"Here we go," Icarius muttered under his breath as he slowly backed away, luring the attention of Samael and Ajax.

"What are you doing?" Samael asked, his instincts ringing alarms. Looking at Ishkar, Samael's face paled.

Oh shit.

Ishkar slowly turned around, steam slowly rising from his skin as it began to emit a crimson hue.

"Good luck, kids," Icarius said before he leaped high in the air, leaving a loud thunderclap.

"You bastard!" Samael roared as he hastily brandished his axe.

"Too slow!" A voice roared as Samael's eyes widened.

Without thinking twice, his figure exploded into a flock of ravens, scattering around at random as a fist blew past his previous position.

"Hoo! Futile tricks!" Ishkar roared as he raised his foot high in the air with flexibility that did not suit his physique.

With one breath, he slammed his foot down, shattering the very ground they stood in and sending large chunks of sandstone in the air, many of which killed dozens of Samael's ravens.

Left with no choice, Samael regrouped as he deployed multiple Void Cleaves in an attempt to halt the man's advance. But as Ishkar said, futile.

Leaping towards Samael, Ishkar nonchalantly tanked the incoming cleaves, the attack barely leaving a scratch on his crimson skin.

Samael's eyes widened at this sight as Ishkar closed the distance with ease. However, before he could reach the boy, a plethora of shadow tendrils latched unto his feet, dragging him back and throwing him in the distance.

"IS THAT ALL?!" Ishkar taunted as a burly laugh escaped his lips. Flexing his body, he rammed his feet down the ground, his body sliding back and losing momentum before coming to a complete stop.

"MORE! MORE! MORE!" Ishkar roared as a maniacal laugh echoed in the air.

Slamming both his fists together, his hands began to warp as blood seeped out of his skin, grouping around his knuckles and hardening.

With one forceful stomp on the ground, he blasted forward, blowing back a tsunami of sand as he closed the gap within a second.

Unable to react, Samael crossed his arms as Ishkar's fist collided with his forearms, swiftly shattering his Void skin and nearly crushing his bones, his figure thrown back towards the great wall of Servan.

As his body stuck to the gigantic wall, a loud explosion thundered as the warriors above gathered to watch the spectacle.

Ajax grated his teeth as he began to cast. But Ishkar was faster.

"TOO SLOW!"

Grabbing Ajax's face, he drove it straight down the ground, causing a large explosion as the sand blew up like smoke.

Raising his fist, Ishkar began to crank it down when a large fist composed of Void matter struck him, throwing him a dozen steps back.

"You're still up?!" Ishkar said as he laughed. "I LIKE YOU!"

Lowering his stance, he opened his arms as though he were aiming to embrace someone, yet multiple blood spikes began to extend out of his torso and arms.

"Oh shit," Samael said as he realised what the man was planning.

"Here I come!" Ishkar roared as he blitzed forward.

"DAMN!" Samael roared as he slammed his hand against the sand.

"Void wall!"

From the depths, a large black wall burst forth, sand dripping off its edges as it rose high in the air. But Ishkar did not care as he casually collided with it.

"This man is crazy!" Samael roared as he watched Ishkar break through the wall, crushing large parts of it as he tightly hugged it.

Taking advantage of this situation, Ajax groaned as he rose from the rubbles.

"Black web."

Stretching his hand forward, the shadow forming in his palm condensed, forming into thin, string-like substances that began to interlap, shooting forward and cutting all it hit with ease.

Sensing this impending attack, Ishkar turned back, blood forming in his hands.

"Blood hammer!"

Raising his hands, the blood began to morph, taking the appearance of a large hammer twice the man's body. With one loud roar, he slammed it down, smashing the web in one fell swoop and fracturing the ground.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"This is insane!" Samael said as he regained his balance. Just how strong was Ishkar?

But before Samael could recover fully, the man twisted his body and threw the hammer at him.

In an attempt to stop it, Samael threw a Void aegis forward, but the hammer easily shattered the barrier, hitting him square in the chest and knocking him unconscious.

Before he lost his consciousness, Samael saw the brute launch himself towards Ajax.

Seeing Samael faint, Ajax clicked his tongue. Ishkar wasn't holding back his attacks; to knock out Samael without even striking his head is beyond just strong.

Without warning, Ishkar blasted forward, sliding off the ground and leaving a trail of blood behind.

Acting fast, Ajax summoned his avatar, his hand slowly cranking back as he slashed down.

Looking at the incoming blade, Ishkar fell into maniacal laughter. "I've never tanked an avatar without using mine before! Let's see what you got!"

Halting his steps, his hand morphed red as blood completely surrounded it, forming a form of gauntlet with sharp claws resembling that of a beast.

As the sword neared him, he slammed his foot down, shaking the sand as he grabbed the blade.

Before everyone's eyes, an explosion of great magnitude shook the entirety of Servan as the two collided. The earth was shattered, and a large dust cloud rose in the sky, blocking the view and raising the tension in the air.

"Fucking hell, Ishkar!" Icarius muttered as he saw the severity of the attack. Even he wasn't brave enough to tank a full on avatar with his bare hands.

As the dust settled, only one figure remained standing.

