Chapter 23: A Fierce Struggle Between Boy and Beast

Never in his life did Grevlin think that such a scene would occur, he had been bullied in school, mocked by others, but the one he trusted the most, was his father. The sturdy figure that always lifted him and played with him, gently patting his head and giving motivation, even feeding him soup whenever he caught the flu.

Now, that gentle and kind looking father had gazed at him coldly as he tossed him into the bushes towards a deep valley of unknown creatures, telling him only to survive.

"Faaaatheeeer!" Grevlin shouted, but because he was distracted, his back smashed against a large rock, causing a large bruise.

"Ack!" Grevlin wailed in pain as his body bounced from the rock, flying into the air as he now fell further down into the deep valley.

Grevlin gritted his teeth as he held his back, trying to suck up the pain; he learned that this wasn't the time to lose focus after suffering from that hit. He looked down and noticed that around him were a myriad of protruding rocks, and at the speed at which he was falling, any of them could become a hazard.

Grevlin at this moment felt strange; his breathing calmed as he hurriedly tried to balance himself as he fell from above, his heart pumping at an accelerated pace as his brain became filled with endorphins.

Swish! Instantly, Grevlin had managed to catch onto a nearby rock; his powerful fingers crushed most of the area grabbed due to their force before he finally managed to balance himself to a standstill.

"Whew, I'm safe..." Grevlin said, his face showing a look of relief.

Yet, this was only an illusion as by this time, the previously hiding Crystal Tail Cat had already acted.

Whoosh! With a jump from its four legs, it bounced from the ground towards a few rocks as it rapidly charged towards Grevlin with a vicious looking face.

Grevlin, who had unknowingly sensed the danger, looked at this in a panic, he thought to himself, "Oh no! W-what do I do?"

The Crystal Tail Cat wasn't the size of an average cat, and its eyes savagely glared at him; even its nails and teeth were longer and sharper than most tigers. He knew what would happen if it were to arrive at his position.

In an instant, the Crystal Tail Cat had arrived before him with its sharp claws cruelly slicing towards his neck.

Grevlin, in this moment of danger had a change; his mind grew clear as he recalled a few words from his even younger years, words spoken by his father.

"Son, there will always come a time where a man must learn to face his fears, using every ounce of your power to strive for livelihood. Remember, life isn't a game... and everything around you is a competitor for survival," Marius's voice resounded in Grevlin's mind, causing his face to transform. He no longer showed a look of panic or fear as he bit lips and shouted.

"I... I won't fall as prey!" Grevlin yelled as he let go of the boulder that kept his balance and crossed his arms in front of him to parry the rapid assault.

Ting! As if two metals collided, the Crystal Tail Cat's sharp gleaming nails left three white lines on the back of Grevlin's arms that shown no traces of injury.

As if shocked by this, the Crystal Tail Cat looked at Grevlin in wonderment, but as an experienced predator, it also didn't hesitate to follow up its attack.

The Crystal Tail Cat began to twirl its body in frontward flip before it swung its tail as if using a whip to wack Grevlin on his arms.

Smack! The force pushed Grevlin from his position towards depths of the valley where he crashed into the grassy earth before spitting up a bit of blood.

'Darn... it's so strong...' Grevlin thought he wiped the blood from his mouth corners and slowly picked himself up from the ground.

At this time, Grevlin didn't seem injured, even his arms that were had suffered the brunt of the attacks were unphased.

If one looked at him now, they would notice that his manner was akin to a fighter's, contemplating a variety of measures to defeat his foe.

The Crystal Tail Cat soon after fell down from its previous airborne assault; it landed a few meters away from Grevlin as it sized him up with a more serious and cautious look in its eyes.

Both young and cat staring at each other as the afternoon's cool winds whisked away from the leaves and flora of the surrounding.

The Crystal Tail Cat lowered its posture as if setting to make a charge, its hair rasing upwards in a threatening manner as if flowed due its Mystical Power that emanated from its body.

Grevlin, who had assumed a simple battle posture with both of his arms raised and his legs crouched, stared at the Crystal Tail Cat with solemness.

However, if one were to stare at his face more carefully, they would notice that his lips had curved into a smile as he even licked the side that a few bits of blood.

Swoosh! Instantly, both charged towards each other moving at rapid speeds as a fierce battle began between youth and beasts.

