Ch 8: Spar

A heavy pressure pushed down on Sharon as he stood face-to-face with a Fallen Angel. Twelve wings came out of the Fallen's back, signifying his power.

"12 wings? Azazel?" Sharon muttered as he remembered what his father had taught him about the strongest beings of each race.

"You're Azazel, the strongest Fallen Angel to exist? A being on par with the Archangel Michael?" Sharon asked as Azazel smirked a bit.

"Ahahahaha, you're a smart kid," Azazel said as Sharon just stared blankly.

"Do you know who was responsible for the destruction of the Savant clan?" Sharon asked as Azazel stared questioningly.

"What makes you think I would know?" Azazel asked with a smug expression.

"He was a Fallen Angel with 10 wings. I doubt there's a Fallen with that kind of power on the loose." Sharon responded as Azazel just chuckled.

"You're awfully mature for a 9-year-old kid," Azazel commented as Sharon had an indifferent expression.

"I can look into who did it, but I have an idea who it might be," Azazel said.

"Who?" Sharon asked as Azazel approached Sharon.

"His name is Kokabiel. He fought in the war that happened thousands of years ago. You're nowhere near as strong as him." Azazel says as Sharon memorized the name.

A wide grin appeared on Sharon's face after finding out the name of the one who had ruined his life.

"How about this, you join the Grigori and I train you?" Azazel asked with a calculating expression on his face.

Sharon looked at him and scrunched his eyes.

"I will not be joining the Grigori. I don't care if this Kokabiel, or whatever his name is, was acting out and ended my clan for fun, or if he was acting on orders. In the end, he was a Fallen, and he destroyed everything I ever loved and cared for. The least I can do is move on with my life without a prejudice against your race." Sharon said as he stood unflinchingly in front of Azazel.

"I see ... I'll leave the offer there, but I would recommend you don't try to fight Kokabiel. At least not yet, you'll die an unnecessary death." Azazel said as he turned away.

"Thanks for the information, old man." Sharon said with a smile as Azazel flapped his wings, vanishing from sight.

*Time Skip*

Days turned to weeks as Sharon had returned to Akeno and her family.

Seeing her mother nearly die and being told it was her father's fault left Akeno in a state of confusion and depression, but Shuri did everything she could to help Akeno, which helped calm her down a lot.

It would have been an entirely different story had Shuri died.

Eventually, a month later, Baraqiel returned from his mission and was enraged when he found out what happened.

After hearing what had happened from Sharon and Shuri, he calmed down but still had an angered expression on his face.

"Was this all part of your plan, Kokabiel?" Baraqiel muttered as Sharon, who had been practicing his dragonifying skills, heard what he had said.

"Kokabiel?" Sharon asked as Baraqiel turned to see Sharon, who was quite a bit different from usual.

"Is that you, Sharon?" Baraqiel asked as Sharon reverted his form and repeated the question.

"Did you say Kokabiel?" Sharon asked as Baraqiel nodded.

"Do you know him?" Sharon asked as Baraqiel said, "He's one of the Cadres along with myself. Why do you want to know?" Baraqiel asked as Sharon felt something click in his head.

"Is he stronger than you?" He asked Baraqiel, who shook his head.

"We should be about as strong as each other, but his summons would put me at a disadvantage." Baraqiel stated as Sharon nodded.

"Can you spar with me?" Sharon asked as Baraqiel had a curious expression before nodding.

The two headed outside and towards a nearby forest, accompanied by Shuri and Akeno.

"Don't take it too far. We don't want any of you to get hurt." Shuri said as Baraqiel nodded with a smile.

"Go! Sharon-nii, you can do it!" Akeno cheered as Baraqiel felt like he was being stabbed in the chest.

"You brat! Why is she cheering for you instead of me?!" Baraqiel shouted with anger as Akeno just smiled and stood beside Shuri.

"Ufufufu, I wish you luck, Sharon." Shuri said as she had a smirk on her face after seeing Akeno's expression.

