"It hurts…"
Any attempts she made now would be quickly silenced by him declaring his relationship. If she pushed, he would soon see her as a slut or even worse, outright leave. This wouldn't hurt just her. This would also hurt Akeno.
"I don't…what do I do now?"
Sobbing into Aurelia's embrace, she felt as if a large part of her had just broken. The genuine love and care she had for Igor would never be e realised. She did not hate nor blame Aurelia, but she wished…silently wished they never got together.
.
|DxD|
.
The hours passed endlessly in Igor's mindscape. In what seemed like an endless nap, he and Triny had dozed away comfortably without nary a care for the outside world. With the crackling sound of wood being burnt soothing their ears, it was no wonder that they slept for hours. But, there was work that needed to be done.
Now, the both of them were standing apart from each other in the open field, well over a few kilometres from the cabin. At Igor's insistence, he had brought Triny here for something that was long overdue.
To the complete surprise of the little girl, he was looking at her with a rather subtle battle-hungry expression.
"..."
She felt shivers at how he stared at her.
"Um…Igor? Why did you bring me here?"
With a small grin spreading on his face, Igor replied to her.
"Because, I want to fight you in your true form."
He tried to keep his tone neutral, but there was no hiding the excitement in his voice. He had been anticipating this moment for quite a while now. How powerful was the girl rumoured to be the Beast of Apocalypse?
He didn't know and he certainly wanted to find out.
"I've been waiting for a long time to do this, Triny. I hope you're as eager as me."
"..."
No. No she was not eager. In fact, she was fearful.
"You want to see me…in that form?"
She didn't want to. She was a monster in every true sense of the word in that form. It was because of that very reason that got her sealed in the first place.
"Yes. I want to see you at your strongest."
"Why? You don't need to. You already know what I look like!"
"...no I don't."
He wasn't lying either. When he was exposed to her past, everything was more or less from her point of view. He never truly saw what she looked like. But he sensed a deeper story behind her vocal displeasure to assume her transformation.
And he had a feeling that it extended beyond mere aesthetics.
"What is the problem, Triny?"
She was panicking too much for this to be normal. Walking over to her, he squatted down and held her by the shoulders.
"Tell me what's wrong."
"Mm mm!"
Continuously shaking her head, she refused him on the spot. The topic of her true form was something she was sore about and never wanted to broach.
"I don't want to talk about it."
"..."
That right there was more than enough reason for him to stop. But he didn't.
"No. We are."
"No!"
"This isn't a request."
"No-"
"I SAID, this isn't a request."
"..."
She quietened down immediately, more in shock by the firmness in his voice. Igor didn't want to bear a heavy hand on her, but this was not the moment to be concerned about her feelings and wants.
This was the sort of problem that if ignored, would result in unavoidable misfortune in the future.
"You have a problem accessing your full power, power which is attainable in your true form. I am not sure of the reason, but I damn well know the consequences. You are under my care now. I will not under any circumstances let any harm come to you, especially when you are harming yourself."
Dying is one thing. Dying because you refused to use your true power is another thing entirely. In fact, it is nothing short of stupid and disgraceful. Even just losing because you held back your true power out of fear was something he found very grating on his nerves.
[I am tolerant of many things, except this.]
It was clear that Triny was very hesitant and fearful. The way her body trembled was a key sign of trauma.
Lowering his head so that their gaze could meet, his eyes softened.
"Listen. I care about you. I care for your wellbeing. So tell me. For what reason do you not want to access your true form?"
"..."
Seeing her remain tight-lipped, he didn't rush her. He let the silence fill the clearing for a few more seconds before she quietly spoke.
"Because…because I'll become a monster."
"..."
He almost groaned thinking that she despised her appearance in that form, until a second meaning presented itself in his mind…a very likely one.
"Will you become berserk?"
A quiet nod was all he received from her.
"...yes. I…I lose control of myself when I enter that…state…"
"..."
That was it? Just being berserk? If it was just that, then the solution was very simple.
