I Became the Youngest Disciple of the Martial God

The moment the thread was cut, the entire Deathberry army froze in place before collapsing lifelessly.

“...Is it over?” Sellen murmured tiredly.

The suffocating animosity that had filled the air vanished like it had never existed.

The Deathberrys sprawled completely motionless across the floor reverted to their original doll forms.

Even the “main Deathberry,” the one whose thread Sellen had cut, was back to looking like a ball-jointed doll, the same eerie thing the princess had carried around.

“Cough...!” Off to the side, Charon suddenly coughed up blood and collapsed.

Evan, who was closest, rushed over and caught him before he hit the ground.

“Hey! You okay?” asked Evan.

“...The enemies?”

“We took them down. It’s over. But you... damn. How much blood did you lose? Luan! You got a potion?”

“Sadly, no. Try to stop the bleeding for now.”

“R-right. Uh... something we can use as a bandage...”

Charon was a tough guy, so I knew he wouldn't die easily... but even so, his condition looked bad.

Sellen took a second to sit down on the floor and let out a long sigh. With trembling hands, she held out the scissors toward me.

“...Here. You picked these out of the headmaster’s treasure vault, right?”

“Yeah.”

“You’ve got a good eye. They just look like a rusty old pair of scissors. How’d you know they were a divine artifact?”

“Just like you said, I’ve got a pretty good eye for this stuff.”

Well, the Martial God does.

Anyway, I took the scissors from her and checked them over.

The blades were in much worse condition than before, probably from being used almost to its limit. Honestly, it looked like they could fall apart at any moment.

I felt a little sorry for damaging something that was practically a national treasure, but there really hadn’t been a better way to use them. If anything, this was a worthy way for a divine artifact to meet its end.

“...”

Even a master dwarf would probably struggle to fix this thing, but I decided to hold on to them just in case.

“That thing...” Sellen began, looking unusually pale. “If an average person used them, they’d be drained dry like a shriveled mummy.”

“What do you mean?”

“One snip sucks everything out of you—mental strength, physical strength, mana. It felt more like I was wielding a cursed weapon than a divine artifact.”

“Oh...”

So they had that kind of side effect. That explained why she looked like a living corpse.

“...I just wanna wash up, eat, and pass out for like, two days.”

I was about to say Yeah, same when…

“...”

Something felt off.

The Deathberrys were gone. The puppets had all stopped moving. Every single one, real and fake.

And yet that unsetting demonic energy was still present.

More than that, the eerie blood-red glow hadn’t disappeared.

I absentmindedly looked up at the sky, only to be met with a surprise.

“...!”

My eyes met the blood-lit moon’s, still hanging above us.

Was it just my imagination, or did it seem closer than before—

Riiiip.

The moon opened its mouth wide, and something inside shot out like a spear.

But it wasn’t aimed at me.

I shoved Sellen aside and the spear pierced my right arm.

“Luan!”

“I’m fine!”

Hurts like a bitch, though!

“You okay?!”

“Big Bro...?”

“Just stay back and stay alert! It might attack again!” I told Evan, then grabbed the spear with my good arm.

No, wait...

Was this really a spear?

It had come from the moon’s mouth, so wasn’t it more like a tongue?

Though that might be stealing the theme from a certain Demon Lord of the Green Tongue...

Anyway, feeling the “spear” only convinced me more that it was actually a tongue. It was disgustingly squishy and warm, like grabbing a live, warm fish with my bare hands.

And if I pull it?

Without hesitation, I put my idea into action.

I encircled the spear once with my arm, wrapped my wrist and the demon lord’s tongue, and yanked.

Obviously, I wasn’t going to pull the moon down from the sky with this...

But tongues were usually a weak point, so if I could tear it, maybe I could deal some damage.

With that thought, I pulled hard.

Crash!

...Yeah, that hope didn’t last long.

“Ah, damn it...”

I didn’t think it could just snap its tongue off at will. What was this, some kind of lizard tail?

It was my mistake. It was my fault for thinking a demon lord would function like any other living being, that ripping out its tongue would actually hurt it. That had been nothing more than wishful thinking.

The moon didn’t even have a tongue.

Then why does this thing still feel alive?

As I glared at the severed tongue, it started thrashing like a freshly caught eel before wrapping around my arm, slithering like a snake, sinister and cunning.

Crunch...!

Then came the crushing force, like it was trying to tear my muscles and snap my bones.

I quickly channeled my true ki and tensed my muscles, but somehow, the severed tongue swelled in size.

“Er...”

In an instant, it had grown large enough to swallow me whole.

Wait... when it said it wanted me, did it mean it literally wanted to eat me? That realization hit me so hard that I just stood there, stunned.

Swooooosh!

