Part 5 — Meaning

It was a fun experience, though. To Ran, the world had been a boring, colorless place. To her, the battles that unfolded in front of her eyes appeared to be in slow motion. As one of the Marked, she could not understand why the fights unfolded the way they did.

Why that particular move for that particular moment? Why won’t they move to take advantage of opportunities? Why don’t they notice patterns in their opponents’ movements? It’s not that she trained to achieve those insights; she was born with them, which is why her perspective was always different from those of her peers’.

She was special. None of the martial arts developed over several thousand years in the hidden village were able to cope with her power. Everyone in the village feared her. She had appeared as though by the fickle whim of God, proving in an instant that all of their training was ultimately meaningless.

So she sought out what lay outside. In search of new experiences, she had jumped out into the wider world that lay beyond the hidden village. And it was out there that she heard a particular rumor: evidently, there’s an extremely powerful man in the Arcana Kingdom.

“Raaaaaaaaaah!”

She was made aware of just how large the world outside really is, and that there are those in this world who can withstand her fists.

“Graaaaaah!”

That there were opponents who could knock her out in a single blow... Now she knows that this world is wonderful, that it can be entertaining.

“Raah... Ah, ahh...?”

While caught up in her own excitement, she finally ran out of steam, before she could even realize that the price for escaping the monotony of life in a cloistered world was the loss of her self-confidence, her self-worth, as the most powerful person in the world. No longer able to heal her own wounds, Ran was instead healed by a mystic brought for that purpose.

The four girls from Tempera, after seeing Ran flame out, were shocked into silence. True, they had left the village to see the wider world. They’d thought that there were many enemies yet unimagined in the world that awaited them. Still, they hadn’t expected to lose this quickly. It hadn’t even been a year since they’d left the village, and already they’d hit their limits.

The person they’d believed in crumbles before them. The sudden and complete sense of loss they suffer leaves them standing numbly in shock. She, who had so thoroughly dominated the martial artists from the Tempera Village, the arts that had sustained a thousand years of invincibility, was nowhere near the most powerful in this wider world. In which case, just what had their ancestors actually done with their time?

“Hey Eckesachs. The world certainly is large, isn’t it?”

Seeing those four, the legendary sword recalled words from the past. She remembered the man who had been born in this great wide world, lived a long time, obtained strength without rival, saw the entirety of the supposedly wide world, could not give up as old age simply wouldn’t claim him, and ultimately could no longer find anyone to compete with.

“My Master, you should go to Sunae.”

“A-Alright.”

Saiga, who was capable of wielding Spirit Summoning but had yet to achieve the ability to turn into a giant beast, ran toward Sunae, who had finished her battle.

“Everything alright, Sunae?”

“Yes... She was strong. Still, she was no match for Spirit Summoning.”

Though she had emerged victorious, the long time spent in giant beast form had taken its toll on the exhausted Sunae, and her body was covered in bruises. Sunae didn’t bother with any posturing; instead, she leaned against Saiga and accepted his affection.

“I certainly couldn’t lose with my brother watching.”

Spirit Summoning needed to establish itself as the strongest, but she was also aware that its dominance was an illusion. There were simply far too many opponents she couldn’t beat in the Arcana Kingdom. Yet, in spite of that, Spirit Summoning needed to be the strongest. Particularly in front of her brother, who, despite viewing it as a divine Art, was unable to wield it himself.

“So how about it? Your future wife is quite a sight to behold, no?”

“Yeah. So much so that I was almost jealous.”

“I see! Well, I didn’t think it would feel this good!”

Sunae, with Saiga’s support, headed over to the other mystic. With bruises all over her body, she, too, needed healing.

“Mmmph... They’re getting all sweet and cuddly... But it’s a bit hard to cut in.”

“Now, now.”

For Happine, all of this was rather frustrating. She can’t help but feel that she’s been relegated to the background, as of late. Zuger, in turn, somehow managed to calm the irate Happine.

“Actually, Eckesachs, I wanted to ask. What would have happened if Saiga had done the fighting?”

“Mm? It wouldn’t have been particularly interesting.”

