Familiar

Omar didn't show any openings, he was on full defense. He didn't move, he probably waited for me to make the first move. Just like Omar, I stood on the same place as well. I couldn't afford to be careless and underestimate him.

Omar pointed his sword at me as his Mana was released from his arms. Then, a dense wave of Mana flew at me at the speed of an arrow. I didn't have the time to react so I simply slashed at the wave of Mana. The Mana avoided my sword and swirled around my blade until it reached my hands.

["Shut!"] Omar yelled.

The Mana tightened on my hands like a rope, hindering my movement.

'What the hell? Is that psychokinesis?'

Omar didn't let this opportunity go to waste and dashed at me as fast as he could. The closer he got to me, the stronger the Mana that bound my arms together got. He slashed his sword horizontally in hopes to disarm me and win the duel, but I simply jumped up after using Supreme-Control.

I'd made him show his Salan ability successfully, just like I'd planned to.

"A psychokinesis ability?" I asked the shocked Omar.

"How did you jump that high?!"

"I hate having to repeat myself."

His Mana was still around my arms. But when I had used Galaxy-Sight, the Mana looked weird. The thing that was tied around my arms looked like a snake made out of Mana. It moved it's head to me, then to Omar, as if it was waiting for orders. My Mana imbued arms weren't strong enough to free them from the snake's grasp.

If I wanted to defeat Omar, I needed to get rid of the snake first. A way to do that came to mind. I had to throw my Katana into the air, use Independent-Control to create a gravitation point beneath me and then let my Katana gravitate towards it and cut the snake on the way down.

Before Omar could plan another offensive, I did as I planned. I threw the sword into the air, used Independent-Control and cut the snake, freeing myself in the progress.

Omar flinched and held onto his head. Me cutting the snake had an effect on him.

"Let's end this here. I believe you saw what I can do, and I sure as shit saw what you can do." I said.

Omar was still in pain but managed to get a few words out. "Yes, let's do that."

He regained his composure as his pain subsided. The soldiers started to whisper to each other again in what I believe was the Turkic language.

[Did you see that?]

[What did he do with that sword?]

[Captain Omar lost?]

"Tell me more about your ability, Omar."

"Let's go back to Sidika and your girl first."

***

When we entered Sidika's chambers, I saw the Tsuki and Sidika chat in peace. Tsuki looked better than before, the color had returned to her face and her bloodshot eyes were know free of any redness.

"Seems like you get along well." I said.

"Shut it!" Sidika retorted as she blushed.

The image of a fearsome woman was replaced with the image of a smiling and caring lady. I was right before. She was a person that acted strong and fearsome to protect her pack. She was an interesting character.

"I felt Mana fluctuations. Did you two fight?" Sidika asked.

Neither me nor Omar responded. It reminded me of the old days, the days where me and him went to school together. Omar was the type to cause trouble and I would be the one to clean up after him. We were often scolded by the teachers and when were questioned about our wrongdoings, we would just stand in silence not responding at all.

"I want you to tell me about your Salan abilities." I stated.

They were skeptical at first but, when Omar nodded in approval, Sidika was convinced.

Omar started to explain. "It's simple, but it also isn't. It's basically a snake made out of Mana. It's invisible to the eye and very hard to detect unless you are on the receiving end of its assault. The snake has his own free will. I can command it and it can choose to obey me, but most of the time, it listens to me. The more Mana I give it, the bigger and stronger it gets."

It was like a Familiar, a magical creature that assists witches and magicians in fictional stories. 'I guess we are something like magicians now.'

I thought about it a bit more. Omar's Salan ability was undetectable unless you were influenced by it or you could see Mana with an ability, just like me. That meant that Omar was just a regular Mana-Wielder at first glance. That would give him an upper hand it combat, just like in our fight. From one moment to the next, my arms were tied and I was dodging Omar's strikes.

"That's enough, Omar. Put it away." Sidika ordered, while she did, she looked a bit nervous.

"What about you, Sidika? Will you tell us what your Salan ability is?" Tsuki chimed in.

I didn't expect that she would join our conversation. I guess she and Sidika talked a lot while me and Omar were away.

Sidika crossed her arms and gritted her teeth. She obviously didn't want to reveal her whole hand, but Tsuki's presence seemed to pressure her.

"I can take on characteristics of a wolf. Sharp claws and fangs, greater eyesight and smell, bestial instincts and an innate ability to cause fear in my prey. You experienced the innate fear ability yourselves, so you might've guessed." She explained.

I only listened to her and thought about how many more versatile Salan abilities there may be.

"So, your turn half-blood. What is up with you?"

Sidika's question didn't surprise me. They expected me to reveal my ability too. An eye for an eye. I wasn't going to tell them the truth, obviously.

"It's Command'. It lets me influence things to a certain degree. My muscles for greater strength as you experienced, Sidika. My sword as Omar saw. That's it." I lied.

It was the first time I really tried to deceive Omar.

They seemed to think about my words. Everything I showed them aligned with my explanation. Logic couldn't be used in the case of Mana and Salan abilities. Our knowledge was just non-existent to the point where get confused when we face a new Salan ability.

["See? I told you he wouldn't deceive us. As long as we don't act hostile towards him, he'll be our ally."]

["You know I can smell through lies, right? And he's either the best liar I've ever seen or he's really telling the truth."]

["Just because I made you Commander doesn't mean you fit more into that position. You have the appearance and the charisma of a leader, but your judgement is off sometimes. You need to let your suspicions go."]

Sidika and Omar spoke in their native language. While they talked, I saw their body language change. Sidika started to look ashamed and Omar looked like he was scolding her. A strange thing to happen to a Commander and her second in command.

They turned back to me and Tsuki. Sidika stepped forward and took out a piece of paper.

"A carriage will take you to old Anatolia. Meaning, that you will have to go to old Lebanon by yourself. And don't even think about trying to buy a horse. The horses were declared government property and were made illegal to buy, sell and ride without the needed papers." She explained.

"Like a tank." Omar joked and proceeded to laugh at his own joke.