O.. ouch ouch ouch. That hurts! How can a normal palm strike have so much force into it? Where is Lily? Is she still in the arena? I looked around and saw that she was at the side of me clutching her stomach. If this person is onii-chan then I’m gonna give him a scolding for hurting two beauties! Wait, it.. doesn’t hurt anymore? I can stand up now. Odd, I was certain that it was painful earlier.
Both Lily and I stood up. We were looking towards the outsider who was standing at the edge of the arena ring while smirking at us. He held his hood with his right hand and pulled it backwards.
W.. who is this handsome fella?! There is no way onii-chan became this handsome in just four years! He doesn’t even look like him at all!
“L.. Lily? I think we are mistaken, aren’t we?” I said to her.
“Daisy you mean. But no, I don’t think we are. This is your brother,” she said.
H.. how??!
This outsider had black hair like onii-chan, and it seems like that signature lazy hair of his is there. But for him to grow this much taller? And not to mention with a face that can make any girl’s heart flutters? This is just not him at all.
Just then, all the guildmasters came down to the arena. All of them stood in a row sideways and kneeled towards this outsider. The outsider bowed to them in return. John stood up and gave him a bro hug. The outsider was caught off-guard but returned the hug seconds later. Seems like John realised who this person is.
***
We were in onii-chan’s room in the Dark Guild. I kept this place clean in the event that he returned unexpectedly. I am glad that the Dark Lord was willing to keep this place occupied in my brother’s name. It feels so surreal that he is finally here when every time I opened the door to his room, I always imagined to see him there saying hi to me. Now, he really is here and not my imagination.
“Thank you, Rose. For keeping my room clean,” he smiled at me.
This is definitely him. I remembered that smile of his that made me fell in love with him. I thought of scolding him or hitting him for trashing both Lily and me earlier. But all I did was starting to shed tears uncontrollably and rushed towards him. He accepted my hug and tears and petted my head. Onii-chan is really back.
“Sorry for making you wait so long, Rose. I’m back as I promised. You’ve grown so much in these past four years. You even grew out your hair,” he said.
I cried for quite a while but recollected myself and wiped away my tears. Lost myself for a moment there.
“Welcome back, Zen,” said Lily.
She had a bit of tears as well. Is it because of our reunion scene that she was watching earlier?
“I’m back, Lily. Thanks for helping me out for the past two years. I really appreciate all that you did for me,” he said while bowing to her.
Lily walked closer to onii-chan and they hugged. I thought they were going to kiss each other.
“You’re stopped wearing your glasses? I’ve gotten used to seeing you in that for the past two years. I really missed that,” he said.
Hm? Glasses? Can it be?
“I can’t wear them, silly. I’ll get recognised immediately. It was your idea to wear it that time,” said Lily.
Ahem!
I unconsciously coughed which made them released the hug.
“Are you planning to stay here for long, onii-chan?” I asked him
“Perhaps just a week and then I will be leaving. All the plans will be set in motion by then. Come along to the meeting with the guildmasters tomorrow. You should know of the upcoming plan,” he said.
“Before that, how did you get so handsome? And you grew so much taller in just four years. Did you experienced some growth spurt or something?” I asked him
“Oh, this? I am actually wearing a mask. I can’t reveal my real face unless I want to be caught. And I looked taller is due to my shoes being customised to make me look taller. Not good for running though. What’s wrong? Is there something wrong with the mask?” he said while showing me his shoes.
“Do you really have to choose one that would gain the attention of any females? Is it not enough that you have both Lily and me?” I asked him.
“Um, huh? Lily was the one that chose this face,” he said.
I looked at Lily and she started whistling. No wonder. Lily sure have high taste in men to choose this face mask for onii-chan.
I breathe a sigh of relief. And here I thought what he did to his face. His height didn’t bother me too much.
“Can I see your real face? I’ve not seen it in four years now. I miss seeing that face of yours,” I said.
“Hm, you’ll probably get to see it before I leave the city. If I were to remove it now, I won’t be able to put it back. It is a one-time use as it is really delicate,” he said.
