Sunny crouched and stretched his leg; the cold edge of steel passed over his head as his leg struck another's with force.
With his footing steady, he propelled himself to the right, evading another slash and gathering momentum to deliver a powerful blow to Harper's exposed chest.
With astonishing slowness, Harper crossed his arms in front of him, trying to shield his chest from the painful strike that was coming—of course, it didn't help much.
Sunny's fist slammed into the man's forearm. A sound like a whip cracking against the ground followed the impact, and Harper's body was launched into the air.
He felt a shadow approaching dangerously fast. He pulled his body forward and jumped; upside down, he saw Caster fly past him.
He quickly planted his hand on the ground and struck it, just in time for an arrow to pass through the exact spot where his head had been a moment earlier.
He twisted in midair and landed on his feet, stretched one hand forward and clenched it, striking the edge of a sword with the back of his hand, while with the other he delivered a lethal blow to Jack's face—who, somehow, was still conscious.
Mike jumped at him, taking advantage of his imbalance. He immediately regretted it when he met the piercing gaze of his master.
Sunny spun like a top in the air and launched a kick into the swordsman's stomach, sending his body crashing to the ground at once.
'Two down.'
He set his foot back on the ground and threw another punch toward Jack—then a gust swept past and the man vanished before he could be touched.
Another arrow flew past his head.
He turned toward the archer. Patrick was at a good distance, firing arrows repeatedly. Caster had just dropped Jack, covered his mouth, and whispered something. The two sleepers nodded and summoned their weapons.
Caster disappeared and reappeared at different points around Sunny, while the duo began to run toward him.
Patrick went first, attacking with a simple vertical slash, and Jack blocked his path with a horizontal cut, anticipating what Caster would do.
Just then, a figure flew through the space where Sunny had been. With force, he struck the idiot's head, sending him crashing to the ground like a sack of potatoes.
Patrick quickly raised his hands in surrender.
Sunny's fist stopped centimeters from his face. Meanwhile, Caster was already lying on the ground, utterly exhausted.
Patrick looked at him with a trembling smile.
"W-we lost."
Sunny nodded and relaxed his combat stance.
He signaled for them to rest for now.
'It's incredible.'
Caster had improved a little—especially in the unpredictability of his attacks. The experience he had gained would serve him well.
Every time Sunny set out to teach them, he always attacked in ways that exposed their weaknesses. He knew very well that the best way to motivate improvement was to learn from your mistakes and overcome them.
Even so, he always gave them basic or vague instructions that, without them realizing it, would help them.
He had Harper striking a rock, telling him he wouldn't give him any more training until he split it in half—this was to make his attacks firmer; the bastard never used all the strength he had.
He had Patrick practice flexibility and basic katas. He had discovered the boy was unnaturally slow. He still didn't know the reason, but believed it had to do with his Aspect or attributes.
He made the pair of fools fight each other. Their improvement, though not as noticeable as the others', was still happening. In general, Mike only lacked experience, and Jack needed much more practice. His movements, though fast, felt abrupt more than anything else—he was always a millisecond late in executing a move, which could be fatal.
Lastly, there was Caster. The boy had solid fundamentals; his training was very good, he possessed clarity and quite a bit of experience. What he definitely lacked was a personal style that fully leveraged his speed. Many times, all the energy of an attack was wasted on a simple dodge or a good defense—lethal blows meant nothing if they didn't land.
'I'll give them a few more days.'
There wasn't much time left, and he wanted to start hunting for real already. It was frustrating to always be on the brink of becoming a monster.
- - -
"What!?"
The small Cohort shouted at Sunny—this time even Caster had joined in.
Seishan let a faint smile slide across her lips before making it disappear. She looked at the boys with severity, and they fell silent.
Sunny gave her a grateful look.
"You've improved a lot. The you of now could easily defeat the you from last week—I assure you."
