Luke dodged a dark blast at the last moment. His eyes were covered by a black blindfold. He was in the secondary gym, training with Wednesday, who was helping him improve his observation haki.
"You used telekinesis to dodge that hit. We said you couldn't help yourself dodge with your yellow aura," said Wednesday, annoyed that her attack had been evaded.
Although Luke's movement was minimal, he was aided by a telekinetic wave that shifted him at the last second to dodge Wednesday's attack. This unnatural movement was caught by the sharp eye of the gothic girl.
"That attack was dangerous. You should hold back when you're training," Luke complained.
Wednesday's attacks were fast and came from unexpected angles. Despite her body being superior to that of a normie, it was still difficult for Luke to dodge the attacks using only his observation haki. He didn't have a physically enhanced body like Luffy's.
If his opponent was faster than him, he wouldn't be able to dodge the attack in time. Using telekinesis to boost his speed or move at the right moment to evade made it much easier to avoid the strikes.
"You weren't in any danger. I calculated the power well. You'd only have suffered a few scratches. Stick to the rules you set and only use clairvoyance," Wednesday said, and Luke reluctantly nodded. He should go back in time and punch himself for setting those rules.
'I have to be faster. Even if he uses his telekinesis, he shouldn't be able to dodge my attack,' thought Wednesday. With a flick of her hand, she launched another dark blast at Luke.
But that wasn't all. She disappeared and reappeared a few meters behind Luke, using her technique that allowed her to travel through shadows.
The moment she emerged behind Luke, she sent another dark blast toward him. She repeated the process once more, launching the same attack again.
Three dark blasts were speeding toward Luke. Since they were fired at slightly different times, even if only by a second or two, it allowed Luke to attempt dodging them.
He managed to avoid the first one with some margin. The second one was a close call, and the third he couldn't dodge. It hit his left arm, knocking him down and throwing him to the ground from the force of Wednesday's attack.
"Your body can't keep up with your brain," commented Edgar, who had been observing the entire practice fight.
[Yeah, I know. You don't have to say it,] Luke grumbled from the ground. He needed better reflexes and more speed.
"You have three options," Edgar said, unfazed by Luke's grouchiness. He was used to it by now.
"The first is to improve your physique. As an outcast, your body is better than that of normies, but it has its limits. You won't be able to match werewolves, vampires, or Hydes unless you have a green aura. So, I wouldn't recommend that option. Besides, you're already at a good level compared to when you first arrived in Jericho," Edgar explained calmly.
Luke listened attentively. Edgar was an excellent teacher. His strength had improved by leaps and bounds thanks to him. Compared to when he first arrived in Jericho, his power had changed drastically, and it had only been a year and a few months.
"The second option is to use your telekinesis. With your current pseudo-precognition combined with telekinesis, you could react to attacks that your body wouldn't be able to. The Addams girl likely wouldn't be able to touch you if you used both abilities. However, you'll never achieve true precognition if you stay in that state. In life-or-death battles, I'd recommend using all your power, but to improve, it's best to train each skill separately," Edgar said, and Luke internally agreed.
When Edgar referred to the pseudo-precognition, he meant Luke's observation haki. This ability allowed Luke to sense another person's intent to act in the immediate future, through killing intent, bloodlust, or intentionality in combat. It wasn't seeing the future—it was predicting what someone was going to do seconds beforehand. That's why Edgar called it a pseudo-precognition.
True precognition gave you the ability to see the actual future. Basically, like the future sight in One Piece, which is a very advanced level of observation haki.
Edgar had told Luke that he possessed this ability when he was alive. It was a very advanced skill, harder than flying or memory extraction. Luke had been stuck in his training since the holidays.
"The third option, and the one I recommend you apply in your training, is to wear a blindfold and only use your pseudo-precognition. No other ability. Not even your domain. If you use the latter, the blindfold becomes pointless. Eventually, you'll improve," Edgar said.
[I'll do it...] said Luke. It would be painful, as he would take many hits, but if he managed to achieve true precognition, it would be incredibly useful in combat. Combined with his telekinesis, he'd be nearly untouchable in most situations.
"How long have you been there?" Luke asked, snapping back to reality. He had noticed through his domain that Wednesday was sitting on the ground beside him.
"Five minutes," Wednesday replied, looking at Luke, who was still lying on the ground.
"Sorry... I got distracted," Luke said, moving from lying down to sitting up straight, with his hands resting on his legs.
"You've been distracted these past few days. What's on your mind?" asked Wednesday, stretching out her arm and pulling off Luke's blindfold so she could look at him.
'It's rare for her to show concern for me,' Luke thought.
Since the trip to Pilgrim World, his relationship with Wednesday had steadily improved. Luke had stopped worrying about it and decided to let things happen as they would. He had tried to push her away before, but he had failed miserably.
