After his unexpected encounter with Shadow, Silver finally made his way back to the fox compound.
The instant he entered the courtyard, he froze.
Lucia was sprawled out on the ground.
Julie was hunched over, hands braced on her knees.
June sat quietly against a tree, her gaze lost in the distance as if weighing every choice that had led her to this moment.
Scarlet stood perfectly fine in the middle of them.
Silver stared.
"…What happened?"
Julie slowly lifted her head.
"Hell Mode."
Without a word, Silver turned to leave.
"Good luck."
"Silver."
Scarlet's voice halted him. His shoulders slumped.
"…Yes, Master Scarlet?"
"Staff."
With a sigh, Silver pulled it from his back.
A few minutes later—
BOOM!
Silver tumbled across the courtyard.
"Again!" Scarlet called.
Lucia dragged herself to her feet, June quietly taking her place beside her. Julie groaned but stepped forward too.
Silver pushed himself upright, gripping his staff.
Scarlet stood across from them, crimson tessen resting casually on her shoulder.
"Come on. Together this time."
Julie gaped at her.
"We've BEEN attacking together!"
"And you're still losing together."
Lucia let out a sigh.
"She's not wrong."
"Seriously? Whose side are you on?!"
Silver stepped up beside the twins, with Lucia taking her place on his other side.
Four against one.
Scarlet just smiled, her tessen snapping open with a sharp flick.
WHOOSH!
Flames danced from her fingertips. Silver's grip on his staff tightened. Julie swallowed hard. June muttered under her breath—"…Hell Mode." Scarlet's grin grew wider. After another hour, even she seemed tired of tossing the four of them around. With a sharp snap, she folded her tessen closed.
"Enough."
Silver nearly sagged with relief.
"Finally…"
"I wasn't talking to you."
The relief drained from Silver's face.
Scarlet gestured toward Lucia.
"Rest."
Then to the twins.
"You two."
June and Julie glanced up.
"Fight Silver together."
Silver blinked.
"…Both of them?"
"Both."
Julie's exhaustion disappeared in a flash, her eyes sparkling.
"Ok,Master!"
June stood slowly, dusting herself off.
Silver just stared.
"Why do you both look so excited?"
Julie smirked.
"No reason."
Scarlet moved aside.
"Begin."
Julie made the first move.
Silver barely had time to lift his staff before—
CLACK!
Julie lunged from the front as June slid toward his side. Silver twisted, deflecting June's strike with the opposite end. Julie swept at his legs, but Silver leapt, only to find June already in position.
THUD!
Silver blocked, but the force pushed him back.
"Too slow!" Julie called out.
"Watch out¬" June said evenly.
Silver tightened his grip.
"It's hard when there are two of you!"
"That's the point!"
They came at him again.
His staff moved quickly between them, but the twins had trained together all their lives.
Whenever he pressed Julie, June was there.
Whenever he turned to June, Julie struck at the opening.
From the sidelines, Scarlet let out a sigh.
"At this rate, the twins will win."
Silver blocked another strike as Scarlet's golden eyes narrowed.
"Make use of your mana."
Darkness crept along Silver's arm, wrapping around the staff.
Scarlet shook her head.
"Not just darkness."
He shot her a quick glance.
"Your fire mana too."
Another attack from the twins pulled his focus back to the fight.
CLACK!
"Combine it with your darkness mana," Scarlet said. "Coat the staff with both."
Silver stepped back in surprise.
"Fire and darkness?"
"You have both, don't you?"
He took a deep breath, steadying himself.
Darkness streamed from his fingertips.
Then—fire flared in his other hand. Silver gripped the staff with both hands, and for a moment the two forces pushed against each other.
Scarlet watched intently. "Don't force them." Silver focused, and darkness began to coil slowly around the wood.
Fire trailed after.
A black aura spiraled around the staff as crimson flames wove through it, twining together without fully merging.
June's eyes narrowed.
Julie smirked.
"Oh."
Silver lifted the staff.
Scarlet's grin widened.
"Better."
Julie lunged.
Silver advanced.
Their weapons clashed.
This time, Julie stumbled back, eyes widening in surprise. Silver didn't miss a beat. He spun around, and June was already there. With a swift motion, he swung the burning, shadow-cloaked staff at her. June ducked low, moving smoothly. "Good," she said in motion, "but don't get ahead of yourself."
Julie appeared behind him without warning.
Silver spun, weapons clashing once more.
From the sidelines, Scarlet stood with Lucia, her tessen resting on her shoulder.
Silver was still on the defensive—still slipping up, still struggling to follow both twins.
But now, he was pushing back.
Scarlet's smile was faint.
"That's it."
With a swift move, Silver redirected Julie, spun his staff, and caught June's strike. Flames and shadow swirled together around the weapon.
"Your staff is an extension of you," Scarlet called out. "Stop treating your mana and weapon as separate."
Silver's red eyes narrowed.
June closed in from the right, Julie from the left.
Silver planted his foot.
This time—he didn't flinch.
He moved forward.
June struck first, her swing low and fast.
Silver twisted his staff, catching the blow along the shaft before knocking her weapon away.
Julie was already closing in from the left.
He turned his shoulder, barely slipping past her strike.
June lunged at him again—too close for comfort. There was no room to swing, so he didn't.
He closed the distance—
And kicked.
