That power… Ash thought. I couldn’t even put a dent in that thing, but Phoenix beat it with just one blast! With that kind of power, I might stand a chance against the Prince some day. I have to learn how to do it, too!
“That soul power trick is pretty useful,” Shiva said. It was as if she read Ash’s mind. The girl and her team approached Phoenix, cutting through the crowd of congratulators. Shiva flashed the man a wide smile.
“Great work, all of you,” Wilhelm said to Phoenix and his friends. “You see what you can do when you master your soul power?” the old man said, looking at Shiva and her team.
“You’ve got me convinced, this is something we need to learn,” said Shiva. “Phoenix, will you please teach us?”
“Shiva dear, Phoenix is a very busy man. I’m afraid he just doesn’t have the time to drop everything to teach you all,” Wilhelm answered for him.
“Actually, I do need more teaching experience before they’ll let me become a professor…” said Phoenix.
“No way!” Ash said. “You mean you’ll actually teach us how to do that?”
“I have my doubts about whether or not a human like you could pull off something like what I just did, but I don’t want to miss this opportunity to find out,” Phoenix said. “Working with a death toucher will be a unique experience, as well. You can count me in.”
“Don’t forget about me!” Shiva added.
“Of course, getting to spend more time with you really seals the deal. I’ll teach you everything you need to know about soul power.”
With all the smiles and good vibes going around, it seemed like a joyous time for everyone. The Kingdom was spared from two separate demon invasions, and the team acquired a powerful new instructor to teach them the ways of their souls. The only downer in the crowd, Ash noticed, was old man Wilhelm. His face showed more concern than joy, and only when he caught Ash inspecting him did he turn his frown upside down.
Part Two
Chapter Ten: Hot for Teacher
Royal Advisor von Gosick sat at his cluttered table, trying his best to stay focused on the myriad of work requests, staff updates, and Royal Guard reports that plagued him on a daily basis. There came a knock on his door, and he practically leapt from his seat to welcome the intrusion.
“Come in,” Goddard said, trying not to sound too desperate.
In walked Shiva, and his head sank. Ash and Aura followed behind her, and then most surprisingly the next person was Wilhelm Satan. The Noble Phoenix Dawnfall was right behind him.
“Great Satan, it is a pleasure to see you. What brings you to my office, My Lord?”
“I’m here on behalf of my granddaughter,” Wilhelm said. “I’ve come to ask your permission to be responsible for the next phase of Shiva’s training. The boys too.”
“And what phase might that be?” Goddard asked.
“Soul training,” said Wilhelm. “I believe the children are ready for it.”
“If you think we’re ready for it then don’t call us children!” Shiva scolded her grandfather.
“Interesting,” Goddard replied. “And what is your role in all of this, Mr. Dawnfall?”
“I will be the one responsible for teaching them how to harness and use their souls to the fullest potential,” Phoenix said. “Under the supervision of Lord Wilhelm and I, your team’s power will be increased exponentially.”
Everyone waited with bated breath. Goddard seemed genuinely surprised at the request, and appeared to really be mulling it over.
“I guess I haven’t given much thought to advancing their training… you might be on to something there,” said the Royal Advisor. “Okay then. I’d like for all of them to become fluent in the use of soul power, especially Ash. He’s got lots of potential, I’m sure of it.” Ash was never sure if he should feel proud or creeped out when Goddard talked about him like that.
“I can promise you,” said Phoenix. “Under my care, the boy will grow stronger or die trying.”
And so with Goddard’s enthusiastic support, the team gathered in the private courtyard for their first lecture on soul power. Wilhelm and Leona the servant girl stood off to the side of the yard as Phoenix began with the lesson.
“The best place to start is an explanation of what exactly our souls are. You see, when God first created his angels, they were mere lumps of flesh. It wasn’t until God gifted them souls that they truly came to life. And so each body is given a soul upon birth, over and over for every human, angel, and devil ever born. As you may have known, when we die our souls become momentarily visible leaving our bodies, and can be seen disappearing on their way back to Heaven.
