Combat and Soul Assessment

Morning came and Lily went to knock on James door. This time, she made sure she did that. The door opened and James peeked out.

"Oh, it is you."

"Hmm, I kinda expected you to be still sound asleep. Anyway, follow me."

James followed Lily to a huge empty hall with huge stone columns at the side supporting the ceiling from above.

Lily retreated behind one of the columns to join a group of masked individuals who were wearing the usual white uniform. They had their hands behind their back. James assumed that they must be there to assess him.

"So, what am I supposed to do?" James was directing that question to the group of masked spectators. Of all the people, only Lily was not wearing a mask. Lily had her arms folded and had her head looking down the floor.

Lily spoke to the man standing beside her.

"Even for training, don't you think this is a bit too much?" asked Lily.

"It's necessary, Lilian. I am sure you know the importance of it," said the man. Of course, James could not hear what Lily just said because his focus was completely diverted when his instinct sensed an incoming projectile plummeting towards him from above.

His leg, like a spring, sprang his entire body to one side to dodge the unknown object that was coming from above. The impact dented the perfectly marble floor of the hall.

"What was that?"

Before the cloud of dust cleared away, a huge rock was flying towards James at a speed so fast that James had to rely on pure instinct to dodge it. Thankfully, his instinct did not fail him. The spectators continue to observe without comment.

"They are trying to kill me!"

"So is this the so-called combat assessment?" thought James.

He quickly regained his footing and took a wide stance. His eye was fixated on the man who was standing inside the hole he created.

"Hello newcomer, let's have some fun." He cracked his fingers and ran towards James. Despite the man's bulky size, he could run pretty fast. In a matter of seconds, the man already had his fist in front of James. A solid punch landed on James's stomach and sent him flying back and slammed into the pillars. The air inside James was knocked out of him and James was wheezing. Right after that, not wanting to give James a chance to recover, the man quickly raised up his legs and stomp him.

But...before the man was able to stomp his foot on top of his head, James rolled to the side to evade. As the stomp hit the ground, it was so powerful that the whole floor shook.

"What monstrous strength."

James started to regain his footing. He had no knowledge of combat but he knew in order to survive this match, it's either he runs away or he finds a way to bring this man down. He realized he could not run away because this is a test and he just realized that they have already sealed the door. Hence, it's more to the second option.

James started to analyze the man in front of him. He is taller than him. He has muscles bigger than him. He has a magnificent beard. His hairstyle was a ponytail. And he had a great set of teeth as he smiled and grinned when he charged towards James.

For the first few minutes, James was just dodging and evading his attack. After a while, he realized that this man is so good that there's no opening for him to attack him. James took a deep breath. He could feel a dull pain around his chest due to the attack on his stomach. He took another breath to get used to the pain.

At the same time, the man stopped attacking and was just standing.

"What's the matter? Want me to drive my fist up your ass and use you like a hand puppet?"

Hmm, of so many places, James did not expect a church member to say that.

Just as he was busying taunting him, James saw this as an opportunity. James ran towards the man. The man grinned. As James got close enough, the man threw a straight jab towards James but James dodged it in time and was aiming his fist straight at the man's throat. But…his fist didn't make it. The last thing James saw at that moment was a huge fist appearing at the side of his face and slamming into his skull. Then, everything became black.

The match lasted for only 10 minutes.

…..

…..

James opened his eyes to find himself under an unfamiliar ceiling. Upon waking up, he felt his head was throbbing and the sensation of someone nailing something into his head. He looked to his side at the nurse attending to him. The nurse saw him looking at her.

"You are awake!" and she left.

"Jeez, now I am alone."

James tried to move his fingers and toes. Still there. He tried to push himself up but stopped immediately when his stomach felt like being torn apart. He sank back into the bed and could not do anything but looking at the ceiling on top of him.

"You are finally awake!"

James looked down between his toes and saw Lily standing in front of his bed.

"You have been unconscious for 3 days."

"Can I ask how am I still alive?" asked James.

"We have a healer in this church that could heal any injuries. During the assessment, we have a healer standing by just in case something bad happens."

"That was not an assessment. That was bullying. Since now I have the chance to ask, what am I supposed to do during the assessment? And who is the big guy with the iron fist and pretty beard?"

"The big guy is one of the Master Exorcist. And your task is to defeat him."

"And may I ask why is the Master Exorcist is having a match with me."

"To assess your combat!" she said it as if it is a matter of fact.

"I don't know if I have told anyone before but do you know that I have no idea how to fight?"

"Well, you did beat a demon to death. So, defeating a master should not be a problem."

"Here is the thing, I was expecting that I will be given beginner classes."

"Well…No! You are special in the sense that you can destroy a demon WITHOUT any weapon. THIS is the training that is meant for people like you."

"So, there were people like me in the past? Who can destroy a demon without using your so-called weapon?"

"Yes."

"And they managed to pass this test?"

"Yes."

James sighed.

"2 more days from now you will have your next match. So be prepared." She left after saying that.

"2 more days huh? I definitely don't like to suffer again. Better think of a way to settle this."