"Really?" Morio asked, tilting his head.

"I'd scold you for that attitude but then again, I thought I still had an hour to spare. Come on." she signalled, and Morio immediately followed, not before snapping Jyuzou back into reality. The two other Morians took two more minutes to sluggishly drag themselves towards a small shrine, passing through a gate and stepping on familiar cobblestone ground.

Koyote folded her arms, looking at the four, quickly turning back and nodding to her assistant sitting on the bench. "Welcome to your first day of training, Demonears. As you might've guessed, reaching Mount Yosei in time was part of the challenge you already miserably failed."

"I haven't failed anything," Ingo muttered. "If I managed to reach my goal in the first place then I'm a winner."

"We." Genni raised a finger, and Koyote shook her head.

"A lot of your strength comes from simple self-discipline. It's only up to you whether you want to obtain that power," she explained. "But let's not waste any more of your wasted time."

Genni breathed out, with a drop of sweat rolling down her forehead.

"Turn around," she uttered, and all four Morians turned on their heels. They met nothing in particular. "You don't need to be that dramatic." she chuckled. "It's a course for you to take. See where the first wooden fences begin?" she asked, and Morio nodded. "That's your starting line." shes stopped near the mentioned barrier. "You're to follow those fences until you reach the edges of Mount Yosei, Demonears. There, you'll meet obstacles, falling rocks, fake paths, sharp turns and big walls on your way to victory."

"Victory?" Morio raised an eyebrow.

"There's a prize waiting for you at the end, but only this time," she muttered. "You're allowed to use whatever to help you pass through. As someone once said, you'll be facing situations where you'll have to use everything you have to overcome a foe standing in your path." she put two hands together and hid them behind her back. "It's up to that self-discipline whether you win, lose or..." She stopped for a second. "Fall off to your death."

Jyuzou gulped, fixing his glasses, and Genni gave her an unsure smile. Ingo clenched his fist, and Morio blinked twice before a familiar beam appeared on his face. After all, was there something he couldn't accomplish if he held onto hope?

Koyote nodded, once again, glimpsing at her partner, who also did the same. She closed her eyes as if counting down minutes. "Get to your places."

"Wait, what?" Genni suddenly spoke, shocked.

"Three." Koyote raised a finger, counting down, and the Morians, in a fit of panic, ran towards the fence.

"Two." Morio threw his backpack to the side, unsure if it would be of any use.

"One," she uttered, opening her eyes.

The four were ready, feet in the back, hands in the front, all except for Genni who looked around in mild confusion.

Koyote chuckled.

"START!" she raised her voice, and the Morians sprinted for their lives.

The road ahead of them was simple enough, spare the few curves or sharp turns, going down into holes or atop rocks, they kept a pretty steady pace, swinging their arms back and forth, with Jyuzou and Genni in the back. Morio and Ingo met with an angered glance, and as they passed alongside a large formation, Koyote's watchful stare moved back to the shrine.

She sighed, stepping by the gate and putting her hand on one of the few redwoods here and there.

"You're not going to follow them?" the assistant asked, with a pretty concerned expression.

"What is there to see, other than the things they're meant to observe, Olala?" Koyote asked, stepping over and crashing on the bench with a loud breath.

Olala smiled a bit, before forcing a stale expression.

"You can smile," Koyote muttered.

"There's not much to smile about," Olala answered.

"I know, but I think it's best to focus on the funny things before we jump to negative conclusions. Like, think of how angry Ingo will be when he learns that they'll have to do this exercise every other day, atop the other training they'll have to go through. Self-discipline never ends." she beamed, turning to Olala, who didn't share her expression. "Right," she said, straightening up and putting two hands together.

"You saw the morning newspaper," Olala uttered, furrowing a brow.

"I always do, but this time there wasn't anything on the front page that I didn't know," she explained, glancing forward to a certain bird circling Mount Yosei.

Olala took a heavy breath in, rubbing her nose. "Bancho's dead body was found in Prope Portam," she spoke, each word carrying guilt. "T-The burial's taking place today."

Koyote nodded. "Anything else?"

"Nothing." Olala stopped for a second, clenching hard onto a small, ripped-out piece of the newspaper. She shook a little, before breathing out of her nose. "But are you going to tell them? The Morians from Shimori, that is."

"No," Koyote answered. "They don't have to know. If they're nosy enough they'll surely learn by themselves. Self-discipline, once again."

"You don't seem concerned. Didn't you know him?"

