Chapter 15: Strength

Castle Isonomia Courtyard

"Lance. You told me that in the battle with Hellhound that he shattered your 'Repel" am I correct?"

"That is correct Master. It was as if he could actually see my barrier manifest itself.", Lance replies back.

"Is that right? Very well. Attack me with a long ranged attack using your 'Push' ability."

"If you insist My lord."

Lance places his left hand behind his right in an X formation.

"FLY!" yells Lance as he sends a strong blast of force into the Supreme King's direction.

The Supreme King unsheathes the large red greatsword strapped to his back and swings down causing Lance's attack to shatter.

'His strength is unreal..' Allen thinks to himself.

"As you can see, Hellhound's not the only one who's able to see your blows. To most people your attacks are unseen which gives you the element of surprise against most of your opponents. However it seems this Hellhound is very adept. It takes a lot of training, but with enough practice one is able to see magic energy itself."

Lord Alaster takes notice to the wear and tear caused by Lance's attack.

"Not only that, but your body still isn't sturdy enough to handle the recoil caused by your Push ability. Though you are an Exalted blessed with an unlimited amount of magical power, don't mistake that for omnipotence. That's true even with us Rulers. There was a point in time where I was unable to control my gravity ability, Lord Jeremiah was unable to withstand the fury of his own storms, and so on. Strong we may be, but at the end of the day we're no different from anyone else. We must constantly improve ourselves day in and day out if we want to remain strong."

"I see.." Lance says taking in the wisdom imparted to him by his master.

"But that's enough lecturing for one day. Now we will be having a mock battle. You two versus me. Before I go forward with any type of training, I'm going to gauge both of your strengths and weaknesses.." 

"But first.", Alaster says as he stares intently at the two young men.

"DOGMA!" The Supreme King yells as a dark purple aura surrounds both Lance and Allen.

"10!", he shouts once more causing gravity within the purple aura to increase to ten times the regular amount.

Allen struggling with the change in gravity drops to one knee.

'God damn. I can barely even stand in these conditions.So this is the Supreme King's renowned "Dogma". I heard he downed an entire army with this very ability and I thought it was a bunch of bull. However.. after feeling it first hand, I can see now how Lord Jeremiah would have been bested against Lord Alaster. Calling him supreme is a major understatement.' Allen thinks to himself.

He then turns his gaze towards Lance who is minimally fazed by the Supreme King's ability causing him to completely drop to his knees in disappointment.

"Well, well. So in just a month's time, you've grown to the point where 10 times regular gravity has little effect on your body. I'd expect nothing less from my pupil. Very well.. 20!"

The purple aura around Lance thickens and the gravity around Lance to increase to twenty times the regular amount which causes Lance to struggle and drop down to one knee as Allen had.

"D****t... D****T!!" Allen yells out in resentment towards himself.

"Lance.. you were this much stronger than me this whole time?" 

"Damn it all.." He says as he bangs his fist into the ground.

Lance looks towards his troubled friend.

"Allen.."

Allen lifts his head up and stares ferociously into Lance's eyes.

"No more! I'M TIRED OF LAGGING BEHIND AND WALKING IN YOUR SHADOW! THIS ENDS TODAY!"

Lance, seeing the determination in his comrade's eyes smiles and gives him a nod of approval.

 

"HAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"

A powerful aura of wind begins to furiously twirl around Allen and with extreme effort is able to get up and slowly ascend upwards.

"Please.. No holding back Your Majesty! Give me what he's got!" 

The Supreme King lets out a smirk.

"I like the fire in your eyes kid. Very well. 20!", Alaster shouts as Allen's gravity increases to twenty times the regular amount as well.

The change manages to bring Allen back to the ground, however he is able to remain standing with the help of his magic.

"Y'know Lance, once you get used to it, this really isn't that-"

Before Allen could finish his sentence Lance quickly interrupts him.

"This is nothing. Lord Alaster always has his own gravity set to AT LEAST 100 times the regular amount. What he's dishing out to us is child's play in comparison."

"That is true, my pupil, but no worries. Like I said before we ALL must continue to push our limits. I'm no exception."

 

The aura around Lord Alaster begins to greatly thicken..

"DOGMA! 1,000!" The Supreme King yells as the gravity around him increases from one hundred times to one thousand times the regular amount causing the ground underneath him to crack and form a crater.

Both Allen and Lance's mouths drop in awe.

"Hahaha. I'd expect nothing less from you my Lord." Lance says as he draws out his broadswords.

Alaster draws his large red greatsword from the sheath on his back and digs it into the ground, as he tightly grips on to the handle.

"At this amount, my movement is severely restricted. I'm limited to only the most basic of swings and parries with my greatsword. You two must land once clean blow on me to pass this test. Use whatever means to get that done."

Lance and Allen glance at each other and nod simultaneously.

"ANNNNNND BEGIN!" Alaster yells as Lance and Allen rush towards him.

Meanwhile in Castle Isonomia's Laboratory.

'Astrid! It's me Aria! Lord Alaster said you wanted to speak to-'

Before Aria could finish her sentence she is buried in the bosom of a young woman appearing in her mid 20's with grey eyes, lavender hair tucked under a silver witch's cap, and a matching silver witch's robe that reveals her busty physique.

