Fighting the Demon and Reveal of the New Techniques (2)

After striking the Demon in the face, it was sent crashing straight to the ground, causing a small dust cloud limiting Stigma's vision to see how much damage he made. Not only could he not see, but the cloud also gave the Demon room to take its distance, due to Stigma's caution over it's new form.

'Wonder if that did any damage at all...' Stigma had been fighting with nothing but his bare hand for quite a while, and noticed that in every fight, his fist would only be receiving the most injury and he would use up most of his stamina on running around.

So he thought of a method to lessen the damage along with increasing the damage he could give, and create a method to create a support for his legs and feet as he ran.

The method he thought of was simple layering his Grudge energy to his arms to lessen the burden and layer it to his feet to add more explosive boost on his stomping. He already new that his reserves were not enough to do both continuously so he only layered his arm, and only boosted the sole of his feet.

With a bit of practice, he noticed that if he stretched the energy from his arms, he can grasp and lift object from a certain distance. But he could not see the energy unless he used 'Essence Reader', making it look invisible.

With such an interesting skill, he decided to name the technique 'Phantom Limb[1]'. Since it felt like he was having a extended limb. When he didn't use his actual hand, it felt like he was using an extra pair of arms so far he can only create only one making it look like he had a third if it was visible.

With that thought in mind, he started layering his feet as well, to see if he can applify his speed. After experimenting during his fight, the result had given him two news; good and bad.

The good news was that he can use it as an instant movement technique to travel from far distance, but the bad news was that he would gain some muscle strain from overusing it, leading his legs and feet to suffer. So he decide to only use it on his feet and the results were promising.

Unlike before he had to constantly use up a lot of energy when he ran, leaving him more exhausted. With his reserves he be wasting too much, so he decided focusing solely to protect his arms and hands, then use minimal amounts on his feet only.

With energy on his feet he can only propel himself from his original position. With such a cost effective skill he decided to name it, "Shadowless Waltz", since it looked like he disappeared and reappeared out of nowhere.

After using them in some fights, Stigma immediately realized that he had to choose wisely on when to use the Phantom Limb and Phantom Waltz. Since both of them would drain his reserves faster than he can notice if he were not here, so now all he needed to do was use both of them for now and gain experience.

Due to his current reserves he can only maintain one move at a time, making him alternate on each one when he used both. But when he gets stronger it won't matter anymore.

While Stigma was standing around resupplying his reserves, near the crater he heard a someone crack his neck, after the dust receded he saw the Demon sitting on the floor and dusted himself. As it gazes at Stigma with a smile and a dancing tail, its face showed a bruised cheek with a bloody nose and nothing more.

Due to Stigma still being in the Zero Tier, the length of the technique could only cover about a a meter when stretched, so he focused all his current energy to just his fist to give maximum damage.

'...What the hell, after all that, I only got a bloody nose!' Stigma was confused as to why the Demon gained minor damage.

What the Demon did was nothing more of self enhancement. By circulating energy to certain areas such as the heart or the limbs, any cultivator who uses this will be like wearing a suit of armor.

But due to the Demon's physiology of a being born from energy, the difference in usage between human cultivators and Demons were like heaven and earth.

Since humans are just 'housing' or 'containing' energy, they need to resupply it from time to time so they had to take a long time to fully form a defensive armor, Demons however are lifeforms made from energy so they have a natural grasp on molding energy as if they were breathing, making a skin or energy was only a small feat.

If they ever decide to enhance themselves, increasing their physical strength would be to simple task. But the Demon in front Stigma was more intelligent, hence it not be as reckless as to squander the energy needlessly.

When a normal demon gains this form, with no knowledge on seals, they would be in a permanent state of madness due to not having a conscience. Unable to free themselves from the state leading them to die from over using, making them go through constant torment in their minds until the disappear.

But the Demon before Stigma was completely different, as it had a fully formed conscience, so it revert back to his original form if he wanted to.

Now the Demon in Ogre form was smiling at Stigma with a hint of excitement, not from being caught by surprise, but by being injured from just on punch,

'Truly Magnificent...truly beautiful...' Licking the blood going down its lips, it stood up and grabbed a loss boulder from the roots and used it as a shield charging at Stigma with the intent of crushing him. Ignoring all obstacles in its way and started ramming through whatever comes in its path.

Without wasting a second, Stigma used his movement technique again and appeared behind the Demon. But the Demon was ready this time and used the rock shield as a battering ram aiming to slam Stigma against the wall.

Strangely he turned to find that Stigma had disappeared, turning its head for a moment it suddenly received a heavy blow from his gut, causing it to swing the rock all the round and still hit nothing.

'How is he doing this...' Confusion was on the face of the Demon, the attack Stigma had done was one thing but the moment he appeared behind had cause it to be in a daze. Normally when one does such a technique they would use energy to support their movement continuously.

Out of nowhere the Demon suddenly felt Stigma's energy right in front of him only to disappear again suddenly, when it looked around to find Stigma, it was suddenly received an uppercut to the chin causing it to be disoriented.

