"...Sorry, what?" Ex didn't know if he heard him correctly. 'Chuunibyou? Vali ji-san?'
"Ah, nothing. I'm just muttering nonsense." Kisuke's frustration led him to mutter his true feelings. He also felt a bit weird hearing Ex call them 'ji-san,' but after thinking about it a bit longer, they were now in their 40s and about to enter their 50s. "In any case, didn't those two point out this problem to you? With their skills, I'm sure they've noticed this too."
Ex was quiet for a good amount of time before he answered with a solemn expression, "They did... But their words are not as harsh as yours. While they tried dissuading me from this, I was also stubborn enough to ignore it. Because if Vali ji-san could do it, surely, I can do it too."
"That's your first mistake. You tried copying him even though you're smart enough."
Naturally, Ex became confused. "Smart enough? What do you mean?"
"Listen here... The reason why the White Dragon Emperor could do it — heck, let's add the Red Dragon Emperor into the equation to make it clearer to you — is because those two are just idiots. You, who's not an idiot, tried copying one of them, which was a big mistake."
"Huh?!" Once again, Ex didn't know what to say. He knew the words he heard from Kisuke were insults toward his beloved father and uncle, but somehow, the tone he was using was the complete opposite of that?
"That's right. You heard me. Those two are idiots." Kisuke saw his reaction and clarified himself, "Think about it. What kind of person would wish they could talk to boobs?"
"Err..."
"An idiot. But because that guy succeeded, he's a genius. That's the type of person Issei Hyoudou is." Just that single instance would make one believe that Issei is capable of miracles of an ungodly level, so Kisuke used that as an example. "As for Vali Lucifer... I should say you misunderstood him."
Ex swallowed a mouthful of saliva in anticipation. He didn't know why, but Kisuke sounded like he really knew them well, and he was giving a very authentic feeling of frustration.
"You think that guy was strong because he sought power to break his limitations? Those who see him from afar would surely think like that, but that's the furthest from the truth. On his endless quest to act cool and appear cool, he ended up with a strength befitting that image in his head. In other words, another idiot who turned out to be a genius because he succeeded.
"Those two aren't the type of people that could be shaped by those around them. Instead, they are those who shape their surroundings, and you, who don't have that level of individuality, fell for that 'trap.'"
In that same instant, Ex recalled Tannin's words when he trained with him a year ago: "You are strong, young man. But because of that strength, you also became blind. No words I say right now would make you understand, and it's not my place, but the moment you realize that you are neck-deep in a quagmire, I hope you don't lose yourself... More than you already have."
When he heard those words from Tannin, he never understood what they meant. But right now, they started resonating with him as if a heavy fog began clearing up.
"You were very susceptible to it from the start because you have the same ability as your father, on top of not struggling for them."
Ex snapped. He didn't want to hear that. Sure, he had the same ability as his father and mother, but he worked very hard for it. From a very young age, he had been training just to follow the footsteps of his amazing father. He would stumble here and there, but he always stood up. Not to mention, he had already participated in real-life battles against Evies and Gods alike.
So when Kisuke said that he didn't struggle for it, he was offended and couldn't accept it.
Ex stood up and glared at Kisuke, showing that he wouldn't back down, but the moment he met his now very cold eyes, he 'saw' his arm piercing through his chest. "?!"
Ex jumped back a few meters in panic and hurriedly patted his chest while hyperventilating, "...What... was that?"
Kisuke, on the other hand, just calmly stood up and continued, "Have you ever experienced death?"
"What?" Ex turned his gaze up to look at Kisuke, still wondering what had just happened. But a second later, Kisuke's figure disappeared, and before he knew it, a hand landed on his right shoulder. "Have you ever experienced losing yourself in rage so intense that you want to destroy everything?"
This time, Ex felt as if a knife had gone through his neck, further exacerbating his panic. He jumped away from the hand that was touching him but tripped and tumbled along the way. When he looked up, he saw Kisuke standing in the spot where he had been previously. "What's happening!?"
This time, Kisuke slowly walked towards him. "Have you ever experienced hitting your limits while knocking on death's door?"
Ex met Kisuke's eyes once again and finally understood what he had been going through. Kisuke was showing so much bloodlust that, all this time, he had been imagining his own deaths. He had heard something like this some time ago, but although he had already met people who were probably capable of this, no one had directed their hostility towards him.
"Seeing your reaction, that's probably a 'no' for all of them." Kisuke clicked his tongue. "Tch... What the hell are you doing? Don't go blanking out; do some resisting."
Ex was not in the right headspace and immediately took on Kisuke's 'suggestion.'
He gritted his teeth in an attempt to calm himself down and summoned both his gauntlet and sword.
But before he could do anything, he felt something hitting his chin before completely blanking out.
Kisuke, who had just planted his knee in Ex's chin, looked down at the unconscious teen and muttered, "Isn't this a ticking time bomb? Were they so happy with his progress that they forgot this is not how you teach soldiers for war?"
[Give them a break. This is a kid.]
"Young ace of the United Armies, my ass. One wrong opponent, and he'll be a dead ace."
Kisuke knew that the adults were doing their best to keep the worst enemies away from them until they could learn what it truly means to be in a war, but he just couldn't agree with that. "If they want to teach a kid how to be a soldier in a war, then they should start by treating him like one."
As Kisuke saw it now, Ex was a beautiful flower grown indoors, given the best treatment to stay healthy and strong. He could surely survive the outside world, but that's only when he's planted on a sunny day with a pleasant breeze, slowly adjusting to the dangerous factors. Definitely a safe way to do things.
But with the wrong timing and planted when there's an impending storm, he wouldn't even leave a corpse for them to mourn.
'He's safe now thanks to all the protection that the adults provide... But their love and care might just be the cause of his death. Especially now that I plan to stir things up... They might not survive.' Kisuke thought that he'd be able to easily cause chaos to his advantage, but he didn't want his actions to be the reason they got hurt unnecessarily. "Haahhh... Damn it... Do I really have to get so deeply involved with them? It'll be a long road ahead, huh?"
Kisuke may have all the time he needed, but he also understood that his enemies wouldn't be waiting for him. He didn't know when the Evies would mount their all-out attack, and if he was caught in it without appropriate preparation, his chances of failure were almost assured.
While he was struggling with the dilemma in front of him, he felt a stare. "?!"
He hurriedly looked down toward the source of the 'stare' and saw the gem on the gauntlet that Ex was wearing glowing a soft light.
'Now that I think about it, there's no information anywhere about what sort of being was sealed in this Artificial Boosted Gear. Was it a part of Ddraig?'