96 – Teacher and Disciple (3)
“… ….”
“… ….”
The teacher and student were silent. There must have been something they wanted to say to each other, and there must have been a lot.
On one side, there may be resentment. On the other hand, it could have been a feeling of betrayal.
But it is silent.
It’s not because I have nothing to say.
But, yes. If I were to give a reason for this silence, I might just say it’s awkwardness.
Jihad thought this and chuckled.
“It’s been a long time, Master.”
“…… Okay.”
The disciple spoke, and the teacher nodded. It was a short greeting.
And then the silence came again.
In the end, it was Jihad that opened its mouth once again, but-.
“Jihad.”
Just before that, Geomseong was left speechless.
Calmly, but seriously.
He just took a breath and spoke to his student.
“…… David and Sarah were your parents. “He was also a disciple to me.”
“… ….”
The two names he mentioned were Jihad’s parents.
Those who died at the hands of the Sword Saint and deserved to die.
These are people who have always thought that they deserved to die or that they had to die.
“When I first found out, I denied it.”
But, well.
“When I reached the point where I could no longer deny it, I looked for them, shedding bloody tears. And then we faced each other.”
They say time changes a lot of things?
It seemed like there was no other sentence that suited the current swordsman.
“…… I was sure. There was a strong smell of blood. I couldn’t believe it, but I had no choice but to believe it. I picked up my sword. “I just think that doing that is the last thing I can do as a teacher.”
“… ….”
“Okay… …. It certainly was. “It was like that.”
As I said, at first it was confidence and then it was lamentation. And in the end, he accepted the situation and ended it himself.
By personally ending the lives of two former disciples.
By doing so, the relationship was cut off, and the chain of tragedy that could have continued further was also cut off.
I thought so.
But.
“Bring you to Yeongsan, one year passes, three years, five years…” …. At some point, 10 and 20 years passed. “Those years couldn’t have been short, even for me.”
It wasn’t.
That wasn’t it.
Even if you say you have to do it that way, you shouldn’t do it that way. At least it shouldn’t have ended that way.
I suddenly realized something after seeing my disciple suffering from mental demons even after twenty years had passed.
Jihad at the time was only ten years old.
A young age, an age where I don’t know anything.
At least the parents’ blood should not have been splattered in front of the young child.
…… Isn’t that too cruel?
Even if the two disciples were truly terrible villains, it doesn’t matter.
“I’m sorry, Jihad.”
“… ….”
“I drove you out here. “It forced me to make this choice.”
Geomseong spoke calmly, and then lowered his posture.
He gets down on one knee, just like Jihad did to Arya a moment ago.
“…… “I knew there was something strange about the two guys’ actions.”
He also makes direct eye contact with Jihad.
“I also knew that neither of them were the kind of guys who would do something like that. You must have known. “But I was blinded by confirmation and certainty, so I didn’t listen.”
However, at this moment, while Geomseong was looking at Jihad, he thought of others. He also looked.
And I think.
Were they really villains who could do nothing about it?
Was it possible for a mentality to deteriorate that quickly? ….
Geomseong slowly shook his head.
“I thought I followed my duties as a teacher, but in reality, I did not. If I really wanted to remain as their teacher, I had to rebuke them.”
What is a teacher? What was so great about it that he cut them down just to pretend to be a teacher?
At this moment, he asks himself a question once again.
Did he really commit suicide as a teacher at that time?
…… Or was he just an emotionless executioner?
“Even if the condemnation came later, it had to be scolded. “If only he were a teacher.”
Even if their sins cannot be forgiven. So, even if it was truly impossible not to kill him.
At least we could have prevented them from dying as mere murderers.
If only I had trusted the disciples one last time, condemned them, and eventually found and revealed the truth -.
If that were the case, a slightly better result might have been waiting for us than now.
Geomseong closed his eyes.
And added briefly.
“…… That’s right, I don’t just cut them down with a single sword out of anger and despair.”
I don’t think that’s the end of the story, but let’s take one more step.
“… ….”
Jihad was silent, and so was Geomseong. I had a lot to say, but I thought that if I said more, it would only become an excuse full of regret and regret.
“Jihad.”
Geomseong just added one word.
“I’m sorry for being a bad teacher.”
With a bitter smile, just like that.
“… ….”
And in the end, Jihad could not hold back his emotions after hearing his words.
He lowers his head as if he has no shame. His fingertips began to tremble weakly.
