Sanzang Tang

“So let me get this right. Akuma -apparently my younger brother- is this super evil guy who’s prophesized to one day destroy this world and every human in it?”

“Yes.”

“And after meditating with you, he was able to destroy his yang barrier, thus unlocking the first stage of enlightenment, but by doing that he destroyed the only thing keeping his soul together. And now, only those who’ve also unlocked the first stage of enlightenment can remember him?”

“Yes exactly. I’m failing to see what’s so hard to understand here.”

“…Riggghht. Question. How is Rin able to remember him if I can’t?”

“It’s like I told you. Those who’ve broke their Yang barrier and checked out their story from the library can remember him.”

“And Rin. Do you remember doing any of the goofy shit that just left her lips?”

“Umm… N-No?”

The boy stared at me as if he were looking at some con fortune teller. The ones who tell you you’ll die at the age of 25 just because your palm has an extra line going left. “L-Look. I don’t know why you can’t remember, but you healing me is proof that you’ve been to the library. You need a story to have a Soul Type. Meaning only those with a story can use the Empower technique.”

“And how sure of that are you?”

“I’d wage my life on it. That’s a written law of Yggdrasil. Even if there was an exception to that rule, there’s no mention of it anywhere in the world.”

“Hmm… I don’t think you’re lying. Your description of Akuma is correct. Well except for that white spot of hair on his head. But with how you described his personality, there’s no doubt in my mind it was him. Not to mention that his own brother forgot him-”

“!”

I could hear a faint *Bzzzz sound in the distance. From their faces, I could tell the other two did as well.

Stepping out of the small temporary hideout, we saw a beetle, the size of a building, charging right at us.

“What the hell is that?!”

“It’s a Nephilim. The forsaken domain is riddled with them. Though it’s on the smaller side.”

“And you just let them stay there?!” the girl questioned in a panic.

“Because of the barrier around Tang, and the ocean of water on the other side of Ceprun, they normally can’t leave that domain. But since this one has, I can only assume it’s been influenced by something… Don’t worry, I can easily handle this thing.”

I raised my right hand, emulating a chop, then carried my left leg back and prepared myself to dash.

“No, wait!”

“W-What is it?”

“Could you let Tenshi destroy it?”

“Wha-! Meee?!”

“…Why?”

“There’s something he does that I need your opinion on.”

“Can’t this wait after I deal with the demon?”

“It can’t. It’s hard to explain since I don’t know what it is. It’d be easier for him to show you.

“Very well then. But it’s already gotten so close. You’ll need to blow the entire thing away with a wide scale attack.”

“Sounds right up my alley.” He assured while walking a couple feet in front of the hideout.

(The tricky thing about Nephilims is their super durable bodies that make it hard to deal real damage. And even if you do somehow damage them, they can regenerate over time. That’s why it’s best to destroy them with a single blow… But with the meager amount of starlites he has, I doubt he could even scratch one… Just what is he planning.)

Like an old rusty clog, he slowly wound up his right fist. He firmly planted his right foot and dug a bit into the ground.

I could sense the starlites in his body building up within it. Eventually, he gathered enough that I started to see crimson stars bouncing around his right fist.

(This guy cannot be serious right now… T-That… That’s just a regular hoshi punch!)

*BZZZZZ!!He was now a hair’s breadth away from becoming a demon’s lunch.

(S-Should I save him? But he looks so confident. But what if that confidence is just a lie? Then should I save him?)

Before I could make up my mind…

*PSHEWWW!! *BOOOM!!

...he fired.

It was like watching a wizard harness the power of a natural disaster. He’d created a tempest of lava and stopped the demon right in its tracks.

image [https://i.imgur.com/Pidj3wV.jpeg]

The force of the blow was so powerful that it sent the demon flying back to where it came -carving out the earth as it flipped around.

But something about it wasn’t quite right.

Normally, when the force is that powerful. The ground beneath you would crumble, the structures around you would fall apart, and whatever was hit directly by such a blow would suffer damage visually gruesome.

Yet somehow, there was no collateral. I mean sure, the ground below him broke apart, but that was more from his dramatic stance than the actual impact itself.

