The Fifth Has Gone Silent
After leaving word with Iris to come see me together once Garam woke up, I headed off to find my master. Staying with Iris would only scratch at my nerves again anyway. Besides, Master had drawn blood from Garam’s attack just moments ago. To the Heavenly Demon it was probably less than an insect bite, but as her disciple I couldn’t simply overlook the fact that my master had been injured.
She wasn’t in the pavilion, nor was she in her room. Following the flow of her energy led me to a stream nearby.
“Master?”
“You’ve come.”
She was in her usual light clothes, bare legs exposed, splashing playfully in the water. The way she casually shed her outer robe at any time was one thing, but even in this high, refreshingly cool area she was fanning herself while dipping her feet in the stream. Master was faithfully following the setting that said she gets hot easily.
“I moved around a bit for the first time in a while, so it’s warm.”
“You looked quite happy.”
“Did I? You saw correctly. It was rather enjoyable. Garam, was it? That child from earlier.”
“Yes. She’s the first disciple I taught.”
“You seem to have taught her very well. The principles differ slightly from the Heavenly Demon Divine Art I use, but the way she built upon the foundation to carve out her own path, and especially that sword of hers, left quite an impression.”
“Hearing you say that makes me feel as if I received all the praise myself.”
Splash, splash—.
Perhaps my words had improved her mood. A faint smile touched Master’s lips as she lightly kicked up water with both feet.
Hmm. If I kept watching this I’d lose my mind, so I decided to get to the main point quickly.
“Master.”
“What is it?”
“Are you all right?”
“What do you… Ah.”
Master let out a short “Ha!” of realization, instantly grasping my meaning. She raised her left hand and thrust it toward me.
“There’s nothing to worry about. If anything, shouldn’t you be worrying about your own disciple?”
The wound had clearly been bleeding, yet it had already healed considerably. A vivid red line still remained, but that was all. Her body wasn’t merely sturdy—her recovery ability was on another level entirely. For someone so powerful to be unable to use her strength in the battles that truly mattered simply because she wasn’t a Hero… Just thinking about it made heavy sighs escape me.
I or Master could handle the monsters easily enough. But in the end, only the chosen Heroes—only my disciples—could slay the Fragments of the Demon God.
“Did my disciple make you bleed? Did she injure you badly?”
Still, that was one thing; the situation before my eyes was another. No matter what, my master had been wounded. Was I really supposed to just say “Oh, I see” and move on? I would bet anything that our Heavenly Demon would remember this for a long time. She could be magnanimous one moment and incredibly petty the next.
“Give me your hand.”
“W-why are you acting like this? I told you I’m fine!”
“Give it here. I need to check. Even a small wound can fester if neglected.”
Even if she couldn’t deal with the Fragments of the Demon God, she could easily clean up the lesser creatures beneath them. That made Master one of my most vital assets. Therefore I had to keep looking after her.
“…”
“Ahem. Hm-hmm. Khm!”
“…Fortunately, it doesn’t look like any foreign substances got in.”
“U-useless concern. Have you forgotten who I am!”
“I know. You are the Heavenly Demon. But didn’t you tell me yourself, Master? In the end, since you too are human—made of bone and flesh—if a blade pierces your heart, severs your throat, or if disease spreads deep inside your body, you will die.”
“You even remember such trivial remarks. That was merely something I said in passing.”
“Even a tiny wound, if left alone, can fester. Once it does, the poison spreads throughout the body.”
“A-all right, I understand. I understand, so release my hand already.”
Master hastily withdrew her hand. Her face seemed faintly flushed. Considering how little she knew about relationships between men and women, the reaction was only natural.
“Ahem. Where were we?”
“We were speaking of Garam.”
“Ah, yes. Let me see… First, her fundamentals were excellently established. Her sword path was straight and true, yet it could twist and shift unpredictably in an instant. Quite ferocious. It reminded me of the Sword Venerable from the righteous faction, my old rival. Had it not been for that child’s stamina issue, I might have used my right hand.”
As expected, the biggest obstacle was still her stamina. I had poured every effort into supplementing that weakness and raised her this far, yet hearing it was still insufficient made my chest feel tight.
The character Garam carried the inherent penalty of a frail body. I had covered that weakness by using the training methods of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art to cloak her body in internal energy. But the technique consumed so much stamina that the problem refused to disappear no matter what I tried.
“What should I do?”
“Is there another option? Of course you must push her harder.”
“She’s already rolled and struggled until she’s practically worn out.”
“That is precisely why you must drive her to her absolute limit. Before I reached this position, even if you combined every other factor, the time I spent fighting others was far greater. There are no shortcuts. You must break through head-on.”
Garam had already left my side and was living admirably as a Hero. There were no signs of laziness or arrogance, so if I gave her a hint, she would understand. What she needed was neither technique, speed, nor power—it was stamina.
“By the way, about Iris…”
The moment I cautiously brought up Iris, Master’s face hardened at once. It was true the girl was weak and rather playful. But she was by no means evil by nature, nor a wrong disciple. I couldn’t understand why Master kept reacting so sharply.
