#64

“What?”

“Do you really want to kill your father? With your own hands?”

At Cersia’s probing, Zerakiel clenched his fists. His voice, sharp and unusually harsh, cut through the air.

“Then what am I supposed to do?”

“…”

“Isn’t that what everyone expects of me anyway?”

Zerakiel’s cold, mask-like expression crumbled. His brow furrowed deeply, and he lowered his head, muttering.

“That’s the only thing left for me, isn’t it?”

“No.”

At Cersia’s firm response, Zerakiel raised his head. When he met her gaze, his eyes widened.

There was a fierce determination in her pink eyes. He couldn’t understand how such a small body could hold so much strength.

Cersia spoke.

“You don’t have to live the way others want you to.”

“…”

“If you don’t want to, you don’t have to do anything. And if you want, I’ll fight alongside you. In this messy, nonsensical world.”

Suddenly, his vision blurred. In this decaying world, Cersia was the only thing he could see clearly.

It took him a moment to realize the reason was the tears in his eyes.

He had never cried in front of anyone before. Not when his mother left, not even when he broke his arm during training.

Why did Cersia keep disarming him like this?

Why did someone so much smaller than him seem so enormous?

In the end, Zerakiel couldn’t hold back his true feelings anymore.

“I don’t want to kill my father.”

The truth he could never admit to anyone. The sense of duty that he had recited endlessly, day after day, shattered in an instant.

Zerakiel lowered his head and trembled. His words would likely seem irresponsible to anyone else.

He couldn’t lift his head, afraid that Cersia might think the same.

But in that very moment, he felt a soft touch on his cheek. Cersia gently lifted his head and smiled brightly.

“I thought so.”

“…”

“I didn’t want Zakari to die either.”

Zerakiel had always thought everyone hated the Jabis family. He believed that deep down, people wanted them gone, that they only bowed to them because of their strength.

But the moment Cersia said those words, Zerakiel realized how wrong he was. That belief had been nothing but his own stubbornness.

Still holding his hand firmly, Cersia spoke.

“So, no matter what, I’ll save Zakari. But you, Zerakiel, you protect me.”

A white weasel giving orders to a black lion as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

The absurdity of it made Zerakiel chuckle involuntarily.

He didn’t know how she was going to do it, but he wanted to believe in her. If anyone could save his father, it was Cersia, after the miracle she had just performed.

“Let’s go!”

With that, Cersia began walking toward Zakari with light steps. Her bobbed hair shimmered like it was radiating light as she moved.

Zerakiel, as if entranced, followed her. He used his pheromones to bind Zakari, ensuring he wouldn’t be able to harm her.

Bound by silver chains and black pheromones, Zakari let out a beast-like growl.

Pheromones stronger than before started to envelop the three of them.

“!”

At that moment, Zerakiel noticed a golden gleam flash through Cersia’s eyes. The sacred gold slowly spread, swallowing the brilliant pink of her irises.

As Zerakiel stood, watching in shock, Cersia frowned, sensing something wrong with her body. Her breathing became labored, and she felt lightheaded. Her face turned pale.

*Thud.*

Cersia heard something break inside her, like a wall crumbling, and blinked in confusion.

She didn’t know exactly what it was, but it was definitely a warning sign. Despite that, she couldn’t stop—her power had only grown stronger.

‘Just a little more…!’

Cersia clenched her teeth and pushed through.

At this rate, it seemed like she could stop Zakari’s rampage. As the ominous energy around him began to fade, she gathered her last bit of strength to bring it to an end.

That’s when she heard it—a familiar, soft sigh accompanied by the sound of waves. Silvery fish appeared around her.

Tabi, who seemed to have grown since she last saw it, sighed softly.

― That’s enough. You won’t be able to hold on if you push any further. Leave the rest to me.

With those words, Cersia felt her pheromones being absorbed by Tabi, which began to grow larger.

At the same moment, the color in Cersia’s eyes returned to normal.

“What… are you doing?”

Cersia murmured, bewildered by Tabi’s sudden intervention. Zerakiel, who had been guarding her, was just as surprised.

“What is that…?”

By now, Tabi had grown into a massive whale, and it began devouring the black pillar that Zakari had created without hesitation.

* * *

 

Do fish evolve into whales?

It sounded like nonsense, something that would make a science student scoff, yet it was happening right before my eyes.

*Bwoooo.*

The whale’s cry echoed gently through the sky.

Tabi, now a whale, swam through the air, devouring the pheromone poison that Zakari had released.

Like a guardian of the Pearl of Purification, it quickly restored the once darkened sky to its clear state.

Seeing Tabi swim through the sky as though it were an ocean was a sight beyond belief.

I stared up at the sky in astonishment, completely bewildered by the absurdity of the situation.

The moment I felt something snap inside me, Tabi had appeared. And as soon as Tabi showed up, I felt the same tightness in my chest, as if my pheromones were blocked again.

But it wasn’t completely blocked. I could still feel the healing pheromones circulating around me.

I couldn’t be sure, but I had the feeling Tabi had saved me.

More importantly, Zakari seemed to have regained his senses.

“Ugh.”

Zakari rubbed his throbbing forehead and then winced as he felt the pain in his shoulder. He grumbled irritably, just like he always did.

“What the hell? Which lunatic dared to stab me?”

That lunatic would be your son.

And the one who just lost control was you, father.

The moment I confirmed that Zakari had regained his senses, relief washed over me, and my legs gave way beneath me.

Zerakiel caught me effortlessly, holding me in his arms, though he still pointed his sword at Zakari, not lowering his guard.

With a skeptical tone, Zerakiel asked, “Have you returned?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Don’t you remember?”

At Zerakiel’s repeated questioning, Zakari frowned. He looked up at the now-clearing sky, thanks to Tabi, and his mouth fell open.

“Why are my pheromones all the way up there…?”

“…”

“Wait, did I go on a rampage?”

When Zerakiel nodded in response, Zakari scowled and asked, “Then why am I still alive?”

He stared down at his hands in disbelief. It made sense—once a Jabis went into a full rampage, death was the only outcome.

“And what the hell is that whale?”

Zakari pointed at the giant whale, which was still devouring the last of his pheromones. Zerakiel glanced over at me.

Naturally, Zakari’s gaze followed his son’s, and both pairs of golden eyes focused on me, silently demanding an explanation.

“Did you summon that?”

“Well…”

I was about to confess when—

“It’s—it’s a Guardian! That has to be a Guardian!”

A sudden shout interrupted me. I turned to see that a crowd of beastmen had gathered around us.

Among them was Hiscleif, staring at me with a dazed expression.

When did he get here?