Damian still has his fists smoking due to the aftermath of his punch. He just stares at the destruction he had just caused which definitely concerns him a lot. His eyes traveled to the corpse of the dead stone lizard, frozen still on the ground.

The side of its face darkened with the black char from his fire punch. It's horns broken to pieces from the impact it had when it crashed against the wall. Purple blood seeping out through it's fangs and onto the ground.

To be honest, he didn't feel like anything at first but the feeling of having killed a living thing, even though it was meant for survival was crawling on the back of his mind. He immediately looks away from the gruesome scene but it didn't help him at all.

He feels his heart starting to beat faster, he could feel the sweat starting to form on his fur. He tries to close his eyes but the scene of flame erupting from the creature's eyes followed. There was no escape from the feeling as his nerves struck him hard.

The pumping of his heart skyrockets as a frown began to carve on his face. Suddenly, a jolt of electricity flowed through him sending his body into a sudden shock.

His eyes opened wide went the electrifying sensation struck him as the arena came back into view. He looks to the side to see Athena with a concerned look with one of her hand displaying sparks of electricity.

"You're okay Damian?" She asks him but didn't get any response for a while. It was then that he gave a slow nod to her making her smile.

"Y-yeah..." He slowly responds when his legs gave in suddenly. He fell to the ground which worried Athena. Luckily, he didn't fall completely but was still sat on the ground.

"Damian?!!" She calls for him anxious but luckily he nods. He stayed silent for a while before suddenly hearing footsteps heading his way. He then felt a shadow engulfing him from behind.

Jill arrives from behind him as she kneels down.

"Are you alright, trainee Red?" She asks him in a serious tone. He answers with a nod.

"I'm fine... I... never killed something before... It really took a lot out of me!" Damian says in gasps as he tries to recuperate. His mouth gasping for air as he breathes in all the oxygen he can.

"You'll be fine... There comes a time in a soldier's life where they have to make their first choice! If you wanna live, the only thing you can do is fight or kill! Keep moving forward without guilt!! It's life and death out there!" Jill explains but Damian couldn't help chuckling.

"Well, I'm not a soldier am I? You know that don't you?" Damian asks her with a wry smile as Jill stays silent at his question. Jill knows his identity and what he said was through.

"You're right... You're not a soldier, but you want to fight don't you? For the people that you want to protect! That's the only reason you're here right?" Jill relays his question with her own which caught him by surprise.

She has a point. His life wasn't the same as before. If there are people who would threaten the lifes of his friends, the people he cared about, he knew he couldn't just sit still.

"Can you stand up, soldier?" Jill rose up before reaching her hand out to him. He looks at it with a steely gaze as he grabs it.

He stands up before his hands wipe off the dust that was stuck on his pants. Damian then looks at Jill with a smile.

"Thanks!" He smiles at her but as expected, all she gave in return was a simple nod.

"Take a break, your next evaluation is going to need more than a singular hit! There's no stopping in the battlefield..." Jill says before walking off stoically to the exit. Her cape waves at the howl of the wind as Damian looks back at the fallen beast.

"Keep moving forward..." Damian quietly mutters unaware of Athena sneaking giggles at him.

Both of them then exited the arena so he could rest up for the next challenge he'll face.

Meanwhile, on the stands the trio was in shock at what they saw.

Pinky was amazed by not the strength but the precision he had to target the very weakness of the horned stone salamander.

But, her friend, the valiant imp wasn't pleased with it.

"He ain't just another wannabe noble huh... Fine by me!" Lock grins with malice wanting to prove how he'll be the top dog in this situation.

Strafe looks at Pinky with a weirded out look at Lock's expression but Pinky raises her shoulder confused.

"You don't wanna watch the rest of em'? Athena asks him but he shook his head.

"Nah, too tired... I just wanna rest up... Plus, I don't think it'll be comfortable when they're all gonna be staring at me..." Damian says while his arms are resting on the back of his head.

He walks with a relaxed groove with Athena besides him.

"Well, maybe you can make some new friends!! It wouldn't hurt!!" Athena suggests but he just chuckles.

"I have enough friends... plus, it's not like I'm going to meet any of em' anytime soon. I'll take my time with training, you get me?" Damian turns to her as she nods.

"Well, that was the deal... wonder what's the next test is gonna be?" She says floating besides him.

"Beats me, all I know is my dad ain't pulling his punches with my first session!!" Damian groans out at the fact that his dad upped the ante on the level of difficulty for the evaluation and training session he has.

"Come to think of it, not anyone can handle a ranked three beast... though it might be different for those three earlier..." Athena mentions but Damian sighs.

