‘Isis, go to Gaderade. Fate will let you find the answer there.’
‘Is it to kill the Child of Destiny, or to let her grant you release?’
‘My poor Hero, take your time thinking…’
“Lady Ash, please guide me.”
Isis opened her eyes. Ten steps away, Lifa held a clenched fist in the challenger’s salute of a duel.
“Fine.”
Isis uttered the emotionless word. By now, she had already lost interest in continuing this assessment.
She followed the prophecy, traveling from the far west to Gaderade in search of the ‘Child of Destiny.’
Initially, her visit to the Adventurer’s Guild was merely to utilize the local intelligence network to facilitate her search. She never expected to run into Lifa directly, let alone —
A memory of a back profile she saw while descending the guild stairs flashed through her mind.
Isis stared at the radiant set on Lifa. Her thoughts were entirely occupied by the existence she called ‘Master.’
‘Master, have you returned from the dead?’
‘If it’s true…’
‘Why haven’t you come to find me?’
‘Is it — ?’
‘You chose to stay by this girl’s side?’
Seeing the object brought back memories of the person. Isis’s original intention of using the assessment to understand the ‘Child of Destiny’ was quickly becoming distorted.
The fallen, mad soul within her body seemed to become even harder to suppress.
Sacrifice didn’t matter, release didn’t matter, the Hero didn’t matter, and the Demon King didn’t matter…
‘I only want Master.’
An eerie blood-red light flashed in Isis’s eyes. She bit her tongue hard until blood seeped out, making it seem as if nothing had happened.
“Whoa, she’s even stronger than my previous teachers…”
From Lifa’s perspective, Isis’s formidable strength and the aura cultivated from killing countless demonic beasts and demons were manifesting in a chaotic release.
Even before launching an attack, Lifa felt her sword-hand trembling.
She couldn’t do this. Her teacher needed her to pass this assessment.
“Teacher Ron, Lifa… won’t let you down.”
After whispering to herself, Lifa’s emerald eyes searched for any possible opening on Isis. She gripped her longsword tightly and began charging at her maximum speed without a moment’s hesitation.
Seven steps, five steps, three steps.
Why wasn’t she drawing her sword?
They had entered a distance where blades could cross, yet Lifa saw no movement from Isis.
She raised her sword and swung down.
Lifa was already prepared to ask if Isis wanted to restart once the blade reached her neck.
In that exact instant.
The longsword suddenly flew from Lifa’s hand. It spun several times in the air before stabbing straight into the arena floor.
“H — How?”
Her right hand remained in a gripping posture. Lifa stared at her empty palm in disbelief. Then, her body collapsed into a sitting position on the ground as the numbing sensation from her arm spread.
“Lady Ash…”
Lifa wanted to look up to ask for an answer, only to see the edge of a sword blade pressed against her neck. Isis’s shadow loomed over her.
“When I told you to go all out, I meant the kind of ‘all out’ where you stake your life to kill me.”
Isis crouched down and reached out, lightly stroking the smooth Mithril surface of the radiant set as she chuckled.
“Answer one question, and I can give you another chance.”
“Eh? I can do that?”
Lifa suddenly realized that beneath this ‘Lady Ash’s’ aloof and cold exterior, she was actually unexpectedly kind and approachable.
“Lady Ash, please ask…”
Lifa answered cautiously, her face still filled with confusion over being defeated instantly.
“This radiant set — I want to know where it came from.”
To confirm her Master’s current identity, Isis believed that using this as a breakthrough point was the simplest method.
“Oh.”
“My teacher gave this equipment to me. I’m not really sure about its history before that.”
Lifa showed a troubled expression. After all, she had only owned the equipment for three days at most.
“I see. Then let’s continue.”
Isis didn’t push further. She walked over, retrieved the longsword from the ground, and handed it back to Lifa.
“I’ll win this time!”
***
Entering the second round, Lifa declared her resolve and raised her sword again.
Unsurprisingly, she was defeated by Isis in a single strike once more.
“Your strength and speed are quite good.”
After Isis gave her critique, the dazed Lifa sitting on the ground felt a sense of déjà vu.
“Answer one question, and I can give you another chance.”
“I want to know the name of your teacher.”
From the afternoon’s most scorching sun to the sunset behind the mountains, by the time Lifa looked up, Isis’s shadow had already shifted away from her body.
“Lady Ash, y — you can ask.”
“I… I already know how to block your second move!”
Panting heavily, Lifa pushed herself up, wanting to begin her 233rd challenge against Isis.
“Heh, there’s no need.”
Beneath her black robe, one of Isis’s hands clenched tightly, her nails digging into her flesh, but she maintained a calm smile on her face as she looked at Lifa.
“Oh… I understand.”
Realizing the assessment had ended, Lifa was disappointed but nodded in understanding. Her eyes were full of gratitude and admiration as she looked at Isis.
Throughout the afternoon, Isis had provided critiques and suggestions every time she defeated Lifa.
Under this disguised teaching that felt like a sudden enlightenment, Lifa finally managed to successfully block Isis’s first move not long ago.
“Thank you very much for your guidance.”
Reflecting on the many things she had learned from Isis today, Lifa gave a deep, sincere bow.
“I should thank you too, Lifa.”
Isis stepped forward and returned the gesture with a hug.
After every battle, there had been a repeated cycle of questions and answers.
Lifa thought Isis was simply using this method to allow her an infinite number of attempts at the assessment, unaware that she had completely sold out her beloved Teacher Ron.
‘He said he knows the Hero Isis? Heh, he said they weren’t close?’
‘It seems he’s in trouble? He’s hiding from something?’
‘He used to use a very beautiful sword. What did it look like?’
By now, Isis was almost certain that Lifa’s ‘Teacher Ron’ was undoubtedly the Master who had once died by her blade.
Even though many questions remained, she knew Lifa wouldn’t be able to provide those answers.
“Hehe, Lady Ash, why are you thanking me? If you like hearing stories about our village, I can tell them to you anytime!”
Lifa sheathed her weapon and put it back into the storage pendant, still under the impression that Isis’s questions were driven by an interest in rural life.
“That sounds fine.”
“But Lifa, I think you might have misunderstood a few things.”
“What do you mean?”
“You passed your assessment. I will have the guild process your Adamantite-rank Adventurer credentials later.”
Isis placed her index finger against Lifa’s lips, signaling that she didn’t need to argue or ask questions.
Through their time together that afternoon, she had not only learned a lot about Ron’s situation but also gained an understanding of Lifa’s personality and many other matters.
“Go back. Let your Teacher Ron reward you properly.”
“I also said I would go to that inn to find you tomorrow.”
“T — Then, see you tomorrow, Lady Ash.”
Once Isis moved her finger away, Lifa took her leave.
Watching her back as she walked toward the arena exit, Isis truly realized how much Lifa resembled her former self.
“Blonde hair, a female swordsman, aiming to be a Hero…”
Isis dug her fingertips into her silver-white hair. After tallying a series of traits the two had in common, she no longer needed to hide her true self now that Lifa was gone.
“Master, it really is you, isn’t it…?”
“You even gave her my radiant set~”
“Are you treating her as a temporary replacement for me? Or perhaps…”
Her fingers moved through her hair as Isis thought of another possibility for Lifa’s existence, scratching bloody marks into her fair neck.