Eclipse | COTE x Danmachi

Chapter 7 (Deductions)

Like a bolt of lightning tearing through the sky, a white-grey streak zipped through the air before making impact with a boy, his dense silver hair flying back in sheer recoil from the kick he had just blocked. 

"Not so feisty now are ya, your majesty?" The wild face of the man training Aleus—Bete Loga—glistened with bloodlust as he brought his face close to Aleus'. 

"Your breath reeks of alcohol." Aleus replied, making Bete smirk as he twisted his torso and punched his chest. 

Crossing his arms in a "X", Aleus blocked it, however, the impact sent him back, his feet digging deep into the ground. 

The rest of the Loki Familia; Ais, Riveria, Finn, Lefiya, Garaeth, Tiona and Tione were also there, sitting a safe distance away while watching over the "spar" between Bete and Aleus. 

"Woah, Bete really is kicking his ass." Tiona commented. 

"He's got a fragile ego." Riveria added her own comment, slowly ebbing away at the skin near her nail, a visible sign of inner turmoil. 

"Aleus... he will be ok." Ais spoke with a rather firm tone, her eyes not leaving the spar for even a little while. 

Bete lunged forward, his leg snapping out in a swift roundhouse kick. Aleus, however, anticipated the move and ducked under the attack. However, he couldn't dodge it completely. 

Before Aleus could reposition himself, Bete bent his leg and directed his knee towards the prone Aleus, driving it into his shoulder. The force of the impact made him fall to the ground, cracking the ground underneath. 

With a smirk, Bete took a step back. "That's your eleventh loss."

"Loss? I didn't yield though." Aleus shrugged, standing back up on his feet. 

"Brat!"

He lunged forward, but this time Aleus took an even bigger leap and created a distance of about four yards, as he got into a stable stance. A small magic circle formed underneath him. 

In the spar, due to Bete being agitated because of what Aleus did last night, he was restricted from using any magic or weapons. All he was allowed was to use his physical capabilities, and even that were conditioned enough that it won't become a one-sided stress beat-down. 

Right now, Bete was using speed that a Level 2 could put up with. However, for Aleus, who was still a Level 1, it was quite overwhelming. 

'I can predict his movements... my body isn't keeping up with my mind.'

Bete's kicks became more vicious, each blow carrying the weight of his wounded pride. He aimed to overwhelm Aleus with sheer power, the strikes resonating through the arena like thunderclaps. 

Almost as if the air was a tangible object, and he was hitting against it. 

"The speed is okay, but the power sure doesn't seem like from a Level 2 though..." Finn commented, scratching his chin as he observed Aleus 'seemingly' rag dolled all over the place.  

"He is putting up surprisingly well." Gareth noted. 

"Indeed. There is something strange..." Finn spoke, narrowing his eyes. 

"And that is?" Riveria inquired, not peeling her eyes away from the spar. 

"Aleus, he looks awkward. It is like he can the attack coming but can't force his body to follow through the necessary course of action to dodge that." Finn concluded. 

"How can he see it when he can't keep his body in tandem with it...?" Tiona asked. 

"Predictions!" Loki excitedly interjected. "He can't see anything. He is calculating the flow of attack from Bete's muscles twitching. The first twitch of muscle tells him exactly from where the attack is coming. That way he is keeping himself from dying."