“Our souls return to Heaven to be recycled. The most positive, good souls are sent back out almost immediately. We don’t know exactly how it’s decided, but the souls being sent back to inhabit bodies can either end up in Earth, Heaven, or Hell. This of course means that you and I could have been human, or even an angel in our previous lives.”
“Whoa!” Aura said. “So you mean I could have been one of God’s special death toucher dudes way back in the day?!”
“It is extremely likely in your case, Aura,” Phoenix said.
“Sweet!” Aura had picked up a few Earth buzzwords from Ash.
“So that means I could have been an angel, too? Why don’t I remember anything from that time, then?” Ash asked.
“Our memories belong to our bodies, not our souls,” Phoenix replied. “It is theorized that our personalities and even some memories are left stamped to the soul for a short time after death, but I do not believe it is possible to really test that theory without actually dying.”
“Maybe I could figure it out some day,” Aura bragged. “I have something of a flirting relationship with death, after all.”
“I could write my entire dissertation on you,” Phoenix said with an interested once-over of the boy.
“Pff,” Shiva scoffed. “You should know, he flirts with anything that has boobs.”
“I’m looking forward to seeing what you are all capable of once you have full mastery of your soul,” said Phoenix. “I’m especially curious to see what a human is capable of, since the humans normally lack the ability to work with soul power,” he said while glaring at Ash.
“You keep saying master our soul power, but what exactly does that mean?” Ash asked, hoping to lessen the intensity of the teacher’s stare.
“Technically, you are already learning to control your soul power. I bet you didn’t know that using your flame is an extension of your soul power.”
“I didn’t know that,” Shiva admitted. She would never admit to a lack of knowledge to Ash or Aura, but Phoenix on the other hand…
“Our flames come from one of the most basic and primitive instincts we devils have: survival. That’s how our ancestors, stripped of the protective holy light, were able to create flame. Their struggle for survival led to them inventing our best defense, and they did it using their own soul power.”
“Let’s go over some practical applications of the use of soul power. As you’ve already seen demonstrated, the power can be used to increase the severity of your flames. You could also, like Wilhelm, use it to shield a particular part of your body, as he did when taking a direct blast from a dire fly.”
“It still hurt,” Wilhelm said from the sidelines. “But hurting is better than dying!”
“But that is not all that soul power can do. Focus the energy on your legs, and you can travel at speeds undetectable to even devil eyes. Channel the energy into a fist, and throw the ultimate punch.” Phoenix paused and turned to Wilhelm. “Would the Great Satan honor me by assisting in a demonstration?”
Wilhelm nodded and stepped forward, always eager to help. The old man removed his jacket and hat, twirling his white mustache as he did.
“I am going to focus my soul power on defending my body against an attack from Lord Wilhelm. For this demonstration, I will have him attempt to punch me in the face. I chose him because I would not wa
nt any of you to hurt your hands.”
Phoenix took a deep breath, exhaling slowly. He stood still and focused his energy. In a matter of seconds, a thin layer of what looked like steam was billowing off his body. But the group knew it was not steam, it had to be his soul power. He was honing his soul so masterfully it was actually becoming visible!
“Now watch closely kids!” Wilhelm said. With a dramatic windup, the old Satan threw his fist straight into Phoenix’s face with what looked like a lot of force. Phoenix took the hit and didn’t move an inch. Wilhelm’s fist was stopped completely by the scholar’s head.
“No way!” Ash said. “You have to be faking! Let me try!”
“You can’t” Phoenix said.
“I had to channel a small amount of soul power into my fist when I hit him just to keep from breaking my own hand,” Wilhelm said. He held up his fist to demonstrate. The same glowing steam could be seen billowing off his hand. “Until you can do the same, you should keep your distance from anyone who commands their soul so easily.”
