Chapter 164. The Witch of the Night (5)

‘Well then.’

Slowly turning my head, I glanced around.

Aaron looking at me with expectant eyes.

Bella sighing with a look that said, ‘Here we go again.’

Rios crossing his arms with a smug expression, and Lanes looking at me with concern.

Step, step.

Under the gaze of my seniors, I turned to look at the lizard monster with seven glowing eyes.

I let my sword tip drag on the ground, deliberately leaving an opening.

“Shiiiiiiik!”

The lizard monster, observing my movements, let out a sharp, horrific cry and lunged at me.

I swung my sword at the charging lizard monster.

“Shiik!”

The lizard monster used its tail as a pivot to quickly lift its body and dodge the sword.

A swift movement befitting a seventh-rank monster.

Berald Martial Arts.

Sweeping Fallen Leaves.

My foot swept low, striking the lizard monster’s tail.

In an instant, the monster lost its balance and toppled over.

And in the direction it fell…

Swoosh!

The sword it had dodged earlier was waiting, blade poised.

“Kieeeek…!”

The monster let out a final scream as its head was severed.

“……”

“……”

“……”

A silence fell like a curtain.

Aaron, Bella, and Rios were staring at me in shock.

“Y-you… what just…?”

Bella trailed off, clearly confused.

“…Hah.”

Aaron also looked down at the severed head of the lizard monster with a complicated expression.

He stroked his chin, recalling the recent battle, and alternated his gaze between my sword and the monster’s corpse.

“You deliberately left an opening to lure it in… and even used martial arts… Ah, and when the monster charged earlier, you swung your sword to make it use its tail as a pivot, right?”

“It was just luck.”

I humbly deflected, and Aaron chuckled, shaking his head.

“No, it wasn’t luck. You had your sword precisely where the monster’s neck would fall.”

Aaron’s voice was excited as he shook his head, his eyes sparkling.

“So the rumors were true?”

“What rumors?”

“That you’re on par with Yuren Helios.”

“……”

Well.

It had been quite a while since I started training with Yuren, so it was only natural for such rumors to spread.

“Honestly, I thought it was nonsense… but it seems the rumors weren’t unfounded after all.”

“I still have a lot to learn compared to Yuren.”

“Hahaha! And humble too. I really like you, junior!”

Aaron’s eyes shone as if he had discovered a hidden treasure.

“By the way… have you thought about where you’ll go after graduation?”

“Not yet.”

“Haha. Well, how about joining our party? We could really use another reliable frontliner.”

Just moments ago, he was sizing me up, and now he’s outright offering me a spot in his party.

Well.

Given that the ‘Ryu’ family has been declining in power recently, it’s no surprise he doesn’t want to let go of a talent he’s found.

“If you join our party, I can give you personal coaching, regardless of the regular mentoring classes.”

“…Personal coaching?”

“Yeah.”

Aaron nodded with a confident expression.

“If you learn from me, you’ll become a hero even greater than Yuren Helios by the time you graduate.”

“……”

I couldn’t help but let out a wry smile at the thought of who was teaching whom.

But from Aaron’s perspective, of course, he would think he’s the stronger one.

‘After all, I haven’t really shown him anything.’

I didn’t intend to hide my strength, but the opponent was just too weak to give me a chance to show much.

Well, I had no intention of joining Aaron’s party anyway.

‘Let’s play a little hard to get for now.’

I put on a serious expression and let out a short sigh.

“I’m sorry. It’s hard to decide right now.”

“Haha. Don’t rush it. You have plenty of time to think.”

Aaron smiled warmly and patted my shoulder.

“By the way, aren’t you getting hungry? Let’s eat first before we continue with the lesson.”

As he said that, he glanced at Lanes.

Lanes, who had been looking at the scattered monster corpses with a frightened expression, jumped up in surprise.

“Ah, uh, yes! I’ll prepare the meal right away!”

She opened the backpack she had been carrying and took out cooking utensils.

It seemed that the short rest hadn’t fully restored her stamina.

Lanes’ face was filled with deep fatigue as she prepared the meal.

“Let me help…”

Just as I was about to offer to help, seeing Lanes sweating profusely as she cooked.

‘Help her?’

Suddenly.

A memory from my past life surfaced.

An endless expanse of white snow.

A raging blizzard.

White breath escaping through my lips.

Feet sinking knee-deep into the snow.

A silence that fell like a curtain.

A white.

A white world.

“……”

An unbearable hatred boiled up.

Clenching my teeth, I clenched my fists.

‘Don’t pity her.’

The monster before me is the witch who destroyed half the world.

Of course, that’s just a future event that hasn’t happened yet.

But that doesn’t mean I can just let it go as if it were nothing.

Even if you forget.

I remember.

That terrible calamity, that bottomless despair, that endless nightmare.

