Chapter 4: Training and Investigation Begins
The next morning was clear and comfortable.
“Mm, nothing like the taste of sweet, sweet freedom!”
Satsuki looked up at the sky and stretched in delight.
“Sweet freedom...” Rio chuckled, standing across from her.
“I mean, I’m finally able to leave the castle openly. It’s a mood thing, okay?”
As Satsuki had said, they were currently in uninhabited plains outside the capital. Francois had given his permission to leave, so they decided to start training outside right away.
Incidentally, they had traveled to this empty plain by horse carriage. It would have been faster to fly on Ariel, but they had only explained the existence of spirits to a select few people in the castle. The plan was to tell the public that they were mounts that could be summoned through magic artifacts, and they couldn’t be used very often.
“But I don’t think there was a need for Char and the others to come along, was there?” Satsuki said, looking at Charlotte, Louise, and the few guards that had accompanied them. The female knights were the ones that had fought at the attack on the mansion, so they had witnessed the spirits and spirit arts already. They were the few people who knew of the circumstances besides Charlotte, Francois, and the Cretia couple.
“It’s because this is the first session. I need to report to Father on how it goes.”
“You say that, but you’re probably planning on making an excuse to come along each time...”
“Perhaps I will. It’s lonely for me to stay back by myself.”
Like Charlotte said, the others present there were Miharu, Celia, Aishia, Latifa, Sara, Orphia, Alma, Gouki, and Kayoko. Some of them had other things to do, but staying in the castle meant being unable to practice spirit arts freely, so they had used this chance to come along.
“If you’re going to observe, please stay in this.”
Rio used spirit arts to manipulate the ground. In the blink of an eye, the earth rose and created a small pavilion with low windbreak walls. At the same time, Alma used the same spirit art to set up a simple stable a short distance away.
“Spirit arts are truly amazing...”
Charlotte’s eyes widened at the feat, which couldn’t be accomplished through magic.
“Dissolvo.”
As the finishing touches of the pavilion, Rio used the Time-Space Cache to take out a table and chairs. The atmosphere was perfect once he’d prepared some cold drinks.
“You’re basically a Doraemon...” Satsuki had been watching him set up the pavilion with interest, but the moment he took out cold drinks, her expression turned half-exasperated.
“What’s that...?” Charlotte asked.
“It’s a creature that can make anything appear out of thin air.”
“I’m only taking out what I originally stored,” Rio corrected with a wry smile.
“But I’m sure you have many more tremendous things stored away. He was hiding a magic artifact like that, after all.”
Charlotte was informed about the Time-Space Cache after the outside training sessions were decided on. Francois was also made aware.
“There aren’t many things more amazing than this artifact. It’s all food and furniture inside anyway.”
The only artifact on par with the Time-Space Cache would be the teleport crystals.
“Is that so... So there are some things.”
“W-Well, I’ll introduce you to the others if the necessity to use them arises. We’ll run out of time if we don’t start training,” Rio said, forcefully brushing off the topic.
“In that case, Sir Haruto, I will go with Lady Orphia to pick up Komomo and the others.”
Gouki spoke up, giving Rio a timely escape from his dilemma.
“Yes, please do.”
Rio took the chance to nod firmly. Gouki and Orphia were to move separately from here. They had to pick up the rest of the Yagumo group waiting in the stone house.
“Come out... Hehe. Well done.”
Orphia summoned her contract spirit, Ariel. Ariel rubbed its face against Orphia happily, and Orphia patted its head gently.
“Please get on, Gouki.”
“Many thanks.” Gouki leaped up and onto Ariel’s back. Orphia used spirit arts to fly up softly.
“We’ll be back soon. See you later.”
With those words, they departed from the skies. The group sent her off, waving.
“Let’s do our own training over there,” Sara said, leading Miharu, Celia, and Latifa away.
This left Rio and Satsuki in front of the pavilion, as well as Charlotte and Louise’s knights, who wanted to observe, and Kayoko, who wanted to remain as a guard. Aishia and Alma were also there to survey the power of the Divine Arms.
“Shall we begin as well?”
“Sure! Please, give me your guidance!”
Rio and Satsuki distanced themselves from the pavilion.
