Chapter 1396: Intermission 3: Ayuru’s Awakening (6)

All of them came at me at once, closing in from every direction while I was still holding Ayuru securely in my arms.

The situation should have been overwhelming. Anyone else would have struggled just to keep track of that many opponents moving at the same time. Yet for some reason, I didn’t feel pressured at all. Instead, something strange was happening inside me. It felt like my body was already reacting before anything even happened. Even before they fully committed to their attacks, before their muscles tensed or their feet pushed off the ground, I could already tell what they were about to do.

It was like they were still preparing, still in that split second before action, and somehow, I could already sense it.

My senses had sharpened to an absurd degree.

That had to be because of Ayuru.

Right now, she was in my arms, completely silent, yet it felt like she was actively doing something to me. It wasn’t visible, nothing flashy or dramatic, but I could feel it deep in my body. Every part of me felt more refined and more responsive, like something had tuned me perfectly.

She was upgrading everything about me.

I moved.

Dodging all of them happened almost naturally, like my body didn’t even need my permission. One step, then another, a slight shift of my torso, a tilt of my head. Each motion flowed into the next without hesitation. Their attacks passed by me, close enough to feel, but never enough to touch.

It almost felt like I was seeing the future.

That wasn’t really what was happening, but it felt close enough to make no difference. I could feel their intent, their direction, as well as even the tiniest bit of their timing. My body reacted before the attacks even fully existed, already moving to avoid them as if it had rehearsed everything beforehand.

At the same time, I noticed something else.

I was fast.

Faster than I had ever been.

The ground beneath my feet barely had time to register my steps before I was already somewhere else. It didn’t feel forced either. There was no strain or no sense of pushing myself. It was smooth, and very effortless, like this speed was something I had always had but never fully accessed until now.

It really did feel like Ayuru was giving me some kind of upgrade.

Had she actually awakened?

I couldn’t tell.

She wasn’t speaking to me in my mind right now, and I couldn’t hear any voice, or anything that I could clearly identify. She stayed completely silent, like she was asleep or focused on something else entirely. That made it harder to understand what was really going on.

Still, I didn’t mind.

If this was her doing, if she was the reason I could move like this, then I had no reason to question it too much.

Free power was free power.

The Shadows didn’t back down though. Even after realizing they couldn’t touch me easily, they held their positions and kept coming. Their stances stayed solid and their coordination was still very sharp. Anyone watching would still think they had a chance.

But I could see it.

They were starting to lose steam.

At first, it was subtle. A slight delay in their movements as well as a tiny bit of hesitation. Then it became more obvious. Their attacks lost a bit of sharpness and their timing started slipping. They were getting frustrated, and that frustration was eating away at their efficiency.

They were fast. That much was undeniable.

But right now, I was simply faster.

The gap between us wasn’t small anymore. With the surge of power flowing through me, the kind that felt like it kept growing with every second, they just couldn’t keep up.

They didn’t stand a chance.

Time passed.

What should have been a short exchange stretched longer and longer. Minutes turned into hours, and somehow, the fight kept going. They refused to give up, even when it was obvious how things were turning out.

By the time it reached three hours, the difference was clear to anyone.

All of them were exhausted. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

Their breathing was heavy and uneven, their bodies visibly slowing down. Sweat clung to them, their movements losing precision. They were still trying, but it was clear they were running on whatever they had left.

"For some reason, Master’s strength increased so much that it feels like we were fighting a completely different person earlier," Sandra said, trying to catch her breath. There was disbelief in her voice, and it was like she couldn’t fully accept what she was seeing.

"Well, I guess this is the real Master," Bernadette added, her tone more composed but still strained. She was breathing harder as anyone else. "Bringing him down was never going to be easy."

"Well... even if I don’t want to admit it, it might have been a bit of a fluke. And maybe I underestimated you, which is why I managed to land that punch," Zes said.

Well, that one caught my attention.

Hearing Zes say something like that felt unusual. She wasn’t the type to back down easily, yet here she was, admitting it. There was a small smile on her face too, though it looked a bit forced, like she was half amused and half annoyed at herself.

"Well, don’t call it a fluke," I said. "I just wasn’t paying as much attention as I should have. That’s on me." I looked at all of them, taking in their tired expressions. "And honestly, all of you have improved. A lot more than I expected."

I paused for a moment, thinking back.

"I was disappointed earlier for some dumb reason," I continued. "But looking at it now, that feeling didn’t make sense. That was just me being stupid."

Saying it out loud made it clearer.

They were getting stronger. Not just a little, but noticeably. They were pushing themselves, trying to reach higher and trying to stand on equal ground with me or at least became someone that I could rely on. All of that effort, all of that determination, it wasn’t something to dismiss.

If I couldn’t appreciate that, then I had no right to expect anything from them.

"I’m proud of all of you," I said, letting a small smile show.

The reaction was immediate.

Their faces lit up, the exhaustion still there but pushed aside for a moment. It was obvious those words mattered more than anything else I could have said. They didn’t need anything complicated. Just that acknowledgment was enough.