The sword was stopped in its tracks by Igor's hand. He held it between his thumb and forefinger, all while a small smile spread on his face.
"Such speed and fervour! I might have to remove some of my weights if you keep this up."
"..."
What did he say? Was he fighting with weights all this time?!
.
|DxD|
.
In the rocky wasteland of red, two men stood metres apart from each other. After receiving a thorough beating from before, Souji's clothes were. His robes were cut into rags, exposing his fit upper body.
For the first time in a long time, Igor was relatively fine. Aside from a small tear on his long-sleeve, he was fine. His eyes looked over Souji appraisingly, unclear exactly what he was planning. The gentle morning sun served as the only witness for their upcoming fight.
Souji stood firmly with his sword in his hands. He'd just taken a third phoenix tear, completely healing each and all of his injuries. Were it not under Igor's insistence, he would never have taken it, but the blonde wanted him at full power for this next part.
Souji expected a hard battle from how serious Igor was, but he still couldn't help but ask.
"Dimori-san. What is it that you wanted to do?"
He was on the ready for any sort of move Igor might make. The boy had no etiquette in announcing his attacks and Souji had no wish to be caught offguard.
"Very simple. I want you to attack me with all you've got."
"?"
A momentary glint of confusion compounded in Souji's eyes. He was about to ask what Igor meant when a white light formed in the blonde's hand. The light faded as quickly as it came, leaving behind a simple-looking blindfold.
"I won't fight back. I'll only dodge or counter your attacks."
Souji did not dare underestimate Igor just because he put on a blindfold.
"Whether you blind yourself or not, please remember your strength is much higher than mine, Dimori-san."
"That's true. But your speed is almost the same as those of high-God Class. But I'm beyond that level. Under normal circumstances, it'd be hard for you to beat me even if I'm blindfolded."
"..."
Souji had no idea how to feel about that statement. It was true but…did he have to say it out loud? Couldn't Igor atleast leave him some dignity?
"But you neglected one thing, Okita. This isn't a normal blindfold. It's been enhanced so it reduces one's level of perception by an adjustable percentage. I got it from the Monkey Sage during my training with him."
Souji filed that information mentally. He'd make sure to report it to Sirzechs.
"I see. That certainly will give me an advantage, Dimori-san."
"Of course it has to. I'm wearing seven-thousand-tons and have blinded myself. If you still can't strike me, then you're more useless than a bastard drunk of a grandson." *
Souji did not hear that last part.
"...thousand?"
Shock completely overwhelmed any sense of anger Souji might've felt. No matter how it looked, he could swear Igor didn't seem like someone who was wearing that many tons. His clothes were clearly all fabric.
If it was through magical means, he could believe it if it were a few hundred tons. Several-thousand was too hard to swallo-
"Why do you look so surprised? Did you really think you were my match? Unlike you who slacks off every day, I actually train."
The mocking grin Igor had on his face made Souji sincerely want to cut him to pieces. This kid was really poking all the spots he could today. Being considerate towards this type of pers-
"Will you stand there like a pansy all day or will you fight me like a man?"
"..."
*Vein Twitch!*
"Very well, Dimori-san. I shall strike without reservations then. Please get ready to-"
"Get your mother ready. Why are you so long-winded? Sheesh. I swear you devils-"
Su!
Souji appeared above Igor. His sword was above his head, fully poised for a downward swing.
"Ha!"
Shiing!
Igor dodged Souji's ruthless swing by sidestepping. The distance between the edge and his nose was less than the width of a finger. For a moment, he could smell the metallic scent of his dried blood.
[He's gotten faster.]
Time resumed to normal speed.
Booom!
Souji missed his strike, but he quickly followed with a side kick to Igor's midsection…which was promptly blocked.
"Is that it, Okita?"
"..."
Even through the blindfold, Souji swore he could see Igor's mocking gaze. His desire to use the blonde as a flesh sheath trumped his moral compass.
Su! …Shiing!
Igor retreated in the face of another slash and Souji quickly followed. What ensued was high-speed combat that left them looking like blurs. The only evidence of their presence were small plumes of dust kicked up by their movement.
Su! Su!
Igor continued his haste offence against Igor with absolute vigor and fervour. Despite his annoyance, his slashes were controlled. In fact, they only got more controlled as time went on. Igor was evading the attacks with what seemed like ease, but Souji knew he was getting closer and closer.
Su! Su!
Their blurred figures darted across the wasteland. Souji was determined to leave a mark once more on Igor while the latter was unusually calm in his evasion. Still…
Shiing!
…he was determined to leave atleast a gash on his body once more.
.
|DxD|
.
Hours passed as the two engaged in battle. True to his word, Igor didn't obstinately fight back. He only dodged, parried, blocked, or countered. That and there was the occasional insult or two.
"Should I have given you time to digest your food? Your swings are pathetic."
Shiing!
"Missed again? Are your eyes for decoration? I'm here you idiot!"
*Vein Twitch!*
Igor's clothes were damaged from some of Souji's swings, yet his tongue sang insults with fervour. His casual words served to make Souji ignite with a fiery passion fueled by the desire to skewer him. Yet the best the swordsman could do was damage his clothes.
[How is he doing it?]
It was understandable that Souji was getting mildly frustrated. The two had dashed across this wasteland for who knew how long, yet all his sword tasted on those rare occasions was fabric.
If only Souji knew how masochistic Igor was when it came to his training. Years of fighting blind against his clones in the time chamber allowed him to excel in blind combat. The blindfold he wore not only restricted his sight, but severely limited his ability to sense energy.
