Chapter 2
"FASTER, MAGGOTS, MOVE YOUR WINGS! DO YOU THINK YOU ONLY HAVE FOUR LIMBS?! FLY! MANEUVER AROUND YOUR OPPONENT! DON'T GIVE THEM A SINGLE BREATHING ROOM!!" Adam heard Lute shout from the other side of the training field. But through the faint instinct that he had, he faintly felt that Lute was mostly talking about him since he was technically using only four limbs. And the occasional glances his way only confirmed it.
So, following her advice, he would try his best to improve upon it, though he wasn't sure if he would really make his thought a reality in the heat of the training, as this training isn't exactly just a simple mock training. He slowly shifted his focus onto his opponent in this battle training, Glaze, one of the veteran exorcists. While also secretly hoping that the solo training he did with the OG would prove to be valuable, a training that the OG only agreed to because he threatened him with going around naked and shitting on every freaking bird nest in the city if he did not.
"Commander, do you really want to 'train' using that dual sword?" Adam heard Glaze ask him, since he was, from Glaze's point of view, fighting with an unfamiliar weapon that he quite possibly never touched. But truthfully speaking, even if he were to fight using that axe-shaped guitar, the difference wouldn't be much, as despite the inherent muscle memory and some training he did with it under OG's supervision, he would never be as proficient as the OG in such a short time frame. And he also personally liked the dual sword, and he had trained with it in the past month, discarding the axe guitar wholly. And it also seemed like the correct decision, as OG said he had a knack for it, though OG himself did not.
Why dual swords specifically? It was a thought-out decision he made after reading through a basic book about all the weapons' pros and cons, and he chose it considering his monstrous height of two point eighty meters and reach advantage he inherently had, doubled with the swift and fast attacks he could dish out with it.
"Don't worry, sweetheart—I'll go easy on you. You can forfeit if you're scared. I don't mind," Adam said to Glaze, the veteran exorcist, with a smug expression on his human face while raising his dual swords upwards. Already used to how he should normally act.
(POV—Glaze, the veteran exorcist.)
Glaze was quite senior among her sisters, not to the point she would be called Grandma or Aunt or something like that, since there are souls much, much older than her. But she was one of the first ones to join the exorcists and the one who was there when every extermination happened. And during all those years in which she was part of it, the number of times she saw Commander Adam training was few and far between. He only trains for real when High Seraphim herself or Lieutenant Lute's relentless, forceful request becomes too much to bear.
And when she learned that Commander Adam would be starting to actively train two months ago, she was shocked to say the least, but not so much since she thought that it would be a short-term thing.
But lo and behold, it wasn't, and even after two months, he still continued attending the physical training, and his gradual increase in strength and speed was quite envy-inducing to her, to say the least, since it had been a very long time since she had ever seen any increase in her strength or speed.
And today, for the first time since he began actively training, he joined in on the combat training with her as a partner, no less. But personally, Glaze didn't have much hope for her commander in this training since he couldn't use immense, cheat-like holy energy in this training, at least she hoped, since he wasn't exactly known for his patience.
While normally Commander Adam would be quite a powerhouse, capable of even decimating castles and hills at ease, in this particular training, where he can't use his holy energy to both blast and enhance himself, there's no chance she would lose. And that is not counting the fact that he wasn't even using his signature guitar-axe weapon.
So when the bell rang, she, feeling more confident than she should be, instantly rushed towards him, intending to finish this swiftly and fast. Yet Adam, completely different from what he normally would have done, took on a defensive position and started by blocking several of her thrusts.
Shing
Shing
Shing
Each time her rapid thrust, which was akin to a speeding bullet, shot towards him, he would clumsily, slowly, by some God-given luck, redirect it with his sword. Sometimes, even using two of them to redirect her spear when it came from a tricky angle.
Creek
Her spear and his sword met and sent sparks down towards both of them as Glaze observed Adam.
His golden eyes took on a piercing look just a second after it started, and his face became a picture of focus as he calmly observed each of her attacks and either blocked them or redirected them sluggishly, yet successfully. And this continues on for several long tens of seconds as they both relentlessly go at it. Unknowingly causing a great amount of frustration and annoyance because of how close he was and how he dodged her attack just barely by a hair's breadth.
Jump, spin, maneuver, backhand, fake
In the battle that ensued, no matter what she did, no matter from what angle or what tactic she used, she just couldn't get past that centimeter's worth of distance, even when she attacked him one time from his blind spot while he was distracted, nonetheless. Yet for some unknown reason, it might be luck or just instinct, but he managed to block it and almost hit her with his sword the next second. During this time, her mind finally realizes just how bad a match-up it was for her.
The person in front of her was someone whose strength dwarfed hers. His massive height meant his reach shadowed her like a massive tree looming over her like a distant echo. Only the fact that she was wielding a mid-range weapon like a spear and he was wielding dual swords was the only reason their reach wasn't so different; even then, his reach was longer than hers.
And that is not counting the almost similar speed that they had despite their size, which should have normally favored her. So upon this deep, unsettling realization, she did the only thing she knew how to do. Her eyes glowed in a relentless yellow color as she attacked him with even more relentless desperation and discarded every fiber of her inherent self-defense mechanism, or even the thought of the pain that she would feel if one of his strikes hit her as she threw herself at him.
Shing
Shing
Her spear spun around and hit his sword accurately on the side as she directed her focus to his sword instead of his body.
