Published at 25th of July 2026 12:53 pm

Chapter 230: Fists Or Tricks

This chapter is updated by JustRead.pl

Chapter 230: Fist Or Trick

It had been a rough night for some of them. Teal and Ash both wore bags under their eyes and moved like molasses in winter, while Min happily poured herself a cup of coffee, humming under her breath. Ash hadn't slept because of Min, and Teal hadn't slept because of Ash. At some point during the night, the kid had knocked on Teal's door claiming he'd had a bad dream, then proceeded to talk her ear off until morning. He'd almost seemed desperate not to fall asleep, so she couldn't bring herself to turn him away.

"Could you not do that?"

Rubbing at her temples, Teal reached over and stole the cup Min had just poured for herself.

"Aren't we grumpy. Couldn't you sleep? The bed I had was the most comfortable thing I've ever slept on. Was hard as hell gettin out of it."

Rolling over, Mr. Gates set a steaming stack of flapjacks onto the table, the smell of butter and syrup filling the room.

"It's a good thing you did. Whatever you were doing last night sure caused"

A quick kick to the robot's base cut him off. Without missing a beat, Min grabbed a pancake, folded it in half, shoved the whole thing into her mouth, and turned toward Ash.

"ou too? Don't tell me, you stayed up all night watching that screen, didn't ya?"

Ash's eyes dropped to his plate as heat crept into his cheeks.

"Uh... yeah. Couldn't help it."

Brows knitting together, Teal glanced between the pair, noticing how awkward Ash suddenly looked. She was too tired, and too hungry to dig into it, though. Lucky for him, she changed the subject.

"What's the plan for today?"

Poking at his breakfast with his fork, Ash only shrugged. Across the table, Min swallowed another whole pancake before turning to Mr. Gates.

"You gotta training area?"

Finishing pouring Ash a glass of orange juice, the smile returned to the robot's screen.

"Of course."

A soft beep came from his chest as he gestured toward the wall, where a strip of green light flickered to life before stretching out of the dining room.

"Follow the green light and it'll take you straight there. Though I'll admit, I barely used it while I was alive. It's equipped with almost anything you'd need. Would you like a sparring partner? I have a few bots who could"

"No need. Got one already."

Ash didn't notice, he was doing his best to avoid looking at Min, but she was pointing directly at him. After an awkward stretch of silence, he finally looked up and realized everyone at the table was staring his way.

"What? Somethin' on my face?"

There was, but that wasn't why. Reaching over to wipe a smear of syrup from his cheek, Teal shook her head.

"You even listening? What's up with you today? You getting sick?"

She reached for his forehead, but he quickly swatted her hand away.

"I'm fine! Just tired. Guess I wasn't listening, so who said what?"

"I said you're my sparring partner today."

"Heck no!"

Ash jumped to his feet, then immediately winced as he realized he'd reacted a little too strongly.

"I mean... no way. I'm too tired. Plus, you'd just kick my butt anyways."

"How long have you had Triss?"

The question from the gorilla woman caught him off guard, but he answered anyway.

"A few years. Why?"

Making an exaggerated show of deep thought, Min immediately fired off another question.

"The other two you had, how long'd you have them?"

A flash of sadness crossed Ash's face.

"I got all of them about the same time."

Draining the last of her coffee, Min rose from her chair and pointed at the boy's untouched breakfast.

"Have that brought to the training room. Also bring some beer and bandages."

The smile disappeared from Mr. Gates' screen as he reluctantly tore his eyes away from Teal's cleavage.

"Anything else, your majesty? Maybe I can fluff your"

"Is everyone doing this on purpose, or are you all just retarded? I'm not doin' it. Not happenin'."

Motioning with her head for the robot to do as she asked, Min leaned over the table. The movement instantly made Ash blush and lower his eyes as her large chest hung over the tabletop.

