Chapter 2: Spar

-Inside Excelsius castle-

"Hahaha Mira said that?" The king says while having a laugh.

"Same old Mira" The king added.

"But King Hanael, we never found out who the commoner was" the royal guard who went out said.

"It's alright commander Avery" The king replied.

"A man as strong as him will always follow trouble. He will show himself soon enough. If that is all, you are all dimissed." The king said.

"Your majesty, forgive me if I may have misspoken" Avery asked.

"But who is this Mira person. Your majesty seems to be quite acquainted with her." Avery added.

"It's fine Avery. Mira and I are old friends. She is a former leader of the royal knights, she served the kingdom for many years before retiring due to old age. She was a sword-wielder like you Avery, and I think she still is. You could learn a thing or two from her, you should try to visit her shop once in a while, tell her I said hi when you do so" The king said.

"Thank you your majesty" Avery replied.

"I will surely heed your advice"

"Royal knights, you are dismissed" The king said.

"Yes your majesty" The six royal knights said simultaneously.

The royal knights head out the king's throne room.

"Hey Avery how strong do you think that commoner is to be able to beat Don Johnson to the point where he's left a little cookoo in the head." Hunter said while his hands are at the back of his head as if in a care free posture.

~Hunter Stormwind : Rank 4th royal knight

"Oh my, if he turns out to be a fine looking man, I would finally have myself a date." Mydrede said hopefully.

~Mydrede Ingram : Rank 5th royal knight

"But unike you Mydrede, he's commoner. You don't want to be disgraced and discriminated do you?" Quinn said as he touch his glasses.

~Quinn Coldshore : Rank 6th royal knight

"Commoner or not, his power is real. Making an enemy of him would not be a wise decision." Avery added.

~Avery Amblecrown : Rank 3rd royal knight

"If he does choose to be an enemy of the kingdom, I just hope he doesn't break easily." Wolfe stated.

~Wolfe Silver : Rank 2nd royal knight

"Hmh Such trivial matters" Grim said.

~Grim Blackstrand : Leader of the royal knights

-Frost's residence-

Levi can be seen swiftly coming from the horizon going home just as the sun was about to go down.

*Just in time* Levi thought while feeling satisfied at being on time.

He opens the door and saw his dad waiting for him inside.

"You're late" his dad says.

"But but but" Levi answers as he looks at the time.

"ONLY BY A MINUTE DAD!"

"No buts, a deal's a deal" his dad replies.

"Besides Jesse's feeling a little lonely in our barn these days"

"Mooo!" Jesse the cow says.

"No please dad noooo" Levi pleaded.

"Vincent, you don't need to punish our son for being late do you?" Levi's mom said.

~Vincent Frost : Levi's dad

Vincent quickly goes to his wife's side hugging her like a dog who loves his owner.

"Yes my dear Nira" Vincent says.

"As you say my love."

~Nira Frost : Levi's mom

"Mom..." Levi says with a crying face.

"THANK YOU!" Levi added as he hugs his mom too

"Look he even brought some croissants for us. How sweet of you Levi." Nira added.

"Yes mom" Levi said.

"Anything for you mom"

Levi gave 1 croissant each to his mom and dad. They each took a bite. Levi and Vincent each take a seat next to Nira.

"Where'd you buy these Levi?" Vincent says.

"These are really good" Vincent added.

"Yeah" Nira says.

"You're right honey. It's really crispy and deicious" Nira added as she holds her cheeks in delight.

"They're from Rosemead" Levi said.

"Rosemead?!" Nira and Vincent said simultaneously.

"Isn't that the shop where they sell exquisite goods and merchandise?" Nira added.

"It's really famous even though it's located outside the walls" Vincent said.

"Yeah." Levi said.

"The shop owner gave me them for free."

"Wow Levi, the shop owner must've really liked you to give you 3 croissants." Vincent says as he gives Levi a smug look.

"Nothing less from our son I suppose, he does have our looks" Nira added.

"Oh no, it's not like any of that you guys." Levi said.

"she said it's thank for he-" Levi paused.

*Oh snap. I can't let them know I got in a fight or I'll really be in trouble.* Levi thought.

"Hmm?" Nira asked.

"Uhhh. She said she sends her regards to you both." Levi said.

"Huh" Nira and Vincent looked at each other with a confused look.

"Uhh. What's the name of the owner again Levi?" Nira asked.

"I think I heard Mathilda call her granma Mira" Levi said.

"MIRA?!" Vincent shouted in shock and fear.

"Mira?! As in Mirabel Embers?" Nira asked.

"I think so. Yeah" Levi says.

Nira and Vincent both get shivers as they are reminded of Mira.

"I still remember how terrifying she looks. Ugh" Vincent says as he shivers.

"Agreed." Nira added.

Levi looked confused then decided to break the ice.

"Who's this Mira you guys are so afraif of?" Levi asked.

"You see son. One thing about your mom and I, is that we were once royal knights." Vincent said.

"Woah really? That's so cool!" Levi says as he was amazed.

