Before the trip...

Inside a training ground at the far end of Loki's property, Lumas could be seen taking deep yet slow breathes, Bell, Susan, Ais, Riveria, and Sebas were resting quite a way behind him watching as Lumas stood motionlessly with his sword wielded in front of him

'Fifth Form: Descent Of The Sun'

Lumas' sword arm seemed to disappear as the sounds of air being cut through resounded quickly followed by a loud cracking noise, Lumas dropped to his knees clutching his arm which was currently bent at an unnatural angle at the elbow. The spectators stayed back, Ais nearly darted forward on instinct but in the end stayed with the others her face betraying a sense of worry

With a loud snap Lumas repositioned his arm wrapping it with a thick cloth as he picked the sword back up before closing his eyes and slowing his breathing to start over. This is the 15th time he's failed consecutively and the words 'give up' didn't seem to cross his mind. He had to complete this before his next level up, Lumas was currently aiming to exploit a skill that he would be able to get upon leveling up, he's already created a spell that would aid in this endeavor. Once again Lumas' arm seemed to disappear as visible pockets of air were cleaved through nearly a breaths time went by before a loud crack resounded and a red streak shot towards Bell

Bell could barely react as his hands went through a series of unnatural movements hitting the flat of the blade redirecting it towards one of the walls, his arms instantly went limp as a stinging pain coursed through them, Lumas voice sounded out "Sorry I pushed it too far, I nearly reached 100 cuts…" Lumas let out an exasperated sigh as he fell back sweat pouring down his face while his clothes were soaked

"Darling, maybe you need to level up, you might be pushing your muscles past what they are capable of" Susan's worry filled voice entered Lumas' ears as she crouched down next to him handing him a damp rag and a chilled glass of apple juice, his favorite.

"Maybe…" Lumas spoke with a defeated tone as he rose to his feet once again resetting his arm, Lumas retightened the bandages before standing up, "Bell, you ready?" Bell's face hardened as he stepped forward. It has been a while since he dueled Lumas and the beatings he received were ingrained into his mind, as he stood across from Lumas he forced his body to relax taking a loose boxers stance. Hand to Hand combat was his specialty. It's what he grew up doing when weapons were scarce and he only had himself to rely on… but everything is different now…

Darting forward Bell took the initiative seemingly sliding across the ground with a series of unnatural movements, as he got into range his arm shot out Lumas brought up his palm and a dull thud resounded Bell stumbled but quickly regained his balance however he was forced on the defensive as Lumas kicked off the ground tackling Bell

As Lumas' shoulder impacted Bell's chest he fell back feeling as if every ounce of air was forced from his lungs, Lumas loomed over him menacingly as he unrelentlessly threw punch after punch, Bell could only put up his guard blocking Lumas' punches. He seemed to be getting nowhere until his elbow connected with Lumas' chin stunning him for a mere moment, however that mere moment allowed Bell to create some distance. As Lumas rose to his feet Bell shot forward bringing his center of gravity low as he swiped his leg out, connecting with Lumas' knee.

Bell felt as if he kicked a metal pole as reverberations coursed through his leg, but he didn't let up pouncing upwards with an uppercut, Lumas leaned back as he brought his arm down catching Bell's shirt connecting a knee to Bell's ribs, who instantly collapsed on the ground clutching his sides letting out pained groans.

Lumas tossed a vial of slightly transparent red liquid towards Bell "Bell, It seems you've made considerable progress with '100 Illusioned Movements'. By the time we return I want to see triple the progress you've already made"

"Wait! You can't be serious, you'll only be gone for a month. How am I supposed to make almost a year's worth of progress in a month?!" Bell's voice hurriedly rang out with a tinge of panic, but Lumas only waved his hand nonchalantly as he sternly spoke "Your 'special' remember? Not to mention you have a growth type skill, if your not even capable of doing this are you worthy enough to be in my Familia?"

Bell froze as he slightly paled, he hurriedly bowed before running off grabbing his halberd as he yelled "I'm Sorry! I'll get on it right away!"

As Bell disappeared into the distance Lumas let out a laugh as he shook his head, Susan 'lightly' punched him in the chest causing a pained look to flash across Lumas' face "Give the kid a break he has been pushing it lately"

Lumas quickly replied "He needs drive to grow stronger, his growth type skills based off his emotions to grow stronger and he wants to prove himself to me, might as well make the most of it… it's possible he could quickly pass me in levels, I just want to see if he can grow stronger than me" a soft smile adorned Lumas' face as he retrieved his sword carefully wiping it down with a clean rag before returning it to its sheath