A holy test of justice! (Galen only)

Galen had been living on the outskirts of one of the villages of the natives of Korin’s Holy Grounds, known as Korin’s tribe. They were a little suspicious at first, but after a couple days, they grew used to his presence and saw in his altruism and willingness to help, true value. The young man was getting some firewood in the woods near the village. He had his hands fuel and was about to go back to the village to deliver the firewood, when he heard the screams of the some of the natives. Galen arched both of his eyebrows and widened his eyes. ”What the heck is going on?” He didn’t think twice before dropping the wood, grabbed the hilt of his sword and unsheathed it. The swordsman sprinted forward towards the village, ready for a fight.

When he got there he saw a fearsome creature. A brown pink-haired giant with an amazing height of 10’5”. He was asking for a swordsman and that surprised him. ”The only swordsman down here is me… This creature… Guy… Is looking for… Me?” he thought to himself, feeling rather anxious and nervous about it. He was still among the bushes, watching the scene. He claimed to feel Galen’s power nearby and that annoyed him even more. ”He can feel energy too?! Damn! This is getting really annoying!” he truly needed to learn how to sense energy! But then, when the creature started swinging his sword in the air, scaring the native tribe members even more, Galen couldn’t stand any further and leap forward, landing in front of the tall creature.

In the face of such a tall man, Galen didn’t look like much with his 5’6”, but he didn’t seem scared at all. His posture with his sword in front of his body, with its tip pointing to Saki’s neck showed that he wasn’t a regular swordsman, but a much trained one, with polished technique. – Who are you?! You are scaring the people of this land! And I can’t have that! Please, sir, sheath your sword and maybe we can talk! – he said in a demanding tone.

The man replied saying that Galen was the first one to be civil with him and talk before attacking. The human young man didn’t say a word to that, but he knew it was true; most people wouldn’t think twice before attacking such a fearsome creature standing in the middle of a peaceful village, swinging a sword from one side to the other: those were clear signs of someone looking to get himself into some serious trouble, but Galen didn’t like to act on impulse. He would always make sure he had to fight before actually fighting. However, the creature said that he wouldn’t sheath his sword and that made the Lone Swordsman narrow his eyes. – You won’t? – of course it was a rhetorical question, but he asked nonetheless.

Then, the absurdly tall man began to speak again, introducing himself as Saki, the Red Tiger and telling a little bit of his almost unbelievable story. ”What?! He was a knight from some chaotic empire a thousand years ago?! A thousand years?! Then… His father killed his mother while he was still… human? So… He was human once… Right? Then… What?! He killed a lot of people, including his own family? I’m not even understanding this story and he is already saying that he means no harm, but, still… He is threatening in every way!” Galen was genuinely confused, and that was clear as daylight in his feature, despite his failed attempt not to show it. He claimed to be only interested in the future of martial arts, but had no school. ”Lost power when unsealed? What is this guy, anyway? A demon of some sorts?!” that was the only logical conclusion he could reach, but, still, seemed so… Unlikely.

Then, he made a compliment to Galen’s Broad Sword and said he wanted to see if he truly had skills with it. He said he wouldn’t kill anyone and just wanted a match. Galen took a deep breath and considered his options for a brief second, before nodding. – Alright. If you promise not to harm anyone, I can spar with you. But I don’t want to hurt you, still… I don’t know if I can avoid injuring you. – he warned the giant demon-man-thing and then he said something about a phone, but Galen just shrugged it off; he didn’t have such a gadget either, nor did he care to have one.

Galen pointed towards the southeast. – Well… There’s a glade nearby that’s large enough for a decent spar. If you are ready to honor the commitment nor to hurt anyone or this place, follow me. – he said and, with a quick movement, Galen began flying towards the glade area. The place was quite big, with over fifty feet diameter, a true circle among the woods that was used as a training ground by the Korin’s Tribe. Luckily there was no one there right now. Galen landed in the middle of it and turned around to wait for his opponent. His heartbeat accelerated a bit and he had a serious expression on his face. ”Can I defeat such a large opponent?” he wondered. But he wasn’t scared.

Once they reached the glade area, Saki told Galen that he would be showing him his true power, the power that was needed in order to protect the innocent. The young man just made a brief nod, maintaining his battle stance, with the tip of his Broad Sword pointing towards Saki’s throat. As he started to unleash his power, he said that it would be wrong if he just attacked first and asked Galen to take the initiative, which was quite surprising. ”If he can sense my energy and is still underestimating me so much, it must mean that he is absurdly strong. Well… He does look strong, but I have some aces up my sleeves too…” he thought to himself, gathering his wil power inside of him.

