Two days after the meeting of the five Lieutenants in the General's room, it was declared that two weeks from now, the whole of the Demon Extermination Corp would be having a war against the Rank 7 demon - Gregronor.
The news had spread to everyone in the corps and all of them were feeling uneasy and nervous. The members - the soldiers - present here all have fought against the demons. Many have put their lives on the line to defeat their foe. They have a fair share of experience fighting against demons. Even then, they couldn't help but have a bit of fear leak inside their heart hearing the fact that the humans were having a war against their archnemesis.
What they had experienced till now was a small-scale battle. But now the proportions had been blown to a much larger scale. War meant that the battle will happen on a much larger scale. There will be more soldiers on their side and there will be more demons on the other side as well. During the battles they had had till now, although it is still sad, they lost two or three of their comrades at most. But now, it will not end with just that. Now, it will not be just two or three, it will be two or three thousand or maybe even more. More people will die. On both sides. However, it was different for the demons and the humans.
The demons could increase their number anytime through the demonic essence of the powerful archdemons. But it was not the same for the human side. It was not so easy as to increase the numbers like for the demons. Not only that, the emotional damage the loss of lives would have on humans would not be easy to recover from.
And the factor that made them scared the most was the Rank 7 Demon - Gregronor. Many soldiers had fought with monsters or demon underlings significantly weaker than the higher-ranked demons. For those, they couldn't imagine just how powerful one of the archdemons was. There were rumors that one archdemon can level a single continent alone. That fearsome power made them shake in their boots every time.
From every angle, the war seemed hopeless. No matter how hard they thought, they couldn't see a future where they would emerge victorious. That is unless they factor in the seven Captains, the five Lieutenants, and the most powerful soldier they had on their side - The General. When they entered the picture, it gave the other soldiers hope - that they might be able to win, even if just barely.
After the news spread, all members of the Demon Extermination Corps were gathered in the auditorium where the General delivered a fantastic speech that boosted the morale and the fighting spirit of the soldiers. A fierce fire could be seen in their eyes and the will to even throw away their lives for the sake of the continued survival of humanity was instilled in them. While he watched the General deliver his heated speech from the sidelines, Vanitas thought that he was a capable speaker who had the capability to move the mass.
Four days after the speech from the General, the whole of the Demon Extermination Corp was hard in preparation. Everywhere in the quarters, the sound of weapons clashing against weapons and the screams and shouts of soldiers could be seen. Even during the night, some could be seen practicing. Vanitas had been roused from his sleep many times now because of it. They were all training hard for the upcoming war and doing whatever they could to up their chances of victory.
Whether they were regular soldiers or Captains, all of them were training hard. A bit farther away, Vanitas saw two groups of soldiers fight with each other. They were practicing fighting in a group which they have to in the upcoming war. He saw Eleanor and Dominique in one of such groups, giving their all. Even two of the Lieutenants could be seen sparring a few distances away. They were Elvis and Olivia. A few people were watching the two spar with intent eyes, hoping to catch something new from tracing their movements and fighting styles.
Vanitas also got a bit interested. So he walked towards where the two were sparring.
Both Elvis and Olivia were sword users. They were swinging their swords fast and with force at each other without holding back. If the opponent were any other regular soldier, he would have been cut in half by now by either of them. But, the two of them were clearly not regular. Both were one of the strongest the Demon Extermination Corps had and they were called rightly so.
Although both were strong, there is no way both can be the strongest. Out of the two, it was clear who had the upper hand. It wasn't that Elvis was weak. It was just that Olivia was stronger by a width.
With swift movements, Olivia struck Elvis's sword diagonally up with enough force to knock it out of his grip. Elvis did try to dodge immediately but before he could the tip of Olivia's long sword was already pointed at his neck.
It was amazing. Vanitas had fought Elvis once before so he had felt for himself how he fought using his sword. He was strong. And crossing swords with him had been exciting. But, when Vanitas saw Olivia today he was amazed by the exquisite and refined swordplay that she had shown. He wished he was the one to spar with her. Subconsciously, he reached for the sword hanging around his waist and gripped it.
"Okay, I lost again." Elvis surrendered.
The crowd clapped as Olivia sheathed her sword back into the scabbard and proceeded to walk away. That was when her eyes met Vanitas's and she stopped in her tracks.
She turned around and spoke to him.
"Vanitas, would you be interested in having a spar with me?"
Vanitas was at a loss for a while when he was suddenly spoken to by Olivia. But, he recovered soon enough to answer her.
"Yes, I would love to."
Olivia went back to the small makeshift arena in the middle and unsheathed her long, white sword that reflected the light of the sun, blinding those who laid eyes upon it.
Vanitas jogged lightly and then unsheathed his sword as well.
"Ho." He heard an impressed voice from Olivia.
Elvis who had just now grabbed his sword slapped him hard on his back, saying, "Beat her up for my sake, okay?"
"I will try."
"Ha-ha."
When Vanitas first met and fought Elvis, he had some sort of hatred for him. Though he doesn't know the reason why he hated him. After the duel in the central arena, Vanitas thought that he will hold a grudge against him and come at him again and again to exact his revenge. But, to his surprise, he hadn't done anything. Instead, he had become friendly with him, almost as if that duel didn't even happen in the first place. Of course, at first, Vanitas thought that he was just pretending to make him lower his guard and attack him then. But, now Vanitas can say that he is not pretending. He genuinely doesn't hold a grudge against him. It was strange just how much different he was from his first impression. Though it took some time, Vanitas had come to terms with the fact that Elvis meant no harm.
Elvis went out of the fighting zone and sat down where others had been watching their fight earlier.
"Are you ready?" Olivia's voice made Vanitas turn his attention back to his duel.
"Yes."
She paused for a second before speaking.
"But you haven't used your demon's physical enhancement."
"And neither have you."
Vanitas had noticed already when the two were fighting that they hadn't used their demon's power to boost their physical capabilities. The battle they had was purely on their own strength. A pure fight between two sword users. That was what had interested Vanitas to go and watch their swordplay.
Olivia regarded him with her discerning eye for a while.
"Can you give me a satisfying match?" She asked as she moved her body sideways, with her left shoulder facing me and the right shoulder straight behind, lowered her center of gravity, and held her sword horizontally straight with its sharp tip pointed in his direction.
"We will see about that." He also lowered his gravity a tiny bit so that he can take off at any moment.
There was no countdown and no one to declare the start of the battle.
The two just continued to watch each other with a careful eye, so that they can observe and react to the tiniest of their opponent's movements.
Vanitas saw Olivia's right foot move just a little and press down on the ground.
'She is coming.'
At the moment that thought crossed his mind, the tip of Olivia's long sword was already in front of him.