The simple reality was that mystic walls and armor were more durable than the body obtained through Spirit Summoning. That was obvious from comparing what happened when they were hit by magic. Meaning, putting aside Eckesachs, so long as he protected himself with mystical armor, Saiga wouldn’t have been injured at all. But, not being able to use Spirit Summoning in public, he also lacked a useful means of attack.

Of course, if he used his divination, he could read his opponent’s movements. But, as Sansui proved, opponents who can react after seeing their opponent move can move faster than divination can account for.

Still, if Saiga was to remove the limitations on his magic, he would most definitely win. Even with his basic Spirit Summoning, if Saiga combined that with the enhancement provided by Eckesachs, he wouldn’t lose to Ran in the realm of speed. After that, the attack power of his fire magic would be enough to break through the regeneration abilities of the Marked.

“With my presence, no doubt he wouldn’t lose, but I doubt that would mean he’d win, either.”

Saiga was able to defeat Sunae before acquiring Eckesachs because she couldn’t completely avoid his fire magic spells. Combined with his wearing mystical armor, she couldn’t land an effective blow on him.

“...It can’t be.”

It had taken this long for the four martial artists from the Tempera Village to regain the ability to speak. It was an extremely easy to understand defeat, and one so total that everyone who saw it knew who had won. Sunae’s Spirit Summoning had been so flashy that the four from the Tempera Village had completely understood what they were seeing. No matter how many times Ran refought that battle, she couldn’t possibly win.

“No doubt dealing with a Marked using the arts of the Tempera Village would be difficult. It’s easy enough to remember techniques if they follow a specific form, and from there it’d just be a matter of making adjustments to beat people... It’s the perfect environment for a Marked to show their dominance.”

The answer to the question of whether the Marked were weak or strong had a simple answer. They were so strong that Eckesachs would vouch for their strength. They were particularly strong against those who fight with unarmed martial arts. Since Ran was simply superhuman in her physical abilities, it was difficult to compete with her using what were literally human techniques.

“To add a bit more to the discussion...as those who are here are aware, an individual’s strength and their group’s strength aren’t always in alignment. Taking down a single opponent with a group is something that requires training in its own right.”

The Royal Guardsmen present all understand that fact. There is a substantial difference between the training required for fighting in a group versus fighting as an individual. Even if there was a group that had mastered the art of unarmed fighting in a secluded location, that fact alone would likely have meant that they hadn’t done any work on attacking a single opponent en masse.

“The Marked are likely invincible within Tempera Village, but that’s definitely not true now that she’s left the village. Whether you consider that a good or bad thing... Well, that is not up to Ran, but to you four.”

The ultimate legendary sword knew the emptiness of seeking to be the strongest. As the Demon Blade of Vengeance foretold, all that results from trying to prove one is the strongest is tragedy. If they are simply ignorant of the world, they end up collapsed on the ground, and if they truly end up the strongest, they cease to belong anywhere.

“Once the Marked regains consciousness, she will likely seek another battle. If Sansui returns with orders to kill her from his master, then you have nothing to do but give up on everything.”

“That would be a problem!”

Marked were definitely strong, but they were no match for Sansui.

The only reason Ran, who sought out battle, survived this long was because she simply hadn’t fought anyone stronger than she was. When she fights someone against whom her strength is ineffective, Ran is little better than an untrained goon.

“I don’t suppose there’s a solution...”

The Regent is the one who would find that a problem. At the very least, a living Marked was a valuable specimen, and she wished to avoid letting the other Rare Art users out of her grasp.

“With Sansui about, we could take care of things without much fuss.”

Sansui was able to knock Ran out with a single blow. That fact alone meant there was no issue with her living here. Of course, the burden on Sansui wasn’t a consideration.

“You say that, but he’s the spoiled princess’s lackey. If she says to kill her, then that’s the end of it,” Saiga said, remembering Happine’s comment. Neither Douve nor Lord Sepaeda would order an unjust killing, but they’d also have no compunction against ordering a killing if they felt it necessary.

While Sansui wouldn’t go to the trouble of killing an opponent that came after him, if ordered to do so by Douve, he likely wouldn’t hesitate.

