Eri and Saki faced each other, both ready to move.
'Step aside, Eri.'
'No.' Eri shook her head. 'I won't let you hurt Di-ran.'
'This has nothing to do with you!'
Saki raised her sword.
'I just need to settle this with him.' She lowered into a stance. 'Now… move.'
Balls of flames rose from the magic circle beneath Eri's feet, hovering around her like waiting stars.
'Then you'll have to get past me… Hero.'
'Then don't blame me!'
Saki lunged. With a sharp flick of her wrist, one of her swords flew toward Eri.
A pillar of flames burst from the ground and swallowed the blade, melting it in an instant.
Another sword shot in from behind Eri, but the moment it struck, it hit a translucent barrier and bounced away.
Saki clicked her tongue and slipped past her, eyes locking onto me.
'Freeze!'
Eri's eyes flashed pink.
Saki stopped mid-strike, sword raised overhead.
'Saki.'
Eri approached slowly, her staff tapping against the ground.
'Wake up.'
Saki's body shuddered.
'Wake… up?' Her lips parted. 'Why is everyone… telling me to wake up?!'
*BOOM!*
Red light exploded from her in a violent wave.
Eri was hurled backward by the pressure, sending her further away from me.
'I'll show you all!'
Dozens of swords appeared in the air around her.
'That I'm not wrong!'
They fired in every direction, tearing through the yard.
Eri drove her staff into the ground. Stone surged upward, encasing herself, while another dome rose around me.
'My… dojo.'
It was gone. Reduced to splintered wreckage.
*Drip. Drop.*
Water began to fall from above.
Eri's stone dome cracked, then crumbled apart.
'Saki!'
Rain poured down.
'I won't let you continue.'
Eri slammed her staff down again, and the falling rain froze in place. Countless droplets hung motionless in the air, trembling.
She raised her staff and traced a slow arc overhead. Water from all around gathered at its tip, condensing into a shining mass.
'Water Beam!'
She swung the staff down.
A roaring torrent of water shot toward Saki.
Saki stuck her arm out and a magenta flower blossomed in front of her.
*BOOM!*
The torrent crashed into it, cracks racing across the shield's petals.
From where I lay, I could feel the impact of the clash.
'Ggh—'
Saki coughed up blood.
'Rise!'
Eri lifted her staff, and the water obeyed.
'Water Hydra!'
The stream split into three twisting currents, each shaping itself into the head of a dragon.
'Final warning, Saki.' Eri stared at her through the rain. 'Stand down.'
The magenta flower shattered.
Saki lifted her head to face the three dragons looming above her.
'Everyone says I'm wrong.'
Saki looked exhausted. Blood ran down her arms and dripped into the grass.
'Even the voices in my head.' She let out a weak bitter laugh. 'I thought… you all would be different.'
Swords began forming around her.
'But you're all the same.' Her eyes sharpened. 'You all chose to stand against me.'
'Saki!' Eri shouted over the rain. 'Do you even hear yourself right now?!'
Tears slid down Eri's face. Her staff trembled in her grip.
'Saki… you're someone precious to me.'
Her voice cracked and she wiped her tears with her sleeve.
'I look forward to seeing you every day. That's why…'
Eri lifted her gaze.
'I need to stop you.'
'Then why!' Saki shouted back. 'Why couldn't you just step aside? Why did you have to stop me?!'
'Because…'
The tears falling from Eri's face rose into the air and joined the water above her.
'You're my friend.'
Eri looked up at the hydra. She raised the staff high and brought it down.
'Time to end this.'
'ROAR!'
The three-headed dragon surged forward.
'Wake up, Saki!'
The swords around Saki turned as one.
'I'll cut through your lies!'
They launched.
Steel and water collided in a storm of spray and shattered light.
The hydra drove forward. Saki answered with more and more projected blades, forcing her battered body past its limit.
Eri dropped to one knee, clutching her staff with both hands.
'I'm not going to stop, Saki.'
'Neither will I!'
For a few desperate seconds, neither gave ground.
Then both reached their limit.
*BOOM!*
The hydra burst apart into a violent explosion of water. Rain reclaimed the sky and the scattered swords faded into nothing.
Both girls collapsed.
'Huff… huff…'
'Huff… huff…'
Rain beat against their bodies.
Saki's clothes returned to normal. Eri's staff dissolved from her hand.
