Hidden Lion

A roar echoed from Laplatan’s sword.

The air vibrated, as if invisible waves were twisting, connecting to one another, screaming that everything was about to collapse.

For an instant, the world went dark.

When my vision returned, the blade was already right in front of my face.

Dragons emerged, furious, crushing everything with brute force.

Then a giant lion cut through the chaos, decapitated the dragons, and lunged straight for my neck.

I was already dodging when I felt a small splash of blood hit my face.

Am I bleeding?

No.

I wasn’t.

That blood wasn’t mine — and it didn’t seem to be Laplatan’s either. Strange. But that didn’t matter. I had to win.

“You’re really very strong, Assir.”

The blade sliced through the air again.

“But you should understand one thing.”

The impact made space itself tremble.

“The king of the jungle…

is the lion.”

The blade turned like a bolt of lightning.

That no longer mattered.

My heart accelerated in the last second.

The world slowed down.

Everything became slower.

Each second stretched into eternity.

My concentration reached its peak.

My body entered its maximum state.

Now I was using all of my abilities at the absolute limit.

The maximum I could sustain.

Zone.

I parried the first strike — then all the others, one after another.

Dodging was no longer necessary.

My body reached complete balance with my mind. I saw the attack and reacted instantly, without thinking.

I cut the side of Laplatan’s arm.

Aimed for his eyes.

The lion that had been destroying everything froze — then exploded, breaking apart into countless hummingbirds.

“Shit!”

My mind snapped out of the Zone instantly.

That madness again.

I didn’t know what Laplatan was to Instructor Rèn. I didn’t know whether he had learned that from her, whether she had taught him, or whether he had reached that level on his own.

But whatever the case, that wasn’t something ordinary.

I cut down the hummingbirds one by one, but the aura kept forming more.

My vision was being swallowed.

I could no longer sense Laplatan.

That feeling… I knew it well.

It wasn’t fear.

It was helplessness.

I slashed the air with my sword, and a sea dragon exploded downward.

The ground was torn apart, debris flying in every direction.

I stopped thinking like a swordsman.

I spread my aura through the surrounding rocks. They propelled themselves, exploding and shredding the hummingbirds.

My body was hit as well.

The lack of control over the rocks — and over where they would go — made my body twist in agony.

I fell to my knees.

In front of me, Laplatan was covered in bruises.

His aura wavered, clearly destabilized.

“I want to show you something,” he said.

“Let’s continue this round.”

Even wounded, he placed his hand on his still-sheathed sword.

I stood up and positioned mine close to my shoulder.

Now it would be a fast attack.

I charged.

I saw Laplatan’s body dissolve into aura.

The next instant, it reformed behind me.

When I turned, a black clone was already forming at my back.

“Mirrored Lion.”

I was at a disadvantage.

The blood spread across my body seemed to boil for an instant — an illusion born from my current state.

Once again, the world slowed down.

But it wouldn’t help much.

I processed every piece of information my brain could grasp and tried something risky.

“Serpentine Tail.”

The dragon’s tail slammed into my side, carrying Laplatan and his aura clone with it as it shattered.

We were both hurled against a wall.

When my vision finally focused, Laplatan was unconscious.

I was genuinely impressed by the number of techniques he possessed — and by the mastery he had over them.

Laplatan was taken to the medical wing.

Today had been a productive day.

I understood a bit more of the logic behind my aura.

Even so, training and duels at the academy were brutal. Deaths happened.

Rule Twelve stated that instructors were not allowed to use protective magic on cadets.

The idea was simple: bleed, feel your limits, reach the edge of death.

With protection magic, that would never happen.

I took a step — or tried to.

My leg failed, and I collapsed to the ground.

“Didn’t you say you were fine?”

The expressionless medic asked.

“Uh… I guess I overestimated myself.”

She supported my body against hers and carried me.

“Seriously, you boys should take it easier. You could’ve died if that fight had lasted any longer.”

“That’s the fun of it,” I replied.

“Better to die fighting than to live being controlled.”

“You talk like someone who’s already experienced that,” she said.

“But kid, sometimes you have to let yourself be controlled… so you won’t be controlled.”

My body throbbed. A faint ringing irritated my ears.

“That doesn’t make sense.”

“What doesn’t?”

“Letting myself be controlled so I won’t be controlled.”

She sighed.

“The explanation is simpler than it sounds. If you belong to no one, someone will always try to control you. But when you’re already under someone’s control… people become more cautious.”

It still didn’t make sense.

I nodded anyway.

I was placed on a bed with clean white sheets.

“Stay here. I’ll get some water to clean your wounds.”

“It’s not like I can leave.”

“Exactly. So stay still.”

She left.

I stared at the ceiling.

The door opened.

“You came back qui—”

My voice froze.

It wasn’t the medic.