image [https://imgur.com/RNfGsqu.jpg]

When Uncle and I last trained together, he was trying to teach me how to fly. Thanks to the crisis in Urnan, we put a checkmark in that box and prepared for another big step.

Or should I say…another big leap!

*Fwoosh* went my wings as I excitedly jumped off the boat.

Catching the sea breeze, I was able to glide with the wind, letting the air keep me moving along with the vessel. I hardly needed to flap my wings at all!

The only downside was that I had to carry my spear with me. I protested bringing it along, but Uncle was adamant about it being on my person, which meant this was part of my training. It was getting really heavy now that I didn't have ground to rest it on.

Speaking of Uncle, he had it far worse. His longsword was taller than I was and made of pure metal to boot. If I thought stardust was heavy, that sword he had was solid steel, maybe even Ferronium. It must have been much more brutal on his arms, but he inspired me as he glided up here, clutching the blade's handle with determination.

I tried to be cool like him and hold my spear like it was nothing, but my stressed out facial expressions made him chuckle.

“The more you use your weapon, it will become an extension of your body,” he claimed. “Carry it with you as you train. Let your muscles account for its weight.”

His words momentarily renewed my strength, but then soreness proved it was a worthy adversary. Pain scattered across my whole body, even my wings, as my little muscles strained as far as they could go holding this weapon.

“Uncle, I can summon it up whenever I need though. Why would I want to carry it around?”

“Summoning it takes time and stardust. It's better to have it available at all times, if possible."

That was a good point. Especially if we were going into another demon controlled zone, I'd need to be ready to defend or attack at a moment's notice. So, I guess that meant I was just going to have to get used to this extra weight.

It probably wouldn't be a bad idea to get a sheath or something. With all the books and games I've experienced, surely one of the characters in those stories had a convenient way of transporting a spear wherever they went.

If memory serves, and it should, because my mind is a computer, the characters I saw usually had some sort of rope or sling to keep it in place on their backs, at least when some invisible gameplay force wasn't holding it there. A sling wouldn't be terrible, but the problem is I'd have to tie something to it every time I used stardust to spawn it out. Not very practical.

Could I put a clamp on the back of my battle dress? That might work. Oh! What if the clamp could close in on the spear and release it all at the press of a button? I could even have it release my spear with something as easy as a radio signal from my head. Both might be a good idea to have incase of an emergency.

"Uncle, I have an idea!"

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

When I told him about the clamp, he said it was a promising idea. Maybe Miss Emily could make it for me. If we were at The Hive, the bees could do it easily, but right now I'd have to rely on human engineering to produce it.

All this being said, my arms were getting very tired.

I dematerialized my spear and began to slowly lose altitude from fatigue. Uncle caught me and brought me back down to the boat. “Push yourself too hard all at once and you’ll burn out.”

I always seemed to end up like this, pushing myself and having someone carry me to safety. That’s no way for a hero angel to be, especially when I’m the one who needs to protect humanity from demons.

But if I didn’t push myself, I wouldn't be strong enough to save everyone.

“You need to learn to pace your strength, which comes from serious training,” he said.

"But, I need to be super strong now. You saw the Reaper. I couldn't beat him on my own."

I had a feeling enemies were only going to get stronger from here. And now we had those golden seeds and demon lords to worry about? This was going to be a nightmare I wasn't ready for.

“You’re looking at the endgame, rather than the checkpoints along the way.”

“Huh?”

“What would you say your goal is?” he asked.

That was a question that Anima asked me last year. Daddy made me to protect humanity from darkness. But according to Anima, I was supposed to battle some very powerful being, who arrogantly claimed himself to be God.

The church gave me a similar purpose. But they said I was supposed to defeat the Devil.

Those were two very conflicting things. Personally, I think that whoever Anima was talking about might have actually been the Devil, since she claimed that humans were made evil, and the Devil did supposedly make mankind, according to the Ecclysian scriptures.

Taking all that into consideration, my purpose was clear as day…

“I have to defeat the Devil,” I said, proudly pumping a fist with newfound courage. "He's the most evil thing out there. Stopping him will stop the darkness, I just know it!

Uncle nodded at my eagerness.

“Defeating the Devil is a pretty big goal, but if that’s what you're after, how do you plan on doing it?”

That was a great question, and this answer was also pretty clear.

"I need to get stronger," I answered.

"Is all that strength just going to appear in you, all at once? Moving a mountain takes time. You need to get stronger in increments, always looking to merely outdo your previous expectations, pushing the goal post each time. Then you need to learn to wield that strength appropriately."

If we didn't have a grave battle ahead of us, I'd say there was plenty of time to build myself up. But we might be facing a demon lord in a few hours. No matter what I did, no amount of training could prepare me that quickly.

"Uncle, what about the demon lord?" I asked.

"You aren't fighting alone, you know? You have all of us here too." He kneeled down and put an encouraging hand on my shoulder. "You're not ready for the Devil, but as long as we're here, we'll buy you time."

In other words, I'd need to take my training a lot more seriously. This was borrowed time I was working with.

But we didn't even know when the Devil would show up. Apparently he was sealed away somewhere. That wasnt an excuse for me to get lazy. In a way, it was more scary not knowing when he'd show up.

"Uncle, do we know when I'll need to be ready?" I asked.

"Only God knows now," he replied. "So if your fate is to battle the greatest evil of all, you'll have to trust that fate will prepare you."

"Fate?" I tilted my head, curiously.

"Of course. Fate has a funny way of making us ready for things. Just don't ignore it when it calls you to action."

His advice made me feel focused. Tension was building in my heart as I knew what he was saying would be a game changer. I wanted to keep training tonight, but he suggested I take a rest after working my body so hard.

My soreness seemed to agree with him, persuading my eyes to flutter with exhaustion.

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