Not letting his chance slip away Stigma did a barrage of kicks and punches to the Demons chest and legs, slowing it down and forcing it to retreat so Stigma can take the momentum.

Sadly the Demon only braced the impacts and did a full right arm swing hitting Stigma in the chest, the force behind the swing was strong enough to cause Stigma cough up blood mid air and slamming against a wall.

The difference in damage was clear, if Stigma attacked he had to do a fury of attacks repeatedly to give damage, but the Demon needed one swing in its current form.

Ignoring the pain in his back Stigma disappeared again and did a knee strike to the Demon's chin. Only to be blocked by a cross arm guard, not letting his momentum gone he followed his attack with his continuous fury of punches, with the intentions to destroy the Demon's guard.

So far, Stigma was getting nowhere and only received block after block, causing him to switch patterns in mixing faints after each hit.

'What is going on...he should not have the wind nor the lightning affinity much less the space element as of yet, how is he doing this...' The Demon's confusing on how Stigma was capable of coming close to him then disappear without out a trace, then reappear again from behind without him noticing had left him on guard.

Like Stigma's 'Essence Reader' Demons were capable of seeing Zen energy, though such a skill was an inherit and only available to the one with fully formed intelligence. Even when they don't use their eyes, they were capable in sensing the disturbance or changes of one's Zen.

Even if they lose their physical eyesight, they could still 'see' even if they lose their sight.

After guarding with its left arm, the Demon noticed that even in its current form, he was still receiving more injuries than the other way around. Greatly impressed by Stigma's short improvement, and great insight on their first battle and finally forming his own style.

Demons have a natural ability in which their skin would circulate Zen energy naturally, turning it into armor that nullifies normal attacks as a passive skill. From their first fight, it did not gain any form of damage, since Stigma had not used his Zen energy until he used it on the sharpened tree branch.

Even now it was still feeling the burning sensation in its throat. But he was more concerned as to how Stigma was moving in such a bizarre manner.

'He should not be capable of hiding his energy as of yet, so how is he doing this...' While the Demon was guarding, Stigma took a step forward and did a body blow three times from its unguarded ribs.

With the sudden damage in its ribs, the Demons crabbed Stigma and threw him across the area, then crushed the ground creating another dust cloud to cover him. When he looked around the cloud, he preparation were finally done to see the trick Stigma did to cause him to disappear.

When Stigma came at the Demon, it surveyed the surrounding and found what he was looking for.

'I knew it, it wasn't that he was to fast, nor he had teleported, it was more like he appeared then disappeared then striked me...' With it's sudden discovery, the Demon grinned, not from how it discovered the trick, but how advance the technique Stigma was using.

When the Demon looked at the cloud he expected three thing to show, if Stigma was using the wind element then the dust would move to where he was heading, if lightning he would see sparks in the dust indicating small charges, and as for the space the user would need a clear vision to where his destination would be so the cloud would camouflage him.

And finally he found out that Stigma was only hurling himself at him.

So far two of the techniques that Stigma had used was solidifying the energy and using the energy to hurl him toward a direction. Which sounded simple but in the hands of an expect could lead into a difficult battle.

Solidifying energy was a difficult process especially in a short time, to give an accurate analogy, energy is like water you can form it in many shapes and sizes. But hardening it takes time, like how water hardens to ice, the more ones trains in it the more solid the energy will be.

Phantom Limb a technique that freely manipulating Zen energy forming it into an extra limb, due to it being only energy changing the shape and size was possible along with stretching was a form of enginiush talent, since no one had taught him.

Shadowless Waltz, it was simply Stigma using energy to propel him through one area to another. Due to still being in the weaker Tier, he was unknowingly using all of his reserves without knowing if he ran out or not, since he didn't know the room was only filled with energy, Stigma had the assumption he was only recovering easily.

Yet at the same time Stigma was capable of not producing sound, so one cannot really on their ears to look for him.

As for the invisibility, it was a simple trick, since the Demon relied to only look for Zen only, it couldn't detect Stigma's presence since he only used it on his feet, then it finally notice where Stigma was from his hardened Zen to his fist.

Albeit a crude fighting style for a beginner, but if a veteran cultivator were to use this, he could use it more effectively than Stigma.

'Truly a genius in a making, it must be that he had used it all up in one go so I can't find him, but if he were to learn how to use it properly...too bad you jumped the gun and started with little experience...'

"Not bad, now it's my turn..." All of a sudden he started forming his energy, like how Stigma formed his energy.

'Shit! The Demon copied my new skills I developed!' Stopping for a moment, Stigma saw the change from the Demon and immediately cursed.

The Demon was using Stigma's idea in fighting, layering its arms and legs with energy, the difference in size was huge, compared to Stigma that looked like a chickens feet, the Demons had formed exactly like the claws he wanted on his hands and feets.

Moments later the Demon charged at him and sent a powerful right swing at Stigma, when he guarded he cursed from making a mistake. The punch he received had sent him against a wall only to be broken through all the way to the other side.

"Hah...Back to square one..." Moments when the Demon had boosted itself with Phantom Limbs, and Shadowless Waltz, Stigma was sent flying, so he decided take the initiative and gave it no chance to fight back since it was still new to the copied skill.