The power Saki was releasing was absurd and the ground was already cracking due to his violet aura, with rocks and dirt lifting from the ground. ”Wow! Impressive!” Galen widened his eyes a bit, for a brief moment, before narrowing them again. Finally, when he finished what seemed to be a power-up, he asked his name. Galen nodded again. – Sorry I didn’t introduce myself earlier. My name is Galen, I’m a swordsman from the East, initiated in ki training by the monks of the Orin Temple, and student of the Kikoukenjustu Sword School! I will show you my skill! – he exclaimed with a confident tone.

With both fighters introduced, the young human flared his light-blue ki aura around his body and dashed forward, raising his sword above his head as he leaped upwards. Galen was in the air when he started falling near Saki. He aimed to strike him with the blunt side of his blade in a 12-6 vertical strike, aiming for his head. The way his body moved and his swift attack already showed how skilled he was in the martial arts training. He was above most fighters, that was certain.

Galen attacked with the blunt side of his sword, but he did use all of his skill and power at that attack. Still, Saki moved faster than lightning and Galen was almost unable to see his reaction speed as he successfully and almost effortlessly blocked his attack with his wristband. ”Fast! I almost couldn’t see him moving!” he thought to himself. But the young man didn’t have much time to think about what had just happened; Saki didn’t waste any time and was already countering his attack with a thrust aiming at Galen’s chest. He knew he couldn’t even dream to dodge it with his skill and speed alone, he had to resort to the use of his ki energy and battle techniques and that was exactly what he did.

When the sword was about to hit Galen, it went right through his chest, and the image of Galen there trembled like a flame for a brief second before it disappeared! He had used an afterimage technique to avoid the attack! The young human wasn’t nearly as strong as Saki and that was a clear fact, but he was resourceful and skilled and Saki had to give him that; Galen wasn’t going to lose without giving him a hell of fight.

Galen reappeared behind Saki, about ten feet away from him. He was heavily breathing; using such a quick dodging technique had its tools on the body, but he was once again ready to attack. ”I need to be careful or I will get exhausted way too quickly! And I can’t afford to get winded in this fight! This guy is truly a beast!!” he alerted himself, as he waited for Saki’s reaction in the hope of recovering a bit of his stamina before having to act again. Maybe the demon would be impressed with his dodge and talk a little bit. He hoped he did anyway.

Small fish in the pond; that’s what Saki called Galen for. The human swordman just sighed. The tall and fearsome demon wasn’t wrong and he knew that. On top of that, to see someone moving like Saki… That was way over the top. This demon man was definitely the faster and stronger opponent Galen had ever faced. ”It’s pretty obvious I can’t harm in even if I wanted to. If I keep on holding back I will be massacred!” he thought to himself, gulping as he did so. Drops of cold sweat ran down his temples and he frowned his eyebrows a little bit more, trying to think of a way to deal with this situation, but found none!

But before the young man could do anything, Saki moved at an amazing speed that far outclassed his afterimage technique, making it seems like child play. – T-that’s dangerous! – he exclaimed, as he noticed the attacks being thrown at his direction. They were too fast and powerful to be dealt with and Galen was pretty much surrounded! – Won’t be so easy!! Guardian!! – the human swordsman quickly shifted his sword in order to thrust it’s tip into the ground and, immediately as he did it, a circle of purplish energy appeared, creating an energy barrier around his body. The barrier was then punished by the sword slashes Saki kept on sending.

Galen’s barrier was strong, but not enough. It fully resisted the first slash to hit it, but it required more than half of the barrier’s energy. ”Dammit! It’s going to break!” he realized. And, with the second slash, the barrier was destroyed. The barrier still absorbed part of the damage, but the rest of the slash hit Galen’s body. The young human screamed in pain as he got punished by the continuous sword slashes and, when Saki finished this first attack, he immediately appeared in front of Galen, ready to deliver what would be a finishing blow.

– N-not so… FAST!!! –] Galen roared. The human was already bleeding and seriously injured, but he wasn’t going to give up. With that in mind, he tapped on his inner power, the fiery flame of will power that burned deep inside of his heart, unlocking his true potential! This was his Last Resort! His very last ace up his sleeves to try and keep on fighting.

[Last Resort Activated. Current PL: 52,669]

With his new power, he managed to block part of the attack. Saki’s shoulder thrust hit his sword, used to block the attack, but the power was greater than Galen’s defensive capability and pushed him backwards quite a lot, but he was still on his feet and ready to continue the fight. The tiredness seemed to disappear completely for the moment, and his light-blue ki aura increased in size quite a bit.

