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Chapter 81
The boy’s youthful appearance no longer held the strange, miraculous power it once had.
With him, the light vanished, and the wind stopped.
That wasn’t to say, however, that the miracles Dimuad had unleashed disappeared without a trace.
The once gloomy, dark forest now glittered as if sprinkled with golden dust, and the scent of flowers wafted through the breeze.
It was beautiful.
And at the center of it all, the boy with silver hair and violet eyes stood out even more, his captivating features strikingly vivid.
A divine and great power.
“…My goodness.”
Jade, who had gradually regained consciousness and witnessed everything, widened her eyes in disbelief.
‘Is this… Dimuad’s power, which the Layer family, Princess Irene, and Renor tried so hard to keep hidden…?’
The shock and awe surged all at once.
‘I—I thought Dimuad was a guide!’
A guide like Adrian, the legendary S-class, the strongest of the strong.
One whose mere existence could calm, purify, and simultaneously drive ability users insane!
It was natural for Jade to think this way.
What Dimuad was going through was exactly what Adrian experienced during his first run in Sicheongui.
Born as an incredibly powerful guide, yet unfortunately, Adrian wasn’t born with the ability to protect himself.
Various forces targeting him repeatedly massacred and kidnapped his family and friends.
‘First it was Elisius of the Mage Tower, then the royal family, and later even the ability users…’
Life was cruel to Adrian.
Some readers of Sicheongui complained that Adrian’s revenge was far too brutal, but when brief glimpses of his past suffering were shown, reactions overwhelmingly shifted to: “Adrian is innocent,” “That’s justice served,” “I’d have done the same.”
Jade was among the latter. And she saw Adrian mirrored in Dimuad.
‘The young Adrian before all the tragedies and despair unfolded in the main story might have looked like this.’
That’s why, even when Dimuad displayed all sorts of tantrums and rude behavior, Jade tolerated it—unlike when dealing with the Countess Artu.
And why she threw herself to save him immediately upon seeing him kidnapped this time.
There was also a hint of hope.
‘Since I helped him so much… maybe he’ll take turns running with Adrian!’
Adrian’s issue wasn’t just that he was an incredibly powerful guide, but also that there wasn’t another guide anywhere near his level.
‘If there’s even one more, the burden will lessen!’
It was an investment in the future, hoping that Dimuad might eventually side with Adrian.
But then…
‘He’s not a guide, but a buffer—?!’
A buffer. In terms of classification, among tank-damage-heal types, he belonged to the “heal” category—a support-enhancement ability user.
Jade was stunned by the unexpected revelation.
Perhaps thanks to the bond she had built with the talking tree, Danuren Kuset, while unconscious, Jade was temporarily connected to the nerves of the trees in this human-hating forest.
So when Dimuad began to sing, Jade could precisely understand what was happening.
The supernatural power unleashed by Dimuad swept across the area, weakening the enemies that had intruded into the forest while simultaneously strengthening the forest itself to attack those enemies.
‘My goodness… Buff and Debuff at the same time.’
It was even an area-of-effect skill.
This human-hating forest was so vast that Dimuad likely cast the ability without knowing exactly where the enemies were.
‘…Insane.’
Jade shivered at the unexpectedly immense power.
‘No wonder he acted like he’d been shot in the head in both the royal court and the Mage Tower.’
He probably figured that the Layer family or their allies didn’t matter.
With the ability to strengthen allies and weaken enemies on a wide scale, what were the so-called top three imperial families worth?
This was a power capable of reshaping the continent’s balance of power.
‘It even affects ability users.’
Only then did Jade understand why Princess Irene had acted the way she did at the banquet.
It wasn’t just about creating an excuse to stay with Godwin by mentioning succession disputes—it was also to naturally push Alucas, who attended the banquet, out!
‘At first, I thought it was to prevent Dimuad from being discovered as a guide…’
But now Jade realized that wasn’t the case.
The Mercenary King Alucas and the Arkai Mercenary Corps were semi-criminal forces that would use any means necessary to become the continent’s strongest military group.
