Chapter 29: DxD : A New Hero : Chapter 29
Unlike the outside, the interior of the gym was brightly lit. While Devils can see in the dark just fine, even better than in the daylight, they are just as blind as anyone else in absolute darkness. Sight needs some light to function after all and since I had the curtains drawn, there was no light coming in from the outside.
The gymnasium was more or less a large basketball court. One side of the room was a large stage that was mostly used for events, announcements or plays. Other than that, the place was clear of any obstacles or obstruction, giving us a wide open place to fight in.
Once I reached the center of the court, I tuned and face Tsubaki. As usual she had a calm and serious expression on her face, not too dissimilar from Sona's.
"Ok, Tsubaki this is basically going to be a combat test. Do you have a weapon with you?" I asked after realizing too late that she wasn't carrying her Naginata with her.
Much to my surprise she simply nodded and held out her hand to her right. In the air before her hand, a magic circle bearing the Sitri clan design appeared. The outer half of the circle began to spin clockwise, while the inner half began to spin in the opposing direction. As the blue light of the magic circle began to brighten, a long wooded shaft emerged from the heart of the circle.
Before long, the entire Naginata was drawn out of the circle before falling into Tsubaki's outstretched hand. Its job completed, Tsubaki dismissed the circle and it soon faded away like it was never there.
…you know, sometimes I forget they can do that. Teleportation; in my world that would have fallen into the realm of True magic, of Sorcery. A class of magic that is impossible to be replicated with science.
I know Magus back home that would have dedicated their entire life for that type of magic. I know some Magus families that would willingly and gleefully sacrifice their first born child to learn its secrets. And Devils as young as preschoolers here can cast these types of spells.
Sometimes I can't help but hate them, just a little bit, for the ease they can wield magic. As a human, I had to withstand an enormous amount of pain just to open my circuits so I would be able to cast so much as a single spell. As a Magus, I had to risk my life almost every time I practiced my craft, knowing that if I screwed up I may end up dying. Yet these Devils can use magic as easily as they can breathe.
Oh well, no point complaining about what you can't change. Besides, I'm a Devil too now so it's not like I have a right to complain anymore.
I raised my right hand and began tracing a weapon. After a few moments I felt the familiar and comfortable weight of a sword in my hand. It was a standard European blade, one which fit perfectly into one hand. It wasn't impressive to look at, just a simple steel-grey sword with a leather hilt. And compared to many of my other swords, it wasn't anything special.
It's not even a Noble Phantasm, just a very well made if mostly mundane sword. Though it did have some form of magical protections cast on it that, ones that prevented the steel from rusting and the edge from dulling. However, what made the sword special were its former owners.
The sword was passed down from warrior to warrior for dozens of generations, many of whom were excellent swordsmen coming from many different styles. In most people's hands it would have been nothing but a good quality sword, in mine however it became something more, as the skills of all its previous wielders were now mine to use.
I didn't want to use Noble Phantasm in this fight, not after seeing how badly it rattled them when I did it in the Council room. Besides, I wanted them to think that they had a chance to win, at least at first anyway.
I held out my sword and took a proper stance.
"The rule of the fight is simple, keep going until you have nothing left to give. Don't worry about harming me or making a racket. I set up a Bounded Field earlier that will prevent all sounds from escaping the gymnasium and I already have made preparations in case of injures. And if worse comes to worst I have a vial of Phoenix Tear's ready for use."
Tsubaki walked until she was about six meters away from me before she stopped and took a proper stance.
I waited for a few seconds to make sure she was ready, before I called out the signal to begin. "Hajime."
...
I swayed back as the blade of the naginata soared past my head, then side stepped the butt of the weapon as Tsubaki twisted the weapon around, using the momentum of her first swing to carry the attack through .
Even as she missed she didn't stop the swing but instead flowed with the attack to make a third swing, this time with the blade again, although it's purpose wasn't so much to hit me as it was to keep me away as she returned back to proper stance.
It was actually pretty impressive sight. Ever move was textbook perfect. Each attack flowing into next then next, creating what appeared to be a never ending stream of strikes.
She never lost her cool either. Even though it had been almost five minutes since the start of the fight and she hadn't landed a single blow on me, her form never wavered. She kept clam and cool, not allowing her frustration to cloud her judgment, and continued her precise and well controlled attacks.