The pair of idiots puffed out their chests. The two weaker boys glanced at each other, and Caster held Sunny's gaze, trying to hide his emotions—but in his shadow, Sunny noticed a trace of pride.
"Besides, we won't be going alone. Seishan and two of her maidens will accompany us."
Harper looked at him nervously.
"E-even so… hunting in the Dark City…"
It was well known that only Fallen creatures and the strongest Awakened remained within the city. Only the best hunter groups dared to hunt inside the walls, after weeks of preparation.
"Fine. I'll show you how much you've grown."
At his side, a malicious giant crab formed out of a myriad of sparks.
He pointed at Harper and Patrick.
"You two will face this fellow. If you manage to defeat him, I'll give each of you an Awakened Memory."
They exchanged nervous looks.
He pointed at the trio of fools.
"You'll face Seishan. If you defeat her, just like them, you'll each receive an Awakened Memory."
Caster began analyzing the woman, who welcomed his gaze gladly.
Meanwhile, the pair of fools put on serious faces, and Sunny thought he heard a murmur from the guy with the goatee saying something like, "Lock in."
He didn't pay it much attention.
After some discussion, everyone nodded.
- - -
Patrick looked nervously at his master's Echo, then turned his gaze to Harper.
A couple of days ago, Harper had managed to split a rock in half.
Patrick had noticed the great progress his four companions had made.
At first, he had come because of pressure from Caster, who told him that if he joined them, he would give him his shard.
But later, he kept coming on his own after seeing the others' improvement—if they could do it, so could he.
Or at least that's what he thought. Now, he didn't really know if he had improved at all.
He looked back at the Echo, his mouth going dry.
'I can't beat it…'
Still, he was going to try. He didn't want to leave his friend alone against that thing.
He heard footsteps to his side and turned his head.
There he was—his mysterious master. Despite being younger than him, he was incredibly strong. Patrick had never met anyone as strong as him, and he knew a few strong people, including Awakened.
At first, he had seen him as a peer. They both seemed small and weak. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case—what a disappointment it had been when his little friend turned out to be a monster. Luckily, he was a good one.
Patrick tightened his grip on his sword. He didn't know why, but his master trusted him—he had placed his effort and hopes in him.
The others might not have noticed. They might even have thought it was mockery, the way he always targeted their weak points and destroyed them in the easiest and most miserable way—but Patrick knew he did it for them, so they could improve and grow. He gave them shards, trained them, watched over them, gave them comforting words.
Aside from his parents, he couldn't remember anyone who had done that.
Why did he do it?
What did he gain from it?
He didn't really know—but still, he wanted to try. For the first time since overcoming his nightmare, he truly wanted to try.
He looked again at the Echo, renewed. Every fiber of his being screamed that he couldn't win, that in his current state it was impossible.
He swallowed.
He tried to gather confidence through his thoughts, but it was useless. He couldn't hide from himself—he was afraid.
But still, he would do it.
- - -
He noticed Patrick's nervous gaze.
'At least I'm not alone…'
He himself was truly terrified. Of course he had improved in recent days—he could feel it—but he had never faced Nightmare creatures except for the small beast from his first nightmare.
This was completely different. Even as an Echo, it was still a full rank above him.
He didn't really want to do this—and at the same time, he did.
All his life, he had been pushed aside by others, always a background character—the errand boy, and here just a simple receptionist with no friends. But that had changed. Without asking for it or seeking it, a group of people had entered his life. They weren't the kindest or the best companions, but they had something special.
They never left him out. Even if they insulted or belittled him sometimes, they never truly cast him aside.
And to him, that was worth far more than any kind word.
Besides, here he had found his first friend—Patrick. Even if they didn't talk much, being the weakest, they bonded quite well, and he wasn't going to leave his friend alone against an Awakened beast.
Lastly, he wanted to see how much he had grown. Against his master, the result was always the same, so he couldn't really tell during those fights.
He looked at Sunless, who stood watching the two calmly, looking almost bored.
