Chapter 10 | Training from Hell

The alarm went off at five.

Matthias stared at the clock.

This was my idea.

That made getting out of bed worse.

He dressed and went down to the basement. All five of them were already there.

Belial had laid out water and towels. Astreal waited with her arms folded, while Joseph unpacked equipment beside his green backpack.

Aki was stretching. Yuki sat cross-legged on the floor with her eyes closed.

Matthias couldn't tell whether she was meditating or asleep.

"Good morning, Master," Belial said.

"Morning."

Joseph pointed to the center of the room.

"Feet shoulder-width apart. We'll start with your grip."

Matthias summoned the Sun Blade.

Yuki opened one eye.

"Morning, babe. Ready for the fun part?"

For two weeks, the fun part consisted of being corrected.

"Loosen your grip," Joseph said.

Matthias adjusted his fingers.

"Too much."

He tightened them again.

"Now move."

He stepped forward.

"Your weight is behind you. Again."

There were no sweeping attacks like the ones in the parking lot. There was one step, one cut, and Joseph watching every part of both.

Aki pointed at his arm.

"Your elbow's doing extra work."

"It feels like all of me is doing extra work."

"Your elbow's particularly enthusiastic."

Yuki demonstrated the cut with her enormous sword held in one hand. Matthias watched, tried to copy her, and received another correction.

At seven-thirty, Joseph called a halt.

Matthias went upstairs, showered, ate breakfast, and went to work.

Then he came home, went to bed, and heard the alarm again.

He'd imagined learning to fight would feel more dramatic. Mostly, it felt like being bad at something before breakfast and then going to a job where he was expected to be competent.

The workday helped more than he'd expected. At least there, he knew what to do with his hands.

By the fourth morning, lowering himself onto a chair required planning.

He had always recovered quickly. Apparently, that didn't mean his muscles would forgive everything.

After training, Belial intercepted him at the stairs.

"I've drawn a bath."

"I can shower."

"You winced when you reached for your towel."

He had no useful answer to that.

The bathwater was deep green-brown and smelled of herbs and warm spice. He eased himself into it, then let out a breath as the heat reached his back.

Belial sat on a low stool beside the tub.

"Better?"

"Much."

Astreal came in and knelt behind him.

"Lean forward."

Her fingers found the knot beside his shoulder blade.

Matthias gripped the edge of the bath.

"You found it."

"Yes."

"I noticed."

She kept working until the tightness began to ease.

Belial washed his back with a warm cloth, waiting when Astreal needed room.

"You're pushing hard," she said.

"I'm fine."

The cloth stopped.

"Master..."

He looked down at the water.

"I keep thinking about the parking lot. How little time I had."

Neither woman interrupted.

"I'd rather be sore now than helpless next time."

Belial resumed washing his back.

"Then let us help you recover, too."

Astreal eased the pressure on his shoulder.

"Your reincarnation gives you greater resilience than an ordinary person," she said. "The soreness will pass more quickly. But you've spent twenty-eight years without pushing your body this hard."

"So this is normal?"

"Expected. Faster recovery does not mean you can skip the adjustment."

He loosened his grip on the tub.

"All right."

She stayed until the water began to cool.

In the third week, Aki stepped into the training area with Gungnir.

"Come and hit me."

Matthias advanced.

The spear stopped him before his sword reached Aki.

He tried from the other side.

Same result.

By the fifth attempt, he understood the problem. Knowing the spear was longer did nothing to make it shorter.

Aki kept the point between them with small, economical movements. When Matthias finally pushed it aside, the other end came around and caught him off balance.

He landed on the mat.

"Again," Aki said.

Matthias sat up.

"You don't fight like anyone in a film."

"I'd be dead if I did."

"No flourishes at all?"

Aki rolled the shaft once in his palm.

"There. Satisfied?"

"Very."

"Everything else is for keeping you away or ending the exchange."

Matthias got up.

The next time Aki threw Gungnir, he dodged and rushed forward.

"Behind you," Aki said.

Matthias ducked as the returning spear passed over his shoulder.

Aki caught it.

"The exchange isn't over when it misses."

