Do Or Die

"You're too slow."

The dark naginata slammed into the only knight left standing, sending them sprawling to the ground, longsword sliding across the earthen floor. Twirling the long weapon, Aamon returned the staff onto his back where it floated, as if it was stuck to his bare midriff. Littered around him were groaning red Argarion Knights, each one looking the worse for wear, their masks having came loose some half an hour prior. Though a few of them sat up where they had initially been thrown down, none of them seemed to be in any rush to charge back into the fray. However, despite having been getting their asses handed to them, they didn't appear to bare any ill will or hatred towards Aamon.

Though that could've been because the youth had displayed no ill intent of his own despite beating them into pulps for the last two hours, allowing them to get up after knocking them down and offering pointers where needed. Even going as far helping them up on occasion and making sure he hadn't gone too far with his attacks.

"Why do you guys insist on attacking me one at a time?" Aamon asked, glancing around at the panting Knights. "You're a team. Use some coordination."

"What are you talking about?" One of the Knights asked, a guy named Molik. "Would that sort of thing even make a difference?"

"Yeah. Especially if you're THIS strong. A formation wouldn't make a dent." A young woman named Kokino spoke up, one with a head of hair whiter than snow, whiter than even Aamon's. "You'd just push right through it."

Aamon let out a sigh as the cool afternoon breeze ruffled his fluffy white hair and baggy black pants. Kneeling down, the young man picked up a nearby stick, one with a finely tipped point to it. Dragging the apex of the wooden tool across the dirt ground, Aamon quickly drew a singular long line followed by several shorter ones slashed in a way that vertically intersected with the much longer one. Nearly all of the shorter ones were drawn close together, except for two of them which had slightly larger gaps. After it was all said and done, the horned youth drew faces above or below each small line, even drawing his own on the one line furthermost to the right. Once Aamon was satisfied with his newly created art piece, he waved the platoon of Knights over to him, plopping a seat onto the ground.

As the armored individuals gathered around the drawing, the ones who hadn't gotten their headpieces knocked off carefully removed them, allowing Aamon to see their faces. They were all different in every possible way be it color, size, shape, race, gender. The only similarity they possessed was the look of exhaustion, which was to be expected since Aamon had spent his time beating the stuffing out of each of them. Through that time though the purple haired individual had come to learn that they were actually pretty decent people who were just trying to do their job.

Though, he still didn't regret abusing them. If he himself didn't do it, someone far stronger and less amiable would've.

Around them, carriages were still on the move, going about their day to day business, the colorful splatters known as fireworks echoing in the background. A few people had stopped to watch the ensuing sparring session betwixt Aamon and the knights but they too had eventually wandered off, drawn towards the excitement happening on the other side of the city's wall.

"Take a look at these lines and tell me what you think." Aamon crossed his arms as the knights moved closer to get a better look.

"Is that one me?" Kokino questioned curiously. "Why does my hair look like that?"

"At least YOU have a nose," a knight named Katchan muttered. He pointed towards the hand drawn image of a face with hair, eyes, and a mouth. "It doesn't even look like me."

"Then how do you know it's you?" Molik rebuttalled, shooting a smirk.

"Shut it."

"Forget the picture." Adrian, a slightly older knight in his early twenties, gestured to the image that most closely resembled him. "If this represents our strength level, why am I behind Molik? I'm stronger than him."

"I don't know man, this list looks pretty accurate if you ask me." Molik rubbed his chin, a bright smile on his face.

"Shut it."

"Why is Katchan above everyone else?" Kokino asked, directing her attention to Aamon. "These lines don't really seem to be too accurate."

"They wouldn't be if you're basing them off strength," Aamon replied casually. "But I never said thats what they were."

Silence fell over the platoon of Knights, the dozen of them locking their gazes onto the white haired youths visage. The horned individual could feel their attentiveness increase in tandem with their own curiosity, clearly thrown off by Aamon's words.

"These lines represent overall ability." Aamon smiled. "As well as usefulness in combat. Knowing where you stand definitely helps one improve, especially knowing your own strengths and weaknesses. In the beginning of training, learning those weaknesses and strengthening what you're good at should always be first priority."

Aamon stood up from the ground, grabbing his staff from his back. "Allow me to show you an example. I'm not very good at giving instructions. Everyone get back up."

As the Knights rose back onto their feet, Aamon took the opportunity to redistribute the weapons the Argarions had arrived with. He took the spears away from Kokino and Katchan and gave it to Molik and Adrian, took the shield away from a female youth named Emilia and handed it to Katchan, replacing her weapon with a longsword. After a thoughtful contemplation and a bit more maneuvering, Aamon nodded in satisfaction and took a step away to gaze over his own handiwork.

"Wait. I don't get a weapon?" Kokino seemed quite confused, a mere mage staff having been shoved into her hands. "This thing is completely useless to me."

"You're a Yuuki-Onna aren't you?" Aamon questioned, a tad worried he might have been mistaken. "It was just the white hair....."

"I am," Kokino confirmed. "But what does-"

"In the story of Revan the Excellent, a Yuuki-Onna was said to have been the best support that could be asked for. Able to freeze the world with her icy gaze, even a young snow spirit was said to be extremely gifted in the rare forms of ice magic." Aamon recited a story that his Uncle had told him and the source of the reason he had left the young female without a sharp instrument. "Madel, the Yuuki-Onna in the story, was able to freeze over an entire Kingdoms army with a single spell and force the King into a retreat and eventual submission."

"Revan the Excellent?" Kokino muttered, glancing towards Emilia, of whom merely offered a shrug of the shoulders.

"So, you want her to act as support and Katchan to act as the ShieldBearer?" Molik queried, his blue hues watching his fellow knight play around with the large equipment, feeling its weight and maneuverability. "What about our classes and assorted magics and skills? How would those factor in?"

"Skills? Classes?" Aamon felt lost as he grabbed the naginata off his back once again, giving it a solid twirl.

The Knights didn't seem too confident in Aamon's ideas after he said that, some of them even muttering amongst themselves. However, the horned individual ignored this and let out a breath, black orbs scanning the lot of them in brief intervals. It couldve been due to their exhaustion, small amount of trust in Aamon's disinterest in seriously harming or killing them, their increase in confidence, or really any number of variable that the demihuman was too stupid to actually pick up on, but the knights largely didn't seem to be shaking up as much. They carried themselves better and held their weapons like they could actually utilize them in combat, a HUGE difference from when Aamon had first made contact with them. Though they looked the worse for ware, they actually seemed like people who could steel their own in terms of actual combat.

It was probably the reason that the young demihuman opted to attack them without any sort of warning.

CLANK!

Katchan barely had time to raise his Pavice before Aamon's dark naginata slammed into it, kicking up sparks in the process. Pitch black hues met a pari of light purple ones, everything happening as if it were in slow motion.

"What're you doing?" Kokino objected as Aamon swung in for a second strike. "You could have killed him."

"You're now being hunted. It's do or die." Aamon kept it short and simple as he unleashed a barrage of strikes aimed towards Katchans head.