Ryuu Kusari no Ori -Kokoro no Uchi no “Kokoro”

[LN] Volume 1: Chapter 4.6

This chapter was brought to you by the collaboration between PolterGlast and Saekano Translations.

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Volume 1 Chapter 4.6

The Realization of the Escapism, and the First Step Part 6

Translator : PolterGlast

Despite feeling sorry, Shino launched her attacks on Nozomu.

I'm sorry for doing this out of the blue. I'm sorry for hurting you like this.

But this will be the last time, this is my last selfishness.

As death loomed before her due to the Sleeping Death Syndrome, her remaining concern was that her disciple, who had become a Dragonslayer, would be crushed by his own power.

In order to remove this fear, it was necessary for her disciple to release the power of his own volition once. It was necessary for her disciple to face the power of the giant dragon that he had absorbed.

However, although Shino was able to teach her apprentice the techniques, she was unable to strengthen his heart due to his own escapism.

The time she had left was short, and she could no longer help the weakened heart of her disciple to fully recover.

Cursing her own failure as a master to teach him how to train his mind, and her inability to express her feelings with anything other than the way of the sword, Shino exerted all her strength.

Even if she could not save him, she would at least try to leave a "light" to guide her beloved disciple, who was still suffering from his own doubts.

Then, the expression of her beloved disciple suddenly flashed into her eyes.

Nozomu's eyes did not have the strong will to "live" as they did when he defeated the Dragon King, but rather, they looked like the eyes of an old man who has come to accept the death that awaits him.

In the face of Nozomu's expression, Shino burst into tears.

No, not like this! I don't want you to have that look in your eyes!

I had something I wanted to tell you. I had a feeling that I wanted you to accept.

But the thoughts she sincerely wished for could not be conveyed.

"......~!"

She gritted her teeth so hard she thought they would shatter, and squeezed out a hoarse voice.

"Nozomu, I am going to die soon. It won't be long."

The disciple in front of her opened his eyes wide.

◆

Hearing those words, Nozomu's thoughts stopped.

Forgetting the pain from the wound running across his chest and the dull ache that was supposed to be echoing throughout his body, he simply stared up at the face of his master, who had spoken those unexpected words to him.

Die? Who? Why? As if to answer Nozomu's question, Shino opened her mouth.

"Sleeping Death Syndrome. It is a condition in which the Qi gradually drains out of one's body, and eventually, one runs out of Qi and dies."

Nozomu also knew about the Sleeping Death Syndrome itself. As a Qi practitioner, he had to keep it in mind.

"Perhaps it was due to the battle against Tiamat. It was the time when I suffered from this condition. Maybe one more night is my limit."

Excessive use of Qi was said to be the cause of the Sleeping Death Syndrome.

Regardless of the fact whether one is young and full of vitality or not. However, Shino has already reached old age.

If it were a matter of skill in controlling one's Qi, she would be fine. However, since the fundamental vitality of her body itself is declining, she could not control her Qi that well.

"If I had kept and maintained my Qi a little longer, perhaps I might still be able to live a little longer."

"Then why don't you do that! Perhaps if we had a little more time, we could do something- ......"

"I am- ....."

"Shisho!"

Ignoring Nozomu's desperate pleas, Shino proceeded to tell her story.

Nozomu was furious at his master's refusal to listen to him, but the next words out of her mouth completely silenced Nozomu, whose voice had been raised.

"I came here because my family betrayed me ............"

"Eh? ......"

"I was framed by my own older sister, abandoned by my parents, and spat upon by everyone around me, so I fled to this continent."

What followed was a personal story about Shino that Nozomu had never heard before.

Nozomu could not hide his shock at what she told him.

When Shino had talked about her family in the past, she had never mentioned anything so serious. She just talked happily about her family and how much she loved them.

"You and I are surprisingly similar. We were betrayed, ridiculed by those around us, and we escaped."

Shino's words fell effortlessly and naturally into Nozomu's heart.

Nozomu had been using training as a way to escape from the reality of being dumped by Lisa, and Shino had actually fled the country.

"I didn't want to see anyone anymore. I would have preferred to die. That's why I decided to hide away in a place like this."

Shino just honestly revealed her thoughts and feelings to Nozomu.

Nozomu listened silently to her honest confession.

"I have nothing left. I have spent many years in the forest, doing nothing. But then I met you. At first, I was irritated because I saw my own reflection in you, but you, unlike me, did not give up living in the end. I felt something in you that I did not have."

After a pause, Shino drew her katana and silently lowered her gaze.

"Nozomu, this is my last selfishness ...... I, who have been running away, have one last thing to convey. Because it is you, I have something I want to convey to you."

She pleaded to Nozomu with a teary expression on her face as she said so.

"Please, this is my last wish. Will you accept it?"

◆

Nozomu came to his senses upon hearing Shino's words.

With her own end in sight, she had already made her decision.

It would be possible to convince her to live.

But wouldn't that mean twisting her very will? She said she had something she wanted to convey, even if it meant shaving off the final seconds of her life.

