"Excuse me." Issei called out.
The old man turned around after hearing someone call out to him.
His hair was white, as was his beard. However, his back was straight, like a fine blade forged of steel. His handsome face was wrinkled, giving a kindly cast to his features, but his eyes were keen and as focused on their prey as those of an eagle.
He even had an air of nobility about him.
"Is something the matter?"
The old man's voice sounded somewhat aged, but it overflowed with an undeniable vitality. Climb felt an invisible pressure rolling out towards him, and he gulped.
"Ah, ah—we have are walking around for 15 minute, Sebas-sama." Issei didn't know why, but he added a respectful tone, even though the one in front of him is a servant.
Sebas just looked at Issei for some more minutes. Silence fills them.
"I pray you will forgive my bluntness—you have no talent. Proper training will take a very long time. However, I do not have that time. I wish to train you in a way that will show results quickly, but it will be an… arduous process." Sebas said,, breaking the silence.
Issei gulped again.
The look in Sebas' eyes sent a chill down Issei's spine.
Those eyes were filled with unbelievable power, exceeding the spiritual pressure that Rias or even Freed exerted when serious. Thus, he could not respond right away.
"Frankly speaking, you might die."
He was not joking.
Issei's instincts told him that much. Issei did not fear death. No, that's not right; he feared death, but he wanted to die for Rias or for his friends. He didn't want to die a meaningless death. He did not want to throw his life away for a dumb reason.
He was not a coward… No, perhaps he might be very craven.
Issei gulped once more and froze. Silence filled the surroundings for a while, and he could even hear the clamor from the distance.
"Whether or not you die depends on your attitude… If there is something important to you, something that makes you want to live, even if it is only to scrabble along the ground, then it ought to be fine."
Was he not going to teach him martial arts? That question surfaced in Issei's mind, but that was not the question now. He pondered the meaning of Sebas' words, made sure he understood it, and then gave his response.
"I am prepared for it. I leave the rest to you." While Issei did wish for a female maid. He couldn't continue feeling down because the reason he is here is to do training.
"Do you believe you will die?" Sebas asked.
Issei shook his head. He did not. Because the fight he is going to have is a Rating Game, so he can't be killed inside it. So he didn't need to worry about it.
Sebas looked into Issei's eyes, as though divining his intentions through them. Then he nodded heavily.
"I understand. Then, we shall begin here."
"Right here?" Issei looked around; they were in the middle of the garden. Because Sebas has been walking for 15 minutes, they are long past where Rias and the others are training.
"Yes. It will be quick. A few minutes will do. Please draw your sword or get down in your fighting stance if you aren't using a weapon."
What's he going to do?
Issei drew his sword, which he previously took from the training ground. His heart was a blend of uneasiness and confusion about the unknown, with faint underpinnings of curiosity and expectation.
The sound of the sword leaving its sheath echoed through the cramped alley.
Issei braced his weapon in a middle stance, and Sebas' eyes were fixed on him.
"Here I come. Please try and remain conscious."
And in the next moment —
—It felt as though icy razors had exploded forth in all directions from Sebas.
Issei could no longer speak.
Sebas now stood at the heart of a vortex of murderous intent.
This bloodlust felt like it could crush Issei's heart in an instant, and it seemed almost visible as it washed over him like a tsunami. Somewhere in the distance, he could hear the scream of a soul being pulverized. It felt close to his side, yet far away, and perhaps the voice might even have been his own.
As the obsidian flow of killing intent swept him away, Issei felt his consciousness slowly bleaching away into whiteness. This overwhelming terror made his body want to abandon his mind, which was carried away by the wave that swamped him.
"...Is that all a 'man' is? Is this the depth of your dream?"
Sebas' disappointed voice seemed abnormally loud through the depths of Issei's fading consciousness.
The meaning of those words pierced Issei deeper than any blade. It even made him forget the fear before him for a moment.
His heart pounded heavily in his chest.
"Huuuuuuuuuhhhhh!" Issei gasped.
He was terrified. He wanted to run. But he fought the urge to do so, even as the tears streamed down his cheeks. His hands trembled as they gripped his sword, and the point of his sword danced around like a demented bumblebee. His chain shirt made rustling noises from his full-body tremors.
Even so, Issei clenched his chattering teeth and tried to bear up against the mortal terror that came from Sebas.
Sebas laughed at the pathetic sight before him. Then he brought his right hand before his eyes and slowly clenched it into a fist. In the blink of an eye, the fist in front of him was as round as a ball.
He then pulled that fist back, like he was drawing a bow.
Issei understood what was going to happen and shook his head. Of course, Sebas paid his response no heed.
"Now then… prepare to die."
Sebas' fist ripped through the air with a whoosh, like a fully drawn arrow being loosed.
—It was instant death.
As time seemed to slow to a crawl, Issei's instincts spoke to him. The image of his certain death dominated his mind, like a massive wrecking ball that was far larger than himself, approaching at incredible speeds. Even if he raised his sword to block, that fist would surely smash it easily.
His body was frozen. It had gone stiff from tension.
—He could not escape the death before him
Issei's resignation to his fate filled him with anger.
If he was going to die now, then why had he not died back then when Raynare killed him? He should have died on that night and shuffled off the mortal coil by himself.
It was said that on the brink of death, people would see their lives flash before their eyes like a zoetrope. The common opinion was the brain was desperately searching through its past records for a way to escape its current predicament. However, it was somewhat laughable that the last thing
Issei would see the smile of his friends and family.
How would Rias react if she learned that Issei had died? Would that smile darken, like the clouds obscuring the sun?
Am I going to die without even getting a chance to grope a boob? Issei thought to himself.
—Are you kidding me?!
A blaze of anger roared up within Issei's heart.
There's no way I am going to die. I also want a girlfriend. I also want to flirt with ladies.
Rias loves Arthur. Issei knows that much from their interaction. And he is very jealous of that. Why does he always get to flirt with ladies?
The exploding jealousy within him burst the chains of fear that held him prisoner.
His hands could move.
His legs could move.
The eyes that sought only to be closed slowly opened, desperately seeking the image of the fist, which was streaking in at him.
His senses were pushed to their very limit, to the point where he could even sense the faint movements of particles in the air.
There was a phenomenon called an "adrenaline rush," where the brains of people in extreme duress would release the limits on their physical bodies, allowing for a burst of incredible power.
At the same time, the brain would secrete vast quantities of hormones, and the mind's full capacity would be focused on survival. The brain would compute vast quantities of information to find the best possible way to live on.
In that moment, Issei had stepped into the realm of a first-rate warrior. Yet, the speed of Sebas' attack was beyond even that lofty domain. Perhaps it was too late to dodge Sebas' fist. Perhaps it had always been too late. Even so, he still had to move. He could not give up here.
As time slowed to a crawl, Issei saw that his own movements were as slow as molasses. But still, he turned himself, trying to move.
And then—
Sebas' fist roared past Issei's face, with the sound of thunder. The gale that followed clipped off several strands of Issei's hair.
A calm voice filtered into his ears.
"Congratulations. How does it feel to conquer the fear of death?"
❌❌❌
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