azontr
He/Him- 40,563
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- #12,201
It didn't even take a second. "God ******* damnit..."
Gabriel's arms flew off as soon as she took a step forward, Pride's speed and power absolutely eclipsing hers. "Do you get it now? You and I are like night and day when it comes to power. Get lost." Pride said, turning around.
"Get lost? Not a chance in heaven." Gabriel immediately formed another pair of arms made of light, using those to replace the ones that were cut off. "I asked for you to train me, and I expect you to do that... So come on-" Gabriel was thrown into the air faster than she could react.
"For a glorified field-medic, you talk a lot." Pride jumped into the air along with Gabriel, delivering a brutal kick to her stomach that sent her crashing into the ground. "Ready to give up?" Gabriel writhed in discomfort and pain, "Of course not... It seems you can make even painless beings feel pain." Gabriel said as she got up, floating out of the crater that was formed.
"Are you serious, girl? You aren't a warrior, so stop trying to act like one. Do you plan to fight me until you drop dead?" Pride asked, annoyance in his voice. "If I can get stronger that way, then I don't particularly care if I die. I actually have a brother who is the personification of death so it's nothing new..." She said.
"...Alright then. Your funeral, angel girl."
For the next few minutes, Gabriel Artensia received the beating of a lifetime. She was punched, cut, thrown, and then punched again faster than she could react. She writhed, coughed, puked, and coughed up blood in the gallons. Pride did all of this without even batting an eye.
"Are we done here yet? I thought I told you when I kicked the wrestler's ass that I had no interest in beating up somebody who has already lost the fight." Pride said, picking up Gabriel by the hair and throwing her.
"...." Gabriel didn't respond for a few seconds, her body riddled with wounds she hadn't ever gotten in her life before. "Is this what people like David and Rory go through all the time...?" She thought to herself.
"This sort of sucks..." That was really all Gabriel could say as she slowly, very slowly, got up, her words muffled as blood gurgled down her throat. "If that's what you think, then just stay the hell down." Pride said.
"If I do that... I'm never going to get stronger. You know what David does when he doesn't get stronger? He cries. He cries and he ******* cries, and he whines, and he babbles, and it's so ******* annoying it makes me want to exterminate him." Gabriel said.
"I can imagine..." Pride said, seeming as if he agreed with Gabriel's sentiment.
"But here's the one thing he doesn't do... Give up." She said, causing Pride to smirk. "Is that right?" He asked, "Sure... He gets really ******* close to giving up, like, all the time. It's sort of a common theme with the guy. But he hasn't. I don't think he ever will. And neither has Rory. Sure, I hate her guts and wish she drowned in a pit of snakes and blood, but... She's trying. I can see that." Gabriel said.
"So what? Do you think that your them? That because they can do it, so can you?" Pride delivered a direct punch to Gabriel's stomach, "I never said I was them...!" She tried her best to resist but was blown back all the same.
"I'm just saying that just because they're flawed to hell and back doesn't mean that neither of them are trying to fix themselves, even if I hate them...!" Gabriel said, slowing herself down using telekinesis so that she didn't smash into anything.
"It's not like I've ever had many flaws myself... Always the smart one, always the reasonable one, always the victim, the one who should be apologized to. It isn't like I understand what they're going through." Gabriel said.
"And so... you want to acknowledge they're effort for once. To make them feel like they aren't failing at everything they do, even if you think they're failing at everything they do." Pride said, crossing his arms.
"Are you also a mind-reader, Pride?" Gabriel asked as she breathed heavily, attempting to repair her wounds with threads of light. "It isn't anything that hard to figure out, Gabriel. I can't particularly relate to it, but I understand it." Pride said.
"Understand what? Your a weird ******* demon, probably one of Belial's Shadow Soldiers, those of which have been sitting in the absurdly cold ******* infinite blizzard-matrix that is the tallest and most deadly ******* landmass in existence, Ulric, for so long that there isn't a number to describe how long you've been there, and you've been doing that until Belial got off his ass and scales the entire ******* thing like the awesome demon-god brother thing he is. You don't understand shit." Gabriel said, crossing her arms.
