I'm Daiki Greyrat. In my previous life, I answered to the name Hikari Akihiko.
There is a lot you could say about me, though I'd never be able to say it out loud. It's funny. Before, I was "Light" (Hikari), and now I am "Great Radiance" (Daiki). Light seems obsessed with me across lifetimes. First, it was the fire that consumed my home. Then came the burden of my own name. That was followed by the appearance of Arumanfi the Bright, and finally, that white flash that severed me from everything and threw me into a completely different place.
But let's get back to reality....
I was stuck to the ceiling using ice magic. It wasn't anything flashy or complex. I had simply frozen the contact points on my feet and knees to stick to the surface. Maybe it was overkill, I admit, but given the circumstances, it was the best tactical option I could calculate.
Aside from confirming the target was Zanoba, the Third Prince of Shirone, I noticed his attitude was a bit... unnerving. Actually, to be exact, the situation didn't seem hostile at all. What I was witnessing looked exactly like a fan club meeting. I know this well because I worked as a private security guard from time to time in my past life, so I know that kind of fanaticism when I see it.
Zanoba, who just moments ago seemed serious and competent, effectively using his status as a prince, started begging Rudeus to be his master. No, let me correct that. He was already addressing him by that title even as he continued begging him to accept. He even went as far as to lick the barrier in an act of pure devotion.
Pathetic, but incredibly useful, I thought.
I hated the idea of letting Pax go unpunished, but I would gladly accept it to dodge a political conflict since that is a terrain I despise. Of course, that didn't mean I was going to sit idly by if the peaceful route failed. I was prepared to embrace chaos in Shirone if necessary. I had already discussed that possibility with Eris before coming to rescue my brother.
In the end, after what felt like endless minutes—and with my foot falling asleep in the ice—Zanoba promised to get him out. He tried to break the barrier with his fists but failed. Upon realizing brute force wasn't the solution, he decided to go straight to the root of the problem and deal with Pax.
"Leave it to me," he had said before leaving with a smile.
I dropped down carefully and approached my brother. He was still stunned by the situation, and I didn't blame him because I was in the same boat. As always, that is just how situations are for the Greyrat team.
"Rudy..." I said, which caused him to jump back.
"Brother... Could you stop popping up like that? Give a warning first, I don't know... stomp your feet or something." He paused. "Are you sure you aren't a reincarnated Itachi?"
"Itachi?"
That question intrigued me. I knew the name from general anime culture, but I didn't know the character in depth or his history.
"Why would I be a reincarnated 'Itachi'?"
"A-ah... It's just that he was very silent or something like that. In the night, he wiped out his clan and he has this mythical pose on top of a pole with a red moon behind him. That's why I said it..."
"I see..." I decided not to pry into why he was comparing me to someone who wiped out their clan. "Setting that aside, it seems you solved everything, right, 'Master'?"
Rudeus tried to hit the ground, but upon doing so, he realized it hurt and immediately regretted it. More than anything, he wanted to hide his embarrassment the only way he could inside that magical prison.
"Shut up! Admit that my artistic skills worked this time..."
"I still clearly remember that..." I started to recall. "You almost burst into tears just because the figure's right hand didn't turn out well. The next day you walked around the mansion as if nothing was wrong, but I could even hear that little giggle you let out at midnight."
"...Did you...? Did you know the whole time?"
"Always, Rudy. But I didn't want to say anything. You know, to spare you the embarrassment."
After this, we had to put more trust in this Zanoba. He clearly hadn't lied. In a twisted way, he genuinely worshipped the figure and wished for Rudeus to be his master.
Knowing this, we went back to talking while we waited.
---
A few hours had passed since Zanoba promised to help. For a moment, I actually thought it was a lie, something said just to give the prisoner hope and keep him alive a while longer.
But finally, he arrived, and his lips were forming a huge smile.
Zanoba walked toward Rudeus holding something in his hand.
"Master, what do you think...?" he said, and then looked at me.
"Ow, ow, ow, ow!! Stop! Please, big brother, stop!"
