บท 27: Fear of Death
Collapsing back onto the grass, I looked up towards the moonlight sky, stars twinkling in the air. My form was drenched in sweat, chest heaving as I tried to suck in as much air to fill my lungs. I got what I asked for, no longer learning the basics of magic and instead, pushing beyond that. It wasn't easy though, but I suppose that nothing worth anything was easy.
That was the mentality I lived by.
If something was difficult to get, that usually meant it was worth every second of struggle it took to achieve. Surviving the Gu Ritual hadn't been easy. Training under the Tokita Niko hadn't been easy. Fighting in the Kengan Association and in the Annihilation Tournament hadn't been easy.
Because of the struggles, I faced there, not only did I become stronger, but it was a life full of fun and adventure. Though it might sound corny, it was the truth. Living in Kouh though, that had been different. There was no struggle, no winding path, no obstacles that stood in my way. Everything was just easy and fell into my lap without much effort on my part.
The most fun I had was fighting against Saeko and learning to use magic. Everything else was dull and boring. "Are you done resting?" Ingrid called, I pushing myself upright to look upon her.
She was as beautiful as always, but what she was wearing tonight only amplified that further. Sports bra and leggings, my god she was trying to kill me, wasn't she? There is no way that Ingrid wasn't aware of how beautiful she was and what effect that had upon me. Ingrid's a woman that knows she's beautiful but goes around acting like she's a normal-looking woman. She also was a woman who was willing to, if necessary, use her beauty to her advantage.
The knowledge that Issei was going on a date with a Fallen Angel tomorrow was definitely a cause for worry. She loved Issei, as if he were her own son - to be honest, I kind of feel bad for the guy, that's worse than being friend-zoned - and she would do anything to protect him. For some reason though, she wouldn't get involved, or couldn't.
Ingrid hadn't specified which so I was left guessing.
"Yeah, I'm ready." Either way, I was not complaining. Ingrid knew I was a horny bastard on par with Issei, just better at hiding it. She was using her beauty as a means to retain my attention and use that to make me work harder.
"Good, because you've been distracted all night." I rose a brow in response, eyes trailing up and down her form. "You think I'd continue wearing this if you were so distracted by my body?"
"Okay." I conceded, hands raised in surrender.
Ingrid frowned. "Why are you distracted?"
"What does it matter, haven't I been making progress still?" Already I had gotten some massive improvement in my telekinesis, Ingrid had even taught me a means of what I liked to refer to as physical enhancement magic. Though apparently despite having different names, it was more in line with Reinforcement from the Nasuverse. It wasn't anywhere near the level of the master, Shirou Emiya but it was still something.
"You have, but not as much as you should." Ingrid pointed out sharply.
"And how do you know how much progress I should be making?" I really not liking her tone or the way she was talking down to me.
"You managed to learn how to move a pen in a single night, something that takes even talented practitioners of magic weeks to do," Ingrid stated simply. "Reinforcement is a basic principle of magic that reinforces any object you touch and as I've been showing you, can be used to reinforce your own body. Yet you've been learning at a just slightly above average pace, nothing in comparison to the talent you showed before. So you tell me how I knew?"
I really wanted to snap at her, but honestly, she's right. Yep, you heard me, I was admitting that someone else was right and I was effectively wrong despite technically not denying her statement. But that's beside the point, Ingrid was right, I was distracted, had been ever since I came back from my Kengan Match and my meeting with Rino. Safe to say that I had been forced to look upon myself because as much as I didn't like my flaws being pointed out, they were things I knew I needed to work upon.
The question was how?
I'm not good at recognising my flaws nor am I good at rectifying them.
"Someone close to me, upon the recent modelling trip I went on," I saw the raised brow, the look in her eyes, that lie was not going to work on her. "Okay, fine, my recent fight in the Kengan matches." She wouldn't know what they were, but it would certainly give her something to look in. Perhaps if she did learn a little more she might respect me a little more because I was getting annoyed at constantly getting talked down to.
There was nothing I could do to change it because I was man enough to recognise when I was outmatched. "Anyway, someone close to me pointed out various flaws in my character. Flaws that, if I wanted to survive in this world, I would have to fix. I've been trying to figure out how to do that."
"What flaws are they?"
"You're going to help me?" I questioned dubiously.
The look on Ingrid's face was equally as confused, almost unsure as to why I thought otherwise. Honestly, I had expected her to tell me to sort out my own problems. Tokito Niko had and Saechōrō from my limited interactions with him didn't seem like the type to help in that department either. Rino, well she might have been trying to help me but back then I was an arrogant little shit.
"Alright, tell me this then, how do I stop looking through people and at them? I've spent a lot of my time looking at people as not being...real." I wouldn't confess that I thought they were all just anime characters because that might raise more questions. "Recently I've been forced to realise that's not the case and I'm not sure how to break out of that habit. Apparently, I also rely too much on my perceived notions of who people are, not looking any deeper than that and therefore can't properly manipulate them."
There was a slight upturn of Ingrid's lip at my blatant words. "Come on, don't pretend you don't know I'm a manipulative asshole, I make no apologies for that. It's how I got you to teach me after all." I replied, Ingrid, shaking her head.
"Please, carry on."
"Well, the third thing is that I look too much to the future, I'm too far-sighted and don't look at the little details so when something comes at me that I didn't foresee or account for, I have no way to react." Not exactly what Rino had said, but that was what she was hinting at.
"The Devils in the details." The statement earned a light chuckle from me because it was true. The most problematic aspect of anything was the fine print. "Well, whoever it was who told you this, is right. Oftentimes though, the best way to change isn't gradual, it's a sudden event, life-threatening. They force people to adapt, changing who they are in order to survive. Whether that be to become stronger or to latch onto someone more powerful."
