116. Destiny

The place where the Malidian Barrier once stood.

The towering barrier had simply vanished, but traces of the lives people led remained, clinging to their place.

Only remnants, crumbling and decaying under the cold Northern winds and the southward surge of monsters, proved that warriors of the North had once been here.

Roses bloomed above their footsteps, atop their very livelihood.

Roses that should not grow in the North had taken root, and the sight of them braided into the earth felt less beautiful and more… contaminated.

“What do you think?”

At the center of it all.

The man asked, a light smile playing on his lips.

His tone was casual, as if introducing a tastefully decorated room.

But his crimson eyes and subtle smile filled one with an instinctual unease.

One does not wish to approach him.

One does not wish to converse.

Even having come this far, sword in hand, he was the kind of man to make her utter weak sounds.

“Hmm, a hollow feeling, when there’s no reply.”

Speaking thus, the man chuckled and rose from his seat.

In a moment when none dared step forward, only the Grand Master dismounted.

“You… you must be a Transcended?”

“And you, a hybrid, are you not?”

A sidelong glance at the greatsword.

Upon confirming the black tail and ears, the man’s lips stretched into a long, cruel smile.

“Ah, number 10, then.”

“……!”

The Grand Master’s body flinched momentarily. Not from fear, nor terror.

She barely managed to restrain herself from leaping forward and swinging her blade.

“I heard there was one trainee who escaped, and your appearance matches perfectly. Tell me, is this little outing to the outside world proving enjoyable?”

“Do not call it an outing.”

“Then what should I call it? The prodigal always returns. Your journey may seem free, but in truth, it is not.”

“I freed myself from you lot long ago.”

“The reason you thrash about, claiming you’re free, is because you are still bound. If you were truly free, you wouldn’t be standing before me.”

The Grand Master’s shoulder twitched.

And in that same instant, no longer able to restrain herself, she placed her hand upon the greatsword.

Great Drawing.

The Grand Master’s tail snapped upright, and her obsidian eyes locked onto the point to which her rose surpassed.

The moment her greatsword left its sheath, it had already reached its target.

KWA-aaaNG!

A single, blinding flash, too swift to follow with the eye.

Rose petals scattered in a swirling vortex, and a pillar of snow shot skyward.

And yet, amidst all this, no blood was spilled.

As the dense blizzard subsided, the scene that unfolded was fit to be called a horror.

A red luminescence flowed across the man’s entire body. It was a type of demonic ki, but unlike that wielded by Isaac or the Sword Demons.

If the Hellmundt’s aura was called *Jeokgang*.

Then this was the Transcended’s *Jeokgang*.

It was fitting to call it thus.

And the *Jeokgang* that enveloped him took the form of a greatsword, surrounding his weapon.

“You….”

The Grand Master bit down on her lip, as if chewing it to pieces.

To calm her, Isaac hastily stepped forward.

“Grand Master.”

“Isaac, step back.”

“Calm yourself. You do not have to fight this alone.”

Ironically, there was no one present who did not know the danger of that thing.

For all were aware of the Hellmundt’s terrifying power.

“Isaac…?”

But the man, rather than recoil, seemed intrigued at the sound of Isaac’s name.

“Aha, so it is you? The very one who snuffed out my child. A pity, truly. Had that child, so far along in their thrall, remained, things would have progressed so smoothly.”

“…Child?”

Isaac, on the verge of speaking, found himself repeating the word without conscious thought. The man speaking of ‘his child’ must surely be…

“Arendelle Hellmund. Does that name ring a bell?”

The man shrugged, ever so slightly.

As if to ask, what need was there to spell it out?

“Then what you’re saying now is…”

“What need is there to ask? Did you think the Hellmund lineage was wrought solely of human blood? Did you truly believe such a thing?”

Ha ha! The man let out a laugh bordering on mockery.

And in doing so, only bolstered the credibility of his words.

“Could such a thing be! How could human blood ever attain such martial prowess! Truly, you are quite naive!”

The idea that he wasn’t human almost made Hellmund’s skill more sensible.

Isaac, along with the others, found themselves without an argument.

“Well, such tedious old tales are hardly entertaining, let us skip them, shall we?”

The man grinned slyly, withdrawing his magical aura.

The cross-shaped weapon resting on his shoulder was, if one had to define it, a staff.

The sort of thing only a pontiff would dare carry.

“You desire to find the Malidians, no doubt. Coming all this way, I suspect you’re trying to bring them back.”

In the ensuing silence, the man smiled as if performing for an audience of one.

“Regrettably, that is impossible.”

“What?”

“Spells demand a price. We paid it handsomely, and in return, the Malidian barrier was removed. How could they possibly return now?”

Impossible?

“Thus, it is a fool’s errand. I wished only to impart this knowledge. I desired, with all sincerity, to be the source of your despair.”

The man smiled as he placed a hand over his heart and bowed.

