Chapter 14 

- Micah 

I understand that we are supposed to be training. I don't know what she would accomplish by fighting with us. Why not just observe us on the battlefield when there is another attack?

“First things first, Micah.” Baby said, cracking her knuckles. “I want you to show me how you use your abilities to protect yourself. I’m going to attack. Put up your guard.”

Before I could say anything, she charged at me. 

She was a guardian, after all, but I was quite astonished. Was it the canine agility of her hybrid form? Or was this purely her spiritual power at work that gave her such overwhelming speed?

I put up a full-body barrier to guard myself, searching frantically for her position. I barely had time to blink before the ground erupted beneath me. She launched up through the earth, slamming into me from below and sending me flying into the air.

“When you’re guarding yourself, expect attacks from every angle,” she called out as I hit the ground. “You put up a smart barrier, but forgot beneath you. That mistake, leaving that opening, could get you killed." 

“I understand,” I said, shaking it off. “I’ll do better next time.”

“We’re going again. This time, don’t just throw up a barrier—fight back. Learn to deflect.” Baby scolded 

Energy shimmered around her claws, and she slashed the air, sending blades of radiant power flying at me. I summoned a domed shield just in time to deflect most of them, but she was already moving.

She blurred forward, closing the gap in an instant. I raised a small barrier to meet her, but it wasn’t strong enough to withstand the force.

Her punch shattered it, landing cleanly on my jaw and launching me backward into the trees and knocking me to the cold ground again.

“Hey, Baby!” Kaysi shouted from the sidelines. “Don’t you think that was a bit much? Maybe dial it back!”

"Do you think a demon will dial it back? Look at the scar that's on your stomach from the boar's tusk." 

Her words had weight. Still, I appreciated Kaysi speaking up. I didn’t know her well yet, but Kaysi was there with Beck when she saved me, so I believe she is a good person. 

"Okay, I jumped to my feet, dusting myself off and wiping the blood off my lip. Let's go again," I shouted to Baby. 

Something had ignited inside me. Guilt? Anger? Maybe it was the memory of failing my mission—losing my Guardian. Or maybe it was the shame of being used, again and again, by the demon that had nearly broken me. I had to overcome that same demon that murdered people and almost my friends. 

Whatever it was, it burned like wildfire in my chest, and I was ecstatic. I couldn't afford to stay weak any longer; I didn't want to disappoint anyone again or be haunted as a pawn for demon possession. 

Baby’s expression shifted as she saw my resolve harden. Her smirk softened, and I saw recognition in her eyes—like she knew I had just passed an invisible threshold. 

She lunged at me again, at the same angle as before—straight to the face. But I was ready this time. My barrier surged with clarity and confidence; I wasn't going to take a third hit. My mind raced as I adapted, aware of the environment.

She struck from every direction—rapid, ghost-like hits that left trails of motion and pressure in the air. I barely had time to think, dodging and blocking with sheer instinct, my barriers flashing like shards of glass around me. I blocked her hit as she jumped backward. Time seems to be speeding around us, giving me little opportunity to think. 

“When demons attack, they don’t pause. They don’t wait for you to get your thoughts together,” she said, her voice echoing from all sides. “You must think fast. Adapt faster.”

I couldn’t focus. Her speed was overwhelming. I pressed my mind to its limit, but the attacks were relentless. This was unlike anything I’d fought. Demons were brutal, sure—but they weren’t this calculated, this fast, this… impossible. They mainly attack head-on, hungry to fulfill their bloodlust.

If I understood her correctly, she wanted me to come up with a solution quickly, I thought as I kept dodging her attacks time after time.

I tried to think, but could barely focus, pressing my mind to my mental limits. This wasn't the first battle I'd been in, but I'd never had someone with such astonishing skill, speed, and strength.

 I thought to myself. I know very little about how guardians even worked. Can you even fight one of them and land a hit? Of course, you can see that they can become physical beings. So that means if she's in physical form, no matter how much power she has, she should still have weaknesses like the human body, right? 

I had to think beyond walls and domes. Barriers could take shape based on thought.

A plan clicked.

I conjured a spiritual bear trap tethered to a chain in my hand, hidden in the ground like a snare. The moment she zipped across it, the trap snapped shut on her foot.

With a shout, I yanked the chain.

It worked. Baby sped across the trap as it slammed shut across her foot. With all my force, I pulled it in the opposite direction, tossing her over the top of my head like a ragdoll, slamming her to the ground with a thud. 

Where did this strength come from? I was only aiming to trip her and knock her on her butt. I didn't mean to make her go flying into the air. 

Dust rose around her as I ran to her side, with worry blooming. “Oh man, Baby! I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to— I just wanted to knock you down, not launch you across the forest! I don't know my own strength.”

"Truthfully, it's all right. I appreciate that you gave it your all.  She groaned, laughing softly. “You’re stronger than you think. That was good. Real good.”

She sat up and dusted herself off, stretching her limbs. Your spirit power is overloaded. That demon inside you—it’s unnatural. The Waymaker’s power, you’re starting to tap into? It’s still awakening. ” I think you're finally starting to figure this out and get the hang of things." So why don't we step it up from here on? 

I nodded, breathless. "Hold up, what did you say? You have been holding back this whole time. I was barely able to keep up." 

“Oh, definitely,” she said with a grin. “But you caught up. So let’s push it further. I want to see how you wield your weapon next.”

“My weapon?” I hesitated. “I haven’t been able to manifest it since… the possession. I don’t even know how to anymore, to be honest.”

But before I could barely finish my sentence, Baby seemed to teleport behind me, slamming me in the back with the blunt of her sword.

I hit the ground, gasping. 

“I need you to feel the urgency,” she said, standing over me. “Picture me as a demon. Picture someone you care about in danger. That’s when it will manifest." 

I groaned, cracking my spine back in place as I stood up. "You don't understand—there is only so much I can do. I don't know everything, and no amount of beating it out of me is going to help." 

"You're right, she said, swinging her sword toward my face. Your stubbornness won't save you!

Thankfully, I quickly popped my back into place as I backstepped, arched my back, and ducked just in time, the blade grazing my cheek and slicing a tree cleanly behind me.

The trunk fell with a crash—just a few feet from Beck and Kaysi.

“You okay back there?!” I called out, shouting from across the field. 

These attacks were getting too out of hand, and Baby was not getting to the point. I was limited in my abilities. Was she holding a grudge that I managed to land a hit on her?

Then—everything stopped within a split second.

She turned and aimed her blade at Beck. 

I didn’t think. I moved. I threw myself between them, blocking her from striking a blow on my best friend. 

My eyes closed, ready for the sharpness of the sword to cut me through and end me.

Silence.

Very good. Baby stepped back and released her sword. I think we're done for today. This was all quite exciting for everybody. We can wrap things up and come by tomorrow for another lesson. 

"Are you insane? I shouted. After all that you just did trying to kill me, and you almost killed my friends"? 

“I told you. I’ll do whatever it takes to awaken your potential. The demons out there won’t pull punches. You shouldn’t either. Besides, as you're sitting here squalling, you haven't even given yourself a look." 

I looked down at my hands.

Metal tessen war fans gleamed in my palms, each bearing a bright orange gem at the center. Sleek, deadly, powerful. 

I blinked, stunned. 

“You helped me do this,” I whispered.

Baby nodded. “No, you did this yourself, Micah. I just pushed you until you believed it.”