The wind picked up, carrying with it a handful of sand and the scent of the ocean. Although the heavy wind scattered his hair all over his face, ze couldn''t take his eyes off Cain.


    He had truly thought the fight would have gone differently. It was a three versus one. They had the upper hand. Hell, he hadn''t even used any weapons since the fight began.


    Although they had managed tond a few good hits, none of them managed to deal anysting damage.


    Cain snorted as he stared a Vincent now pinned to the wall,


    "You couldn''t even hide it well." He knew that Vincent''s bullets were strange the moment the wounds they caused didn''t heal.


    Because Vincent was primarily a marksman, his true strength were his bullets. Cain had believed for the sake of sportsmanship, he would have used only regr bullets.


    ''What a conniving bastard... How can a snake be so fat?!''


    Although Vincent wasn''t dead, the blow had dealt him serious damage, so he was out of it for now...


    This was just the time Cain needed to wrap things up.


    Cain spat out a mouthful of blood, "If you want to change my mind, it will take far more than this."


    Manny snickered, "Change your mind? No... This... This is too exciting!"


    His des thrummed violently as his hands vibrated due to excitement. To say Manny was a battle loving maniac wouldn''t be too far from the truth.


    Although ze didn''t say anything, it was clear he wasn''t convinced.


    In that case...


    Cain turned to him, "Looks like I haven''t convinced you enough, ze."


    ze shook his head, "While you''ve been able to fight and push us back up till now, that still doesn''t mean we don''t have a chance. Look at you. Your all fucked up."


    Cainughed, "Says you..."


    Then he shook his head, "Intahat case I''ll thoroughly convince you in the next round."


    His gaze became frigid, "Come..."


    ***


    Steve looked down on the fight from a high vantage point...


    "Damn... Even without activating any skills or spells, these boys are wrecking the ce!"


    Calio stood beside him with a dark look on his face,


    "At this rate, they''ll fuck the whole ind up!"


    Steve snorted, "So? If we get to witness something like this, it will be worth it."


    Calio had managed to survive for so long thanks to his guile, not his abilities. That didn''t mean he wasn''t capable. Only less capable than the others.


    He red at Steve,


    "What''s the point of all this fighting in the first ce? Didn''t you say we are going to be engaging in a crazy battle soon?!"


    Steve nodded sagely whilst stroking his chin,


    "This fight is moreplex than you think..." Steve said, expertly dodging thetter part of the question.


    Calio raised a brow, "How so?"


    "Ehem... Its like this; Cain, our slightly capable leader has to prove that he has what it takes to lead us into this dangerous battle. ze on the other hand, scared by the death of someone close to us, doesn''t want any more sacrifices, even at the expense of forsaking vengeance. Cain on the other hand, it hellbent on vengeance."


    "One fights for preservation, the other fights for domination..."


    Calio sighed, "Who do you think is winning this one?"


    Steve smiled deeply, "Take a guess..."


    Calio ruffled his hair, "The numbers advantage is real. Although Cain managed to take one of them out, he still has two to deal with. ze and that bastard battle freak, Manny... Any of them can turn this around pretty fast. Cain seems to have lost a lot of his earlier momentum after that bullet he was forced to eat."


    Steve nodded, "You really are good. Able to see all that. Not bad at all..."


    Calio raised his nose proudly, "I''m never wrong after all."


    Steve shook his head, "Unfortunately, you are this time. You have no idea how scary our slightly capable leader is."


    Calio looked at the sky, "Still, I agree with them. Especially after we just got attacked. Our first priority is to gather resources and increase our defenses."


    Steve shook his head, "It is ze that is shortsighted. If we seize this opportunity properly, we''ll manage to take care of our problems in one fell swoop."


    Calio shook his head, "I really don''t understand you all. What''s the point of all this? Why fight and try to kill each other?"


    Steve''s face suddenly became serious,


    "Because that''s the way the world has be. It''s kill or be killed now. I''d rather turn into a Demon than be killed by one.


    Calio looked right into his eyes. He could tell he was very serious right now. He shook his head,


    "I''d rather not be a Demon. I''ll just do whatever I can to survive."


    Steve sighed, "Whatever. Enjoy the show. It''s about to wrap up!"


    "Hm?" Calio turned his attention back to the fight...


    ***


    Cain took in a deep breath. Indeed, he had agreed not to use and skills or spells for this battle. However, there was no rule saying he couldn''t use Ki.


    Ki was vital energy, much like the energy one gains after eating a meal, or energy nts aquire from the sun. It was energy, and so, using it in the battle wouldn''t be cheating.


    As such, the moment he began circting his Ki, his presence became deeper. Sensing this, ze narrowed his eyes.


    ''What is he nning? Is he nning to activate a skill? No... He wouldn''t go back on his word now.''


    Manny had a grin on his face, ''So that''s how we are pmayng it, huh...''


    Ayer of energy burst out of Manny to envelope his body as well. ze saw this and realized what they were doing. He grit his teeth and began circting his Ki as well. As a warrior, apart from using mana, he could also use Ki, however, with less proficiency.


    Manny was more like Cain, possessing the ability to use all three. However, his level of control over them was far inferior to Cain''s. Still, his affinity for three forms of energy was still quite rare.


    All three finally decided to bring out the big guns. The fight was reaching maximum crescendo.


    Cain took another deep breath in. If his control over his Ki was a twenty percent rating, then Manny''s was an eight percent and ze''s was five percent.


    Cain had all the confidence in the world. He woulde out on top. His mind calmed down as he continued circting the Ki within the Nirvanic Pathways. He condensed it over and over again until it flowed like blood within him.


    He had trained for a long time using the Magic Square. Although he hadn''t reaped any immediate benefits, it had given him the opportunity to train his Ki control and increase ethe quantity of his Ki.


    Feeling the vitality rush though his body was almost intoxicating. He bathed I this feeling as he took a step forward. Watching Cain who looked like a slumbering beast, ze was filled with a subtle feeling of dread and anticipation.


    Dread because he had no idea what Cain was nning, and anticipation because he was eager to sh with it. Such a stranger conflicting feeling...


    It bubbled within him and exploded out as potential.


    His Ki surged and surged until it became almost uncontroble. He directed it towards his fist and lurched forward with a roar.


    Manny''s Ki was even more refined. His Ki condensed to the edge of his de, turning into a wave of sword Ki.


    Cain on the other hand watched these two approached. The world around him seemed to slow down for a moment.


    Everything turned grey...


    He had experienced this once before. It wasn''t a strange feeling at all.


    He let out all the air in his lungs at once. Then let his Ki saturated every corner of his body all at once.


    It reinforced his bones, attached itself to his organs, mixed in with his blood, saturated his muscles, and coated his skin.


    His existence seemed to melt into his surroundings, bing one with reality itself. It was strange. Divine almost...


    He had be connected to the heavens and the earth...


    ***


    {Congrattions to host... You have acquired the first stage of a new ability, Ki Reinforcement}.


    {+1,000 Free attribute points}.


    ***


    His entire body was fully saturated with Ki. All  ze and Manny saw was a blur before they felt a distinct feeling in their midsections. Blinding pain assaulted them as they felt their Ki go haywire.


    Both fell to the ground powerlessly...


    ze tried to speak even as he gasped powerlessly,


    "W-what w-was..."


    A torrent of red energy mixed with gold speckles floated off Cain''s body. He took a breath to calm down. Slowly, his energy calm down until it dissipated.


    Silence...


    He had won. He had also broken through, deepening his understandi6of himself in the process.


    He took in a depe breath as he turned to stare at Manny and ze who were still on the ground,


    "You''ve lost. Are you ready to concede?"