His only remaining senses were his hearing, smell, and vibrational sense. It was fortunate this wasn't the Dimensional Gap or his reliance on wind displacement to detect Souji's movement would be somewhat difficult.
[I can feel it.]
Su!
Souji's sword strikes were improving, but his senses were also being refined. It came at the cost of a few cuts on his clothes, but those paled to the benefits.
"Come on, Souji! Swing your noodle arms more! Put some backbone into it!"
He continued to taunt Souji, not only because it was fun, but because this kind of lazy person performed best when scorned.
Compared to training with his clones, training with Souji was indeed a bit lacking. Atleast the swordsman wasn't entirely useless. Igor could feel the visible improvement in his soul and his ability to control his body was improving in realtime.
Shiing!
*Catches sword!*
"Look at you. Can't even beat a blind man carrying the weight of your ancestors on his shoulders. Your lifespan has been wasted on you, Okita."
"..."
Souji tried not to let Igor's words get to him. It was irksome being mocked by someone over three generations his junior, but what could he do? He could only reluctantly endure everythi-
"You should quit the sword. You've failed it for too long."
"..."
He must endure.
*Grip Tightens!*
He. Must. Endure.
"Such a fine weapon. Maybe I should take this sword of yours. I know others far more deserving of-"
"Shut up!!!!!"
Fuuush!
A surge of killing intent poured out of Souji. He forcefully drew his blade out of Igor's hand, making sure to cut deep into his palm. Unfortunately he failed to draw blood, but the speed of his sword would make sure it pierced into his heart.
Su!
Igor retreated just as the sword pierced through the fabric of his shirt. Souji's speed increased by a great margin---an unexpected event, but a welcome one nonetheless.
"Good! Fight as if you want to kill me!"
Su!
Igor's grin widened when Souji appeared in front of him with a bloodthirsty expression. He could feel the killing intent the man had and…it was refreshing.
Shiing!
.
|DxD|
.
Minutes turned to hours and in that timespan, the benefits came in droves. The faster and more dangerous Souji's strikes were, the more gains Igor could extract from this session.
The merge with Triny boosted the power of his soul and his body qualitatively, but that boost did not effect his conscious to the same degree.
There was that very small minute detachment he felt to his body since then and it was present during his fight with Atid.
Shiing!
*Dodge!*
"You're doing better, Souji! Keep it up and you'll finally make it to the ranks of cannon fod-"
Slash!
"Let me finish my sentence, goddamnit!"
Igor continued to taunt Souji, but he never forgot to pay attention to his own body. His perception was increased during the merge, but his ability to fully utilise it did not.
It was similar to a car suddenly gaining a few new features to use. It would take some time to adapt to this new feature depending on the person. Fortunately, multiple circumstances have made Igor quite adaptable.
Shiing!
*Block!*
Igor swiftly removed his blindfold and stopped Souji's blade with his palm. The sword was sharp, but it could not get cut into his ki-reinforced skin.
"Alright. That's enough for now. Let's rest until high noon. I need to digest my gains."
Without another word, Igor sat cross-legged on the ground and closed his eyes. Immediately, a powerful white aura exploded around him that pushed Souji away.
GRUUU! Su Su Su Su Su Su Su Su Su Su
The white bonfire surrounding him billowed violently, yet his expression was calm. His abrupt discharge of energy was a simple test of his capabilities and Igor was satisfied with the results.
[The change is very small, but I have a better grasp over my body and soul.]
If his body was the car and his soul was the engine, then his conscience was the driver. This short sparring session with Souji made Igor experience improvement. Souji himself wasn't the key, but the weights he wore along with the blindfold.
[I knew choosing him would yield good results.]
On his own, the benefits Igor could gain were very minimal. There was hardly anyone he could fight who wasn't occupied with things in their lives. So far, only Souji was free. What the swordsman lacked in strength, he more than made up for it in speed.
Souji's strikes forced Igor to dodge while bearing thousands of tons on his body. His restricted perception and denial of vision made it so he barely had any time to react. To other observers, this might seem counter-intuitive since this sort of training would increase the power of his body and his perception.
While this is true for normal people, it is different for Igor. His ability to recall his memories and see his body from a third-person perspective was a major reason why such training was extremely beneficial for him.
Seven-thousand tons was not a lot for him, but it was enough to make his muscles twitch and bulge should he engage in high-speed movement. Once he reviewed the fight in his mind, he would be able to clearly see which muscle group and segment was affected the most when he moved a certain way.
Clothes were irrelevant. As long as he could feel, he could sync the experience with his memories and relive the experience as many times as he wished to. By doing so, his understanding of his movements would reflect itself in his conscious-control of his body.
Actions that were unconscious would become conscious and deliberate. Movements would become refined and imprinted in his mind. It was through this same process that he learned how to punch from Lord Shiva.
.
AN
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"Of course it has to. I'm wearing seven-thousand-tons and have blinded myself. If you still can't strike me, then you're really useless."
Explanation: It was revealed in chapter 128 that 2500 tons of weight felt normal to him. To be accurate, wearing five tons in 500x gravity felt normal to him. Merging with Triny multiplied his strength twice-over, so it's not a surprise he can withstand this weight. He's most likely also able to withstand much higher weights given how easily he can move under 7000 tons.
For more chapters, you can go to p.a.t.r.e.o.n and look for HolyGambler.