"You've had your ghosts for a few years, and during that time you mostly focused on fighting and capturing other ghosts. You lost two of them, and listen well when I tell you this, Ash. We won't be fighting many ghosts. It'll mostly be humans, demons, fuckin angels... eventually the whole damn world is gonna become our enemy if the boss gets his way. Which I'm sure he's gonna. You have very little experience in a real fightalmost none by yourself. You haven't built any synergy with your new team. Basically, in a real fight, you're a liability, not an asset."

Her voice was firm, but her tone stayed matter-of-fact, like she was explaining that one plus one equaled two. And just like that simple equation, Ash couldn't argue with it. Lately, he'd spent more time unconscious than on the battlefield, and even when he had been fighting, it was usually Triss doing most of the work.

Pushing away from the table, Min crossed her arms over her chest.

"The Dead Hands won't carry dead weight. Neither will the Brood. Right now you've got Seo-jin's interest. Lose that..."

She shrugged.

"Well, I think you know what'll happen."

A little more color drained from Ash's face. Seeing it, Teal couldn't hold herself back any longer.

"He's still just a kid. Is it really necessary to"

"Yes. It's more than necessary."

It wasn't Min who answered.

It was Ash.

His head stayed lowered, but his hands had curled into tight fists against the table.

"Min's right. I've been relying on everyone too much."

"That's what adults are for. If you don't want to fight, you can wait till you're older. I'm sure Seo-jin would understand."

"He wouldn't."

"He wouldn't."

Ash and Min answered at the exact same time. Instead of laughing about it, though, Ash finally lifted his head and met Min's eyes.

"When do we start?"

A grin spread from ear to ear as Min smacked a fist into her open palm.

"That's more like it. We start right now. You comin'?"

She looked over at Teal, who simply shook her head.

"No thanks. I prefer a good book and some alcohol. You two have fun. Just... don't go too hard on him. Take it too far and I'll read your future, then never tell you."

"You bitchy little slut, you wouldn't dare."

"Just try me, you cow-uddered gorilla."

The two women held each other's gaze for a long moment before bursting into laughter. Still completely convinced he would never understand how women's brains worked, Ash gave up trying as Min grabbed him by the collar and started dragging him toward the training room.

"We have six days until the boss gets back. Until then, we're gonna spend every second training. It's gonna be hell, but if you don't give up, it just might be enough time to turn you into something useful. Don't expect to enjoy a single second of it!"

Her laughter echoed through the facility as she hefted he kid over her shoulder like he weighed nothing. At this point, Ash didn't think he could get out of it even if he wanted to.

If he was being honest with himself, though, he didn't.

"Yes, Big Min! I won't let you down!"

Laughing even harder, Min smacked him on the ass.

"Keep that energy. You're gonna need it."

Eyes watering from the sting, he was suddenly very glad he hadn't finished his breakfast as Min carried him away like a rucksack, each step jostling him over her shoulder.

Watching them disappear down the hall, Teal stuffed another piece of pancake into her mouth, her eyes rolling back at the buttery sweetness.

About ten minutes passed before she finally finished breakfast. Letting out a contented breath, she tugged the waistband of her pants away from her stomach and sank deeper into her chair.

"Not another bite."

Spotting one last piece of pancake on her plate, she shrugged and reached for her fork. Before she could take it, a loud scream echoed through the facility, followed almost immediately by an even louder laugh.

"Poor kid."

She calmly speared the last bite with her fork and finished it.

----

Floating high above the ruined ground that hid the Time Capsule below, Grimm stared into the distance. His eye sockets burned with a dark blue glow as he drifted in his smaller form, unmoving in the cold air.

There was no grin on the ghost's face. The blue flames clinging to his bones flickered violently around him.

His gaze remained fixed on the coast where the Dead Hands' docks stood. To most, it looked ordinarya city swallowed by darkness, with scattered lights flickering through the streets. But Grimm saw something else.

Something that made his very soul shiver.

Light.

A towering beacon split the darkness like a pillar reaching into the heavens. Every instinct within him recoiled from it. Hate for it filled every fiber of his being.

"You won't get away with it. When he gets back, you're all gonna die."

