...and as her words entailed, the morning came with Morio's screams about the amount of work they were to put in. They stood, quickly ate their breakfast, showered and sprinted to one of the staircases of Omer Narrows.

"Twenty-two minutes late." Koyote nodded to herself. "You seem to be getting the hang of this."

Same thing as two days ago, start from the fence and run around the mountain to reach the prize at the end, facing multiple challenges. The course was quickly reestablished by Koyote and seemed a lot harder than last time, nevertheless, this gave them nothing to complain about.

Even with the use of the Guardian Demons which, the lack thereof, Jyuzou and Genni complained about, they still were far behind.

"Where's the soup?" Koyote asked, scratching her chin.

"You kept talking about soup the second you woke up, is everything okay?" Olala asked.

"I just really like the comparison I came up with in my mind."

Jyuzou and Genni ran, tumbling into each other, Morio swang his legs back and forth, and Ingo bounced around using his weapon. After an hour of passing through the lengthened course, dwelling deep inside the cave, it was once again, Ingo managing to put his hands on the victory.

A victory, without a prize at its end, but oddly enough, he seemed stern and satisfied with his accomplishment. Even a quick smirk appeared on his face.

"Damn it!" Morio clenched his fist. "I'll win next time, Ingo!"

"Good job." Koyote stepped in, with Olala in the back, writing down things about the challenge, following the cue of Koyote's swinging finger.

Ingo breathed heavily, turning to his mentor.

"Could've done this all a little faster, don't you think?" Koyote asked. "Especially the two of you." she looked at Genni and Jyuzou, who were, obviously, embarrassed. "How was the soup, you guys? Dry?" she chuckled.

Olala sighed.

Genni turned away, and Jyuzou stared blankly at the ground. Morio looked forward, albeit not smiling, he accepted the results, with a little ache in his heart.

Ingo furrowed his brows, closing one eye.

"Then again, continue striving for better results, Demonears." Koyote nodded. "You'll harden like a shell or a scab after an open wound. Keep working."

Morio and Ingo nodded. Genni and Jyuzou didn't seem satisfied.

Koyote scanned around the Morians, with Olala pushing on her shoulder as if to try and suggest a different solution. "Keep working for the next six days." she finished the sentence. "Afterwards, you'll be faced with another challenge. I can't tell you all the details, but that's what makes it so exciting, doesn't it?"

"Will we be able to use our weapons?" Genni finally muttered.

"Of course." Koyote smiled.

"Mrs Koyote," Olala whispered.

"I don't grade you, Demonears. I only observe, and then put those observations to the test. It's you who decides. You tell yourself when or where to stop." she bowed, before turning on her heel. "If you show that you're strong enough, you can focus on harnessing a different sort of power."

Olala looked at the four, and let out a strangely disappointed sigh. The two quickly left the room through an exit.

***

"Am I ready?" was the main notion going through and out of the four Morians' heads. With each day passing, a minute of the clocks ticking down, the challenge was nearing to show its head, and despite many, many questions, Koyote nor Olala was to answer them. After all, you should expect everything, as well as nothing, if that makes any sense. You decide.

Morio sunk most of his free time into the things he used to do once he was younger. Fortunately for him, the mentor was kind enough to point out a small training field right behind the main towers of the fortress. Whenever lunch was finished, Morio would spend about two hours each session, continuously striking at wooden poles, jumping around or climbing the various ladders leading to leaps into the water, and sliding along the ground towards newer hurdles. Each day he'd come back proudly announcing his progress, and even writing down the things he managed to accomplish.

Ingo's determination motivated Morio to strive for victory. Despite never beating Ingo before, Morio was set on overcoming the next challenge using physical strength, rejecting spells and magic, as he was a competitive boy, and a competitive boy always strived to win.

Mentioning the Haran-Morian, Ingo often skipped meals and spent time on his own. Genni once caught him in his room, lifting earlier carried weights, with a puddle of sweat forming beneath his feet. He'd swing his club in precise ways, striking at the ground and creating sinkholes large enough to, perhaps, render this entire fortress unusable.

