I arrived in the training chamber of Blake, located at the fifth wing of the Elysium Kingdom. Only few people are allowed to enter, only few people know about this place.
Upon entering, warm air welcomed me. I roamed around my eyes, trying to find Blake, yet to no avail, I cannot see him.
This chamber is as huge as Alpha's sacred chamber. But, the differences scream so loud. The sacred chamber felt like home but this chamber felt hell.
In the middle, a small simple house that contains only a few basic and necessary things. Enough for Blake to do his daily routine before engaging in his bloody training.
On the right side, the Apex were located, a forest filled with wild and dangerous animals which would respawn after killing. Beside it is the Advanced, another forest but with a humanized enemy that would also respawn upon killing.
In the middle back, the Novice were located, it is an open ground to practice one by one combat. Beside it, in the far left side, the Standard were stationed, a training ground but can repress any kind of energy, it contains scattered mindless enemies. On the left side, a hot spring and sauna were made, created to train Blake to get used and adapt to the heat.
He has been staying here for almost a month, not being allowed to go out. He strictly follows a created schedule for him, no idling and laziness is not tolerated.
The training was supervised by a Delta A, one of the strongest guild leaders. I heard he was cruel and brutal in handling Blake as per the decision of the council.
From time to time, I and the other two Betas were joining in his training as a sparring partner. A strong opponent would make him strong too.
"Hello, where is he?" I greeted, asking an Epsilon who was guarding the place.
He answered, bowing his head. "Master Blake is in the Apex, Lady Aella."
I turned my gaze to the right side. "Thank you."
I walked towards the Apex. As I entered, a tall tree unfolded before my eyes. I calmly jumped through the branches. Animals saw me, they roaring and going wild, trying to chase and reach me.
I did not pay them any attention, focusing my senses in finding any traces of fire energy. Where is he?
After a few minutes of finding Blake, I saw trees burning on the right side of the forest. "There he is."
The warm air started to get hotter. I am getting closer.
A terrifying yet normal view of Blake's training showed up, a merciless way of fighting. No dead animals were scattered as they vanished when killed. But, wild animals keep on appearing as if they are limitless.
They are fighting Blake with their best, trying hard to take down the fire bearer who was nearly mastered using the fire stone.
I bet few of them were defeated repeatedly, just coming back because they are programmed to be like that. Poor animals. I hope it does not hurt so much… being burned with those scorching flames.
I observed how he moved in an effortless grace with those flames released in his palm. How he can easily control any flame in his surroundings, and how he can command it to move according to his will. He spun and twirled, showing fiery dance with his unpredictable movement. How fascinating.
I would never have thought that he was the same person who was once frightened by the fire that made him unconscious. In a span of a month, he improved this a lot. How unbelievable.
I remained watching him for more than 10 minutes. Without rest, he kept on fighting those beasts. He was not looking tired though, even his breath does not show any sign of losing and chasing a single air.
I felt pity for those animals, so I did them a favor. I surround Blake with my water shield, restricting the wild animals to come near. They tried to break it by scratching it with their claws.
He finally gazes at my position, finally catching his attention.
On his way to sit on the ground, I moved quickly and rained water arrows to his position, not giving him any chance to rest.
With his improved reflexes, he quickly summoned his double-edged sword and swiftly deflected the wave of water arrows being thrown at him.
However, I am still much stronger at him as some of my water arrows hit him, causing a deep wound yet it does not bother him as he continues to wave his sword. Not uttering a word, not complaining. A serious look was written in his face as if he wasn't going to back down or surrender.
I remember when we first fought, he continued to fight back yet cannot follow my move. While hopelessly fighting back, his eyes were filled with water as if he was going to burst out yet remained standing and did his best to fight back. That time, he deeply earned so much respect from me.
Now… I bet after a few more fighting experiences and training, he can give me a fair fight or even defeat me. I look forward to that.
As I stopped, Blake looked at me, not surprised anymore by those surprise attacks coming from them. He is used to it since Aerona and Tellus also do that… frequently, as they keep on disturbing and bothering him with his training which he is grateful for as it helps him get stronger.
"You're here," he greeted, finally sitting down in the ground.
"You've improved a lot," I praised him upon landing in his front, acting normal as if I did not surprise him with my water arrows.
"Who would not? Training with these wild animals and… monstrous people," he answered, emphasizing the last few words he stated.
I chuckled as I came closer to him, starting to heal the wound I definitely caused. "Sorry about that," I apologized.
"It's not a big deal," Blake assured, shrugging his shoulders as he watched me to heal him. "It's been three days, how's your mission?" he asked.
"I managed to heal most of them," I murmured, recalling the painful sight she saw in her mission. "Some of them… died, they weren't able to endure the blood poisoning caused by Sanguine."
Sanguine is one of the Abyssal Order, the one who uses the power of blood magic.
"Did you fight with Sanguine?" Blake quickly asked.
"No… I would love to but she ran away when they probably sensed us," I innocently stated.
Blake laughed, "Oh… she maybe got scared."
I tilted my head and let out a soft giggle, "Maybe?"
"Do you have your next mission?"
That question made me realize why I came here. "Ohh… right… our mission," I emphasized those words, leaving Blake stunned.
It's his first mission.
"Our… mission?" he hesitantly asked, wanting to clarify if he did hear it right.
I chuckled. "Yeah, the council finally agreed to put you on a mission… but with me."
Blake's eyes twinkled. For the past few days, he has been waiting to be summoned to do his first mission. He did not bother to repress his emotions, he let his excitement and happiness be shown.
"Our mission will be the Blood Scribes, one of the Abyssal Court of Sanguine," I seriously explained, starting to give him details about the mission given to us.
The Abyssal Court is the group of people working under an Abyssal Order.
"They are the one who creates blood rituals and blood incantations, right?" Blake asked, trying to remember the lessons he had about the power hierarchy of Erebos.
"Yes, they are preparing to do their thing inside the Elysium which we definitely need to stop."
Blake tilt his head, thinking about an answer to how they would stop it. He only thinks about fighting. "Are we going to fight them?"
I opened my mouth to say "yes" but I stopped as I thought about something. "No… you would fight them," I emphasized the word "you", putting and giving the fight to Blake.
Despite the training and improvement he got, he felt nervous as sweat built up in his forehead. He got staggered knowing that I wanted him to fight those Abyssal Court alone.
"If the ritual starts, you need to burn the blood. If they are still preparing, talk to them and make them leave the vicinity of Elysium," I seriously commanded, giving a direction to Blake.
He frowned when he heard that he should talk and made them leave. "I thought I would fight them?" he confusedly asked.
I chuckled, this man is so silly. "Fighting only comes when the two parties do not agree with each other. If they leave, then they leave, there's no need to shred blood. If they resist, then you fight," I gently explained, trying to add some knowledge to him. "You need to remember that fighting isn't always the solution to a problem, sometimes good talking and communication can do it," I added.
"But… they are bad people, right?" Blake clarified it, thinking that Erebosian should be punished in any way.
"But, we aren't villains and killing machines, are we?" I softly returned the question.
Blake isn't convinced and swayed by the question, he asked another one. "Then, what's the point of doing this extensive training if I am not allowed to fight whenever I want?"
"Dear…" I leaned closer to Blake, trying to reach his hair to fix it. "This training isn't for fighting and killing whoever bad people it is. This is to protect yourself and Elysium," I calmly stated while softly caressing Blake's hair. "Our power is to protect not to kill."
His stare started to get soft, trying to understand what I am saying. After a few seconds, he nodded, finally understood what I was saying.
I gave him my sweetest smile. "Now, prepare for the mission. I'll be waiting for you at the door."