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(TPD) Chapter 20: The Lion Prince
🕑 Added 2024-12-12 05:36:46 +0000 UTCChapter 20: The Lion Prince
(Third Person)
Sairaorg had just finished his daily cardio, his skin glistening like a lake on a hot summer’s day as a result of the copious amount of sweat covering its surface.
He slung a towel around the back of his neck, leaving the courtyard and returning back indoors to get something to fill his aching stomach.
“Almost an hour straight, I’m impressed.”
The abrupt voice caused him to almost trip over while startled, the figure managing to catch him by his collar just in time.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to spook you.”
Sairaorg slowly craned his head to the left, being met with the sight of a teenager wearing a blindfold alongside some sort of weird-looking device wrapped around their neck, with wires connected to the back of their ears making it seem as if they were wearing earbuds.
“Who—” He stopped and stared before the words could leave his mouth, recalling the chatter he had been hearing around the estate as of late. “The Blindfold Devil?”
“That’s me, it’s a pleasure to meet you Sairaorg.”
Of course, it was none other than Avalon, Sairaorg’s temporary teacher.
“What are you doing here?” He asked in an awfully blunt manner, befitting someone his age.
Something Avalon considered a much needed breath of fresh air after having to talk with Zekram.
“I’ve been invited to stay here for a while, and I was asked to help train you in the meantime.” He held out a bottle of water he had prepared for Sairaorg in advance.
“Train me?” He tilted his head.
HIs father had always hammered in the idea that there was nothing in him worth training physically-speaking, leaving him with only etiquette tutors as a formality.
“I don’t need to be trained, I can handle it myself.” He said plainly while chugging down the bottle in one swift motion.
“Is that so?” Avalon scratched his chin. “Well, you’ve definitely got the diligence part down, I won’t refute that.”
Jogging for an hour straight was one thing for someone his age, but Sairaorg hadn’t been jogging. He had been flat-out sprinting, something even professional athletes probably couldn’t achieve.
“But it’ll be quite difficult for you to actually grasp any sense of technique without someone to help you, it doesn’t matter how much you build your body up, if you don’t know how to apply it properly then it won’t be of any use to you.”
Sairaorg scoffed. “My body is all I have, haven’t you heard? I’m a failure, there’s no merit in training me.”
“A failure? I see, hearing everyone look down on you must be rather frustrating.”
Sairaorg’s lip quivered for a brief moment, putting a dent in his tough front.
“Do you agree with them? Do you also think you’re a failure?”
“It doesn’t matter what I think, nor does it matter what I do. As long as I don’t have their stupid Clan Trait, they’ll never acknowledge me.”
Avalon smiled. “Yeah, it is a stupid Clan Trait.”
Sairarog did a double take, wondering if he had misheard him.
“It would be pretty satisfying to beat them and their stupid Clan Trait with nothing but your body, don’t you think?”
“Of course it would be satisfying, but that doesn’t make it any less impossible.”
“You don’t really believe that,” Avalon shook his head. “If you did, then why are you even training to begin with? If you truly believed it was impossible, then it would be much more sensible to just give up.”
Sairarorg grumbled, miffed that he was seen through by a blind person of all people.
“That’s easy for you to say, you’re not defected like—” He stopped mid-sentence, noticing the error in his statement.
“Honestly speaking, my Demonic Power isn’t really all that either. I’ve found some practical uses for it, but it’ll never match the destructive power of my sister and brother. That’s why I found an alternative for me to rely on,” Avalon spread his palm, enveloping it in a coat of Touki for Sairaorg to marvel at.
“What’s that?”
“It’s Ki, it’s a power that originates from Youkai. It can do all sorts of things, like making your body stronger, increasing your perception, and even healing other people.”
“But if it comes from Youkai, then how are you able to use it?”
“I keep a Youkai sealed inside my body, albeit it’s a very annoying Youkai.”
“Like Souji Okita!”
“Yes, like Souji.” Souji had been a household name for quite some time now, so it wasn’t surprising even a child like Sairaorg had heard of him. “He’s actually my teacher, all the techniques I’ve learned come from him.”
“Woah,” at this point his eyes were practically sparkling.
Sairaorg had a profound sense of admiration and respect for the Four Great Satans, and by proxy their peerages also held a special place in his heart.
“Would you be interested in learning them? With your hard working spirit, I think it’s only a matter of time before you’re able to use Ki as well.”
“Me? But I don’t have a Youkai, how am I supposed to perform the same techniques as you and him?”