"Wow. Just, wow. I cannot even describe how high-concept you just went there for absolutely no reason." Pride said, "I'm a high-concept person... I talk about high-concept shit." Gabriel said before Pride began to chuckle.
"And, 'awesome demon-god brother?' You admire Belial, I presume." Pride said, laughing a bit, causing Gabriel to blush slightly. "...Yes, of course, I do. He's one of the smartest people out there, one of the most charismatic rulers in existence, he has noble intentions, cares about his family, somewhat now.... He used to, at least." Gabriel said.
"I still... love him, yeah. I've always admired him. Hell, he scaled the most dangerous mountain in existence and came right back to kick some ass in a war against a billion calamities. How can anybody not admire him somewhat, even if he is misguided?" Gabriel asked.
"No No, I agree with you. Belial is a good person with misguided intentions, and he needs some sense knocked into him desperately before it's to late." Pride said, causing Gabriel to tilt her head.
"Let's quit all this chummy shit and get back to fighting... I'm ready for round 2." Gabriel said, getting into a stance. Pride shook his head, before letting out a sigh. "Alright then, girly..." Pride smirked.
"I'll train you seriously, then. I've taken quite the liking to you through me hopelessly kicking your ass..." Gabriel let out a sigh of annoyance, "Wow, I am truly honored to have been chosen after being brutally beaten up." Gabriel said.
"I'm glad you are." Pride snapped his fingers, allowing Gabriel to heal herself, which she did. "We'll train for a month, no more, no less. And when we're done, you'll be a somewhat decent warrior depending on how the training goes. And a few words of caution, don't think that you've worked hard until you've trained seriously with me." Pride said, causing Gabriel to let out a final long sigh.
"Alright. I'll thank you for helping me out, at least. But seriously, why though? What exactly did I do to tickle your fancy?" Gabriel asked, genuinely curious as to why Pride offered to train her seriously.
"Let's just say that you caught my eye. You take no pride in what you do... You aren't confident at all, nor are you arrogant. All you want is to live your life normally and peacefully, even if you know that isn't possible. So let's just say... I like you." Pride said.
"Basically I'm not utterly, completely, unforgivingly, batshit ******* insane like everybody else." Gabriel said, "Yeah, pretty much. The wrestler guy is very low-key out of his mind and the swordswoman... Well, where do I even start...?" Gabriel cut pride off.
"Alright, yeah, I get it. So... When do we start with this supposed training?" She asked Pride, "We'll start right about... Now."
As both of them expected, Gabriel stood absolutely no chance against Pride. He easily thrashed her around, delivering injury after injury towards her. They were clearly on different levels.
"Damnit... WHAT AM I MISSING!!?" She yelled out, slamming her fists into the ground, shattering it. "Why can't I get strong like everybody else?" She calmed herself down and asked Pride. "We've been going at it for who knows how long and I haven't made any progress." She said.
"That's mostly because you sort of well... Aren't built for fighting." Pride said, causing Gabriel to cross her arms and glare at him. "That's never stopped me before... I have fought and won plenty of battles, but why am I suddenly not making progress?" She asked him.
"Girly, when was the last time you ever actually trained for well, anything in your life?" Pride asked her, standing up from the rock that he was sitting on, glaring at Gabriel. "When was the last time I trained? Well, I..." Actually, she couldn't even remember.
"I've... Never trained? How is that? I'm sure I've trained before..." She said, "I've most definitely trained my magic." She said to Pride, "OK. When was the last time you did that?" He asked her.
"Uh, that was... A while ago." She said, starting to realize what Pride was talking about. "That's the problem, Gabriel. You were quite literally BORN strong, smart, and you were born to be a healer. Your core functions aren't to train or fight... They're to heal, and kill the Apoptosis. Your essentially an automaton given sentience who is trying to go against your programming. David may not be talented or born for fighting, but you, quite literally, are not born for fighting. Your natural strength is failing you." Pride said.
