The Martial arts?

Facing her, Raian asked with genuine curiosity, "What is Niko's style?"

"It's a martial arts style mainly composed of four katas mixed. It originates from Japan."

"Japan?" Raian echoed.

"It's a country that existed before the Spell took over the world. Many of its descendants still live here, practicing their legacy. Hell, you might be one of them, judging by your face."

"Alright, tell me more."

Drawing her already summoned claymore, Liala began to illustrate on the ground. The blade created shapes and words in the dirt, stones, and sand whether they liked it or not.

She drew a simple square and sectioned it into four smaller squares, labeling each one with specific names.

"Adamantine Kata, Flame Kata, Water Kata, Redirection Kata," she explained, pointing to each square.

Next, she drew four circles around the squares, converging in the center, marking it with an X.

She started with the first square, 

"Adamantine kata focuses on offensive reinforcement and defensive capabilities, with the main technique being indestructible."

 She drew a soft and hard object being thrown at a humanoid head. 

"Just before impact, the user tightens their muscles, greatly enhancing their density. Master of Adamantine Kata can move using only their muscles, which is useful if a bone breaks mid-fight."

Moving to the next square, she drew a blazing fire, 

"Flame kata is about movement and positioning. By mimicking a blazing fire, the user becomes unpredictable and gains superior agility. The pinnacle of Flame Kata is called Earth Shrinking, where the user stands on their bones and can move their center of gravity freely."

Near the third square, she drew a humanoid figure and an ocean wave fusing, 

"Water kata is the grappling one. It teaches fluidity of motion and energy conversion. Its ultimate technique uses the opponent's body parts to grapple them."

For the fourth square, she drew someone punching multiple straight lines, emphasizing power behind the punch with straight and curved lines, 

"Finally, Redirection Kata. This one is crucial. The user learns to see the power flow and learns to use it to their advantage. The ultimate technique, Marionette, conserves energy by moving with minimal effort."

She then pointed to the circle marked X in the center, 

"And the secret technique, Demonsbane. It's a formless counterattack that combines all four katas. Using Redirection Kata to receive the blow correctly, Water Kata to deliver the power back, Flame Kata to reposition, and Adamantine Kata to add more power. This is the pinnacle of martial arts to my knowledge."

Raian tried to digest the information, feeling both intrigued and repulsed, the thought of learning martial arts from Liala was loathing. He pressed the bones between his lower ribs to calm himself, trying to suppress his inner disgust. After a week of learning, he knew what his aspect wanted. It wanted a pure bloodbath between him and any who stood against him.

Whenever they encountered abominations, Raian mainly felt excited. The excitement overwhelmed the fear, making his rational mind collide with his aspect's attribute. 

Images of potential fights made him almost drool. He managed to avoid losing himself in bloodlust, but it wasn't easy.

After thinking for a bit, Raian came up with a plan. "I'm not learning this."

"What?" Liala asked, surprised.

"I will create my own martial arts. I just needed inspiration from them."

Shaking his head, Raian explained more clearly, "These techniques are meant for human versus human, no? Some are irrelevant here. Sometimes, against these beasts, pure power is better than unpredictable movement."

Kneeling beside her, Raian started drawing on the ground. "Even though you said demons and higher tiers are smart,this martial arts need to evolve in an entirely different direction to be useful here." Drawing a human figure facing a house sized monster with 4 legs and long fangs.

Raian's explanation was half-truth, half-lies. The Niko style needed to evolve not only to suit his style and needs but also to be effective. Techniques like Water Kata seemed useless. Who would want to grapple with gigantic beasts with unknown abilities? Just getting in punching range was risky. 

Looking expectantly at her, Liala asked "what?" 

"Aren't you gonna show me?"

Liala rubbed her head and smiled. "The thing is, I can't perform them. I only know the techniques."

"Cant you use them? I saw you use Earth Shrinking before."

"Nope. Those movements are from my aspect. It lets me control my body freely. Still, even if I wanted to learn them, they're not the best suited. Weapons are better, but for you, this is the best you got."

Raian slapped his forehead, disappointed. "Why didn't you tell me in the academy? At least I could have practiced them."

Liala gave an awkward smile. "These moves require years of practice. I can mimic Flame Kata with my aspect, but i am not good enough for real battle."

Raian tried to calm down. "And what makes you think I can learn them here?" 

"Well, I think your aptitude is better than mine. Most importantly, do you have any other choice? You can't just jump at them and punch until they fall over everytime right?" 

Raian cursed inwardly. Suppressing his emotions, he took deep breaths. The future felt faint. He knew the risks when his wannabe teacher didn't know the martial arts well enough, and he had to practice under pressure of a thing named death.

Reaching for cigarettes that weren't there subconsciously, Raian's future felt bleaker. 

Though confident in his strength against Dormant and Awakened tiers up to the fourth. Raian dreaded encountering higher tiered or ranked creatures.

His aspect compelled him to be excited, imagining battles against Awakened Tyrants. The thrill of the fight clashed with his rational mind which expected the worst.

Releasing a deep breath, he wished for a pack of cigarettes. Knowing they'd finish quickly, he imagined sharing it with Liala, reducing his share even further.

Raian pushed 'what if' thoughts aside. Worrying over uncertainty was laughable. Whatever happened, happened.

Laughing to himself, he imagined how his executives would react if they saw him now. 

Julius would encourage him, Ronald would worry alongside him not helping, and Bella would tell him not to risk it.

Taking calculated risks was his style. In the slums, his home ground, he knew the layout and hierarchy, making proper conclusions was easy with planning. 

"You at least know how the moves work, right?" he asked, confirming the risks.

"Of course!" Liala answered with questionable confidence.

Smiling at her determined face, Raian stretched his shoulders in worry. "I think I need to learn how to meditate."

Liala's eyes lit up. "I know a meditation technique."

"You know how to use it?" asked Raian with a raised eyebrow.

"No, but I read how to do it."

'My god,' Raian thought, gently smiling. He apologized to his future self for making such a decision. Finding shelter was the current priority. Whatever happened to future Raian was Future Raian's problem.

Raian's heart beat faster, unbeknownst to him, as he walked forward with ease. 

The aspect was slowly corrupting his mind unbeknownst to him

-xXx-

Currently eating dried pieces of monster meat, a one-armed figure sat between two rocks, hiding and trying to recover.

The bleeding had stopped, but his sorry state was evident. Sharp pain radiated from his missing arm, pushing his mind slowly nearing a line it shouldn't cross.

Looking at his missing limb, the man observed his shoulder, where the pain originated.

With a sizzling sound, some flesh burned while silver metal grew from his open wound. Sparks flew, but the figure wasn't worried about it. It was his aspect after all.

His hunger was unusual, healing of his arm took heavy tolls. Raising his only hand to look at the pinky, which shone faintly under the starless sky. The silver color beamed lightly, with countless colors flowing back and forth like an algorithm beneath the skin. 

Gazing up under the starless sky he prayed to the fallen gods. 

Despite knowing its meaningless results he still hoped for something better tomorrow.