“Accessing Ki in general isn’t something exclusive to Youkai or Youkai-vessels, it’s just the more in-depth abilities that are harder to obtain. Ki is in essence Life Force, something that every living being has, and through awakening your Life Force you can obtain the most basic version of Ki.”
Touki for example, could be achieved by practically any species with enough determination, Devils included.
“What’s going on here?” A familiar voice called out to them, the sound of footsteps inching closer and closer.
Sairaorg’s expression was quick to sour once he made eye contact with the encroaching figure, his fists balling up as Avalon put a hand on his shoulder in a reassuring fashion.
“Hello, Sylas.” Avalon greeted, the former General immediately being put on edge the second they recognised one another.
“Avalon, did you-”
“Yes, I met with her.” Sylas swallowed a nervous gulp, proceeding to nod slowly.
“I-I see…” Avalon found the fact that he didn’t even bother to ask what the meeting was about rather amusing. “What are you doing with him?” He looked down at Sairaorg, his son’s mood growing worse with each passing second.
“She asked me to train him for the time-being, is there a problem with that?” He asked in an ‘innocent’ fashion.
“No… If Her Majesty ordered it then all is well. I merely came here to… Check up on everything.” Sylas adjusted his collar, wiping the sweat off his brow. “If you’ll excuse me, I have some… Other business to attend to.” He was quick to scurry away.
‘Even just mentioning you is enough to make him do a full 180 from acting like a haughty noble to a whipped dog, but since Sylas is the one on the receiving end of this— you have my admiration.’
“What was that? I’ve never seen him act so timid before,” Sairaorg couldn’t help but wonder.
“You haven’t met Zekram before?”
“Zekram? I think Mom mentioned someone like that, but it was all really confusing so I don’t remember it all that well. Is it someone important?”
“She’s our Ancestor, and she also has a very nasty tongue so if you ever meet with her don’t listen to anything she says alright?”
“Alright,” he nodded affirmatively.
“Good, you’re probably starving after all that running so why don’t you first have something to eat before I teach you how to use Ki?”
The sound of Sairaorg’s stomach grumbling served as a sufficient answer.
‘Pandorica, I trust you scanned him while I was touching his shoulder?’
[Indeed Young Lord, his physique is rather abnormal. While his Demonic Power reserves are indeed naturally low and not the result of any sort of blockade, his muscle density is shockingly high for someone his age. Almost on par with the physique of the average adult Pure-Blooded Devil.]
‘You’d need an abnormal physique to sprint for an hour straight and still have energy to spare at his age, it’s almost like his body forgoed its magical potential in exchange for physical potential. Have there been any other cases of such a thing?’
[Not according to my data, there is the possibility that his physique is the result of a new mutation. However, he’d need to be properly tested by the Lord to make a confirmation.]
Just having a mutation alone didn’t qualify one for the title of Super Devil, but it was a step in the right direction, and a sign of strong potential nonetheless.
‘I don’t think there’s any need to start sticking needles into his body, let’s just see how he develops after unlocking his Ki and go from there.’
---
(Third Person)
“Uh, does someone want to fill me in on what’s going on?” Avalon asked, while having his body inspected by Lars for some reason.
“I don’t see any signs of brainwashing, so I think we’re all good.” Lars turned to Adaloth, completely ignoring his King’s questioning.
“It’s important that we’re thorough, they might have done something non-magical to him as well.” Adaloth stood right in front of Avalon, her face dangerously close to his as she sniffed the air around him. “This isn’t working— Avalanche!”
The Demonic Beast stepped forward, sniffing the entire of Avalon’s body like a police dog doing a drug search.
And once Avalanche got to Avalon’s right hand, he sat down and looked at Adaloth.
“A woman’s scent?” She somehow translated Avalanche’s gesture. “I see, so this was a honey trap all along.”
“There was no honey or trapping involved, thank you very much,” Avalon sighed. “It was our maternal Ancestor that invited me, she just wanted me to help out the current Heir with training-”
“She?” Adaloth repeated, Esdeath leaning over her shoulder and shooting a just as curious glance his way. “Our maternal Ancestor is a woman as well?”
“Mhm.”
“And? How do you explain her scent being all over your hand? No, on second thought you don’t need to tell me. She probably took you on an evening walk over the Bael Clan’s coast, holding your hand gently and whispering sweet poison into your ear to make you fall for her. Yes, I see it all now.”
He deadpanned, “With all that imagination you might as well create your own spell.”
‘You’d probably like it if Zekram did that though, hehe.’ Tomoe teased.