The thing in his hand was pleading while kicking its legs, though I noted that would be counterproductive for its almost non-existent neck. Literally, he had grabbed him by the skull and was carrying him like a doll.
To be honest, he deserved it, I said to myself.
A crowd entered behind Zanoba as if they were following him. The first was Ginger, her sword drawn. Three more knights, dressed in similar attire, entered after her.
"Stop, Zanoba! Let him go at once!"
"T-that's right, Zanoba, please, control yourself...!"
Two princes were hiding behind the knights, both dressed in expensive clothing. Although calling both of them "princes" perhaps wasn't correct, as one of them was a bit old to fit that description.
"Big Brother, did you know that Pax took the soldiers' families hostage?" Zanoba wore an unsettling smile. "Including Ginger's family?"
"Is that true?"
"Yes, my lord," Ginger replied almost immediately, though the worry was gone from her voice. "But my family was already saved last night by Ruijerd-sama."
I smiled slightly from my position. While I was watching over my brother, Ruijerd—and surely Eris—had taken charge of saving the trapped families.
Having lost his only leverage, Pax began to scream and kick, shrieking that his head was going to break. Judging by the pressure Zanoba was exerting, it wasn't a metaphor. He was really going to rip it off.
"I only want to save this figure maker," Zanoba declared. "If you refuse, I will act using every last ounce of power I possess. From this distance, I could rip off one, or perhaps both of your heads in an instant."
The older brothers turned pale. It was pure fear in the face of an unstable bomb about to explode.
"F-fine, you win!" one of them conceded. "We will do as you ask!"
"Make sure to release Lilia-san as well. Safe and sound," I intervened, resting my hand on the hilt of my sword.
After threats of decapitation and a broken arm delivered by Zanoba to his own brother, the dispute was resolved in minutes.
I didn't even have to draw my sword.
Absurd? Maybe, but effective.
---
The king, cornered by the scandal his son had caused, acted quickly. Pax was banished and officially sent "to study" abroad in the King Dragon Kingdom.
Zanoba faced a similar fate. His older brothers, terrified of having a monster roaming freely through the castle, pushed for his expulsion. The king, tired of the destruction as well, agreed to his exile.
As for Lilia, she was released. It turned out she had been gathering information all this time to earn Pax's trust, proving once again that underestimating her was a fatal mistake. To silence any rumors of espionage, it was decided she would be escorted to Paul's location. Ginger, loyal to Zanoba to the end, offered to be her escort on her master's orders, along with a few soldiers who were grateful to Ruijerd.
That put my mind at ease.
For my part, the king tried to offer me a position alongside Rudeus, though his tone made it clear he knew it was a lost cause. We politely refused, and he, sighing, let us leave without even an apology.
But the real farewell took place at the palace gates.
"Masterrr! Are you really going to leave? Are you really going to leave your pupil behind!?"
"I'm sorry, but I have to continue my journey."
"Then could you at least make me a figure before you go!?"
"It takes too long to make them, so I'm afraid I can't."
"Nooo!"
Seeing a man of his size wailing in anguish over a figurine was... odd.
"If we happen to meet again, I'll teach you how to make one of my figures from scratch," Rudeus offered.
"What!?" Zanoba's eyes lit up. "No, but I... I mean, are you sure? Isn't that an important trade secret?"
"What kind of master would I be if I didn't teach you anything?"
"Waaaaaaaah, Masterrrrr!"
Zanoba, overwhelmed with emotion, threw Rudeus into the air in an effusive hug.
I caught Rudeus in mid-air just before he smashed into the ground and landed safely with him.
"My herooo!" Rudeus joked, putting on a sugary voice and batting his eyelashes.
"Don't start," I snapped, letting him down without much delicacy.
I seriously considered stepping in, but seeing Rudeus adjusting his clothes, I decided to hold back.
"Very well, Master..." Zanoba bowed his head. "Take care! I don't know where I'll be sent, but I have a feeling we'll meet again eventually!"
"Cough... yes, you take care too."
Zanoba continued sniffling as he nodded and watched us leave.