Sharon glanced at Akeno, who had slightly red cheeks, before turning to Baraqiel with a smile.

The two faced each other as yellow lightning danced around Baraqiel's body, while a fiery aura surrounded Sharon.

"You've gained an element?" Baraqiel asked curiously as Sharon increased the intensity of his flames a bit.

"Not too long ago, actually." He replied as Baraqiel nodded.

10 feathery black wings spread from Baraqiel's back as 2 dragon wings emerged from Sharon's back.

They stared each other down as they both shifted their attention to a leaf that was slowly falling to the ground.

They glanced back at each other and nodded as though they had read each other's minds.

"Mommy, why did they nod?" Akeno asked as she was confused at their actions.

"They chose to start their battle when the leaf hits the ground, to keep it fair." Shuri replied as Akeno nodded and reverted her focus to the fight.

The leaf floated down, and the moment it made contact with the ground, bolts of lightning traveled faster than the eye could see, hurtling towards Sharon.

However, the moment the lightning left Baraqiel's side, Sharon's pupils contracted into slits and began to faintly glow. This was him dragonifying his eyes, increasing his perception and reaction speed.

Sharon rapidly covered his right arm with dragon scales and protected his body as the bolt made contact.

"Urgh!" Sharon groaned in pain as he felt the lightning intruding into his body, causing some of his limbs to lightly twitch.

He shook his right arm and launched himself towards Baraqiel with his aura condensing around his left arm. He flew rapidly towards Baraqiel and the next moment punched Baraqiel straight in his chest.

Baraqiel took the punch straight to the chest as he grunted and backed up a tiny bit.

"Hmm ... not bad. However, your usage of the fire element is not the best." Baraqiel said as Sharon paid closer attention to the flames he produced with his aura.

They flickered wildly, as though they were under no ones control. Simply put, every time he utilized the fire, he expended a ton more energy to force the fire to obey him.

Sharon thought as to how he could improve as he saw Baraqiel rapidly approaching towards him.

Sharon narrowly avoided an uppercut as he flapped his wings, pushing him higher up.

The two stared at each other as Shuri watched with nervousness, while Akeno was amazed by the powers.

After retreating until he was more than a few meters from Baraqiel, Sharon began to analyze how Baraqiel used his lightning.

'Maybe if I replicate the way he uses it ... It just might work.' Sharon thought as a smile formed on his face.

The two collided once more, as Baraqiel used the power of lightning to power his punch, while Sharon copied his style with fire.

Fists hurtled toward each other before being dodged by no more than a hairs width. The two felt like they were in a world of their own.

"I see ... that's how it is." Sharon muttered as Baraqiel felt a slight change in Sharon's fiery aura.

The previously orange-red flame had become more red, while the chaotic aspect of his Fire had significantly decreased.

'It seems like the kid conquered whatever was holding him back from using those flames. Not bad, kid. You'll need to be much stronger if you want my Akeno.' Baraqiel stated in his head as he glanced at Akeno, who was staring at Sharon with awe in her eyes.

Sharon focused his attention on Baraqiel as the fire surrounded him, akin to an armor made of aura. He clenched his fists and bolted towards Baraqiel with his flames in a more compact shape around his fists.

Baraqiel smiled as he blitzed forward, powered by the incredible speed his lightning provided him.

'Guess he isn't called the Lightning of God for no reason.' Sharon praised inwardly as he unleashed a punch filled with every bit of aura he could muster.

Sharon's fist met with Baraqiel's lightning clad fist, and as the moment they collided, a shockwave blasted the two back and into the trees.

Shuri covered Akeno and herself with a small protective barrier, canceling the collateral damage caused by the Shockwave.

Both Akeno and Shuri rushed towards the two to see if they were injured and were left shocked by what they saw.

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Phew, the writer's block seems to have passed by, and hopefully, the quality of my chapters is not dropping.

Do let me know if you feel like there's things I could improve on, as I want to write better quality content.

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