THOSE WITHOUT MARKS ARE JUST MERE TECHNIQUE BEARERS!
But…
Those were not their only marks.
And besides…
Even without them, their pride and determination to always seek victory set them apart from ordinary bearers. Making them far more dangerous.
Liang threw a kick straight toward Zeik's chin.
—Wind Technique —
Zeik tossed his katana into the sky and blocked the kick with both hands. Liang frowned slightly.
—Lightning Technique! —
Zeik smirked.
—Look up! —
Liang stopped short and looked up toward the sky, where Zeik's katana remained there.
—Hurricane's Wrath! —His katana began to tremble and a massive tornado started forming above them.
Terrmomix watched as the tornado swallowed them both inside.
—I'm a technique bearer too, but I don't understand how he could activate that attack without even holding his katana.
Floch, who stood with his arms crossed, turned his head toward him.
—Easy. Let me explain it to you. We all know that to activate an attack you have to say the technique name and then the attack name… but it actually breaks down into two phases.
—Isn't that really complicated? —he asked in a dry, almost indifferent tone.
—I promise it's not. —He clenched his fist, brought it to his lips, and cleared his throat softly—. First: when the user says their technique's name, energy builds up inside their body and flows into the katana to gather there.
He raised one finger.
—Second: once the energy is already in the blade, you have to say the attack's name to release it. If you don't say it, the energy stays stored in the katana until you use it.
—Oh… so when Zeik said his technique's name, the energy was already in the blade?
—Exactly! That's why he could launch it as a surprise. He only needed to say the attack name.
—And Liang didn't know this? Why did he fall for that trick?
—I don't know, but I doubt he was unaware. Maybe it slipped his mind in the heat of the moment… or he was focused on something else.
—Then what was it that Rika did in her match?
—Ah, that. After plenty of research, I finally figured it out. She tensed her whole body and made a huge effort to generate the energy—or fire, if you will—of her technique voluntarily, without speaking its name.
He interlaced his fingers to try to illustrate the fire.
—That fire instinctively moved toward her katana, but she stopped it and redirected it to her limbs instead, so she could burn the vines.
—So let me see if I got this: that energy we generate… we can do it without saying the technique's name, and also by saying it?
—Yes, but the first way is extremely dangerous. It can fail and… in the worst case, it can make your heart stop. She pulled it off because she's one of the greatest rising talents in the world.
Inside the tornado, Zeik floated calmly. Meanwhile, Liang stood before him, feeling the wind cut his skin with just a brush against it.
He shielded himself with his arms while trying to think fast. His grip tightened hard around the hilt.
—Thunder Strike! —Tiny sparks began bursting from the katana's blade. Upon touching the tornado's wind, the whole storm became wrapped in electricity.
Immediately, Zeik felt that electricity start jolting across his skin—on top of what he was already feeling inside.
It was as if an electrical storm raged right there in the fighting arena.
Sweat became visible on both their foreheads. Then the tornado vanished, and both stood back on solid ground.
Still, Liang's whole body was covered in cuts, and Zeik bore small burns across his skin.
Even so, the fight was not over yet.
Elsewhere in the coliseum, Arien and Naeris continued crawling through the hallways.
—Naeris, so what's the plan? —Arien asked.
—The plan is to get into the infirmary, find Kenzo, and get him in the same room as Rika.
—I already know that. What I mean is… how are we getting in?
—Good question. Hmm… We'll have to be very sneaky.
They both ducked behind a wall and peeked toward the infirmary doors, just a few meters away.
—We have to get in without being seen —Naeris said seriously.
—So how do we do that?
—Let me think… —She squeezed her eyes shut, concentrating—.
—Come on, Naeris, think. Come on, Naeris, think —Arien whispered over and over.
Suddenly, Naeris's eyes flew open.
—I've got it!
—Yesss!
—Here's the plan! —She looked at Arien intently—. We're going to have to… crawl all the way to the door.
—Oh!… —He stood frozen for a moment, then beamed—. I knew you'd come up with something!
—What can I say —she said with a touch of pride and a confident smile—, I always think.
—Then let's not waste any more time, Naeris!
—Right!
They both took a deep breath, ready for their mission.
They began crawling straight toward the infirmary doors, trying to be as "sneaky" as they possibly could.
When they reached the entrance, the doors opened on their own and they slipped inside—their first step complete.
Though… some doctors did see them enter, nobody said anything; it was a public space, after all. So they might have overdone it just a little.
—Now what, Naeris? —Arien whispered so no one else would hear.
Naeris's eyes scanned the room quickly until they locked onto a ventilation duct low on the wall.
—There! Let's go! —She started crawling fast.
Arien followed right behind, keeping pace. Once there, Naeris tried to figure out how to remove the cover.
Arien simply drew his katana, jammed it into the grille, and pried it off.
—Done!
Naeris looked back at him.
—So smart, Arien!
—People tell me that all the time.
They heard footsteps approaching and quickly scrambled inside the duct. Both turned on their phone flashlights—Naeris leading the way, Arien right behind.
—So where exactly are we going? —Arien asked curiously.
—Hmm… Not sure.
After crawling a bit, Naeris spotted writing on one of the duct walls.
—Arien, look at this!
—What is it?
—It says here… Over 60 years ago, humanity nearly faced extinction by…
—Boringggg! —Arien groaned—. Who cares about history?
—Yeah, fair point. I don't even know where my own name comes from, and now they want me to know human history. Let's just keep going.
—Right.
They kept moving until they reached another grille opening into a room. Naeris peered in to make sure it was empty—until she spotted a figure lying on the central bed.
—Oh… Arien! It's Matteo!
—Matteo?
—Yes! —She tugged at the grille until it came loose. They climbed out of the duct at last.
—Arien, go stand watch outside—make sure no one comes. I'll get whatever useful info I can from Matteo.
—Got it! —He hurried out to keep an eye on the hallway.
Naeris crept up to the bedside where Matteo lay sleeping.
—Matteo. Matteo —she whispered.
Matteo didn't open his eyes, but turned his back toward her.
—Let me sleep… —he mumbled barely loud enough to hear.
—Do you know where Kencito is?
—Mmm… With the doctors.
—Oh right, duh. How silly of me. —She tapped her forehead lightly—. And where are Kenzo and the doctors?
—In a room… —Then he drifted back into a soft snore.
—Right. And where is that room?
—Down the hallways…
—Ahhh! Thanks so much, Matteito!
—Mhm.
Naeris ran for the door. Arien, still keeping watch, turned toward her.
—What did he say?
—That Kencito's in a room.
—And where's this room?
—Down the hallways.
—… Makes sense.
—No time to waste, Arien! Let's go!
—Right behind you!
And so the two began running down the hallways, searching for that room.