"Miss Aria!! I missed you so much! It's so good to see you!!" She screams happily as a torrent of tears trickle down her cheeks.

This lady is Astrid Baptisia AKA Astrid the Joyful. She is a powerful mage and along with William Freesia is one of the Supreme King's four generals that watch over the Kingdom of Isonomia.

'Astrid, I can't breathe..' Aria says as she tries to push herself out of Astrid's clutches.

"Ohh my! I'm sorry Deary, I guess i got carried away ahahaha!"

Astrid then looks towards Carolyn.

Ohh, and who might this beautiful young lady be?

'Lance invited her to La Familia! She's my awesome big sis Carolyn!' Aria says cheerfully to the Joyful General.

"How are you doing Lady Astrid, my name is Carolyn Estoc." Carolyn says greeting Astrid with a curtsy.

Astrid runs up to Carolyn and starts pinching both of her cheeks.

"Aww! Aren't you the cutest thing! Well Lance is quite the cutie himself, so i'm not surprised he bagged a cute cutie like you ahahaha. I told that damn Johann that Lance had it in him! That man owes me a drink!" 

Her expression quickly changes to a more serious one.

"And no need for such formalities missy. From now on i'm Big sister Astrid!", she says before quickly reverting back to her usual chipper self.

Astrid places her hands on top of Carolyn's shoulders.

"Ohh. What do we have here. You've got some serious potential locked away here missy!"

"Potential? What do you mean by potential?", Carolyn asks.

"I'm going to take a better look if you don't mind."

Astrid snaps her fingers and a pair of purple glasses appears out of thin air.

"With these magical bifocals, I'll be able to tell what types of magic you are most compatible with."

She puts the glasses on and looks intently at Carolyn.

'Eek. I feel like she's peering directly into my soul..', Carolyn thinks to herself.

"From what I can assess. It would seem that you have an affinity for the art of enhancement and enchantment magic."

"Enhancement and Enchantment magic?" Carolyn asks with a lost expression on her face.

'I can help sis!'

'Enhancement is a type of magic that strengthens an individuals abilities such as their strength, agility, durability, and so on. Whereas Enchantment is magic that can alter the properties of certain objects such as adding the element of fire to a sword or making one's armor resistant to fire.' Aria says to Carolyn, easing her confusion.

"Aww! That's my little prodigy for you ahaha!", Astrid says pinching Aria's cheeks much to the latter's chagrin.

"Now I can open up your magic gate which will in turn allow you to use your magic, but I warn you this process can be very painful as your gate is completely shut. However once the process has finished you will be a fully fledged mage. Do you wish for me to proceed Lady Carolyn?"

'I can be a mage?'

Carolyn thinks back to her childhood to where a silhouette of her father slapping her across the face.

"How dare you pick up a weapon! All a wallflower like you has to do is sit tight and birth me a son that will carry on our family tradition. Do this again, and i will make you regret it!."

Carolyn with strong conviction in her gaze replies almost instantaneously.

"Without question! Please proceed Lady Astrid!".

"Awww. I told you to call me Big Sister Astrid!" She says with a pouty look on her face.

*Sigh*

"Very well. Brace yourself." Astrid says as she places her hand on top of Carolyn's head as she begins to chant.

"Oh gracious gods. Grant this young woman the power locked deep within her heart. Give her the strength she needs so that she may protect the ones closest to her heart!"

Having said this Carolyn begins to float upwards and a blinding light begins to emanate from her entire body.

"AHHHHHHHH!"

"I know it hurts Carolyn, but rest assured this pain is only temporary!" Astrid yells out.

'I feel like I'm gonna pass out at any moment! It feels like my whole body's on fire!' Carolyn thinks to herself as she winces in pain from the unlocking of her magic gate.

As her eyes are closed, the image of Lance saving her from Knives back at the Lucky Maiden pops up in her head.

She quickly opens up her eyes.

'But I can't falter. Not now. Not if it means I'll finally be able to stand by his side. I'll endure the pain no matter how painful it gets.Wait for me Lance, I will get stronger!' 

Back In the Isonomia Courtyard

A visibly exhausted Lance and Allen are seen struggling to land a hit on Lord Alaster.

Allen shoots several gusts of wind towards Lord Alaster, but Alaster shields himself behind his enormous greatsword.

Allen then thinks back to Lance taking Hellhound on in his stead as well as Lance withstanding Alaster's Dogma:10.

'Lance, you've always been strides ahead of me, that fact has remained even to this day, but starting now, I'll work as hard as humanly possible and close that gap until I can finally consider myself as your equal!' Allen thinks to himself as he continues to try landing a hit onto the Supreme King.

Lance attempts a cross slash with his broadswords but his attack is parried by Lord Alaster's blade.

Images of Cutlass, Hellhound, and Lord Alaster, Jeremiah, and Adramalech pop up into Lance's head.

'Compared to those guys I'm still nothing but a fledgling, but mark my words, I'll get stronger. By the time the tournament comes around, I'll show the other Kingdoms the TRUE power of Isonomia.'

He then thinks of Allen, Carolyn, Aria, and Fluffy.

'Yes, as long as my friends are here by my side, there's NOTHING I can't accomplish'

With a common goal in mind, no matter what obstacles lay in wake, La Familia continues to push forward.