Chapter 79
(The Professor)
For several long moments, neither of them moved.
The chamber, once filled with the roar of battle and unstable mana, had fallen into a silence so complete that even the slow drip of water through the ancient stone sounded unnaturally loud.
Mireya's hands had tightened into fists before she realized it.
She wanted to stay.
Every instinct screamed at her to stay.
But she also knew Professor Kaien well enough to understand that when he gave an order in that tone, it was never repeated.
Aurelian gently pulled her back.
"We have to trust him."
She looked one last time toward Pryan.
Or rather...
Toward the one wearing Pryan's face.
Dark Pryan remained still, Ashveil resting loosely in one hand as though the sword weighed nothing at all. His eyes never wandered from Kaien.
Only after the group disappeared into the tunnel did Kaien speak again.
"They're gone."
"Yes."
"You waited."
"I have no quarrel with them."
His answer came without hesitation.
"They're not the ones standing in my way."
Kaien nodded once.
"I assumed as much."
Silence returned.
The distance between them remained no more than fifteen steps.
Close enough for either of them to attack.
Neither did.
Dark Pryan slowly looked around the ruined chamber.
"The seal survived."
"It did."
"The ritual failed."
"It did."
"Then this place has fulfilled its purpose."
Kaien watched him quietly.
"You speak as though you've seen this happen before."
"I've seen enough."
"And where did that knowledge come from?"
Dark Pryan remained silent.
Not because he refused.
Because the question itself held no meaning to him.
Kaien accepted the silence without pressing further.
Instead, he asked something else.
"You believe Pryan is too weak."
"I know he is."
"You've repeated that several times."
"Because it remains true."
Kaien folded his hands behind his back.
"And strength alone will save this world?"
"No."
Dark Pryan answered immediately.
"But weakness will destroy it."
The words lingered between them.
Kaien considered them carefully before speaking again.
"You think strength and kindness cannot exist together."
"I think kindness without strength is merely another form of helplessness."
"You mistake compassion for hesitation."
"I do not."
Dark Pryan's gaze sharpened slightly.
"I've seen Pryan hesitate because he feared making the wrong decision."
"I've seen him blame himself for lives he could never have saved."
"I've seen him choose impossible burdens simply because no one else would."
His voice never rose.
"He calls it responsibility."
"I call it inefficiency."
Kaien smiled faintly.
"A very young conclusion."
Dark Pryan tilted his head.
"You disagree."
"I do."
"Why?"
"Because people aren't problems waiting to be solved."
Dark Pryan answered almost instantly.
"They die all the same."
Kaien fell silent.
Not because he lacked an answer.
Because he understood the truth hidden inside those words.
The chamber grew still once more.
Finally Kaien spoke.
"I've taught many students."
Dark Pryan listened.
"Some possessed overwhelming talent."
"Others struggled to cast even the simplest spell."
"I've watched geniuses disappear."
"I've watched ordinary children become legends."
His expression remained calm.
"Do you know what separated them?"
Dark Pryan said nothing.
"It wasn't talent."
"It wasn't power."
"It wasn't certainty."
Kaien's voice softened.
"They never abandoned themselves."
For the first time...
Dark Pryan's expression changed.
Only slightly.
"You believe Pryan can still become stronger."
"I know he can."
"He has already reached his limit."
"No."
Kaien shook his head.
"He reached yours."
The answer lingered in the chamber.
Dark Pryan frowned ever so slightly.
"My limit?"
"The limit of the part of him you represent."
Kaien's gaze remained fixed upon him.
"You are his desire for strength."
"You are his refusal to fail."
"You are everything within him that believes power alone is enough."
A quiet breath escaped Kaien.
"But Pryan..."
"...is more than that."
Dark Pryan's grip around Ashveil tightened.
"I am everything necessary."
"No."
Kaien answered gently.
"You're only everything convenient."
For the first time...
Dark Pryan moved.
Not with anger.
Not with outrage.
Simply with purpose.
Ashveil disappeared.
The silver blade dissolved into countless particles before reforming in his hand a heartbeat later.
He lowered himself into a familiar stance.
Pryan's stance.
Only...
Sharper.
Every movement had been stripped of unnecessary motion.
Every weakness removed.
Kaien watched carefully.
"I see."
"You've refined everything."
"I discarded everything unnecessary."
Dark Pryan's feet settled against the cracked stone.
"The first lesson."
"The shortest movement is always the fastest."
Kaien smiled.
"I remember teaching that."
"You did."
"You also taught him to leave room for adaptation."
"I removed that."
"You removed uncertainty."
"I removed waste."
The chamber seemed to hold its breath.
Mana drifted naturally through the air.
Not gathering.
Not exploding.
Simply responding to the two standing opposite one another.
Kaien slowly raised his right hand.
His posture remained relaxed.
Almost careless.
Dark Pryan studied him.
"...You're still holding back."
"I am."
"You believe you can stop me without risking Pryan."
"I'll try."
"You'll fail."
"Perhaps."
Kaien's answer carried neither pride nor doubt.
"I've failed before."
The calmness of those words lingered.
Dark Pryan took a single step forward.
Nothing happened.
Then...
The stone beneath his foot shattered.
His figure vanished.
A sharp gust swept across the chamber.
Ashveil flashed toward Kaien's neck.
Kaien moved barely half a step.
Steel passed through empty air.
The sword carved effortlessly through the stone pillar behind him before Dark Pryan withdrew it in one smooth motion.
No wasted movement.
No pause.
The second strike arrived before the first echo disappeared.
Kaien leaned backward.
Ashveil passed a finger's width from his face.
Dark Pryan rotated naturally with the missed strike.
The third attack came from below.
Kaien's hand finally moved.
Two fingers rested lightly against the flat of Ashveil.
The blade stopped.
Not through force.
Through timing.
Dark Pryan's eyes narrowed.
"You've become faster."
Kaien smiled.
"No."
"You've become predictable."
For the first time since they had met...
Dark Pryan attacked without answering.
The underground chamber erupted into motion.