(...... I'll admit it, I've been running away all this time. From everything that was around me at that academy.)

Running away, running away, even from the fact that he was running away.

(...... But.)

Nozomu gazed straight into his master's face head-on. She looked like a lost child, her eyes welling up with tears.

Nozomu put his hands on the chains that bound him. He believed that if he were to release his [Ability Suppression], he would be devoured by the jet-black dragon.

(If I run away from my master's wish, I will never be able to face her again. More than anything else, I don't want her to make such a face on me!)

Nozomu exerted all his strength into his arms and tore off the invisible chains that bound him with all his might.

The shattered chain rings danced in the air and faded away as a remnant of lights.

At this moment, Nozomu finally released his true self with determination.

The next moment, his consciousness darkened and he disappeared into pitch black darkness.

◆

Nozomu found himself standing by the lakeside he had seen in his dream. In front of his eyes, a huge black figure, which should have been at the bottom of the lake, was glaring at him with eyes filled with seething hatred.

Tiamat, the Dragon King of Destruction.

With a vindictive roar, Tiamat raised its foreleg in an attempt to trample the puny mortal who had imprisoned her.

Nozomu quickly jumped backward and avoided the swung-down foreleg.

He was able to avoid the shockwave that was released along with a thunderous sound by getting down on the ground, but soon after, Tiamat's tail, which was swept sideways, approached right in front of him, scraping the ground.

Unable to dodge, the huge tail struck Nozomu directly, blowing his body away like a pebble.

"Gahah!"

He was thrown into the air, and knocked down to the ground with intense pain, without being able to properly take defensive action.

The shock brought him back to his senses, but he could not feel anything, as if his entire body's sense of pain had been paralyzed.

Looking closely, he could see that the right side of his body was covered in blood, and broken bones had penetrated through his body, leaving him looking like a sea urchin.

With a single blow, Nozomu's body became utterly crippled.

With all of his senses numbed, he somehow managed to stand up, exerting his battered muscles.

In front of Nozomu, who was standing there while dragging his rag-like body, Tiamat opened its huge mouth and generated an immense flame dyed in a chaotic color.

Unlike when they met by chance in the sealed world, the giant dragon had come to kill Nozomu from the start.

"Aaaaaaaa!"

Nozomu charged toward Tiamat while shouting a loud cry.

These particles of light were fragments of magical power, called magic elements, floating in the air around them.

[Ritual Body Technique・Rebirth Revolution]

There is a type of magic called ritual magic. As the name suggests, it is magic that is activated by interfering with the magic elements of the outside world through rituals.

As Caskell Matthiart said in his classes regarding magic, the origin of ritual magic is the Shinto ritual in which prayers and offerings are offered to the gods and spirits.

And in those rituals, dances were also offered as well as prayers.

The Ritual Body Technique was created by combining "dance" and "martial arts" based on this.

While attacking an opponent with a certain form of movement, it is offered up as a "dance" to establish a ritual and interfere with the surrounding magical elements. It is the deployment of ritual magic.

This [Rebirth Revolution] absorbs the surrounding magical elements and strengthens the user's body over and over again, and the more one dances, the more powerful one becomes.

What is most astonishing, more than anything else, however, is the combination of Qi-jutsu and magic, two techniques that are inherently opposing each other.

The controlling power of magic depended on the mind of the caster and his/her spells. And the spell of [Rebirth Revolution] is, in other words, the dance itself.

Originally, Nozomu lacked a sufficient aptitude for magic and would never have been able to combine Qi-jutsu and magic.

However, the synergy effect of the outstanding control of Qi through training, and the control of magical power brought about by his stable mind and perfect dance, made it possible for him to combine magic and Qi-jutsu at this very moment.

The two clashed with each other while their bodies were strengthened by multiple magical reinforcements to the point that the shockwave shook the trees around them.

The dance went on without interruption, and the light of magic elements gathered around them as if in praise of the dance. Dazzling magical power gathered around them.

However, in contrast to the dazzling magical light, Shino's vision rapidly lost its color and light.

(Ah, this is ...... seems like my end is nigh ......)

In order to compete with Nozomu, who had become significantly stronger, Shino also had to use all of her strength and accumulated skills to push past her limits.

In spite of this, she still barely managed to compete with him on even terms.

The loss of Qi beyond the limit caused the Sleeping Death Syndrome to progress at a rapid pace. The amount of Qi recovered and the amount of Qi lost reached a reversal and would be completely depleted in just a few more hours.

(Well, ...... this is fine.)

She glanced at her disciple, thinking that her time had only been somewhat hastened before her death became certain.

(He has grown strong. She has truly become stronger. There are probably only a few people on the continent who can defeat this boy with his chains undone.)

Shino was truly pleased with Nozomu's growth as if in some cases even those few people might be defeated by him.

But more than that, the fact that he was willing to face the power of the giant dragon for the sake of an old woman's last request touched her heart.

