HSS: Quarta 5

HSS: Quarta 5

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Commissioned by Lambo

Wordcount: 1000

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Run! Faster! Harder! Stronger!

There was something strangely familiar about my current actions. Chasing after a vampire with my sword upraised was not something I was unfamiliar with, given my most recent excursion into the depths of European depravity, but chasing Gasper Vladi about raised feelings more akin to déjà vu than familiarity.

Ah, but due to it being a wretched temptation to try and discern more than one ought to discern, I disregarded it and simply continue to pursue my holy goal of redeeming a vampire.

Again, with sword appraised and chasing said vampire, so that he might grow stronger.

“P-please stop! I-I can barely run a-anymore!”

Some might be dissuaded by tears and shuddered cries, but not I. The path to redemption is a difficult one., especially for a being who once enjoyed a lifestyle most decadent. Gasper Vladi was weak. It was uncertain as to how he could survive a breeze, let alone the wretched winters brought about by humanity’s failings, and he had much training to go through in order to deserve his post in in the Preservers.

As his teacher, I could not allow him to falter and fail when he still had breath.

Or, at least, if he could still talk instead of focusing only on breathing!

“Eeeee!”

With my sage wisdom dispensed and accepted, my student’s pace quickened. It was a gratifying sight. Gratifying enough for me to press forward with more effort on my part to press him more. A teacher’s happiness truly lies in the success of their students. The more Gasper Vladi improved, the more enticed I was to press him harder, and so I did!

It was grand, great cycle that God must have blessed certain individuals with to continue to progress of civilization.

Truly, the Lord works in mysterious ways that mortals can only barely grasp.

“P-please at least don’t pray while c-chasing meee!” I swung my practice blade around Gasper’s immediate area. He dodged as I thought him too and while not missing a single step. I considered his question for a moment, as he was not a Devil, and I was sure that he did not suffering from hearing Gospel. “N-no! It’s not that! I-its just very distracting!”

Well, then, it must have been a miracle of happenstance then.

A distraction is just what Gasper Vladi needed to improve more quickly in his current cardio-dodging exercise!

In battle, running while being able to focus and dodge is imperative! Some might say that only one skill ought to be taught at a time, but given his lack of training and his need for power, Gasper Vladi needed a crash course before I sent him careening into battle after battle for far quicker growth as an individual!

This world was a harsh one, even to individuals who were blessed by Sacred Gears of great power, and so I would ensure my student would survive and thrive in the world’s current situation!

That meant training that was beyond training… training twice over!

“That… that doesn’t even make any seeennssseee!”

…

Gasper lay sprawled upon the ground. He was covered and enrobed in sweat upon the padded dirt ground of the Templar have. I was more than slightly impressed with it. The Church’s former opponents made it so even the most minor of their safehouses were adequate for training recruits and sustaining operations in a whole region. Not bad for an organization that once hid within a Rock. Not in the least.

“My… my everything hurts! And, this isn’t even the bad part!?” Some would be inclined to laugh at a weak individual complaining about the process of becoming strong, but that would be detrimental to my current goal of forging iron from a weak slurry of a young man. “C-can’t Mr. Argento heal me?”

Unfortunately, he had to endure the pain, even though Asia can speed up your recovery and not do away with his fatigue. Falling in battle due to shock is a terrible fate and one that was very common.

I took a seat beside him, not sweating in the least, though I’d chased him to his utter exhaustion.

I went through training as he did when I was just a girl. Never knowing my parents or any other relations, I was trained and raised by the Church to be an Exorcist, average soldier of the Church, and the training I inflicted upon him now was the same that had been rendered onto me when I was chosen by Durandal.

The Church required the holy swords to be wielded, so I was shifted from soldier to Sword Saint at a pace that was only the most penitent would’ve found blessed and holy. Vladi was doing well to endure his current pains, especially given his former lifestyle behind castle walls and the lap of luxury, so a compliment regarding his tenacity and will was acceptable, if not outright required.

“I… I have to be strong to save Valerie, so I’ll do whatever you want me to. This… this is the least I can do to succeed, right? So, I can’t fail.” Those were good words. I knew quite a few who would say that they were especially good for a Vampire. However, that was unnecessary. Good done in God’s name is good, as my teacher used to say. It’s easy to remember while training Vladi. “If possible… please train me more harshly. I don’t care if it’s difficult. If I can help you all more save Valerie, I don’t care what happens to me!”

To those words my response was simple: a swift chop to the head.

There was a reason I was focused on teaching him how to run and dodge before fighting. A warrior can’t fight for what they believe in if they’re dead.  Bravery, courage, and all that stuff can come after someone has learned to fight and before that how to run away and dodge what they can’t!

I won’t have those I teach fall because they didn’t know they could run away and save themselves.

As so many I knew had.