Maki's speed was astonishing.
Altaïr was no stranger to Wirebugs. Nymera often used them to get around, and he had always thought her movements were impressively swift and agile.
Compared with Maki, however, Nymera handled Wirebugs with all the clumsiness of a child.
If Nymera used them as an emergency means of getting around, Maki made them look like a natural form of locomotion. She hardly seemed to need legs at all; she was better suited to flying through the air than running along the ground.
Altaïr seriously doubted he could catch her even on a Palamute if she went all out.
Fortunately, Maki had no intention of truly leaving him behind. She was only giving him a small test while helping him "warm up."
By the time Altaïr finally caught up with her in the mountain forest near the Shrine Ruins, she was standing atop a giant cedar over thirty meters tall, surveying the landscape.
When she noticed him, she flipped down from the treetop. Only when she was four or five meters from the ground did she release a Wirebug to arrest her fall, landing so lightly that she made no sound at all.
Maki grinned at Altaïr, whose breathing had grown noticeably heavier. "Not bad. Considering you don't have a Wirebug, that's an impressive pace.
"You may have taken Dash Juice, but maintaining Demon Mode for so long still proves that your body, especially your heart, is strong enough."
As Altaïr steadied his breathing, realization dawned. "So the technique you intend to teach me is related to Demon Mode?
"Was that chase a test?"
"You could say that." Maki crossed her arms. "Under the effects of Mr. Yan's potion, you activated Demon Mode without meaning to. That means the Elder Dragon factor left in your body is affecting your blood and vital energy, making them easier to stimulate.
"Since blood and vital energy are involved, Demon Mode is the natural place to begin.
"In truth, every technique that uses fighting spirit is tied to them. That includes a Long Sword's Spirit and a Great Sword's charged attacks.
"Dual Blades' Demon Mode simply has the closest connection to them. A Long Sword's Spirit, for example, depends far less on blood and vital energy and much more on the Spirit Gauge, the Hunter's force of will, and so on.
"But I'm getting sidetracked. We'll start with a simplified technique. If you can't grasp even this one quickly, you can forget about learning the more difficult and dangerous Hunter Art."
"More difficult and dangerous, huh?" Altaïr looked up at Maki. "Does that mean it's also more powerful?"
"Naturally." Her smile turned increasingly dangerous. "A Hunter Art that risks driving its user mad would have no reason to exist if it weren't powerful."
"Sounds good." Altaïr smiled in exactly the same way.
The two exchanged crooked grins. Then, as though they had read each other's minds, their smiles vanished at the same moment.
"I like your style, kid. I'll teach you everything I can, but remember, don't tell anyone about this. Especially not Hinoa and Minoto."
Maki's expression turned grave.
"Same here. Isis can't find out either."
"Those two love taking risks themselves; the one with the Bow gets right in a Monster's face, while the one with the Lance practically climbs into its mouth, and neither of them knows the first thing about Wyvern Riding, yet they keep trying it anyway and refuse to let anyone call them out..."
"Blast Dash wasn't enough for her, so she had to invent some kind of shelling charge; she loves jamming her shield into a Monster's mouth to wrestle with it, and as for Wyvern's Fire, she'd crawl right into a Monster's belly to unleash it if she could..."
"Right?"
"Exactly."
"You'll get used to it." Wearing the solemn look of someone who had been through it all, Maki patted Altaïr twice on the shoulder.
They exchanged another glance, then sighed in mutual understanding.
"I spotted an Arzuros not far from here while I was up in the treetops. Let's use it as a practice target."
"All right."
Perhaps the test had brought them closer, or perhaps it was the bond of shared suffering. Whatever the reason, the invisible distance between them had narrowed, and this time Maki did not simply fly off on her own.
She led Altaïr through the forest and down the mountainside. Before long, they found the unfortunate Arzuros beside a winding stream.
Late autumn had left the voracious Arzuros eager to fatten itself up, and it had been preparing to catch fish from the stream. The sight of two "oversized prey" approaching made it rear up and roar before charging toward the Hunters in great strides.