“Yep. Just like I thought. It’s still alive.” He went as he hissed his teeth.

“What? There’s no way it couldn’t have survived that.”

“Take a look.”

He pointed his finger, guiding my gaze to the twitching of the demon’s rolled over body.

Sure, it wasn’t dead, but you could’ve definitely fooled me.

“Wow. It really did survive that… I’ll go finish it off. If I don’t it’ll regenerate.”

“No need.”

“Hm?”

“Whenever I punch something in the way I just did, it can’t seem to regenerate.”

“?”

(Could it really be…?)

Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

“Hm? You know something?”

“I think… what your using is Kata.”

“Ka-what now?”

“Your using Kata! It’s a martial art created by the Spirits!”

“The spirits huh… Never heard of them.”

“Of course you haven’t. The spirit realm has been sealed away from the rest of reality for centuries now. A long time ago, I journeyed all around the spirit realm. It was there that I learned about Kata.”

“Umm. How did you go there if it’s been sealed off for centuries… Wait, how old are you?”

“Rude! I went there using a special way. But that’s not important right now. How can you use kata? Even the most skilled spirits can’t use it.”

“They made the thing, and they can’t even use it?”

“Listen here. The legend goes like such…”

“Listen here, my ass. I’m not listening to any of your backstories.”

“Ugh. Whatever. But like I said, only a handful of spirits can use Kata. Even I was told I had no talent for it. And I’m a prodigy!”

“…I hate to break it to you. But people who call themselves prodigies are normally frauds.”

“Who taught you how to use it?! And why does a weakling like you know how to use it?!”

“Please calm down.”

“No. I won’t! Tell me now!”

“*Sigh. Look. In my perspective I’m just doing the thing I saw Rin do. Gather up your starlites and aim it at your opponent… But I guess. It must have something to do with my father.”

“Your father? Iphicles, right?”

“Yeah. Back when I was a kid, he taught me how to strike at someone and damage them even if they were tougher than me. And because I spent most of my time fighting him, I ended up mastering the technique… But he never said anything about kata or souls or anything like that. He just said it’s a trick he learned from watching some else… As for your second question, I can’t really answer that.”

“Oh, I can.”

“…”

“…”

“What was your name again?”

“It’s Rin! How did you already forget?!”

“S-Sorry about that.”

(Totally forgot this girl was even here.)

“*Ehem. As I was saying. Tenshi’s soul is still sealed up and for some reason I can’t break them.”

“Seals on his soul you say… Let me have a look.”

“Go ahead, but I doubt you could do anything. Even I couldn’t budge them. And I’m a prodigy.”

{Something tells me Sanzang and Rin were sisters in another life. Twins even.}

After going inside and taking a seat, I placed my right palm on his back and focused on reaching the deepest part of his gut. It was like swimming through a maze of vines.

Suddenly, I was forced out by flashes of white sparks.

“See. Told ya so.”

“Hmm… I guess I’ll have to get a little rough.”

“Eh-?”

“Tamazen Empower: Copy!”

(Give me strength Buddha.)

Like the time with Akuma, I summoned a golden figure behind me -identical in appearance to myself.

Simultaneously we rested our palms on Tenshi’s back, and I yelled:

“FREEDOM!!”

Tenshi growled out in pain as a large spiral of power surrounded around us.

Slowly, a large constellation left his body and was now hovered over us.

(So, it’s a magic circle, ay…?)

From my knowledge, it was a standard magic circle that used the shapes of a circle, planet, square and star. With a closer inspection, I saw the constellation for the little dipper in the very center.

(Little Dipper. The shape for lowering output… Like I thought. This is Trojan work.)

*Crkk *Crkk

(…Of course, that’s no problem for Buddha.)

*BREAKK!

The boy was on the verge of passing out, and Rin was dumbfounded at what transpired before her eyes.

My display of power must’ve left her speechless.

{She was just jealous that someone else was able to do something she couldn’t.}

“Is it… over yet.” the boy mustered what little energy he had to ask.

“I apologize for calling you a weakling. There was a magic circle placed on your soul. It prevented you from using your full power.”