‘If it were them, the moment they realized Dimuad’s power, they’d kidnap him to use as a Buff/Debuff shuttle.’
This was, in some ways, an even more exploitable power than Adrian’s. Adrian only affected “mere” ability users.
‘I’m starting to understand why Princess Irene put him through such brutal, Spartan-like training.’
Though Jade wondered if it was really okay to understand… she gave a bitter smile.
She realized why Dimuad had committed suicide in Sicheongui.
After his mother’s suicide while protecting him, Dimuad would have felt to his core that no one could protect him, and that his sister, father, and the entire Layer family had become hostages to be used for their own ends.
‘That’s why he committed suicide.’
It wasn’t just despair—it might have been his young, boyish way of protecting his family.
‘That must be why he left no body behind.’
All the suspicious behavior of the Layer party suddenly made sense, yet resolving the questions didn’t bring relief—it was bitter.
‘…Another Adrian exists here.’
At least Adrian had gotten revenge after his regression. Dimuad… not so much.
Sighing internally, Jade slowly blinked and rose to her feet.
“……”
Dimuad’s wine-colored eyes stared at her without blinking.
He remembered Jade clutching him as they fell.
Thanks to that, he had no injuries at all.
Yet Jade’s face and skin were covered in red scratches from the vicious branches and leaves…
‘And she hasn’t woken up.’
No matter how much he shook or shouted, she remained eerily still, as if no soul inhabited her body.
In his panic, Dimuad didn’t realize that from such a height, even if Jade had absorbed the impact, it was impossible for him to remain unscathed, and it was impossible that Jade only had scratches and no broken bones.
But having been kidnapped, attempted suicide, and then rescued by his secret crush—who had held him and fallen unconscious along with him—Dimuad’s normal reasoning was impossible.
Especially since he had activated his abilities, which he had vowed not to use even at the risk of death, to save Jade.
“……”
Dimuad had undergone intense internal changes due to the overwhelming events and shocks…
‘The kid’s buffing ability is insane.’
Yet Jade, the one who had caused Dimuad to be this way, had no particular thoughts.
‘She got scratched and hurt during the fall, but there’s not a single wound.’
Using magic also feels like it recharged me.
The light pouring out… it feels like all physical fatigue has been washed away. Almost like a healer’s skill.
As Jade marveled, moving her body around, she was suddenly startled.
“Di-Dimuad?!”
The Dimuad sitting beside her, staring silently, was now quietly shedding tears!
‘Why is he crying?!’
Come to think of it, it was understandable. From being kidnapped to being dropped into a strange forest by a rampaging flying monster—there were plenty of reasons to cry!
Jade instinctively hugged Dimuad, trying to comfort him.
“Don’t cry, okay? It’s alright now… it’s okay…”
“Uhh—!”
At those words, Dimuad, who had been silently crying, clung even more fiercely, letting out loud sobs.
‘Why?!’
Jade couldn’t remember what she had said during the fall, nor what switch she might have accidentally pressed.
‘W-Was he really scared? Well, it makes sense. Kidnapping, monsters, and the human-hating forest—total chaos…’
But didn’t he dislike me before? He spat all sorts of insults just by seeing me!
The sudden closeness of Dimuad’s body and heart felt utterly unfamiliar.
Somehow, it felt strangely reminiscent of Renor… but was that just my imagination?
‘…Maybe because I saved his life?’
Yes, if that was the reason, the sudden shift in attitude made sense.
‘Nothing works better for winning someone’s heart than saving their life…!’
Even this feisty little “kitten” could be tamed! Jade, unaware of Dimuad’s inner thoughts, admired and accepted it silently.
“Shh—It’s okay. It’s okay now…”
Comforting Dimuad in her arms, Jade walked out of the forest.
Unaware of what was happening outside, in the heart of Godwin.
“……Harris!”
In the heart of Godwin, the former duke shouted as if vomiting blood.
Covered in chunks of monster flesh and blood, wearing full-plate armor and armed with heavy weapons, the former duke exuded the aura of a veteran who had survived countless battlefields.
Yet beneath the helmet, his face was pale with fear.
“What on earth is going on here?!”