“Alright fine, you win,” I said while giving a sigh.
He came and petted my head while heading towards his room. But I stopped him before he went further.
“Onii-chan, can I expect an answer?” I asked him.
He looked at me with a confused look. He then counted his fingers to which he finally realised.
“Oh, right! You’re seventeen now, aren’t you Rose? You really look more beautiful now and matured. But…. I can’t really give you an answer now. I’m really sorry,” he said while he sighed.
I wanted to ask why but Lily came and place her hand on my shoulder and shook her head. Is there something going on?
“Sorry, Rose. I’ll give a clear answer to the both of you when all is done. I want to focus on what I need to do before I start finding happiness,” he said.
“And what is that?” I asked.
“My revenge,” he said.
***
Onii-chan was in his room doing Alchemy. Seems like he needed to create something. Lily was hanging around in the living room. She said she wanted to stay the night here with us. But where is she going to sleep? With onii-chan? I won’t let that happen.
“Lily, how about you stay in my room. I can sleep in onii-chan’s room with a futon,” I said.
“Hm? Oh, no need. I had been sleeping at your brother’s side for two years now and gotten used to it,” said Lily.
“W.. what do you mean? What relationship did you two have? I thought you told me that you weren’t dating him??” I asked her.
“Um.. we’re.. friends? Maybe a little more?” she said while blushing a little.
“What do you mean by that?” I said while squinting at her.
“Rose, you’re sleeping in your room. Lily, you can sleep in mine. I will be sleeping on the couch,” said onii-chan after opening his door.
Why does it feel like we are his harem or something. I’m surprised that he was able to hear us. Usually he can barely hear anything when he closed his door unless I shouted at him.
“I guess I’ll head out to buy more groceries then. Don’t do anything naughty when I’m not around, onii-chan,” I said.
“I won’t. Don’t worry,” he said.
I squinted at him while I slowly close the main door.
***
All of us had our dinner at the dining table. It was dinner time and I cooked a feast for all of us. Sort of like a reunion dinner or something. We ate quietly. No feedback on my food at all? This is the first time eating my food again after four years and you have no comment on it? Hmph!
I looked between the two of them. Is this how it would be like if onii-chan were dating with Lily? The three of us having a meal together? I like it, to be honest. To have an elder brother and sister at my side, I can get onboard with that idea. But I know deep down, I will be extremely sad and hurt that he didn’t choose me. But that is fine, I have other options waiting for me anyway.
“Is this situation something that will occur often if the both of you started dating?” I asked the both of them.
Onii-chan spitted out his food. Lily started blushing while biting her chopsticks.
“W.. what the hell are you suddenly saying, Rose?” he said while being flustered.
“I mean, if the both of you started dating, Lily will be eating with us often, isn’t it?” I asked.
“Um, I guess so? But I am not dating her,” he said.
Both of them were feeling flustered. Something must had happened within that two years and I want to find out.
“You two are acting weird. Something happened between you two, isn’t it? I can see something had changed. Onii-chan, you didn’t force yourself on Lily, didn’t you?” I interrogated him.
“O.. of course not. I did not lay a finger on her. It was actually the other..” he stopped.
“Hm? Other?” I asked.
He sealed his lips. Something is up with these two. Lily was drooling while smiling. What the hell? Is she thinking about something or imagining naughty stuffs? I should push them further.
“You slept with her, didn’t you?” I said to both of them bluntly.
“I…. We didn’t!” he said while being flustered.
Lily was covering her face now. Steams can be seen appearing above her head.
“There is no way the both of you can keep your hands to yourself. To be honest, I was fully expecting Lily to come back with a big belly or holding your child,” I said to him directly.
“Nah, if that was the case, the child would had been about two years old by now,” he said.
“Zen!!” shouted Lily with a flustered face.
Onii-chan covered his mouth. He must have blabbered it out without even realising it.
“Y.. you have a child with Lily?” I asked him.
“No! I don’t have a child with her. Seriously, I don’t. We.. don’t have one, right?” he seemed unsure at the end and ended up looking at Lily.
“Of course we don’t!” shouted Lily.