“Kayoko,” Charlotte called out.
“How can I help you, Princess Charlotte?”
“Would you be willing to give these girls a little training as well?”
“What about your guard?”
“This place is made for sparring. Everyone else is nearby, and Lady Aishia and Lady Alma are right here. It should be safe to spar nearby, no?”
Kayoko thought for a moment, then looked at the knights standing close. “I understand... Is that all right with you all?”
“Yes, please!”
Louise, their commander, nodded energetically. Thus, Kayoko began training Charlotte’s knights off to the side.
◇ ◇ ◇
Rio and Satsuki moved a hundred meters away from the pavilion.
“What do you want to be able to do by controlling the wind?”
“I want to fly!”
“That was a quick response.” Rio chuckled at the sight of Satsuki’s eyes shining eagerly.
“Because...it’s like a dream! Who wouldn’t want to fly?” Ashamed of how childish she was acting, Satsuki blushed faintly.
“Then let’s make today’s goal to be able to fly slowly.”
“Wow, is it something that can be learned in a day?”
“It’s a fairly difficult technique, but if the Divine Arms works how I think, then it should be possible.”
“Really? That makes me even more fired up.”
It was clear from her expression that she was raring to go.
“But first, before I teach you how to fly...”
“Yes?”
“Spar with me.”
“We’re always sparring...”
“You can release all of your Divine Arms’ abilities today.”
“So not just the physical body enhancement, but the wind control as well?”
“Yes. We can fight to our hearts’ content out here. Whether it’s close combat or ranged, you can use your Divine Arms to level whatever attack you wish against me.”
Rio moved to a position with no one behind him. It seemed he truly wanted them to fight to their hearts’ content, as he’d said. They normally sparred with the rule of Satsuki using a spear and limiting her attacks to close combat, but now that limit was gone.
“Hmm...” The corners of Satsuki’s mouth turned up in amusement. Although she didn’t have much pent-up stress from constantly suppressing her abilities, she had never been able to fight while maximizing all of her hero abilities before. And with Rio as her opponent, she could trust that he would be fine facing her.
“So, come at me when you’re ready,” Rio said, drawing his favorite sword from the sheath at his waist.
“You’re not going to say, ‘Ready, go?’”
“Nope.”
When she saw Rio nod, Satsuki materialized her Divine Arms as a short spear and held it ready. She then started running without a word. Her initial velocity surpassed what could be achieved with a physical body enhancement alone as she approached Rio.
She’s got the basics of using wind to accelerate.
Rio watched her movements closely as he evaded to the side with ease.
“Wh...!”
Satsuki’s momentum carried her past the spot where Rio stood. But she used her leg strength to force a change in direction, approaching Rio once more. She swung the spear in her hand over her head.
“...” Rio didn’t lift his sword. He nimbly ducked under the swinging spear instead.
“Kuh!” Satsuki continued swinging her spear at point-blank range, but...
“No way... Why do I keep missing?”
Her attacks couldn’t hit him. Rio had his sword in his hand, but he hadn’t braced it once since their match began. He was evading Satsuki’s attacks by movement alone.
“I’ll be evading every attack I can,” he said, provoking Satsuki. At present, all they were doing was their regular sparring, but at a faster speed.
So he wants me to use more of my abilities, right?
Satsuki immediately guessed the intention of Rio’s provocation. It was most likely—or rather, almost certain—that he was holding back on her greatly during their daily sparring matches. That was vexing for her.
But if she was allowed to use her Divine Arms, she might be able to win one over him. Or at least, she hoped so.
“How about this, then?!”
Satsuki sent magic essence to the tip of her spear, then swung it from outside of contact range. A fierce wind blew from the tip, rushing at Rio to send him flying.
However, instead of being blown away, Rio gently rode the wave of wind up into the air. He proceeded to land a short distance away in one smooth movement. Satsuki was almost captivated by the sight.
“I-I’m not done yet!”
She snapped back to her senses and charged once again. From that point on, each swing of Satsuki’s spear created a powerful burst of wind. If her opponent had been the average knight, they would have been blown away along with the rest of their squad.
“Your attacks are monotonous.”