Adaloth grabbed him by the shoulders, “You’re an idiot so you probably haven’t picked up on her strategy, but you needn’t worry any longer. Now that I’m here I’ll be able to keep you safe from her.” She started to vigorously shake him back and forth, causing him to nearly regurgitate his breakfast.
‘Today might just be the day I actually hit a woman.’
“Talking about someone behind their back is in poor taste, Ruin Empress.” A soothing voice spoke, belonging to someone that Avalon had already sensed approaching beforehand.
Avalanche was quick to snarl at the figure, which once again was somehow translated by Adaloth.
“So you’re the seductress, you’ve got some gall trying to entrap my idiotic, foolish, easily manipulated brother while I’m not looking.” She narrowed her eyes at Zekram, debating whether or not she should just kill her on the spot.
“Please, if I were trying to entrap him then I would’ve already done so.” She noticed Adaloth’s killing intent, but was confident that she wouldn’t follow through on it, at least not with Avalon still present. “This is merely a courtesy I’m extending to you before the award ceremony, I do hope you’ll find my estate’s accommodations satisfactory.”
Adaloth stuck her tongue out at her Ancestor, earning an eye roll from Zekram in return.
Although, right as the former Great King was about to take her leave, she turned to face Esdeath. A sense of nostalgia brimming within the aged Bael.
“Acina’s presence, it has been some time since I last felt it.” Avalon wasn’t all that surprised she knew, seeing as Acina’s reign was during Zekram’s time. “I do hope you’ll prove to be more capable than your predecessor, for both you and your King’s sake.”
Avalon hadn’t filled Esdeath in on Acina just yet, feeling as if there wasn’t much of a point in doing so until Acina felt like actually cooperating. He didn’t want to risk irking the Ancestral Demonic Beast anymore than he already had.
“Tch, she thinks she can act all high-and-mighty just because she has an outrageously large chest. She has no class whatsoever,” Adaloth huffed once the Ancestor had departed.
“There’s no need to be so hostile, if you want to have a spat then at least wait until the ceremony has concluded.”
Right as Avalon was about to free himself, Adaloth pulled him closer, bringing her mouth right up to his ear.
“Training the Heir isn’t all she talked to you about, is it?” Her voice was low and threatening, the eeriness of which was enough to turn even the mightiest of warriors into an obedient puppy. “You should know better than to try lying to me by now—Brother.”
“We’ll talk later, right now I have a student to teach.”
“Then I’ll presume you won’t attempt anything foolish like trying to evade me later on?” Lars and Esdeath watched the interaction with heightened confusion, not sure what to make of it.
‘You overestimate your intimidation factor—Sister.’
“Of course, it’s a King’s duty to keep his Queen reassured.”
Avalon left his peerage to get accommodated, entering a private training room that had been reserved for him and Sairaorg so they could train without the unwanted attention of the staff roaming the Bael Estate.
Once Sairaorg caught sight of him, he immediately perked up, walking over to his new teacher with an expectant look in his eyes.
“You took too long!” He complained, already covered in sweat from the pushups he had done to alleviate his boredom.
“Haha, sorry about that, I just had to help my peerage get settled in.”
“You’re forgiven, now hurry up and teach me how to use Ki!” He pumped his fists, evidently excited.
“I’m glad to see you’re eager,” he beamed. “Sit down over there for me and close your eyes, we’re going to start by getting your body accustomed to the feeling of channeling Ki itself.”
Sairaorg quickly did as he said, to which Avalon put his palm on his back.
“Listen closely, once I inject a bit of my Ki into your body, it’s going to feel like a current of cool energy is running through your veins. That’s the sensation you need to engrave into your mind, it’ll help accelerate the process of you awakening your Ki faster than it would if you were just doing physical training.”
Put simply— Avalon was helping Sairaorg’s body get used to the feel of controlling one’s Life Force before it actually had the ability to.
In theory, it was possible for him to try forcibly awakening it, but taking Sairarog’s age into account both Pandorica and Tomoe had cautioned him that doing so could prove risky.
“That’s all? I just have to remember how it feels? That’s a lot simpler than I expected it to be,” Sairaorg mused.
“Awakening your Ki itself isn’t the hard part, the hard part will be learning how to master the use of Touki, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. Now take a deep breath for me,” he instructed.
Sairarog puffed up his chest, intaking a large chunk of air while Avalon started to inject a small portion of his Ki into him.
