A week had passed since Axel was released from the hospital. During this week, he never missed a day visiting the Masuda Dojo and practicing swordsmanship with Luna. He also got to know her better.

She didn’t like to talk, but she loved animals. When he mentioned the tuxedo cat he had saved in an alley, she showed interest for the first time. She said she wanted to visit the cat and even thanked him for saving it. Axel immediately took this chance to invite her to his house, but she refused.

“Why?” he blurted out before he could stop himself.

“Just so,” she replied with an expressionless face, turning her back on him. Axel was left scratching his head. Sometimes he couldn’t tell what she was thinking. She wasn’t the talkative type, and her actions were hard to decipher.

But he knew she was kind. She was kind enough to give him towels and a bottle of water during break time and kind enough to prepare his dojo uniform before training. Although he soon found out she did these things for everyone, he didn't let it bring him down.

“Luna, where do you study, by the way?” he asked, running to catch up to her. “I study at Maple High School. It’s actually quite far from here, but that school is the nearest to my house.”

After training, it was always the same scenario. Axel would chase her and talk about his life and other interesting topics that could catch her attention. Since he knew she loved animals, he began telling her about his brother’s hobby of adopting stray cats and dogs.

Before, he could barely hear a response from her, but now she occasionally looked at him as he talked and responded with a ‘Hm’ to his sentences. This really made him happy.

“Luna! I will come again tomorrow, okay?” he waved goodbye to her before he left. Luna was left standing in the wooden entrance. The clear sky revealed the crescent moon, like a beautiful golden earring displayed in the unblemished dark night.

“Maple High School, eh?” Masuda Ken suddenly came up to her side. “The boy clearly has a crush on you. Why didn’t you tell him you’ll be attending the same school next week?” He chuckled.

“Because it was your wish to transfer me there, not mine.”

“Eh? I only proposed it to you. It’s you who didn’t refuse. It’s not like I forced you.” Ken chuckled again.

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“Hm.” And there went her heartfelt response. Ken could only rub her head and show her in to sleep for the night. They had a big day tomorrow.

That night, Axel could not sleep. He was in his backyard again, practicing his skills. He had discovered this ‘limiter’ of his and the effective way to overcome it. The skill he used was his brother’s.

He was trying to test the waters at first, so he released the silver chain’s true form and cut the air with it, just as Ken had taught him.

The most effective way to practice the sword was ‘image training,’ Ken said.

Even if you don’t have any enemy at the moment, picture a scene where you are facing a challenging opponent. Try to imagine them standing in front of you. Figure out how they will move, how they will fight, how they will defend against your attacks, their reactions, and their habits. Come up with methods to counter them.

For one week, the person he had in mind was his brother. He had seen his brother fight too many times for it not to be engraved in his head. Not to mention, he had his memories. So Nyx’s reactions, fighting skills, and methods were deeply ingrained in his mind. He could almost see his brother standing in front of him.

In Axel’s eyes, he could almost see his brother smiling at him. His mouth turned up in a smirk and asked, “Oh? You got my skills, now what? Can you defeat me, the original owner?”

“I can’t,” Axel answered. The sword was fully brandished in his hands. He already positioned himself in a fighting stance. “But I have to, so I can defeat the friends that betrayed you.”

Even without an actual opponent, Axel could feel his sword clash against a hard object. His brother smirked, as if saying, ‘Not bad.’

He thrust and shoved the blade to directly stab his vital parts. Axel avoided them and parried each attack. Nyx did not give him any leeway and moved even faster. He was like a vicious dragon with a pair of wings. The sharpness of Nyx’s claws was enough to cause injuries to his arms and torso. But he still stood up and fought.

After three hours of nonstop training, Axel could feel his muscles and limbs wearing out. He could barely stand on his own two feet, and the sword was getting heavier in his hand. But he did not stop. This was the sign that he had reached his limiter. The tiredness came first, then the numbness. After enduring, he could surpass it until he lost the strength to move.

In the end, it was one in the morning when he stopped. He could no longer move his right leg, but Axel was not disheartened.

In fact, he was elated. He now had the skills. He could go back to the school that tormented him and make that instructor of his a target.

Axel looked down at his brother’s sword on his lap, his fingers tightening against the hilt.

He would not forget how that instructor looked at him. The memory of being boiled alive still lingered in his heart.

He had even grown fearful of boiling water. Every time he felt something hot, he flinched because his mind could not get over being boiled to death. And the instructor’s face when he just glanced uncomfortably at him, as if saying, ‘Ugh. Can’t these kids do this when I’m not here?’ could not be erased from his memory.