Chapter 8: Defeat

"I should check this world's history when I get back," Ayame said to herself as she went in the direction of the gym.

After jogging for a few minutes, she arrived at the place.

She entered the building and opened the door.

The gym was rather large. There were multiple machines scattered around the floor.

There was a desk that offered free weights and a place for a personal trainer.

Ayame walked up to the counter.

"Hi, I'm here to buy a membership." She said.

"That will be 15,000 yen." The receptionist said.

Ayame pulled out her wallet and paid with her credit card.

She was about to leave when the receptionist called out to her.

"Wait for a second! I forgot to give you a card." He said.

He handed Ayame a plastic card.

"This is the membership card. It has a magnetic strip on the back and can be used to access the gym." Said the receptionist.

Ayame took the card and headed to the workout area.

She did a few warm-up exercises and then began doing some workouts.

She first did 10 sets and 10 reps of pull-ups and push-ups.

The more sets she did, the more her body felt as if it was burning while her arms shook slightly.

She could also feel as if she was losing strength.

She took a rest at a bench before continuing the next workout.

After resting, she did 10 sets and 10 reps of barbell squats.

She could feel pain in her lower body.

She rested after finishing the workout.

Next, she then moved on to doing 10 sets and 10 reps of deadlifts.

Her back and arms hurt.

Ayame was breathing hard and sweating profusely.

She rested. She then continued to her next workout. She did 10 sets and 10 reps of bench press.

She could barely move her hands after she was done.

She sat down to rest.

She took some time to rest before deciding to do treadmills and jump rope before leaving and returning home.

***

Ayame returned home feeling exhausted.

"Well, it's been a long day..." Ayame said to herself as she lay down on her bed.

She closed her eyes and fell asleep.

She dreamt about how she was riding a truck.

Along with her was a group of men with assault rifles. They drove through the streets until they reached a police outpost.

Ayame jumped out of the truck with her gun, and the other rebels followed her.

Ayame and the rebels shot all the men with police uniforms outside the outpost.

A few police officers collapsed on the floor while the surviving police officers entered the building to avoid the gunfire.

One of the remaining rebel soldiers came behind them and killed three cops trying to escape from the side entrance.

They ran inside and fired shots at everyone within range.

Some of the police officers hid under desks and shot the rebels who tried to enter the building.

As soon as Ayame saw one of the cops hiding below his desk, she aimed and shot him to death.

Ayame kept shooting at the police officers trying to run away or fight back.

Finally, there was only one cop left alive.

He was shot in the head. Blood and brain matter splattered on the wall.

When the last bullet had flown off Ayame's rifle, she signaled that they were all dead.

The rest of the rebels immediately jumped back into the truck along with Ayame before returning back into their hideout.

Once again, Ayame woke up.

She looked over at her alarm clock and realized it was already morning.

She quickly bathed and got dressed.

Then, Ayame ate breakfast. After eating, she grabbed her bag and headed toward the school.

***

It was time for the last class, the cultivation, and martial arts class.

An unfamiliar man entered the gymnasium.

"Good day, class! I will be your new instructor until the rest of the year." The new instructor appeared and introduced himself.

"You can call me instructor Keiichi. I was hired to replace your old instructor, that was beaten up by a certain student." The instructor smiled.

He was an elderly man. His face looked like he had a lot of wrinkles. His hair was white and short. And his eyes were sharp, like a war-hardened veteran. In contrast to his appearance, he was very calm and quiet.

"Is Ayame Yuuna here? If you are here, please come forward!"

Ayame walked up to the front and stood in front of the class.

Everyone turned around to look at her.

Several students whispered among themselves.

The instructor suddenly punched Ayame in the face.

Ayame parried the instructor's attack with her hand. While her other hand executed a punch that landed directly on the instructor's nose.

The instructor suddenly disappeared.

Ayame's technique could sense where the instructor is. He was above her, about to launch his next attack.

Ayame activated Iron Skin and predicted the trajectory of the instructor's punch.

She was struck by the instructor's downward punch on the head, but she was able to block it with her hand and Iron Skin.

Her hand hurt slightly.

But this wasn't enough to stop Ayame from landing another blow straight onto the instructor's chin.

The instructor didn't dodge this time, but she couldn't damage him.

She didn't let that bother her. She knew the instructor was planning something. She decided to continue her assault on the instructor with her knee straight to his gut.

The instructor took the hit and looked slightly bothered.

Ayame decided her next attack to be gouging the instructor's eyes.

As her fingers were about to reach the instructor's eyes, the instructor suddenly grabbed her hands.

Ayame predicted that was going to happen. Her next attack was kicking the man's balls with a straight knee.

The instructor couldn't dodge it in time and took the hit.

He let go of her, and his face had an expression as if he was in pain.

She moved behind the instructor and strangled him with a rear naked choke.

While choking the instructor, she was biting his ears, and her other hand was trying to gouge his eye.

The instructor's body suddenly began to heat up.

Ayame jumped off the instructor's back.

His temperature rose further.

