Chapter 35

Rin grabbed his sword in front of him with both his hands, whilst summoning a huge white wolf next to him, half the size of Shiro.

Ella and Yuki held their staffs and silently pulled the chants to their spells.

Sakura held her spear tightly, her white aura surrounded her, making a white armor around her body.

Diana on the other hand pulled out her double swords, her red aura raged madly compared to the others. The armor that was slowly placed on her body made the wind and ground roar at its appearance.

But nobody had time to witness that stunning scene. Merely because their senses were still focused on the man standing in front of them.

"Sā," spoke Cayn with his deep voice, "Koi(come)."

They all stared at him confused about what he said. But no one dared to utter a word.

He turned his cold eyes to look at them.

They shivered in fear.

He chuckled at their trembling hands. He threw his boots away, his feet slowly felt the ground.

"KOI!" He screamed.

They all jumped in fright, screamed, and charged toward him, while Ella and Yuki finished their spell incarnations. Whatever he was saying, it was a call for them to fight. They all understood that.

Rin stopped in his tracks, raising his sword high, and taking a deep breath.

Sakura got in front of him and continued with Diana by her side.

Fire bullets appeared by their side, passing by them and going directly to Cayn.

He merely moved a few inches to avoid them.

Moving his head a bit to evade the last one. Sakura's piercing eyes and spear awaited him, ready to take his eyes.

She used the tip of her spear to reach him.

He inclined his head directly, Sakura held her spear tightly to change its direction to slash downwards.

Cayn pushed the ground with his feet in that weird position, evading the slashing spear as he rolled away in the air.

Diana was already there, her swords roared with her aura as she slashed him.

Cayn used the edge of his sword to make her swords slide and change the weight of her move, making her miss and slash the air.

The force of her blow still made him fly a bit away.

As his feet touched the ground, an aura slash ran towards him, and the white wolf appeared behind him.

Cayn jumped to the side.

The wolf behind him wasn't hit by the aura, rather roared and it grew bigger, following him again.

He rolled once again.

The ground he was in lightened up, and a huge spell appeared.

Before he could jump, Sakura and Diana were already in the air.

Their aura formed in their weapons awaiting him.

Rin and the white wolf stood on opposite sides with Cayn in the middle. One was charging his sword, the other one charged his breath.

Ella had her hand on the ground maintaining the huge ground spell that covered half of the stadium where Cayn stood.

Yuki had her hand in the air, carrying the weight of a small sun.

For the first time, they would fight alongside each other, it wasn't too bad, though Cayn. They seem to be already aware of each other's flaws and covering for them. They have talent, he thought.

They encircled him in a mere second.

They all screamed furiously, as they threw their abilities.

Cayn smiled and breathed steam. "Shinkirō, no ashiato.(Mirage footsteps)"

Everyone's spells reached where he stood.

The entire terrain was in rumbles, smoke and ruins blinded their vision of Cayn's location.

Diana, Sakura, and Rin with his white wolf joined Ella and Yuki's side.

Standing in front of them, ready.

Diana's mind was running wild. In the vision where Cayn was merely a normal human, he could give a hard time to a lesser god that was leagues stronger than Shiro.

Cayn must have something, she thought. Something a human can use without mana.

"Don't let your guard down," she spoke. "And, do not underestimate this man, even without the use of mana."

They all listened to her words.

"You guys are doing well," suddenly a voice resounded around them.

"Answer me, what is mana?" Spoke again to the voice behind the smoke.

They were all confused, but Rin decided to answer holding his sword tight. "The energy that dwells in each living being."

"Also part of a larger group that compose the energy of life itself. How is it used?" Spoke Cayn as his figure appeared behind the smoke.

"Mages use their bodies as a medium to use the mana around them, and the mana they stored to use spells and be able to utilize magic," answered Rin again. "Whilst warriors use the mana they store in their muscles and refine it little by little, turning it into their fighting aura that takes shape and color as their inner self. It is, like you said, a subset of life energy."

"Correct," Cayn appeared fully now. He was in the same position before the fight broke.

"Now, tell me, have you heard of spiritual energy?" He asked.

"It is, what makes us, us. Our spiritual form merges with our mortal self. Vampires are known for sucking the life energy of living beings. When we studied them it wasn't merely sucking blood. That's why they can throw people, if not kill them, into a coma where it was inexplicable to us. Other mythical beings can use it to corrupt or control the souls of others, like sirens. The closest thing to it would be killing intent as it is also a manifestation of our spirit." Answered Rin.

They all looked at Cayn while listening, confused yet intrigued.

"Just as you can harness your body and mind, becoming one. Warriors train their minds to the bare minimum to focus more on their bodies. Mages do the opposite. It is an amazing approach, but it is still imperfect compared to gods. Then again what is perfect you will ask. Training both your body and mind? It takes a lifetime to even understand one properly. That's why gods and the higher races are different from us humans, they can train more. But they make the same mistake. The more they focus on one the more the other falls behind, they have to train it again to the minimum for them to advance the one they focused on. Isn't that how it is with humans too even with our short life spam?" Spoke Cayn.

They nodded.

"With the appearance of other races like that of vampires or sirens, other than your mind or body, your spirit, could also be hurt, leading directly to your life-force. Then comes the priests, that fight spiritual beings in this world, energy different from mana. Meditation and intense focus to reach the spirit was the answer." Kept going Cayn.

They all nodded once again.

"Spiritual energy can also turn into elemental energy. As I said, Spiritual energy and life energy, are always intertwined. Now, I will show you, the true meaning of martial arts. Rather than training only your body, it is also a discipline, a meditation in itself, training all three, spirit, mind, and body. That is the true purpose of martial arts. Now, watch me, as I show you the difference between mana, and what I call ki. Fundamentally the same as how aura users and martial artists use their bodies may also be used to utilize elemental spells. " Spoke Cayn.

He lowered his head. His chest widened taking a deep breath. "Ki, or Chi, controlling your inner spirit, controlling the body's latent energy, with intense focus. In this world where magic is natural. Ki is the supernatural, spiritual energy."

Steam appeared on the corner of his mouth as he breathed out.

They all heard a heart pumping.

Dud-dud.

Their instincts screamed.

Dud-dud.

The vision around them blurred out, focusing only on the figure in front of them.

Dud-dud.

The steam on the corner of his mouth was like a huge smoke.

Dud-dud.

Their knees became weak, as they tried to raise their weapons.

Cayn was entirely englobed in dark energy. His eyes were the only visible thing, shining their colors brightly. He returned to normal, as the dark energy turned only to his right hand.

"This is my chi aura, refined from my body, soul, and mind," he said.

Suddenly another dark energy appeared from his body to his left hand. While both energies were dark there was a clear difference between them. The one made from his so-called Chi was a calm and imposing dark flame. Whilst the other one was raging.

"And this is my magical aura. It is the same, but not the same. While this one is precise to mana and magic, Chi utilizes all the factors that make my life energy. But the manifestation of the aura is the same. Now, the true meaning of martial arts is to train all three aspects. That is why chi is slower in training, it takes a lot to train in all those aspects, just to reach the same level as you standing in front of me. While it has the biggest advantage because of its prowess, you can never advance without balance, unlike your arts." Spoke Cayn.

Both his auras disappeared. "Both like I said, I won't use magic nor aura. Martial arts. True, martial arts. My, arts."

He stared at them with a smile. "I will still be restricting myself to only normal arts, basics. So, come again."