Chapter 32: Zen Hawthorn [MOON]

O— ouch ouch ouch. That hurts! How can a palm strike have so much force behind it? What happened to Lily? Is she still in the arena? I turned to look around and saw her at my side clutching her stomach. If this person is really Onii-chan then I’m gonna give him a scolding for hurting two beauties! Wait, it— doesn’t hurt anymore? I can stand up now. Odd, I was certain it was painful a moment ago.

The both of us stood up. We turn our gaze towards the outsider who was standing at the edge of the arena ring smirking at us. He held his hood with his right hand and pulled it backwards to reveal his face.

W— who the hell is this handsome fella?! There is no way Onii-chan became this handsome in just four years! This person doesn’t even look like him at all!

“L— Lily? I think we’re mistaken, aren’t we?” I uttered to her.

“Daisy, you meant. But no, I don’t think we are. This is your brother,” she explained. How?!

Sure, this outsider have black hair like Onii-chan, and it would seemed that his signature lazy hair is still there. But— for him to had gotten taller this much? And not to mention with a completely different face that can make any girl’s heart flutter? This is just not him at all.

It was then all the guildmasters came down to the arena area. All of them stood in a row sideways and kneeled towards this outsider. The outsider bowed back to them in return. John quickly stood up and gave him a brotherly hug. It caught the outsider off guard but returned the hug moments after. Seems like John realised who this person really is.

***

We were gathered in Onii-chan’s room in the Dark Guild. I kept this place clean in the event he returned unexpectedly. I’m so glad the Dark Lord was willing to keep this place occupied in my brother’s name. It feels so surreal that he’s finally back here. For the past four years, every time I opened the door to his room, I prayed to the above that he’ll be there greeting me with a smile. But now, he really is here and not my fickle of my imagination.

“Thank you, Rose. For keeping my room clean while I was away,” he smiled at me.

This is definitely him. I remembered that warm smile of his that made me fell in love with him. I thought of scolding him or even hitting him for trashing Lily and me earlier. But tears began to form around the edges of my eyes and I started to shed tears uncontrollably as rushed towards him. He accepted my hug and tears as he petted my head. He really is back.

“Sorry for making you wait so long, Rose. I’m back as promised. You had grown so much over these past four years. You even grew out your hair,” he said.

I cried in his embrace for some time before I recollected myself as I wiped away my remaining tears. Lost myself for a moment there.

“Welcome back, Zen,” smiled Lily. She had shed a bit of tears as well. Is it because of our reunion scene that she was spectating earlier?

“I’m back, Lily. Thanks for helping me out for the past two years. I really appreciate what you did for me,” he bowed to her.

Lily approached closer to Onii-chan and they embraced one another. For a moment there I thought they were about to kiss.

“You’ve stopped wearing your glasses? I’ve gotten used in seeing you wearing that for the past two years. I really missed that look of yours,” he said.

Hm? Glasses? Can it be?

“I can’t wear them, silly. I’ll get recognised immediately. It was your idea to wear it that time,” chuckled Lily.

Ahem!

I unconsciously coughed out loud which caused them to break their embrace.

“Are you planning to stay here for long, onii-chan?” I asked him.

“Perhaps just a week then I’ll be leaving. All the plans should be set in motion by then. Come along to the meeting with the guildmasters tomorrow. You should know about the upcoming plans,” he explained.

“Before that, how did you get so handsome? And you grew so much taller in just four years. Did you experienced some growth spurt or something?” I questioned him.

“Oh, this? I’m actually wearing a mask. I can’t reveal my real face unless I want to be caught. And I looked taller is due to these customised shoes. Not good for running though. What’s wrong? Is there something wrong with the mask?” he asked as he showed me his shoes.

“Do you really have to choose one that would gain the attention from any females? Is it not enough that you have both Lily and me?” I squinted at him.

“Huh? Um— Lily was the one who chose this mask,” he smiled awkwardly.

