Lock Watching was deactivated the moment the sword went into the boy's abdomen. There was no need for that anymore.

Loter sat on the ground against the magic barrier. His arms hung softly, powerlessly on the sides. The back of his hands were resting on the ground. He panted with his eyes closed, and his head leaned against the barrier, tilting up slightly.

Boruka finally let out a gentle grin as he palmed and ground his fist.

Hiroku clung onto the handrail and yelled, "The word for surrender is 'toukou!' Say it!"

"Silence!" the master scolded from the other side, forcing Hiroku to mute.

Boruka slowly walked toward Loter and crouched before him.

Loter opened his eyes and received a left hook. His head leaned to the right after the impact, yet he turned it back to face Boruka. In return, he received the second punch to the same spot. This time, it left a dark bruise similar to the one on Loter's right cheek.

Loter fell to the ground sideways. The grip of the sword knocked on the wooden floor while its blade was still halfway inside Loter's abdomen.

Boruka raised a foot and dropped it onto Loter's neck. He trampled down like he was stepping on a bug, imprinting his shoe's sole pattern onto Loter's neck.

As his foot raised for the next tread, Loter held his arms upon his neck. The next stamp trod onto them, and the process repeated.

I can't give up— I can't give up— Hiroku will die here— if I can't find a way to fight back— I have to fight back— I have to come up— with something—

Loter's thoughts were discrete and broken up with each stomp. Since most of the treading fell on his left forearm, there was a purple bruise in the center of it. However, it was not that big of a deal since the pain in Loter's abdomen had already surpassed all forms of other suffering by a long shot.

Eventually, the endless torment stopped. Boruka grabbed Loter by the collar, lifting him up.

That's my chance.

When Boruka finally held Loter before him, Loter jabbed a fist into Boruka's face. Yet, without his combat enhancement, Loter's punch could not impact Boruka in the slightest.

Boruka's grin faded away. His brows tightened into an irritated look. He said something in Habanese and returned the favor. His straight fist aimed directly at Loter's nose. It bashed in, almost breaking the nasal bridge. Blood burst onto Loter's face and then onto Boruka's fingers and knuckles as if the nose were exploding.

Loter's eyes were shut from the splattering of blood. For moments, even he himself thought he was dead. Fortunately, and unfortunately, he was not. He was still hanging on the cliff of life. His mind, although fading, was as dedicated as he used to be.

I will save Hiroku. I haven't lost yet. I won't surrender. I am going to win.

Loter clenched his soft hand and raised it again, throwing it at Boruka's face. The strengthless attack touched Boruka's jaw, yet not a thing happened. The hand slowly and gradually fell down as Loter kept pressing it onto Boruka.

The knuckles slid down Boruka's chin and slid over the collarbone. Loter put all his remaining force into his hand, pressing it against Boruka's chest. Boruka snorted in contempt and whispered something in Habanese. He pulled his fist as backward as he could, preparing for the final strike.

His fingers quivered under his firm grip, and his nails pressed hard into his skin. The thin bones within his wrist were held so taut that they could be seen beneath his skin.

Power Activation: [unknown]

A spark emerged from the tip of Loter's knuckles. Following was a streak of white laser piercing through Boruka's chest, leaving a bloody hole about the size of a coin behind.

Boruka let go of Loter and staggered backward. Both of them dropped to the ground. Loter lay sideways, and Boruka was on his back.

Loter did his best to force his eyelids open, and Boruka held his head up to an extreme to glare back at Loter. It was a war of resilience. The first one to faint from blood loss would lose.

The two red ponds expanded separately and mixed when they met each other. There was no difference in the redness or the shade of blood. All fresh blood was bright, filled with the essence of life. Yet, this watery bloom of vitality was not a sign of life but a signage before death.

When Loter woke up again, he was lying on a narrow wooden bed above a thin white mattress and under a thinner blue blanket. He could see the wooden roof above him and the hanging light bulbs. He looked around, seeing other beds of identical design. Next to him, there was a COW(computer on wheels), and some lines, including intravenous lines. Some were connected to his wrist.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

Loter sat up from the bed and incidentally pulled the lines off his wrist. Groggily from the sleep, he rubbed his face to refresh his mind, habitually pressing his palms on his cheeks. Suddenly, he realized he was not in pain. No part of him was aching at all.

Wait, what?

He softly caressed his cheeks, lightly pushing his plush facial muscles. Then, he pinched his nose and did it again with more strength.

The bruises are all gone— Oh, yeah. I do have a weak form of self-healing. Is the cut also healed? That can't be.

