"Farm a plot of land for all I care."
"There's no need to worry, dear." Elina stood up and hugged Lith from behind.
"We know our lives are in danger since the day you were admitted into the academy, yet I never regretted that decision"
"Wait, did you know?" Lith was shocked.
"Of course we did, son." Raaz nodded.
"We aren't stupid. Also, Nana and Count Lark warned us multiple times when they asked for our help to convince you to take the entrance exams. We unanimously decided you deserved a chance at a better life. Me, your mother, and your sisters."
Lith didn't miss how his father had not mentioned Trion, even though he was still part of the family at the time. He inwardly sent Trion to farm a plot of land before forgetting about his existence again.
"You can't let your fears ruin a moment like this, dear." Elina kissed his head.
"A lot of bad things could have happened, yet we are still here. We're not rich, powerful, or influential, but it doesn't mean we can't fight by your side. I'm your mother, I'm ready to put my life on the line for you since the day you were born."
"We all do." Raaz said standing up to join the embrace, soon followed by Rena, Tista and the kids, who had no idea what was happening but still wanted to express their love for Lith.
"I'm sorry, I need some air." Lith ran away from his home and through the Trawn woods like he had a dragon on his heels. There were few things that scared him, and losing control over his own feelings was among them.
The thought that all of his lies about how safe he was at the academy, of how despite his schemes and underhanded deals his family had lived in fear for all those years, filled him with enough rage to topple a mountain.
'Please, calm down.' Solus tried to comfort him. 'You should be happy knowing they love you so much. That they fought for your happiness as hard as you did for theirs.'
'Why should I be happy?' Lith inwardly screamed. 'All of my sacrifices, all of my pain. It was all for nothing! What good is my power if I can't even protect what I hold in my hand? Why do I bother with this rotten Kingdom? They should all die!'
'What about Nana? Count Lark?' Solus objected. 'What about Phloria, Friya, Yurial or Quylla? Did Yurial deserve to die? Didn't the Marchioness and the Crown keep their word so far? They are the reason why Lutia is called 'The Graveyard'.
'All of your efforts gave your family a better life. Tista is alive and well because of you. Aran was born because of you. Leria was born because of you. Nothing that's worth having comes easy, remember? Your words, not mine.'
Lith's ragged breath slowly returned to normal.
'I'm sorry, you are right. It's just that killing is so much easier than protecting. I wish Protector was still here. I wish…'
"Lith Verhen, you're not an easy man to find."
Lith turned toward the source of the husky voice. One of the Shadows of Kaduria seemed to have escaped from the destruction of the Black Star. Despite its human shape, the thing was made of living darkness that writhed at its every step.
Only when it came closer Lith noticed that it wasn't one of the cursed object's thralls. Instead of eyes, the thing had two small vortexes that sucked every particle of light around its head, making it a blur despite the sun had yet to set below the horizon.
"An Abomination. It's the first time I meet someone of your race capable of speaking before attacking." Lith was in a really bad mood and finding the creature so close to his home made it even worse.
"I'm not here to fight you." The Abomination raised its hands in a universal gesture of peace. "I only wish to reclaim what you stole. Give it to me and then I'll be on my way."
"First, I never stole anything. What I have I earned it through either fight or hard work. Second, why should I trust you?" Lith used that empty talk to weave all of his best spells.
"You're lying. The orc's crystal wasn't yours to take. I've worked hard for it. Give it back, now!" The creature's voice was so low it sounded like a cough when it tried to yell.
'Watch out. Without a colored core I don't know exactly how strong it is, but judging from its mana flow and life force the Abomination should be quite powerful. We never met an intelligent Abomination before, so be ready for anything.' Solus warned him.
"And you are the so called 'Master'?" Lith sneered. "Disappointing."
"How do you know about the Master?" The creature stopped in its tracks.
"Gremus. That big mouthed worm. It didn't fail the mission, you killed it!"
"What if I did?" Lith grinned. He had almost finished preparing the field.
"You should watch your mouth. Your family…"
Truth to be told, the Abomination was about to warn Lith that, in case they fought, his family could get caught in the crossfire since they were relatively close. It had no intention of threatening him.
The next thing the Abomination knew was that its body seemed to have been struck by a meteor. It flew deep inside the Trawn woods, crashing through trees too young or thin to withstand the impact before it tumbled in the dirt.
"What about my family?" Unluckily, Lith didn't know, nor did he care about its intentions. A blue aura surrounded him, growing in intensity with each passing second.
The Abomination shook its head to clear its blurred vision just in time to see the Gatekeeper appear in Lith's right hand amid a burst of emerald flames.
"I…" Before the creature could speak, Lith darted forward in an overhead slash. The attack was too fast to dodge it from such an unstable stance. The Abomination's arms shapeshifted into two blades made of shadows, with which it intercepted the blade in the nick of time by crossing them above its head.
The impact made the creature kneel, allowing Lith to execute a front kick with all of his strength. The Abomination was sent even deeper inside the woods, its body bounced on the thick trees like a pinball.
'What's happening? According to the Master's data, he should be weaker than a Valor. I'm way stronger than a filthy undead.' It thought.
The creature saw Lith's eyes brimming with blue mana as he moved through the darkness of the forest. Then, his eyes turned yellow and another pair opened on his forehead.
"What about my family?" His voice was reduced to a snarl as two more eyes opened and his skin turned into scales. The blade flashed, but this time the Abomination was ready.
It rolled to the side while extending its right arm, still in the form of a blade, to counterattack while Lith was out of balance. The attempt failed miserably since the creature was out of balance too. Its left arm and part of its shoulder fell on the ground with a thud sound.
A seventh eye opened in the middle of Lith's forehead.
"What. About. My. Family?"
