Arthur's Point of View
"I hope everything continues as in the original and that Hitogami hasn't intervened", I thought bitterly. Though, seeing how much the course of events has already changed by my presence alone… perhaps I was being too optimistic.
The others didn't understand why Rudeus had increased his pace so abruptly. Paul and Roxy shared a confused look while they tried to keep up with the young mage, whose back was drifting further away.
"Hey, Senpai, what's wrong?! You look pale as a ghost!" Gisu shouted, struggling to catch his breath.
Rudeus didn't even bother to respond. In that instant, as if a spring had finally snapped inside him, he took off at full speed toward the mansion, leaving the group behind.
"Rudy!" Paul shouted, but it was useless.
"Seems he's desperate to see his wife," Gisu commented.
That would be what anyone would think: a man desperate to return home.
But I knew all too well what was happening; Hitogami's words were still haunting him. I knew that damned god didn't hesitate to eliminate any element he considered a threat to his "ideal scenario." "He must have been disgusted that I saved Paul."
As we advanced at a brisk pace, my mind filled with doubts. I wondered what Hitogami would have thought of my anti-disaster preparations. The magic circles I had secretly engraved before leaving were designed to react to malicious intent, crafted together with the Great Sage.
As we approached the perimeter of the mansion, my eyes immediately sought confirmation of my fears.
Around the grounds, hidden under the snow but unmistakable to my eyes, scorched furrows stretched across the ground.
It was the physical confirmation of my dread: the invisible dome of my barriers had violently repelled something. There were clear signs of magical combat—burn marks indicating that, during our long absence, someone—or something—had tried to cross the threshold with the worst intentions.
Rudeus had already entered a while ago, driven by a paranoia that now seemed more than justified. The front door remained open, swaying slightly in the cold wind.
The rest of the group passed by, anxious to get inside and oblivious to the marks in the garden. To them, it was just snow and disturbed earth. However, Gisu stopped dead in his tracks. He stood there, observing the furrows with that sharp gaze he usually hid under his carefree appearance.
"Well, I'll say my goodbyes here, boys," he said suddenly, breaking the silence. His tone was light, but he didn't move from the edge of the perimeter. "Tell Senpai it was a great experience exploring with him. I learned a couple of things... and saw others that were very interesting."
He looked at me for a brief second, and in that gaze, there was silent recognition.
"Are you leaving now, Gisu? Won't you even come in to rest?" Paul asked from the doorway, confused by the sudden departure.
"Nah, family reunions make me sentimental and I have matters to attend to," he replied, scratching the back of his neck with a mocking grin.
With an informal wave, he turned around and walked away down the snowy street, disappearing among the white flakes. I watched his back for a moment before shifting my gaze to the plants decorating the garden.
They were well-tended, with no signs of wilting from the cold; that relieved me. It was surely Aisha's work, and the fact that the garden remained intact indicated that, whatever hit the barrier, it hadn't escalated further.
I finally entered. The warmth of the home hit me, contrasting with the frigid exterior.
The first thing we saw was Rudeus kneeling in the middle of the living room, hugging Sylphie so tightly it seemed he was afraid she would vanish if he let go. Sylphie, though confused by her husband's thunderous entrance, returned the hug with tenderness.
To one side were Aisha and Norn, watching the scene with radiant smiles, until their eyes fell upon the rest of us. The silence in the room filled with a heavy emotion, contained for months.
Paul was the first to break the ice. He stepped forward, his voice slightly hoarse with emotion, and simply said:
"We're home."
Aisha let out a small cry of joy and ran toward us. Before she could say a word, her gaze met mine; it was a fleeting instant, but I saw a spark of seriousness in her eyes. She had much to tell me about what had happened at the mansion while we were away.
Norn and Aisha threw themselves into Paul's arms, merging into a hug. Aisha, ever attentive, pulled away first to approach Lilia, hugging her just as warmly.
Then, Norn slowly separated from her father's arms. Her eyes, clouded with tears, scanned the group desperately searching for a single figure. When she finally saw Zenith, her face lit up with a spark of pure hope.
"Mama!" Norn exclaimed, running toward her.
She threw herself into her arms, hugging her with all her strength, burying her face in her clothes as if she wanted to wake up from a nightmare. However, Zenith's silence was absolute. When Norn looked up, expecting a caress or a word of comfort, she froze.
She saw her mother's eyes. There was no recognition, no joy, no tears. Zenith was looking at her with a vacant, distant expression.
Norn's smile faded slowly, replaced by an expression of horror and confusion. She took a step back, without letting go of her mother's hands, which remained inert.
"Mama...?" Norn whispered with a trembling voice, looking at Paul for an explanation he didn't dare give.
The silence that followed was suffocating. Paul lowered his head, unable to meet his youngest daughter's gaze. I stayed a step behind; this was precisely what had worried me most about this return.
"Dime, Great Sage... how much longer do you need?" I asked in my mind.
"I am still processing the information and adjusting the parameters of the spell structure. Patience," it responded.
"Fine. Hurry up."
Then, Aisha spoke to me, pulling me abruptly from my thoughts. She said nothing in front of the others; she simply gave me a subtle nod to follow her to a more private corner of the mansion. We walked a few meters until we were out of earshot, near the window overlooking the back garden.
"It seems you've done very well around here," I said in a low voice, breaking the ice while affectionately stroking her head. "Besides, it looks like you're a bit taller than before, Aisha."
She closed her eyes for a moment, enjoying the gesture and letting out a sigh of relief.
"Well, it was thanks to everything you taught us," she replied with a modest smile. "And also because Princess Ariel and Luke were visiting when it all happened."