"Then you'll just have to learn to control that power."
He spoke matter-of-factly.
"I even know how we can do that."
Standing up, he was about to step back when she suddenly grabbed his leg.
"Wait! I can't use it! If I do…then I'll…hurt you…"
"..."
She was afraid that she would hurt him? How cute.
"Triny. This is our shared mindscape. Neither of us can ever truly kill the other. So there is no need for you to worry. I'll help you control your power."
He ruffled her hair.
"Get ready. I want you to access your true form."
"But I don't want to! You're already strong yourself. So why do I need to use it? I don't wanna! It's…it's scary…"
"..."
Maybe at some point in the past, he would've let the matter drop here and now. If possible, he would've settled for gradually introducing her to the idea of attaining her true form. But this was reality and reality had given him a brutal shock one too many times.
The supernatural world never waits for someone to slowly develop. You're either strong, or you die.
"Triny. I don't plan to have you remain in my mind for all eternity. At some point in time, I will have you exist in the real world. As partners intimately linked through our souls, enemies will seek to use you against me, knowing that harming you will harm me."
Killing intent leaked out of him at the thought of those enemies. He was not naive enough to believe that word of his bond with Trihexa of all beings would go unnoticed for long. It could be tomorrow, next year, or the next century for all he knew. But what he knew was that it was an eventuality.
If that scenario happened, he needed her to be strong enough.
"Whether you like it or not, the world sees you as Trihexa, the Beast of Apocalypse. Whether anyone would seek to use you or eliminate you, you MUST be strong enough to protect yourself. If for some reason, I am delayed or we can no longer link with each other, I want you to have the capacity to swiftly eliminate our enemies. And if your base powers fail you, I want you to capably use your full-power in order to kill them. For that to happen, you need to be able to comfortably access your true form."
Triny was strong. But at this point, Igor was completely sure he could defeat her with only a few levels of his Kaioken activated, and that technique would only be required because of her immense healing capabilities.
At her stage, any decent sealing team or individuals with specialised weapons and tools could contain or kill her if she were in the real world.
"There's no need to fear. I'll be here to guide you."
"..."
Putting his faith in him, Triny put down her walls and quietly asked.
"H-how?"
"Very simple. Transform into your true form. After that, I will beat you up until the pain is strong enough for you to regain control of yourself. Easy, right?"
"..."
She was having second thoughts about this. She was really, really, really having second thoughts about this. This man was just looking for a reason to let out some steam.
"Can I…can I…refuse? M-maybe try another method?"
"No."
Replying with finality, Igor stepped back and provided a few metres of space between them. Crossing his arms, a red sheen of aura surrounded him.
"Access your true form."
No longer was it a request. It was now an order.
"I'm waiting."
Cruel? Yes. Abusive? Yes. But this was the most effective method. Taking a page off Indra's book, he would administer shock therapy that would force her to take matters into her own hands.
"W-wait! This isn't right! I-"
Ignoring her words, he steeled his heart and charged forward.
Su!
He was twice as powerful as he was before. There was absolutely no chance she could see him when she was unprepared as she was.
Gu!
With a clenched fist, he punched her hard in the gut. Her body curled over his fist, the impact not registering in her brain until a moment later.
"?!"
Her eyes widened in shock, the pain causing her body to go limp. She couldn't even register the pain of another punch to her face before everything went black.
Sending her flying, Igor gave chase.
Su!
Flying after her, he quickly reached her and grabbed her by the throat.
BOOOM!
Slamming her into the ground, his eyes were filled with concern hidden by rage.
"How long will you continue avoiding yourself?! Use your power, Triny!"
Tightening his grip on her neck, he picked her up and slammed her into the ground again…multiple times.
Booom! …Booom! …Booom!
A small crater formed beneath her, her attire being torn and damaged everytime he slammed her hard into the earth.
"Use it!!!"
Standing up, he retreated a few metres away before extending his hand towards her with a resolute expression.
