Chapter 8

“Come on! Put your back into it.” Captain Cason yelled swinging downwards. Chrono filled with sweat sidestepped the attack and rotated his body to deliver a roundhouse kick at Captain Cason’s knees. Chrono’s speed was quick and swift as always, but Captain Cason’s reflexes were faster when honed. Captain Cason lifted his legs from the ground and held his sword in on hand. He then screwed his body mid-air and quickly turned to face Chrono. Time seemed to slow as he smiled at Chrono. Chrono flashed with the many memories of being knocked when he saw the usual smile and felt a sting rise up his spine. He was once again going to be hit in the face. As Captain Cason’s body twisted mid-air, Captain Cason swung his wooden sword from below and struck Chrono’s chin with the momentum of the twist. Chrono flew high into the air; his world turning upside down. Not to mention being a six-year-old boy who had barely developed strong bone structure; even an adult would have been knocked unconscious by the blow. Chrono fell to the ground in a mass thud, causing clouds of dust to form at his descent. Captain Cason gave a small smile. The boy was improving faster than he thought he would; just a few moments ago Chrono couldn’t react to 20% of Captain Cason’s speed.

“Don’t you think you’re overdoing it?” Auran said giving a wry smile. He had seen Chrono get knocked out roughly ten times today. Those ten times he had to douse Chrono in water and watch him repeat the process.

“Not at all!” Captain Cason laughed putting his hands to his side and stretching. “I feel young again!” He hollered satisfied with pink cheeks. Ever since the day Ise ignored him and cuddled with Chrono, he hasn’t shown mercy since.

Auran rolled his eyes at the pitiful display of his Captain and tossed another bucket of water on Chrono. Feeling the rush of cold, Chrono’s eye opened with a look of confusion before realizing where he was. He quickly stood up and gave a nodding smile of thanks to Auran before taking a stance once more against Captain Cason.

Auran silently whistled to himself after looking at Chrono awaken once more while bursting with energy. Despite the injuries he continuously sustained throughout his fights, he seemed to always recover moments later. This recovery coupled with his speed makes Chrono a problematic adversary to face in the future. For now, though, Chrono is but an infant, and any real expert can quickly deal with Chrono if they choose to not hold back.

“Remember what I taught you. Use your momentum and breaths to increase the power of your attacks.” Captain Cason instructed and swung at Chrono’s side. Chrono unable to dodge placed his sword blade to his side in an effort to block. The swing nearly went through the sword as Chrono loss grip of the handle.

“Your grip isn’t stable and your foundations are weak! Place your right hand higher on the handle and dig your feet down on the dirt!” Captain Cason instructed once again and delivered a thrust to Chrono’s chest.

Chrono with a better base managed to turn his body in time allowing the thrust to slip past him. Using his elbow, Chrono struck Captain Cason’s stomach as his momentum carried him forward. Chrono would have preferred to hit Captain Cason at his chin to return the favor, but the height difference between the two became Chrono’s number one disadvantage. Any efforts to strike the chin from their position would have cost Chrono energy and power and would have resulted in his loss.

Captain Cason clenched his stomach as Chrono elbowed him and cushioned the blow. With a small smirk, Captain Cason dropped his sword and placed one hand on Chrono’s hand that held his sword and one hand on Chrono’s back. Twisting the wrist of the hand that held the sword, Chrono felt pain course through his arm causing him to drop the wooden sword. Another surge of pain came as the hand that held his back moved him forward and into the face of Captain Cason’s knee. Chrono felt the world turn black once more and fell to his back.

Auran couldn’t help but shake his head once more and said: “How about we move on to my expertise?” He didn’t want to see Chrono repeatedly beat in an effort to teach him.

“Ah, this reminds me of the time I taught.” Captain Cason said baring his teeth with bloodthirst at the past memories. Auran shook slightly remembering the meaning and title the old man held; ‘Mentor of Evil.’. Auran doused Chrono with water once more and led him to the small firing range the fort had. Captain Cason who was wiping himself of sweat watched the two leave. The backs of Auran and a little boy brought a small smile to his face with tiny sparkles at the corners of his eye.

Arriving at the armory near the firing range, Auran opened one of the cabinets and showcased Chrono the assortment of weapons they had.

“Which one do you prefer?” Auran said pointing to the collection. There were pistols of varying types, m1711s, flintlocks, rugars, desert eagles, Colt revolver, you name it, and it was probably in there.

Chrono browsed through the collection with an analytical eye, wondering which pistol was right for him. In the end, Chrono opted for Taurus .454 raging bull which was similar to Auran’s Colt Python.

“Interesting choice,” Auran said eyeing Chrono’s choice. The Taurus .454 raging bull was black all over with silver lining on its handle and parts of the cylinder. To be more specific on its type, it is a .454 casull caliber with a quintessential cartridge and firepower that can stop a buffalo. Auran gave him an approving nod and then went next to a panel on the edge of the firing range.

“Choose the distance and whether you want your targets to move from here,” Auran said giving a light pat on the panel. “For now, let’s start with 15 meters,” Auran said sliding and choosing through the options that appeared on the panel. After clicking start, holographic humanoid figures appeared fifteen meters from them. There were five in total with some of them hiding and popping out of cover repeatedly. “Show me what you got,” Auran said leaving the panel and walking to Chrono to show him how to properly hold a revolver of its magnitude. After showing him the grip and stance, Auran allowed Chrono to take the stage.

His finger on the trigger while stone steady lined up his shot at his targets. Pressing down on the trigger he fired the Taurus at the closest target and time seemed to slow. He could see the bullet fly across at sonic speeds heading towards its target. Chrono who felt as light as a feather after not having felt the recoil of the gun and in a slow suspension of time, switched his target and fired once more, then again, and again, until the cylinder was empty. Time seemed to start normally once more, and a series of loud booms rang out in succession. Then the sound of impact as all five targets were hit dead center on the head. Auran’s jaw hit the floor after seeing this; it wasn’t even a few seconds that all targets were hit, how fast exactly was he? He was about to praise the Chrono infinitely as his talent was very close to his. But when he saw Chronos jittery figure, shaking hands, and the Taurus on the floor, he knew something was wrong. The five shots had caused Chrono to experience a sudden backlash. Chrono hadn’t expected that after he transitioned to regular time speed his hands would instantly drop the Taurus due to the immediate pressure and force put on his whole body as well as sounds similar to explosions ring in his ears. If it weren’t for his training with Captain Cason, he would have fallen unconscious by now. Though that may not necessarily be a good thing.