The trainees anxiously looked at each other while murmuring their concerned thoughts between themselves.
The only ones who remained undeterred were of course Kellen, Rena, and Tommy, since Tommy was no longer present and probably had his hands full with escaping instructor Noctus.
Both Rena and Kellen stared down the small Legionnaire with anticipation and a strange fiery light in their eyes.
Suddenly, the Legionnaire cracked his neck and forced both his palms together in a single swift movement, resulting in the booming sound of thunder crackling throughout the training grounds.
The anxious whispers and concerned murmurs immediately ended as the trainees stood erect after the thunderous noise shook their entire bodies.
"Right. Why don't we get started..." Said Axus with his subtle and monotone voice.
The trainees refrained from any further questioning in fear of disturbing their teacher once more. The boisterous training ground had now fallen eerily silent that even the slight breeze dancing and trailing throughout the grounds and buildings could be heard.
With the breeze rustling through the beautiful white hair of the Legionnaire, an almost angelic scene was captured in the moment. However, the vicious hidden light dwelling deep in his gaze offered a stark contrast.
"My Thunder Regiment does not have any room left for weaklings, so if you are unable to contend or survive you can only blame yourselves."
The Legionnaire's monotone voice softly fluttered through the breeze but its sharp contents pierced into the hearts of the trainees.
'He's trying to get everyone riled up.' Chuckled Kellen internally as he watched the faces of his fellow trainees constantly shift with their changes in emotion.
Kellen was also annoyed by the Legionnaire's mocking but what truly stung was the truth embedded in those harsh words. Whether it was when he faced the secretive cult, watched the fall of a kingdom, or even suffered the beatings of his fellow laboratory Romans, Kellen had witnessed and realized the importance of strength.
'Sadly, there is no place in this world, maybe even the entire universe for that matter, where the weak can survive unoppressed.' Kellen strongly concluded.
Although he had finally accepted this irritating concept, Kellen still felt disdain for those who had created this tyrannical and unforgiving system.
"So... Who wants to go first?" Questioned Axus as he waved his spear in front of the lines of cowering trainees.
The corners of Kellen's mouth began to slightly arch upwards as he raised his hand in the air.
"Oh, looks like there might actually be some potential in this group after all." Commented the Legionnaire in his strange emotionless manner.
Kellen slightly tilted his head to the side in confusion. As he scanned the many stiffened trainees in front of him, a single hand caught his eye.
'Figures...'
Only two hands were raised from the multiple lines of trainees. One belonging to Kellen himself, who was still positioned closer to the back, while the other was raised by a girl with a cold aura about her in the front.
"Since you have both taken the initiative I'll allow you to attack at the same time." Coolly stated the Legionnaire as he planted the spear in his hand into the ground beside him.
Raising his right hand, the Legionnaire beckoned the two trainees forth. Rena took a few steps forward from the front while Kellen calmly pushed his way through the parting lines of trainees.
"Use any means necessary for victory." Instructed Axus as he sized up the two with a look of interest.
Kellen gave the girl a side-glance before suddenly bursting forth towards the Legionnaire with an incredible speed.
'I doubt I can catch him off guard, but I can't allow him to take any chances with me.' Figured Kellen as he unsheathed the training longsword that swordsman trainees were given.
Relying on his training experience with Osiris in the spatial hell and his combat experience gained from his time with Strom, Kellen expertly slashed and sliced the longsword in a series of flashing strikes.
The eyes of the trainees watching the performance widened with amazement.
"Look at his speed!"
"I can barely even see the blade at this point!"
"What? All I see are flashes of light!"
The movement of the longsword and Kellen dazzled the spectators. The deadly and concise dance of man and blade surprised them but what truly shocked them was the Legionnaire.
Axus effortlessly ducked and weaved along with the flow of Kellen's blade, creating an even more fantastic spectacle.
'I need to change my pacing...'
Suddenly, the form of the dance shifted, as the flashes from Kellen's blade disappeared and were replaced with a void-like image.
From the perspective of the onlooking trainees, Kellen was now just waving his hands about as if playing with an imaginary sword.
"What is going on?"
"What happened to his sword?"
"The instructor must've finally fought back..."
