XLIII - Pain and Hatred

                                    

                                          
Strength. Power. Glory.
                          
Draven clenched his fists in anger. Zero stood before him, tattered charcoal black cloak swaying slightly. Zero narrowed his dark crimson eyes, carefully clutching onto his rifle. An ice cold silence surged through the room. Draven couldn't speak nor move. He was held right in place - Frozen. Celenia watched carefully, icy cold eyes filled with both fear for Draven and support. 
                          
"You can do this Draven." Was all she could say under her breath, before Zero finally spoke, breaking the silence.
                          
"I have trained you for months Draven. And yet you still continue to fail  me at some points. This is not what I expect from you. You can be greater than your father. Your father is weak compared to you. But the first step in fulfilling your great desires as an assassin lays right at your feet. When I was first introduced to you Draven, I knew you had potential to be one of the most powerful assassins in all of Remnant. And if you want that power, do as I say. You must control your semblance. It's not at it's fullest glory. I believe in you Draven. But one small slip up, and I might just reconsider my faith in you. Am I clear?" 
                          
"Yes master." Draven murmured in a plain and miserable voice. 
                          
Zero grinned, eyes glinting evilly through the darkness which surrounded them all. "Good. We might as well get started, shouldn't we?" Slowly, almost reluctantly, Draven nodded.
                          
Zero eyed Draven with suspicion, however he turned away from the young assassin and with a click of his fingers blood red eyes illuminated the darkness before them. A harsh growling sound sparked through the room, sending a rush of fear and determination throughout Draven's mind. 
                          
"Remember Draven." Zero's voice echoed overtop of the growling. "Use only your semblance. You must perfect it fully."
                          
Draven once again nodded. He raised his hand so that it was level with the Beowolf's snout. The defensive grimm emerged from the shadows, crawling towards Draven with no sense of regret whatsoever about it's decision to fight him. 
                          
Celenia placed her hand over her heart, and felt it beat faster and faster. She began to fear for Draven. She knew Draven was a strong young adult, but she couldn't help but feel that he lacked some strength in his heart. She had seen Draven fight before. His fighting style mostly consisted of attacking, with a few defensive parts mixed in. But usually, Draven didn't really think of his safety. All he thought of was succeeding.  And that served as a huge problem. Draven was the type of guy who would put himself in danger just so he could succeed. He would put his life in danger for her; He would put his life in danger for his teammates. She clenched onto one of her sharp icy blades. Just in case. 
                          
"This is going to be interesting." Ivy stated from the far side of the room. She sat there, painting her nails a dark mulberry purple. The strong smell of the nail varnish drifted through the room for a few seconds, before vanishing in thin air. "Good luck Draven."
                          
"Hush Ivy." Zero snarled. "Draven will lose focus if you don't keep your mouth shut!"
                          
"Yes sir." Ivy replied quickly. She returned to painting her nails, glancing up every now and then to see the Beowolf draw closer to Draven. The strong silence once again returned. 
                          
Suddenly, with a sharp howl, pain rushed throughout the Beowolf's body. Draven watched as the Beowolf thrashed about in pain, claws scarping against the floor. 
                          
"Again!" Zero ordered. Once again, Draven used his semblance on the poor and helpless Beowolf, who kept on trying and trying (And failing) to shake the pain off. The scared creature cowered to the floor, snarling slightly at the pain. 
                          
Draven once again used his semblance, feeling weaker and weaker. He began to feel so weak, he could of sworn he had felt the pain surge through his body as well. The pain being inflicted on the Beowolf began to slowly ebb away, and the Beowolf started to break free from it's pain - dazed state. It roared with fury, and stalked towards Draven, blood red eyes lighting up with anger. But Draven couldn't use his semblance again. He felt so weak, so tired. His aura level was draining rapidly.
                          
"What are you doing?!" Zero shouted. "USE YOUR SEMBLANCE!!!"
                          
"I CAN'T!" Draven yelled, backing away slowly from the Beowolf. Celenia gasped, and without thinking, she ran out in front of Draven, stabbing the Beowolf in the stomach. The was a loud growl of pain, before the Beowolf collapsed to the floor - dead.
                          
"Are you okay?!" Celenia cried. She threw her arms around the weak Draven. 
                          
"I'm fine." Was all he could manage to say. 
                          
Celenia sighed in relief, and grabbed Draven's hand, holding onto it tightly. Zero stormed over to the two, clearly enraged. The faint clapping of Ivy could be heard in the background.
                          
"Great job lovebirds!" She smirked. "Honestly, you two are just like a fairytale couple. I wouldn't be surprised if you'd be announcing your engag-"
                          
"Ivy, I'm warning you!" Zero bellowed. Ivy flushed bright red with anger and stared down at her jet black heels. 
                          
"I was just supporting the two." She muttered under her breath. "Geez, what's your problem?! " 
                          
"Celenia, there was no need for you to step in." Zero growled, sounding awfully just like the Beowolf. "Draven would have handled it by himself."
                          
"But he feels weak Zero!" Celenia snapped, squeezing Draven's hand tightly. "How can you expect my dear Drav to use his semblance anymore? His aura level is nearly fully drained!"
                          
"So what?! One more usage of his semblance and the damn Beowolf is dead for crying out loud! It doesn't take that much aura just to use your semblance!"
                          
"You were pressuring him to much! You said you had faith in him! Allow him to have faith in you and trust you to be a perfect mentor!"
                          
"I am miles better than his father! That's why I killed him! He was nothing to me! He was just a piece of shit! And you are nothing but weak Draven!!!"
                          
Draven looked up at Zero, hurt by his words. "My father was a great man!" He shouted. 
                          
"Oh shut up!" Zero snapped. "Salem will hear of this! And trust me you will be punished!"
                          
"But you can't punish him!" Celenia cried. "He did nothing wrong!"
                          
"I believed you had potential Miss Icesis. But my view on you just might change!" Zero snarled, glaring at Celenia, before leaving the room without a word.
                          
"Don't listen to him Draven." Celenia said, frowning. "He's just a bastard."
                          
Draven nodded, but deep down inside, he felt that maybe Zero was right. Maybe he was a weakling after all?