Chapter 366 - Distracted

"Ali, you have to put more power in your attacks. At this rate, you're going to put me to sleep," Ivan complained as he raised his hand just as Alinea came down on him with her sword.

He didn't even bother using his own sword to fend her off but caught the blade directly with his bȧrė hand. Alinea tried to pull the sword back to free it from Ivan's hold but no matter how much she struggled, it wouldn't budge.

"Are you a troll? How come you're so strong?"Alinea complained with a pout.

She tried to pry her sword from Ivan's hand a couple of more times before she puffed out air from her cheeks and gave up. She slumped on the floor unceremoniously and sat cross-legged. Her silver-grey eyes watched unhappily as Ivan shifted on his feet and threw the sword back in her direction gently.

Ali caught it by the hilt and sighed as she looked at it. It was the very same sword she had used back in Ritz, a gift from Alistair. When Ivan handed it to her earlier as soon as they entered the "zone" as what they called Stribog's dimension, she had been both delighted and sad. She was happy because the weapon was her partner in many adventures back in Ritz, but sad, since it also reminded her of her fallen friends.

"If I were not strong, then do you think Ritz would let me go to Czernobog's Lair with you?" Ivan countered, and Ryuu who sat nearby looked at him in appreciation.

The Emperor of Kres could have said that he was strong because he was Kresnik's direct grandson, but chose to say something else. Even if they were all alright about the past now, Ryuu was still uncomfortable because Ivan was a living product of his sin.

A descendant from another woman…

Remembering this, Ryuu's eyes withdrew from the two and focused on the floating stalk in his teacup. His senses, however, were still focused on his wife.

He had accompanied them here in their practice because he had nothing to do and he wanted to morally support Alinea. He couldn't be with her during the quest and so he wanted to at least be with her in her preparation. At first, his wife didn't want him to be there in case he felt uncomfortable watching her get beaten up. But he promised that he wouldn't meddle in their practice so she relented.

"No, you're just a troll," Alinea told Ivan which made her husband smile.

Regardless of what happened, Alencica, Alinea or Ara, his wife was the deity of mischief.

"Stop sulking Ali. We don't have much time before we had to leave," Ivan scolded her.

Despite the fact that they already got everyone sorted out with regards to whose soul was who, Ivan still treated Perun as his best friend, and Ali his little sister.  Also, he might be slow about other things, but he was a pure warrior. He took training seriously, and this was the reason Perun gave him the task of instructing Alinea.   

Well, another reason was that among all of them, Ivan was the only swordsman, ergo the only one who could really teach Alinea to fight with a sword.

"But you bully me," Alinea teased as she turned to Ryuu. "How about you, hubby? Why don't you teach me instead?"

"Oi, oi, oi, Ali, I'm the one going with you so we should train together," Ivan protested although he knew she was only teasing him. "And grandpa can't teach you swordsmanship."

With this, the teasing glint in Alinea's eyes vanished, replaced by surprise. "Why not? Wasn't he a trained warrior as well?"

"No. Vladimir of Kres was not a swordsman even if he had a sword," Ivan answered for Ryuu, confusing Alinea.

Ryuu cleared his throat. "I've always had elementals. I had an army of ifrits when I didn't know yet about Mavara."

Oh.

Alinea nodded, finally understanding how Vladimir ended the Immortal War in his time. Ifrits were fire elementals. They looked like winged men wielding swords, and they're one of the strongest among the creatures of fire. Having five of them was already equivalent to having a battalion – what more an army. Czernobog's minions didn't have a chance.

"You're always on cheat mode like my dad," Alinea told Ryuu matter-of-factly, then she frowned. "Wait… You could command an army of ifrits and nobody wondered if you're a Returner to Ancestry?" she asked because no one found out that Vladimir was Kresnik until before he died.

Ivan grinned. "Well, it was truly unbelievable. But Mavara was the only one who could prove his identity. Without him, people would only think that he's just unusually strong – the closest to a deity one could get."

"Well, you have a point," Ali agreed. Deities were only identifiable by their unique elementals.

Kresnik had Mavara, Stribog had his harpy horde, Marzanna, the deity of winter had Viserion, the ice dragon, and so on. Only Perun, although he had Aurel, didn't have an official elemental so he was the hardest to discover as a Returner to Ancestry.

"Enough chitchat Ali. Pick up your sword and let's practice again. But this time, utilize your borrowed powers. It's dumb not to train without them since you need them," Ivan told her.

"Borrowed pow – oh!"Alinea was about to ask what he was talking about when she remembered them herself.

How could she have forgotten! Her father, husband, and uncle all gave her a part of their powers. Even if she couldn't be as strong as them, the weakened version of their abilities was still a lot more powerful than her original strength.

"Why are you looking so surprised? Isn't it the real reason for this training?"

Alinea needed to learn how to use the borrowed powers not only in order for them to be effective, but also to be safe. If she didn't learn how to properly switch her powers, there would be a huge kickback and she would get hurt so bad.

"Alright. What should I do?"Alinea asked seriously as she stood up.

"Try activating one power first," Ivan suggested and Alinea summoned one.

She activated Stribog's powers initially and she was successful as her body was enveloped with a soft breeze.

"Good job. Try to maintain that. Don't think of anything else. You need to get used to how that feels first," Ivan suggested, but Ali suddenly turned to Ryuu and she got distracted.

"No, Ali, stop. Don't lose focus," Ivan warned, but it was too late.

Alinea got a bit excited being able to summon the wind but when she looked at her husband she imagined fire and almost instantly Kresnik's flames also came out while the wind was still there.

It was safe to say that the following event was catastrophic.

"Ali, no!" Ivan cried as the wind and fire mixed and caused an explosion.

BOOOOOOM!