For some reason, Rio wasn’t sent flying. In fact, he no longer even floated—he stood on both feet and moved freely. The only times he floated up was when he leaped of his own accord.
“H-Hey, the wind I’m controlling is hitting you, right?!” Satsuki shouted, implicitly questioning why he was able to move so calmly under such fierce winds.
“I’m interfering with the flow of wind you created. Firing a blast of wind straight at a wind spirit arts user isn’t going to amount to an attack.”
“Spirit arts users are outrageous...”
“Here’s a hint. If you want to use a wind attack against a wind spirit arts user, try something like this. I’m going to show you an example, so try and deal with it yourself.”
“Okay, sure.” Satsuki braced her spear once again, facing Rio warily.
“Now then...”
A whirlwind formed around Rio, kicking up dust and obstructing Satsuki’s vision.
“Wha...!”
The whirlwind started moving towards her. It was an attack that also served as a smokescreen. Satsuki moved to the side, out of the range of the whirlwind, but...
“I’m over here.” Rio’s voice came from behind her.
“Huh?!” Satsuki spun around in a panic. There, Rio stood out of range, sword braced at the ready. He had a spell ready and waiting, whirling around his blade like a violent storm.
If this were a real battle, her opponent wouldn’t bother calling out to her. Satsuki would have been helplessly blown away by the wind attack behind her.
“Your back was completely unguarded.”
Satsuki hung her head in frustration. “I see... I’m so simple-minded.”
“You’re just lacking combat experience. Once you’ve gained some experience, it shouldn’t be a problem for you. Now, let’s try that attack once again.”
“I’ll stop you perfectly this time.”
“Okay, then...” Rio leaped high in the air, distancing himself once again. Once he landed, he created the same whirlwind, releasing it towards Satsuki one more time.
“...”
Satsuki carefully focused her attention on what was behind her, but...
“This time you were too focused on your back.”
Rio was standing boldly before her. The instant Satsuki’s attention had gone to her rear, he had moved into her blind spot.
“Argh!” Satsuki groaned in frustration.
“I directed your attention to what was behind you, so you thought I would come from behind, didn’t you? Psychological warfare like this is vital to a battle between spirit art users. If you can catch your opponent off guard, you can gain an advantage in a single blast of wind. And if you can lead them into a psychological battle, you’ll have the potential to overpower someone with more technique than you.”
“So it would be the height of foolishness to challenge someone stronger in a straight battle of power or technique. Got it.”
That was exactly what Satsuki was doing just now.
“You’ve practiced how to read your opponent’s movements in your regular sparring. The rules we’ve changed to today have increased your attack options, so just think of it as a more complicated version of reading your opponent.”
“Yeah... Okay. You’re right.” Satsuki hummed in thought.
“Also...”
“Also?”
“You’re a very gentle person. I can tell you’re holding back,” Rio said, smiling.
Satsuki blushed in embarrassment. “That’s not true...”
“Today’s goal isn’t to instruct you on how to fight, so I’ll leave the commentary at that. What can you do with that weapon of yours, Satsuki? Show me without holding back.”
“Fine. I’ll show you. Let’s do this again from the top.”
Satsuki refocused her mind on the battle with a look of determination.
“All right. I’ll also add an attack every now and then, so watch out,” Rio said, before moving an acceptable distance away from her.
“Here I come!” Satsuki dragged the tip of her spear through the ground, then flicked it up at Rio with a blast of wind. A cloud of dust filled the air.
Rio moved to the side, out of the range of the approaching dust cloud. Satsuki sent another cloud of dust towards his new location. They repeated this until the entire field was obstructed by dust, when Satsuki charged forward.
Is this meant to be a smokescreen?
She wouldn’t have made her vision worse for no reason. If it was just a dust cloud, Rio could make one by controlling the wind as well.
I can hear the sound of the ground cracking. She must be setting something up.
Satsuki was doing something on the other side of the dust cloud. In order to see how she would use her ingenuity to fight, Rio decided to wait.
Shortly after, a corner of the dust cloud blew away. One portion of the air cleared before countless stones started flying his way, carried by a windstorm.
She’s using the stone she crushed as projectiles.
