Chapter 49: The Demon
Brian was the one chosen to challenge Axel.
That had been decided in advance between the three of them. Zephyr had said it would be a three man challenge, but before stepping onto the field, they had already settled the matter privately. Brian was the strongest among them. If even he could not win, then he would keep challenging again in the days to come until he did.
They had their pride, too.
None of them wanted to wear Axel down through endless relay battles.
Brian stepped forward first and gave a short nod.
"My name is Brian. Nice to meet you."
Axel returned the courtesy. "Axel. Nice to meet you."
That was the end of politeness.
The moment the words were out, both of them shifted into fighting stances.
Brian was broad shouldered and solidly built, a young man forged by two years in Zephyr's recruit camp. He did not have monstrous talent, nor a rare Devil Fruit, nor some impossible gift from heaven. What he did have was resolve. He had clawed his way to the front through stubborn training and sheer will.
And in his heart, he still believed the same thing he always had.
He would not lose.
Not here.
Not to the white haired brat standing in front of him.
Brian measured the distance between them in an instant.
Roughly twenty meters.
If he exploded forward at full speed, two seconds. Maybe less.
His calves tightened.
Then he burst forward.
In the blink of an eye, he crossed the gap, twisted his hips, and drove a punch toward Axel with everything he had.
But a hand stopped him.
A pale, slender hand.
It looked too delicate for a battlefield, more suited to a piano than a fistfight. At a glance, it even seemed fragile, the kind of arm that ought to snap the moment a real blow landed on it.
Brian almost scoffed.
Almost.
Then instinct dragged him back to his senses.
Zephyr was not the kind of man who praised someone lightly, let alone chose them for personal training on a whim. If the old monster had placed Axel above him, then there was a reason.
So Brian did not hold back.
His punch crashed into Axel's palm.
It felt like slamming into a steel wall.
Not only did the blow fail to push through, a violent counterforce shot back into his arm and made the bones in his fist tremble. Brian's expression changed. He stepped back hard with his left foot, dragging himself several paces away before steadying his stance again.
His eyes locked onto Axel.
"How did you do that?"
Axel answered simply, "My ability."
"A Devil Fruit ser?"
Brian's face tightened.
That at least explained why Axel could stand there like that.
A Paramecia, probably. Something strange. Something troublesome.
And lately, ability users really had started popping up everywhere. First Binz. Now Axel.
Still, Brian was not the type to flinch just because the enemy had eaten a Devil Fruit. If he gave up that easily, he would never have made it this far in Zephyr's camp.
He launched himself in again.
This time he did not come from the front.
If Axel could casually stop a direct attack, then he would attack from the side. Even a strange ability should have blind spots. No one could defend everything at once.
That was the logic.
It just did not work.
Every time Brian attacked, Axel was already there. A hand, a forearm, a shift of the shoulder, a turn of the body. Clean, precise, effortless. It was as if Axel already knew where each strike would land before Brian himself committed to it.
In truth, Axel could have done less.
He could have stood there and let [reflection] handle everything. But blocking and countering with that alone would have looked too unnatural, too monstrous. So instead, he chose a method that at least resembled normal combat.
Brian's strength was not weak. Compared to Alvis, he was only a little inferior. Against the Axel of the past, that would have been enough to demand caution.
But the current Axel was different.
After the sharp rise in his calculation ability, Brian no longer posed any real threat.
The fight dragged on for several minutes.
On the surface, Axel did little more than defend.
But everyone watching could see it.
They were not on the same level.
The thought surfaced almost at the same time in every recruit present.
No wonder Zephyr had chosen him.
Binz and Simon exchanged glances. Both of them swallowed hard.
Even from the outside, the gap was obvious.
Ain moved quietly to Binz's side and lowered her voice.
"He got stronger again."
Binz nodded, eyes still fixed on the field. "A lot stronger. At this point, even Teacher Alvis probably wouldn't be able to do much against him."
Ain let out a soft breath.
"Having someone like that in front of you… is that a good thing or a bad thing?"
Binz understood what she meant without asking.
The pace of Axel's growth was enough to make people despair. It felt as if no matter how hard they chased, he would always be farther ahead by the time they arrived.
Unlike the others, Zephyr's face remained unreadable.
But that calm was only on the surface.
Inside, even he was surprised.
He had not expected Axel's improvement to be this dramatic in such a short span of time. Some of the plans he had prepared would clearly have to be moved forward.
Finally, Zephyr spoke.
"That's enough."
Brian stopped at once, though the frustration on his face was plain.
He hated leaving a fight unfinished, especially one that had made him feel so powerless.
But Zephyr ignored that and announced the next change immediately.
"The challenge rules will be adjusted starting tomorrow."
Several of the recruits blinked.
Zephyr continued, his tone flat and merciless.
"From tomorrow onward, Axel will be challenged in groups of five."
That drew a stir from the crowd.
Five?
Even then, some of them doubted it would be enough. Axel had just made Brian look almost helpless in a clean one on one fight.
Zephyr, as if hearing those thoughts without needing to, added more.
"Axel will not be allowed to counterattack."
Axel's brows twitched.
"Nor will he be allowed to use that strange ability of his to strike back. He will only be permitted to dodge."
Now the crowd's mood changed.
That was different.
Very different.
Zephyr drove the final nail in.
"And if any of you manage to injure him, you will qualify for personal training as well. Physical condition will be taken into account."
For the first time, many of the recruits felt a genuine spark of hope.
Axel, meanwhile, felt the exact opposite.
He looked at Zephyr and considered saying something.
Then decided it was useless.
The old man had clearly made up his mind already.
To Zephyr, the original purpose of these challenges had been simple: let Axel gain combat experience. Let him sharpen his instincts against opponents of different types. But if the gap had already widened this much, then those one on one matches would only inflate Axel's confidence and waste everyone's time.
So he changed the rules on the spot.
Before Axel could protest, Zephyr simply grabbed him like a sack and slung him over his shoulder.
The crowd stared.
Axel's face went dark.
That old bastard really had no respect for human dignity.
He wanted to resist. He truly did.
But resisting Zephyr physically was about as realistic as arguing with a hurricane.
So he endured the humiliation in silence while Zephyr carried him back toward the training room.
Once they were inside, the door slammed shut.
The vents opened.
The oxygen concentration began dropping again.
Axel's chest tightened almost at once.
The difference was subtle, but real. Compared to the previous day, his body adapted slightly faster this time. The suffocating weakness still came, but it was not as overwhelming as before. At the very least, he could remain standing.
Then Zephyr, in the tone of a man discussing the weather, said something horrifying.
"You're still too relaxed."
Axel turned his head slowly.
Zephyr looked back at him, completely serious.
"Since your body doesn't suffer lasting damage, there's no reason to keep the training light. We'll start with one hundred push ups."
"One hundred?" Axel stared at him. "With my current condition, ten would already be a miracle."
Zephyr saw right through that thought and grinned.
"That's fine. If your arms give out, switch to something else. Legs. Waist. Shoulders. Abs. Whatever still moves."
Then he added, with the calm of a man sentencing someone to hell,
"If one exercise becomes impossible, change to another. I'll be supervising you all day. Don't worry. I'll make sure you don't have even a second to slack off."
Axel looked at him in silence for a long moment.
Then he came to a perfectly reasonable conclusion.
"You really are a demon."
.....
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