245 Chapter 245: Everything but the Rain IV (1/2)
”And that's pretty much it.” Dad grinned. ”So, are you finally ready to go to the Soul King's Palace to get your Zhan Po Dao re-forged and begin your training anew?”
”…huh? What are you talking about?”
I gaped at Dad, not sure I heard him correctly.
”Did you forget?” Dad knocked on my head. ”That blacksmith dude threw you down here from the King's Palace because he wanted you to know your roots. Otherwise you'll never be able to master your Zhan Po Dao.”
”WRONG STORY! This isn't even a manga!”
I threw my hands up in exasperation, trying not to blow up and failing miserably. I didn't know whether I was angrier at myself for actually catching the reference. Granted, that was one of my favorite manga, what with all the awesome Shinigami and their Zanpakuto, but we would get into copyright trouble if I started mastering Bankai right here and now.
Forcing myself to calm down, I glanced at where Angelica had been, but she had disappeared when Dad began his tale. Probably because she didn't want to listen to her own life story being told. I knew how that felt. It was really awkward listening to someone tell other people a story about you. And in my experience, it tended to be people making fun of me and telling everyone how much of an idiot or a retard I was, which made it more humiliating.
”Then why were you asking about Angelica? I thought you wanted to know about your mother and your Quincy origins.”
”WRONG! Since when am I a Quincy?!”
”But your most powerful spells are the ranged ones, right? And you use a bow and arrow pretty often.”
”I'm just ripping off Archer-class Servants from another anime! The one with the Holy Grail War! Not Shinigami!”
I was clutching my head, regretting ever asking Dad about Angelica and spirit summoning. Dad stared at me strangely, his face scrunched up for a moment, and then he scratched his head before sighing.
”Sorry. It has been forty-five chapters and probably almost a whole month of reading, even including the double mass releases. I know there are readers screaming in the comments about the whole flashback arc being fillers and extremely boring, and that they want you to get back to the 'real' story, never mind that this flashback arc is a vital part of the real story. Why do they think they know what's the real story better than the writer of the story himself? But that's not important. I forgot why you even asked me about this in the first place.”
”Because of the sacrifice necessary to make a contract with a spirit in order to tether it to this world…the requirement of a host to bind the spirit to you. And for that to be possible, the host has to be someone close to you.”
”Oh, right.” Dad paused for a moment and gave me a strange stare. ”How did you know about that? I don't recall ever telling you anything about that.”
”No, you didn't. I found out on my own.”
I briefly told him about my encounter with Selina and Hades. He listened for a moment, unsurprised because he had already heard of my hard-fought victory over the legendary Grim Reaper. While I recounted, I wondered inwardly if Selina and Hades were related to Serena and Cronus. It would be one hell of a coincidence if Selina and Hades were the children of Serena and Cronus. That would mean that the battle our parents fought had continued down to our generation. That said, Serena was clearly several years older than I was, so it wasn't accurate to categorize her as part of my generation.
It didn't matter. She was now dead.
”So they told you.” Dad nodded thoughtfully, but he didn't seem shocked at the revelation. ”I knew the Assassins Guild would continue using that spirit summoning technology to create more of those Spirit Assassins.”
Having just heard the entire story, I could only nod.
”Damn them,” Dad muttered. Then he sighed. ”But then again, if those two are really the children of Cronus and Serena Wright, it's only natural that they would take up the mantle of their parents and delve into forbidden technology. Furthermore, if there's anyone who would be able to preserve the spirit summoning technology, it would be the Assassins.”
”Are you hunting down the Assassins Guild?” I asked. ”Do you intend to destroy them completely?”
”I don't know if it's even possible. Even after a couple of decades, I'm still unable to locate their elusive Grand Master and real base. They are a tough nut to crack.” Dad sighed heavily. ”I'll fight them and stop them whenever I see them, but I'm not optimistic enough to think I'll find their real headquarters and leader and end them decisively.”
He leaned closer, his face turning grim.
”Furthermore, the Grand Master of Assassins is the deadliest man alive. I don't know whether I stand a chance against him.”
”You'll do fine, Dad,” I assured him. ”You're invincible! Nobody can beat you!”
Dad gave me a really sad smile, and I suddenly had déjà vu for some reason. That look on his face – it was as if he was staring at his younger self.
”No, I'm not invincible.”
”But you…”
”Remember the story I told you about my past?” Dad's smile was hollow. ”I also thought that Michael Porter was invincible. That he would never die, no matter what. That he would overcome all obstacles and emerge a shining hero whose figure gave hope to everyone. That he would become the symbol for peace.”
”Are we going to my Hero Academia now?” I asked sarcastically. Dad raised a hand.
”My point,” he continued, as if he ever had a point to begin. Hah! ”Is that nobody is invincible. Even Michael died. And I will die too…one day. I hope the day will never come, just like everyone else except my enemies, but in my line of work, it's very likely. And when that day arrives, I hope you will be mentally prepared.”
He shrugged.
”I know we aren't related by blood, and there's still quite a wall between us. Honestly, despite my meta commentary back then, I never thought I would adopt a son. I…honestly have no idea how to be a father, and being a single parent at that.”
”You did a good job,” I assured him. Dad smiled at that, but he shook his head.
”Thanks. But I probably should have spent more time taking care of you instead of watching anime all the time. And…” he stared at me thoughtfully. ”Maybe I should have spent money for the healing procedure to correct your eyesight permanently instead of just buying you glasses.”