Chapter 35: The prince
CLANG!
Arbus managed to deflect another thrust of his opponent's blade, his muscles straining as he leapt back, keeping the distance between the two of them.
The attacker didn't let up as he chased after him with a flurry of strikes, trying his best to break Arbus's guard.
Arbus's jaw tightened as he parried most of the attacks. The few that managed to slip through his defence stopped against his suit before they could do any damage.
The impact of each still sent a slight jolt through his body.
He let out a small grunt as he decided to go on the offensive. He swung his sword downward, trying to throw his opponent off balance.
Unfortunately, his enemy had predicted that and dodged just in time as he brought his own blade down on Arbus's.
Arbus immediately realised he had made a mistake.
His leg quickly shot toward his opponent's torso as he tried to create distance again.
"Too slow."
In the next moment, Arbus's blade was knocked out of his hand and onto the ground while his leg was suspended mid-air, in the firm grasp of his enemy.
WHOOSH!
Then, he found himself in the air after being tossed across the large white space.
"Tsk."
Arbus twisted mid-air, regaining his balance as he landed calmly at the corner of the melee weapon training room.
He straightened as he glared at his opponent.
A slow applause came from beside them, echoing through the chamber.
"Hahaha! Not bad, not bad, both of you." instructor Harves said with a laugh as he walked up to them.
His gaze studied Arbus for a few long moments, his expression unreadable.
Then his attention finally turned to the victor.
"Especially you, prince Jet. As always, you seem to have a tactical mind for controlling the flow of battle."
A smile spread across prince Jet's face.
"Thank you, instructor. You're too kind. I merely applied what I've been taught."
Harves shook his head with a smile.
"No, it's just the honest truth. Apart from Arbus here, none of your sparring partners have lasted more than a few exchanges against you. It's quite impressive."
"There's little I can teach you about swordsmanship that you haven't already mastered."
"Well, I suppose this was only natural, considering who your father is."
Jet's smile faltered for a moment as his gaze darkened slightly.
"I'm afraid this has nothing to do with my father, instructor."
"No one is born with combat abilities. Especially my younger self." He said with a small chuckle.
"My skills simply come from my countless hours of training and the patience of my many teachers."
Harves could sense that he had brought up a sensitive topic, so he immediately dropped the matter.
"Of course. Forgive my presumption."
Turning back to Arbus, the instructor's expression brightened.
"You're getting better and better, Arbus. I'm impressed with your growth rate, despite how little you come here."
Arbus inclined his head respectfully.
"Thank you, Instructor. But I'm aware that I still have much to learn."
"You're right about that." Jet added.
"But, don't beat yourself up about it. You did surprisingly well compared to everyone I usually spar with."
He said as he glanced to the side of the room where the trainees had been observing their spar.
Most of the blue Mornans seemed embarrassed that they had been upstaged by a half-human.
Especially since it undermined their attempts to befriend Jet before their time in the facility came to an end.
Still, watching the spars between these two had made them realise that they had overestimated Arbus greatly.
"Prince Jet really is amazing, handling the half-breed like a ragdoll like that." Maze, one of the blue Mornans that usually followed Jet around said with a snicker.
A few more weeks had passed in the base.
By now, no one was as terrified of Arbus as they had been before.
They had begun openly mocking him as they saw fit.
Their only restraint was how they phrased their words to avoid Totra's curse.
"Hmph. The half-human could only really endure his onslaught."
"What did you expect? Prince Jet's a prodigy. That was only natural."
"The half-human might as well have been a practice dummy."
Jet raised a hand, causing the murmurs to cease instantly.
"Guys, that's not very nice of you. Arbus did a great job too."Jet said as he turned back to Arbus.
"Besides, I heard that most half-humans are physically weak. Despite the race of the non-human parent."
"It's a miracle that Arbus is capable of this much. It wouldn't be fair to disregard his efforts."
"I'm sure he trained a lot for it."
Arbus frowned slightly, not liking where the conversation was heading.
"Thank you, prince Jet." Arbus said slowly, his tone slightly colder than before.
"No worries!"
Jet said as he watched Arbus walk over to Kaeru who was standing by the door, his gaze locked on Arbus.
Jet's brows furrowed slightly.
In the past few weeks Kaeru had denied sparring with Jet despite his constant offers. The only one he had agreed to spar with during his stay here was the other white Mornan, Alexander.
