[Day: Friday]
[Time: Afternoon]
[Location: Verdant Grove]
Once again, we are at Verdant Grove for another day of training. I was starting to enjoy the serenity of the forest and each new discovery along the way with my training. Today, it was Passion's turn to train me and the entire day she's been so jittery. I had a bad feeling sitting in my gut...
"Shiro! Finally, it's time for me to train you!~" Passion said excitedly, her tail wagging happily.
"Yippie..." I said, my tone filled with sarcasm.
Passion giggled then clapped her hands together. "Alright!~ I will first start by teaching you about Draconic Source. What is a Draconic Source? It is a source of Dragon Energy that allows you to use Dragon Powers! However, just like how you're soon to be the new St. Kieran as a Savior Class Angel, you have a specific type of Draconic Source."
"Now let's go over the basics! Draconic Source offers a few basic innate abilities and traits. A few would be Dragon Soul, Dragon Aura, Dragon Force Manipulation, and Dragon Magic. Once you've awakened your Crest of Passion, your gauntlets will respond to them just like they gave with The Crest of Luck and the Crest of Charm," Passion finished, crossing her arms under her chest.
I nodded, activating my Crest of Passion then noticed my gauntlets shining brightly in response. I watched as they glowed a bright light, transforming my gauntlets into Draconic Gauntlets. One gauntlet becomes a sleek, ebony dragon claw, exuding shadows and dark energy, while the other transforms into a pristine, ivory dragon claw, glowing with a soft, white light. I admired the new look of my gauntlets, my eyes sparkling with amazement.
Passion's eyes widened with a mixture of awe and excitement. She looked at her sisters then back at me, her gaze fixated on my gauntlets. "No way...No way your Dragon Soul is a Ryushen Class Dragon..!"
"Ryushen? What the heck is that?" I asked, watching Ani hold my arm and admiring my gauntlets as well.
"A Ryushen is possibly the highest Class of Dragon can reach! I am a Ryushen Class Dragon as a Pseudo Black Dragon, an Infernal Dragon!~ Yes! Yes! Yes!~ Finally someone just like me who I can train into the perfect Dragon and it happens to be my boyfriend!~" Passion squealed with excitement, her tail wagging more vigorously.
Lustie chuckled softly, a bead of sweat rolling down her face. "Never seen her so excited before...it's almost uncanny."
"Yeah...but that's Passion for you. When it comes down to showing her passionate side for battle, no one comes close to it like her. Then again, she is a Dragon. As you know Dragons are the most battle hungry out of all races back home," Talenta said, crossing her arms.
Passion took a deep breath then exhaled. "Okay!~ For this training session, I'm gonna teach you about The Dragon Soul, Dragon Force Manipulation, and Dragon Magic! First, what is a Dragon Soul? Lust-E take it away!"
[Affirmative. Dragon Soul is the fundamental part of any dragon which allows the wielder to use Dragon Energy aka Dragon Force, Dragon Magic, and Dragon Aura. The Dragon Soul also acts like a Battle Spirit.]
[It is similar to your Angelic Source which grants you the ability to manifest your Angelic Soul.]
"Exactly!~" Passion said, nodding her head in agreement.
[Dragon Soul also grants you the Sins of Pride and Greed because since Dragons are very passionate, they are very Prideful and Greedy creatures.]
Passion slumped down, sighing softly. "You totally didn't need to add that last part..."
[But because of their passionate souls, out of all the races of Esoria, they have the highest Willpower even higher than the Esorian Humans.]
Passion looked up then chuckled, placing her hands on her hips. "Now that's a fact!~ Alright let's move on to Dragon Force and Dragon Magic. It's actually very easy to understand. Dragon Force grants you the usage of Draconic Elements which are your normal Elemental Energies infused with Dragon Energy."
Passion continued, her tail swaying as she happily explained the material, "Dragon Magic is also very easy and you have a cheat code with you, me. The only way for a non dragon to even use Dragon Magic is they have to perform certain rituals, siphoning energy from a dragon, having Draconic Weaponry or be linked with a Dragon and for you, you're linked to me and have Dragon Gauntlets!~"
I nodded my head, understanding her lesson then looked at my gauntlets. "So what's today's training going to be about?"
"I'm glad you asked~" Passion said, her voice now becoming a bit more sadistic. "We're gonna have a Dragon Battle!~"
"Eh? What's a Dragon Battle?" I asked, looking at my other Love Demons.
