The only thing Ethan could see was darkness.
And for good reason.
He was currently blindfolded.
"On your left."
Jonas's voice rang out from all directions at once, echoing through the empty training hall. The sound seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere, making it impossible to determine his exact position. Ethan tightened his grip on the metal rod in his hands and, instead of striking left, swung hard to the right.
The rod hummed with the force of the swing.
A sharp vibration ran through his arms as the metal connected with a fast-moving object.
Clang.
The object ricocheted away and Ethan heard it bounce against the floor several times before rolling off somewhere behind him. For a brief moment, his shoulders relaxed.
But the exercise wasn't over yet.
"Five o'clock."
Jonas's voice sounded again, calm and almost amused.
Ethan immediately spun around and struck upward at his twelve instead.
Another loud clang echoed through the abandoned facility as the rod smashed into another incoming projectile. The impact jarred his wrists, but he held firm.
"Okay, that's enough."
Ethan exhaled in irritation and reached up to remove the blindfold wrapped tightly around his eyes. The cloth slipped away and light flooded his vision again.
He barely had time to adjust before his body reacted on instinct.
His arm shot forward.
The metal rod in his hand snapped through the air and struck another ball that had been flying straight toward his face. The projectile shot away harmlessly after the deflection.
"Impressive."
Jonas clapped slowly, the sound echoing faintly around the large hall.
Ethan scowled at him. Without a word, he hurled the metal rod straight at Jonas.
The rod whistled through the air as it spun, cutting forward with frightening speed and heading directly for Jonas's head.
Despite the velocity, Jonas raised a single hand and caught it effortlessly just before it struck him.
"Whoa."
He said the word casually, as if catching a projectile moving at lethal speed was nothing special.
Jonas then lowered the rod and drove it straight into the concrete floor with a dull crack, leaving it embedded upright in the ground.
"Can you at least give accurate instructions?" Ethan demanded, glaring at him.
From the moment their training began that day, every single direction Jonas had called out had been wrong. Left when the attack came from the right. Right when the attack came from above. Five o'clock when the strike arrived from the front.
It had been three months since they first met Jonas.
In those three months, Ethan and Sylvia had grown rapidly.
What had started as simple blocking drills had gradually evolved into blind defense training. At first, Ethan could barely intercept a single projectile without seeing it. Now, his success rate had risen to an impressive eighty percent.
They were currently training inside an abandoned military facility. Much of the structure had collapsed or rusted away, but large sections of the underground training halls still remained intact.
More importantly, the reinforced walls and heavy steel doors were enough to keep out the wandering weaker Khaerix that occasionally roamed the ruined cities.
"You need to learn to discern between truth and falsehood," Jonas said calmly.
As he spoke, he raised his hand and casually blocked a bullet fired from afar.
The bullet flattened against his palm and dropped harmlessly to the ground.
"Falsehood?"
A voice sounded from above.
"I knew you were an old fart."
Sylvia dropped down from a metal beam overhead, landing lightly on the ground as if gravity barely affected her. Her pistol was already raised.
Three shots rang out in rapid succession.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
The bullets streaked toward Jonas, but he deflected each one with minimal effort, batting them aside with quick flicks of his hands.
"I'm just in my early forties," Jonas replied dryly. "And don't waste our ammo."
Sylvia grinned.
"Oh, I'm not wasting it," she said confidently. "I told you—today's the day we win."
She snapped her fingers.
The bullets that had just been deflected suddenly swelled unnaturally in midair.
For a split second they hovered like tiny metal spheres.
Then they exploded.
'A bullet grenade?' Jonas thought as the blasts erupted around him. 'I see someone has been learning.'
A cloud of dust and smoke filled the room, swallowing his figure completely.
Jonas stood calmly in the middle of the explosion. With a casual wave of his hand, the swirling dust scattered and the smoke was pushed away.
"But that wouldn't defeat me," he said confidently.
"I know," Sylvia replied without hesitation.
Jonas frowned slightly.
Then his battle instincts screamed.
But it was already too late.
His vision suddenly blurred.
A wave of weakness rushed through his body as if his strength were draining away all at once.
'Poison?'
It wasn't a bad strategy.
Biological agents were a constant threat when fighting an alien force like the Khaerix. Because of that, most soldiers had undergone biological enhancements to resist toxins. Some had even developed near immunity to common poisons.
Jonas was among them.
Even extremely potent toxins would normally be neutralized quickly by his system.
'Of course… that isn't all,' he realized.
Sylvia understood that much.
Which was why she had already pulled out a small test tube from her pocket and handed it to Ethan.
"Go."
Ethan uncorked the tube and immediately dumped its contents down his throat.
Then he dashed forward.
'My power… has increased?'
He could feel it instantly.
His muscles throbbed with energy, and his body felt lighter and faster than before. Strength surged through him as the substance coursed through his bloodstream.
'With this…'
For a brief moment, he could match Jonas in physical prowess.
Pushing his enhanced body to its limits, Ethan crossed the distance in less than a second. He plunged straight into the fading smoke of the explosion and reached the metal rod Jonas had embedded in the floor earlier.
Grabbing it, he ripped it free and raised it high above his head.
'I can see you.'
Jonas had already begun detoxifying the poison. His vision cleared just enough for him to track Ethan's movements.
He had to admit it.
He had underestimated them a little.
'But…'
This still wasn't enough to kill him.
Jonas raised his hand and struck.
The blow connected with the rod Ethan was holding, sending a shock through it that threw Ethan off balance.
'I only have about ten… no, five seconds before Sylvia joins the battle,' Jonas calculated rapidly.
Whether she had more of those explosive bullets remained unknown.
Two months into their training sessions, the twins had grown so much that Jonas now had to actively think about strategy whenever they fought.
Their growth stunned even him.
But he refused to let them know that. Praise would only make them careless.
'Which means… I have to win.'
Not for his own pride.
But for their sake.
Sweeping his leg outward, Jonas forced Ethan to leap backward to avoid the strike.
"Is that all?" Jonas asked, wearing a forced yet outwardly confident smile.
Then he dashed forward.
"Tch."
Ethan clicked his tongue and rushed in to meet him.
In less than a second, the two of them collided again.
Blow after blow flashed between them as metal and fists clashed in rapid succession. Within a heartbeat they had already exchanged nearly a dozen strikes.
Jonas held the advantage in experience and coordination. His movements were precise, controlled, and efficient.
But Ethan possessed something far rarer.
Battle talent.
Jonas could already feel the boy adapting to his techniques with every passing moment.
'I never thought I'd have to use this against a kid,' he thought grimly.
Jonas's eyes sharpened.
The atmosphere around him changed instantly, turning cold and deadly.
Feeling the shift, Ethan lunged forward, trying to interrupt whatever Jonas was about to unleash.
'Hurry up, sister,' he thought urgently.
'We might lose at this rate.'