Two days had passed since Nobu's arrival at the dragons' lair. She spent the first day settling into her new home, absorbing the information about the supernatural world that had fallen on her head. The next day, the girl met Silence's mentor and watched the two dragons spar.
She watched with trepidation as their collision changed the landscape around her, and then looked at the girl next to her with slight fear. Nobu remembered how she had shot at her in a fit of emotion, but she also remembered the title of this creature and her strength. Ophis, on the other hand, sat on the rocks and enjoyed the spectacle, eating popcorn. After his own training, Sai decided to test the limits of their new bodyguard's strength.
Any Sacred Gear strengthens its bearer, but the degree of this always varies. Nobu was not very lucky in this regard. "Sword Forge" or in her case "Weapon Workshop" is focused on the creation of external objects that grant the wearer some advantages, only slightly increased the overall body indicators. Now the girl is stronger than an ordinary adult man, but slightly falls short of an ordinary fighter of the supernatural part of the world.
Sai did not ignore the mechanism itself, as well as Nobu's skill in using it. The current limit of the hero's descendant is 23 muskets. Only this number of weapons can she summon and control. The girl is able to control the guns themselves within a radius of twenty-five meters around herself. The power of such a musket is enough to make the owner levitate for about six seconds. Not enough for a full-fledged flight, but an excellent prospect for the future.
Having learned everything they needed, they went home. Oda immediately fell onto the bed after an exhausting demonstration. Seeing the girl's condition, Silence took pity on her and did not burden her with additional training, only advising her to study the structure of modern firearms on the Internet. After all, starting tomorrow, training hell would begin for her.
***
Silence jumped away from his victim. With a bloodthirsty smile, he licked the drops of blood from his claws, without taking his eyes off the wounded man.
— If you don't become more efficient, you'll be lying on the ground in your own blood again.
— You won't get it, lizard! — the girl grinned in the same tone as him, and a cannonade of shots rang out across the battlefield again.
Nobu's training began today. At first, she trained on her own, training her body according to the given method, while Silence devoted time to his own training. After that, the hero's descendant regained her strength, and at that time the dragons once again met in battle.
After two hours, it was time for the girl to test herself against the young dragon. The first few battles ended almost immediately. Magic turned out to be too unusual and complex a phenomenon, against which Nobu could do nothing.
The next thing that Saya had to remove from her arsenal was the aura and "gaze". The underdeveloped Sacred Gear could not overcome the passive dragon aura, and the magical eyes gave too much of an advantage for the young man. He also had to restrain his physical abilities so that it would at least somehow resemble sparring and training.
With each subsequent battle, Oda was able to hold out longer. Gaining experience, the girl began to "snap back" more and more confidently. On the fly, she made up tactics, changing them or improving them to effectively counter the dragon.
Silence never held back, only avoiding fatal wounds. He healed everything else after the defeat of the opponent. The young man applied the teachings of Crom Cruach, where pain is the best teacher and motivator for improvement. And, as it turned out, his method had excellent results.
— Give it your all, — the guy defiantly cracked his neck, — this is the last fight for today.
— Okay! Don't cry later.
— Ha-ha-ha! Come on, Nobu! — He ignored the beeping notification on his phone. If this was something important, they would have called him right away. — Don't hold back. Act with the intent to kill me.
— I will! — Two pistols appeared in her hands, while eighteen muskets were flying around.
Lined up in three rows, the guns fired one after another, providing continuous fire, replacing the spent muskets with new ones. Such a simple design allowed Nobu to fire non-stop for hours until her stamina ran out. She could have created three more rifles, but she saved them for emergencies.
The barrage did not particularly deter the young man's approach, which could not be said about the aimed fire of their bodyguard. Due to the restrictions imposed, any hit to vital parts of the body would be considered her victory.
Not wanting to lose, the dragon jumped to the side. Having received a second's break, he struck the ground, hiding in the rising cloud of dust.
Cursing the cunning bastard, the girl hurried to change her position. The next second, several stones flew into the place where she had been before. The dragon had already pulled a similar trick today, and Oda did not want to taste blood and her own teeth in her mouth again. Realizing the inevitability of getting closer, the girl decided to take a risk, implementing the plan she had just come up with.
— You are a proud dragon. Stop hiding like a coward, Silence! — throwing the pistols aside, she swirled all the muskets around her, shooting continuously. — Come on! Attack if you have the courage.
Sai decided to give in to the provocation, punishing the impudent girl. Crushing the stones in his fists into smaller ones, he launched them at Nobu like shrapnel. While she used her weapon as a protective wall, the young man significantly reduced the distance between them. Not wanting to lose the initiative, he launched the stones in his other hand, not giving her the opportunity to remove her defense.
— It's time to answer for your words, hero, — Sai raised his hand to slap her, not hiding his glee. However, noticing the girl's wide grin, he realized everything. — I screwed up.
— Damn right! — laughing in the arrogant bastard's face, she bent down to the ground in a split.
Right behind the wide cloak of her black military uniform was a double-barreled sawed-off shotgun. As soon as she left the trajectory of fire, a shot rang out. A shot fired almost point-blank hit Silence's chest, forcing him to take a step back.
— Well done. Congratulations on your victory, — the young man easily admitted his defeat. He had underestimated his opponent too much, for which he would pay. — If someone weaker were in my place, your attack would have really battered them, — he dug the metal out of his body with his claws. The projectile failed to penetrate the dragon's skin, getting stuck in the skin, or else it was mortally surprised.
— Ha-ha-ha! Bow before the power of this Nobu.