Rio swayed smoothly, evading the flying stones. Just as he confirmed that Satsuki wasn’t standing in the spot where the air had cleared, another section of the dust cloud blew away, and stones started flying out from there. But they couldn’t hit him either. He swayed from right to left, evading the stones. Before long, his vision of the field was almost clear.
That must be the last spot.
Rio looked at the last remaining section of the dust cloud. Wind blew aside the cloud, and stones came flying once more. At the same time, the air above the field completely cleared—but there was no sign of Satsuki anywhere.
I see...
Rio predicted her next move and took a sudden step back. Immediately following that, Satsuki swooped down on the spot where he had just stood. She had been trying to swing her spear down on him, but his movement had caused her to miss.
“It’s not over yet!”
But Satsuki didn’t falter at that. She kicked the ground and accelerated using her wind, closing in on Rio and swinging her spear down at him.
Rio evaded her while retreating, then used wind spirit arts to fly back. Satsuki also used her wind to leap high into the air, pursuing Rio. Once she reached a height of twenty meters or so above the ground, she wrapped her wind around herself and swung her spear up.
She’s focused on the fight. Good.
Rio lightly evaded to the side in midair.
“Ngh.” Without falling to the ground, Satsuki came to a stop in the air. She was naturally floating as she pursued Rio. Her physical body enhancement had also improved, as her movements were gradually getting faster.
Just as I expected.
Right now, Satsuki was drawing out the power of her Divine Arms unconsciously. Hiroaki had done the same the last time Rio fought him. The more absorbed they were in the battle, the more of the power they could draw without realizing it.
According to Rio’s theory, Satsuki and the other heroes understood how to use their Divine Arms instinctively, just like how living creatures knew how to walk and breathe. That was why she was able to use her power better when she was moving instinctively than when she was thinking about it.
However, the problem was whether she could continue using that ability once her concentration was worn out. She had to be able to do so consciously.
For now, she’s succeeded in drawing out her power. All that’s left is...
Rio decided to try a light counterattack. He braced his sword ready for the first time this match, making a dramatic swing that Satsuki could block with her spear easily.
“Wha—?!”
Satsuki braced her spear at the last moment, blocking the sword. Unlike when she was on the ground, there was no surface for her feet to stand against in the air. With his sword pressed against her spear, Rio shrewdly adjusted the angle of their positions until his back was towards the ground and his sword was towards the sky.
“H-Huh?!”
Satsuki’s body was lifted by a wind, boosting her up into the air. The distance between them instantly expanded to ten meters, and Satsuki yelped in shock.
Rio prepared several bullets of magic essence wrapped in wind, then fired them successively towards Satsuki. He could control their trajectory, so they were all sure to strike her like this. He planned on redirecting them at the last moment if he needed to, but he believed she would be able to handle them without a problem, and they didn’t contain enough force to cause a severe injury anyway.
“E-Enough!”
Satsuki gathered essence to the tip of her spear and slashed down the approaching bullets. Once she saw that there were no bullets left, she sighed in relief. But then she saw how far the ground was below her and came to her senses.
“W-Wait, help! How do I get back down?!” she shrieked, panicking.
She’s forgotten how she flew by herself, huh? How ridiculous...
She was failing to control her ability consciously because she had obtained the ability without learning any of the necessary basics. There were times where she had no control at all and just activated her abilities at maximum power. This was something she had in common with Hiroaki. Rio continued to watch her for a while, until...
“H-Haruto!”
It seemed that flying consciously was just too hard for her. Rio sheathed his sword and began to fly towards her. He slowed down just before crashing into her, gently catching her in both his arms.
“...”
Satsuki opened her eyes fearfully.
“Good work today,” Rio’s smiling face said to her.
“R-Right... Thanks.”
Satsuki blushed, stammering her gratitude.
“Let’s go back to the ground. I’ll give you my review then.”
Thus, the two of them descended.
◇ ◇ ◇
A short distance away from the pavilion where Charlotte was observing from...
“Aww, man... I couldn’t land a single hit.” Satsuki hung her head in disappointment.
“There were holes in your plan, but it was a good plan overall. I liked how you broke up the terrain to use as projectiles. You started flying by yourself to attack me, but I guess you didn’t notice that part.”
“Y-Yeah... I was so immersed in fighting...”