Loter flipped the blanket away, pulled up his patient's gown, and pulled down his pants. The opening made by the piercing sword had already become a faint, slim scar that was a bit lighter in complexion than the surrounding skin.

How long have I been sleeping? I spent weeks in the hospital with stitches to heal the last cut on my belly. Sure, this one is a lot smaller than the last one, but it would still take days.

Loter jumped off his bed and heard his stomach yelling for food. He strolled to the wooden sliding doors.

The doors suddenly opened when he reached out his hand. On the other side was Tori in her jordy blue kimono.

She pounced at Loter, hugging him with her arms wrapped around his neck. Her knees bent ninety degrees, hanging her feet in the air.

Loter made a step back and intuitively placed his arms around Tori's waist to prevent her from falling off.

When Tori stood back to the ground, they let go of each other.

Tori faced away while blushing like a tomato. Her hands were behind her hips. Normally, she would only loosely keep her hands there to follow the tradition. Yet, she held her hands together tightly this time, even squeezing her shoulders.

Seeing Tori's expression, Loter also blushed a bit. He scratched his head and asked, "So, did I win?"

"Yes, do you not remember what happened?" Tori looked at Loter with excitement in her eyes. Her lips curled upward.

"What happened?"

"You stand." Tori corrected her grammar. "Stood up and pulled the sword out of you." Tori held her hands before her abdomen, doing the sword-pulling impression.

"I did that? That's amazing!"

"You are amazing."

Loter eyed away for a moment out of a sudden bashfulness. "Thank you," he said.

Tori hard gripped her hands behind her back again. She dodged her eyes to a corner, grinning.

"So, how long did I sleep?" Loter awkwardly said, shrugging to ease the vibe.

"Today is the day after your fight. I do not know exactly how many hours."

Wait, I healed all my wounds in a day? That is crazy! Did my ordering power become stronger? I know for sure I was not capable of healing that cut within a day. Did I heal faster because of Dowii's training?

"Loter, Loter?" Tori called and leaned slightly forward to examine the boy's empty face.

"Oh, uh, yeah. I was just daydreaming." Loter made an embarrassed laugh.

Tori giggled in response. "I should tell others that you are awake," she said and fled into the hallway.

Loter closed the doors and went back to sit on his bed. Within a dozen seconds, he shifted his position from sitting to lying. Shortly after, he changed his state from awake to asleep.

"Lot, Lot." Ramiron forcefully shook Loter by his shoulder while Tori was reminding her that she was shaking a patient.

Making a low noise from the bottom of his throat, Loter regained his consciousness. He opened his eyes to see Ramiron and Tori standing beside his bed. Both seemed pleasant.

"I won the duel," Loter said and yawned as he got off the bed from the other side.

"You did. You didn't use Super Counter." Ramiron was slightly underwhelmed but then swapped to a more uplifting tone. "I heard you used that laser ability, though. You never mentioned you could do that."

What? What is she— Oh, yeah. I did shoot a laser during the duel. How did I do that?

"That's my first time, too. I think it's like my invisibility and flying. I just randomly got those abilities," Loter said, habitually rubbing his face.

"Where is Hiroku?" he yawned and asked.

"He's talking to other Kayamas about your recovery," Tori answered.

Loter nodded while continuing to rub his face.

Hm?

He removed his hands and stared at the two ladies with his eyes wide open.

"How do you two know each other?"

Crossing her arms before her chest, Ramiron replied, "The real question is, how dare you and Hiroku make new friends behind my back?" She looked at Loter with a smug smile.

"Yeah." Loter scratched his head and tittered awkwardly. "Sorry about that. I just didn't want to interrupt your treatment."

"Fair enough."

"By the way." Loter changed to a more serious tone. "Tori, why are you here? Did you sneak out again?"

"Well." Tori tucked a side of her hair behind her ear and quickly put her hands back behind her hips, blushing. "They want me to tell you something." Her eyes shifted away, fleeing from the boy before her.

Ramiron let out a snort and headed toward the exit. "I will give you two some space."

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Loter Spawman's current abilities:

[unknown]:

-[unknown]

[unknown]:

-Enhancing healing ability

-Increasing strength and constitution during fighting

-Performing a fast and instant attack without a clear triggering condition

[unknown]:

-Significantly boosting movement speed after running in an open space for some time

[unknown]:

-Turning invisible

-Granting flying ability

-Sharing the ability with another person in physical contact

-Connecting emotions and feelings with another person in physical contact

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