Toma’s katana clashed against Inspector Carter’s, sparks flaring with each strike. Off to the side, Arlen sat cross?legged, eyes closed, trying to meditate—but the sounds of battle broke his focus.

  “Yes! I finally defeated you, Inspector Carter!”

  “Well done, Toma. That’s enough training for today. Just another day or two, and you’ll completely master the full flow.”

  Arlen’s eyes opened slightly, his chest tightening as frustration seeped in. Toma already defeated Inspector Carter, and here I am, still struggling like a fool… This is pathetic…

  “Hey, Arlen, how are you doing?” Carter’s voice reached him.

  “Ugh… Inspector Carter… I just can’t do it. I never succeed…”

  “Hmm. Then I’m not sure what else we should do.”

  “What do you mean by that!?”

  “I summon the full flow instinctively. I don’t even realize I’m doing it. So I can’t exactly give you advice on how to get there.”

  Arlen lowered his gaze, but then Toma stepped forward, still catching his breath, blue energy faintly shimmering around him.

  “Arlen, I can help you! First, close your eyes, relax your body, and take deep breaths. Staying calm is important. Now… picture a burning flame glowing in the darkness before you.”

  Arlen did as he was told, his mind’s eye conjuring a single spark. I see… I understand what Toma is saying! I can picture the flame, lighting up the darkness!

  “Now imagine that fire warming you, flowing through your entire body.”

  “I… I can feel it… I can feel the flow!”

  “Inspector Carter, look!” Arlen’s voice shook with surprise.

  “Yes,” Carter said with a satisfied nod, arms crossed. “It seems Arlen has understood as well.”

  So this is what the full flow feels like… Incredible…

  Carter straightened, a sharp glint in his eyes. “Now, for today’s final task: Toma, Arlen—you’ll fight each other. Both of you will use the full flow, and you’ll battle without your katanas.”

  “Understood, Inspector Carter!”

  The two boys faced each other, their breathing heavy, sweat dripping down their faces. The heat of the day wrapped around them, the grass underfoot crackling dry and brittle. The wind had stilled completely, as if the world itself was holding its breath to watch.

  Toma stood a meter from Arlen, blue light shimmering between his fingers, tension in the air so sharp it felt like it might snap.

  “Are you ready?” His voice carried that edge of challenge.

  “Always!” Flames flickered in Arlen’s hands, heating the air with every pulse of his power.

  “Don’t hold back!” Toma launched himself forward in a blur, quick strides tearing across the field, his speed like a sudden gust of wind. A fierce punch cut through the air, blue light flashing from his hand.

  Arlen didn’t retreat. His flaming arm stretched forward in a wide, burning slap that Toma barely managed to twist away from.

  They moved so fast the world blurred, fists and kicks exchanged in a relentless rhythm. Arlen swept his leg low, fire licking off his shin, but Toma’s reflexes snapped into action—he leapt back just in time, the flaming leg slicing the air where he had been an instant before.

  A beam of blue light burst from Toma’s fingers, streaking straight for Arlen. Arlen darted aside, the blast skimming past him by mere centimeters, the heat searing against his cheek. Even as he moved, flames gathered in the air around him, swirling into a glowing sphere that grew larger and larger in his hands.

  He charged forward and hurled the fireball with explosive force.

  Toma didn’t hesitate. His arm shot up, blue light surging outward, what he used to fend off Arlen's attack. The fireball struck with a thunderous impact, erupting into a cloud of flame and pressure that rippled across the ground—but Toma’s defense held, the light absorbing most of the force.

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  Arlen didn’t pause. He unleashed a furious barrage of flaming strikes, his movements a blur. Toma answered each one with quick dodges, twisting out of reach, countering with bursts of blue energy.

  Their battle became a storm against a storm, each strike scorching the earth beneath them. Arlen drove a flaming punch forward, but Toma caught it on his arm, the impact shuddering through him. He instantly countered, sweeping low and catching Arlen’s knee.

  Arlen staggered, teeth gritted, but recovered in a flash, sending a stream of fire roaring toward Toma. Toma reacted without a heartbeat’s delay, darting sideways, blue light slashing through the air in retaliation. The beam ripped forward, but Arlen spun away, flames crackling around him, and struck back with another blazing slap.

  Toma raised his arm, blue light flaring once more as he caught the burning strike head?on.

  “You’re pretty fast… but so am I.”

  Arlen’s voice cut through the heavy air as flames erupted around his hands. He summoned the largest fireball he had ever created, the sphere growing so immense it nearly engulfed his entire upper body. The pressure in the air spiked, thick enough to make the ground tremble.