“But you did slept with her, didn’t you?” I asked.
“Y.. yes,” he said softly.
“So why the both of you not together then?” I asked the both of them.
The both of them didn’t say anything. What is going on with these two?
“Is it because you love me as well?” I asked onii-chan.
He clapped his cheeks with both of his hands and breathed a couple of times. He usually does this to calm himself or prepare for combat.
“Yes. I love the both of you. Both of you are equally precious to me,” he said with a serious face.
“Are you planning to marry both of us then?” I asked him.
“That idea did come into my mind,” he said.
“Are you being serious right now?” I asked him with a speechless face.
“Of course I’m not! I.. can’t decide right now. Not when I have not settled what I need to do. Can you let me do that? It is really something that I need to fulfil before I can fully move on,” he said with a sorrowful face. It makes me want to hug him.
“Lily, are you really okay to wait for him even after so long?” I asked her.
“Rose, your brother.. he.. you were not there when his grandfather saved us. I won’t say that I understand what your brother is feeling right now but I fully support his plans. If it works out, your brother can finally continue to stay in this city rather than being an outcast and being hunted forever. Think about him a little on what he is going through perhaps?” said Lily.
“Y.. you’re right. I got ahead of myself. Sorry about that, onii-chan,” I said to him to which he just smiled and waved it aside.
“Alright, let me change topic then. What have you been doing for the past four years? What were those powers that you used during the tournament?” I asked him.
He told us that for the first two years he spent his time training in the elven forest. They taught him on how to be more flexible and nimble with his body along with better proficient in using his weapons. He tried learning to achieve a Higher State of Mind but he could not. He sparred with Lily often but she couldn’t defeat him no matter how hard she tried. Even though the elven forest was Lily’s turf, she couldn’t take him down even with the help of the other elves.
He said that he was close to using Concentration in the elven forest but it was imperfect. It helped him listen to the surroundings to a much higher extent. Close to the level of an elf’s ear. With that, all he had to do was keep alternating his Concentration between different opponents on the fly. It was not perfect as there were a few times where he was struck by arrows or by stray knives. He showed me his scars. It was then that he decided to head to the Eastern continent to the City of Heliotrope Ixia. Surprisingly, it was there that he learned most of his spells and techniques.
After sneaking over to the East with the help of the elves, who awaited him there was none other than the founder of City of Heliotrope Ixia, Peter Borage himself. He was surprised that Peter welcomed him into the city. He heard news about a Hawthorn individual being hunted in the West and was genuinely surprised that there was any remaining Hawthorn hiding in the West. To his surprise, he did not expect Zen to be the son of the war hero himself. There was suspicion on him but his face features removed all doubts for Peter. He ended up single-handedly teaching him on how to use Concentration properly along with some unarmed techniques.
I asked him on what was going on with his equipment. His gauntlets was fading in and out of existence while he called a purple flaming clock out from nowhere. He said that the armour was a closed secret from Peter. It is called ‘Rend’which is to pull an armour from another reality. The armour chooses the bearer. For him, it happened to be a cloak. All he needed to do was to focus his left hand and semi-transparent flames will appear at his fingertips. A lot of skill stats is needed to even learn and perform this spell which thankfully he had. From there, all he needed to do is to place his left-hand in front of his right shoulder. He will then tear the fabric of reality and summon the chosen cloak by pulling it across his body.
This cloak is virtually indestructible save for other people using weapons that are from that similar reality. Does this mean that onii-chan is unkillable right now? That is not the case. The cloak can only protect parts of his body but not all. There should not be anyone who can fully drape themselves with that armour. It is up to him to use the cloak to protect him from incoming attacks. There is also a weakness in this spell. As he is not proficient in using the spell yet, it can only last for ten minutes per use and the maximum amount of times he can call is three times per day. Peter told him that the limit of that spell should be at thirty minutes which is for him and five times a day. Seeing as he is the master of that spell, I should take his word for it.
