"No need to explain?" Iris asked, surprise tinging her voice.
Her actions so far had been quite bizarre, as she had claimed John was her master out of nowhere. She had shown him a glimpse of visions, but knew John had no way to verify what those visions meant, or if they were even visions at all.
Iris had come here expecting to make her case in allowing her to follow John, but John had denied such an opportunity before she even had one.
"You don't want an explanation?" Iris replied.
"Nope," John replied quickly and calmly.
'I've had enough about visions and prophecies and everything of the sort, and just don't care about them anymore. Whatever happens in the future happens. Nothing Iris shows me will change my path to the top of this martial world.'
Iris stood there in silence for a moment, as she had not been expecting such a development.
"Are you saying you don't want me following you?" Iris asked after a short while.
"I honestly don't really care what you do," John replied, his voice still calm. "I don't even know you really, so whether you follow me or not doesn't really affect me. If you want to follow me, you can follow me. If you don't, then don't. Just don't get in my way if you do decide to follow me."
Iris's expression quickly brightened upon hearing John's comments, as he was indirectly telling her that following him was alright.
'Based on what I know of Iris so far, she apparently has incredibly unique eyes. Such a talent can potentially be useful for me in the future, so until she proves herself to be a detriment to my martial journey, I will allow her to tag along.'
"You won't regret this, Master!" Iris replied with a mischievous smile. She emphasized the word master, as she could tell that John did not like to be called that when she had done it before.
John rolled his eyes at her tone and words, but did not argue against her. Based on her attitude when she had fought Aaron, Iris was a mischievous girl, and John knew she liked causing trouble.
"Oh yeah, did you hear about this 'Asura?' Apparently this 'Asura' is the talk of the continent, although no one knows who it is." Iris suddenly asked as she changed the topic.
John raised an eyebrow, as Iris should know it was him, but quickly remembered what Thunderzen had told him.
'It seems like Iris's memory of the event was altered as well. That's probably for the best, and at least I know she's not following me solely due to seeing me be Asura,' John mused internally.
"No, I have not. Now leave me, I have business to take care of," John dismissed Iris.
"Sending me away already? You're so cold-hearted," Iris pouted, her eyes growing large and face becoming saddened.
"Leave," John reiterated, causing Iris to raise an eyebrow in surprise. Her saddened expression quickly disappeared as a contemplative one replaced it.
"Hmmm, that act of mine usually works on men, especially boys my age," Iris mused out loud, before her gaze grew mischievous once more.
She nodded her head at John's words and bowed in an over-the-top manner.
"Then I will be taking my leave, Master!"
"Hmmm," John mumbled as he turned around and began to walk back into his mansion, before his instincts suddenly kicked in and he raised his left arm next to his head.
Bang!
A sweeping kick collided against his arm, causing the mansion to tremble from the might of the collision. John turned his head to look at Iris, who had a look of surprise on her face. Clearly she had not expected John to block the attack.
He had felt no killing intent or malice in her kick, so he knew she was not trying to injure him.
Iris landed on the ground after her kick and looked at John while tilting her head to the side. Clearly she had not expected such a thing to happen.
Bang!
John's leg suddenly struck out against Iris's waist before she could react, launching her into the wall of his mansion. She had seen through his movements but could not react to his leg in time.
Boom!
Her body collided with the sturdy wall, causing the entire mansion to tremble and several of the paintings on the wall to fall to the ground.
A groan of pain escaped Iris's lips as she struggled back onto her feet while holding her pained waist. Her gaze focused back on John, her face full of defeat.
"Explain yourself," John said to her, his eyes slightly narrowed.
"How did you detect my attack? My sneaking arts are unparalleled, and I've never failed to land a sneak attack against someone in the same realm as me," Iris grumbled out as she walked back to John.
"Answer my question," John said to Iris, his tone a bit heavier and his eyes growing colder.
Iris took a step back as she felt an instinctual wave of fear course through her, as she still remembered John's malevolent power pressing down on her. A thought crept into her mind upon thinking about that power, but she quickly dismissed such a thought as she clearly recalled the light of the talent testing steps coming from another location, indicating that it had not originated from the sects talent testing steps.
"I…I was trying to get you back for that attack you landed on me in the entrance exam," Iris replied, her expression going docile again to tug on John's heartstrings.
John thought back to that time, and realized it was when he had transformed before her, and kicked her in the waist after confirming her intentions.
'It's just like Miko,' John mused as he sighed. 'Miko has a penchant for sneak attacking me, and now Iris as well? Terrific.'
"Well you failed," John replied, causing Iris to flinch from the painful truth of his words. "I must ask though, have you ever studied assassination arts?"
"Assassination arts?" Iris replied, slight surprise from the nature of the question. "Not at all."
"Is that so," John replied as he fell into a state of contemplation. After short while, he gazed back at Iris. "Now, leave."
"As you command, Master!" Iris replied with an exaggerated bow, before she turned around and truly left.
John watched Iris leave this time, his gaze focusing on her back.
'That sneak attack of hers almost landed on me, and I was only able to block it at the very last moment. If she were using a weapon, and it was someone with a weaker body than me, they would have died without realizing it. I hate to admit it, but when it comes to sneak and assassination arts, her natural talent is even better than mine. She also has her eye talents as well which could be of use. Maybe I will have a use for her after all.'
