I stepped forward.
Lucci didn't move.
Neither did I.
For a few seconds, we simply looked at each other.
Two martial artists.
No ranks. No titles.
Just two people standing inside a training hall, trying to figure out what the other could do.
Laskey was the first to break the silence.
"Lucci, be careful. His Grace...."
"Don't."
I raised my hand.
Laskey stopped.
I looked at him.
"Don't let him hold back"
My gaze returned to Lucci.
"We're all martial artists here."
I smiled faintly.
"If he's going to fight me, I expect him to actually fight."
I paused.
"Otherwise..."
My smile disappeared.
"I'll take it as a personal insult."
Silence.
Lucci's eyes narrowed slightly.
Then he moved.
ZHWOOOOP~
Fast!!
His foot slammed against the floor.
His body shot forward.
A kick came straight toward my chest.
I didn't move.
BOOM!!
The impact echoed through the hall.
My clothes fluttered from the force.
But my feet remained exactly where they were.
Lucci's expression changed.
Just slightly.
I looked down at his leg.
Then back at him.
"That's a pretty good kick."
My hand moved.
I caught his ankle.
His eyes widened.
I smiled.
"Unfortunately..."
I twisted.
"...not enough."
I swung him around and released.
BOOOOM!!
His body crashed into the wall, Dust fell from the stone.
Kalifa gasped.
Laskey's eyes widened.
Without a moment to recover, He was already moving.
His feet pushed against the wall and his body launched forward.
A fist came toward my face.
I tilted my head.
The fist passed beside my cheek.
My palm moved toward his shoulder.
He twisted.
Dodged.
His elbow came toward my ribs.
I blocked it.
He followed with a knee.
I stepped back.
He changed direction again.
I smiled.
"So that's your answer."
Lucci didn't respond.
He simply attacked again.
Good.
I liked that.
There was no point talking during a fight anyway.
His movements were simple.
Fundamental.
But they were clean.
Every strike carried purpose.
Every movement flowed into the next.
He wasn't throwing techniques randomly.
He was building combinations.
Testing reactions.
Looking for openings.
And when one didn't exist...he created another.
I increased my speed.
Lucci followed.
Our bodies crossed the training hall.
BAM!
His fist met my forearm.
THUD!
My knee stopped inches from his stomach.
He twisted away.
Now both of us clinging to the Wall behind, clean and sharp.
For a brief moment, neither of us was standing on the floor.
Then we moved again.
We bounced off walls as we fought in air and only took step on ground to reposition....
The room became our battlefield.
No wasted movements.
No pauses.
Every exchange flowed into the next.
I adjusted.
He tried to catch my rhythm.
I changed it.
He adapted.
Again.
And again.
I couldn't help smiling.
'This kid...'
He is good, Really good.
For his age, he was ridiculous.
The sounds of our movements filled the hall.
BAM!
THUD!
BOOM!
Kalifa had stopped writing.
I could see her eyes following us.
Or rather...trying to.
She couldn't.
We were simply moving too quickly for her to properly track.
Laskey was different.
He could follow more of it.
And judging by his expression...
he was beginning to understand exactly how absurd this was.
Lucci was Nine years old..
He had been training for years.
He had already experienced the killing fields.
His body had been forged through a life that most adults wouldn't survive.
And yet...he was still trying to keep up.
For a moment, we were both running along opposite walls.
Then our paths crossed.
BANG!
Our fists collided.
The shockwave shook dust from the ceiling.
We separated.
Lucci landed first.
I touched the ground a moment later.
It had become a real fight.
And I was enjoying every second of it.
Lucci suddenly disappeared from my direct line of sight.
I felt movement behind me.
I turned.
His fist was already there.
I blocked, His other fist followed.
I ducked.
"Well enough warm up I guess..."
Both of us moved.
At the same time.
I raised my hand.
My palm stopped directly in front of his face.
For the briefest instant...
Lucci's eyes widened.
He couldn't see it.
The Qi was already compressed against my palm.
Almost completely invisible.
A tiny sphere of condensed force.
I released it.
BOOOOOOM!!
The air exploded.
A violent pressure wave burst outward.
Dust and loose fragments scattered across the hall.
Lucci's body was thrown backward.
But his body twisted at the very last moment.
His body still flew backward.
His feet struck the floor.
....SKRRRRRT....
He slid several meters before finally stopping.
Silence.
I lowered my hand.
Lucci remained standing.
His chest rose and fell.
He was breathing harder now.
For the first time...
I could see exhaustion.
Smoke slowly curled from his hands.
He had raised them at the last moment.
Not enough to block it.
Just enough to lessen the impact.
I stared at him.
Then smiled.
"...You dodged that."
Lucci didn't answer.
He was still catching his breath.
I looked at his hands.
Then back at his face.
He couldn't see Qi.
He didn't know what it was.
Yet his instincts had told him something was wrong.
And he had reacted.
That was impressive.
'As Expected'
I let out a quiet chuckle, "Not bad, Lucci."
His eyes lifted.
There was something different in them now.
The same curiosity from earlier...
but sharper, Hungrier.
And for some reason, that made me smile.
I had come here expecting to teach him a few things.
Maybe test his limits.
Maybe find out whether the future's greatest assassin was truly as talented as history claimed.
Instead...
I had found something much more interesting.
A monster who wanted to become stronger.
And perhaps...someone I can walk this path with.