“At first I thought it was simply because Iris was weak and lacked any remarkable talent.”
“…”
“Yet your reaction was even sharper than that.”
“Did I not tell you? I sense an ominous aura.”
“Master, that…”
“I know. There is no more foolish answer than simply saying something feels wrong. But listen, my disciple. This seat has survived dozens of times over relying on nothing but that intuition. What has kept this body alive until now was precisely that sense.”
When she put it that way, I had no rebuttal. All I could do was listen carefully and wonder what to say.
“I will not tell you to cast that child out again. The bond between master and disciple runs as deep as that between parent and child. Even though you are my disciple, I cannot arbitrarily order you to sever it.”
“…”
“However, be cautious. Be extremely cautious. It is not merely about guarding against the child herself. Watch everything connected to her. Even if she is not the source, she may be attracting such things. Do you understand what I am saying?”
As I listened to Master, the title Iris carried came to mind. The Last Hero. Yes, it had definitely been called the “Last” Hero. While Garam was the Sword Hero and the other disciples bore titles like Spear Hero, Magic Hero, or Divinity Hero, only Iris possessed that slightly peculiar and unsettling title.
At first I had simply assumed it was because she was the final hero character released in the game. I thought the name had been chosen for such a straightforward reason. But hearing Master speak like this left me with a strange feeling.
“Do you not answer whether you understood, Hyeon-ah?”
“…Yes. I understand. I will never take your words lightly, Master.”
“Good. That answer eases my mind somewhat. Truly a relief.”
“…”
In the game the Heavenly Demon had been nothing more than an NPC, not a character that could be trained. Favorability wasn’t essential, and even if pursued, few functions were supported. The only reason I had given her precious jewels and accessories was that her grumbling whenever I touched her had a subtle charm. Her settings and known information were indeed lacking compared to the other game characters. That was why I had made an even greater effort to build a close relationship with the Heavenly Demon—with Master. The things I learned in the process were sometimes wondrous, sometimes pitiful, and sometimes, just a little, frightening. Not because the Heavenly Demon herself was scary, but because of how close we had become.
“And one more thing, Hyeon-ah.”
“Yes, Master.”
“Once Garam—that fox child—wakes up, have a proper conversation with her.”
“Pardon? What do you mean…?”
“She seemed to be carrying some worry. When the mind is cluttered, the sword naturally trembles ever so slightly. The fact that she could not shake off those distracting thoughts even while sparring with me suggests something is weighing on her.”
“…I noticed nothing at all.”
“Now that you know, is that not enough? So in a little while… No, you may go now.”
Just as I was about to ask what she meant, I felt an energy approaching from afar and nodded in understanding. It was Garam’s aura. She must have woken up.
“Go on. This master wishes to remain here a little longer.”
“…Then I will take my leave first.”
I offered a light bow and rose. Just what could be troubling her so much that she hadn’t even told me? It seemed I would have to ask Garam directly.
“Master! Just now…”
“I know why you came. More importantly, Iris?”
“Yes, Master!”
“I have something to discuss with Garam, so I would like you to leave us for a while.”
“…You’re really only going to talk, right?”
“Then I will only talk. What else would I do?”
“You’re truly, truly only planning to talk? You won’t do anything else?”
“…Before I decide to really do that ‘anything else,’ hurry up and go, my disciple.”
Only after the threat did Iris finally vacate the room. That girl really had a talent for making easy paths difficult.
When I entered the room where Garam was staying, she happened to be in the middle of dressing.
“Ah… Sorry. Should I have made some noise?”
“No. It’s fine. I knew you were coming, Master, but I stayed quiet on purpose.”
“…Why?”
“Who knows? Why indeed?”
As she spoke, Garam let out that seductive “Uhu hu hu!” laugh again. At the same time, the graceful curve of her back kept drawing my gaze. Was it simply unavoidable because she was a fox? In any case, my first disciple never missed an opportunity to act this way.
“Is your body all right?”
“Yes. It’s nothing serious. I was just exhausted from using that technique. Actually, thanks to Grandmaster, I feel like I had a really deep, refreshing sleep for the first time in ages.”
That forehead flick had looked genuinely powerful. It was more surprising that she hadn’t fainted from it.
“That’s good. I’m glad you’re unharmed.”
“Hehe? Are you worrying about me? If you suddenly come at me like that, my heart beats way too fast.”
“Yes, I’m sure it’s pounding. Especially since you’ve been hiding something from me all this time.”
“…Pardon?”
“What is it? Tell me, Garam. The matter you couldn’t even speak of immediately to your own master—the one that let those distracting thoughts show even to my master.”
“…”
The look in her eyes as she stared at me clearly spelled out the words I’ve been caught. There really was something. Instead of pressing her, I decided to wait.
“…Actually.”
She still seemed torn about whether she should speak. Watching her, I hoped it would turn out to be nothing important.
“It’s that I haven’t been able to contact the fifth at all since some time ago.”
…It really was something. Damn it all.