Martial Arts Worlds

"And what do you want me to do about it?"

Sozen asked.

"I have been able to conquer Uncontrollable Demons, and I can give you a few tips on how to do that, which you can use to help him.

"I came here to talk to you because it is a serious condition and should be treated as such."

Kiernan said.

"…"

Sozen rubbed his well-trimmed gray beard, then pulled out a pen and paper and slid them across the table.

"Very well. Write them down."

He said.

With a nod, Kiernan picked up the pen, quickly wrote them down, and then handed the paper to Sozen, who took a quick look.

"If there is anything else you need to know, my door will be open."

"Very well."

Sozen stood up, shook hands with Kiernan, and after the handsome young man left via the elevator, Sozen took a look at the paper.

With his right hand, he crushed the paper in his hand, squeezing it tightly until it was nothing but a crumpled wad.

"Uncontrollable Demons, was it?"

…

Ok Family Dojo, later in the day.

"Alright, let's try a takedown. Lunge at my legs, put your hands behind my knees, and push me down."

The trainer said, dressed in a tight black bodysuit that showed off his toned muscles. It looked like his body was that of a wrestler.

With warm sweat rolling down his face, Lumian nodded and then did a quick tackling lunge at the trainer's legs.

The trainer pressed his hands down at his shoulders to stop his lunge, but Lumian leaned further down, wrapped his hands further down his legs, and swept his feet out from under him.

The takedown tackle took the trainer down to the ground on his back. It was well-executed, even earning a smile from him.

Lumian immediately mounted him. The trainer locked his hands behind Lumian's head and pressed him down.

Their torsos pressed against each other.

Lumian dug for wrist control, fingers scraping across the trainer's forearm, but he immediately posted and bridged.

The trainer's hips exploded upward, broke Lumian's grip, and his head slammed into the trainer's shoulder.

"React quickly! You don't have time to think!"

The trainer shouted.

However, Lumian's mind was empty, and in that moment, the trainer trapped Lumian's ankle with his own, hooked it, and turned sharply.

The trainer performed the reversal with masterful skill. In an instant, he was on top, and Lumian was at the bottom.

Lumian tried fighting back, trying to trap the trainer's arm in a hold, but the difference in skill was evident, and the trainer quickly put him under a submission hold that Lumian couldn't escape from.

"Urgh!"

With a groan, Lumian tapped his hand on the ground three times, and the trainer then stood up, offering his hand to him.

"Huff! Huff!"

Lumian caught the hand, and the trainer pulled him up.

"Fighting is like a chess match. You need to think further than just one move. You need to think further than your opponent.

"While you mounted me, I had thought five moves further, but you hadn't thought further than the wrist grab, and thus, you froze in that moment.

"Don't stop thinking. Think further and further."

The trainer said, and Lumian kept nodding, sponging the information into his brain.

"This is why the legends of the younger generation—people like Kiernan Hunter, Wilhelm Kruger, and Young Helvetti—are the best.

"They always react to their opponents' moves immediately because they had already thought about what to do before the opponent even made a move."

The trainer said.

"I will do better."

Lumian said, and wiped the exhausted drool from his lips with his shirt.

In that moment, everyone in the dojo stopped whatever they were doing and greeted a person that was walking down the aisle towards them.

"Master!"

"Master!"

"Master!"

The trainer also put his arms next to his body and bowed sharply with respect.

"Mind if I talk alone with my son?"

Sozen asked with his hands crossed behind his back, and the trainer said, "Of course," before leaving in a hurry.

The rest also left in a hurry, leaving Sozen and his son alone.

The dojo had many floors to train in and hundreds of rooms to train alone, and thus there were many places for them to go.

"Father."

Lumian bowed deeply.

He already knew why his father came to meet him, and it was definitely because Kiernan came to meet him today.

However, his heart started beating as he wondered what his father's reaction was going to be, and it made him quite scared.

"I assume that Kiernan Hunter has already come to you about you having the Uncontrollable Demons condition?"

Sozen said.

"…Yes."

Lumian replied truthfully.

"He came to me about it."

Sozen said.

"…What do you think about it?"

Lumian asked, not daring to look his father in the eye, and kept his gaze on his father's sandals.

"Many people are born without anything special about them, but there are special people, with special bodies and special abilities.

"Natural Fighters. Imagination Fighters. Those with God-Given Physiques. Oh, how I've longed for one of my children to also possess such gifts.

"Now I do!"

Sozen said with a grin and patted his son hard on the shoulder. So hard that he winced in pain.

"What do you mean, father? This is no gift."

Lumian said with a frown.

"But it is! I did my research and talked to my friends about this Uncontrollable Demons condition, and apparently, it is a condition that originated from the Dead World.

"At Dead World, this condition was called the Possession.

"That condition will give you inhumane strength when those demons take over you, but as a con, it will make you lose control.

"What if you can keep the control? If you can master that power, you will become the strongest, my son. The strongest!"

Sozen laughed heartily.

"B-But Kiernan said it like it cannot be controlled, that I will just end up killing people in the future. Maybe we should listen to him."

Lumian said with a concerned look.

"Nonsense! He is just a brat. How much would he actually know about that condition? If he could control those impulses at his age, how hard can it actually be?

"He just tried to scare you. There's no need to listen to him.

"I will teach you, my son, to use the Possession as a great weapon, and in the future, no one can stop you!"

Sozen laughed.

'…I should've expected this to happen. I knew it.'

Lumian lowered his gaze, his lips trembling, his fists clenched at his sides.