Chapter 165: Zombie (4)

On the slopes of a mountain in the Mac Mountains, Spring Continent, figures appeared in mid-air above a spacious clearing.

It was Louis and his group who had arrived via space movement, including the twins.

“Wahhh!”

“I’m falling!”

Unlike the twins, who were veterans of space travel, the Flame siblings were panicking. When had they ever experienced the sensation of plummeting from great heights? As they flailed in mid-air in a state of confusion, Louis grabbed them by the back of their necks and steered them to safety.

Soon, their five forms touched down on terra firma.

Thud.

“D-don’t be alarmed.”

“Whew… That was unexpected.”

Louis had been checking their homework and slyly grabbed hold of their hand out of the blue, which caused them to fall… How could they ever dream of such an unusual guru as Louis?

“Oh…” Tania looked around. Louis had taken them to an empty, wide-open plain.

Tania’s curiosity got the better of her. “Why are you here?”

“I already told you. I’m here to check your homework.”

”…?”

“If I checked your homework in the backyard, your house might’ve flown off by now, you know?”

The Flame Siblings hesitated at Louis’s words. They weren’t unaware that this ‘homework check’ was actually a sparring match.

Kendrick spoke with a hardened expression. “Does that mean… you want us to go all out?”

“You were planning to half-ass it?”

Kendrick’s gaze fell on the twins. They had also figured it out not too long ago – their homework checker was none other than the guru’s close friend, the Flame Siblings themselves.

“But…” Kendrick’s eyes betrayed his concern.

Tania looked no different.

Louis couldn’t help but chuckle inwardly.

Who should be worried about whom, anyway?

Part of him was glad he’d decide to conduct this homework check after all.

They’ve probably never lost to anyone before.

Growing up, with the exception of their father, Louis, and himself, the twins had never once been bested by anyone—whether peers or those older than them. This might have led to some measure of arrogance in their hearts.

This should wake them up.

If they realized there was another sky beyond this one… If they grasped that there existed someone far superior to themselves, it would greatly benefit the Flame siblings. In that sense, having the twins rather than himself as the subject of this assignment inspection was ideal. After losing to him, they’d simply think, As expected, our Guru is incomparable! and accept their inability to match his skill—a comforting notion for them.

And more importantly, there was Louis’s most significant reason for entrusting this task to the twins:

I need to straighten out their sense of hierarchy.

Today alone had proven just how extraordinary the Flame siblings’ personalities were.

The bigger problem was that their personalities were only more extreme than theirs. I needed to establish some order before the friction between the stormy twins and the fiery siblings arose later on.

Louis scanned both pairs briefly before starting to apply his seasoning. “Kendrick, Tania.”

“Yes!”

“Yes?”

“Don’t sass me. Do you really think I couldn’t gauge your level?”

”…”

“If you lay a finger on the twins’ hair, I’ll grant you each a wish.”

“W-wish?”

“Indeed, a wish. But if you cannot follow through, not only will you be responsible for my tasks, but also all their errands throughout our journey together.”

”…”

“So, will you? Or won’t you?”

The intensity in Louis’s eyes made the Flame Siblings flinch. Their instincts warned them against accepting this challenge, alerting them to the fact that they still didn’t fully understand their guru-like figure. However, youth’s spirit and pride overwhelmed these warnings.

“Yes!”

“We accept!”

As the Flame Siblings yielded, Louis smirked and called out to the twins:

“Khan, Kani.”

“Yes!”

“What is it?”

The twins responded cheerfully.

However, their expressions instantly changed upon hearing Louis’s threat:

“Hit us even once, and you’re out of here.”

They had come so far with Louis, and now he was saying they’d have to leave if he hit them? That couldn’t happen. The twins, who had initially taken this lightly, now understood the gravity of the situation.

Seeing how ignited the twins had become, Louis stepped back slightly.

“You decide how to do this.”

With Louis stepping back, it was now down to the flame siblings versus the twins.

The first one to speak was Kani, her lips curled into a sardine’s provocative smile.

“How about we…?”

Tanya’s eyes hardened at the provocation.

“It’ll be two-on-two. We win once everyone on either side surrenders or becomes incapacitated.”

“Do as you wish.”

“Not bad.” Kani and Khan shrugged.

Their discussion concluded, both sides spread apart.

The flame siblings watched with tense gazes, while the twins still seemed relaxed.

An agonizing silence stretched on until Kendrick finally asked his sister:

“Do you sense anything out there?”

“No…nothing at all.”

“Both of them?”

“Yes, both.”

Kendrick’s face hardened further at Tania’s reply. He was well aware that her spiritual level surpassed his own, so the fact that even she couldn’t sense anything was cause for concern.

This isn’t good…

When they first encountered the twins, Kendrick hadn’t been able to detect anything about them. This could only mean two things: either the twins were ordinary humans with no elemental power, or they were beings far beyond his own level.

Of course, if it were the former, their guru Louis wouldn’t have granted their wish with such confidence. In other words, it meant that these twins were far stronger than both him and Tania.

“This isn’t going to be easy,” Tania murmured.

”…No, it won’t be,” Kendrick agreed.

Despite this, giving up was not an option. Their goal wasn’t to defeat the twins but merely to rattle them, even if it was just the slightest bit.

If it’s just that level…

…We can do this!

The Flame siblings, who had trained together for years and often sparred against each other, knew each other’s strengths, weaknesses, and habits well. They were also adept at cooperative combat techniques. That’s why they confidently proposed a 2-on-2 match.

