After that day, things calmed down a little. We had sparring sessions for the whole week, one such exercise having an endless amount of training dummies getting sent at us, and getting as many kills as possible.
Halsten and I have actually gotten rather acquainted with each other throughout the training sessions. It started out as friendly rivalry, but eventually, we started to watch each other's backs. Today is no different. Marie, Sylvera, Halsten and I stand in the middle of our training room, Cleiera keeping score.
"Ready, set...Go!" says Cleiera with a clap of her hands. The doors open, and some training dummies spawn in, that look like angels. Halsten and I lean on each others' backs.
"Ready, Halsten!" I say. We've formed this alliance as a mutual interest to not get maimed.
"Don't tell me what to do!" says Halsten. I shoot some dummies with antimatter bullets, while Halsten runs up and just straight up starts punching. Halsten learned how to convert his body parts into light, which allows for some very powerful and fast attacks.
Sylvera and Marie group together. "Ready, girl?" says Marie with a smirk on her face., readying blood tentacles on her back and a blood spear in her hands. Sylvera turns the whole floor to ice, along with summoning an ice spear in her hand. A bunch of training dummies run to Sylvera, and get executed by a spiked glacier coming their way. More dummies approach Marie, and immediately gets eviscerated by her blood tentacles.
"Don't get caught in the blizzard," replies Sylvera.
KILL COUNT: HALSTEN: 4 / ETHAN: 5 / SYLVERA: 13 / MARIE : 13
I charge towards a horde of dummies, and blow up the floor in front of me, then going behind their back to blow them up. Halsten wipes out a horde, and crouches. He's been testing that move for a while now.
"Song of Pride: Eternal Light." Halsten readies a stance, and with a deep breath, he dashes, turning his legs into light. It allows him to be really fast, at the cost of strength. He timed this rather nicely, as a new horde of dummies spawned in.
SHINK.
KILL COUNT: HALSTEN: 125 / ETHAN: 80 / SYLVERA: 99 / MARIE : 105
In an instant, nearly the whole horde of dummies got sliced in half. All that was left was a trail of light which eventually subsided. He went from 50 to 125 kills. Marie looked at the nearly fainting Halsten in disbelief.
"Hey! Lightspeed is unfair!" complained Marie. She didn't need to for long, however, as it was apparent that Halsten wouldn't be influencing much. of the battle, he immediately collapsed on the floor.
Marie smiled. "Heh, well, I'm gonna try to do better than that!" She crouches into a battle stance, and in an instant, disappears in a flash of red, trying to emulate the same attack Halsten did. She couldn't emulate the speed Halsten had, but judging by the flying dummy heads, it was good enough.
"Ahaha..." says Marie, high from the blood rushing throughout her body. She leans back and cackles loudly, her laughs echoing throughout the room.
All of a sudden, a voice comes up on the speaker. "ONE MINUTE LEFT. A BARRAGE OF TRAINING DUMMIES ARE COMING." I ready myself, as all of a sudden, more than a hundred training dummies spawn around me. I ready myself in a defensive stance, I hear my heartbeat going crazy, this is it-
SHINK
The whole arena gets covered in ice, freezing everything in sight. Halsten, Marie and I are immobilized in the ice, and can only watch as Sylvera snaps her fingers, causing the training dummies to crumble to pieces.
"Tsk. Patience is key in battle," says Sylvera, thawing all of us out.
FINAL KILL COUNT: SYLVERA: 209 / MARIE: 187 / HALSTEN & ETHAN: 150
I sigh. Another day, another tie.
~~~
HALSTEN
~~~
The next day, we group around the table to eat breakfast. I grab a nearby newspaper and read the headlines. How interesting.
"Climatic Clash Proves Fatal To Couple: Last Night's Story," I read aloud. "Last night, a couple was attacked by a skilled hooligan in an alleyway. Their epic clash led to a brutal death where their hearts were ripped open and cut in half for all to see. Morning news from The Morning Star."
Ethan widens his eyes. "I see what they did there. Demons can die?" he asks.
"Yes, they can," replies Sylvera. "They don't age until 1000, and human tools are useless against them, but sanctified weapons, angelic powers and other demons can kill a demon. Sanctified weapons are weapons are weapons enchanted by the power of God himself.'