— Yes-yes, you managed not to end your defeats dry, congratulations. However, you have the same problem as Hitori. We need to find some good weapon for you.
— The grumbling of a beaten lizard. Ha-ha!
— You know... — he was interrupted by two wolves tied up with snakes that appeared nearby. — What the hell? What is Ophis doing there?
A minute later, the culprit herself appeared, accompanied by a huge, beaten wolf.
— Oh, Nobu, hi, — the girl said as if nothing had happened, noticing the hero's descendant. — Remember, I promised to find you a more fanged colleague, — tactfully ignoring the plaintive sigh, she continued, — so here he is. Meet him.
— Ophis, what kind of beast is this? — the dragon's gaze periodically switched from his beloved to the wolf. — Why do I feel mortal danger from him?
— There is nothing surprising about this. His fangs are capable of killing gods. And this fluffy one is considered one of the ten strongest in the world. The mythical wolf, Fenrir.
— And how are you going to make him obey?
— You know, — her voice became playful as she languidly looked at her beloved, creating a whip in her hands. — I am confident in my skills as a trainer.
***
In the office of the director of the best magic academy in Europe, there were two intelligent beings who could not be called ordinary, even by the standards of their races. The owner of the room himself was sitting at a massive table, and opposite, in a guest chair, was his last personal student.
— We haven't seen each other for a whole week, — Mephisto said calmly, sipping tea from a cup. — Although, given the sensational appearance of your wife, this is not surprising. Now the whole world is discussing why Ophis needed Fenrir, and many have also become interested in the current Dragon Emperors.
— Pfft! Don't call them that, — the young man grimaced at such a title. — Ddraig and Albion had the right to call themselves that, but not these pathetic likenesses. Especially this Hyodo. Because of him, everyone started to perceive dragons as some kind of joke, — Sai gnawed on the offered cookie with irritation. — What is this nonsense about the Chichiryuutei worth?
— Ha-ha-ha! I was actually amused by his performance. Sirzechs was lucky to have such a wielder of the Boosted Gear at his disposal. Stupid, naive, and incredibly lustful - the best combination for manipulating the heiress of Gremory.
— I wouldn't treat him like that if he was at least as strong as a white one, but he's not! The boy is incredibly weak. In a word, trash.
— Then let's not talk about them. What about the wolves? — the devil did not hide his interest in this question. — The Infinite Dragon itself is strong and mysterious, and now she has the killer of gods and his children in her hands. You can't blame anyone for their curiosity caused by fear.
— You're not the first one who wants to know about this from me, — the dragon's mood became cheerful. — Azazel and Serafall have tried to get an answer more than once with hints.
— Knowing you, they haven't found out anything and continue to suffer in guesses, — the legendary demon asserted rather than asked, to the laughter of the young man.
— Ha-ha! Exactly! You yourself told me that the worst thing is ignorance. So let them marinate, and in a week they will find out for themselves.
— So?
— Nothing serious, what you might think. Ophis wanted to get herself a good guard dog. The puppies were just an addition.
— Seriously?
— Yeah. Later I'm going to give them to Hitori and Hachiman. Unlike their father, they behave well. They will live with us for another week and go to their new home.
— Ha-a-a-ah, — he massaged the bridge of his nose with a heavy sigh. Mephisto did not doubt the words of his student. — Such a ridiculous reason caused a stir for most factions in the world.
— What do you want? We are dragons. We do what we want, following our own whims.
— Yes, yes, I have already heard enough of this from you. Let's not do it again, — with a snap of his finger, a magic circle appeared over the devil's mug, replenishing the empty mug. — How is your new acquaintance? If I found out correctly, then she is a descendant of Oda Nobunaga.
— Your intelligence did not fail. We accidentally met her during our vacation, when the "faction of heroes" tried to recruit her.
— And how do you like her?
— Funny. Even knowing who we are, she is not afraid. She is afraid, but not afraid, — the young man remembered their frequent squabbles with a smile. — Smart and talented. Has many ideas for using her mechanism and combat tactics. Although there are some problems with her psyche.
— You've caught my interest. Tell me.
— It seems that the mechanism activation incident left its mark on her. In her normal state, her calm personality of a simple teenage girl is completely different from her "combat mode". As soon as she experiences stress or gets excited, she begins to behave in a completely opposite manner.
— Few people can survive the loss of their parents without consequences. Especially if they were literally torn apart and devoured before their eyes. Maybe a split personality?
— No. The personality is the same, it's just that the character changes. More like a mask.
— If this doesn't bring her any discomfort, then leave her alone. Most likely, the girl decided to change herself. Many people change themselves after experiencing a close death.
— Okay.
— Let's move on to a more interesting topic. In just a few months, you managed to master the basics of most of the directions of magic known to me. Even with the Sight of All Things, such an achievement is incredible. I am sure that you have a talent for magic, — annoyance appeared on the man's face. — What a pity that you focused on the path of a warrior.
— No need to be so theatrical, — Silence rolled his eyes at the pretense of his teacher. — You know perfectly well why I focused on close combat. I need to cover my weaknesses before delving into magic.
— You have every chance to surpass Azi Dahak in the future. I am sure of it.
— How many centuries will I need for this? — he asked rhetorically. — It is better to focus on the present than the distant future.
— Good, but I will not leave this question aside. However, now is the turn of my part of the agreement.
— Do you want to study my eyes?
— Yes. I have several theories that require confirmation. After several tests on the possible development of the "view", it will be time to choose for you a direction, which we will study in more detail first.