[Completed] Legend of the Five Knights III: Song of Divine Wrath

Episode 75: Zen Mode

He had a point there, but was it wise to attack without formulating a plan first?

Eiichi jumped into the air and covered the tip of Carlos in electricity before I could even give a response.

"Lightning Spear!" he yelled at the top of his lungs.

I sighed. I figured that something like this would happen. I glanced over my shoulder, but Hideo wasn't there. I spun around, trying to figure out where he had gone, but he was nowhere to be seen.

"Hideo?" I asked.

"Oh, you're fast," Eiichi said.

I looked back at the battle and watched as Kaliq avoided all of Eiichi's spear thrusts. Though my eyes had difficulty catching most of their movements. The two were almost as fast as Hyosetsu and Tetsuya were in their ascended forms.

Eiichi took a deep breath and threw his spear into the air and tried to go for a kick to Kaliq's gut, but his leg went right through him.

"An afterimage," I yelled. I looked over my shoulder and saw Kaliq's staff swinging at me. I flicked Alma at him, but it phased right through him. Damn, another afterimage.

If only I had eyes like Hideo's. Now, where was that boy? There was no way that he could've ran away to save his sister. Only Halim could bring and take us out of here.

I watched as Eiichi continued to chase after Kaliq. The way that the sage dodged Eiichi's attacks reminded me of the trial he had given Hideo. He continued to avoid every hit that came his way and would spin around to keep Eiichi at bay. I couldn't help but wonder whether he was making use of the Zen mode he had taught me.

Hmm, he said that his defensive style is different from Tetsu's. Could it be that for him, his 'defense' is avoiding the attacks of others? If so, that might also be his offense too. He's trying to tire us out. However, he must know that won't work as we can recover our mana. Then, he must have some other combat skills beyond merely spinning around and dodging.

I gasped as Kaliq thrust his staff against Eiichi's stomach, sending him flying into the newly constructed barrier.

"Done analyzing yet?" he whispered into my ear. "You should try to clear your mind like I taught you."

I gulped and spun around, swinging Alma in a horizontal arc. Though, the man was nowhere to be seen.

"You're agitated," Kaliq's voice called out. Again, it came from behind me. "Recall what I taught you, young lady?"

Not long after we had arrived in this world, I had asked Kaliq if he could teach me some of the skills that he had used in Hideo's test. He had told that to avoid unexpected attacks, one's body had to be able to rely on its instincts. The first part of this involved sharpening the sixth sense and making it automatic. One's being would be able to sense danger approaching without any input from one's consciousness. Basically, it was letting the power of the subconscious to take over.

I took a deep breath and pushed away the thoughts that had been gnawing at me. As I did, I could feel the presence of Kaliq moving around rapidly across the battlefield. Eiichi meanwhile was charging up energy in the tip of his spear even as he remained still. I could also feel another presence overhead.

I opened my eyes and looked up, yet there was no one there. Could it have been Hideo? Just what kind of abilities had he managed to awaken during his and Eiichi's training?

I flew back as I felt energy building up around Kaliq. Though, the energy didn't feel like his. It was slight, but it felt like Hideo's.

Suddenly, a green beam manifested itself. Kaliq sidestepped it and swung his staff over his shoulder. More beams encircled him as if he were at the center of a firing squad. The sage jumped into the air and watched as the rays struck each other. Much to both our shock, the verdant bullets fused and flew straight up.