The New Issei

The next morning Issei got up at four like usual and started his workout. He cut it back to just the physical part and did not do his martial arts or sword practice since he would be sparring soon. At five he took a shower and got dressed in easy to move in clothes before heading down to the kitchen. He then made omelets for everyone for breakfast that had cheese, sausage, and onions in them. By the time he was done everyone was seated at the table ready to eat. They then said grace and dug in.

Griselda: "That was delicious, Issei. If you keep feeding me like this I really will become addicted." She said as she and Issei went out back to get ready for their spar. Touji's house has a large open space behind it that is walled in so nobody can see inside. It is as big as football field and used for training.

Issei: "I am glad you enjoyed it." He said as he walked over to a rack on the side that held training weapons. He then picked up a Katana that is only slightly bigger than his own and swung it a few times to get used to the weight and size. As he was doing so Griselda watched with a serious expression on her face. With just those swings she could tell that Issei was no amateur like she had assumed. This made her decide to take this spar more seriously. She then went and picked up a two handed sword that has a blade about 90 cm in length and a hilt that is about 20 cm long. The guard is a standard cross. Basically a standard European longsword. She then did the same as Issei and swung it a few times to adjust to it.

Griselda: "Are you ready Issei?" She asked as her and Issei both move to the center of the training field and took stances.

Issei: "Yeah, lets do this." He said as he got ready. "Touji when you are ready signal the start." Touji checked to make sure they were both ready then moved back.

Touji: "Begin!" He said as he watched the two of them closely to see who would move first.

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Griselda was the one who moved first. She shot forward at a speed that would be quick for a normal human. She is obviously limiting herself to the level of an ordinary human since she believes Issei to be one. She quickly brought her sword around in a slashing arc to test out Issei's reaction speed and skills. Issei used his Katana to deflect the strike while moving slightly to the side and then bringing his Katana back up in an upward cut. Of course Issei is also limiting himself to what a normal human could achieve because he wants to test his sword skills and does not want Griselda to find out that he is more than just a skilled swordsman.

Griselda moved back slightly to dodge then brought her sword down towards Issei's left shoulder. Issei used the edge of his Katana to redirect her sword farther down and then slid his blade along hers to strike quickly at her arm. Griselda was not expecting this but still managed to move back in time. After she did she backed off a bit to put some distance between them. That short exchange had told them both that the other was skilled enough to up the spar to the next level. Although it took awhile to describe those strikes had all taken place within a few seconds of each other.

Issei made the first move this time and rushed to her while moving close to the ground to make his small body even smaller of a target. Griselda swung down at him when he got close to her only for Issei to quickly avoid the strike and move into her side while swinging from below. Issei was to close for her to avoid it and her sword could not be brought back in time without going over the limit she had set for herself, so she got hit in the side and knocked on her a.s.s. Their first spar had gone to Issei because she had thought he had rashly rushed in and would not be able to dodge when they were that close to each other. He had and he had also managed to get into her guard. Griselda had still been underestimating him slightly and had lost because of it.

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Issei: "You underestimated me and payed the price for it." He said while scowling. He was not really happy with this spar. She had not taken him seriously or she never would have over extended like she did. It was an amateurish mistake that he was surprised she would make and it made him angry that she would think he had rushed in without thinking ahead. Of course Griselda thought he was just a kid so it is understandable that she thought that way, but it still irritated him.

Griselda: "Yeah, I brought that on myself. I should have known better after our earlier exchange." She said while grimacing. She had done something she taught her students to never do, underestimate an opponent. It made her realize she needed to take a fight seriously, even if it is just a spar or if the opponent looks like a kid.

Issei: "Well, it was still an interesting experience and we both now know what the other is capable of. So next time it will not end so quickly." He said as he smiled at her. "Same time tomorrow?" He asked while extending a hand to her.

Griselda: "I would love to." She said while smiling back at him and taking his hand. They then both walked back to the house where Irina and Touji both had looks of shock on their faces.

Touji: "I knew you practiced a lot Issei, but that was amazing. I have never seen anyone match Griselda with a sword before, besides a couple of people who are also monsters with a sword." He said with a slight look of awe on his face.

Irina: "Yeah Issei, I have never seen anyone match teacher like that either. How did you get that good?" She asked as she looked at him in excitement.

Issei: "She underestimated me and I got lucky because of it. If she had not done so the spar may have ended very differently." He said while smiling. "I reached that level with training daily Irina, so if you work hard you can be that good as well." He said as he patted her on the head and headed inside. Irina quickly followed him inside and they started talking about swords and different styles as they headed to the living room.

Touji: "Did he really beat you with just luck, Griselda? I know you were limiting yourself to what a normal human can do, but it seemed like Issei was matching you." He said while looking at Griselda with a serious look on his face.

Griselda: "He was matching me and almost got me on my arm. Tomorrow I will not underestimate him and will go all out from the start." She said with an equally serious look before her face softened and she said. "If that boy joined the church he would grow into a fine exorcist."

Touji: "He does not believe in God and has no interest in the church. I asked him when he was younger if he would like to join the church and that was his answer. He only goes along with everything for Irina." He said as he sighed.

Griselda: "That is a shame, it would have been fun training him." She said while also sighing. "I will still enjoy sparring with him, but it truly is a pity he has no faith in the lord." She said while heading inside with Touji.