"You mean those three jerks?"

"Yeah... they're capable... really capable..." Athena says which increases his guard a bit.

"I don't really care..." He shrugs them off as he continues his steps.

"As long as I don't I have to fight them, I'm good... Though... it would be kinda nice to beat the shit out of that imp dude!" Damian says with confidence while Athena was worried about what he said.

"Don't jinx yourself..." Athena sighs but it didn't get through him.

"What you're worried about?! I have you right?" Damian asks her back but she responded by shaking her head.

"You can't always rely on me... You'll never grow that way!" Athena says sternly as Damian was surprised to hear those words.

She will always be there for him but there were truth in her words. If he keeps relying on her, it'll be no better than him just leeching off a great power given to him.

"Don't say it like that, Look, I know that I can't keep relying on you forever. That's why I'm doing my part as well. You don't have to worry!" Damian spoke with confidence which eases her.

"Getting confident are we? Good! You're maturing faster than I thought!!" Athena mentions while sticking her tongue out with a bweekk sound.

"Haha very funny!" He sarcastically replies with a grumble as both of them take a stroll across the training grounds.

3 hours later,

"Well, seems like the evaluation ended..." Damian commented as his eyes viewed the sorry state of the candidates. Some had bandages wrapped around their bodies, their gear tattered and broken and their mood dampens the atmosphere.

"Yeessh, they're looking bleak..." Athena says in pity with a frown on her face.

"Tell me about it... was I just lucky to have you?" Damian thought about it as he gazes onto the crowd of injured and spiritless demons.

"I wouldn't place it on luck, anything that is properly strategized can outperform luck any day!!" Athena says as she looks around a bit more.

"Well, just sounds like luck to me... but whatever it was, I guess I made it pass!!" Damian comments.

"Well, not just you, those three seemed to pass as well. They're looking fine!!" Athena points out as Damian puts his gaze up.

It was the trio of demons earlier. They looked unscathed and they were in fact busy chatting with each other. They didn't seem to be on edge like the others. Suddenly, Damian noticed Pinky suddenly staring at him. She released wink which makes him immediately turn away from her. His eyes landed on Lock who annoyed him earlier.

"So, that guy's cocky for a reason huh?" Damian suddenly he punches his fist with his other palm as a fiery energy was it up inside him.

"Calm down there... remember, going in guns blazing won't work... even if you're annoyed at him, just remember to control your powers..." Athena reminds him but Damian shakes his head.

"Relax Athena, I remember the rules... but it doesn't mean that I can't show him who's boss by the end of this!!" Damian smiles as his confidence was suddenly boosted.

"Haaaa, boys..." Athena sighs as she facepalms herself at the sight of her partner.

"GATHER UP, CADETS!!" Jill suddenly yells as all the candidates immediately rush back to formation which includes Damian who got used to his position.

"Now, the first evaluation is done and I have to say all of you did well..." Jill congratulates them as she looks at the state of the candidates.

"Looking at the sorry state you are in, some of you might have given up at this moment, some of you might already reached your limit, but your battle isn't over!! As the future of the royal guards, you will fear for your life, you will fight until you're dead and still fight in the afterlife!! Giving up is not an option so stand your sorry asses up!! All of you have something you're fighting for! I don't care who, where or what it is!! People? Homes? Treasure? As soldiers of the highest degree, your people are the soldiers standing next to you, your home is the battlefield, your treasure is your life!! So keep moving forward and fight till the end and the end after that!!" Isn't that right?" She suddenly leers as Damian in the back which caught him by surprise.

"I SAID ISN'T THAT RIGHT CADETS?!!!" She suddenly yells as all the candidates stomp their feet as as they roared.

"YES INSTRUCTOR!!!" All of them roared in unison which lifted the spirits as their gaze change from the look of fear to those of valiant fighters.

Damian instantly noticed the change in the atmosphere which surprised him. He immediately recognised the difference between the candidates spirit compared to his.

"Now, for your second and final evaluation... is the combat test! You and one other person will be picked and will engage in combat. The winner is determined when the opponent gives up, incapacitated or when I judged that the battle is over. No high level magic is allowed and no lethal move is to be performed!" Jill explains as the cadets secretly glanced at each other.

"You will also be allowed to pick ONE weapon of your choice from these..." Jill points her hands at a wooden crate besides her. Her leg suddenly lifts before kicking the crate as it tips over. The content of the crate spills out as the candidates starts murmuring at each other at the sight.

It was a bunch of worn out training weapons, wooden swords with chips and blunt edges, bows that would break after a shot even shields that looked like they can't withstand a single punch.

