Chapter 26 - 24 - Weapon Arts

Chapter 26: Chapter 24 - Weapon Arts

Leopold was staring at a small holographic screen that was playing a video in his office.

The video was the feed he had gotten from the surveillance camera of the warehouse his sons went to save Ivelia.

It had been over a month since that event had happened but Leopold had re-watched both of his son's battle multiple times since that day. Today was no different as he kept staring with a very thoughtful look on his face.

If there was one thing he could say, it was that both of his son's battle prowess was really impressive. Their mastery over their combat arts was also no joke as they seemed very close to perfecting it.

'Aiden has a very good battle instinct while Flynn fights with a lot of rationality, although both of them are still very reckless'

"Hmm... at this rate, I think it's best if I just allow them to start their weapon arts training" he muttered to himself

"Honestly, I have no idea what it is you're feeding those two..."

"Baz... Do you have a penchant for sneaking up on people? And no, I'm not feeding them anything"

"No Leo. You were just lost in your thoughts again, so much that you didn't even notice me walk in" Sebastian corrected.

"..." n.-O)-v(.e-.l(-b/(1-.n

-Sigh

"I know it's not my place to say anything, but you really should just allow them to start their weapon arts training. I've never seen teenagers their age fight with such resolve and intensity" Sebastian spoke once again after sighing.

"Anna also said the same thing you know. She also saw the feed so she gave the exact same verdict" Leopold said with a bit of worry in his voice.

"I know I should be glad and all but the way they train, it's almost like... it's almost like they're preparing for something... something only both of them know..." Leopold continued.

"Well, shouldn't you hurry up and have them start learning their weapon arts as soon as possible then" Sebastian immediately replied.

"If you're so worried that they're preparing for something, give them all the tools they'll need to be able to overcome it" Sebastian concluded.

"It's so weird how both you and Anna say the exact same thing" Leopold said with a smile.

Anna and Leopold had fallen in love with each other since they were tweens. They were what you'd call childhood sweethearts. Sebastian had also been a friend in their age group and was the only close friend Leopold had asides Anna since they were kids.

Leopold was a training addict while growing up because he quickly realized that he wasn't blessed like some of his peers.

He had also realized that if he didn't want to lag behind his peers and even surpass a lot of them, even the blessed and talented ones, he would need to put in an insane amount of effort and hard work.

This mindset of his paid off greatly as he was able to keep up and stand toe to toe with the peers of his generation but that came at a cost as Leopold, just like his two sons right now, was unable to make any proper friends while growing up.

That was until he met Anna and they both fell in love with each other.

He also met Sebastian around the same time he met Anna and although Leopold found Sebastian and his overly boisterous personality quite annoying at first, he eventually warmed up to him and they'd been buddies ever since.

"Well that's not unexpected. We're the only people who would give the best advice whenever you need it" Sebastian said while returning his friend's smile.

"Thank you Baz. Well then, it's time I headed home" Leopold said as he began to stash some documents into his spatial ring.

"Anytime Leo. See you tomorrow partner" Sebastian responded while waving as he walked out of the office.

Leopold drove home within fifteen minutes after leaving his office at the Tower.

On getting home, the first thing he did was to call for Frank.

"Frank, I'll have you begin to train Aiden and Flynn starting next tomorrow. I'm planning to have them begin their weapon arts training"

"Is that so, sire? Then I shall also ready myself then" Butler Frank responded.

"Don't hold back. Train them like their lives are on the line. Just like you did with me".

"As you wish sire" Butler Frank responded once again, but this time, with a slight bow of his head.

After informing Butler Frank about what he needed to do, Leopold then asked him to call for the rest of the family. They all sat down in the main living room they had in the mansion while waiting for Anna.

Apparently she had been taking a bath so they had to wait for a while until she arrived.

They all started making small talk to pass the time and Flynn could be seen having a conversation with Ivelia, and from the looks of it, both of them were pretty invested in whatever it was they were talking about.