First strike!

Let’s go first!

Exchanging glances with his brother, Kendrick charged towards the twins. As he ran, he unsheathed his sword while Tania clenched her fists.

Louis observed the Flame siblings’ opening move, his eyes flickering with interest.

“Hmm, intriguing,” Fin murmured, her pin-like head protruding from Louis’s chest area. She found the brothers’ movements quite impressive, even just from their running posture and subtle positioning.

“It seems they’re targeting Miss Kani first, though, doesn’t it?”

“I can see exactly what’s happening. Fin, you’ve certainly become quite skilled, haven’t you?”

“Ha ha, haven’t I!”

As the saying goes, even a dog in a school learns something after three years. Where did Fin’s keen judgment come from? It was all a result of watching countless sparring matches between Louis and the twins. That’s why she knew:

The outcome of this battle.

Fin shook her head. “This won’t end well.”

“Yes, it won’t.”

The Flame siblings tried to overwhelm their opponents with their coordination technique. However, they should’ve known that the twins were not only individually more powerful than them but also highly skilled in coordination techniques.

This will be over soon, Louis thought, as flames erupted from Tania’s legs and Kendrick’s sword.

Whoosh…

The intense crimson flames contained extreme heat.

We’re giving it our all!

We’re ending this in one blow!

If Louis had recognized them as strong individuals, surely they would be able to withstand this attack. All their lives, they had been taught by a master swordsmith.

Tania’s blade aimed for Kani’s ankles in a sweeping motion, while Kendrick’s sword targeted her upper body.

Just as their attacks were about to reach Kani, who had yet to react, a crackle of electricity burst forth. In an instant, she vanished from their sight.

”…?!”

“Huh?!”

She was suddenly right beside Khan, her lips pursed. “You take the boy, I’ll handle the girl.”

“Gotcha.”

With that brief exchange, they both vanished amidst another burst of sparks. The brother and sister found themselves facing their opponents once more, all in the blink of an eye.

Kani moved towards Tania…

Khan charged at Kendrick.

As each brother reached the other, the Flame siblings were astounded.

“What…?!”

“Th-they’re fast!”

But this was far beyond mere speed. The twins moved so quickly that the Flame brothers couldn’t even see them.

Soon, as the astonished brothers were struck by flashes of light, they instinctively shielded themselves. And then—

Bam!

-An explosion echoed, sending the brothers flying in opposite directions.

Before they could regain their balance, the twins appeared beside them, and again there was a blinding flash and deafening boom.

Bam!

“Gak!”

“Gah!”

The battered Flame brothers were slammed into the ground.

Fin’s eyes widened at the sight. “Wow… It looks like the twins really wanted to follow you, Louis. They even used Flash and Body Slam.”

“…I told them not to call it that.”

“Heh-heh, but you were the one who came up with it first. The twins seem to like it too.”

“Ugh…” Louis grumbled, rendered speechless by Fin’s words.

…At this rate, won’t we be violating copyright laws?

Whenever he got a chance, Louis had been enthusiastically yelling, “Electric Twinmons, one million volts! Flash! Body Slam!” at the twins. In response, they had created these similar techniques.

The unique attributes of lightning: speed and power. Quickness pushed to the extreme with Flash Lightning, and heat converted into a torrential stream with Body Battering.

The perpetrator couldn’t speak because they were responsible for these circumstances. Instead, they tried to change the subject.

“By the way… it’s all over now.”

“From the start, it wasn’t much of a fight. The twins are already Top Tier, you know… Kendrick and Tania still have quite a ways to go.”

Both Louis and Fin nodded at his words.

The greatest change in the twins over the years was indeed their rise to becoming Top Tier. And this was all thanks to Louis.

We didn’t realize it back then. Who would have thought these two had such a strong desire to compete?

Louis had initially found it annoying when the twins constantly pestered him with playful fights, but he soon began sparring with them. Naturally, Louis always emerged victorious. However, it seemed like the daily defeats eventually ignited a fire within the twins.

Damn! Louis, you’re so mean!

I’ll definitely beat you one day!

From that day on, the twins started accompanying Louis in his training regimen. As a result, they reached the top-tier rank around 430 years of age. Their mastery of energy manipulation and Body Charge combat techniques were developed once they ascended to the top tier, all driven by their single-minded determination to best Louis.

Meanwhile, Tanya and Kendrick lay sprawled on the ground after absorbing a Body Charge attack. Every time residual electricity crackled through their bodies, Tanya felt her muscles twist painfully.

Argh…?!

Tanya tried desperately to raise herself, but each surge of electricity intensified the agony.

Kani’s voice reached Tania’s ears, piercing through her confusion.

“Do you know what that is?”

”…?!”

“53,154. That’s how many times Louis has faced us. And also…”

”…?”

Tania blinked, utterly lost at this sudden revelation.

Then Kani continued, causing Tania’s eyes to grow wide with disbelief.

“53,154 times Louis has defeated us. And each time, both Khan and I attacked him simultaneously.”

”…?!”

Had the teacher never lost even once to these monsters? Tania couldn’t help but be amazed.

Kani smiled at her startled expression. “If you want to call yourself a disciple of our Louis, you’ll have to work a little harder.”

With those words, Kani waved her hand, sending another electric shock coursing through Tania’s body.

Ohhh…!

Tania’s consciousness faded once again.

Moments later, the same fate befell Kendrick.

The moment of reckoning had arrived as the lesson concluded.