Harbinger of Ruin: Ch.9

“Come on, people! We only have ten days to get as strong as we can!” Rias shouted with a happy smile as she hiked up the mountain trail, Asia and Akeno following right after her while Mittelt, Raynare, Kalawarna, Koneko and I all had backpacks on that were nearly three times our size.

Well, five times in Koneko's case but the girl was a Rook so she could handle that weight.

“Couldn't she have just floated these up onto the mountain or at least have teleported them when we got there?” Raynare asked with a frown before rolling her eyes as Koneko snorted while I smiled.

“Then we wouldn't have this warm-up exercise to do. Now, let's go before she decides that we should do laps around the mountain before going up.” I said as I began walking after the trio of devils that had already made some distance up the mountain trail and Koneko followed right besides me.

“Think they're going to survive?” I asked her as the two of us glanced back at the former Fallen Angels, who were all grumbling as they followed after us before I smirked as the white-haired girl gave a so-so gesture.

“They're weak, but stubborn.”

“Yeah, I'd say so too.”

“We can hear you!” I snickered at Raynare's shout and simply gave a thumbs-up as Koneko waved her hand dismissively.

“We know! Pick up the pace!”

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“Hah, that was a nice warm-up.” I spoke with a refreshed smile as I took off the large backpack and dropped it on the ground, stretching my body with a satisfied groan as Koneko did the same while Mittelt grumbled as she took off hers.

“If I wasn't a former Fallen Angel now Devil, that would have killed me.”

“No, it would have just made you exhausted beyond belief, which is what we need to make you all have strong and fit bodies after these ten days.” Rias spoke with a happy smile and the former Fallen looked at her before Akeno giggled as they looked at the rest of us.

“She's joking…right?”

“You'll learn very quickly that Rias goes over and beyond when it comes to training. It stems from the numerous anime and manga she's watched and read over her life, which is most definitely a lot.”

“Fifty different manga is not a lot, okay? Compared to the real hardcore fans, that's actually very little.” The girl defended herself with a huff and I simply shook my head as the others just gave the others deadpan stares and she looked away with a slight blush.

“At least tell me your plan was not to make us train with heavy gravity, right?” Raynare said with a frown before groaning as Rias' blush deepened while she turned away from us.

“What other ways are there to train?”

“Do you have a spell to increase gravity?” I asked and she looked at me before I shook my head as she groaned.

“No~ but can't you create a sword to do that?”

'…Why did I never think about that?' I was silent as I tried to figure out just how a sword like that was supposed to work, staying silent for a while before letting out a sigh and shaking my head.

“A sword like that would need the ability to increase the atmospheric pressure in a certain area, be able to link up with other swords to boost that pressure, the ability to make sure that atmospheric pressure is lowered safely, the ability to make sure that the pressure is kept to one area and then the ability to slowly increase the atmospheric pressure for each person individually instead of making it one level for everyone. In other words, not possible now, but give me a while and I might figure out one in time.”

“Aw~ Welp! In the meantime, with the new additions of Raynare, Mittelt, Kalawarna and Asia, we're going to have to first test out how strong each of you are and since Yuuto is the only one agreeing with me, he'll get to test you all out.”

“…Why me? I agreed with you.”

“That's why. You could learn how much gravity would need to be increased to fit all of us.”

“…I'm going to just keep my mouth shut from now on.” I muttered even as I created a demonic blade, walking off to the side while Mittelt looked surprised as I gestured for her to follow.

“First you, then Kalawarna and finally Raynare. Asia isn't a fighter so you'll have to figure that out on your own. Now then, are you ready?” I asked as I walked away few meters away from Mittelt and turned around to face her, the girl smiling with a nod as a pink light spear formed in her grasp.

“Attack when read-!” I couldn't finish my sentence as Mittelt lunged forward with a cry and the spear aimed at my side, but I quickly parried it to the side before she froze as I moved swiftly and stopped the blade right under her throat.

“I like the energy, but you're too overeager. Again.” I spoke as I walked back, readying myself once more as the blonde stared at me with a frown before rushing forward once more.

Spinning her spear around her body, I slid to the side as she slashed down before I leapt back as she tried to hit my leg and the girl frowned before she spun the spear and threw it at me.

Leaning to the side and letting the spear pass, I rushed towards her with my blade held low before I smirked as she dismissed her spear and quickly created another one to block my advance.

Stopping my charge before I could enter her range, I smirked as I lunged forward rapidly while spinning with a slide under her slash, leaping to my feet behind her and flipping over her follow-up attack with a grunt.

She yelped as I slapped the back of her wrist with my katana and forced her to drop the spear before groaning as I held the tip of the demonic katana to her side, dismissing the blade as she made her light spear shattered.

“You're pretty quick, but a long spear doesn't suit your height. Maybe you should make it shorter so you can use it easier or make gloves that you can use in close-quarters.”

“The gloves sound better to be honest.”

