Another current came his way, and he just about had time to block as it sent him hurling a few feet up, right next to Chael, who had just started to feel the pressure. Chael’s face grew pale, but his eyes still shone with determination. He forged forward as the current pushed against his body.

  Eclipse, contrarily, manoeuvred through the weaker parts of the currents, whilst Chael, who didn't have Eclipse's agility, bulldozed straight through them. Before long, and after getting pushed up many times, they finally reached the water bed. Although there was no way for currents to push them up from here, the water pressure was heavy enough to make their bones creak like ancient wooden doors.

  The duo's muscles felt like they were on fire, and their heart beat rapidly. Their faces were red with heat despite the chilling cold water temperature. To their surprise, their lung capacity was far from having run out. Celestia didn’t lie about that. If they had done this before their strength and stamina training, they wouldn’t have lasted this long underwater, nor would they have had the strength to resist the riptides.

  Chael knelt. Even moving an inch here felt like he had been carrying that huge boulder for a few hours. All of a sudden, Eclipse's feet came crashing towards him at a phenomenal rate. Chael sensed the water current and guarded against the kick with his arms, but the force pushed him back a few feet, even under this intense pressure.

  ‘So fast!’ Chael thought. ‘How is he moving like that in this water pressure?’

  Chael somersaulted back and looked at him in amazement. Eclipse stood in front of him in a fighting stance, his face expressionless.

  With determination, Chael charged at Eclipse with a punch, who easily dodged it and retaliated with a kick toward Chael’s face, but Chael ducked just in time and saw an opening in Eclipse's abdominal region. If they were on the ground, Eclipse would've had time to move away, but there wasn't enough time to fall back. Instead, Eclipse positioned himself so his arms could take the hit.

  When the punch landed on his arm, accompanied by a barrage of bubbles, Eclipse's eyes widened as he floated much further back than he had made Chael go with his kick. He landed on the seabed, his arms throbbing in pain.

  ‘So powerful…!’ Eclipse thought with gritted teeth.

  They’re movements were incredibly slow underwater, and each of them could predict the others’ movements with ease, but whether they could dodge or tank the others hit regardless of their perception, that was a different matter altogether.

  Chael didn't give Eclipse any time to rest and charged again. Once he was close enough, he twirled and tried to punch Eclipse in the chest, but Eclipse easily evaded that attack and landed a kick on his face, which sent him floating back.

  Chael was shocked. He could see Eclipse, but he only saw a very distorted and blurry image of him. With how deep they were inside the lake, there wasn’t much sunlight reaching down here either, and his already fragmented vision of Eclipse only made him a much more lethal opponent underwater with how fast and precise he was.

  Chael gritted his teeth.

  Does this guy have night vision or something?

  Seeing an opportunity, Eclipse charged at him. Chael, who had just been disoriented, struggled to regain composure.

  Oh no, he's way too fast. Chael thought. His vision was obstructed by the numerous bubbles left in Eclipse's wake.

  He felt a burst of current from behind him, and his eyes focused. He instantly guarded and withstood Eclipse's charged kick from behind. Their eyes deadlocked amidst the contact, and despite not being able to make out each other’s expression, they already knew what the other was thinking: I’m gonna kick his ass

  Chael floated back to the seabed and stood in front of Eclipse. They stood there for a second bearing the burden of the crushing pressure, then plunged at each other, Eclipse cloaked in inconceivable speed and Chael charging with inhuman strength.

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  They were so focused on each other, they didn’t pay much mind to their straining lungs, which felt like they were about to burst.

  Five minutes passed…

  Celestia sat on a boulder beside the giant lake with her legs crossed. About now, the sun was just starting to settle behind the large mountains, and the horizon glowed purple. Everything seemed so calm.

  Just then, bubbles formed on the lake, and the surface rippled ever so slightly. Sensing this minuscule change, Celestia opened her darkened eyes.

  Suddenly, the fish roaming around peacefully all parted ways in a scurry, making way for two figures who advanced up at an incredibly fast rate.

  Seeing their silhouettes swim up, Celestia’s cold expression melted into one of warmth

  Eclipse and Chael broke through the water’s head, breathing heavily and panting as though their lives depended on it. They were struggling to catch their breath so much so that the air clogged inside their throat, which led them to cough frantically.