  Toma braced himself, every muscle tense. Blue light swirled around him as he gathered every ounce of energy he had left. The shimmering aura intensified, bright as a star, and then he hurled a radiant orb straight at Arlen with unmatched speed.

  Their attacks collided in midair.

  The explosion was enormous—so powerful it felt as if the very atmosphere itself shuddered from the impact. The ground quaked beneath them, a blinding surge of fire and light filling the space between the two fighters.

  Both were thrown back by the shockwave, yet somehow they landed on their feet, barely holding their stance. Breathing heavily, sweat streaming down their faces, they stood in silence amid the scorched earth. There was no victor—only two determined warriors testing and pushing each other to new heights.

  “Well done.”

  Inspector Carter’s proud nod reached them through the haze of dust and smoke.

  Then, the two boys collapsed onto the ground, completely exhausted.

  “I see you managed to push past your limits! How does it feel?”

  “I… can’t… move…” Toma groaned, sprawled out on the torn grass.

  “Incredible… I’ve never felt such power and speed before!” Arlen gasped, still catching his breath.

  “Yes, that’s exactly what I wanted to see. It seems you’re finally beginning to understand the difference. But remember—this was only the first day! Get ready, because tomorrow will be even tougher!”

  “So… how are we going home?” Toma asked between heavy breaths.

  “The same way we got here!”

  “Can’t we just call a taxi instead?”

  “No, Toma. A taxi would be too easy. Besides, we’re in the middle of nowhere—no taxi would come here anyway. Now get up, and let’s go!”

  And then, in a flash of lightning-fast movement, Inspector Carter vanished, leaving behind only a faint streak of energy in the air.

  “Come on, Toma! Don’t fall behind!” Arlen’s voice echoed through the open fields as he shot forward, his energy surging.

  “What… Arlen, you too!? Fine, I guess I have no choice—Full Current!”

  Blue light burst from Toma’s body as he launched himself forward, chasing after Arlen and the faint streak of energy left behind by Inspector Carter.

  For the next three days, Arlen and Toma continued practicing the Full Current exactly as before, until the technique became second nature—until they had fully mastered it.

  Then, one morning, Inspector Carter gathered them together and introduced something entirely new.

  “You’ve both trained exceptionally well these past few days,” he said, his tone steady but with a spark of excitement. “But now it’s time to take things to the next level. Today, I’m going to teach you how to defy gravity—and move through the air as if it were solid ground!”

  “Whoa, that sounds awesome!” Toma’s eyes lit up.

  “First, I want you both to meditate again. This time, lie down in the most comfortable position you can find, and close your eyes. Feel the flow of your aima—though I assume that’s no longer an issue for either of you. Now, let go of everything: your body, your thoughts. Focus only on the image of your body rising, floating higher and higher into the sky. Keep that vision in your mind and let it guide your aima. That is the key.”

  Toma lay back on the grass, closing his eyes.

  Alright… I can feel my aima, no problem with that, he thought. I’m already relaxed. Now I just have to imagine myself flying like a bird in the sky… Yes, I see the bird… I just have to reach it! I’ll stretch out my arm and… I feel it—I’m getting closer and closer… I’m almost there… Yes, I did it! Hi, little bird, you’re so fluffy—

  “Um… Toma, I hate to break it to you,” Carter’s flat voice cut in, “but that’s not a bird… you’re grabbing my butt.”

  “Ew, what the hell!? Are you serious right now, Inspector Carter!? Wait—where the hell am I!? Holy crap… this is really the sky!”

  “Yes, Toma. Welcome to the sky,” Carter replied calmly. “But Arlen got here before you.”

  “Hey, Toma!” Arlen’s grin was wide as he floated effortlessly nearby.

  “What—Arlen!? How did you do it!?”

  “I just followed Inspector Carter’s instructions. Meanwhile, you were babbling about some bird and ended up groping Inspector Carter.”

  Toma’s face flushed bright red. “You’ve got to be kidding me…”

  “Alright boys,” Carter cut in, steady and commanding, “now I’m going to teach you how to fight in the air. It’s a complex process, and there’s a lot to learn. The most important part is learning to use the space around you and move with complete freedom. You’ll need time to get used to it before it starts to feel natural.”

  From that point on, the boys spent the next week practicing aerial combat. They clashed high above the fields, darting through the sky, spinning, striking, and recovering in midair as their control sharpened day by day.

  “Alright, you two are already moving quite well in the air,” Carter said one day, watching them hover with pride in his eyes. “But there’s still one extremely important thing I need to teach you—and that is: light?speed movement.”

  Toma blinked, startled. “That sounds like a big deal…”

  “Because it is,” Carter replied. “Even I can only approach light speed—only the most powerful captains in the world ever reach it. But I want you both to work toward that level.”