"Push, deflect, oppress, reject." The four basic forces of the art known as the "Supreme Polarity Fist." Through leg movements, flowing between established postures, which coordinated with the arms and breathing, formed the foundation for this ancient internal practice originating from ancient Feng.
Tori, of course, was far from being an advanced practitioner of this discipline. However, to train in the internal arts, it was necessary for him to learn the forms and applications of the eight main forces — of which he only used the most basic ones against Castellanos, to avoid too serious mistakes, considering his lack of discipline lately —. And, as that art, based on the constant interaction between Yin and Yang forces, had as its primary objective the maintenance of health and the prolongation of life through the so-called "internal alchemy," it was perfect for replenishing his depleted Qi flow, while the movement allowed him to maneuver in defense and attack.
Thus, Tori had decided to sacrifice a bit of his mobility and receive blows, in addition to repeating movements that seemed tedious to him, to recover his depleted energy flow, mainly diminished during the performance where he pretended to launch the "Fireball." All this in anticipation of what he hoped would be an exciting second round with Castellanos.
"How...?" The demon remained perplexed, with a lost gaze. Still kneeling on the ground, arms hanging like dead weight.
"Ah! Does it make any sense if I explain it to you? Well, I guess it will, it'll give you time to use demon magic... or something like that, to replenish those meridians of yours.
"Ha... The damned Qi channels," said Castellanos, trying to grasp the cause of his current state.
"Yes, yes! Your channels are now shattered."
"But... the fire from your palms... the fire from your palms didn't penetrate my barrier except once," Carlino remembered, taciturn.
"Uhm... that's true, if we only consider the fire you could see. You see: This hand, the "Yin" hand" he said, showing the right one, "By the nature of its polarity, produces a more... uhm... tangible or, thick... Physical? Heavy? Ah! I don't have the precise word right now..."
"Ah... the theory," commented the demon, almost smiling.
"Well, yes! All that hassle of study and constant work. I would skip that part too, you know? But that's how it's done already." Tori interrupted, casually exhaling smoke from his mouth, shrugging. "Anyway! My yin fire hand is —ironically— weak. In fact, I need a lighter to ignite something more than just the tips of my fingers, and keeping the hand lit can be mentally exhausting. Not to mention that I didn't have any chance of penetrating your barrier using it..."
"So, your left..."
"Exactly! The left, of Yang nature, produces something much more volatile and ethereal, on its part."
"Causing internal damage, even piercing my Wei Qi?"
"Oh! You like to say "Wei Qi", don't you? But, again... the theory! Yours, demon, was never Wei Qi... By the way, how much longer do I have to wait for you to recover?"
"Isn't it Wei Qi?"
"No. You generated a bubble-type barrier and coated it with an ultra-resistant layer of Metal element, so close to your body that it was easily confused, at least initially..." Answered the mage. "Especially without activating "See in the darkness" and with "True Vision" altered by your energy dome," he finally thought.
"...That's why the Fireball act."
"Very well!" Tori smiled again, entertained after several minutes of frustration. "The problem with your barrier is that it only protects the bubble's shell. Wei Qi, on the other hand, comes from the inside and depends on the lungs... Hence, mine is a shame," he said, taking a puff of smoke. "When you expanded the bubble out of fear of the nonexistent Fireball, it became evident that it wasn't Wei Qi. You even deceived yourself!" he continued, letting out a short mocking laugh.
"Why are you telling me all this? Are you so confident in your victory?" Castellanos asked, resuming his sinister smile.
"Oh! Not at all, I'm expecting your treacherous attack or something" said Tori, letting out another short laugh. "Now. Think about how many times I hit you with the left palm."
Castellanos remembered the first body-to-body clash between them, where Tori's first blocks already included the use of both palms.
"But, it wasn't lit. Your left hand wasn't lit! There were no flames until the last exchange!"
"Volatile, ethereal, subtle? Yang? I hope you're focused on gathering demon magic and not just being plain stupid. You didn't see the flames because they're not visible, unless I want them to be... And yes, I made it visible in the end because... well, it would have been complicated for you to figure out the trick at that moment. Lighting both up made you focus on your invincible outer layer."
"So, you weren't playing while taking damage."
"Oh! I didn't come here to be killed either. I'm not going to hand you the situation on a silver platter!"
"Well, you're doing it now. Naively thinking you've already won," Carlino commented in a guttural tone, increasingly becoming the predatory monster he had been during the confrontation.
"Oh! Instead of thanking me!" said Tori, rolling his eyes.
"Then let me thank you properly, mage." Castellanos stood up with some effort. He inhaled deeply through nose and mouth, opened his arms, and with a beastly roar, began to recover rapidly. "Watch! This is how I replenish energy! I told you before, I can fight using human elements, but my energy reserve is that of a demon, infinitely superior."
Tori could perceive without the need for any of his "Visions," the abrupt influx of raw demon energy into Castellanos' body.
"Like this! This is better! Show me that you're not the demon of boredom!" exclaimed Tori, once again interested, with a smile that showed almost all of his teeth.