Each time he swung at her, she would hit his sword and change the course of his sword strike as she also pushed against him. And the sudden change of rhythm seemed to catch him off guard as he retreated backwards, with her even slamming her foot on his eyes once to throw him off even more and to get to the sky, as, for some strange reason, he isn't even using his wings much, and even if he did, he was only making a bare basic one, like moving from one place to another or a foolish moment like retreating or dodging sideways using his wings, when he should have taken to the sky and circled her or gone below. And she would make sure she got the full advantage of this 'handicap.'
Puuuuh
His sword, for the tenth time, cuts the air just above her head as a few strands of hair fall lifelessly onto the ground while she clutches her spear and dives in just like the previous ten times.
But this time, it was different, as this time, she had more time and opportunities to work with.
She used her spear's body to redirect his sword, the only singular one that was ready to strike, and attacked him from where the opening was the greatest, which was his left waist, and that she did. Her spear gleamed under the sun as her own spear struck him with a massive impact, sending him flying backwards like a lumbering tree, despite his humongous weight. While also blowing dust and dirt into the air, thereby blocking him from view.
(Adam's POV)
"Huff, huff, that went much better than expected," Adam thought as he took a ragged few breaths. That spear hit right where it hurts, but thanks to the fact that they weren't using an angelic weapon, he wasn't harmed much. Just feeling like he got quite a sucker punch with some sharp tip when he was least expecting it, forcing him to groan and let out a pained breath as he shakily stood up. But when the dust seemed to be about to fall down, he got up and pretended that he wasn't in much pain. After all, he would rather not look weak in front of his subordinate, as the moment glaring weakness is revealed to other beings is the moment they have other thoughts. And that situation is something he really wanted to avoid, if possible.
"Round two," Adam declared through the opening within the smoke while confidently walking towards Glaze, pretending that he wasn't feeling the sucker punch-like thrust that was deeply buried in his gut.
Tick
Tick
He felt like puking, and saliva just continued accumulating as he walked, yet he continuously swallowed it down his throat as he continued.
Soon, after several seconds of walking, he had gone close enough to initiate and continue the mock battle. But he still felt the pain, and the phantom desire for breath in his guts still continued, so he, not wanting to move much at least until he recovered, initiated a conversation.
"That really took me by surprise," he said, while dangling his sword in a calm and uncaring way. "The way you suddenly started focusing on my sword."
And that seemed to cue her that he wanted to talk a bit before continuing, so she lowered her stance and changed the direction that her spear was facing. "Yeah, Commander, and the way you fought also surprised me greatly."
"Mmm, the defensive way I fought? Yeah, not my usual style, but sometimes mixing it up feels more interesting." He said while dragging his sword, while feeling the pain evaporate, not fully, but turning duller.
"I should also try it." Glaze nodded, thinking that sometimes changing her style of combat to other types would make it more interesting.
"Alright, enough talking, let's begin," Adam muttered as he raised his sword back up, while Glaze herself also raised her spear to continue the fight.
Pishsh
With the ground caving in under her legs, Glaze threw herself at him, intending to continue the fight, while all other exorcists who were interested or those waiting their turn observed them.
Some were even whistling, and a few were even betting on who would win.
.
.
(Three hours later)
Adam, now covered in several thick bruises and a pair of black panda eyes (Glaze's handiwork), stood in front of the exorcists to declare that today's training was over and that they could now do as they wished.
The field was silent, and his face was a mask of calmness as he observed each of them, noting that he couldn't make out who was who and which was which, but he wasn't worried, as he would learn in time. But only the loyal or strong ones first, as they were the priority. "Alright, today's training is over, and you all can pack your bags and go to the changing room to ..."
"pff
But unfortunately, before he could finish what he was about to say, someone interrupted him, and that someone is the person who is standing behind him, and his second-in-command and lieutenant, Lute, who was desperately trying to rein in her laughter and spectacularly failing at that, "Pfffff."
Adam's face took on a shade of black as he pretended that he overlooked his second-in-command's blatant disregard for his rank of commander, and it also made him wonder how she could laugh while still having that piercing, cold look still adorned in her eyes. "ALL RIGHT, today's training has been fruitful, so you can finish today by going to the ..." But again, a laugh leaked out from somewhere, and this time, not from Lute but from somewhere on the edge of the gathered group. And that seemed to be the final light that sparked the gunpowder, as all the exorcists unconsciously burst into deep, blown-up laughter.
"Pffff."
"Haaah, ahem... HAH!"
"hahaha
"Commander, your EYE... ahahahhahaha."
"Glaze really did a number on him, hahahahahha."
The laugh continued for almost half a minute, with Adam's face getting darker and darker as he silently stood. And that seemed to somehow have the opposite effect than Adam wanted, as the exorcist laughed even harder in response.
"HAHAH"
"WTF, COMMANDER, YOU LOOK LIKE A PANDA. HAHAHH."
Some slapped their knees as they laughed, and several even had a tear accumulating in their eye as they burst into laughter.
Meanwhile, Adam just stood there, black-faced, not knowing if he should join in on them or if he should show his might as a commander and stop them, but he decided against it, as he wanted to get to know them a bit more and grow stronger before doing power plays to establish himself like he was supposed to. "Well, get ready for my revenge, Glaze," Adam muttered under his breath as he caressed his black eye.