Can I Reach It?
"There is nothing that cannot be reached. It is only yourself who thinks otherwise." Master's words echo in my ears.
I draw my sword to steady my swirling thoughts. Shrrrng— The clear ring of steel seems to clear my mind for a moment, but Master's voice returns and clouds it once more.
"If you wish to reach it, strive for it. If you still cannot reach it, strive again. And when you finally take a single step forward, squeeze out every last drop of strength. Do that tens of thousands of times, and..."
You will reach it. The place you long to touch.
I chew on those words again and again before thrusting my sword forward with all my might. Is there even a place I truly wish to reach? Even if there is, problems will never cease. How am I supposed to reach something that was never meant to be touched in the first place?
Even if this world is real, it is ultimately built upon the rules of a game. Neither I nor anyone else can escape those rules. If it had been possible, I would have already split that Fragment of the Demon God in two back then. If I could have done it alone, I would never have needed to raise disciples in the first place.
They were nothing more than game characters, but here they are living, breathing people with only one life each. I would never have sent them into a battlefield where they could lose that life.
Vwoooom— A grating sound reaches my ears. I look up. Perhaps it is because my thoughts have grown too cluttered—the flow of my sword has twisted, and the energy refuses to travel in a straight line. If I had continued the technique like this, the path would have completely diverged.
"Haa..." I steady my breathing and suppress the wavering thoughts. No matter what thoughts or worries I carry, Master said to set them all aside before the sword and focus only on the blade. A straight sword cuts the enemy; a wavering one cuts yourself. There is nothing more honest in this world than the sword, he told me.
And I am the only disciple who received the teachings of Master, the Heavenly Demon. If someone like me gets lost in idle thoughts while swinging a sword and fails to notice something, it would be no different from smearing filth across my master's face.
Slowly, even if it is unreachable, I empty my mind and become one with the sword. Thrust, cut, pull, thrust again, then withdraw. After swinging like that for a while, something enters my range of perception.
The fact that my sword path wavered for an instant means it must be a strong opponent. It is not Master, nor is it Iris. It is hard to call them an enemy, either. If they were truly hostile, they would be radiating killing intent, yet this person is simply observing me.
That leaves only two possibilities. No matter how I listen, those heavy footsteps do not belong to Gerard. Which means there is only one person left.
"How long do you plan on peeking like a stray cat?"
Annoyingly, no reply comes. The fact that they remain silent even after being discovered means they are asking for an attack. With a small sigh, I twist the trajectory of my sword mid-motion.
— Spring —
The energy formed at the tip of my blade flies straight toward the uninvited guest. Though the name evokes a spring breeze, it will be anything but gentle to the recipient.
Paang! A clean sound rings out as the flying wind collides with something and scatters. Amid the fragments of wind and energy dispersing in all directions, the stray cat slowly reveals herself.
"You're working hard from the morning, Master."
"Couldn't wait any longer, Iris? I clearly told you I'd spar with you."
"I even dreamed about it last night. A dream where I was sparring with you, Master."
"Even your dreams are nothing but trouble. So? Did you win?"
"Of course not. If I beat you, Master, that would be a nightmare. Something like that could never happen."
Dreams are supposed to be full of impossible things, but I swallow the words before they leave my mouth. She would not care about such details anyway.
"About twenty times? I think I fought you that many times. And lost every single one."
"So you came out this early in the morning just to suffer your twenty-first defeat?"
"I told you. I waited too long. I can't wait anymore."
"Being trapped in the ancient kingdom's ruins must have left you starving for a proper match."
She is the kind of disciple who will never listen to words alone. To think that someone with such fierce competitive spirit toward their master is my disciple—it feels strange, yet this is simply Iris's way of showing respect. Absolute courtesy toward the strong. Absolute contempt and disdain toward the weak. Especially toward those who rely on miracles without putting in any effort.
"Please grant me a match, Master."
"Do as you like. Let's see how much stronger my fifth disciple has become."
While saying that, I slightly lower my sword and gesture for her to come. As her master, and still stronger than her, I should at least yield the first move if I want this to be a proper fight.
"I'll give you three moves."
"If that is the strong one's will, then I'll go first."
Iris clenches her fists and steps forward with her left foot, right foot drawn back. Red energy gathers in both hands, looking as though flames are wrapped around them.
Tat! It is not only her hands. When Iris kicks off the ground, red energy ripples wherever her feet touch. In an instant she becomes a streak of crimson and launches a powerful kick straight at my neck without the slightest hesitation.
Thud! Her power and energy transmit clearly through my forearm. She did not hold back at all—she attacked with full intent. If that kick had landed cleanly, even I might have had my neck broken.
