The Martial Unity

“Of course,” his grandmother replied with a stern tone. “I am obligated to protect my clan and to pass on the Eye of Prophecy to the next generations of Silas Martial Artists. If the Martial Path is eradicated, the latter will become impossible. Thus…”

She gazed deeply into the eyes of her grandson.

“I have great stake in this matter.”

Rui’s expression grew a little grave.

He hadn’t expected that his grandmother would be willing to take this stance as well.

“I cannot allow the Martial Path to be destroyed, my grandson.”

“Then make it a rule not to breed with hemosapiens so that the bloodline remains purely human,” Rui offered. “That way, you can maintain pure human DNA and continue passing on the Eye of Prophecy.”

His grandmother was hardly satisfied by that.

“I cannot do that,” she replied with a firm tone. “It will limit our gene pool to that of the Silas Clan and lead to inbreeding.”

“I can have the Divine Doctor ameliorate the genetic defects.”

“It is heresy,” his grandmother retorted with a heavy tone. “It is not tolerable. If the Martial Path survives and is merely influenced by this new Path, that is one thing. But I cannot risk the destruction of the Martial Path to chance.”

Before Rui could even retort, the other Martial Sages also joined in.

“As Martial Artists, we must do everything in our power to ensure that the dominance of Martial Art remains,” the Breath of Destruction added. “We cannot allow the hemosapiens to erase our powerful Martial Path.”

“…I’m afraid I must agree with them,” Sage Kole admitted with a hint of reluctance. “Martial Art cannot be allowed to be genetically destroyed.”

“I am in agreement with taking measures to ensure that Martial Art survives while also ensuring that we harness the benefits of blood humans,” Sage Vericita added. “I think that this would add nuance to the matter. I do not believe that the two priorities are mutually exclusive. However, if there is no alternative, then…”

She closed her eyes.

“…I am not opposed to more violent measures.”

Rui’s eyes sharpened as he was about to retort.

But Kane beat him to the punch.

“Let me get this straight…” Kane directed a bewildered and angered sweeping gaze across the Martial Sages. “All of you are advocating genocide of a race to protect your oh-so-precious Martial Path?”

There was silence in the air.

“Yes.”

Matriarch Nephi owned up to the position.

Kane gazed at her with disbelief.

“They’re children,” Kane stressed. “The girl you just saw was eleven years old. You are willing to kill an innocent little girl just to protect your oh-so-great prophecy?”

Matriarch Nephi bristled at those words. “My family has bled because I had grown soft with the protection of the Kandrian Empire. My family has bled because I wasn’t willing to do what was needed when it was needed. If I had killed that wretched traitor the very moment he set foot in the Kandrian Empire, my family wouldn’t have suffered.”

Her eyes sharpened.

“Never again. From this day forth, I will nip all threats in the bud with the power of prophecy. And this is one such threat, lad,” she growled. “So, yes. I will kill even children if I have to. I will kill them because they are children. For they will become too dangerous if I let them live past childhood. They will begin reproducing the moment they are fertile, and it will be too late by then. That is a sin that I will personally sully my soul with, all for the sake of the Silas Clan.”

Rui’s expression grew grave.

He had sensed it when he spoke to her the day before, but the recent betrayal by Ieyasu had radicalized his grandmother greatly. It had her much more extreme when it came to protecting her clan and protecting the Eye of Prophecy.

And yet, that didn’t mean that he was willing to compromise on this matter.

RUMBLE…

The world shook.

It tremored as boundless power blazed within the depths of Rui’s eyes.

“In case there was any uncertainty, let me be absolutely clear.”

His tone was powerful.

Unyielding.

“All blood humans from this point forth are under my absolute protection.”

The Martial Sages widened their eyes at those words.

The pitch-black darkness in the depths of his eyes stirred.

“If any of you lay so much as a finger on any of them, I will kill you.”

The air boiled with peril.

The atmosphere grew electric with danger.

The Martial Sages regarded him with mixed expressions of fear and disdain.

Clearly, none of them had expected Rui to have mounted such a fierce resistance to the idea of killing those they needed to kill to secure the future of Martial Arts.

“I am with Rui on this one,” Sage Ceeran snorted. “I throw in my chit with that promise.”

Not that it made all that much of a difference, even if the gesture was appreciated.

The fact of the matter was that Rui was more than powerful enough to deter the Martial Sages from acting.

He would not let them put so much as a scratch when it came to the blood children.

He had always had a soft spot when it came to children due to growing up around them in the orphanage. And despite having met her only twice, he had come to grow fond of Arastia. He also couldn’t protect her as someone who bore the name of Quarrier.

The Martial Sages remained silent in the face of Rui’s warning.

None of them liked it, but they didn’t retort either.

Rui was far and away the strongest Martial Sage, and they knew that.

They weren’t even confident that all the Martial Sages combined would be able to overcome him.

This wasn’t even including his power as the new Beast King.

He had gained nigh absolute power within human civilization, and it truly reflected in moments where his will opposed what was a clear majority.

The atmosphere crackled with silent peril as the tension boiled to the brim.