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Chapter 5

He looked at him. "Elias, you will become a fugitive of your race. Are you sure?" He asked and crossed his arms?

"I'm sure." He nodded without a single second of hesitation. "They've betrayed me one too many times for me to care what they think of me now." He brushed his bangs aside. Actaeron nodded.

"As you wish. When do you want to begin your training?" He asked quietly. Elias placed a hand over the wound beneath his shirt, ignoring the numb sting before he looked up at the male.

"As soon as possible." Actaeron nodded.

"We can begin now, if you'd like." He suggested, making the demon nodded with a soft smile.

"Please, I would like that."

He nodded. "Very well, let's go." The other said simply and began to walk. Elias followed the male, intent on growing stronger through training. They walked back into the training yard, away from the others.

"We need to work on your hand to hand combat first." Elias nodded, glancing down at his hands. He had a small amount of experience in hand to hand.

"Alright."

"Come on, you'll be fine, we can work on technique later." He said softly. The demon sighed, nodding his head.

"Okay, where do we start from here?" He questioned eagerly.

"Make the first move, as hard as you can." He said and stood in a ready stance. Elias got into a fighting stance, finding a point of contact before making the first move and swinging. Actaeron easily caught his fist and punched him in the stomach before pushing him back. Elias felt the wind get knocked out of him from the hit, wincing from the pain.

"You have to be quicker." However, as Elias was pushed back, he moved back to him quickly and landed a hit on the man's shoulder. It wasn't too strong, but he did get a hit in.

The other nodded. "Very good, but it's not enough to knock someone down." The boy shook his hand off, rubbing his now sore knuckles.

"Damn, you're like a brick wall." He commented. "I'll get stronger with time, right?"

"I was like you when I started, look at me now. Try again." He replied. Elias looked back up at the man from his hands, following orders as he got back into stance. He kept speed in mind as he threw another punch, trying to pack more power into it. This time, his trainer winced slightly, holding the area he was hit.

"Good. It's better, but..." He paused and spun, landing a roundhouse kick to his chest. "...Your defense is still off."

The demon was smiling proudly, but the expression twisted into one of pain at the kick. It knocked him back, holding his chest with a yelp. Soon after he did one little trick. He dropped down quickly and swept Actaeron's legs from underneath him, moving fast to get back onto his feet, making him fall, groaning as he did.

In the underworld, when his previous master wasn't around, it was a dog-eat-dog world. He only pulled that trick whenever he needed to get away from larger demons that were trying to eat him.

"That's unique." the man said hoarsely, squeezing his eyes shut. Elias moved over and got down, straddling the man's hips and pinning him down.

"You can learn a lot of things in hell. Especially when you grew up there." He stated. Actaeron nodded and threw him off. Elias gasped once he hit the ground, sitting up and rubbing the back of his head. The older male stood and held his hand out to help him up. Looking up, Elias took the man's hand and stood to his feet.

"You have good technique, but there are things to change." Elias rose a brow, crossing his arms over his chest meekly.

"For example?"

"Your speed and power." The boy nodded in understanding, shifting.

"I can do that."

"Choose one to work on."

"Power." He decided after a moment of thought. Actaeron nodded.

"Come along." Elias followed behind the male obediently as they went into another building and led him to a punching bag. He kept behind the male, looking up at the punching bag. He reached out to touch it, waiting for instructions.

"Hit it as hard as you can." He listened and stepped back, punching the bag and making it swing gently from the impact.

"Harder." The little demon hit harder, having to shake out his hand afterwards.

"Here, like this, Don't hit it directly if it hurts your hand." He said and hit the bag with his shoulder, making it swing. Elias only observed from the sideline, waiting until the man pulled away before he tried it himself. THe bag swung easily.

"Good. Is it easier?" Actaeron asked quietly.

"Yeah, actually." He nodded, looking over at the male. The male nodded.

"Good, we will train this way." Elias nodded and continued to land punches, using his shoulder like he had been told to. The trainer stepped back and watched, taking notes on what to fix.

Soon, the kid's knuckles were becoming slightly bruised, but he shrugged it off and continued to punch at the bag. Black smoke began to accumulate and trail from his palms, a single ability he had.

"Elias..." Actaeron warned, making him stop. He waved the smoke from his hands.

"What?" He muttered.

"What was that?" He asked. Elias stayed quiet for a moment, looking a bit like a child being scolded.

"You know how some demons are born with abilities, and when they're killed, you can absorb that ability?" He questioned, continuing. "I can control smoke."

"Keep it under control."

"Yes sir." He murmured, continuing to punch the punching bag. Actaeron crossed his arms and kept watching.

He continued for a long while until he got tired, pressing his forehead to the bag as he panted.

"Tired?" His master asked as he walked up to him. Elias nodded his head, brushing his hair back as he moved away from the bag.

"Very."

"Well you may rest while I tell you what's wrong with your technique." Elias nodded, sitting with his back leaned against the bag.

"Alright, shoot."

"Your footing is off, and your moving wrong."

"Oh..." The demon muttered, rubbing the back of his head bashfully. "Then, show me how it's done." He stated as he stood and moved away from the punching bag. The man nodded and stood in front of the bag, punching it and almost knocking the bag off the hook. Elias flinched at the movement, looking between the bag and Actaeron.

"How did you-" He murmured, eyes wide. Actaeron looked at him.

"I've been doing this for 5 years kid. And I'm 18." He murmured in response.

Elias looked the male up and down, ultimately surprised. "What were you doing hunting demons at 13?" He questioned, placing a hand on the bag to stop it from swinging. The male only chuckled.

"No, I was training then. They wouldn't let me start hunting till I was 15 anyways."

"Ah, I see." He nodded, looking back at the punching bag. "Okay, so walk me through the stance and movements of a punch like that." He requested.

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