Chapter 34: A NEW DAY
Morning ca quickly, everyone doing one thing or another.
The mansion was heavier that morning, with several maids and butlers walking around.
Not just them — even mbers of the Veritas Corps, clad in their full-body green armor, walked around cautiously.
anwhile, in the underground training ground of the mansion, two people stood apart from each other.
"Why do you have to drag
here so early?" Silas asked Alia as he drew his katana.
"So you wouldn’t get too caught up with work today," she smiled as she got into a stance. "Rember, you promised
this."
Silas nodded. "Let’s get this over with. I am not holding back."
Alia nodded. "Finally, we can have a serious fight."
As those words dropped, her body flickered forward. Like light, she appeared before Silas in a flash.
But Silas remained undisturbed. His grip tightened on the katana’s hilt as he swung upward, parrying the attack with practiced ease.
Alia switched tactics in a breath — her leg tore forward, aether bursting along its surface.
Silas grinned, as though he had seen the trick so many tis that being surprised by it was out of the question.
He raised his leg, just high enough to block the kick.
The kick connected, sending a tremor that travelled through the entire training ground.
Then, as if it were a delayed bomb, the ground ruptured, exploding into fragnts of tiles and stone from the impact’s force.
The destruction they had caused did not register in their minds. The only thing they could see was each other.
Silas pushed back.
His katana was enveloped in aether as he swung forward.
Alia, like a perfect mirror, copied his movent, her katana flashing forward with equal force.
Sparks flew as their blades t, the contact releasing sharp gales that carved deeply into the walls like a hot knife through butter.
Both sides, as if in tacit agreent, shifted their aether flow, filling their bodies to the brim with aether.
They moved in a streak, delivering hundreds of blows in a second.
Since advancing to the Master rank, this was the first ti Silas had been able to unleash all his power.
The sa could be said for Alia.
The room beca a tapestry of pure art, their movents leaving afterimages in their wake. Each clash further destroyed the training ground.
They ca to a halt, creating space between each other.
Their breaths were ragged, to the point where it felt like their hearts were about to fly out of their chests.
Silas grinned. "Try to keep up," he said to Alia.
Those were the last words she heard before a light entered her eyes.
Silas appeared before her in an instant, fist clenched to deliver a punch to her stomach.
Alia’s brows tightened. She twisted at the last mont, barely avoiding the punch.
"Are you trying to kill ?" Alia asked, countering with a kick.
Both of them had long dropped their katanas.
"You can give up before you die," Silas retorted, catching Alia’s leg with his hand.
"Oh, let’s see who gives up first," she said, her body spinning in a violent twist. Her free leg smashed against his head, sending Silas flying a few ters.
He coughed up blood from the sheer force behind the kick.
Alia did not follow up, her eyes filled with worry. "Are you sure you want to continue?" she asked softly.
"What? Have you gone soft?" Silas asked.
Alia sighed. Although she knew Silas was stronger than her, she did not want either of them to get injured in the fight.
There was silence between them for a mont before Silas broke it.
He lunged forward in a blitz of blue light, aether wrapped around his fist like a second layer of skin.
Alia’s body dipped low. With a single step, she was propelled forward like a cot, destroying the ground beneath her into a pile of rubble.
Her fist shot forward, toward Silas’s head.
Silas’s head shifted — not too much, just enough to avoid the attack.
He drove his fist forward in the sa instant.
"Don’t worry, I would not hurt you," Silas suddenly said, the force behind his punch dissipating.
He tapped her stomach lightly before walking away.
"I’ll take that as my win," Silas said, picking up his katana and returning it to his AI space.
Alia nodded calmly.
Although the punch hadn’t hit her, the sheer power it radiated just from coming close to her skin made her feel dread.
"We shouldn’t do this again," she said softly, also picking her katana up from the floor.
Silas turned to her with a smile. "Oh, are you scared of hurting your dear boyfriend?" he asked.
Before Alia could reply, she felt sothing soft press against her lips.
She looked up to see Silas, bending slightly to plant a kiss on her lips.
Her face flushed red at the sudden kiss.
"Don’t tell
you’re still shy," Silas taunted, patting her on the head.
"Oh, when did this happen?" They heard the voice — careless and calm — co from the entrance.
It was Max, walking toward them slowly.
His rage from the previous day had gone, replaced now with his usual playful deanor.
Behind him was Alfred, wearing his usual serious expression.
Although Silas and Alia could no longer picture him as serious.
Silas smiled at Max’s question.
"What’s the matter?"
Seeing that Silas did not intend to reply, Max went straight to the point.
"The lady is awake. I intend to take you along to interrogate her," Max said with a gesture of invitation.
Silas nodded. "Can I change first?"
"Just be quick, I don’t have much ti," Max said.
"Can I co too?" Alia asked.
"Yeah," Max replied with a wave of his hand.
She left quickly to get dressed.
Alfred, who had remained quiet throughout, finally spoke.
"Why are you bringing the boy?"
Silas turned to look at Alfred with a smile. "No particular reason. If anything goes wrong, he’ll be the one to handle it."
As he spoke, his aether surged slightly — just enough for a red glow to shine.
"You have condensed an elental core," Alfred said, eyes wide.
"Not fully. It’s about 39% condensed."
To Alfred, there was no difference. Condensing a core within a day — that was nothing short of monstrous.
He smiled lightly.
"No wonder the human race does not focus too much on talents. The bridge can be crossed with a high enough comprehension, once one reaches the Ascendant Realm."
"You can’t say that for SSS-tier talents and above, though — their bodies already carry a hint of laws, making their advancent to the Enlightennt Realm as smooth as it can be," Max cut in with a calm voice.
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