Damien slowly walked through the settling dust toward Akira.
He placed a firm palm on the boy’s shoulder.
Akira looked up at him, still breathing heavily and clearly confused.
”Who taught you how to do that?” Damien asked, voice low and rough.
Akira answered quickly.
“It was Tatsuya.
He showed me the basics earlier today.”
Damien squinted his eyes slightly behind the glowing goggles.
He let out a tired sigh and took another drag from his cigarette.
”That wasn’t efficient,” he said bluntly.
“You destroyed the environment, sure.
But you didn’t even land a proper hit on the demon.
The blast was too wide.
Too messy.”
Damien stepped back and crossed his arms, entering full lecture mode.
”True Kinetic Blast isn’t about releasing a big explosion.
“It travels over 564 Mach speed the moment you release your punch.
You have to compress all your strength and spiritual energy into a single point, then unleash it at that extreme velocity.
What you did wasn’t a Kinetic Blast.
That was a Kinetic Explosion.
Impressive power, but extremely inefficient.”
Akira frowned, processing the harsh feedback.
“What’s the difference?”
Damien exhaled smoke slowly before explaining.
”Kinetic Explosion is raw power unleashed in every direction.
It’s loud, destructive, and wastes most of the energy.
Good for clearing a room or showing off, but terrible in real combat.
You’ll tire yourself out fast and leave yourself open after the blast.”
He continued, tone flat but serious:
”Kinetic Blast, on the other hand, is a focused, high-velocity strike.
All that power is concentrated into a piercing wave that travels in a straight line at extreme speed.
It drills through the target instead of exploding around it.
Less collateral damage, much higher penetration, and far more efficient. This story is hosted at g.com.
That’s why I can chain four of them consecutively.
Because I don’t waste energy.”
Damien glanced at the destroyed hallway and the barely alive demon groaning in the rubble.
”You have the raw strength for it — probably because of that thing inside you.
But right now, you’re just swinging around uncontrolled power.
If you keep doing that, you’ll be a liability in serious fights.”
Saki stood quietly nearby, arms crossed, listening intently.
Even she looked slightly impressed by Damien’s explanation, though she didn’t say anything.
Akira clenched his fist, eyes determined.
“Then… teach me the right way.”
Damien stared at him for a moment, then gave a small, tired smirk.
”Not bad.
At least you’re not cocky about it.” He adjusted his goggles.
“We’ll keep going.
Next room.”
The red scarf around Akira’s neck grew slightly warmer again as Gashin quietly observed the lesson with growing intrigue.