"Come on, Caesar! Haven't we been getting along just fine? You've improved your combat skills quite a bit from sparring with me these past few days, haven't you?" Axis spoke up.
"No, fighting you isn't helping me improve anymore. So if you want to keep training, you'll have to do it alone," Caesar replied.
'How could you even say my combat skills have improved? I'm fighting a little kid here, and I have to hold back the whole time.
'Not only that, but this brat can fly and fire energy blasts in midair, while I'm stuck without my power armor, which means my combat ability is more than ten times weaker than normal.'
There was simply no training value in fighting Axis anymore.
He was just being used as a punching bag, nothing more.
"How about you call one of your colleagues over to spar?" Axis suggested.
After all, there was still a difference of more than 300 points in power level between him and the Custodes! How had he managed to beat this guy into such a state of despair?
Was it the Saiyan combat genes, amplified by his use of ki, that made this Custodian unable to keep up?
'Come on, man! You're a member of the Custodes! Why are you acting like some washed-up old uncle?
'If you can't handle a little setback like this, how are you supposed to protect the Emperor?'
"No need. The Emperor assigned me specifically to protect you. As for the others, they each have their own duties," Caesar replied.
'Bring someone else here? So you can make them lose their will to fight too?'
Without his power armor, Caesar was already fighting at his limit.
Axis's hand-to-hand skills alone were enough to suppress him, not to mention the fact that Axis could attack from a distance with his ki blasts.
Their combat strength was simply not on the same level.
Even though he'd never seen how strong a young Primarch was supposed to be, Caesar was pretty sure that even a Primarch at this age wouldn't have this kind of terrifying power.
So there was really no need to drag any other Custodes into this.
"How about I give you something in return?" Axis offered.
The Emperor had mentioned that his ki could enhance others' physical abilities.
If it could strengthen Russ, it should work on the Custodes too, right?
"No need," Caesar said flatly.
He stood up and, with the help of a nearby servitor, re-equipped his golden armor. Then he stood silently at Axis's side, motionless.
He was like a statue.
No matter what Axis said, Caesar didn't react. It was clear he wasn't going to spar with Axis anymore, no matter what.
"Fine, whatever. Is there any gravity-adjusting equipment here? Like a room where you can change the gravity? I want to try training at ten times gravity," Axis finally asked.
If the Custodian didn't want to play along, he might as well focus on gravity training.
The Saiyans' home planet, Planet Vegeta, had gravity ten times that of Earth.
That was the key to their incredibly strong bodies, and Axis figured he ought to train under increased gravity as well.
"Denied," Caesar shook his head.
'Gravity training? What was this kid thinking?'
That was incredibly dangerous. Humans exposed to high gravity could face serious consequences, especially since Axis was still so young!
Not even the Primarchs would dare to train like this at his age.
"It's fine. As you've already witnessed, my body is incredibly powerful," Axis replied confidently, thumping his chest.
Ten times gravity was as natural as eating or drinking for him, after all, the planet he was born on had that exact gravity!
"You're about to undergo the Custodian enhancement procedures. It's best not to wear your body out beforehand. The surgery wouldn't be as simple as you think," Caesar advised.
The ideal age for the Custodian surgeries was between zero and seven.
Any older, and the success rate dropped dramatically.
The highest success rate was for infants, but even then, less than one in a hundred babies would survive and become a Custodian.
For children older than seven, the odds of success approached zero. But with Axis's terrifying physical abilities, his chances were probably close to a hundred percent.
Even so, Caesar felt Axis should take care of his body, focus on rest, and get into peak condition for the surgeries, rather than messing around with dangerous training.
"If you're that confident, I suppose it's not out of the question. There is indeed a gravity chamber on this ship. The maximum setting is twenty times normal gravity," a new voice said.
Unbeknownst to them, the Emperor himself had arrived in the training hall.
Seeing the Emperor in person, Caesar immediately dropped to one knee.
"Forgive me for not welcoming you properly, Great Emperor," Caesar said respectfully.
"It's fine, I arrived unannounced.
"I've been watching your sparring sessions these past few days," the Emperor replied.
Just how terrifying was the Emperor's psychic power? If he wished, he could cover an entire planet in an instant and know everything that happened upon it.
In recent days, aside from handling affairs of the Imperium, the Emperor had been observing Axis with his psychic senses.
He was deeply curious about Axis's duels with his Custodian guards.
Logically, no matter how strong Axis's potential, he shouldn't have been able to defeat a Custodian at such a young age, not even one unarmored.
Yet the truth was eye opening.
Relying on that mysterious energy called ki, Axis could enhance his strength and agility, perceive the flow of battle, and even predict his opponent's moves.
He'd actually managed to defeat a Custodian, and in just a few short days, his physical abilities had improved further.
So today, the Emperor had decided to grant Axis's request and allow him to use the gravity chamber.
Caesar nodded and led Axis to a special training room, unlocking the door and ushering him inside.
"The maximum gravity setting here is twenty times Terra's. Why don't you start by adapting to double gravity first?" Caesar suggested.
"No need! Just set it straight to ten times gravity," Axis waved his small hand dismissively.
Ordinary people couldn't even withstand ten times gravity, but for a Saiyan, it was just like coming home.
Caesar's mouth twitched.
He looked at the Emperor for confirmation, and the Emperor nodded.
Caesar set the gravity setting to ten times that of terra. The lights in the room dimmed, and in an instant, the gravity reached ten times that of Holy Terra.
Yet Axis acted like nothing had changed, stretching, jogging a lap around the room, and even bouncing up and down a couple of times.
"My Lord Emperor, the gravity system might be malfunctioning. I'll call a Tech-Priest over to repair it," Caesar said, confused.
This wasn't at all what he'd expected.
It had to be broken.
"No need. The machine is working perfectly," the Emperor replied.