This brings us to the next spell. ‘Sunder’ is the spell you use to summon and de-summon your weapons. A ceremony is needed in order to send your weapons to another reality. He had sent both Inazuma and Tengu-kaze to the other reality along with his gauntlets. Both of them have their permission to send them there as they were curious and eager to discover what’s in the other reality. Now all he has to do is to flick either of his wrists to summon whichever weapon he wants at his side. His weapons are now indestructible as well unless he is fighting with another user who can use Sunder. He kept his trusty elven dagger behind his back with him at all times just in case. Hidden from sight by his favourite black cloak. Does he even wash it?
Now comes the part where he talks about his nemesis. I can see Lily was uncomfortable hearing about this Tom. I was not there when it happened so I am not at liberty to judge the both of them. Onii-chan only told me about his grandfather possibly sacrificing his life to save the three of them. Lily suppressed her memories of that event while John don’t remember much on what happened. Only onii-chan somehow burned that event into his memory. Able to even recall even the slightest details about this Tom in order to gain any insight on him. Onii-chan recalled Tom being able to use Rend which is why he needed to learn these two spells. Tom can certainly use Sunder as well. He suspected that he uses a bow and arrow which is why he can leave circular marks on his opponent and make his arrow vanish. Very clever way of performing assassination without leaving evidence behind.
Onii-chan is really serious in re-enacting his revenge. So it seems like he is going to hunt Tom and kill him. The three of us should be able to help him out with it. John might be eager to help out too. But after hearing his story, I felt so weak compared to all of them. I wonder if Lily is capable of using Concentration too. I should had follow him along during that four years.
“So, you’re just going to hunt Tom down, right? That is your plan?” I asked him.
“Yes and no. He is definitely part of my whole revenge plot but he’s not the only one. The reason why Tom was hunting for me was because of a certain someone who put out the contract on it,” he said.
“W.. wait, you’re saying you want to kill the Queen as well? You want to assassinate her or something?” I said with my mouth agape.
“Not exactly, while doing that might make me feel better, there are other matters of concern as well. Come along to the council tomorrow and you’ll hear the extend of my plans,” he explained.
“Which is?” I asked him.
“Declaring war with the City Of Pines,” he said.
O.. ouch ouch ouch. That hurts! How can a normal palm strike have so much force into it? Where is Lily? Is she still in the arena? I looked around and saw that she was at the side of me clutching her stomach. If this person is onii-chan then I’m gonna give him a scolding for hurting two beauties! Wait, it.. doesn’t hurt anymore? I can stand up now. Odd, I was certain that it was painful earlier.
Both Lily and I stood up. We were looking towards the outsider who was standing at the edge of the arena ring while smirking at us. He held his hood with his right hand and pulled it backwards.
W.. who is this handsome fella?! There is no way onii-chan became this handsome in just four years! He doesn’t even look like him at all!
“L.. Lily? I think we are mistaken, aren’t we?” I said to her.
“Daisy you mean. But no, I don’t think we are. This is your brother,” she said.
H.. how??!
This outsider had black hair like onii-chan, and it seems like that signature lazy hair of his is there. But for him to grow this much taller? And not to mention with a face that can make any girl’s heart flutters? This is just not him at all.
Just then, all the guildmasters came down to the arena. All of them stood in a row sideways and kneeled towards this outsider. The outsider bowed to them in return. John stood up and gave him a bro hug. The outsider was caught off-guard but returned the hug seconds later. Seems like John realised who this person is.
***
We were in onii-chan’s room in the Dark Guild. I kept this place clean in the event that he returned unexpectedly. I am glad that the Dark Lord was willing to keep this place occupied in my brother’s name. It feels so surreal that he is finally here when every time I opened the door to his room, I always imagined to see him there saying hi to me. Now, he really is here and not my imagination.
“Thank you, Rose. For keeping my room clean,” he smiled at me.
This is definitely him. I remembered that smile of his that made me fell in love with him. I thought of scolding him or hitting him for trashing both Lily and me earlier. But all I did was starting to shed tears uncontrollably and rushed towards him. He accepted my hug and tears and petted my head. Onii-chan is really back.
“Sorry for making you wait so long, Rose. I’m back as I promised. You’ve grown so much in these past four years. You even grew out your hair,” he said.
