CHAPTER 52: SHEER LUCK?

A week had gone by since squad 4 had returned to their old rundown apartment. The guys felt oddly at home with the cluttered interior, the peeling walls, and the lived in atmosphere of the place. Even the creaking doors and flickering lights added to the familiarity. To them, this was comfort. To Minato, however, it had been nothing short of a shock.

"How can people live in a place like this?" He often muttered to himself in the first few days, unable to comprehend how his squadmates could lounge so casually amidst the mess. But eventually, the strange warmth of the apartment and the easy camaraderie that filled it wore down his resistance, and he found himself settling in.

Life had slowed to a crawl since their return. They hadn’t been deployed by Aeri once, and that silence felt heavier with each passing day.

After the revelation that Shikkoku might wage an all out war, one would expect the city to erupt into chaos. Yet, instead, the streets grew unsettlingly calm. A few low tier gangs made noise here and there, scrambling for scraps of power, but they were easily swept aside by ZEAL’s men. Nothing that truly threatened the balance. Nothing that explained the eerie quiet that hung over the city like a storm waiting to break.

In the meantime, Aeri devised a rigorous training regimen aimed at sharpening both the squad’s collective synergy and their individual strength.

Mornings were spent on grueling exercises, endurance runs, body strengthening drills, and relentless hand to hand combat emphasizing technique, much like the regimen Ren and Minato endured back in Ward 11.

After lunch, their focus shifted to coordinated team based tactics, honing recon methods and how they will act as a squad in large scale all out wars. Nights were reserved for drive core cultivation, each of them trying to refine their energy flow, while Minato and Kaela, in particular, pushed toward the milestone of unlocking their Core Release.

Miko, being the only non awakened among them, took a different path. He immersed himself in martial arts training and poured hours into studying battlefield gadgetry, designing tools that could turn the tide of combat in their favor.

While all of them had grown stronger through training, two stood out the most. Sora and Seth.

Sora, who had unlocked the second phase of her Core Release during her fight with Zarveth, was transforming into a force of nature on her own. Seth, meanwhile, had achieved complete control over his Core Release, able to extend its duration without suffering backlash, a feat that left even their captain impressed.

Ren, however, remained stuck at a wall. The promised tips from Kaien had yet to come, and every night he pushed himself with Core Spiraling practice. Yet no matter how much effort he poured in, the pain refused to lessen. A week had passed, and frustration gnawed at him with every failed attempt.

On the dawn of their second week, a spark lit among the squad. The schedule revealed that Sora and Ren would be sparring against each other.

The announcement instantly raised the question everyone had quietly carried since the beginning of training:

"Who is the strongest member of this squad excluding the captain?"

As things stood, Seth held the third position. He had managed to overpower both Kaela and Minato, but ultimately fell short against Ren and Sora.

In other words, when the dust settled, the only question that remained was, between Sora and Ren, who truly stood at the top?

Ren had already proven himself on the battlefield, defeating powerful opponents and unleashing a Core Release that turned him into a beast of speed and power. Sora, however, had awakened Phase Two, a level beyond what a normal Core Release could reach.

Even the two themselves couldn’t hide their anticipation. Sora and Ren both wore faint smiles, their blood boiling with excitement. At last, the day had come to settle the question.

Inside the underground training grounds, they stood face to face, eyes locked, smiles lingering like sparks before a storm. After a final glance of silent acknowledgment, they both lunged forward.

Steel met steel, Ren’s katana and Sora’s twin daggers clashing in a sharp, echoing ring. They pressed against each other for a moment, then broke apart.

Sora wasted no time, hurling one of her molten daggers toward Ren. But Ren didn’t flinch. With a swift arc of his katana, he deflected it, sending the glowing blade spinning back toward its owner.

Catching it mid flight, Sora kicked off the ground and launched herself into the air. Her body spun gracefully, daggers blazing as she aimed to drive them straight into Ren.

"Red Bloom Drive!" she yelled.

But halfway through her attack, everything stopped. Chains of lightning snapped into existence, coiling tightly around her body.

Ren’s lips curved into a faint smile. His trap had sprung perfectly.

He had already taken everything into account. Sora’s habits, her tendencies, her power. She was tactical, yes, but in battle, she often pushed too far, overextending for the kill. Ren had baited her into just that. By deliberately blocking her dagger and sending it back, he knew her focus would linger on it for a crucial moment. That was all he needed. The lightning chains struck at the perfect time, binding her in place.

Ren raised his right hand, index finger extended. Black lightning gathered at its tip, unstable and wild, before blasting it toward the restrained Sora.

