Khan's battles after he had obtained mana had been completely one-sided. The bullies couldn't help but suffer severe injuries every time he hit them, while Lieutenant Dyester was simply unbeatable.
The tall Ef'i was the first opponent who could put up a decent fight, and Khan ended up feeling excited about it. The alien could show him his current limits and give him a clear idea of his current prowess.
'He definitely felt it,' Khan thought when he looked at the green spots of blood that remained on the corners of the alien's mouth.
The Ef'i gave voice to a few guttural sounds before patting his chest. Khan didn't understand what he said, but a clear word eventually resounded while the alien pointed at his face.
"Citlalli!" The alien shouted while pointing at his face multiple times.
Khan finally understood what he meant. The Ef'i was announcing his name, and Khan happily imitated his gesture.
"Khan!" Khan shouted while pointing at his face.
The two exchanged an excited smile before resuming their battle stances. Citlalli didn't try to summon his mana at that time. He bent his legs and stretched one arm forward. His claws grew by a few centimeters, and his tail arched until it pointed at Khan from above his shoulder.
Khan suddenly recalled about the Ef'i's pointy tail. He didn't forget about that limb, but he didn't consider that the alien could use it in battle until then.
'Their martial arts should be different,' Khan realized in his mind.
The different physique of the Ef'i opened the path for techniques that humans couldn't perform. Those aliens had access to normal martial arts due to their humanoid figures, but they could also go past them thanks to their additional features.
Khan inspected Citlalli's body before giving up on trying to understand his fighting techniques from those glances. He wouldn't need to find it out if he executed the Lightning-demon style correctly.
Khan took a deep breath as his body bent forward. He seemed about to fall to the ground, but his figure shot ahead when his knees were only a few centimeters from the red-brown terrain.
Faint afterimages materialized behind Khan as his light steps generated an incredible acceleration. He reached his opponent in an instant, but he suddenly pointed his right foot and twisted his ankle to rotate his body and shift his momentum on his rising leg.
The tip of Khan's foot dug the terrain as he performed a roundhouse kick aimed at Citlalli's stomach. The alien couldn't react to his incredible speed again, but determination appeared on his face when he noticed the arrival of the attack.
The claws coming out of Citlalli's naked feet stretched and curved until they pierced the terrain. Khan's kick landed on his torso at that point, and the immense power carried by his attack pushed the alien backward.
However, Citlalli pointed his sharp feet to avoid flying away. His claws dug the terrain and made him stop after sliding for only two meters. His limbs couldn't reach Khan at that distance, but the same didn't apply to his tail.
Citlalli's tail shot forward and aimed for the center of Khan's chest. That limb was slim and quick, and Khan felt forced to cross his arms to block it.
An immense force fell on Khan's arms and spread through his shoulders. His body inevitably slid backward, and a deep wound appeared on his right forearm.
'That's crazy sharp!' Khan shouted in his mind before taking a step back to exit the alien's range.
Khan inspected his forearm and found a two centimeters deep cut where the tail had hit him. Citlalli wasn't holding back his deadly force at all. Things might have gotten dangerous if Khan didn't manage to block the attack.
'Is he trying to kill me?' Khan wondered, but his expression froze when Citlalli showed a disappointed face.
The alien had seen the surprise and fear that had appeared in Khan's face, and the event let him down. Citlalli believed to have found a worthy opponent, but it seemed that Khan was only a scared kid.
'They don't simply value battles,' Khan understood after noticing that disappointment. 'They worship them!'
Khan then took another deep breath and let go of his restraints. He had aimed both times for Citlalli's torso because Lieutenant Unchai had only ordered to knock him down. Yet, his previous approach wouldn't work since the Ef'i's idea of battle was far different.
The fear, surprise, and excitement that ran through Khan's face disappeared. He abandoned every emotion as his expression grew cold.
The Ef'i might have trained Citlalli to consider every battle as a matter of life and death, but Lieutenant Dyester had done the same. Moreover, Khan had experienced a level of mental torture due to his nightmares that normal kids of his age couldn't even imagine.
Citlalli seemed ready for his first war, but Khan had already witnessed it every night of the last eleven and a half years. The Ef'i's honorable approach to pain came from the beliefs of his species, but it couldn't compare to Khan's mindset. He had accepted desperation as his normality a long time ago.