Ivar, Aiden and Leopold on the other hand seemed to be discussing about a recent sport that was in vogue but as soon as Anna came into the room and sat beside Leopold, he cleared his throat to gather all of their attention, after which he then proceeded to speak.

"After careful consideration, I've decided that both of you should begin your weapon arts training" Leopold started.

"Shouldn't that be given to us five months from now?" Aiden immediately asked to which Flynn immediately also interjected.

"I mean, it's fine and all but isn't that usually given once we've completely mastered our combat art?"

"Yes, that should've been the case but considering the rate at which both of you are improving, I don't think starting a bit earlier will hinder your progress at all" Leopold responded.

"I've already filled in Frank on how to go about your training so you will be starting next tomorrow"

"I see. We appreciate it Da-... Wait! Butler Frank?!" Aiden said with a bit of surprise in his tone.

He had read the novel so many times but never was it explicitly stated who it was that trained Aiden. He always believed Aiden had trained himself so this was quite unexpected.

'This is quite the info...' Aiden inwardly thought.

"Yeah. Frank will be training you from now henceforth. I may also join in every once in a while. Also, in case you didn't know, Frank is a low-tier S-ranker" Leopold said once again.

"Wow! That is crazy" Flynn said with a very surprised look on his face and Aiden had a similar expression too.

"Ivar and Ivelia, you can also join the training sessions if you want to. Although I understand you both aren't suited for combat, learning a few offensive and defensive spells can really come in handy every now and then"

"We understand" Ivelia and Ivar replied.

Over the course of the last one month they'd been staying with the Belmonts, the twins had gotten quite comfortable with them and were no longer constantly on guard or cautious around either the Duke or the Duchess.

"Now you two..." Anna began with her focus on her sons.

"Leo and I know there's probably a reason why you two have greatly increased the intensity of your training. We won't ask why but whenever you're ready to tell us, we'll be all ears" she said with an understanding gaze.

"We really can't hide anything from you guys huh..." Aiden said with a slight smile on his lips.

"Now although we trust you both greatly, and we know that you'll both be responsible as to how you go about said training, I would be very much at peace if you could take a break every once in a while. I really do not want you to become a total training addict like your Father here" Anna continued while squinting her eyes and pointing at her sons with two of her fingers, a slight frown on her face before moving her gaze over and squinting at Leopold.

-Ahem!

Leopold averted his gaze from her while coughing as he proceeded to continue from where he left off.

This caused everyone to chuckle as they found the usually stoic Duke averting his gaze because he had been cornered to be very amusing.

"With all that being said, you'll need to select whatever weapon and weapon art you'll need Flynn. I'm asking because I know that although Aiden's going to use our family's {Berserker Art}, you, young man seem to already know what's best for you so shoot. Which weapon art do you plan to use?"

"I find it scary how you're able to read my mind so easily these days Dad but yeah, I'm not going to be using any of our family's weapon art" Flynn said after which he then continued.

"Remember how the Tower had wanted to reward us but we had asked you to tell them to keep things under wrap"

"Yes..." Leopold responded to Flynn.

"Well now I want to call in their favour. {Moonveil Art}, that's what I want" Flynn concluded.

Aiden stared at Flynn with a look that seemed to say 'I knew you were going for that' but Flynn just shrugged his shoulders.

{Moonveil Art}. A weapon art that had been previously used by Amael in his early years before he eventually created his own weapon art and switched over to it. It was, safe to say, the most difficult weapon art to understand, let alone master.

"Haaaa... You really do ask for the craziest things" Leopold responded with a sigh.

"Well it's not really that hard to get but are you really sure you want to learn that. You know that weapon art is notorious for being very hard to master with the number of people who have mastered it over the years numbering only in single digits"

"I do, but I'm certain I can master it in due time" Flynn replied confidently.

"Well then. I'll have it sent to you once I get to work tomorrow"

"Thanks dad"

"Don't mention it"

After the long discussion about the weapon arts and the new training regime was over, the family began to discuss other mundane things as their voices and laughter filled the room they were in until sleep prompted them all to disperse to their respective rooms while thinking about the next day.