Since Avalon’s Ki was some of the densest one could possibly attain, it was crucial that he was not only sparing but precise with how he imbued it into Sairaorg, too much would cause him to implode, but too little would make it increasingly difficult for him to remember the sensation.
Sairarog’s temperature started to drop, his lips quivering a little as the sensation of Ki running through him felt colder than he had expected.
“Ki does that when it’s uncontrolled, but let me know if it gets too much for you to bear alright?”
Sairarog nodded, using every fiber of his being to remain concentrated.
‘I’m shocked, the nature of my Ki is extremely violent, yet this boy isn’t succumbing to the fear he should be experiencing at the moment.’ Tomoe hummed from within Avalon’s mind.
‘He’s a strong child, I’d expect no less of my student.’ Avalon replied with a sense of pride already starting to swell within him.
After a minute or so of letting Sairarog feel his Ki, Avalon retracted his hand.
“That’s it?” Sairaorg questioned.
“Yes, continuing could be dangerous for you and would also be needlessly risky. All this is supposed to do is passively hasten the awakening process, nothing more.”
“But I felt like I could keep going,” he pouted.
“Maybe, it’ll be easier for me to gauge your aptitude with Ki once you’ve actually awakened your own. So just try to be patient for the time-being,” Avalon stood up, performing a few warm-up stretches. “Have you ever had any formal martial arts training before?”
“No, normally I just train on my own.”
“I see,” Avalon sighed, his disappointment in how Sairarog had been treated worsening. “Upper extremity training and cardio is all well and good, but it’s also important that you know how to properly make use of the strength you’re building up in a practical sense. Therefore, I’ll start teaching you the same hand to hand combat Souji taught me.”
The mention of Souji’s name alone was enough to make Sairarog’s adrenaline surge.
Avalon opened his hand, extending it outward.
“Now then, give me your best punch!”
“Hehe, don’t blame me if I end up disabling that hand.”
Thud!
Sairaorg delivered the best blow he could, his knuckles crashing against Avalon’s palm after he reeled his arm back as much as he could.
‘That actually— hurt,’ Avalon looked at his hand, positively stunned to see some semblance of faint bruising on his skin.
Even though he hadn’t used Touki or Demonic Power reinforcement to strengthen himself, Sairaorg was just a five year old child who didn’t even know how to reinforce himself to begin with.
Yet he had still managed to damage Avalon who had already been through Souji’s strength training.
‘He really is a diamond in the rough, I’ll have to make sure I do a proper job of helping him realise that potential.’
“Not bad, but now I want you to experience the difference between a properly and improperly applied punch.” Avalon pointed to Sairarog’s feet. “Since you’re right handed, start by planting your left foot in front of your right, and make sure your hips are stable.”
“Like this?” Sairarog copied the stance Avalon was performing.
“Mhm, now before you throw you want to cork your fist like so, and then twist your arm as you’re punching.” Avalon demonstrated a punch for Sairarog to reference. “The twisting motion is what’ll give you the momentum to actually put your physical strength to good use.”
“Got it,” Sairarog nodded, preparing to throw another punch.
“Then give it a go,” Avalon offered his semi-bruised hand up.
BAM!
“Shi—!” Realising that he was in front of a child, he made sure to restrain his tongue. “I mean… Well done, you felt the difference between this punch and your last one right?”
‘That hurt like hell! I should’ve reinforced myself before letting him do that!’ Avalon cursed himself internally.
“I did! That felt like the strongest punch I’ve ever thrown!” He cheered, ignorant to the searing pain that was coursing through Avalon’s hand.
“It’s good that you’ve comprehended the importance of having proper technique,” his voice was a little strained from the impact. “From now on you’ll start learning proper hand to hand combat alongside your strength training, so make sure you’re here everyday at this time.”
He wasn’t sure how long he’d be staying at the Bael Clan after the award ceremony, if at all, so it was crucial that he made every day count.
“I will!”
“Great, then let’s begin.” This time, he reinforced himself.
---
(Third Person)
Night had descended over the Bael Estate, Avalon had already concluded his training session with Sairaorg some time ago, ensuring that his student received sufficient rest before they continued in the morning.
The Bael Heir’s teacher strolled through the hallway where most of the bedrooms were, arriving at one of the doors and knocking on it with a distinct sense of reluctance plastered on his face.
“Come in,” the perpetually eerie voice on the other side instructed.
Adaloth was sitting on her bed, wearing nothing but a plain black nightgown with her hair still wet from having just taken a shower, and loosely hanging onto her shoulders instead of it being in its usual braid.