"Oh... That's depressing, actually. So do I just get left behind...? Do I just stay like this forever...?" She asked Pride, "Basically. Not unless your willing to literally die and come back to life." Pride said.
"Basically, I need to push my limits." She said, "Yep. And the best way to do that is to fight until you break apart. Literally." Pride said, causing Gabriel to freeze up. "B-Break apart...?" She asked, "That's a little disturbing, Pride..."
"Did you expect a month of causal training to get you to where you want to be, girl? You'll be pushing your limits, breaking free of your ingrained functions, becoming a warrior. This isn't some sort of casual training camp." Pride said.
"Then I assume a single month of training isn't going to get me to where I want to be. It isn't like we have that much time before Belial does something drastic..." Gabriel said, "Then what, your gonna torture me or whatever? You've been beating me up for a few hours so I'm curious to see what you have in store-"
BOOM!
She was sent flying far faster than she could react by a kick straight to the stomach, causing her to puke up blood. She was sent through multiple rocks, trees, vines, thorns, and many other objects, the resulting shockwave creating an enormous explosion that echoed across the area.
"Torture? Yeah, that's pretty much what this is gonna be for you." Pride said, walking down the path of destruction he had created.
Gabriel, once again, writhed in pain. But this time, it was far worse. "Ah... I- I can't talk- My throat is clogged-" She thought to herself, throwing up dirt and blood. "I gotta get-" Pride reached her before she could stand once again.
"We're just getting started! Don't tell me you've decided to give up?" He delivered a punch to her neck, sending her flying once again. "It's impressive you didn't die instantly though, even if I am holding back."
Gabriel held her throat, "This guy is- I can't see..." She crashed into a boulder, falling face-first into a muddy puddle. Her hair was covering her eyes, so she swung her head to move it. She looked down at the muddy people.
"God, I look filthy..." Her face was beaten, her hair was muddied and covered in moss and dirt, her halo was cracked, and her teeth were cracked and chipped. "Is this actually training or is he just a ******...?" She thought.
"I feel like your calling me a ****** in your head, but no, I'm not doing this because I get kicks out of it." Pride appeared behind her, slamming his fist into her face, "Agh...!" She let out a choked scream.
"This is real training, kid. You get your shit kicked in some and you get stronger from it. This is just the beginning, so quit your whining!" Pride yelled out, throwing her into the ground.
"Please... S-Sto-" She couldn't even finish her sentence, her throat clogged by dirt and blood. "****, are you actually crying? I uh... Maybe we should just stop." Pride said, a little ashamed of himself for brutalizing somebody so much weaker than him to this point.
He was right, she was crying. In all of her thousands of years she'd never experienced such pain and suffering, "Is this what David and the others have to go through...?" She thought, trembling. "This is... horrible..." She fell to her knees.
"Look kid, I'm sorry. I went way to far with this... Let's just stop this." Pride suggested, clearly feeling bad for Gabriel and what he did to her. Gabriel got herself up once more only to fall back down to her knees, glaring at Pride.
"C-Con..." Gabriel could barely form sentences, "O...- ntinue... C-Continue..." She said after a few seconds of struggling to form sentences. She puked out more dirt and blood, gripping her stomach in pain and frustration.
"Kid, if we keep going like this, you're done for. Besides, you just asked me to stop, didn't you? Why are you NOW asking me to continue with this?" Pride asked her, genuinely confused.
Gabriel slowly shook her head, "I... W-want-" She slowly got up once more, walking over to a tree to prop herself up. "To get... S-Str-" She was cut off by her inadvertent puking up of the final chunks of dirt and blood that were stuck in her throat, but Pride knew what she meant.
"And your willing to do this for it? I can cause even painless beings like you unimaginable agony which is what your experiencing right now. A month of this... Will break you."
"THEN LET ME BE BROKEN!" Gabriel yelled out, clenching her fists. "Knowing that I'm gonna be left behind after a while... That I'll become useless... The thought is unbearable. I feel so much like David, and I feel bad for the guy..." Gabriel said, sniffling.