"A Dragon Battle is a battle between dragons that tests ones Soul. Because Dragons are naturally battle hungry, it's not uncommon for a Dragon Battle to happen all the time," Talenta answered.
"Are you sure about this, Passion? We're really upping the ante here. Yesterday, Shiro fought four demons albeit with the help of his Hawaiian Girlfriend, but Dragon Battles are known to have no end..." Lustie said, her concern evident in her tone.
Ani's cheeks flushed in a soft red hue when she was referred by my Hawaiian Girlfriend. She looked up at me with her deep, expressive eyes, wondering if I viewed her as my girlfriend.
"Heh, if you're so worried about a Dragon Battle going too far, you can always stop the battle at any time. It's up to your discretion, but my Desire is to train my darling Shiro into the best Dragon when he's using his Crest of Passion~" Passion said, not backing down from her decision.
Lustie sighed softly, shrugging her shoulders. "Alright...Today is your day after all and we can't tell you how to train him."
"And it's only fair since I put him against four Demons for my training. Plus, it'll be nice to see a classic one on one fight..~" Charismari said, smiling at Lustie.
"Alright, enough stalling!" Passion said then snapped her fingers, warping the area around us.
I noticed we were in an open area of the forest, looking around to see the forest circling around us. "Are we still in Verdant Grove?"
"Mhm!~ We are just in a historical location. We are in the Veridian Battlefield. This is where the leader of Destiny and the leader of Heavenly Bay had their duel which led to Heavenly Bay's exile. This is a big enough starting space for us.." Passion said then got into her stance.
I stared at Passion then watched everyone retreat to a safe distance before turning back to Passion. I got into my stance then nodded. "I'm ready.."
"Good..~" Passion smirked, keeping her eyes on me.
The gentle breeze began to blow, both Passion and I staring each other down. Neither of us made a move and everyone watched with anticipation. I shifted my foot then my eyes shined with determination as I launched myself toward her.
Passion smirked as I approached her then blocked my initial strike. She pushed me back, launching a punch of her own as a counter. I evaded her attack then we began to clash fists. Clash after clash, the shockwaves of our clashes rushed around the field, showing the power between the two of us.
After our next clash, Passion spotted an opening and landed a blow to my midsection, throwing me off balance. She landed a flying roundhouse kick, knocking me backwards. I recovered off one hand then launched multiple fireballs toward her at high speeds. Passion deflected each one and smirked at me.
"They are really going at it...Are they evenly matched?" Ani questioned, standing close to Celene as she watched.
"Not really. Passion is stronger than Shiro at the moment. Shiro hasn't powered up though, seems like he wants to understand how Passion fights," Celene asked, crossing her arms over her chest.
I dashed toward Passion, leaping in the air and coming down with a swift axe kick. Passion blocked my kick then jumped up, landing a crescent kick to my head then exhaled, unleashing a breath of fire to knock me to the ground. Passion used her wings to remain airborne, watching the smoke settle down.
Passion noticed shadows being generated and crossed her eyes, watching the event closely. She grunted as she noticed a surge of shadow energy forming around my body. 'He's using the Black Dragon Force..!~ Yes! Come at me, Shiro!'
Passion landed on the ground, an excited smirk playing on her lips. She watched me closely then grunted at my speed, sensing me behind her. She turned around then groaned as she was hit with a Dark Destiny Flash, black lightning flashing upon impact.
'He...made a new variation of his Destiny Flash..?!' Passion thought to herself in awe, sliding backwards and catching her breath.
I propelled myself toward Passion once again using my Draconic Wind then changed my trajectory using my wind energy to fly behind her. I thrusted my hand forward, using a blast of wind to knock her away then exhaled, unleashing a breath of fire to combine with the wind to create a firestorm.
Passion turned her arm into a Dragon Arm then held her arm out, doing her best to absorb the Draconic Elements of the firestorm. She grunted softly as she noticed a blast of water extinguishing the flames and releasing steam around the area.
'This is the craftiness that Luckie had to go through... Combining Elements, using stealth and trickery, his Hyper Learning is allowing him to adapt to this battle. I need to outsmart him...throw him off his game,' Passion thought to herself, looking around for any sign of me.
She noticed a bright lights shining to the side of her then grunted as lasers began to flying toward her. She dodged each laser, still trying to sense my presence, but I had it concealed while I was hidden within the steam. She began to evade more lasers of light energy that were fired from all around her, her annoyance bubbling up to the surface.
