Chapter 17 :

Episode 5 : The Helpers (1)

Raiden and Mirai looked at the unconscious JoonChul, but they couldn't seem to find the source of that familiar voice they both heard.

"..Did we miss captain too much? And hallucinated his voice..?" Raiden was the first to speak.

Mirai pouted cutely and complained. "There is no way I would hallucinated the same thing as you!"

"Mimi.. that's not the point." He frowned.

"I know that!" Mirai growled while looking at him.

A sigh came out from Raiden's lips and he suggested. "I think we both need a break." He patted Mirai's head which surprised her.

Mirai grabbed his hand while hiding her blushing face under her fan. She stuttered. "D-Don't you pat my head..! I didn't want i-it..!"

"Hai, hai. I won't pat you again." Raiden waved his hands as a response.

In a blushful manner, Mirai converted to her spider form and hastily sprinted toward JoonChul before climbing onto his head.

Raiden who was just standing there surprised, asked her. "What are you doing?"

"You said to have a break so I'm going to rest."

"...On his head?"

"Got a problem with that?" Mirai glared at him which led him to zip his lips, walking backwards.

"Hey, Rai. We haven't had a discussion about his katana." Mirai with her 8 tiny eyes closed, questioned Raiden while being somewhat drowsy.

"Rest for now. We'll discuss it tomorrow."

"..."

"Sweet dream, Mimi." Raiden had a blissful smile formed on his face as he warmly spoke.

———

⟨ "I must protect my friends." A voice resounded in the darkest void.

"I can't involve them with my dilemmas." Suddenly, the area gradually transitioned to a field filled with bloodly pile of corpses. The sky that used to look so heavenly blue, changed to a devilishly scarlet.

Meanwhile, there stood a man, grasping his sword on top of that mountain, constructed from gruesome corpses. "Kill anyone who comes in my way."

That man with his crimson eyes observed his surrounding and slowly his gaze stopped in one direction. "Never let a single person survive."

The sword in which he was holding, transformed into a bow as he drew it, aiming the ferocious blazing arrow at the direction he was staring.

"A loner will have nothing to lose." He let go of the arrow when he declared. It left behind a trail of thunderous black lightning that could potentially reached the heaven. Including the fire which was burning fiercely on the arrowhead, soon came closer to it target. ⟩

———

When tommorow came...

I was jolted awake from that sudden dream of almost being shot by an arrow as I panted with sweat dripping down my face and back.

"What was that..?" I came to my senses and wondered.

I wiped the sweats on my forehead and realized I was stabbed by someone before I became unconscious.

With no further delay, I touched my chest where the stab wound supposed to be, but there was nothing, as if nothing had happened to me.

"Did captain not tell you more about his katana?" I could hear Mirai's voice echoed through the hallway.

And what accompanied Mirai's voice was none other than Raiden who responded to her question. "No, ‘he’ just told me that the katana will kill those it doesn't deem worthy when someone wields it."

I knew it would be rude to eavesdrop on their conversation but.. I was a bit nosy.

"And you didn't ask for more information?!" Mirai loudly scolded.

"I trust him so of course I didn't ask, wouldn't you do the same?"

"..h-hm.. well I.." Mirai's voice was lowered slightly as if she was mumbling.

"See?" He chuckled.

"See what? Oh, you mean.. see your student eavesdropping on our conversation?"

"Really!? He's awake!?"

I could hear footsteps getting nearer to my location after being discovered.

‘Well.. I shouldn't have eavesdropped..’ I thought.

"JoonChul!!" Raiden, dashing toward me, caused me to flinch from the lightning being discharged behind him.

"Don't come any closer!" I shouted without fear.

The moment Raiden heard me, he stopped just right in front of me. "Why though? I want to hug my student!"

I sighed before saying. "..I thought I was dead.."

"Dead? Oh..! No need to fear, Mirai healed your wound. So you're fine now." Raiden spoke as he rotated his gaze to Mirai who was standing a bit further away.

"She healed me? I need to thank her." I got off the throne after I finished talking.

I began to run to Mirai and she seemed to be flustered by something. Raiden who I ran pass, smirked joyfully.

When I arrived next to Mirai, bowed while saying. "I'm thankful for your help."

Mirai received my thanks and quickly crossed her arms. "I didn't ask for you to thank me..! I only did it for Raiden's sake, so you should thank him instead!"

"I would still need to thank you." I bowed again before running back to Raiden.

Mirai stood there with her flustered face as she watched the back of the running JoonChul. "Baka..." She muttered quietly.

( ‹Baka›, Japanese word for ‘Idiot’. )

"Teacher! Thank you!"

———

After I thanked Raiden, he instructed me to keep training which reminded me of something.

"Teacher.. where is the katana?"

Raiden scratched the back of his neck as he spoke. "Oh yeah. Right.. I thought it would be better not to give you that katana."

‘Huh? What suddenly change his mind?’ I wondered.

I assured with a bit of relief. "That's fine, I didn't want to take it either because it is valuable to you."

"Aw..!" Raiden's eyes were sparkling like a child when he said that.

"By the way, teacher.. what exactly happened after I was stabbed?"

"Oh that? We found you and saw that you were severely injured..That's all." His answer came so quick that it made me question what I actually saw at that moment when I was stabbed.

"You didn't see a man?"

Raiden shook his head rapidly, causing it to leave afterimages.

"Is that so..?" I spoke as I was a bit disappointed when I listened to his answers.

‘It can't be.. I saw that shadowy man with my own two eyes.. Could Raiden be lying to me? But why would he lie though..?’ I mused.

For the contrary, I wasn't the only one being submerged in my own thoughts.

‘Forgive me, Joon. But I don't want you become scared or worried by what the soul will do.. Not only that.. me and Mimi don't even understand what it does as well..’ Raiden thought.

‘If I tell you about the soul and how we don't know it, you might get scared. ..Even though Mimi told me not to be this stupid and just tell you, I didn't want to..’