C269 - Test
'A goal,' Khan repeated in his mind as his face grew colder.
Khan had a goal, but it didn't involve the war on Ecoruta or his future companions. The Global Army was a tool that he needed to use to fix his nightmares, and what he had learnt during the crisis on Nitis had made his loyalty waver a lot.
"I don't know if I'm the right person for that," Khan admitted. "I might be simpler than you think, sir."
"I find it hard to believe that," Captain Clayman contradicted. "Everyone in the thirty-seventh battalion has read your profile. Your ability to survive and come out on top of awful situations is unmatched in your generation."
"Is that enough to inspire?" Khan wondered.
"It's enough to make others follow you," The Captain revealed while blowing out a small cloud of smoke. "Your ideals will eventually fill what you lack, but you can get those later on. You are too young for that stuff."
Khan nodded, even if he knew that the Captain's guess was completely off. His ideals were already solid. His experiences inside the Global Army only added dark shades to them.
"I wish I could change things," Captain Clayman sighed when more azure lights flashed in the distance. "It becomes hard to understand all these small things after seeing what humans can achieve with mana. Most soldiers strive to gain minor safe positions when they can evolve past the limits of their species. I don't get how they can ignore that chance."
"Are you talking about the evolved beings, sir?" Khan asked as interest spread in his mind.
"I've seen one with my own eyes once," Captain Clayman exclaimed. "I don't claim that I'm strong enough to understand their power, but I didn't think a single glance could make me feel so small. They live in the same world as everyone else, but they experience it far differently."
"Do you know what evolving brings?" Khan questioned. "I couldn't find much about evolved beings."
"Only the noble families or the forces connected to them have accurate records," The Captain explained. "I had the chance to learn a few details, but they are useless in your case. See evolved soldiers as dragons among rats. They share the same air, food, and world, but things are different in their eyes."
"Dragons, sir?" Khan asked.
"What about them?" Captain Clayman questioned.
"I don't know what they are," Khan admitted.
"Oh," The Captain gasped. "They are huge fictional beasts. I guess your childhood wasn't great."
"The Slums aren't great at that," Khan chuckled.
"Anyway, back to my point," Captain Clayman announced while clearing his throat. "Humans can be drago-, I mean, big beasts, but they choose to remain rats. That's disheartening."
"Sir, training isn't for everyone," Khan complained.
"That's why soldiers need sources of inspiration," The Captain exclaimed. "They need dragons among them to show them the path. I hope that you will help me achieve this dream once you reach important positions."
Khan turned toward the Captain and nodded. "I don't like to see lives wasted. I want to change things if possible."
"Good, good!" The Captain laughed while patting Khan's shoulder. "I knew I could count on you. Still, remember this warning. Politics can be more dangerous than battles, so focus on making many powerful friends."
"I'll do my best, sir," Khan confirmed.
The Captain patted Khan's shoulder one last time before turning to walk back to the camp. His mood had improved after that conversation, but Khan's face grew colder after that departure.
Khan didn't lie, but his words only conveyed half-truths. He didn't like seeing lives wasted, but he couldn't prioritize them over his problems. He wasn't even sure he cared enough about the Global Army or humankind in general to fix it.
'Is this what I have to become to reach the Nak?' Khan wondered as the Captain's figure disappeared behind the distant buildings. 'Do I have to lie and use friends to get rid of the nightmares?'
Khan felt about to fall prey to his feelings. He didn't like what had happened after Nitis. He often had to resort to lies, and his only moments of peace came from a physical relationship that exploited a friend. That type of life didn't seem worth living after experiencing the happiness among the Niqols, but giving up wasn't an option. That self-loathe was better than the nightmares, at least for now.
Khan used his training to suppress the depressing thoughts that had filled his mind. Launching spells highlighted some of his worst emotions, but he preferred to focus on a few of them instead of experiencing his entire mental state.
Khan had come to Ecoruta to stop thinking for a while, but that peace was going against his plan. Luckily for him, it wouldn't take long before he could jump on the battlefield again.
Red-purple lights flashed in Khan's surroundings as his training continued. The chaos spear could deploy more power than the Wave spell, but its accuracy depended on him. A few exercises allowed him to grow used to the attack's weight and sensations, but he felt the need to perform more tests before the mission.
The chaos spear also gave Khan ideas on how to solve the issue with the Wave spell. He could control his mana with the former, so he could theoretically do the same with the latter, and his feelings were the key.
The chaos element's effects changed according to the feelings that Khan used during each execution. The expanding spherical shape of the Wave spell made sense when he paired it with his boundless desperation. However, he believed that reducing its range and forcing it into a single direction was possible as long as he found a different emotion.
Khan didn't have the time to test that theory since the morning arrived and his phone began to ring. Sweat covered his body, and faint drowsiness had taken control of his mind, but he could still attend Rick's training.
Rick and Delia waited for Khan in front of his habitation, and the group soon moved toward the patch of barren ground. Lucille even joined them along the road, and the morning training began as usual.
Rick seemed to have transformed in those three weeks. His face shone with pure excitement while exchanging blows with Lucille. His poor battle experience made him waste many openings or suffer a few injuries, but he could fight now. Traces of his old habits still existed, but he was giving everything he had to remove them.
Delia couldn't help but smile at those scenes. She had grown fond of Rick. His determination was inspiring, but she knew that Khan deserved most praises there.
On the other hand, Khan remained cold during Rick's training. Everything could work because the soldier knew that punishments would arrive if he failed in the exercises, and Khan had to remind him about that with his serious face.