"Fuck..." Some muttered at the sight and Damian looks worried as well. Not at the fact that they're low grade weapons but...

"Ummm... how am I supposed to use any of those?" Damian asks Athena as he wasn't a trained combatant. His battle experience should be near zero except for the beast earlier and even then it was purely luck.

"Take your pick!!" Jill says with a devious smile before the cadets look at each other. Suddenly, they all rush as they fought over the best looking weapons amongst the bunch.

"Well, just pick the shield!!" Athena suggests.

"The shield? Why not the sword?" Damian asks her as he rushed to the pile of weapons.

"Those blades look horrendous, they couldn't even cut a single leaf, let alone be enough for human skin. Plus, I believe a shield is your saving grace..." Athena explains as Damian looked at her with doubt.

As he was the last one on the pile, he looks and saw that no swords was left behind, only a few broken bows were left while the shields were left untouched.

He sighs as he looks back at the group of cadets. All of them could be seen grinning and snickering at the sight of him being only left with the worse options.

"Well, something is better than nothing I guess..." Damian murmurs as he grabs the shield before moving back. Suddenly, he feels a hand on his shoulders as he turn back.

He gaze at Jill's face looking at him seriously.

"You're up first cadet Red..." Jill mutters as he couldn't help but chuckle.

"Fine..." He sighs as he stops in his track.

Jill suddenly walks forward as she looks at the rest of the cadet.

"Up first we have cadet Red!! His opponent...

She suddenly turns around as her feet drags along the dust on the ground. Her tail whips out as a metallic cling could be heard as it forms into a metal blade.

"Will be me!" Jill looks at him seriously as she points her sharp tail at him.

Damian was immediately shocked as he looks at her with wide eyes.

"What the!! Y-you?! Shouldn't it be a cadet?!!" Damian stammers as she chuckles.

"Your enemy won't play by your rules!!" Jill says back as Damian couldn't help but be taken aback. He immediately clenches his fist knowing his dad but has prepared this for him.

"Fuck!! He really doesn't want me to pass..." Damian cursed in his mind.

"But I'll make a handicap... You only have to land a single hit on me to win and... I won't move from my spot!" Jill reveals as Damian felt relieved. But he then saw the frightened and disbelief of the rest of the cadets as he immediately starts getting worried again.

"Shit..." His eyes displayed a concerned look as they shake and his sweat starts dripping.

The cadets watches from the sideline as they make their way back into the arena. Only a few carried a worried look for Damian while the majority was grinning at the sight they were going to behold.

"I don't know which god cursed him, but man, I'm sure regretting being an atheist!!" Lock cackles as he was looking forward to Damian's demise.

"I mean yeah... talk about bad luck... Facing a third level beast and now the instructor, Death Flash herself..." Pinky comments as she slowly sits besides Lock. Meanwhile, Strafe was hopping in place as his claw grabs onto the metal bar in front of him, anxiously waiting for the battle to start.

In the arena, Damian stood still as he begins breathing in and out to calm his nerves.

"This is going to be a little tricky..." Athena comments as she tries to formulate a plan.

"Even though she's not gonna move and I only need one single hit?" Damian asks back as Athena nods seriously.

"But... there's nothing that we can't do together!" Athena says with a fiery spirit as Damian calms a bit. He looks in front to see Jill looking at him straight with her eyes glued to him.

"She's really taking this seriously!!" Damian groans as he directs his magic at his left hand. It suddenly explodes into a fiery fist through his magic as he raises his shield on the other hand.

Jill smiles at Damian's actions as she tries to figure out his strategy. Out of all the cadets, he was the only one that picked the shield. She didn't know whether he was dumb or smart.

The wind silently blows onto the arena as dust floats around. The only sound present in the silence was the wooshing of the wind and the drips of sweat hitting the ground from Damian's chin.

"Begin!!!" Jill commands as Damian immediately aims his hand towards Jill as a small ball of flame was shot from his arms. The flame ball tears through the air as it rushes towards Jill's face.

A grin formed as her tail suddenly thrusts towards the ball, cutting it in half. The ball splits up halfway as it prematurely explodes leaving a wall of smoke.

Through the smoke, a bright shine was peeking through. Jill immediately twists her body aside as the dirt underneath her grinds against her sole.

A fiery fist suddenly emerged from the smoke, dragging the black cloud with it. Damian then fully makes his appearance, leaping through the air with his flame infused punch.

However, Jill already knew of his plan as she immediately bends her top back as he misses her by an inch.