So she had been flying unconsciously after all.
“Activating your abilities consciously will be your next goal.”
“Flying by myself is so much scarier than being carried while flying. I’m shocked.”
“A major hurdle to the spirit art of flying is overcoming the fear of heights. Your emotions have a large influence on your abilities.”
Spirit arts brought about phenomena by conveying the imagination of the spirit art user into the mana in the atmosphere. If the caster feared falling, then the activation of the art would also become unstable.
“At the end of the battle, all I could think about was how scared I was of falling.”
“That’s normal, and you need to know the feeling of fear. Otherwise you may hurt yourself flying while your control is still lacking.”
What was most important was to remain calm and unaffected by those emotions.
“I see...”
“You know that you have the foundations for flying. Work hard from here.”
“Yup! Oh, that’s right. There’s one other ability I want to be able to use.”
“What is it?”
“You know how there are times when you move as though you teleported?”
“...Like this?”
Rio demonstrated the move that came to mind. He distanced himself from Satsuki and immediately moved back beside her.
“Y-Yes! That! How do you do that?” Satsuki asked excitedly. To her, it truly appeared as though he teleported.
“You know how you used wind to accelerate yourself mid-battle?”
“Yeah. I’m able to do that by imitating you. I wanted to move fast like you...”
“If you can do that, then you’ve got the foundation for it as well. It’s a technique that’s necessary in flying spirit arts as well.”
“Hmm...”
“However, it’s harder and more dangerous to do that flying. You’ll need another ability besides the spirit arts...”
And so it was difficult to learn overnight, Rio explained.
“What kind of ability?”
“Hmm... You know how I told you about extraneous movements in combat?”
“Ah, right. Something about how when the opponent braces their weapon, you can read their next move by using that.”
“Right. This is related to that, but have you heard of a telegraphed punch?”
“A punch...that you communicate?” Satsuki asked in confusion. It seemed she had no idea.
“If someone suddenly swung their fist before you, you’d think they’re about to hit you, right?” Rio held his fist up in a swinging pose.
“Yeah, I’d be shocked. So that’s an extraneous movement.”
“Yes. This pose tells your opponent you’re about to punch them, which is why it’s called a telegraphed punch.”
There were no telegraph systems in this world, which is why this was a method of explanation he could only use with Satsuki.
“I see.”
“Aside from that, things like kicking, swinging your weapon, or running are actions that people unconsciously recognize as tells.”
Rio assumed each one of the poses he mentioned.
“Yeah. I can easily tell which pose is what. Removing these kinds of movements is the purpose of martial arts forms, right?”
“Yes. You might have realized this already, but I remove all of those kinds of movements when I accelerate. That’s why it gives the illusion of teleportation.”
By moving from a complete stop, relying on only the spirit art to move, and refraining from making any other action, he could move as though a section of a video had been skipped entirely.
“I think I get the logic. You’re basically running without making a running pose, right? And at an extremely rapid speed.”
“It’s more like flying than running, but yes. This technique is especially effective against opponents facing you—if you look from the side, it’s clear I’m moving without running,” Rio said, then flew to a spot a short distance away. This time, instead of moving forwards to Satsuki, he passed by her.
“Umm, you’re so fast I can’t follow you with my eyes... How many kilometers per hour are you even going?” Satsuki complained with a grimace. She couldn’t even tell whether he was flying or running.
“Let’s see. I change speeds depending on my distance to my opponent, so it isn’t consistent, but... Even at my fastest speed, I cannot surpass the speed of sound.”
“Th-The speed of sound?! Oh, but less than that... Still, that’s amazing.”
The speed of sound was 340 meters per second. Converted to kilometers per hour, it was a little under 1,200.
“I’ve surpassed it once before, but doing so creates a phenomenon known as a sonic boom. It’s a great burden on the body, and there’s a limit to how much relief the arts can provide.”
That’s why he normally set his own limit to a subsonic speed. For the record, he normally flew at a slower speed when traveling—an average speed of 100 kilometers per hour.
“S-So you can surpass it if you want to... Well, no wonder it looks like you’re teleporting.”
Even at a subsonic speed, he could cross a hundred meters in a single instant. He could approach his opponent in the blink of an eye.
