Chapter 43: Belief
Even though Zephyr had held back most of the force behind that punch, what remained was still far beyond what Axel could endure in his current state.
The layer of [reflection] around him felt like a thin sheet of glass. It cracked the instant Zephyr's fist broke through, then shattered completely.
Axel was blasted dozens of meters away.
He hit the ground hard, rolled, and dragged across the training field for several more meters before finally coming to a stop.
"Ugh... ah... damn..."
Pain surged through his muscles and bones like a tide. Every nerve in his body screamed at once, a raw protest from flesh trying to protect itself. His thoughts turned sluggish. Even breathing hurt.
He forced one hand against the ground to prop himself up.
If he relaxed for even a second, he felt like he would collapse flat on the spot.
Fortunately, the time he had spent airborne had given him just enough room to disperse part of the impact. If not, the outcome would have been much worse.
Everything had happened too quickly.
Zephyr had laughed.
Axel had made his demand.
Then Zephyr had struck without warning.
The people watching were still trying to piece together what had just happened. Only Ain reacted immediately. The moment Axel was sent flying, she forgot everything else, wiped nothing from her tear-streaked face, and ran straight toward him.
"Axel! Are you alright?" she asked, panic clear in her voice.
After all, he had stepped forward because of her.
If she had been stronger, none of this would have happened.
Axel forced the corners of his mouth upward and managed a strained smile.
"I'm... fine..."
But the moment he opened his mouth, a fresh tearing pain ripped through his body. His balance gave way, and he pitched forward.
Ain caught him at once, bracing him against her shoulder.
For a moment, Axel ended up pressed close against her, so close that he could see the redness left in her eyes from crying and the flush still lingering on her cheeks. It only made her look even more striking.
A faint, clean scent drifted from her.
His face heated up on instinct, and he tried to pull away—
Only to jolt his injuries and cough violently.
Ain misunderstood at once and panicked even more.
She quickly eased him down, laying him flat so he wouldn't strain himself further, then let his head rest on her lap to keep him from moving too much.
But the moment he settled there, Axel started coughing again.
"Why is it getting worse?" Ain asked anxiously. "Are you hurt somewhere? Is it serious?"
Axel's lips twitched.
The injury itself wasn't the real danger here.
The real danger was entirely different.
Binz came rushing over, took one look at the scene, and immediately said, "I'll get the doctor!"
The moment the words left his mouth, he turned and ran toward the school infirmary. This time he didn't even hide his Devil Fruit ability. Plants burst from the soles of his feet, their rapid growth giving him explosive bursts of speed as he shot off.
Alvis, meanwhile, walked up to Zephyr with a dark face.
"Zephyr," he said in a low voice, "you went too far. He's still a child."
No matter what, Axel was still his student.
As his teacher, he had a duty to stand up for him.
Zephyr did not look at him right away.
"When I moved, I did let my temper take over," he said. "But I will not apologize. Not for this. Because my principles haven't changed. In my eyes, justice was never something simple."
"But he's just a child," Alvis said, unable to hold back. "If his way of thinking is wrong, then you correct him through words. How could you—"
Zephyr cut him off before he could finish.
"How could I use violence?"
His tone was flat, but every word landed hard.
"You're still naive, Alvis. Pirates don't care whether the person in front of them is a child or an adult. If he has the courage to stand in the test, then he should also have the courage to face what follows."
His gaze hardened.
"Letting them understand this world early is better than raising weak Marines who only know how to talk about justice."
He paused, then added in a lower voice,
"The Navy is already rotting enough as it is."
Alvis lowered his head.
He had no answer.
Zephyr was no ordinary officer. He did not need to explain himself to anyone, yet he still did—and those words struck too close to things Alvis himself understood.
Just then, a weak voice cut into the heavy silence.
"Then... can Ain be tested again?"
Everyone turned.
It was Axel.
He was still lying there in pain, still supported by Ain, yet he asked it anyway.
Ain froze.
Alvis swore under his breath.
That idiot.
Did he really have to bring it up again now, of all times?
The other students, who had been standing in nervous silence this whole time, looked at Axel differently now.
Whatever else they thought, admiration had begun to creep in.
Zephyr turned and looked at him.
"You still dare ask?"
"There's nothing to dare about," Axel said, his voice weak but steady. "It's just what I believe. If I can't even hold on to that, then what's left of me?"
He had no way back to his old world.
If he had to live here, then at the very least, he wanted to live according to the things he believed in—not by shrinking away every time the pressure got too great.
"Belief..." Zephyr repeated.
For a brief moment, something passed through his eyes.
Hadn't he once lived exactly like that himself?
As a child, he had wanted to become a hero. He had wanted to protect justice with his own hands. He had followed the principle of not killing, believed in the righteousness of that path, and walked it without hesitation.
And then reality had broken those beliefs again and again until even he no longer knew whether holding on had been right or wrong.
His face remained stern, as always. That expression had long ago become armor.
But behind it, his thoughts had already shifted.
Finally, he spoke.
"For the sake of that conviction, I'll give her one more chance."
Ain's head snapped up.
"This is the last one," Zephyr said. "And I won't lower the standard."
Axel let out a breath and managed a faint grin.
"That's enough."
Ain looked at him, her eyes shaking.
"There's no need to go this far for me," she said softly. "I couldn't even pass..."
"You can," Axel said without hesitation. "Your strength was never in brute force. Trust the work you've put in. Use both swords. That's your real strength."
For a moment, Ain simply stared at him.
Then she nodded.
"Yes."
Whatever happened next, she would not let this chance go to waste.
At that moment, Binz came sprinting back with a middle-aged man in a white coat.
The school doctor.
The moment Axel saw them approaching, he said to Ain, "Go. Leave this to Binz and the doctor. Get ready."
Ain hesitated for only a second. Then she nodded, waited until Binz was close enough to take over, and gently helped Axel sit properly before finally standing.
The doctor, who had been dragged here in a rush without getting a clear explanation, only understood the situation once he saw Axel's condition up close.
After a quick glance, he said, "Take her to the infirmary. It'll be easier to treat her there. It's not appropriate to examine everything out here."
To assess the injuries properly, he would need to remove the outer clothing. And from appearance alone, Axel still looked like a little girl to him.
Still, judging by the situation, the injuries did not seem so severe that immediate emergency treatment was necessary.
The infirmary would be more suitable.
TL: Check out my newly released fanfic on my second account "FicLord"
Crossover Anime World: Reborn as Abe no Seimei
I didn't know that there's a limit on how many books you can publish here in webnovel
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