"Uh huh. I was rank 4th royal knight." Nira said.

"And your pops was rank 3rd royal knight." Vincent added.

"Woah, AWESOME!" Levi applauded.

Nira and Vincent both chuckled as they saw how delighted their son is.

"Your mom was actually nick-named The Cold Magician." Vincent says.

"I don't know about you but she was the best staff-wielder back in my days, and still is I'm sure."

"Oh you jest dear" Nira says as she blushes a bit.

"That really cool mom! What was your nickname dad?" Levi asked.

"Oh you should really hear this son" Nira chuckled covering her mouth with her hand.

"The spear of destiny!" Vincent proudly says as he strikes a pose.

"He does it everytime" Nira chuckled.

Levi suddenly burst out of laughter.

"Hahaha, you sure you didn't think about that one yourself dad?" Levi says as he's laughing.

"I most certainly did not" Vincent says as he's quite embarassed.

"Anyway, before we were royal knights, we were in Mira's platoon. She was already a royal knight way before we did."

"She was the royal knight's leader back then actually. The Fire Empress, they called her." Nira added.

"Wow, she must've been so strong" Levi says.

-Inside Rosemead-

At the same time Mira sneezed.

"Granma I think you caught a cold, you should drink your medicine." Mathilda says.

"I'm too old for that crap" Mira says.

-Frost's residence-

"Indeed. In fact she was our mentor, she trained us to get better. That's when I met your mother" Vincent said.

"I remember thinking to myself that she was the most gorgeous woman I've seen in my entire life"

Levi smiled as she looked at his father and mother.

"I remember you being annoying that day" Nira chuckled.

They all had a laugh.

-Inside the Black Bandit's hideout-

"WHAT?!" An angry man who's sitting on a throne said as he pounded the arm rest.

"DON WAS DEFEATED?"

"Yes leader" an unknown individual says.

"FIND WHOEVER DID THIS, AND KILL HIM AND HIS FAMILY!"

"As you wish leader"

-Frost residence, Levi's room-

Levi's laying on his bed preparing for sleep.

"Can't believe mom and dad were actually royal knights" Levi says.

"And that granma sure is stronger than she looks"

Levi felt a small pain in his left forearm. He looks at it and saw that he had been hit by Don's attack and grazed him a bit.

"I guess I did underestimate him a bit" Levi said as he looks at his wound.

Levi felt tired after using so much mana on his attack earlier and fell asleep moments later.

Levi frequently had nightmares about memories he does not remember. Like the one he is having now. He's dreaming about himself looking like a kid who had just learned how to run, but in this dream his hair was black instead of white. He was also wearing a black suit that looked like it was a suit for royalties. He keeps running and running on an open field with the sky so blue and bright while laughing, he was accompanied by a blonde girl who has the same age as him, wearing a white dress as pure as the heavens. The two kids were running while laughing as they were being chased gleefully by a middle-aged man and woman whom he does not recognize. A little further back was the silhouette of 12 people laughing happily.

All the people's faces including the girl were blurred as if it is a clouded memory. He does not recognise anyone yet he feels happy, then suddenly the sky turned dark and lightning started striking the ground. A black aura suddenly engulfed the entire area. The man and the woman and the 12 people suddenly disappeared. A girl with dark eyes, and dark hair wearing a black dress who's smiling and laughing maniacally emerged from the black aura. The girl in white suddenly gets pulled away, she desperately tries to reach for the boy's hand as he did the same, but all was for naught as the girl in black took away the girl in white.

"LEVI!" the girl in white screamed as she was reaching for Levi.

Levi reached his hand in an attempt to save her but as he stretched his arm, he saw that it was also covered in black aura. He looks at both his arms and saw the black aura dripping on ground. The ground that got hit by the black aura started becoming dry and dead as if it was being poisoned from the core. The girl in black flies towards him and hugged his back as he cries in despair to what he has become.

"Surrender yourself Levi" the girl in black says.

Levi woke up sweating like a pig with his heart beating heavily and painfully. It was raining cats and dogs outside accompanied by crackles of lightning and loud thunder. He sat up and held his chest while trying to catch his breath.

*It's... Just a dream* Levi says with a sigh of relief.

*Who was that girl, and those people. I don't remember any of their faces but somehow... I feel like I know them*

-The next morning-

Levi wakes up and rubs his eyes.

*Uuhh, what time is it?* he thinks to himself.

*I didnt get much sleep last night because of that damn nightmare*

As Levi walks towards his door, a blurry figure of a girl with white hair and dress can be seen outside Levi's window. She was surrounded by leaves swirling around her.

"Goodluck Levi" The girl says as she vanishes completely.

Levi heads down lazily and zombie-like. As he's about to go down the last step, he smelled the aroma of chicken soup made by his mom, his favorite meal. His spirit quickly became alive as he went from dull colored to bright in an instant.

Levi ran to his seat lightning fast and holds up a spoon and a fork instantly with both of his hands before his mother could even put down the soup.

Levi looks around.

"Where's dad by the way, mom?" Levi asks.

