The small "Alright" that escaped Eric's lips echoed like a decree in the dusty air of the grounds. Upon hearing this, Len's face lit up like the first ray of the sun. A spark ignited in his golden eyes as if he had won a great battle.
Ethos, who had stood as still as stone until now, felt a slight wave of surprise ripple through his eyes.
He knitted his thick brows and watched Eric's calm face intently. He hadn't expected that the boy who didn't flinch before his steely persona would give in so easily to a small child's innocent plea. A deep, mysterious smile played on Ethos's lips.
"Very well, then," Ethos spoke in his heavy, booming voice, causing the soldiers on the field to lose focus for a brief second.
He gestured with his massive hand toward the weapon rack standing on the other side, where dozens of swords shimmered under the sunlight. Some were long, some curved, and some were etched with ancient engravings.
"Go there," Ethos said commandingly, his eyes fixed on Eric's every move. "Pick whichever sword from that rack suits you best. A warrior's first test begins with the weapon he chooses for himself."
Len grabbed Eric's wrist with great excitement and began leading him toward the glinting weapons. The air on the grounds was now thick with the scent of iron and cold steel.
Eric's steps were measured, but the familiar crimson glint in his eyes had retreated behind a cold silence. It remained to be seen which weapon Eric's hand would finally settle upon among those ordinary blades.
Eric reached forward without a second thought and drew a sword from its scabbard. The sharp, metallic rasp of steel against leather echoed through the air. On the other side, Len also picked up a blade with simple engravings on its hilt. He gripped it with both hands, clearly adjusting to the weight of the metal.
The man to whom Grand Duke Ethos had just entrusted the task of supervision froze when he saw the glint of real steel in the hands of two small children. Astonishment was written all over his face.
He glanced at their tiny hands and then turned toward Ethos, who stood some distance away, watching silently. He couldn't believe his eyes—that Ethos would take such a risk with children so young.
The soldiers practicing on the field also diverted their attention from their drills. The clashing of swords grew faint as a murmur spread through the ranks. Several vampire soldiers peered from behind their shields, staring at the two boys.
"Is the Grand Duke truly going to let those children train with real swords?" one soldier muttered to his comrade in a low, heavy voice. "This could be dangerous... is there no concern that these little ones might get severely hurt?"
The worry and disbelief among the soldiers were palpable in the dusty wind. When Eric turned his neck toward the whispering soldiers, a cold glint flickered behind his red eyes for a fleeting second, as if telling them all that he was no ordinary 'innocent' child.
Ethos's face remained expressionless; he merely watched with hawk-like intensity to see how Eric would handle the true weight of the blade.
The cold glint that flickered in Eric's eyes sent a shiver through the man supervising the soldiers. He instantly whipped his gaze around, raining his stern voice down on the whispering ranks. "What spectacle are you staring at?" he barked.
"Did I bring you here to gossip? Raise your weapons and focus on your drills!" Under the weight of his command, the soldiers returned to their tasks, though their eyes still drifted toward the boys every few moments.
Ethos, standing a short distance away, moved closer to Eric now. His discerning eyes were fixed on Eric's hands. The sword Eric had chosen was no mere toy; it was a heavy, balanced weapon meant for the battlefield.
The steadiness with which a boy appearing only ten years old held such heavy steel created a stir in Ethos's mind.
I know Len's potential, Ethos thought to himself, but this new boy... the way he grips that hilt is like that of a seasoned warrior.
Ethos narrowed his eyes, staring directly into Eric's gaze. "Do you know how to wield a sword?"
The dusty wind of the training ground seemed to still for a heartbeat. Eric slowly lifted his eyelids and looked toward Ethos with his deep, crimson eyes. That natural red hue of his pupils, steady like a glowing ember, left Ethos's seasoned eyes in a state of confusion.
Ethos couldn't discern whether the brilliance in the boy's eyes was evidence of some unknown power or merely a rare trick of nature. He watched the Grand Duke with a gaze that was chillingly calm.
"I do not know," Eric's voice was as cold as his firm grip. There was no pride on his face, nor any fear—only a profound void that forced even a veteran of the battlefield like Ethos to pause.
In Eric's small hands, that heavy steel sword now looked as light as a mere twig. He held it with such ease as if it weren't a lethal weapon at all, but an extension of his own body.
Eric's crimson eyes locked onto Ethos, posing a silent question. "What now?" There was no excitement in his words, only a cold curiosity.
A faint but deep smile played on Grand Duke Ethos's face. Without a word, he stepped toward the weapon rack. From the same spot where Eric and Len had just picked their blades, Ethos drew a heavy, long sword. In his powerful hands, the weapon looked like a mere toy.
"Whatever I do, you must mirror every part of it exactly," Ethos said, his heavy voice carrying the gravity of a mentor and the discipline of a warrior.
Ethos moved toward a heavy wooden training dummy at the center of the grounds. He gripped the hilt firmly and, with a sudden, lightning-fast motion, delivered a basic strike.
The steel of the sword sliced through the air, leaving a deep gash in the wood.
Ethos brought his sword back to a ready position and turned to look at the two boys. "Now it is your turn. Both of you, deliver one strike each."
Len stepped forward first. He gripped his sword firmly with both hands and struck the dummy with full concentration. A moderate mark appeared on the wood. Having finished his turn, Len moved gracefully to the side and waited, his eyes on Eric.
Now it was Eric's turn. He advanced with measured steps. His red eyes were fixed on the wooden dummy as if it weren't a lifeless object, but his prey.
He gripped his sword with one hand so tightly that his knuckles turned white. He delivered one strike, and then immediately another—there was a strange fluidity and intensity in his movements.
After striking, Eric remained standing there. He did not lower his sword; instead, raising his voice slightly, he looked directly into Ethos's eyes. "Is this enough?" His tone didn't seek approval; it felt as though he were subtly testing Ethos's own boundaries.
Ethos's booming voice blended into the echoes of the grounds. "Yes, exactly right!" He struck his heavy palms together in a slow but firm applause, the sound as sharp as the clashing of dry steel. "That was far better than expected." A momentary glint surfaced in his eyes and then vanished.
On the other side of the field, the man supervising the soldiers stood frozen. His eyes remained fixed on the deep gashes left upon the wooden dummy.
He tilted his neck slightly and muttered under his breath, so softly it barely left his lips, "Indeed... that was quite impressive." His voice was so faint it could have vanished with a slight gust of wind, yet Ethos's senses were as sharp as a predator's.
Ethos whipped his head toward the man with sudden speed. The sharpness of his gaze made it clear that the silent murmur had reached him.
Ethos turned back to Len and Eric. "Keep practicing what you just did," Ethos commanded in a flat tone. "I will be back shortly."
With those words, Ethos kicked up the dust of the grounds with his heavy boots and strode toward the supervisor with long, measured steps. There were no expressions on Ethos's face at this moment—it looked as emotionless and impenetrable as cold stone.
There was a silence in his gait that was impossible to read. Eric did not loosen his grip on the sword's hilt; he watched Ethos's calm and steady figure with his crimson eyes as he approached the other man.