"That's a freaking crop top and female shorts! Did the awakening made you gay as well? You were better as a piece of shit like before!" Maruti shouted once again, her frustration clear on her face and in her voice.
"Definitely not. The past me was an idiot. I'll focus on my own path rather than choosing shortcut ways to gain more power," Corin denied Maruti's statement calmly, his voice steady and unbothered by her insults.
"Quiet, you two. Let's have a chatter while sitting somewhere," Esdeath stepped in, her voice firm and shutting down their argument immediately.
They both nodded and walked over to a nearby restaurant, taking their seats at a small table by the window. They ordered three coffees, one for each of them. Maruti was still being cautious and shifted her seat a bit further away from Corin, putting as much distance as she could between them.
"I'm departing today evening, so let me get straight to the point," Esdeath started speaking, her tone all business. "While I'm away, Lortell will come to meet you and assign you a good teacher for your training. There might be battles in the future where you can participate or be dragged into one, so you need to be prepared," she said, her eyes looking at both of them seriously.
"Of course, you can refuse to join future battles if you wish. And consider the training as a gift from me for supporting me at the court," Esdeath added, her voice softening slightly.
"Woah! How merciful and generous," Maruti clapped dramatically, a sarcastic smile on her face, but Esdeath ignored her completely, not even giving her a glance.
"Hmm... You're not going to use the training as an excuse to kill me in secret, are you?" Corin chuckled lightly, trying to probe, his eyes curious and a little wary.
"If I had to kill you, I would have already done so. You already did your job," Esdeath replied, her calm reply making her words even more chilling. It was a simple statement of fact, and that made it even more terrifying.
"Then I guess I accept. Inform me if there's any battle where you need help. Of course, I'll do the same," Corin replied as he stood up, his mind made up.
He knew that there might be battles where he would be dragged into without any choice, so it was better to stick with strong people like Esdeath and Lortell. Having a strong backup was what he needed the most to survive in this current chaotic kingdom.
"I'll be going then," Corin says, drinking the whole cup of coffee on the table in one go, not even flinching at the hot liquid. Then he walks away casually, his hips swaying slightly as he disappeared into the crowd.
Maruti watches him as he opens the restaurant's door and walks outside. She raised her index finger, pointing at his retreating back.
"Definitely gay!" she states, her voice full of finality, as if she had just solved a great mystery.
Esdeath only sighs without saying anything, a small, tired sound escaping her lips.
"By the way, when did he become our subordinate? Wasn't he your slave?" Maruti asks, turning back to Esdeath. She had wanted to ask about this for a while but kept forgetting it.
"Huh? Did I not tell you? It was before I went on my practical task for the academy exam," Esdeath starts, her voice calm as she began to explain.
She talks about how, before departing for the border of the dwarf kingdom, she already knew what would happen once she came back. She had already taken measures for any kind of mistakes that Cassandra could take advantage of.
Thus, she invited Corin to her room and undid the binding between her and him. The moment he was released and came back to his senses, he tried to run away immediately in fear. But being a great manipulator as always, Esdeath calmed him down and explained the situation to him, giving him two options.
The first was to join her and take her side in case he was used as a witness or evidence. The second was to keep quiet and not say anything at all.
She threatened him that any other choice would surely result in his death by Lortell.
After thinking for some time, he agreed to cooperate with Esdeath, knowing there was no going back.
"Dang, I thought he would be more angry that you made him your slave all this time," Maruti asks, slightly surprised by how calm Corin had been.
"He is a man defeated by love after all. He has softened up quite a bit. Although he was angry about the fact that Selene slapped him quite hard," Esdeath replies calmly, a small smirk on her face.
"But I slapped him once more for saying that," Esdeath added with a low chuckle, a glint of amusement in her eyes.
She takes the coffee cup and takes one sip, then puts the rest down and stands up.
"I'm done," she says. "Be ready by evening," she adds, turning away and walking out of the restaurant without another word.
After finishing her coffee cup, Maruti pays the bill and walks out into the street to buy some packs of clothes for herself.
It took her three hours to find the perfect clothes that were made for females yet had a masculine charm or boldness to them. She looked through many shops, feeling the fabrics and trying on different styles until she was satisfied.
After the shopping, she walks through alley after alley until she found a quiet corner, away from the prying eyes of the city.
Resting her back on the cold, rough wall, she takes out a golden ring from her pocket and wears it on her index finger.
The moment she did, a flicker of lightning surged across her body, and she vanished into the thin air, leaving only a faint smell of ozone behind.
The next moment, she had arrived in a dark place outside of a mountain cave. The air was cold and damp, and the only sound was the distant howl of the wind.
No matter how unusual and scary it looked, she had gotten quite familiar with this place. She had been training with Xing Liang at least three times a week.
