"Lucian, it's almost time for your training! It's the first day with your new teacher, so you can't be late!" shouted the old man who had been taking care of me for the past month.
I stood up and brushed the dirt from the garden off of my knees.
How could I, a baby, stand, you ask? Well, that was because I, Lucian, had grown up.
Partially.
Five years had passed since I was reincarnated into the world of Highschool DxD.
After being dropped off at the church by Gabriel, I was taken to the Vatican and constantly transferred between various competent clergymen for the purpose of education.
Due to how often they transferred me, which was probably to do with my adult intelligence allowing me to master the basic subjects they taught, I never got close with anyone in specific.
It was a bit lonely, especially since in all of the five years, Gabriel had never visited me once.
I know she was busy, being one of the few Seraphs among the limited number of angels, and I knew that as a ten-thousand-year-old being, five years was no doubt a very short time, but that still didn't make me feel any better.
So, like a guy who had just gotten his heart broken and turned to the gym, I started training my body and Holy Power.
I tied whatever heavy objects I could to my body and trained madly, or at least as enthusiastically as a child could.
The Church quickly noticed that and started sending me various instructors who were more inclined toward battle.
At first, it was just an ordinary martial arts instructor and one who wasn't even aware of the actual supernatural.
Then the Church realized that I didn't want to play martial arts hero, but rather actually wanted to seriously train.
They gave me one on one time with numerous magic instructors, who worked for the Church.
That was when I realized that I was under a massive misconception.
Basically, devils could use magic, or what at least acted like magic, using their demonic energy and imagination. The idea of human magic could actually be traced back to some mages who had researched the devils and their demonic energy.
Normal magic, however, didn't work on imagination, but rather on the most dreadful thing in existence: mathematics.
Yes, really. What should have been a super mystical, fun force worked off of mental calculations in this world. Though it wasn't exactly the same as traditional mathematics, it still relied on the same basic function of calculations.
The various mythologies of the world had their own systems of magic that also ran on calculations, though the core form of the magic was distinct from the modern magical idea of reading the flow, which came straight from Merlin himself.
See, I had assumed that since angels were counterparts to devils, we could use that same imaginative magic that they could.
But no. That much more convenient method that lacked all the headaches of regular magic was, for the most part, limited to devils, who were specially created by Lilith.
So, I was stuck doing literal mathematical equations to activate magic. Though, it wasn't actually that bad. The equations were less of what you would see in class and more supernatural mysticism than you would expect from something that used calculations.
Now, the Church was giving me an instructor who was a genuine physical combatant. An exorcist to be specific.
I stepped into the building that had been my home for the past month. The heat in the place was uncomfortably high, but the old man who controlled the heating systems refused to lower it in the slightest.
Thankfully, there was no way the person who was to be my instructor would be able to properly train me inside such a small space, so there was no doubt we would go outside.
Standing in front of the door, I somewhat nervously ran my fingers through my white hair.
Of all the people I had met throughout the past five years, my instructor would no doubt be the strongest.
Yes, despite being a human, he surpassed all of the angels in heaven.
Vasco Strada.
The Violence of Heaven. The Vatican's Evil Killer.
He was the man who, despite the fact that he was human, managed to reach a level of power that allowed him to easily defeat god-tier opponents through pure 'faith' and training.
And that was without even a common Sacred Gear, let alone a Longinus. Sure, he had the Durandal, an immensely powerful Holy Sword, but he could do the same with his mere fists.
Suddenly, the sound of the door being lightly knocked on interrupted my musings.
I reached over and opened the front door, to see a scene that would have fit right into an older comedy.
The house I currently stayed in, although affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church officially, was paid for almost entirely by the old man who was currently taking care of me.
And he was a stingy bastard, so it was painful to watch some of his average-height friends have to literally bend over just to get through the cheap, tiny door.
But that? That was just laughable.
Vasco Strada was an absolute unit. Though he was only two meters tall, with how insanely thick his muscles were, he looked like a literal giant.
His hand alone was as wide as a normal man's waist. And his legs were the width of an obese person.
So, seeing him, a human giant, standing in front of such a tiny door, was truly something.
He bent down until he was completely on his knees, smiling all the while.
"So, from that holy aura you keep releasing, I suppose you're Lucian-kun?" he asked with a kind and gentle voice that didn't seem to fit a man his size.
I nodded politely, "I am. Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to help with my training."
It wasn't that I was scared of him or his power. Rather, I was nervous about displeasing him and not receiving the training of the man who surpassed so many gods in strength as a mere human.
Sure, I didn't have the willpower nor the 'faith' that he had, but I was an actual supernatural being, so if I could at least do some of his training properly, I would certainly get satisfying results.
"Hmm? There's nothing more important than helping a determined youth improve himself. Now, I don't think I can fit into this door, so why don't we head out to our training grounds?" he said, the gentle and kind look on his face not fading even once.
I'm starting to understand why he was the most respected man in the Church. Despite his power, he was still humble and kind in a way that wasn't forceful or attention-seeking—a way better person than some others in the Church.
But I couldn't remember if he knew of the Holy Sword Project or not. If he did, I could throw out all the stuff about him being a nice person right there.
If he didn't know about it, then I could no doubt save the lives of those many children.
Not like I particularly cared about them or anything.
Just, it would be a bit awkward if I ever confronted someone evil and I didn't have moral superiority.
Plus, I might gain a decent ally in Isaiah, or Kiba Yuuto as he was known in canon.
Kiba wasn't incredibly strong or anything, but he had a greater affinity with Demonic Swords than Siegfried, the most significant result of the Sigurd Institute, who wielded five of them.
I nodded toward Vasco and stepped out the door before he headed toward an area I knew was under the control of the Church.
It was a vast field, shut out from the outside world with a small wall made of some sort of polished rock. Based on the limited magical knowledge I had gained; the wall was inscribed with some sort of barrier-type spell.
It incorporated many angelic symbols, which if I'm not wrong, would probably insta-kill any devil below high rank if they walked nearby.
Past the wall, in the field, were numerous children training. They ranged from around my age, to older teens.
Upon Vasco entering, they all looked toward him with respect and awe. Some of them stopped training just to get a good look at someone they no doubt respected as a hero.
Others started training even more vigorously as if they were trying to impress him.
He brought me over to an unused spot in the corner of the training fields and got into a light battle stance. "Come on, now. Let's see what you can do."