He wished to believe it was a lie.

Indeed, those behind him were shouting that they didn’t believe it.

‘Spells are like that.’

Isaac’s mind had already arrived at the truth: the man wasn’t lying.

The thrall, too, was evidence of this.

An unbreakable chain of subjugation.

‘The colossal Malidian barrier was moved. Could it be so easily returned to its original state?’

At least, the magic he knew did not function in such a way.

It demanded a price, and responsibility for that price.

The cold northern wind whispered, Silvana’s voice still echoing in his ears.

[If I had met you sooner, surely, our family would not have been destroyed so meaninglessly.]

Because you said those words.

I came all this way.

[Silvernaya.]

[The name I shed for the sake of my family.]

[Silvernaya Caldiass.]

[That’s my real name, Isaac.]

All to protect your name.

Early on, I resolved the Great Hive, imparted enlightenment, and created a situation where reinforcements could be dispatched.

And yet.

This time, I’ve even lost Silvernaya.

Is this what they mean?

‘If it’s going to be like this…’

What is the meaning of regression?

Even if revenge is achieved, precious people are lost, one by one.

It seems to be resolved, but what blocks the path is a wall that cannot be overcome.

And.

It grows ever thicker.

“Ah, it seems the time has come?”

The man’s surroundings warp strangely.

A sigh escaped from behind.

There wasn’t a person present who didn’t know what that phenomenon signified.

A deluge of Transcendants.

Even at a glance, there seemed to be more than thirty.

“Ah.”

“N-no way-.”

“So, so many Transcendants…”

A sense of dismay settled amongst the group. The man before them was frightening enough, but now a horde of Transcendants had appeared.

Each of them possessed a concentrated hostility, as if they would instantly ravage every person on the left flank.

“Hmm, a slightly disappointing number. Is this all they could muster?”

The man, however, clicked his tongue, expressing his disappointment.

Despair mingled with despair.

This place, reached to save the Malidion Barrier, was in truth, a trap laid by the Transcendants to devour them all-.

“Grasp your swords.”

The Grand Master’s voice was like a sword itself. It elegantly cleaved through even the sticky, oppressive fear.

Stepping forward, she glanced at Isaac and asked.

“Do you believe in destiny?”

“…Grand Master?”

“I do not.”

Isaac, too.

Towards the word ‘destiny’, as always.

He was skeptical.

“Therefore, I do not see your regression as destiny.”

“……”

“Whoever meddled in your return, surely, they believed you would overcome everything.”

That must be why they sent you.

“You mustn’t simply avoid crumbling. You must *not* crumble.”

The Grandmaster, stepping forward slowly, declares stoically, gripping her scabbard tightly.

“Darksword, Isaac Logan. Receive my teachings.”

“Master…?”

The Grandmaster’s tail settles down calmly. Frost, like moonlight, fills her eyes.

A gaze sharp and keen as a blade.

“I entrust you with everything I have.”

A jolt of fear.

He’d seen the Grandmaster look like this once before.

And it was, in his past life, her final expression.

“Grandmaster, just a moment!”

“Don’t interrupt, it’s a desperate moment.”

A slight upturn of her lips, the Grandmaster confesses a sincere truth.

“Do you know why I have cherished you so?”

“What are you…saying?”

“Whether in your past life, or this one, the reason I held you dear is that I believed you would attain my dream.”

A dream?

In his past life, the Grandmaster never spoke of the past.

In this life, the Grandmaster merely mentions her fellow disciples, similar to the past.

Never, at any moment, did she speak of her true goals.

The reason she took a disciple, despite never involving herself in the war.

“I wished to see humanity, splendidly, surpass them.”

A dream impossible for herself, a half-blood.

Having spoken those words, the Grandmaster leaps forward, not waiting for Isaac’s reply.

“Originally, without a name, I was simply called Master.”

A greatsword swings mightily.

“It is enough to be nameless, a person thus forgotten-!”

The Grandmaster’s strike, aimed at numerous Transcendents, threatened to cleave them in two with spirited resolve.

Great Unsheathing (大居合).

Yet another greatsword intercepts the Grandmaster’s soul.

It was a trajectory too familiar, a swordsmanship all too known.

The two blades collided simultaneously, with astonishing precision.

*Kaaang!*

“Number 10, you’re still putting on airs, I see.”

The opponent wore a wide-brimmed conical hat. Her head was bowed so deeply that her face was obscured, but

The Grandmaster recognized her at once, from her voice alone.

“…Number 2?”

Matching greatswords exchanged blows, then parted ways.

She had been ready to accept death.

Hoping her student would become a magnificent swordsman, achieving his dreams.

“Time is truly a flavor of exquisite sweetness.”

But perhaps she did not believe in fate?

“Even a dear friend met in such a dire situation, brings such a pleasant surprise.”

Fate, however, forced cruelty upon her.