Chapter 16 - Divine training.. begin!

After hearing God's question, Akio is quick to agree, wanting to see how'd he go up against one of the strongest beings in the world. They go into an open area, where God and Satan make a barrier around them, and Akio goes all out from the beginning.

He activates his cursed form and Burning Sense, which is barely enough to make Beelzebub move a centimeter away from his original spot. Akio charges at Beelzebub and gives it his all to hit him, however, Beelzebub only fights with his bare two hands, and not even that, he's only blocking Akio's hits!

Beelzebub lets his guard down, though, this allowed Akio to slip a kick in. Beelzebub barely blocked it in time, however, he succeeded, as he only got moved by a few inches, as he goes on to counterattack.

Three moves. Three moves was all it took for Beelzebub to knock Akio unconscious, as he tells God and Satan that they'll have to train for quite a while if they want to get even on the mid-ranking devils' level.

God nods, as he tends to Akio, simply using his Angelic light magic to wake him up. With this, Satan and Beelzebub tell them that since they're too weak to have combat training, they'll do mostly physical training, which will also help them with their magic.

"So, will we use bodily expansion ag--" Akio tries to ask a question, but is quickly cut off by Beelzebub. "Do not call it that ever again. It's true name is Titanification. However, judging by your standards, you can call it Partial Titanification."

After hearing everything, Akio silently nods, as Satan announces that they'll be split into two teams: the "weaker" ones, and the "stronger" ones. The weaker team will get more rigorous training so they can get on the level of the stronger team, while the latter will simply train to refine their abilities like normal. That being said, the weaker team will train with the Angels, and the stronger team with the Devils, though it shouldn't make a difference.

And with that, the training begins immediately. The stronger team, consisting of Akio, Genkei, Jack, Kurayami, Hisako, Eldric, Aurora and some of the others, like Alex, Chase and Hunter, will be focusing on strengthening their body physically while also making the reserves of their magic energy higher.

Astaroth, one of Satan's most trusted subordinates, will be guiding them in this activity. "First, you'll be using Partial Titanification to enlargen your bodies. Even when you feel like giving out, continue. This area is set up especially so you can continue with no permanent damage."

Everyone is able to keep up, as they enter a state beyond their limits of Partial Titanification, but Astaroth starts to take interest in Kurayami, as he feels that her magic energy is different from the others'.

Soon, everyone is starting to complete the first phase of this activity. Astaroth appears in front of akio and hits the middle of his torso with his palm, imbuing it with magic. Within a second, Astaroth's eyes widen and he steps back, explaining what he just did.

Normally, everyone would break their limits and some point and go beyond the ceiling of their Partial Titanification. However, it differs for each one individually, and Akio needed a boost to achieve this, which was why Astaroth hit him.

The others didn't have this kind of issue, so they wouldn't need it, though Astaroth says that in a few minutes, this activity will be over, and that he would like to talk to Kurayami in private. Within minutes, everyone starts going beyond what they could originally do. An average human could use Partial Titanification at around 15% of what it should be, allowing them to become a bit stronger and bigger.

For them, though, this has changed. They can use up to 30% of this technique, which means that they are steadily making progress towards mastering it. The activity ends, and Astaroth congratulates everyone, telling them that their next training will be focused on their soul and magic.

He signals at Kurayami to come with him, and she does. When they are finally alone, Astaroth slowly tilts his head a bit to look at her with a slight glare. "Kurayami. You're not a pure human, aren't you?"

She is confused at what Astaroth is saying. "What.. do you mean? I'm a hu--" She is quickly cut off, as with one swift move, Astaroth uses his pinky finger to pierce her torso, unlocking something inside her.

Kurayami feels a bit weird, but Astaroth says to give it some time, and to tell the others that they'll be getting a short break before their next training session begins. When she returns, she sees Eldric, Akio, Genkei and Jack sparring, as Hisako and Aurora stand by, discussing on how simple-minded the four boys are, with Kurayami joining in the conversation.

When asked about what Astaroth wanted with her, she told them that it's nothing, instead changing the subject to the boys once again. Before leaving, Astaroth had also instructed them to keep their Partial Titanification active, so as to have them passively train further.

The four appear to be equal, but Akio, with a swift move, activates his lightning magic and has the other three lose their balance, knocking them down. He smiles and is about to start laughing, as he is hit in the back of his left knee, as he too is knocked down.

Behind him, Beelzebub tells him to never let his guard down, as he begins giving the four young men some advice based on his millennia-long experiences. "Always have a light layer of magic activated outside of your body, so you can be protected from what Akio just did to you. Furthermore, if you focus, you can sense the magic presence of everything, so you can fend off against certain attacks."

They nod at the demon, who waves them goodbye, going to fulfill his duties. Surprisingly enough, Alex appears behind him, hitting him in the back lightly and going with him, confusing Akio and Eldric, though they don't think much of it.

Getting up, the four men start talking about what the next training will be, as we take a look at what The Dark Wizard is doing alongside his army. In his throne room stands Kizayo, kneeling at his lord. "So, have you remembered anything?"

After the wizard asks, Kizayo nods. "Yes. It is very much unimportant, but it is the first step to regaining my memories, Lord Gawain. I've remembered my name. It is.. Achilles." Gawain wickedly laughs at this, now knowing who stands before him, as he allows him to go.

Hades appears and tells the young wizard that the time is coming, and Gawain nods, though he tells him (Hades) not to give him (Gawain) orders, for he is stronger. Hades gives Gawain a death stare.

"Do not dare to overestimate yourself again, filthy mortal. You continue to be no more than a pawn for me to take over Olympus and this world. You will never be even remotely strong enough to reach my level of power."

His magic energy puts a lot of pressure on Gawain, who nods, telling him that it's alright, and that they should actually focus on what they'll do in nine months, as he turns to look at a woman who looks heavily beaten, though still smiling.

Gawain nods at her to come closer to him, and then, two fists connect. As two blasts are fired, it is made clear that it is Akio fighting a low-ranking devil, trying to match his power. He is already using everything he has, so he knows that he'll need to transcend his limits if he even wants a chance at taking down The Dark Wizard.

With this, he flares up his magic energy, charging at the devil. It appears as though they're evenly matched now, and their sparring match continues. They go at it for a while longer, until a tall man with long hair appears and stops their fists with his two fingers. The low-ranking devil recognizes the man, since he's God's right hand, but Akio doesn't.

"A-Archangel Michael! What brings you here?" The low-ranking demon asked the man, who is in fact Michael. He tells the two that it is time for their sparring match to stop, and that they should go back.

Understandably, they shake hands and express their wishes to fight each other again, as Akio leaves along with the Archangel, who informs Akio to be careful. Before Akio can even begin to question his sayings, the man disappears, leaving Akio to his own fate.

At first, he tries to make a meaning out of what he was told, but he dismisses it soon after, opting to instead focus on the task at hand: become strong. He goes back and arrives just in time for the next training session.

One of the middle-ranking demons is in charge this time, but it'll be still effective nonetheless. He had been given instructions by Beelzebub, so it'd be very much alright, as he begins.

"Okay, everyone. First, focus on your souls."