Jiahn rushed Eun-Song with fast and rapid strikes, but Eun-Song phased through each attack with a backstep then pushed down Jiahn's hand, countering with a graceful elbow to her jaw. While Jiahn was stunned, she knocked her in the air with a high reaching kick then warped above her. Striking her jaw with a powerful hook, she knocked Jiahn back down in a spiral.
Jiahn recovered in the air and landed upon her feet, staggering onto one knee and held her jaw in slight pain. She grunted softly as she stood back up onto her feet, shaking her head and smacking her cheeks to regain her consciousness. She returned back into her stance with a smirk, fixing her jacket and chuckled.
"Well, well. Seems like you have more spunk to you than I thought. Let's see if you can keep up when I strike first!" Eun-Song said, sprinting forward at high speeds and nearly catching Jiahn off guard with her speed.
Quickly, Sang So-Yi warped in front of Jiahn via her Silver Swallowtail, blocking Eun-Song's attack with a light grunt. Eun-Song rose an eyebrow with surprise, sensing that they too have met me, but didn't see any iridescence within their energies.
Eun-Song chuckled lightly as she knocked So-Yi off her feet with a sweep kick then knocked her into the air with an uppercut. Following from above, Moon-li warped toward So-Yi, launching her backwards with a spinning kick then warped after her. Sang So-Yi grunted as she crashed through a window of a shop, rolling along the ground.
'They are so fast and strong...I can barely keep up with them,' So-Yi thought to herself, pushing herself up from the ground and dodged Moon-li's fiery punches and kicks.
So-Yi began blocking and parrying each of her attacks, her eyes tracking every limb upon Moon-li's body with militant calculation. Blocking her next two attacks, So-Yi pushed Moon-li's arms out wide then knocked her back with a double palm strike, the second strike using concussive force to knock her back.
Moon-li rolled backwards along the ground, grabbing the pole of the clothing rack and twirling it around to clear the pole. She warped forward with a swing, but So-Yi phased through her attack with a grunt before leaping backwards to dodge the second swing. She stood up quickly on her feet, catching Moon-li upon the back of her head with a reverse roundhouse.
'Nngh..! Damn this girl's smart on her feet!' Moon-li thought to herself as she crashed to the ground and rolled along the floor.
Hyeon Bae watched So-Yi's fight with Moon-li happening through the window outside, gasping lightly as Mi-sung snapped her fingers to catch her attention. "Uh...hi!"
Mi-sung smiled at Hyeon Bae, finding her quite adorable and crossed her arms. "You don't seem like quite the fighter. Why are you here?"
"What? I can fight and defend myself! I am Hyeon Bae of the Jinyoung Clan, Master of the Stigmatas just like my Samchon! Me and Oriel can defeat anything that comes our way!" Hyeon Bae announced, getting into her battle stance.
Mi-sung became intrigued by Hyeon Bae's statement, her eyes catching the sight of Oriel faintly manifesting next to Hyeon Bae. "I see, well...I've seen a lot more where I came from. Let's see what you've got."
"Alright! Hoon, let's get her!" Hyeon Bae called out, performing a hand gesture to summon Hoon, a bright light forming in front of her.
Hoon howled at the setting sky, dashing ahead at high speeds toward Mi-sung and launched a swift claw swipe. Mi-sung dodged Hoon's attack then noticed Hyeon Bae charging toward her with a leapfrog kick over Hoon at her head.
Mi-sung grunted and leaned back to dodge Hyeon Bae's incoming attack then knocked Hyeon Bae off her feet with a sweep kick. She twirled back up for a horizontal axe kick, but struck an invisible force, the faint sight of Oriel's shield shimmering into view in front of Hyeon Bae.
"Oh, you're protected, protected. I get it, you're one of those legendary children. A Destiny Child," Mi-sung acknowledged, stepping away from Hyeon Bae and hopped up and down.
'Destiny Child..? What's that..?' Hyeon Bae questioned curiously in her head, tilting her head to the side a bit.
Suddenly, Mi-sung rushed in with a spinning right hook, using her momentum to generate wind energy to blow Hyeon Bae away upon impact. Hyeon Bae grunted as she rolled backwards along the ground, recovering onto her feet to see Mi-sung already in front of her within seconds.
Unable to react quick enough, Mi-sung caught her with a powerful, stunning knee to her stomach then blasted her in the air with a wind boosted uppercut. Mi-sung caught Hyeon Bae's ankle, pulling her back down for a launching blow, but Hyeon Bae caught her with a kick to her face.
Hyeon Bae landed on the ground, her gaze growing more serious and one of her Stigmatas began to glow upon her arm. "Alright, let's start getting serious! Gimatet-Hey, let's go!"
