"Too slow," Martin said. "Again."
Lucy picked up the dagger and charged at him again.
This time, she was faster, but Martin still dodged easily. He grabbed Lucy by the collar and flung her away. Lucy hit the ground, got back up, and charged again.
After more than a hundred times, Lucy lay sprawled on the floor, unable to get up. Martin crouched beside her and looked at her. "Enough. That's it for today."
Lucy lay on the ground, gasping for breath. "Can we continue tomorrow?"
Martin thought for a moment, then stood up. "We'll continue tomorrow, but I'll only spend ten minutes on it."
Lucy rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling. The training ground's ceiling was very high, with a lamp hanging overhead that wasn't too harsh. She stared blankly for a long time.
"Martin."
"Yeah?"
"Did you train like this too?"
Martin thought about it. "Harder than you. I was selected in the Myriad Tribulations Domain. If you couldn't move, you died."
Lucy didn't understand what the Myriad Tribulations Domain was, but she remembered the term.
London, Demon Hunter Guild branch.
Several demon hunters sat around a table, watching footage sent back from Apocalypse World on the screen.
In the footage, the liberated people were rebuilding their homes. Some built houses, some repaired roads, and some worked the fields.
A young female demon hunter watched the footage, her eyes reddening.
"They can finally live normal lives," she sighed.
An old demon hunter beside her nodded. "They can live one day at a time."
The female demon hunter looked at him. "You're always so pessimistic."
The old demon hunter shook his head. "It's not pessimism. I've just seen too much."
Paris, monitoring station.
Elena stood beside an ice wall, looking at the streets that had once