Wonju, The Field.
4:30
Shhh–
A long steam of wind swam atop the mountain glade. The greenery and foliage of the canopy rustling peacefully.
The air was filled with mana making it cool and refreshing.
The grass on the floor was long and soft, untreated and wild.
Afternoon swaths of sunlight streaked from the canopy in sparse strokes, painting the ground with forest rays.
Within this place, dyed in both light and shadow, sat Minori Nii, on a recently chopped tree stump.
He wore a white t-shirt, a black cardigan and a pair of sweatpants. Unfit for outside activities yet pristine, not a hint of grime on his appearance.
His pale eyes were on full display, no coloured contacts to ensure full transparency.
His black hair was, as usual, a mess. Despite this, he still somehow looked handsome enough to turn heads in civilian areas.
Across from him, many trees away, stood another handsome gentleman.
Kim Suho, the Sword Saint, stood in his Cube uniform, wearing it proudly despite its less than optimal condition after climbing a mountain.
He stood up straight, his tall figure shining as a ray hit him.
"..."
"..."
The two stared at each other in silence before with a soft sigh, Minori broke the long quiet.
"Haaa, stop staring. You've got questions. I have answers."
Minori spoke in his usual tone as the sound of the forest rustled around them.
Only then, did Kim Suho begin to speak.
"That evening, a couple weeks ago. I had a feeling you'd do something, Minori."
Minori looked upon a mess of subtly roiling threads.
'Impeccable control over his mana. He must have worked hard to be able to suppress it like that.'
"Even so, I left you alone. But when I saw that message on my smartwatch… I had a feeling it was you."
He deliberated for a moment before continuing.
"People could've been hurt, or even killed if they were in the building with you. And the second explosion. Why?"
"I'm trying to see the reason you'd do such a thing… but it was just too reckless to do something so drastic."
Kim Suho's stern eyes were fixed on Minori.
"Even if you had a reason. What you did was far too excessive. It was a major incident. So I just want to know… why? Why endanger so many people?"
Minori kept a straight face and pretended to let the words sink in. He then spoke in a calm voice.
"Suho, I can't tell you everything. Not right now at least."
Suho's eyes narrowed but he continued.
"But I'll tell you this. I needed to do what I did. It was a matter of my life or theirs."
At his words, something in the bushes rustled. Minori paid it no mind and looked at Kim Suho once more, awaiting his response.
The man paused for a moment before resting his palm on the pommel of his blade.
"...Minori… I… don't think I can trust in just your words. Do you get me?"
With a weary smile, steel coloured mana began pouring out from him. Blades of grass were cut and pressed down by the sheer weight of his mana.
'This guy… I bet no matter what I said it would end like this. We're just too different in our ideals.'
With a resigned smile Minori chuckled.
"You've always been like this, you battle freak."
'Whatever… I've wanted to bash that stupid smile of his for a while now.'
Reaching out his palms, Minori grasped at the air, pulling two blades out of nothing and standing, getting into a battle ready position.
With both Omen and Lich in hand, Minori felt a surge in his mana. Once stagnant waters became roaring waves as threads poured from him in overwhelming tides.
"What can I say, I prefer a conversation through strikes."
Suho drew his blade as a drop of sweat rolled down his cheek.
"I suppose in some aspects we're the same."
With the end of his sentence, their conversation truly began.
With a sudden crack of wood, Minori splintered off the log he was standing on, dashing at Kim Suho with wild blood coursing through his veins.
Suho blocked a swing from the black blade, sending Minori back a couple steps.
Suho, didn't let go of his momentum and sliced down, steel mana, shining brightly.
Minori hurled a ball of flame at his own feet, throwing himself to the side and rolling. A creative way to make up for lack of physical power.
Suho was caught off guard by the sudden plume of flame and was blind sided by Lich, which was thrown at a distance.
Unable to use his sword fast enough, he punched the blade into the floor with the back of his hand.
Sensing something amiss, Suho immediately swung upwards, in time to cut apart a piece of card imbued with a spell circle.
With wide eyes, Suho dashed backwards, the flame around him parted due to his qi reinforcement.
A burst of electricity assaulted where he had just stood, it wasn't strong, clearly meant to be a distraction.
Which was why Suho wasn't the least bit surprised when he was forced to leap into the air, dodging a black blade swing.
On the descent, Minori yanked his hand back, gripping at the handle of Lich which Suho had bashed away.
The moment he grasped the blade, Minori threw it back towards Suho.
Confused at why Minori would repeat the same trick, Suho decided to be safe and grab the blade with his spare hand.
With a wide smile, Minori enforced a thin mana wire he had attached to the end of Lich, yanking it back.