I had to admit, she was doing better than I thought she would. Most would have long lost their composure after missing so many times and would become more reckless in attacking until they end up overextending themselves.
Frankly, it was almost unfair of me to fight someone with a bladed weapon. In just one glance, I can read her naginata's history. I can see every strike or swing she had ever thrown with that weapon. I know all of her tricks, her tells and all of the minute details of her style.
Just from the slight way she sifted her toes of her back foot slightly, to better grip the ground with, I knew that she will attempting a thrust next which I promptly deflected with the side of my blade as I danced around her.
However the purpose of this fight wasn't to be fair, it was to learn about her and help her grow stronger. And from the history written into the very bone of her naginata, I learned more about Tsubaki as a person that I would have in year by any other method.
Diligence. If there was one word that would describe Tsubaki as a person it would be that. Every morning before breakfast and every night after dinar, without fail she would take her naginata to the backyard of house and train.
One thousand swings followed by a thousand thrusts, never skipping so much as a single strike and added a dozen more for each time her form slipped.
When she finished, she would spend the next thirty minutes going over the Kata of her style, making sure each set was done perfectly before going onto the next. And when it was finally done, she would go take a shower and start all over the next day.
In the one year, nine months and twelve days since she was given that naginata, she had never skipped so much as a single day of practice. Diligence, it describes her to a tee.
Instead of sidestepping the blow like she expected me to, I blocked it and rammed into her. This caused her to lose her balance, enabling to switch positions with her, thus preventing her from successfully trapping in the corner.
It wasn't a glamorous form of training but it didn't need to be. In the end nothing beats basic training. The reason why someone else's sword swing is faster than yours is because for each one hundred swings you did in practice, he did a thousand.
There are no short-cuts when it comes to real skill. If you throw aside all strategy, tactics and luck, when all things are equal the one who trained the most will always emerge as the winner. It was as simple as that.
That was how one developed their skills. That was how the weak become the strong. In that regard, there was nothing I could teach her.
It was a good thing then that I wasn't planning to. I don't know what they expected when I offered to train them, but if they thought I had some kind of ancient or mystical training program set up that will magically boost their skill level like in one of those Magic Girl anime's Serafall made me watch then they're sadly mistaken.
What I came here to do wasn't to help improve in their combat skills. I was here to make sure that they can properly apply those skills.
The problem with training is that you're taught to restrain yourself. After all, when you practice your techniques with a partner or in a spar, you don't want harm to them. When you practice an arm lock that can break an opponent's arm you're taught to stop before breaking it. So every time you practice you automatically stop yourself before completing the move.
When you're taught how to gouge an enemy's eyes out, you always stop short of actually touching the eyes. Even when sparing in armour and shinais, you're taught to never fight dirty, to follow rules of courtesy.
You're taught to never strike an enemy when their down, when that should be the best time strike them.
In short, you train your instincts to not harm your opponent.
This will cause your instincts to be blunted. In a real fight when you won't have time to think, that will get you killed, as all you'll have are instincts.
Take Tsubaki's for example. I raised my arm and blocked the strike with the back of my empty left hand. The room echoed with the sound of the ringing of metal as the naginata was halted in place, leaving my hand completely unharmed.
"!", for the first time Tsubaki expression has shifted away from the clam analytical look she was wearing since the fight started. She was staring at the hand that blocked the naked blade of her naginata wide eyes, disbelief clearly written on her face, clearly not believing that my body was hard enough to block her attack so easily.
She was right to disbelieve because there is no way my body, even with the boosted defense of a Queen, was capable of halting her attack and emerged without so much as a scratch to show for it.
It wasn't that Tsubaki lacked the strength to break through my defense; it was that she wasn't applying that strength. That was the problem with training, when the time for a real fight comes you have trouble adjusting.
You teach yourself not to swing in full power in a spar and that carries on to the real fights. You can't just remove all the mental restraints you placed on yourself as if they were cloths.
Since the very beginning of a fight she was always aware that she was fighting with a real blade not a practice one. Something that cut flesh and sever limbs, and a part of her mind was always careful not to cut me with it.
Despite her perfect form, there was a lack of power behind her strikes. A clear fear of what will happen if her attack connects.
I twisted my hand and griped the blade of the naginata before pulling her towards me. Still shocked over the ease I blocked her strike she was easily pulled of balanced and was unable to react in time to block my knee from slamming into her stomach.