As his fist flew right in front of her face, she could see the shocked expression on his face. Damian then crashes onto the course ground, stumbling before using his shield to anchor himself. Damian managed to stabilise his stance after getting dragged for a while. As he comes to a halt, he looks at Jill surprised by her reflex.

"That didn't work... any more ideas?" Damian asks Athena as she smiles.

"Plenty!!" She grins as Damian stood back up using his shield to support himself.

Suddenly, she sways her hips as her tail suddenly comes lashing towards him. Damian's pupil shrunk at the sight of the sharp object aiming straight at his face.

"Swing your shield sideways... NOW!" Athena times it as Damian immediately thrusts his arms to his side.

The shield precisely hits the blunt edge of her sharp tail sending it off course. However, the tail managed to graze his cheeks as blood dripped down.

"Not over yet! Duck!!" Athena yells as Damian could see Jill immediately regaining control over her tail as it was slashing towards him. His eyes narrowed as her blade tail filled the reflection in his eyes.

He immediately ducks down feeling her tail narrowly missing his ear. Her tail then retracts back to her as it shortens in length. Damian was barely recovering as he canes his arm on his knee. His chest vibrating on hyper drive as he consumes all the oxygen he can.

"Damian!! Raise your shield!!" Athena warns as Damian instinctively does it as he looks forward to see her tail aiming back at him. He immediately braces as he held his last saving grace tight. Her bladed tail crash against the surface of the shield as it explodes into a million pieces. Damian was thrown back like a baseball as he comes crashing and dragging on the course surface of the arena.

A drag mark about 10 meters could be seen as Damian's body was on the opposite end. He lied immobile for a second as some of the trainees thought he already kicked the bucket.

"Poor guy, dead on the first day!" Strafe howls as he looks sad... that the fight was already over.

Meanwhile, Pinky displayed a look of horror as she partially pities Damian. Suddenly, something caught her eyes shocking her.

"Hey, look!" Pinky points out at the arena as Damian's body rumbled a little.

Damian was not out of it yet. He slowly gathers what remains of his strength as his arms adjusted. He then weakly pushes himself up with dusts and rubble falling down his fur. He slowly got into a kneel while his body was littered with cuts and bruises.

Parts of his fur was dyed in grey and brown due to the soil. Damian shots forward displaying his steely gaze with an eye closed. He pants out but he wasn't going to give up, not just yet.

Jill smiles at Damian's passion as she bends down a little and spreads her legs apart.

"You lost your only weapon, cadet Red! How're you going to face me?" Jill asks him as she expects his answer.

Damian then responded by slowly pushing his body up as he stands on his two feet. His body wobbled for a bit from the fatigue but he guards his balance.

He then grits his teeth before lighting his hand on fire. His eyes open wide with the same burning element, clenching his burning fist. He glares at her while his mouth opens.

"Two words... Teleportation rune." He gasps.

His whole body was engulfed in flames in a matter of milliseconds. Jill looked confused for a moment before a bright light was poking at her eye.

She looks to her back to see her bladed tail with a glowing rune on it. Her eyes went wide as she recognised the symbol. A small explosion instantaneously occurs at her tail as a ball of flame materialised the same moment Damian was engulfed in flames.

Out of the ball flame, Damian suddenly emerged, immediately sends his fists flying towards her. His jab left a trail of fire behind like the afterburner of a rocket. He inputs all the strength and energy he had left, forcing his punch at max speed.

A smile of pride and relief carves onto his face when he feels his fists connecting. It bursts out sending an explosion followed by a wave of smoke. However his excitement immediately dies out like a flickering candle in the wind.

Jill managed to catch his stray punch and hold out against the small explosion with smoke flowing between her fingers.

She immediately pushes her leg in between his legs. She then pushes his calf as her hands pulled him.

Damian immediately grits his teeth as he lost his balance. In a split second, he comes tumbling down landing on his back. Damian then retaliates by lighting his other fist in fire.

Jill's eyes widen but she immediately let's go of his hand before twisting her body. Her leg were thrown at his flaming hand, as she performs a round house kick. Damian's hand was immediately knocked down to the ground causing his magic to deactivate.

As Damian tries to pull his arms up again to land a hit, her sharp tail dove, aiming in between his eyes. Damian instantly froze, forced to not move as she already pins him down. However, he still tries fire his magic but Jill was quicker than him.

One of her legs immediately stomps against his wrist, pinning it down. Damian creases as pain surged from his hand.

Now, she has him all trapped. She smiles at Damian appreciating his effort even though he lost the challenge.

Suddenly, her eyes pick a flash as her pupil travels towards her side. It shrunk as she sees his other hand aiming at her with a red fiery magic.

