(Kiba POV)
The bokken sliced through the air and smashed into his shoulder. He let out a hiss of pain – again – as the sheer force threatened to topple him to his right. Of course, if Kiba did that, Adamas would have murdered him. The Phenex progenitor simply glanced at him, passed him a bokken and beat the living daylights out of him.
Kiba had to roll, jump and do the splits as each muscle group of his body was worked to its limit. They were screeching at him to just lay down and give up, but the Knight would be foolish to give up on this opportunity. The blond knight had simply chanced upon the Phenex surveying the campus and the people within. He seemed relaxed, observing everyone bustle about. Maybe the good mood induced a sort of magnanimity within him? He had directly approached Kiba and the knight brought them to the kendo hall.
"I had thought you would be the first one to ask me to train you, with us being swordsman and what not", Adamas sat on the polished floor of the Kendo Hall as Kiba put on all the guards and protectors.
"Nuh uh. No other guards, only the head protector", the Phenex progenitor waved his finger and ordered him that. Kiba complied.
"I didn't want to burden you Lord Phenex", Kiba took his time in removing the guards. You don't get to experience the legendary Sword Saint sitting on the ground and chatting so casually with you every day. Whatever might have happened, this man before him saved his King and he would always be grateful.
"Again, don't call me Lord Phenex. Just Adamas or Adam", there was a tinge of exasperation in his voice. He truly did not stand on ceremony huh?
"I am sorry Lord Phenex, but I cannot simply call your esteemed personage by name", Kiba was having fun needling the Sword God of this world. And seeing his fellow blonde's eyes meet his in outrage and mouth open in shock was more amusing than it should have been.
Kiba quickly turned around and made his way to the centre, effectively halting anything the progenitor might say. He stood there in his usual guard as the Sword Saint soon followed him and stood opposite to him. The progenitor did not truly have any sort of form or guard, which technically meant a lot of openings and opportunities to score a hit.
Ideally, that should have been the case. Ideally.
One wrong move and Kiba would have his head severed cleanly from his body. The Sword Saint simply held the bokken on his shoulder loosely, but Kiba had an illusion that if he shifted his weight carelessly, he might lose a leg or two.
Sweat crowded his brow and his arms holding the bokken trembled slightly. The knight of Rias could not see an end. He could not see where it began nor ended. Kiba regulated his breathing, modifying his pattern of breathing to remove any trace of wasted movement. He was consciously controlling something that had remained unconscious. He controlled the way his forearm muscles relaxed and contracted as he held his pose. He eliminated any twitch or movement by shifting his weight to his thighs and waist instead of his joint. All pressure on his back disappeared as he directed them to his strong hip bones. He activated all his muscles and reduced any pressure from his joints.
Kiba had to do these if he did not want to die.
He could not see it, but there were swords suspended in the air around him. All of them were pointed towards him, to his joints especially. Two at his knees, two at his elbows and one at his back. If he so much as twitched the above-mentioned joints, they would be skewered and Adamas will murder him. That is the sort of air he is exuding.
"This is the proper stance of swordsmanship", the Sword Saint was standing in front of him, but it seemed like his voice thundered into his head through his over-strained senses. "Nothing can be done without perfecting your body. Master your body, you will master your mind automatically". The progenitor then began circling Kiba, observing his form.
THWACK
Kiba let out a hiss as the bokken smashed into his thigh, but he dared to not buckle under the force. The knight sent him a vexed glare, but the progenitor simply ignored him and hummed in satisfaction. He entered Kiba's blind spot and,
THWACK
Behind the knees. He used his calf and toes to ground himself, exerting his thighs to the fullest.
"I expect you to defend yourself, you know?" The demon said something crazy so casually that the knight almost let out a scoff.
THWAACKK
Kiba let out a scream as the bokken bruised his forearm. This hit was magnitudes harder than the previous one and Prince Charming of the school almost cursed.
Adamas entered his orbit of sight, and he had a smirk on his face. The demon was enjoying this! The bokken swung down, this time towards his head and Kiba engaged his forearms and core to lift the bokken upwards.
To someone looking on the outside like Koneko, Adamas swung down and Kiba met the strike upwards, albeit a bit mechanically. What she didn't know is that the knight's reaction time improved by a few milliseconds. His muscles were taut and were equivalent to water gaining enough energy to turn into gas. His muscles, which are reservoirs of potential energy enhanced by his evolution to a devil are for the first time being pressured to produce the latent energy stored within them. And each of Adamas' strike elicited response from precisely those muscle groups, releasing the energy stored within them. Of course, the muscles will tear, but such pain and the consequent rejuvenation is negligible on Kiba's body.
Koneko did not notice any difference, but Kiba did. He did not know he could move this way. And how freeing was this? It seemed like he was breathing properly for the first time in his life. The oxygen travelled from his lungs to all corners of his body, sending tingles down his spine. He noticed it too, the slight increase in reaction time. This new altered form of breathing made him feel refreshed and cooled his brain down.
Kiba marvelled at the changes that were happening in his body. It seemed like this was the first step to gaining strength. And the one responsible for this was the boy standing in front of him.
Adamas observed the changes in the knight's body with satisfaction. His posture was relaxed and he was smiling at Kiba, a full-blown smile of someone who had imparted something precious to another. Kiba noticed all this and felt deep respect and reverence well up within him.
The Eternal Sword Saint. The feats this man accomplished were numerous, but to Kiba, the Sword Saint meant something more at that moment. This demon in front of him has grasped the very essence of the human body. A few adjustments to his body and a whole new world emerged to him. Kiba could see an illusion of a boundless, limitless sea within his body and all of it was thanks to the demon in front of him.
Tears gathered in his eyes as he gazed at the Sword God with gratitude. Adamas returned that smile with one of his own.