Calm descended on the room, Kael and I looked at each other without breaking eye contact. The tension had also increased. The others stood back and just watched, understanding the situation and not wanting to disturb us.
Kael and I are not on bad terms; we have become very good friends. But at that moment, we both felt the same thing: the desire to win. Whoever was in front of me, I didn't want to lose, and that's why I wasn't going to hold back and would give it my all, just as Kael would do the same.
Our two young people launched into the fight, each rushing towards the other. Nozomi jumped over Kael to get behind him, following up with a kick. Kael, who had read Nozomi, anticipated this move. He blocked her attack with one blow and moved to the side to hit her in the stomach.
Nozomi, using her reflexes, dodged his blow with a backward somersault. After her somersault, Nozomi pushed off with her legs and leaped at Kael. Surprised by the speed of the attack, Kael only had time to protect himself with his arms. But the impact was so strong that Kael was propelled to the edge of the arena.
Nozomi wasted no time in approaching Kael, who was trapped by the arena's boundaries, and cornered him with multiple blows, leaving him no time to breathe or react.
Unfortunately, Kael was able to withstand each of Nozomi's punches. As Nozomi continued to overload him with blows, Kael waited for the perfect moment to counterattack. When an opening appeared, Kael struck Nozomi in the ribs with a powerful left kick, followed by a hook to the right side, finishing with a 360-degree spin and a front kick to the solar plexus.
Faced with this combination, Nozomi distanced herself from Kael to regain her composure, but Kael was clearly in a position of strength. In turn, he gave Nozomi no chance to keep her distance, quickly ending the fight.
Kael charged at Nozomi, who simply backed away, clearly overwhelmed by events. But as Kael threw a straight punch, Nozomi dodged to the right and landed a hook on Kael. He then grabbed Kael's arm and brought him down to the ground with a hook kick. With Kael on the ground, Nozomi didn't hesitate to kick him in the face.
Kael was thrown into the air after the kick to the face, but he managed to land on his feet. Nozomi rushed at him, lowered his center of gravity, and performed a double leg takedown, grabbing Kael at the hips. He wanted to take him down, but Kael didn't let him. Kael holds his ground with his legs planted firmly on the ground and knees Nozomi in the stomach. He grabs Nozomi's shoulders and, with a forward somersault over Nozomi, throws him to the ground with combative power.
With Nozomi on the ground, Kael got on top of him and began to overwhelm him with multiple blows. Nozomi tried to protect himself as best he could with his arms. Desperate, he kicked Kael directly in the stomach, which worked, and he managed to escape.
Both exhausted and feeling pain throughout their bodies, it was clear that the end of the fight was near. Our two heroes drew on their last reserves of strength for one final assault.
They ran towards each other, Nozomi preparing a direct punch. But Kael slid on his knees to dodge Nozomi's blow, got up, jumped while pivoting 180 degrees, and delivered the final blow with a whipping kick to the ribs. He propelled his opponent, who crashed into the edge of the arena.
"Ahhh!" Nozomi, taking the blow without any defense and with no strength left, collapsed to the ground.
"End of the fight! Winner Kael," announced Elyra.
"That was a great fight, you can be proud of yourself."
Kael walked over to Nozomi. "Well done, you were impressive!"
"I'm the one who's supposed to say that. I mean, I'm the one lying on the ground."
The two young people shook hands and Kael helped Nozomi to her feet. The others looked at them in awe, impressed by their performance.
From Elyra. "I would like to congratulate you all. You have all adapted well and shown excellent skills. Keep it up and continue to develop your art to become stronger. Today you proved that you have indeed changed since the first day. Nozomi, don't be disappointed by your defeat, you defended yourself very well, and Kael, the level you showed today is very impressive for a young man like you."
After these fights, we were all exhausted and overwhelmed by muscle pain. Elyra let us go home to rest and recover. Kael and I were particularly sore all over after the multiple blows we had taken. Bruises had formed and were visible on our bodies.
This was obvious when I got home. My parents, after seeing the bruises on my body, stopped me to ask questions. It was natural for them to be worried when they saw these bruises.