She immediately turns back to Damian who was still shocked but immediately realise the stalemate both of them are at.

However, Jill smiles at Damian.

"I say one hit... so why are you not activating your spell?" Jill asks Damian as Damian scoffs.

"I don't want to hurt you!" Damian reveals as she raises an eye.

"Is it because I'm a girl?" Jill asks as Damian smiles.

"W-well, cause I think this would've settle it! And... yeah..." He admits as Jill looks at him seriously.

"Well, can't blame you!" Jill suddenly retreats as her leg was lifted from his arm.

Damian immediately pushes his body up as he inspects his wrist. He wriggles it around feeling stings of pain from the strain.

Suddenly, a hand appeared in his view. He looks up to see Jill extending her hand. He immediately takes it as he was help up.

"Thanks, again...!!" Damian says but Jill didn't respond.

"You did well... I'll give you a pass!" Jill reveals as Damian looks at her.

His face displays a look of disinterest but inside he was screaming in joy.

"G-great!!" He responded with a stutter.

"I apologize for this test but I was curious..." She suddenly blurts.

"You lack experience but you do have good instincts, but that alone won't help you survive out there! Well, come to think of it... that's not something you need to worry about!!" Jill adds on the fact that he's safe behind the castle walls as a royal.

"Well, not exactly though!" Damian answers as he rubs the back of his head knowing there are people coming for his power.

Jill was surprised to hear his answer but she didn't want to intrude. Perhaps he was finding his calling being a soldier which made Jill proud of him.

"So... can I leave?" Damian asks as she nods without a voice.

"O...kay... I'm just... gonna go..." Damian trails off before slowly turning back and wanting to rush out of the arena.

"Wait!" Jill suddenly calls as he turns around reluctantly.

"Yes?" He was afraid that she has more tests for him.

"Don't hesitate! Out there, you need to hurt your enemy or they'll hurt you back!! I'm your instructor so I considered it a lost but your enemies won't! There's no time to think, just do! It's a choice you have to make!" Jill explains as Damian looks at her surprised.

"O-oh that! A-alright! Y-yeah, got it coach!" Damian says as he immediately turns around before speed walking out of the arena.

Jill looks surprised at Damian's rush before smirking. She shook her head smiling before looking towards the rest of the trainees.

All of them stood frozen at what they just witnessed. The battle that took place as well as Jill's respect towards a trainee. It was all too shocking for them to take in.

"Dammit!!" Lock cursed as he slams his fists on his knee.

"Damn greenhorn got lady luck's on his side!! I swear that next time, I'll show em' his place!!" Lock grinds his teeth in anger as his fists was tightly clenched.

"Luck or not, he's quite amazing... I wonder who he actually is... Also, is he still single~?" Pinky wonders as a lustful expression was plastered on his face.

"Next up!!" Jill calls as the cadet starts to get ready for their own battles.

Meanwhile, Damian finally exited the training ground as he makes his way to the castle.

He suddenly crashes down, sitting on the ground.

"FFFFUUCKKKK!!!" He groans out tired as he busily pants for the physical and mental excursion he just faced.

"Why does my dad hate me so much?!!" Damian grunts as Athena giggles.

"Well, at least he won't be bothering you anymore!!" Athena comments as Damian smiles.

"For now... but that's better than nothing!!" Damian responds as he looks at Athena.

"Hey umm, thanks... you really help me back there!!" Damian says but Athena shockingly shook her head.

"No, I might've helped, but you made it happen!! I'm proud of you!!" Athena mouths before extending her fist.

Damian felt surprised and proud at her words as he knocks his fist at her's.

"So, still tired? Don't you have some plans for today?" Athena asks as Damian shakes his head.

"I was planning to join my friends but... DAMN! This shit took a lot out of me! Maybe tomorrow..." Damian sighs as he was too tired too hang out with his friends.

Suddenly, his phone buzzed as he immediately pulls it out from his pocket. He looks at the name displayed and smile after seeing it was a call from Addison.

"Speak of the devil!!" Damian smiles as he answers.

"Hey Addi, I'm sorry but I don't think I can make it today!! I'm quite ti-

Suddenly, Damian's eyes widen when he picks up the sound of sobbing and crying from the opposite end of the call.

"A-Addi, what's wrong?" Damian immediately puts on a concerned face as Athena sensed his dread.

"D-Dame, it's... it's Sahara... s-she-"

Damian's pupil shrunk as his eyes went wide. His pupil shook wildly at the word that Addison said.

He immediately stood up before bursting into a sprint. A look of dread plastered on his face as his eyes starts to water. It wasn't something he expected at all, something that would affect him.

Catastrophe