“I did it once though,” Ash said. “That time I touched God’s Blessing.”
“Hey, Ash, don’t talk about that!” Shiva said. She was worried about letting the true story of what happened get out, mostly because she didn’t want people knowing her father’s real pendant was destroyed. If word got back to him that his beloved jewel was a forgery created by Goddard, she’d be in big trouble…
“So the rumors are true?” Wilhelm asked. “You really did come into contact with that legendary artifact?” The old man looked disturbed, like he was about fall over.
“God’s Blessing?” Phoenix repeated. “So this boy really managed to activate it…”
“Yeah, so I feel like I kinda got a jump-start on soul power,” Ash said.
“I have a question,” said Aura. He’d been suspiciously quiet this morning. He seemed more lost in thought than usual. “If we learn how to fight with our souls, does that mean we could get strong enough to fight even if we’re blinded?”
“Blinded? Are you referring to the side effect of your new skill?” Phoenix asked.
“It’s too useful a skill to pass up,” said Aura. “I need to be able to use it without losing my eyesight afterwards. If I do end up going blind, I’ll need to be able to still fight. So tell me, would learning soul power help me fight blind or not?”
“You bring up a very good point, Aura,” said Phoenix. “When commanding your soul power, you’ll be able to sense other’s soul energy as well. In a fight, you’ll always know where your opponent is. Unless of course, they’re a master at hiding their soul presence. But you should understand now that controlling your soul means controlling your emotions. The greater your resolutions are, the stronger your powers will be.”
“That’s it!” Shiva said. “That’s how Ash was using his soul power that one time!”
“What do you mean?” Ash asked, confused.
“Every time I was in trouble your soul power kicked in and you protected me. Whenever I was safe you got your butt kicked.”
“I held my own!” Ash said.
“Do you understand why that happened, Ash?” Phoenix asked the boy. “It was your desire to protect Shiva that activated your soul power. That strong desire to rescue your friends is what made it possible. Sometimes people can activate their soul power without even realizing it. That is why it is such a difficult technique to learn: no one quite knows how to properly explain the phenomenon.”
“But you think if we get all ‘touchy-feely’ with ourselves we can somehow get stronger from it?” Aura asked.
“Mastering your emotions is more demanding than you might think,” Phoenix said. “In order to truly accomplish this feat, you will have to have clarity of mind, and be completely honest with not only me, but yourself as well. Over the course of our training sessions I would like for you to be thinking about why you are fighting. Whatever your reason may be, I want you to understand your own motivations. When your resolution is at its strongest, so too will you.”
Everyone stood around feeling slightly enlightened, except for Ash who was mostly confused. The part about clarity of mind was troubling him. It seemed like controlling soul power required would take a lot of thought-power, something Ash didn’t exactly have a surplus of. His confidence wavered, but he hoped it would be as easy as it was before to use his soul power.
“That’s a lot to take in for one session though,” Phoenix said. “So I’ll make this next lesson very easy to understand. There’s one sure-fire way to bring out soul power that’s easier than anything else we could try…”
Phoenix shouted at Leona, who scurried forward with a large bag. She dropped the sack at her master’s feet, and fell to the ground to open and dig through it. The servant held up a wooden staff for her master, who clutched it out of her hands with eager anticipation.
“We will begin by sparring without a break for any food or water until the sun goes out,” Phoenix said. “Now come at me!”
It didn’t take long for Ash and company to realize just how much stronger than them Phoenix really was. Even with all three of them attacking him at once, no one could land a punch on the guy. The worst part was, he didn’t even appear to be using his soul power yet! Phoenix could dodge them and defend from any attack by simply stepping aside or blocking with his staff. Their first training session carried on until the sun went dark. No one landed a hit on the teacher that day.
“Watching you all work so hard was inspiring,” said Wilhelm. The tired students lay sprawled out on the grass, panting heavily and chugging the water Phoenix made Leona bring them. “Next time, I might have to jump in and join you all!”
