It was 10:AM in the morning, the sun hovered lazily above the horizon, casting a warm glow over the vast training grounds. Alex stood silently, his hoodie pulled over his head, staring at the man before him—Diablo.
"So," Alex began, breaking the silence. "Why did you suddenly decide to train me?"
Diablo folded his arms, his gaze sharp but calm. "Because it's time you learned to control your demon power."
Alex sighed, almost as if he'd been expecting this all along. "Yeah... I figured it'd be something like that. But damn,why did have to be now of all times?"
Diablo raised an eyebrow. "How many times have you actually used that power?"
"I'm not really sure," Alex admitted. "A couple of times… back before all the serious training started. And during my three years training, i guess i usedit once or twice."
Just then, the sound of footsteps echoed across the field. Kazuki appeared, stretching lazily as he approached. "Yo. What are you two doing here?"
Diablo turned, surprised. "Kazuki? I didn't know you were around."
"Just got here a few days ago," Kazuki replied. He glanced at Alex. "So, what's going on?"
Alex rubbed the back of his neck. "Apparently, Diablo wants to teach me how to control my demonic power… without rampaging or something like that."
Kazuki blinked. "I don't even know what that means. But hey, I'm bored, so I'll sit and watch how this turns out. Then after that, I'll just throw hands with Diablo." Diablo replied with a wierd smile "Everyone wants a piece of me,huh?"
Diablo gave a small grin. "Alright, Alex. Let's begin."
Alex nodded, pulling off his hoodie. Diablo began performing hand signs, and a black marking in the shape of a cross slowly materialized on Alex's chest. His eyes narrowed.
"Hm… Seems Ranpo altered the seal," Diablo muttered.
Alex glanced down. "Everything okay?"
"Yes," Diablo replied. "Once I remove the seal, your demon energy will surge immediately. When that happens, I want you to let it flow—don't resist."
"That doesn't sound like a great idea," Alex said, frowning. "Wouldn't it be smarter to teach me to hold it back?"
Diablo smiled. "Don't worry. I've got this."
He clapped his hands together—and in an instant, the black cross vanished from Alex's chest.
A black and red aura erupted from Alex's body like a burst of power. He gritted his teeth, then screamed as waves of demonic energy exploded from him, shaking the entire field. Kazuki's eyes widened in shock.
"Holy crap…"
Alex's white hair shifted to a deep crimson. His skin darkened with black markings, sharp claws extended from his fingers, fangs lined his teeth, and two demonic wings tore out from his back. He roared, a deafening, primal sound that shook the hills and shattered the earth beneath his feet.
"Perfect," Diablo said, grinning in delight.
"Are you insane, Sensei?!" Kazuki shouted. "He could attack anyone right now! Who knows, maybe he's even a bigger idiot as a full crashout demon."
"For one to control power," Diablo replied calmly, "they must first be consumed by it. You can't control what you don't understand.", be turned to Kazuki with a grin "It's common logic.". Kazuki had a defeated and tired look on his face "Nah, he just want to fight. He reminds me of Veronica abit." Kazuki muttered to himself.
Alex, now completely overtaken, launched toward Diablo at incredible speed, unleashing a storm of fireballs. Diablo simply stood still, hands in his pockets, dodging each shot effortlessly as the entire terrain started blowing up.
In a flash, Alex appeared behind him and threw a punch—an explosion followed, flattening the terrain. As the smoke cleared, Kazuki was shocked "Tch! So much power with just that one blow!", he looked into the smoke and saw Diablo holding back the punch with just one finger.
"You're doing well, Alex," Diablo said, unfazed. "I can't wait to see how far you'll go."
Alex flew back, roaring as his body surged with even more power. His skin turned red, and spikes emerged from his shoulders and arms.
"He's entered Demon Form: Stage Two," Diablo remarked.
"Do something already!" Kazuki yelled, nearly panicking.
"He'll be fine. As long as he doesn't fly off to the city or something."Diablo replied smoothly. Kazuki replied angrily "WHAT?!"
Kazuki looked at the raging demon Alex had become, awestruck. "So this… this is a demon's true power? It's wierd because I feel this is just the least amount of power he can pull out."
Alex released another scream, sending out a shockwave of wind strong enough to topple trees and break hills in seconds. He lunged at Diablo again, his speed surpassing the last. A barrage of furious punches followed, but Diablo kept dodging with ease, almost toying with him as the entire training field was getting blasted and obliterated.
Alex reappeared behind him and unleashed a massive explosion. A portion of the battlefield was completely obliterated—hills reduced to dust, the ground left scorched.
As the smoke cleared once more, Diablo stood unscathed.
"Sparring is over," he said, finally lifting a hand.
"Confine."
A glowing force field surrounded Alex, halting his rampage, Alex lets out a huge roar of anger. A radiant light burst forth, and within moments, Alex's demonic features vanished. He collapsed, unconscious.
"He did pretty well," Diablo said, chuckling.
Kazuki sighed deeply. "You're insane."
He glanced at the battlefield. "How did you even take a hit like that and come out without a scratch?"
Diablo smirked. "I'll tell you someday."
Alex stirred, eyes blinking open. "What… happened?"
"You took a big step forward in controlling your demon power," Diablo told him.
Alex slowly stood, rubbing his head. "Did I… hit you at all?"
"Not even a scratch," Diablo replied casually.
Alex looked around, stunned at the destruction. "Did I… do all this?"
"You're amazing," Diablo said, grinning.
Still confused, Alex turned to Kazuki, who nodded. "What he means is—it's impressive your body could handle so much power."
Alex's eyes lit up. "That's… awesome!" He leapt onto Diablo in excitement. "I'm so glad I trained with you!"
"Alright, calm down," Diablo said, chuckling. "We're not done yet."
Kazuki waved them off. "Yeah, I've seen enough. I'm grabbing something to eat."
But as he turned, Diablo called out, "Kazuki. It's your turn."
Kazuki paused. "Huh?"
"It's been three years since we sparred," Diablo said, eyes gleaming. "Let's see how much stronger you've gotten."
A confused look crossed Kazuki's face—but from a distant cliff, a figure was watching.
Shinki. His hair and red cloack was blowing majestically with the wind.
He giggled to himself, eyes locked on Kazuki, and with a flash, vanished from sight.
—End of Chapter—