It took roughly twenty minutes before Tsubaki was able to awaken from her trance-like state. Once she had done so, she blinked, taking a moment to observe her surroundings. It was hard to tell what had just happened. From her perspective, she had simply been walking down the hall when a great force pressed down on her body and spirit. No… not pressed down, it was more like the force erupted from her own body.
Now that it was over, she was able to tell that something had changed about her ki. With only a thought, she could launch attacks as if she were wielding any weapon she had mastered. More importantly, it felt like she would be able to release far more of her power when wielding those weapons.
However… her face went deathly pale when she saw her surroundings. The hallway that she had been walking through was now completely ruined. Every wall was shattered beyond repair, and she could see substantial damage done not only to the adjacent rooms, but rooms well beyond those. Just at a quick estimate, roughly ten percent of the Sky Citadel, if not more, had been destroyed by her ‘momentary’ lapse.
Oh no… what did I do? Tsubaki’s eyes widened in panic, able to see several exposed pipes or wires. There was no doubt that several systems of the Citadel were now offline.
Paintings and suits of armor that had previously decorated the hall, which had hung there for hundreds of years, were now little more than scrap. Disregarding the increase to her power, the damage that she had caused would bankrupt smaller nations. And that was not even considering that the place she had destroyed was the Keeper’s own home.
“Are you feeling better now?” A familiar voice spoke up from nearby, and Tsubaki spun around to see Dana standing there, looking at her with an awkward smile.
“I-I can explain.” Tsubaki stammered out, though she really didn’t have an explanation for why she suddenly entered that trance-like state.
Thankfully, Dana shook her head. “Don’t.” She smiled slightly, looking up at the kitsune maid. “The boss filled us in on the details while you were busy.”
“T-The Keeper knows?” Tsubaki’s face, somehow, went even paler when she realized that there was no chance to repair the damage done before the Keeper realized.
“Yup~!” Dana said with a nod. “It’s not your fault, don’t worry. Actually, it seems like Scarlet was the cause of this little disaster.”
That caused Tsubaki to pause, both because Dana had assured her that it wasn’t her fault as well as the identity of the true perpetrator. “How could Scarlet have caused me to enter a trance like that? Did she give me some strange blessing?” Tsubaki was sure that she’d be able to sense any divine blessing before it struck her, even if it was one from someone in the greater pantheon. However, she had felt nothing before the sudden trance.
“Not… quite.” Dana shook her head. “Long story short, Scarlet made a new martial spirit that influenced the ki of every martial expert in the world. The boss wanted to wait until you were done with your ‘awakening period’ before having her do the same to other worlds. He also wanted me to ask… how many different types of martial powers did you unlock?”
Tsubaki blinked slowly, before thinking. “Well… there were dagger, sword, bow, gun, fist, spear, axe, needle, chakram, and halberd powers. Those are the ones that gave the strongest impression.”
Dana looked at Tsubaki in surprise. “Ten types… Lifre was right, no wonder it caused such a mess. Anyways, like I said, the boss wants to see you. Now that you’re done, I’ll be patching this place up. No sense in doing a full repair right now, when we’ll be moving out soon.”
Tsubaki hesitated, but gave a quick nod. That was certainly one way to look at it. “Then, I’ll be off.” She nodded, before turning and hurrying down the hall, doing her best to hide her face. Even if it was confirmed that the accident wasn’t her fault, she couldn’t help but feel responsible.
Only once she was far out of sight did Tsubaki allow herself to pause, taking deep breaths to focus herself. I can’t let myself appear before my Keeper in such a sorry state. Focus…
Gradually, Tsubaki felt herself calming down before slowly making her way to the throne room. As usual, she could feel the Keeper’s presence from that direction. Once inside, she knelt down at the base of the stairs, her head bowed. “My Keeper, I was told that you wished to speak with me.”
She knew that the Keeper’s eyes had been on her from the moment she entered the room, and she was prepared for any punishment he saw fit to give. Of course, with her understanding of her Keeper, she did not believe that he would punish her, no matter how deserving she may be.
“Congratulations on your awakening. From what I know, you have achieved comprehension of more martial wills than anyone in the world.” The Keeper praised, but Tsubaki shook her head.
“You flatter me, my Keeper. However, I am sure that you yourself would have obtained far more.” Tsubaki knew that her Keeper possessed all of the strongest powers of those in his world, so it was only right that he obtained all of these ‘martial wills’ himself.
“Actually…” The Keeper shook his head. “I didn’t obtain a single one.”
Tsubaki’s head jerked up in surprise, having a hard time believing that. She saw the Keeper give a helpless shrug. “I’ve never mastered a single weapon to the necessary degree. You should know better than anyone that I rely more on overwhelming force than practiced skill when it comes to a fight. I can earnestly say that I have put more work into training my divine powers than I have any martial weapon.”
