Chapter 1395: Intermission 3: Ayuru’s Awakening (5)

I let my guard down. That alone felt off the moment I realized it, like something in the back of my head quietly pointing out that I shouldn’t have let it happen in the first place. It wasn’t something I did often, and definitely not something I did casually.

Still, it happened.

Maybe it was just one of those rare slip-ups. Or maybe it was because I wasn’t really worried about dying here. That thought had been sitting somewhere in me the entire time, dulling my edge without me noticing. Most of the people standing in front of me were my women, after all. Somewhere along the way, I must have relaxed, just a little. Turns out, a little was already too much.

That tiny opening was all they needed.

The moment I saw the fist coming straight at me, I raised Guardian without hesitation.

The barrier formed instantly, like something I had relied on so many times that I didn’t even think twice about it anymore. It had always been enough. More than enough, actually.

That was what I believed.

It wasn’t.

Zes’s punch didn’t just collide with Guardian. It pushed into it. The impact felt different from anything before, heavier, sharper, like her fist carried something extra behind it. There was resistance for a brief moment, just enough to register, and then something gave.

A crack.

It wasn’t loud, but it was clear. Way too clear.

Guardian didn’t hold.

For a split second, the thought crossed my mind that calling it the strongest barrier I had might have been an exaggeration. That almost made me laugh, if the situation wasn’t proving the opposite in such a direct way. It was still strong, no doubt about that, but Zes had reached a level where even that strength wasn’t untouchable anymore.

"You were underestimating us earlier, weren’t you?!" she shouted, her voice filled with energy, almost like she had been waiting for this exact moment. "Unfortunately for you, you underestimated us so badly that now you’re going to feel the full force of it."

There wasn’t much time to react after that.

Her fist broke through what was left of Guardian and slammed straight into my face.

The impact hit harder than I expected.

Sara was still holding onto me at that moment, and that made things worse. My body couldn’t move the way it needed to. There was nowhere for the force to go. My neck snapped backward from the blow, the motion so sudden and violent that for a split second, it felt like it might actually break.

That punch connected clean.

There was no exaggerating it. It felt like my entire body took the hit, not just my face. The force traveled through me, rattling everything in its path. For a brief moment, it genuinely felt like my soul had been knocked loose, like it had slipped out and then slammed back in place.

What the hell was that?

That was the closest thing I could come up with, and even that didn’t fully explain it.

I moved away from Sara, pulling myself free and creating some distance. My footing steadied after a second, and I lifted my head, looking at all of them properly this time.

They had gotten stronger.

That much was obvious now.

But strength alone didn’t explain what just happened. There was coordination in their movements, timing that felt deliberate, not accidental. They had planned this. Put thought into it. Took the time to figure out how to actually land something like that.

And then there was Sara as well.

"I’m surprised Sara is with you," I said, my voice coming out calm despite everything. "I really thought she wouldn’t be getting close to any of you this early."

Sandra smiled slightly, like she expected that reaction.

"Well, you’re underestimating the power of women, Master," she said. "Sometimes, it just takes the right motivation."

"We told her you’d love her more if she joined," Zes added, like it was the simplest explanation in the world.

Ah.

Yeah, that would do it.

"Looks like I really underestimated all of you," I admitted, letting out a quiet breath as I rolled my shoulders. "Zes, that punch earlier... it honestly felt like my whole body divorced my spirit." I paused for a second, letting that sink in. "You even cracked Guardian. That shouldn’t have been possible with just your bare fists."

There was something different about her now. That much was clear.

"I learned how to infuse mana into my arms," she said, flexing her fingers slightly, like she was still getting used to the feeling. "It made me stronger. Honestly, it feels good having mana flowing all around your body and being able to control it." A small grin showed on her face. "Makes me want to get even stronger."

So that was it.

She wasn’t just throwing punches anymore. She was reinforcing them, wrapping them in mana, turning something already dangerous into something that could break through defenses I had relied on for a long time.

I didn’t expect her to pick that up this fast.

There had always been mana in the air in her original world, something she could’ve used if she figured it out. Still, it seemed like she never fully got the hang of it there. Here, though, something clicked.

If she had stayed in her world, she probably would have improved eventually, but not like this. Definitely not this quickly.

"Enough about that," I said, cutting the conversation short.

Right after that, something else caught my attention.

The pain.

It lingered more than I expected. Sharp, real, and impossible to ignore. It had been a while since I felt something like that.

And with it came something else.

A pull.

It wasn’t physical. It wasn’t something I could see. It felt deeper than that, like something reaching into my chest and tightening.

Ayuru.

I felt her presence.

It was like she had been asleep somewhere far away, completely silent until now. Then that pain reached her, shook her awake, and she responded immediately. There was something in that response that felt urgent, almost like concern.

Honestly, it felt like getting something back that I didn’t realize I had been missing.

Calling it a reunion wouldn’t be completely accurate, but it wasn’t far off either.

My empty hand moved without me thinking about it. My fingers closed around nothing, gripping the air like there was something there.

And then there was.

The hilt of Ayuru appeared in my grasp.

Solid. Familiar. Right where it should be.

"Look who’s back," I said, a small smile forming without me trying.

"Oh? Looks like he’s finally getting serious now," Zes said, that same smirk returning to her face.

"I’ve been serious this whole time," I replied. "But I guess it’s time to go beyond that."

I took a slow breath, letting it settle me, then tightened my grip around Ayuru. It felt natural, like it had always belonged in my hand, like there had never been a moment where it wasn’t there.

Something about her felt different.

There was a faint sheen along the blade. It caught the light in a way that made it feel sharper, almost alive in a sense. That hadn’t been there before she went into that month-long sleep.

Her aura had changed too.

Before, it had been a deep purple. Now, it carried something darker. There was a weight to it that wasn’t there before, something that made it feel more dangerous without needing to prove it.

And then there was the mana.

Usually, it flowed one way. I gave, she took. That was how it always worked.

Now, it wasn’t just that.

She was giving something back.

It wasn’t overwhelming, but it was steady, like a constant stream feeding into me, syncing with my own energy. It felt strange at first, but not in a bad way. If anything, it felt right.

Like something had finally clicked into place.

Ayuru wasn’t the same anymore.

It felt like she had awakened into something new.