"Could this have been the work of an angel?" asks Marie, sipping some tea
"Possibly...But I don't see why the angels would be this brutal. No matter how the angels are, they're professional when they kill," I reply. "Ooh, it's said that the couple had a relation to the infamous Belhazen Corporation." Marie chokes on her tea.
"Marie? What's wrong?" asks Ethan. Marie regains her composure.
"I'm fine," replies Marie. "It's just...I've heard stories about this place. It's an institute for training demons, right?"
"Yes," replies Sylvera. "However, it's rumored to be a prison more than a school. Some people have even called Belhazen a gulag on steroids. Parents send their kids when they're still infants, as they would do anything in their power to not go there once they grow up. It's taboo to talk about the victims."
All of a sudden, Cleiera bursts through the cafeteria door. "Hey, guys! Great news! We just picked up another case! And you won't believe what it is-oh," says Cleiera as he notices the newspaper printing.
"Aw, shucks. We're taking that case." Marie's eyes widen. "Wait...do we have to go to Belhazen, then?" asks Marie, a terrified expression on her face.
"Yeah? Why are you scared?" I ask.
"It's just...To be honest, I used to work at Belhaven once. As a receptionist." Halsten gasps. Cleiera widens an eye.
"Jesus. What did you encounter there?" Ethan asks.
"Nothing much, really. They hid the bad stuff from the unimportant staff. But rumors circulate. We have a saying: what happens at Belhazen stays at Belhazen." Halsten stood up from his chair.
"If we need recon work, I can do it. Ethan doesn't know his way around, and they'd be way too suspicious if two highly-classed demons show up. I should go, I'm a less important guy," said Halsten.
"Alright! Let's do this, good luck! And remember, we are not responsible for your-" Cleiera was interrupted by Sylvera.
"Hold your horses, don't think you can slack off yet. We still have to check out the crime scene. Accompany Ethan. He's still a beginner. Teach him how the place works," says Sylvera, patting Cleiera's shoulder.
"Oh, all right. Marie, you, stay here. Ethan and I will check out the body, and Halsten, you check Belhazen out. Good luck. Stay safe."
~~~
I arrive outside of Belhazen. A tall, towering, 100-floor building with pure-white walls and crystal-clear windows. A trap for new parents. Still, I can't deny that no matter how fucked up Belhazen is, their techniques somehow work. All of the demons that graduate serve as high-ranking demons.
I enter the building. A cold, white and desolate room awaits my presence with a singular receptionist sitting down. All of the seats are empty, which allowed me to just walk up to the receptionist.
"Hey, uh, can I speak to your manager? I'm a reporter from The Morning Star, and I'm here to interview your manager about the recent death last night." The receptionist nodded. "Right this way, sir," she said as she leads me down a long hallway.
As I walk through the hallway, I can't help but admire how clean the establishment looks. It's enticing, and doing a great job of giving the impression of professionality. We stop in front of a brown door, where an old man sits inside. The room has a desk, scattered with papers and multiple TVs, which he switches off immediately. I take a seat in front of a chair in front of me.
"Hello," I say as I shake his hand. A copper smell. Blood. The old man smiles. "Hello! You've come to inquire about the death of our investors, huh?"
I nod. "I'd like to do that and leave as soon as possible. I-uh-I have a meeting." The old man shakes his head.
"I understand. Bad reputation. I've seen it all. Anyway, we should get to the point. Known enemies. Yes." He pulls out a picture of another old man, presumably around 1290 years?
"He's the most likely one to have a vendetta against us, too. He's really powerful, and he has a history with Belhazen."
"What history?" I ask.
"He used to be an investor, sent his own daughter here. Take this." He gives the photo to me. "He lives right-" SLASH. A blink later, and his head was cut off, not even a drop of blood spilling on the ground.
"Holy crap!" I back away. A hooded figure comes into play, their face blocked by a black mask. Their head donned a comically giant cockscomb.
"STOP DIGGING INTO BELHAZEN," said the figure, in a distorted voice. "DO NOT INTERFERE WITH MY WORK." I strike a battle pose.
"Well, if you want it, you're gonna have to get it!" I say, before striking a light punch at her. "I have a meeting to get to!"