Chapter 31: Human Nature (1)

From their first hello at the age of nine, they had never spoken ill of each other. After thousands of trials and life-and-death battles, Noah and Alexander were like two peas in a pod. They were more than brothers. They were a comrade, a partner, a brother, and ultimately a family.

Neither the Black Dragon Camp nor the Deadly Training Program were easy things to endure. The environment where they could die at any moment, the pain that fueled suicidal urges, the faces that changed every day, and so much more... For the children with the smell of milk in their mouths, these were unbearable things.

And something was coming into play here.

Moral support.

It was mentally exhausting to endure a hardship on your own. The person who continued like this would eventually commit suicide. But two people trying to overcome a difficulty - that's where things would be different. In any case, comrades were the most important key to overcoming a challenge.

Brothers and sisters to push them every time they wanted to give up and partners to lift them up every time they collapsed... companions to cry with and laugh with. After seven years, everyone cared more about their partner than themselves.

This was especially true for someone like Alexander, who grew up as an orphan. He grew up dreaming of someone he could always count on. Someone who would go through hardships with him... Noah, whom he had met at Camp Black Dragon and with whom he had worked his way up to this level of the Deadly Training Program, was more important to him than his life.

"Noah..."

Years later, tears wet his cheeks, but not blood and sweat. Alexander could not speak when he remembered the content of the test.

Should he have killed his brother in this test?

The biggest reason he's lived this long?

The same was true for Noah.

He was a month older than Alexander.

He saw him as his little brother.

No, he was more than a brother!

A comrade, a partner in destiny...

But now the superiors wanted them to kill each other.

"It can't be that simple."

Alexander didn't look at Noah and started hitting the wall with his fists. Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! His skin was torn and his hands were red, but the surface of the wall remained unchanged.

"It is impossible to escape from this place prepared by the superiors. Alexander, draw your sword and prepare to fight me. I will show no mercy. You, my greatest friend and dear brother, must understand what I mean."

Noah lowered his head. When he lifted it again, he was not the same as before. There was a killing intent in his eyes, as if he was looking at his greatest enemy.

Seeing her face, Alexander was devastated again.

He hated all this.

From the thought of fighting Noah to the thought that he might die here...

"Do you despise me, Alexander?"

As he thought this, a whisper came near his ear. A spear made of silver wires passed close to his throat. At the last moment Alexander turned his body to avoid the attack. Noah, the attacker, drew back his spear and took a stance again.

"Alexander, you are the only person who has ever stood by my side and grown up with me. We've been through so much together, we've laughed, we've cried, we've watched others die, we've plotted against others for fear they would hurt one of us."

"You no longer have a friend or a brother. I'm not the Noah you know. I'm a rival you must kill. And that's what you are to me. There is no Alexander. There is only an enemy I must kill."

Alexander could understand the meaning behind what Noah was saying. He was telling him not to get too emotional. Because only one could get out of here.

Even if they didn't want to admit it.

Alexander knew the truth, too. There was no way out of here unless he or Noah died. The trainers wanted them to kill each other and get rid of all their burdens. He wasn't stupid, he just wanted to ignore the facts.

'From now on, nothing will be the same as before. I may not see the next day.'

He gritted his teeth, then took a deep breath, sealing his emotions in the darkest place of his heart. All the brightness in his eyes disappeared and the energy in his body was activated.

Both were silent.

They were not talking.

"Have you collected your thoughts?"

Noah broke the silence. His voice was trembling despite his bravery.

"Yes, a little."

Alexander was no different.

"I'm coming."

Noah tilted his spear slightly and then charged forward at lightning speed. It was clear that he was one of the advanced levels of the Ghost Step. Moreover, his body seemed to be powered by the Shadow of Darkness. With a snap, Noah ended up at Alexander's feet and thrust his spear.

Alexander deflected the spear using Jade Hands and turned his body to dodge Noah who appeared behind him. Noah had used Shadow Twin just before he attacked.

As Alexander turned his body, a second attack came from below his feet. He jumped into the air and covered his chest with his arms. The hard kick hit his chest and threw him meters away.

Boom!

Alexander could feel his bones throbbing, Noah was not holding back. He was determined to kill him.

"You... you really underestimate me."

Noah reshaped the Silver Silk and turned it into an arrow. In an instant he was surrounded by dozens of different arrows. After the arrows circled around his body, Shadow Energy erupted.

Wooosh!

Alexander easily dodged each attack using Shadow Step, but as he did so, Noah's kick landed on his body. He was knocked off his feet. In the area where he was thrown, there was a web of Silver Silk.

If it hit there, it would turn into grated carrots.

Alexander twisted his body in mid-air and used the Asura Katana to tear the net to pieces. Every move he made so far was instinctive.

He had no intention of fighting from the very beginning.

"This is a life and death match, not a training session. This fight will not end as long as one of us is breathing."

Alexander gritted his teeth.

"Why? Why are you so eager to make this a fight to the death? There is no reason! We can join forces and get out of here."

"Do you think you can stand up to a cardinal or a senior? Alexander, I know you're a monster, but get out of your fantasy world. For either of us to survive, we must kill each other."

"Bullshit! Not killing each other means we failed the test. There's no guarantee we'll be punished!"

"You keep talking nonsense. You think we need a reason to fight? Why don't you just accept it? You crave power, isn't that right? You say you hate fighting, but do you ever look in the mirror? You enjoy it as much as I do."

Alexander didn't realize it, but right now he had a disgusting smile on his face. He enjoyed fighting. It gave him pleasure to feel death on his neck. Especially the feeling that he could be killed by his friend drove him mad.

He was just denying it.

"Anyone who really loves power enjoys fighting. This is a simple truth."

Noah attacked again. Their collision was getting more and more violent. Now even Noah was on the verge of madness. The Silver Silk was shaped according to the techniques of the Silver Silk Road. Thousands of different strands moved to pierce Noah from different angles.

"The question is, Alexander! Why do we get stronger? Do we fight to get stronger or do we get stronger to fight? I still haven't figured that out. But who cares?! Because one thing is certain! "

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Noah's attacks were relentless. His power was unimaginable for someone of his level. Alexander's body was covered with thousands of cuts made by the Silver Silk.

And yet he still had not drawn his sword. He survived what he could, and what he couldn't, he survived with Jade Hands.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

"There is nothing we reject or try to change! Because we were born this way! We will always fight and we will continue to fight. It's part of us, we do it instinctively. We have no choice but to fight!"

Noah was using Transformation, the first basic move in the Silver Silk Road, but it was insufficient to affect Alexander. Noah, of course, was not going to pity Alexander. If either of them were to survive, he would prefer it to be the stronger one.

From the very beginning they lived in the world of the powerful.

Stronger takes all.

"Silver Silk Road, Exploding Blood."