She had learned quite a bit about Xing Liang's fighting style, how he uses essence stones and magic in perfect synthesis, combined with martial arts. It had its own advantages and disadvantages. One of the common disadvantages was that it took a huge toll on the user's mind.
While there were other things, such as blocking others' wills to stop them from using essence stones or protecting one's own will from such attacks.
Looking at the front of the cave, Maruti walks inside. As always, Xing Liang was laying there with his massive muscular body, looking like a sleeping lion.
"Hello, cat guy," Maruti says nonchalantly, a playful smirk on her face.
"Don't—!" Xing Liang jumps back and does a backflip, arriving in front of Maruti in a flash. "Call me—!"
He points his finger at Maruti. "Cat guy!" he says, his voice a deep rumble.
"I'm Xing Liang, the honoured one," he adds proudly, his chest puffed out.
"Yes, cat guy!" Maruti adds with a sigh, enjoying the little game.
"You!" Xing Liang's lips twitch, but he held back his anger, taking a deep breath.
"Why did you come this time?" he asks, his voice a little gruff.
"To tell you that I won't be coming here for the next few weeks. I'm going on a small journey," Maruti said, her tone casual as she leaned against the cave wall.
"A—" Xing Liang was immediately about to say something, but then he held back and reorganized his words, a thoughtful look on his face.
"Then in this case—CONGRATS!" he shouts out, his voice echoing in the cave. "You have completed your training!" he says out loud, a wide, proud grin on his face.
"Wait, for real?" Maruti raises her eyebrows in surprise, her heart skipping a beat. She wasn't expecting this at all.
He nods proudly. "Yep! I was thinking of telling you about it the next time you would come for training, but I guess I can't wait for this much time," he said, his voice filled with excitement for her.
"Are you sure? I still can't block the wills of stronger individuals, nor can I make a space that blocks anyone from using essence stones, like this one," Maruti asks, looking around at the small, dark world they were in. Xing Liang's small world was definitely a peak creation, showcasing how worthy he was for holding the title of the honoured one.
Xing Liang smiles, patting Maruti's back with his large hand. "Don't worry. What's more important is that you learned the core of this technique. The rest is to grow stronger and have mastery over it. You'll learn everything over time by yourself," he said, his voice gentle and motivating.
"Besides, my will is vanishing too. So rather than vanishing bit by bit for the next few days, why not just vanish at once in front of you?" he says with a genuine, warm smile that reached his eyes.
"So... you are going to die for real?" Maruti asks, a lump forming in her throat. She had gotten used to his strange presence.
"I'm already dead, silly! Hahaha..." he laughs out loud without a care in the world, his deep laughter filling the cave.
"But before I vanish, I got something for you," he says, taking his hand back inside his pant pocket to search for something.
"TADAA!" he says, showing a glowing, big spider-eye-like thing in his hand. It pulsed with a soft, otherworldly light.
"Wait, is this—" Maruti was about to say, but he cuts her off.
"Yes, a part of the divine essence stone—Fate. It's yours now. Consider it a parting gift," he says, handing it to Maruti's open palm. It felt warm and alive in her hand.
Before Maruti could even thank him or say anything, he takes a few steps back, making a peace sign with his fingers.
"It was a good time, student!" he didn't say some nice and emotional line, just whatever came to his mind, which was so very like him.
Golden light started shining from his feet, as it started turning into lighting dust particles, vanishing bit by bit. His form became less and less solid, like a sandcastle being washed away by the waves.
In just a few seconds, he was completely gone, leaving nothing behind but Maruti, alone in the now silent cave.
"He's gone, huh?" Maruti sighs to herself, feeling a little empty inside. The cave suddenly felt much bigger and colder.
"Should I cry like in those anime or manga, saying 'no matter how idiot and pervert he was, he was still my teacher and a good person'?" she thought to herself but then shakes her head immediately. "No, that would be too cringe," she decided, a small, sad smile on her face.
She looked around and took a few steps around. "How am I supposed to get out of here? Will it teleport me automatically?" she thought to herself, a little worried.
At that moment, the glowing dust particles formed around in the air and made some magical text.
"I FORGOT TO TELL THAT AFTER MY DEATH, THIS PLACE WILL BREAK APART, SO IF YOU DON'T WANNA DIE HERE THEN BREAK THE RING AND GET OUT OF HERE!"
Maruti reads the text, and at the same time.
CRUMBLE!...
It's as if a great magnitude earthquake has come. The whole cave started trembling violently, and rocks began to fall from the ceiling.
"Fuck, I need to hurry," she immediately holds the golden ring between her two fingers, trying to pull it apart with all her might.
"This!" Maruti was shocked that even after using her full strength, there was not a single scratch on this normal-looking ring. It was as strong as if it were made of the hardest metal in the world.
"Wait a second, Ygdrassil metal?",
She immediately understood the meaning behind Xing Liang's words.
"So is this a last test to show my worthiness by getting out of here?"