“That’s why I want to ask you a serious question. In your opinion, which do you think would serve me better?” The Keeper looked at Tsubaki questioningly, though this was not something easy for her to answer.
“My Keeper… forgive me, but I haven’t had the chance to understand the level of power these ‘martial wills’ as you call them possess. It’s impossible for me to determine whether or not they would be more beneficial for you to train than your divine powers.”
The Keeper nodded his head in understanding. “I assumed as much. That’s why I prepared something.” He waved his hand, and a golden pole emerged in the throne room, embedded in the ground. “When I realized what was happening, and understood its implications, I created this in order to test the power of these martial wills. Please, demonstrate its power, for both of us.”
Although he had disguised it as a pole, Tsubaki gulped. She knew that this was essentially composed of the Keeper’s divinity. If she destroyed this pole, it would be the same as attacking her Keeper. She bit her lip, uncertain what she should do. After a moment, she took a deep breath once again to steady herself, nodding her head.
This wasn’t an offense to her Keeper. This was his request, and more importantly it could become a catalyst for his growth in the future. “In that case, please forgive me in advance.” She said as she stood, turning to face the pole.
Tsubaki’s eyes focused, and a swarm of invisible blades lashed out, converging on the pole that the Keeper had created. Within moments, dozens of scratch marks could be seen, causing the Keeper to look on in interest. “How much ki did that attack use?”
Tsubaki reported with a faint nod, having expected this question. “One thousand points in total. However, it also consumed some spiritual energy. Most of the energy was returned to me, but a portion was lost upon failing to break the target.”
The Keeper smiled at her response. “In that case, I want you to seriously attempt to break it.”
As soon as he gave that order, Tsubaki’s hand straightened like a blade, whipping out and cutting through the air. There was a crisp sound, and the pole snapped in half. The Keeper watched with interest, before asking once again. “The consumption?”
“Five thousand points. Although a small amount of spiritual energy was lost, it was not as much as the first attack, due to successfully cleaving through the target.” As she said that, she watched the upper half of the pole begin to dissolve. At first, she expected the energy to return to the Keeper, but instead saw it simply fade into the air.
“M-My Keeper, sir?” Tsubaki asked with wide eyes, looking back at the Keeper.
The Keeper simply nodded his head, a curious expression on his face. “Lifre reported something similar. Your sword will carries the intention of severing its target. The energy severed by it loses contact with its original owner. That’s… quite the terrifying ability.”
“My Keeper… if I caused you a loss…”
The Keeper let out a small chuckle. “That pole was created with the divine energy of one thousand black gold coins.” He revealed, Tsubaki’s body going stiff from the number. Although more than half of the divinity could be reused, that was still a loss of hundreds of black gold.
“I-I’m sorry, I will definitely repay you for the damage caused.” Tsubaki said, dropping again to one knee. However, the Keeper shook his head.
“If that’s all it cost me for this test, I’m happy. Now, I’ll ask again. Given your newfound understanding of martial will, do you believe that it is more efficient for me to train with a weapon to unlock this power?”
Tsubaki hesitated, but still gave a decisive answer. “If a swordmaster can cut through concentrated divinity with so little energy, I believe that this training is required for you, my Keeper. Otherwise, I do not have the confidence to say that I will be able to protect you in the future, should enemies with similar skills appear.”
The Keeper nodded his head, stepping off of his throne and walking down to Tsubaki. “In that case, I will be in your care once again.” He said in a soft tone, Tsubaki looking up and seeing the smile on his face. “You trained me how to fight once before. Now, I believe that we can pick up where we left off.”
“My Keeper, I lost the qualifications to train you, that is why we stopped…” Tsubaki was both ashamed to admit that she was unqualified, but also proud of the fact that the Keeper had grown strong enough for her to say that.
Still, the Keeper chuckled. “The fact that you awakened your martial will and I didn’t shows that you are qualified. What I need now is not a general combat lesson, but training in a specific weapon. For this, I can think of nobody more qualified to train me.”
Tsubaki’s eyes went wide, and she gave a bright smile at that. “If I may be of service to you, my Keeper, then I shall do all in my power to live up to your expectations.” Although she had long left the ninjas, there were certain things taught to the Servants from the very start of their training. The Servants lived for their lords, and when necessary, died for them. If there was anything that a Servant could do to assist their lord, it was both their duty and honor to see it through. Despite having left behind many aspects of her old life, this was something that Tsubaki had always firmly held onto.
She never wanted to be a useless existence. She always trained herself harder than anyone else, all for the sole purpose of letting the Keeper rely on her. Now, it seemed that her training was going to pay off.
“In that case, when would you like to begin?” The Keeper asked, Tsubaki thinking it over for a moment. Dana was still repairing the damage she caused previously, and Lifre was nowhere to be seen. Most likely, she had gone off on one of her adventures, or was holed up in her room writing. Though, knowing her, the two were not mutually exclusive.
“I believe that we can begin immediately.” Tsubaki answered, standing upright.
