Chapter 3

Benimaru gripped the handle of his practice sword tightly as the first drops of sweat appeared on his forehead. Even before he and his teacher got named, he could not best Hakurou in sword fighting. Now the gap had grown to such a degree that the old kijin could dance around him with ease and never get hit.

"Needless hesitation will not give you any advantage." Hakurou said calmly as he stood in a relaxed pose with his sword still sheathed.

The sparring match between the old swordmaster and the young prince was always an event many wanted to witness, and today was no exception. The spacious dojo room was filled with both kijin and hobgoblin observers.

With Lord Cocytus having twenty disciples and each of them in turn training disciples of their own, such dojos had sprawled all over Tempest like mushrooms after the rain. Although built to sustain damage, the more powerful of Tempest's denizens employed protective shields around the sparring area in case the fight got out of hand and today was no exception.

The magically hardened wooden practice swords in the hands of Benimaru and Hakurou could tear through the reinforced brick and steel as if it were wet paper.

'Master Hakurou is right. My hesitation is doing me no favors.' Resolved to at least give a good performance, Benimaru lunged forward and aimed for the old kijin's neck, knowing that the strike would be intercepted.

What his teacher may not be prepared for was a follow-up move prepared by him in the next instant. The moment their blades would clash, he would go for Hakurou's unprotected side with a powerful kick and simultaneously push the opponent's sword upwards to make him lose balance.

After all, what he could not accomplish with pure skill, he could compensate with his strength and speed.

His every move was flawlessly executed. Hakurou leaned backwards and staggered as Benimaru went for the kick. However, before his knee could connect, Hakurou was already on the ground and kicking Benimaru's unprotected gut. Before the young prince could even feel the air leave his lungs, Hakurou flipped sideways and kicked his legs making him fall forward.

His only saving grace turned out to be a mid-fall flip as he painlessly landed on his back, while Hakurou was already standing up and watching his fall.

"Using your superior strength is a wise decision, but be prepared that your opponent might be counting on that." Hakurou remarked.

Benimaru jumped back to his feet and bowed. "Thank you for the lesson, master Hakurou."

Hakurou bowed in return. "It is always a pleasure to spar with you, Benimaru."

As Benimaru stepped aside, Hakurou looked around and then pointed at a hobgoblin with a smaller stature. "Gobta, you are next!"

"Why me?! You tormented me for four hours yesterday, old man!" Gobta whined.

"And by the looks of it, I went easy on you yesterday. Step forward!" Hakurou said in an authoritative voice, sounding plain demonic.

Gobta pulled at Rigur's sleeve and let out a whinging whisper. "Help me…"

In response, Rigur just pushed Gobta forward with a shake of his head. Gobta gulped and picked up the training sword, but not before glaring at his friend for such a blatant betrayal.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I have to hand out some orders from Lady Albedo!" Shion's voice interrupted Gobta's execution. The young hobgoblin looked at her like she was an angel who just saved him from hell.

Hakurou nodded and stepped aside to let Shion do her work. As an assistant of Albedo, she pretty much outranked everyone present although an argument could be made that Benimaru and Hakorou could be on equal footing with her as direct subordinates of other guardians.

Shion quickly handed out a few scrolls and then said with a hint of envy in her voice. "That's it, have fun boys."

'A battle maniac like Shion likely is not getting her fix while working under Lady Albedo.' Hakurou mused. He glanced at Benimaru who understood the old kijin's gesture, and said with a smirk. "I haven't seen you training for a while. Maybe if you have time you should stay for a bit. And have a few matches."

Shion's face lit up with a wide smile. "Really! I have done all my tasks for today. Well… then who is up against me first?"

Benimaru stepped into the ring. In the past, she was one of his fiercest opponents. She may have not been a technical fighter, but she always compensated for it with unrivaled ferocity. 'If she has not trained for a while, I might have to go a bit easy on her.'

Shion stepped into the ring and with a triumphant smile pulled out an enormous claymore from her inventory. It was far too large to wield for most of the people here present, but Shion held it with one hand.

She didn't even wait for anyone to ask and just explained. "Lord Momonga gifted me this sword when my old one broke."

"I don't think we should use real weapons for a sparring match." Benimaru said, and motioned at the weapons rack filled with wooden swords.

"Fine." Shion said with a pout. She reluctantly put her sword back in her inventory, before picking up a wooden practice one instead.

As an arbiter of all matches, Hakurou announced, "Begin." and stepped aside.

Knowing how eager Shion would be for a fight, Benimaru expected to be on the defensive at first, but couldn't predict her closing the distance between them within the blink of an eye and swinging her bokken with such force that both swords shattered on impact, violently shooting splinters in all directions.

His hands instantly went numb and he jumped back, shocked. 'What just happened? How is she so freakishly strong?!'

Unfortunately for Benimaru, the loss of a weapon didn't slow Shion down for even one bit. He barely managed to put his arms up as her fist collided with his forearms, pushing past all his defenses and cracking his bones.

"Shion w…" He tried to shout, but her next punch landed on his chest and sent him flying. Neither the protective barrier nor the outer wall of the building was enough to stop his flight.

Benimaru stopped only when he hit the wall of the neighboring building, leaving a heavy dent that sent the few people inside screaming in fright.