Hatred, resentment, revenge. That thing completely disappeared at this moment.
…… No, maybe there was no such thing in the first place.
The true hatred within himself towards his teacher.
‘It’s a contradiction.’
Jihad.
At this time, I was able to shed a relieved smile for the first time.
“…… “How?”
His lips slowly opened.
“How can you apologize? Don’t do that. “Master.”
Geomseong looked down at him with extremely complex eyes.
However, his student did not raise his head in the end, as if he did not dare to look at him like that.
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“You have done your duty. “He took in the children of wicked people, raised them with care, and even considers this truly pathetic person to be his disciple to this very moment.”
“Jihad.”
“How shameless would I be to receive your apology? On the contrary, even if I apologize in person and with my life, it would not be enough.”
“…… Jihad.”
The voice of the Sword Saint fell low, and only then did Jihad raise his head.
Of course, I still couldn’t confirm my teacher’s appearance.
It seems like the lack of visibility is a good thing.
It seems like he just wants to make this moment clear.
“Didn’t you say that a little while ago?”
He just smiled weakly and spat out words again.
“Please rebuke me. To your poor disciple, to this foolish disciple, please help me understand my mistakes.”
“… ….”
“Master.”
Jihad called the swordsman like that, as if urging him on.
There was no strength in the voice, but still.
Seeing his disciple like that, Geomseong clenched his fist quite roughly. So much so that his fingernails dig into his palms.
Finally, his lips parted.
“I was planning on doing that, of course, even if you didn’t tell me.”
“…… Is that so.”
Jihad responded with a quiet smile, and Geomsung placed his hand on his head.
“Jihad.”
“Yes, Master.”
Jihad answered calmly, thinking that it had been a long time since he felt someone put their hand on his head.
From then on, it was just talk.
“You did something very grand.”
“Yes.”
“It’s something that can’t be undone now. “The Slayer Dragon was quite angry, and I couldn’t leave you alone any longer.”
“It is indeed so.”
“…… I shouldn’t have done that. “Didn’t I tell you time and time again not to be eaten by Simma?”
“I’m sorry. “For not being able to keep your teachings.”
“Ugly guy.”
“…… “There is no shame.”
It was a conversation that did not have much meaning. What meaning can it have now?
However, the two men exchanging such words looked quite comfortable.
The disciple is out of hatred that has no place to go, and the teacher is out of lingering regrets from a long time ago.
Although it was late, we were finally able to be liberated.
“…… “Master.”
“Say it.”
Jihad’s eyes slowly closed, and Geomseong silently lowered his head as if he had guessed the end.
Jihad, who had been choosing his words for a moment, soon blurted out a few words.
“Beware of the demon of Yurin. “The reason he extended a helping hand to me was because there was a reason.”
It was something that had to be said. This much had to be clearly announced and put to an end.
Thinking like that, Jihad swallowed his tears and continued speaking.
“As for his and my goals, we clearly aligned, even if it was just for a moment. And.”
He paused for a moment and took a breath.
Looking at the Sword Saint with unfocused pupils.
“The purpose is, in the end… ….”
Jihad said:
…… The common goal between himself and the devil was your death.
It was nothing else but the murder of the sword saint of this continent.
That’s what I said.
Tuk… ….
Immediately afterward, Jihad’s arm, which had been resting on his chest, touched the ground.
It fell without strength.
“…… To Aria, I said I was sorry…….”
As if his vitality had run out.
No, definitely.
“… ….”
Soon, Jihad fell silent.
In such eternal silence that I will never find sound again.
“Jihad.”
“… ….”
“…… Jihad.”
The swordsman called his name a couple of times, but of course there was no reply.
Because the dead have no words.
“Have you left?”
Geomseong, who spoke in an empty voice for a moment, indifferently closed Jihad’s eyes.
His expression was still calm, and if you say he was calm, he was like that too -.
Somehow without knowing.
Obviously, without knowing.
If you feel like your expression is empty, you are probably not mistaken.
“Whoa…” ….”
After a long silence, Geomsung raised his head.
The blue sky and the black smoke from the 3rd stadium have now completely disappeared.
It was truly a blue and clear sky.
Thinking like that, Geomsung turned his head.
“I guess I have to thank you, once again.”
The person speaking was the third person present, who had thankfully remained silent until now.
A boy who has no direct connection to this fate, but unfortunately became involved in this matter.
And considering the situation, he is a boy who probably helped Aria quite a bit.
