The morning had just begun to breathe.
The first true rays of the sun slid over the eastern rooftops, turning dew into trembling silver beads upon the grass. The training ground still carried the faint warmth of recent exertion—wooden dummies scarred by star-shaped cuts, the air faintly tinged with mana residue.
Kel and Reina walked side by side toward the stone exit.
Their steps were unhurried.
Calm.
The city beyond the low wall was only beginning to stir.
And then—
The air shifted.
Not loudly.
Not visibly.
But the silence sharpened.
Kel stopped mid-step.
Reina felt it half a heartbeat later.
Five presences.
Not hiding now.
Approaching from multiple vectors.
The dew on the grass trembled faintly as figures emerged from behind the low stone boundary and between two wooden racks.
The same five from the previous night.
But without pretense.
No merchant coats.
No casual posture.
They wore fitted dark leather armor now—lightweight, flexible. Faces partially covered by cloth masks. Gloves reinforced at the knuckles. Boots soft-soled.
Two held daggers—short, curved, edges shimmering faintly with a viscous sheen.
Poison.
One carried a straight sword—slender, balanced for precision thrusting rather than brute force.
The remaining two—
Their weapons were extensions of their hands.
Hand-knives strapped along forearms, blades angled downward like talons. Each movement caused faint reflections of greenish residue along the metal.
Toxin.
Reina's expression did not harden.
It steadied.
"So," she murmured softly.
Kel's eyes narrowed slightly.
"They chose daylight."
The five spread subtly into formation—two flanking left, one central, two right.
Not amateurs.
Coordinated.
Reina stepped forward half a pace.
Her sword slid free in one smooth motion.
The metallic whisper of steel cut through morning stillness.
Astra Noctis did not flare yet.
She did not waste mana.
The two dagger users lunged first.
Low.
Fast.
Rotational attack—one high feint, one true strike aimed at her lower ribs.
Reina pivoted.
Her blade flashed horizontally.
Clang—
Steel met steel.
She deflected the upper dagger outward, then rotated her wrist downward, knocking the second aside.
The green poison smeared faintly along her blade's edge—but did not cling.
The toxin evaporated upon contact with residual mana.
She stepped back fluidly.
The sword fighter moved simultaneously toward Kel.
The two hand-knife fighters sprinted in flanking arcs.
Reina glanced toward Kel briefly.
"Guess we cannot really take a peaceful rest."
Kel's gaze remained fixed ahead.
"There is no doubt."
And then—
He moved.
Not backward.
Forward.
His sprint was silent but explosive.
He closed the distance between himself and the nearest hand-knife fighter in a single breath.
The attacker slashed downward toward Kel's throat.
Kel ducked slightly, rotating his shoulder inward.
His fist shot upward.
Not wild.
Precise.
Impact—
A crack of bone meeting reinforced glove.
The attacker staggered, breath knocked loose.
Kel pivoted instantly, stepping into the sword fighter's range.
The sword flashed toward his side.
Kel's left hand caught the blade flat—not the edge—using reinforced glove and controlled aura.
His right elbow struck forward into the swordsman's chest.
The man stumbled back half a step.
Kel twisted his wrist sharply and forced the blade downward.
The two hand-knife fighters regrouped quickly.
They circled in mirrored motion—left high, right low.
Kel shifted stance.
Feet grounded.
Weight centered.
His spiral-circles rotated steadily.
No overextension.
The first knife struck toward his shoulder.
He stepped inside the arc.
Palm strike to wrist.
Snap—
Blade trajectory broke.
Second knife cut upward toward his abdomen.
Kel rotated his torso, letting the blade skim past coat fabric.
His knee rose sharply into the attacker's ribs.
Air expelled violently.
The sword fighter recovered quickly and thrust again—precise, aimed for heart.
Kel released the blade and sidestepped.
He grabbed the swordsman's forearm and twisted inward.
Momentum redirected.
The blade pierced harmlessly into empty air.
Kel drove his fist into the man's jaw.
The crack echoed faintly across the training ground.
Meanwhile—
Reina's duel intensified.
The dagger fighters attacked in rapid alternation.
One attempted to distract high while the other sought an opening low.
Reina's blade shimmered faintly now.
Astra Noctis awakened.
Her stance lowered.
Her eyes sharpened.
