During my third week of training, I decided to kick things into hyper-gear. I was up hundreds of pounds on all my lifts, and my training at the Danger room was getting more complicated and frantic.
I'd spammed Burst so much that I knew I was close to reaching the upper limits of the Basic tier. My control over Ophion was also getting masterful. I practiced swinging around the city, yanking enemies close, pulling myself to them, and using them as a tool to incapacitate.
I rounded the week off by cornering Wolverine and demanding an actual spar from the combat master of the X-men.
When I'd initially approached him about the training he'd 'promised,' he pointed out that he said no such thing. I'd asked for it, and he'd answered my question with another.
That left me slackjawed for a moment before I recovered.
I pointed out that I needed to see where I stacked against a true master, and the flattery finally got Logan into the Arena.
Throughout my entire time teaching with Logan, he'd only used me as promised-- a demonstration partner for all his strikes, parries, throws, maneuvers, and submissions. And he hadn't gone easy on me. But it was nothing my regeneration could not handle.
His sessions, however, cemented Logan's reputation as one of the most skilled fighters in the Marvel Universe. He'd demonstrated flawless mastery of multiple martial arts and a technical understanding that bothered genius, even if the man couldn't explain it in so many words.
We were in the Arena alone. Our only audience was the teaching staff watching from behind the cameras.
Logan was a simple shirt with an old Katana, and I clutched Rebellion, shifting nervously. Logan had decades of experience with me, and his healing factor and endurance meant he wouldn't be tapping out anytime soon. I was stronger than when I first arrived, but Logan had bones made of Adamantium.
"Come on, bub," Logan said with a come-hither gesture. "I haven't got all day."
Instead of trading barbs with him, I let my actions speak for me. A potent Burst brought me within striking distance of Logan, and I slashed at him. He raised his blade to block the attack, but I unsummoned Rebellion, ducking into an athletic roll. Mid-way through, I summoned five of the then fingers of Orochi and pelted Logan's back.
"Argh," he grunted and swung around. I leaned back, dodging the cut by mere inches. A knuckle duster came out next, and I punched with a Burst. The blow did not move Logan, but he definitely felt it.
His legs angled out, but he was slightly slower than he would have otherwise been. The blow swept by me as I used clever footwork to glide past Logan, using my Adept skill, but before I could lay into him, his elbow shot out, blocking my liver shot, but my other hand was wide open, and it summoned Ophion.
I fired as I stepped back with Demon Pull. It latched onto Logan's leg, but before I could yank him off his feet, the 5 foot 5-monster batted the claw away with the flat of his blade.
The move stole a chunk of flesh, but Logan surged forth anyway, unleashing a flurry of strikes. I summoned Rebellion to deflect them, but the strength of it pushed me back. I was strong but not nearly strong enough, and Logan's swordplay was miles ahead of mine, even though he should be in crippling pain because of the fingers of Orochi.
I made up for it by rapidly repositioning Rebellion. Because of the nature of my power, I was never truly locked in a position. With a shift and a pivot, I could attack from a whole new angle, switching my sword for a bo-staff or axe, and that was what I did.
Logan scored more cuts on me than I did him after sharpening my unpredictable style against him. I decided to get serious.
A burst of demonic energy put some distance between me and Logan, and I fired at him using Ebony and Ivory.
Logan charged me, deflecting a chunk of my shots, tanking the others with his arms, legs, stomach, and head.
"Quit hiding behind your guns like a pantsy!" Logan roared as he leaped at me with his sword, giving me the opening I'd been looking for. Burst carried me forward faster than Logan could react, and I slammed Rebellion into his gut just as he came down. The acceleration and the suddenness of the strike were powerful enough to throw him back, and I followed after him, stabbing him over and over again with a furious roar.
My hands moved so fast that my blade became a blur.
'Trillion Stabs!'
Logan was barely standing when I was done, and I was panting. Large parts of his chest and stomach muscles had been hacked off, leaving his ribcage exposed.
