Chapter 2 - What The Eye Can See

(1st Saga - Greater Magius, The Balance | Hanakawa Arc)

For the next couple of minutes, we sat in complete silence, basking in the orange radiance reflecting from the water’s surface. It wasn’t often that our evening activity was without idle chatter, but today, it felt as if all that had needed to be said was already said. In our own worlds within each of our heads, maybe we were all contemplating what the end to the events would mean. 

My father was the first to break the silence as the last glimmer of sunlight retreated below the horizon.

“We’ve reached a decision. We’ll allow you two to participate in the upcoming Finale Event, given that you two prove your development and capability over the next few weeks.”

Kouki scoffed with a grin, “You’re speaking as if that wasn’t a given.”

He only received a small chuckle in response.

Despite my father’s rather relaxed display, it was still somewhat easy to tell that such a decision weighed him down on the inside. My mother, however, was a different story with her worry basically spelled out across her face.

It was that concern of hers that pushed me to speak up.

“There’s no need to worry. Kouki and I haven’t come this far just to sit out the end of it all. You wouldn’t think twice putting yourself in harm’s way to protect us, so why can’t we do the same for the others? Remember, if we were really that fragile, we wouldn’t have even made it this far.”

I gave a sympathetic laugh to try to lighten the mood.

Kouki rolled his eyes at me.

“Quite a sappy statement coming from you.”

Given the time I spent in our village’s corruption archives, it was true that the emotional side of support was never really my forte, but even so, that didn’t diminish my own emotions any less. I now turned to face Kouki.

“Listen, we’re either walking away triumphant or going down together as a family. We signed up for that much at least when we joined the sentry, got that?”

Kouki smiled— Genuinely, I might add. It was a rare yet welcome sight. 

She didn’t add anything to the conversation, but I could tell my mother now felt more at ease. Hopefully, my words had resonated with some thoughts already bouncing around in her head.

Without another word, we all gradually rose one after another before retiring to our rooms, the starry night sky now above us. An arduous trial of final preparations lay in wait.

[ The Finale Event will descend in: 2:21:30:00 ]

The crash of a steel gong rang out through the forest, scattering birds from the treetops in a frenzy.

“Let’s begin!”

Kouki and I stood side by side, our opponent with an imposing presence directly ahead of us. I subtly raised my left hand above my waist just in his field of vision, counting down from three.

[ The Finale Event will descend in: 2:21:29:55 ]

We sprang off our feet in opposite directions, weaving through the foliage, the overwhelming aura of a great adversary tracking our every movement.

[ “Kouki” has activated Steel Armament ]

Clang! Kouki swung his steel covered arm only to be blocked by a partially activated aura.

[ Your mana attribute has temporarily shifted to Steel ]

Now! With Kouki being the master of the steel attribute, having him move to strike directly would create the appearance of a full on frontal assault. 

Naturally, my copied version of his attribute was lacking in all areas from mastery to durability. Yet, at this very moment, I held the advantage of surprise.

“You’ll have to be less obvious than that!”

With one arm still keeping hold of Kouki’s fist, our opponent turned around to divert the course of my attack.

Throughout my time as a member of Hanakawa, out of every opponent I had ever faced in combat, the undisputable strongest was without a doubt my father. Even with one arm occupied, the difference in our strength was still staggering.

[ Your mana attribute has temporarily shifted to Soul ]

[ You have activated Mirror of the Soul (Weakened) ]

[ You have temporarily acquired an understanding of the Steel Attribute ]

[ Your mana attribute has temporarily mimicked Steel ]

Mirror of the Soul was the strongest ability my father had developed, allowing his soul to essentially ‘mirror’ the traits of another mana-based creature he had encountered. When used under my own attribute, however, I could only manage to mirror targets within my field of vision, and its potency was drastically reduced. 

Despite this drawback, its use still maintained one perk that made it unimaginably useful compared to my other abilities: it could increase my mastery over the attributes my own could copy.

I swung underneath to the inside of his arm. At my current progression, I could only afford to easily shift my attribute three times within an hour, so… this next strike would be the final gambit our victory was riding on!

Thump.

“Hah! You’re gonna have to hit me harder than that to count as a win.”

