Hellhound At Supernatural Academy-Chapter 48: Training Session

Saturday, May 2nd: I left my dorm room around 10 in the morning and headed for the school building. From there, I made my way to the training hall, where I would be having a session with Katherine. It took a while for her to arrive.

After exchanging greetings, we began our training.

"Let’s start with close combat," I suggested. "Right now, your magic gives you a significant disadvantage in this area."

Katherine assumed a karate stance, her movements fluid as she launched attacks against me. She executed her moves with practiced efficiency, displaying perfect form in everything she did. The problem with her fighting style was that it was too clean.

She didn’t fight like someone trying to hurt me; it felt more like she was showing off her techniques. She moved like a martial arts student—totally robotic. She had fought this way last time too, as if she were demonstrating her attacks in hopes that I would give up. There was an air of superiority about her, she moved as if she were holding back against someone who didn’t even pose a threat.

Her techniques screamed, "Look at me, I’m doing everything perfectly."

I needed to break that arrogance of hers. To do that, I had to push her to her limits.

She launched a perfectly aimed roundhouse kick at my head. I blocked it and delivered a strike to her unguarded liver, located on the right side of her ribcage. I followed up with a palm strike to her shin.

I unleashed a series of punches in quick succession to her unguarded pressure points, my attacks moving so fast that she could barely react before getting hit. Yet still, nothing changed. I could tell she was overcome by pain, barely standing; it was like hitting a punching bag.

It was useless—pain alone wouldn’t cut it. She needed fear—fear of death. That was the only way to draw out her full potential. I knew the perfect technique for that: commotio cordis.

This rare and potentially fatal blow disrupts the heart’s rhythm, causing sudden cardiac arrest. It was a difficult technique to execute, as it required precise timing with a person’s heartbeat, which was nearly impossible without supernatural hearing. The attack had to be delivered directly over the heart at a critical moment in the heartbeat cycle.

I readied myself, lining up the blow perfectly. I also needed to ensure I didn’t cave in her chest; the attack required just the right amount of force to avoid accidentally killing her.

The moment felt right, and I executed the punch. Her mouth gaped open, and her eyes flickered as she felt her heart stop, plunging her into cardiac arrest. Her body turned a shade paler as blood ceased to pump to her brain and other vital organs.

I caught her before she could fall, holding her tightly in my arms. I saw the fear in her eyes as she stared at me, tears streaming down her face. Her life was probably flashing before her eyes; in her mind, I was the last face she would see.

Desperately, she tried to mumble something incoherent, her voice lost beneath the shock of her situation as she slowly lost consciousness. Her fingers dug into my skin as she clung to me.

I scooped up her unconscious body and laid her down on a mat, sitting beside her until she woke up about two hours later. When she regained consciousness, she trembled like a scared cat, her pupils dilated.

I handed her a bottle of water. Her lips trembled as she tried to drink, soaking her combat uniform in the process.

"W-What happened?" she asked, her voice shaking. "It felt like I was... like I was—"

"Going to die," I finished her sentence. "You were being stubborn, so I had to take drastic measures. Rest up; we’ll begin sparring again in a few minutes."

"Whoa, wait! What do you mean by drastic measures? What the hell did you do to me, you psychopath?!"

"I stopped your heart because you were being difficult. But don’t worry; I’m sure we won’t have that problem anymore."

"You did what?!" Her voice grew increasingly agitated. "You almost killed me! I’ve... I’ve never been so scared in my life." Her voice cracked. "You were supposed to train me, give me new techniques—not this!" 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"You don’t need new techniques. You just need to fight like you’re life depended on it and stop showing off your moves like a kid seeking approval. In a life-or-death situation, you’re completely useless, and you needed to learn that before it catches up to you. It’s becoming increasingly clear that you don’t actually want my training; you’re just trying to show me up."

"No, it’s not that. I do want your help. Haah," She sighed "You’re right; I focus too much on my techniques instead of actually fighting."

"You get a five-minute rest break. Be in your stance by then because I will attack you."

Just as her five-minute break was about to end, she got to her feet and assumed her stance. I launched a series of attacks against her. She still didn’t have the speed to keep up, but she was fighting like her life depended on in and to her maybe it did. As they say, a cornered rat bites a cat.

She was using her skills to the fullest of her ability, and I had to admit, she was truly impressive. The fear of me killing her kept her on her toes. Her attacks were wayless predictable now that she fighting like her life depended on it. Watching her fight was reminiscent of a master martial artist. I shuddered to think what she would be like in a couple of years.

Next, we needed to work on her prowess in using her magical abilities. She needed significant improvement in that area.

"The problem with you is that your fighting style is too clean. You keep launching straightforward attacks. Honestly, you lack creativity. I can tell you’re too proficient at following textbook definitions and not coming up with skills of your own."

"I’m not sure what you’re saying is true. I use my magic to the best of my ability. Even when I was fighting you, I did the best I could. If only my attacks had been stronger, then I could’ve won."

"That’s not the case. Think back to our fight. Do you remember how I got close enough to beat you?"

"Yeah, you used an explosion to create a diversion, launching dust and debris everywhere to camouflage your attack."

"A simple wind spell could have dispelled the dust, clearing your sight. During our entire fight, all you did was mindlessly throw attacks at me. You could’ve used your ice magic to freeze the terrain, making it harder for me to move around freely. And those rocks you were launching at me with earth magic could’ve served as the perfect defense."

"Oh, I get what you’re saying. You want me to fight dirty." she said nodding her head in understanding.

"Use whatever you have at your disposal to win, no matter how minuscule it is. If you have slightly better hearing than everyone else, use it. If you can jump a little higher, use that too." I told her.

"Your powers are special because they grant you an arsenal of abilities. To get better at using your powers in more creative ways requires a lot of training and dedication. You’ll need to experience fighting in different terrains and against people with different abilities."

"Okay, I understand what you’re saying." she replied.

"I think you should take it one step at a time. Focus on mastering one element first. The problem is that you were given all these different types of elements to use but never had the chance to master any of them. From now on, you’ll only use one element, and when you master it, you can move on to the next. Once you’ve mastered all of them, I’ll have you battle using all of them at once."

"Okay, which element do you want me to master first?"

"Let’s start with fire. It’s the most versatile element if you know how to use it properly. Plus, I think it’s the one I’m most qualified to teach. Let’s begin with meditation."

"Meditation?"

"It deepens your connection with your environment, almost merging with it. I want you to meditate while summoning a small flame in the palm of your hand. Increase the temperature of the flame with each inhale and exhale. Just be careful not to burn yourself. If you get burned, it means you’re not focused enough."

"Okay, that sounds simple enough."

Katherine sat down on the mats and began to meditate, following my instructions. At first, she managed to meditate for three minutes before her hand began to burn. Each time she stopped, she repeated the process over and over. By the time we finished, she could meditate for nearly ten minutes without getting burned.

Our training wrapped up around 5 PM, and we left the training hall together.