Great Warrior Ruel (4)

The Abandoned Temple Counterstrike had failed.

I never expected them to have a talent for seeing through magic. With so little information to work with, even a minor snag was enough to throw things off. At least we were fellow disciples — that common ground made for a decent pretext.

"What are you waiting for? Come at me already."

I goaded the unresponsive Great Warrior, wiping away the illusions the Vice Tower Master had laid as I did, scouring them off with Aura.

"Why must we fight?"

"Do I need a reason?"

"Of course you do. Strife without purpose is meaningless."

They were surprisingly calm. It was a sound argument, which made it all the harder to find an opening.

"Return this one to where I belong, at once."

There was barely a flicker of fighting spirit in them — so faint I couldn't even see it. This was getting a little annoying.

That was why I had planned to disguise this as a tailored trial and fight them wearing our master's face. If it were him making the demand, they would have accepted any insane request without a second thought.

"You're really not going to fight?"

"Say what you will. I shall remain still."

The way they shook their head was tiny but resolute. At this rate I was getting nowhere. I had to change the script.

"Aren't you curious where your companions are?"

I dropped my voice and met those minuscule eyes, loading the look with something cold and heavy.

"I wonder what became of them."

"...Surely not."

An uneasy premonition, perhaps. Those butterfly wings trembled, just slightly.

"That's right. I killed them. With my own hands."

In truth, I had merely put them to sleep with an illusion.

"They glared at me with eyes full of betrayal. It felt wonderful."

They had both looked adorable, sleeping so deeply.

"Why would you do such a thing... The Hero and the Sage followed you so faithfully!"

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"That's exactly why I had to kill them. Transgression. Anguish. I'm fond of those sorts of feelings."

The role of a deranged pleasure-killer. It was a hasty improvisation, so it was sloppy. Anyone who thought it through would have found the holes.

"You are a villain of the worst kind!"

But like a proper fairy, they fell for it completely.

"I know."

I almost laughed and had to swallow it. Somehow this had turned into a children's play, act two.

"Now do you understand why we have to fight?"

I thrust a hand wreathed in Aura forward, making it look as threatening as I could.

"I'll tell our master you met a valiant end."

At my words, the Great Warrior's eyes flew wide. They only looked adorable, but they were trembling with what I took for anger.

"Have you no shame before our master?"

"None at all. I already turned my back on the Goddess. You think I'd revere some elf?"

I sold out both their names for the sake of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠my own happiness. I would have to apologize separately later.

"I'm getting bored. Shall I come to you first?"

I took a small step forward. With every footfall, that tiny body flinched.

This should have been enough. I waited for the rage to catch and turn them against me.

"I cannot do it."

Instead, I got an answer that fell far short of what I had hoped for. Giving up without even trying to resist — the one thing a Great Warrior must never do.

"You have an enemy standing right in front of you, and you won't even fight back?"

I let the words come out harsh. Not acting this time. I meant them.

"And you still call yourself the Great Warrior? You coward."

Maybe my standards had gone up because of the Hero and Breni, but the disappointment hit harder. I almost felt bad comparing them to Ivar, the previous Great Warrior.

"It is not fear that stays my hand."

Then the Great Warrior straightened and faced me. Their expression was calm, without a trace of fear.

"I have no wish to raise my fist against a benefactor. Under no circumstance will I commit the wretched act of betraying a kindness received."

"......"

It was a temperament that called to mind a certain elf who had always stressed righteousness.

"Our master always told me: it is not enough to train the body. A warrior must, above all, possess a righteous heart."

I remembered. The days I had spent training while hearing those same words.

"I shall never abandon righteousness."

"...Even if your life is on the line?"

"Even should I die this very instant, my heart would not change."

All at once, the Great Warrior who had seemed so small felt enormous. An unbending spirit that refused to compromise. Not a frail fairy — a solid mountain.

"What if you had to protect your companions?"

I asked the question carefully. It contradicted my cover story, but I didn't have time to sweat the small stuff.

"Would you still stubbornly refuse to fight?"

"Then I would throw my fist without a hair's breadth of hesitation."

The model answer I had been hoping for, deep down.

"I have no intention of committing the sin of leaving my companions to die."

Not rigid, but yielding. Inflexible, yet flexible. The courage to abandon even one's convictions when the moment demanded it.

That was what the previous Great Warrior had lacked. Ivar had been strong, and his spirit had been sturdy, but he was easily swept up in vengeance — hatred for the Demon King's army that had slaughtered his clan. Sometimes he would go off on his own and fail to fulfill his role.

"Think me a fool if you must. So be it."

"No. You're the best."

I took back what I had said earlier. They were more suited to be the Great Warrior than anyone.

"Keep being exactly like that."

I liked them. Far more than the Hero or Breni.

"Your companions aren't dead, by the way."

A line that would have earned jeers if this were an actual play. But they fell for things so easily, so I just went for it.

