Nito gave Wander a menacing stare as the boy entered the ruin. Even though his face was completely covered in black smoke, Nito still managed to let Wander know his anger and irritation.
" You are late." He emphasized each word." What's the deal?"
" I ran into a friend. Took me a while to finish the conversation. "
" From your school?"
Wander shook his head. " I don't know where she's from. "
"And you call her a friend."
"Well, new friend."
Nito stared into Wander's eyes. Wander stared back.
" Fair enough," He took out the medal." We've wasted enough time. Let's start your training."
The pocket dimension emerged from the medal and separated the two from the ruins. The last two times, Wander was occupied by questions and forgot to carefully inspect the dimension. Now that he had more time to observe it, he realized there was nothing noteworthy. It was simply a room seemingly expanding nonstop with a layer similar to the Halcyon enveloping all.
" Catch." Nito threw the boy a sword. " Show me your stance."
Wander's fingers caressed the blade. He examined the sword's structure with an expressionless countenance.
" Can we skip sword training? I'm really tired of it." Wander swung the sword nonchalantly.
Nito's eyes widened. It took a while before he could suppress his surprise and asked Wander why with a chilling voice.
" I want to jump straight to duel. I think it suits me better."
" You want to fight me right away? You are abnormally confident for a boy saying that he is weak." Nito said ,hitting the ground with his sword's point.
" Don't get me wrong. I am not saying that my skill is on par with yours. "
" What is it then?"
" I learn much faster by being defeated by someone superior in skills. And I want to test my strategy. I can think of how to defeat an opponent based on their weapons, but my body did not allow me to materialize my strategy. That's why I've been miserable at fighting. However, with this strength, it's different."
Wander held up his sword, positioned his body like a straight line behind his weapon, his heels lined up and his feet formed a L.
" My body will finally catch up with my mind."
Nito smirked, and got into his stance.
" Let's see if you have skills to back your words."
The two stared at one another for a brief moment. Nito went for the preemptive strike, making a horizontal strike at Wander's neck with his claymore. The boy did not react, and Nito stopped before the sword cut his body.
" Too fast?" he asked mockingly.
" Again, master." Wander smiled." It is indeed very fast"
" So you call me master now? Don't expect me to be lenient just because of that."
Nito took a few steps backwards, ready for his second attack. This time, he subjected the ground to the thrust force created by concentrating his weight on his feet, enabling himself to dash forward at great speed as if his feet had rocket engine attached to it. He effortlessly adjusted his wrist, making his sword turn sideway and aim at Wander's neck again.
The height difference between the two worked to Wander's advantage in this battle. His right foot slid forward a few centimeters, pulling his body down to avoid the neck strike. Simultaneously, he swung his sword upward, aiming at Nito's forearm. He stopped before the blade made the cut.
The two held their positions for a few seconds. Nito glanced at Wander, smiling. He retreated and relaxed his body.
" Quick and decisive. You want that style?"
" I don't know." Wander shrugged.
" Do you know anything about yourself?"
" I thought I preferred an aggressive approach. Now, I'm not so sure." Wander squinted at the blade.
" Let's find out by fighting a lot, shall we?" Nito pointed his sword at Wander.
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Nito and Wander dueled for hours. The former won by a ratio of 5:1. Nonetheless, he felt like at many times Wander did not actually put his mind into the fights; he would observe and halfheartedly block or attack, giving the impression that he did not mind losing. When he won, though, he won with one strike; Nito would attack, only to be countered. The boy showed a strong preference for a defensive and counter style and rarely, if ever, put much strength in his blade.
Nito realized that Wander's incompetence did not only stem from the combat-orientated education he received but also from his once inherently weak body. Wander had managed to overcome the former by means of self-taught; the latter was impossible for him to fix on his own. Nito had given him the tool to realize his full potential, but somehow he felt unease. The way Wander cut himself with no hesitation disturbed him. Wander expressed no thirst for power, at least not in a straightforward manner, unlike the many Exsomnis, including him, did when they first attained the power. Normally, that would have put him at ease, yet Nito could not help but feel there was something very wrong with the boy. He lacked the passion usually seen in hunters of his age, which he compensated for his overly calm demeanor at times people should have panicked.
" Have you always been like this?" asked Nito during their 3rd break.
" Like what?"Wander swung his sword around.
" Nonchalant. Dispassionate."
" I'm not like that." Wander said, nonchalantly.
" Maybe your personality makes you unpopular. Do you have friends at school?"
