The Bonds We Break 5 (Patreon)

The Bonds We Break 5 - (Post-Shinmai Maou no Testament OC-MC)

It’s been four months since I left Japan, and three since I was found by Hercule Rushmore.

I would like to say I made considerable progress, but the truth is that, due to my biology, I have to keep to the rational expectations that I am going to get somewhere in any form of training through lengthy time skips.

Still, I did get somewhere, just not far enough to truly say I am happy with the results. The first month of training was the ‘tame physical understanding’, with Rushmore’s main priority being that I had to first ‘condition my body’ to be ready for the big bit for my ‘education’. And it was the bone-crunching exercises he would deploy against me.

“You fucking bastard!”

I was screaming that way more than I would have liked as I ended up chased by several angry bears while wearing magic-limiters/swimming away from a pack of sharks in a small swimming pool with the intention of keeping within the pool the longest possible/lifting the equivalent of ten times my weight with minimal support and care.

It was insufferably tough. But the worst part was the initial mindset I got around those. I would always be stuck with ‘Basara would do this with ease’ or ‘Basara did far more in his training’ for roughly weeks, sometimes even after slapping myself lucid over the stupidity behind the thought of ‘competing’ with someone I couldn’t compete with as things were.

I would get injured, then healed, then injured again and finally healed once more. An endless cycle of painful trials and errors until I got through most of the early steps. Hercule said I was getting far, but I could tell he was joking to some extent. Especially when I got nothing done with Ahriman.

I could project the scimitar sword just fine, the seemingly-powerful blade unwilling to use its power for anything as I wielded and trained in using such a tool in combat- I had done some basic stuff with Jin to ‘be ready for close encounters’ months ago, but it never got to this extreme.

Hercule was no swordsman, but he was rigid enough to still push me into understanding my newest weapon. From a support character to a frontliner, the jump was massive. And catching up was unpleasantly difficult. Even tapping into the sword’s consciousness would just result in me sitting through another effort to take over me. It happened twelve times before I just scrapped that plan for later.

As the first month ended, I was soon shifting out of the purely-physical training to now include elements of ‘what’ I first perceived when I met him. It wasn’t Magic and it wasn’t Ki. The response I got when he gave me the first lesson about the topic was.

“Soul Power. But also known as Soul Energy.”

…The fuck?

“Soul… what? Isn’t that literally magic?” I pressed on, my understanding of things being far from the truth but… it felt quite close to it.

From my understanding, magic was more mind-related, while Ki was physical since it was tied to life force. Then again, magic was similar to the life force bit but… how does this ‘soul-related power’ come into play? And how come this was the first time I heard of it?

“In a sense, yes. However, magic is limited by nature and by the understanding one has of it- likewise, similar to Ki, magic has a limit within individuals.”

“And ‘soul power’ doesn’t?”

Hercule smiled at my question, realizing I was somewhat catching up to his bizarre subject.

“That’s correct. Soul Power is endless as each individual finds its true untapped potential within the soul- an infinity without limits.”

My frown was just worsening with each response. “...But the Gods-”

“Can’t use it.”

What?

“Or, to be more specific, their Divine powers don’t allow them to tap into it,” The old man elaborated. “Those deities that tried to do so would find the task too tedious as their souls are too ‘far’ from their reach as their Divine Authority anchors them to nature rather than their own ‘ego’.”

That… explained things.

Like a lot of things since it would have been a comfy power if it had been available to Chisato, or even Raphaeline. Actually, that would have been even worse since Shiba would have gained control over it and made Basara struggle and maybe lose.

“If it is that strong then why-”

“It is not common to other mortals because most of the teachings behind it got lost through the passing of time,” Rushmore interjected, adding an answer before I was done asking the question. “It is the kind of knowledge that almost went extinct around the time of the Primordial Gods. A time where the Ten Gods had yet to be truly formed as a heavenly authority upon the land to contrast the Demon Lord.”

“And you are a practitioner, sir?” I asked and he nodded. “And you want to teach me that? Am I fit for that?”

“You have an affinity with empathy, Joe. Your trait to pick up moods, emotions, and surface thoughts is actually a defining element for Soul Power User,” The old man confirmed confidently. “Although, the best way to confirm it is to see if you can tap into your soul. And worry not, it’s an effective way to see if you can do it without doing anything risky.”

We were in a field somewhere in Arizona. I thought that it would rely on something shady and a bit illegal. A ritual? Smoking some herb? I was very curious to see what it was. And quite ‘disappointed’ when I was suckerpunched and neutralized like that.

I should have smelled the red flag with that shit-eating grin the guy had when he told me of this ‘method to reach the soul’. Also, I didn’t just go unconscious, I actually felt my heart slowing down as my lungs struggled to claim air as I faltered and… Died?

