Yae Miko shifted her gaze back to the two disciples.
"Gripping his sword with both hands, he shattered dream after dream—including those of the people closest to him."
"Only by clinging stubbornly to his ambition of 'becoming the strongest in the world' could he temporarily cast aside the pain and keep moving forward."
"But when that ambition was taken away, he began to doubt himself, struggling in fear, until he became what you see now..."
A faint smile played on Yae Miko's lips.
"Hehe~ Just like that useless friend of mine."
[Who's she talking about? The Raiden Shogun?]
[Raiden Shogun: Excuse me?]
The two disciples fell into thought.
So their master had been carrying such pain all along...
Domon cried out, "I'm sorry... It's all my fault..."
"Father... Master... Senior Brother..."
"Enough!" Anzai, who had followed Mu Yang and the others inside earlier, could no longer hold back and shouted angrily.
All eyes turned to him.
He strode into the center of the room and yanked Domon to his feet.
Domon panicked even more at the sight of Anzai.
After all, the illusions he'd seen before had been blurry.
But now, the person before him was undeniably real—even touching him?!
"Anzai... Why are there two Anzais...? Are you a ghost?!"
Domon couldn't bear to face his senior brother.
"You've come for revenge, haven't you...? I know... I shouldn't have..."
Anzai scoffed. "I don't like you, it's true. But I don't want your apologies either."
"After all these years, I've come to terms with it. You didn't do anything wrong back then. I was the one..."
"I was the one who couldn't swallow my pride and ran away."
Anzai continued.
Most of the people Domon had defeated probably never held a grudge against him.
"On the contrary, we entrusted our ambitions to you—hoping you could go even further."
Domon's eyes seemed to regain some clarity as the surrounding illusions faded.
Anzai stepped forward.
"I know your ambition was taken, so you can no longer carry our expectations..."
He gripped Domon's shoulders firmly.
"But that doesn't mean you should take your disciples' ambitions too!"
"'Train endlessly in the way of the sword, become the strongest in the world'—wasn't that what you taught them?!"
Domon hesitated. He hadn't meant to strip his disciples of their desire to train.
He was just afraid... that the path of "chasing the title of 'strongest' through sheer determination" might have been wrong from the start.
He wavered. "If one day... they end up like me, I'd rather they stay where they are and never move forward..."
Mu Yang, who rarely spoke, finally interjected.
"Have you ever asked them what they want?"
Domon looked at the young man who had defeated him and shook his head slightly.
Indeed, weren't his disciples at that very age of fiery passion?
How could he decide their paths just because he had lost his edge?
He turned to his two disciples.
Nanako was the most emotional.
"Master... When you saved me from those pirates, I swore I would follow in your footsteps for the rest of my life."
"I don't know if I'll suffer like you in the future, but I know I don't want to stop now."
She straightened her back proudly. "One day, I want to proudly tell everyone—I am my master's disciple, the inheritor of Meikyou Shisui!"
Junpei stepped forward too, saying it wasn't just his junior sister—everyone in the Meikyou Shisui school felt the same way.
Domon's expression was complicated. "You..."
Anzai placed a hand on Domon's shoulder.
"Like I said, you can place your ambitions on them now."
"You and I are different. When I left, I had nothing. But you—you still have these outstanding disciples."
Finally, Domon understood. He bowed deeply to his disciples in apology.
As the head of the Meikyou Shisui school, he had truly lost his composure this time.
Even if his ambition to be the strongest was gone, that didn't mean he would stop moving forward.
"As your master, I will still teach you everything I've learned in my lifetime."
He turned to Mu Yang. "I know I may never surpass you in this lifetime, but at the very least... next time, let me last one move."
Mu Yang nodded slightly, indicating he was welcome to challenge him anytime.
The two disciples chimed in, "And if Master can't beat him, there's still us!"
[See, this is why you shouldn't drink too much motivational poison.]
[They're just hyping themselves up—you really think they'd fight Mu Yang?]
[Mu Yang: I'm in a hurry. Just come at me together.]
Paimon couldn't resist muttering, "Somehow, the Meikyou Shisui school's goal went from 'strongest in the world' to 'defeating Mu Yang'..."
A faint smile tugged at Lumine's lips.
In swordsmanship... perhaps there was no difference between the two goals.
Finally, Domon asked Anzai to oversee the Meikyou Shisui school.
Anzai agreed—but he was used to a free, wandering life and wouldn't move into the dojo.
He'd drop by occasionally to make sure no one was slacking off.
With Domon and Anzai reconciled, the matter was settled.
The Meikyou Shisui group thanked the shrine maidens and left.
Paimon: "So... his ambition was taken, but his disciples will carry it on. A happy ending?"
Lumine nodded. "For now, at least."
"But I never expected losing a Vision could be this devastating..."
Once everyone had left,
Mu Yang returned to Lumine's side—and addressed Kamisato Ayaka, who stood on Lumine's other side.
"Lady Kamisato, have you come to accept my challenge?"
Ayaka was stunned.
Mu Yang wanted to challenge the Kamisato Clan?
She hadn't heard anything from her brother or Thoma about this...
Once again, Ayaka used her brother as a shield, saying he might not approve of such a duel—she hadn't heard him mention it.
She hadn't come here to fight, just to accompany Lumine.
[This composition... tsk tsk, is this a battlefield of love?]
[Lumine, stuck in the middle.]
[No fighting, no fighting! What are Lumine's good points? Whoever answers correctly gets her!]
Yae Miko sidled over. "What's got you all so worked up?"
Mu Yang asked her, "Did you actually arrange that challenge between the Kamisato Clan and the Raiden Shogun?"
Since arriving at the shrine,
Mu Yang no longer needed to use the Kamisato name to build his reputation.
But he still wanted to spar with the Kamisato siblings, so he'd asked Yae to arrange it.
...But the cunning fox had apparently done nothing.
She lied as easily as breathing.
"Probably because Ayato refused~"
Kamisato Ayato, meanwhile, was at home minding his own business when suddenly—a blame meteor struck.
Lumine studied the Guuji with a slight frown.
Where was that imposing aura from earlier?
This wasn't the same woman who had just commanded the room.
And... why was she doing what Mu Yang asked?
Did they know each other?