Abyssal Awakening - Chapter 809

Chapter 809: Soldier

“Syrion? Syrion!” Griselda nudged the armour resting by the tree.

“Hm? Ah, sorry what time is it?” Syrion clutched his head and looked over at Griselda.

“You forget there’s not really a day and night in the Abyss. Did you work too much yesterday or what?” Griselda asked with a helpless sigh.

“Work?… Right… has Amy filed the report yet? I’ve been nagging her for the last few days but man, if only that girl worked a bit harder, right?” Syrion laughed.

But his… strange sentence made Griselda freeze up.

“You were training with Gwen yesterday.” Griselda reminded hesitantly.

Syrion tilted his head in confusion.

“Gwen? Gwen… Ah, sorry, I must’ve still been sleeping. Jeez, I can’t believe I forgot about that ahaha.” Syrion laughed it off before standing up.

He gave his body a good stretch despite being a suit of armour.

“How was your time with Alice? Did you manage to figure something out for her soul yet?”

“Yeah… she’s workin’ on it. But let’s talk about you first. What’s going on? Why did you mention Amy?” Griselda pressed but Syrion waved it off.

“I was just dreaming about the past, don’t worry about it. The sooner we finish things up, the better.” Syrion didn’t let Griselda respond as he walked away.

Griselda clenched her fist with gritted teeth.

But all she could do was stand there.

Her chest tightened.

###

Today was another training with Gwen.

But it was a little different. Syrion limited himself to two floating swords and Gwen’s goal was to tag his armour at least once.

“Flow… flow. Let my instincts do the talking…” Gwen muttered, unleashing a flurry of slashes towards Syrion that were all blocked by his blade.

Her vision flared, an attack from behind.

Without turning around, Gwen kicked her spear back, forcing the blade to miss.

Leaning to the side, she avoided the sword slashing down and aimed for Syrion’s shoulder plate.

“Close but not quite. You have to be quick on your feet, use those eyes of yours to make predictions. It’ll be tough but you have to weaponize this flow of information.” Syrion chuckled.

Jumping back, Syrion was about to counter when flames erupted around him.

“I know! I already saw where you were going to land!” Gwen grinned, slamming her hand into the ground.

Purifying flames shot up with Syrion looking up with a chuckle.

“Not bad. But since your casts lack a certain intensity, you should stick to close quarters combat.” Recalling his swords, Syrion twisted his body and cleaved the flames apart.

As the swords brushed past his vision, he found himself in the middle of a battlefield.

Enemies on the left and right.

“General! The Eclipse are retreating! Should we press!?” A voice rang out behind him.

His subordinates waiting for his next command.

Monstrosities throwing attacks from the air.

In the midst of war, hesitation could cost them their lives.

“I’ll pave the way!”

Tightening his grip around his blade, Syrion glanced up at the sea of flames raining down from above.

A false moon spiralled into existence above him as energy coiled around his sword.

Twisting his body, he unleashed a silver arc, slashing the sky in half!

Following up on his motion, he lunged towards the closest enemy.

A cultist.

They were panicking.

Good.

Slamming his shoulders into them, Syrion grabbed their ankle and tossed them into the air.

Two swords manifested next to him as he took aim.

Above, the cultist quickly created a ring of flames and summoned a phoenix to parry his strike.

“Oh this one’s got more spirit than the others!” Syrion took a step back.

He rested his sword next to him, energy flooding his body.

As the tip of the blade touched the ground, the world around them changed.

Resonance!

A land of water rippled out. Beneath the surface, countless blades rested.

Some so large they became monuments piercing into the sky.

Some tangled together to form a large hill.

Stomping down with his dominant foot, Syrion grinned.

Moonlight shot down from above, caging the cultist. In a panic, they tried to break out using the phoenix but it was futile.

Countless shards splintered from the blades beneath him. And as these shards hovered near Syrion’s blade, a pure white energy connected them together.

*BANG!!!

An eruption of water and Syrion disappeared.

He was already above the cultist, his blade mid strike.

This was the end!

He blinked and saw Gwen’s fearful expression.

“!!!”

He wanted to pull back his strike but even if he did, the damage was going to be severe!

Griselda was preparing to make a move, clearly not expecting him to go this far.

Gwen gritted her teeth.

Solaris’s markings roaring across her body. Rather than a spear, her phoenix transformed into a set of arm and leg guards!

Flow.

Gwen reached out, pushing the blade slightly to the right before slamming her left fist into the face of the blade!

Enhancement!

