Chapter 18
"Left!"
Dio was caught off guard when Diana suddenly yelled.
He moved his shield to his left hand without thinking, but the attack came from the right, hitting his knee and causing him to fall to the ground.
"Aaaah!"
Dio yelled in pain.
"Why didn't you defend yourself?"
Diana asked as she moved aside so he could stand up. She liked asking such questions when he did something wrong.
"Why did you suddenly shout 'left'?"
Dio replied as he stood up.
"And why did you believe me? While we're training, I'm your enemy."
Diana taught him another lesson.
Dio didn't answer and assumed the stance she had taught him was sword lowered, shield raised.
She had been teaching him different sword and shield styles, but the one he was using now was focused on defense and counterattacks.
That's what she was teaching him today.
For a few seconds, they simply stared at each other.
Dio looked at Diana's legs. She was moving faster than him, and it was hard to see her even when she wasn't using her full speed.
The only thing that helped a little was to concentrate on her legs.
Diana was dressed in her armor and used a training sword, just like Dio's.
It was a Greek-style sword, a xiphos, relatively short with two straight edges, the blade widening from the hilt to the tip.
It was a weapon for both slashing and thrusting through the enemy.
She attacked again, and Dio barely had time to see her approaching him. It was a high hit from left to right this time, aimed at his right shoulder. He moved his round shield to the right a little and tilted it forward.
The Greek shields weren't round and flat plates; the front part stuck out in front, which let an enemy's attack "slide off" the shield.
When her attack hit the shield, he gently pushed her weapon away and used his sword to hit her in the leg to get a counterattack on her.
Diana took a small step back, and by the time he got into the right position to attack, she had already raised her sword to his chin.
"Well done!"
Diana said this and lowered her sword away from his chin, stepping back again.
"You defended against my strike and managed to start a counterattack. Your movements were almost perfect. You just needed to move faster to initiate the counterattack."
Diana continued.
"Diana, even if I moved ten times faster, you would still be able to avoid it because of your speed."
Dio replied, not completely happy with her praise.
"I've told you, Diomedes, the goal of training isn't to beat me but to learn. So, would you like to try your new trick?"
Diana asked.
Since Dio started training three months ago, he has made quite a bit of progress, both physically and in terms of his abilities.
It's not as much as he likes, but it's still progress. He pauses for a few seconds and closes his eyes to concentrate.
This trick isn't usable in combat yet; it requires too much concentration for him, but that time is decreasing with each of my workouts.
"Let's begin,"
Dio said to her after getting ready.
Diana charged at me again, but this time, she just lunged at the middle of my shield. There was a black shadow around the shield when her attack hit it.
The shadow reached out to her with four skeleton hands.
This sudden change of events caught Diana by surprise. Diana's charge changed into a simple strike, shattering two skeletal hands.
However, two others reached out and grabbed her wrists.
After raising his shield, he charged Diana with a lunge that hit her in the chest and knocked her back. At this moment, the skeletal hands vanished as if they were evaporating.
Diana looked surprised, and Dio was happy that he had finally landed a hit on her during their sparring session.
It might be a small achievement, but it showed his progress.
"Excellent strike, and the way you used your abilities was incredible."
Diana said it with pride in her voice.
"Thank you,"
Dio replied and breathed heavily.
Dio's body didn't tire physically, but using his abilities caused mental fatigue. Dio's perception and reactions became slower as his brain appeared to be blocked.
If Dio pushed too hard, his brain would shut down. Once, he was found in that state at home after trying to summon an army of skeletons.
"The way you used your abilities was impressive. I thought you might summon a skeleton to fight alongside you."
Diana continued.
"I could, but it wouldn't be very useful against someone like you."
"Yes, you chose the good strategy."
Currently, Dio could summon a skeleton to fight with him, but it had the strength of an average human, which wouldn't be very helpful against Diana or beings more powerful than her.
"Shall we call it a day? It's getting late, and I have Justice League business."
Diana spoke as she walked toward the rack where our training weapons were kept.
"Not like I can keep going."
Dio said wearily.
"Have you gotten any answers from Dr. John Peril about your other gift?"
Diana asked as we walked together to the locker room.
"I'll see him in a while. He was busy with some cases yesterday."
Before they parted ways to their respective locker rooms, Diana turned to him and said.
"My magician friend, the one I mentioned earlier would like to meet you. She'll be back in a few weeks, so if Dr. can't help you, she might."
"Finally,"
Dio happily replied.
'I had been waiting to meet this person for a long time.'
"I know it's taking longer than we thought, but I can assure you it'll be worth it."
Diana smiled and went into the girls' locker room.
Dio took a hot shower.
It was a bit unnecessary since he hadn't broken a sweat during the three hours of training, but the feeling of hot water after a long workout was simply incredible.
Dio got dressed and headed to the elevator. They always trained in the large gym, which was filled with various weapons and equipment.
Diana taught him not only sword fighting but also various hand-to-hand combat techniques and even how to defend himself using bracers.
Dio skipped the lasso training; he lacked talent for it.
...
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