"Keep training me, I'm begging you. Don't hold back. I want to get stronger... Even stronger than this. So help me push past my limits, even if my body breaks into pieces I can rebuild it from my true-form in another dimension, so keep going, please..." Gabriel said, getting on her hands and knees.
"Pride, please... Just do this for me. Let me get stronger, so I can fix things. If I'm stronger, I can make Rory and David finally... Finally, just talk to each other... I can force them to reconcile. I can do so much more, so please..." She said, begging Pride.
"Gabriel..." Pride looked down on the worn and torn angel, on her hands and knees. He saw her tears mixing with the blood and mud on the floor, her hair covered in dirt and thorns, and the wounds she had been dealt by his violent assault.
"Ugh..." Pride was conflicted. There was no honor in this... There was nothing to triumph over, nothing to gain from defeating her. She wasn't confident at all, in fact, she was in complete desperation. There was nothing to be prideful about when defeating such a weak enemy. Even so...
"And your sure this is what you want? This is your last chance to back out before we can continue, Gabriel." He asked her, wanting to make sure that this was really what the girl wanted. She immediately nodded.
"Yes. This is absolutely what I want... So please, don't hold back on me. Make me stronger." Gabriel said, causing Pride to sigh. He didn't want to do this. He detested doing this, but, he couldn't question her resolve.
"Alright then, girl." He raised his fist, and began.
"Damnit... WHAT AM I MISSING!!?" She yelled out, slamming her fists into the ground, shattering it. "Why can't I get strong like everybody else?" She calmed herself down and asked Pride. "We've been going at it for who knows how long and I haven't made any progress." She said.
"That's mostly because you sort of well... Aren't built for fighting." Pride said, causing Gabriel to cross her arms and glare at him. "That's never stopped me before... I have fought and won plenty of battles, but why am I suddenly not making progress?" She asked him.
"Girly, when was the last time you ever actually trained for well, anything in your life?" Pride asked her, standing up from the rock that he was sitting on, glaring at Gabriel. "When was the last time I trained? Well, I..." Actually, she couldn't even remember.
"I've... Never trained? How is that? I'm sure I've trained before..." She said, "I've most definitely trained my magic." She said to Pride, "OK. When was the last time you did that?" He asked her.
"Uh, that was... A while ago." She said, starting to realize what Pride was talking about. "That's the problem, Gabriel. You were quite literally BORN strong, smart, and you were born to be a healer. Your core functions aren't to train or fight... They're to heal, and kill the Apoptosis. Your essentially an automaton given sentience who is trying to go against your programming. David may not be talented or born for fighting, but you, quite literally, are not born for fighting. Your natural strength is failing you." Pride said.
"Oh... That's depressing, actually. So do I just get left behind...? Do I just stay like this forever...?" She asked Pride, "Basically. Not unless your willing to literally die and come back to life." Pride said.
"Basically, I need to push my limits." She said, "Yep. And the best way to do that is to fight until you break apart. Literally." Pride said, causing Gabriel to freeze up. "B-Break apart...?" She asked, "That's a little disturbing, Pride..."
"Did you expect a month of causal training to get you to where you want to be, girl? You'll be pushing your limits, breaking free of your ingrained functions, becoming a warrior. This isn't some sort of casual training camp." Pride said.
"Then I assume a single month of training isn't going to get me to where I want to be. It isn't like we have that much time before Belial does something drastic..." Gabriel said, "Then what, your gonna torture me or whatever? You've been beating me up for a few hours so I'm curious to see what you have in store-"
BOOM!
She was sent flying far faster than she could react by a kick straight to the stomach, causing her to puke up blood. She was sent through multiple rocks, trees, vines, thorns, and many other objects, the resulting shockwave creating an enormous explosion that echoed across the area.
"Torture? Yeah, that's pretty much what this is gonna be for you." Pride said, walking down the path of destruction he had created.
Gabriel, once again, writhed in pain. But this time, it was far worse. "Ah... I- I can't talk- My throat is clogged-" She thought to herself, throwing up dirt and blood. "I gotta get-" Pride reached her before she could stand once again.