A fierce gust of wind blew in from behind me, shredding the growing tongue to pieces.

It was magic.

“Over here!”

It was Headmaster Alderson.

* * * * *

* * * * *

As I turned my head, Headmaster Alderson raised his staff once more.

As I was thinking that I’d never seen him lift it before...

With a flash, the scenery changed.

“Huh? What is this place...?”

“We have moved locations for now. This is Research Building 6,” Alderson clarified.

I could tell he still wasn’t doing well.

Rumble...

In the distance, I heard the sound of a building collapsing. I walked over to a window and peered out.

“Hmm...”

The blood-lit moon was destroying buildings indiscriminately, the same way it had smashed Building 13 to bits.

“...It seems to be looking for us.”

"Yes. By tearing down buildings," said Alderson, who was also looking out a window. "...Fortunately, it seems to need some time between each attack. There are thirteen buildings in the research wing, so it'll take a while to find us."

Building 13 had just been destroyed, and Building 12 was being guarded by Senior Brother Arang. Since another building just fell, that left 10 buildings.

From the demon lord’s perspective, it was like looking for a coin hidden in a cup, meaning it had to destroy each building one by one in hopes of finding the answer.

“Ugh, my whole body aches...”

This building could be the next to go, but I was too exhausted to care about that as I sprawled across the floor.

Training my body and mind had significantly lessened the side effects of White Flame, but I still couldn't get used to this terrible exhaustion.

As disrespectful as it was, I spoke to the headmaster while lying flat on my back. “Thank you, you saved our lives. But what about Building 12, what’s the situation there?”

“There is a lot I’d like to ask you about, but unfortunately, we don’t really have enough time to talk.”

Since Fourth Senior Brother had been summoned, the 250 armored cavalry shouldn’t be too much of a problem.

The young heroes there should be safe too, at least for now.

But that wouldn’t last forever.

There had to be a limit to how long Fourth Senior Brother could stay manifested.

“I heard your general situation from Princess Ferith,” Alderson said in a heavy voice, and I sensed a presence flinch.

It was only now that I noticed Princess Ferith curled up in the corner of the room.

“You...”

When I glanced at her, she flinched and buried her face in her knees.

I didn’t like the sight of her. I wanted to smack her in the head a couple of times... but I really didn’t have the energy.

“Now, let me ask. What happened to the attack team? Were you not able to take down the demon lord?”

“Um...”

I wasn’t sure how to explain, but thankfully, Sellen answered in my place.

"There were multiple threads coming down from the moon. The demon lord was using them to control the dolls, but there was one particularly tough string—the doll connected to it was the main body controlling the others. After a struggle, we managed to take it down... but we’re still here.”

“I see...”

Headmaster thought for a moment, then sighed. “As expected, we’ll have to defeat the moon to leave.”

“Defeat the moon... that sounds so absurd."

"Demon lords have always been unreasonable existences. At least it seems it can no longer control the puppets. That leaves us only one enemy to handle...”

Of course, that one enemy was stronger than all the puppets we'd fought so far combined, and infinitely more infuriating.

How in the world were we supposed to take down a moon hanging in the sky?

I should learn some ranged martial arts for situations like this, just in case...

I guess I really am a martial artist to the core, to think about techniques even in this mess. But really, I can’t just rely on flaming wheel and chucking my sword around forever.

Well, great, there was another thing to add to my to-do list.

This was proof that you really had to get out into the world and face hardships to see your shortcomings.

This also tied into one of the biggest flaws of closed-door training. Sure, it was a distraction-free environment where one could wholly concentrate without any worry, but if the training was flawed, it might not become apparent until it was too late.

One mistake and you could end up perfecting the wrong martial art.

Rumble...

Another building collapsed in the distance.

“...Charon’s condition isn’t looking too good,” Evan said, his voice heavy. “He’s lost too much blood. At this rate...”

“Allow me,” Alderson said as he approached Charon. “Hm...”

“Is there anything we can do?”

“Not right now. We need to get out of here and find a priest as soon as possible...”

Silence.

Evan let out a slow breath. I knew what he was thinking. Will Charon even make it that long?

The princess chose this moment to hesitantly approach and place a hand on Charon.

Evan, still hostile toward her, smacked her hand away a bit harder than necessary. “What the heck are you...!”

“H-hic?!”

The back of her pale hand turned red, but Ferith just flinched and quickly bowed her head, apologizing again and again.

“I-I’m sorry...! I’m sorry...”

“...”

Evan looked a little flustered, maybe realizing that he had hit her harder than he’d intended. Perhaps he still hadn’t adjusted to her new demeanor.

I, on the other hand, had a different take.

It was weird at first, but honestly, this version of her felt more like her real self.

If the Veiled Side was a lie, then the persona she had shown us before had probably been nothing more than a mask.