The first dagger clashed against her blade—
A faint indigo spark flared.
She rotated gracefully, sliding her sword downward in a controlled arc that forced both attackers to retreat half a step.
They lunged again.
Faster.
More aggressive.
Reina inhaled.
And whispered softly—
"Astra Noctis."
The energy along her blade deepened to midnight blue.
Her next strike carved outward in a crescent.
The air hummed.
The two dagger users were forced back simultaneously.
One misstepped.
Reina advanced instantly.
Her blade flickered in a three-strike sequence.
High.
Low.
Cross.
The first dagger flew from its owner's hand, spinning into the grass.
The second attacker barely blocked, the impact vibrating up his arm.
Back near Kel—
The two hand-knife fighters attempted a coordinated strike.
One leapt high toward Kel's head.
The other slid low toward his legs.
Kel bent backward slightly, avoiding the overhead slash.
His foot kicked outward, intercepting the low attacker's shoulder.
The leaping fighter descended—
Kel pivoted sharply and drove a straight punch into the man's midair abdomen.
The impact sent him crashing into the ground.
The swordsman charged again, rage overtaking precision.
Kel's eyes cooled.
He stepped aside effortlessly and struck the man's wrist.
The sword clattered to the ground.
A second punch.
The swordsman collapsed.
Reina's fight ended nearly simultaneously.
She spun once more, blade cutting through air in a clean arc.
Astra Noctis shimmered faintly.
The final dagger user's weapon shattered at the edge from concentrated mana.
The man stumbled backward.
Reina placed her blade at his throat.
Stillness.
Breathing heavy.
Five attackers now staggered across the training ground.
Alive.
But defeated.
Kel stepped toward the nearest hand-knife fighter and placed his foot lightly against the man's wrist to prevent movement.
"Who sent you?" Kel asked calmly.
Silence.
The man's jaw tightened.
Kel crouched slightly.
"Poisoned blades suggest intent to kill."
The man spat faintly.
Kel's eyes sharpened slightly.
"Foolish."
He pressed lightly against the pressure point of the man's arm.
A strangled gasp escaped him.
Reina kept her blade steady at the dagger fighter's throat.
"We followed orders," one muttered.
"From?"
Silence again.
Kel stood.
"Reina."
She nodded slightly.
Astra Noctis' faint glow pulsed once.
The indigo aura pressed against the attacker's throat without cutting.
A warning.
The sword fighter groaned faintly.
"They said… test him."
Kel's gaze hardened faintly.
"Test."
"Observe first… engage if possible."
"Who?"
Silence.
Kel stepped back slowly.
He glanced at Reina.
She understood.
They would not get full answer here.
And prolonged interrogation risked further complication.
Kel raised his hand.
His aura condensed slightly.
A pulse of pressure radiated outward.
Not lethal.
But overwhelming.
The five attackers collapsed unconscious under the sudden density shift.
Reina lowered her sword slowly.
The sun had risen fully now.
Light spilled across the field.
Birds had fled during the clash.
Silence returned.
Reina sheathed her blade.
"Well," she said quietly.
"There goes our peaceful morning."
Kel looked toward the fallen men.
"It was unlikely to last."
Reina stepped closer to him.
"You're calm."
"I expected it."
"Since last night?"
"Yes."
She exhaled softly.
"They followed us even after you led them into the crowd."
"They were waiting for opportunity."
"And they chose dawn."
"Less witnesses."
Kel glanced toward the city edge.
This was no random assault.
This was pressure.
Testing reaction.
Testing strength.
And perhaps—
Testing whether he truly stabilized the tower.
Reina crossed her arms lightly.
"What now?"
Kel's gaze turned distant for a moment.
"Now… we find who wanted confirmation."
The spiral within him rotated steadily.
No anger.
No frustration.
Only clarity.
The dawn had begun in calm.
And ended in bloodless warning.
Whoever sent them now knew.
Kel was not merely strategist.
He was threat.
Reina stepped beside him again.
"You still free today?"
Kel glanced at her briefly.
A faint shadow of amusement touched his eyes.
"For breakfast."
She smiled faintly.
"Good."
They turned from the fallen attackers.
The city now fully awake.
And though peace had fractured—
Their composure had not.
Because dawn may draw blood—
But it also reveals who stands unshaken beneath it.