Even Delia's warm gazes of soft caresses didn't distract Khan from the training. He was serious about Rick, and Delia's presence remained both pleasant and painful. She was a constant reminder of what Khan had decided to do to experience short hours of peace.
Khan had tried to hide that problems had started to appear, but Delia had noticed them. She was like a drug for Khan. Everything seemed to go well when he got his dose, but the hours after that were painful, and the intensity of his suffering was slowly increasing.
Liiza wasn't even the sole core of the issue anymore. Khan saw that Delia suffered whenever she couldn't gain access to his emotions. The limits of the relationship were slowly starting to hurt her, but Khan didn't stop using her even if he had noticed those problems, and that made him feel awful.
In theory, Delia never complained, and Khan was simply sticking to the rules set beforehand, but he felt terrible anyway. Even if they had broken up, Khan still thought that he was cheating on Liiza while hurting a friend at the same time. His only consolation came from the fact that a new battle would arrive soon.
"Khan, are you behind last night's mess?" Moses asked through a laugh as he and his group arrived on the barren patch outside the camp.
"What mess?" Delia asked.
"I'm talking about last night's fireworks," Moses explained. "Some soldiers saw lights flashing outside the camp for entire hours. We went to check the area before coming here. How did you even dig so many holes?"
"I was training," Khan admitted. "I can't test my spells inside my habitation."
"Are you back in fighting shape then?" Moses asked as his eyes lit up.
Similar expressions appeared among his group. The soldiers had waited patiently for Khan to join the sparring sessions, and the time had finally arrived.
"I can join you safely," Khan said while wearing a fake smile. "Shall we use your rules?"
"I have no intention of facing your element," Moses announced while following Khan into an empty spot of the barren area. "No spells or deadly attacks."
The event inevitably caught the attention of everyone in the area. Rick and Lu stopped fighting, and the others formed a large half-circle around Moses and Khan to inspect their battle.
"I know that you are fast," Moses announced. "I might have an advantage there."
Khan smirked, but his face quickly became serious. The coldness contained in his expression forced Moses to focus, and his hands shot forward as soon as his opponent moved.
Khan reached Moses in an instant, but a hand filled his view before he could start his attack. Moses used a martial art that focused on instinctive actions. His body moved on its own without requiring thoughts or strategies. He had reacted so quickly to the sprint that Khan couldn't even begin his offensive.
'So much for no deadly attacks,' Khan thought while inspecting the curved fingers aimed at him.
Khan had studied Moses' martial art in the past week, and he had even developed some respect for him. The automatic actions required a lot of training and experience to be efficient in an actual battle. It was almost impossible to take the soldier by surprise, but Khan was one of the few warriors in the camp capable of testing his limits.
Moses had joined his fingers to create two curved fangs. They were moving toward Khan's head, but the action didn't create openings.
Khan ducked to slide under the incoming attack, but Moses quickly lowered his arm in an attempt to catch him. Khan could push himself forward and escape the blow, but he decided to jump and spin on himself.
The airborne maneuver allowed Khan to dodge the fangs' initial descent, but Moses promptly changed their trajectory to wave them at the figure rotating at his side. His fingers would definitely stab Khan, but his eyes widened when he understood that his opponent had no intention to dodge them.
Moses' instincts made him interrupt the attack and half-turn while raising his arms above his chest. His quick reactions allowed him to protect himself before the airborne rotating kick landed on him. A shin landed on his forearms, and an unstoppable force pushed him away.
Moses' feet dug the ground as he slid a few meters away. Khan landed softly, but he didn't immediately sprint forward. His eyes rose to inspect his opponent, and a fake smile appeared on his face when he noticed the single drop of sweat falling from the soldier's forehead.
"You are one crazy fella," Moses exclaimed while inspecting his forearms.
Some soldiers on the scene had understood what had happened, but Rick, Lu, and others didn't see anything off. In their minds, Khan had managed to hit Moses, but the latter had successfully protected himself.
"I could have hit you," Moses stated in a confident tone.
"And you would have lost your arm," Khan replied.
The exchange had been simple. Moses had the chance to hit Khan, but he was ready to endure the blow. The sharp fingers would have pierced his side, but his kick would have landed before they could reach his organs.
Moreover, Khan had decided to push Moses. He could have focused his momentum on breaking his arms and what stood behind them, but he had held back to avoid causing injuries.
"Do you always fight like this?" Moses questioned.
Khan placed his hand on the new sheath at his side while revealing a meaningful smirk. He had only relied on the Lightning-demon style, and he had even limited its destructive power. His recent performance wasn't even close to his real fighting style.
"That's quite menacing," Moses admitted. "No wonder you could survive inside the enemy lines. I bet your size helps against the Stal."
"It depends on the situation," Khan revealed. "They are too tall, so I can't jump freely in crowded situations."
"I get that," Moses stated before stretching his fingers. "Do you want to go at it again?"
"Do you?" Khan chuckled while lowering his gaze to glance at the weapons hanging from Moses' belt. He used odd gloves that had two long blades coming out of the knuckles.
"It would be fun," Moses sighed, "But it would also endanger the mission. I believe everyone here is already satisfied with your power, am I right?"
The soldiers on the scene could only nod, and some of them even fell in awe when they glanced at Khan. They had initially hated his ruthless approach to Rick's training, but they couldn't say anything after realizing that he was worse toward himself. Someone like that would surely fit as a leader for the simple reason that no one would dare to question his choices.
To be continued