"Is that the truth?"

"Yes. Beat me, and I'll let them live."

This time, I succeeded in stirring their fighting spirit.

"I shall strike you down, without fail!"

The moment they declared it, the Great Warrior's body vanished. At the same time, a teal Aura took shape in midair, forming a human figure.

Hair and limbs stretched long. A pair of wings like a butterfly's. A halo of pastel light. It looked just like the Great Warrior.

No — they were bigger than me now, but it was unmistakably the Great Warrior.

Had they converted their entire body into Aura?

Master had gone and created another monster.

"Impressive."

I adjusted my stance, marveling. A fierce battle was about to unfold.

The Great Warrior's Aura fist came crashing in.

The speed was nothing like when they had fought as a Corpse Locust's host. How much stronger had they become?

As a test, I didn't dodge. I took the hit and struck back.

A fist slammed heavily into my solar plexus. Take it lightly and I would have been dead in an instant. Meanwhile, my attack landing on their face did nothing. It ended as a simple collision of Aura against Aura.

Offense and defense as one. Having learned from our master, of course it wasn't some cheap trick.

"Sun-bask."

"Yes!"

"Analyze it."

I commissioned an expert — all the while dodging the barrage still pouring in.

"Leave it to me!"

"Less talking, more analyzing."

Hands and feet rained down from the air. On a hunch I dropped my Aura and attacked, but the halo nullified the impact. A pointless attempt. I got a kick in the side for my trouble.

A shock that punched through Sun-bask's defenses. My ribs started throbbing. I wasn't worried about the injury, but the pain was hard to bear. I coated my whole body in Aura and focused on defense for now.

"I've got it! It's just like what we heard last time. Aura and magic, mixed together."

"That's it?"

"Yes!"

Said so cheerfully, too. I had just confirmed something I already knew, for nothing.

"Here it comes again!"

A shot coming in fast from the front. I packed Aura thick around my right fist and threw it.

Forces colliding. My Aura itself was stronger — the Great Warrior's body crumbled. But they regenerated immediately above me and drove a heel down into my shoulder.

"Not bad."

Enduring the pain of what felt like a dislocation, I grabbed the leg so they couldn't get away.

"But it's still not enough."

I slammed them into the ground and crushed them under an Aura-charged foot. A teal torso, pierced through. But once again, they revived nearby.

Strictly speaking, it wasn't a revival.

"They've combined Aura reinforcement with magical creation in a way only a fairy could. Aura Body Creation, I suppose you'd call it?"

"You should have led with that."

A technique that crossed boundaries. Combining two different powers — our master's specialty.

"The assault won't stop until the surrounding mana is exhausted."

Territory I could never reach, with no talent for magic. Even if I had learned it, I wouldn't have been as efficient as the Great Warrior, being a fairy.

"Are you just going to keep taking it?"

"You've been talking an awful lot, you know that?"

In that interval the Great Warrior plunged from midair like a meteor. To counter, I clad my entire right arm in Aura.

"I learned a few things from our master too."

Not the simple strikes or gestures of Aura Stage 3 — a real technique. As the Great Warrior's fist closed in, I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠threw my own toward the sky.

Fists crossing. Shockwaves spreading.

The Great Warrior's body guttered out like a snuffed candle. And with it, every last scrap of mana that had composed the illusion world.

The sky and the scenic vista began to crumble, slowly. The real Great Warrior, who had vanished into thin air, appeared and plummeted toward the ground.

I caught them easily and gathered them in my arms. A faint voice spilled out.

"Spare the Hero and the Sage."

Thinking of their companions first, even now. Very admirable.

"Well done. You're every bit our master's disciple."

"...Did you deceive me?"

"I did. I have no intention of laying a hand on the Hero's party, so get some rest."

"That hurt terribly, you know."

They wouldn't have actually been in pain. What a baby.

I set the limp little thing on my palm so they wouldn't be uncomfortable.

"Let's go."

The illusion collapsed completely, and the fairy village we had started in reappeared. The Vice Tower Master was nowhere to be seen. Had he already left, figuring his job was done? What a cold-hearted old man.

I laid the Great Warrior, passed out from exhaustion, between the Hero and Breni. Then I brought my hands together before my chest and closed my eyes.

"O High Sun, once again today I marveled at the depth of Your insight. Fool that I am, I could not believe until I had confirmed the Great Warrior's strength with my own eyes. Only then was I certain."

You probably foresaw my choice as well.

"Before long, I shall be able to go to Your side."

"Unni!"

A sudden shout made me open my eyes. The Hero was staring at me, startled — I hadn't even noticed she had woken up.

"You shouldn't interrupt someone who's praying."

"Surely you aren't planning to give up on life?"

Those big eyes were welling up. We had barely even gotten close.

"Selen. Listen carefully."

I was sorry, but I said what I had to say, without softening it.