Chapter 63 - A New Path 3

Lately, Siren had been feeling a little out of sorts.

The rest stop was certainly livelier than ever. Shouts and the clash of swords rang constantly through the backyard, now fully transformed into a training ground, and one ninja after another achieved a breakthrough.

Every time that happened, Ash would race over like lightning to help them circulate their energy.

In the morning.

At night.

Even in the afternoon, during sword practice.

That was precisely why Siren felt so faintly downcast.

"My apologies, my lady."

"... Haha. It's all right."

Ash, who had been crossing blades with her only moments before, once again rushed toward a ninja sitting in the lotus position.

Siren slowly lowered the sword she had left suspended in midair.

Today's training was probably over for good. Helping someone with that internal art took an entire day or so.

Having already experienced much the same thing three times, Siren knew that fact whether she wanted to or not.

She returned to the patch of shade that had become her designated seat and settled into what was now her signature huddle.

Her gaze followed Ash.

"... How long will it take today?"

Ash was unquestionably a good teacher.

It wasn't as though he neglected her, either. When he actually taught her swordsmanship, he was quicker than anyone to correct her stance. If there was something she didn't understand, he would draw his own blade and demonstrate the form, kindly explaining its meaning as well.

But there was such a thing as momentum, wasn't there?

What was she supposed to do if he left like that less than an hour into sword practice?

She couldn't even practice on her own. Apparently, the noise would disturb them.

And so all Siren could do was sit huddled up and watch.

"..."

Intellectually, she understood. For someone who had just crossed the threshold of enlightenment, guidance from a more advanced practitioner must be more important than anything.

But still.

She couldn't help feeling hurt.

They were all receiving instruction from Ash, yet there was a subtle boundary between them that she couldn't quite put into words.

It was as though she had somehow become an outsider.

Siren looked at the ninjas again, her black eyes brimming with envy she couldn't hide.

That look did not escape Ash.

* * *

The next day, Ash gave an unusual instruction.

"Today, let us spar."

Not only the ninjas but Siren, sitting in the corner, opened their eyes wide at his words. Then they looked at one another.

"There happen to be exactly six of us... How about this? Zero and I shall go first. Next, Lady Siren and Third, since they are both women. Finally, Second and Fourth can exchange moves."

No one objected. Instead, they nodded vigorously. Every one of them was eager to test their newly learned swordsmanship or internal energy at once.

And so Ash and Zero took their places in the center of the training ground first.

Drawing the sword at his waist, Zero spoke.

"Standing here like this brings back memories."

He seemed to mean the day they had first met in Underland. Ash gave a faint chuckle.

"If you are still as you were then, I shall be disappointed."

"You will not be disappointed. I promise you that."

"I shall give you the first move. Let us see how much you have changed."

There was no signal to begin.

Zero's figure cut through the air first. His movements were distinctly different from before. He wasn't merely fast; he glided with fluid grace. This was no simple sprint, but a form of martial footwork.

Nor was that all. Pure white mist rose little by little beneath his feet, creating the uncanny illusion that he was floating on clouds.

Much about it was still awkward, and even his movements broke off in jerks, but it was unmistakably Kunlun's footwork.

Dragon-Form Steps.

At last, the dragon had appeared commanding the clouds, given wings by internal energy.

"Here I come!"

A slash incomparably heavier than before swept toward Ash.

CLANG!

With a dull clash, Ash's steel body was pushed back a fraction. At the same time, his optical sensors flashed fiercely.

It was a kind of overwhelming emotion at seeing his school's martial arts restored to their complete form.

Zero's onslaught continued. At times his sword thrust out unpredictably; at others, it scattered white mist and vanished from view. It resembled a dragon stalking its prey amid clouds and fog.

"Excellent!"

A delighted exclamation burst from Ash's voice module. At the same instant, blue lightning flashed beneath his feet.

Ash, too, had unleashed Dragon-Form Steps.

But there was a clear difference.

Where Zero's version resembled dense banks of mist, Ash's was like a lightning strike.

KRAKOOM!

With every step he took, a crack rang out as though the very air were bursting apart.

"Ngh...!"

Whenever Zero's sword shot toward him, Ash countered it with the exact same form.

Two versions of the Thirteen Swords of the Cloud Dragon, each imbued with a different energy, traded countless attacks and defenses.

It looked almost like two dragons vying for supremacy within a thundercloud roiling with lightning.

At some point, Zero's sword forms, which had held up quite well, began to falter. Ash's overwhelming destructive power seemed to have thrown his hands into disarray.

Strangely, however, rather than unleashing a decisive attack, Ash took a large step back. Then he raised his left hand and placed it against the flat of his blade.

"Truly impressive. Then, would you try blocking this as well?"

As he spoke, he swept his hand up the blade.

CRACKLE. CRACKLE.

Following his hand, the blue lightning that occasionally manifested around Ash's body slowly began transferring to the flat of the blade.

Watching him, Siren's eyes flew so wide they looked ready to split.

"Th-that's...!"

That overwhelming sight she had witnessed in the Outer.

It was Plasma sword energy.

At the sight of it, like a spear of lightning sending blue electrical arcs in every direction, Zero involuntarily stepped backward.

"Wh-what is that?"

Ash gave a low chuckle at his astonished question.

"What else? A fragment of the martial arts you will one day learn. I thought this a fine opportunity for you to experience it firsthand."