---
We were at an inn in a small city within the Kingdom of Shirone. This was where our paths would part. One road led toward the Holy Country of Millis, and the other toward the Asura Kingdom. This was where I would say goodbye to Lilia and the others.
Lilia, Rudy, and I sat at one of the front tables. The conversation was a bit intense since Lilia wouldn't stop trying to convince us that Aisha should serve us both.
"Why doesn't she go with you instead, Daiki-sama?" she blurted out suddenly.
"Can you tell me why you're asking this?" I replied, confused.
"I've told her every day that one day she will serve you," Lilia said with a naturalness that felt foreign to me. "And Rudeus-sama, of course. Although I know his standards are... different, Aisha is young. Give her a few more years, and she'll have a body that all men will love."
"Lilia-san, you're talking about my younger sister..." I felt uncomfortable. "I couldn't even think about that."
"You're right..." she said without really denying my objection, accepting it with a condescending smile, as if it were just a simple tantrum on my part. "You know, she told me how you trained her physically. She says she wants to be your personal guard."
"She said that?"
"Yes. She was impressed by your strength, Daiki-sama."
At least that was more acceptable than the previous proposal.
"She has potential, I won't deny it. But she is very young. She needs to be with her parents. When she is older, and if she still wants to, I will consider it."
Lilia seemed satisfied with that half-answer. Then, she took out a small wooden box and slid it across the table toward my brother.
"And this... I know how important it is to you, Rudeus-sama."
I knew exactly what was in that box. The "Holy Relic." Rudeus took it with trembling hands while shooting me panicked glances, begging me not to make any comments about it.
After a few minutes, it was time to leave.
"Rudeus-sama. Daiki-sama."
Lilia stood up and wrapped us both in a simultaneous hug. It was a strong, warm, and deeply maternal gesture.
"Uh, Lilia-san, they're in my face..." Rudeus muttered with a muffled voice, struggling to breathe.
I didn't say anything. I simply stood still, letting myself be carried away by the affection.
"Night and day, that's what you are... You're still the same as when you were little." She wore a nostalgic smile as she let us go and looked us in the eyes. "I'm glad to know the twins saved me again."
"Lilia, we already talked about that..." I felt the need to correct the facts. "We didn't save you, it was the circumstances. Technically..."
"Shh, Daiki." She gently placed her finger on my lips to silence me. "Don't start with your 'technicallys.' Just let me be grateful."
I accepted her order and went completely silent.
"That's not how Daiki told you to do it!"
The shouting came suddenly through the open window.
"But he told me I'm strong, that I did well!"
It was Eris and Aisha training in the courtyard. Rudeus, hearing them, let out a chuckle and gave me a gentle nudge.
"Get ready, brother. You have two warriors out there who would give anything for you."
"Two who would give anything for me...?" I repeated quietly.
My thoughts went to Eris. She was the only variable in my equation that I could never quite solve, but one with whom I managed to connect more day after day.
I still didn't understand the exact nature of this feeling, but I had an intuition of what it might mean in the future. I'm not dense like Rudeus, but I am clumsy.
I had to say goodbye to Aisha. I felt the obligation to instill in her the responsibility that comes with wielding a sword before leaving.
She immediately sat on the ground, back straight, the moment she saw me. I stood in front of her, leaning on my sword.
"Although our mother forbade Paul from talking to me about the responsibilities of the sword until I turned ten, you are a smart girl. You understand things others don't." I stayed silent for a moment. "So, I'll gladly break that rule and tell you myself. Understood?"
"Yes. That makes a lot of logical sense, so... Understood!"
"Good. But before that, I have to ask you something fundamental." I narrowed my eyes. "Do you really want to follow this path for yourself? Or do you want to do it just for me?"
She remained silent for a good while, processing the question. Finally, she looked up. She raised her small wooden sword and pointed it directly at my chest.
"Of course, Big Brother," she declared. "I realized that staying small and helpless is useless. If I don't have the strength to protect the man I love, what is the point of trying to serve him? After all, my mother was also trained in a dojo before being a maid."