“That’s why it’s dangerous. The movement takes a single instant, so you have to control everything from activating the art to stopping it in that instant. If you’re inexperienced at casting, you’ll risk colliding with your opponent and other obstacles. It’s also difficult to change your trajectory while accelerating. If you don’t choose your timing properly, you might self-destruct.”
“And I have to think about how to attack after moving...”
“Yes. The ideal situation is to attack the moment you finish moving.”
“That isn’t a human technique, is it?” Satsuki eyed Rio in suspicion.
“It is a very difficult technique. That’s why you should first focus on using spirit arts to fly.”
“Okay! Oh, by the way...”
“Yes?”
“Do you have a name for it?”
“A name...for what?”
“For your high-speed movement.”
“No, not particularly...”
None of the spirit arts Rio used had any particular move name. There were some casters that found it easier to imagine their techniques by giving them a name, but Rio had never felt the necessity.
“Instant movement, or instamove for short. Or maybe accelamove, short for accelerated movement. Or maybe even shukuchi, like the ancient martial arts?”
“Shukuchi isn’t a martial art, but a fable from ancient mythology...”
“Spirit arts are plenty similar to ancient mythology.”
“I suppose...”
He personally disagreed, but he wasn’t able to explain why, so he didn’t say so out loud.
“They’re the same in the sense that they’re both fantasy techniques. So, regarding your high-speed movement: how about Shukuchi? I believe the origin of the word comes from the ground shrinking underneath your feet. Yup, it fits you perfectly.”
“Well, I don’t mind either way... You seem to care a lot about the move name, though.”
“Because it’s pitiful for such an amazing move to not have a name!”
“I’m honored you think that way.” Rio smiled happily.
“Right...” At Rio’s joyous face, Satsuki looked to the side shyly.
“Then let’s go back for now. I’d like to give a lecture on spirit arts and check out your Divine Arms a little more.”
Thus, Rio and Satsuki headed back to the pavilion.
◇ ◇ ◇
And so, they moved on to investigating Satsuki’s Divine Arms. What they wanted to know was whether something like the beast of the land was sleeping within her weapon as well.
Seated in a circle under the pavilion were Rio, Satsuki, Aishia, Alma, and Charlotte.
In the past, Rio and Alma had done a simple investigation of Satsuki’s Divine Arms in private. However, they only knew that the spear was special, and nothing else. It was a completely out-of-place artifact, and they had no way of studying what sorcery was in it, or how it was made.
They didn’t know about the beast of the land back then, so they hadn’t considered the possibility of something similar to a spirit sleeping within the weapon. Besides, multiple heroes had materialized their Divine Arms in front of Aishia before, but she had never sensed the presence of a spirit from them.
But they were yet to conduct an investigation under the assumption that something was sleeping within. And so...
“Okay, can you lend your Divine Arms to Aishia?”
“Sure. Here you go, Aishia.”
They decided to have Aishia, the spirit, take it in her hands and investigate it herself. This was the same action that Dryas had done on Rio the first time he had visited the spiritfolk village with Aishia sleeping within him.
At any rate, if there was something like the beast of the land sleeping within the spear, it would be dangerous to trigger it carelessly. The chances of something terrible happening were low, but investigating in an unpopulated place like this was for the best.
“...” Aishia stared at the spear she accepted from Satsuki in silence.
“How’s it look, Aishia?”
“I can’t feel any spirit presence when it’s materialized as a weapon. But there’s definitely a connection between the spear and Satsuki. I could tell as soon as I touched it.”
“Huh, so that’s how it is...” Satsuki looked between the weapon and her hands. Naturally, she couldn’t see anything with the naked eye.
“Is it like the path between a contract spirit and us?” Alma asked Aishia.
“Yeah, it’s similar to that.”
“Is it impossible for there to be a spirit in the weapon, Alma?” Rio asked Alma. As a dwarf, she had more profound knowledge when it came to spirits and weapons.
“There are some spirits who choose an object to represent them instead of a contract. Like a spirit that resides in a tree, for example.”
The spirit who resided in a tree was probably Dryas. Since Charlotte was present, she purposefully avoided saying her name.
