The Saint Tasked With Gathering The Six Heroes

The modern-crafted steel box pierced through the air with the precision and swiftness of a dragon soaring through the skies. She could feel the flapping of its wings, as well as the turning of its belly. Anyone could tell the contraption had been meticulously planned out with the image of speed and efficiency in mind.

Having only a handful of months’ worth of experience here in the human realm, Sha Wujing felt every bit of it.

The only reason she wasn’t convinced she was inside the belly of a living creature soaring through the skies and actually just a machine strapped to the ground with tracks, was because her suitcase—that was kept in an overhead rack—hadn’t fallen off yet. Had the contraption been able to defy gravity in such a way as flying, the luggage would’ve surely been slung across the train cart.

“…………..”

Wujing squirmed in her seat.

She clung to the Pandota plushie as if it were a lifeline. Its soft and warm fur seemed to calm her down, even if only a little.

“S–Surya… Please… help me…”

Wujing strung the words together, but calling what she had done “talking” wouldn’t fit in this case. It sounded more like the squealing of a pig, or the cries of a horse who’d just sprained its legs.

“P…Please…”

She was met with nothing but silence. A mocking kind of silence. Wujing could almost hear his narcissistic laugh.

“I beg of you,” Wujing tried once more. “O great King, Surya. T…The one true… Sun God…”

“Hmph. If you beg that desperately, I’m almost inclined to answer.”

Gracing her with an audience, a fiery-golden mist materialized from thin air in front of her. A raging sandstorm of gold dust had appeared in the middle of the train. After twisting and turning with the intensity of a disaster, it suddenly calmed before clustering together and forming a solid shape.

Something that could be described as a beast, but also a man at the same time appeared.

His visage looked muscular, not in a bulky sense but a powerful one. As if he could leap across the earth with one kick of his hind legs. His hide was a precious mix of white, red, saffron that was accented with gold and decorated with sparkling jewels. Those precious gems covered his body from head to hoof. Even his tail and long hair had the appearance of treasure.

What stood in the aisle of that train and just in front of Wujing’s seat was a mythical beast with a description comparable to a dragon. It was the kind of creature who could be worshiped as a divine being. One who had no business walking around an ordinary world such as this one.

“Do you think it wise to speak to me while people are around?”

The mythical beast spoke with the clarity of a human being. Even crazier, he had a wise and confident undertone, like the king of a nation, or more accurately, like a revered god.

“Others might find you crazy, Saint. You could even end up as the next rumor floating about this cursed town. After all, only a few can perceive guardian deities such as I.”

“And why would I care what anyone else thinks of me?” said the nearly dying Saint, Sha Wujing. “…Wait, are you making fun of me?”

The divine creature’s muzzle twitched from the accusation.

“For what reason would someone as noble as I, find pleasure in something so futile?”

“Oh, do not give me that. You totally were making fun of me. That’s what you kings do, right? You find entertainment by mocking us common folk.”

“Do not compare me to your ilk, woman. I am a king above kings. A noble creature beyond words.”

“...Sure, Surya. Whatever helps you sleep at night, Surya… Tell me, Surya, do you always act like this, Surya?”

“Does it require you to say my name that many times?”

“Nope. But I will! It’s a funny gesture I picked up from someone today… Now answer the question! Why do you have to treat me like rubbish? I am nothing but good to you. Even while I am clearly suffering, you never answer me unless I beg you.”

“Hmph. The fault is your own. You should have remembered your place beforehand. Had you used the proper honorific for a great king such as I the first time around, you would not have had to repeat yourself.” Surya paused for a moment. “And besides, I already used my great power to dismiss your ailment. Can you not feel it? You’ve been shouting quite a bit.”

“...!”

She hadn’t realized before, but both the grumbling of her stomach and the feeling of the world spinning had left her, as if never present in the first place.

“Oh… Yes, now that you mention it… Thank you very much, Surya!”

“...”

Wujing offered a bright smile at her companion, but he did not give one back.

“I care not for your thanks, Saint. I am more interested in what you will offer as penance for the benevolence I have shown you. I used my great power to bestow upon you a miracle. Surely, you understand that? Now, present it. What shall be your offering?”

“……………………”

The silence that followed was filled with unspoken words.

“You summon me, and yet you offer nothing to my grace. Your insolence truly knows no bounds.”

He wasn’t even surprised. Surya knew from the start that the Saint, Sha Wujing, had nothing to offer him. She never did. Not once during the entirety of their journey together. Even though the terms to their partnership had been listed out in black and white, she never seemed to adhere to any of their agreements.

