TBULF 17

chapter 17

“I got rid of all the bad monsters, Dad!”

This was from when Raphael was still very young.

It was during the height of the monster war—he remembers it as a time when he was still just a small child.

His mother had passed away early, but his family had been fairly close.

Because his father had always been kind to his three sons.

And so, young Raphael had wanted to stay with his father all the time.

As he played with the blue light flowing from his fingertips, he suddenly realized that he could use it to kill monsters.

And he thought—if he killed all the monsters with this power, then his father would be able to spend more time playing with him.

That was why.

Why he killed the monsters and proudly showed it off.

But when his father saw him, his expression froze—as if he were looking at a monster.

“Raphael… was it you…? The one who killed all the monsters that invaded Kairocen Castle?”

“Yes! With this power! Look at this, Dad!”

The young Raphael, who wanted to be praised, smiled brightly.

But…

His once-kind father froze instantly at the sight of the blue light flowing from Raphael’s hand.

“…I’ve given birth to a monster.”

The power of the monsters he had spent his life killing had manifested in his own son.

And in its most dangerous form—one that could kill others.

From that day on, his father’s attitude completely changed.

The warmth of sitting him on his lap and reading storybooks was gone.

As if looking at a monster, his father stared at Raphael with hatred and whispered repeatedly:

“You will bring death to everything you love. Because your power itself is death.”

Those words, drilled into him like brainwashing—

Raphael already knew they were true.

Raphael stepped deeper into the canyon.

As usual, he scanned his surroundings, then absentmindedly touched a monster’s corpse.

Doing this made it feel real—that he truly had to live as a monster.

That part was fine. But then…

As he erased monsters with detached indifference, had he, for just a moment, thought about that woman?

A voice completely different from his father’s echoed in his mind:

“Then, please take care of me from now on!”

Just as he summoned the bluish light at his fingertips, he realized something.

For a fleeting instant—

That power of death, which erased everything…

Had slipped out of his control?

No… he couldn’t be certain yet.

But beside the monster’s corpse, a single flower tilted to the side had crumbled.

Raphael had not intended to kill that flower.

“…This is troublesome.”

For several hours after that, Raphael continued destroying the remains of monsters that could trigger earthquakes, repeatedly testing and examining his power.

And he reached a conclusion.

Serentia Rosemary.

The moment he thought of that woman, a subtle crack appeared in his emotions.

But he had no intention of becoming a killer who couldn’t control his own power.

So the conclusion was simple:

Anything he couldn’t control—should be removed.

Raphael suddenly looked around.

He had already gone deep into the canyon.

‘The place where my brother’s grave lies.’

He remembered the moment his older brother—the heir of the family—saved him and died, coughing up blood.

His brother’s last words had been different from their father’s.

“Don’t believe Father’s words—that you carry original sin.”

That was his last message.

“Your brother just wants you to live happily, loving someone… Don’t become a monster who kills all his emotions just to control his power.”

But his brother was wrong.

Only by suppressing his emotions, his senses—his very humanity—could he control his power.

The only way to not become a monster… was, paradoxically, to become something like one.

As if arguing with his brother who was no longer there, Raphael muttered:

“Nonsense.”

He collapsed in front of his brother’s grave and let out a low laugh.

Here, in the canyon, he couldn’t even smell the stench of monster blood.

He had suppressed his senses so much that even his sense of smell had been erased.

With a power like this—

How could he ever live a normal life?

He didn’t even know how anymore.

“Why are you here again?”

“I definitely kicked you out!”

Jacob grumbled as he saw Serentia reappear in his room like a ghost.

“Well, actually, I was thinking of teaching you a pretty amazing formula.”

“W-wait—what?!”

…He realized it. That he was weak to the word formula.

‘This… this really feels like she’s got a hold of my weakness!’

But Jacob knew what Serentia really wanted—

To design his annex.

And he had no intention of letting anyone build it.

So he made up his mind.

If he used this method, he could break her will.

“Come with me. There’s somewhere we need to go.”

Jacob grabbed Serentia’s hand and led her out—to the portrait gallery.

“Huh? Are we studying formulas here?”

Jacob shook his head.

“No. Not that. Act like an adult.”

“Oh… yes.”

Jacob stared at a portrait, then lowered his head.

“You know… my mom and dad are here.”

“….”

“I’m not sad. Not at all!”

“…Okay. You’re not sad at all.”

Jacob shuffled forward with his short legs and stopped in front of his father’s portrait.

As he touched the dew-covered chrysanthemums, he said:

“I meet Mom and Dad every day! I bring them flowers every day too!”

He pointed proudly at the chrysanthemums.

But what Serentia noticed wasn’t the flowers—

It was a fresh donut placed in front of the portrait.

“Oh, you left a donut too?”

“Yeah. My dad and I used to eat donuts together all the time. They’re my favorite!”

“Really? Why donuts of all things?”

“You don’t know? Donuts are the perfect food. They’re a torus! A ring surface!”

For a brief moment, Serentia looked at him like he was insane.

But Jacob, clearly used to that kind of look, continued gently touching the donut.

Then, staring at his father’s portrait, he spoke again:

“So… do you understand now why I brought you here?”

“…No, not really.”

“The truth is, when I rejected all those designs saying I wanted a perfect annex—that was a lie. Some of them were actually good.”

“….”

“But you see…”

“….”

“If it’s not a house where I can live together with Mom and Dad… I don’t want any of them.”

Behind his glasses, the boy’s eyes drooped.

His lips trembled downward as he muttered:

“So you shouldn’t try either. Don’t bother coming to me… unless you can bring my mom and dad back to life.”

In Jacob’s heart, there was an ideal home.

But if his parents could never return, then that home might as well not exist at all.

That was why Serentia’s wish—to build him a house—

Could never be fulfilled.

Jacob lowered his gaze and murmured:

“I only told you this much because you understand the beauty of numbers. So stop wasting your time coming to me… and go.”

He turned away.

In the end, he had told someone else that his parents were gone.

Maybe that was why—

His body suddenly felt heavy and drained.