'You're doing well, Saki.'
*CLANG!*
Her bokken slammed against mine.
Then, in the same breath, a second bokken appeared in her left hand.
She tried to swing through my blind spot, but I kicked at her front leg first, throwing her balance off just enough to send the strike wide.
'Your mana control's getting better,' I said.
We kept sparring after that. Strike after strike. Step after step. Saki forced herself forward long after her breathing had turned ragged, long after her arms had started to shake.
Finally, I lowered my bokken.
'That's enough. Rest.'
'No!' She snapped. 'I'm not done yet!'
'Yes, you are.'
I stepped out of the ring and placed the bokken back on the rack.
'Look at your hands, Saki.'
The skin of her palms had peeled raw. Fresh red lines ran across them where the wood had rubbed them open. Yet she still gripped her bokken hard enough for her knuckles to turn white.
'I don't care,' she said through clenched teeth. 'I need to get stronger.'
'Running yourself into the ground won't make you stronger. It'll just ruin your body and slow your progress.'
Her hands trembled, and for a moment, I thought she might listen.
Then she looked away.
'Fine,' she muttered. 'But tomorrow, I'm going even harder.'
And before I could say anything else, she raised the bokken and started swinging again on her own.
I let out a slow breath.
'… Unbelievable.'
Shaking my head, I left the dojo.
Outside, Hina and Eri were stretched out in the sun.
At the sound of the door, Hina lifted her head.
'How is she?'
'Stubborn,' I replied. 'Was she like that at school too?'
Hina hesitated, then gave a small nod.
'Yes… she is.'
Eri suddenly sprang up from her chair.
'Servant, is it now this lord's turn to train?'
'You want to do it now?'
She placed a hand on her chest with all the grandeur of a self-proclaimed dark ruler.
'This lord is prepared.'
'Alright, then.'
She removed her glasses with unusual care and set them aside.
'Today we're working on spell structure.'
I crouched beside her and drew a Fireball formula in the dirt.
'You already know how to cast this. What I'm teaching you now is what each part of the formula actually does.'
Eri leaned in.
I pointed to one section and redrew it slightly differently. A small flame appeared above the circle, this time uneven, stretched thin at one end.
'See that?'
Eri nodded.
'It affects the shape the flame takes.'
Then I erased the stroke completely. The flame instantly burst outward in a messy spray.
'And if you remove it, the flame loses shape and becomes unstable.'
Eri's eyes widened.
'Chaos.'
'Exactly.'
I altered another line. The flame brightened at once, turning denser and hotter.
'This one controls output. The more you push it, the hotter and stronger the flame becomes.'
From there, I went through the basics one at a time, showing her how each part of the pattern affected the final result.
When I was done, I dusted off my hands and stood.
'Alright. Your turn.'
Eri knelt and carefully drew a standard Fireball formula.
'I want you to make it smaller.'
She adjusted the pattern. The flame that appeared was noticeably weaker and more compact.
'Good. Now make it long and thin. Like a stick.'
She nodded and changed to another section.
The next instant, the flame twisted violently out of shape. I slapped a hand over the formula and dispelled it before it could blow up in her face.
Eri flinched.
'You weren't wrong,' I said. 'But you changed one part without checking what it would do to the others.'
I redrew her formula next to a corrected version.
'A formula isn't a pile of separate lines. It's one structure. Every stroke affects the balance of the whole. Change the form, and you may also affect the flow. Change the flow, and you may destabilise output.'
Eri stared at the two circles in silence.
'I… see.'
'Try again.'
She studied the full pattern first, adjusted the necessary strokes, and then cast it.
A narrow, stick-like flame floated in front of her.
'Good,' I said.
After that, I had her practice simple changes over and over: size, shape, heat, colour. Nothing too advanced. Just enough to help her understand how each adjustment changed the spell as a whole.
Once she had the basics down, I drew another Fireball formula beside the first.
This one had far fewer strokes.
'As you improve, you can simplify it.'
A fireball formed above the smaller formula.
'Similar result. Fewer steps. Faster casting.'
Eri blinked.
'Is there anything after that?' She asked.
A small flame flickered to life on my fingertip.
Her eyes widened behind her fringe.
'Then you stop needing formulas altogether.'
'But… how?' She asked. 'I thought the formula was what made the magic happen.'
'Do you remember where magic comes from?'
'The spiritual realm.'
'Right.'
I held the little flame between us.
'Magic comes from the spiritual realm. Your soul is connected to it, and mana is what lets you bring that power into reality.'
I tapped the formula in the dirt.
'This isn't magic itself. It's just a guide.'
Eri tilted her head.
So I put it a different way.
'Think of it like this. Mana is fuel. Your mind gives the spell its image. The formula is the blueprint that helps the fuel take the right shape.'
She stared at the flame on my finger.
'So the formula tells the mana what to do.'
'Exactly. It helps you picture the spell properly: its shape, power, stability, direction. At your level, that structure matters. It keeps your imagination from becoming vague or unstable.'
I raised my finger slightly, and the flame burned brighter.
'But once you understand magic deeply enough, you no longer need to draw the blueprint every time. You already know the structure in your head. You can picture it clearly, control the mana directly, and cast without external help.'
I gave her a faint smile.
'It's like maths. At first, you count with your fingers or write it on a sheet of paper. Later, as you get better, you can do it in your head. Same answer. Fewer steps.'
Eri rubbed her chin and looked like she was trying very hard not to let her brain melt.
