God of Destruction: Living Among Mortals

Adam and Elesch were released from the infirmary about a day later. Elesch was back at the apartment, while Adam was in his house. However, Nova and Marcus were in the guild, training. Nova asked Marcus to personally train him so that he would get stronger and protect his little sister and Adam.

Marcus obliged, and so they began their training in the basement of the guild. A serene area that blocked all the noise from the outside world. The only noise anyone could hear was the one inside the basement.

The basement was a colossal chamber. The walls were carved from marble-like stone that engulfed the darkness and sound. Dim orbs were floating overhead, casting a faint blue light over the training floor.

A polished slab with sigils all over was faintly bright with latent energy. The air was cool, somewhat heavy with the scent of rust and sweat, and the silence was deafening.

Nova stood at the center, his attire replaced with a fitted training suit, dark and light, provided by the guild. He summoned his daggers, cracking his neck, jumping in place to warm up his body, as Marcus also changed into his training suit.

Marcus looked concerned for Nova, as if the last couple of days, he was a totally different person in that mask of mortality that he was wearing. It even scared him, out of everyone. His face was unreadable, but Nova wasn't trying to read anything, only taking bout his frustration.

"Begin," Marcus said, and in a matter of seconds, Nova bridged the gap.

Marcus easily feinted, dodging all of Nova's attacks with relative ease. Nova lunged back, his eyes sharper than before. Marcus felt like he was prey, even though he was much stronger than Nova, but in that moment, it didn't matter. Nova was trying to defy the laws of nature, all to become the strongest, by any means necessary.

Marcus decided to show Nova one of his stances. His left hand was in front, forearm facing him, hands looking like they were holding a cup; his right hand was off to his hips, shoulders chambered back, squeezed. His legs followed the same movement, getting into position.

Marcus smirked at Nova, telling him to come at him with their intense stare. Nova ran towards him, and just as he was about to deliver a fatal gash to Marcus's forearm, Marcus twisted his left forearm outward, facing Nova, embracing him in, then diverting him towards the left, shifting Nova's angle enough for Marcus's right hand to grab him by the throat.

Marcus threw him back as if he were paper, expecting more from him. Nova immediately stabilized himself, getting on his feet, preparing for round two.

"Again," Marcus said loudly, getting serious, as he felt the intense glare of Nova's eyes lingering in his very soul, as if Nova was possessed.

Nova leapt again, high in the air, looking like a ninja, as he had his daggers in an X position, arms crossed, grunting towards Marcus like a meteor. Marcus got back to his stance, this time a different version.

In this stance, he had his right arm straight, his palm open as if trying to catch a fist, his left arm to his hip, his legs following the stance. Nova was coming in hot, putting all his momentum and force into Marcus's right hand, as Marcus sucked in all that momentum, shifting his hips to land a critical strike, a corkscrew, on Nova's chest.

Nova was completely exposed, as all his force went into Marcus's right hand, shifting to his left hand, then released into a corkscrew punch on Nova's chest. But then, at the last second, Nova used his legs to bounce off of Marcus's left arm, but still, the collision sent him flying backwards. It was still better than instantly losing, as that corksrcew would have been lethal, to say the least.

"Again," Marcus said, his voice rougher than last time.

Nova smirked, slowly getting up. Cracking his neck again, rolling his shoulders forward, as he released an immense amount of aura, feeling the atmosphere with heaviness that Marcus was astonished by. His eyes were wide, grinning at Nova.

They both rushed towards each other, daggers meeting fists, entropy meeting shadow. As they collided, they produced a shockwave that sent both of them flying back, but both instantly recovered, leaping towards each other again.

They smiled, eyes wide open, colliding again. But this time, the shockwave didn't do anything to them; they kept fighting. Marcus blocked all of Nova's attacks, as Nova relentlessly kept attacking, not even leaving Marcus a second to think. His speed kept rising higher and higher, and his arms started to overheat, producing smoke, which Marcus was surprised by.

Nova paid no attention to the same, as he was busy smiling, feeling the pain and excitement that he came to Earth for. Then, accidentally, Nova let out some divinity towards Marcus, since all that adrenaline and happiness awakened his immortal self.

Then, inside his head, he heard Freya's voice echoing: "Nova, your divinity is leaking out!"

Nova finally paid attention, seeing that Marcus was flabbergasted by the spiritual, tall figure behind Nova, being Nova, but as the God of Destruction. Nova's eyes widened as if saying, "damn it."

He stopped time, erasing Marcus's memory, then putting a higher seal on his divinity, as Freya reverted everything to normal.

"Thanks, babe," Nova said, his voice gentle and soft.

He could feel Freya laughing from her chamber, not saying a single word, but continuously watching him.

Marcus felt like he had just woken up, with the last thing he remembered being Nova's arms heating up. Nova lunged at him, feeling him dazed, but Marcus shook his head, smirking at Nova, as he pushed back, both staring at each other contentedly.

They lunged back, bowing to each other, as Nova's daggers faded away, feeling the itch in his Circle of Pillars faintly, as if it told him that he was getting closer and closer to D-rank. They headed upstairs, feeling tired, and were supposed to meet up with Adam and Elesch.