“Then Koneko can help you with hand-to hand combat. Alright, Kalawarna. You're up.” I said as I walked over to my starting spot, the blue-haired woman walking up to take Mittelt's place.

This time, I smirked as I shifted to a two-handed stance as the woman created a yellow light spear while holding it low with the sharp edge pointed to the ground.

A tense silence hung in the air as the two of us stared at each other for a few seconds before we both lunged forward, a loud screech echoing in the air as I held the katana up and blocked the downwards slash from her.

However, she quickly let go of the spear before spinning it around to try an upwards slash and I leaned back before a demonic blade sprouted from my foot right as I kicked it to the side.

Spinning around with the kick and slashing at her side, Kalwarna dismissed the light spear that was kicked away and formed another besides her, blocking my slash while stabbing it into the ground to better block the attack.

With the spear firmly into the ground, the woman surprised me as she leapt up and spun around the spear, forcing me to stop my attack and hold the katana's flat side in front of me as she landed a powerful kick against it.

“Not bad.” I spoke as I blocked the attack, the force behind the attack making me smirk before I blinked as she lowered her leg while dismissing the light spear.

“That should be enough, right?”

“It should, but is that your limit?” I asked and she snorted as she crossed her arms.

“Why risk getting injured if I'm just going to lose? I was trying my best, but you were still holding back a fair bit. It's just illogical to try and fight for a loss.”

“The logical type, huh? I understand. Okay, Ray-Ray, you're the last one.”

“Don't call me that.” The violet-eyed girl spoke with a frown as she walked up to stand on Kalawarna's spot and I smirked as she stopped with a huff and looked at me.

“Not going to use the BDSM outfit again?”

“No, that was an outfit for the Fallen Angel Raynare. Raynare the Devil is just going to fight in her normal clothes.” She said with a smirk as she created a magenta-coloured spear in her grasp and I nodded as I held my katana with both hands once again.

I didn't need to tell her to start when ready as she quickly fired two spears at me while rushing forward with the one in her grasp and I readied myself before responding as the first one was upon me.

With a slight shift in my grip, I parried the first one upwards before slapping the end of it as the second one was going for my head, smirking as the smack I delivered to the end of the first one sent it flying over my head and slapped the second spear to the side.

Raynare was surprised as I had perfectly diverted both of her attacks to the side, but I ignored the slightly burning cut on the back of my neck from where the first spear had cut me as I pushed the stab aimed at my side.

Lifting my leg, I blocked the kick she tried to sneak in before pushing her leg down, slapping her stab upwards before swinging my sword down at her shoulder.

However, she was quick to slip under the attack while dismissing her light spear, creating two shorter ones as she spun around and slashed at my chest.

Grabbing her wrist, I sucked my stomach in slightly to make sure she didn't cut me as I moved her arm to the side before using the back of the blade to block the second attack, a disappointed frown adorning her face as I moved my blade down and rested the katana against her neck.

“Concede?” I asked, even as I held my leg up with a demonic blade sprouting from my foot to block the light spear she tried to shoot from below.

“Urgh, I concede.” She grumbled as we both dismissed our weapons and I smirked as I patted the disgruntled girl on the shoulder.

“That first attack was not bad. Get a bit better with your aim and integrate more ranged attacks when you start off. Also, your light hurts like hell.” I muttered as I lifted a hand and touched my neck, hissing slightly as the cut burned my hand.

“Yeah, I focused my light to be potent against devils or any unholy creature that is stronger than I am.” She said with a shrug and I nodded with an impressed look before giving Asia a thankful smile as she rushed over and swiftly healed my wound with no trouble at all.

“Nice work, Asia, and all four of you. So, what do you think?” Rias asked as she looked at me and I hummed as I looked between everyone before I began to envision the sword I had in mind.

With a thought, a small dagger formed in my grasp with a dark grey blade and numerous enchantments on its edge and I activated the enchantments before swinging it and smirking as I heard the air pop.

“Rias, hand.” I asked as I looked at her and she held out her hand before gasping as I smacked it with the flat side of the blade.

However, the reason she gasped was because her arm slumped immediately with that first slap, the girl gritting her teeth as her arm tried to pull itself into the ground before she gasped as I dismissed the blade and deactivated the enchantment.

“See what I mean when I say that rapid shifts in gravity can cause problems to our bodies despite it being supernatural?” I said and she sighed as she nodded and stood back up straight.

“I see what you mean. So, how long will it take you?”

“Do we have a library that have books on how gravity works in detail as well as how gravity magic works? If not, more than ten days. If we do, give me about…five or six days.” I answered and she frowned slightly as she nodded.

“Well, I'll see if we don't have books on that. Until then, Akeno and I will be training with Raynare and Asia. Kalawarna, you and Yuuto will be training your weapon proficiency and Mittelt, you and Koneko will be trying your new light gloves, right?” She asked as she looked at the blonde, who grinned and nodded.

“Yep, my Holy Fists.”

