The Martial Unity

The heart to heart between Ria and Rui continued for nearly an hour as they spoke about more relaxed topics. Ria showed him her Water Integument armor, she told him more about her friends, sharing more about her time in the frontier, about her aspirations and goals, before their conversation eventually came to an end.

”You must be exhausted.” Rui smiled at her. ”Why don’t you go freshen up, spend time with your friends, and we’ll have lunch together?”

She nodded at him enthusiastically. ”Alright, Dad. Bye, see you later.”

He watched her scurry off to meet with her friends with a light huff of endearment.

She had grown well. She had grown emotionally and as a person. Letting her go to the frontier had been the right decision, as far as he was concerned. She was less testy than she had been two years ago, less frustrated and resentful. She had had grown more individualistic and had diverged from who she would have been had she remained as Princess Ria of the Kandrian Empire there in Vargard.

”She has truly grown up.” He heaved a deep breath with a bittersweet smile, remembering how adorable she was when she was a toddler. Of course, he was also quite fond of the person that his daughter was growing up to be.

”You’ve done well protecting her, Sayfeel.” He remarked out loud.

A moment later, the Transcendent Candidate emerged out of thin air behind the man, kneeling to him with one knee down. ”Thank you, Your Majesty.”

Rui walked back towards his throne before sitting in it, directing a deep gaze at the man he had entrusted to protect his daughter. The kneeling man was like a living shadow, wearing a powerful armor crafted by sage craftsmen among the dwarves, woven from some of the most powerful esoteric substances in Gaia.

”You saved her life on Planet Amadeus III,” Rui remarked. ”For that, as a father, you have my gratitude.”

”I was merely fulfilling both my duty and my personal oath to protect her, no matter what,” the Transcendent Candidate replied.

Rui smiled hazily. ”I wonder if this is how my father felt when you saved me that day so long ago.”

It was a century ago in Rui’s life. He had been merely eight years old at the time. It was the first and last time he had ever succumbed to fear in a hostile situation. An experience that made him stronger as he swore never to allow that to happen.

”His Majesty was deeply relieved to know that you were alright,” Sage Sayfeel spoke with a tone of reverence.

”Yes… I’m sure he was,” Rui remarked, leaning his head back against the seat of his throne. ”I admire him for being able to remove your protection for me after I became a Martial Path. That could not have been easy.”

”…His Majesty was decisive. Even when his personal emotions resisted. Especially when his personal emotions resisted. It was what made him the greatest Emperor of all time.”

Rui smiled at those words. He was hardly offended by the implications. He even agreed with them. He hadn’t managed to earn the Transcendent Candidate’s absolute loyalty the way that his father did or the way that his daughter did.

”Decisive even when his personal emotions resisted…” Rui murmured. ”So easy to say… so unfathomably difficult to do… I know because I find myself in the same position that he did.”

Rui closed his eyes. ”My daughter knows now that you follow her to every battleground without her awareness. That knowledge… that safety net… will impede her growth.”

Sage Sayfeel’s expression tightened. ”Your Majesty…”

”It has to be done, Sayfeel,” Rui remarked with a stronger tone of voice. ”She must grow. She must grow stronger. For her sake. For our sake. For the sake of the universe.”

Until Ria became a Martial Master and the relationship between her mind and the Universalis Mensis became clear, Rui had no idea what he could possibly do against the virus.

It was spread across the universe.

Across trillions of galaxies, most likely far more, maybe even an infinite number of them. He was a Transcendent, yes, but what in the world was he supposed to do against such an astronomically vast enemy? How would he even target them? How could he possibly manage the logistics of trying to exterminate such an enemy on such a scale?

He didn’t know.

Until Ria’s breakthrough to the Master Realm showed him the answer.

She was the key.

She was the key for him to destroy the virus, once and for all. As long as she grew strong enough, she could open the door for him to end the battle in one fell swoop.

And as long as he grew strong enough, he could destroy the virus through her.

For that, she needed to grow stronger.

Much stronger.

But that could not happen if she knew that Sage Sayfeel was always there to protect her. She would need to face death and danger in the eyes if she truly wanted to grow. Talent alone would not guarantee her growth; he had plenty of examples of unfostered talent going to waste, even among his friends.

”And what if I refuse, Your Majesty?”

Sage Sayfeel’s voice was one of defiance.

Rui simply stared at him with a pointed expression. ”…I’m afraid you do not have a choice.”

Sage Sayfeel glared at Rui. ”I made a vow.”

”You should have known better,” Rui remarked calmly. ”You should have known better than to vow to protect a person for whom your protection would only stifle.”

Sage Sayfeel gritted his teeth. ”I WILL NOT LET YOU TAKE ANOTHER LIEGE FROM ME!”

His voice echoed through the throne room.

The outburst was one of long-suppressed anger.

The truth was that he had never forgiven Rui for the death of the Emperor of Harmony.

Rui simply stared at him with a calm expression.

”I have no intention of letting her be taken, Sayfeel. If you truly want her to be safe. Then you must allow her to face less danger when she is younger, still growing, so that she will be strong enough to face true danger when she is older. Either that, or…”

He directed a deep, pointed gaze at the man. ”You will have to become a Martial Transcendent so that you can protect her from afar while allowing her to come close enough to death and danger so that she may still grow.”