Draig chuckled cruelly as he walked the roads of the country, many swordsman who weren"t Deva had attempted to battle him and lost their lives but through this Draig was gradually able to build his swordstyle. Small villages on the border had seen more of his wrath as he challenged every man there to try and best him or he would slaughter the entirety of their populace, it was in these bouts that Draig had occasionally been bested while other times he would lay complete waste to the community.
The more he fought the quicker his style began to take shape and become applicable, his battle reflexes had also began seeing improvement as he had been cut by the likes of the mortals many times before encouraging him dodge and parry skillfully.
"I should be getting the attention of the Deva by now" thought Draig as he wished to try his hand against a few of the self proclaimed Protectors of humanity.
However he thought better of it, it wouldn"t due if his Avatar suddenly manifested while he was battling them and thus revealing him as the Black demon as he had come to be called.
Since the time Draig had started using this alternate persona a few months had pa.s.sed and he was starting to get the hang of using a Katana but he felt he needed to head elsewhere in order to truly test it"s effectiveness against demons.
Walking into another village without reverting to his human looking body he gathered frightened stares and headed for the Village"s center where he stood proudly with his sword in hand.
By now the people who encountered him knew the drill and the best of their defenders gathered swiftly, sure enough he only waited a few short moments but soon he was looking at a line of Swordsman standing before him.
"If it isn"t the Gentleman Demon himself" sneered the first of the group.
Draig hadn"t heard this one before but he had to admit it sounded nice as well, much better than the Black Demon.
"I a.s.sume you know the rules" asked Draig causing the man to smirk.
"We do but it won"t be us facing you, instead we have hired these Deva to fight in our stead. Perhaps this goes against your rules" asked the man as a froup of robed people seemed to blur into existence.
"If they are here then they are welcome to challenge as well" answered Draig simply surprising the Deva.
"Are they aware of the rules" asked Draig causing the Deva behind the man to look confused, they had never heard of a demon abiding by any sort of rules.
"The rules are simple, if he wins then he will lay siege to the village but if he is bested in swordplay then he will leave" explained the man causing the Deva to look at the demon in front of them even more strangely.
"And he has held his end of the Bargain before" asked the tallest of the group revealing a deep voice.
"He has always kept his word" nodded the man causing some more shock to the Deva.
"I see, Gentleman Demon. You are aware that if you are to lose here then we will not be able to spare you" called the large Deva.
"That is understandable, it is only natural." answered Draig as he took a low stance and drew his Katana.
"Very well, then allow us to begin" stated the Large Deva allowing the smallest of them to go first.
This person had their face covered like the other two and drew a short sword that looked similar to his Katana but it"s reach was greatly decreased.
This small Deva charged forth and attempted to cut Draig at the hip but found the strike blocked with a turn of his sword, it was a credit to his odd way of training that he was able to block so easily with so little movement. Draig then took it upon himself to strike and with a quick movement the little Deva"s sword was knocked free and lodged into the ground.
"Next" called Draig causing the Deva to stare at him oddly, the fight wasn"t over just because the opponent didn"t have a weapon.
The small Deva looked at Draig with hostility and charged back in causing Draig to narrow his eyes which was something caught by the largest of the trio.
"Wai...." started the large Deva but he watched as Draig brutally turned his blade around to the blunt side and displayed some of his swordsmans.h.i.+p right there on the spot as he punished the little Deva.
"Next" stated Draig not bothering with the little one any longer.
Sighing to himself the Larger man attempted to move forward however was stopped by a thinner frame, it was the second of the Deva who carried a sabre.
"I am ready to begin when you are" stated Draig as he once again took his stance, this was apparently all the thin Deva needed as they ran forward and swung the Sabre beautifully forcing Draig to block but the weight behind the strike managed to knock him from his feet forcing him to roll with the strike before leaping forward in a quickdraw type stance.
The clanking of the swords caused sparks to emit between the two showing that it was rather even, the thin Deva cursed however at seeing this and kicked towards Draig"s genitals forcing him to leap backwards. The crowd at the side who had seen the move cheered at the move however Draig was not amused by this.
"Very well then" chuckled Draig as he swung to the side and killed a few of the Villagers with his swing.
"What are you doing, you haven"t won yet" crowed the man who had called the Deva.
"Punishment for breaking the rules, I am to be defeated by Swordsmans.h.i.+p not petty tricks" stated Draig causing the crowd to look at the thin Deva who clenched his fist upon hearing his move called petty by a demon.
"I have held my word and have only used my sword to attack without the need to resort to dishonorable means for victory, unlike this Deva here I have morales" stated Draig causing the thin Deva to growl.
Charging forward the thin Deva attempted a swing again however he found Draig"s swing to come much faster than it had previously and his sabre was split in two.
"I don"t have time to spar with someone like you" stated Draig as he looked towards the final of the three Deva.
"I apologize on my friends behalf, it is his first time leaving the Academy" explained the large man causing Draig to raise a brow.
"I thought Deva weren"t allowed to leave the Academy until they had proven themselves" asked Draig causing the Large Deva to tilt his head slightly.
"It is interesting you would know that but there have been changes to that protocol in recent years and those Deva in training now take missions approved by the a.s.sociation and provided a chaperone" explained the Large Deva causing Draig to nod as this would be beneficial to them as well.
"You are their chaperone then" asked Draig
"I am, I have answered your questions now I hope that you can answer one of mine" started the Large Deva causing Draig to quirk his eyebrow.
"Your movement with your blade increased drastically as compared to when you began the match, is there a reason for this" asked the Large Deva as he was wondering why he would draw out the fight like that.
"Simple really, I am just trying to make my own swordstyle so I must take things slow in order to perfect the moves" answered Draig causing the Large Deva to nod as this was a logical answer.
"Very well, let us begin" spoke the Large Deva before he dashed forward witha noticeable difference in speed when compared to the other two.
Draig attempted to block and felt the force of the blow send him skidding on his feet, nodding to himself Draig swiped to the side causing a clang to ring out before ducking under another swing.
Soon a beatiful dance of blades began as Draig managed to get a few knicks here and there while his Swordsmans.h.i.+p was getting cleaner the longer he went however their could only be one winner and if Draig lost he would certainly die.
"I.... have enjoyed this battle so far" grunted Draig causing the large Deva to tilt his head before Draig flicked his sword upward creating an opening where he quickly slashed open the chest piece the Deva wore releasing a spray of blood.
"This was more enlightening than I had first imagined" thought Draig as he sheathed his sword and turned his back towards the Village, he would allow them to live since he had been able to progress his swordsmans.h.i.+p so much from learing during the fight with the Large Deva.
"Now it"s time to try and manifest my true Avatar" chuckled Draig ignorig the stares of the crowd as he searched for his next target.