Requiem Of A Failed Hero

CHAPTER 403

Raith settled into a fighting stance, weight balanced evenly on the balls of his feet, knees bent and loose.

He wasn't sure what he was doing. But strangely enough the moment he took the first form according to what Thard - Harl had said, something kind of played out in his head.

He began going through the a set of flowing forms. He was sure Thard-Harl had never demonstrated them to him. But yet, they were playing out in his head, the movements as they revealed in his head seemed like they were to attune the body's energy and prime the muscles for rapid reaction.

If that was the case, perhaps it was the best style for him.

Thard - Harl had mentioned that neofut was very different for each individual. When you master the footwork it takes root in your soul and only moves according the the limit of your potential.

Which means, one asura could be using Neofut and have insane and a surmountable amount of strength and yet another wouldn't even be able to come close, while using the same leg work.

As a matter of fact this was the same footwork that Cor - Ellion had learned as a kid. It was what formed the fundamental of his bizarre speed.

As the deceptively delicate looking steps and turns continued to play out in his head, the shadowy figure emerged from the charged at him.

Raith immediately increased his pace, playing out the first form according to how it came to him. It was not easy, not even near the picture he had in his head.

But this way it was very easy for him to lurch forward a series of kicks to meet the shadow head on as it met him.

Moving his legs were comparatively easy the moment he started the first form, slightly pushing his legs into a shoulder wodth position and lowerint them to follow accordingly.

His legs twirled in the air in a series of motion of blurs.

However, the shadow matched him perfectly, an uncanny reflection anticipating every kick he threw.

Raith fell back on his feet, frowning in concentration.

'What just happened…'

He wasn't mistaken, the monster had just reflect the same move he did. Moreso, it didn't even use the form before throwing the same series of kicks.

Raith felt defiled.

"This bastard…."

Raith moved again, this time trying harder to birth thr movement as they were in his head. His battle-honed body and senses proved to be quote useful for once.

If not how would he have been able to birth such a style without being instructed and shown. There was still a mystery tied to why the moves were playing out in his head. Raith heavily suspected the asura for that.

Even though what he was doing was nowhere near perfect. Raith was on a good start and it was thanks to his accumulated experience.

This battle styles he had used from before, the sword forms. They all seemed useless when he thought about it. But right now, all those experiences were what came together to give him a commendable sense of comprehension and action.

Integrating the evasive Neofut footwork into combination attacks, through the first and second forms, Raith used the circulating momentum to flow from strikes to counters.

Again the shadow duplicated his efforts, gliding from postures of attack to defense and back again with preternatural grace.

Raith paused again, shocked.

The creature glared at him with a wide grin. All its animalistic traits from before was completely gone. For some reason it seemed like a refined being. Specially woven for Raith to fight.

But for Raith this was utterly disgusting, each of those forms were so hard to exhibit. He felt his breath almost cut short as he used two forms in a row and yet this brooding darkness managed to mirror exactly what he had done without using the forms.

Raith was very disgusted. Not to say, the impact power his punches packed could not be overlooked. Raith had defended but his arm bone was fractured.

He had also sustained little cuts from letting some attacks slip past his defense.

Raith frowned and pressed harder. He was going to do this until the damned monster could not copy him anymore.

Raith gritted his teeth, forcing his protesting body back into the basic Neofut forms.

Simple shoulder-width stance, weight centered. Step and turn, let the momentum flow through torso and legs. His injured arm screamed in protest but he pushed through, picking up speed again.

The shadow being matched him move for move, gliding eerily from posture to posture.

Raith started mixing in punches and kicks, experimenting with breaking the forms to launch attacks mid-motion and resuming the footwork patterns.

The shadow replied in kind without hesitation, powerful dark limbs hammering just as quickly into Raith's guard.

As the exchanges continued, Raith gradually came to realize what made the Neofut forms so exceptionally versatile and reactive.

By keeping the body's weight always ready to shift while in motion, one could react instantly to an opponent's moves. The constant motion also kept the muscles warm and energized for powerful bursts of speed and strength.

Watching his shadow opponent effortlessly mirror techniques he had only begun learning showed Raith how much farther he still had to go.

This creature moved with the easy intuitiveness of one who had long ago mastered the style.

Circling slowly, Raith continued practicing the Neofut steps, now also closely observing the shadow's flawless exhibitions.

Where he struggled, it flowed smoothly. As he began incorporating its refinements into his own movements, he could feel the forms clicking into place, transitions becoming more intuitive.

As they fought crudely, Raith focusing fully on the shadow's teachings, their fights morphed into a kind of moving meditation.

Strike, evade, counterattack, reposition in one harmonious sequence of motion.

Raith's awareness expanded as his body automatically adjusted balance and weight distribution in response to the shadow's attacks.

In those moments of pure reaction, he could perceive openings take shape as if in slow motion.

Their sparring almost took on the feel of a graceful, lethal dance under the shadow's guidance.

Raith replicated ever more complex Neofut combinations, now not merely following but extrapolating the principles that opened up more chances to even invent his own variants.

Raith then… suddenly noticed something. A wide grin spread across his lips as the realization opened up to his mind like the dawning of the day.

This creature had already mastered the very basics of Neofut to an instinctual level. However, it had never shown the foundational forms themselves.