A surge of divine earthly energy began to flow around Hyeon Bae's body, the faint image of an Angel with earthly green wings shimmering behind her. Hyeon Bae surrounded her arms in stone, pushing herself forward with a powerful stride and stone strike to Mi-sung's midsection.
Mi-sung parried her strike and went for a counter, but Hyeon Bae weaved through her attack then struck an energy point upon her leg. Mi-sung grunted softly as she felt her Spirit being tampered with, a cold shudder flowing through out her body.
'What the hell was that..? It's like she hit my very Spirit..' Mi-sung thought to herself, dodging Hyeon Bae's attacks and launched a swift roundhouse kick.
Hyeon Bae formed a stone shield at her side, blocking Mi-sung's attack when went for a palm strike, but Mi-sung caught her fist. As she went for a wind blast, Hyeon Bae crumbled her stone gauntlets into sand, forcing Mi-sung to create a sandstorm in the area.
While Mi-sung was stunned, Hyeon Bae rushed in with a flurry of five rising kicks, launching herself and Mi-sung in the air. Oriel appeared physically, striking Mi-sung with two slashes to keep her suspended airborne then Hyeon Bae came down with a Spirit Flash, sending Mi-sung crashing to the ground.
Eun-Song gasped as she watched Mi-sung fall to the ground, looking up in the air to see Oriel and Gimatet-Hey surrounding Hyeon Bae as her guardian angels. "She has multiple guardian angels..? We can see God does tend to have His favorites~"
"You might want to focus more on me!" Jiahn called out, launching herself with a 540 horizontal kick toward Eun-Song.
Eun-Song glanced over at Jiahn, dodging her kick then blocking her punch with a knee before ducking under her roundhouse. She phased through Jiahn's next flurry before launching a counter strike toward Jiahn's stomach, but Jiahn caught her off guard with a surprise phase via Ji-MAN.
Before Eun-Song could figure out what happened, Jiahn caught her with a power knee strike to her stomach, a pulse of Holy Energy rushing from her back. Eun-Song groaned lightly as she staggered backwards, her hand clutching her stomach in slight pain.
"Heh! I finally got you!" Jiahn smirked, swiping her nose with her thumb and got back into her stance.
Kim Eun watched as the battle continued from a bench along the sidewalk, tapping her heel against the ground repeatedly. Deep inside, she wanted to join in on the battles seeing everyone enjoying themselves as well. She let out a soft exhale, rolling her neck and glancing up at the sky.
Kim Eun began to sit up straight as she noticed a figure watching from above on the top of a tall building, her mind questioning who she was. Before her mind could register the figure upon the building missing, a hand found its place upon her shoulder causing her to freeze in place.
"Well, well...if it isn't one of my old friends. Kim Eun, how have you been as of recently?" The male asked her, pulling down his shades to get a good look at Kim Eun.
Kim Eun slowly glanced over at the man, watching his silky, dark colored hair fall over his face. Her body became stiff within his presence as she immediately recognized him, her lips parting slightly to speak but no words came out.
"Heh, I've got you speechless now huh? Majesty and the others filled me in on what happened today, and I am quite impressed with you and your friends. Those girls...they could work well for the club wouldn't they?" The man asked with a dark tone, chuckling softly and pat Kim Eun's shoulder before walking around the bench to approach So-Yi and the others.
Kim Eun stood up on her feet, finding the courage to finally speak and balled her hands into fists. "Michin Haeteo! Do not step another foot toward them!"
Michin stopped in his tracks, the girls also stopping their battle hearing Kim Eun's outburst. Michin glanced back at Kim Eun with a raised brow and a smirk, fixing his open tropical top and turned around to face her with a smirk.
"Oh? You thought because you switched sides from Ha-Rin, you're free from your dues with me? Your works aren't done yet...unless you want to pay in full The Viking Way?" Michin asked, his eyes perversely scrolling down Kim Eun's body and chuckled softly.
Kim Eun grunted softly and took a step back, holding her arms and shifted her glare to the ground. Feeling intimidated under his gaze, she decided to remain silent, his perverse gaze making it impossible for her to reply.
"Hey! Who are you and why are you interrupting a very interesting fight?" Eun-Song asked, crossing her arms and eyeing Michin up and down with discernment.
Michin glanced back at the girls once more and hummed softly, fixing his sunglasses and chuckled lightly. "My name is Michin Haeteo, Number 4 of the St. Goken Academy Student Council. I've been on a mission to recruit powerful Valkyrias for my squad, The Viking Wonderland! I can sense immense potential from you all!"
"Yeah, no. That's not happening at all," Moon-li said, placing a hand upon her hip and twirling a strand of her hair around her finger. "I can already sense some bullcrap coming from you already."
