In a dim forest. Two silhouettes were facing off in front of a burnt and destroyed hut.

One of them was a young man who carried a sword on his hips, Nozomu Bountis.

Wearing the white-themed Solminati Academy uniform on his body, he took deep breaths with a
tense expression.

The other was an old man with a white beard and a robe coiled around his body, Zonne.

He had come here in order to monitor Tiamat. With his wrinkled arms linked and with a serious
gaze, he stared at the young man in front of him.

The space around the two was taut with a tingling sense of nervousness.

Finally, Nozomu put a hand onto his chest. Then he squeezed his palm as if he was grabbing
something.

And as he waved his clenched hand, a raging stream of great power scattered in all directions.

"Guu!"

Nozomu let out a pained voice.

As if Tiamat's power brought intense pain as it coursed through his body, his expression
stiffened, and he tightened his grip until his knuckles were pure white.

Even still, Nozomu frantically tries to control the raging power.

With his eyes shut tight, he continued to focus his consciousness within himself.

The power that had been scattering all around seemed to gradually settle down.

But Nozomu's facial expression distorted even more than before, and his skin soon began to
tear open with a snap. The after-effects of Tiamat's great power were starting to appear.

Still, Nozomu did not try to stop the power.

Without considering that his own blood was dripping and being blown away, he intently
concentrated his mind.

"AAAAAAAAA!"

A part of the power that had leaked out raised a groan of deep resentment and blew away
pebbles and grains of sand in the area.
And that portion of power coiled around Zonne in order to choke his neck. It was as if the power
was acting in proxy for its master.

But Zonne did not particularly try to stop the chaotic light that was wrapping itself around him.
Instead he motionlessly watched over what was happening before his eyes.

Finally after several minutes, a prominent snap sounded out, and the blood flowing out of
Nozomu's lacerations increased in an instant.

At that instant, Zonne opened his mouth.

"That's enough."

At the exact same time he said those words, Nozomu stopped the power he had been
releasing.

Invisible chains wrapped around Nozomu and the rampaging energy settled down. Then
Nozomu collapsed into a kneeling position where he was.

"Haa, haa, haa..."

Rough breaths vented themselves from Nozomu's mouth. Blood ran down and dripped from his
open wounds, dying the ground red.

Zonne quickly deployed magic to heal the wounds on his body, and on the occasion he also
washed away the blood and scent that was on his uniform.

The goal for which they were in this forest was to control Tiamat's power.

A dragon's power was fundamentally spiritual, though they learned how to use primordial
energy.

Seeing Nozomu's state, the results were dissatisfactory.

"Since the start of your training, it has been two weeks. Compared to when you started, your
record is about 10 seconds longer."

"So for the last week, it hasn't... been moving..."

Although Nozomu was dejected, Zonne didn't even seem to mind.

"Your body is only human after all. As long as you can't use your special ability, you can't hope
to increase your record."
"Binding Chains of the Sealed Soul"

The special ability Nozomu held that has been acting as his lifeline.

To master this ability that has been sealing Tiamat was Nozomu's goal.

However, for the two weeks since his training started, he hasn't shown the smallest sign of
being able to control his power.

"For starters, how do I control this special ability?"

"The special ability you hold as a 'dragon slayer' is somewhat different from 'other abilities.' A
dragon slayer's ability involves the person himself controlling the absorbed dragon's power
through his instincts. That is, your own power. It's rather similar to what you call abilities."

The thing called special abilities was fundamentally the general name for powers that certain
bloodlines held. In contrast, ability was a general term for powers that individuals held.

In that sense, a dragon slayer's special ability had aspects that could be taken as either.

"However, insofar as that special ability originates from yourself, the only one who can study it is
also yourself. Therefore, when it comes to the special ability, there is no way but to continue
questioning oneself."

After saying that, Zonne stops talking for a little bit.

"Well then, how is the other assignment? Were you able to feel the existence of spirits?"

Release the power and bring your concentration to the limit, then try to control your special
ability. Aside from that, the other assignment that had been given to Nozomu was to perceive
spirits in the surroundings.

Dragon energy and spiritual energy. Primordial energy. The fundamental power that made up
this world.

To learn spirit magic was nothing short of touching this power with your own two hands.

Another approach to control the power Nozomu had absorbed. That's what trying to learn
spiritual magic was.

"Not at all..."
"Fumu, so you can't even perceive the spirits around us? Despite having absorbed the power of
a spirit as a dragon slayer, your body is truly that of a human. At this rate, learning spiritual
magic is hopeless eh..."

The first stage in learning spiritual magic is to learn awareness of the spirits that exist in the
surroundings.

The next is to come to a mutual understanding with them.

The last is to transfer one's own power to the spirits and make a pledge, at which point one
could finally exercise the magic using borrowed power.

But Nozomu was already stumped at the first stage.

First, without releasing his power, he tried to concentrate on feeling the spirits around him. But
he couldn't perceive them at all.

Zonne thought that might have been because of his Binding Chains of the Sealed Soul so he
instructed him to try perceiving spirits with his power released, but the results were
disappointing.