As if in slow motion, he fell to the ground and let out a painful groan as his skill |Regeneration| kicked in. To save at least some pride, despite the intense pain, he jumped to his feet and jogged back inside.

If anything, Shion just looked confused.

"What the hell?! How have you gotten so strong?" Benimaru shouted at her.

"Strong?" she mumbled. "I am not strong, you are just weak. You wouldn't last a minute if you got in the middle of a fight between Lady Albedo and Lady Shalltear." Then as if she had said too much, Shion snapped out of her confused state, "I should go, I have so much to do." she said hastily.

Everyone watched in stunned silence as Shion quickly departed.

'Just what sort of hell is she going through to get so strong so fast?' Benimaru couldn't help but ask himself. Surely, Hakurou was a harsh teacher. And by the old kijin's testimony, he was going easy on them compared to what sort of training regiment Lord Cocytus was setting for his students. But even that, apparently, paled in comparison.

While Benimaru contemplated what had just happened, Hakurou suddenly grabbed another sword from the rack and threw it towards the exit, hitting a sneaky hobgoblin straight at the back of his legs.

As Gobta lay on the ground groaning in pain, Hakurou casually walked up to him and cast a dark shadow over the poor goblin. "I see… I will need to beat some discipline into you first!"

In a rare occurrence of lucidity, Gobta remained silent to not anger his teacher even more. Even he realized that it was better to accept the hell he was in than to dig an even deeper pit for himself.

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The spacious, high-ceiling room with a wooden floor and roof gave an immediate sensation of welcoming warmth that in some regard was a stark contrast from its owner, who exuded a physically palpable aura of cold.

Hakurou stopped at the door and took off his sandals before proceeding forward. With a silent bow, he greeted Lord Cocytus and sat down.

In this place, no formalities were needed. You had to be a close friend of the Vermin Lord to even step foot inside the sanctuary that was the main dojo of Tempest.

'One day, if Lord Momonga permits it, I will show you the floor I guard. But be warned, for its unrelenting winds are not forgiving to warm-blooded creatures.' This promise was a sign of how much his new master valued their blooming friendship.

Cocytus gave a small nod back as he lit the incense at the small altar in the corner dedicated to his creator, Warrior Takemikazuchi. From what little Hakurou knew, Lord Cocytus missed his creator, but didn't expect to see him any time soon, if ever.

There had been only one rival that Takemikazuchi never bested, and when that rival left, the warrior, whose lust for worthy opponents was insatiable, also left to seek new challenges.

'There is always someone stronger out there. I wonder how much more powerful my master's creator was.' Hakuro mused as he observed Cocytus' performing the daily ritual of lighting incense: dropping on one knee and reciting a silent prayer for the Supreme Being.

In the altar there was a stone statue depicting a figure clad in armor similar to what the highest ranking ogres once wore during the war. It was of a being whose might radiated even from a mere replica of his appearance.

As Cocytus finished his ritual and sat down cross-legged by the table, another figure came in and silently bowed. Zegion was the third of their group as he too seemingly shared their rather stoic disposition and was not a warrior of many words.

Since he was considered to be of the lowest rank, it fell on the insectar's shoulders to serve the first round.

It was a fascinating sight to watch the massive bug-like humanoid gently picking up the teacups. Despite his rather massive hands, he delicately put the teacups down on the table while simultaneously putting a few tea leaves in them.

Without much hesitation, he picked up the kettle that was sitting on a firestone warmer and poured boiling water into each cup.

When his part was done, Zegion sat down as well and all three took a sip from their respective cups. There was no need to exchange words as comfortable silence filled the room.

Once the first cups were empty, Hakurou stood up and replenished the cups with fresh tea leaves and filled them with boiling water, the same as Zegion did before.

'Tea is always nice, but what comes next is so much better.' Outwardly Hakurou managed to keep his calm but within, the excitement grew. As soon as all three put down their cups, the best part of the evening would start.

A young woman with bluish-white skin dressed in a kimono with very long sleeves appeared holding a tray with a bottle and three glasses. Her icy aura filled the room, making even Zegion shudder.

'As beautiful and dangerous as the coldest nights in winter. If a mere servant of my master can bring such a presence then he must hide simply impossible depths of power.' Hakurou mused as the woman put down the trey and disappeared with a bow, her form fading as if caught in a raging blizzard.

As the recently established tradition went, Cocytus himself poured the liquid into the glasses and handed them to his two companions. Hakurou accepted the glass and took a sip.

'Ahh, as sweet and burning as ever. I wonder… Could this be the fabled Ambrosia? It surely feels like a new life is put into my old bones each time I taste it.'

The answer could probably never come, as it was an unspoken agreement to not ask those native to Nazarick where they get the wonderful gifts they sometimes grace their followers with.

There was never enough in the glass. No matter how carefully he drank the wondrous liquid, it always ended too quickly. His only solace was the pleasantly burning sensation that stayed for hours.

Proofreading by Kazuma, Sad Smiles, Saphy, alassandro, Somnium Hypnos, and I AM THE STRING CUTTER.

AN: Thank you for reading the story, and if you have caught up to the latest chapter, you can check out my other work or join my discord server (Link is in my profile) where additional chapters are available.