"And how exactly do I get a life-changing moment like that?"
Ingrid paused, considering something for a moment before indicating for me to stand up. "I want you to come at me; with the intent to kill." My confusion was evident. "If you manage to succeed in killing me, you can ask anything of me."
I scoffed, looking to her in wonderment. "You're serious?" She knew exactly what I would ask for, or she thought I would ask for. Using a favour like that just for a single moment of pleasure was such an obvious thing to ask. A single night was all she would have to go through and it was over. I may be the type to overstretch myself, trying to cover every one of my bases without thought to what impact it could have upon me. But I wasn't stupid either.
A single night of pleasure was cheap.
No, I'd use that 'wish' for more prolonged pleasure.
Though that was all resting on the idea I could beat her, I didn't think I could if the fight was dragged out. So, I'd need to go all out from the very beginning. Blitz her before she could prepare and end the fight before it could truly begin.
That was my only chance.
Suddenly though a cold chill spread across the pain, my breath becoming foggy as the hairs of my body stood up. My surroundings, a forest became much darker, the shadows almost becoming solid walls of pitch blackness. Ingrid then placed one hand against her chest, a symbol, a rune coming to life upon it. Then from it, she pulled out a simple, elegant-looking broadsword.
"Don't forget, Mikoto," Ingrid said, breaking me free from my temporary stupor. I looked upon her face to see her eyes glowing, fangs on full display. "Come at me with the intent to kill."
Clenching my fists, I quickly dug deep, steam bursting off my body, heart-pounding rapidly as my skin took on a reddish hue. All my muscles tensed up, veins popping out as I activated the Possessing Spirit and crouched low.
Digging my feet into the ground, I looked to see Ingrid shifting her stance, her body sideways on, sword to her back, the tip resting just gently upon the ground. Her eyes focused entirely upon me, waiting to see what my next move would be. Going even lower, I quickly burst forwards with a move I learned from Mikazuchi Rei before I killed him.
Lightning Flash.
It was the fastest technique I had ever encountered, one even now I could barely scratch the surface on how to properly use. My version of the Lightning Flash was only able to match Mikazuchi Rei's thanks to the Possessing Spirit, the sheer difference in our mastery of the technique was clear to anyone how could see it.
But even so, I burst off with all my speed, flooding my body with magic. I could feel the strain upon my muscles increasing tenfold as I grit my teeth in an attempt to ignore the pain. Appearing almost in a flash before Ingrid, who dodged the initial strike, my momentum carried me on as I dug my heels into the ground. One hand shot down, burying into the ground as I spun around and once more, closed in upon her.
Blood welled up in my throat but I ignored it all, instead, going one step further and activating another secret technique of the Niko Style, the Fallen Demon. Everything around me rapidly slowed down, I could see the tensing of Ingrid's muscles, her preparation to move and dodge, but this time, I could see it all.
As soon as Ingrid went to lean to one side, dodging my straight jab, I twisted my footing, coming up on the ball of my lead foot and spun. Ingrid's eyes widened in surprise as my heel came right round and aimed straight for her face.
She barely rose her front hand to block the spinning hook kick.
However, her lack of balance and the force of my strike aided by momentum knocked her off her feet. I quickly came back around and rapidly came up close, hands fully extended, fingers tensed as I threw numerous Devil Lances at her. A technique I had learned courtesy of studying Kuroki Gensai.
But she was ready for this, flat edge of her sword deflecting my strikes as she landed upon the ground. At that moment, I completely lost track of her, Ingrid disappearing from sight.
Predicting where she was going to be though was simple, I spun around and swept her legs out from underneath her. Ingrid caught herself, on one hand, flipping into the air and looking down at me as I jumped up at her, fist drawn back. My fist though struck nothing but air, Ingrid bursting apart into mist which swarmed around me, I collapsing back onto the ground.
And just like I had known, the longer this fight drew out, the less of a chance I had. Something I became very familiar with when I had to stop flooding my body with magic, blood bursting from my lips as I coughed nastily. My body reflexively switched off the Possessing Spirit as well, but I fought my bodies own protective instincts to keep the Fallen Demon active as I saw Ingrid coming in close sword pointed directly at me.
Flexing my fingers, I crouched low in preparation for one final strike.
The ultimate technique I had tirelessly worked to recreate, a technique I had learned with aid from Tokita Mao during the Kengan Annihilation Tournament. A technique that the Tokita Niko I trained under never taught me.
Demonsbane.
And just as her blade passed between my hands, I struck out. Parrying the strike, absorbing the momentum and force within that strike and transferring it throughout my body and then burst forth, fist embedding itself into her stomach.
Except, Ingrid managed to manoeuvre her free hand in the path of the strike, my fist striking against her palm. Even so, Ingrid was sent flying back, feet skidding against the ground to halt her momentum, her hand twitching slightly from the damage my strike had done. It wasn't what I had wanted, but the fact I managed to actually damage the muscles, possibly the bone in her hand was more than enough for me at this point.
It showed while I had much improvement to make, I was not someone you could just push over. I could damage you if you weren't careful and despite wishing to have one, that was enough for me at this time.
Feeling my muscles give out, I collapsed onto my knees, I watched Ingrid walk towards me. "Guess I don't get that wish after all," I muttered. "So, guess this is our training over and done wit for tonight then?'
Ingrid shook her head. "I said that you would only change after a life-changing experience. Did you think this fight was just a spar?" Then she rose her blade into the air and my eyes widened, but my body wouldn't move. "I agreed to help you learn magic. But I also want you to help Issei where I am unable to."
Then she swung her blade down.
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