Epilogue
Once their oath was done, the pair stood for a while and watched the tent burn.
“They will pay for this someday, I swear it.”
The structure collapsed with a fiery crash. Scáthach looked on, her eyes glistening. Her whisper betrayed a bottomless grief, but Hiro had no intention of offering her comfort. She could walk on her own two feet, and she would not stop until she had her vengeance. It was what came after that worried him. After her revenge had been exacted, he wanted her to find her own path.
But until then, I’ll be there to show her the way. And she and Liz will be good for each other.
They were bound to bring out the best in one other, as well as push each other to greater mastery over their Spiritblades.
Scáthach turned her back on the burning tent. “Now I have no regrets. For once, I can leave the past behind.”
“Let’s head back to the fort.”
Hiro set out with Scáthach following quietly behind him. Her face was widely recognizable, obliging her to conceal herself with a hood. She would be forced to live a life of secrecy for a while, for which he felt a pang of guilt, but there was nothing else for it.
It’ll only be for a short while, anyway.
Previously, he had been focused outward, but from now on, he would turn his gaze inward. Acting too openly would risk alerting his enemies, so he would have to lie low for a while, but little by little he would close the noose until they could no longer escape.
But all that can wait until Liz recovers.
Hiro halted in front of the gate. He could have sworn he had heard a voice, familiar and warm, but looking around, he could see nothing but soldiers going about their duties. He must have imagined it. A little disappointed, he was about to set off again when he happened to glance up.
“Ha ha. I thought it was about time.”
There she was. The girl he had been waiting to see for so long.
“Hiroooooo!”
The familiar melody he had missed so dearly tickled his ears as it drifted to him on the breeze. She still hadn’t recovered from her wounds, but she climbed up onto the battlements with unsteady steps, wincing occasionally in pain and then gesturing wildly to show that she was all right.
Hiro could only manage a strained grin. Scáthach’s eyes widened in alarm.
“Hiroooooo!”
Liz shouted his name again, and again. By her side, a silver-haired girl was growing increasingly flustered.
Scáthach snorted in amusement. “She has spirit, I’ll give her that.”
“You’ll get along famously.”
Scáthach nodded. “I know I will. We only spoke for a short time, but I feel that I glimpsed her heart.”
“I’m glad to hear it. Now, let’s get going. Hopefully before she falls.”
Hiro set out, light of step, his troubles temporarily forgotten in the face of their long-awaited reunion.
No Comments Yet
Post a new comment
Register or Login