I faced Ark when he said this, Ryo awakened Knight's Tantra. Just like the one you use.
I wasn't entirely sure what this meant, but when I recalled back to the Valley Tournament, I could have sworn I saw Daz also turn into such a form—even for but a moment when we faced that massive creature that Pride summoned.
"Or Armored Tantra… same, same," Ark concluded.
"So, like, the black coating and fangs and everything?" I asked meekly.
"Aye," Ryo replied casually.
"Dude… That's fucking awesome!"
"Aye!" Ark added in. "That type of Tantra is as rare as the perfect wife!"
Zeke groaned at that. "Always feel the need to bring up your woman problems, dontcha?"
Ark replied with a nervous laugh and went on, "What I meant to say was, that form of Tantra is not just any type. It's essentially a stronger form than your average Tantra."
"I see…"
Ryo smiled and then said, "I still don't exactly know how to activate it, but I'm hoping that you can teach me once I am better."
"Sure," I said eagerly. "It's kind of the same feeling you get when you're about to take a piss…"
Ryo blinked, and the double entendre in that statement screamed louder than the silence that followed.
"Oh… fuck… I am so sorry dude…"
He began laughing hysterically like when Star had made that earlier comment; she joined in like he had invited her.
And she added, "While we're on the topic, just think of it like you're about to cu—"
"No. None of that," I shut her down.
Ark laughed then asked, "How well do you know about Tantra, Greed?"
"Honestly, not much except that it can reject magic, or something like that, and act as a power and durability boost. It also enhances your senses. Basically, I can see sounds and hear smells."
Ryo raised his brow at me. "If Snow and Rex were here, they'd give you an earful of how ridiculous that sounds. But they're not, so I will banter for them… That sounds fucking ridiculous Dweeb!"
I was still getting used to Ryo's cussing, but it was refreshing to say the least.
Ark put two fingers to his chin as he was finding the words to explain with. "You are correct on the rejection part. Unlike Nullifying magic, it doesn't stop the magic from happening. Rather, it rejects it; and that can come out in the form of deflection, redirection, or in some cases, deactivation.
"Isn't that the same as Nullifying?" I asked obliviously.
"Not necessarily. The terms are cousins, but in short, they are different. For example, Nullification says, 'this cannot exist here', whereas deactivation says, 'turn it off'. Make sense?"
I scratched my head.
He shrugged with a simple smile. "Think of a magnet; when you put two negatives together or two positives, they repel each other through force of nature. Nothing can combine the two."
I sort of understood, but then I thought of my fight with Leon.
Nowhere on him did I find a trace of black coating, not like mine. If the type of Tantra Ryo and I had was not just any type—and was supposedly stronger, then how was he able to best me in that form?
"I have a question." I raised my hand as if I were in class.
"And I may have an answer, but I think you'd rather hear it from someone with more knowledge on the topic…"
As Ark said this, an elegant and tall man entered into the room. He had a blond bowl-cut and a dangling orb earring on one of his lobes. And that attire… of course…
"Tubolt?" I uttered with a bit of disdain.
"Don't say my name like some disease, you mutt. Have more respect for your seniors," he snarked.
"Just… surprised to see you here, is all."
Silence.
And then awkwardly… he bowed.
"I want to thank you, for leading Zeno on this last mission, and for paying him respect," he said softly, completely out of character.
I was baffled.
"It's nothing," I responded, leaving it at that.
We remained silent for a moment more, then he went on to say, "He was like a son to me… So… thank you for being his friend."
Again, more silence as I let him have this moment. I was not used to seeing him this way. Even during Asura's time, he never showed any other type of emotion other than animosity. Back when he fought Syemore with us, even then he was still insufferable.
But now? All I saw was a man just like Asura. And a grieving father.
"Now," he said as he rose and effortlessly changed the mood like the thought had literally deleted. "How can a no-brained Acting Captain not even know how his own powers work? You've got to be the dumbest piece of shit that has ever surfaced here in the Valley."
There he was.
"WHAT DID YOU CALL TEDDY, YOU STUPID BOWL-CUT FUCK!?" Star retaliated as I tried to calm her.
"DO NOT INSULT MY HAIRCUT! THIS STYLE HAS BEEN PASSED DOWN THROUGH MY FAMILY LINE LONG BEFORE THE VALLEY WAS EVEN FOUNDED!"
"Oh, so stupid haircuts run in your family, huh? That makes TOTAL SENSE!" she barked.