Saki said that he was good… For a human, and that made him frown his brows. He didn’t like to feel underestimated, even though he was far outclassed. In Galen’s mind, even a stronger fighter should show respect to the weaker one. That was the honor of the battle field. – You will see what a human can accomplish! I can’t defeat you, Saki, of the Red Tiger, but I will show you that Galen, of the Kikoukenjutsu Sword School isn’t someone you should treat lightly! – he said with a fiery determination in his voice. His ki aura was on its peak, flaring all around his body with its light-blue glow, and he was ready to attack.

When Saki dashed forward, so fast he couldn’t even see him, Galen threw his Broad Sword high up into the air, spinning. The cleave attack hit him right in the chest, but he did his very best to resist. Galen was pushed backwards and moaned in pain, puking a heavy load of blood from his mouth. He could feel his ribcage cracking, but Saki hadn’t finished his move! He appeared on his left side, but Galen was ready for the follow up attack! In fact, he was preparing for this moment ever since the beginning of Saki’s charge. ”My chance!” he thought to himself, feeling that he was about to reach the breaking point.

As he did that, he charged a powerful red-colored energy sphere on his right palm and fired it towards Saki, to intercept his strike before it was capable of hitting. Galen wasn’t as fast as he was, but he understood some deep concepts of martial arts, and now he was using the sensen no sen – the anticipation of an attack leading to an immediate counter-attack - the only thing that could be used against a much faster opponent. This was Galen’s Last Resort. – Explode! My energy!! This is my… RAGING FLASH!!! – he exclaimed as he fired the huge energy wave, intercepting Saki’s attack.

A power struggle begun and Galen was putting all of his heart into that move. This attack would certainly do some damage to Saki, even if just in the form a little sting, but he wanted to show him that he could be touched. Immediately after that, Galen’s intense ki aura vanished, and his power level dropped to his base again.

[Last Resort vanished. Current PL: 17,523]

When the surge of power left his body, he fell to his knees at the same time as his sword hit the ground, sticking its tip in it. The boy was panting heavily and coughing blood. He was done, he had no more energy left on his body and the damages he took were now taking its tools on his body. He could maybe throw a blow or another, but there was just no way he could fight against Saki anymore, the power gap was too huge. Still, his black eyes didn’t weaver. They still had that fiery determination and bravery; he wasn’t scared one bit!

His counter-attack worked and, despite being severely damaged, Galen managed to inflict some minor injuries to Saki. ”Hehehe… I… Did it… At least… A little bit… To show… Human potential…” his thoughts gave him some peace of mind. He knew it was a losing battle the moment he saw just how fast and powerful Saki was, completely nullifying most of his attacks. Only with his inner power was he able to touch Saki and, still, he knew the tall demon man wasn’t giving his everything. If he was, he wouldn’t have lasted a second, still… Galen wasn’t scared. He stared into the eyes of his opponent with bravery, waiting for the final outcome of the battle.

Saki said that he did good by being able to hurt him and said that he wouldn’t die today, which was a relief. Galen wasn’t afraid to die, but he didn’t want to die without being able to help more people, and he knew that, up until today, his contribution to the world was but minor. The young human smiled, inhaled sharply and chuckled in an odd way that seemed like the middle ground between chuckling and groaning. – I’m afraid… I can’t actually explain… I always… Had this power inside of me… - and he was speaking the truth. Ever since he had to save his older sister, Esther, from the vile hands of the zoan bandit in Mount Paozu, he discovered this weird power up.

Then, the demon said that he wanted to train with Galen again and he nodded in agreement, and even chuckled a bit more when he said that he was going to heal him. – I appreciate it… - he said, closing his eyes and allowing the demon man to use his technique on him. He didn’t suspect his opponent since, after all, he was at his mercy. Galen shook his head and showed that he had no fear inside of him. – I hope… We can be friends… Too… - his voice was still rather weakened. The energy poured inside Galen and fixed his body a little bit, not enough so he could be one hundred percent, but enough so that he could get back on his feet, rather impressed with the technique Saki used. – Wow! I feel much better now! – he exclaimed, looking at his own hands, before staring back at the demon, when he spoke a little bit about his story, on how he became a demon. When he finished, Galen liked what he said and he raised his right thumb, winking at Saki.

– I don’t really care what race you belong, or what do you look like! As long as you want to protect and help people, I will call you my friend and do my best to help you! Hehe! It was a pleasure learning from you, Saki, of the Red Tiger! I promise I will be stronger the next time we meet! – he said, with happiness and confidence in his voice. Then, when he finished speaking, Galen walked towards his sword, grabbed it and skillfully and swiftly threw it up into the skies, spinning. Then, he leaned his back forward and allowed it to reenter the sheath. He giggled a bit when he finished, proud of his little trick, and then waved at Saki, bidding him his farewell, before walking back towards the direction of the tribe.

He still had work to do and firewood to gather.