The confusion of the trainees only continued to increase as they watched the odd battle.
'How?'
The speed of Kellen's blade had now assimilated with light and no longer was burdened by its elements as it invisibly slashed towards its opponent. However, its edge had still refused to catch the Legionnaire's movements even by a little.
'What is this monstrous speed?'
Kellen was prepared to face a wall when he initiated this fight, but he assumed he would be able to scale this hurdle like the many he had before. Unfortunately, the power of the Legionnaire was more comparable to a one man fortress.
"I'll will now begin to counter-attack." Stated the Legionnaire as he continued to effortlessly dodge the oncoming strikes.
The Legionnaire's small hand straightened and a thunderous boom echoed as it darted towards the side of Kellen's neck right passed his sword.
However, the hand froze for a split second during its precise trajectory.
Suddenly, a chilled feeling began to creep up Kellen's back and he immediately dove to the side.
A bright blue arching blade crescent swept passed his previous position. The ground it passed left a trail of small shards of ice following the crescent's path.
"Huh, that's interesting." Replied the Legionnaire in an uninterested voice.
The frozen blade shattered before the small Legionnaire's hand as a buzzing sound of electricity fritzed about the small man.
The Legionnaire's eyes shifted from Kellen towards the origin of the new attack. A mist of frost was permeating from Rena's sword and falling to the ground to froth around her feet.
"Ah, another swordsman but with the divinity of ice..." Stated the Legionnaire.
Kellen's eyes darted over to Rena's freezing figure with surprise.
'Divinities...'
Kellen had almost forgotten about the strange magical attributes apparently held by some of this world's residents.
'I should quickly take advantage of this.'
Kellen regained his composure and brandished his longsword while urging some of his demonic energy.
Whilst Rena now engaged the Legionnaire and held his attention, Kellen prepared himself for another bout.
Using his demonic energy, he began soul sensing to gain more insight from the Legionnaire.
'What!'
The fiery soul of the Legionnaire was like a raging bonfire that seemed to be barely contained by his small figure. The color of the flames were a purplish white, like lightning flashing in a thunderous sky.
The dangerous energy radiating from the Legionnaire was almost suffocating for Kellen. He quickly relinquished his soul sensing in fear of fainting from the immense headache forming due to the pressure of the Legionnaire's soul.
'Is this the power of a true powerhouse?' He coughed in pain.
His sight became slightly blurred and a reddish tint tunneled the outer edges of his vision. However, instead of feeling fear or shrinking back from the monstrous opponent, Kellen felt a strange fire and desire beginning to swell in his chest.
Kellen's vision became fully engulfed into a blood red hue as his muscles began to itch and burn. It felt like his body was giving birth to a sun, surpassing the boiling point, as the heat in his blood further radiated.
'No! Stop! I can't lose control again now!' Kellen panted with deep breathes as he struggled to stay in control of his destructive desire.
Rena was now approaching her final breathe as her exhausted figure began to emit less and less of a chill to the near surroundings.
Axus still remained untouched and his small figure continued to tower over the trainees and his current opponents.
"I guess this was adequate." He nonchalantly stated.
After witnessing the trainee's capabilities, he prepared to deliver the final blow to end Rena's small struggle. The thunderous boom rang out in the training grounds once more as his hand descended towards the nape of Rena's neck.
Rena gulped as she helplessly watched the Legionnaire's hand descend towards her imminent defeat.
The frosty mist and aura surrounding her slowly began to disappear.
But before the powerful hand could strike her, a small flash of red light caught the corner of her eye.
The Legionnaire's hand vanished from its path along with the rest of his body, as it appeared a few steps away to the side.
A sword coated in black and blood red flames slashed the ground where Axus previously stood and sunk deep into the soil like melting snow.
Rena's eyes widened as she stared at the grinning wielder of this chaotic sword.
The dark black hair of the young trainee hung loosely in front his face, slightly covering his eyes. However, the viscous flashing red hue sparkled and still permeated forth from behind the dark strands. A small insidious grin plastered the youth's face, reflecting his eagerness for battle, further solidifying his devilish appearance.
It was now Rena who felt a chill creep up her spine as she studied her strange savior.
'Wh... Who is this guy?' She wondered with widened eyes.