Chapter 10
I could feel the heat of the creature’s body surging.
That warmth rushing toward me.
My bloodlust was gone, but not everything had disappeared.
I still held a sword in my hand.
Toward the deafening shriek, I thrust my blade forward.
Slash!
Hot blood splattered through the air.
I felt the sensation of a thick, massive wing being severed.
The crystal bat rolled across the ground, screaming in pain.
I shouted toward Cesare.
“Cesare, over here!”
With that much blood, even Cesare should be able to locate it.
And immediately afterward—
I heard my disciple’s footsteps approaching.
Crunch!
The sound of flesh and bones breaking.
Blood sprayed in every direction as the crystal bat thrashed desperately.
While Cesare finished it off, I turned toward the blocked entrance.
BOOM!
I poured the little mana I had left into my sword and swung.
Some of the collapsed rocks shattered from the force of the blade wind.
A sharp pain stabbed through my heart.
As expected, this body at the First Stage couldn’t handle much.
Even so, enough of the blockage was destroyed for light to enter.
As the surroundings brightened, I saw the crystal bat that had been pierced by Cesare’s spear.
The ground was covered in blue blood.
Cesare seemed unharmed.
He retrieved his spear and shook it clean.
“Whoa, I barely blocked that thing charging at me with my spear. Thought it was going to break. How did you manage to kill it?”
So he had defended himself properly.
Had I been worrying for nothing?
I wiped the blood from my sword.
“Because of you. Thanks to you, everything ended safely.”
“What did I even do? I just cleaned up at the end.”
Cesare smiled awkwardly and looked toward the nest.
The miners’ expressions brightened once the area became illuminated.
“We… we’re alive! We survived!”
“Let’s get out of here!”
They began crawling out of the nest.
I hurriedly shouted.
“Stop! The ground there—”
The moment the miners poured out and stepped onto the ground…
Cracks began spreading beneath their feet.
Crystal bats usually build their nests near mica, a mineral that breaks easily under impact.
The moment enemies approached their nest, the floor itself became a trap.
There was no time to stop them.
The ground collapsed.
A dark abyss opened its jaws beneath them.
“AAAAH!”
The miners desperately grabbed the edge of the nest.
The director was also barely holding on to the end, but he couldn’t keep his grip for long.
The distance was too far.
Just as I rushed toward him—
The director’s fingers slipped from the branches.
With a scream, he began falling.
There was no way I could reach him.
Then—
A spear shot past me at incredible speed.
It plunged into the darkness.
And where it landed, Cesare appeared.
With one hand, he held the spear.
With the other, he grabbed the director.
“Got him!”
He must have squeezed out the last of his mana.
Now all he had to do was return.
That was what I thought.
Until—
Crack!
Cesare’s spear shattered into countless fragments.
It was supposed to withstand Cesare’s mana twice…
Then I remembered.
He had used it to block the crystal bat’s attack earlier.
That must have damaged it.
Cesare’s expression changed in surprise.
Then he threw the director toward me with all his strength.
I caught him and slammed him onto the ground.
The director was safe.
But Cesare…
The moment our eyes met, he smiled without hesitation.
Beyond the darkness, Cesare began falling.
I looked around desperately.
There was nothing nearby that could hold Cesare’s mana.
No objects.
No living creatures.
There was no way for him to return.
My disciple had accepted death.
And even then…
He smiled.
My foolish disciple.
Did you think I would smile just because you did?
I clenched my fist until it nearly broke.
Then—
I noticed the red blood covering my hand.
It hadn’t dried completely.
It was Cesare’s blood.
The blood that had gotten on me while treating his wounds earlier.
My hand trembled.
I hurriedly absorbed Cesare’s mana.
“Cesare! Come to me! Right now!”
But no matter how many times I shouted…
He didn’t return.
“Cesare! Come back!”
There was still no sound of impact.
I moved toward the edge of the hole, desperate to find a way to save him—
Then suddenly…
Pain exploded through my body.
It felt like my flesh was being torn apart.
The taste of blood filled my mouth.
And light flashed above my head.
Cesare.
Crash!
I caught him with my entire body as he fell onto me.
He groaned.
“Ugh… I think I’m going to throw up…”
He was alive.
He was breathing.
My disciple had returned alive.
All the strength seemed to drain from my body.
Whether it was the aftermath of using my mana core…
Or simply relief…
I didn’t know.
Cesare gasped for breath.
“Wow, I really thought I was going to die. Master, are you okay? The mana must have hurt—”
“Ow!”
I immediately flicked his forehead.
He groaned and pouted.
“Master, that hurts! My brain is already bad. You’re going to make it worse!”
I hit him several more times.
Drinking.
Swearing.
Acting like a fool.
Those things were fine.
But this…
I couldn’t forgive.
Neglecting himself.
Throwing himself away.
Trying to die.
“Why did you try to die?”
“I didn’t know the spear would break!”
“Then you should have told me to absorb your mana!”
Cesare blinked.
Then avoided my gaze.
“No, because I thought it would hurt you… And also, I heard the sound of water below.”
“Water?”
“It sounded like a river. A pretty strong current…”
Thump.
I hit him again.
While Cesare looked like he was about to cry from injustice, I continued lecturing him.