But when he was about to move the Demon came through the wall and sent a flying kick, the damage he received was heavy, straight to the gut causing him to propel backwards, followed with an overhead kick Stigma was spinning all the way to the ground.

Forcing himself to not lose focus, he looked to see a kick was going to land on him, so gave he braced the impact, sending him backwards again, crashing into a pile of rubble.

The battle had continued on for two hours and Stigma had no time to relax, so he was extremely exhausted.

While pushing away the rubble, Stigma had flowing down his head and saw the Demon in Ogre form standing from the otherside with its one hand making a gesture, telling him to come get him.

"Got no more tricks left, except for that, gotta make the last one count!" spitting a mouth full of blood Stigma jumped out and focused all his energy on hi right arm.

'Hmm, what is he doing...Oh, I see,must be gambling it all in one shoot' Following Stigma stance, the Demon also focused his energy all in his right arm, aiming to kill Stigma on one blow.

"I hope your ready for this."

'Don't think bad of me, I'm only doing this for your own good.' The difference again was shown, Stigma was a rubber ball, while the Demon was a pure black orb with no deformities.

'You have to face reality...'

With no need to wait for the other, they both charged at one another. The Demon was first to throw his punch, but instead of countering Stigma focused some energy on his feet circled to his arms.

"LIKE HELL I CAN COUNTER IT STRAIGHT ON YOU MORON!" What Stigma did next was grabbed the said arm and continued to circle the Demon, warping his energy around him like a rope. But instead of being dazed the Demon laughed at Stigma's attempt.

"HA HA HA, YOU THINK ROPE MADE FROM ENERGY CAN STOP ME, OUR RESERVES ARE WORLDS APART, ONCE I BREAK THIS, ITS OVER!" When the Demon started to break the rope he noticed something odd, the more he tried to break it the more it stretched, since the energy was already around his arms he can't rip it out.

"WHAT THE HELL!"

"SUCCESS! THE GRUDGE ENERGY IS MORE RESILIENT THAT I THOUGHT!"Exactly, what Stigma did was nothing but simple, he just molded his Grudge energy to his hand, and only wrapped it around the Demon's torse.

But that doesn't mean he can stop the Demons legs, seeing a kick coming at him charged in circled the energy around its neck.

But the Demon Countered by running upward and doing a backdrop with Stigma behind it. The process continues for more than an hour, the shear weight of the Demon was getting to Stigma so he was about to pass out.

Yet Stigma was not the only one suffering, the Demon had been breathing heavily as well, with the rope made from energy it was slowly being choked from behind by Stigma stubborn grip, and it jumping around and landing on its back was not helping it at all.

But that was not the only problem, the Demon noticed that it was slowly losing its reserves more that he thought along with him getting shorter.

'What the hell, how am losing energy! This form just need me to release it to revert back!' With time passing by the Demon was reverting back to his imp form, confused as to by it was losing its strength, then it gave only one explanation.

'That's right Sir can do Curses!' As it continued to struggle the more he felt the rope tightening around his neck. Even with all his physical strength it was useless.

"I get it... Sir can force.... anyone to receed their energy or nullify it... with this move, truly brilliant!" With that in mind he can only use one method, and that is to forcefully remove it with brute strength, but even after struggling for thirty more minutes it still left no visible result.

Looking up in the sky, the Demon can only smile as it felt the tightening sensation around its neck.

"Hah...it's...my lose...." But before the Demon could pass out, it felt the rope being lossend and head a body being dropped.

Turning its head to look, the Demon found Stigma passed out with his eyes closed. Instead of taking the chance to attacking him, it only looked at him then to its hand and smiled.

'To think he had such an ability' Looking at its hand for a moment the Grudge energy was slowly disappearing reverting it back to the Ogre form. But instead of delight from the victory the Demon felt like he had lost and released his form, turning back into a familiar black imp.

"It is my lose Dear Sir, you earned my respect." Doing a series of hand signs, it released a orb of energy from its body letting the other orb from Stigma's body merge with it, it was an orb representing its life force.

With another series of hand signs it then placed its hand over Stigma's head, after muttering a few words a seal was shown. Afterwards he signaled the attendance and beast to move forwards, showing a ferocious glare while pointing at Stigmas body as if he was the main priority.

"Make sure Sir goes to the Healing Spring, do not delay! Half of you clean up the mess, while the rest look after Sir! As for you beast, return to your cages until further notice!" The Demon currently had the highest rank among them, it was also him who subdued the beast when they first entered wreaking havoc inside Stigma's soul, so naturally they had a great sense of fear from him.

As the attendance brought Stigma's body on a pillowed stretcher, the Demon muttered in a low tone as they all walked away.

'What a scary child, to have such a frightening ability, if he were to use it in the future, be would be considered the bane to all cultivators. I have to make sure he masters this ability in the future, to make him, the strongest...'

The Demon smiled and followed behind.

[1] Phantom Limb, is the sensation that an amputated or missing limb is still attached.