So-Yi awakened her Beshin-Keh, scanning Michin's energy to scale him then grunted as she noticed his aura was black and pink. She closed her eyes quickly, covering them and rubbing them intensely.
"So-Yi? Are you okay?" Jiahn asked, looking at So-Yi with light concern and touched her shoulder.
Sang So-Yi blinked a few times, her vision becoming normal once again then she turned to Jiahn and pulled her closer. "That guy...he's infected with a Principality. Lust.."
Jiahn listened to So-Yi's whisper, glancing over at Michin then stood up straight. She shifted her body, transforming into her Holy Form and got into her stance. "Well, well! We've got ourselves a new challenger here! Since you're here, we might as well test your strength!"
"Jiahn, don't—" Kim Eun called out, grunting softly as she watched Jiahn dash toward Michin.
Jiahn launched swift and calculated strikes at Michin, but he easily blocked each strike before parrying her and catching her off guard with a slap across her cheek. Jiahn staggered to the side, holding her cheek and looked a bit stunned to have been slapped across her face.
Michin chuckled softly at Jiahn, catching her off guard with a knee strike then went for punch toward her face, but So-Yi grabbed Jiahn's shoulder and generated a pulse of energy around their bodies. Michin's attack phased through them, giving So-Yi a chance to launch a strike which landed and knocked Michin backwards.
Michin laughed softly at So-Yi and Jiahn, standing up straight and cracking his neck by tilting his head side to side. "That one caught me off guard, I'll give that to you. Can you do it again though?"
Michin charged toward Jiahn and So-Yi once more, launching a series of strikes toward the two, Jiahn and So-Yi working together to block and evade each attack. So-Yi vaulted over Jiahn's back with a spinning kick which Michin block, Jiahn getting low for a sweep kick but Michin leaped over the sweep.
While Michin was distracted by Jiahn and So-Yi, Hyeon Bae soared between the two like a bullet, bashing Oriel's shield into Michin's stomach and sending him flying backwards with a light explosion. Jiahn and So-Yi quickly caught Hyeon Bae as she flew backwards with recoil, the two girls sliding backwards from her momentum.
"Wow, they are very in sync with each other. I haven't seen this level of synergy since Squad V with Nox, Fleur, Effie, and Luciel. But you remember what he said? He's part of St. Goken Academy," Eun-Song said, looking over at Moon-li and Mi-sung.
"Yeah, we know...we heard his loud ass declaration about being Number 4. Tch! There will never be a better Number 4 than Miss Anna of St. Meishi Academy!" Moon-li scoffed, rolling her eyes and continued to watch over So-Yi, Jiahn, and Hyeon Bae as they battled against Michin.
Michin blocked Jiahn's kick then pushed her aside, catching So-Yi's strike then flung her hand into Hyeon Bae, causing her to hit Hyeon Bae with an accidental backhand. He pulled So-Yi toward him, holding her by her waist and looked into her eyes to try to see her Stigmata.
So-Yi shrouded her gaze, hiding her Stigmata within the pupils of her eyes, knowing he was actively searching for her Stigmata. She tried to push herself off him, but he only held her tighter, causing her to enter fight or flight mode.
"I truly love the look in your eyes...yes, you would make one of many fine women of the Vikings," Michin said with lecherous tone, gripping So-Yi's waist even tighter and causing her to panic and her ears to ring loudly from stress.
Suddenly, a powerful blow struck Michin's jaw, a force of wind being released upon impact and sending him flying into a stop sign with a loud metal ring in the air. Kim Eun grit her teeth, unable to sit back on the side and watch Michin violate her friend. She quickly held So-Yi up, making sure she was alright with rapid jerks of her body.
"Aish!!! Gwaenchana!" So-Yi groaned and pushed Kim Eun off her, unshrouding her eyes and huffed before fixing her clothes. "He was actively looking for my Stigmata as if he knew I had one...so that proves my theory of something possessing his body."
Michin grunted softly as he stood up, rubbing the back of his head and opened his eyes to look at Kim Eun with So-Yi then smirked. "If you wanted to play as well, you could've just asked, Eun. However, I'm busy with your friends, so you'll have to wait."
"You must think Class 12-A is soft huh? K gets one lucky win over So-Yi and gets to running his mouth to the entire academy? Well, how about this? When we beat your ass, you tell them who did it! Four highschool girls who sent you running with your tail between your legs!" Kim Eun said with pride within her Class and faith in herself, her Holy Ember igniting upon her chest.
Michin laughed lightly at Kim Eun's declaration and clapped his hands. "Nice speech, Kim Eun. It would be amusing to see that, but there's no way of you beating me. Even at your best, but I would love to see the effort!"