I cried for quite a while but recollected myself and wiped away my tears. Lost myself for a moment there.
“Welcome back, Zen,” said Lily.
She had a bit of tears as well. Is it because of our reunion scene that she was watching earlier?
“I’m back, Lily. Thanks for helping me out for the past two years. I really appreciate all that you did for me,” he said while bowing to her.
Lily walked closer to onii-chan and they hugged. I thought they were going to kiss each other.
“You’re stopped wearing your glasses? I’ve gotten used to seeing you in that for the past two years. I really missed that,” he said.
Hm? Glasses? Can it be?
“I can’t wear them, silly. I’ll get recognised immediately. It was your idea to wear it that time,” said Lily.
Ahem!
I unconsciously coughed which made them released the hug.
“Are you planning to stay here for long, onii-chan?” I asked him
“Perhaps just a week and then I will be leaving. All the plans will be set in motion by then. Come along to the meeting with the guildmasters tomorrow. You should know of the upcoming plan,” he said.
“Before that, how did you get so handsome? And you grew so much taller in just four years. Did you experienced some growth spurt or something?” I asked him
“Oh, this? I am actually wearing a mask. I can’t reveal my real face unless I want to be caught. And I looked taller is due to my shoes being customised to make me look taller. Not good for running though. What’s wrong? Is there something wrong with the mask?” he said while showing me his shoes.
“Do you really have to choose one that would gain the attention of any females? Is it not enough that you have both Lily and me?” I asked him.
“Um, huh? Lily was the one that chose this face,” he said.
I looked at Lily and she started whistling. No wonder. Lily sure have high taste in men to choose this face mask for onii-chan.
I breathe a sigh of relief. And here I thought what he did to his face. His height didn’t bother me too much.
“Can I see your real face? I’ve not seen it in four years now. I miss seeing that face of yours,” I said.
“Hm, you’ll probably get to see it before I leave the city. If I were to remove it now, I won’t be able to put it back. It is a one-time use as it is really delicate,” he said.
“Alright fine, you win,” I said while giving a sigh.
He came and petted my head while heading towards his room. But I stopped him before he went further.
“Onii-chan, can I expect an answer?” I asked him.
He looked at me with a confused look. He then counted his fingers to which he finally realised.
“Oh, right! You’re seventeen now, aren’t you Rose? You really look more beautiful now and matured. But…. I can’t really give you an answer now. I’m really sorry,” he said while he sighed.
I wanted to ask why but Lily came and place her hand on my shoulder and shook her head. Is there something going on?
“Sorry, Rose. I’ll give a clear answer to the both of you when all is done. I want to focus on what I need to do before I start finding happiness,” he said.
“And what is that?” I asked.
“My revenge,” he said.
***
Onii-chan was in his room doing Alchemy. Seems like he needed to create something. Lily was hanging around in the living room. She said she wanted to stay the night here with us. But where is she going to sleep? With onii-chan? I won’t let that happen.
“Lily, how about you stay in my room. I can sleep in onii-chan’s room with a futon,” I said.
“Hm? Oh, no need. I had been sleeping at your brother’s side for two years now and gotten used to it,” said Lily.
“W.. what do you mean? What relationship did you two have? I thought you told me that you weren’t dating him??” I asked her.
“Um.. we’re.. friends? Maybe a little more?” she said while blushing a little.
“What do you mean by that?” I said while squinting at her.
“Rose, you’re sleeping in your room. Lily, you can sleep in mine. I will be sleeping on the couch,” said onii-chan after opening his door.
Why does it feel like we are his harem or something. I’m surprised that he was able to hear us. Usually he can barely hear anything when he closed his door unless I shouted at him.
“I guess I’ll head out to buy more groceries then. Don’t do anything naughty when I’m not around, onii-chan,” I said.
“I won’t. Don’t worry,” he said.
I squinted at him while I slowly close the main door.
***
All of us had our dinner at the dining table. It was dinner time and I cooked a feast for all of us. Sort of like a reunion dinner or something. We ate quietly. No feedback on my food at all? This is the first time eating my food again after four years and you have no comment on it? Hmph!