“Water? From that alone, could you determine the depth? In an uncertain situation, you gambled your life on nothing more than a sound?”
If the water hadn’t been deep enough to absorb the fall…
He would have died.
Cesare looked away.
“But I survived, didn’t I?”
“You little—”
I kept hitting him until he couldn’t say anything ridiculous anymore.
Cesare covered his head, looking miserable.
“Master… Losing Xenia was my responsibility. I was just trying to take responsibility…”
“Xenia’s information can be found another way. And this isn’t responsibility. Never do something like this again.”
Cesare hesitated.
Then nodded.
Whether he understood or not…
I wasn’t sure.
Then suddenly, as if remembering something, Cesare held something out.
“Ah, right. While I was falling, I grabbed onto the wall. There was something embedded there. What is this?”
A crystal glowing with a deep, dark blue color.
A powerful magical energy emanated from it.
He found something like this while falling?
“I haven’t seen one of these in a long time. It’s a spirit crystal. They take hundreds of years to form.”
“What’s that?”
“A crystal that cannot be destroyed by mana. It can also block most physical attacks.”
Because of its incredible properties, it was an expensive gemstone.
Any magic tool creator would go crazy over something like this.
Cesare stared at the crystal.
Then he infused it with his own mana and handed it to me.
“Then keep it, Master. So I can always return to you.”
I silently looked at him.
Then nodded.
I accepted the crystal, now carrying a reddish glow from his mana.
Cesare grinned.
“Then shall we take care of the original matter now?”
The director was groaning on the ground.
The man who had sold an orphanage because of gambling.
I met his eyes and spoke.
“Do you remember Xenia?”
“Xenia? What are you talking about…? Did you come looking for one of the orphans?”
“Yes.”
The director’s expression changed instantly.
A flicker of greed appeared in his eyes.
He spoke as if bargaining.
“There were many orphans… I don’t remember. But there are documents outside. If I see them, I think I’ll remember.”
In other words…
He was asking us to save him first.
I grabbed him by the collar and lifted him up.
Over the many years I had lived, I learned one thing.
Some people did not deserve kindness.
I dragged the director to the edge of the hole.
If I let go…
He would fall.
“You should at least lie properly. A man who sold the orphanage would still keep the documents?”
The director couldn’t answer.
I loosened my grip slightly.
Immediately, he grabbed my wrist.
“I-I remember! A red-haired boy brought her here. She was adopted about half a year before the orphanage went bankrupt!”
Only then did he finally tell the truth.
I stopped Cesare, who was approaching with a hardened expression.
“Where was she adopted?”
“I don’t know the exact address, but she was adopted to Wislton!”
Wislton.
A rural village somewhat far from here.
At least she wasn’t scattered into the streets.
Judging by his expression, he truly didn’t know anything else.
I slapped him hard across the face.
He fainted without even making a sound.
Leaving the fallen director behind, we headed toward the exit.
Cesare walked beside me.
“Do you really not want to hit him more?”
“If Xenia isn’t in Wislton, I can come back and deal with him.”
If this man hadn’t ruined the orphanage through gambling…
Xenia would probably have been living peacefully.
And if Cesare had died while saving garbage like him…
As we silently left the crystal cave, I spoke.
“Cesare.”
“Yes?”
“Don’t die.”
“Don’t take unnecessary risks. Don’t throw yourself into dangerous situations.”
I remembered the way he had smiled earlier.
Even while falling into darkness…
He had smiled.
Cesare stopped walking and looked at me.
His green eyes were calm.
“Master. I’m a worthless mercenary bastard.”
“…”
“Running into danger for a few coins was my job. My life was cheap.”
“…”
“But if I can die for Xenia, then I was sold at a high price. I have no regrets.”
His voice was calm.
As if he were simply stating an obvious fact.
How many times had Cesare placed his own life on the scale until now?
“Do you think you’re worthless?”
“Of course. I’m not exactly a good person, am I?”
He raised his trembling hand.
Even now, it was visibly shaking.
“My hands are like this. I lose control just from smelling alcohol.”
He looked down.
“I’m also someone who doesn’t belong in Vallanus. Guilds and mercenary groups would throw away someone like me.”
He spoke with self-mockery and put his hand into his pocket.
I grabbed his wrist.
“Guilds and mercenary groups may judge people that way.”
“But we don’t.”
“Then what do you want?”
“What we want…”
“Is you, Cesare.”
“No matter what kind of person you are.”
The young Cesare who couldn’t fight yet.
The mercenary Cesare from the fighting pits.
The broken Cesare who drowned himself in alcohol.
Every version of him…
Had always been my precious disciple.
A disciple I would never trade away, even for billions.
Cesare said nothing.
Only his wrist trembled faintly.
Whether it was because of alcohol…
Or emotion…
I couldn’t tell.
“You’re going to be disappointed in me.”
“But even so… is it really okay?”
“Yes.”
“I can’t promise I will never be disappointed.”
“But the fact that you are precious to me will never change.”
Cesare stayed silent for a long time.
Then I heard a quiet laugh.
He pulled his hand from his pocket.
“…You said things like this when I was little too.”
“You used to say things like this all the time.”
His hand was still trembling.
But he didn’t hide it anymore.
Cesare smiled at me.
“I forgot.”
“Because I hadn’t heard it for such a long time.”
