"Who do you think will win?" Demitri asked.
"His skin is very durable, and one solid punch could end it," John replied.
"Don't think it will be that easy," Denam said while pointing at the screen.
Mana was swirling around Suinin, and as he stood up armor began forming. The mana was rapidly condensing along his shoulders, forearms, and chest. The residents from Tamiko's village were observing the technique closely as the rest of the armor formed. They knew Suinin had a fascination with creation magic, but never expected him to advance this far.
"Creating armor is a difficult skill to accomplish, and to push it to this level is impressive for a human," Athlan stated.
"You think it can stand up to his strikes?"John asked.
"Only one way to find out," Athlan replied.
After reaching the shore Kishi took in his surroundings and tried to decide which direction to go. He was preparing to head towards the canyons but felt mana swelling in the other direction. Kishi started charging into the forest with an eager look on his face.
Feeling the aura closing in on his location Suinin prepared himself. Facing an oni would be a challenge, and he knew his chances of winning were slim. Suinin believed as long as he could hold his ground the others would still allow him to join their squad.
Kishi came charging through a clearing and saw Suinin at the top of a hill. A smile appeared on his face as he took the bait without hesitation. Suinin took a stance while gripping the hilt of his blade, and concentrating on the path Kishi was taking. In a flash, Suinin used his sword aura and resheathed his katana.
'Let's test these things out.'
The blast was closing in on Kishi, and Suinin was expecting him to dodge, but he pushed forward and met the attack head-on. A loud ringing ensued in the forest as the gauntlets lit up from the force, and seeing them holding together Kishi redirected it.
'Damn it' Suinin prepared the next strike.
Suinin continued with a barrage, and at the speed, they were produced Kishi was forced to evade some of them. As he was weaving past a tree Kishi struck it rapidly sending it down, and the others that followed in his path. Suinin was rapidly slicing up the falling trees and released a downward strike that left a crater where the treeline once stood.
'Where did he go?'
"Your strikes are fast, but your guard needs work," Kishi said while dashing out from his side.
With Kishi in striking range, Suinin knew it could be over. Having just barely started there was no way the others would see this as sufficient. It dawned on him this close distance could be the moment he needed. Suinin was readying another slash as Kishi closed the distance.
Kishi got there as the blade was leaving its sheath obscuring its path with his hands, but the force of the blast was already generated, and attempting to force it shut caused an explosion. Both contestants were sent flying back through the forest, but Suinin was fortunate enough to hit moss and had a speedy recovery. He dashed in while Kishi was still off-balance, and caused a gash to open up across his chest.
As Suinin released the second strike Kishi punched the katana knocking Sunin's arm back from the force. With his right hand, Kishi struck Suinin in the chest as a loud crack echoed in the arena. The armor held strong, but the force knocked the wind out of him opening Suinin up for a barrage that caused him to collapse.
Cracks appeared on the chest plate as Kishi threw a heavy strike to finish the armor once, and for all, but Suinin rolled to safety. The ground cracked from the blow, and his hand was stuck. Suinin went forward prepared to sever the tendons in Kishi's arm.
This would be a serious blow, but hearing the stories of the arena back home Suinin knew it could be healed. Kishi was expecting this attack and caught the katana in his gauntlet. Pulling back quickly he attempted to retrieve his blade, but Kishi had a firm grip.
"You have good instincts," Kishi said while retrieving his hand.
Suinin poured mana into the katana releasing a small burst of energy to loosen the grip. The second his katana was free he went on the attack. Kishi was impressed with the speed, and caliber of his swordplay.
Even with Suinin landing strikes, he started to slowly backpedal. Kishi paid no mind to the blood trailing on his body. The only thing he desired was to see if Suinin could still hold his composure in the heat of battle. Kishi pushed forward to attack, but Suinin continued to evade, and retaliate with swift strikes.
'Seems like I can have some fun after all.' Kish smirked.
Fewer strikes were making it past Kishi, and all the wounds were forced shut as his muscles began to expand. Feeling the aura swelling up Suinin knew the cause and saw his window for victory closing. Kishi's transformation was already finishing when Suinin was struck in the chest shattering his armor and with it several ribs.
Blood spewed from Suinin's mouth as he flew back, and when he smacked into a mound of dirt a sharp pain shot through his back. Kishi was already trying to close the distance, and Suinin was struggling to get up quickly. Once Suinin was on his feet he rapidly released two blasts from his katana, and then rapidly sheathed it to run.
'You won't get far,' Kishi smirked while sliding back with the blast.
Suinin wasn't prepared to admit to defeat, but repairing his armor was the only way to stand against Kishi. After Suinin was confident in the distance between them he sat down to focus. When Kishi dissipated the blast two glyphs lit up on the gauntlets. Kishi glanced at them briefly before starting his search for Suinin.
"Retreating in that situation is the right call," Kaya told the children.
"You can always recompose yourself, and set the battle to your terms," Octavia stated.
"Are you gonna start helping with the classes?" Zack asked with a smile.
"If you need me I can move some stuff around," Octavia replied while averting her gaze.
'So easy to read.'Lilith smirked.
While Suinin was focusing to repair his armor he realized the damage he sustained was worse than he thought. The adrenaline from sprinting off masked the pain, but now he found himself struggling to gather mana from his surroundings. Repairing the armor to the proper density requires sufficient mana, and drawing from his reservoirs could leave him vulnerable if it failed. As Suinin tried to calm his mind memories of his father appeared.