Spittle flew out of her mouth as she collapsed onto her knee, breaking into a coughing fit as she relinquished her hold on the weapon. I spun her naginata around until I held it by its shaft and swung it over my shoulder.
"Did you know," I began in conversational tone, as if didn't have girl clutching her stomach in agony sitting by my feet, "that in a real fight between a skilled street fighter and a skilled professional martial artists, the street fighter has a much more likelier chance of winning despite being far less skilled."
Finally having gotten her coughing under control she peered up at me with confusion evident on her face.
"You see it's quite simple," I continued, "the martial artist for all his skills has no idea how to apply those skills in a real fight. While the street fighter knows how to effectively apply his admittedly far more limited skills into a fight."
I swung the naginata around and I held it out to her. "Allow me to explain what I'm doing here Tsubaki. I'm not her to train your skills but I'm here to teach you how to fight.
How to apply those very skills you've cultivated for years in a way that can actually save your life when the time comes. In other words, I'm here to teach you what a real fight is, one where you have to kill or be killed." I nodded towards the naginata.
"Now, take it and get up."
She looked up at me hesitantly before she reached out for her weapon and stood up.
The moment she took a proper stance I reinforced my limbs to the limit, dashed forward and aimed a solid front kick right into the middle of the naginata. The wooden shaft splintered and collapsed under the force of the kick and my foot tore right through until it slammed right into the middle of her chest.
Unlike last time she didn't simply collapse but instead went soaring backwards, tumbling several times onto the wooded surface of the court, until she finally skidded to stop after traveling halfway across the gymnasium.
She tried to push herself upward with her hand but collapsed almost immediately as she coughed out a glob of blood onto the floor.
I lowered my foot and slowly began approaching her, all the while making sure to keep an impassive look as my face, as if I wasn't cringing on the inside at what I had to do
It's sad, but words are rarely enough to get the point across, not with this kind of lesson. Pain has always been a great teacher and an equally great motivator. There is nothing better than pain that can simultaneously remind you that you're alive and how easily that life can end.
Right now that's exactly what I wanted from her. To make her realize that fighting was not a game. That it wasn't a tool to be used on some Rating Game match, but a weapon that to be used to stave away her death.
I stopped three paces away from her and waited for her to look at me. It took her a while, as she had trouble gathering her breath as her body kept shuddering with coughs, but eventually she did. She lifted her gaze to look up at me, eye shinning with unshed tears and drops of blood staining her lips crimson.
"Why didn't you volunteer?" I asked
She looked so utterly perplexed by my question that I'm sure she had no idea what I was talking about.
"When I asked Sona's Peerage for someone to take the test first, why didn't you volunteer?" I clarified. "Sona wanted to go first because she knew she needed to lead the rest of the Peerage. By watching her go unhesitantly forward the others would be encouraged by her actions. You however, did no such thing.
You were too passive, only waiting for instructions from your King rather than acting on your own. Even Saji, for all his apparent bravado, just wanted to protect the other girls in the Peerage in his own way because he saw it as his duty as the only guy of the group.
You on the other hand sat back and did nothing until you were ordered to.
"You need to understand Tsubaki, that you are not just any ordinary Peerage member. You are the Queen, and the Queen leads when the King cannot. Imagine if you will, how much better the others waiting outside would have felt if you had stepped up to the plate when I asked for volunteers rather than having been forced to go first?
"Sona, due to her obsession with Rating Games, is under the delusion that she need not worry who would lead her Peerage when she falls. That the battle is over once she leave the battlefield but life simply does not work like that.
In war, the battle simply does not end when the King falls. The soldiers still live on and they'll still fight as long they have someone to lead them.
"That is the true purpose of the Queen. Not to simply be an extension of the King's will that mindlessly obeys every order but someone to lead the others when the King cannot." I pointed my blade towards her.
"Do you understand Shinra Tsubaki?"
I locked my eyes onto hers, trying to convey the seriousness of my question. She stared back wordlessly for a moment, before opening her mouth to answer.
Unfortunately instead of words, she vomited out a huge stream of blood instead before falling into another coughing fit.
Ok~, that did not go exactly how I planned. So much for my motivational speech. Going by how much blood she's coughing out I must have punctured a lung when I broke her ribs.
Looks like a kicked her a little bit harder than I planned to. Luckily, I came prepared.
"Asia," I called out towards the stage, "you can come out now. I could use your help here."
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