Passion let out a roar, using her raw energy to blow away the steam. She looked around, noticing I wasn't anywhere to be found. She heard rumbling from underground, looking down and noticed me emerge from underground with a powerful uppercut that knocked her in the air.
I landed a chop to bring her back to the ground then knocked her back with a roundhouse kick. Passion flipped backwards consecutively then landed on her feet before propelling herself toward me. I proelled myself toward her, the both of us clashing once again.
Lustie watched the battle, watching us zip across the field. She could feel Passion's Dragon Soul growing stronger, feeling her excitement. She watched me, noticing how well I was keeping up with Passion. "They both are giving it their all..."
"Yeah, Shiro really knows how to bring the best out of us..~ Passion is truly enjoying herself because she doesn't need to hold back..~" Charismari said, watching the sparring match as well.
Passion and I roared as we lunged toward each other, landing a strike on each other's faces. Passion grunted and let out a powerful roar, overpowering me and launching me toward the forest. I grunted as I rolled backwards then recovered onto my feet, noticing multiple bolts of fire flying toward me.
I dashed off through the forest, evading the bolts of fire that flew toward me. I began to generate shadow energy around my body then formed clones of Shadow Energy around me then I disappeared within the shadows of the forest.
Passion landed on the ground and looked around for me with watchful eyes. She sensed multiple presences around her then noticed my Shadow Clones approaching her. "Such Trickery..~ Oh I'm gonna have so much fun with this!~"
Each of my clones rushed toward her, each one going for an attack but Passion was too quick on her feet. She blocked and evaded each clone, striking them down one by one with calculated blows and overbearing strength. After taking down the last Shadow Clone, she sensed another presence and looked behind her. She noticed a baby dragon emerging from the bushes then calmed her nerves.
The baby dragon approached Passion, using her cute presence to ease Passion's nerves before her body began to shine bright. Passion's eyes widened and she tried to get away, but the dragon released a burst of light that blew Passion away. Passion groaned as she rolled across the ground then recovered on one knee.
"He...How did he create something like that..?" Passion asked to herself, her disbelief palpable in her tone.
Passion began to hear rustling all around her then quickly stood up, bracing herself for anything. She looked around with caution, not making a single move. She felt a presence behind her then turned around to counter, but nothing was there. I took this chance to strike and launched myself toward her, landing a powerful Superkick to her cheek, iridescent lightning flashing upon impact.
Passion groaned as she flew backwards and crashed to the ground. She rolled to her side then stood up slowly. She huffed, smoke escaping her nose then her eyes became draconic. Passion let out a roar, her Dragon Aura surging around her body.
I landed near Passion using my wind energy then noticed her horns protruding from her head and her dragon tail moving abnormally. I noticed she was in a Primitive State, her mind slowly becoming Feral.
"Lustie, we have to stop this!" Talenta called out to Lustie.
Lustie watched and grunted softly. 'I knew she would get like this...She always goes to such lengths when she's in a fight, even if it's just training. Dragons...you all are always such brutes..'
"Pass—"
"No!" I called out to Lustie. "Don't stop this fight! I will calm her down myself!"
Lustie looked at me with concerned eyes then nodded her head. "Shiro, be careful. Her Dragon Soul has gotten stronger."
I nodded my head then looked at Passion, adjusting my gauntlets. "This fight has gotten fun right..? I can feel the adrenaline I've once missed. The fun in fighting. The only one that really had my adrenaline pumping in a fight was Mark. The others were only met with anger and ambition."
Passion listened to me, her tail swaying even more. Her red eyes shined brightly as her gaze met mine.
"I don't want this fight to end...until one of us wins or loses. Yesterday...I felt my Tribe's Energy. I heard her...Tengoku," I started then looked at my White Gauntlet. "Hopefully she responds to me if she does...then I'll be sure to make this a perfect sparring match."
I crouched down onto one knee, placing my hand on the ground then closed my eyes. I began to pray to Tengoku, softly saying my chants. As I chanted, my tribal tattoos began to faintly glow.
"Maluhia..." I said softly, standing up and letting out my Tribal Howl. Divine Energy began to spiral around my body, my eyes shined gold and my mind became clear.
Ani watched in awe, seeing me tap into a bit of Tengoku's Power. "'Anake Celene...did he do it? Did Tengoku respond to him..?"
Celene watched with a mix of awe and worry, nodding her head. "She did..."
I looked at Passion, getting into my stance. I took a deep breath, exhaling slowly. Passion also got into her stance, her eyes fixated on me. A flame slowly emerged front her chest, symbolizing how stronger her Dragon Soul was.