“However, spirits prefer to reside along leylines—places where the land is abundant with magic essence. I’ve never heard of one choosing to dwell in a weapon. If it were something like a spirit stone, then I could understand, but...”
Satsuki’s Divine Arms had no spirit stones embedded as decorations.
“I don’t know what a spirit stone is, but the item that summoned the heroes is an ancient artifact called a sacred stone. Is it possible for a spirit to reside in that instead?” Charlotte asked.
“That is another possibility. But the sacred stone disappeared when Satsuki was summoned, right?”
“Yes. Father believes the stone became the Divine Arms.”
“If the sacred stones are spirit stones, is it possible for a spirit to reside within them and transform into a weapon?” Rio asked, seeking Alma’s opinion once again.
“As far as I know, such a technique doesn’t exist... But it doesn’t look like time-space sorcery is being used when the weapons are materialized. It looks similar to the phenomena of spirits materializing...”
“I had the same thought. In this case, instead of there being a spirit inside the sacred stone or Divine Arms, it’s more like the Divine Arms itself is a spirit?”
“If that’s true, then the Divine Arms would have two forms: a weapon form and a beast form... Three if you include the sacred stone form.”
“Can spirits have multiple forms?”
Alma shook her head slowly. “Not to my knowledge...”
“Whether the Divine Arms is holding a spirit or is a spirit itself, I can’t feel any presence in its current form,” Aishia chimed in.
“I see. In that case, the beast of the land might not be part of the Saint’s Divine Arms...”
Alma groaned in thought. The more they investigated, the more possibilities emerged. There was no way of reaching a conclusion.
“The connection between Satsuki and the Divine Arms... I’ll try following that link to see if I can probe further.”
Aishia suddenly stood up with Satsuki’s spear in hand. She proceeded to walk out of the pavilion, followed by Rio and the others.
“Are you examining the Divine Arms right now?”
Sara, Miharu, Celia, and Latifa, who were training separately, came up to them. Kayoko and Louise’s knights also came over to watch.
“It might be dangerous, so everyone should stand back,” Aishia said, distancing herself.
“Everyone stand behind me just in case.” Rio stood in front of the group to be ready to protect them.
“It’s a little scary...” Satsuki was trembling faintly. An unknown beast could be residing within her Divine Arms, so it was only natural.
“We’re just examining it, so I don’t think anything will happen. This is just in case,” Rio said reassuringly.
Meanwhile, Aishia began her examination. With the spear in both hands, she closed her eyes, following the connection between the weapon and Satsuki to dive within. Thus, she reached the visualization of the world within the Divine Arms—
I can’t see anything...
It was pure white. It was as though there was a thick fog covering everything, preventing her from seeing more than a few centimeters to the front.
If she hadn’t followed the path between Satsuki and the weapon, she wouldn’t have been able to dive within here. She had barely been able to do so by relying on that connection.
There’s a wall.
When she followed it farther, she bumped into a barrier. It wasn’t visible to the eye, as her vision was filled with nothing but white. Just what was on the other side of the barrier? Aishia tried to push her way through.
Just then, the wall was stained with something black. The darkness crossed the wall and attempted to cover Aishia as well.
“Huh?!” Aishia immediately withdrew from the Divine Arms, snapping her eyes open. She stared down at the spear in her hands, bewildered.
What...?
The darkness that crossed the wall had been trying to tell her something before she broke away.
I...
Was there something she was meant to be doing? Was there something she had forgotten? She didn’t know why, but that was the feeling flooding into her right now.
“What’s wrong, Aishia?!” Rio noticed the abnormality and came running over immediately.
“I’m fine...” she replied, swaying on her feet. However, her face was extremely pale. She was even whiter than she usually was.
“Ai-chan!”
Worried about Aishia’s state, Miharu came running over soon after to support her body.
“Did you see something?” Rio asked nervously.
“I couldn’t see anything,” Aishia muttered. “It was pure white, then pitch black, but...”
She looked at Rio’s face, followed by Miharu’s. She felt like there was something she had to tell them, but the words wouldn’t come out. She looked unusually anxious.
“All right... Let’s stop here for today.”
Seeing her in such a state, Rio decided to stop the investigation on the Divine Arms.
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