So-Yi generated a ball of Spirit Energy, hurling it toward Michin then launched a second energy blast toward him. The two orbs of energy purposely missed Michin and curved back around to hit his back, but he dodged the blast before charging toward the four girls.
Jiahn warped in front of Michin with a kick to his face, but he dodged her attack and knocked her away with a back fist. Hyeon Bae and Hoon charged in together, trying to land one significant attack to stagger Michin, but his movements were too fast and unpredictable for her to keep up.
"Is this all you have to offer? I expected a lot more from you all!" Michin laughed, running past Hyeon Bae to focus purely on Kim Eun and So-Yi.
He launched a powerful chop toward her neck, but Kim Eun blocked the attack, leaving him open for So-Yi's shoulder strike to push him back. Kim Eun went for a windy uppercut, her strike meeting the air as Michin avoided the attack then he caught So-Yi's fist to stop her attack.
He pushed So-Yi back then strike Kim Eun with a knee strike to bring her to her knees before throwing a roundhouse at So-Yi's head to knock her out. Jiahn warped in front of the attack, blocking it then fired Ji-MAN to Michin like an energy blast, their attack landing true and pushing Michin back.
Michin dodged the next few attacks from the girls then pressed an energy blast against Jiahn's stomach, blowing her backwards into her friends and sending them all crashing backwards. "Just face your defeats! You all are clearly not strong enough to deal with me!"
"Well, well...if it isn't the Mad Hatter. It's real fancy meeting you here, Michin," A voice called out from behind, catching Michin's attention.
Michin looked behind himself, humming softly as he noticed Kaguya standing behind him then turned to look at the girls once more, noticing Jiahn's Code Green Tag activated upon her watch. "A Code Green? That means.."
"I am Code Red. By the rules of the ACU, anyone who is a Code Green and is in distress, all Code Reds are to stop everything they are doing to protect the Code Green," Kaguya said, preparing a hand gesture to use her Ten Passing Shadow Gardens technique.
"If you don't want things to get out of hand, I suggest you leave this Battle Zone and find another. I refuse to have students of my Institution hurt because of your recklessness," Kaguya finished, flashing Michin a serious gaze.
Michin chuckled softly at Kaguya, holding his hands up with surrender the began walking away. "Now, now, I'm leaving. All I wanted to do was have a bit of fun, but the Headmistress says no. I suppose our fun ends here."
Eun-Song watched as Michin left the area then looked down at her watch, seeing that the Battle Points she was supposed to earn from her fight against Jiahn was taken away due to Michin's interference. "Well, there goes those points from this battle."
"Meh, I could care less, but I am now interested in those girls. What's a Code Green and why did Michin immediately stop attacking once realizing?" Moon-li asked, crossing her arms and tilting her head with confusion.
"Whatever the answers are, I know Headmistress Kaguya has those answers. Code Greens sound highly important, important enough to have Code Reds answering immediately to a single call," Mi-sung said, looking over at Jiahn, watching her help everyone on their feet.
Eun-Song and Moon-li both nodded at Mi-sung's statement with agreement. The three women bowed at Kaguya as she looked over at them, Kaguya acknowledging them with a a nod and watching them walk off to find another battle. Kaguya decided to bring the four girls out of the Battle Zone for safety, each of them realizing how outmatched they were if it weren't for their teamwork.
-----------------------
The next day rolled around, Woo-Chi running out of her house to get to Baekjin Sauna and took a bite out of her apple as she rushed down the streets. As she ran through the Dong-ga District, she began to imagine the training sessions she was to have with me, her heart beginning to race with excitement.
Down the street, Fortune hummed softly as she dug through a trash can for her definition of "loot". Her fox ears flicked as she sensed a rushing presence, her head peeking from the trashcan to see Woo-Chi, her eyes sparkling with excitement to challenge her again.
"You again! Heh! We can have our challenge again today!" Fortune called out, getting down on all fours before rushing after Woo-Chi.
Woo-Chi noticed Fortune heading straight toward her then groaned lightly, pushing herself forward and gracefully evaded Fortune's swipe before continuing forward. Fortune chased after her with a laugh, launching herself forward then grunted heavily as she slammed into an invisible force.
Fortune fell onto the ground, shaking her head and glancing up to see what she ran into, seeing me coming into view via a shimmering Iridescent glow. She gasped and quickly stood up on her feet, her fur rising up in fear. "You! The Dark Lord guy from St. Meishi! What's your name again?"
"Noise? Nash? Nox? Yeah! You're Nox! What are you doing here?" Fortune asked, getting ready to battle against me with a fierce, yet intimidated expression.