One who can sense spirits is extremely rare even among all of humanity. Most of them are
buried under dubious information such as people with premonitions or the ability to sense the
supernatural.

The reason humans could not obtain the qualifications to use spirit magic is in the second stage.
Almost no human being can come to a clear and mutual understanding with the spirits.

However, at the basis of both the Qi and Magic that humans use is the power of the soul which
is called primordial. It seems that in the past, there were humans who could even operate this
primordial power with their bodies by training over time.

Nozomu's body houses the strongest dragon. He could be thought to be able to use spiritual
magic, but right now that shows no signs of sprouting.

Nozomu's face darkened with discouragement.

"Why are you so depressed? Controlling a special ability, learning spirit magic. Neither of these
can be learned overnight. Until now, as many great people challenged this as there were stars
in the sky, and they were defeated. Do you think that you who is half a man can do something,
whether as a human or even if you were a dragon?"

Zonne spoke challenging words to Nozomu.

Nozomu grit his teeth from frustration. When he did, the old man suddenly laughed as if to
ridicule him.

"Or are you giving up?"

"Stop joking. If I would give up from something of this extent, I wouldn't have asked you to train
me to start with."

Nozomu instantly replied to Zonne's challenge.

His eyes housed a strong light within them.

This extent, he says. It's nothing more than a few dozen cuts and some ruptured veins, he says.

Even if he vomited blood, his absolute intention to exert control was conveyed behind a few
words, and it slammed against the old man who smiled provocatively.

Seeing Nozomu reply to him right away, the smile on Zonne's mouth quietly deepened.

Nozomu also returned a smile. Once again, it felt the same as when he trained with another
master before.

"I get it. To imitate is to learn. And in order to truly master it, I can do nothing but simply repeat it
single-mindedly."

Nozomu whips his sluggish body and stands up.

You can't master it from a little training. Repeat it until it's etched into your body to the letter.
Then learn as you imitate it. He once again told his heart that it's repetition.

"However, you're..."

"What is it Roshi?"

"...No, it's nothing."

Seeing Nozomu stand up, Zonne lets loaded words out.

Nozomu asked what it was, but he ended up keeping himself silent after Zonne's vague reply.

A bizarre silence passed between the two.

Nozomu looked at Zonne not saying anything and slowly opened his mouth.
"Hey, Roshi. What happened with Tiamat 5000 years ago?"

"Are you curious about her?"

"Honestly, I didn't think anything about Tiamat when I first met her except that she was a
dangerous person. I've been saved by this power before, but it's also true that it's been troubling
Iris and the others. It's just..."

"Just...?"

A doubt boiled up within himself. In order to make sure of it, Nozomu took a deep breath and
closed his eyes.

And in a beat, he stopped inhaling and slowly exhaled, then slowly opened his mouth.

"For some reason, I feel like we're similar. She and I..."

Hearing Nozomu's words, Zonne stroked his beard in deep thought.

"Have you seen all of Tiamat's past?"

"Mikhael... She founded a country with your son which was destroyed. That's about all I know."

The scene Nozomu saw was that of her dragon friends who had already died and her country
that had already been destroyed, and Tiamat suffering at the hands of a strange power she had
absorbed.

And Tiamat was denied by Mikhael whom she clung onto. Then she broke from the despair and
rage.

However, he didn't understand how that came to be at all.

The only thing certain was that something was there.

At that time. When he got carried away by Tiamat's rage and turned his sword to Irisdina and
the others, Nozomu heard Tiamat and Mikhael's peaceful voices.

"Only that Tiamat herself was betrayed or something..."

Since all the parts were given to him in bits and pieces, even if Nozomu understood what had
happened, he didn't have the slightest idea of how it came to be.

"Fumu... I'm not sure if I should say this, but honestly, I cannot say anything important. However
much I know of how Alhalant ended, I was an outsider after all..."
"Alhalant?"

"The name of the country Tiamat and Mikhael created. That name has already been buried and
gone from the annals of human history..."

Alhalant(Aruharanto). It was a name Nozomu had never heard before.

"An outsider... what do you mean?"

"It means what it sounds like. That there is someone who is more suited to discussing it than I."

While staring at Nozomu, who was muttering that name as if chewing on it, Zonne suddenly
held his hand over the ground.

"Then let us go back."

"Ah! Wai..."

"We, the dragon tribe, have indeed been sealing Tiamat and information about Alhalant. There
are those who are more suited to discussing it than I am. Wait for a short while..."

Nozomu didn't even have time to protest. Before his eyes, an innumerable number of magic
circles appeared mid-air.

The next instant, the silhouettes of the two suddenly disappeared from within the forest.

The white light that had been filling his vision settled down. Before Nozomu's eyes, an
excessively wide and dim space was there.

At his feet, various strange magic characters were spread, and they were releasing a faint light.

He was at the place prepared below Solminati Academy's colosseum. It was the basement with
magic circles that brought forth the magical barriers.
(TN: Changed martial arts garden to colosseum)

"Looks like you've returned."