June's eyes went wide as Silver's kick landed in her stomach, sending her skidding across the courtyard. For the first time, the twins were apart. Silver's gaze stayed on June—a mistake. Julie's expression shifted in an instant. She spotted it—the opening. Silver realized she was there a fraction too late. He turned—Julie was already inside the range of his staff.
Her strike hit true, shattering the darkness and fire around Silver's staff as his focus faltered. The weapon slipped from his grasp, and he staggered back. Julie swept his legs out from under him, sending him to the ground. Before he could react, her weapon hovered just above him. Silence fell. Silver looked up at her, breathing hard, while June slowly rose in the distance. He clenched his fist—he'd made the opening he needed, only to waste it. "Enough," Scarlet's voice rang through the courtyard.
Julie lowered her weapon without hesitation. Silver lay on the ground for a few moments, eyes fixed on the pale sky above the Sien Domain. Scarlet passed by him.
"You did better," she said.
Silver met her gaze. "But I lost."
"Yes." Scarlet's tone didn't waver.
His eyes lowered, and Scarlet paused. "You're steadily improving."
Silver looked up again. "Winning wasn't the point of this fight." Her attention shifted toward the twins.
"They've fought beside one another for years. Their movements complement each other naturally. Expecting you to defeat both of them immediately would be foolish."
She glanced back at Silver.
"The point was to make you adapt."
Scarlet turned away.
"And you did."
That was all she offered.
Soon after, training wrapped up.
The courtyard slowly emptied, and Lucia headed back to her room.
June and Julie slipped away down another corridor, June still rubbing the spot where Silver had kicked her. Scarlet left without saying a word. Silver picked up his staff and stood alone in the courtyard for a moment, his fingers tightening around it, before heading back to his room. Later that night, he lay awake with the staff resting against the wall beside him.
The room was quiet, but his thoughts were anything but. Every mistake replayed in his mind—Scarlet tearing through his attacks with ease, June slipping past his guard, Julie capitalizing on the slightest hesitation. He still couldn't master the blend of fire and darkness. Weeks had passed like this, spent training, fighting, and recovering.
Then he did it again.
Silver slowly closed his eyes.
Pandora.
At first, there was only silence.
Then, deep within his mind, the ancient voice of the Darkness Dragon stirred.
"What is it?"
Silver stayed perfectly still.
Have I actually gotten stronger?
Pandora hesitated before responding, and Silver's brow furrowed.
I mean it.
He opened his eyes.
Since coming here... have I made any real progress?
The darkness within his consciousness stirred.
Yes.
Silver's eyes narrowed.
It doesn't feel like it.
Because you are measuring yourself against the wrong people.
Silver fell silent, and Pandora went on.
Scarlet is a Demon Lord. The twins have trained together since childhood. Every day you stand beside individuals whose experience exceeds your own, and because you cannot defeat them, you believe you have remained still.
Silver stared at the ceiling.
I keep losing.
You'll keep losing, but you'll keep learning.
Silver's expression tightened. Pandora's voice stayed cold and firm.
A faint shadow coiled around Silver's hand. Strength wasn't proven by never falling—it was proven by what changed when you got back up. He remembered his early days training under Scarlet: how easily she'd disarmed him, how clumsy every strange weapon had felt, how impossible combining his mana had seemed. But today he'd fought June and Julie at once, coated his staff with two elements, split the twins apart, even driven June back. Small things, but things he couldn't have done before.
He glanced at his hand—fire danced on one fingertip, darkness pooled on another, the two energies inching closer together.
They shook hard, then pulled apart, and Silver let out a breath.
Still can't control them properly.
No.
Pandora paused.
But yesterday, you could barely make them coexist.
Silver's eyes widened a bit.
The room grew quiet once more.
Then he finally voiced the question that had been lingering deep inside him.
Is it enough?
Pandora understood at once. Enough to face what was coming. Enough to stand against the Mana Devourers. Enough to endure when the same beings that had once brought ruin to dragons and Phoenix kin finally reached this world. Her answer came without a moment's pause.
No.
Silver's fingers curled slowly into a fist, and Pandora made no move to comfort him.
Not even close.
The darkness around Silver deepened.
What you have now would mean nothing to them—your staff, your flames, my darkness. At your current level, none of it would make a difference. Sure, you might handle the less intelligent and weaker ones, but the stronger ones… that's another story.
Silver's jaw tightened.
Then what's the point?
Pandora's presence seemed to fill the darkness behind his closed eyes.
It's okay, there's still time.
Silver became still.
Every lesson Scarlet forces into you. Every defeat. Every wound to your pride. Every time your body reaches its limit and adapts—
Pandora's crimson eyes slowly appeared within the darkness of Silver's mind.
—is one step away from the child you are now... and one step toward the warrior you must become.
Silver met those enormous eyes. Pandora's voice held no humor, no arrogance—only certainty. "Don't ask if today's progress was enough."
The dragon's voice changed,
You'll keep making progress tomorrow.
Silver stayed quiet for a long while, his eyes eventually drifting to the staff leaning against the wall. Scarlet's words echoed in his mind. Slowly, he lifted his hand again. Darkness swirled. Then came fire. This time, he didn't try to merge them—just held them there, side by side, before letting his eyes fall shut.
Tomorrow, then.
Pandora's crimson eyes disappeared into the shadows. Tomorrow.