Fight? Me and Ragi? Why?
Before I could ask, he let out a deep sigh and began to speak again, letting his thoughts spill out.
“As I am now, I doubt I could summon even half the strength I once had. But from one day to the next…my body’s wearing away. Before that happens, Setsuna, I want you to fight me. I want to die having fought one last time.”
Hearing him say that made my heart ache. “So you want to fight, and…what? Surely you don’t mean you want me to kill you.” My voice trembled. Ragi flinched as if my reaction had startled him, and he looked away.
“Before, I was nothing but a soldier, or so that’s what I’d thought once. I wanted to die in battle. And I’d be lying if I said that urge has completely disappeared.” He let out a sigh so deep it seemed to empty him, then met my eyes again. This time, his voice was calm when he spoke. “But that’s not why I asked you. Alto doesn’t understand what it means to bring out the full power of beastfolk. He was born and raised among humans. He can’t even imagine what that looks like, so I want to show him. I want him to see what it means to fight with the strength of our race. Or has he already seen that from someone else?” Hearing him speak so calmly helped ease the internal turmoil I was feeling.
Kara seemed to fight normally. She didn’t move any differently from a human.
I hadn’t fought any other beastfolk since setting out on my journey, and Alto hadn’t mentioned anything like that, either.
“I don’t think he has,” I said quietly.
Ragi nodded. “Every human is born with mana. Whether or not they can use it is another story, but it’s there. Beastfolk, however, are generally born without magical abilities.”
“Right.”
“But they’re born with something else: a different kind of strength that every beastfolk has. That said, you can’t learn to wield it without training, even if you have the talent. So it’s no different from magic, in that sense.”
I’d read a book before that said beastfolk who couldn’t use magic had special abilities instead. However, it had also said that this was limited to beastfolk who weren’t born with mana, so I’d never thought to ask Ragi about it, since it didn’t apply to Alto.
But going off what Ragi had just said, that was wrong. I guess it only made sense; you couldn’t trust a book about beastfolk written by humans. So I decided to ask, just in case.
“Alto does have mana, though. Can he still use these beastfolk abilities?”
“It doesn’t matter whether he has mana or not—what’s important is that he carries beastfolk blood.”
“I see.”
“He won’t be able to activate that power until he gets a little older…but I don’t have the time left to wait for that. I only wish I could’ve taught him myself,” Ragi said sadly.
“…”
“That’s why I want to leave something behind. He was born to human parents and grew up never even knowing what it means to be beastfolk. I love Alto like a grandson, and I want to pass along whatever I can to him. If I can’t teach him, then maybe if I show him a battle he’ll never forget, it might become something he can use in the future.”
Just like at the ruins…
I remembered seeing Ragi act bravely for Alto’s sake in the same way when the three of us had explored those ruins together.
Ragi gave me a mischievous grin when he saw the expression on my face. “Besides, I’ve been thinking I’d like to go up against my grandson’s master, who he looks up to so much.”
I just shrugged in response, unsure of what to say.
“It’s a selfish wish of mine, I know. But would you grant it anyway?”
I understood how Ragi felt and what he was hoping for. He didn’t want to fight me so he would die; he wanted to do it so he could leave a part of himself behind for Alto. I was certain that fight would become something precious to the young beastfolk boy. To be honest, though, I didn’t want to fight Ragi. I wanted to refuse, because I knew without a doubt that he would risk everything to convey what he felt he needed to. But if I turned him down, he’d leave this world with regrets in his heart—and there was no way I could let that happen.
I made up my mind and gave him a reply meant to provoke him a little, so he could throw himself into this last battle without any hesitation. I believed that was the only way I could ever repay him.
“Sure, I’ll fight you. If you don’t mind being crushed in front of Alto.”
I put everything I had into that bluff.
Ragi’s eyes widened in surprise, followed by a momentary silence. But then his lips curled into another mischievous grin, and he fired back with a booming voice. “How cocky! Do you really believe you can defeat me so easily? That arrogance will come back to bite you!”
“I’m pretty strong, you know,” I said.
“So am I.”
Neither of us backed down. We stared each other down for a little while longer, waiting for the other man to be the first to flinch. Finally, I declared my intentions without breaking eye contact.
“I won’t hold back tomorrow. I’ll crush you.”
“Good. I’ll give it my all as well, to entrust everything I have to Alto…and to defeat you.” Ragi looked like he was enjoying himself so much and was so satisfied that I couldn’t help but smile back at him.