Khan shot forward again. He performed his usual acceleration, but Citlalli had grown used to that technique by then. His four eyes even allowed him to follow the quick movements of his opponent, and his tail promptly pierced the air to intercept the sprint.
Yet, Khan flowed into another attack when he noticed the incoming tail. His body had already begun to rotate, but he put more strength on the foot stabbed on the ground.
The tail pierced Khan's figure, but Citlalli suddenly realized that he had only hit an afterimage. Khan had jumped without interrupting his rotation. His body continued to spin mid-air and moved the power accumulated with his momentum toward his right leg.
Citlalli couldn't do anything to stop that attack. He had noticed the second technique too late. His four eyes could only watch as Khan's horizontal figure delivered a descending kick at the top of his long head.
The Ef'i gritted his teeth to endure the blow, but the kick inevitably flung him downward. His knees and palms hit the ground as everything grew confused in his vision.
Khan couldn't help but respect the Ef'i's resilience when he saw that Citlalli struggled to stand up while his body finished descending toward the ground. However, those thoughts only affected the back of his mind. His legs moved as soon as his feet touched the terrain.
A knee filled Citlalli's vision when he managed to regain some focus. The alien had just begun to straighten his position, but Khan didn't let him rest.
Green blood fell from Citlalli's nose and mouth as Khan's attack straightened his back and exposed his torso. Khan noticed the Ef'i's tail flying toward him with the corner of his eyes, but his experience told him that his next kick would land before it.
Khan bent his body backward to give power to his leg. His knee was already in the air due to his previous attack, so he only had to tilt his shinbone to make his heel hit the alien torso.
Citlalli flew backward again. The alien fell among his group, but Khan didn't let him go even at that point. He jumped among the Ef'i and stomped both feet on the chest of his confused opponent.
The other Ef'i didn't dare to affect the battle. Their companion was lying among them, and Khan was jumping on his chest, but they didn't move.
Khan didn't care about his surroundings either. Citlalli had decided to have a battle to the death, and he would happily play along.
Images of his nightmare flashed in Khan's vision whenever he jumped on Citlalli's chest. The alien spat green blood every time the entirety of Khan's body weight fell on his abdomen. His senses were about to give in, but the relentless assault suddenly stopped and gave him the time to breathe.
Khan found a sharp tail wrapped around his left arm. Teco had stepped in to interrupt the battle. Disappointment flashed on his face when the Ef'i glanced at his student, but that feeling didn't hide his respect toward Khan.
"Good battle," Teco exclaimed with a guttural accent.
Khan nodded and stepped off Citlalli. His aloof eyes fell on his bleeding opponent one last time before he turned and walked back to Lieutenant Unchai.
The Lieutenant patted his shoulder. Khan heaved a helpless sigh as he suppressed the violent images of his nightmare. He didn't lose control of his actions, but the coldness shown during the last part of the battle had scared him.
'I was ready to kill him,' Khan thought while mustering his courage to turn toward the alien group.
Citlalli had clearly deserved that beatdown, and the Ef'i even saw it as a necessary procedure due to their customs. Yet, Khan was a human, so his ideals were different. He didn't feel good after attempting to kill one of his future sparring partners.
Teco gave voice to a guttural sound, and the group of Ef'i quickly grabbed Citlalli to drag him toward one of the green buildings. Those young aliens nodded when they crossed Khan's gaze. They seemed unable to avoid showing their respect toward him.
Even Teco abandoned his previous fervor and exchanged a polite handshake with Lieutenant Unchai before following his students. The group left in a matter of seconds, and Khan soon remained alone with the soldier.
"Did I do well?" Khan asked as doubts raged inside his mind.
"You did well, kid," Lieutenant Unchai sighed when he saw Khan's conflicted expression. "The first contact with an alien species is always peculiar. Your first had to be the Ef'i, so you've learnt how reckless they are when it comes to battles."
"Are they all ready to die over these pointless fights?" Khan asked.
"They aren't pointless for them," Lieutenant Unchai explained. "Learn the alien traditions, but don't let them get to your head. You have only adapted to their culture. No need to overthink your actions."
Lieutenant Unchai then led Khan toward his habitation, but his mood didn't improve during the walk. A reoccurring question deafened the rest of his thoughts and forced him to accept the reality of his previous actions.
'What would I do in front of a Nak?' Khan wondered while moving to the foreign building and entering the first empty flat that he found.
Khan didn't want to think anymore. He only wanted to dive deep into his training and ignore the recent events until he understood himself better.
