7 Chapter 7

--6 years later--

A young Oni was surrounded by 3 Ratmen holding wooden blades in their hands while Mordred had a Kanabo in his hands. Standing off to the side was his father, Soren.

"Begin."

'Let's try the direct method again!'

Mordred wasted no time and charged at the Ratman who looked the weakest before swinging his club down on its head only for it to be blocked.

'Okay. The direct method did not work.'

When he was about to follow up, both the other Ratmen appeared on either side oh him and swung their blades.

'This is gonna hurt.'

Mordred attempted to jump backward in an effort to dodge but was still struck by both blows before the third Ratman followed up with a strike to his chest.

'Okay. Just lay here and take it so this ends faster.'

Mordred was then beaten black and bluer. This had been an almost daily thing for the past five years. His training was scheduled just like school.

His morning would start off with weapons training before hand-to-hand combat training since both were especially important to Oni. Then there was intense physical training to increase his strength and mobility.

Finally, it was live combat training which was simply equivalent to being beaten in order to increase his constitution. By the time he was done being beaten, it would only be around 3 pm.

Since Demons' bodies developed so much faster than humans, most started intense training at the age of 4. Their schooling would start when they were 8 since Demons thought of battle training as more important since young Demons had a large amount of potential and humans constantly tried to kill off the Demons in their youth.

Soren looked at Mordred's beaten and bloody body with an apathetic look in his eyes. He did not mind seeing his son as he was. The rules of Demons were simple, the strong ruled. This meant that those who were weak were not pitied but instead looked down upon.

Soren called for El to carry Mordred back to his room as well as treat him. By the time Mordred awoke it was already 5 in the evening. His body had recovered for the most part due to the expensive medicine used on him.

He checked over his body once again just to ensure that it was really in top condition.

' Those rats held back again. I know that I will be unable to beat someone with a class until I get mine but it is still annoying to be beaten so easily and without being able to fight back properly.'

Mordred hopped out of bed and made his way to the library to reread the book, [Intermediate Guide To Magic]. He had read it over 20 times before but he had his first class in magic the next day and wanted to be prepared.

' Kali probably hasn't even read the beginner book. I'll need to make sure I know enough to be able to tutor her properly.'

Mordred ended up reading until late and fell asleep with the book in his hands. El saw him later that night and brought the young Oni a blanket and covered his body without waking him up.

--The next day--

Mordred awoke to the blanket over his shoulders with indifference. He was used to El doing that for years so it did not surprise him.

The little Oni made his way back to his room in order to bathe and get dressed for the big day.

When Mordred walked into his large, private bathroom, he looked at his body in the mirror. He had grown significantly over the past few years. He looked to be in his preteens while only being 8.

The two horns on the edge of his crown of horns had stopped growing indicating that he had reached his first major milestone in life. Both the horns were 2 inches long and thin.

The middle 2 horns were soon to stop growing since he was officially at the age where his magic should stabilize. Both were nearly double the length and thickness of the outer horns.

Mordred poked on the horn in the center of his forehead before he let out a sigh.

'Stupid horn is still so small.'

The middle, and most important, horn for the Oni was still only an inch in length. When he asked his mother about it, she said that Oni grew their most important horn all at once when they awakened their class at the age of 12. Until then, he would have to get used to the uneven, natural crown.

Mordred hurried in the bath before he ended with washing his hair. As he ran his hand through his hair, he was also annoyed about the other change his body was going through. Oni's hair changed colors from the hair they had at birth during their growth period.

'I don't mind it being white but can it at least be a single color. Why is it two colors at once and in patches?'

Mordred hurried out the bathroom and got dressed in some basic grey robes. While he would call them basic, any commoner could see that the robes were of high quality and cost more than most made in their entire lives.

As soon as Mordred left his room, he was greeted with the smiling face of El. As soon as he was about to ask her what she was doing in front of his room, El made the first move and gave him a hug.

Mordred returned the hug without trying to break free from it. He knew that it was impossible to escape from it so just went along with the motions.

"You look so cute in that outfit! I knew it was right to buy that for you. Both our parents are downstairs so let's not keep them waiting for long."

El released Mordred before holding his hand and guiding him down toward the dining area. Mordred was greeted with the sight of both his parents eating a raw wolf-type beastman. From the smell of the blood, Mordred knew that the kill was most likely fresh or stored using spacial magic.

"It is my big day and neither of you waited on me?"

Without even waiting for a reply, Mordred made his way to the table before cutting off an entire arm and placing it on his large plate. He then began cutting off pieces of the arms before eating it bite by bite.

This was not unusual for the Wrath house. Oni usually ate humanoid beings and Devils did not care about it. In fact, most Demons and Dark Races ate humanoids. Not as their main diet but would not deny it if they were provided the opportunity.

It was only Oni who truly enjoyed humanoids but preferred melting them down into wines for drinking or for dinners. The fact that they had beastmen for breakfast indicated the importance of that day.

"Make sure you listen to the teacher. You have probably already learned all of the material in the books but his practical knowledge will be very valuable to you. Understood?" asked Soren as he took a break from the heart he was currently eating.

"Leave the boy alone. He is a Blue Oni and my son. He has never caused a large amount of trouble before and he won't now. Just be sure you get to know the other 8. They will be your competitors in the future." Interrupted Kore while biting off the face of the head she was holding. Kore did like to use silverware when eating unless it was necessary.

"Yes, Father. Yes, Mother. Do not worry. I can handle whatever they throw at me."

Seeing that he knew what to do, neither questioned him again and the happy family continued their meal in peace. When the meal was over, everyone walked to and out the front door before they each made their way onto their own carriage. Each was heading for a different destination.

Mordred's carriage began moving in the direction of the Demon Emperor's palace.