"He already finished eating so he's training at our backyard"

"I guess I better finish up quickly too then"

"Not too fast young man, or you might choke"

Levi slurps the chicken soup then quickly cleans his bowl and goes to his father.

"HAAH! HYAA!" Vincent says as he strikes the wind with a wooden spear

Vicent sees Levi as he walks towards him.

"Finally here I see. Had a good night's sleep?" Vincent says.

"I don't need sleep to beat you dad" Levi says with a smug look on his face.

"I don't wanna hear you whining after I beat you again" Vincent says as he tosses a wooden spear to Levi.

Levi grabs the spear then positions himself in front of his dad.

"Now son, listen carefully. This will be your last training. I've taught you every technique I know about combat except for one" Vincent says

"What's that dad?"

"I can't exactly teach you that one because the moment I use it is also the moment I cease to exist"

Levi's mind froze as he learns about his father's power.

"Now Levi, give me everything you got. Show me everything I've taught you" Vincent says as he readies his stance

Levi nods in agreement with his dad as he took his fighting stance. They both have the same stance, the son goku with an open staff stance.

*Every move I make was always countered and predicted by dad* Levi says to himself.

*I'm gonna need to think of something new and creative to be able to land a hit*

The two starts circling two each other with serious faces, after reaching a certain point, they both stopped. Vincent strikes a short thrust to Levi but he dodges it by leaning to his right. Vincent then followed a sideways swing coming from left to right but Levi quickly did a somersault to dodge it. While dodging, Levi made a quick thrust to him. Vincent was flustered for a moment but still managed to dodge it.

"Spear Blitz" Vincent says.

~Spear Blitz : the user's spear lights red then quickly thrust 5 consecutive times.

*I have to dodge it* Levi says to himself.

*getting hit even once may lead to my loss*

Vincent thrusts his spear towards Levi 5 times but Levi dodges only 2 and blocks 3.

*Dodging those 5 is really hard when someone like dad is the one using it* Levi says to himself.

*Every thrust feels like death's hand reaching out to me*

*Either I step up my game or die trying*

Vincent jumps to his father and throws his spear at him. Vincent jumps back to avoid it and Levi's spear struck the ground between them. Levi landed both his feet and hands at his spear that's stuck to the ground like a cat.

"Tiger's stance" Levi said.

Vincent was shocked at his son's development.

"Learning new tricks eh" Vincent proudly says.

Levi lunged at his father using his spear as a spring to double his speed leaving lightning trails in his wake. Upon seeing how fast Levi was going, Vincent knew he had no time to avoid him so he attacks Levi head on with his spear. As Levi was flying towards him, he noticed that Levi was holding something in his right hand. It was a broken part of Levi's spear. Levi used the stick to parry his dad's attack and slashed him with his claws. Vincent blocked Levi's attack with the handle of the spear in between his two hands. The clash led out a powerful outburst of air and electricity.

The two were at a standstill for a moment to catch their breath. Then Vincent suddenly kicked Levi but Levi blocked it with his left forearm, Vincent quickly followed by a powerful strike using the opposite end of his spear, while Levi blocked it using his right hand and left shoulder, the power of the strike still made him flying near his broken spear.

*He sure knows how not to hold back* Levi says to himself as he wipes off the blood from his mouth.

*Time for a different plan then*

*Dad is stronger and faster than me, that's for sure. I'd have to use my wit if I am to stand a chance against him*

Levi looked around briefly and noticed something.

*Alright, if this doesn't work, I don't know what will* Levi thought to himself.

Levi walked towards his spear to get it.

"AS IF I'D LET YOU!" Vincent shouts as he rushes towards Levi.

Levi knew his dad was gonna rush at him, so he waited when Vincent was near enough and threw dirt and sand at him making Vincent halt.

"Resourceful, I see" Vincent says as he covers his eyes.

Vincent then led out a horizontal slash from his spear making the dust and sand at his forearm and surroundings disperse, but Levi was nowhere in sight. Vincent suddenly had a shadow cover him from the sun and as he looks up, he saw Levi who was about to strike down at him with the two broken parts of the spear in each hand. Levi knew he had the advantage as his father cannot fight him while being blinded by the sun at his back. Vincent blindly struck at Levi as he's slowly being pushed back, Levi on the other hand parried each attack his father made. Each attack of his father was so strong that it made Levi stay in the air as he parries each of them. The battle was equal as they went blow for blow at each other. As Vincent was being slowly pushed back, he reached their fence which made him out balance for a moment, but it was a moment too long for Levi as he capitalized the opportunity.

*This is it* Levi says to himself.

*His balance is off and he's open*

"Shadow Spear! Spear of Light!" Levi shouted as he was about to attack Vincent.

~Shadow spear : The user's strikes multiply visually, attacking the target at different angles near the user.

Shadow Spear is typically used using only a single spear but Levi used it while wielding two making it twice the times harder to spot the real spears.

Vincent couldn't help but smile as he sees how strong his son has become.

"Demon Arts: Release" Vincent says.