Even after the experience that ensued, I don’t know what it was all about. And I refused to ask Rushmore just to avoid another sucker punch.

What I know was what came out of that strange trip. I just found myself dumped in a warm body of water, dragged around several uneven lanes and then dropped onto a soft ground that cushioned my fall.

Everything was… white. Heaven? No. The cloudy floor was actually made by legit pillows that I could bounce off. I looked around, seeing an endless white sky and a humongous orb of pure yellow energy standing there in the middle of it all.

I slowly approached it, and I looked over to see if this was… Well, if that was my soul.

“A bit brighter than I expected,” I mumbled as I stepped into it and felt pulled even closer.

I was greeted by a wall of pure warmth that kept me put, blessing me with utter peace of mind as I felt my body melting and relaxing at the sensation. I closed my eyes for a moment, and I remembered.

It was me and Nanao- it was the first day I met her. She was so timid and I remember how she had been unable to make friends since she wore masculine clothes. Girls shunned her because she was weird, boys didn’t want to play with girls but…

But I found her pretty. And then I found out she was also so smart and nice.

The trip down memory lane didn’t progress beyond our childhood together – our first playdate, our plans after the school days, our cinema trips – but everything about it was just messing with me as I felt a sob rupture through my lips.

All of that… How could things have gone so bad?

Still, the subject changed. It wasn’t Nanao anymore as it shifted to Mio and her insecurities, Maria and her efforts to be a mature adult and succubus, then Yuki and her plight between duty and love, Kurumi and her hurting mind over what she felt like a betrayal from Basara and her sister, then Celis and her pain of living with a strong sense of justice but also an understanding that the world could easily force her to be ‘horrible’, then Zest with her lack of guidance…

I remembered it all, but I ultimately pulled away from my soul as little Basara came to mind.

Not yet. I remarked to my mind, happy and yet soured by what would have come next. I am not ready for this.

Closing my eyes I was soon walking away from the orb and… falling into a void. One that I landed right back into my mind as I woke up in a panic! Eyes wide open, my heart drumming in dread and my eyes aiming at the ceiling… of the hotel room we had recently taken as I saw Rushmore sitting by a chair right beside my bed.

He smiled. “How was it?”

“First, fuck you.”

The old man chuckled at a reaction he seemed prepared for.

“Second… memories. The soul keeps memory-”

“A perfect memory at that. Not just from perspective, but one from the matters of your soul. Which means-”

He briefly paused as he talked, but I jerked backward before that pause as I felt something coming my way. I didn’t get any warning, but I moved fast enough to avoid getting sucker punched again.

Rushmore appeared very amused. “See? You have it, Jo. You just need to get more accustomed to this and, eventually, you will be quite the respectable individual.”

I slowly nodded at this and… the next two months were about me getting a better grip with ‘Soul Power’, and the whole crap about being able to memorize the way some attacks were delivered. It gave me a sense of foresight, but it actually helped me the most in creating something of a shitty but working sword-stance to evolve the more I trained.

Thus, at the end of this inglorious three months of training, we were finally arriving at our destination. Up to this point we had been on the move around to ‘take it slowly’ for our trip’s pace, to train and all of that while Rushmore actually took some time for himself to do business with some people he knew of the place.

By the time we arrived in Boston, took the car ride to where the Hero Village was located and I got to see where I would live from now on, I had just a few choice words to say.

“What do you think?” Rushmore asked, looking proud and jolly as he patted my back and presented me with the sight beyond the village’s gates as the guards checked our bags.

“...A bit chaotic,” I mumbled, seeing several people moving around with bags and luggage as if they had just moved in here too. “Is it always like this?”

“Oh no. See, ever since the Vatican pulled that nasty trick about Toujou Jin’s clone, we have temporarily relocated most of Europe’s heroes here starting four months ago. And… the process is painfully slow due to logistics, I suppose.”

I could see that. Ever since the Vatican King pulled that crap, I could see many finding Rome too corrupt to linger any further- at least, not until a proper investigation was thrown at the former bureaucracy.

“Oh.”

“But fear not, there’s enough space-”

Sounds good.

“You will also be regarded as my apprentice-”

Good but also… wouldn’t that grab too much attention?

“And you will have a stable job as one of the many new teachers needed to handle the horde of children coming from Europe.”

…

“HUH!??”

—------d-d-d-d—------------

AN

Training and Boston! Next time, Jo is assigned to three kids that are, truth be told, Expys which share just appearances with certain characters. Two are twins, one is an orphan that tagged along with them and… They are French, sorta!

P.S. Ahriman Demon Sword pic is from Prince of Persia and it is the Sword of the Enlightened Warrior.