Geomsung looked at Dante and continued his words.
“Thank you for protecting Aria… ….”
“… ….”
“And… ….”
“… ….”
“… ….”
No, to be a little more precise.
I tried to continue but stopped.
Halfway through, he had no choice but to stop talking.
That’s because Dante was not visible.
“Boy?”
Geomseong looked around and suddenly looked down at a silver lump caught at the edge of his field of vision.
…… It was Dante, lying helplessly on the dirt floor.
“… ….”
“… ….”
“Are you dead?”
*****
Sudden appearance of the Sword Saint. But I felt like I knew the English sentence.
He was probably chasing the devil that pierced Jihad’s body. That devil is probably the one who should have been in the third stadium in the first place.
In the original case, he would have been put to an end by the joining of Tsumei, Sword Saint, and White Magic Tower Lord.
He’s just buying time until Jihad can take Aria and escape the academy.
Such a guy suddenly appeared, piercing Jihad’s body.
No, the original target was probably Aria…….
First of all, that’s not what’s important. Rather, we needed to think more about jihad.
Yes, jihad. Or parents of jihadis.
…… The question arises as to whether they were really irredeemable villains, as I kept thinking.
For some reason, I don’t think so.
This is just a guess.
I could be wrong. Still.
I felt something.
Yes, it is intuition.
Jihad, Aria’s kidnapping, and the death of Geomseong.
A jar, a musical instrument, a demon of destruction…….
When I think of a few keywords related to this work, I feel like they are somehow connected in a strange way.
Once again, there is no basis for certainty, but…
‘…… Still, there is a good chance.’
After all, he is the devil of devastation even among the devil kings. Because he has a really bad temperament.
If you think about that guy and what happened twenty years ago, all the strange things make sense.
A devil of devastation, a devil who weaves threads into human emotions and minds and manipulates them to his liking.
Jihadi’s parents said that it was impossible to imagine the appearance of a murderer when thinking about their normal appearance.
‘This is exactly what a guy who is crazy about playing with dolls would do.’
Transforming a person’s original personality, accumulated over decades, into something completely bizarre.
That was the biggest characteristic of the power wielded by the Demon of Yurin, and in fact, it was also his hobby.
‘That’s right.’
I felt like I realized the truth.
‘…… ‘That’s a terrible story.’
Yes, it really was. It was a terribly terrible story. It’s also cruel.
Do we really think the expression ‘devil-like guy’ is appropriate?
In this case, the fact that it is not a metaphor but a real devil is not really funny, but anyway.
Yes, in the end, doesn’t that mean that it was a devil’s play from start to finish?
The atrocities committed by Jihad’s parents, and the fact that those two people were killed by the Sword Saint.
The story goes that those two people were ultimately chosen as targets because they were former students of the Sword Saint.
And perhaps Jihad will become a disciple of the Sword Saint and thus vow revenge decades later…….
The story is that everything, everything, went as planned by the devil.
It was almost nauseating to think that they would have reached out to Jihad as if they were offering help.
What on earth have they been doing for decades?
Maybe it’s because he’s a guy who doesn’t have a lifespan, but the idea itself was unique.
-The purpose was ultimately your death.
‘The reason you targeted Aria at the last moment was at least to arouse the sword saint’s spirit?’
Because the primary goal of killing the Sword Saint failed.
I think the goal may have been urgently changed.
I thought as I closed my eyes tightly.
‘…… ‘Aria, unfortunately, got involved in something strange because of that guy.’
And.
I opened my eyes.
*****
“… ….”
It’s an unfamiliar ceiling.
No, it’s not that unfamiliar… ….
Is it correct to say it’s a ceiling I’ve seen a few times? First of all, it seems like something similar happened last time.
I was staring blankly at the pattern on the ceiling, then suddenly came to my senses and turned my head.
“…… “Are you awake?”
There was a girl with black hair there.
“How are you feeling? Are you okay? Does it hurt anywhere? “Oh, I’ll call the doctor.”
As soon as she saw me open my eyes, Aria burst out in laughter and seemed to be in better condition than I thought.
I thought it wouldn’t be strange if my mentality was half gone.
“Oh, and there is also a message from the saint. He said that when you wake up, he will knock you out again…….”
“Miss Aria.”
“Huh?”
So, I cut her off mid-sentence and threw out a single word.
“Are you okay?”
“… ….”
Aria pursed her lips with an expression filled with emotion.
Oh dear… Here comes #3 kekekeke