Chapter 194: Last Training Before Duel (2)

In order to make sure they were in top form before their duel, the four of them decided to hit the training room that day.

Sabel and Aisha practiced again while Vesper trained Kane to strengthen his defenses against a Sentinel’s attacks.

Vesper was too excited for the duel tomorrow and couldn’t hold back at the last moment, accidentally throwing Kane across the room.

"Fuck, sorry!" Vesper immediately shot up to catch him before Kane could hit the ground.

Kane was even more embarrassed about being carried by him than by the thought of almost getting injured because of Vesper’s momentary lapse.

"Let me down."

Sabel and Aisha also stopped their training and approached them.

"What happened? Did you attempt to murder someone on our team before our duel tomorrow?" Sabel was soaked with sweat and huffed as she spoke.

Training with Aisha was the most exciting training she had done for years since she became a Sentinel. But it was also extremely exhausting because Aisha was too agile and hard to beat in a hand-to-hand battle.

It was as though she was being trained by an expert instead of training with a fellow classmate.

Kane glanced at them. Realizing he was the only one who hadn’t shown any improvement in his training, his ears reddened.

"I might lose tomorrow."

He warned them of what might happen in his fight tomorrow. He didn’t want to raise their hopes in him and then disappoint them if he didn’t win.

"Idiot," Vesper cursed, still carrying him. "Do you think we care about that?"

Sabel nodded. "He’s right. Whether we lose or not, it doesn’t matter."

Kane scoffed. "You say that... but what happens if we get expelled after losing?"

That shut them up. That had been what kept them from causing trouble at school. And now that they were about to cause another one through a battle with four other idiots, they already expected the academy to not take it well and make them pay the price if they lost.

All of them had circumstances of their own where they couldn’t afford to leave the Academy.

But...

"Then, we’ll just transfer to another school."

Aisha wasn’t usually good with her words, but she felt that there was no need to worry.

"We’ll show what we can do tomorrow to everyone and make it impossible for the academy to expel us. And if they still do... we can transfer elsewhere. A school where they can’t deny our talents and will treasure us instead."

She didn’t believe that the Imperial Star Academy was the only school that would accept them. It was true that they weren’t exactly the most desirable students most schools would want. But in the future, their talents would be something the empire would want to have.

And Aisha didn’t want these young people to always be on their tiptoes because the adults knew the rules and the game better.

"..."

The three of them were silent for a long time. They didn’t expect Aisha to say these things, but for some reason, they felt the burden inside them fade, as though just her believing in them could make them achieve anything in the world!

Their shaken mentality quickly calmed down. They no longer felt like they were carrying boulders on their backs, and the training went on smoothly without another accident.

Kane replaced Aisha, and he trained with Sabel. The two of them worked even more in sync.

The moment Vesper stood before Aisha, his grin widened like a Cheshire cat.

Ever since he watched Sabel fight Aisha last time, he had been wanting to fight her as well. But he was warned by Kane and Sabel not to because they were afraid that he would be unable to control his strength and end up hurting Aisha.

It was not wrong to say he was also worried that there might be an accident. And honestly, Vesper didn’t want to traumatize Aisha if he lost control.

For the past few years since his awakening, several Guides who had partnered with him in class when he was still in one of the top classes had complained every single time. They would report him to the professors and have him completely isolated in group activities.

Even the Sentinels he sparred with would angrily curse at him, telling him that he should know how to control his strength better.

But how could he? Vesper was born with extraordinary strength because his father was a halfbred between a human and an Outerworlder. Among his siblings, he was the only one who inherited his paternal family’s strength, which even his father didn’t possess. And they had long since lost contact with their father’s paternal family. Thus, he hadn’t learned how to control his strength even after he tried several times.

Hence, when he saw how Aisha was able to avoid getting hurt even as Sabel used her Sentinel power on her, he felt the urge to fight her.

Compared to Kane, she seemed more capable of exchanging blows with him.

Of course, that didn’t mean he was completely rid of his concerns.

When they first exchanged punches, Vesper couldn’t help but be surprised.

The moment their fists collided, he was pushed back, and Aisha did not stop attacking. Like a viper that had latched onto its prey, she twisted her arm and slipped it around his, then pulled him toward her and delivered a rattling headbutt.

The sound echoed throughout the room, distracting Kane and Sabel enough that they turned to look at them.

"Are you both okay?" Kane asked in concern upon seeing the redness on Aisha’s forehead and the blood running from Vesper’s nose.

The two barely reacted to their worries as they once again exchanged blow after blow.

Aisha tried to sweep Vesper’s feet, but he jumped away just as her leg hit him. He then tried to kick her while he was in midair, but Aisha pulled her head back before the tip of his toe could strike her. The tip of his shoe missed her chin by a centimeter. Aisha didn’t stop, using her momentum to let herself fall backward and roll onto her back before getting back to her feet. ℴℴ𝘮

It happened so fast, even faster than the previous training battle Aisha and Sabel did earlier.

"..."

"You both are monsters..."

Kane and Sabel muttered under their breaths.