"Tell me exactly what occurred," I requested, lowering my voice even further.
"A few days ago, a group of people surrounded the mansion. They attacked at night, but the barrier you installed protected the house from their spells," Aisha explained, her eyes shining with a mix of pride and tension.
"They tried to enter by force, but without success. Just as you ordered, Norn and I took charge of protecting the house and Sylphie-ne. Luke also joined the fight when he saw the situation. Furthermore, we didn't tell Sylphie-ne what happened to avoid worrying her."
I was impressed by Aisha's composure. She had followed my security protocols to the letter. However, what she said next left me completely frozen.
"In fact... we managed to catch one alive," Aisha added. "We have him held in the secret room under the basement."
I remained silent for a second, processing the information. My barriers hadn't just served as a shield; the training I gave the girls had allowed them to counterattack.
If they had a prisoner, it was the perfect opportunity to find out who had sent them. "Was it a pawn of Hitogami or something related to Ariel's politics?"
"Good job, Aisha. You've exceeded my expectations," I said firmly as I released my hand from her head and adjusted Roxaria's belt. "Take me there right now. Before Rudeus or Paul find out."
Aisha nodded with determination and began to walk toward the kitchen, where the hidden entrance was located.
Upon entering the secret basement, I saw a sleeping man sitting on a stone chair. He was heavily bound with ropes, and on his chest glowed the anti-magic seal I had designed myself to nullify any trace of mana.
"Aisha, could you leave me alone with him?" I said, giving her a smile.
She nodded without question and withdrew, closing the heavy door behind her. I approached the man and delivered a sharp blow to his head, forcing him back to reality instantly.
"What are you doing, kid—" he started to say, but stopped as he focused his vision and blinked several times. "Oh... so you're already here. This makes my job much easier."
The subject let out a throaty laugh and looked at me with a confidence that didn't fit his current situation. Despite being tied up and under the effect of the anti-magic seal, his eyes shone with an unsettling fanaticism.
"Listen well, brat. If you don't want the Great God to make your life a living hell... you better obey. Y
ou were lucky this time, but next time you won't be so fortunate. He told me that if you killed the girl of the demon race, the blue-haired one, he might ignore you... and he wouldn't do anything to those two."
I stood motionless. The air in the room seemed to freeze. It wasn't just a threat; it was a direct order from Hitogami, delivered through a pawn to test my loyalty.
The coward wanted me to kill Roxy myself to "forgive" me, while using the lives of my other important people as bargaining chips.
I felt a pressure in my chest, but it wasn't fear. It was a cold fury that began to overflow. My eyes narrowed and the **Touki** began to cover my body, making the stone chair he was sitting on vibrate from the sheer physical pressure.
"Ignore me?" I repeated. My own voice sounded strange to me, frigid. I leaned toward him slowly, invading his space until our noses almost touched.
"Tell me something... does Hitogami actually think I'm just trash he can handle? Or is he simply a brainless idiot who doesn't know who he's dealing with?"
"Make no mistake!" he spat. His voice trembled violently at the sight of the turquoise glow emanating from my hand. "He sees everything. If you don't do it, someone else will. The blue-haired girl will die and, for your disobedience, those two will as well."
"Someone else? Let them try," I said with a smile that didn't reach my eyes, a grimace loaded with an inhuman coldness. "But before you go, do me a favor... Tell your God that I want to talk to him."
In that precise instant, I imbued my arm with a massive amount of Touki and compressed mana. Without warning, my hand pierced through his torso with the ease of a hot knife cutting through butter. The impact didn't stop there; the force was such that I also pierced through the back of the solid stone chair, leaving a perfect hole as rock dust flew through the air.
The man didn't even have time to scream. His eyes opened wide, losing the spark of life as the trace of Hitogami's influence vanished. I withdrew my hand slowly and wiped the blood from my fingers with an old rag.
"Great Sage, allow me to enter my dreams this time, but block access to my deep memory. I don't want that being to be more troublesome than he already is."
I let out a long sigh. I had forgotten this facet of my personality; this shadow of my previous life that only emerged when I killed those who threatened what I loved most. I cast a high-intensity fire spell, reducing the body and any evidence to ashes in seconds.
I took a moment to breathe, calming my mana flow and forcing my face back into its usual expression. Upon leaving the basement, I found Aisha waiting for me, anxious.
"What happened? What did he tell you?" she asked, searching my face for answers.
"Nothing important, don't worry," I replied with a soft voice, returning to my usual self. "I'll take care of everything. You just make sure Norn and the others get some good rest."
Aisha looked at me with doubt, but nodded. She knew that when I wore that face, she wouldn't get any more information.
"Let's go to the living room before the others wonder where we are," I told her, regaining my calm and everyday tone.
Upon reaching the main room, the atmosphere was somber. Norn was sitting on the sofa, her shoulders slumped and her face soaked in tears; Paul had already explained to her, with all the harshness of the situation, what was happening to Zenith.
Paul hugged her tightly, as if trying to protect her from the pain that he himself could barely endure. To one side, Rudeus and Sylphie watched in silence, sharing that sadness.
I leaned against the doorframe, observing the scene. My hands still held the heat of the fire spell and my mind continued tracing plans against a god hiding in the shadows, but seeing Norn like that, I remembered why I did all this.
"Everything will be fine, Norn," I murmured, though I wasn't sure if she could hear me. "Soon your mother will regain her glow."
The night in Sharia fell heavy and frigid, covering the mansion with a mantle of silent snow.
That night, as I closed my eyes, I felt no fear. For the first time, I was anxious to enter my dreams. I was anxious to see that bastard's face.
End of Chapter