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The next day Issei and Griselda once again stood across from each other as they got ready for another spar. This time they were both going to take it seriously form the start while still limiting themselves to what a normal human could do. Touji then told them to begin and they both moved in fast towards each other.

Soon sparks were flying as they traded blows back and forth at an amazing speed while still keeping perfect control of their swords. It was completely different from yesterday, their was no initial exchange and both of them had a serious look on their face as their speed and strength caused dust to be knocked up around them. Griselda's style was more focused on power and an unrelenting barrage of blows, while Issei's style was more defensive.

Issei kept redirecting Griselda's attacks and dodging with minimal movements while looking for a chance to counterattack. On the other hand Griselda was mercilessly hammering him with speed and strength behind every blow, not leaving a single gap in her form. It was obvious that they were both highly skilled and one mistake would lead to one of them losing. One had the perfect defense while the other had the perfect offense, it was an amazing sight to behold for both Touji and Irina.

After about ten minutes of this back and forth, Issei finally made a mistake. His Katana had slipped slightly when redirecting a thrust from Griselda, allowing her to bring her sword through his guard and get a hit on his stomach, knocking the wind out of him. This had brought their second spar to an end with Griselda being the winner, but both were extremely satisfied. Neither of them had ever had a spar that good before, at least not with just sword skills. This time Griselda helped Issei up and they both headed back to the other two with smiles on their faces.

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Griselda: "That was one of the best spars I have ever had. Thanks Issei." She said with a refreshed look on her face.

Issei: "I greatly enjoyed it as well. I have never had to push my concentration like that for such a long period of time." He said with a content smile on his face. "This type of concentration was completely different from when I am making artifacts or casting magic. I never knew how much fun it could be focusing solely on swordsmanship." He thought to himself.

Griselda: "Tomorrow I will defend and you can try out your attacks. What do you say?" She asked as they both reached Irina and Touji.

Issei: "I do not really want to use my attacking style on anyone. It could seriously injure them. Its why I only used my defensive style in our fight. The style I used earlier is primarily for defense but is also good for counterattacking. You just never gave me an opening to exploit so it was hard to attack. But my other style is completely different. It is brutal and every attack is lethal because it focuses all the power behind every strike and releases it. This makes it so that defenses are essentially useless because the force of the attacks is transmitted directly through the blade and into the target. If to much force is used it can cause a persons organs to burst, it is not something I would like to use for a spar." He said while smiling wryly. "It can also be used to focus energy and release compressed waves of it to cut the target to pieces, but they do not need to know that." He thought to himself. Even his other style earlier, when combined with his space element or his water element becomes absolutely deadly and much more versatile. "All my other styles are not something I can use in a spar because I would need to up the limit from an ordinary human. Oh well, it is still fun to use just pure sword skill and instincts to fight instead of raw power." He thought while looking at Griselda.

Griselda: "That sounds like a monstrous style. Perhaps you could demonstrate it for us?" She said with a slightly eager look on her face. She always liked learning new sword styles and this one sounded like it was right up her alley.

Issei: "Sure. Irina could you go get us a chair, and a watermelon?" He asked.

Irina: "Sure Issei. Be right back." She said as she headed inside.

Issei: "Touji can you bring one of those metal sheets over here." He asked as he pointed to some thick slabs of metal that were used to practice magic against. They had been moved to the side and stacked to hide from Issei what they were used for since Touji thought Issei was a normal human. They were strengthened since they were used for training magic and one of them by itself is 15 cm thick, 3 feet tall and 3 feet wide and set up on stands. Touji went to get one and asked Issei where he wanted it. "Just set it up in front of us." Touji started to set it up as Irina came out carrying a watermelon and a chair. "Set the chair behind the metal plate Irina and put the watermelon on it." He said as he went to stand in front of the metal plate with his sword.

Irina: "This okay Issei?" She asked as she set it up.

Issei: "That's fine, now get behind me with the others." He said as he held his sword at the ready. "I am only going to do this once so pay close attention to my body movements and the sword Griselda." He said as a serious look crossed his face. Griselda nodded as she focused as Issei got ready to strike. Then in a flash he moved forward and thrust his sword at the metal plate. As he struck it there was no sound for a second before the watermelon suddenly blew up, but there was not a scratch on the metal plate. Everyone stood stunned for a second before moving forward to check the watermelon.

Touji: "It was destroyed from the inside." He said in awe as he looked at the inside of the watermelon. The outside had no damage besides what was caused when it burst, but the inside had been liquidated. It was truly frightening to see such a thing.

Griselda: "I think I have the concept down, but it will take quite some time to replicate this." She said in a thoughtful tone of voice. "I can probably manage if I use mana, but I wont be able to manage it with just sword skill for at least a few months. What an amazing technique, it will really help me out in the future." She thought to herself.

Irina: "That was amazing Issei!" She said as she jumped on him and hugged him.

Issei: "Thanks Irina, but it is just using your muscles and sword in the right way. Anyone can do it with enough practice." He said while smiling and separating Irina from himself.

Griselda: "That is not true, that technique is very advanced and not many would be able to learn it. You should be proud of yourself Issei." She said as she smiled at him.

Issei: "Thanks, now lets clean this up and head back in. Touji you said you would show us around town today." He said as he began cleaning stuff up. The others joined him and soon it was all picked up and stuff was put back where it goes. They then went inside and got cleaned up before going out and spending the day in the town. It was a fun day and Issei and Irina both got to spend a lot of time just having fun with each other.