"I'm fine, it's just a few bruises I got during the day, nothing serious, you don't need to worry." I said this in the hope of reassuring them.
But it didn't work: "How can we not be worried? Look at yourself, you have bruises all over you. You've been acting strangely lately, coming home late, and today you come home with bruises."
I found myself in a difficult situation, and telling the truth was not an option. But at that moment, no other idea came to mind. I was paralyzed, unable to find an answer that would satisfy them. My face darkened in the face of the situation.
But suddenly my father said, "Nozomi, do you promise us that nothing bad will happen to you?"
"Huh?" Surprised by my father's behavior and his words, I couldn't think of anything better to say than, "Yes, I promise you don't have to worry."
At that moment, Nozomi hadn't answered their questions. He, who had been lying to them from the beginning, couldn't bring himself to create a new lie at that moment. He gave them an answer that satisfied them without really answering, because he knew that a hero risked his life at any moment.
After that, Nozomi remained silent, waiting for a response from his parents. "Well, I think that when the time comes and you feel ready, you'll come to us on your own," said my father.
And my mother. "Nozomi, I worry about you, but I also trust you. If you feel you can't talk to us about it, then so be it, but don't forget that we will always be here for you. We love you and care about you very much, so promise us that you will always come home. As long as you keep that promise, we won't worry about you. You are a kind and strong boy who always finds a way to help those close to you."
I couldn't help but shed a few tears, which I wiped away as quickly as possible. Knowing that they trusted me gave me the strength to move forward without fear. "I promise you, I'll come home every time."
No matter how many battles lie ahead of me, I will emerge victorious. I won't let anything happen to those I care about. I will use the strength and power I have been given for the good of others.
I later learned that the others had also not escaped their parents, but like me, they had gotten out without much difficulty.
The next day, we all met up at the Ship. "Hello, everyone. I hope you're feeling better after yesterday's events."
It still hurt a little, but we couldn't afford to rest. Now that we had mastered the art of hand-to-hand combat, it was time to move on to the next step: mastering elemental aetherium.
Elyra explained. "It's time to begin the final stage of your training: elemental aetherium. I've already explained to each of you how your respective elemental aetheriums work. Now it's time to put it into practice."
Elyra had prepared training for each of us based on her entire database of our elemental aetherium. The training was optimized to get results quickly, whether in terms of understanding, fighting style, mastery, the domain to which it belongs, or specific characteristics. Elyra took every detail into account, leaving nothing to chance and offering us the best possible training and putting us in the best conditions.
"You will train very frequently. Since you are on vacation, you will come five times a week so that you can practice. If my estimates are correct, it will only take you five months to master your elemental aetherium."
From Aria: "Very well, Elyra, that's fine with us. We didn't have anything planned for the holidays anyway."
The final stage of our training was about to begin. And we gave it our all every day, not wanting to be a burden after all the work Elyra had done for us.
Two and a half months later, in a distant dimension, alone in a large hall, sitting on his throne, Reimu Hikarizuki was silent, an annoyed look on his face. After being locked in this dimension for over 10 years by Nova Yuutaka, it was understandable that Reimu felt a deep hatred for Nova. He had only one thought and one goal: to escape from this cursed place that served as his prison and take revenge on Nova and his wife Luna.
Suddenly, a man entered the room: "Master, if I may, the progress to open the door is going well. We have managed to create a flaw in the portal."
"A crack, we can try to get through it."
"The crack is not big enough, and considering your power and the energy you give off, the portal will have to be completely open for you to pass through. If you try before the portal is completely open, it will repel you because of the confinement spells cast by Nova Yuutaka."
"I expected that. He didn't leave anything to chance until the very end."
"However, we can try to get at least one person through. According to the analysis, if we send a single person of standard power through, it might work."
"Then do that. Order them to gather as much information as possible and test the waters. Nova, get ready. This time, I won't let you take what is most precious to me."
Back in our dimension, a rift opens above the ship. A man emerges and lands on the ship.
"You can trust me, Master."