“A good point...”

The Marked, also known as berserkers, really don’t live long. Just as was showcased earlier, because they don’t know their own limits, they eventually run out of energy while fighting on the battlefield and thus expire. Further, if Sansui wanted to kill her, she’d be dead. That is something entirely unavoidable. The Regent struggled with her quandary, but the four martial artists were struggling even more.

“This is... Our limit...”

“What are we to do...”

“Do we return to the village?”

“We can hardly go back now...”

Their homeland, which had declared itself undefeated for a thousand years... They had come out to the wider world to see just how much strength backed that reputation. The answer was pitiless — they were relatively strong, but there were many even stronger out in the world. Their despair was deep, given how there really wasn’t anything to do about the conclusion.

No doubt that Ran would go on a rampage when she regained consciousness, and then she’d be killed or restrained. There was no possibility of her winning. They wanted to know how far they could go in the world, but with this answer, there’s no redemption for them.

“...Oh, I know! I have a wonderful idea!”

The Regent laughed, evidently unconcerned with the melancholy of the young women. The fact that those around her couldn’t imagine that she was planning anything good was about equal to her reputation among those who knew her.

In the Arcana Kingdom and surrounding countries, berserkers are known as the sort of absurdly powerful menace that can only be defeated with an army. That Sunae defeated one alone brought about a sudden re-evaluation by those in the kingdom in their attitudes toward Sunae herself, her art of Spirit Summoning, and her home kingdom of Magyan.

Up until now, Sunae had only been a young woman known as Saiga’s fiancée, a woman who wielded a Rare Art, but whose claims to royal blood had been treated with skepticism. But now she had put herself on the line to fulfill her duty as Magyan Sunae.

“Thank you, Princess Sunae. If you had wanted to, you could have finished her with a single bite.”

“...I had my own thoughts on the matter. She’s someone I can kill at any time, so there’s no need to kill her now.”

Currently, the exhausted Ran is sleeping in the academy’s infirmary, suffering from extreme malnutrition and fatigue. She wasn’t able to move for some time.

The members of the Batterabbe party stand in front of her bed. They all know that she’s definitely a dangerous person. There are plenty of records of what the Marked or berserkers have already wrought on this world. Even so, they all sympathized with her to some extent, particularly Sunae.

Sunae herself had challenged the world in her arrogance, lost to and fell in love with a man, then learned of an opponent who even that man could do nothing against. What was the difference between herself and the girl in the bed? The girl in the bed was one who couldn’t complain if someone killed her, to be sure, but Sunae didn’t feel any particular desire to kill her.

“Well, I’m glad to hear that... On the subject of this girl, I had a proposal. Miss Happine, would you be her guarantor?”

“What are you asking?”

“It’s simple. Make her a guest of House Batterabbe.”

Generally, Douve doesn’t act in anti-social ways, because she has no need to. To put it bluntly, when bored, she will be cruel within the bounds of the law, but doesn’t risk breaking it. If Batterabbe were to become guarantors of Ran and her friends, Douve wasn’t likely to want them dead so much that she’d risk a conflict with another house.

“I’d rather not. Why should I have to endure a berserker in our house?”

One truth is that House Batterabbe is conservative, so far as martial houses go. The existence of Sansui in the House Sepaeda camp made them willing to accept an anomaly like Saiga, but they are generally not ones to accept those who they don’t know into their midst.

House Sepaeda would willingly accept a dangerous presence if they felt the benefits outweighed the risks, but Batterabbe doesn’t think like that. There’s no right or wrong approach here; it’s simply a difference in temperament. In that sense, Happine’s words were perfectly correct.

“Please, for my sake.”

“Why would it be for your sake, Regent...?”

“Oh come now, what would the harm be? There’s plenty of value in it.”

The Regent didn’t hide the fact that she was doing this for her own entertainment. That was one of the things that made her something of a bother to deal with.

“First, this girl is a wielder of a Rare Art, even if she doesn’t do it consciously. The Tainted Blood, I think it was called? She has that power flowing through her rather than mana, and in a much higher amount than is normal.”