I crossed my arms and glanced over at the Beast Zone to my left, answering her question with a single gaze. "I was watching since I'm in the Dong-ga District for Woo-Chi's training. It's not just me here. I'm with Do-hari and her children. Speaking of which, where is your master?"
"Well, it has been a while since we've last met," A voice sounded from behind me, getting me to look back at the source. The man waved his hand with his usual arrogant smirk, walking toward us with his hands in his furcoat pockets. "Noxius...my Equal."
I smirked at the man and chuckled lightly at him, turning around to fully face him and kept my arms crossed. "Claudio Mojisola. Still running around ruining your ancestor's legacy? You know, even in our first bout, I could tell you aren't purely evil."
"Really? The Prince of Peace has a change of heart toward me? I will thank you for sparing me in St. Meishi, which is why I'm not here on Merin's timing," Claudio said, stopping in front of me then looked at the Beast Zone.
"After all, I read The Chronicles and I know he will cause the Black Waves. That's why I'm here on a mission to not mark any woman, but to grow stronger! If anyone is going to defeat Merin, it's me! I already have Shiro's Might and Ryder's genius. There's nothing more I need than to beat you one day," Claudio finished, looking at me with a smirk on his lips.
I could see the change of heart Claudio had, even minor yet that simple shift was enough for me to confirm that Claudio was just misguided. Still arrogant, but I knew that arrogance could be put in a better place than where he was now.
"Yeah, we'll see about that. Feel free to test me anytime I'm out in the open or within a Battle Zone. After all, Fortune has found favor in my student so I may even have Woo-Chi beat Fortune, but that will come soon," I said, walking past Claudio and gently taking Woo-Chi's hand to lead her to the Beast Zone.
"Until then, keep training. Maybe you'll get a better reaction from me than you did at St. Meishi," I added with a light chuckle, entering the Beast Zone with Woo-Chi.
Claudio watched as I left him and Fortune to his own devices, his grin widening and his tribal tattoos glowing eagerly upon his body. "Just you wait, Messiah. Our next battle will be beyond what it was before! I will beat you one day and take the glory for my own!"
"Eomma! Mr. Nox is back!" Minsu beamed, holding Sa Nu in his arms as he got up from the bench to hurry toward me.
Ae-Ri watched her younger brother get up from his seat, her gaze tracking him all the way toward me and puffed her cheeks lightly. "He said we were going to be out having fun, but he's bringing someone else?"
Do-hari chuckled softly at her daughter's light jealousy over Woo-Chi, looking down at her and rubbing her hair gently. "It's not like that, sweetheart. Nox is helping her rehabilitate back into society. You see...that girl there was exactly like Nox. Stuck in grief for two years, but now..."
Do-hari looked over at me and smiled warmly, still rubbing Ae-Ri's hair gently. "Now, she's walking with Exzodia's Savior.."
I chuckled softly as I heard Do-hari's warm compliment, looking over at her and giving her a soft smile. "Well, I wouldn't say we share exact backstories, but we are rather similar. I know her struggles as I went through it, and like I overcame with the help of Squad V, I'm helping her now.."
Woo-Chi blushed lightly at my words, turning her head away from me and huffed lightly. "Can we get onto the training already? My Oppa has plans with me later today, and I don't want to miss it.."
"Of course, we will begin in a moment," I said, letting go of her hand then walked forward.
Everyone watched as I began making my way through the clutter of playful fae, each of them parting way to reveal the Salamander who once terrorized Dong-ga's Beast Zone. He sat peacefully while the faes set flower crowns on his head and other floral accessories, his eyes opening to see me standing before him.
He gazed up at me then looked past me to see Woo-Chi, a curious hum rumbling in his throat. He stood up and placed his hand upon the handle of his sword. "Lord Nox...What do you requested of me?"
"At ease, Drake. I come to ask you to help my student in her Strength and Stamina Training. She's an upcoming Valkyria, and Valkyrian missions usually revolve around defending civilizations against wild Beasts and Monsters," I began, looking back at Woo-Chi with a faithful gaze.
"I want her first test to be against you, a Monster I trust. Will you partake in training as her partner?" I asked, looking back at Drake with a smile and head tilt.
Drake hummed softly as he thought of his answer, taking a glance at Woo-Chi once more then exhaled through his nose, white smoke escaping from his snout. I looked back at Woo-Chi, giving her a thumbs up and smiled at her. I began walking toward her, holding my hand out toward her and created a Battlesuit for her.
