(Two Days After the Duel)
Alex Mercer entered a heavily guarded room. Inside, he found the Supreme standing near the window, sunlight flashing across his face. There was a plaster wrapped around the Supreme's right hand—the very hand he had used to grab and lift Vishi.
Alex didn't say anything at first. He sat near him and asked,"How are you, Shiva?"
Shiva was none other than the Supreme. Many within the Order didn't even know his real name.
Shiva glanced at Alex and replied,"Doing fine,"while unconsciously shifting his gaze toward his injured hand.
Alex asked,"Can I smoke?"
The Supreme didn't deny him. Alex lit a cigarette and then said,"Your plan worked, right? The Black Knight is back."
For a few seconds, the Supreme remained silent. Then he finally spoke,"You were right. The Black Knight Arts we practice in the Order… they're incomplete."
Alex looked at him and asked,"By that, do you mean there are more forms to the Black Knight Arts?"
Shiva nodded slightly."I don't know the full truth, but I'm certain of this much—the forms we practice now are not complete. His movements were more refined… more whole."
He met Alex's eyes and added,"And dangerous."
Alex exhaled smoke and smirked."Well, I only followed a gut feeling. Or maybe that feeling was embedded in me by my grandfather."
Shiva then asked,"What about the boys?"
Alex replied,"They're improving. Vishnu is the most injured, I'd say. Even his perfect body can't handle the vast potential of the Black Knight Arts without proper training."
The Supreme paused before asking,"And what do you think about Vishi?"
Alex chuckled softly, flicked his cigarette into the dustbin, and said,"You know, that guy managed to land an attack on me—made me cough blood."
As he spoke, Alex lifted his shirt slightly, revealing the injury Vishi had caused at the center of his stomach.
The Supreme's eyes widened."How?"
Alex replied,"You were fighting Vishnu at the time, so you probably didn't see it."
He paused for a moment before continuing."He kept taking hits from me—constantly—but in return, he delivered small, almost negligible strikes to the center of my stomach. I ignored them."
Alex's expression hardened."And when I thought his body had finally reached its limit, he launched a finishing blow."
The Supreme narrowed his eyes."And?"
Alex said quietly,"That bastard used the Fourth Form of the Black Knight Arts."
Shiva immediately asked,"Didn't he only know the first three?"
Alex locked eyes with him and replied,"That motherfucker trained his body to use the Fourth Form during the fight."
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the Black Knight Commandery, the cadets of Vishnu's generation—those not yet assigned to missions—were talking nonstop about the duel.
"Man, that guy Vishi is definitely Vishnu's friend," one of them said.
"Yeah," another replied, "first he beat the shit out of Johann, then he combined two completely different martial arts, and on top of that, he even landed a hit on Alex Mercer."
Someone else added,"You know, his fighting style reminded me of Will Myers. Both of them fight like maniacs—completely unpredictable."
Suddenly, Miley spoke up."But I think Vishi is completely different from Will."
Everyone turned toward her. Among them, Miley was known to have the sharpest ability to analyze combat styles.
She continued,"Both of them fight unpredictably, and both appear mad—but Vishi's madness felt calculated."
She paused before adding,"I've watched Will fight many times. He never plans. He never thinks—he just acts. But Vishi…"
Her voice lowered slightly."Vishi was calculating his madness."
The group fell silent.
Robert finally asked, uneasily,"What kind of person calculates something like that?"
From that day onward, a new saying began circulating among the cadets about Vishi:
"He's one mad motherfucker you do not want to mess with."