I turn my gaze towards Lily and she started whistling. No wonder. Lily certainly have high taste in men for her to choose this face mask for Onii-chan.

I heaved a sigh of relief. And here I thought he had modified his face or something. His height didn’t bother me too much though. Guys are generally supposed to be taller anyway.

“Can I see your real face? I’ve not seen it in years. I miss seeing that old face of yours,” I smiled sadly.

“Hm, you’ll probably get to see it before I leave the city. The thing is, if I were to remove it now, I won’t be able to put it back. It is a one-time use as it's really delicate,” he explained.

“Alright fine, you win,” I sighed.

He came and petted my head once more before heading towards his room. But I stopped him before he went further.

“Onii-chan, can I— expect an answer?” I asked him curiously.

He stared at me looking all confused with my question. A light bulb appeared above his head as he smack his palm with his fist. He then proceeded to count his fingers to which he finally realised what I was talking about.

“Oh, right! You’re seventeen, aren’t you Rose? You're— really more beautiful and matured now. But— I don't think I can give you an answer now. I’m really sorry,” he sighed.

I wanted to question him further but Lily placed her hand on my shoulder and shook her head. Is there something going on that I'm not aware about?

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

“Sorry, Rose. I promise that I'll give a clear answer to both of you when all is done. I need to focus on what needs to be done before I start finding happiness,” he explained.

“And what's that?” I asked.

“My vengeance,” he gritted his teeth.

***

Onii-chan was inside his room doing alchemy. Seems like he needed to create something urgently. Lily, on the other hand, was hanging around in the living room. She said she wanted to stay the night here with us. But where is she going to sleep? With onii-chan? Ain't no way I'm gonna let that happen.

“Lily, how about you stay in my room tonight. I can sleep in his room with a futon,” I told her.

“Hm? Oh, no need. I've been sleeping at your brother’s side for two years and I've pretty much gotten used to it by now,” she explained.

“W— what do you mean? What relationship did you two have? I thought you told me that you weren’t dating him??” I questioned her.

“Um— we’re.. friends? Maybe a little more?” she blushed a little.

“And what do you mean by that?” I squinting at her.

“Rose, you’re sleeping in your room. Lily, you can sleep in mine. I’ll be sleeping on the couch!” said Onii-chan as he quickly opened his door.

Why does it feel as though we’re his harem or something. I’m surprised that he even heard what we were talking about when most of the time, he can barely hear anything when he closed his door unless I shouted to call him.

“I guess I’ll head out to buy more groceries then. Don’t do anything naughty when I’m not around, Onii-chan,” I squinted at him.

“I won’t. Don’t worry,” he sighed.

I squinted at him as I slowly closed the main door.

***

All of us had our dinner at the dining table. It was dinner time and I cooked us up a feast. Think of it as some sort of reunion dinner or something. All of us ate quietly. No feedback on my food at all? Eating my food again after four years and barely any comment? Hmph!

I alternated my gaze between the both of them. Is this how it would be like if Onii-chan were to date Lily? The three of us having a meal together? Honestly, I like it. To have an elder brother and sister at my side, I can get onboard with that idea. But I know deep down, I’m gonna be extremely crushed by that fact. I love him, even after all these years. But I’ll be fine— I’ll be fine. I have options waiting for me anyway. I can get over him.

“Is this something that is gonna occur often if the both of you started dating?” I asked both of them.

Onii-chan spitted his food. Lily started blushing as she lowered her head and bit her chopsticks.

“W— what the hell are you saying all of a sudden, Rose?” he flustered.

“I mean, if the both of you started dating, Lily will be eating with us often, isn’t it?” I asked them.

“Um, I guess so? But I’m not dating her though,” he clarified.

Both of them were feeling flustered. Something must had happened within the two years they were together and I want to find out.

“You two sure are acting weird. Something happened between you two, isn’t it? I can sensed something changed here. Onii-chan, you didn’t force yourself on Lily, did you?” I interrogated him.

“O— of course not! I didn’t lay a finger on her. It was actually the other—” he stopped.