Like how, in lucid dreams, people tended to take on the version of themself they saw as ideal.

Well, the fact that her “ideal self” involved gloomy dresses, jet-black hair, and talking to ugly dolls was, for lack of a better word, unsettling.

“Huh...?”

Evan suddenly sounded surprised. When I looked over, Charon’s completion had visibly improved.

Ferith hesitantly mumbled, “I used... my blessing... It won’t heal him completely, but... he won’t die...”

She promptly buried her face back in her knees as an awkward silence settled over the room.

Breaking the silence, I turned to Alderson and asked, “If we stay like this, we’re all gonna die, right?”

“Most likely.”

Since I had no clear plan myself, I turned to Alderson for help. Sometimes, you just had to rely on your elders.

“Is there any other way?” I asked.

Alderson hesitated for a moment before answering, “There is one way...”

“Let’s hear it.”

“There’s a spell powerful enough to destroy that moon. However, it’s grand magic, so it takes time to cast.”

That damn cast time.

Mages were undoubtedly powerful, but casting times were one hell of a drawback.

“How long?”

“At least 30 minutes.”

That was longer than I’d expected.

Though, if an archmage needed a whopping half hour to cast it, then the spell had to be ridiculously strong.

Ruumble...

Meanwhile, buildings were still crumbling one by one.

Alderson glanced out the window and said, “There seems to be about a five-minute gap between the demon lord’s attacks.”

“There are eight buildings left. If we’re lucky, that gives us a maximum of 40 minutes.”

“That’s unlikely, though. We cannot assume it won’t just attack this building next.”

Alderson fell silent after that.

I took a moment to scan the room.

Sellen, pale faced. Charon, barely hanging on. Evan, looking the most intact out of the lot...

He probably can’t go all out, though.

If he wasn’t careful, his identity as a vice-cult leader might get exposed.

That left me.

“I’ll do it.”

“You’re saying you’ll hold out alone for 30 minutes?”

“Yes. I still have a trump card left.”

I had thought this through for quite a while. In the end, this was the only way.

Sellen and Evan immediately chimed in:

“I’ll help.”

“Me too.”

I looked at them... and refused. “Thanks, but you two should rest. As you are, you’ll only end up getting in the way.”

It was the truth. Right now, the only difference between them and Charon was that they were still conscious.

I turned to Alderson and asked, “Could you use that teleportation magic from earlier and send me somewhere far away?”

“I can.” Alderson hesitated, clearly dispirited. “As a headmaster, I feel ashamed. It is regrettable that we are forced to rely on someone so young.”

“It’s okay.” I smiled. “People should help each other when times get rough.”

* * *

When I opened my eyes, I was inside another building. Presumably, one of the other research buildings.

Rumble...

Right on cue, I heard another building collapse.

I had at least five minutes.

I slowly walked down the hallway.

There were plenty of reasons why it had to be.

One of them was because of how Hadenaihar treated me. It likely wouldn’t try to kill me outright.

Of course, I couldn’t rely on that fact alone.

Shrrrng.

I drew my Dark Star Blade and thought, After this battle, I might not be able to return to Bednicker...

Not that it really mattered.

I was 16 now. Old enough to leave home, wouldn’t you agree?

Clack.

I pushed open the front door and stepped outside.

The demon lord, gazing down upon the Veiled Side, immediately took notice of me.

Its eyes turned into crescents, and its mouth stretched into a wide grin.

No matter how many times I saw it, that smile never failed to disgust me.

“Keep your eyes wide and watch closely,” I muttered, staring up at the demon lord... “...And try not to tell anyone about this.”

That last part was for the headmaster and the young heroes, who were surely watching from somewhere. Then, I awakened the dormant demonic energy within my inner core.

The demonic energy, still unfamiliar to me, mixed with my true ki, transforming into a unique power imbued with supernormal abilities.

I drew that power from my palm, and it seeped naturally into the weapon I was gripping.

Kwhoosh...!

Though the energy had been roughly mixed and unstable, the moment it touched my Dark Star Blade, it harmonized perfectly.

Red flame and blue flame, two opposing elements, merged to reveal an entirely new hue.

Hooooo...

A purple flame.

This strange color of fire seemed to devour not just my energy but my exhaustion as well.

In an instant, the exhaustion from White Flame, which had been clouding my mind, vanished.

My focus became razor sharp, like a starved predator.

This was a flame that could only be used in such a heightened state.

Gripping the Dark Star Blade harder, I said to the demon lord, “We’ve been at this for a while, haven’t we?”

[...]

“We’re both getting tired of fighting, so why don’t we put an end to this, once and for all.”

In response to my declaration, it let out a booming laugh...

And I gave a grin of my own as I launched myself forward.

The final battle had begun.

____