〘New Angel Battlesuit Gifted!〙
▸ Battlesuit: Special Air
▸ Valkyria Type: Support/Attack
▸ Strength: D+
▸ Stamina: C
▸ Speed: C
▸ Elemental Affinity: Wind
〘Description: A basic Battlesuit made to resist C5 Winds and High G Forces. The Battlesuit is made for high mobility, good survivability, and packs a punch when infused with Spirit Energy.〙
Woo-Chi looked at herself, seeing she was now wearing a light green military jacket, bullet proof armor of darker shades, combat boots, and a white scarf around her neck. In her hand, she wielded an Aero Eagle MK I, a light green Desert Eagle equipped with the ability to fire wind bullets.
"Mwo..? What is this? I've never felt such energy like this," Woo-Chi gasped softly, looking up at me with a wondrous gaze.
"Whoa, she looks so pretty...I want that too..!" Ae-Ri gasped softly, her eyes sparkling at Woo-Chi's Aetherian beauty being revealed as she was fitted in a Battlesuit.
"Wow...I haven't seen a Battlesuit that beautiful in a long time. It doesn't even look from this world, yet looks so simple at the same time," Do-hari complimented with a breathless tone, slighting holding her hand over her mouth.
"Woo-Chi, you have found favor not only with the Lord, Yesha, but His Father, Yuvah for they have gifted you a Battlesuit only from the Heavens. Mark today as the beginning of your new life with The Nexus," I said with a proud smile, like an older brother finally watching his younger sibling bloom.
Woo-Chi looked back at herself, admiring the Battlesuit once more and couldn't wait to break it in. Seeing she was ready to begin the training, I stepped back to stand next to Do-hari and her children and crossed my arms.
"This Training is called the Endurance Test. With your Battlesuit and the abilities with it, you are tasked with seeing how long you can stand in battle. Your partner, Drake. Do not be afraid while I am here, I will allow no harm to come over you," I said, assuring Woo-Chi of her upmost safety.
Woo-Chi nodded at me then turned her gaze ahead, coming face to face with a floral equipped Salamander. She got into her stance and watched as Drake unsheathed his blade, the both of them preparing for their sparring session.
"You may begin!" I said, snapping my fingers and giving the cue.
Without hesitation, Drake dashed toward Woo-Chi and launched an overhead slash toward her, but she dodged the attack quickly. She fired multiple wind bullets at Drake, each bullet becoming invisible as they travelled through the air.
Drake grunted with focus, swinging his sword in the air and deflecting the vanishing bullets. The fae cheered in awe of Drake's reflexes, Minsu and Ae-Ri now watching even closer with excitement. Do-hari clapped her hands and cheered for Woo-Chi, giving her words of encouragement.
'There's so much this battlesuit can do. I don't know if I can get through everything in this short training session,' Woo-Chi said, holstering her pistol then held her hand out, forming a ball of wind in the palm of her hand.
Drake sheathed his sword then stomped his foot down, his scaly, red tail swaying behind him as he got into his Marbled Stance, his scales becoming gray and shiny under the sunlight. "Come at me, Human Woman! Show me your strength as Lord Nox's prodigy!"
Woo-Chi hurled the ball of wind toward Drake at full speeds, the orb crashing against his body and causing a wind explosion. The high winds quickly blew away the smoke, revealing Drake unharmed due to him changing his Affinity to Earth in his Marbled Stance.
Seeing her initial plan had no effect, she rushed in close for hand to hand combat, launching the first few rapid blows at Drake. He stood in place, tanking each attack, a red energy pulsing around his body upon each attack Woo-Chi landed. Parrying her next punch, he countered her with a Fury Strike, knocking Woo-Chi backwards.
Woo-Chi grunted as she rolled backwards along the ground before recovering onto one knee, using her hands to stop herself from sliding backwards. "What...the heck was that..?! Nngh...that one hurt a lot.."
"We monsters are equipped with something called Furidisiac. Coming from the First Dark Lord of Light, Irea, Furidisiac allows us to grow stronger in battle! It's what fuels us Monsters and helps us grow stronger just like the Queens of Rebirth," Drake explained, his tail swaying more as he watched Woo-Chi stand up on her feet.
Woo-Chi scoffed lightly at Drake's explanation, her gaze growing analytical as she studied Drake closely. Her Holy Ember began to spark from her chest, soft winds beginning to generate around her body. "Furidisiac...sounds like Aphrodisiac. Instead of becoming lustful, you grow more thrilled for battle.."
"Monsters and Beasts have that alike, yet we have a much higher intelligence than our cousins, the Beasts. Our Queens that Judge us on Earth after death give us our intelligence through the authority of Ragnarok," Drake said, crossing his arms and humming lightly as Woo-Chi began to catch on.