Matthias swallowed and reset his stance.

"Again."

Yuki gave him less time to think.

She held the enormous two-handed Durendal in one hand, its point lowered. Its reach rivaled Aki's spear, leaving Matthias just as much distance to cross before his own blade could touch her.

Matthias watched her shoulders.

"You ready?" she asked. "Don't go easy on me, okay?"

He nodded.

The sword rose.

He caught it on his blade, and the impact ran through his arms into his back.

That was a mistake.

Yuki stepped away before he could answer the blow. On her next approach, she changed direction halfway through and came at him from the side.

He barely turned in time.

Aki had taught him to recognize openings. Yuki kept offering them, then making him regret accepting.

Against Aki, he was beginning to understand how to get past the reach. Yuki gave him the same range problem, but changed her timing and angle before he could use what he'd learned. Sparring with her was harder because he never knew which way the next attack would come.

Her blade swept low.

Matthias jumped backward, lost his balance under the rush of displaced air, and hit the mat.

He stared at the ceiling.

"Hey, that was better!" Yuki said.

"I'm on the floor."

"Yeah, but you moved! That's good. We just need you going the right way."

She offered a hand.

He took it.

"You were aiming at my feet."

"Yep! And you jumped back right where I wanted you. That sweep still reaches you, see? Standing there or backing off, I can catch you either way."

"So next time I go over it."

"Sure. If I do the same thing again. Who said I would?"

He looked at her.

She grinned.

"There it is! That's the look. Don't assume you know what's coming."

"They're less relaxed than advertised," Matthias told Belial that evening.

She lowered her book.

"They're taking you seriously."

"I preferred it when Aki only beat me at cards."

The next morning, Yuki heard his complaint and picked up Durendal.

"We may neglect the watch duties," Aki said. "The training was mandatory. Our families made sure neither of us could dodge that obligation."

"So you learned all this before deciding to take it easy?"

"Exactly. You're benefiting from years of compulsory effort."

"Babe, I missed an entire anime expo for you," Yuki added. "You're getting your money's worth, okay?"

"I'm not paying you."

"Exactly! All this for free. You got, like, the best deal ever."

Aki lifted Gungnir.

Matthias stopped talking and raised his guard.

Eventually, Joseph stopped correcting his grip.

Matthias noticed only when an entire session passed without him mentioning it.

Against Aki, he learned to move past the spear's point without forgetting the rest of the weapon. Against Yuki, he stopped waiting for her to repeat herself.

He still hit the floor.

Less often.

One morning, Joseph called him aside.

"You're learning faster than I'd expect from someone of a hero bloodline."

Matthias wiped his face with a towel.

"Even with all this?"

"Especially with it. Your instincts already know things your conscious mind doesn't. You're learning to use them before you're in danger."

Matthias looked back at the training area.

For the first time, he wanted the next round to start.

Then Belial raised her staff against him.

The first bolt of holy energy struck the reinforced wall beside his shoulder.

He flinched.

"Keep moving, Master."

She swept the staff again.

Matthias moved.

Astreal's work on the basement suddenly seemed much less excessive.

Belial's bolts could reach almost anywhere in the room. When he dodged one and rushed closer, the long staff swept across his approach, forcing him back beyond his sword's reach.

She seemed to float across the floor, each light step carrying her smoothly out of his path. Then her pace would change without warning, a slow retreat becoming a quick glide sideways just as he committed to an attack.

Matthias turned after her and found another bolt already coming.

Getting past her spells wasn't enough. He had to beat the staff's reach and catch her before she changed pace again.

He learned to approach at an angle, changing direction before she finished aiming. Joseph marked places on the floor to represent cover, and Matthias practiced breaking her line of sight without stopping.

For days, he couldn't get close.

Then he caught the pause between two spells.

He stepped inside the staff's reach and brought his blade around.

Steel met steel.

Belial had drawn a short sword.

She held his attack, turned it aside, and stepped clear.

Matthias lowered his weapon.

"You've been practicing."

"Joseph was right about the gap."

She smiled at him.

"I don't intend to leave it open."

He smiled back.

Her staff rose.