The false sun burst forth, dispelling Syrion’s moon.

Spectral hands manifested next to Gwen as they copied her motion! Each fist that slammed into the blade would force it off course a little more!

*BANG!!!

As the energy detonated, Gwen was flung back but she quickly adjusted herself.

Stomping down, she lunged after Syrion who was now forced on the defence!

A spear appeared in one of the spectral hands while a sword in another.

Gwen tugged at the air, flaming chains coiling around Syrion’s waist and pulling him closer.

He summoned a sword, parrying her spear while catching her sword with his hands.

Gwen ducked, leading into a punch as her fist slammed into Syrion’s ribs, sending his body tumbling back.

Stabbing his sword into the ground to stop himself, Syrion unleashed a horizontal slash behind him, dispelling the attack Gwen had prepared.

“Not bad… Not bad at all!” He grinned. He wasn’t sure what that was earlier but seeing Gwen’s improvement sent a rush of joy through his mind.

Four swords were summoned as he sent them after Gwen who was flowing through her moves without any difficulty.

Gwen tried to parry one of the swords using her Vision but it suddenly disappeared!

Appearing from below, Syrion grabbed Gwen’s ankle and pulled her towards the ground.

Aiming her palm, Gwen created an orb of fire before firing!

She wasn’t afraid of her own attack but Syrion had to be careful.

Two swords stabbed from the side, destroying Gwen’s orb right as it fired.

*RUMBLE!!!

The two were forced apart with Syrion preparing to strike again but paused.

Gwen was kneeling in the dust cloud. The spectral arms disappeared as her phoenix landed on her shoulder.

Healing fire coursed through her body, healing her wounds.

She was exhausted.

In that final burst, she had used everything she could. Instead of conserving stamina, her only goal in that moment was to survive.

“Let’s stop here for a moment. Try to remember that last feeling. If you can hone your offensive power a little more during that, it’ll be perfect.” Syrion smiled, stopping the fight.

Seeing that the spar was over, Gwen collapsed on the ground.

She had expected to be facing two swords. Then everything changed. The deployment of his resonance, that final strike…

Gwen raised her hand above her head.

She was trembling.

In that moment, she felt death staring at her.

But she’s alive.

“I’m alive…” Gwen muttered, taking a deep breath.

She immersed herself in this feeling.

Syrion walked away without saying anything. As he walked past Griselda, she grabbed his arm, refusing to let go.

“Is there something you need?” Syrion asked.

“What the hell were you thinking? She clearly wasn’t ready for your resonance or that last attack.” Griselda frowned.

She wasn’t worried about Gwen’s safety. But rather, what Syrion would’ve done afterwards. What would he have done if his attack connected?

What would he have done if Gwen didn’t survive.

“People aren’t ready for the things that happen in battle. She saw the danger and faced it head on without fear. She trusted herself and left no regrets. Gwen is a fine soldier.”

“!!!” Griselda’s pupils constricted.

Soldier?

Syrion wasn’t training her to be a soldier.

Soldiers… A word she hadn’t heard in a while. They call those that protect the city policemen or guards. They call those that follow other orders heretics or believers. Priests and so on.

But soldier… this was only used during war.

‘The wars that Syrion was involved in…’ Griselda hesitated.

“Yeah, she’ll make a fine soldier. Right… Didn’t you also recommend Finn to be promoted before? Perhaps I’ll take a look at that report.” Griselda bit her lip.

“Jeez commander, you always slack a little when it comes to reports. Don’t worry about it, Rachel has already sorted it out so you don’t have to worry.” Syrion chuckled.

“Is that so? Then I have nothing to worry about then. Speaking of which, how are things back home?”

“Ohou? It’s rare of you to ask about my home commander. Mariel’s been practicing some new recipes. They’re… scary ahaha. But if I tell her…” Syrion shivered in fear.

“You trust in your sturdy body, right?”

“Of course. Once her testing is complete, I’m sure it’ll be a recipe that makes me ask for seconds haha. As for Lucan, he’s been complaining about growing up recently. Says something about wanting to become an adult fast.” Syrion sighed with a smile.

“When you’re young, you want to grow. But when you’re old, you wish you could stay young. Isn’t that how it usually is? I won’t take up more of your time, you can go now. I’m sure little Lucan is waiting for your return.” Griselda smiled as Syrion gave her a salute before walking away.

An old war salute. One that belonged to the past.

In that moment, Griselda’s frame seemed smaller than ever. Her shoulders trembled as she couldn’t bear to speak another word…