I rushed forward as Passion did, my steps graceful and calculated as I evaded the first set of attacks thrown by Passion. I countered with quick strikes, knocking her off guard. Once there was a clear opening, I roared and palmed her stomach, blowing her away. Passion grunted as she crashed through multiple trees.
"His movements...I've never seen him move so gracefully. It's almost like...his body is moving on its own..." Luckie said as she watched.
"That's because it is. The form you see before you us called Tengoku Form. It offers ʻO nā hoʻololi ʻokoʻa, in other words Autonomous Reflexes. This phenomenon happens when he has a clear mind and no distractions, but his reflexes can only be as fast as he is," Celene explained.
"I can definitely see that being a problem combined with his Unleashed State where his senses are now multiplied by 50. Auto Reflexes and Unleashed State would be a total beast.." Lustie said, her voice a mix of awe and excitement as she watched the battle.
Passion and I continued to clash and rush around the forest. Passion's smirk only grew wider as the battle went on, her own adrenaline running wild as I matched her in strength and speed. She never felt so happy before that a human was matching her.
"Come on! Give me more!" Passion roared, launching a beam of Draconic Energy to knock me back.
I grunted as I blocked the beam, sliding backwards from the force the beam had behind it. I let out a Tribal Howl, deflecting the beam to the side and used a burst of speed to appear in front of Passion. Passion smirked and dodged my Superkick, countering with a sweep kick then grabbed my ankle, spinning me around.
She threw me across the forest then flew after me at high speeds. I combined my Earth and Water Manipulation to create Plant Manipulation, forming threads of vines to catch me. I noticed Passion flying toward me, using the same vine to wrap around her ankles and slammed her to the ground.
[Stamina has fallen to 46%]
With that reminder, I knew I had to wrap up this fight. I watched Passion stand up and dashed toward her with a Superman Punch, but she evaded me swiftly then countered with a gut strike the jumped up to kick me away. I swiftly recovered then formed a ring of wind and fire around me, combining them together to form Lightning.
I began to launch bolts of lightning at Passion, but she evaded each one and flew toward me at high speeds. I grunted and applied the lightning to my legs then got into a running start then bolted toward her. We clashed and entered a fierce hand to hand combat, parrying and blocking each other's strikes and kicks.
[Stamina has lowered to 35%]
I blocked Passion's next attack then countered with a left hook, my attack landing true and disorienting her slightly. I followed it with a roundhouse kick to get her into a weakened posture then pressed a sphere of Draconic Energy to her chest, blowing her away.
I surrounded my arms with iridescent lightning and held my arms out then grunted as I formed spheres of iridescent energy in my hands, bonding them together. "Destiny Flash!" I bellowed, unleashing a powerful beam of iridescent energy toward Passion.
Passion slowly stood up then her eyes widened as she noticed the beam of energy. She groaned as she was hit, an explosion happening as an aftermath.
[Stamina has lowered to 10%. Forcing body into Recovery State.]
I grunted softly as I was forced into a Recovery State, falling to my knees and panting heavily. I closed my eyes, my tribal tattoos stopping their glowing and my energy disappeared. My gauntlets reverted back to normal and my Crest of Passion deactivated.
Everyone rushed over to check up on us then heard Passion laughing with purity in her tone. We all looked at Passion and noticed the pure joy on her face.
"That was fucking awesome! What was that move?!" Passion asked, her voice a mix of curiosity and excitement.
I looked at my hands, remembering the sensation of the attack. "I called it Destiny Flash... I've always used the physical variant of the attack, but never the ranged variant until now. My body did it on its own too.."
Ani smiled at my words then looked at Celene who was grinning from ear to ear. They both were happy that I was finally able to connect to Tengoku and learn how to use a bit of her power.
"Well I can definitely say that this was a successful training match~ There was so much passion in that sparring match that I was on the edge the entire time, but I can conclude there are no winners here since you both fell. However...Shiro did make a breakthrough which is what we wanted..~" Lustie giggled, pointing out my tribal tattoos.
Talenta nodded in agreement. "This actually means I will have to switch up my plans for tomorrow...such a breakthrough is more than important. It's a game changer.."
I looked at Lustie and Talenta and smiled at them. Knowing they were my last two Love Demons I had to face again, I knew it would only get harder from here. I stayed determined as I knew once this was over, I would be more than strong enough to help Karma and take down The Syndicates once and for all.