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Chapter 16
At last, his true feelings, which he had been hiding, came to the surface. But Abelous just shrugged as if to say, “So what if I’m a monster.”
“I should’ve shut his mouth.”
When Abelous muttered this, Skyvola crouched, trembling for a moment, then suddenly stood up and bolted out of the training grounds.
“That bastard…”
Skyvola, who had stopped somewhere near the entrance of the training grounds, scratched his injured arm roughly.
Blood seeped from the reddened, blistered skin.
It was always Abelous—that bastard—who was the problem.
He could have everything. Except for whatever Abelous had.
A grinding sound came from between his clenched teeth. It had been a long time since he felt this kind of humiliation.
It was unforgettable—the day of his first spar with Abelous.
Skyvola had been thrown onto a pool of sticky, molten lava just seconds after the signal whistle blew.
That was the moment he realized Abelous stood in a place he could never reach.
But that day, Skyvola realized one more thing from his loss.
“How’s Skyvola doing? …I see. I should’ve been more careful.”
It had been purely by chance.
“Young master almost killed me.”
That one bitter remark, carelessly thrown at Abelous who had come to visit him in the infirmary, brought him an unexpected windfall.
Abelous’s face had gone pale, and Skyvola, realizing that things were far from over, turned his head and smiled.
The goddess had given Abelous power—but not pride.
“Young master, did you hear about the fire that killed hundreds?”
“…”
He trembled before his own power, yet only showed kindness to the weak.
“Terrifying, isn’t it? I wonder how painfully they died. Killing people with fire… it’s a calamity.”
“…Right.”
He shook whenever shaken, flinched whenever nudged.
‘If things continue like this, I’ll have my chance too.’
…Or so he thought.
“Skyvola. I’ve thought this for a while, but you’re really quite courageous.”
But what was with his attitude today?
Why was he doing something so unlike himself?
How could he dare use divine power on someone?
How could he—and so casually, at that?
Unable to control his fury, Skyvola slammed his fist into the outer wall of the training grounds.
And in that moment, one possibility came to mind.
That kid.
There was only one thing that had changed about Abelous: he now had a successor who could produce blue flames just like his own.
Is it different now that there are two of them?
He had tried so hard to restrain Abelous before, and now there were two unbeatable monsters…
His heart threatened to burst from fury.
Just then, his eyes landed on a scroll carelessly placed on a tree stump.
[DCXLIV. Descent]
Once Abelous stepped forward, the other children no longer approached me.
Even Skyvola, who had stormed out earlier, returned with a casual smile.
“Where did you go?”
“Just washed my face.”
What a pity. I had hoped the experience had taught him something.
The rest of the training ended without incident. The instructor who returned midway was quite surprised to see me there, though.
As I watched the children leave one by one, I heard Abelous’s voice from behind.
“Temple.”
“Excuse me?”
Startled, I turned around, and he added,
“You said you were going.”
Oh, that’s right.
As we walked the path around the mountain toward the temple, dyed in the hues of sunset, Abelous said nothing, simply walking ahead.
I followed behind him, thinking over what had just happened.
I had always believed that, if my magic was ever exposed, he would step in at some point—but I never expected he’d go so far as to use divine power in that situation.
“Abe-nut, thank you!”
I shouted toward his back as he walked ahead.
Abelous glanced back at me, then slightly slowed his pace.
“Abe-nut! Don’t mind what the others say. You’re the strongest and the coolest!”
His slowing steps suddenly stopped altogether.
He slowly turned to face me.
There was something strangely sorrowful in his expression, so I met his eyes and added,
“And Abe-nut will only use the goddess’s power to protect, right?”
That’s something I can guarantee.
“I’m not really bothered by it, so you can forget it too. That guy thinks he can beat me with words, even if he can’t with strength… I’ve only held back because I thought he’d die if I hit him too hard.”
“Yeah! I figured as much.”
“I don’t even know why I’m saying this to you.”
“So what?”
I had been worried he was feeling down, but he seemed to be holding up in his own way.
What a relief.
We walked side by side again.
When we reached the temple, Priestess Sosia greeted us warmly.
‘Is she going to scold me for climbing up here on my own?’
But contrary to my worries, the priestess simply said she was happy to see me again. She didn’t mention anything else.
Abelous didn’t ask her anything either. He seemed to think I’d climbed up with her help.
While I ate the fruits brought by the temple acolytes, Abelous offered a short prayer to the goddess.
“Next time, I promise to offer something even better. Merciful Goddess.”
He offered the prepared offering and knelt in front of the statue, praying for a long time.
The statue looked just as I remembered.
Except for the marble being a bit whiter and perfectly smooth without a single crack.
Since this was a prayer to the goddess, and I’d personally received her blessing, I couldn’t just skip out.
“Abe-nut, can I pray too?”
With his eyes still closed, Abelous gave a small nod.
“What will you pray for, miss?”
A temple acolyte asked as they straightened my clothes.
“Um… for lots more snacks?”
I sat neatly beside Abelous and folded my hands together.
‘With the body and life you’ve granted me, I will do anything for Ignitus and this person beside me. Merciful Goddess.’
By the time we left the temple, the sun was already touching the horizon.
“Let’s head back. We’ve spent too much time here.”
Abelous picked up the scroll he had placed on the stump.
I stared blankly at the scroll in his hand—I hadn’t thought at all about how we would get back down.
“…You didn’t come up here without a plan to get back down, did you?”
“Hehe.”
I had nothing to say, so I just laughed.
“For two people to descend with this…”
To descend using a single divine glyph, we’d have to hold tightly onto each other.
Would he hate that? We weren’t exactly on great terms…
“I’ll just walk…”
Abelous looked at me as if I were hopeless.
“Stop talking nonsense. Get on.”
“Yes, sir!”
I had wondered whether we’d make it back before sunrise—what a relief.
And maybe it was just my imagination, but it felt like Abelous had been a bit more kind since earlier.
When he bent down, I climbed onto his back and clung tightly to his neck.
A nearby acolyte tied me securely with rope.
Standing in the center of the platform, Abelous unfurled the scroll.
[DCXLIV. Descent]
It was a scroll imbued with a divine power that slowed a person’s fall from high places.
Light seeped out from the activated glyph.
Confirming this, Abelous expertly jumped from the deck.
‘Huh? Wait a second… this shape…’
It was only after I saw the diagonal line crossing the circular glyph—and realized we were falling—that I understood.