I smiled. "Perfect... That was the answer I expected from you, Aisha."
So, we allowed ourselves to go.
---
We left the Kingdom of Shirone and traveled west, heading toward the Asura Kingdom. The road was quiet, with endless fields of grass and the imposing silhouette of the Red Wyrm Mountains visible on the horizon.
It was a strangely peaceful journey. Aside from a few minor incidents with bandits, which we resolved easily without even stopping the carriage.
However, unable to sit still for that long, I would jump out every few hours to run alongside the wagon. It wasn't exactly comfortable, as I ended up sweaty for most of the trip until we made camp, but it was necessary.
"Daiki, get back here!" Eris shouted, jumping out of the vehicle. "You can't just jump out suddenly like that, you scare me!"
"But, Young Eris, you just did exactly the same thing..."
She looked down at her feet, realizing the irony.
"Oh..." Then she picked up her pace so as not to get left behind, ignoring my logic completely.
"You two are impossible..." Rudeus commented from the carriage.
Crossing the mountains was suicide, even for someone of Ruijerd's level. Our only option was to go around them and cross through the so-called Lower Jaw of the Red Wyrm, the natural pass that connected the regions.
During those four months of travel, routine took over: training, meals, night watches...
It was in that loop that I managed to break my limits. While I still had a ways to go to be considered King Rank—or so I believed—I had already far surpassed the standard for Saint Rank.
But I wasn't the only one. I noticed Eris evolving as well. She absorbed both my technical teachings and Ruijerd's, to the point where the Superd finally acknowledged her as a warrior. A title that, coming from someone with centuries of experience, carried immense weight.
Even so, that was just a pretext for her to try and beat me one more time.
"Get ready, Daiki. If I win, you will stop calling me 'Young Eris.' From now on, I will just be Eris."
I smiled, gripping my sword.
"Fine... Come and get me, Young Eris."
When she lunged, I used her own momentum as leverage and struck directly at her ankle in a short sweep. The instant she was suspended in the air, I unleashed an upward kick from the ground that propelled her even higher. I expected the force of the impact to make her drop her sword, but of course, it wasn't going to be that easy. She positioned herself in the air like a feline and landed a few meters away.
She brought a hand to her stomach, but instead of a grimace of pain, she looked at me with a wild smile I didn't expect.
"...Very good."
Without giving me a break, she launched herself at me again. Her strength and flexibility were absurd.
¡Clang!
As I deflected another attack, I started thinking about her a bit. Every strike she threw was radically different from the last. Even more impressive, she was capable of altering the trajectory of her slash mid-swing.
To achieve something like that required total concentration and brute physical strength. Physics dictates that once you give speed to a heavy object, inertia takes control. Changing that direction in mid-air defied the logic of basic combat, especially since she wasn't using a light sword.
By then, I had already deflected more than ten different attacks. As the minutes passed, I noticed Eris wasn't getting irritated.
This contrasted sharply with the old Eris, the one who would get annoyed and lose interest at the slightest repetition or failure. Now, however, her concentration was absolute, confirming what Ruijerd had said about her.
I threw a final thrust that she blocked. I took advantage of that second of contact to release one hand, invade her guard, and grab her arm. Wasting no time, I closed the distance and hooked her leg with mine.
She realized the trap just as I shifted my weight forward. Her balance broke, her back slammed against the dirt, and before she could catch her breath or process what had happened, I already had her pinned to the ground.
"That was an Osoto Gari, Young Eris," I said with a calm smile while she kicked uselessly.
After a few seconds that surely felt like an eternity to her, I decided to release her and stand up.
"O-soto... gari...?" She dusted off her clothes. Her cheeks were red, and when she turned around, Rudeus was watching her, eating imaginary "popcorn"—which was nothing more than small pieces of bread.
"Wow... is the great warrior blushing?" he teased.
I closed my eyes.
Seriously, Rudy... there are times when even I can't protect you, I thought.
It was during one of those nights, taking advantage of the watch shift we shared from the high branch of a tree, that I finally decided to speak.
"Young Eris... congratulations."
