Fallen Star

Chapter 32

"Hiro, I must tell you that this is very unwise!" Empyrean shouted from the sidelines of the field. "You haven't fully recovered from your injuries yet, have you!? And you're still coming back from using the Malefic! You're up against nearly twenty people! Even if you know you're better than them, you're way too outnumbered!"

"This is different from facing off against one really strong foe," Sayuri noted, "or even just a few mid-level enemies. Against so many opponents, you have to spread your focus thin, so it becomes much harder to stay coordinated. A team of ants can easily overwhelm a mighty swallow if its wings get all tangled up."

"Exactly how long do you think I've been in the Hunter business, Sayuri? Five years. And in those five years, I've fought against all sorts of people, and against so many at the same time." I smirked. "Twenty is only two times as much as ten!"

I laughed as Empyrean groaned and Sayuri stared at me bug-eyed in disbelief. They probably thought I was crazy. Hell, even I thought I was crazy for doing this. Empyrean was right when she said that my wounds weren't fully healed. On top of all that, I doubt I'd recovered entirely from all that stupid medication though I wasn't about to go and admit it. But the cocky-ass "soldiers" in front of me with their stupid smug faces just made me want to punch them and boy was I about to get some sweet, sweet catharsis.

I removed Argenti from my heart and also took my pendant out of my pocket. I looped the chain around my sword's hilt and, after making sure it was firmly secure, threw Argenti to Empyrean. She nearly didn't catch it and shot me a dirty look afterward. I could totally read her mind: Be careful with such a priceless artifact! Though, despite her disapproval, she carefully removed my pendant from Argenti's hilt and held it close to keep it safe. The trainees also seemed stunned at my carelessness with the legendary blade and that made them all the more pumped to beat the shit out of me. They wanted to prove that I was unworthy of wielding Argenti. Well, sucks to be them!

If my suspicions were right, then these guys had never actually been in a real fight before. That meant I was basically going to be throwing around a bunch of punching bags and seeing what happened. These guys had also been trained in swordplay so they were going to be thinking blade first and fists second. Big mistake.

"Alright, Sayuri, count us down!" I yelled.

"Uh, okay... On your marks! 3... 2..."

"Bpf𑁋!"

I smiled, watching blood spurt between my fingers as the trainee's nose broke open. It was like cracking an egg made of flesh and I was all here for it. Blue Sanctus blood dripped from my hand as the trainee staggered back and fell flat on the floor, clearly unconscious. I swiped the training sword from his limp fingers and tested its weight, swinging it to and fro and nodding my head in approval.

"Not bad. Not bad at all."

"Wha𑁋 T-That's cheating!" the instructor cried.

"I said this would be a battle simulation. You think your enemy's gonna wait for you to get ready before they start swinging? Aw hell no!" I retorted. "They're gonna start punching whether you're prepared for it or not. You should have been clenching your buttocks the second I asked Sayuri to start counting down, idiots."

"You said you wouldn't use any weapons!" a trainee protested.

"I said I would be going into this with my bare fists," I reminded him, pointing my sword at the crowd. "I never said anything about stealing your weapons and using them myself. The survivors are the ones who know that 'honor' has no place on a battlefield and the way to live is fighting dirty. Elbows and knees are fair game, as well as headbutts and breaking jaws."