Woo-Chi entered a thinking stance, closing her eyes to mentally prepare a plan to deal with Drake. 'He grows stronger over time due to his blood and genetics...all Monsters and Beasts have that Fury Blood in them, so how can I beat him if he outgrows me in strength this fast?'
Endurance Test...
Test of Endurance...
Genesis's soft reminders in the gentle breeze entered Woo-Chi's head, reminding her of my words that this training was an Endurance Test. Once she connected the dots, she realized this was another challenge she wasn't supposed to win with her own efforts.
'He gifted me this Battlesuit as a test didn't he..? He must've knew I would've relied on the creation more than the Creator...Tch! Aiishh! I hate how smart this guy is!' Woo-Chi said mentally, shaking her head and huffing softly.
Drake flourished his sword and dashed toward Woo-Chi once more, slashing down at her but she swiftly dodged the attack and countered with a swift sweep kick. Drake grunted as he was knocked off his feet, swiping his tail to catch Woo-Chi, but she caught his tail and began spinning him around for a Whirlwind Throw.
Releasing Drake, his body flew across the park like a windy bullet but he recovered mid air and launched a fireball at Woo-Chi from his mouth. Woo-Chi grunted softly as she watched the fireball fly toward her, her eyes reflecting the image of the fireball while focusing upon it.
"Hurry out of the way!" Minsu warned from the bench, waving his arms as he watched the battle.
"Move!" Ae-Ri called out, finding herself drawn to the battle more than she would like to admit.
Woo-Chi closed her eyes, taking a deep breath and surrending her will over to God, her body becoming a light purple silhouette even without a butterfly. She warped backwards, opening her eyes and takin a deep gasp and frantically checking her body.
"Did she just...without a butterfly? How?" Do-hari asked with confusion, looking over at me for an explanation.
"You don't need a butterfly to Walk In Truth, but a butterfly is what symbolizes and signals that you have a connection with Yuvah. It's like a dove with Yesha and I, even Luciel. Having a butterfly is like your soul has finally went through metamorphosis," I said, keeping my eyes upon Woo-Chi with a proud smile on my face.
"Once you're born again in Ascea, you can never go back to how you once was. Yesha made that very clear...and it remains true today," I finished, looking over at Drake and giving him a nod.
Drake noticed my nod then nodded back, turning his gaze toward Woo-Chi and grunted as he stuck his sword into the ground. He got into his Northern Tiger Stance, his scales shifting to red with black tigerlike stipes upon his body. Yellow and gold flames began to slip through the corners of his mouth, his aura visibly growing stronger.
Woo-Chi felt the area growing hotter, yet the Faes around Drake began cheering him on more, dancing along the fires and becoming Fire Faes. "What the hel— I mean heck..? Are they... synchronizing with him?"
"No one has lasted longer than five minutes against me in this form! I haven't used this since I was a Wild Salamander, Human Woman! Do you think you can withstand the test?!" Drake challenged, propelling himself toward Woo-Chi with a burst of flames.
Woo-Chi grunted softly as she watched Drake approach her then dodged his initial crescent kick then blocked his tail swipe, grunting softly under the pressure of his attack. Keeping one eye open, she noticed his palm strike and sidestepped his attack with a lucky phase, giving her enough time to instantly counter with a wind boosted kick at his side.
Drake rolled along the ground and recovered onto his feet, charging forward once again and rushing her with a flurry of strikes once more. Woo-Chi blocked each strike until one claw swipe caught her cheek, breaking her guard. Drake began landing a flurry of strikes upon Woo-Chi, giving her no room to recover or reassess her situation.
Suddenly, Special Air released an emergency wind blast around Woo-Chi's body and pushed Drake back. Woo-Chi panted softly and staggered lightly, but never dropping down onto one knee. She looked up at Drake, her Holy Ember igniting powerfully upon her chest.
'An Emergency Counter...these Battlesuits have safeguards within them..?' Woo-Chi asked mentally, placing her hand upon her chest and looking over at me, noticing my knowing smile. 'They do...'
Do not be afraid while I am here, I will allow no harm to come over you...
My words echoed in Woo-Chi's head repeatedly and she began to finally understand the test, her Holy Ember gradually growing hotter and bigger. She smirked at herself and closed her eyes, reaching up to tie her hair into a ponytail.
"So that's why you ramped up the sparring session? So there are wordless lessons you teach. It's nice to know that now. And since I know that, I'm gonna be taking this much more seriously!" Woo-Chi said, getting into her stance to spar against Drake once more.
I chuckled softly at her response to her revelation, keeping quiet and crossing my arms. I looked over at Drake, subtly gesturing to him to go easy on Woo-Chi. He let out a light groan, knowing that he was going to have to lose on purpose for the lesson, but exhaled lightly, white smoke escaping his snout.
