blind spots; so he ducked as Ren's leap sent him by where Silva used to be. The snow leopard man quickly got back up, and Pyrrha, Emerald, and Nora came at him from his left, right, and front, respectively.

Silva blocked the polite spartan with his left arm, the thunderous girl was met with his right arm, and the mint-haired girl was stopped by his right leg being raised. The three girls were shocked at how effortlessly the snow leopard man blocked them while only supporting himself with one leg. Silva sent them through the air as he pushed the three off, and they collectively landed on Ren, who was trying to rejoin the sparring match. The four groaned, and Silva declared.

" Okay, that's enough. I can tell that the four of you all have the same problem."

" And that would be?"

Pyrrha asked with a bit of frustration as she realized that the snow leopard man had never moved from his initial position throughout the sparring match. Silva told them bluntly.

" The four of you are too slow. Speed is king during a fight."

This was slightly unfair of Silva as he has gone toe to toe with speedsters like DC's Flash and his sidekick. His spacial awareness allows him to even evade Flash's Full Momentum Punch from lapping around Earth as he could feel it coming miles away as it was difficult for Flash to change direction when building up that much momentum. However, he was not necessarily wrong, as if the rest of Team PERN was a bit faster, and he could take them a bit more seriously. Silva continued talking to his team; it still felt weird to him to refer to them like that.

" Luckily for you, I know how to up your speed and even strength at the same time, plus improve your Aura control."

" How, fearless leader!?"

Nora asked with a bit of surprise and excitement. Ren also quietly stared at his new team leader with interest in this mysterious method he claimed he had for improving their abilities. Emerald had a look of realization and cried out in defiance.

" No! Not those evil things!"

" Emerald, the gravity weights aren't evil, as they are actually helping you improve."

"I am not wearing them again!"

The mint-haired girl vehemently said with no small amount of venom. Silva gently tried to persuade Emerald.

" Emerald, I just want to help you and the others to get stronger. Plus, I improved their design by several folds, and if it makes you feel any better, I will be wearing them as well."

" You said that last time."

The mint-haired girl dryly retorted as she wasn't having it. Pyrrha interjected in the conversation.

" Surely they aren't that bad, Em. I mean, if they do what Silva says they do, the benefits outweigh the cons."

" Hit me with your worse fearless leader!"

Nora fearlessly exclaimed, and Ren also had a look of quiet determination. Silva grinned and took out the improved gravity weights that he made shortly after being made the leader of Team PERN. He made them before to train with his household a while back, but they were quickly banned as he was the only one who had no issues using them after a month. They took the form of two silver bracelets and anklets, one for each limp. Silva handed out a set to each of his team members, and he equipped his on to demonstrate and explain their functions.

" These gravity weights, aside from weighing down your arms and legs they, constantly tried to connect with one another like magnets, so you will have a constant fight on your hands to move around. Secondly, the weight and magnet force will increase at random intervals unless you put in a certain amount of Aura into them and will continue to do so until you put in a precise amount of Aura into them. Any questions?"

The snow leopard man asked, and Emerald asked in turn.

" Do we have to wear them?"

" Yes, but don't worry, they will switch off if you use a voice-activated password, so if they become too difficult or if there is an emergency, you can turn them off."

Nora eagerly puts on gravity weights but soon finds herself in a hogtied position and lying on the ground as they activate. The thunderous girl strained to separate her wrists and ankles from each other without relying on Aura Enhancement. She struggled to move while under the influence of the gravity weights and said.

" This... Is... Harder... Than... I... Thought."

" That's the point, Nora."

Silva said as he was managing just fine while everyone else was struggling like the thunderous girl. Emerald complained as she had difficulty even standing without Aura helping her.

" I... Hate... You..."

" Love you too, Em."

Silva grinned at the mint-haired girl and then told everyone.

" Since it's the weekend, take your time to get used to the gravity weights. Alright, everyone dismissed."

The snow leopard man went to his home to make something for lunch for his team as they tried to adapt to their new situation.

***

[ Salem Interlude]

Salem asked herself once more, why was she helping Serafall Leviathan with her thankless work as head of relations for devil-kind? The witch handed the Devil King a cup of high-class coffee along with more paperwork about usual devil mischief on pissing off another faction again.

" Thanks, Sal-chan! You're the best!"

It all started when Sona Sitri came around to visit Rias at the Gremory residence. The witch found the young glasses-wearing devil endearing as she was polite and serious. The two played chess for hours, with Akeno watching them until Serafall showed up in her usual Magical Girl style and hugged her little sister, Sona, much to the bespeckled devil's embarrassment. One thing led to another, and the devil king got Salem as a contractor to help in diplomatic relations.

" It never ceases to amaze me to learn just how foolhardy men and women are despite having literal centuries of experience, let alone the younger generation for devil-kind."

" Yeah, unfortunately, the idea that devils are the master race has never left despite the original four devil kings dying and that without A-chan and Zech-chan, none of the other Pantheons would tolerate our kind drawing another breath."

Salem shook her head in disappointment and asked.

" Why bother with this thankless job, Serafall? Or better yet, why tolerate every devil treating you as their personal wiper?"

" I did not think it turn out like this, honestly, and now, I can't quit even if I wanted to! I would much rather spend time with my precious So-chan! Regardless it has to be done anyway."

The witch continued her new job as Serafall's secretary.