"We exchanged glances once," Koyote explained. "Nor was he a companion or a teacher to me. Rather, I'd even say the word foe comes to mind." she turned to Olala.

Olala gulped, squinting her eyes and trembling. Koyote glanced at her.

"If he was a hero to you, then I'm not one to judge." Koyote stared forward.

Olala nodded, breathing in.

The heavy atmosphere still had to settle down, but hearing distant screams of the Morians, not ones of terror, but of determination, they were forced to move on from this topic.

Koyote chuckled, once more, before standing up and stretching. "Alright. Thoughts about this subject should be put off for now. I'll oversee their progress."

Olala once again looked at the small page, closing one eye.

The word progress could be very subjective in this context. Rather, the first thing Koyote saw upon reaching the tilt after a five-minute walk were the Morians, struggling at the grey edge.

Ingo led, speeding through the laid obstacles as if they were nothing.

Once, he tripped, almost falling off the edge. With a vigorous yell, however, he lifted himself, throwing the club forward as it stuck against two rocks. With a swift turn, he crashed through the thin wall in the front and ran denying his exhaustion and heavy breaths.

Moving to the left, Koyote spotted Morio, Jyuzou and Genni struggling in unison.

"Morio! MORIO!" Jyuzou screeched, trying to lift himself over the edge.

"Whatever you do, don't look down!" Genni reassured while trying to lift him.

"Thanks, that's amazing advice! GET THAT NUTS-FOR-BRAIN OVER HERE!" Jyuzou screamed.

"Back to you glassy idiot!" Morio finally turned, snapping from the earlier delusions of trying to figure out a path towards his goal. He ground his teeth, looking at Jyuzou. "Now I'm surely not going to help you with that prickly attitude!"

"C-Come on, Morio!" Even Genni joined in, trying to lift Jyuzou out of oppression.

Morio instead turned to Ingo, as he disappeared right around the corner. "Tsk! We're all fighting for ourselves here!" Morio raised his voice, before quickly taking Gloria out of its sheath and jumping right above the obstacle with a snap. He breathed, putting a hand on his hurting elbow. "Use everything you have, moron!"

Koyote nodded, putting one hand on her knee.

"WAIT UNTIL I GET MY HANDS ON YOU, MORIO!" Jyuzou yelled, his legs kicking back and forth.

"G-Grab onto my Guardian Demon!" Genni yelled, standing up. "I'll put it right over there and help you out!"

"Self-discipline," Koyote uttered. "I am using that word too often, but it's exactly what Morio's showing. Jyuzou's on his way, but Genni's kindness seems too much."

Morio ran forwards, furrowed brows and clenched jaw, vowing to outspeed Ingo at all costs. Running by the edge which looked down onto foggy and unsure terrain, the ground rumbled a bit, some of his steps creating rifts and crashing down thin rocks beneath his feet, further separating the path between him and the other Morians.

He turned, seeing Genni's and Jyuzou's silhouettes, before hastily deciding to risk it all for an unsure prize. Meeting an obstacle he couldn't jump over, he leapt towards the fog.

Koyote's eyes widened, and Morio grit his teeth, staring into the abyss.

Two seconds passed, and with a vigorous yell, he pulled onto Gloria. He quickly snapped through the thin air and crashed into the wall, almost falling but standing straight and still at the last second. With a shaky breath, his eyes turned to Ingo, who kept smashing the obstacles along the way, as more rocks crashed like an avalanche from above.

With another courageous yell, Ingo turned back, seeing the runner-up, who, flying along the edge, kept sticking the sharp ends of both swords into the dirt.

"Shit," Ingo muttered, further making haste. When the rocks started flying in from above, Morio put two swords together, forming an X that slashed through the boulders, followed by his heavy breath. When the ground didn't allow him to advance, he kept snapping through the air until reaching a further destination.

Jyuzou swooped in from behind, followed by Genni's weary breaths. He spun his spear around, blowing all the rocks further away into the void below. Genni used her boomerang to create watery roads for her and him to follow, skipping the most dangerous hurdles.

Yet, it seemed that Morio's determination consistently won over their strategies. With a courageous leap, he crashed onto the ground and towards an etched-out path, going right into a waterfall.

When he opened one eye, Ingo stood there, with ground teeth, carrying the club in both hands. He stepped forward, and Koyote blinked, stuffing a wooden object into the ground.

Ingo moved back, his eyes widening, just as Morio straightened up, brushing excess dust off his white hair. The ground in the front shifted, turning into multiple sections and narrower paths above spiky rocks.

