"But... Sada-sensei... he will kill him!" Enatsu exclaimed. With frightened eyes, the merchant looked at Rinji, who had just knocked Yoichi down.

"It means that I will have been wrong to judge your friend!" the guild master coolly replied. During their first encounters with Takamori, Enatsu could not imagine that under those funny moustaches, and that harmless smile lurked a stern and reckless leader. ​​

Unable to move further, Enatsu was forced to stay by Takamori's side, unable to intervene in any way to help his comrade.

Yoichi put his elbows on the ground, trying to regain consciousness. His vision was blurred due to the violent blow to his cheekbone, covered in blood. Many minor horizontal cuts under his left eye had been caused by the rough surface of the rock that covered Rinji's fists.

"Kenji... Kenji!" the young tamer murmured. Frantically turning his head from side to side, he managed to locate his pet: the little Nekage was a few meters away from him, on the ground. Its tail was moving with difficulty, trying to help the rest of its body get back on its feet.

"Aaargh... fuck!" Yoichi stuttered, resting his hands on his knees and getting up. Rinji continued to walk towards him slowly.

"Sensei!" the stone giant yelled, stopping suddenly. "If I hit Yoichi again, I could cause him permanent damage," Rinji added, speaking remotely with Takamori.

"Go ahead, Rinji!" the guild chief promptly responded. With a fast downward movement of his arm, he retracted the ice blade that was blocking Enatsu.

"What are you saying? He said he could cause permanent damage to my friend. Are you nuts?! This was supposed to be a training session, not a murder! You're just making a fool of him… he's a sitting duck!" Enatsu thundered, waving his arms at his master.

Takamori did not move a muscle. That funny little man knew the merchant would never do anything reckless towards him.

As Enatsu continued to scream and agitate, Takamori's order reached Rinji's ears. The armoured giant looked at Yoichi.

He let the scales disappear around his leg, transferring their energy to the other arm. When both of his arms were enhanced, Kenji was back on its feet.

Despite the violent blow suffered by its tamer, the Nekage was more resilient than it seemed. About two meters behind him, the Kumiwa inside its shell.

Yoichi's eyes framed the turtle demon for a moment. After a superficial first glance, the young tamer carefully stared at Rinji's pet.

His pet has been stuck in that position the whole time. Of course! Why didn't I think of that?! If I can't scratch Rinji's rocky armour, maybe I can attack that turtle-thing! Yoichi realized. The young tamer, until then, had focused only on dodges and counterattacks, not learning that his opponent's only weakness, perhaps, was not on that giant body.

However, despite his sudden idea, Yoichi did not know how to damage the Kumiwa: its paws and head were sheltered within its thick carapace. It was made of the same scratchproof material as Rinji's body.

"I'm sorry, Yoichi. I didn't think I had to fight you using my powers. I'm really sorry," Rinji sobbed in a low voice. The true nature of the gentle giant came to light with that statement.

"Don't worry, Rinji!" Yoichi smiled, looking him in the eye. "Don't be so sure to got it won," he added, winking.

With a friendly smile, the Nightblades stone giant crossed his mighty arms in front of his face. Although that gesture had the makings of a defensive technique, Rinji was loading one of his most potent attacks.

From the massive, zigzagged carapace behind his back, sharp rock spikes popped up. About half a meter long, they totally covered the giant's back, making it look like a morning star's head.

It gets rough here. I have to hurry on... I must take advantage of Kenji's position to damage his pet and stop its upgrade. But how? How do I scratch its... just as Yoichi was frantically pondering about how to get out of that situation, the morning sunlight envelopped the training arena.

The yellow rays of light illuminated every corner of the stone tatami. Thanks to them, Yoichi's eyes were able to see something that shortly before, in the dawn light, they had not been able to notice.

Behind the turtle demon's thick carapace, its short reptile tail swung downwards. Unlike all other soft parts of its body, it protruded outwards, representing his enemy's only truly vulnerable target.

The tail! The tail of the Kumiwa is the real target! Kenji can easily reach it and interrupt Rinji's power-up! The young tamer reasoned, finding a possible solution. It's the only hope I have against this colossus. I have no choice!

The little Nekage somehow felt the thoughts of its tamer. Kenji's red eyes slowly turned to the turtle, spotting the small greyish tail popping up from the back of its carapace.

Having to come up with a quick diversion to trigger Rinji's attack and engaging him away from Kenji, Yoichi shouted, "Kenji! I need all the energy in my legs, quick!"

The Nekage, without having it asked a second time, stretched out its four feline legs and made the scales of the back and tail curled. Activating each fibre of its muscles, it tried to push its enhancement powers to the limit.

For the umpteenth time during that fight, the black scales changed positions on Yoichi's body. They switched from arms to legs, and each time, the activation of that skill was faster than before.

"Your speed won't save you this time! I'm sorry, Yoichi, but I have to execute the master's orders!" Rinji's voice boomed. The stone giant opened his arms and performed a strange rotation of his body.

Bringing a knee to his chest, he stayed in balance on the toe of the other foot, resting on the ground like the metal tip of a spinning top. With his arms speeding up the rotational movement, Rinji's body started spinning dizzily.