As the dust rose around them, flashes of gold, silver, white and black cut through the haze.
Ais's blade sang through the air. Judas's fists crackled. Belle's daggers flashed. And Alfia stood like an immovable storm at the heart of the battlefield.
Every exchange sent ripples through the ground.
"Not bad..."
Alfia muttered under her breath as she caught Ais's sword between two fingers and deflected Judas's punch with her elbow in the same breathless instant.
"You three are adapting faster than I expected."
Her words were calm and her face remained neutral.
"Guess that means we're doing something right."
Belle landed beside Judas and Ais, panting, her hands trembling slightly.
Ais didn't answer. Her eyes burned with determination as she raised her blade again, sweat trailing down her cheek.
"Rule number four..."
"If you can still stand... then the lesson isn't over."
Alfia said, brushing a strand of silver hair behind her ear as her expression turned sharp.
Her gaze then shifted between the three who stood before her, each battered and bruised, yet still holding their ground with unwavering determination.
Judas, fists raised and eyes calm despite the blood dripping from his lip.
Ais, her golden hair disheveled, but her sword remained steady and her spirit unbroken.
Belle, barely standing, yet defiance burned fiercely in her crimson eyes.
Although she was aware that Ais' situation was unique, it was true that the three of them were close in age... young, reckless, and still unrefined.
'So this is the current generation of adventurers...'
Alfia thought quietly, a faint, almost imperceptible smile ghosting her lips.
Looking at them now, she had no choice but to acknowledge their potential.
There was no doubt in her mind that these three, in time, would surpass her generation... perhaps even outshine the legends of Hera and Zeus' eras.
'The next generation... yes, it will be these three standing at its forefront. They'll be the ones to carry the Lower World toward a new, brighter age.'
But her expression hardened.
'Right now, they're still just chicks that have barely broken out of their shells.'
The thought rekindled something long dormant within her... a sense of duty, of purpose.
If this world was to have a future, then they would need to be forged through fire and pain, shaped into something greater than mere adventurers.
That was why she had resolved herself, a remnant of a bygone age, to ensure that this current generation would be strong enough to shoulder the burdens to come.
'The Three Great Quests...'
Her eyes softened, a trace of melancholy hidden beneath her calm demeanor.
'Even if I won't live to see them completed... I'll make sure to leave behind the ones who will.'
With that silent vow, Alfia took a single breath... her presence calming like the eye of a storm... and raised her hand, signaling the next round of training.
A silence fell for half a heartbeat... then, with a thunderous boom, the ground beneath them cracked once more.
...
"What the hell is going on?"
Hestia muttered, her eyes twitching as she watched the chaotic spectacle unfold before her.
Dust clouds rose into the air, shockwaves rippled through the ground, and every impact sounded like thunder rolling across the city walls.
"Everyone here is a training freak! How can they still fight after getting hurt like that?"
She complained, throwing her arms up in disbelief.
She sighed in exasperation, taking a few cautious steps back until she was at a safe distance from the battlefield... far enough not to get caught in the crossfire, but close enough to keep watching.
With another weary sigh, she plopped herself down onto a smooth section of the ground and crossed her legs, deciding that she might as well enjoy the chaos from afar.
"So that's Judas Spade–whatshisname."
She murmured, squinting at the boy trading blows with Alfia.
"He is good looking enough, but... he fights like a monster."
Her eyes then shifted to the girl with the golden hair, darting in and out of Alfia's range with inhuman agility.
"And that must be the Sword Princess, Ais Wallenstein. Tsk... that damn Loki, always scooping up talented people."
She puffed out her cheeks and groaned.
"It would be nice if that scary woman got hit at least once..."
Her muttering was quickly drowned out by another explosion that sent debris scattering near her feet.
"I'm not cut out for this! This is supposed to be training, not a miniature war!"
Hestia flinched, clutching her knees.
And yet, despite her protests, a small, almost guilty smile crept onto her face as she watched Judas, Ais, and Belle working together against Alfia.
Their movements were frantic but synchronized... instinctively covering each other's blind spots, pushing themselves far past exhaustion.
"...Heh. Guess they really are something else."
Hestia said softly.
After seeing the sparring go on for a while longer, she found herself unconsciously cheering for them... her earlier irritation fading into genuine excitement.
"Come on, you three... show that scary woman what you're made of!"
Hestia's voice carried faintly across the wind, but her words were drowned out by the overwhelming roar of clashing power.
The air rippled as Judas's gauntlet collided with Alfia's open palm, sending a shockwave that cracked the ground beneath them.
Ais darted in immediately after, her blade slicing through the air like a silver streak, but Alfia turned her head ever so slightly... just enough to let the strike miss by a hair's breadth.
"Too slow."
Alfia murmured, her calm tone cutting through the chaos like a knife.
In the same motion, she raised her leg and kicked downward, stopping her heel a mere inch from Belle's face.
But before the strike could land, Ais stood in the way, diverting the blow and giving Belle a split second to breathe.
Judas seized that opening.
He closed his eyes, taking steady breaths.
Entering into a deep state of concentration, he could sense it...
The subtle rhythm of his heartbeat.
The faint hum of blood coursing through his veins.
The whisper of air brushing against his skin.
The sound his body was making, the heat he gave off, the smell he emitted, and the aura that naturally surrounded him...
All of these formed his presence, an invisible signature that announced his existence to the world.
'Seal them off... hide yourself and blend with the environment.'
By controlling these factors, he could vanish from perception... not as a result of his magic, but by complete mastery over his own body and life force.
'It's not yet perfect.'
There were flaws, but he was learning.
Experience like this... he could only gain from training with a monster like Alfia.
'Now!'
He seized the perfect opening and launched a punch.
"!"
Of course, Alfia's response speed was much faster than Judas' attack speed.
No matter how well he hid his presence, even with perfect timing, the difference in their stats made landing a hit almost impossible.
Almost.
'Got her!'
The edge of his metal gauntlet grazed Alfia's arm, scraping her skin.
A drop of blood.
Just a single drop.
Alfia's eyes widened.
For the first time, a crack appeared in her usually stern expression.
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