Child's Fist

When he heard the rules, Cifer nodded. Unarmed combat gave him the chance to try a Technique that he'd been immediately intrigued by that was designed especially for unarmed combat. The punch Technique pulled from Death Essence, and involved the helplessness that people felt when faced with the harshness of Fate which controlled Death as it's Limitation.

Cifer himself could connect to this on a deep level since he had always been in the position of powerlessly watching his Fate decided by others. Even after discovering his Potential Cifer still had no control over his Fate as Momo and Oji had conspired to plan out his future for him. But even so, all Cifer could do when he discovered their reasons was rail against Fate for having given him such a path to walk. And then walk down in regardless.

That helpless anger and railing, even lifting your hands like a child would to beat against her mother's gravestone in loss and anger that Fate and Death had stolen her mother, that was the core behind this Technique. The record in the Manual gave a focusing mantra in the form of a poem.

"In the graveyard dark, there stands a Cross

Etched deep with the name on Fate's Blacklist

Hear, that wail! The anguish, anger, Loss

Lonely as the Grave - Child's Fist"

The Technique was layered, just like the Avenging Reaper series was. Child's Fist was only the first of the Void Devours Fate series, and was also the first part of the Lonely Grave series. To Cifer that made it a cornerstone type of Technique that would allow him to vastly increase his understanding of Death Essence in every vital way.

It also suited his current level better than the Severing Grief Technique he'd used against the Bear. Severing Grief was a Bottom Origination Technique that ate through his stamina quickly. Had it not been for the extreme situation, Cifer never would have opted to use it in actual combat. Child's Fist, in it's most basic form, was a Broken Origination Technique and he could use it dozens of times before growing tired.

Cifer walked onto the arena, waiting for the arrogant Kaito to come up and join him. The guy was at the same Stage of Cultivation as Cifer was, and Cifer was looking forward to testing out a great number of things on him, only one of which was the Technique that had been left for him in the Manual.

Kaito got out into the arena and immediately charged headlong at Cifer. Others watching from the outside saw an overwhelming attack as Kaito's finger glowed with concentrated Essence of Tyranny. But Cifer saw a kid who couldn't afford to lose about to throw a tantrum. Stepping into the attack, Cifer used his forearm to smack Kaito's wrist from the inside and easily made the attack miss.

Not wanting to end the fight before he had the chance to get a feel for how much difference was made by the Vortex Cultivation method and his powerful Manifestation, Cifer gave two short and sharp punches to Kaito's gut while the older boy was in shock that his King's Directive had missed. The resulting impact caused Kaito to fall back a dozen steps as he fought for breath.

Certain he'd been hit by a Technique rather than an ordinary punch, Kaito grit his teeth and smiled furiously at Cifer. "Not bad actually. I've spent some effort to increase my toughness, but that actually hurt. But if that's your best Technique than you might as well give up now-"

Kaito cut off as Cifer's rush covered the 10 feet between them in a blink. Cifer ignored the block that Kaito put up to defend against punches, swinging low in a sweeping kick. The older boy felt like he'd been hit by a hammer as his legs were crushed out from under him. Grabbing him as he fell, Cifer slung Kaito into the air, punching him each time he came down with enough force that Kaito went back up a few feet.

The audience went silent at the sheer brutality and simplicity of the method. It didn't feel one bit like they were watching a fight between people on the same level. While several believed that Cifer had to have used a Technique in the first hit after blocking the finger Technique, it was growing more obvious with every passing second that Cifer was punching Kaito into the air with nothing but sheer physical strength.

Various people began asking Deacon Gorou who this newbie was and what coloration his Manifestation had. When he told them that Cifer had an Azure Manifestation the suddenly felt like the scene before them made sense. To their knowledge, that level of talent was unheard of and such dominance over the same stage could be expected.

Bored of the easy exercise and the utter lack of effective resistance, Cifer allowed Kaito to hit the ground before kicking him off the stage with a single sharp kick to the other boy's butt. "You aren't even worth using a Technique on. Even a piece of garbage like me doesn't need one to beat you, so in that case, what are you?"

Cifer returned to the center of the arena. "Anyone else want to try to tell me what I can and cannot do? Anyone else want to pick on the ugly new kid? Or maybe some moron thinks that just because he's studied at the Skull Sect he can kick the ass of some backwoods Clansman?" He threw out his challenge angrily.

He'd expected Kaito to at least be able to fight back a little and give him an idea how much above the average he was. Cifer, at this point, thought he must have been wrong about Kaito being one of the stronger Intermediate Broken Origination experts here. Kaito must have been the weakest with the standards of the Skull Sect.

The Advanced Broken Origination experts watching all felt nervous. Out of the three there, one of them would lose every match against Kaito and another could only rely on his Cultivation to achieve a difficult win. Neither of them stood any real chance against Cifer, and both could tell. As a result they both turned to their strongest member in hopes she could save at least a little bit of face for the Skull Sect.

Sighing when she noticed their looks, Rin was uninterested in fighting Cifer. Rin was perhaps in the top 50 among the Advanced, while Kaito had been in the top 10 among the Intermediate. She might be able to beat Kaito decisively, but she knew she didn't stand a chance against Cifer and had no interest in being humiliated in the process of losing. "Deacon Gorou, you can take his next match as my forfeit if you want. I am not able to beat him."

Cifer frowned. "Hold on now, I'm supposed to actually get three fights. If the Advanced don't want to fight me, than why don't I skip straight to Transformation for my second match and take on someone in Perfect Stage Broken Tier Origination Realm experts for my last fight?" No sooner had the words left his mouth than someone entered the arena.

The youth was head and shoulders taller than Cifer and was powerfully built. He sneered at Cifer. "He suggested it himself Deacon. I say we follow this idiot's suggestion and teach him the importance of never overestimating one's limits."

Chewing his lip for a moment, Deacon Gorou agreed. "Since Cifer himself has suggested it I can hardly deny him the right of challenge. Taichi, don't worry about me interfering. Humility is never a bad thing for a genius like Cifer to learn a little of."

"Are we ready to start yet?" Cifer lazily drawled as the two treated him like he'd already lost. This Taichi was two Stages above Cifer, but after watching Oji handle Elder Naoki while three Stages below him Cifer no longer agreed with the common logic. There were people with ordinary Potential able to defy gaps exceeding a mere two Stages, so why should someone with his advantages find himself stumped?

Deacon Gorou sounded the starting gong.

Cifer punched directly at Taichi with the Child's Fist. Taichi met this attack with his own Death Palm Technique, which was famous in the Skull Sect as the most powerful Broken Origination palm Technique. They clashed with a mighty force, strength against strength. Under the pressure of Cifer's much denser Essence, more refined body and the superior Technique, Taichi's Death Palm broken down. The remaining force of the Child's Fist Technique blasted through Taichi's defenses and slammed into his chest.

Taichi swallowed his own blood as he felt something crack under the pressure of the attack. Mentally cursing, Taichi stumbled back as he felt his enemy's Essence disrupting the flow of his own. Face pale, he saw Cifer preparing another attack with the Technique and his courage desserted him. "I surrender!"