'I haven't… lost yet.'
Saki planted trembling hands on the ground and forced herself upright.
'As if I'd lose to you,' Eri said with a weak smile.
She swayed once, then managed to stand as well.
'All I wanted was to protect you all…' Saki clenched her fists. 'So why are you stopping me?'
'Because…' Eri's own hands tightened. 'What's the point… if you're the one suffering?'
'…'
Saki tilted her face toward the sky and let the rain strike her skin.
Then she looked at Eri.
One step. Then another.
Eri matched her pace. Step for step.
Then they both ran at each other.
Eri swung first and missed.
*PAK!*
Saki's punch snapped her head to the side. Eri staggered back, and Saki drove a second blow into her stomach.
'You can't beat me, Eri. In a real fight, you're weak!'
Eri tried to retaliate, but Saki slipped around her attack with ease.
*PAK!*
'Give up!'
Saki drew back for another strike, but Eri spun and whipped her tail across Saki's face and she crashed to the ground.
'Huff… I'm not giving up till… you listen… Saki.'
Saki rose slowly. A bokken appeared in her hand.
Eri traced a pattern in the air, and water gathered at her fingertip.
'HAAAAH!'
Saki charged.
'HAAAAH!'
Eri thrust her hand forward.
The bokken slammed into Eri's side at the same instant the water blast struck Saki's shoulder. Both were thrown back. They hit the ground hard and lay there, staring up at the rainy sky.
For a moment, neither moved.
Rain tapped against their skin. Their chests rose and fell in ragged rhythm.
'Saki…' Eri asked softly, her voice nearly swallowed by the storm. 'Why do you keep trying to walk alone?'
'Because…' Saki tried to sit up, but her strength gave out. 'I don't… ever want to see any of you get hurt.'
Eri turned her head toward Saki.
'Then do you know how I feel?' she asked. 'Watching you hurt yourself for us?'
'I…' Her lips parted. 'I don't know…'
'It hurts, Saki.' Eri's voice trembled. 'It hurts every time I see you like this.'
'…'
Saki stared upward, letting the rain strike her face. Then her eyes shifted toward me.
I stepped forward.
'That's enough.'
I crouched beside them and slipped my arm under each of them.
'Let's get you two out of the rain.'
I rose carefully, supporting one girl with each arm, and turned toward the dojo.
Then stopped.
What was left of it could barely be called a building anymore. I let out a quiet breath and turned toward the main house instead.
'At least that place still has a roof.'
Neither girl said anything. They were too exhausted.
As I carried them, I could feel the pounding of their hearts through their soaked clothes, too fast, too uneven.
When I reached one of the usable rooms, I lowered them gently onto the floor.
'Here.'
I pulled two health potions from my inventory and poured them over their wounds.
The cuts closed almost instantly, and the bruises lightened, though the exhaustion remained written all over their faces.
Clean!
My spell dried their tops, but their legs were still wet.
Clean!
This time I focused harder and the rest of the water vanished.
I sat down beside them and for a while, none of us spoke.
Outside, the rain went on without pause.
I chose to speak up.
'Eri… you didn't have to go that far.'
She tilted her head toward me.
'I had to.'
Her eyes shifted toward Saki.
'To protect my friend.'
My gaze followed hers. Saki lay there in silence, staring at the ceiling with her fists loose.
I looked down at my hand for a moment, then opened my system.
'Saki…' I said quietly. 'I understand where you're coming from.'
From my inventory, I pulled out an old photo.
'I know what it feels like to want to protect people so badly that you start destroying yourself.'
'There's something I never told either of you.'
My fingers tightened around the photo.
'I'm not from this world.'
'…'
Eri blinked slowly.
Saki said nothing, but her gaze sharpened.
I placed my hand over the photo and channelled mana into it.
A flickering holographic screen appeared above my palm. It shook violently at first, but after I steadied my breathing and focused, it finally stabilised.
It showed me beside a smiling boy holding a wooden sword.
'That was me in my old world,' I said. Then I pointed to the boy. 'And he was my first disciple.'
'He… was a hero. The kind of person who always puts everyone else first.' My fist tightened around the photo. 'He saved many lives…'
I took a deep breath.
'And died for it.'
I kept my eyes on the image.
'Sometimes…' My voice lowered. 'Sometimes I wish he had never made that choice.'
'I still feel this pain in my chest when I think about him.'
