The morning rose like a thread of gold sliding along the edges of the river, breaking the mist into clear blades. The air smelled of cold leaves and washed stone. Daytona was the first to rise — she sat up, pulled the cloak over her shoulders, and spent a few seconds just listening to the water run. A soft crack in her spine, the Kōken resting beside her, and all of Paradise seemed to hold its breath with her.
— Wake up, general — Martin grumbled, crawling out of his blanket cocoon with hair at war. — If we don't eat, I'm gonna start chewing clouds.
— Great source of nothing — Ghost commented, already standing, checking his biological clock as if such a thing existed there. — Let's look for something along the edges. Nylon?
The Throne, with the posture of a gladiator at rest, gave a subtle nod. — Follow the leaves with a bluish glow. They're bushes called "nutra." Edible roots and safe fruits. Beware of the flowers that mimic crystal — too much beauty usually means defense.
Raphaella didn't speak; she simply observed as the group spread out through the low brush. The morning light made the plants look glasslike. Among the nutra bushes, small translucent berries hung in clusters, each with a shining core — sweet and slightly salty to the taste, clean energy that didn't weigh on the stomach. Martin cheered when he found firm roots that pulled from the ground like porcelain carrots. Ghost tested two leaves with the tip of his tongue, nodded, and began assembling a small meal: slices of root lightly grilled with minimal device heat, berries mashed into paste, river water filtered through a porous stone that Raphaella pointed out.
— So Paradise does serve breakfast — Martin joked, his mouth already glowing.
— It serves discipline — Nylon corrected, biting into a root with the calm of someone chewing on principles.
Daytona ate little, attentive to her hands. The previous night still pulsed inside her: Kamiiro, truth, color. Her hair rested normal, but there was an expectation there — like a spark holding its breath.
When they finished, Raphaella rose without hurry. A snap of her fingers — sharp, musical — and the world in front of them rearranged like a pulled curtain: grasses retreated, the riverbank opened into a clean semicircle, and a milky crystal platform rose from the ground, smooth as tatami, marked with concentric golden rings. Four pillars of light appeared at the edges without touching the ground, and the breeze grew instantly more stable, as if the air itself began obeying new rules.
— Training — Raphaella said simply. — Daytona and Nylon. No lethality, no showing off. Purpose: listening. The Kamiiro does not respond to noise.
Nylon walked to the edge of the platform like one returning to an ancient home. Daytona took a deep breath, adjusted her stance, and the Kōken responded with an intimate, almost cardiac glow.
— Rules? — she asked.
— Three: — Raphaella raised one finger for each item. — 1) No devastating forms that alter the terrain; 2) reading, not haste; 3) stop when you hear yourself.
Saravia rested the anchor on her shoulder and stepped back, intrigued. — This is gonna hurt a bit — she whispered to Martin, who nodded with a tense smile.
Ghost activated a visual recorder on his bracelet. — Documenting reaction patterns. No interference.
The platform emitted a low sound, almost a harp hum. The golden rings lit up and dimmed in sequence, marking the start. Nylon raised his chin, eyes calm; Daytona lowered her center of gravity, blade diagonal, ready-attack.
— Remember, Daytona — Raphaella's voice came clear but gentle — see before acting. And if something in you changes… look at the tip of your hair.
Nylon advanced two measured, unhurried steps. Daytona mirrored. The space between them thickened like air before a storm. The first movement would be a dialogue — not a scream.
Then it began: Nylon, with his Avangard, drew a short arc, testing space; the Kōken traced a minimal line in the air, more intention than strike. Light contact, reading, micro-adjustments. Nylon shifted weight. Daytona noticed. Their eyes narrowed. The platform breathed with them.
The fight — the training — was lit. And at the edge, Raphaella watched not the blade, nor the shield, but Daytona's strand of hair, waiting for the first flash of color.
— Hmm, I can see these are large-scale abilities, so I'll have to expand the environment. — Raphaella snapped her fingers and they were teleported to an empty place with a few small mountains and cliff walls.
— Perfect, the time is now… prepare yourselves.
Nylon vs Daytona
Both prepared, Daytona raised the Kōken and Nylon raised his as well, with his golden katana named Avangard.
— Well, let's beg—
Before Raphaella could finish, Daytona charged at Nylon with her Second Element of the Kōken. But Nylon reacted in time and countered Daytona with a vertical strike using his katana, forcing her to step back.
— He's fast, I can barely predict him!
— Avangard, Third Element, Eye of the Heart. — Nylon delivered a strike faster than light directly into Daytona's heart, causing a massive, fatal-looking puncture.
Everyone froze in shock at Nylon's power — and in fear that Daytona might actually have died.
— End of the line. — Nylon turned around and saw Daytona standing unharmed, despite the huge hole in her chest. He was stunned, unsure how she survived.
Martin was the first to speak in the silence — She's still standing and… unharmed? Even after that?