Avalon sniffed the air, his attention shifting towards an empty glass on her nightstand with a large bottle next to it.
“Is that wine?”
“It’s on the house according to them,” she shrugged, reaching into her drawer and setting down another glass.
“You know I don’t drink.”
“You’re not that much of a lightweight, you can handle one glass.” She insisted, gracefully filling up the wine glass halfway. “You might as well sit, since I have a feeling that this’ll be a rather long conversation.” She patted the spot right next to her.
He sat down and proceeded to take the glass from her hand, looking down at the rose-colored liquid with a blank expression.
He took a single sip, and his facial expression showed no change whatsoever.
“You don’t like the taste?”
“All alcohol tastes the same to me— bland,” he sighed.
“Fascinating,” she hummed.
“What’s fascinating about it? It just means I don’t like alcohol.”
“Not liking alcohol is one thing, all alcohol tasting like nothing to you is another.” She wore her signature unnerving smile. “But that’s not what we’re here to talk about, tell me what you and that harlot discussed.”
Adaloth was one of the few people who could insult someone with a complete poker face.
He swirled his glass before answering, “She proposed to me.”
The bed let out a ghastly creak, a result of Adaloth clawing the mattress with her hand.
“Excuse me?”
“She asked me to replace Sylas as Great King, apparently the whole reason Sylas was even General to begin with was so he could observe us. Which is why Zekram didn’t try to stop Wilbert from replacing him as General now that Sylas has served his purpose,” he breathed a dry chuckle.
He still found the notion rather comedic.
“Three years just to observe two people, that’s quite the commitment.” Her anger quickly died down upon hearing his statement. “But you want to become a Satan don’t you?”
“Brother apparently already told her about that, since her approval is necessary for the appointment to go through smoothly. According to Zekram, becoming a Satan would be a waste of my talent or whatever, so she’d rather I forgo becoming a Satan and assume the position of Great King.”
He took another sip from his glass, finding the wine to still be just as bland and setting it aside on Adaloth’s nightstand.
“What do you think of Zekram?” Adaloth asked, seemingly uninterested in the whole Great King appointment ordeal.
“As a person?”
She nodded.
“If I’m being honest, she reminded me of you quite a bit. I was surprised you didn’t get along with her,” that sentence tempted Adaloth to slap him right then and there.
“I find that hard to believe,” her tone darkened.
“I’m not saying it’s a fact, she just gave off a similar presence to you when we were talking, that’s all.”
Manipulative and cold, was what he would’ve said if he had no sense of self-preservation.
“I’m nothing like her.”
“How would you know? You haven’t even sat down with her yet, you might end up finding that you two have much in common.”
“We have nothing in common, so stop suggesting that we do,” a hint of hostility appeared around her.
“Alright alright, I’ll drop it.” He raised his hands up. “But since I’ve gone ahead and spilled the beans, you might as well tell me what you think about me becoming Great King.”
“That would depend, do you want to lead the Underworld? Or do you just want to become a Satan?”
Avalon couldn’t help but smile, his sister had just repeated the exact same words that Zekram had told him after all.
‘Yeah right, you two are totally nothing alike,’ he snickered internally.
“If I can help the Underworld like our older brother, then in hindsight I guess it doesn’t matter what position I’m in. I’ve just never considered that there was another option than becoming a Satan.”
“The biggest current rift in our society is between the Four Great Satans and the Great King Faction, if you became Great King, then that rift would close drastically if not completely disappear.”
As much as he distrusted both her and Zekram, Avalon couldn’t deny that her reasoning was sound.
With him as Great King, a truly united Underworld was a genuine possibility. It would put him and his brother in a position to start changing the traditionalist values plaguing their people for the better.
One son could handle the common populace, and the other could manage noble society.
“So you think I should do it?”
“As much as I hate Zekram, I think it’s a good decision. But will she really appoint you as Great King taking your age into account?” Seeing as Avalon was a War Hero, there was no cause for concern reputation-wise.
“It wouldn’t be immediate, I would be tutored by her first before assuming the mantle.”
[Young Lord, I hate to interrupt, but the Lord has sent you a message. He wishes for you to visit him tomorrow morning.]
‘There’s still time before the ceremony, I’m sure Zekram won’t mind.’
“Well, it was good talking with you. I’m going to go ahead and get some rest,” Avalon stretched his arms before getting up to leave.
“Are you going to accept her offer?” Adaloth asked before he stepped out the door.
“I’m leaning towards it, but I still want to have a one on one talk with brother, as well as our mother and father before reaching a final verdict.”
