As we readied ourselves for the battle, both of us raising our blades and ready to fight, we only stood there—neither of us taking the first step to engage.
But my master, a demon born and raised to fight, didn't hesitate further. Moving faster than any normal demon would, he attacked.
Using the initial momentum, he did a simple thrust aiming for my center mass. To retaliate, I moved to the side moments before his blade could reach me.
Taking this opportunity, using my nail, I slashed upwards toward him, trying to send him flying.
Expectedly, using his sword, he blocked the strike, and using the momentum generated from the clash, he gained some distance in the air.
While in the air, he held his sword tightly and, aiming at me, brought it down with enough force to shatter the ground.
Moving quickly, I got to a safe distance to avoid the sword strike, but as I was moving away, blue spectral swords began to surround me. Within that split second, they surged forward, aiming directly at my head.
Foolish. Stabbing my nail into the ground, I formed a protective shield around me, blocking every single one of his attacks.
He didn't stop there. Using his sword, he pierced my shield, shattering it. Little did he know I was expecting this.
With my nail still planted into the ground, I began to quickly pour soul energy through my nail and into the earth.
Then the floor began to glow white from all the energy I poured in, and not a second later, hundreds of white, pillar-like spikes rose from the ground.
My master, ever the quick thinker, jumped high into the sky and, using his magic, switched his sword to gauntlets.
He raised his fist, and with one mighty blow, he destroyed the spike. When he landed on the ground, a massive shockwave shook the training grounds, shattering the rest of the spikes.
As I stood staring at my master's form, I began to walk slowly toward him, leaving my nail on the ground.
Raising my fists, I got ready to enter hand-to-hand combat.
My master saw me approaching him with my fists raised and ready to brawl, and with a wide smile, he got up from his knees and began to walk toward me as well.
Once we were close enough—almost in sync—we both raised our fists and struck.
Our fists clashed with a thunderous boom, each strike causing the very ground we stood on to shatter and quake as our blows landed one after another.
Wanting to end the stalemate, I moved my fist slightly, aiming toward his head. He tried to move his head, but it was already too late.
My fist was too close, and with a loud bang, it connected to his face, marking the first blow.
His mouth began to slowly bleed from the attack, but just as quickly, he retaliated with a blow of his own, aiming at my stomach.
Once the blow landed, I felt it crack my shell slightly, forcing me to retreat a few steps.
Taking a look at the damage, I quickly healed from the attack and got ready to brawl again.
Looking at my master, he swiped the blood from his mouth and, with a joyous smile, charged at me.
Not wanting to disappoint, I charged as well.
---
(POV: Lucifer)
Wow, they're really going at it.
Eating a bucket of popcorn from the sidelines while my son was fighting his teacher was not part of my bucket list, but hey—this is quite a show they're putting up.
As I ate, I heard a door open. Looking back, I saw Charlie with her makeup... well, let's just say… ruined.
She didn't look all too happy.
"Hey, Char-Char! How's my little ducky doing? Popcorn?" I offered her the bucket, but she simply stared at me with a frown.
"Sooo… came to watch the show?" I tried making small talk, but she simply frowned at me before walking straight toward the fight.
Oh boy… well, at least it's not her mother. Dad forbid—she'd do something much worse.
---
As we continued to land blow for blow, something caught our attention. It was Charlie—and she did not look happy.
Stopping the battle, we landed in front of her, and her makeup was… greeeeat?
"Hey, Charlie, you doing okay?" I said, avoiding eye contact.
She simply stared at me—her eyes fixed and unmoving.
The silence between us was extremely uncomfortable, and my master, not wanting to deal with it, simply left by teleporting through a portal beneath him.
And there Charlie and I were, left alone. Well, mostly alone—Dad was watching from the side, still eating popcorn.
Not wanting to seem like a bad brother, I tried to remedy the situation by speaking to her in a kind and friendly manner…
I bolted away.
But Charlie, still completely pissed, grabbed me by the neck using her enlarged arm.