In just a few seconds, the teacher was burning up. A golden fire was covering his body.

The students ran away due to the blistering heat.

"I must admit, that's the first time a mortal martial art had ever frightened me." The instructor smiled while his body was still on fire.

"But a mortal martial art can never reach the heights of an immortal martial art."

The students were all astonished.

"This is 「Jiko Nenshō Kasai no Haretsu」. The first stage of the martial art I'm practicing." The instructor said before canceling out his ability.

He called out the students that retreated away.

"I will teach you this martial art soon enough. For now, you'll need to learn these basic combat martial arts." The instructor gave three thin books.

"I'll let you guys out early. Study them at home because we will practice them tomorrow. The training dummy the school is using is outdated, I told the Principal to order a new one, but it hasn't arrived yet. It should arrive today or tomorrow morning so we can have the practical class tomorrow."

"Oh, and Ayame, the Principal, is looking for you. He has something to tell you." He said before exiting the gymnasium.

Ayame wondered what it could be about, but if she had to guess, it was most likely related to the incident where she beat up the instructor.

'This wouldn't have been such a problem had they not hired a lousy martial arts instructor.' She thought to herself as she walked to the Principal's office.

Ayame knocked thrice before opening the door.

"Excuse me, Principal, I heard you were looking for me..."

The Principal looked at Ayame. "Ah, yes. Come in, Ayame."

Ayame entered the room.

"You're probably wondering why I've summoned you here," Principal started.

Ayame stared at him with her piercing gaze.

"There is an upcoming martial arts tournament starting a few months from now. We would like your participation."

Ayame raised her eyebrows. "Well, I have no problem with that."

"Good. But there's a problem."

Ayame furrowed her brows. "Problem?"

"Because your enemies are not just students from prestigious schools around the world, they are also from families with a history in cultivation. They have been practicing since their childhood." The Principal explained.

Ayame remained silent for a moment.

"We don't have that much time. Hence why, we decided to exempt you from other classes. You will stay at school for four months while we train you to get stronger."

Ayame felt slightly uncomfortable. "I understand."

"Follow me. I'll take you to your room." The Principal opened the door and went outside.

Ayame followed him and saw her room.

"It's quite large."

The room had complete gym equipment, a queen bed, a kitchen, a bathroom, a dining area, and an ample empty space.

"I'll also call your parents later to deliver your clothes and other essential items." The Principal said before he left the room and closed the door.

Ayame also left the room and went to the cafeteria to eat lunch.

She couldn't find Kaito and Mina, so she just decided to buy the takeout food and eat it in her room.

After she was done eating, she decided to spend the rest of the day working out.

She immediately slept after she was done with her workout.

She woke up five hours later.

It was still dark out, but she couldn't get back to sleep.

Ayame opened her room's door.

She took a deep breath and exhaled.

Ayame exited the campus and walked in the direction of the park.

As she got closer to the park, she noticed a humanoid figure in the distance.

She was about to turn back when she got curious about what kind of person would stand around at the park at this hour?

She walked closer and discovered who it was.

It was the same girl during the first day of school student orientation.

"You're finally here, Ms. Ayame Yuuna. I've been waiting here for quite a while." The girl said in an annoyed voice.

"What do you want?" Ayame asked the girl.

"I've been watching you for quite a while... Honestly, you're gross. You really like smashing eyes that much?" The girl said.

"!?" Ayame was alarmed. She didn't know someone was watching her.

"What? Did you think I wouldn't notice a filthy demonic cultivator during the student orientation?"

"Demonic Cultivator?" Ayame asked, confused at the unfamiliar term.

"That's right. A demonic cultivator. That's what you are. A madwoman with only an instinct to destroy yourself and everyone around you." The girl said with an air of superiority.

"And it's the job of the twelve families that control the cultivator bureau to eradicate monsters like you."

"As the daughter and the second-in-command of the Nishizumi family, I will kill you!"

But before I kill you... Watch. This place you love so much? I'm going to wipe it off the map." The girl said as she summoned a gigantic sword with a blade twice longer than her body.

Ayame was shocked. She never expected someone to try to harm the city.

"Wait! Stop!" Ayame shouted.

"Nishizumi-Style, Sky Obliterating Earth Decimation!" The girl smashed her sword into the ground.

"Noooooooooo!" Ayame cried.

A violent earthquake erupted in front of Ayame. Nothing was left.

"I'LLLLLLLLLLLLLLL KKKKKIIIIIIIIIIIIIILLLLLLLLLLLL YYYYYYYYYYYOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!" Ayame shouted at the top of her lungs.

"Now it's your turn." The girl smirked.

Before Ayame could notice, the girl was already in front of her with a new weapon, a longsword.

Ayame was pierced in the stomach, but Ayame did not go down without a fight.

She desperately tried to grab and attack the girl, but her efforts were futile.

The girl pulled out her sword before kicking Ayame.

Ayame grabbed the girl's leg.

She tried to attack, but she was rapidly losing blood, rapidly losing strength.

Her consciousness was disappearing by the second.

She saw the girl smirking as she walked away.