“A magic… circle? What is that?”

“I assume you already know of Constellation Arts, yes?”

“Yeah. I remember Rin telling me about that. She said something about creating shapes with power.”

“…”

{Rin was still speechless.}

“Yep. One shape is constellation. Each shape has their own unique effect and advantage. But it is possible to combine multiple shapes and produce a whole new effect. We call those combined shapes, Magic Circles.”

“That sounds crazy and all that, but I don’t remember making one of those. And I don’t think my father did either.”

“From what I could make out, that circle used the four basic shapes to enhance the Little Dipper. But only the Trojan Family knows how to draw the Little Dipper.”

(It’s like everything is connected to that family somehow… I’m starting to get an eerie feeling about all this.)

“HEY!” Rin finally gathered the confidence to shout out. With her finger shaking while pointed at Tenshi, she stuttered:

“H-How d-did you do that?”

“Hm? Oh that… I know someone who can free anything just by touching it. I merely copied his powers.”

“You can copy powers?! That’s so badass!”

“Fu-fu. Like that, don’t ya? I’ve got way more tricks up my sleeve too.”

{It’s like everyone here is full of themselves.}

“A-And you said Tamazen, correct? But I didn’t see a weapon appear anywhere.”

“A Tamazen don’t appear, Silly. Unlike a Tamashi, they exist in the world without the need for a medium…”

While displaying my kimono to her, I continued:

“…See? This is my Tamazen.”

“…”

“That thing is really a Tamazen?”

“Rude! They aren’t just a thing. The Jade Emperor has been a part of the Tang Family for generations!”

“Jade Emperor…?”

“What? Are you impressed by its beauty?”

“No, that’s just a dumb name.”

“Eh-?”

“I mean the thing isn’t even Jade. You’re literally an Oreo.”

I could feel a vein popping on the right side of my forehead. This girl was really testing my nerves today.

While trying to hide my irritation with a fake smile, I replied:

“Not sure what an Oreo is, but the Jade comes from the color that it glows when I use my Empower. Of course, I doubt you were able to see it since I was copying Buddha’s golden light.”

“Whatever you say, lady.”

“Alright, I’ve been trying my hardest not to ask, but what the hell is that dangling from the roof?” I questioned while pointing straight up.

“It’s a space crystal. It connects this room to any door opened by my special keys.”

{She says “my” special keys, but Finral is the one who made them.}

“Special keys? Do you mind if I see it?”

“Sure.”

From her cleavage area she grabbed a pocket-sized key.

Watching her do that, it finally hit me that this girl was wearing a maid outfit. I guess I have no choice but to brush it off as her being some kind of cosplayer.

“Just to make sure, Tenshi. You still have your key right?”

“Yeah, you told me not to lose it. Why?”

“Nothing really. I just hope Akuma didn’t drop it somewhere.

“!”

Amid her yapping, I noticed something about the key.

“That key!”

“Hm? What is it?”

“Look at the shape drawn on the bow.”

“You mean this planet thingy?”

“Yes, that’s one of the constellations I was telling you about. It’s a shape I’ve never seen before. Who made this?”

“Hmph! Why it was me of cou-”

“It was probably her grandpa, Finral.”

“W-WHY DID YOU SAY THAT!” she pouted as she gently hit his shoulder repeatedly.

(Geez. Get a room or something.)

“*Sigh. You ruined it…” she continued as she got up. “…I’m going out to take a breath of fresh air.”

She took about four steps to reach the door before suddenly stopping.

“What happened? Why’d you stop?”

A good question. I was also curious to know that answer.

Instead of answering, or even so much as acknowledging the question, she took another step back.

It was then that I heard a faint creek sound coming from the door.

At first, I thought she slightly opened the door and now the wind was seeping through -maybe she was playing some kind of prank. But with one good look in her eyes, I realized just how wrong I was.

It was a look that foreboded our demise.

Eyes like those can’t just be fabricated on the spot.

*Creek!

Now even I could feel it. His dreadfully chilly hand as he slowly wrapped around another finger.

The more that door creaked open, the firmer death’s grip around our necks became.