Woo-Chi tapped the tip of her shoe against the ground then charged forward like the wind, letting out a battle cry as she launched her strike. Drake blocked her attack then began evading and parrying each of her strikes, his eyes tracking each of her attacks as best as he could.
Parrying her next attack, he launched a tail swipe but she phased through the attack, countering with a right hook and following it with a high reaching kick. Unholstering her pistol, she fired a wind bullet at his chest and sent him flying backwards.
"Nngh... losing to Lord Nox is already embarrassing enough, but losing to a human girl takes the entire creek!" Drake grunted as he landed upon his feet, huffing lightly and staggering lightly from Woo-Chi's Spirit fused attacks.
"But you have to, Mr. Salamander!" One Fire Fae giggled, fluttering around Drake with glee.
"Lord Nox has commanded us to lose to Woo-Chi, and it would be honorable to lose to one of His elect!" Another said, sitting happily upon Drake's snout.
"Yes, it would! It would be so good for her and her heart! Then when she comes on her own to train, it will be a fair match! Just this once Mr. Salamander!" A third Fire Fae giggled, trying to nudge the idea in Drake's head.
Woo-Chi heard the tiny squeaks of the Fae, not understanding them but could understand the annoyed expression on Drake's face. "What are they talking about over there..?"
Drake groaned softly and huffed, looking over at Woo-Chi and exhaled with white smoke escaping his nose. "Fine...I will sacrifice my honor as a Salamander and a Monster to make this human girl happy. But I will be in my den all day afterwards to forget this day.."
The Fire Fae cheered for Drake, empowering his Holy Fire into a Holy Blaze and boosting his strength via Monster Synergy. Drake got into his stance, his fiery aura surrounding his body while he focused upon Woo-Chi.
Woo-Chi grunted softly as she noticed a shift in Drake's gaze, her body entering fight or flight mode yet she chose fight. A light green energy began to flow around her body, Special Air shimmering with divine wind and manifesting wings of wind upon Woo-Chi's back.
"Let's do this!" Woo-Chi called out, sprinting ahead and generating a sphere of wind energy in her hand then hurled it toward Drake.
Drake charged forward and leaped over the wind blast before launching a fireball toward her and running behind it. Woo-Chi deflected the fireball, but couldn't move fast enough to dodge Drake's dashing kick. She grunted as she rolled backwards along the ground, but flapped her wings to take off into the air.
The people of Dong-ga pointed at Woo-Chi, some of them taking video and pictures of her as she battled against Drake. The battle was intense with people cheering for Woo-Chi outside and inside the park, sparks, beautiful flames and winds flying around Dong-ga like fireworks.
"I'm ending this with this!" Woo-Chi declared, twirling her pistol around her finger and took aim at Drake, a ball of wind forming at the barrel of the gun. "Get ready!"
Drake grunted softly as he watched the ball of wind grow larger and larger the longer the charged the attack. He clenched his sharp teeth slightly, bracing himself to take on the attack head on. 'Just get this over wi—'
Before Drake could finish his thought, Woo-Chi pulled the trigger and unleashed a powerful beam of wind energy toward him, the beam immediately engulfing his body. Woo-Chi groaned as she flew backwards from recoil, falling into the small pond behind her.
A powerful explosion set off in the area, creating a strong yet delightful wind around the area causing leaves and petals to fly around in the air. Ae-Ri and Minsu gasped as they watched the leaves, petals, and Fae happily glide around in the winds while Do-hari giggled uncontrollably as she watched the Fae spin around her.
I smiled at the three then warped Woo-Chi out of the lake and dried her off before making my way toward the defeated Drake on the ground. I crouched next to him and chuckled softly. "Ahh...she humbled you greatly huh? What was that about a human girl beating you taking the creek?"
"Don't rub it in, my Lord...I know you heard me disobeying against you and amplified her attack tenfold. Is it over yet..?" Drake grumbled lightly, continuing to lay on the ground with his eyes closed.
I healed his body and gently pat his belly before standing up and smiling over at Do-hari and the others. "Yep, we're all done for the day. Get some good rest."
"Yeah..." Drake grovelled, shifting into his red salamander form and slipped away with a crushed ego.
〘Woo-Chi Trait Gains〙
▸ Speed +60
▸ Stamina +100
▸ Strength +100
▸ Grit +75
▸ Faith +80
〘Updated Aspects〙
▸ Speed: C (518)
▸ Stamina: D+ (500)
▸ Strength: D+ (415)
▸ Grit: B (747)
▸ Faith: A (964)
▸ Overall Rank: C+ (638)
〘Ai Suru Report: Amazing work! Today's session has found amazing favor and grace! Enjoy Special Air!〙