  Their bodies were completely ravaged, filled with bruises from the sparring session and cuts from the riptides just above the waterbed. While Eclipse only had a few bruises, they were more severe than Chael’s, who had smaller bruises all over his body.

  Sweat and blood seeped down their person as they crawled onto the shore. Their clothes were torn in many places due to the riptides.

  “Aah… hah…ha haaa.” Chael inhaled and exhaled audibly, “This… this wasn’t any ordinary lake…”

  “She… she didn’t say anything about it”, Eclipse said, completely fatigued as he collapsed on his back with his chest undulating heavily.

  “Y-you good, though?” Chael gasped as he saw blood seeping through the bruises he had caused on Eclipse’s body. “Didn’t hit you too hard, did I?”

  Eclipse sneered at him, “Worry about yourself. Your whole body is riddled with bruises; you look like a big purple panda!”

  “Aha… ha.” Chael let out a fatigued laugh.

  Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap!

  The sound of clapping came from behind them. The duo merely groaned. They didn't have the energy to even look back.

  “So you two managed to make it out alive?” She mused.

  “You should’ve told us…” Eclipse groaned.

  “I mean, I could’ve, but you two handled it quite well despite being unprepared.” Celestia snickered, “Kyahaha, let this be a lesson to always be prepared! In the world out there, the enemy isn’t going to tell you when they attack.”

  “Aha, just say you forgot to tell us.”

  “Now that you’ve already done this once, you will do this every day until I think you’re good enough!” Celestia said.

  “Huh? Again? Seriously?” Chael let out a long exhale and put an arm over his eyes, and soon a smile formed across his lips, “I’m so down. That was the most fun I’ve had in a while.”

  Eclipse’s lips curled up ever so slightly, “You're right. I’m gonna kick your ass black and blue next time.”

  “Not if I punch your lungs out!”

  “Kahaha! I like the competition, but this time you two only lasted just shy of five minutes, but next time, if you brats don’t stay there for at least ten, then you can forget about dinner!” Celestia said, half playfully yet half sternly.

  “Chael,” Eclipse called him. His face was grim and deadly serious. “Are we strong enough to kill her yet?”

  “When we’re stronger, we’ll drown her in this same lake.”

  Celestia burst out laughing, “Good luck! It’ll take you a million years to even touch me!”

  “Tch!” Eclipse brushed her off, “I’m hungry!”

  Chael's stomach growled at the exact time that Eclipse said this. “Yeah~ I'm so hungry I can eat a horse.”

  Those five minutes underwater had been by far the most intense five minutes they had endured in Celestia’s training thus far. Nothing would be better than a fried rabbit or a mutton stew right now.

  “O-oh haha…” Celestia laughed nervously before crossing her arms and humming to herself, “Hmm, that’s right, there’s a lot of food!”

  Both of their eyes lit up in a pleasant surprise, “You mean it? What food did you make?”

  “Food~” Eclipse salivated.

  “Kaha, aren’t you two happy? It’s your guys’ treat for today!” Celestia beamed happily, “There’s meat, vegetables, fruits! All you have to do is go into that forest and find it!”

  The instant she said this, both of them turned gloomy again.

  “I knew it was too good to be true…” Chael sighed.

  Eclipse glared at her icily.

  Celestia chuckled. “It’s about time you brats go hunting on your own for once! Yeah, consider that part of your training as well.”

  “Ugh, too tired to even move.” Eclipse groaned.

  “If you two have the energy to be crying like children, then you certainly have the energy to hunt!” Celestia grinned before turning around and waving with the back of her hand as she walked away, “Good luck, you runts! Make sure you grab me something while you’re at it, kahahahaha! Oh! And you’ll encounter a few high-class Bestias, but nothing that my super-strong students aren’t capable of defeating, kahahahahahah!”

  Chael struggled to his feet, “Wait-”

  Celestia had already somehow disappeared before he could finish his sentence.

  “Arrrgh!” Chael fell back in frustration, “We’ll make her pay for this one day! Are you with me, Eclipse-? Huh? Now’s not the time to be sleeping, you freak!”