“Aren’t you still injured from that dire fly explosion?” Shiva asked, still concerned about her grandfather’s health.
“Oh please,” replied Wilhelm. “When you have control over your soul, specialized healing is a simple matter. I’m practically all better already!”
“I’ll see you all here tomorrow at sun up,” said Phoenix. “I hope you had a good time today, because we will continue to train like this every day until you can use your own soul as a weapon.” Shiva watched Phoenix go with a look of excited admiration. Phoenix turned around and cast one last glance back at the group.
“Oh, and it was nice spending time with you again, Shiva,” he said. “I look forward to more of these sessions with you.”
“Me too,” Shiva said, flashing her brightest smile. Phoenix smiled back, and together with his servant left the courtyard.
Shiva watched them go, her eyes trained on the man’s back. Aura watched the servant girl walk away, hoping to see any traces of her undergarments showing through the back of her robes. He didn’t see anything like that, but he did notice the girl’s fist clenched tightly as she went.
How cute, Aura thought. She must be jealous of her master’s former flame.
Chapter Eleven: A Father and a Son
In the castle’s private courtyard, a heated sparring match raged on until the sun went dim. Shiva, Ash, and Aura battled against Phoenix and Wilhelm in their first full training session with the pair. The servant girl Leona sat in the grass nearby watching her master. The teachers carried wooden staffs to taunt their students, dodging every attack and then swatting them for their failure. After a full day of this kind of training the combatants grew tired and frustrated.
Shiva and Phoenix stood facing each other, eyes locked. The girl dashed forward and Phoenix readied his staff. Shiva faked left, shot a small fireball, and then went right. In one swing of his staff, Phoenix extinguished the flames, spun, and jammed the end of his staff in Shiva’s face. The girl dropped her head, exhaled in defeat, and then looked up with a smile.
“You never go easy on me, Phoenix,” she said. “I respect that. But to tell you the truth, it’s becoming a little frustrating.”
Phoenix smiled back at her. “When you learn how to unlock your soul power, you won’t think so.”
On the other
side of the yard, the boys were having an equally frustrating experience. Ash and Aura dripped sweat as they chased Wilhelm around the yard. For being an old man, the Great Satan could really move fast. He held his staff behind his back, rarely even needing to use it. The boys did their best at throwing fireballs and punches at the old Satan, but to no avail.
Wilhelm dodged every attack, and those he couldn’t dodge he would simply deflect with his staff. The boys even tried the same routine that once defeated Commander Stryd in a sparring match, but Wilhelm could not be taken so easily. As Ash sped in, hoping to get close enough for another punch, Wilhelm raised his staff above his head. The boy, too tired to dodge, thought he would try and catch the staff before it connected with his head.
Wilhelm smiled at the boy’s tenacity. The old man swung. Ash raised his hands, clasping them together above his head. Too late, it turned out, as the wooden staff slipped right through his fingertips and cracked Ash on the top of his head. The boy fell to the ground, clutching his head and whining.
“I think that will be enough for today,” Wilhelm said.
Leona fetched several buckets of water for everyone and they sat together in the grass, drinking a bucket each. When at last the student’s thirsts were quenched and their bodies rested, the teachers gave their parting words of wisdom for the day.
“How do you feel today’s session went?” asked Phoenix.
“Fine,” said Shiva.
“Bad,” said Ash.
“Sucky,” said Aura.
“I guess I’m just not getting the point of this whole exercise,” Shiva admitted. “The fighting I understand, but when you said we had to use our emotions to bring out our soul power…. That’s where you lost me.”
“Yeah, what exactly are we supposed to be feeling?” asked Aura.
“Soul power is almost impossible to bring out without a powerful surge of emotions to unlock it,” answered Wilhelm. “What our training will focus on is using your emotions and memories in a controlled combat situation to hopefully bring out your latent abilities.”
Devil Ash Deceit (Devil Ash Saga) Page 12