"You're not getting away that easily! I spent two hours making sure my makeup was perfect, and here you are fighting with your teacher—destroying castle grounds!" Her eyes became a fiery red, almost cat-like.
"And what exactly do you want me to do? I'm not really good at putting on makeup."
Charlie took a deep breath and calmly let go of me. I got off the ground since I was basically on my knees when she grabbed me.
"I want to borrow your two maids. Those two are basically perfect robots and can do anything that doesn't include fighting."
"That's it? Sure, if that's all."
"And you need to wear something else besides your armor or robes. It's about time you get proper clothes. It always bothered me that you never wear pants."
"And you're not bothered by the fact I'm naked right now?"
"No, but it is weird you wear a top and no bottom to match."
"Sigh… fine. You can borrow the maids, and I'll find something to wear that isn't my usual clothes."
Charlie simply smiled at me before skipping away. Once she left the room, Dad flew by and landed next to me.
He was still eating popcorn while he spoke.
"So, need some help getting new clothes?" he said while munching down.
"That would be nice, Dad."
Dad simply threw his popcorn into the air, and it disappeared in a puff of smoke before he grabbed me. Snapping his fingers, we were teleported to a rather large room filled with mirrors.
Dad then turned his regular clothes into something resembling a designer's outfit and started doing a French accent.
"So, the madame Charlie is pissed at you? Not to worry! Papa Lucifer shall make you more fabulous than Leviathan herself!"
Snapping his fingers once more, he cleaned all the dirt and gunk off my body, and clothes about my size began to surround us.
Grabbing one, Dad began making small adjustments, making sure it was the right size for me. Not long after, I was wearing the same clothes Dad wore on a daily basis.
"Voilà! Now don't you just look absolutely fabulous?" he said proudly.
"The clothes are nice, but can't you get me something that isn't a carbon copy of your outfit, Dad?"
"Who is Dad? I am John France! Paris's most decorated and famous designer!" He snapped his fingers once more, and my clothes changed again.
Now I was wearing a red and white suit. It had a simple yet fancy design, with a faint smell of apple to it.
"Now how about this! Quite different from the last and much more fabulous!"
"It's nice, but red really isn't my color. How about something more… white?"
"Uhhh, you are the most picky client I've ever had. But no matter—I, John France, shall provide!" And with one final snap, my clothes changed once more.
I was now wearing a pure white suit with matching white shoes. It had a scarf—or what I assumed was a white scarf—around my neck, and to finish it all off, a small pale bloom rested in my shirt pocket.
"Well, how about now? Did I impress?"
"This is quite nice. Thanks, Dad."
"No need to thank me. I was more than happy to help, son."
"I thought you were John France?" I said to Dad.
"And he still is! Now goodbye!" Dad said before throwing something on the ground, creating a smokescreen, and disappearing.
Left alone, I simply took one more look at the suit before walking off.
---
As I walked toward the castle stables, I tried visiting Charlie first, but she simply told me to go ahead and wait for her at school.
So, with nothing else to do, I left her and made my way to the stables, where my ride awaited.
Opening the door revealed hundreds of different pens containing different types of horses—some literally on fire, some with wings, and even a literal girl with horse features.
We don't really know why she stays here, but we didn't stop her.
No, what I was after was my second-ever creation. Opening the much larger pen revealed a giant stag sleeping on the ground.
Walking closer to him, I gave him a small pat on the head, and with that simple gesture, he woke up and began moving his head closer to me.
He didn't really have the ability to speak yet, but the Pale King said that once he grew enough, he'd be able to.
Moving closer, I got on top of him and settled into the saddle on his back. He quickly knew what to do and stood up. As we walked toward the exit of the stables, the guards opened the gates, allowing us to leave.
Once we were outside, he got ready, and with a loud roar, began running.
As he ran, a thought formed in my mind that was rather important.
I wonder how Grimm's doing dealing with the Goetia.
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I wrote two parts of the story so you must vote, because democracy.
Harem Charlie.
Sister Charlie.