1
Kishibe thought that when he first saw Gongja, the kid wouldn’t last long.
Well, he was short, had a pathetic physique with barely any muscle, his mind was perfectly intact, and his swordsmanship was the overly honest kind of [player’s sword], so the other Devil Hunters probably didn’t think much differently.
Of course, if Kishibe decided to teach Gongja properly, there was no doubt he’d become the best Devil Hunter. The kid had absurd talent. No— even if he didn’t have talent, if Kishibe taught him, he’d still be able to do at least his fair share.
But Kishibe gave up on teaching Gongja.
Was it because he thought the kid had no talent? Because he thought he was a devil?
Of course not.
Kishibe simply hated the idea of the dog he had raised dying. Even if that opponent was a rabid dog suspected of being a devil.
A person unsuited for battle had been forced into battle. In other words, he’d die before long.
So he wouldn’t teach him properly, wouldn’t get attached, and would just wait for him to die.
That was exactly what he had thought.
At least, until Gongja caught the Leech Devil.
At first, Kishibe thought Gongja catching the Leech Devil was just luck. But as Gongja kept going and started countering Kishibe’s attacks, even Kishibe had no choice but to admit that Gongja had talent as a Devil Hunter.
He agonized over it. Then agonized some more.
And in the end.
"I’ll test him once, then decide."
He made up his mind.
For the test, he chose the Violence Fiend, who had just submitted a request to be dispatched to Gongja.
Ten minutes after Gongja left for the abandoned factory, Kishibe headed there too.
Kishibe arrived right after Arai died. Thanks to that, he got to see Gongja getting beaten senseless with his own eyes.
"Figures."
After seeing that scene, Kishibe quickly reached a judgment and got to his feet to save Gongja. His goal was to test him, not kill him.
Just as he fully stood up, the situation suddenly changed. Gongja began unleashing a counterattack against the Violence Fiend.
Kishibe naturally saw that scene too.
So in the end, Kishibe had no choice but to acknowledge Gongja.
"From now on, call me Teacher."
"...What the hell are you talking about, you crazy old bastard."
Of course, Gongja, who had no idea what Kishibe was thinking, was only confused.
2
It had been two weeks since Kishibe properly started training me, meaning two weeks since I caught the Violence Fiend.
Now I got beaten by him every day in a gym instead of an empty lot.
The only difference was that now I wasn’t just getting hit. I was learning things too.
But it didn’t matter. No matter what I learned or saw.
"Get into stance."
Kishibe said to me as I slowly cooled off from the sweat pouring off me.
I still hated that old bastard.
...That crazy old bastard wouldn’t even let me rest.
I was already exhausted from the brutal conditioning that had gone on for a full three hours, and I wanted to lie down for even a second longer, but I couldn’t just ignore that bastard and flop over, so I got up and took my stance.
Thwack!
"Ghk?!"
The moment I set my stance, I was caught off guard by a fist flying at me.
Whether he knew what I was feeling or not, Kishibe kicked me while I was still on my ass.
Fuck, this goddamn training still isn’t something I can get used to, even after two weeks.
I ground my teeth and rolled to the right. Then I hurriedly got up and raised my guard.
The instant I lifted my guard, Kishibe’s fist landed.
CRACK!!
I heard the sound of bone breaking. Did that old bastard really not know there was no such thing as a teacher who kills his student?
He’d put so much force into the punch that my back, which had been in the center of the gym, slammed into the outer wall.
"Guh...!"
I pressed both arms against my chest and stomach to absorb the impact.
I had enough time. Kishibe was walking toward me slowly, whether he was going to cut me down or just take it easy on me.
By the time the shock had faded and I could move properly, the distance between Kishibe and me had closed to about five meters. So I moved fast.
As I picked up speed, Kishibe gradually did the same.
Kishibe was incredibly fast. So I’d be caught by him in less than a minute.
But that was fine. I already knew that.
I slammed on the brakes, twisted my body, and clenched my fist.
I’d already thought about how to deal with this.
Then I threw it.
Whoosh!
Kishibe took a slight step back and easily dodged my punch. ...I expected it not to do any damage, but he didn’t even get hit? Is that insane old man not senile? Why is his reaction speed that good?
I was briefly stunned by that absurd physical ability, then clicked my tongue. I used the devil’s power and slipped in toward his right side.
In my left eye, I could see his right fist coming at me. So I moved my left foot to the left.
Reacting to that, Kishibe immediately threw his left fist.
So I charged left.
Because of my movement, his right fist, packed with force, lost its target and ended up punching only air with a bang. His left fist, meanwhile, came down on me without any real power behind it.
...I don’t know if that means he had no strength or too much, but whatever. It came down, so let’s not worry about it.
I used the devil’s power.
In my left eye, I saw Kishibe’s left knee crushing my face.
I rolled slightly to the right. I didn’t have enough time to get completely out of the strike’s path, but since I was small, I didn’t take any meaningful damage.
My leg throbbed. But the moment I saw the old bastard’s right leg, the one supporting his whole body, all the pain vanished.
I grabbed his leg, then seized his calf and knee and yanked with all my strength.
"Oh."
Thud—!
Thanks to that, Kishibe fell over.
I climbed onto Kishibe’s stomach. Then I clenched my fist—
Bam!
"From now on, I’ll only train you once every three days. Don’t skip the conditioning."
Kishibe said that to me after hitting my side with his right hand and making me foam at the mouth, then walked out of the gym.
"Fuck that old bastard... I’ll take him down by any means necessary..."
"Did you call me?"
Kishibe suddenly came back in through the door.
"No."
3
I was fucked.
"You damn Control Devil bitch..! You can’t fit into society because you don’t have a family, so you’re pissed off, huh?!"
"...W-wait, what do you mean... uh... Gongja... no, Gongja-kun? What do you mean by that..."
Makima answered, stumbling over her words in a way that was completely unlike her.
I trust the reason needs no explanation.
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