" Yeah, I have three. Aria, Hiatus and Jonathan. The last one is a bit special." Wander grinned.
" Not too bad. Are you bullied?"
" Yes. With appalling frequency. I don't mind though."
" Why?" Nito frowned.
" Hey, can you teach me how to transform? I'm eager to know." Wander's eyes lighted up as a smile spread across his face
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" You scare me sometimes." Nito squinted at the boy.
Nito decided to not inquire any further into Wander's affair. He doubted he would feel better after hearing the truth. He returned to his teaching role, showing Wander the characteristics of Exsomnis' transformation.
" It is basically an upgraded version of Hunter's transformation. Everything is better. One fatal flaw though: when we turn, we emit a very dense Demex. We will be no different from the demons we hunt. This is okay if you are alone, deadly if you are surrounded by hunters. One more thing: our form can attain new body parts. Horns and wings, to name a few."
" I see." Wander scratched his chin."Very interesting. Condition for evolution?"
" I don't know." Nito was annoyed by the question he himself never asked.
" The black smoke- that's your transformation?"
" No. It's...uh... a temporary sickness."
" Will I get it too?"
" Not necessarily. There are chances, but it's avoidable."
" How?"
"Don't let yourself be consumed by darkness. "
Wander's brow furrowed. He slowly rolled his eyes.
" So you are..."
" I'm lucky." Nito clenched his fists." I defeated the darkness within. It left a scar on me though. From time to time, I'm like this. It disappears after a few days. I don't know what happens to the sick one before me. Must not have been nice."
" The sickness can kill us?"
" Yes, it can. Possibly one of the reason many of us die by 30."
" That's depressing." Wander tilted his head." Can I try turning now?"
Ignoring Nito's response, Wander stood up and activated his Demon Form. He watched his arms consumed by a black fire, his skin falling off like dusts, substituted by a solid charcoal-like layer.
" No smoke? Lucky me." Wander shrugged.
" Not at all, boy. The smoke is extremely useful, concealing our identity and distorting our opponents' vision. Don't worry, it will come soon enough."
" Where am I on the scale right now?"
" Black Steel."
" You?"
" Red Titanium."
" Samundo?"
" Well, Samundo is a bit... special. He is somewhere beyond black titanium.
" A whole new level?"
" Not quite. His strength is not enough to be considered a new level. That doesn't make him any less dangerous though. You know his smoke, right?"
Wander nodded.
" Let's call it Aura. His Aura at full strength, can destroy everything within a radius of 5 kilometer. Some say even more."
" Make me wonder how the previous Exsomnis defeated him."
Nito shrugged.
" You have never met Samundo?" Wander frowned.
" No. "
" You aren't the one who beat him 16 years ago?"
" It was my brother." Nito said, sighing softly.
" Wow, your brother's also one of us. Where is he now?"
" I'm still trying to answer that question. I was looking for him before I came to this city. This smoke forced me to hide for a while. Can't exactly jump around looking like a demon."
" Then when you return to normal, we will leave New York and look for him while getting stronger to defeat Samundo. Sounds like a plan. An exciting one. We three can work together to defeat the demon lord, and boom! We are the heroes!" Wander swung his arms in the air, grinning.
" What with the sudden cheerfulness?" Nito smiled." Wander, have you ever heard of the word Exsomnis before you met me?"
Wander stared at Nito and realized the meaning behind his question.
" We will not be recognized, boy," Nito said, his eyes casting down." We will vanish after we defeat Samundo. Then we wait, wait for him to come back. We find a new Exsomnis, continuing the circle. Then we wait for our end."
Nito enjoyed seeing Wander's smile turn hollow.
" That is our destiny. A short, but meaningful one. Don't you think?"
" I..." Wander's eye twitched as his hand pressed against his head." I need to go. I need to go."
" The practice is not done yet."
" I'm sorry. I need to go. I really need to."
Nito felt disturbed as he saw the violent twitches on Wander's face.
" Return tomorrow." he dispelled the pocket dimension.
______________________________________________________________________________
Wander's breath grew shorter and shorter even though he was just strolling. He fell on the ground and for the first time he understood how " the world collapses" felt like. A paroxysm of fear and panic exploded within him, paralyzing him. He realized he was crying.
"What's happening with me? Why am I crying?"
Wander had forgot the last time he truly cried. Hiatus and Aria appeared on his mind.
"Be with them forever. No, I don't want that. Defeat Samundo. No, no, Aria and Hiatus."
The boy trembled, his head ached. For the first time in his life, he experienced emotions he deemed intense.
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