He moved before the next flash.

Astreal was worse.

His sword was longer than her tomahawk. He reminded himself of that every time she got inside its reach.

It did very little for his morale.

He turned toward her last position and found her beside him. He tried to retreat, and she was already cutting off the space he needed.

Nobody else changed direction as quickly as she did. A step toward his guard became a sudden turn around his flank, and each hurried block left him open to her next attack.

He couldn't predict where she would go. By the time he reacted, her tomahawk was already forcing his sword aside.

Occasionally, he managed to put several steps between them.

Holy light gathered along the tomahawk's edge. Astreal swept it through the air, sending a narrow arc of energy across the room.

Matthias deflected it and looked up to find her closing from another angle.

"Distance alone won't protect you," she said.

She used those ranged attacks sparingly. Each one gave her a moment to close in, and once she reached him, her speed left him struggling to regain his guard.

Twice in the first week, he landed his blade against her guard.

He mentioned it to Joseph.

"She let you," Joseph said.

Matthias looked across the basement.

Astreal was adjusting her sleeve.

He stopped counting those two hits.

Instead, he learned to keep his blade between them and make her work to get past it. Sometimes he held her away for several exchanges.

That became his measure of progress.

It was a modest thing to feel pleased about: making Astreal take a little longer to put him on the floor.

Still, he could remember when he hadn't even seen her move. He let himself keep that much, even on mornings when nothing else went well.

"Does she ever get tired?" he asked Belial.

"Of course. She doesn't see a reason to show it."

Later, he noticed Astreal pause between rounds. A faint glow gathered beneath her hand before she lowered it from her arm.

"Restorative magic?"

"Yes."

"Is it helping?"

"Enough for another round."

He sighed and raised his sword.

She almost smiled.

Two months after the first morning, Joseph ended the session early.

Matthias stayed where he was, breathing hard, the Sun Blade lowered at his side.

"Your assessment," Joseph said.

Everyone gathered around.

"You can engage and defeat a high-level enemy lieutenant."

Matthias looked up.

"You're sure?"

"The people running their operations, yes. Their commanders are another matter. Don't confuse the two."

He nodded.

Joseph looked at the others.

"You've all improved. This wasn't only his training."

Belial glanced at the short sword beside her staff. Astreal gave a small nod, and Yuki looked openly pleased.

"Next, energy work," Joseph said. "Your body holds a reserve you haven't learned to use properly. We'll cover channeling, control, and offensive and defensive spells."

Matthias looked around the basement.

The floor was scuffed. Marks remained on the reinforced walls, and Belial's water and towels waited in their usual place.

Two months ago, he had struggled to get out of bed.

Now Joseph was telling him he could win a fight against someone dangerous.

The thought pleased him.

Then it troubled him.

"You all realize what you've done?"

Joseph waited.

"You trained a reincarnated demon lord. If I become what everyone fears, you've made me better at it."

"Yes," Joseph said.

"And that doesn't bother you?"

"We trust you."

Matthias looked at Aki, then Yuki.

Neither looked away.

He had offered them a reason to hesitate. Some cautious qualification would almost have been easier to hear.

Instead, they trusted him with what they were teaching him.

He wanted to ask how they could be so sure. He also knew that asking again wouldn't do the work of being careful with that trust.

"That's the answer?"

"That's the main one," Joseph said. "The sword helps."

He nodded toward the Sun Blade.

"Holy weapons aren't neutral tools. They judge the person calling them. It still answers you."

Matthias turned the blade slightly. Gold light followed the edge.

"You think it always will?"

"I believe so."

Joseph picked up his backpack.

"Besides, a demon lord with a day job, a Škoda, and people waiting for him at dinner would be an unusual case."

"See? Weird dark lord," Yuki said. "I've been saying it this whole time!"

"I remember."

"So, if our cute, weird dark lord ever needs a mistress—"

"Don't," the twins said together.

Matthias laughed and dismissed the sword.

His hand felt empty for a moment. He flexed it, then reached for a towel.

"Same time tomorrow?"

"Five," Joseph confirmed.

"Five."

He went upstairs, already thinking about the next lesson.