A distance away from this scene, Marius was currently observing in silence as he sat on top of a tree branch, he watched as they flashed about the woods like nimble cheetahs while struggling for dominance.

'Hmm, Ria was right, only by struggling in this kind of setting would he truly awaken the nature suppressed within him, the very nature of his Hellian blood...' Marius thought as he watched keenly.

Unknown to Marius, Ria was also nearby, observing from the darkest part of the woods, her entire being shrouded by shadows as she watched on in silence.

As time passed, Grevlin was growing more used to battle, even assuming unusual battle stances. He got fewer wounds from the Crystal Tail Cat which attacked areas that his arms couldn't protect, by simply anticipating it an countering it with his instincts for combat.

The battle continued until evening started to fade into the dark of night, at this point, both the Crystal Tail Cat had separated for a few meters.

Grevlin was exhausted, but his eyes shone with a radiant will for battle, even his manner was a bit strange as he spoke, "Come at me cat! I will not lose to you!"

Those words angered the Crystal Tail Cat; it didn't like the fact that it couldn't easily hunt the small and weaker prey like this before it.

Meowww! The Crystal Tail Cat ushered as if it had decided to go in with an unusual move for its kill, the crystal on its tail began to glow in bright purple light as its eyes similarly glowed.

Grevlin's eyes flashed as if he was expecting this; he raised one arm forward and spoke like a commander, "Rise and destroy my soldier!"

A dark mystic power formed over his body as his shadow began to dance strangely, not long after a gray-skinned humanoid that wore a flowing dark combat robe with a small black knife had appeared.

It stared at the Crystal Tail Cat with its glowing purple eyes gleamed in a threatening manner as it set itself for battle.

The Crystal Tail Cat felt even more threatened by the arrival of this odd entity, but it didn't dare to halt its attack, it put more power into it as it pointed its tail towards Grevlin and shrieked.

Piiii! Instantly, a purple energy ray fired towards Grevlin and the Darkness Soldier standing in front of him. The Darkness Soldier didn't even hesitate as it charged towards it and slashed out his knife, sending an arc of dark energy towards it.

BOOM! Both energies collided, but the power from the beam was much higher than the Darkness Soldier's attack, the remnant energies from the beam smashed into its body before exploding.

After a while, the lights soon faded from the previous attack and the Crystal Tail Cat now had a look of exhaustion on its face, he stared at the scene before it, but as it saw that both Grevlin and the Darkness Soldier had vanished its face became filled with confusion.

Marius, who watched his silence, had a proud look on his face as he thought, 'Good boy, this technique must have been that special skill that the old man had taught him, a very handy little maneuver.'

Ria also smiled in satisfaction as she watched from her end while thinking, 'With this technique, it's over, a pity, I guess he won't be able to truly awaken his blood and true instincts from such weaker monsters.'

As if both of their words were correct, the Crystal Tail Cat's face changed to one of panic as it sensed a startling amount of danger from behind it. However, before it could even react with its rapid and graceful movements, it was already too late.

"Illusory Sealing Palms..." A cold voice said as Grevlin appeared out of nowhere, his arm stretched forward as if it ripped through an illusion of invisibility before it touched the Crystal Tail Cat.

As if it was binding by something, The Crystal Tail Cat felt utter terror as it couldn't even mobilize its energies. It wanted to fight back, but before it could even try to gather its energies, a sharp cutting sound was heard.

Swing! With a swing of its knife, the Darkness Soldier which reformed from Grevlin's shadow, jumped out from below as it chopped the head of the beast off. It then did a flip before landing on the ground as it knelt before Grevlin in a humble and respectful posture.

Grevlin was now holding onto the Crystal Tail Cat; he glared at it coldly before his arm loosened it as a wave of tiredness came over him, the scene around him turning blurry as he fell backward and in an unconscious state.

Swoosh! At this moment, Marius suddenly appeared behind him, carefully holding him in his arms, the Darkness Soldier looked at Marius before it broke down into the darkness that merged with Grevlin's shadow.

"Well fought son," Marius said in a soft voice as he looked at his sleeping child with a smile on his face, while he didn't get the chance to train, he was satisfied knowing that his son could now protect himself.

The scene here soon transitioned into the dark of night as today's training had finally ended for little Grevlin.