Morio was, as mentioned earlier, inadvertently trying to compete in that sense. Jealous of his quick advancement, he too, assumed a more rigorous routine but found that his earlier happiness and excitement eventually turned into something he just had to do to not fall behind the curve. He needed to be stronger.

Meanwhile, Jyuzou watched their progress from afar, spending most of the days stressing over the question instead of taking steps towards relieving that stress. Ponder over the question, over and over again. He sighed, not necessarily leaning into training, just seldom waving his spear around and hoping for a miracle to happen.

Genni assumed a similar stance, and the two would often 'train' together, with the mentioned training taking place far away from the fortress to avoid Koyote and mostly consisting of complaints. If Jyuzou managed to beat a flying demon without actually fighting it, then that power must be stored somewhere in his brain. If he could cast magic, Genni could do so as well. It was more of them telling each other that they're surely good enough instead of striving to improve.

The days went on until five passed. Morning came, and the mountain challenge yielded the same results.

The evening passed by, and Olala found herself in the library, searching for one specific book that Koyote earlier asked for. "What do magma and skela have in common?" she asked herself, scratching her head, before reaching a hand out towards a stool further near the other shelves.

She squinted her eyes in disappointment, knowing the answer. Still, she wanted to deny that Koyote would come up with something this ridiculous.

Climbing on, she scanned around, squinting her eyes, with a noise from above consistently snapping her out of focus. Olala groaned at first, moving along before the sound started repeating over and over again. It sounded like wood and steel being pierced simultaneously, and either something in the fortress was falling apart or the Morians found something they weren't supposed to.

Her eyes shrunk, as she stormed out of the library and sprinted up the stairs, following the notion. She flung open the door to Ingo and Genni's room, only to find the former lumped in the corner of the room. "What are you doing?" she quickly spat out, catching her breath.

Ingo slid back a little, putting something behind his back and covering it with a cloth. His earlier furrowed brows moved down into his eyes even further, and he ground his teeth, dropping the sharp end of a hair comb to the floor. "Why do you care?"

Olala sighed, assessing the situation and taking a few steps forward. "I'd usually spot you elsewhere, training all by yourself."

"Not much training to do if the bloody challenge comes tomorrow." Ingo scoffed, rubbing his nose. "Bullshit."

"Why bullshit?" Olala shrugged, smiling a little.

"Because it's pointless!" Ingo raised his voice, sticking both hands out, and Olala backed out.

"Strength is never immediate, Ingo." Olala gulped. "We all work hard and may never perfect our power."

"Then it's pointless bullshit!" he clenched his jaw and folded both arms. "How could I best the thing I'm supposed to win over if I can't be the strongest? I can't fail this challenge, and I won't," he spoke, his piercing gaze almost shooting through his bushy eyebrows. "If I do, I'll be nothing."

Olala breathed in through her nose, pushing one hand on the doorknob. Although she felt like there was something hidden in his anger, she couldn't dare to try and further investigate.

"Now get out. I'm doing something." Ingo snickered.

Olala nodded, before subtly shutting the door closed. She waited for a little bit, before moving down the stairs.

Ingo sighed, putting the stump on his thighs again and looking at the drawing etched with the hair comb. It resembled a skull, particularly one belonging to a canine, perhaps a wolf.

Ingo could almost see himself riding atop, his hands sinking in its thick fur. He could see the moon shining among the stars and carving through the desert.

***

Morio stared at the moon. It seemed quiet tonight as if it had nothing to say. Its sparkles too, didn't gleam as brightly as before. As if the boy sleeping on its crescent end was already finished with his story, and had nothing better to read.

Morio shut the curtains and sighed, calmly. He took the map into his hands and scanned the roads through Omer Narrows and the quickest routes to Mount Yosei. He stuffed it under his pillow, concluding that it wouldn't be of use.

