( Chapter unfolds:36)
Izuma and Sai failed in their mission. They didn't fully understand why they had met with such defeat.
Even though that inner power had chosen them, they were haunted by a single question: Why did it not come to their aid during their very first mission? This uncertainty weighed heavily on both their minds.
Their journey finally came to an end when they reached their sanctuary a hidden dojo. Both were utterly exhausted. Sai's leg, in particular, was in a dire state, his condition worsening with every step.
Izuma helped him sit on the veranda.
"Aah... this is getting worse, Izuma," Sai said, his voice strained with pain.
"Don't worry, Sai. It'll be alright soon," Izuma reassured him before heading inside to find Nobaya. He searched everywhere, but Nobaya was nowhere to be seen.
"Nobaya...!!"
"Nobaya...!!" Izuma called out as he walked deeper into the house.
"Aaahhhhh... gently...!!"
He heard someone screaming in pain from a room inside. He rushed toward the sound.
"No... stop! Aah!" The person inside was howling.
Izuma slowly pushed the door open and stepped in. It was Nobaya, tending to Jinso. Jinso had sustained an injury on his hand, and Nobaya was busy applying medicine and bandaging it.
"Nobaya... gently..." Jinso pleaded loudly.
"Jinso, no matter how much you cry, this is the only medicine that will work for your hand," Nobaya replied firmly as he finished wrapping the wound.
Izuma stepped back and waited outside the room. When Nobaya finally finished and stepped out, he saw Izuma standing there. Izuma's face was pale, wearing a strange, troubled expression.
"Izuma," Nobaya said, placing a hand on his shoulder.
Izuma stood up instantly, showing his respect. "Nobaya... we... we..." He stammered, unable to find the words to confess their failure.
"You failed, didn't you?" Nobaya said.
Izuma looked at him, shocked. "But how did you...?!"
Nobaya offered a small smile. "I knew, Izuma. There wasn't a big chance of you winning."
Izuma couldn't believe what he was hearing. "If you knew everything, then why...?"
"To become a Saphan, you must experience things firsthand. I knew you couldn't defeat him. I sent you so you could witness the power within him with your own eyes. That experience will help make you stronger."
"But our lives were at risk!"
"Never. I was certain he wouldn't kill you. Your lives are not what he wants."
"Then what?" Izuma looked at Nobaya with suspicion.
"Hey, Izuma! What are you doing in there? Hurry up, I'm dying out here!"
Before Nobaya could answer, Sai's loud shouting erupted from the veranda.
"Hey, come fast! Where is he? Nobaya! Come here, you old man!" he screamed in agony.
"Sai!" Nobaya looked toward the door.
"It happened during the attack..." Izuma started to explain, but Nobaya cut him off.
"It's him, isn't it? I understand. Where is he hurt?"
"In the same old spot."
"Oh..." Nobaya grimaced. "Actually, given his behavior, I'm surprised the injury is on his leg and not his mouth."
Nobaya went inside to grab his medical kit.
"Sai, can't you stay quiet for a moment? Nobaya is coming," Izuma said, returning to the veranda.
"Izuma... I don't know what I'll do in this state. Move aside, or you'll be the first victim of my sword!" Sai barked, unable to bear the pain. "Where is he? Is he dead? Nobaya!!"
"Sai, shut up. He's coming. He's getting the medicine." Izuma sat a short distance away.
"Hey, Sai! I heard you got a 'gift' during the mission," Nobaya joked as he walked out.
"Please, Nobaya, this isn't the time for jokes. Just fix this."
He showed his leg to Nobaya. The injury was at the ankle swollen from a sprain and badly bruised from an impact.
"Aww..." Nobaya's expression changed drastically when he saw the state of Sai's leg.
"I treated this and set it right before you left, so how did it get this much worse, Sai?" Nobaya asked while gathering his medicines.
"I... I just fell on the way, that's all," Sai said, hiding the truth of what had actually happened from Nobaya.
"Fell? Izuma, weren't you watching him?"
Izuma looked at Sai for a moment and then started walking inside. "He isn't someone who lacks the ability to walk on his own. So why should I watch him?"
Nobaya watched Izuma as he disappeared inside. "Hey, Sai, don't feel bad about what he said. You know how he is."
"It's okay, Nobaya," Sai replied quietly.
Nobaya sat near him and examined the wound carefully. Though he had been teasing him earlier, his hands now moved with the precision of a master healer. He began applying a pungent-smelling medicine to the swollen area. Sai couldn't bear the pain; his eyes were clamped shut and his hands were trembling.
"Stay still, Sai," Nobaya said seriously. "In the path of a warrior, there will be more failures than victories. If you cannot endure even this small wound, how will you ever control the power within you?"
Sai suddenly became quiet. He felt hesitant to tell Nobaya that not even the first stage of his power had opened yet. Nobaya gently bandaged the injury, and Sai's screams subsided into a low moan.
After finishing, Nobaya leaned back against a nearby pillar. "Sai, what you need now is rest." He helped him inside and let him lie down.
When Nobaya came back out, he went to Izuma. He was sitting in another part of the dojo, staring out into the distance.
"Izuma..." Nobaya called from behind. Izuma slowly turned around.
"I know what is in your mind. This defeat has drained you. But remember one thing, Izuma a Saphan does not have to win every mission. Failure can happen in the first mission or the last. What you faced was no ordinary power."
Nobaya looked up at the sky. "His power was born of darkness. Even though what lies inside you is light, you haven't been able to make it burn yet."
"But Nobaya..." Izuma interrupted. "No matter how hard we tried, we couldn't open even a single stage of that power. You said we were the chosen ones, so why did it fail us at that moment?"
Nobaya smiled at that. He suddenly whipped a staff through the air, aiming it lightning-fast at Izuma's neck. Izuma instinctively jumped back.
"Fear," Nobaya said. "The fear inside you. The fear of the person in front of you and his power the fear of dying. As long as this fear exists, the power within will remain a prisoner. If you want it to wake up, you must surrender yourself to it completely."
Nobaya turned to walk away, adding one last thing:
"First, understand why your power chose you. Understand how to awaken it. Then, strive for it. Remind yourself that victory is not something that can be achieved easily."
Nobaya then walked inside.