Test Of Strength

"Now listen child," the stranger began, "This is a battle between you and me. So no talking to Raijin. If you do, you'll die a lot faster." Shindo responded with an attack. He threw one of the scythes in the air before swinging it downwards in an attempt to hit the man's head. The man simply jumped back just before impact. "Too slow. Again!" the stranger demanded. Shindo was a bit confused as to whether this was a fight or a training session.

Shindo loosened his grip on the scythes, allowing them to fall to the ground and grabbed the chains instead. After a deep breath, he focused his power into the kusarigama directly. He then let out a war cry before unleashing a barrage of whip-like attacks on the stranger with incredible speed. He halted the attack after three minutes thinking that enough time had passed.

When the dust in the area settled, Shindo couldn't believe what he was seeing. The stranger was still standing in the same spot with barely a scratch on him. "Better. Much, much better," the stranger said after noticing the cut on his cheek. "How are you still standing after that?" Shindo asked, sounding breathless. "This time, execute a short range attack," the stranger said as if giving Shindo's question no thought.

Shindo ran straight towards the stranger despite Kami-gatta's earlier advice telling him to do the exact opposite. He tried to cut the man's midsection with a direct attack but the man simply disappeared and reappeared at the opposite end of the clearing. "This would be a lot easier if you stopped doing that!" Shindo yelled. The man remained silent with his back turned.

Shindo took this as an opportunity and tried the same attack again. This time, the man didn't disappear. He simply pushed Shindo back with enough force to shatter his ribs. "Is that better?" he asked with a menacing smile that made it clear that he was excited about this fight. Shindo yelled as he ran straight at the man once more. This time however, he stopped halfway before throwing one of the scythes straight at the man's head. The man slapped the scythe away effortlessly before laughing. "That attack was garbage! Try again! And this time, put some effort into it!" the stranger commanded.

This time, without moving, Shindo threw both kusarigama at the same time. Just before what was supposed to be impact, he pulled the kusarigama in his left hand to the right and the one in his right hand to the left. Both weapons zipped past their intended target before Shindo pulled them back in an attempt to mutilate the stranger's arms. The man simply stood and watched as his white suit got stained with a golden substance.

Shindo drew back the kusarigama while panting. "You didn't block or dodge. Why?" he asked. The man simply smiled. "I just wanted you know what you're up against. Tell me, do you know what ichor is?" he asked while rubbing the substance in between his index finger and thumb. "Isn't that some kind of myth? Like dragons or something?" Shindo replied. "You live in a world where people are born with supernatural abilities and yet you still believe in myths? I honestly don't know what use you'll be but I have my orders so let's get this over with," the stranger said before pulling off his dress shirt.

His upper body had tattoos of letters from a language that Shindo didn't recognize. He looked Shindo dead in the eye with glowing red eyes that made one thing clear: he was getting serious. He moved faster than Shindo could comprehend. He reappeared right in front of Shindo before delivering an uppercut followed by a punch in the chest, sending the boy backwards through several trees lined behind him. Shindo couldn't move but tried to anyway. His weapons had gone back to their tattoo form which scared Shindo even more than his opponent did.

The stranger reappeared, towering over Shindo. He grabbed Shindo by the neck before throwing him back into the clearing. "Come on kid, you were talking big a few seconds ago. What changed?" he yelled in a tone that seemed to be either excitement or anger. As he walked back to Shindo, a trident formed in his right hand. When he was about to pierce Shindo with it, another loud boom came out of nowhere.

"That's enough Shiva," a second mysterious man commented. He appeared to be Shiva's superior. "Come on Anu. He isn't worth being left alive," Shiva replied with the trident hovering directly above Shindo's chest. "If you harm him further, you'll be going against Odin's instructions," Anu responded, sounding impatient. "We can tell him that it was a natural death," Shiva suggested. "That wouldn't work you fool...The All-Father sees everything. You were sent here simply to assess his progress but you ended up causing a commotion," Anu said, sounding irritated now. "Well I am called the Destroyer for a reason you know?" Shiva pointed out. "Shiva, unless I stuttered before, listen carefully. You have done enough!" Anu said with a booming voice. "Ok. Fine. I've done my part," Shiva replied in a low, subtle tone.

Shiva retracted the trident before waving it out of existence. "Better?" he asked his partner. "Yep. Now we should get going," Anu responded calmly before walking away. "Useless trash," Shiva said to Shindo as he walked passed him. "Wait, who are you guys?" Shindo said weakly as he attempted to stand. "Ask Raijin. He'll explain it to you," Shiva replied before both he and his associate disappeared.

Shindo fell on his back as it began to rain. He couldn't help but feel ashamed for that pitiful defeat. As his vision got blurry, he saw Hachi jump through one of his portals. "Here we go again," Shindo muttered before his vision went dark. Once again, he found himself back in Point Blank when he regained consciousness. "Get up. I'm going to tell you the truth. The whole truth," Kami-gatta stated while gently kicking Shindo's head.

Shindo remained motionless on the floor. "Why the hell should I listen to you?" he asked sounding frustrated. "Simple. Because the last time you didn't, you almost died. So follow me kid," Kami-gatta replied with his back facing Shindo. "Well it wouldn't have happened if you were of some use," Shindo said as he stood up. "What was that?" Kami-gatta responded. "Do I have to repeat myself? I said you were useless!" Shindo yelled with frustration.

Kami-gatta vanished and reappeared behind Shindo, holding kusarigama to the boy's throat. "Now you listen here you brat," Kami-gatta began, "I specifically told you to run away because I knew that you would have gotten beaten to a pulp by Shiva. I chose to do nothing because I thought that you would only realise that if you had first hand experience. But apparently I was wrong," Kami-gatta said. He pulled the kusarigama away from Shindo's neck before kicking him to his knees. Shindo remained in that position for a short time before finally getting back on his feet.

"Now follow me if you want to know the truth," Kami-gatta said while walking. Shindo shuffled his feet as if he were now a prisoner. When they got back to the throne, Kami-gatta allowed Shindo to sit on it while he remained standing. "Now, let's begin," Kami-gatta said before creating an identical throne to sit on.