"..."
A frown formed on his face when he saw her weakly get up. Her skin had bruises, her hair dirtied from being constantly slammed into the ground. Her hand weakly held her stomach while her wounds slowly healed.
Her breaths were slightly heavy, but Igor wouldn't stop.
Vwomp…
With a crimson orb forming in his palm, he mustered a glare at her.
"Use your power…or you will die."
Gone was his battle lust. This was now Igor who had continuously fought in dangerous wars for three years. He was no general by any means, but he would force Triny to pick up the slack. For better or worse, she was essentially his strength just as much as she was his weakness.
[Until she can show the courage and maintain her rationale, I will not let her leav-?!]
His thoughts were cut off when he suddenly felt her power spike. No longer did she appear meek and helpless. Standing upright with her fists clenched, her teary gaze showed unburdened determination and resolve.
"Alright. Since you wanted to see me at my full-power, then here you go!"
Right before his eyes, Triny was suddenly covered in a massive dark pillar of light so large that it stretched into the skies. Her very form almost disappeared under the dense aura that covered her.
The pressure in the region suddenly rose, her gradually rising power causing the winds to become chaotic.
[Amazing…]
He had already retreated a few more metres away from her, but he could feel his ki burning as her chakra overflowed. He widened the distance between them once more, his eyes bearing witness to her power multiply dozens of times over.
Twitch…twitch…
He could feel it. His desire for battle was rising from the grave. His attempts to coach Triny into controlling her powers were being subsumed by the intense desire to test his mettle against a being of the legends.
su su su su Su Su Su Su Su Su
Channelling his ki into his divine strand, his hair turned red, crimson aura billowing around him like a cloak. With a violent but controlled reaction, he entered his demigod state, his power immediately eclipsing Triny's by a wide margin.
But, he was not disappointed to find that her power was closing in on his current level. Perhaps it might even surpass his…a very exciting prospect.
What did surprise him however was that as her power rose, three pairs of wings slowly grew behind her. From top to bottom, she had a pair of dragon wings, bird wings, and bat wings.
Two rows of horns grew on her head like stalks of corn, each bigger than the last. They looked to be small, the front like those of a bull calf and the pair at the back like those of a growing lamb's.
Her body grew in maturity, her dress growing along with her height. From a little child that was barely six-years old, she grew into a young adolescent girl of twelve years. Rows of black tribal markings stretched from her forehead and spread across her developing figure, tattooing her skin in the process.
GRUUUU!
The markings somehow caused her power to increase immensely. Igor could feel her feeding from the nature energy surrounding them, her power growing with each absorption.
"RAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!"
Letting out a demonic roar, it was official. Her power-level eclipsed his by a not-so-short margin. Her elongated canines and the vicious claws on her hands and feet would make her qualify to be a demon. The black aura fluctuating violently around her emboldened that point.
Her hair violently shook under the pressure of her power, the whites of her eyes focused on the second presence that dared to challenge her authority. Like a goddess, her aura hung close to her as she finally completed her transformation.
She regarded Igor with a furious expression, her desire to kill him not hidden. Her breaths were heavy, her pupil-less gaze focused on him. She sniffed the air a few times and immediately, her power fluctuated once more.
He was a threat, a threat that must be eliminated. On instinct alone, she charged.
Her goal?
His destruction.
.
AN
.
Igor is by far the worst psychiatrist I have ever seen. He got results, but there has to be better methods…right? What he did was like Jiraiya throwing Naruto off a cliff, but worse.
Moving on, this week will come out to be quite busy for me. Apart from assignments, there's also other work that I'll have to do. So unfortunately and regretfully, I'll have to reduce uploads to one chapter every two days for the entirety of this week.
My sincere apologies but my schedule is too backed up for me to upload everyday without compromising my studies or negatively impacting my sleep schedule. I hope for your understanding and until Tuesday.
There are three extra chapters for patrons on my page if you are interested.
Thank you.