His hand now landed on a decorative plate with leftovers from dinner. He picked one small piece of bamboo and stuffed it inside his mouth, chewing despite the taste he didn't necessarily like. He looked at his baggy brown pants, made from mohair, instead of the familiar cotton. He moved up to a loose rope keeping them up, the beige undershirt, coated with a thin cloak.

He heard footsteps of Jyuzou's arrival, and his thoughts turned to his attire too. Now that he bore something else, namely, purple baggy pants, a white undershirt, a brown vest and a violet cape, his silhouette seemed unfamiliar at first glance.

Jyuzou walked into the room, carrying two bags filled with a load of different items.

The moon was now completely silent. It didn't shine towards anything in particular.

"Huh?" Morio uttered, with his mouth open.

Jyuzou sighed, with some happiness in that sound. "Two small potions, thirteen packets of richly-coated bamboo with matsa, and a dull knife that still needs sharpening," he explained, pulling each item out of the bag with a smirk.

"How did you pay for that?" Morio asked, swallowing the last bits with a neutral expression.

"Four nicely decorated pouches for water. A box full of nice charcoal sticks, as well as a new notebook for you to make your maps in." Jyuzou moved back. "We're ready."

"C-Cool." Morio smiled.

"Last, but not least. Pebbles, lots and lots of pebbles. They're not just regular pebbles either. They're shining and colourful little crystals-"

"How did you pay for that?!"

"Sometimes!" Jyuzou raised a finger. "The question is without an answer."

"Did you two steal it?" he grinned. "You of all people?" he pointed.

"Borrowed is the better term." Jyuzou turned away, fixing his glasses.

Morio raised his eyebrows.

"Morio, I swear to Shin I will return every item after we're done with tomorrow's challenge."

Morio slowly put his hand over the bamboo box, prying it open and stuffing the food into his mouth.

"For tomorrow!" Jyuzou slapped his hand, and Morio yelled.

"Well, glassy idiot, there's my answer!" Morio moved back, nestling his hand in the palm of the other.

"Then, someone else besides Genni seems to get me in this world." Jyuzou rubbed his wrists together, and Morio rolled his eyes. "There's nothing that will surprise us tomorrow."

"Weapons, food, that I understand, but what are the pebbles for?" Morio put one between his fingers, as the lamp from above reflected its slick surface.

"Isn't it obvious? You said it yourself, Morio." Jyuzou wasn't eager to take the risk. "Believe." he breathed out, although a little hesitant. "So that possibility might have to come in handy as well. Genni still can't necessarily understand spells, but both of us do." he snatched the small crystal from Morio's hand.

"Ooh." he smiled. "Like injecting my spells into pebbles?"

"Yes." Jyuzou nodded. "Maybe we could even put both of our magic into one."

"Aw. Did Genni come up with that?" asked Morio, his head soon to be slammed against the floorboards.

Morio's spell stuffs electrical energy inside certain objects. The first time that happened, Gloria was in his hands, so the weapon's power essentially doubled. Jyuzou can attach windy attacks inside the water itself, creating massive gusts. The two are both of the Vitaglia class, which means their spells work similarly.

"Genni and I thought ahead of the curve." Jyuzou fixed his sleeve, while Morio tried getting back together after the mentioned slam. "Even if we were to lose our weapons, there's something we can trust in, which in that case, are the tested methods."

Morio nodded, despite the pain. "You don't have to worry." he spouted. "I'm already much stronger than I was back then. Bah, I could probably escape the shackles without any magic!"

Jyuzou raised an eyebrow.

"I went through every possible scenario and analysed Galliath in search of the other answer!" he pointed to the map. "Unless she were to dump us inside the volcano, I don't see-"

***

Olala and Koyote stood at the edge of the Galliath volcano.

"Is this safe?" Olala asked Koyote.

"Magma covered in skela gives it about an hour of complete protection. You can't even feel the heat, can you?" she raised her voice.

Genni was pale, and Jyuzou shook. Morio gulped, looking around. "That I did not predict."

"Your challenge is simple. Escape the volcano before the magma melts back into lava," she announced.

"Good luck, Demonears."