Chapter 62 - A New Path 2

"Neuro Internal Art? What's that?"

Siren swallowed hard and asked about the portentous-sounding term. Watching her reaction, Ash replied calmly.

"An internal art I have newly devised... In other words, you could call it my own secret method. A sort of electrical-energy management protocol, perhaps?"

Ash followed this with a brief explanation of the Neuro Internal Art. The longer he spoke, the brighter Siren's eyes shone.

"Th-then...! Was that lightsaber you showed us in the Outer the Neuro Internal Art? The one with all that lightning swirling around it?"

"Sword energy and the Neuro Internal Art are separate concepts, but there is a causal connection. As you say, my lady, they are very closely related."

"Oh, oooh. Oooooh!"

"Hmm. However..."

But Ash's next words froze her excitement in an instant.

"You belong to Halloween, do you not, my lady?"

"Uh... Yes? I do?"

"Hmm... This is quite the predicament."

Ash murmured as though troubled.

Siren hastily pressed him.

"A-a predicament? What is? Is it because I belong to Halloween?"

"Indeed. In truth, the Neuro Internal Art is effectively my most important secret technique at present. We may share a bond, but how could I readily hand it over to someone who belongs to another Society?"

To Siren, the words were a bolt from the blue. Yet they were perfectly reasonable, leaving her unable to argue.

Ash continued.

"Thus, I intend to teach you only swordsmanship, as originally promised. What a pity, my lady."

"..."

Confusion and disappointment crossed the face that, moments earlier, had worn such a radiant smile.

Still, she soon nodded. After all, even that was more than she could ask for.

"You're right, Mr. Ash. I do belong to another organization. Then, when do we start swordsmanship...?"

"Swordsmanship lessons are scheduled for the afternoon. Until then, you may rest at your leisure, my lady."

With that, Ash turned his attention away entirely, a clear indication that he had no intention of continuing the conversation.

Siren lingered uncertainly nearby, her lips twitching several times before she finally left without another word.

Not long after she withdrew, another woman approached.

It was Ifrit. Apparently, she had finished preparing to return to Halloween Society.

"What the hell? What's with her?"

She jerked her chin toward Siren, who sat huddled in the shade some distance away. Ash turned at the question.

"Are you leaving?"

"Time to go. The data extraction's done, and you're back. Oh, speaking of the Revenant, Dullahan wanted to know if he could take it back with him. Says there isn't enough equipment here to fix it."

Ash tilted his head.

"... I did request after-sales service, but this seems excessively generous. What are you after?"

Ifrit grinned.

"Heh heh. What else? Data, obviously."

"Data from the Revenant? There should be nothing in particular worth extracting from it."

"Something about your driving skills being worth studying? Those guys are obsessed. They're still watching your dashcam footage, you know."

Having grasped the general situation, Ash nodded.

"I have nothing to lose. If they would do that for me, I can only be reassured."

"I'll tell them. You said they could strip it of every scrap of data, as long as they fix it."

"... Is that not a rather heavily embellished version?"

"Hah. Same difference."

Ash gave a low chuckle as Ifrit shrugged.

After a moment, Ash spoke.

"May I ask you something?"

"Sure. What is it?"

"Are there any penalties, so to speak, for leaving Halloween Society?"

Ifrit tilted her head at the unexpected question, but soon told him what she knew.

"Let's see. Return your filming drone and launcher. Shut down your personal streaming channel. That's about it? If you've got any corporate-sponsored cyberware, you'd have to return that too."

"It sounds as though there would be no major difficulties."

"Right. Some places throw a fucking fit and call you a traitor, but Halloween isn't that uptight. All we care about is getting content. Why do you ask?"

Without a word, Ash turned to look at Siren, huddled in the shade.

Following his gaze, Ifrit slowly opened her mouth as realization apparently dawned.

"Y-you aren't... trying to lure her over, are you? Onto your team?"

"Lure her? You make me sound like some sort of scoundrel."

"You're not denying it, though?"

"..."

"Wow. Seriously, you scare the hell out of me when you do this."

Ifrit tapped her own head.

"This is scarier than your sword. This."

"... So, do you think there would be any problems?"

"A shitload. She's ranked number one. It's going to cause quite a stir."

"Hmm..."

Ifrit waved a hand.

"But not the kind of problem you're thinking of, so don't worry. We're not going to suddenly stab you in the back like Vortex."

"What do you mean?"

"You'll see for yourself when the time comes."

Wearing a sly smile, Ifrit turned toward Siren.

She sat with her knees hugged to her chest in what was commonly called a 'sad little huddle,' gazing enviously at Akina and the ninjas.

"... It's for the best. She never really fit in at Halloween anyway."

"Why is that?"

"She doesn't have much desire to be popular. You could say she got famous because that made her look cool instead. Looking at her now, she does seem happier hanging around you guys. Everyone here carries a sword, after all."