“Hm? Other?” I questioned him.

He sealed his lips. Something is up with these two. Lily was drooling as she flustered uncontrollably. What the hell? Is she remembering something or imagining naughty stuffs? I should push them further.

“You slept with her, didn’t you?” I squinted at both of them.

“I— We didn’t!” he flustered.

Lily was covering her face completely. Steams were literally leaking above her flushed head.

“There’s no way the both of you can keep your hands to yourself. Honestly speaking, I was fully expecting Lily to return with a big belly or holding your child,” I spoke bluntly to him.

“Nah, if that was really the case, the child would had been about two years of age by now,” he replied casually.

“Zen!!” shouted Lily with a flustered face.

Onii-chan covered his mouth. He must have blabbered it out without realising it.

“Y— you have a child with Lily?” I asked with disbelief.

“No! I don’t have a child with her. Seriously, I don’t. We— don’t have one, right?” he seemed unsure at the end and turned to look at Lily.

“Of course we don’t!” shouted Lily.

“But you did slept with her, didn’t you?” I questioned him.

“Uh— Y.. yes,” he answered softly.

“So why are you two not together then?” I squinted at them.

They didn’t say anything. What the hell is going on with these two?

“Is it because you love me as well?” I asked him.

He clapped his face cheeks with both of his hands and took a couple of deep breath. He often does this to calm himself whenever he knows he’s about to enter combat.

“Yes, I love both of you. You two— are equally precious to me,” he announced with a serious face.

“Are you planning to marry both of us then?” I stared at him with a blank face.

“That idea did come into mind,” he lowered his gaze.

“Are you being serious right now?” I stared at him speechlessly.

“Of course I’m not! I— can’t decide this right now. Not when I have something imminent that I must do. Can you please let me do that? It’s— something I just have to fulfil before I can fully move on,” he answered with a sorrowful face. That depressed face of his makes me want to hug him.

“Lily, are you really okay to continue waiting for him even after this long?” I whispered to her.

“Rose, your brother, he— you weren’t there when his grandfather saved us. I won’t say that I completely understand what your brother is feeling right now but I definitely support what he had planned. If it works out, your brother can finally continue to stay in this city, rather than being an outcast and hunted forever. Think a little from his perspective on what he’s currently going through perhaps?” explained Lily.

“Y— you’re right. I got ahead of myself. I’m really sorry about that, Onii-chan,” I bowed to him to which he just smiled and waved it aside.

“Alright, perhaps a change in topic? What have you been doing for the past four years? What were those powers that you were using during the tournament?” I asked him.

He started his story on the time he spent the first two years training in the elven forest with Lily. They taught him how to become more flexible and nimble with his body, along with better proficient in using his weapons. He tried to achieve using Higher State of Mind but he just couldn’t. He sparred with Lily often but she couldn’t defeat him no matter how hard she tried. Even though the elven forest was Lily’s turf, she couldn’t take him down even with the help of the other elves. Zen could take all 10 of them without breaking a sweat.

He explained that he knew he was close to using Focused State of Mind while training in the elven forest but it was just imperfect. It improved his self awareness of his surroundings to a higher extent. Possibly close to the level of an elf’s ear but of course nothing can top that. With what he learned, all he had to do was keep alternating his focus between different opponents on the fly. It was certainly not perfect as there were a few times where he was struck by arrows or by stray knives. It was then he showed me his scars of those incidents. Feeling restrained that he couldn’t learn anything further, it was then he decided to head to the East to the City of Heliotrope Ixia. where he learned a heck loads of things there.

After sneaking over to the East with the help of the elves, he wasn’t expecting someone to waiting for him on the other side. Especially when it was none other than the founder of City of Heliotrope Ixia, Peter Borage himself; the Third member of Great Powers. He was surprised that Peter welcomed him into the city. He heard the surprising news that a Hawthorn individual was being hunted in the West and was genuinely surprised by it. To add to his surprise, he didn’t expect it to be the son of the war hero himself. There were obviously suspicions that it could be a trap or false rumours but after meeting with Zen, all doubts were removed for Peter. He personally ended up teaching him on how to use Focused State of Mind properly along with some unarmed techniques.

