One month passed inside the Grotto Heaven, which meant that three whole days passed in the real world.
Inside a very spacious room, Blake could be seen sitting on a stool, absentmindedly chewing on a piece of bread when all of a sudden...
Boom!
...an explosion occurred, ruthlessly startling him, pulling him back to the present. He looked at the door past this one and sighed.
"God, they're at it again..." he shook his head and ignored the commotion.
Beyond that door, was another spacious room. It's filled with things that can be used for training. Here, two figures could be seen sparring against each other. These are none other than Alice and Mary.
Flashes of light illuminated the place. Mary's figure could be seen streaking across the air as she shot several arrows imbued with potent magic.
Alice glared at those arrows as if she had a personal vendetta against them, slicing away at the projectiles as they enter her range. The arrows explode upon slashing them but Alice clearly doesn't mind that at all.
Alice, then stomped forward, gripping her sword using two hands and grunting, performing an upward slash that seemingly cleaved an entire zone in front of her.
This slash was performed with her prediction of Mary's movement, startling the latter. Nevertheless, Mary didn't lose ground.
And instead of evading, she confidently met the attack. Her body started spinning diagonally as she repeatedly strummed her bow, releasing a weak shot that magically spun with her.
Mary became a projectile herself with astonishing piercing power that broke through Alice's attack.
Alice was alarmed, greatly so as she has never seen this one before. Plus, Mary's speed reached an unprecedented pace at this point which greatly caught her off guard. And let's not even mention the power behind that attack since there was a lot.
Like a comet landing, the whole room shook from the impact of her attack. Alice herself barely managed to defend against it by stabbing her sword at the ground and erecting a barrier made out of her energy to steady her.
Surprisingly enough, nobody was harmed. Not even the place itself. Apparently, it is strong enough to tank that attack, only shaking and nothing more.
"Was that how you defeated a fully matured demon?" Alice asked enthusiastically, speaking with her eyes sparkling.
"The last ditch effort, more like." Mary sighed as she crouched down and massaged her toes, wincing ever so slightly because of the aftermath. "It's either I kill it or I get defiled right then and there. It's practically a kamikaze attack."
"Hey, stop downplaying your achievements! Just so you know, you created that skill by yourself. And if it works, then it works. We're against demons, after all, it's all fair." Alice convinced her.
Mary smiled and nodded, saying: "Yeah, I guess you're right."
The month they spent here was enough to change them in some ways. For one, they no longer doubted Ashton or West Two for that matter since what they said was true.
Their growth here was unprecedented. With the Simulation Zone being as life-like as it was, everything felt real. What they achieve in the simulation could also be replicated outside of it, meaning that if they were able to slay a demon in the simulation, then they can certainly do so in real life as well.
Ashton prepared everything for their training, from food down to the facilities. All they needed to do was to use them properly and they will see results, which was awesome.
The constant battles hone their instincts properly. Their bad battle habits were being corrected especially since the majority of the time, death would be the result if they didn't do so.
Oh yes, the three of them experienced death in any way within the Simulation Zone. Oh, it was a chilling experience, one that haunted him even in their waking moments.
With everything feeling incredibly life-like in the simulation zone, of course, death would feel the same way.
They've been maimed, eaten alive, defiled, etc. by the demons which caused them to harbor deep resentment against them.
And according to what Ashton said, these are how they behaved in real life. Meaning that should they stumble and fail, their deaths wouldn't be pretty at all.
This behavior really puts them at the edge since it paints a horrible picture...one where the Black Fog ushers endless hordes of demons, laying waste to Last Bastion where they are forced to witness how their people experience ugly and miserable deaths under the Demons' claws.
That's something that chilled them to the core. And if you're thinking that the Angels would be better, that's wrong. In this matter, they're just the same.
The ugliness and terror of the real world outside of their 'safe zone' was nothing new to Blake.
He had experiences of his own in his previous lives so he's not surprised. Mary and Alice on the other hand...
This is probably the reason why they're working harder than usual. They're still largely unaware of the real truth behind the machinations of the world but they're starting to have their thoughts.
Ashton was keenly aware of this, but he decided to let them be. Now's not the time yet but that should be enough to keep them on their toes. As for Blake, Ashton's certain that he knows so there's no need to worry about him.
The girls were resting after their spar, they were quiet, lost in their thoughts.
That was disrupted by Blake entering the room, yawning as if he just came back from a nap. He's even scratching his stomach as he approached them. Seeing this, Alice had a strong urge to kick his face.
Blake acknowledged the two before unceremoniously lying down on the bed, placing the VR Helmet on, and entering the Simulation Zone.
Mary and Alice looked at each other and smiled wryly. Suddenly, Alice had an idea.
"Hey, West Two, are you there?"
"I'm here. What do you need?"
"Can you tell us what Blake has been fighting recently?" She asked.
She doesn't really know why but she's curious. Blake doesn't spar with them very often, preferring to just sit back and watch. Alice have no idea how much he improved and that got her really curious.
"Hmm..." West Two hummed.
He's debating if he should tell them or not. He's actually watching some replays of Blake's fight in the Simulation Zone since it was entertaining.
"He chose a Tormentor, a teenage one." He casually said.
But his words were like a bomb drop for Mary and Alice.
"A Tormentor!? Are you serious? Is he mad?" Mary was shocked.
Tormentors. It's a kind of demon that they never thought was real until they saw it available in the choices. Previously, they were believed to be fiction, the boogeyman if you will. But Ashton proved to them that they're as real as it gets.
And they are extremely dangerous foes, so much so that the girls didn't even think about fighting those yet.
"Hmm, I wouldn't say so. At least not yet...I mean, he died a few times but he's getting there." He replied.
"Getting where?"
"I meant that he's fighting back...with every death he learns and he's nearly beaten the thing. Once he's beaten that, he'll then fight an Adult version, then a Mature one. After that, he moves on to another demon. That's how he does it." West Two explained.
"Oh..." the girls were speechless.
Well, it's not like they haven't thought about that before. It's just that, they were fighting the same thing over and over again, and clearly, their progress was slower compared to Blake's.
"He must've died a lot...right?" Alice softly inquired. Feeling a bit dejected.
"Well, I don't have a death counter but yeah...he did. Probably thousands of times by now. But he's a tough guy, he can handle himself. Don't worry about him." He replied.
'Death isn't a foreign thing to him anyway. But I can't say that to them since it's not my secret to tell.' He added inwardly.
The girls digested those words in silence for a bit. West Two watched them while working on stuff.
Shortly after, the girls stood up and laid down to put their helmets on as well. West Two could clearly see the determined look on their faces.
This can be interpreted as them rising to the challenge. Not wanting to be left behind by Blake. Obviously, the guy didn't want to compete against them but for West Two, and Ashton in extension, this isn't a bad development.
But, more so than competing against him, Ashton believed that they didn't want Blake to carry all the weight, which is why they're spurred on by Blake's unwavering march.
Blake just looks like he's taking it easy but in truth, he's working harder than the two of them combined, and clearly he's getting results by doing so.
Their pride as geniuses wouldn't let this matter go but more than that, as companions and friends, they didn't want Blake or Ashton to do all the heavy lifting by themselves.
'That's right girls...you're just as capable as that guy is. Claim your spot and prove that you too are Proud Daughters of Destiny.'