Holding a thunderbolt in one hand, Ash launched himself straight at Zero. The mist Zero had spread throughout the training ground evaporated helplessly before that overwhelming heat and force.

"Wh-what...!"

Zero's entire body stiffened like that of a man facing death. Yet he did not retreat. Instead, he squeezed out every last bit of the meager internal energy that had only just settled in his dantian.

At last, their swords collided.

KRAAASH!

Once.

That single attack sent Zero staggering backward until he finally dropped to one knee. His sword hand trembled faintly.

"Oh dear. Are you all right?"

At Ash's concerned question, Zero raised his head and answered.

"That..."

Strangely, his voice held neither pain nor dejection, but an excitement close to ecstasy.

"... Will I be learning that?"

At Zero's unexpected response, Ash laughed with pleasure.

"You must not neglect your training."

Zero sprang to his feet and bowed.

"Yes! I will remember that!"

"Good. Then let us end our match here..."

Trailing off, Ash turned his head slightly to look at Siren.

Her mouth hung open as she stared fixedly at the Plasma sword energy. The longing in her eyes was so intense it was almost frightening.

When Ash shifted his sword a little, her head followed its path as though she were bewitched.

'That should be enough bait. Now, shall I drive the point home?'

After that brief inward murmur, Ash gave his blade a light flick. The plasma flowing along its surface scattered like dust and disappeared.

"Lady Siren. Step forward."

Siren nodded vigorously.

* * *

Siren adjusted her grip on her sword and stepped into the center.

At the same time, she struggled to calm her excitement over what she had just witnessed. Zero's cloud-commanding sword and Ash's lightning cleaving through it were not sights anyone could see once and forget.

Especially that final display of Plasma sword energy, blazing as though it would swallow everything. Merely watching it had been enough to fill her with rapture.

While she was lost in those thoughts, the woman in the rabbit mask stepped forward and took her place opposite Siren.

Come to think of it, she had faced this opponent once before at the rest stop. Yes, this was the woman she had subdued by piercing her shoulder.

Perhaps that was why an odd confidence welled up within her.

Siren assumed her stance and addressed her.

"Let's have a good match."

The rabbit-masked ninja merely bowed.

'Oh. Right, they said she couldn't speak.'

Siren lightly readjusted her grip.

And so the match began, without any particular signal.

Third moved first. Closing the distance with economical movements, she slashed at Siren with a somewhat stiff sword stroke.

By now, Siren also knew the Thirteen Swords of the Cloud Dragon to some extent, so she immediately recognized where the sword was aimed. She leisurely raised her blade to meet it.

But the instant their swords touched, Siren realized.

Something had changed completely.

"Huh...?"

BANG!

With a dull burst, Siren was driven backward. The tremendous impact traveled up her cyberware arm, sending a tingling shock all the way to her shoulder.

Third, the rabbit-masked ninja, was attacking with strength on an entirely different level from before.

"Ngh...!"

It was clearly the same swordsmanship she had faced before, yet its weight was utterly different. That simple, unmistakable difference left Siren bewildered.

'What? What is this?'

It wasn't merely a difference in physical strength. Something alien and immense was being transmitted through the sword.

There was no time to dwell on it. She was in the middle of a match.

Third's sword came rushing in again.

Struggling to steady her shaken mind, Siren met the blade. This time, rather than blocking it head-on, she chose to deflect it at an angle.

In technique, at least, she was superior.

In experience, too.

How many opponents had she faced in her work as a Pathfinder? Even without Undine's combat data, she was an excellent swordswoman in her own right.

Hadn't she even received swordsmanship lessons directly from Ash?

But.

But it was no use.

Even when she repeatedly targeted openings with sharp counterattacks, the instant their swords collided, her attacks were simply knocked aside without resistance.

"Grr!"

Siren gritted her teeth. In an instant, she pushed every piece of cyberware in her body to maximum output and thrust her blade toward Third's approaching sword.

CLANG!

Only then was she finally able to knock it away.

"Hah, hah...!"

Breathing hard, she ignored every notification warning her of rising temperatures and swung her sword fiercely.

At last, they were evenly matched.

No, Siren had even gained a slight advantage.

But it was a castle built on sand.

How many exchanges had they made?

Warning messages began filling Siren's vision until she could barely see ahead.

Her body had originally been designed around the cooling system attached to Undine's arm, leaving it somewhat vulnerable to heat. Since she had pushed her entire body to maximum output without using that cooling system, this was, in a sense, only natural.

One by one, her overheated cyberware components began to creak. Her reactions slowed, and her grip on her sword began to loosen.

At that moment...

"Enough."

Ash had approached unnoticed and simultaneously caught both swords as they flew toward their targets. His hands were made of steel to begin with, so they were not cut.

Having stepped in, Ash looked from Siren to Third and reached a conclusion.

"... For now, let us call this match a draw."

Siren shouted in a most uncharacteristic fashion.

"Wait! I can still... I can still keep going!"

"My lady."

"Just a little longer, and I might be able to wi—"

"Look at your body."

Only at Ash's quiet words did Siren look down at herself. What she saw were arms glowing red-hot from overload.

Her overheated components were screaming, and faint smoke even rose from the joints between her shoulders and arms.

"This match is a draw. I will hear no objections."

Siren's face went blank.

Until so very recently, this had been an opponent she could subdue with ease. What on earth accounted for this difference?