I.

I haven’t forgotten.

‘…And.’

The real reason Lanes is so dangerous isn’t because she possesses the power to freeze half the world.

If that were the only issue, what would that make me, who wields the Primordial Flame?

The reason Lanes is such a dangerous being isn’t because she possesses the Blessing of Frost.

‘It’s because she can’t control it at all.’

Even when Lanes betrayed humanity and became the Witch of the Night, she couldn’t properly control her power.

She often killed her own allies, and even the Devil God liberation plan that the Mins longed for was nearly ruined because of her.

A calamity to both enemies and allies alike.

That was the Witch of the Night, Lanes Malam.

‘Killing her is the right choice.’

I couldn’t just leave a ticking time bomb alone.

“Haha. Lanes’ cooking skills are quite impressive, so you can look forward to it.”

“…Yes. I’m really looking forward to it.”

I brushed off Aaron’s words and turned my gaze away from Lanes.

Soon, the savory smell of soup tickled my nose.

“Wow, it’s done! I’ll serve it right away!”

Lanes scooped the soup into bowls and scurried around, handing them to each party member.

It felt less like she was a party member and more like a maid brought along.

As Lanes was walking towards me with the last bowl of hot soup.

Thud.

“Kyaaak!”

Lanes tripped over a monster’s corpse.

The hot soup in the bowl spilled towards my thigh.

Lanes looked at me with a pale, horrified expression.

“Sorry! I’m so sorry! I wasn’t paying attention…!”

“……”

“I-I’ll clean it up!”

“…No, it’s fine.”

I had already dodged most of the soup, so only a little had splashed on me.

“T-towel… where did I put the towel? Ah, uh. I-I’m really sorry. I’ll clean it up right away…”

“Lanes.”

Aaron smiled at Lanes, who was frantically rummaging through her backpack.

Lanes’ shoulders trembled.

“Dale said he doesn’t need you to clean it up, right?”

“B-but…”

“Sit down.”

“Uh, okay.”

Lanes sat down, trembling.

Aaron turned to me and asked.

“Are you okay?”

“Ah, yes. I’m fine.”

“Haha. Sorry.”

“…?”

Sorry?

What does Aaron have to apologize to me for in this situation?

“Here, take this.”

“Thank you.”

Aaron handed me a new bowl of soup.

As he said, Lanes’ cooking skills were impressive.

“Now that we’ve filled our stomachs, shall we start hunting monsters again?”

After finishing the meal.

Aaron stood up.

As Lanes hurriedly finished cleaning up and was about to put on her backpack.

“Give me the backpack.”

Aaron approached her and took the backpack instead.

“Aaron…?”

“Lanes, you’re exhausted, aren’t you?”

“B-but.”

“Haha. It’s fine. I’m strong.”

Aaron easily lifted the heavy backpack.

“Uh, okay. Thank you, Aaron.”

Lanes bowed her head to Aaron.

“Let’s go.”

As we walked a bit further into the jungle.

“Grrrrr!”

The lizard monster we had fought earlier appeared again.

Only one this time.

As I was about to deal with it, placing my hand on the hilt of my sword.

“Wait.”

Bella glanced at Lanes and spoke up.

“Lanes. You fight this time.”

“Huh? M-me?”

“Aren’t you a party member too? Stop lazing around and do something.”

“B-but the backpack…”

“The backpack? Aaron’s carrying it now, isn’t he?”

“…!”

Lanes trembled, her face pale.

“N-no. That’s… I mean…”

“What, are you scared because it’s your cousin?”

“C-cousin…?”

“Pfft. Why? You have Min blood too, don’t you? So aren’t you cousins with the monsters?”

Bella shrugged her shoulders with a sneer on her lips.

“…Ah.”

Lanes, half-pushed, approached the monster with a terrified expression.

Watching this, I turned to Aaron.

“……”

Aaron was silently watching Lanes with his arms crossed.

“Aaron, senior.”

“Yeah?”

“Aren’t you going to stop her?”

“Ah.”

Aaron smiled faintly.

“Lanes made a mistake with you earlier, right?”

“…You mean when she spilled the soup?”

“Yeah, that.”

Aaron nodded and continued.

“This kind of thing happens when you let your guard down.”

“……”

A strange sense of discomfort.

A sticky feeling of displeasure.

Spread through my spine.

“It’s like training a dog or a cat. If you don’t punish them appropriately, they’ll make the same mistake again.”

“…Huh.”

A twisted laugh escaped my lips at Aaron’s casual words.

Suddenly.

A conversation I had with the witch flashed through my mind.

-Yeah… I was cold.

Ah, I see.

That’s how it was.

-For a long time… I was always… so cold.

You too.

You were living in a nightmare.

An endless.

Unrelenting.

A terribly long one.