I continued asked him on what was happening with his equipment. His gauntlets were literally fading in and out of existence and he summoned a purple semi-transparent cloak out of nowhere. He explained that the armour summoning was a closed secret from Peter. That technique is called ‘Rend’ and what it does is that it pulls an armour from another dimension. The armour is the one that chooses the bearer. For him, it happened to be a cloak. To use Rend, all he needed to do was to focus his left hand to summon the purple flames on his fingertips. A lot of skill stats were needed to learn and perform this spell which thankfully he had been raising them. Upon achieving that, all he needed to do was to place his left-hand in front of his right shoulder. From there, he will tear through the fabric of reality and summon the chosen cloak by pulling it across his body.

The armour from that dimension are virtually indestructible save for other people using weapons or armour from that similar dimension. Does this mean that Onii-chan is practically invincible now? That’s not the case though as the cloak can only protect certain parts of his body. There shouldn’t be anyone who can fully drape themselves with such an armour. However, it is entirely up to him on how he utilises the cloak to protect him from incoming attacks.

There is another weakness in to this technique too. As he is not yet proficient in using this technique, it can only last for ten minutes per use and the maximum amount of times he can summon it is three times per day. Peter told him that the limit of that technique should be about thirty minutes and five times a day. Seeing as he’s the master of that technique, I should take his word for it.

This brings us to our next technique. ‘Sunder’ is the technique you use to summon or de-summon your weapons. A special ceremony is needed in order to send your weapons to the other dimension. He had sent both Inazuma and Tengu-kaze to the other dimension along with his gauntlets. He had their permissions from both of them before sending them there as they were eager and curious to discover what’s in the other dimension. Now, all he has to do is to flick either of his wrists to summon whichever weapon he wants to his side. His weapons are considered indestructible unless he’s fighting with another user who can use Sunder. He decided to not send his trusty elven dagger as he preferred to have a weapon with him at all times. Always hidden from sight behind his back by his favourite black cloak. Does he even wash it?

Now comes the part where he talks about his arch-nemesis. I noticed that Lily was uncomfortable when he started talking about Tom Snapdragon. I’ll admit, I was not there to experienced what they been through so I’m not at liberty to judge either of them. Onii-chan told me about his grandfather possibly sacrificing himself to ensure their survival. Lily did her best to suppressed the memories of that event while John, on the other hand, don’t recall much of it. Only Onii-chan had somehow etched that event deeply ingraining it into his memory. So much so that he is able to recall even the slightest details about Tom in order to gain more insights on him. Onii-chan recalled that Tom was able to use Rend which is why he needed to learn these two spells. He is certain that Tom can use Sunder as well. He suspected that he uses a bow and arrow which is why he’s able to leave circular marks on his opponent and vanishing his arrow after. Very clever way of performing assassination without leaving any evidence behind.

Onii-chan was serious in re-enacting his vengeance. So it would seemed that he’s gonna hunt Tom and kill him. The two of us should be able to help him out. John might be eager to help out too. But after hearing his story, I felt so weak compared to all of them. I wonder if Lily is also capable of using Concentration too. I should had followed after him during those four years.

“So, you’re just gonna hunt Tom, right? That’s your plan?” I clarified with him.

“Yes and no. He is definitely part of my whole revenge plot but he’s not the only one. The reason why Tom was hunting for me in the first place was because of a certain someone who set him out on that contract,” he explained.

“W— wait, are you saying you gonna kill the Queen as well? You want to assassinate her?!” I stared at him with my mouth agape.

“Not exactly, while doing that might make me feel better, there are other matters of concern when it comes to her. Come along to the council tomorrow, and you’ll hear the extend of my plans,” he explained.

“Which is?” I raised my eyebrow.

“Enacting war with the City Of Pines,” he smirked.