The Martial Unity

Ria glared at her aunt. “If you called me just to annoy me, then I’m going back.”

“Relax, I’m just poking fun at you.” Arastia grew bemused at her niece’s indignance. “But it is also true that your power makes identity more plausible. Remember, you are too strong. You possess too much power and talent. It’s a good thing, but it also means you need to be careful.”

Ria’s expression grew irritated. “I can’t afford to hold back. Sage Varis would have died if I had.”

“You did not have to intervene to protect him,” Arastia remarked with a candid tone. “If it were someone like Runark, that would be one thing. But do not risk yourself for a stranger.”

“That’s cold,” Ria frowned at her aunt.

“It’s self-preservation,” Arastia replied. “Your identity puts you at risk. And your power puts your identity at risk of being leaked. And if it gets leaked, then the consequences can be dire. The daughter of the Emperor of Water will not be ignored.”

Arastia thought of how President Jakarthar had already begun looking into her, even though he had no idea that she was the Princess of the Kandrian Empire. Her concerns were entirely sincere. It was true that Ria was acting recklessly. And yet, Ria’s anger at those words. It was bad enough that she was the princess of the Kandrian Empire, but now she had to hold her power back in the field?

It was deeply suffocating. The reason she had gone to the frontier in the first place was so that she could be free. She loved being able to walk the streets and simply live her own life as she pleased. And yet, because she was extraordinary, she needed to hide it, for that power could be used to identify her. It was a frustrating sensation. To be so strong, and yet have that very strength render her powerless.

“I wish I weren’t extraordinary. I wish I weren’t a princess.”

She knew those words were no more than a child throwing a tantrum, but it was how she felt. What was the point of even being strong if she had to hold back her strength because she wasn’t strong enough to protect herself from being discovered by people around her?

Arastia felt sympathetic for her niece, of course. She even sensed some friction down the line when it came to the source of her power and why she had turned out to be as extraordinary as she was. But for now, her safety and security were crucial.

She had assumed that her niece’s safety was ensured, given that she herself was participating in the operation and could keep a direct eye out for her. But the uncertainty and the unknown factors of Planet Amadeus III made her feel warier. “You have managed to keep your identity hidden for two years, even if you were alone with Runark,” Arastia remarked. “You can do it. You’re not a child anymore. You must keep your power hidden at all times, even if it has ruthless consequences. Do not forget that.”

“Fine,” Ria rolled her eyes while Arastia remained bemused at her niece’s indignance. “Is that it? If so, I’m going back to my party.”

“Actually, no. That’s not it,” Arastia leaned forward with a more serious expression. “The homoarachnoid you were fighting. What did you last see of him?”

Ria tilted her head. “What do you mean?”

“As in, did you see what happened to him?”

“I saw him drowned in your blood,” Ria remarked plainly. “I assumed your blood eviscerated him.”

“Hm…” Arastia’s expression grew more complicated. “Is he… still alive?” Ria’s expression morphed into one of alarm.

“I’m afraid so,” Arastia replied thoughtfully. “These creatures… have more of a terrain advantage than I anticipated, for even a single one to be able to escape my Blood Tsunami.”

“Wait, if he’s alive…” Ria realized. “Then I might be in danger.”

Those words fully drew her aunt’s attention, who frowned. “What? What do you mean by that?”

“Well… you see…”

Ria explained how she managed to decipher their language over the span of a battle, systematically identifying the patterns of communication with the patterns of intent.

She explained to her aunt how the homoarachnoid seemed to have developed an interest and then a fixation on her based on some strange remarks about the universe in her eyes and the power she displayed.

Arastia grew increasingly alarmed at everything Ria described to her. From the sounds of it, if she hadn’t intervened when she had, then her niece would have been kidnapped. That sent chills across her skin.

She didn’t understand what the homoarachnoids sought in her niece. Then again, she herself did not understand Ria’s true power despite her experience with paths and Martial Paths, especially. There was something about Ria that was radically different from every other Martial Artist before her, perhaps even her father.

The power she possessed without the means of forbidden techniques was simply astronomical. Arastia knew that her elder brother had intervened in his daughter’s life, but she didn’t know what he had done.

Regardless, it didn’t change the fact that the homoarachnoid sought Ria.

And he had managed to somehow survive.

“This… this is not good,” she realized.

Her immediate instinct was to send Ria back home, preferably back to the Kandrian Empire rather than even the Jarkathar Federation, which had begun investigating Ria.

But she knew her niece well enough to know that that was not happening. She didn’t want to earn her hatred by having her sent home with force, either. If that was the case, then she would have to make sure that Ria was safe herself.

Thankfully, she was confident in her power. As long as she was there, there were very few forces in the stars that could take Ria away. “…You’ll need to be more careful then,” Arastia spoke with a serious expression. “You’ll need to stay close to me for the duration of this mission, at least until we exterminate every homoarachnoid, just to be safe.”