"H-huh? What are you talking about, Daiki?"
"Ruijerd told me you're an adult now, remember?"
"You mean you...?"
"Yes. Of course I know. You turned fifteen..." I looked at her out of the corner of my eye. "And you know how I am. If I were to forget your birthday, it would be an unforgivable disappointment to myself."
She gave me a soft punch on the shoulder, but immediately after, she used it for support, burying her cheek against it.
"I figured..." she murmured. "For a moment I thought the 'perfect boy' might have forgotten the birthday of his... friend. But I knew you wouldn't."
I smiled and shifted so she would be more comfortable.
"You know you're officially an adult now, and that I'm still just a brat in your eyes, right?"
"Tch... My brat..." She pulled away from me abruptly the instant her brain processed her own words. "I-I mean...! My sword partner! That's what I meant!"
I decided to overlook her slip to spare her the embarrassment and looked toward the sky.
"Do you remember that sky, Young Eris? Maybe back then I thought death was imminent. That, in a way, I deserved it, because I am made of regrets... But I can tell you now that I don't think that way anymore."
"Of course I remember. I thought it was boring... No, wait! Interesting. I mean... irrelevant." She stumbled over every word. "Back then I wanted you to be here, on the ground. Not lost in the sky..." She paused. "Because a lost boy is no good for training. He's no good for... for giving me peace of mind."
"...Do I bring you peace, Eris?"
"Y-yes."
"I see."
I looked back at the sky, but this time a smile appeared on my face. For the first time, I felt relief. Now I was the one who was calm, there, in front of the girl who had always been my support, no matter how unsettling or chaotic her nature was.
"I'm okay thanks to you too, Eris."
Without intending to, she had won.
I never specified what the victory consisted of, but I would be lying to myself if I denied the truth... She won my heart throughout this journey.
That was why I made a decision right there. I would stop calling her "Young Eris" once and for all, without ever explaining the true reason behind the change.
"Did you say...?"
"Shh. Eris." I put a finger to my lips. "My brother is sleeping."
"Idiot... But...!" She started to shout but forced herself to lower her voice immediately. "A moment ago you were speaking 'normally'...!"
I didn't say anything; I just kept looking at the sky.
--
And so, after a couple more days, we finally arrived at the entrance to the Asura Kingdom: the Red Wyrm's Lower Jaw.
Maybe I was being too optimistic. This world has taken it upon itself to teach me, by force, that death is always present to take my loved ones away again. Even so, and despite the many bad decisions I might have made, I do not regret the path I chose in this new life.
However, the past is different.
In my previous life, my parents died when I was too young, victims of an event that I still cannot understand to this day. I spent years investigating, but I never found anything. The only proof I had was that light that descended from the sky. One that woke me up so I could get out in time.
Nothing more than that.
The road cut through the mountains in a straight line. No forks, no cover, no escape routes. It was a gray zone, a no-man's-land belonging to no kingdom. A mandatory pass to enter Asura.
I could feel my companions relaxing. Rudeus and Eris were radiant, drunk on that dangerous sensation of "mission accomplished." They were letting their guard down. And although part of me wanted to scold them, another part simply wanted to cross that border and sleep in a decent bed.
Grave mistake.
It was in that stone corridor where we saw them. They were walking toward us from the opposite direction.
They had no horses. They had no carriage. They were on foot in the middle of nowhere, which, in this world, usually means two things: either you are an idiot who is going to die soon, or you are strong enough that nothing dares to attack you.
Walking beside him was a girl with dark, almost black hair. She wore a white mask. In my past life, that would have looked like a medical accessory, but here, in this context, it only accentuated the strangeness of the duo...
When the man saw us, he tilted his head with curiosity.
"Mm...? You... are you a Superd?"
Uncertainty surged within me when our gazes met. How did he know? Even so, his attention shifted rapidly.
"You..." He pointed directly at me. "You must be Darian... Although that should be impossible. You were supposed to have died."
Darian? That name meant nothing to me. It wasn't my name in this life, and it definitely wasn't in the previous one. I had never heard of a "Darian."
...