Despite facing an enemy of a higher class than him, despite staring at an enemy with so much power that it took out several magic beasts along with B class mages on its own and despite his already injured body, Dae couldn't understand how Dom could face the Reflezard with such an unwavering look.
Especially for the sake of others rather than himself. As Dom charges at the beast, Dae's eyes widen as he remembers an old conversation.
< In a green, beautiful garden at the back of a large expensive house. A 8 year old Dae dressed in a long white robe stumble to a knee, heavy pants escaping his mouth with two short wooden swords in his hands.
The sound of sandals crushing the grass fill the air and Dae looks up to find a 5'8 feet tall fair-skinned old man walking towards him with a wooden sword in his hand. He stops in front of Dae and gives him a smile.
"You've gotten better. I'm impressed." The man said and Dae shakes his head as he forces himself to stand.
"I still haven't hit you yet." Dae grumbled.
The man laughs. "It will take a couple more years before you do that."
Dae glares at him. "One more time." He said as he raises his swords just as the man instantly knocks Dae on the head with his sword, causing him to drop his swords again.
"A true warrior always knows when to retreat. I believe I've told you that many times." The man commented with a strict face and Dae frowns. He stares at Dae for a moment before turning away with a smile. "Besides, your mother made Yugwa."
The sadness on Dae's face instantly vanishes at the mention of his favorite dessert. He quickly runs to the house while the old man laughs as he slowly follows.
10 minutes later, Dae and the old man were seated on the table where a young woman with a noticeable resemblance to Dae arrives with different coloured snacks on plates.
"Thank you, mother." Dae said as he happily takes the food.
She smiles at him. "You're very welcome, my dear." She then gives the other plate to the old man before noticing the wooden sword on the table. "Father. I thought we spoke about bringing the swords to the dining hall." She has an annoyed expression on her face and the man laughs.
"Sorry, Nari. But you know people my age tend to forget a lot."
The woman hums suspiciously at him before taking the sword and leaving the room.
After a quick prayer, the man picks up his chop-sticks before noticing Dae organize his snacks based on colors. "Does it really make a difference? You'll still eat them in the end."
"I just like it more this way." Dae said as he finishes his organization before eating one with a happy sigh. The man shakes his head as he eats from his plate with a similarly happy sigh.
A few minutes later, the man was half-way through with his plate when he reaches for his cup of hot coffee.
"Grandfather?" Dae asked and the man hums as he sips from his cup. "How can I become strong like you?"
"By years of dedicated training and experience."
Dae frowns. "But I've been doing this for 2 years already."
The grandfather eats another snack. "It'll take a couple more years than that, Dae."
"How long?" Dae asked before taking another bite and the old man hums as he chews.
"Who knows." He said before swallowing. "It takes an average of about 30 years for every user so far." He pauses to drink from his cup. "Since I added a couple more forms, it took me almost 50 years to master it. Even your father haven't perfectly grasped the new forms yet."
Dae frowns as he bites into his meal. "That's a long time."
"It is but after seeing you get a good grip of it at such a young age especially while modifying it into your own style, it's possible that you'll master it faster than any of us."
Dae's eyes widen in excitement. "Even you?"
His grandfather smirks. "Are you in that of a hurry to surpass me?"
"I'm going to become the greatest swordsman and finally beat you." Dae said with a determined look on his face which was betrayed by the colourful smear on his cheek. The sight makes the old man laugh. "Are you mocking me?"
"Of course not, young warrior. I look forward to that day." He bites into the meal and Dae narrows his eyes at him while drinking his warm milk.
A few more minutes later, Dae's mother arrives to pick up their empty plates when another question pops in Dae's mind.
"Grandfather?" Dae asked, grabbing both of their attention.
"What if after mastering it, I'm still not stronger than you?" The old man raises a brow. "You said great grandfather and even great-great-grandfather mastered it faster than you but you're still stronger than all of them? Is it because you added more forms?"
Nari glances at her father-in-law who hums in thought with a hand rubbing his long gray beard. "It might be part of it… but I think the bigger reason is because I followed Ethan." The man said as Nari leaves while Dae widens his eyes in excitement.
"You mean the Mage Emperor?" Dae asked and the man nods as he finishes his cup of coffee.
"He was a great and powerful mage worthy of his title. But what made him stood out and what drew me to him wasn't his strength or feats… it was his saviour complex."
Dae furrows his brows in thought. "Saviour complex?"
The grandfather drops his empty cup before explaining further. "It's when a person is determined to save everyone he can even at the risk of his own life. Even when facing a stronger opponent."
"Isn't that dangerous?"
He nods at Dae's question. "That's why I respected him. Most people, especially in the magic knights boast about fighting to protect others but when a real dangerous threat appears, they're usually the first to run. I've only known few people who could confidently stand up to threats like that, most of which were all from that old squad."
Dae nods before tilting his head in confusion again. "But… didn't you say that a true warrior knows when to retreat? Won't challenging that thing kill you if you're not really strong enough?"
The grandfather folds his arms with a conflicted look on his face. "Yes. That's what I was taught but it's more complicated than that. There are some fights that you just can't run away from. At least, that's what I believe."
"I don't understand."
"You will, one day." The man commented before noticing Dae's unsatisfied face. "For now… let's just say that being around Ethan made me stronger."
"But he's… dead, right?" Dae asked, cautiously.
He nods sadly before smiling. "But it doesn't have to be Ethan. It might take a while but if you're genuinely trying to follow my path then you'll eventually meet someone like him."
Dae's eyes widen again in excitement. "Really?"
"So when you meet someone like that. Someone who can genuinely and confidently lay down his life to protect others… follow him too." He suddenly forms a reminiscent smile on his face.