"Two left."
I swing my arm wide to fling her away and reset my stance. My slightly numb arm shakes off the gathered energy.
"...It doesn't even look like the impact reached you."
"No, Iris. The impact definitely came. It just didn't do much damage to my arm because you aimed for the neck. If you had targeted the joints from the start, it might have been different."
"I'll keep that in mind. Then, here comes the next one."
The next attack does not look much different from before. She wraps energy around both feet again, kicks off the ground, and charges straight at me. This time her target is my side.
Just as I raise my guard to block my side as she intended—
Shhhk! Iris's body shoots out in an impossible direction. In the blink of an eye she appears behind me and drives her elbow down toward the crown of my head.
If it had been anyone else, they might have been caught off guard. Unfortunately, I had already seen this level of movement coming.
"Huh?"
I tilt my body lightly and let her attack slide past. At the same time I raise my sword—not to cut, but to strike her face with the hilt. However, true to her title as the Fighter Hero, Iris senses that her attack has failed and immediately twists her body to the side, avoiding the blow.
"...How did you know? I erased my presence completely."
"You can erase your presence, but you cannot erase the intent or the look in your eyes when you aim for something. Why would someone targeting my side keep glancing at my arms and legs? As if they were waiting to see when I would guard and when I would counter."
To deceive an opponent, you must deceive even yourself in that moment. Otherwise, a sharp opponent will immediately notice your intention. Once your intent is read, all that remains is being toyed with.
"One left, Iris."
"So it seems."
"So far it's been nothing special. I hope the final attack is different."
This is my honest feeling. Neither of the previous attacks had anything particularly clever about them. The first was a simple kick, nothing more, nothing less. The second added a slight variation but was still monotonous. Iris's nature is not the type to seek change or win through speed. She is the kind who charges straight ahead using only power and destructive force—a so-called damage tank, though even that label feels vague in her case.
"...Then, this is the last one."
With those words, Iris kicks off the ground and flies toward me just like before. No—calling it the same would be wrong. There is something completely different this time.
Iris is not wrapping herself in energy. Not on her hands, not on her feet, not on any part of her body. Right now she is charging at me using only her pure physical abilities.
I wonder if she is overconfident in her physical strength. But no matter how straightforward Iris is, she is not an idiot. She must know that fighting this way will only lead to defeat. Puzzled, I move to block her hand—when a chilling sensation suddenly brushes against my chest.
Whoosh! Iris's fist stops in midair. No, it has not stopped. Her body remains in place, but her fist has vanished somewhere.
I did not expect her to have learned not only pure striking techniques but also spatial arts. Thinking that I have been had, I raise my guard even though we are several steps apart. Immediately afterward, a heavy impact slams into my raised guard.
Kwaaang! Both arms go numb and ring loudly. Along with the tingling sensation, I see Iris's hand move again. Even though she is still quite far from me, she swings her arm. This time a chilling presence rushes at me from behind.
Thud!
...If I keep taking hits like this without doing anything, I am going to end up looking like a punching bag. I taught her the technique at the last moment, but I never expected her to master the Black Dragon so quickly and so perfectly.
Of course, even that ridiculous technique has a weakness. Because it ignores distance and space, the burden it places on the user is enormous. It is only because Iris has considerable stamina that she can use it this many times. Anyone else would have been limited to a single use.
"Haa, haa..."
Having used the technique three times, Iris is on the verge of collapse. She is sweating like rain, and it is almost pitiful to watch her stagger backward from exhaustion.
"You've used up all your chances, Iris."
"...Yes. I have."
"It wasn't bad. Especially that last attack—it was truly sharp."
My left arm, which blocked the technique, is still throbbing. I probably will not be able to use it properly until tomorrow at the earliest. If it can do this much damage to me, it should be able to deal meaningful damage to a Fragment of the Demon God as well.
"Now then. Since you beat your master so thoroughly, it's time for some punishment, isn't it?"
"I'm prepared."
"You sweated quite a lot. A bit of wind and rain should feel refreshing."
Leaving my left arm as it is, I readjust my grip on the sword with my right hand. This technique does not rely on the trajectory of the blade anyway—it crushes the opponent with the sheer force of the energy it releases. There will be no problem.
— Gate of the Multitude —
Energy scattered in all directions flies toward Iris like a torrential downpour from a summer sky, countless drops falling without end.
Thududududuk!!
There is no space to dodge. She must either block the rain completely so it never touches her body, or endure it with her own flesh and wait for it to pass. Iris chooses the latter.
A short while later, when the summer downpour has finally finished pouring, Iris, lips bitten, slowly collapses on the spot.