A power that was expressed not through a practiced art form, but as an unconsciously wielded strength that increases one’s natural abilities. If that stems from a type of Rare Art, then others could learn how to wield it.

“Saiga... You should be able to learn it, yes? After all, every form of power flows through you.”

“That might be true... But I don’t intend to learn it.”

“Oh, why? If you were to be able to recreate the power of the berserker, you can keep it from standing out with your mystic armor. Like your divination, it’d be an art you can use when fighting in public.”

That was probably true. Or he could activate it with Spirit Summoning and wield even greater strength. He could combine it with mysticism and use it to instantly heal from even lethal blows. However, that meant learning a completely new art.

“I... After I lost to Sansui, I was told not to fear learning new arts. But... I want to make sure I’ve mastered the power that I already have. If I go back to learning new techniques now, I’d just end up only half-way learning everything...”

Although gifted with a talent for all forms of magic, it’s not as though he could use them all at present. While Eckesachs had seen countless different wielders of the Rare Arts in her travels with Suiboku, as a mere amplifier, she couldn’t teach those techniques to him. He can’t learn new Arts without something to copy. And even if he could learn it, it would be limited to the very basics.

“When I was at Caputo, I couldn’t do anything against mages who could fly. In effect, I can use a lot of very simple techniques... I don’t want to regret not trying harder to master what I know. My current goal is to be able to deal with flying enemies.”

Saiga needed goals. Because he could do just about anything, he didn’t have a concrete or predetermined direction to focus his efforts on. As such, his current goal was to be able to fight flying opponents. It went without saying that the Marked weren’t exactly equipped to tackle flying opponents.

“Oh, tehehe... You really do admire Sansui, don’t you?”

“...Yes.”

“That’s a good thing. However, you are also a guest at this academy, making you one of my students as well. So, let me assign you some homework.”

The truth was that it was an outcome the Regent desperately wanted to see, but it was also true that it would serve Saiga just as well.

“You can stick with just the basics. Learn how to wield power as a berserker from her. Once you do that, pass that on to whoever comes next.”

There are plenty of people in the world with the Tainted Blood. Although they don’t normally make use of it, as they don’t have quite enough talent, there are still those who have the gift. Perhaps not all of them would want the power to become a berserker, just as not everyone with a talent for the Hex Arts becomes a hex caster. However, at this moment, the option doesn’t even exist.

“The one who comes next... Who would that be?”

“Anyone you want it to be. Perhaps there’s someone with the Tainted Blood among the swordsmen Sansui is teaching. Even if not, there might be someone in this academy who has that talent. They might be among the students with other talents who couldn’t learn Shadow Summoning. But first, you need to learn the power from her.”

The man who could learn any technique, Saiga Mizu... He was still searching for his own distinct fighting style. However, his strength isn’t something that can be passed on. Further, it wasn’t as though he could master any one thing. Yet, even still, there was value to it.

“There’s no need for you to master the art of being a berserker. You only need to find a foothold. It doesn’t matter if you only have a shallow grasp of it, a rough grasp of it, or an unpracticed grasp of it. All that matters is that you take her natural, unshaped art and put a shape to it. Take a power that can’t currently be taught and turn it into a form, a martial art, scholarly knowledge, a technique...something that can be learned with the right gift. You learn and put a form to it, even if it’s the most basic step, and if you can pass it on to someone else, then that will create a new Rare Art.”

The hope and ambition of one educator struck Saiga like a lightning bolt.

“I don’t need to master it?”

“No, you don’t have to master it. You don’t have to complete it entirely on your own. Leave that to those that come after you. That alone will have more value than any berserker who came before, who only had value in fighting battles.”

He had thought that there was no meaning to something unless he could master it. He had thought that only those who had mastered something had the right to teach it. He had thought that only those with a polished strength could teach. He had thought that only those who could see instruction through to the end could ever become teachers.

“This is your task, Saiga. Unlike Spirit Summoning, the power of the berserker has no political shackles. That is why your task is to pass the technique of using the Tainted Blood to someone else. Your task is to start a new type of Art.”