The man who walked in was easily over 2 metres (7 feet) tall, at the very least, with broad shoulders and a physique that would suit a warrior much more than a commander. He was wearing his uniform, and befitting his rank it had the symbols which marked his rank, the division he led, his highest honours, as well as his current position.
His blonde hair and deep blue might have made him appear delicate, if it weren't for the long braided bear, his well-defined muscles, his innumerous scars, not to mention the countless legends, stories, cartoons and books written about him that created a persona that accompanied him always. The only thing different from the cartoons was that he did not look like a messy, chaotic barbarian.
Instead, from his uniform, to his hair and beard, to his general appearance and everything about it, all were incredibly neat and tidy.
Nero did not even realise when he stood up. He was too distracted by a very unfamiliar feeling in his chest. He was nervous.
It was not because the massive Ascendant, whose son he had just beaten up, was walking towards him with an unreadable expression. With the major there, even if something unexpected happened, Nero should come out alright - key word being should. No, his nervousness stemmed from the fact that he was looking at one of his childhood heroes.
It was so sad that his son was a prick.
"You are the one who beat up Bael," Dagon said as he stood in front of Nero, observing him. His voice was not accusatory, nor was it angry or upset. It was normal, as if he was commenting on the weather.
Oddly enough, the man had not released his aura at all, and yet Nero still felt oppressed. Maybe it was because he was not used to bending his neck up so high.
He didn't respond, because the commander had not asked a question. He just maintained eye contact and waited for the commander to make his request. Somehow, Nero could not help but feel that major Liam had been extremely hopeful in his wording. Dagon did not look like the kind of man who made requests.
The commander raised his left hand and grabbed the chains that bound Nero's hands and crushed them in his fist, managing to do so without hurting Nero at all whatsoever.
"Follow me," he said, and just turned around, not sparing a single extra glance towards the major and the sergeant. Somehow, they did not seem perturbed by that, or the interruption, for that matter. Unfortunately, it seemed that the commander's command was only for him, and so the illusory veil of protection that the major's presence promised seemed to be removed.
"What is your name?" the commander asked, his tone still surprisingly civil. Maybe the cartoons had exaggerated his personality a bit.
"Nero Grant," he answered, very simply.
"Tell me, Nero, do you think you would have been able to beat Bael in an up front confrontation? My subordinates assure me you only won because of the element of surprise."
There was still no anger or irritation in his voice, just plain curiosity, which made it very hard for Nero to get a read on what the man was thinking. It was extremely unfamiliar territory for Nero to be unable to guess what was going on in the mind of the person he was talking to.
"Well, I did have the element of surprise, and Bael did not get a chance to use his ability either - though technically, I didn't use mine as well. Given those facts, if we fought face to face, the results are unpredictable."
Dagon suddenly paused and looked at Nero with an expression that nearly froze his heart. The sheer difference in the realm between the two made it so that no amount of self control or restraint could keep Nero from suppressing his body's instincts in the face of such danger.
"Kid, I am a commander. I face tens of thousands of punks like you every day, and I can smell bullshit from across the horizon. You don't believe what you just said, so don't waste my time telling me what you think you want me to hear. Answer my questions honestly and don't try to use that over-smart brain of yours. A soldier's job is to obey, not to think.
Now tell me, if you fought Bael again, what would happen?"
"He is strong, but his instincts are weak. No matter what the circumstances are, he will always lose to me in a fight," Nero answered directly, still maintaining eye contact. His back was sweating, his heart was lurching and his stomach was rumbling. Under the eyes of the commander, Nero's body reacted like frightened prey, caught in the sights of an apex predator.
But while he could not control these aspects of his body, he did not allow weakness to appear in his behaviour.
Unexpectedly, this time, he saw satisfaction flash in the eyes of the commander. It seemed he was not purposefully hiding his emotions - it was just that nothing had elicited an emotional response from him yet.
Dagon began to walk once more through the suspiciously empty halls.