Suho tried to let go, but a small jolt shot through his arm, keeping his muscles tense.
As Suho plummeted towards Minori, a surge of steel coloured mana poured from his blade.
Minori starred up as a straight faced Suho let out a breath. Threads as thick as columns and as bright as the sun formed into a single line.
His arms drew back, His muscles bulged as his blade cleaved across the air, sending a chilling beam of mana straight at Minori.
His instincts buzzed at him to move but the beam was too wide. If he blocked he would be sent flying off the mountain.
With no other choice, in a split second, Minori burnt his remaining mana and gripped at the fabric of reality, preparing to pull himself to a nearby branch.
But the slice was faster, slicing into Minori's spell and interrupting it.
The slash twirled and warped within the curtain of space.
Minori, feeling as though on the brink of a new spell, pulled harder.
Tension gave way to force and the very world warped in his palms.
The beam shot out to the side, curling around Minori, and leveling a field of trees.
It kicked up a plume of dust, covering the battlefield and feeding the flames.
"You're out of your goddamn mind, Suho!"
With harsh breath and sweat dripping down the side of his cheek, Minori emerged from a cloud of dust. A smirk splitting his face.
At the opposite end, a slightly ashy Kim Suho stood. Covered in small scratches and soot.
Suho let out a laugh.
"I knew you could take it!"
At some point during the fight, the reason had been left behind.
Kim Suho, who had been lacking a qualified sparring partner, finally found one.
Minori Nii, who had forgotten how it feels to let loose, finally blew off some steam.
What was once a confrontation of morals and ideals had long lost its meaning.
Minori dropped his weapon into the air and raised his fists, his mana long depleted.
Kim Suho stabbed his own sword into the floor before assuming a similar stance.
They weren't done just yet.
…
In the glades, after the sun had long set and the Sword Saint had long left, Minori sat on a splintered stump.
A cold wind whisked across the ashen field, many stumps charred black and many logs laying flat down.
Minori's eyes were drawn shut but silver wires spread around the space grasping at the air.
Once they settled on a spot in the ground, Minori turned his head and opened his eyes.
The inconspicuous shadow of a stump lay there, unmoving… yet Minori began speaking, as calm as ever.
"Hey, I know you're underground. Get out."
His pale eyes shimmered as a black shadow-like sludge seeped out of the ground.
"..."
The black sludge did not speak. Despite this it conveyed immense amusement.
"..."
Minori wasn't exactly sure what the shadow was but he had used mana wires as a fake show of his 'sensing' abilities. A red herring, if you will.
But there was something Minori was sure about… it could hear him.
"You've got it all on recording don't you? Send it to me."
Minori told the shadow with an unbothered expression.
Since this thing was obviously a gift of sorts, and a sentient one at that. Minori thought that it was obviously someone observing them. (Though he wouldn't rule anything out just yet.)
His immediate thought would be to attack it, but on further thought, he didn't want to come off as unreasonable to anyone he may be able to connect with in the future.
So all he did was ask a favour, a way to test what they were up to while showing his own cunning to them.
If they were Djinn, he'd simply kill them in the future. If they weren't, they could be a great asset.
"...hah." The voice emanating from the sludge was that of a child's. It was blatantly a laugh but it also seemed to hide a hint of unease.
The sludge then disappeared without a trace, fading from Minori's observatory skills. Using the stars, he saw that the boy had well and truly left.
Seeing as there wasn't anything else, Minori, who had recovered his mana, took out a pair of binoculars and grasped out at space.
Warping away without a sound.
…
Droon had witnessed something amazing today!
A battle between the Sword Saint and the Rising Star!
And it seemed both didn't hold back at all in that fight!
And what's more, Minori was able to notice him.
"How exhilarating!" Droon spoke out loud as he connected to the boss.
"Boss! Boss! I have something amazing to show you!" He practically shouted.
"Too loud." A cool voice spoke from the other end of the line, her voice laced with simmering agitation.
Droon didn't care and immediately projected a video.
A vein on the boss's forehead popped but quickly subsided as she watched the video.
It was of the mass destruction Minori Nii's flames had caused, of the clearing that formed from Kim Suho's steel blade.
The boss noted how many of the tricks seemed familiar to her. Using metal to conduct electricity and keep someone in place, papers with spells on them…
Where had she seen them before?
"...Keep an eye on the mage for now… I think I've met them before…" The boss commented slighty as she held her chin in contemplation.
It was frustrating she felt as though the memory was on the edge of remembrance,
If only she could get a better look.
"It's too blurry, take a better video next time." The boss harrumphed slightly as Droon felt truly shocked.
The boss? Showing anything other than her poker face or annoyance?
How scary.