He watched the sleeping boy, debating whether to kill him for his impudence. He might have been stronger than him, but asleep as he was, he was completely defenseless. The only reason he hadn’t done so thus far was out of fear of being alone, but as time went on, he began to think that he might be better off alone.
It was then that Koya realized that he’d conjured a Water Blade in preparation to carry out the deed. The glowing blue half-moon blade was hovering in the air, just feet from Izu’s neck. He stared for a few long moments, his heart beginning to race as he ran the idea over in his head. If he killed Izu, Kozu would have to die as well, in case he decided to take revenge.
On the one hand, that would rid him of his problems early, and he wouldn’t have to share the glory once he’d killed the cripple and returned to the clan. On the other, he might need them to fight the freak’s allies. The Water Blade hung there for a long moment, Koya staring feverishly at the sleeping face of his once friend.
He probably would have gone through with it, had he not caught a flicker of movement on the dark plains as a bolt of lightning flashed across the sky. A figure was seated on top of a large weasel or ferret.
The technique vanished in an instant as Koya felt a mad grin stretching across his face. He knew it! He’d been right all along! The freak had been hiding nearby and had finally decided to show himself. It looked as though he was heading away from them, and at a pretty fast pace, as well.
Deciding that the time to be nice was over, he began viciously kicking the twins, rousing them from their slumber.
“Up! Get up, you lazy good-for-nothing sacks of horse dung! He’s getting away!”
Koya gritted his teeth as the twins were slow to respond, rising slowly from the ground and rubbing tiredly at their eyes.
“Wha’s goin’ on?” Izu mumbled, yawning widely.
Seeing that he was going to lose the freak if he waited any longer, Koya made his choice.
“Screw it. I’ve had enough of you anyway!” he yelled, turning and bolting after the fleeing coward.
Whether they followed him or not, he no longer cared. All he cared about was catching that freak, and making him pay!
***
Aika emerged from her test roughly two hours after she entered the real world, though for her, it had been nearly twelve hours of intense combat. Her hair was mussed and clung to her face in sweaty strands. Her robes were torn in several places where she’d received cuts that were no longer there, and she was covered in dirt and grime.
Despite all that. she had a wide smile plastered across her face, thumbs hooked proudly into the solid Green-Belt at her waist. She’d finally advanced!
Emerging from the portal, she half-expected to see Roy still sitting there. Instead, all she saw was the old man.
“About time you advanced,” he said, not even bothering to congratulate her, but she was in far too good of a mood to allow him to ruin it.
“Where’s Roy?” shd asked. He would be happy for her, she knew. He had the same drive that she did to advance. Even more so than her, if she wasn’t mistaken.
It had bothered her for the longest time, not knowing how someone with so much determination to advance, could be so weak. Once he’d told her his story, it made a lot more sense. She still found it hard to believe that he’d merged with a Dungeon core, but strange things happened in the world of Martial Arts all the time. So who was she to say what was possible and what wasn’t?
“Gone,” was Irusaru’s only reply. “Now come. We must leave. I have heard the news that the Beast King is on the move again and has allied himself with the Kyofu clan. Tonde Kaeru will need all the help he can get.”
Aika’s blood ran cold at the mention of the Beast King on the move. He hadn’t been spotted in well over a decade, and the last time had been at the start of their clan war. It was also troubling that the Kyofu had decided to join up with them, as they had always been bitter rivals. Right now, though, she was more worried about something else.
“What do you mean, Roy is gone?” she asked, the smile slipping from her face.
“Exactly what I said,” he replied, already turning to leave.
Aika didn’t follow him.
“What did you do, old man?” she asked, folding her arms over her chest, her expression hard.
“What I had to. For the good of the clan. That boy was a traitor and a liar. He used us for our resources and our secrets. Not to worry, though. I will have a squad sent out after him. He will not survive the week.”
“You were spying on us, weren’t you?” Aika asked, her voice now taking on a dangerous edge. When the old man failed to respond, it only confirmed her suspicions.
“You listened in to a private conversation, then banished him. Why? Because he didn’t tell you all of his secrets? If you were spying, then I would think that you would realize as to why he kept it all to himself!”
Aika’s voice had been rising in pitch and volume, until she was practically yelling at the old man, who still refused to turn and face her. This made her even angrier. It was so typical of him to do this, make a split-second decision just because he decided that it was right.
“He lied to me,” Irusaru replied, as though that were all the reason he needed. “Now, come. The clan is in need of our aid.”
“Go yourself, you miserable old man!” Aika snapped, already making her decision. “The only reason you sent him away was out of your own pride and selfishness. But you never have been able to see past yourself, have you? Abandoning your family for months on end, only visiting when you feel like it.”
Irusaru whirled on her then, his face a mask of anger. Power blazed from him, outlining his body in a golden halo. Aika staggered under the pressure, feeling her knees beginning to tremble, but forced herself to stay upright, meeting the smaller man’s eyes in defiance.
“What I do is for the good of the clan, girl!” he thundered, shaking the mountainside with his fury.
“Was not showing up to your own son’s funeral also for the good of the clan?” she asked. Her voice was quieter, but her words struck Irusaru with the force of a hammer blow.
He staggered, the pressure trying to pin her to the hillside vanishing in an instant. He looked as though he’d been struck, his face crumpling and his body hunching in on itself.
Aika straightened, fixing her hair as best she could and tightening her Belt for the run ahead.
“You are just a bitter old man who has lived for far too long. You’re stuck in the past, and that is why you cannot see past Roy’s dishonesty and see the person underneath. He’s someone who has suffered all their life for being different. I am leaving and taking him with me. You might not have a heart, but at least none of your descendants inherited that particular trait from you.”
With that said, she turned, using her Light Speed-Step Movement technique. Cycling Essence down to her feet, she rocketed down the hillside, her Essence coursing through her veins as she dashed for the valley exit, leaving her grandfather to stand alone atop the valley.
***
Roy sat on Ferry’s back, his muscles clenched tight as he fought to control the anger coursing through his veins. He’d been banished once again, this time by another who called him a freak. This was bringing Roy to a realization. It wasn’t the particular clans that were the problem; it was Martial Artists in general. Their entire way of life was flawed.
A world where only the strong survived and the weak were forced to scurry around on their knees, begging for scraps. What justice was there in a world like that? If there was a God, then he was certainly not doing his job. Either that, or he’d long since abandoned the world to their own devices.
If that was the case, then Roy knew what he would have to do. Destroying the Shah clan wouldn’t be enough to change the world. No. He would have to destroy the Martial Arts themselves. If such a feat was even possible, he would discover it. The heavens had abandoned them, so he would have to take their place!