Chapter 80: A breath of fresh air

Bunny found herself completely lost for words. Wait, since when was admiring someone considered sneaking a glance? That’s called appreciating beauty, alright?

Rain offered her a subtle smile, but without warning, his grip tightened around her waist. Bunny’s expression shifted instantly. Reacting on instinct, she snapped her wrist, sweeping the trench knife toward him in a fluid counterattack.

Yet the man moved even faster. Catching her wrist mid-swing, he delivered a precise elbow strike that sent a jolt of numbness through her arm, forcing her fingers to loosen and dropping the blade to the floor.

Even with her arms pinned, Bunny immediately launched a knee strike aimed straight at his abdomen. The two exchanged several quick blows across the open training ring until Rain seamlessly transitioned into a submission chokehold, bringing her momentum to a dead stop.

Match point—his victory.

He released his grip at once and offered a quiet note of praise. "You’re picking things up remarkably fast, Bunny."

To survive that many exchanges against him proved her growing adaptability. Perhaps Cyrus’s uncompromising rigor wasn’t such a bad thing after all.

The loss of Lily and Hilan hadn’t just left a deep scar on Bunny’s heart; it served as a stark wake-up call for everyone in the squad. On a wasteland territory this unforgiving, death was always just one misstep away. A Guide who lacked the power to protect herself was nothing more than prey waiting for the slaughter. No matter how flawless their protection seemed, no defense was entirely ironclad.

Bunny had to grow stronger. She needed to be like the resilient native flora of the wasteland—capable of blossoming into something magnificent even amidst the harshest rock and dust.

"Remember, losing focus on the battlefield is fatal," Rain said, picking up the dropped trench knife and handing it back to her. His demeanor had already shifted back to its usual calm, distant composure. "Never leave your back exposed to anyone, Bunny."

His tone turned unexpectedly cold. "Not even me."

Because she had lowered her guard around him completely, his surprise attack had proved instantly decisive.

Bunny couldn’t quite fathom why he would say something like that. If she couldn’t even trust the teammates who fought by her side in life-and-death battles, who else was left to trust in this world? What kind of past had shaped his cynical outlook?

Yet the icy barrier in his eyes warned her against prying. That was the only real trouble with this guy—he tended to wear a stony, unreadable expression and rarely smiled, despite how stunning he looked whenever he did.

Over the next few hours, Rain put her through her paces with various melee options: short swords, thrusting daggers, single-edged combat knives, and dual blades. The goal was to help her identify which weapon felt most natural in her hands. Of course, finding a personal favorite was only step one; a truly capable combatant had to master a full arsenal. In a real-world fight, anything at hand had to be usable as a lethal tool.

Survival was the ultimate bottom line.

Given her build and physical reach, compact blades and tactical trench spikes were clearly her sweet spot. Rain instructed her with meticulous care, and Bunny absorbed every lesson with total focus. Among all the Sentinels, their dynamic felt closest to a classic student-mentor relationship. Bunny genuinely appreciated this balanced, respectful distance—it elevated her opinion of him even further.

See? The model student really is a breath of fresh air.

By the end of five grueling hours of intense physical drills, Bunny was thoroughly drained. Rain insisted that every simulation had to be treated like a real struggle for survival, because an enemy on the battlefield would never grant a second chance.

Sprawled flat on the floor like a dried-out sponge, arms and legs star-shaped, Bunny rested with her eyes closed, mentally digesting every technique they had practiced.

Noticing her exhaustion, Rain knelt beside her and began gently massaging her overworked muscles. His technique was remarkably refined, applying just the right amount of pressure to melt the soreness away—so comfortable that Bunny couldn’t help letting out a soft sigh of relief.

This feels like twenty years of professional physical therapy experience, she thought, unable to resist cracking a joke:

"Hey, master therapist... where did you pick up skills like these?"

Bunny slowly opened her eyes to find Rain completely engrossed in working out the knots in her tired muscles. A thought suddenly surfaced in her mind—the method Yomi had mentioned earlier.

The method that could allow Rain to see color in the world again.

Entering a Sentinel’s mental landscape without the intent to bind carried an exceedingly high risk. Doing so without a foundation of deep, bedrock trust could easily provoke intense revulsion and resistance from the Sentinel, potentially triggering a state of mania or violent instability.

Sentinels despised having their private domain probed by outsiders.

Yet Bunny still wanted to give it a try.

"Rain, would you let me practice mental cleansing on you one more time?"

Rin had specifically cautioned her that the deep link required keeping the Sentinel in the dark about her true intent. The moment a Sentinel knew someone was venturing into their mental landscape, a part of their subconscious would reflexively lock down. They wouldn’t expose the deepest core of their world consciousness, making it impossible for her spiritual threads to achieve a true, profound fusion.

Human nature was simply built that way—always hesitant to uncover its own scars and vulnerabilities.

That was precisely why Rin had advised against it. But aside from this approach, there didn’t seem to be any other choice.

Rain paused for a brief moment. Given that both the Commander and Vice Commander were exceptionally high-ranked and had yet to receive a full mental cleansing, it made sense for Bunny to use him as a stepping stone to build up her practice.

"Alright."

To be safe, Bunny still fitted Rain with a complete set of physical restraints. Only after ensuring the man was securely immobilized did she carefully slip into his mental sea.

Having conducted a cleansing for him not long ago, his mental space was naturally clean and serene. Bunny took her time, gradually lowering Rain’s natural defenses.

The Guide’s spiritual threads drifted gently and smoothly, like hands softly stroking a kitten’s head—gently soothing Rain’s mental fibers over and over again. Those stubborn, golden spiritual threads quickly softened beyond his control, lining up obediently as if waiting for a gentle touch.

Rain’s mind slowly unwound, and his entire posture softened noticeably.

He remained completely motionless, his gaze fixed on Bunny as she kept her eyes closed. Instinctively, his eyes drifted down to her lips.

He could tell her lips were full and soft, yet he remained unable to perceive their true color.