Neither Hunter spared it so much as a glance.
"One step at a time. We'll begin with the simplified version. Though I call it simplified, it's actually a very practical technique."
"Do Kamura's veteran Hunters always enjoy simplifying powerful techniques?"
Now that they had grown more familiar, Altaïr felt less need to hold back his questions. "Master Amos taught me a technique called the Tempered Spirit Blade. He said a Long Sword user from Kamura simplified it from the Hunter Art known as Critical Juncture."
Maki frowned and fell silent.
Just as Altaïr began to wonder whether his comment had been disrespectful to Kamura's veteran Hunters, Maki nodded firmly and even gave him a thumbs-up.
"You're right. That's exactly what we do."
By then, the Arzuros had already lunged at her back and seemed poised to bowl the relatively short Hunter over.
Maki spun around and swept out her Dual Blades. Fighting spirit far more violent than that of ordinary Demon Mode erupted around her.
The blood-red battle aura wrapped around her body and blades, shuddering violently as though someone had thrown a fistful of gunpowder into a fire. It radiated an unstable, dangerous pressure.
With a casual slash, she knocked aside the Arzuros's swiping forepaw. In the next instant, her body shot forward. Before Altaïr even saw her blades move, a huge wound split open across the Arzuros's hind leg.
The Arzuros had no time to understand what had happened before it howled in pain and toppled to the ground.
Maki twirled her blades in a flourish and dispersed the abnormal fighting spirit. "Feral Demon Mode builds on ordinary Demon Mode by driving the blood and vital energy throughout your body into an even more extreme state.
"Your power rises sharply in this state, but your mobility suffers in exchange.
"Ordinary Demon Mode is more versatile. It can accelerate your movement, help you reposition, and launch an attack. Feral Demon Mode, on the other hand, is purely offensive.
"You saw the slash that severed its leg muscles, didn't you?
"That was only an ordinary sliding step. With enough explosive power, however, you can turn the step itself into a powerful slash as you reposition."
Altaïr's eyes lit up.
A form of Demon Mode that placed even greater emphasis on offense? That technique alone had made the trip to Kamura worthwhile.
Better still, according to Maki, this was only a simplified version of the Hunter Art she truly intended to teach him.
What astonishing effects would the complete form produce?
Maki's mind worked much like his own, and she easily saw through his thoughts. "I'll give you one day at most to grasp Feral Demon Mode. If you can't manage it before the day is over, forget about using the rest of our time to learn a Hunter Art."
"Stimulate the blood and vital energy more thoroughly and push the body into an extreme state?" Altaïr repeated.
Although he had devoted most of the past year to studying Long Sword techniques, both weapons were purely offensive and centered on harnessing fighting spirit. Many of their underlying principles overlapped.
Altaïr closed his eyes and felt the blood and vital energy surging through his body.
Make it vibrate, compress it, stimulate it... Release it more completely!
Boom!
A violent aura burst from him like an exploding flame. The fighting spirit was far more difficult to control than that of ordinary Demon Mode, but his experience with Spirit Release allowed him to bring it under control almost at once.
"Like this?" A blood-red gleam flickered in Altaïr's eyes as he raised his head to look at Maki.
The same light shimmered in her eyes.
He really was so much like her...
If Maki had not known for certain that she had never borne a child, she might have suspected that this boy had crawled straight out of her womb.
Her original lesson plan vanished from her mind.
"It looks like we can move straight to the next stage."
Maki bared her teeth in a grin. "This Hunter Art is called Wolf's Maw."
She lowered her head and crossed her arms, then swept her Dual Blades out to either side like a wild beast slashing with its claws. At the same time, she threw back her head and let out an inhuman roar.
"Rrraaaagh!"
Purple fighting spirit ignited around her. An ominous black aura enveloped her entire body, and the savage crimson light of a man-eating beast blazed from her eyes.
(Translated by yourtl.app)