I looked between the two of them. Is this how it would be like if onii-chan were dating with Lily? The three of us having a meal together? I like it, to be honest. To have an elder brother and sister at my side, I can get onboard with that idea. But I know deep down, I will be extremely sad and hurt that he didn’t choose me. But that is fine, I have other options waiting for me anyway.
“Is this situation something that will occur often if the both of you started dating?” I asked the both of them.
Onii-chan spitted out his food. Lily started blushing while biting her chopsticks.
“W.. what the hell are you suddenly saying, Rose?” he said while being flustered.
“I mean, if the both of you started dating, Lily will be eating with us often, isn’t it?” I asked.
“Um, I guess so? But I am not dating her,” he said.
Both of them were feeling flustered. Something must had happened within that two years and I want to find out.
“You two are acting weird. Something happened between you two, isn’t it? I can see something had changed. Onii-chan, you didn’t force yourself on Lily, didn’t you?” I interrogated him.
“O.. of course not. I did not lay a finger on her. It was actually the other..” he stopped.
“Hm? Other?” I asked.
He sealed his lips. Something is up with these two. Lily was drooling while smiling. What the hell? Is she thinking about something or imagining naughty stuffs? I should push them further.
“You slept with her, didn’t you?” I said to both of them bluntly.
“I…. We didn’t!” he said while being flustered.
Lily was covering her face now. Steams can be seen appearing above her head.
“There is no way the both of you can keep your hands to yourself. To be honest, I was fully expecting Lily to come back with a big belly or holding your child,” I said to him directly.
“Nah, if that was the case, the child would had been about two years old by now,” he said.
“Zen!!” shouted Lily with a flustered face.
Onii-chan covered his mouth. He must have blabbered it out without even realising it.
“Y.. you have a child with Lily?” I asked him.
“No! I don’t have a child with her. Seriously, I don’t. We.. don’t have one, right?” he seemed unsure at the end and ended up looking at Lily.
“Of course we don’t!” shouted Lily.
“But you did slept with her, didn’t you?” I asked.
“Y.. yes,” he said softly.
“So why the both of you not together then?” I asked the both of them.
The both of them didn’t say anything. What is going on with these two?
“Is it because you love me as well?” I asked onii-chan.
He clapped his cheeks with both of his hands and breathed a couple of times. He usually does this to calm himself or prepare for combat.
“Yes. I love the both of you. Both of you are equally precious to me,” he said with a serious face.
“Are you planning to marry both of us then?” I asked him.
“That idea did come into my mind,” he said.
“Are you being serious right now?” I asked him with a speechless face.
“Of course I’m not! I.. can’t decide right now. Not when I have not settled what I need to do. Can you let me do that? It is really something that I need to fulfil before I can fully move on,” he said with a sorrowful face. It makes me want to hug him.
“Lily, are you really okay to wait for him even after so long?” I asked her.
“Rose, your brother.. he.. you were not there when his grandfather saved us. I won’t say that I understand what your brother is feeling right now but I fully support his plans. If it works out, your brother can finally continue to stay in this city rather than being an outcast and being hunted forever. Think about him a little on what he is going through perhaps?” said Lily.
“Y.. you’re right. I got ahead of myself. Sorry about that, onii-chan,” I said to him to which he just smiled and waved it aside.
“Alright, let me change topic then. What have you been doing for the past four years? What were those powers that you used during the tournament?” I asked him.
He told us that for the first two years he spent his time training in the elven forest. They taught him on how to be more flexible and nimble with his body along with better proficient in using his weapons. He tried learning to achieve a Higher State of Mind but he could not. He sparred with Lily often but she couldn’t defeat him no matter how hard she tried. Even though the elven forest was Lily’s turf, she couldn’t take him down even with the help of the other elves.
He said that he was close to using Concentration in the elven forest but it was imperfect. It helped him listen to the surroundings to a much higher extent. Close to the level of an elf’s ear. With that, all he had to do was keep alternating his Concentration between different opponents on the fly. It was not perfect as there were a few times where he was struck by arrows or by stray knives. He showed me his scars. It was then that he decided to head to the Eastern continent to the City of Heliotrope Ixia. Surprisingly, it was there that he learned most of his spells and techniques.