A heavy and low voice echoed through the dim basement. When Nozomu looked at the
direction the voice came from, a man at the prime of his life clad in silver armor was standing.

Jihad Raundel.
The one who proposed this place to Zonne as the top of the academy.

Nozomu learned that Jihad and Zonne had had a connection shortly after Azel's atack.

When Nozomu and the others were called to Jihad's office, they learned that Jihad and Zonne
had been cooperating with each other.

The wedge that Jihad had shown was proposed by Zonne.

After that, Irisdina and the others started to thoroughly question Zonne and Jihad, but in the end
they understood, and they continued to cooperate.

Then Jihad proposed to use this place as a relay point for Nozomu's training.

A place with little to no people is desirable for Nozomu's training. That being the case, it's
impossible to train on the streets.

However, even if he had to go into the forest, Nozomu currently felt that every second of training
was precious.

Then a magic circle to directly transfer Nozomu to the forest from under the colosseum was
proposed.

As a result, he had been coming and going to and from the forest from under the colosseum for
his training these two weeks.

Seeing Nozomu, Jihad slightly knit his eyebrows, but he returned to normal before the person
himself could notice.

"Good work Nozomu-kun. Today as well, welcome back."

"Y, Yes."

Without saying much, Jihad welcomes Nozomu home.

Zonne telling him to "wait a bit" was on Nozomu's mind, but it couldn't win against his
exhaustion, and he left the basement staggering.

After confirming that Nozomu had left the basement, Jihad approached Zonne right away and
interrogated him with a stifled voice.

"So, how did it go?"

"Same as before. No sign of being able to learn spirit magic. For the past two weeks, his record
has increased by ten seconds."

"Ten seconds, is it..."

Jihad repeated the words ten seconds as if he was chewing on them. He gave a big sigh.

"Yes. Even ten seconds."

"Marvelous isn't it..."

Zonne slowly nodded in agreement to the word Jihad had said, "marvelous."

The power Nozomu Bountis has absorbed couldn't originally fit in a human's body.

The reason the dragon tribe created another world in order to seal it was because they judged
that they could never overlook the size and quality of that power.

With that in mind, one can understand how marvelous it is although ten seconds is like a grain
of time.

"But the brat himself seems unhappy. He wants to control his power even a second sooner, so
he is gradually becoming impatient."

Unlike Zonne and Jihad's impressions, Nozomu felt a little unhappy about his results.

He himself understands that it's not easy, doesn't he.

Unfortunately, it seemed that the fact that he had turned his blade on his friends a second time
left a lasting effect within Nozomu.

"Is it alright to not tell him?"

"If I imprudently pacify him and his sense of urgency is lost, that would also be troubling. It could
also have the opposite effect. That's more dangerous. He must preserve his sense of urgency
and keep on pushing himself to the limits with his training."

It's unsure if it had something to do with Nozomu himself, but it was certain that he was
becoming anxious and that encouraged him to train.

Besides, although there was a time when Nozomu choosed to run away by training, from what
Zonne saw he didn't currently seem to be losing his head in it yet.

He was training not for a vague delusion but while confronting reality.
"Let us entrust the small adjustments in that area to the young ladies. That would be more
effective, and the brat would be happy right? Though there's nothing more envious for me than
this..."

"Zonne-dono..."

Sure enough, the reason Nozomu was immersing himself in training lied with Irisdina and the
others. So they're more qualified to soothe him.

Though his last line showing what he really felt made him look somewhat sloppy, but it's an
acceptable reason.

"Nevertheless, let's allow the brat to have this kind of experience once. Despite the content of
the training, he has the necessary essentials."

"Just as I thought, that's how it is..."

"Yeah, it's not as if he was able to gain such sophisticated mastery with the sword at that age.
His sense to see through the boundary between life and death by instinct is excellent, even
among all the humans I've seen until now."

What Zonne praised was Nozomu's ability to focus during training.

Just before he would take a fatal wound that would destroy his body, at the same time Zonne
would have stopped him, he put his Binding Chains of the Sealed Soul back on his body.

"He can do reckless things. So he does reckless things. However, he can determine the
boundary between life and death precisely. Even now it's worrying."

"Even as his teacher, he keeps me in suspense every time. Good grief. I might have taken in an
outrageous disciple now of all times."

Feeling the same as Nozomu's master whom he had never met, Zonne sighed very deeply.

Not many students make teachers worry this much.

"Well then, I understand Nozomu's situation. I have meetings from here so please excuse me."

"The park opening, was it? They're talking about it even on the streets. Seems like it will be
chock full of various events."

"Yes. I pray that there will be no fuss."

After giving Zonne a bow, Jihad leaves the room.

After seeing him off, Zonne gives a the basement floor a fleeting glance.

"Tiamat and Mikhael. Time has started moving again after 5000 years huh..."

Expressionless, as if he was confirming something, he continues to stare at the floor.

Finally after raising his face and closing his eyes, he activates transportation magic.

After that, within the dim basement room, only the light from shining magic circles remained.