A force so powerful that it could easily crush a puny human being. Normally, one would have been consumed by its power and would have gone insane out of fear. But he managed to overcome his fear and moved forward.

(Although this will be the last time ...... Thank you. Nozomu)

She had lost everything and was empty, yet she had one last thing left to offer. Thinking of her beloved disciple, she took the final step into the last moment of her life.

◆

The dance finally came to an end. Nozomu and Shino's kicks, both strengthened to their limits, collided.

The ground around them caved in and was blown away by the shockwave.

The trees were bent and creaked

Utilizing the impact of the collision, the two rotated their bodies like a spinning top.

Nozomu caught sight of Shino, who has sheathed her katana at her waist, just as Nozomu did. Beads of sweat danced in the air, and with a face devoid of blood, she was releasing an enormous amount of Qi.

It was, without a doubt, a hint of his master's final blow.

"Shi-sho ......"

Nozomu gritted his teeth and endured the force that could have made him explode. He could not hold it any longer. His reason was being chipped away, and his body was being crushed by a force too strong for the current him to handle.

Before delivering the final blow, Nozomu's mind flashed back to the time when he first met her.

The coincidental encounter in the forest and the hellish training.

The fact that she had confronted him with a fact that he had turned a blind eye to, and inspired him to overcome it.

And then she said, "Welcome back."

Her presence was definitely a "place to return to" for Nozomu.

It is about to disappear.

This fact saddened him so much that he felt as if his heart would burst from the pain.

But there was no turning back. Therefore, Nozomu put his sorrow behind him, knowing that he could not show his pathetic appearance in front of her.

(For the last time, thank you very much. Shisho ......)

Fully releasing his Qi, he stepped forward with Qi circulating around his katana and his whole body.

At the same time, he concentrated his Qi on the leg on which he had stepped and strengthened it to the extreme. From the foot to the knee, the waist, and the shoulder, the muscles move as if they moved in a fluid motion, and were synchronized without the slightest deviation.

A technique that simply releases a blade with an extremely powerful Qi-blade at the fastest speed possible. It is a single strike that contains all of his thoughts and feelings.

[Phantom・Flash]

A momentary flash of light flashed across the moonlit garden, two Qi blades crossed. A sound similar to a gentle chime echoed through the air, and silence returned.

Nozomu and Shino stood like statues with their katanas drawn.

Nozomu's katana had only the hilt left.

The moment the two Qi blades collided, Nozomu's katana was shattered.

Shino's attack was also completely overwhelmed by Nozomu's attack, and her katana was blown away into the distance.

Immediately after, Shino's body collapsed on the spot.

"Shisho!"

Nozomu rushed over to Shino and held her in his arms. Her face, which had turned pale, was now completely white, and her body was as cold as ice.

"Nozomu, you've grown so strong, huh? It seems there's nothing I can teach you anymore......"

"Shisho ......"

With lips that could no longer do anything but tremble, Shino spoke her last words.

The fact that she was going to die here became an intense reality that pierced Nozomu's heart.

As if to etch this moment into his memory, his eyes began to become hot, and Nozomu could no longer hold back his tears.

"I am glad, you know. You accepted this old woman's last request ...... You took my feelings into consideration."

Nozomu's face contorted in sorrow and his eyes filled with tears.

Uncontrollable tears trickled down his cheeks and onto Shino's pale face.

She smiled softly at the feel of the hot tears on her cheeks.

"Nozomu, just remember this. You may run away. You may stop. But don't forget the fact that you ran away and that you are standing still. If you forget that, you will be trapped like me and not be able to really move forward."

She was probably no longer able to see. Her eyes wandered through the air, and her voice, which sounded as if it were fading, gradually became muffled and inaudible.

"Even if you run away, even if you stop, if you don't forget that, you'll be able to move forward one day, no matter how long it takes ......"

"~, Yes. Shisho."

Shino let out a relieved breath as she heard Nozomu's words.

The last bit of life she had left was fading away.

"Good, I am satisfied with this."

Shino looked up at the moon. Following her line of sight, Nozomu also raised his gaze to the sky. The sky was filled with a quiet, gentle light that seemed to be watching over them.

"Nozomu, I'm tired, so I'm going to ...... sleep for a bit ....... I'll see you again someday."

"...... Yes, Shisho. Good night."

Satisfied, she slowly closed her eyes and fell into a deep, deep sleep.

A very deep sleep from which she would never awaken.

All that remained was the sound of someone’s stifled sobbing.

◆

The next morning, Nozomu buried Shino.

He built a grave next to the hut where she had spent many years and adorned it with flowers. At his waist lay Shino's katana, which had become a memento of her.

In front of his master's grave, Nozomu pondered,

He knew that he was still standing still. About Lisa, about the school, about himself.

He might run away again. He might remain standing still.

But he has decided to end the act of turning his back on the fact that he ran away.

With his master's teachings, his memento, and the bud of a new determination in his heart, Nozomu stepped forward with his master's grave at his back.

The dark night was over, and the rising sun was illuminating his path.

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