Clyde unleashed his magic on the charging soldiers.
The magic shot out like arrows, piercing through soldiers’ armor. Five soldiers fell to the ground at once. However, even more soldiers rushed forward.
Clyde continued to shoot, slash, stab, pierce, and crush the soldiers as they approached. In an instant, a mountain of corpses piled up, and the smell of blood filled the air, almost paralyzing his nose.
“Stop!”
At that moment, a thunderous voice echoed, as if coming from the heavens.
“If you don’t want to see your mother die, stay where you are!”
In an instant, Clyde saw Sedun holding a knife against his fallen mother’s throat.
Clyde froze in place, unable to move.
“Remarkable. To have such powerful magic at such a young age.”
Azakail said in admiration.
“It’s hard to believe you’re half-blood. Or perhaps it’s a mutation from having mixed blood.”
“No time for idle chat! Arrest him now!”
Sedun shouted. Azakail nodded and raised his hand.
Then, the other mages standing behind Azakail began chanting in unison.
Soon, a blue band of light wrapped around Clyde’s entire body like a rope.
“Ugh…!”
Clyde knelt down, trying to resist, but his body wouldn’t obey. The band of light felt as if it were draining his strength away.
Azakail’s eyes narrowed.
“To be able to move even under powerful binding magic. If there weren’t hostages, this could have been a real threat.”
“Are you alright? Shall I end it right here and now?”
“No. We must capture him alive.”
Azakail sternly dismissed Sedun’s words.
“This half-breed is nothing short of a gift from the heavens to Neo Kingdom. With proper research, it holds the potential for limitless accomplishments.”
Clyde gritted his teeth. With his strength waning, even his vision was becoming blurry. He had to use every ounce of his strength to stay conscious.
‘No…. If I fall, my mom will….’ he thought desperately.
No matter what happened to him, he had to protect his mother.
He couldn’t just helplessly watch his mother being taken away like before.
Without Ruby, there was no one else who could save her but himself.
Just as his vision was about to fade completely, he locked eyes with his mother.
His mother was trying to convey something through her mouth.
‘What… what are you saying, Mom? I don’t understand…’ Clyde thought.
Then, his mother took something out of under her skirt.
The moment he saw the short, pointed object glistening in the sunlight, he felt as if blood drained from his body.
“No, Mom!”
Clyde’s scream was almost simultaneous with his mother’s plunge of the dagger into her own neck.
“Oh no!”
Sedun turned belatedly and exclaimed in a panicked tone as he looked at Hena.
Time seemed to slow down once again.
Clyde helplessly watched as blood gushed out of his mother’s neck, dyeing her clothes deep red. Her hand holding the dagger lost strength and it fell to the ground.
His mother’s eyes were wide open, staring at Clyde.
Her trembling lips seemed to form some words.
Finally, Clyde seemed to understand what his mother was trying to convey.
‘Run away.’
Soon, the trembling of his mother’s body came to a complete halt.
The next moment, his eyes turned red as if blood were oozing out.
“Azakail, kill him!”
Sedun shouted, but it was too late.
Like lava boiling and surging from Clyde’s body, scorching magical energy erupted and spread out explosively.
It broke the powerful binding magic that restrained him and engulfed everything around him like a bursting dam.
After that, he couldn’t remember anything.
When he regained consciousness, everyone was dead.
Azakail, Sedun, the other soldiers, Mr. Barklin from the neighboring house, Grandma Laurel, and all the other villagers who had been friendly to Clyde and his mother.
Everyone was torn apart beyond recognition by the magic released by Clyde.
The only one who remained intact was his mother, Hena.
Clyde staggered forward and knelt in front of his mother.
He gently closed her wide-open eyes and brushed away the disheveled hair.
Drops of blood fell on her pale face.
Clyde reflexively touched his face, thinking he might be injured.
Then he realized that blood was coming from his own eyes. He was crying.
Clyde picked up his mother’s lifeless body and stood up.
* * * * *
“When I went back home to get her things, I found a letter in a drawer with my name on it, telling me that if something happened to her and I was left alone, I was to go to the Demon Realm to find my father.”
Clyde spoke in a low voice.
“My mother had never mentioned my father before. I had always assumed that my father must have forced himself on her, or something like that, since there was no way a child could be born between a human and a demon.”
“…….”
“So I went to the Demon Realm. I never wondered who my father was, and I never wanted to see his face, but…. It was my mother’s will, and I wanted to honor it.”
“…….”
“I wandered in the Demon Realm for three years, but in the end, I couldn’t find my father. I only killed countless demons who came charging at me, saying that I smelled like a human. My mother must have thought I couldn’t live in the human world without her, so she sent me to the Demon Realm, but it was the same there. So, I realized that there was no place for me, no place that would accept me in this world.”
“…….”
“That’s why I came to see you, Ruby.”
「Don’t worry. I’m okay now. I finally met you after all this time.」
「So don’t go anywhere now. You’re the only one I have.」
I finally understood what Clyde was saying.
He hadn’t lied or said those things to elicit sympathy. It wasn’t some delusional fabrication.
He truly had no one but me…
Everything he could rely on, everything he could trust, it was all just me.
“…Ruby, are you listening?”
“…….”
“I’m worried because I can’t see you. Just say something. Even a simple ‘yes’ would be enough.”
Clyde spoke in an anxious voice.
But I couldn’t even manage a single word.
My face and hands were covered in tears, and I was desperately trying to stifle my sobs.
I couldn’t bring myself to answer.
It was all my fault.
Because of the promise I made to meet Clyde again, this terrible tragedy had happened.
If it weren’t for me, the people of Heremos wouldn’t have died. It was because I sent Clyde’s mother to Haremos that she died.
“Ruby, are you crying?”
“…….”
“…Ruby.”
I hugged Clyde tightly.
Even though I bit my lips hard, I couldn’t stop a small sob from escaping.
“…I’m sorry.”
“…….”
“I’m sorry, Clyde. I’m so… so, so sorry….”
“You promised not to cry.”
After whispering those few words, Clyde fell silent.
He simply leaned against me, not even trying to hug me back, as if he were just listening to my crying.
* * * * *
I don’t know how much time has passed.
Breaking the long and heavy silence, Clyde finally spoke.
“Are you okay now?”
“…….”
In truth, I was the one who should have asked if he was okay. But I couldn’t bring myself to ask. Because I knew he wasn’t okay. There was no way he could be okay…
“…Yeah.”
I replied, desperately holding back the sobs that were threatening to break out again.
“It’s frustrating not being able to see you. I don’t know what expression you have now….”
“Not seeing me is probably better. My face must be all swollen and ugly right now.”
Clyde chuckled softly at my words.
“That’s not true.”
“But how would you know when you can’t see me?”
“Even if I can’t see you, there’s no way your face could ever be ugly.”
“…….”
My heart was filled with a mix of complex emotions. I opened my mouth with difficulty.
“…If you could see for yourself, your thoughts might change. You said it would take a few days for your sight to return. It’s such a relief that it won’t be back by today.”
“…….”