“W–What can I say…? Tell you what, why not just add it to my tab, yes? I promise I will pay you back someday. Trust me. Sha Wujing never goes back on her word.”

“...”

Surya released a sigh that did not suit him at all. It was the kind of sigh that belonged to a shopkeeper after adding yet another meal to a customer’s tab because they couldn’t pay again. Not the sort of thing one might expect from a mythical beast.

“I take that sigh to mean you’ve calmed down?”

“...”

“Great! Now, if you could be so kind, I am interested in knowing how your investigation went. Did you manage to find anything about the Ghost District? Were you able to gather any information on the demons appearing in this realm?”

“…”

Another deep sigh welled up from Surya’s chest.

“Yes, my investigation… I found it so–so. While I was able to confirm that demons were indeed present in the District, I could not find out anything more. All I know is that they managed to slip through Noah’s barrier while I was in my slumber… But how they accomplished such a feat is still a mystery at the moment.”

“I see… So in other words, you found nothing?”

“Erg–!”

“You know, if I did not know any better, I would assume you are a lazy guardian, Surya. How could you let demons slip through the barrier like that? I hesitate to think of what would become of this realm had I not woken you and made our contract.”

“...Funny you should pin the blame on me. Especially when I seem to recall a certain Saint suddenly crashing into this realm, cracking the barrier on their arrival.”

“–!?”

Wujing froze, as if her brain had hit the factory reset button.

“H–Hey now! T–That was not entirely my fault…” The sweat raining down her face betrayed her words. “What’s more, you plugged the barrier up in short haste, correct?”

“Your point?”

“My point is that no deity should have had the chance to slip through it. Not even demons. So, the demons residing within this realm couldn’t have been a direct result from that–”

“Silence, you ingrain!”

“Gah–?!”

“I will take some blame and admit I had a part to play. But we both know that even while asleep, I would have no trouble exterminating any demon who dared try and cross Noah’s barrier. Even on the off chance that one or two managed to slip past my senses, it is impossible for anyone to bypass that barrier. Not even I could do it. At least, not without the key. Do you understand?!”

“I do not. I believe you are full of it.”

“You little piece of–....!”

The mythical beast and self-proclaimed king, Surya, hounded Wujing with a fierce roar. He continued on for what felt like the entire train ride, not even taking a break once to catch his breath.

It didn’t take long for Sha Wujing to give up on calming him down and mentally exit the conversation—which wasn’t really a conversation at all considering how one-sided it was. When he got like this, there wasn’t anything that could be done.

Wujing’s mind wandered to the boy named Akuma Tiryns. Specifically, the moment the two had locked eyes for the first time. It was faint, but a whiff of Divinity had most certainly crossed her senses. Pair that up with his crimson eyes, and his description was a perfect 1 to 1 with the prophecy.

A triumphant smile slowly spread across Wujing’s face.

“I owe you an apology, Bajie. I once told you that you had sent me on an impossible mission. But now, after half a year of tireless searching, I finally found one…”

Wujing brought the Pandota plushie closer to her chest, hugging it tightly. She could feel the burden on her shoulders dropping like old weights. A feeling of pure satisfaction washed over her.

“There can be no doubt that he is one of them. With how my constellation reacted to him, as well those deep, crimson eyes of his… Yes, there really can be no mistake. He is without a doubt a reincarnation of one of the six original heroes.”

The events of today were finally settling in.

She had really done it.

She had found a hero. A hero. Not just any hero at that, but one of the six heroes prophesied in legend.

But strangely, it was not a sense of victory that Wujing felt. It was one of dread. Of the impending doom hovering above the horizon.

“...Hero… Hero… Hero… He…ro……….”

Wujing repeated the word over and over. She did so until the moisture in her mouth began to dry up. And yet, try as she might, it didn’t work.

It was like the final piece to a long puzzle. Except no matter which angle she tried to insert it from, it never fit.

Wujing gripped her trembling arms, trying to keep herself whole. Then, she ran a shaky finger across the strange birthmark on her right thigh.

The mark of a Saint and her constellation.

Just as she and Akuma had crossed paths for the first time, her constellation flashed a bright gold and bestowed her with a revelation. A divine message. What she saw was not just a scene of the future, but Akuma’s character, his soul, his very karma.

Bottomless.

Rampaging.

Unadulterated evil.

Radiating from that boy was an absurdity that shouldn’t have been allowed to exist. At that moment, the stench of pure evil had violated Wujing’s senses. The boy didn’t look like a teenage boy at all. Not to her. What he looked like, was a bomb of pure malice.

And the ticking was only getting faster.