Still, Logan didn't even look like he minded. Right before my eyes, muscle tissue regenerated, and flesh covered them.
"You're better than I give you credit for," he said, tossing his Katana aside and ripping off what was left of his shirt. "You've earned my claws."
I gulped. I went on and did it.
Logan gingerly pulled the Fingers of Orochi, slowing him down, and leaped at me with his claws bared.
I ducked to the left, slightly winded, but he followed closely behind me, pivoting and sprinting a second after he landed. Logan had gone from barely keeping up with my speed to outpacing me in all categories.
His claws moved like a hurricane, shredding everything in sight. Sections of the Arena were covered in adamantine claw marks. I didn't even try clashing blades with him. I knew Rebellion or Ophion wouldn't survive it, so I focused on keeping my distance, strategically using bursts, and lashing out with punches and kicks.
But my Demon energy bottomed eventually.
8/350.
I realized that only after Burst's command yielded no instant transportation. My heart was at my throat as Logan's claws inched closer to my neck. In a herculean feat of effort, I twisted and bent as rivers of sweat poured from my soaked tanktop.
I tapped into my demon energy pool when I saw that I would not make it out entirely unscathed. And then something happened. A wave of energy surged from every pore in me, exploding in a sustained flame of red and black.
Logan leaped back, digging his claw into the Arena floor, surprised by my sudden transformation.
A notification flashing onto my screen confirmed what I'd already suspected.
Congratulations: You've Unlocked Demon Dodge (Basic)
Increase your next attack by 2x for 5 seconds.
Costs 20 Demon Energy
Fuck me.
This was not how I imagined learning this skill, but I wasn't about to go looking a gift horse in the mouth, so I surged ahead, eating up the distance between me and Logan suddenly before my five seconds ran out.
The man reacted with a double claw strike, which I vaulted over and came down with a summoned Rebellion, twisting like a top with my blade extended. My attack shredded his neck, and most of his upper body, but by the end of it, the flame cloaking me was gone. Logan let out a frustrated roar.
A kick slammed into me the moment my legs touched the ground, ragdolling me sideways. My body came to a stop at the very edge of the Arena, dizzy and groaning from the pain, but I blinked just in time to see a bloody Wolverine coming down on me with his claws extended.
I had one of two options: roll out the Arena and concede, or dig even deeper and bounce back somehow.
I might've been out of demonic energy, but I still had over half of my angel energy left. I hadn't needed to heal often in this fight, so I had the energy to spend and experiment. Pulling on the wiry Angel energy, I guided it through my body, not force it, and it wrapped around my entire body.
Logan crashed into me, but I was already gone, standing halfway across the Arena, my body bleeding blue vapor.
Logan's body bounced over the arena edge and came to a stop outside bounds, which technically meant I won the fight.
I let out a sigh of relief, instantly deflating. That fight took a lot out of me.
"Good work, kid," Logan said as he stepped back into the Arena. "You made me fight seriously."
He cracked his neck. "Been a while since that has happened. You're not half-bad. Let's do this again in a few days."
I fell on my ass as Logan walked off, weariness seeping into my very bones.
I read the description of the new skill I'd just acquired.
Angel Dodge
Phase through Limbo, allowing Dante to evade an additional distance and render him invulnerable to attacks.
That looked about right. At least it did confirm my suspicions. Limbo was real in this universe, and I'd have to deal with it eventually.
But for now, I focused on the outcome of the fight. I'd barely come out ahead. I had a feeling Wolverine would not fall for my tactics again. I needed new moves.
Logan's Adamantine claws were just impossible to deal with. I needed to figure out an effective way to neutralize them in our next fight.
I took one final look at my status before I continued my training.
Name: Dante Sparda
Species: Nephilim
Class: None
HP: 100/570
SP: 340/560
AE: 50/350
DE: 60/360
Strength: 32
Dexterity: 35
Endurance: 56
Vitality: 57
Angelic Energy: 35
Demonic Energy: 36