Zephyra Hound didn’t like that her team lost. She had a lot to say to Kael Hound, jabbing her fingers in his face before she turned around and stormed off, leaving her team behind.

"How do you do it?" Bella asked. She was crouched over Darian, her hand on his bruised, burned stomach. If Darian were a normal human and was not using essence, then the skill might have burned a hole through his stomach.

"Do what?" Azaroth asked. He was impatient to get back to their building. He might not look it, but he also took damage and wanted to know which kind.

"How do you escape his skill? How do you cut it?" Her eyes were uncanny as she watched him.

Azaroth shrugged. To onlookers, it would look like he cut the skill, while it was the chaos thread that he warped around his sword that really did it. "My sword is really sharp."

Bella snorted and smiled. She looked down at Darian. "He’s stupid sometimes but he’s very strong."

"I just beat him," Azaroth said.

Bella looked up again. "As I said, he’s stupid. If he’s not, then he should have used all his power in that first strike, then you’d be the one lying here. He shouldn’t have tried to play with you."

Azaroth looked at her. It was the truth. If Darian had smacked him hard with that skill the first time when he knew nothing about it, then he might be the one defeated on the floor.

But he wasn’t, so he looked down at her unflinching. "Your dog is weak."

She flashed Azaroth a smile. "Enjoy it while it lasts."

Azaroth walked away without saying anything else. His team crowded him.

"Nice job, Azaroth! I honestly thought you were going to get beaten and then you suddenly go swinging!" Alex said. He was jumping and demonstrating as they followed Kael.

"Slow down, Alex!" Stallus faced Azaroth. "It was an interesting fight and I still haven’t known anything about Darian’s skill."

Come to think of it, Azaroth didn’t know anything about it either. He suspected it must be similar to his own where you can move things with your mind, but he couldn’t be sure.

"Good one, Azaroth," Catena said. His eyes were fully opened, and he looked satisfied with himself. "You have proved yourself as the stronger one."

Azaroth just nodded. It tickled him that his success wasn’t all his own. He had to use the chaos core, but then again, the chaos technique is part of him now. Part of his power.

Kael Hound led them to their building in silence. The Captain hadn’t said anything the entire time but as they entered, he closed the door and faced them. "What Azaroth did is good. Now, you have sent a strong message that you are worthy of being Yama. It will favor you greatly in the coming days."

"What do you mean?" Stallus asked.

"The elimination day is fast approaching. You must make it. You must be the Yama of East Haven," Kael Hound said.

"And if we didn’t make it?" Alex asked.

"Death," Kael said flatly. "You’ll either make the Yama or you die."

They stiffened, but it was something they all knew. Only one team could be the Yama. Either them or Zephyra Hound’s team. Azaroth knew which team he wanted to win.

"What can we do to make it?" Azaroth asked.

"A lot. The elimination day will happen in five years’ time. You must be ready by then," Kael shrugged. "I can make you ready but it will cost you."

"What will it cost?" Azaroth asked.

"Your health. Your sanity. And possibly your life, but at the end of it all, you will be far stronger than any of them. Your advancement will also be high, and you will have a solid foundation. It’s your choice."

"I’ll do it," Azaroth said flatly. He had nothing to think about if it would increase his level. If so, it was even more perfect for him. He needed to win the Yama. He needed to stand as the ultimate Awakener if he ever wanted to take his revenge.

The others had to think about it. They knew what Kael’s training was all about. Pain. They also knew the gain. Already they could feel their bodies strengthen by seven days of pain that they went through.

It was not an easy choice, pain now, and they might be able to save themselves later or avoid pain now and the certainty of death on elimination day.

They chose Kael’s way.

"Good. I will train you like raw metal. You’ll be tempered, molded, and hammered into the strongest weapons. Even I didn’t have this type of training that you would soon embark on."

Kael Hound sighed. "I’m so jealous."

Then he told them to take their weapons and follow him. He led them to the far wall where a metal door was waiting and then he led them through it and into a hallway that stretched long, then into another door.

They passed a series of doors and stairs that led downstairs.

"Where are we going?" Stallus asked. Their feet echoed strangely on the ground.

"The project I made. Commander Apex insisted he owed me a favor and I asked for only one thing. A training area. I made it to train new batches of Hound as they just put the mask on them as soon as they attuned."

"I wanted to make the Hounds strong but it backfired. The training I created was too dangerous for them to handle since they studied only third-rate technique. The Inferno Legion had no resources to spend on Hounds."

"So I had it closed down. But now, with the Yama project and the resources to back it. And your patron. I’ve upgraded it to full capacity. If you can successfully complete it, then I tell you that in five years, you’ll be touching the edge of the Master rank."

All of them froze as they heard that.