Chapter 56 - Mana

Loki was able to flee the scene much easier than he expected. When he saw that no one was following, Loki landed on top of some random building. He then double-checked to see if no one was really chasing them and when he was sure that there was truly no one there, Loki sighed. 

'When I saw that battle maniac I thought he would be more difficult to handle. Usually, those kinds of people would do anything for the thrill of the battle. Also based on what I saw he should've easily seen the wires and powered through... I guess I overestimated his abilities.'

While Loki was deep in thought he suddenly heard someone moaning in pain. Loki looked at Michael surprised at what he saw. Michael's face was growing paler and for some reason, he was sweating profusely. 

Loki grew confused as he didn't expect such symptoms to appear. He had watched the entirety of how Michael was beaten up and it was just one hit and based on what Loki saw it wasn't even all that powerful. Even if Hayate used inner energy to strengthen his punch and caused a little bit of internal damage, the area that was hit wouldn't produce this kind of effect. 

Loki lowered Michael and unbuttoned his uniform to see if he had any injuries. After looking at the spot that was hit Loki saw that there was nothing, not even a bruise. It was at that moment Michael's body started emitting extreme heat. 

Seeing all the weird things that were happening to Michael, Loki decided to check his condition using his mana. Loki placed his hands on Michael's chest and made his mana flow through Michael's body.

Loki's mana flowed into Michael's body searching for what was wrong with him. None of Michael's organs were damaged and there were no signs of poisoning. As Loki was getting a bit curious about what was happening to Michael he found something odd. 

The inner energy that Hayate supposedly sent into Michael was having a violent reaction within Michael's body. Michael's body was rejecting the inner energy in a very abnormal way. 

'If inner energy is somehow similar to mana, then Michael's own inner energy should be forcing Hayate's inner energy out... But it doesn't seem to be doing that, not to mention it would seem that Michael's body is responding weirdly to Hayate's inner energy. Does Michael not have any inner energy, if so then how did he survive an attack that had inner energy infused with it?... Wait a minute, what is this familiar feeling?'

Loki who was scanning Michael found a different form of energy within him that was obviously different from inner energy. It took Loki a few seconds to understand what kind of energy it was and when he found out he was shocked by what he learned. 

'This is mana, this kid has mana flowing in him! How is this possible? I thought all of the people in this era don't have any inkling of mana in them... Still, his mana is quite different from my own, though minuscule it actually feels purer than mine.' 

Michael's body started to heat up, even more, and his whole body started trembling. When Loki saw this he clicked his tongue. 

'Damn it I need to force out the inner energy quickly. It doesn't matter if I don't get the entire thing out, if only little remains I'm sure that this kid's own mana would force out the remaining foreign invaders in his body which will, in turn, strengthen his own mana.'

Loki started the operation and forcefully pushed out Hayate's intruding inner energy out of Michael's body. As Loki expected, he couldn't get it all out, but the mana flowing through Michael did the remaining work and slowly expelled the foreign inner energy.

...

Michael who was feeling lethargic as his entire body felt hot and heavy, suddenly felt a comforting breeze flow through him. Once the comforting breeze disappeared the heaviness of his body had mostly gone away. He then felt something within him bursting out making him feel a sense of calmness. The moment the heaviness and heat dispersed from his body Michael was able to open his eyes, and the first thing he saw was a white mask. 

Michael was surprised and quickly backed a few feet away. He could not understand what was happening, since the last thing he remembered was being punched by Hayate. 

'Wait a minute, I think there was something else.' It was at that moment he recalled who the person standing before him was. Michael who had backed away quickly change his position and bowed to the person before him. 

"Thank you for saving me." 

Seeing Michael's changing expressions amused Loki as he could not help but smile underneath the mask. Loki then responded to the bowing Michael. 

"There's no need to thank me, I was just passing by... Since you're already awake, I'll take my leave." Loki was about to jump down from the building when Michael suddenly shouted. 

"WAIT!" 

Loki turned around looked at Michael whose eyes were clear and full of determination. When Loki saw those eyes he clicked his tongue and thought. 'Why are there so many things that remind me of you?'

Seeing that Loki had stopped from leaving and was now looking at him, Michael felt extremely nervous. The person before him was the most famous person in the city, the urban legend the assassin named Fade. Michael had watched Fade's videos numerous times and was deeply entranced by his skills and power. He knew that this might be his only chance to turn his life around. 

Loki didn't immediately leave and he and watched the nervous Michael waiting for him to speak. He was quite interested in the kid that had mana in a world that had little of it. Still, Loki grew a little impatient as Michael did not look like he was going to speak anytime soon. Loki still needed to head back home early or his siblings might get worried about him. 

'If this kid doesn't talk within the next ten seconds I'm leaving.' 

Michael unaware of Loki's growing impatience was still gathering his courage to speak to the assassin. Michael then clenched his fist as he spoke with all the resolve he has. 

"Please Sir Fade, please teach me how to fight!"