“Okay then. Well, everyone! Go about and start training.”

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Later that night, I hummed as I walked out of the manor and towards the forest around the property, knowing that the girls were fast asleep and that gave me the chance to finally do my own training.

It was a few minutes of walking into the forest before I froze for a brief moment as I felt a presence directly behind me, turning to see a smirking man leaning against a tree that I passed.

Looking to be in his late twenties, the man wore a light haori with light grey mountain stripes trimmed on the sleeves over a black kimono top and dark grey hakama pants covering his legs with a white cord crossed over the chest and tied in the back.

Strapped to his left side was a katana in a black sheath, the dark blue hilt with a white diamond pattern making it blend with his haori as he pushed off of it while his straight black hair was tied back into a topknot.

“Hello, Kiba. Does Lady Rias know I'm here?'

“Don't worry, Okita-sensei. I've made sure no one knows that you are here.”

“Good, because I don't want her to think that Lord Sirzechs sent me here to come help. So, you said you wanted to relearn the basics. What does that mean?”

“Exactly what it sounds like. I want to relearn everything you taught me from how to balance myself with every stance to how to move with each sword swing.”

“…Why, though? You've already established your own style so teaching you the basics would cause you to doubt what you have.”

“Precisely. I want to get rid of what I know because I've come to realize that relying on one single style just causes me to become rigid in how I fight. Thus, someone that knows the style I'm using could take me out if they know the style's weaknesses.”

“Hmm…okay, that's a good enough reason. However, before we can do that…” He began and I was already prepared as I created a curved sabre in my grasp the moment the man unsheathed his katana.

“Let us not waste any time. Show me how much you have trained with the blade.” This time, I didn't have to hold back as I took a deep breath and lunged forward, the dust only beginning to rise as I raised the sword above my head and swung down.

Okita blocked the attack with ease and pushed it to the side even as the shockwave from our attacks cracked the ground, the explosion of dust behind me only now shooting up as I strained my arm to push down.

However, Okita looked at ease as he pushed me back, to which I flipped with the force of the push before lunging back in with a swing at his head.

To the man's credit, he simply had a stoic look on his face as he easily parried and blocked my following swings while taking glances at the rest of my form, making me frown as I swung down before shattering the sabre as he went to block it.

Creating a dagger in my off-hand, I lunged in close and threw it at him, the man slapping it to the side after he had slapped each shard of the sabre away with ease, but I dismissed both the sabre shards and the dagger as I created a rapier in my grasp.

Stabbing at his skull, Okita looked amused as he parried my attack to the side before slashing at my chest and I didn't even try to block the attack as I ducked under it and sliced at his feet.

Okita hummed at the tactic as he moved a foot back before stomping the blade to the ground, forcing me to let it go lest I get a whack to the side of the head as I created a longsword and rushed back to the battle.

However, no matter the blade I tried to make or the tactic I tried to use, I couldn't get rid of the amused smile on the man's face as he easily blocked, diverted and/ or dodged around my attacks like they were nothing.

“Hah…hah…why are we doing this?” I asked as I took a deep breath, to which Okita hummed as he shattered the katana I had used and looked at me with a raised eyebrow.

“Why do you ask?”

“Because I know I'm going to lose and I feel like you're just doing this to prove some point.”

“And what point would that be?”

“That I need to figure out what my fighting style is going to be?” I said/ asked and the man snorted as he sheathed his katana and crossed his arms.

“Close, but no. You've gotten weaker, Yuuto. In terms of using your Sacred Gear, you've grown incredibly, but in terms of your own personal growth as not only a Knight but also a devil, you've stagnated. Do you swing the sword daily? How many times do you practise your katas? Do you use your demonic power in conjunction with your swordplay? What of your demonic power itself? Have you been training with it?”

“No, a few times a week, yes and I've only recently started training with it since I was focusing heavily on my Sacred Gear.”

“And that's why I say you've grown weak. Focusing on one thing is good, but focusing too much on it can lead to disorganization and disorganization leads to chaos. Therefore, I will be training you, but this time, I'm going to be far more harsh on you than before. In the morning, you are going to wake up and do your katas and physical exercises first. When the others are training, you will push everyone to go far beyond what they can achieve and in the evening until midnight, you will be training against me.”

“And how long will I be following this routine?” I asked as I felt the grind calling to me and smirked as the man chuckled and shrugged.

“Depends. When do you plan on dying?”

'Well, time to see just how much powerful crazy training can make me.'

A/N: And the training has become. Next chapter, a bit more of training before we kick off the Rating Game.

As you all can see, I'm trying to make Kiba more of a hax-fighter that uses both swordsmanship and different enchanted swords to fight against the stronger people of the verse.

I'm also trying to keep away from making him too strong too fast hence the gravity enchantment needing more than we thought to make it safe to train.

Like he said, it's going to take a while, but he can make it work.

As always, read, enjoy, review and until the next one…

Ba-Bye~!!