"If you keep stalling you're both going to die" Raphael spoke to the two boys before him. They seemed out of breath, but slowly they were regaining their composure.
"There's no way we can take this seriously. I mean I can't imagine myself harming a child" Angus argued. So far he had conceded the most hits, and had barely contributed towards today's goal.
Teamwork was the base of their training for today. Alexander had handled them for a week now. While Raphael had aided Angus to learn more about his strength and weaknesses. He was yet to perfect anything yet, but he was making slow progress.
"Forget that I look this way. If you want to make any progress with this training, then treat me like you would an enemy" True his appearance made things difficult for the boys. But that shouldn't be their concerns at the moment. In a world of magic, appearance should be the least of their worries. They were sorcerers who are capable of changing forms. Supposed they were to face someone who could take the appearance of a child would they falter?
It wasn't only about appearance, Angus was scared and so was Daniel. Angus was scared of hurting those he cared for, and Daniel on the other hand was scared of losing to the dark side. Raphael could tell Angus had lost during his encounter with Richard because he couldn't bring himself to harm someone he cared for.
He blamed Jeffery. It was all Jeffery's fault. He had robbed Angus of the only family he had, and now the boy was scared of losing any more comrades. His mental fortitude was weak when it came to battling allies, and it has hindered him from growing despite the intense training he'd undergone.
Daniel on the other hand has become an entirely new being. The loss of Richard had changed him, and nobody could blame him. He had become cold, and was passive towards anything that didn't contribute to his growth. He chanted his goals everyday, and he wasn't joking around anymore.
Daniel didn't posses much talent as Angus, but his diligence took him farther than anyone had expected. But now the boy could grow no further. He too had placed a mental block on himself that inhibits him from developing his skills.
Daniel had fallen towards the dark side twice now in a week. The reason being his over ambitiousness. He tried to push himself beyond his limits. And whenever he attempted to do so, he loses control.
It was obvious that the two of them won't be making any more progress individually, and that was why today's training revolved around teamwork.
"Calm yourself down. He might look like a child, but his strength is not something to be overlooked. If we're going to ever win then forget about his looks and focus on taking him down!" It was easy for Daniel to say, he had no idea what was going on in his head. Raphael had instructed that they go all out, but he couldn't even bring himself to use a reinforcement technique.
"He's coming!" Daniel was quick to react, but Angus wasn't. Three light spears plunged deep into the boy's chest and he found himself on the floor bleeding. The bleeding had stopped before he could feel pain, and the holes on his chest had disappeared at the same time.
Unlike Alexander, Raphael wasn't the kind who waited for his trainees to keep up. He retaliates whenever his trainees failed to obey. And unlike the training with Alexander, this one was scheduled to never end. Every injury sustained was instantly healed before they could feel pain. And their stamina and mana was instantly replenished whenever it neared exhaustion. They were going to keep training until they were able to perform wonderfully as a team.
"Get a hold of yourself! I know exactly how you feel, but now's not the time!" Daniel yelled at his friend who had gotten impaled once again. He had no idea how many times Angus had cheated death today. But if he continued to falter every time Raphael attacked, then they were never going to complete this training.
"Blood technique: Unending Massacre!" This technique allows the user to send forth a barrage of weapons constructed out of blood. The attack will continue until the user decides to end it, or runs out of blood. It wasn't something that Daniel would use against a powerful foe. But since he couldn't lose too much blood at once due to Raphael's constant healing, he was free to test out the technique.
"Be bound by the chains of Heaven!" It was the first move Angus had made in a long time now. His attack however failed, and Daniels was easily eluded and bypassed.
Grabbing onto his friends body, Daniel leapt away just before rays of light burst out of the ground. "The consuming lights" as it was termed was capable of erasing everything in its path. All that it fell upon was instantly reduced to nothingness. When Raphael said they'll die if they kept stalling, he wasn't joking.
"What do you think you're doing?!" Daniel was infuriated. He was clearly tired of being the only one contributing to this team. They were supposed to be working together, however only him was functioning..
"I can't harm him!" Angus yelled back. His body was shaking, and he had tears in his eyes. "I know it's just training, but I don't want to hurt anybody" He disclosed.
Using Crimson wall, Daniel was able to save them from spears before sending out wind blades towards their opponent. He understood more than anybody how Angus felt at the moment. He too found it difficult to attack the people he cared for. It wasn't something he would do on a regular day. It takes a lot of courage to point ones blade at a comrade, especially when they were the only few you could consider comrades.
Angus had the right to not fight back, but that didn't mean he should also abandon defence. This was supposed to be a team. As long as the both of them contributed to this battle, then they might actually be free from the endless battle. They had started at dawn, and now dusk was approaching.
"I understand, and I don't blame you for not wanting to hurt your friends. It's not something anyone can do. However in this case you mustn't necessarily fight back. If you can focus on the defenses, I won't mind handling the attacks" Daniel suggested.
Angus stared towards the approaching Raphael before turning towards Daniel with a nod of approval. His defenses were a lot better than Daniel's especially when it came to opponents like Raphael who used Light based attacks. He too could use some of Raphael's techniques. They weren't as powerful as the angel's, but he was sure he could counter a few and get Daniel the opening he needed to deliver a blow.
With Angus backing him up now, Daniel had decided to engage their opponent in close range combat. Raphael's physical capabilities were weak. They didn't stand a chance against him when it came to using magical techniques. The only option they had was beating him in close combat.
Raphael was definitely faster, even outrunning his own light based attacks. Jeffrey might be strong and all, but when it came to destructive capabilities and power no one compared to the man before them.
Daniel moulded a spear from his blood and prepared himself. Alexander had taught him weaponry to an extent, and he was grateful he had taken up a few lessons. He didn't need to be perfect to engage Raphael in his child form. He was almost incapable of fighting without his abilities.
Daniel launched forward after receiving a nod from Angus. He wasn't going to leave all the defense to Angus, he was still in doubt, but he didn't let Angus know.
"You've finally decided to work together, let's see how far you go" Raphael invited. He commended Daniel for his battle intellect. He was wise to chose close range combat, that was probably the only way they could win. Their aim was to land one hit while working as a team. Only that could earn them victory in this battle.
Raphael sidestepped a stab, and deflected a slash in the same second. Daniel had gotten fast, his attack speed had improved, and his quick witted thinking in battle was evident. If he had been a regular opponent he would have conceded some blows by now. But unfortunately he wasn't. Daniel might have gotten faster, but he wasn't anywhere near his speed at the moment. There was no way those attacks would reach him.
"Be bound by the chains of Heaven" It was a whisper, but he had heard everything even before it was said. He would have avoided the chains, but he didn't. Instead he allowed himself to be bound up, and then conceded a stab to the stomach.
"You two pass for today" Raphael announced before canceling away the blade that was lodged into his stomach. Angus must have seen that Daniel would never be able to win, and he had launched his chains in secrecy. He had been lost in his admiration for Daniel's skill and intellect, and had undermined Angus's presence. He never expected Angus to make any moves on him. If he wasn't Who he was, then he definitely would've lost.
He didn't factor in his foresight when he started this battle, using its advantage would be cheating. They had won for today, but they were yet to become a team. Angus still had a lot of issues to overcome, and Daniel's problems came from his father.
These two had potential, one that he hadn't seen before. They were both strong individually, and together they might just be unstoppable.