"A lot has happened these days. Marilyn died—"
"Laurel. That's her real name," Wednesday interrupted.
"Yes, Laurel... Tyler disappeared, and there's no trace of the hooded figures," Luke continued.
"They must have figured out somehow that Laurel was captured," Wednesday said, switching to her detective mode.
Laurel died hours after Luke had extracted her memories. The cause? Poison. How ironic.
The next day, Tyler disappeared. His father, the Sheriff, didn't know where he had gone. It had been five days since then, and he still hadn't returned. The hooded figures had also vanished. The agents from the outcast police division visited the original cult house, but it was deserted.
The old Gates mansion, where Laurel had kept the mutilated parts of her victims, had also been cleared out. The hooded figures moved quickly.
In addition to this, Luke had filed the initial report about the hooded figures. Antony, the outcast police agent, took charge of the entire process. Luke handed over the audio recordings and photographs he had gathered during this time. Along with the evidence Larissa had obtained, they almost immediately proved Laurel's guilt, though her death would complicate things a bit further.
Laurel's death and the disappearance of Tyler, the half-breed Hyde, made Antony believe Luke's story based on the audio recordings and photographs alone. The hooded figures were real, and they were behind all of this. As for the Crackstone resurrection ritual and the identities of the hooded figures, that was a more delicate matter.
They would need to review the memories Luke had extracted. Antony was quite surprised to learn that Luke possessed a dual aura and could use such advanced techniques. As for Luke using these techniques, he wouldn't face any punishment.
The procedures worked differently for outcasts. They could have denied Luke the use of that technique on Laurel if they had known she was the killer, but Luke was one step ahead of them, so they couldn't blame him.
Luke didn't hand over the memory extracts. Unlike the other evidence, he had no copies; these were the originals. The agents had to return to the congress, a place that housed several members of his arch-enemy family. He wouldn't risk having them stolen, even if the possibility was minimal.
So, he requested that they bring the special device to Nevermore. Antony agreed. He was very understanding and acknowledged Luke's concerns. His partner left Jericho, taking all this information to the council and promising to return with the device to read the memories.
Antony stayed behind, as the hooded figures and the Hyde were still on the loose, and there was a potential resurrection ritual that could bring back the demonic normie, Crackstone.
"Their goal is to kill you. If they captured Tyler, they could continue with their original plan of using him to murder you. They probably have no idea you've presented evidence against them, revealing their identities," Wednesday commented.
"Yeah... What worries me is the ritual. I don't know if those bastards will want to continue it," Luke said, frowning. The plot had been altered. Although Laurel was dead, the Spellmans knew how to resurrect Crackstone, and they could try.
"Why so worried? The odds are against them. They need to kill two more people, attack Nevermore to retrieve the Book of Shadows for the ritual, and finally reach Crackstone's crypt on Raven Island. For that, they'd need to kidnap me, so they'd have to attack Nevermore again. We know all of this, so we just need to be prepared," said Wednesday, who didn't seem concerned about her safety at all.
"Also, the eclipse will be in exactly one month and ten days. So they will attack that night, which makes things easier for us. We just need to prepare for that day," she added.
'She's right. They're at a disadvantage. The outcast police will return with the special device by then. If they attack on the night of the eclipse and their identities are revealed, the charges against them will be worse. That benefits me,' Luke thought with a strange expression. In the end, the hooded ones might be heading to their own graves, figuratively speaking.
"It seems you understood. This will only benefit you when they are declared guilty," Wednesday said.
"Hey, don't say it like I'm an idiot. I was just worried about you. I don't want you to get attacked because of your blood," Luke said.
"Oh, you're worried about someone. That's rare to see," Wednesday commented, maintaining her blank expression, but her eyes had a slightly different shine than usual.
"Rare? I've worried about you more than once. It's strange that you worry about someone. Is the option to care about others included in your software?" Luke said with a slight teasing smile.
"My concern is reserved for certain occasions. Less than five minutes ago, when I asked you what you were thinking, I was worried about you," Wednesday replied, and the slight smile on Luke's face vanished.
'I forgot about that,' Luke thought. His little jab had been repelled in seconds.
"What's wrong? Did your tease not work?" Wednesday asked. Her lips barely curved in what could have been a subtle smile.
Wednesday leaned in slowly toward Luke and kissed him. She liked the confused expression he wore when her sarcastic jibe didn't work. That happened very rarely.
'Lately, she's been more direct,' Luke thought as he accepted the kiss. He knew that Wednesday had a straightforward personality, but he didn't expect this to extend to kisses since it's human contact and she hates that. Only he managed to achieve such things, and he felt it was a great accomplishment.
Unfortunately for him, the kiss didn't last long. "Enough. Let's keep training," Wednesday said as she got to her feet.
"Fine," Luke replied, taking the blindfold and tying it over his eyes.
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