"I still can't explain why but just being around him, challenging him, walking and laughing with him after many hard battles together… it'll make you stronger."
Dae grins at the thought of it before furrowing his brows again. "But how will I know he has this saviour complex?"
"Believe me, grandson. There are many people that fake theirs but when you see the person I'm telling you, you'll just know it." The man said, leaving Dae even more confused… >
Now back to the present…
Dae's eyes widen once he finally realizes it. "It's you." He mumbled as he watches Dom barely evade an attack from the now angry Reflezard.
Dom rolls to a stop and looks around to find the beast zooming haphazardly around him. "Why's this thing so fast?" He asked as he narrowly evades another claw slash before delivering a punch to its side.
The impact breaks its armor, causing it to shriek in pain. But before Dom could attack its exposed flesh, it spins, sending its injured tail into Dom who manages to block, sending him sliding back several meters.
"Damn it." Dom grumbled as he dashes forward again but it moves fast, evading Dom's punch before landing an attack that sends Dom sprawling.
Dae's train of thought is cut off as Dom is smacked away despite breaking apart another part of the beast's armor.
He closely watches the fight, his mind searching for a solution before catching the sight of the beast's damaged armor while it moves around. He then groans as he pushes himself up to a knee, his body still trembling.
Despite his body telling him to just lie back down on the ground, to accept defeat and give in to the pain… the sight of Dom struggling against this powerful beast gave Dae's mind the boost it needed to push past the pain.
He stumbles a little but quickly catches himself with gritted teeth as small sparks of purple electricity began to crackle around him.
Meanwhile, Dom clicks his tongue he takes another hit from the beast. He clicks his tongue as he barely evades a slash from its claws before latching onto its extended limb.
He then turns, the ground crumbling under his feet as he briefly lifts the Reflezard off its feet before hurling it a couple feet away onto its back with a loud crash.
More loud shrieks escape its mouth as it struggles to get back on its feet before sensing Dom dropping down towards it. At the last second, it zooms out of the way, leaving Dom's feet to crash into the ground with an explosion of debris and dust.
"Damn it." Dom grumbled as he stands inside the small crater he'd formed before turning to find the beast's eyes piercing through the dust cloud behind him. Dom turns to attack again but with his new injuries, he stumbles while the beast attacks first, catching him off-guard.
But before the attack connects, a streak of purple lightning zips through the dust cloud and snatches Dom leaving the beast to attack the ground instead. With his body still weakened along with Dom's weight, Dae stumbles and the two mages roll across the ground at high speeds before skidding to a harsh stop.
Dom gets to a knee while rubbing his head before looking at Dae who coughs up some blood on the ground. "You okay?" Dom asked.
Dae gives him a forced smile. "Worry about yourself."
They both suddenly jump apart to avoid the beast's next attack.
Dom goes in for another punch but the beast dodges him again. He clicks his tongue before noticing Dae running towards the beast now staring at them from several feet away.
"I'll slow it down! Just focus on hitting it!" Dae shouted out.
Dom stares briefly in confusion before grinning as he sprints towards the beast too.
The beast shrieks as it stares at its two opponents but after seeing the brighter blue shroud, it surges forward, rapidly brushing past Dae and targeting Dom instead.
"I'm not even a threat to you, right?" Dae said as his feet slide against the ground while he turns around mid-run. "You'll regret that."
With a grunt, Dae surges after the beast with his sword held tightly in both hands. "Single sword style. Form 2…" Dae paused as he suddenly spins rapidly, with his blade crackling with bright purple electricity. "Orbit!" He becomes a circular spinning object that slashes across the broken armor on its left hind leg.
It lets out a pained shriek as blood spews out of the deep cut, causing it to stumble harshly to the ground, right in Dom's path. Dom grunts loudly, his right arm muscles bulging with visibly distended skin veins as he throws his next punch.
The beast quickly raises its right fore-limb to block the attack but Dom's mana infused punch completely obliterates the beast's armor along with the limb itself. It shrieks again, louder than ever but Dom doesn't stop as he plants his foot, crushing the ground while drawing his left fist back.
"One more!" He shouted as he aims for the beast's head with another punch but it manages to jump upwards, releasing a sudden gust of wind which Dom guards against.
The Reflezard lands several feet away and after quickly accessing its injuries, it turns to run. "You're not going anywhere." Dae said as he slides across the ground beside the beast which turns its eyes to find Dae now pointing his electrically charged blade at it.
The beast quickly coils its tail, forming a shield to reflect the spell using what was left of the tail's armor but instead of firing, Dae jumps forward, instantly bypassing its guard and stabbing his sword directly through the exposed part of the armor on its side.
"Viper's bolt!" Dae shouted as he fires the spell directly into the beast. It shrieks loudly as the powerful electricity rips through every part of its body with some purple light even radiating through the cracks in its armor.
A second later, it swings its working fore-limb into Dae, knocking him away with his sword now falling out of his grip as he soars through the air
Dae grits his teeth. "Even a direct hit couldn't take it down." He then smirks.
The beast stumbles, steam rising out of the gaps in its armor before sensing Dom sprinting towards it. It swings its tail forward but with its movements now much slower, Dom easily leaps over it. It tries to run again but stumbles due to Dae's spell.
Seeing his chance, Dom swings his right foot back and groans as he sends the kick into the side of its head, the armor there instantly crumbling.
With a loud shout, Dom focuses his mana into this kick, causing the right pants cloth and even his right boot to rip apart from the raw mana output. His foot continues to rip into the beast's head which finally explodes.
At that moment, it was as if time slowed down, with the beast's headless body slowly falling to the ground, the bits and pieces of its head spilling out in every direction while Dom spins uncontrollably due to his momentum.
Dae, who watches this from his now seated on the ground, suddenly smiles as he closes his eyes.