"Do you know what my ability is?" he asked nonchalantly.
"Herculean strength in passive - at least, according to the shows…"
"Yes, put eloquently, I have a passive ability called Herculean strength. Put plainly, I have the most common ability that humans gain, and that is additional strength. A lot of people seem to find that very inspirational - that a man with such a common ability can reach such heights. I find it to be a simple fact. A good soldier uses the tools available to him, and that's all there is to it.
Now, do you know what Bael's ability is?"
The most obvious answer would be that he inherited the same ability, but considering that Nero already fought him once, he knew that it was unlikely to be the same. After all, if he had more strength, he would have been able to stop Nero from choking him.
"No, but probably not strength," Nero answered.
"Very astute. He inherited his mother's ability, which is very useful. But the boy worships me too much, and since he found out he didn't have the same ability as me, he's developed a mental block. He has never trained it and has lived in denial ever since. At the same time, his personality has warped, and he's developed a very strong bias against anyone who is weak.
I have provided the boy instruction, stating that a good soldier uses all the tools available to him, but he refuses to listen. Quite frankly, if I was not concerned about giving him brain damage, I would have slapped the shit out of him myself for his stubbornness."
Suddenly, a very strange and unbelievable idea began to develop in Nero's heart. But his brain told him that, logically, such a thing was not possible.
"When I heard someone his own age, actually someone a year younger, could beat up Bael, I suddenly had an idea."
The two of them exited the building and then started moving towards one of the many combat arenas in the base.
"I never thought of this before because, in a purely physical fight, no one his own age has been able to fight Bael. But now that you have the confidence to do it, I want you to fight him again and beat him up fair and square. Even abilities will be allowed in the fight. Your objective is to beat him till he's forced to use his own ability."
Dagon had no hesitation in ruthlessly asking Nero to beat up his own son, though Nero could understand the logic. If he had already tried explaining the issue verbally, but Bael was unwilling to learn, then he had to be more forceful. He wouldn't win any parent of the year awards, but if Bael felt desperate enough, he might be forced to overcome his block and use his ability.
But for reasons he couldn't understand, Nero felt incredibly complicated in his heart. Of all the things he could have imagined happening, this was not one of them.
"Commander, do I have permission to speak frankly?" Nero asked as they finally reached the arena, and saw Bael waiting for them there. He looked like he was in perfect condition, though he must have obviously gone through an interrogation to ensure there was no Clear Path mark on him. His eyes, though, looked like he was ready to kill Nero.
"Speak," Dagon said, as he observed his own son. The resemblance between them was uncanny. Bael was just a smaller version of Dagon.
"If you need him to overcome his mental block, it's not so hard," Nero said, his voice easily carrying across the arena to Bael. "The first time he loses a comrade or subordinate because he was too weak, or because he was holding back his power, he will naturally realise the error of his ways. Well, either that or he will go deeper into denial so that he can convince himself he did his utmost."
Dagon raised an eyebrow while Bael ground his teeth. The topic of his innate ability was a sore spot for him, perhaps even more than the public defeat and humiliation he had recently faced. If his father were not standing there, he might have attacked Nero right then and there, but he controlled himself.
"Are you saying you don't want to fight him?" the commander asked.
"I'm simply giving you an alternative you might prefer," Nero confessed. "Did anyone tell you why I fought Bael to begin with?"
"No, it was not mentioned," Dagon said, and then looked at Nero with curiosity.
"He raised his hand against someone under my protection," Nero said. His voice was plain, revealing none of his inner emotions. Unlike Dagon, he was purposefully forcing himself to remain calm.
But the commander's insight was greater than Nero could have ever imagined, and he was able to tell exactly the turbulent state of Nero's heart.
"Hah!" he let out a small laugh. "As long as you don't try to kill him, I will not interfere. But that goes for you, too. If Bael proves himself superior, I will not save you, unless he is on the verge of killing you."
Nero nodded.
"Since you have given me a mission to educate your son, commander, I will do exactly that."