“Lifa, perform a diagonal strike followed by a heavy slash, then…” clang
Isis parried the incoming attack while lost in thought, watching as Lifa flawlessly turned each of Ron’s instructions into precise, ruthless strikes, moving in perfect harmony with him.
Crack
In the span of a single breath, Isis realized she had nearly been overwhelmed by Lifa’s strike.
‘What a man…’
Isis glanced at Ron. His experience and judgment perfectly covered Lifa’s weaknesses, and with their power levels neutralized for this spar, the tide of the battle had begun to turn.
“Now! Jump and use the downward kinetic energy to attack her left shoulder!”
Ron was not just familiar with Lifa; even after years of separation, he remained intimately acquainted with Isis’s swordsmanship and habits.
Since this spar was unavoidable, Ron decided that regardless of what happened next, winning this match would be beneficial.
However, just as he believed Lifa would break through Isis’s defense with the next move, a sudden anomaly occurred on the Arena.
“Hehehe~”
A cold, cruel laugh escaped Isis’s lips before cutting off abruptly. She looked up at Lifa, her eyes flashing with intermittent blood-red light.
A smile.
“Lifa, step back for a moment…”
“Sister Ash, you… are you alright?”
Disregarding the danger, Lifa stepped forward, reaching out to help Isis.
“Get away!”
[Isis, why should it be her?]
[Why is the Child of Destiny her and not you?]
[Lifa can be so intimate with her teacher, while your master died at your own hands.]
[How pathetic, my lovely Hero~ Are you really willing to let your life become a stepping stone for this girl?]
[Have you truly given up… on searching for a way to resurrect your master?]
The remnant soul of the Demon King, whose body had perished but whose consciousness lived on, was instigating, fighting for control over Isis’s mind.
Memories, envy, and even…
Jealousy.
Amidst the sight of Ron and Lifa before her, Isis saw the beautiful things she once possessed but had since lost.
Even a Hero of noble character could not escape these inherent human emotions.
Consequently, her desperate thirst for her master’s return and her own survival was being exploited by the Demon King.
“Lifa, get back!”
Ron shouted to warn her. Seeing the girl hesitate out of concern for Isis, he rushed forward to pull her away himself.
‘She was fine a moment ago; why did she suddenly have an episode!’
Ron, completely unarmed, stood at a position even closer to Isis than Lifa had been.
“Lady Ash, are you alright?”
After a brief moment of hesitation, Ron stepped up and grabbed Isis’s shoulders, gently shaking the white-haired Hero, who seemed as if her soul had been stripped away.
“Ungh.”
Isis exhaled a heavy breath. Thinking she was beginning to recover, Ron let go, only to be met head-on by a beautiful yet distorted strike.
“Teacher, watch out!”
Ron’s eyes widened. Even though the weapon Isis swung at him was just an ordinary wood sword, this attack did not suppress her power the way she had during the earlier spar with Lifa.
‘I was careless. I should have stayed as far away from Isis as possible!’
“Ash, Sister Ash…”
Hearing Lifa’s voice, Ron slowly opened his eyes, which he had squeezed shut. He could still feel the sword pressure from just inches away, which had been enough to ruffle his hair.
But.
“I-I’m sorry.”
With her white hair disheveled, Isis knelt on one knee and dropped the broken wood sword.
“Teacher, I’m just glad you’re not hurt.”
Lifa rushed between them, anxiously checking on both of them.
She had witnessed the change that occurred in those few seconds; just before Isis could strike Ron, she had forced her attack to stop, then, with a flick of her wrist, redirected the target toward her own ankle.
“I… Lady Ash.”
Ron didn’t know what to say, seeing Isis struggling, unable to stand, and suffering from both immense mental and physical pain.
“I am fine.”
Isis looked up at Ron and Lifa. After a forced smile, she let go of the pulverized wood sword handle and pulled a dagger from beneath her cloak.
“Lifa.”
Ron instinctively pulled Lifa back as he retreated.
Sympathy and guilt were one thing, but he knew he was powerless against Isis’s condition and needed to stay away from the danger she posed.
“Hehe~”
Unlike before, her laughter this time was filled with bitterness and self-mockery.
This was why she had given up walking the Uthis Continent under the name of the Hero Isis; she did not want her uncontrollable behavior and the harm it caused others to tarnish the name of the Hero.
The glorious title her master had exchanged his life to give her.
Shatter
With an expressionless face, Isis held the moon-curved blade of the dagger against her own shoulder blade and drove it in.
“There, Lifa, I apologize for frightening you both. I might need your help now.”
A large patch of crimson instantly stained her grey robe where the dagger had pierced. Isis spoke in a calm, gentle tone, leaving Ron and Lifa to exchange shocked glances.
“Lady Ash, why would you do that?”
Ron signaled for Lifa to help while taking the opportunity to understand the situation.
Even though he felt his guess was mostly correct, he needed the explanation from Isis herself.
“With my power, defeating the demonic beast guarding the origin crystal is not a problem, but as you have seen…”
Isis stopped Lifa from touching the dagger and, after hesitating, continued.
“I suffered a demonic curse while adventuring…”
“A demonic curse?”
Lifa’s mouth hung open in shock.
“Yes. Sometimes, I suddenly lose control and my sanity. That is why, for me, Ron and Lifa are more than just guides and assistants; you are here to pull me back when I lose control.”
“Can we really do that?”
“Lady Ash, if you hadn’t stopped in time, I don’t think I would be standing here talking to you right now.”
Ron spoke with an intense gaze. Not only was he shaken by his narrow escape, but he also realized that the dagger in Isis’s hand was something he had never seen before—and it was certainly no ordinary weapon.
Flesh.
“It is all thanks to this.”
Isis pulled the dagger from her left shoulder blade without changing her expression. Perhaps due to some unique property, not a drop of the Hero’s blood stained the blade.
“Sister Ash, please, don’t talk anymore. Lifa has some hemostatic powder; please use it!”
Lifa took the dagger first. After noticing how sharp and unique it was, she handed it to Ron, then reached for the pendant at her chest to retrieve the medicine.
‘Just a gold grade weapon…’
Ron estimated the weapon’s grade from the material, but before he could examine the magic inscriptions on it, his gaze caught the view of Isis’s shoulder after her robe had slipped away.
It was covered in scars; many of the puncture wounds had not even scabbed over yet.
Clearly, the one who had caused all of this.
Was Isis herself.