The sun filtered through the tall windows of the training hall, where Axel was training with Samantha—if it could even be called training since it looked more like a one-sided massacre.
A week had passed since the incident. Nathan and Rex had recovered from their injuries, while Axel had begun an intense training session with Samantha. During that time, representatives from the Drakon clan had come to check if the academy had honored the agreement, but when they found out that Axel was still training, they exploded with rage, demanding explanations. Headmaster Marcus calmly explained the situation, and although the Drakon clan members weren't happy about it, they couldn't do anything against the academy, which had technically "kept the agreement."
"GHAA!"
Samantha's kick hit Axel's side perfectly, sending him crashing to the ground and knocking the air out of his lungs.
"You have three seconds to get up," Samantha ordered.
With difficulty, Axel stood and got back into position. He might not be able to feel pain, but the impact of Samantha's blows was no joke.
"Too slow!"
In an instant, the silence was broken by Samantha's fast movement. She dashed forward with a direct jab. Axel managed to dodge by bending his body to the side, but Samantha didn't stop. With a smooth motion, she grabbed Axel's shoulders and drove her knee into his chest, which he just barely managed to block in time.
Seeing that Samantha's rhythm had momentarily slowed, Axel tried to dig his clawed fingers into her side, but she blocked his wrist and delivered a powerful punch to his face.
Blood spurted from his nose, and he briefly lost consciousness, but he recovered a moment later and dug his fingers into Samantha's forearm.
"Nice try, but not very smart!" she laughed, lifting Axel by the wrist and slamming him into the ground.
The impact was so strong that Axel couldn't hold onto Samantha and ended up lying on the gym floor, exhausted and drenched in sweat, staring up at the ceiling.
"Ten minutes of rest, then back to physical training."
Despite how intense Samantha's training was, her goal was to push Axel to his limits without crossing the line, avoiding serious injuries—but she had to admit, he kept surprising her.
First of all, his eyesight. He could easily follow fast movements, even if he still lacked mobility.
Another quality that impressed her was his ability to recover. She could drain Axel of every drop of energy, and hit him hard multiple times, and yet the next day, he would return in perfect shape. That made each training day more and more demanding. Also, his hemostatic ability came in handy. For example, his nose, which had been bleeding heavily, had already almost stopped.
"While you recover, let's analyze your performance," Samantha said, sitting beside him.
"You tend to be too passive. It's fine to block attacks, but if you only focus on that, you're no different from a punching bag."
"That's... because if I don't block, I'd be knocked out with every hit," Axel replied breathlessly.
"I get that, and it makes sense—but sometimes, you have to be willing to lose a hand to kill your opponent."
"That sounds... stupid."
"And it is, but that's how it goes. Think of it this way: if you face someone way stronger than you, just defending is useless—you'll die anyway. Sometimes sacrifices are necessary to take a step forward." Samantha explained calmly, but Axel struggled to understand her.
While living in the confinement zone, he always had to make sure he was in the best possible condition and avoid unnecessary injuries, acting only at the right moment.
Seeing that he was still confused, Samantha didn't add anything else. She knew that changing Axel's mindset would take time, given how long he had lived in the confinement zone. A defensive combat style wasn't wrong—it could be useful in many situations—but it didn't suit Axel's nature. If it did, he wouldn't have driven his hand into Rex's body.
"Alright, ten minutes are up. Time for some good old physical training," she said with a smile, dragging Axel along.
Push-ups, pull-ups, running, jumping—every kind of exercise was imposed on him under increased gravity, and if he didn't meet the number she asked for, the next day's sparring would be even more intense.
"Oh, Nathan, my dear, have you come to train with us too?" Seeing Nathan enter, Samantha smiled at him with a predatory grin.
Nathan looked at his friend lying face-down on the floor, pale and motionless, showing no sign of life. He shook his head as hard as he could as if his life depended on it.
"Too bad. Anyway, you can take the corps— I mean Axel," she said with a smile as she walked away.
"See you tomorrow, Axel."
Watching her leave, Nathan approached the exhausted Axel and sighed.
"I thought the Inverted World would kill you, but now I'm starting to doubt you'll even make it to that day."
"Me... too..." Axel muttered weakly.
Nathan had recovered fairly well from his injuries and, ironically, that forced pause had helped him. Unconsciously, he had started holding himself back to avoid surpassing Rex in the rankings, but now he had stopped doing so. He no longer cared that Rex was a Drakon or stronger than him, he wouldn't restrain himself anymore. He had already risked never seeing his family again just because he was afraid of someone.
"I have to say though, you're crazy too—impaling someone like that," Nathan said, speechless, while Axel just shrugged.
Even after a week, the echo of the event still lingered in everyone's conversations, with constant gossip and chatter. Nathan was seen as an innocent victim, while Rex had become the subject of ridicule among the clans. Rumors said the Drakon clan was so ashamed that Rex had been defeated by the last-ranked student that they wanted to disown him. As a result, Rex became an outcast, avoided by everyone. His behavior had grown extremely violent in those days, and no one wanted to be associated with him.
Meanwhile, Axel was labeled a psychopath. The stories painted a disturbing image: someone who, if provoked, would pierce anyone's body while laughing in a creepy and amused way.
Despite all the talk, Nathan didn't pay much attention to the rumors. Even if he had to admit Axel's actions had been extreme, in the end, Axel had helped him, and for that, Nathan was grateful.
The two had dinner in a quiet place, and after finishing their meal, Nathan asked if Axel was heading to the dormitory. But Axel replied he had something to do first, so they parted ways.
While Nathan made his way to the dorm, Axel went to one of the academy's training halls. With care, he climbed a tree that allowed him to see what was happening inside.
From his hiding spot, Axel heard the clash of metal and saw Aria and Yuna in an intense training session. Aria was visibly exhausted; sweat dripped down her face as she continued to fight with determination and precision. In contrast, Yuna looked calm and unmoved, effortlessly blocking Aria's attacks without even stepping back.
Aria attacked with a strength and speed far beyond Axel's, unleashing a relentless flurry of strikes. However, none of them managed to break through Yuna's impenetrable defense. When Aria let her guard down just slightly, Yuna seized the opportunity. In an instant, the tip of her rapier was at Aria's throat, ending the match.
'Too fast.' Even Axel hadn't been able to follow that move.
After that final exchange, both fighters withdrew their spiritual weapons and started talking. Unfortunately, from where Axel was, he couldn't hear what they were saying. So, he activated his holographic bracelet and began jotting down every detail of what he had observed.
The amount of information he had gathered about Aria was surprising: the kind of food she ate, the routes she took, who she talked to, who she argued with... any information Axel thought was about her, he noted down. All of it was to figure out whether she was the answer he was looking for.
As he reviewed and organized his notes, he saw Aria leave the training hall and decided to follow her. At that hour, the academy was nearly deserted, with only a few students out enjoying the night with games and fun.
Axel moved with extreme caution, keeping his presence as low as possible. He used every building and object to stay hidden, careful not to be seen as he trailed Aria through the growing darkness. Then he saw her turn a corner and hurried to follow, but just before peeking around, he stopped and leaned his back gently against the wall, breathing quietly.
Several seconds passed in that stillness, Axel showing no emotion as he stood there in silence, until it was broken by Aria's cold voice.
"Come out. Now."
Axel obeyed, stepping around the corner with his hands raised, and saw Aria pointing her gunblade at him.
"So it was you."