Chương 56: Power of a Hero

Alaric smiled and casually walked toward them. It was the kind of smile that should have been calm. Reassuring. Gentle. But everything about the man made Noah's instincts scream. Alaric Sanguine moved like a harmless therapist on a morning stroll, yet the air around him felt wrong. Too controlled. Too easy. Too comfortable. As if he already knew exactly how this would end.

"There's no need to worry," Alaric said lightly.

"I'm really nobody special." Noah did not believe that for a second. Charlie slowly stood beside him, rubbing his neck. Alaric adjusted his glasses.

"I bet if you two try your hardest, you can beat me." Leonardo watched from the side, arms folded and smiling. Noah hated that smile. Alaric raised one hand.

"I'll even let you have the first ten attacks." Noah tightened his grip around the Lion King of Heroes. Noah moved first. Golden light flashed beneath his feet.

"Royal March." He shot forward, closing the distance in an instant, and swung the Lion King of Heroes toward Alaric's side. Alaric stepped back. Not quickly. Not dramatically. Just enough. The blade passed through empty air. Charlie appeared behind him at the same time, palm aimed for the center of Alaric's back. Alaric caught his wrist without turning around. Charlie froze. Alaric sighed.

"You two are slow." Then he glanced over his shoulder.

"I could have come here drunk and still had an easy time." Charlie's expression collapsed.

"That hurts more because it's probably true." Alaric released him and slipped away from Noah's next slash. The remaining attacks went no better. Noah struck high. Alaric ducked. Charlie swept low. Alaric stepped over his leg. Noah used Shooting Star to descend from above. Alaric leaned aside as if avoiding a falling leaf. Charlie tried to grab his arm. Alaric was already gone. Eight more attacks. Eight more failures. Alaric moved through them without effort, his white coat fluttering softly behind him.

He did not counter. He did not rush. He did not even look annoyed. He simply avoided everything. As if Noah and Charlie were children swinging sticks at a shadow. Finally, Alaric stopped.

"That should be ten." Noah breathed hard, sword raised. Charlie bent forward, hands on his knees.

"This is just ridiculous." Leonardo chuckled from the side. Alaric smiled.

"I was lucky enough to be born with both abilities my father had." Noah's eyes narrowed. Alaric's red eyes glinted behind his glasses.

"Allow me to show you the powers that defeated the strongest Apocalypse in history." The air shifted. Noah raised his blade. Charlie immediately stepped back. Alaric lifted one hand.

"Ability Activate." His smile remained gentle.

"Lord of Non-Fiction." The sky darkened. Then it began to rain. Not water. Frogs. Noah stared upward.

"What—" Dozens of frogs fell from the sky, slick and dark, landing across the training yard with wet slaps. Some hit the sand. Some bounced off stone. Some clung to the ground and immediately turned their bulbous eyes toward Noah's sword. One leapt. Its tongue shot out and struck the Lion King of Heroes. The moment it touched the blade, Noah felt the light weaken. The golden glow dimmed. The warmth faded. The positive energy within the Regalia began to drain away. Noah's eyes widened.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. He swung the blade, knocking the frog aside, but more were already falling.

"These frogs are unique to Helheim," Alaric explained, pushing up his glasses.

"They devour positive energy, healing, and health." His gaze settled on the Lion King of Heroes.

"Especially the type dwelling in your blade." Noah looked down as the golden light flickered. The sword that turned despair into hope was being eaten alive. Charlie took one step back. Alaric smiled.

"So what will you do when you meet your perfect counter?" Noah stared at the frogs. Their bodies were small. Wet. Ugly. And filled with negative energy. His eyes sharpened. If they were devouring the hope inside his blade, then he would simply take the darkness inside them and use it as fuel. Black spots shifted across Noah's skin. He reached out with The Ladybug. The moment his ability touched the frogs' energy— They popped. One after another, the frogs burst like balloons, exploding into thick clouds of smoke.

Noah staggered back. Charlie coughed, waving smoke from his face. Alaric chuckled.

"That is my second ability." The smoke drifted around him as he adjusted his glasses.

"Lord of Fiction." Noah's grip tightened.

"Second ability?"

"Lord of Non-Fiction allows me to create things that exist within our world," Alaric explained.

"However improbable it may be for them to appear at this exact moment." Another frog landed beside his foot. Alaric lightly tapped it with his shoe.