He tried to harden his gaze as much as he could, turned to Patrick, and nodded.
He would give it everything.
His master noticed they were ready and gave the signal.
"Go!"
The crab slammed the ground with its heavy legs, making the earth tremble with each step.
'Wait.'
It drew closer, faster and stronger, raising its two claws to end their fragile lives.
'Almost…'
A drop of sweat ran down his cheek.
A gigantic claw shot toward his face, about to end his life.
Without realizing it, he was already dodging to the side, his arms raised, gripping his sword tightly.
A slash fell from the sky, aiming to sever the beast's limb.
A shrill sound thundered in his ears. The sword's metal rang violently against the crab's carapace.
Knowing another attack was coming, he used the momentum of his dodge to leap farther back, just in time to avoid the creature's claw.
From the other side, he saw Patrick analyzing the crab, keeping his distance and dodging.
'He'll come up with something. I'll try to distract it as much as possible.'
With that thought, he lunged again, this time seeking to draw its attention.
He dodged another strike and slashed at its legs, hoping they were weaker—he failed.
He felt danger again, but this time he didn't retreat. Instead, he attacked into the creature's strike.
He used the edge of his sword to redirect the enemy's force, making the heavy claw crash to the side.
'This.'
He slashed toward the beast's face, only to be blocked by one of its limbs.
He ducked and dodged the claw coming from below.
He rolled on the ground and cut one of its legs, leaving a thin line on the carapace.
'Is this not it?'
He jumped back, avoiding the countercharge of its legs.
The fight continued in the same pattern—he attacked, dodged or redirected, attacked, retreated.
'Too easy?'
He surprised himself.
Of course, he was still far from killing or defeating the Echo—but so far, though lethal, the fight followed a balanced course, which was strange. After all, he was a Sleeper, and the Echo an Awakened being.
One could say that as an Echo it was much weaker than a real creature—but still, it held an overwhelming physical advantage.
One he was surprised to be able to cover with skill.
Despite his thoughts, he was still wearing down. If he didn't find a way to end this, it would result in his definitive defeat.
He smiled.
'Well, that's what that guy's for.'
He turned his gaze to Patrick—but he was no longer standing still. He was running toward the Echo almost desperately.
- - -
His trembling legs from moments ago had been replaced by firmness.
'I know.'
While Harper held the Echo back, Patrick had studied it—and the answer he reached was truly simple.
One single lethal blow at the base of its carapace, and it would all be over.
He stopped in front of the crab, which had given him a bit of attention and now raised a leg to swat him away.
He kicked off the ground and changed direction to the left, then jumped—just in time to avoid a blow.
And then his blood froze. He was face to face with the scavenger.
He didn't know when it had turned, but it had.
He was still in the air, his maneuverability scarce, and a claw was already coming to take his life.
Even so, he didn't stop. He slashed forward with his sword—a vertical strike, the same one he had practiced for a long time.
His sword cut through the air. The claw rushed dangerously to finish him—and just before the impact of his blade, a gust swept him away.
When he realized it, he was kneeling on the ground.
His heart was pounding wildly. His eyes and hands trembled erratically, his broken breathing preventing any attempt to calm down.
He looked up, preparing to dodge if necessary.
When he saw the figure in front of him, he relaxed. His master was watching them with a smile.
"You won."
His breathing steadied.
His hands stopped shaking.
His eyes focused on the ground.
'I won?'
- - -
On the other side of the square, Mikael watched the boys win their fight.
"Those brats really improved!"
Jack shouted beside him.
"Yeah. We can't fall behind."
He turned to look at Lieutenant Seishan, who observed the situation with a bored, haughty expression.
At that moment, beside him, Jack seemed to have an idea—which, in Mikael's experience, was bad news.
"I know how to win."
He looked at him without much hope.
"You sure?"
"Of course!"
He let him lean in to whisper in his ear—and what Jack said made him want to smash his face with a punch.