'That's why I can't just ignore what you're doing, Saki.'
Her eyes met mine.
'Do you really think this is easier for us? Watching you tear yourself apart.'
Then the hologram flickered. The image distorted and changed into something else.
Now it was a group photo. My whole party. All smiling, laughing. Alive in that frozen moment.
For a second, I forgot to breathe.
Then I felt a faint warmth against my side. Eri had dragged herself across the floor and wrapped her arms around me.
'Eri?'
'Di-ran…' she murmured. 'You must feel lonely.'
I kept staring at the image.
'No,' I shook my head. 'Because I know they're still with me.'
'Then why are you crying?'
*Drip. Drip.*
I blinked and touched my cheek.
'I can tell,' Eri whispered, 'from the way you smile in that photo… they were precious to you.'
'Yeah,' I said. 'They were.'
I tried to smile, but it didn't hold for very long.
'Sometimes… I wish I had never saved the world. If I hadn't… maybe I could have stayed with them.'
I shut my eyes.
'But I still had to save the world they lived in.'
I wiped at my face and forced myself to look at Saki again.
'So please, Saki… treasure your friends. Don't try to carry everything alone like I did.'
'…'
Saki stared at me.
'Sorry.' I stood up. 'I got emotional.'
Then I left the room.
————————————————————
I stood in the hallway, looking out at the rain.
The storm had softened a little bit. Water ran from the roof in steady streams. The garden beyond was half-flooded.
For a while, I just stood there and listened.
Then the floor creaked behind me.
Saki stood there.
She hesitated a bit before walking over and stopped beside me.
'…'
Neither of us spoke. We just watched the rain outside.
After what felt like an eternity, Saki spoke.
'Am I wrong?'
I kept my eyes on the downpour.
'No,' I said. 'You're not wrong.'
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her shoulders tense up.
'Wanting to protect the people you care about isn't wrong.'
I faced her.
'But… you can't protect people by deciding everything for them.'
'…'
Saki lowered her gaze and clenched her fists.
'I… I want to protect them all.'
Her voice trembled.
'I don't want to be alone… I want to laugh… smile with them.'
'But… if I don't work hard, who's gonna protect them?'
I placed my hand on her shoulder.
'You don't have to.'
'You can lean on me.'
She looked straight into my eyes.
'I know you don't trust me because of what I did,' I said. 'But trust me when I say this. I will never let any of you down ever again.'
Her lips trembled. Tears slid down her face.
A shaky breath escaped her, and suddenly she stepped forward and buried her face in my chest.
'Liar,' she whispered. Her fist thudded weakly against me. 'Liar. Liar…'
'…'
I said nothing. I just let her be.
After a while, she pulled back enough to look at me, eyes red and wet.
'How can I trust you?' She asked. 'What if the same thing happens again?'
'Then I'll prove I can be trusted.' I answered without hesitation. 'If you just give me a chance.'
She closed her eyes, deep in thought.
For a long moment, she stood there, thinking. Then she inhaled slowly and opened them again.
'I'll give you one more chance.'
'But only one.'
A small smile tugged at my lips.
'Thanks, Saki… for believing in me.'
'But you must take responsibility.'
I blinked.
'Responsibility?'
She nodded.
'Make me your official disciple.'
'…'
I froze.
'Are you serious?'
'Yep.' A faint smile appeared on her face. 'I want to be stronger…'
Her eyes held mine.
'But the right way this time.'
For a moment, I couldn't answer.
When I had lost my first disciple, I swore I would never take another. I never wanted to feel that grief again. But standing there, looking at her, I already knew my answer.
'Okay.'
I decided to break that promise.
'You can be my disciple.'
Even if it meant risking that pain again. Somewhere in my heart, I knew this choice would lead somewhere warmer than the road I'd been walking alone.
Saki stared at me for a second, before huffing at me.
'Guess I can't call you bastard anymore.'
'Huh?' I tilted my head. 'Why?'
'Because you proved yourself. You're no longer a bastard.'
'So are you going to call me by my name?'
'No.' She shook her head. 'Feels weird now, after calling you a bastard for a long time.'
I let out a helpless laugh.
Then what was she going to call me?
She stepped back and turned toward the room.
'Come on,' she said. 'Eri's waiting.'
Then she glanced over her shoulder. A small smile touched her lips.
'Master.'