"HOW DARE YOU! YOU BLACK WOLVES ARE ALL THE SAME! NO MANNERS AND NO RESPECT! I'LL HAVE YOU KNOW—"
As Tubolt went off arguing with Star, Ark nervously tried to calm him down. "Now Tubolt… Greed is technically an official Captain now after the Tournament, remember?"
He wasn't listening, continuing to bicker with Star.
But before they could trail off, I patted Star on the head, and she calmed down almost immediately.
At the same time, Ryo complimented Tubolt's shoes and he began going off about that—then talked about his new robes, and then the church, and then his new sermon last weekend… I had no idea how Ryo did that, but Tubolt was basically puddy in his hands.
Tubolt cleared his throat and got back on topic. "Anyway… Ark called me over to discuss with you the fundamentals of Tantra. You're lucky I'm here, and that I see Ryoku as a standup knight of the Valley—he was gifted enough to earn a seat among the Hall of the Chosen after all. Had it not been for that—"
"Ah! Thank you so much Captain Tubolt! I am eager to learn from you! I am immensely honored to have you teach me of all people something you are clearly a master of! Please, continue! You have my ears!" Ryo interrupted before Tubolt got off track again.
I understood what he was doing. He truly was a tactical communicator.
"At least some of your generation has good taste…" Tubolt scoffed as he walked over to us and held out both his hands. "I will have to wash my hands after you touch it, mutt, but for the sake of the lesson, I want you both to set your hands atop mine."
I raised a brow at him and looked over to Ryo. He nodded, and we both did as he requested—placing a hand each.
"Now, try to activate that black coating on your hand only."
I activated it swiftly, and Ryo homed in, focusing so intently to his hand. He struggled, but he managed to partially coat it in black.
"Very good," Tubolt said, but just as he did, he raised his hands and bumped it against ours.
When he did this, our black coatings disappeared as if they had been broken off.
"Woah… how did you do that?" I asked, surprised.
"Simple. By applying more Tantra," he said as he stepped back. "Now coat only one of your arms and throw a punch right here." He pointed to his face. And I was elated.
"Absolutely."
Tubolt's forehead tightened. " You mutt! You truly just want to fight me, don't you!?"
"Uh… yeah. No shit."
He ground his teeth at me and then he glanced over to Ryo who was eyes closed with a big smile, almost like he was controlling Tubolt with his sheer eagerness to learn.
Tubolt calmed himself once more and then said, "Alright. Go."
Without hesitation, I coated my arm, reeled it in and then let it fly directly at Tubolt's mug. He didn't even dodge…
BANG!
My fist struck, but he did not move. And not only that, but the black coating on my arm shattered like glass.
Woah.
Then just as swiftly, he tossed a quick haymaker my way and I spat blood.
BANG!!
My head thrashed backward as I caught myself, holding a hand to my mouth. "Hey! What the fuck!"
Star and Jo both retaliated, but I stopped them with a simple hand just as quickly.
"Oh, I've wanted to do that for a very long time," Tubolt said pompously.
"Was that all you wanted to do?" I sneered.
He looked at me with serious look. "Do you know what happened?"
I thought about it, and nothing came to mind. If anything, it felt just like that time when Leon was striking me, and his attacks were piercing my black coating, but mine were doing nothing.
"Captain Ark is correct. When you place two negatives or two positives against each other, they repel. However, when it's a negative versus a positive, they connect. When you defend with Tantra you emit a positive frequency; and when you attack with Tantra, you emit a negative frequency. When fighting someone who also uses Tantra, it's important to know when they are emitting those frequencies in battle. For example, when you struck me, you were emitting a negative frequency, and because in defense Tantra is naturally positive, I simply changed the frequency to negative as well, making your strike ineffective."
Now it made sense.
So Leon was doing that exact thing… It was no wonder I couldn't even land a decent strike on him. He was controlling his frequencies on purpose—perhaps even subconsciously. Effortlessly.
"But here's where it gets interesting," Tubolt went on. "Now I want you to fully become that black armor you displayed back then—your Knight's Tantra."
There was no hiding it now, I had remembered he probably witnessed me fight Syemore back then, and even watched intently when I was in the sky with that massive creature at the Valley Tournament. Both times, I shrouded myself fully in that vantablack form.
Ark sat up in his seat as if he wanted to witness this. Ironic, given that he was blind.
"Well, oh mighty 'Savior from the Shadows'… will you do the honors?" Tubolt mocked.
I stared blankly at him for a few seconds, sighed, and then activated it.
In an instant I was shrouded that vantablack armor across my entire body. Ryo was elated to see it up close, as was Star and Jo—Star crooning as she beheld me.
