While Alice recovers her energy, Arthur remains in the backyard, gazing at the calm blue sky as he wonders about Hanna's whereabouts.
He stands up and begins throwing punches into the air, trying to keep his body warm... and his mind distracted. But... something feels off. With each punch, the air vibrates... as if it's compressing and expanding immediately afterward.
Suddenly, a familiar voice breaks the silence... and Arthur recognizes it.
"Arthur? Training by yourself?" says Hanna, appearing as if nothing had happened.
Arthur quickly turns around and sees Hanna standing there, casually eating a bag of chips.
"Hanna?! Where have you been? I was worried!" says Arthur, rushing over to her.
"I went to the corner store earlier... and ended up watching a fight that broke out nearby..." she says, putting a chip in Arthur's mouth.
He keeps looking into her eyes for a moment. He doesn't say anything. His expression is hard to read: partly relieved, partly trying to figure out if she's hiding something. But in the end, he just sighs and scratches his head... trying to push away the thoughts crowding his mind.
Arthur lifts his head and asks Hanna if she wants to train with him and Alice. Hanna smiles brightly and agrees.
"Sure! Let's get started..." she says, tossing the chip bag away and removing her jacket. She was wearing only a sports bra and sweatpants.
Hanna's body was toned, marked with several scars and a few burn marks. Arthur falls silent, surprised.
"B-but we have to wait for Alice to come," says Arthur, a bit hesitant.
"Forget her... you can keep training with her when she arrives. Right now, it's just me and you," says Hanna, pulling a dagger from her own shoulder. The flesh parts, bleeding... and Arthur looks away, visibly uncomfortable.
Before he can say anything, Hanna charges at him and delivers a frontal strike with the dagger, but Arthur manages to dodge underneath. Still, the blade grazes the top of his head, causing it to bleed slightly.
Hanna grabs Arthur's left arm, spins her body with her back to him, and lands an elbow straight into his face. Taking advantage of his disorientation, she jumps over him and locks her legs around his neck, choking him.
"You better break free... I could easily slice your throat while I'm at it," says Hanna, tightening her legs even more.
Arthur sees only one way out: bite Hanna's leg. Without a second thought, he bites down hard, making her scream in pain and jump off him.
As Hanna lands on the ground, Arthur grabs her by the hair and throws her against a nearby wall with surprising force. He aims a punch at her face, but Hanna dodges to the side and lands a left hook, slipping her arm under his and striking his chin.
She doesn't stop there—delivering four rapid punches to his ribs, alternating sides, while dodging and blocking his counters.
Her final punch hits Arthur square in the face... but this time, he doesn't fall. He just takes a step back... staying firm.
"Huh...?" Hanna is confused as Arthur grabs her wrist tightly and punches her in the torso.
The impact was so powerful it felt like two punches in one. The air around them compresses and then explodes outward, as if a vacuum had been created between them, launching Hanna even farther.
She crashes to the ground, coughing and gasping for air. Suddenly, Alice returns and sees the scene: Arthur with a swollen, bleeding face... completely drenched in sweat, while Hanna lies on the ground, writhing in pain.
"S-sorry, Hanna! I think I went a little overboard..." says Arthur, lifting Hanna up and helping her onto his shoulder.
Alice yells at Arthur, asking what Hanna was doing there, but then bursts out laughing when she sees Hanna's condition.
"Hahahaha! You did that to her? Look at her, Arthur... the Domestic Violence Law still exists, y'know," Alice jokes.
Arthur rolls his eyes, saying her jokes aren't funny. He brings Hanna to the living room couch and sits her down. She thanks him and says she's fine, suggesting Arthur go train with Alice while she recovers from the shock.
Arthur agrees and heads back to the backyard, where he sees Alice staring at the wall where he had thrown Hanna.
"You've finally lost it, huh? Admiring the wall..." says Arthur, trying to tease her.
Alice turns and points to the wall, showing a hole in it.
"Who did this???" she asks.
Arthur remembers the punch he threw at Hanna, which she dodged—causing him to hit the wall with full force. He's shocked, unable to believe he was capable of that.
"I-it was me..." Arthur admits.
"You?! My God..." Alice is stunned, not believing it. She had trained with Arthur just minutes ago and he didn't have that kind of overwhelming strength.
Alice steps closer, now only inches away from Arthur.
"A-Alice? I-I'm shy..." says Arthur, turning his face away.
"Don't be stupid! I'm not gonna kiss you or anything, you idiot," says Alice, pulling his hair.
She then asks Arthur to punch her with full force. Arthur hesitates, afraid he'll hurt her... but she encourages him, saying she'll be fine.
"O-okay..." says Arthur, readying himself to strike.
Without further delay, Arthur punches Alice in the stomach. She trembles uncontrollably for a moment before regaining her composure.
"Yeah... just like I thought..." she says, placing her hand where she was hit and sitting down, the impact still resonating in her body.
"Thought what...?" Arthur asks, not quite understanding.
Alice takes a deep breath, asking for a moment before she explains.
--8 minutes later--
"W-well... from what I understand, your anomaly creates a vacuum with your punches. Like, you strike... the air compresses on impact, then expands with more force—kind of like a pressure explosion. It can throw enemies or cause double... maybe even triple the damage. I also think you're adapting quickly, 'cause your reflexes improved while we were training... and if you managed to fight Hanna, they must've improved even more," says Alice.
Arthur is slightly surprised by her explanation of his anomaly... but he doesn't get excited. He just looks at his hands... and says:
"I'm just relieved I didn't suffer any side effects from the experiments... well, at least none so far. That's one less thing to worry about. Now I just need to put this anomaly to use and see how far it can take us toward our goal," says Arthur, his eyes filled with a mix of determination and... relief.
Arthur clenched his fists. His anomaly was now not only a reminder of vengeance... but of discovery—discovering who he truly was... and what was stolen from him by Humans Upper.