The blue fire in his sockets flared brighter as a smile slowly spread across his skull. He would wait here until Seo-jin returned. He wouldn't let that thing out of his sight for even a single moment.

Besides, he didn't like the farm or the robot that lived there. Mr. Gates gave him a creepy feeling, so floating out here alone was much better. There was another benefit too. The Dead Zones below teemed with ghosts for him to hunt.

By the time Seo-jin returned, Grimm would have gone through his own training.

Well... his stomach would.

----

Four days had passed since Ash began training. With only two days left until Seo-jin returned, the boy was enjoying a brief moment of rest.

If you could even call it that.

Lying flat on his back, he kept both legs straight and raised a few inches off the floor. Sweat soaked his shirt, bruises bloomed across his arms and ribs, but compared to sparring with Min, this was paradise.

[She left.]

With a long, shaky exhale, his legs dropped like lead weights and thudded against the mat. Breathing hard, he sprawled out and rubbed at his aching limbs, trying to work some of the soreness from his muscles.

[She was right, you know. Your body really took to it. To think you were slacking this much.]

'Slackin'?! Who's slackin'?! Didn't see you gettin' thrown into a wall?!'

[Calm down, you know what I meant. Your body has finally caught up to its current potential. Your strength went up, so be happy. Keep at it and you might finally land a hit.]

'Fuck off.'

[Ash!]

'Sorry... she's not only trying to kill me, she's corrupting me while she does it. That woman's evil.'

[No, she's not. She's just trying to help... I know I was against it, but you were right. This is a much better family for you. I still advise you to be careful with that demon, but Min and Teal truly care about you.]

"You okay, kid? Here"

Leaning over him, Split-jaw held out a wispy hand. In the other, he carried a cup of water. Ever since learning to control his new ghostly state, the old man had taken every chance he could to actually hold something. Apparently phasing through everything still gave him the jeebieshis words.

"Thanks."

Draining the cool water, Ash sighed as it eased the dryness in his throat. He reached over to rub Triss's head when she nudged against his side.

"I'm fine. It's not that bad, honest."

As he sat up, the definition in Ash's stomach, arms, and chest was impossible to miss. While he'd been training, Split-jaw and Triss had been training too, with the old man taking the lead thanks to his experience. Neither of them was allowed to help Ash during Min's lessons. They could only focus on improving themselves while their master suffered through his own. At least seeing the progress he'd made made it easier for them to endure.

"Min always takes forever to shit. If you're quick, you've got enough time to eat. Want me to heat up your plate?"

Just thinking about food made Ash's stomach turn. If he ate now, he'd probably throw it right back up. Min's gut punches had a habit of doing that.

"Save it. Instead, you got any advice? I'd sell my soul just to punch her once. Just one solid shot to her smug, stupid face."

Looking down at the boy, Split-jaw had already spent plenty of time thinking about what advice to give. So far, he'd come up empty. Min was simply too skilled, too fast, and too powerful. Compared to her, Ash was an alley cat trying to fight a tiger. No amount of advice could erase that gap.

[You could try trickery.]

'Explain.'

[If you can't beat her physically, try a different angle. Beat her mentally. This is what you do. When she]

The longer Ash listened, the wider his grin became. A strange chill ran through Split-jaw as he watched it spread across the kid's face.

"What're you thinkin', kid? Don't like that face you're makin'."

Rubbing his hands together, Ash let out a quiet laugh.

"There's no way it won't work. It's too perfect."

"Quit dancin' around it and spit it out."

Flopping back onto the mat, Ash raised his legs a few inches off the floor again.

"I finally got a plan to take that bitch down a level or two."

"Good! Can't wait to see it! In fact, let's switch things up today and spar now. It's good to change up your training schedule. Keeps your body on its toes."

The color drained from Ash's face.

[Sorry. Wasn't paying attention.]

'You suck so much.'

Didn't matter. His plan was set, and it was now or never. Even though she was going to be expecting something, Ash still felt confident as he got to his feet.

With whispers of good luck from Split-jaw, and a purr from Triss, he took a deep breath, and stepped onto the center mat.

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