The Martial Unity

"Oh come on, Martial Artists take risks," she rolled her eyes. "I'll be equipped with the best of what the Esocline Federation has to offer, so we'll be fine. Just chill, aunties."

They did not, in fact, chill.

"Five rank-four pathwalkers entering a greater manifold is extremely dangerous!" Arastia insisted, folding her arms. "And finding the manifold tree at the center of the manifold? Do you have any idea what kind of danger such a plan would put you in?! In Gaia, the greater manifold was protected by a ferociously powerful beast that almost destroyed all of human civilization!"

"Not only that, but even visiting an infected world with just your team in a stealth surveyor ship is very dangerous," Ru warned with a serious tone of voice. "You could very easily end up dead."

"The ship is cutting-edge and state of the art and is being built by some of the most qualified people in the world," Ria shot back. "And I don't want to take an army with me because that will just slow me down and increase my chances of getting discovered. This is a very specific operation, and it requires discretion and precision rather than overwhelming military power."

"If you were a Martial Sage, I would still have fewer compunctions," Arastia heaved an exasperated sigh at her niece's stubbornness. "But you're just an eighteen-year-old Martial Master."

"Who's very strong." Ria reminded her.

"Be that as it may, you are still on match for the kind of threats that we can expect to find," Ru spoke, trying to appeal to Ria's better sense. "You are still too young, too inexperienced, and too underqualified to take such risks."

"Rui, you're fine with this?" Arastia turned towards her older brother. "You're fine with your daughter facing Transcendent-grade monsters who were so strong that not even you could defeat them at the time?"

Rui's ethereal eyes remained fixed on those of his daughter before slowly shifting to his younger sister.

He understood their concerns, of course. As Ria's father, he was deeply concerned about her. Perhaps was separated him from his sisters was the fact that he was more confident in his ability to intervene.

Of course, he didn't let his power get to his head. It had been a close call the last time Ria was special, and manifolds were not simple to deal with, even for a Transcendent.

But ultimately, his daughter was an adult, even if barely. She had the right to undertake the life in path that she wanted to. He remembered the kind of crazy decisions that he had made when he was eighteen, running from people who wanted to kill him and his family and plotting to kill them when the time came.

"Gaia is special," he ultimately said with a calm, composed voice. "The greater manifold of Gaia has produced very special outcomes that no other manifold in the galaxy has likely produced. Manifolds are dangerous, no doubt. But not all manifolds are equally dangerous. The lesser manifold that we have here in Kandria was protected merely by a Master-level beast, which would be only Senior-level by modern standards. Even if the greater manifolds of infected worlds are more dangerous, they will not be as dangerous as ours was. And…"

He smiled at his daughter proudly. "I believe that Ria is equipped to deal with them, provided…"

He leaned forward. "She takes every precaution under the sun and conducts her operations with the utmost care and safety in mind."

"Thanks, Dad!" Ria grinned at him. "I've so much work to do, so I'll get going! You guys continue on with what you were doing."

She scurried, slamming the doors shut behind her.

Rui smiled with endearing pride on his face, earning a glare from the two anxious aunts.

"She could very easily get killed," Arastia warned.

"She is my precious niece, even if she doubts it sometimes," Ru turned towards her older brother with a similarly stern expression. "I am very opposed to this. The princess of the Kandrian Empire should not be throwing herself in such danger."

Rui shook his head.

"I have no intention of controlling her actions. She has made this decision, and I'm certain she has been made aware of the risks amply. I don't intend to push her off a path in life that she has chosen."

"Are you willing to let your daughter die?" Arastia glared at him. "Because I'm not willing to let my niece die."

"I will do everything in my power to prevent that option except for preventing her from following her path," Rui calmly rebutted. "She is clearly determined to go through with this. She will not be moved by fear-mongering about risks that certainly do exist. If I were you, I would focus on ensuring that she remains safe on these operations."

"Let her go with the Blood Humanist Society and me," Arastia pressed. "It will be risky, but I will be there to keep her safe."

Rui shrugged. "I don't mind that. But you will have to take that up with her. I doubt she will agree with it, however. She wants this to be her own venture. She does not want to be babied or sheltered. She wants control and agency. She will likely refuse any offers of a joint operation."

Arastia's expression tightened at those words. She knew her niece well enough to know that that was true. Ria clearly sought to be independent.

"What about turning into a venture of the Kandrian Empire? Just like your venture across the Panama Continent against the threat of the Beast Incursion?" Ru asked with a thoughtful tone. "You acted on behalf of the Kandrian Empire, but you were largely independent, were you not?"

"She deliberately procured a ship and other technological requirements from the Esocline Federation instead of the Kandrian Empire," Rui smiled wryly. "She does not want anything to do with the Kandrian Empire."

He shook his head.

"Forget it. Just focus on ensuring that she is as equipped as humanly possible. You will not change her mind on this issue."