My eyes glowed red and the fangs this form was known for etched across my face like a wicked smile. The pressure thickened, but only slightly. After all, no one here was an enemy… technically.
Tubolt scoffed and then went for another punch. The way he readied himself reminded me of Leon, and I nearly flinched when he shot it directly at my chest.
BANG!
Impact. But there was no damage.
I thought for sure that was going to pierce…
"As you can see. When presented with a higher density Tantra, even if my strike was negative against your positive, the strike could not pierce. That is the beauty of unlocking Knight's Tantra, otherwise known as—The Standalone Armor."
I relaxed, still in that form and then Tubolt twisted his fist.
SHATTER!
On my chest, the black coating broke, exposing my skin beneath. And I felt the pain of the strike.
"Shit!" I gasped as I staggered backward.
"Here's the problem, though…" he said as he stood up straight and fixed his blond hair, "If you're not careful, those who are knowledgeable about this craft will be able to break you. And they will simply do so with a more powerful strike."
Now I was confused again.
"Tell me. If a measly negatively charged magnet goes up against a negatively charged magnet the size of the Arcane King's castle, will they connect then?" We were all silent piecing it together. In this example, I was the 'Arcane King's castle'. The answer was obviously: yes, but still protected through rejection—but I let him proceed. "Then how much more then that same negatively charged, castle-sized magnet against a positively charged magnet castle?"
It was almost nonsensical to ask; it was just the same question but on a larger scale. And in that example, he was the positively charged castle. "It would be utterly obliterated," I replied.
"Precisely."
By this time, Star had been picking her nails out of boredom. She didn't understand any of it. Jo was in the corner looking out the window, but mentally taking notes.
Ryo was elated as he learned, asking Zeke for a pen and notepad.
"So, in summary," Ryo spoke, writing. "Even though our type of Tantra is the 'stronger' version, if another who can efficiently use Tantra simply overpowers that by use of either overwhelming similar output or identical opposite output, then they can match and even break Armored Tantra."
There was another term I had almost forgotten about… Just how many names did this power have?
"Then, if regular Tantra can overpower Knight's Tantra—or Armored Tantra… whatever—what is the point of this visible vantablack coating?" I asked incredulously.
"Are a child and an adult both human?" Tubolt countered.
"What kind of question—"
"Answer's yes, you stupid street-shitting mutt."
I wanted to throw another punch, but knowing how he deflected my last one… he may just do it again…
"If a child develops a magic ability that is better than the adult's, the child is gifted. However, the child is still a child. If the adult knows how to utilize what he has and has trained more than the child—the adult wins. Naturally," Tubolt noted. "Now, if that child trains and develops through time, when he's finally an adult as well, he now has the ability to go head to head with the older adult—even go as far as defeating him."
It was so basic, but the fundamentals were ultimately the same. Finally, I understood.
"As it stands, there are three types of Tantra: Armored (Knight's)—a Class 1, Perception (Overseer's)—Class 2, and Capitulation (King's)—Class 3. Regardless if one has awakened that visible coating or not, they are labeled the same. Very few users exist, so detailing it any further is unnecessary."
Capitulation—King's… That was the type Daz used. And even Pride…
"Now, here's the caveat," he went on. "For the likes of us who can't use Knight's Tantra and can only access the basics, it's taxing beyond measure. There are those who are called Masters of Tantra in this world; I am not one of them. I unfortunately have to use my Dark Arcane Knight form in order to gain access to stronger Tantra if need be."
Probably the humblest thing he has said all day.
But when he said that I only thought of two individuals. Leon was that second—now added on that small list—and the other from my past…
"I see. Looks like we have a lot of work to do don't we, Ryo?" I said, wiping the blood off my lips, at last.
"We do, indeed," he replied staunchly.
"I'm surprised you didn't call Daz over to give this explanation; he is another who uses Knight's Tantra after all…" Tubolt said to Ark.
"Yeah, well… he's kind of waiting for us back at the Den," I replied for him.
"The Den? Is that what you call your abode? Do you live in a cave?" he retorted.
I clicked my tongue and scowled at him.
"And why is he there?"
I dreaded the thought, taking my time to speak, and contemplating my choice of words. I wasn't sure if I wanted him or anyone else aside from Star and Jo to know that a Sin—Envy had just shown up randomly at our door.
"Daz wants us to be personal escorts to him while he transports a certain enemy to Tartarus."
Tubolt widened his eyes as he uttered his next words, almost terrified. "Did you say, Tartarus?"
"Yeah, what about it?"
He sighed and was patient with his next words before he ultimately said,
"So, he didn't tell you?"