— Raphaella…? — Saravia asked while staring sideways at her, as if waiting for an answer without asking.
— From what I saw, Nylon truly landed a precise blow to Daytona's heart, but the moment it hit, it regenerated at an incomprehensible speed. Also, Daytona has three hearts.
— Three hearts!? — Martin blurted, unable to believe it.
— Yes. One in the center and two on the sides. From what I know, the number of hearts indicates the rank of their Capital Sin.
Everyone glanced briefly at Saravia, but remained silent as the fight continued.
Then the battle raged on.
— Kōken Akagami, Eighth Element, Pillars of Illusion. Daytona charged at Nylon, unleashing a barrage of short-range slashes that increased in distance with each strike. Nylon dodged easily since the attack was "slow," but was soon caught by Daytona's Second Element (Vacuum Point). He managed to block, but the blade of his Avangard where he parried the hit became dull, though still usable.
— Alright… so this won't be easy at all. Time to get more serious. Avangard, First Element, Seven-Atmospheres.
Nylon leaped high enough to reach the clouds and delivered seven massive vertical slashes. Daytona was hit full-on. When trying to dodge, her left forearm was sliced halfway through. She couldn't regenerate because Nylon's katana prevented demonic healing.
— So the gold is the weakness that stops demon regeneration… interesting — Ghost thought to himself while watching.
— I'm not defeated yet… Kōken, Seventh Element, Derealism. Daytona made a simple motion with her katana, but it released a wave of dozens of massive, homing slashes.
— Avangard, Sixth Element, Seven Celestial Claws. — With no time to think, Nylon used his Sixth Form to counter her attack. It created six consecutive slashes that managed to dispel Daytona's attack — but he was caught off-guard and one of her cuts landed diagonally on his chest, leaving a deep wound.
Irritated at being struck, Nylon descended at devastating speed, the impact shattering the ground around him.
— Avangard, Fourth Element, Demon Hunter!
Nylon appeared before Daytona and tried to slice off her head with absurd speed, but she reacted in time and ducked, causing him to sever half her hair instead.
— Ahh, you b*stard… — Daytona's forearm suddenly regenerated completely, and she punched Nylon in the stomach, launching him 3 kilometers into a stone wall.
— Kōken, First Element, Tail of Wrath!
Daytona reached Nylon instantly and delivered a massive vertical strike on the stone wall he'd been thrown into. The blow split the "wall" in half.
Then heavy rain began to fall — so intense it hindered the fight, but also made it more thrilling, at least according to most of them.
— I feel like there's a literal waterfall falling on me. Can someone make this stop? — Martin asked Raphaella, but also glanced at Saravia.
— It was me. I want to see how far they go… I might increase the rain later… maybe. Don't worry, it won't hit us. Or maybe I'll change my mind.
— This rain is like a literal waterfall. — Saravia stated, trying to make Raphaella reconsider, but she simply ignored it.
— The ground is flooding… if this continues, we'll have to fight in the air or underwater… — Daytona thought.
Suddenly, Nylon appeared behind Daytona. — Avangard, Fifth Element, Velvetal. — Without moving at all, he inflicted a deep X-shaped cut on Daytona's back, but she didn't react — she simply turned around.
— Kōken, Second Element, Vacuum Point. — Daytona calmly activated her ability, slicing Nylon's neck as a warning, not decapitating him. But her speed was nearly 12 times faster than before.
Everyone saw it — Daytona had finally awakened the Beast Mark. A circular mark on the right side of her forehead, black, with a spiked inner ring and a third mark shaped like an arrow emerging from the central circle.
— Kōken, Seventh Element, Derealism. — Her speed was far beyond what it had been. Daytona's slashes hit Nylon fully, leaving him severely wounded.
— Damn… if I keep this up I'm going to die… I can't retreat!
(The rain stops.)
— Kōken Akakagami, Second Element, Vacuum Point — this is it… — Daytona charged at Nylon again, but he raised his forearm to shield his face. Daytona struck his arm.
— Huh? What? — Daytona pulled her katana from Nylon's arm, and when she saw the blade, the Kōken was completely dull — nearly unable to cut paper.
— Are you serious?… — Nylon took advantage of her distraction and charged from behind, but Daytona reacted and turned around, counterattacking and forcing Nylon to lower his guard. She delivered a horizontal slash — it hit him, but only caused a shallow wound since her Kōken was dull.
— If he keeps fighting, he's going to die! — Martin yelled to Raphaella in worry.
Raphaella sighed, then spoke, eyes still on the fight — Nylon can endure for a while longer, but Daytona won't be able to kill him easily because her Kōken is dull from the excess power she's drawing. And besides, killing an angel… especially a Throne-class? Not so simple.
— Alright, that's enough. Daytona has achieved what we wanted. — Raphaella snapped her fingers, and they returned to their campsite.