He'd even tried taunting him, but Kaeru didn't seem to care about anything besides training.
Everyone already knew Kaeru was the strongest blue Mornan in their group – his consistent victories against level 4 combat bots in the simulation room had made that clear.
Jet knew the trainees were curious to see who was stronger between Kaeru and himself in a battle.
In truth, he was as well.
It was hard for him to believe a blue mornan was at the very least, physically as strong as a white mornan.
But the evidence was right in front of him.
He hadn't been able to find out anything about Kearu's origins either.
Jet desperately wanted someone like that on his side when he was done here.
A blue mornan with that much talent, loyal to him and him alone would be a perfect way to start his Renegade journey.
His eyes narrowed as he watched Arbus converse with Kaeru.
Jet considered it unfortunate that Kaeru had ended up with those two as roommates.
But, it was also an opportunity.
A moment later he continued, making sure his voice was loud enough to reach Arbus.
"After all, you're just a poor, unfortunate soul your mother had chosen to birth, after a Reincarnator forced himself upon her."
"Stories like that for you Half-breeds are always so tragic to hear. Truly, humans are skin to beasts."
Muffled laughter echoed among the trainees as they did their best to hold it in.
But, Arbus didn't really care.
Right now, he didn't care about them at all.
He turned slowly as his gaze landed on, a futy of emotions burning in his eyes.
"Take that back."
Jet's brows rose slightly, a small smirk etching itself on his porcelain features.
"What was that?"
"I said take that back."
"My father never forced himself on anyone. He wasn't like any other human!" Arbus shouted.
For the first time in a very long time, he found it hard to control his rage that had been drowned out by his immense guilt.
His fists clenched by his side as he glared at Jet.
Most of the trainees were simultaneously surprised and disgusted that Arbus was defending a Reincarnator so openly.
"Oh, is that so? Then, am I to assume that your mother willingly conceived a child with a Reincarnator." Jet said, his smile widening slightly.
"I have to say, that's a bit.... Heartless."
"...."
BOO-
"Enough! Both of you!" Harves bellowed in exasperation as he appeared in front of Arbus in the blink of an eye – stopping him from lunging at Jet.
He hadn't intervened earlier because tension among trainees was something he usually encouraged for growth.
But the prince had taken it too far.
His hand held Arbus by the torso, while Kearu's was holding him firmly by the shoulder.
Heavy breaths escaped Arbus's lips as he struggled to calm himself down.
"It's alright Arbus. Let's go." Kaeru said, his gaze boreing into Jet.
Jet simply smiled back.
"Sorry, I shouldn't have stated the obvious like that. My apologies."
Arbus teeth clenched as he glared at Jet.
His eyes surveyed the room for just a moment, before returning to him.
"I don't care how much you attempt to bully me. I don't care how much you come up creative ways to insult me. And I don't care if you hate me with every fibre of your being." he said, his voice filled with a dangerous edge.
"I'm used to that. I understand why you do it. I have no right to be angry at any of you for it."
"But... if you ever mention my mother again..." His eyes darkened. "I'll make you wish you were dead."
Several blue Mornans immediately shouted in rage.
"Did he just threaten the prince!?"
"Who does he think he is!?"
"Does he have a death wish of some sorts?"
Arbus paid them no head.
Jet on the other hand said nothing in return as a corner of his lips perked up.
"Well, I'm always ready for that – if you can, of course."
Arbus didn't bother with a response this time as he simply walked out of the training room.
Jet's smile faltered a bit at that.
Then, he turned his gaze back to Kaeru who was still standing by the door next to instructor Harves.
"I think talented people like us should stick together more often. you're welcome to join me whenever you come to realise that and stop hanging out with those two."
"Just because they're your roommates doesn't mean you have to limit your horizons."
"That's only a temporary arrangement, after all."
Kaeru remained silent for several moments his eyes focused on Arbus's retreating form.
Soon enough, he turned to Jet.
"....Thank you for your offer, 'prince' Jet."
"But unlike you, I prefer not to partner with weaklings."
"It serves no value to me, as I am now."
"It's a bit insulting that you keep bringing me down to your level, so I'd appreciate it if you cut that out." He finished as he walked out as well.
Jet's expression froze at his words.
"Wh...what!?"
Harves sighed tiredly, already thinking about the headache today's incident would cause in the future.
'It must be nice to be so hot-blooded.'