But she wasn’t done yet.

"Core Release: Overload Drive!" she yelled.

One of her daggers spun toward Ren, and in an instant, she teleported to it, appearing directly in front of him. Her blades came down in a blazing arc, aimed to carve him apart.

Still, Ren was a step ahead. His form flickered, disappearing in a burst of black lightning. The next instant, he reappeared above her, descending like a comet.

"Thunderfoot." His voice was low and cold.

His heel smashed into her head, sending her crashing against the ground. The impact cracked the floor, but Sora forced herself back up, staggering only for a second.

She didn’t strike immediately. Instead, she glared at him, voice trembling with emotion.

"Are you pitying me?"

Ren froze, caught off guard.

"If you don’t deem my Core Release worthy enough to activate your own, then I’ll make you!"

Her aura exploded.

"Core Release Phase Two: Garden of Daggers!"

Instantly, dozens of crimson aura daggers bloomed into existence, orbiting Ren like a storm of blades. Her speed surged, her strength multiplied, and the very air burned with her killing intent.

The pressure was undeniable. Ren had no choice but to respond. Slowly, he placed a hand across his face.

"Core Release. Lightning Requiem."

A flood of black lightning erupted from his body, condensing into a jagged mask of pure electricity that covered his face.

The pressure shifted violently, heavy, suffocating, and overwhelming.

The moment Sora stood before it, her breath was caught in her throat. This aura, it’s crushing me. Just standing here feels like my body will shatter. Her grip tightened around her daggers, refusing to falter.

"It is indeed disrespectful, going easy on someone as strong as this. Let me make up for my arrogance." Ren muttered, his voice low as arcs of black lightning flared across his body.

In an instant, dozens of lightning platforms crackled into existence around the training grounds. Ren leapt onto them, darting from one to another like a phantom, his speed so sharp that even the others watching could barely follow him, Sora included.

But Sora was ready.

She flicked her wrists, and the crimson daggers orbiting her shifted, redirecting toward Ren with merciless precision. One after another slashed through the air, Ren was able to dodge everything, but it was cutting off his paths of escape.

Ren’s world narrowed. His options were vanishing, his movement being cornered.

She’s forcing me into a trap. Ren thought.

Sora surged forward, her own body a blur of molten energy. Ren tried to push her back, blasting spheres of lightning from his palms, but she tore through them, relentless. Her strikes were heavy and her speed was terrifying.

Her strength, it might rival Zarveth’s. And these floating daggers, they never stop. Always circling. Always closing in. It’s almost like Luciena’s fishes. If she keeps refining this, she might even reach Luciena’s level.

Several daggers grazed him, sparks scattering as his body jolted with shallow cuts as he found his back pressed against the corner of the training grounds.

And then...

"Now!" Sora yelled, lunging with her twin daggers as the crimson blades all around them closed in toward Ren in a crushing storm.

For a moment, Ren’s mind blanked. His body moved on its own.

Once. Twice. Thrice.

Three chained thunderclaps in a sharp zigzag cut through the air, his form vanishing and reappearing in a blur of black lightning. The next instant, he stood behind Sora, his katana drawn, its edge resting at her neck.

The red daggers froze mid air.

Sora’s hands rose and fell heavily as her aura dimmed. "I admit defeat."

Ren said nothing. He lowered his blade, but his face twisted with frustration. Even though he won, his chest burned, not from excitement, but from anger.

He hadn’t controlled that last move. His instincts had carried him. It wasn’t his strength, not really.

Without a word to the others, Ren exited the training grounds. The squad watched him leave in silence, uncertain whether to celebrate his victory or pity his frustration.

Ren climbed to the rooftop alone, to get some fresh air. He ripped his shirt off and threw it aside, letting the cool wind get past into the sweat and cuts across his body.

"Why?" he muttered under his breath, fists trembling. "Why can’t I control it?"

Then a voice came from behind.

"You must’ve been frustrated that you won by sheer luck, huh?"

Ren turned, and there stood Gale.

"Gale? Did you watch the whole thing?"

"Yep. Spying is my specialty, after all. So you’ve tapped into Core Spiraling, but you can’t control it willingly. And when you do, it tears at your body and core, right?"

"I bet you heard that from Kaien."

"Well, the latter part, yes. But the first? I noticed it myself when you chained those three thunderclaps."

Ren clenched his fists. "Why can’t I control it? Why can’t I master it? And where’s Kaien?! He promised he’d give me tips about it!"

"He sent me instead." Gale lifted three fingers, then lowered one. "In three—no, two days, you’ll be able to control it at will, without that pain ripping through your body."