After sneaking over to the East with the help of the elves, who awaited him there was none other than the founder of City of Heliotrope Ixia, Peter Borage himself. He was surprised that Peter welcomed him into the city. He heard news about a Hawthorn individual being hunted in the West and was genuinely surprised that there was any remaining Hawthorn hiding in the West. To his surprise, he did not expect Zen to be the son of the war hero himself. There was suspicion on him but his face features removed all doubts for Peter. He ended up single-handedly teaching him on how to use Concentration properly along with some unarmed techniques.
I asked him on what was going on with his equipment. His gauntlets was fading in and out of existence while he called a purple flaming clock out from nowhere. He said that the armour was a closed secret from Peter. It is called ‘Rend’which is to pull an armour from another reality. The armour chooses the bearer. For him, it happened to be a cloak. All he needed to do was to focus his left hand and semi-transparent flames will appear at his fingertips. A lot of skill stats is needed to even learn and perform this spell which thankfully he had. From there, all he needed to do is to place his left-hand in front of his right shoulder. He will then tear the fabric of reality and summon the chosen cloak by pulling it across his body.
This cloak is virtually indestructible save for other people using weapons that are from that similar reality. Does this mean that onii-chan is unkillable right now? That is not the case. The cloak can only protect parts of his body but not all. There should not be anyone who can fully drape themselves with that armour. It is up to him to use the cloak to protect him from incoming attacks. There is also a weakness in this spell. As he is not proficient in using the spell yet, it can only last for ten minutes per use and the maximum amount of times he can call is three times per day. Peter told him that the limit of that spell should be at thirty minutes which is for him and five times a day. Seeing as he is the master of that spell, I should take his word for it.
This brings us to the next spell. ‘Sunder’ is the spell you use to summon and de-summon your weapons. A ceremony is needed in order to send your weapons to another reality. He had sent both Inazuma and Tengu-kaze to the other reality along with his gauntlets. Both of them have their permission to send them there as they were curious and eager to discover what’s in the other reality. Now all he has to do is to flick either of his wrists to summon whichever weapon he wants at his side. His weapons are now indestructible as well unless he is fighting with another user who can use Sunder. He kept his trusty elven dagger behind his back with him at all times just in case. Hidden from sight by his favourite black cloak. Does he even wash it?
Now comes the part where he talks about his nemesis. I can see Lily was uncomfortable hearing about this Tom. I was not there when it happened so I am not at liberty to judge the both of them. Onii-chan only told me about his grandfather possibly sacrificing his life to save the three of them. Lily suppressed her memories of that event while John don’t remember much on what happened. Only onii-chan somehow burned that event into his memory. Able to even recall even the slightest details about this Tom in order to gain any insight on him. Onii-chan recalled Tom being able to use Rend which is why he needed to learn these two spells. Tom can certainly use Sunder as well. He suspected that he uses a bow and arrow which is why he can leave circular marks on his opponent and make his arrow vanish. Very clever way of performing assassination without leaving evidence behind.
Onii-chan is really serious in re-enacting his revenge. So it seems like he is going to hunt Tom and kill him. The three of us should be able to help him out with it. John might be eager to help out too. But after hearing his story, I felt so weak compared to all of them. I wonder if Lily is capable of using Concentration too. I should had follow him along during that four years.
“So, you’re just going to hunt Tom down, right? That is your plan?” I asked him.
“Yes and no. He is definitely part of my whole revenge plot but he’s not the only one. The reason why Tom was hunting for me was because of a certain someone who put out the contract on it,” he said.
“W.. wait, you’re saying you want to kill the Queen as well? You want to assassinate her or something?” I said with my mouth agape.
“Not exactly, while doing that might make me feel better, there are other matters of concern as well. Come along to the council tomorrow and you’ll hear the extend of my plans,” he explained.
“Which is?” I asked him.
“Declaring war with the City Of Pines,” he said.