"We're just getting started! Don't tell me you've decided to give up?" He delivered a punch to her neck, sending her flying once again. "It's impressive you didn't die instantly though, even if I am holding back."
Gabriel held her throat, "This guy is- I can't see..." She crashed into a boulder, falling face-first into a muddy puddle. Her hair was covering her eyes, so she swung her head to move it. She looked down at the muddy people.
"God, I look filthy..." Her face was beaten, her hair was muddied and covered in moss and dirt, her halo was cracked, and her teeth were cracked and chipped. "Is this actually training or is he just a ******...?" She thought.
"I feel like your calling me a ****** in your head, but no, I'm not doing this because I get kicks out of it." Pride appeared behind her, slamming his fist into her face, "Agh...!" She let out a choked scream.
"This is real training, kid. You get your shit kicked in some and you get stronger from it. This is just the beginning, so quit your whining!" Pride yelled out, throwing her into the ground.
"Please... S-Sto-" She couldn't even finish her sentence, her throat clogged by dirt and blood. "****, are you actually crying? I uh... Maybe we should just stop." Pride said, a little ashamed of himself for brutalizing somebody so much weaker than him to this point.
He was right, she was crying. In all of her thousands of years she'd never experienced such pain and suffering, "Is this what David and the others have to go through...?" She thought, trembling. "This is... horrible..." She fell to her knees.
"Look kid, I'm sorry. I went way to far with this... Let's just stop this." Pride suggested, clearly feeling bad for Gabriel and what he did to her. Gabriel got herself up once more only to fall back down to her knees, glaring at Pride.
"C-Con..." Gabriel could barely form sentences, "O...- ntinue... C-Continue..." She said after a few seconds of struggling to form sentences. She puked out more dirt and blood, gripping her stomach in pain and frustration.
"Kid, if we keep going like this, you're done for. Besides, you just asked me to stop, didn't you? Why are you NOW asking me to continue with this?" Pride asked her, genuinely confused.
Gabriel slowly shook her head, "I... W-want-" She slowly got up once more, walking over to a tree to prop herself up. "To get... S-Str-" She was cut off by her inadvertent puking up of the final chunks of dirt and blood that were stuck in her throat, but Pride knew what she meant.
"And your willing to do this for it? I can cause even painless beings like you unimaginable agony which is what your experiencing right now. A month of this... Will break you."
"THEN LET ME BE BROKEN!" Gabriel yelled out, clenching her fists. "Knowing that I'm gonna be left behind after a while... That I'll become useless... The thought is unbearable. I feel so much like David, and I feel bad for the guy..." Gabriel said, sniffling.
"Keep training me, I'm begging you. Don't hold back. I want to get stronger... Even stronger than this. So help me push past my limits, even if my body breaks into pieces I can rebuild it from my true-form in another dimension, so keep going, please..." Gabriel said, getting on her hands and knees.
"Pride, please... Just do this for me. Let me get stronger, so I can fix things. If I'm stronger, I can make Rory and David finally... Finally, just talk to each other... I can force them to reconcile. I can do so much more, so please..." She said, begging Pride.
"Gabriel..." Pride looked down on the worn and torn angel, on her hands and knees. He saw her tears mixing with the blood and mud on the floor, her hair covered in dirt and thorns, and the wounds she had been dealt by his violent assault.
"Ugh..." Pride was conflicted. There was no honor in this... There was nothing to triumph over, nothing to gain from defeating her. She wasn't confident at all, in fact, she was in complete desperation. There was nothing to be prideful about when defeating such a weak enemy. Even so...
"And your sure this is what you want? This is your last chance to back out before we can continue, Gabriel." He asked her, wanting to make sure that this was really what the girl wanted. She immediately nodded.
"Yes. This is absolutely what I want... So please, don't hold back on me. Make me stronger." Gabriel said, causing Pride to sigh. He didn't want to do this. He detested doing this, but, he couldn't question her resolve.
"Alright then, girl." He raised his fist, and began.