Then, after a few seconds, she nodded.
'I think… I understand.'
'Good.'
I ruffled her hair.
Her shoulders jumped.
A faint blush crept across her cheeks, and she quickly pushed my hand away.
I raised an eyebrow.
'Oh? I thought you liked that.'
Eri darted a glance toward Hina, then immediately looked away.
I almost laughed.
She went back to drawing formulas, this time with more concentration than before.
Then… from inside the dojo.
'AHH!'
A sharp cry echoed through the building.
Hina was already on her feet.
'I'm going to check on her.'
I watched her hurry inside.
——————————————-
[Saki's POV]
'I must… keep going!'
I swung my bokken down again.
My arms felt heavy. My grip was slipping. But I swung anyway.
[Stop. This is pathetic.]
The first voice came without hesitation, flat and merciless.
[In that condition, all you're doing is ruining yourself. Do you really think a sword swung out of desperation can save anyone?]
Then the second voice slipped in, bright and almost amused.
(Yep, yep. Way too stiff. Your shoulders are locked up, your grip's a mess, and your centre's all over the place. Swing like that and you'll lose before the real fight even starts.)
'Shut up!' I shouted. 'All of you, shut up!'
I tightened my hands around the hilt.
Pain shot through my palms.
'I just need… to get stronger.'
[Strength? Don't be naive. Power that destroys its wielder is worthless.]
(Heh… he's right, and trying to force it won't help. A good swing isn't something you bully into shape, y'know?)
'I won't.' I raised the bokken again. 'I'll never let anyone die!'
I brought it down and my body gave out beneath me.
*SLAM!*
I hit the floor face-first.
My heart pounded so hard it hurt. I couldn't catch my breath. My fingers twitched against the wood, but when I tried to push myself up, my arms refused.
They wouldn't move.
Nothing would.
Then the dojo door opened.
'Saki?'
Hina.
I turned my head toward her with effort.
'… Help me up,' I said. 'I need to keep training.'
Hina hurried over and crouched beside me. But instead of helping me up, she stared at me.
'No.'
I blinked.
'What?'
'No more, Saki.'
I slowly lifted my head. Her face was tight. Her hands were shaking, and her eyes burned with frustration.
She was glaring at me.
I couldn't remember the last time Hina had looked at me like that.
'But I have to,' I said. 'I can't stop. I don't want to lose any of you.'
'So this is your answer?!' Hina shouted. 'To destroy yourself?!'
I froze.
Hina's voice trembled, but she didn't look away.
'Do you think we'd be happy if you got hurt like this? Do you think throwing yourself away would protect anyone?!'
Something in my chest twisted.
It hurt. More than my hands. More than my body.
'Then what am I supposed to do?!'
I slammed my fist into the floor.
She flinched.
'Who's going to protect you?! Who's going to protect any of you if I can't?!'
My throat burned. My vision blurred.
'I was the one who had the power!' I shouted. 'I was the one who could have done something! And I still failed!'
Tears stung my eyes.
'I failed!'
Hina's expression wavered.
And then the words came out. The worst possible words I could've said.
'You don't understand because you're weak!'
'…'
The instant I said it, something inside me cracked.
Hina just stared at me. Her lips parted slightly, but no words came out.
I could barely see her through the tears.
'You don't understand what I'm carrying,' I said, my voice breaking. 'So don't act like you know what I should do.'
Hina lowered her eyes.
For a moment, all I could hear was her breathing.
Then a quiet sniffle. She stood.
When she wiped at her face, my stomach sank.
'… Fine,' she whispered. 'Then I'll leave you alone.'
The dojo felt empty the moment the door slid shut behind her.
[I warned you. This was always the end of a path like this.]
'I…'
[And now you've hurt the one person who came here for your sake. Was this really the result you wanted?]
'No…'
I stared at the floorboards beneath me.
The words I had thrown at her kept replaying in my head.
Weak.
I had called Hina weak.
'I'm not wrong,' I whispered.
But the words felt hollow.
'This is for her own good.'
(Is it? Because from where I'm standing, you're just forcing the sword harder because you can't face yourself.)
No answer came.
Only silence and the pain in my hands.
My fingers dug into the floor as I tried to force myself back up again.
My body refused.
[You never learned when to stop.]
(And right now? You look like a swordsman who's already lost.)
———————————————
[Dylan's POV]
'Look, Di-ran,' Eri said proudly. 'I created a blue flaming pencil.'
I looked over.
'That's actually pretty good.'
Her face brightened.
Then the dojo door opened.
Hina stepped out, rubbing hard at her eyes.
'Hina.'
'I'm… leaving.'
She grabbed her school bag without looking at me.
'Hina.'
I called out again.
She didn't answer. She just kept walking.
I watched her disappear down the path.
Beside me, Eri's flaming pencil fizzled out.
'… Should I go after her?'
I turned my gaze toward the dojo.
'No… Let her cool down. This is something Saki has to deal with herself.'
'Oh…'
Eri lowered her head.
I glanced at her.
'You're worried too?'
She nodded.
'It'll be alright.'
I rested a hand on her head.
'I'll talk to Saki later.'
Eri stiffened for half a second, then gave a tiny nod.
'T-thank you, Di-ran.'
I looked toward the dojo door.
'That's what I'm here for.'
Eri followed my gaze, then fell silent.
Behind the closed door, Saki didn't scream, didn't swing, didn't say a word.
That silence worried me more than anything.