Jumping down, Icarius swiftly checked on Samael and Ajax, a sigh escaping his lips as he realised they were just unconscious.

"Are you trying to kill my students, you bastard?!" Icarius scowled at the man.

"I like their guts! They didn't cower like the rest!" Ishkar said as he released a booming laugh.

Icarius could only facepalm the man. But it was a relief the two got through his monstrous standards; it would have been impossible to convince him otherwise.

"So that settles it then?" Icarius asked.

"This is going to be fun," Ishkar said.

***

Opening his eyes, Samael squinted as the light assaulted him. After adjusting, it seems he was inside a tent, and judging by the light outside the tent, it's already dark.

Looking beside him, Samael saw Ajax sitting by the corner, arms crossed. On cue, Icarius went in.

"Boys," he said.

"What happened?" Samuel asked.

"Well, after going unconscious, me and Ishkar spoke, and he approves of you two," Icarius said.

Samuel could only sigh. It seems they're in for a treat with that man. He was crazy; no other explanation for it. But he was also strong.

"When do we start?" Samael asked.

"Tomorrow," Icarius said.

"Already?" Samael asked.

"He's impatient," Isaac said as he shrugged.

When the darkness was overcome by the light of dawn and the horizon was once again illuminated, Samael and Ajax found themselves outside the wall near what seemed to be a war camp of sorts.

Within that war camp were more people who looked similar to Ishkar with their brown skin and type of clothing composed of abominations hides.

It was Ishkar's home, the place where his family and clan resided. It seems monster hunting was a thing in their place considering everyone here were battle-hardened warriors.

Sitting in the middle of the desert, Ishkar spoke. "I'm Ishkar, the chief of the dessert warriors."

"Samael," Samael replied.

"Ajax," Ajax said in return.

Ishkar burst into laughter. "As I thought, I knew I'd like you two!"

Samuel could only smile wryly.

"Let's get straight to the point! You!" Ishkar said as he pointed at Samael. "Too passive!"

Samuel's brows rose. Passive? But he's already fairly aggressive after Michael's teaching? Was it still not enough?

"How?" Samael asked.

"You wait too much. Opportunities don't come; you make them," Ishkar said. "So your task, kill this beast."

Creating some form of sound, the sand began to tremble as a creature resembling that of a rabbit revealed itself.

"That," Ishkar said as he pointed at the creature.

"A rabbit?" Samael asked.

Ishkar's lips formed a smirk. "Then kill it. I'd like to see you try."

"As for you," Ishkar followed as he looked at Ajax. "Too reliant on Element. Lacking in combat prowess."

"How do I fix that?" Ajax asked.

"Master the body, master yourself," Ishkar said as he pointed at an approaching beast hidden beyond a sand cloud. "Kill, but don't use elements."

Looking at the beast, it was a multi-armed creature with multiple teeth and what seemed to be an exoskeleton coupled with multiple red eyes.

"No element?" Ajax asked. Judging by the aura of the creature, it was definitely Saint-ranked. How did it even get here?

"No element," Ishkar said.

"That's impossible," Ajax said.

"Then make it possible," Ishkar replied before slumping down. "I will not help you two. Go."

Heeding his request, Samael unsheathed Crimson Raven as he looked at the rabbit. With one forceful stomp, he blasted forward, his blade striking down.

However, when the dust had calmed down, Samael's eyes widened. Standing beside the axe was the rabbit, unharmed.

Turning his blade sidewards, Samael swung horizontally, but the rabbit nimbly jumped away, the axe barely getting close to it.

"Huh," Samael muttered.

Lowering his stance, he blasted forward as he swung multiple times a second. But like before, the rabbit hopped and weaved through the attacks.

"Passive and blind," Ishkar said.

Looking at the rabbit and his axe, it seems things were not as easy as it looks.

A small smile made its way to Ishkar's face. Samael wasn't like the rest; he did not complain about fighting the rabbit. He wasn't arrogant, and most importantly, he's fast to learn.

The rabbit before him was a special kind of rabbit. In their clan, it is called the ghost hopper. Why? That's because it is hard to kill and even harder to hit.

The training for Samael was simple. While he was already aggressive, it wasn't enough considering his fighting style. Yes, although Ishkar may seem simple-minded, when it comes to fighting, he's smart.

With this training, Samael would have to force himself to adapt and increase his aggression in order to even hit the beast. But attacking alone wasn't enough, as he'll also need accuracy.

It seems he already knows that.

On the other hand, the sound of steel clashing against steel echoed in the air as Ajax slid back.

Looking at the charging beast, Ajax clenched his jaw as they traded blows, yet he knew he was being overwhelmed.

Unable to react on time, the beast swung its tail, slamming against Ajax's blade as he was sent flying.

Looking at the beast, Ajax felt it was truly impossible to beat this beast without an element. Yet he also finally realised how weak he was without his element. Most of his attacks revolved around the use of his shadows and out manoeuvring his enemies. He never truly honed his own ability to fight. A low groan escaped his lips as he rose up.

Ishkar's smile widened as he saw the two. That blasted Icarius found himself two prodigies. He was so jealous right now.

Just how much will they soar?