Huh…? I snapped to my senses, now standing a considerable distance from my previous position. I had instinctively flinched and retreated mid-attack, but why…?

[ “Isshiki” has activated Mirror of the Soul ]

[ “Isshiki” has mirrored the soul of the King of Wyverns ]

[ “Isshiki” has borrowed Primal Fear ]

[ Your mana attribute has returned to Spirit ]

Damn it… I should’ve known… I knew the Finale Event was now less than three days away, yet a large part of me still wished he wouldn’t pull out that card in our daily training. 

The last wave event we faced before receiving the notice for the Finale Event was one that featured only a single beast: the King of Wyverns. 

In my lifetime, it was the first beast I physically couldn’t move myself to fight nor run away from. Even now I could barely recall what it looked like or what even happened after it appeared, but the overwhelming fear I felt now was the exact same as before. 

Of course it was, being that a direct imitation of its presence now stared me down from the eyes of my own father—the very man who dealt the final blow to it.

“If we’re considering how the wave events have only grown stronger the more we’ve defeated and assume that the Finale Event is the final hurdle before ending the events for good, wouldn’t you assume the beast that emerges is something far more terrifying than the King of Wyverns?”

I shakily nodded.

By now Kouki had already begun charging down my dad again.

[ “Kouki” has activated Iron Mind ]

…clueless idiot.

“Then now’s the time to overcome that fear before that growing mountain overcomes you! Right now, there is no father ahead of you, only the King of Wyverns. Fight me like you mean it!”

He paused, before adding, “You’ve been stopped at this wall for what… four days now? It’s time to climb past it, else you won’t make it through the last event.”

I took a deep breath in, then exhaled. Brute force wouldn’t cut it, not against a beast like the King of Wyverns, and certainly not against my dad. I had already used up my three attribute shifts. I needed a strategy that—

“Ack!”

My train of thought was interrupted by the sound of Kouki being thrown into a nearby tree.

“Kouki! Stop cheating around getting over your fear and take that duty into your own hands! Not every battle can be cleared by just punching hard with that armament of yours!”

He turned back to face me as Kouki began stubbornly brushing himself off.

Deep in thought, I began gazing into the smoky red energy that rose from his body. 

Right… Not everything about aura combat was the abilities they provided. I had been too focused on enhancing my attribute shifting that I neglected the fact that aura usage was simply the art of mana circulation.

What else came attached was only a bonus. 

But despite the realization, there was another pervasive thought that refused to leave my mind—something was off about my dad’s aura.

[ “Isshiki” has reached the limit on Mirror of the Soul ]

[ The soul of the King of Wyverns is beginning to seep through ]

My mind began to race the moment I read that message.

For such a powerful ability, it’d be a natural expectation for there to be an equally dangerous consequence. I remembered its mention when I first began learning about the attributes of my family.

“If I use Mirror of the Soul too much, I might just end up getting consumed by the soul I’m mirroring! It’ll be up to you to stop me if that ever happens, ok?”

He said such a thing to me back when my ego was still fragile about my attribute—back when I still needed an encouraging push to realize my own abilities. But, that was besides the point. He had been using Mirror of the Soul for four days in a row on a rank 9 threat, no less… 

How dense were we to not see what he was going through to prepare us for the Finale Event?!

By now, his consciousness appeared to be fleeting if it even was present at all—a hazy glow growing to blot out his familiar gaze. It wouldn’t be long until the King of Wyvern’s soul fully emerged from the mirror.

I dashed over to Kouki and relayed my thoughts to him, and he nodded in agreement. Right now, what we needed was someone with durability to hold my dad’s rogue ability off while someone else with speed would get the only person capable of deactivating such a state: my mom. 

[ “Kouki” has deactivated Iron Mind ]

He appeared visibly shaken at first, but suddenly reassured me he’d be fine before giving me a shove.

Now, it was my turn to step into my role. 

Focus on the mana around me, nothing more, nothing less. I assumed a sprinter’s starting stance. Channel my aura into my legs. Refine the mana. Cycle it faster. Condense it more.

[ The soul of the King of Wyverns has emerged ]

In a burst of previously unreachable speed, I raced between the trees towards our residence, the ominous aura radiating from behind me looming over my mind.