Chapter 241: Training(2)

To my surprise, Selthia molded the giant pool of water into what looked like a giant sea serpent. For a moment, I was in awe and felt a bit proud after seeing the sight, but when I looked at Selthia, I realized that she had tears streaming down her face.

“You trusted me,” she cried. “You wanted me to protect everyone, but I failed. I couldn’t defeat that witch. If it wasn’t for Khalissi, everyone would’ve died.”

So this was what was eating away at her.

Her first defeat. She lost against Persephone, and it lowered her morale.

This was even more reason why she needed my help. She could stumble, but she wasn’t allowed to fall. The problem was her inferiority complex and her need to prove herself. That was what was holding her back but I will correct it.

I watched as the giant water snake slithered through the air as it flew high up into the skies until it reached the clouds. Then, like a brick falling from the sky, it descended almost like a missile. I watched the serpent fall towards me without moving an inch.

I only steadied myself for the blow, planting my feet firmly on the ground.

BOOM!

A loud explosion could be heard as dust and rubble went flying. Looking at the impact, Selthia’s eyes widened.

“Darling!”

She rushed into the swirling dust and the crater which was created. I watched as she ran towards me and paused when she finally caught sight of me.

In the midst of all that wreckage, I stood, unaffected. She watched with a look of disbelief, but in the next second, I appeared in front of her.

I could tell that she had put her all into the attack, just like she must’ve done when she was fighting against Persephone. I raised my hand, and immediately she squinted and closed her eyes.

Seeing her reaction, I smiled and rested my hand on her head. The moment my hand touched the top of her head, her eyes opened, and she no longer looked panicked; instead, she looked a little bewildered when she realized I was smiling.

“Well done, you did good,” I said as I patted her head.

“But that attack hardly even affected you. It didn’t even affect Persephone. How could you call that good?”

“Because that isn’t the end product. It’s just the start. You’ll continue to grow and improve, but only if you continue fighting and training. That witch is older than she looks, and so is Khalissi. It took years of training and dedication for them to reach their current level. You’ll never reach their level if you allow yourself to fall from one defeat.”

Selthia didn’t say anything, but I knew she understood. I pulled her in and hugged her tightly. Immediately, I felt her body soften against mine. She held onto me as if she was afraid that I might disappear at any moment. My previous threats seemed to have affected her a lot.

“I’m sorry. I’ll train harder. I thought I disappointed you by failing to defeat Persephone. That is why I have been avoiding you. When you told me that I was important to you just before the battle, I took it to mean you were relying on me to protect everyone. That is why I fought against the witch, so that you would be proud and see that I could help you, but I still failed. I’m sorry.”

I stroked her head to calm her down a bit as she cried and choked up over her words.

“As long as you continue to make progress bit by bit, that’s all that matters,” I assured her. “And when I told you that you were important to me, I only meant that I wanted you to protect yourself, along with the others.”

“I know,” she whispered softly, “But I just wanted to earn it.”

“You don’t have to earn anything. It’s just how it is. Just continue doing your best.”

Her hands clenched tightly around me as she nodded her head.

“Thank you.”

I couldn’t see her face since it was buried in my chest, but I knew she was smiling. The two of us stood in embrace for a few precious minutes. I had a feeling it would’ve stayed that way for a while if we weren’t interrupted.

“Ahem!”

At the sound of someone clearing their throat, Selthia and I immediately turned around to see Isabella, Sylvie, and Kumo looking down at us inside he large crater Selthia’s attack created.

“What are you two even doing?” Isabella asked, folding her arms with a frown on her face.

“You guys are late,” I shot back.

“Yeah, it was Isabella’s fault; she kept saying to give you guys a moment…” Kumo tried to explain, but she was immediately elbowed in the side by Isabella.

Kumo let out a cute yelp before glaring at Isabella. The two glared at each other as if they were about to break out into a fight at any moment.

“Lee, were you fighting Selthia?” Sylvie asked with a worried expression.

“No, we weren’t training,” I explained. “That is actually why I called you all here in the first place. I wish for all of us to train together. I want to know your individual strengths. It will help us fight alongside each other better as we will learn how to best compliment each other’s strength.”

Suddenly, a smile bloomed on Sylvie’s face.

“A wrestling match!” she shouted before jumping down into the crater where Selthia and I stood.

She was clearly thinking of this as a game. The two of us had wrestled a lot before, so I understood why.

“It’s not exactly wrestling; it’s more like actual fighting but not exactly.”

Sylvie tilted her head and looked a little confused.

“Why would Sylvie fight Lee?”

I guess the concept of fighting me was incomprehensible to her. At least with wrestling, she understood it was a game.

“Tell you what, Sylvie, if you manage to land a powerful attack against me, then I’ll get you anything you want.”

Sylvie’s eyes sparkled, and her tail danced happily behind her.

’At least this trick still worked against someone.’

Isabella rolled her eyes, but Kumo, at least, seemed just as excited as Sylvie, if not more. While Selthia, who still stood in my embrace tried to mask the smile on her face.

With the deal that I would get them anything they want if they managed to land a powerful attack against me, I began my training with the girls.

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