Chapter 9: The Devil's Sparring Partner

-Crash!

A heavy sword falls to the ground, and a crack appears as a result of the impact. Sweat pours from Yuuto's half-naked body as he breathes heavily.

"Damn, this sword is heavy as fuck," he mutters, wiping the sweat from his face.

"I need to be strong enough to wield a heavy sword because there's a huge chance that I'll need strength to lift it. But how in the hell did Guts and Asta do this without breaking a sweat?" Yuuto wonders to himself.

"Again." He grabs the heavy sword, but this time it doesn't budge because his muscles are giving up.

"[Heal]" A green light shines for a few seconds.

Yuuto grabs the sword again, and veins pop out from his forearms. He manages to lift it from the ground.

"One... two... three... four... five."

.....

Occult Research Clubroom, Meeting Room

"Where is Yuuto-kun?" Rias asked Koneko and Akeno.

"I don't know," Koneko shrugged her shoulders and began eating the delicious cookies.

"Maybe he is at his new training spot," Akeno replied as she drank tea that she had prepared for everyone.

"Since when has he had a new place to train?" Rias asked.

"He told me about it yesterday," Akeno replied.

"Do you know where it is located?"

"I don't know. He hasn't told me about it."

"Hmm, Koneko, can you go grab Yuuto and bring him here?" Rias asked as she separated a few pamphlets that were specifically for Yuuto.

"Un" Koneko nodded in response and left the building.

.....

Deep in the Forest, Kuoh Town

"ROAR!"

'You can't be serious, a bear?' Yuuto sighed, feeling pity for the animal.

"Are you really trying to kill me just to eat?" He asked the bear, using Demonic Energy to communicate.

"ROAR! (Yeah, what's wrong with that?)" The bear answered.

"Nothing's wrong with that, it's just that you're stupid for attacking me out of all the living beings in this forest."

"ROAR! (You're gonna pay for mocking me!)" The bear started running toward Yuuto at full speed.

"Sigh" Yuuto scratched his neck as he looked at the bear charging toward him.

'He's going to regret this situation,' Yuuto thought to himself.

...

After a few beatings, the bear sat next to Yuuto with a regretful expression.

"Hn (I'm sorry for attacking you, please don't kill me)."

"Don't worry, I won't kill you, but from now on, you are my punching bag."

"Bear noise (What?)" The bear looked confused.

"Yes, you are going to become my sparring partner from now on," Yuuto said with a smile.

"Bear noise (Can I not do this?)"

"Yes, you can, but I'll be taking your life then." Yuuto threatened the bear with an innocent smile.

"Bear noise (I will do it, don't kill me please)," the bear begged for his life.

"Don't worry, you won't die." Yuuto patted the bear on the back.

'Demon,' the bear saw that smile and knew he would receive the same beating.

"Come on, get up, let's start the sparring session," Yuuto stood up from the ground.

"Bear noise (Now?)"

"Yes."

Before they started the sparring session, Yuuto cast a spell on the bear and himself called [Chain Deathmatch]. The spell generated a magic circle that summoned a chain on the user's chest and the opponent's chest.

The chains connected, and as a result, it would evenly split the physical power of the user and the opponent. The spell was highly likely to be dispelled by a high-tier Magic user who had a higher understanding. This spell was a Beginner Tier Spell that Yuuto created after deciding the bear would become his sparring partner.

"Bear noise (What is this?)" The bear looked weirded out by the chain that came out of his body.

"A magic that will even out the playing field. Get ready, or you will be put down." Yuuto smirked as he entered his fighting pose.

"Bear noise (Magic?)" The bear looked surprised that magic existed.

"You didn't know about magic at all. I thought that in all of your being, you must have at least some knowledge about it." Yuuto was taken aback by the bear's lack of knowledge.

"Bear noise (My father did tell me about it, but I thought it was fake)."

"Oh, interesting," Yuuto smiled as he touched his chin.

...

Koneko just arrived at the forest and was a little surprised to see that Yuuto was training in the woods. She sniffed Yuuto's scent and followed it until she found him wrestling with a bear.

After a few minutes of running to Yuuto's location, she finally found him and the bear pushing each other to the ground, causing cracks to appear on the ground.

"Come on, you can do better than this," Yuuto said with a smirk.

"ROAR! (Shut up, I'm trying)," the bear growled at Yuuto.

'Kiba-senpai wrestling with a bear,' Koneko thought to herself as she saw the scene happening.

Koneko was dumbfounded when she saw Yuuto grappling with a bear. She was shocked because she and any other Devil could communicate with the animal if they wanted to. She was also confused about how the bear could match up to the strength of a Devil.

'How is the bear matching Kiba-senpai's power?' Koneko wondered as she saw the bear being on par with Yuuto.

This didn't make any sense until she saw a chain connected to Yuuto and the bear's chest.

"ROAR! (Go down!)" the bear managed to overpower Yuuto.

"Not yet," Yuuto let the bear push him down to the ground, but before his body could touch the ground, he positioned himself for a lateral drop, which he successfully executed on the bear, slamming it to the ground with a smile and breaking the ground in the process.

"Bear noise (It hurts)," the bear grumbled in pain.

Yuuto stood up, dusted off his body and said, "Great work, tomorrow we will do it again. Don't try to run away, I know your location, and go get some rest," as he snapped his fingers to use a spell that cleaned and healed both his and the bear's body with a magic circle.

"Someone is waiting for me. You can go back to your home," Yuuto patted the bear on the head and gestured towards Koneko, who was hiding behind a tree.

"Yo, Koneko. Is there something you need from me?" Yuuto raised his hand and smiled upon seeing Koneko.