"Lord of Fiction allows me to create what should be impossible." His smile widened.

"For example, the rule that if you interfere with my frogs' energy, they explode." Noah's expression darkened.

"That's absurd."

"Yes," Alaric said pleasantly.

"That is the point." Charlie moved.

"Air Palm!" He appeared behind Alaric and struck him square in the back with a palm strike. The blow landed cleanly. For one brief instant, Noah felt hope. Then Alaric's body stretched. His back bent inward like rubber, absorbing the impact without resistance. Charlie's palm sank against him, and the force dispersed uselessly through elastic flesh. Charlie stared.

"Oh, come on." Alaric turned his head, still smiling.

"Nice try." From the side of the training yard, Leonardo raised one finger.

"I forgot to mention something." Noah and Charlie slowly looked toward him. Leonardo smiled.

"Alaric lied." Charlie's face went pale.

"We are not equal in power." Noah felt his stomach sink. Leonardo folded his arms.

"I have never once beaten him in a fight." A pause.

"Even with my Regalia." Noah and Charlie looked back at Alaric. Alaric waved politely. Charlie whispered, "We're no longer drinking buddies." Then the beating began. Noah tried to close the distance, but every frog that touched his sword dimmed the Lion King of Heroes further. Charlie tried to strike from behind, but Alaric's body changed texture, shape, or resistance whenever a blow came close. Rubber. Stone. Water. Smoke. Things that existed. Things that should not. Rules that made no sense.

A punch that missed still bruised. A shadow that touched Charlie's ankle became a hand. A patch of sand beneath Noah's foot turned into glass, then shattered upward like teeth. Every answer Noah found was rewritten before it could matter. Within minutes, both of them were on the ground. Bloody. Bruised. Breathing hard. Noah lay on his side, one hand still clutching the fading hilt of the Lion King of Heroes.

Charlie was face-down in the sand, muttering something that sounded like a prayer and a resignation letter at the same time. Alaric stood over them without a single wrinkle in his coat. For a moment, his smile faded. His eyes flashed purple.

"It seems the Hero of this era is rather weak." Noah's blood went cold. Alaric's voice was calm. Too calm.

"No hope to stop The Crows." The words slipped through the training yard like a blade. Then his eyes returned to deep red. Alaric blinked. His gentle smile came back.

"Sorry." He chuckled softly.

"That just slipped out." Noah stared up at him, chest heaving. Charlie slowly lifted his head from the sand. For several seconds, no one spoke. Then Leonardo cleared his throat.

"For the next six months, Alaric and I will train you two." Noah blinked slowly. Charlie stared at him with the dead eyes of a man who had just been sentenced. Leonardo continued calmly.

"Naturally, the two of us will also be entering the upcoming tournament." Noah's stomach sank even further. Alaric smiled pleasantly, as if he had not just beaten them into the dirt and casually insulted the future of the world.

"But who knows?" Leonardo said.

"Maybe if you get lucky, you two will do well." Noah let his head fall back against the sand.

"We're so screwed." Charlie groaned.

"My body hurts." Leonardo looked down at him. Charlie lifted one trembling finger.

"You're making pancakes." Leonardo raised an eyebrow.

"For you?"

"For me. For my kids. For them." Charlie pointed vaguely toward Noah and Alaric without lifting his head.

"For everyone you emotionally damaged this morning." Alaric placed a hand over his chest.

"I feel very included." Leonardo sighed.

"Do you want chocolate chips?" Noah and Charlie both nodded immediately. There was no hesitation. No pride. Only survival. Alaric smiled.

"I'll take bananas on mine." Leonardo stared at him.

"You helped with the beating."

"Yes," Alaric said.

"And I worked up an appetite." Charlie slowly turned his face into the sand.

"I hate both of you." Noah closed his eyes. Somewhere far away, Ava was probably still asleep. Lucky her. The sun continued to rise over Lævateinn, bright and merciless. Six months. That was all they had. Six months before the tournament. Six months before The Crows made their move. Six months of training under a man Noah could not touch and another man whose abilities made no sense. Noah opened one eye and looked at the blazing sky. His entire body hurt. His pride had been murdered.

His hope had been eaten by frogs. And somehow, this was only the first morning. Leonardo clapped his hands once.

"Alright. Pancakes first." His smile returned.

"Then we continue." Noah and Charlie went perfectly still. Alaric chuckled. The training had only just begun.