Morio gulped, glancing at Ingo, who glimpsed back at him. With furrowed brows, the latter pushed the Morian away, immediately heading through the paths.

Morio yelled, following right after. He stuck the Gloria sword out, and a line of electricity travelled through the tip and shot off a thin line towards Ingo's foot, causing him to slide to the side, collapsing near the edge.

Morio took the lead, with heavy breaths following each fist swing.

"FRISKS! YOU LITTLE SHIT!" Ingo screamed, before jumping into the air and smashing his club against the ground. Morio leapt, but his efforts were futile. Expecting a shockwave, the ground instead shifted below his feet and crashed into a strange sinkhole. He could make it out, but Ingo was faster and stepped on his head with another leap forward.

Morio struggled, closing his eyes, throwing his weapons forward and trying to climb out of his demise.

Koyote observed from above with a stern expression.

"Morio!" A voice came from behind, and two hands landed on both his arms. Upon opening his eyes he saw Jyuzou and Genni's concerned and angered expressions.

"Ah." Morio breathed out. "Thank-"

The two started running, taking the opportunity.

"EH?!" Morio bellowed, grinding his teeth, scouring to get his weapons back into his hand. Despite friendships and goals, only one was to win this whole kerfuffle.

Genni looked at Jyuzou's steps which were just a little faster than hers, and threw her boomerang forward, as it created a watery path that later crashed into Jyuzou's eyes.

Jyuzou fell to the ground, tugging on his spear. Biting his lip, he shot up to his knees, spinning the spear around, creating a whirl of wind that pushed Genni off course. He stood up, only to be outsped by Morio's stampede.

It was the white-haired Morian jumping through the waterfall, second in line. There, he met the exhausted Ingo, who faced three different paths in a dimly lit square cave, all with a chest at the end.

Which was the right choice?

Both had no time, as everyone else moved into the cave. Morio vowed to take the middle path, snapping through the air towards the centre when the bridge crashed beneath his feet. Genni stepped to the side, throwing her boomerang into the air again, and Jyuzou picked up a rock from behind.

"Got you!" Genni yelled, as the watery path wrapped around Morio's body.

Ingo yelled throatily, hitting the ground with the club and bouncing off further towards one of the chests, reaching his hand out.

Jyuzou sealed his mouth tightly, throwing the pebble, just as it met the liquid flying through the air. One second passed.

Morio squinted his eyes, flipping around. "Believe-" he chanted, but his words were cut short, by a sudden blast of wind coming right out of Genni's boomerang.

The gust pushed the four Morians around the chamber, creating a massive hole with the sun shining from the side. Koyote, instead of assessing damage to her trials, curiously looked inside.

The club-carrying Morian climbed out of the water, unlike the others who scoured and searched for their weapons to brawl it out in the end.

Ingo's hand landed on the chest, and, with force and anger, he lifted the lid, meeting a golden sparkle. His eyes widened, and his expression softened. "Ha!" he laughed out loud. "I WON!"

The three other Morians looked towards the hole, meeting Koyote's glance.

"Ingo won." Koyote shrugged, sitting down on the grass.

"What? No!" Morio yelled, taking a few steps, finally moving out of the water onto grey, rocky land. Ingo threw the club to the side, stuffing his fingers into the chest, taking loads of Pies out.

"I'm rather surprised. Instead of focusing on the goal, you only thought about the other person getting their hands on the prize in the first place." Koyote explained. "Anyone could've been crowned the winner, only if Ingo hadn't taken the last few seconds as an opportunity. When you searched for ways to combat your peers, Ingo reached out for victory, and won exactly-"

Ingo counted on his fingers. "A hundred Pies!" he yelled in joy, and Koyote shrugged again.

Jyuzou and Genni looked at each other, in bitter disappointment.

"Don't try to completely wreck the course the next time. It's still functional, but with a few swings here and there and it will be impossible to pass through."

"The next time?" Genni asked.

"You're to do this every other day, well, specifically when I tell you, atop the other exercises. Self..." she stopped for a moment. "The more you strike at the side, the greater the weapon. Your Guardian Demons one day may be as sharp as the look in some of your eyes." she turned back, sighing.

"Morio, focus on your path. Jyuzou, don't rely on others to be there all the time. Genni, don't be too kind." Koyote sighed. "Someone might use that to their advantage. Again."

"Yes, I'm sorry." Genni nodded.

"Um-" Olala wanted to say something, but Koyote raised her hand.

Morio clenched Gloria and Victis, throwing both to the ground.