"Hmm. I thought the two of you did not get along. You certainly know her inside out."

"You always dig deeper into the fuckers you hate. Don't you?"

Her words suddenly brought the Heavenly Demon to Ash's mind.

'Indeed, I suppose that is true.'

Meanwhile, Ifrit stretched with an exaggerated flourish, then turned toward the motorcycle she had arrived on.

"Done with the questions? Then I'm off. See you next time."

"Ah. My lady."

"Yeah?"

Ash turned toward her and cupped a fist in his other hand, offering the customary salute of the Central Plains.

"Thank you for protecting Miss Akina, however briefly."

Her heart-shaped eyes blinking at the sight, Ifrit copied his gesture with a touch of playfulness.

"Oh, my. Thank you for having me. I had a lovely time."

Ash let out a low chuckle.

* * *

A week passed after Ifrit and ROA left the rest stop.

Much changed at Santa's Rest Stop during that time.

The most immediately obvious change was undoubtedly the backyard. Thanks to everyone's combined efforts to clean it up, the space once cluttered with scrap metal and garbage now looked reasonably like a martial training ground.

Surprisingly, Akina was the most delighted by the sudden cleanup. She seemed particularly pleased that there was nothing left to trip over while running.

The wave of change did not stop there. The people changed as well.

Rudolph was able to leave his sickbed, and as soon as he could move about, he came to thank Ash.

Santa was frequently absent. He would even lock up the rest stop before going out, apparently throwing himself into making Ash's plan a reality.

But one change was greater than all the others combined.

At last, Zero had succeeded in using breath regulation to draw in the energy of all creation.

In one quiet corner of the training ground, Zero sat motionless in the lotus position, heedless of everyone's eyes on him.

He looked utterly peaceful—so much so that, at first glance, one might have thought he was asleep.

But the mysterious energy slowly spreading around him was a clear sign that something was happening.

It was like a haze rising above still water. Invisible yet unmistakably tangible, it was a pulse of life that seemed to breathe within a strange warmth.

It was qi.

"... Everyone, step back slowly, and without a sound."

A quiet yet firm electronic voice.

At its sound, those beside Zero slowly withdrew as silently as they could. Then the humanoid swordsman approached the Grotesque ninja, now seated alone in the lotus position.

Ash circled him slowly, his electronic voice low and devoid of the slightest emotion.

"Do not answer. Do not even pay me any mind."

His electronic voice brushed past Zero's senses like the sound of the wind.

"Let even my voice drift away with the flow. There is only one thing you must focus on: the warmth gradually gathering within your body."

At some point, Ash came to a stop behind Zero and crouched down.

"Beware of greed. You must not take in all of that warmth. The energy of heaven and earth is like muddy water. Some is clear and pure, but turbid, coarse energy is mixed in with it as well."

Ash raised his right hand and placed a finger against Zero's back, at the very base of his spine.

"From that rough current, send the clearest thread here. A single strand of the purest energy. That, and nothing else."

Zero did as he was told.

Using Ash's hand and words as guides, he began to move the heat gathered within his body, slowly and carefully.

"Do not hurry. Nor should you try to control everything. What matters is the flow. Empty your mind, and merely point out the direction in which the water should run."

Ash's guiding finger crept upward along the spine. Zero's energy followed that cool touch.

Leaving the spine, the energy passed over the crown of his head, down his forehead and the tip of his nose, then back toward his lower abdomen.

Flowing like a river, as though tracing a circle inside his body, the energy completed its first circuit.

Once.

Only that first time had been difficult.

Having learned the route, Zero began a second circuit without hesitation.

"Do not stop breathing. Draw in energy as you inhale, and expel the turbid qi as you exhale."

Following Zero's will, the energy, now quite familiar to him, began circulating along the Conception and Governing Vessels.

One circuit.

Then another.

With each successive circuit, the energy changed little by little.

As impure residue was filtered from the energy that had resembled rough, muddy water, did it not grow ever clearer and more transparent?

How much time had passed?

The energy, once like river water or mist, finally began to take shape. It became a small, luminous bead the size of a finger joint and settled in Zero's lower abdomen.

In his dantian.

Zero exhaled long and deep, gathering in the unfamiliar sensation that had settled within him. Ash's electronic voice reached his ears.

"How do you feel?"

Still dazed, Zero answered.

"Incredibly refreshed. And... it feels as though my body is overflowing with strength."

"Can you feel a power stirring in your dantian—that is, your lower abdomen?"

"Yes. I can feel it."

At those words, a loud, joyous laugh unlike any they had ever heard burst from Ash's voice module.

"Ha ha ha!"

After laughing for some time, Ash spoke, his voice brimming with emotion.

"That is internal energy! Internal energy—the very beginning and end of the martial arts!"

In truth, no one had awaited this moment more eagerly than Ash himself. The reason lay in the anguish born of a most fundamental question.