Chapter 57
“K-Kiriel Young Master…….”
“If any one of you dares to speak carelessly about my son or daughter one more time, you’ll be the ones turned into beast cubs. Go ahead and try it if you want to get chased out after having even your brains chewed up.”
“Th-that’s, w-we were just j-joking around…….”
Crash—!
Holy power poured down like lightning at the man’s feet.
“Eek!”
The man who swallowed a scream tumbled over clumsily, rolling across the ground.
“I’m warning you in advance, but I’m only letting this end as a warning because I don’t want to interrupt my child’s fight. You’d better thank my son for that. And you should watch that tongue of yours spitting out useless excuses. I might just cut it off if you’re not careful.”
His voice was languid and drawling, carrying no hint of anger, but the moment Kiriel’s red eyes slowly shifted to look at the man, he realized it.
If he didn’t back down now, there would be no tomorrow for him.
Those coolly sunken eyes were utterly at odds with his drowsy voice and demeanor.
“I-I’m sorry.”
The man, whose face had gone deathly pale, bowed his head, staggered to his feet, then sat back down, clenching his fists tightly.
Kiriel clicked his tongue lowly.
“Oh, what’s this? Acting like you’re a real father now, are you, little bro?”
Kiriel paused at Klein’s sudden words from beside him. He blinked once.
‘Come to think of it, I just took it in stride at first…….’
It had started as a way to check the strange demon energy he sometimes sensed from Bunny.
He hadn’t realized at first that having a child was such a demanding responsibility. He’d thought providing food, clothing, and shelter was all it took.
But children were far more delicate and sensitive than he’d imagined. They required so much attention.
Yet, strangely enough, he didn’t mind it. For someone who had been indifferent to everything in the world, here he was, declaring he’d adopt a child from the branch family—and of course Klein would find it ridiculous.
But so what?
Kiriel had never paid the slightest attention to his brother’s words since long ago, so it was no blow to him at all.
Kiriel shrugged indifferently as usual and fell silent.
‘That said…….’
Kiriel’s eyes narrowed.
Shatter—!
The spear formed from Allen’s Holy power shattered into pieces. The density was just too different.
Allen was still young and inexperienced compared to Kalbad, so it was only natural that he was being overpowered.
‘He’s more heated up than I expected.’
Allen was holding his own better than his age suggested, but that was all. It wasn’t enough to beat Kalbad.
“A pathetic half-breed who can’t even block a single attack like this……!”
Those who handled divine beasts fundamentally needed to have pure hearts. The higher the class of the divine beast, the more crucial it was not to succumb to malice.
Divine beasts were extremely sensitive to such negative emotions, and a divine beast influenced by them became incredibly dangerous.
Slash—
It was the moment Kalbad’s sword swiftly cut down Allen’s divine beast as it slithered up from the ground.
Roooar—!
Crash, the Kirin that had charged right up to Allen’s face reared up on its hind legs with a sharp cry. The horse’s front hooves rose high above his head.
“Ah…….”
Allen’s eyes widened in shock. He had lost his sword, and the divine beast he’d summoned was now caught by Kalbad, leaving him completely powerless.
“Kalbad, stop!”
It was the moment Klein Yudia shouted and Kiriel, having set Bunny down, abruptly stood and rushed into the Training Grounds.
Thud—!
The Kirin’s hoof slammed mercilessly down onto Allen’s head.
With no time to dodge, Allen rolled across the ground after taking the blow to his skull.
“…Huh?”
Kalbad’s eyes flew wide in bewilderment at the same time,
Rooooaaarrr—!!
The Kirin he had summoned let out a bizarre cry, its eyes flashing an eerie blue, before going berserk.
Kiriel, who had dashed forward, hurriedly scooped Allen into his arms. Bright red blood dripped steadily.
“Allen. Allen?”
“…….”
Even as the crimson blood stained his pristine white uniform, Kiriel embraced the child without a care, his body going rigid.
“…Dead.”
The small head was severely crushed where the hoof had struck. The caved-in skull was so horrific it was impossible to imagine survival.
“Call a doctor! What are you all standing around for?!”
Kiriel twisted his face into an expression no one had ever seen before and bellowed ferociously.
Only then did people snap out of it and start moving hurriedly.
The Kirin’s eyes flashed at Kiriel’s savage aura, and it snorted wildly. Huff, huff. Its excited snorts came heavily.
Soon, unable to calm its frenzy, the Kirin began thrashing about.
“N-No…….”
Amid the murmurs erupting from all sides and the sounds of people rushing about, Kalbad drew in a large, pale-faced breath.
“No… I didn’t mean for it to go this far…….”
“Kalbad Yudia! You stupid bastard! Do you even realize what you’ve done?!”
“…Father, no! I didn’t mean to. I just wanted to win…… I never thought it would turn out like this……!”
Smack—!
His head whipped to the side.
As stinging pain flared on his cheek, Kalbad’s widened eyes began trembling finely. He clutched his cheek with his hand and swallowed hard.
“You think you’re something special just because you have power and people fawn over you? You pathetic fool……! Swinging around power you can’t even handle is what leads to this mess!”
Kalbad lowered his trembling gaze and dropped his head as he stared blankly at the contempt-filled glare.
“You idiot.”
“…….”
Kalbad’s lips moved faintly, but in the end, he clamped them shut.
A burst of pure white light erupted around Klein Yudia, followed by a savage roar echoing out.
Rooaaar—!
A massive white tiger, as white as snow and as large as Klein Yudia himself, appeared and charged straight at the Kirin, tearing into the frenzied beast.
“Ah…… Father! I’ll recall it! Father! Stop! Plea…… Ah.”
Kalbad, panicked, clung to Klein Yudia with a face full of shock.
But his pleas fell on deaf ears as he watched his own Kirin get mauled and forcibly unsummoned, vanishing before collapsing to the ground.
“Allen……?”
In the midst of the chaos, Kiriel startled at the sudden voice from behind and whipped his head around.
Bunny had somehow made her way from far off to right in front of him, standing steadfastly at his side, blinking up at him.
“Bunny, you can’t come here. Hurry back to the room…….”
“Daddy.”
Unlike usual, Bunny’s eyes were calm as she gazed steadily at Allen.
Kiriel paused at her voice, heavy with surging emotion, and looked at her.
“Bunny?”
Several doctors had rushed over to examine Allen, but none dared to touch him.
And for good reason—his head was deeply caved in, blood streaming down, and his skull was shattered so badly that the inside was visible.
Ripple—
A haze-like aura rose from Allen’s body.
A scent wafted through the air. The smell of a soul facing death.
The moment demons loved most, the moment they cherished above all.
Churn.
Feeling her stomach roil, Bunny slowly raised her hand and clutched her chest tightly.
