After Lin Gui and his companions left the tavern, the heavy wooden door shut out the cold wind and the dark night outside.
The tavern returned to its usual clamor as the dwarves resumed clinking their mugs and drinking heartily.
However, this lively atmosphere was suddenly interrupted as the door was pushed open.
Three figures stood at the entrance.
Leading them was a tall, thin man dressed in dusty, dark brown hunting gear.
A hand crossbow and a row of silver bolts hung at his waist, and his leather boots were caked with dried mud.
The brim of his hat was pulled low, revealing only a sharp, rigid jawline and tightly pressed lips.
It was the classic look of a Demon Hunter—perhaps even a bit outdated.
Behind him followed two young people, a man and a woman. They wore practical leather coats, carried travel packs, and maintained highly alert gazes.
Blackbeard's expression instantly grew solemn.
He set down his mug and sighed first.
“Cass, if you're here to buy potions...”
“...you'd better look elsewhere.”
“Just a moment ago, all of my stock was sold.”
Hearing this, Cass fell silent for a moment.
He reached up to pull his hat lower and turned to leave.
“Wait,”
Blackbeard called out to him.
His gaze swept over the two young people beside Cass.
“It's been... almost eight years, hasn't it?”
“Your two kids have grown up so much.”
Blackbeard's voice was very low, carrying a rare weight.
“Do you really intend to have them follow you—”
“...and throw away their entire lives for this so-called 'revenge'?”
His gaze landed on the young boy's face.
He could still faintly see the young, terrified, yet forcedly calm face from eight years ago.
Back then, he was barely ten, clutching his sister's hand tightly as he hid behind his father.
Now, his shoulders were broad, his back straight, and his sharp eyes held a maturity far beyond his years.
The same went for the girl beside him.
The little girl who once had messy braids and tear-reddened eyes had now become a cold-eyed, straight-backed Demon Hunter.
As a dwarf, Blackbeard shouldn't have interfered in human grudges, but he couldn't help it.
Eight years ago, on a perilous journey to find the missing Title Rank experts, it was this very Cass who had dragged him out from the spectral demons' eerie flames.
He had to repay this life-saving favor.
“Eight years ago, you pursued the trail of that white-haired Demon King all the way to the City of Bounties,”
Blackbeard said slowly, each word heavy with the weight of memory.
“Since the day you saved me...”
“...I have always kept an eye out for any trace of the Eleventh Pillar Demon King, Gusion.”
His rough fingers idly rubbed the rim of his mug.
Over the years, he had used his network in the City of Bounties more than once to ask hunters and information brokers for any vague rumors regarding “white hair,” “Gusion,” or the “Demon King.”
Every time he caught wind of anything, he would pass it on faithfully.
But most of that information was fragmented and hard to verify.
Some were just rumors, while others were simply tall tales made up by bored hunters looking for amusement.
Yet Cass had pursued them blindly, plunging into the Wall of Sighs time and time again.
He had nearly died several times, barely dragged back by his two equally battered children.
During the most dangerous encounter, they had accidentally entered a place called the Wailing Valley, where the spectral demons imitated the cries of loved ones.
Cass was almost lured over the edge of a cliff, saved only because his son had held onto his leg for dear life at the last second.
The boy's own back had been torn open by the spectral claws of a demon, leaving three deep gashes that exposed his bones.
Even now, those scars would throb with pain on rainy days.
Looking at the silent Cass and the two prematurely matured children, guilt and pity wrapped around Blackbeard's heart like choking vines.
“You only have the strength of a Low-tier Legendary Rank...”
His voice sounded dry.
“But Gusion, who is recognized by a Demon King Pillar, was born at the Low-tier Epic Rank.”
“And might... be even stronger now.”
Blackbeard looked up, his gaze as heavy as iron.
“Even if you do find him—”
“...what then?”
He didn't say these words out loud, but his eyes said it all.
Cass's quest for vengeance would likely end in his death.
But the two children he had adopted were innocent.
Those two children, whom he had raised with such difficulty...
...would also accompany Cass, buried alongside him in that never-ending mist for the sake of his hatred.
Cass remained silent for a moment.
A raspy voice, like sandpaper rubbing together, came from beneath the brim of his hat:
“Ever since Gusion... destroyed everything I had.”
“In these eight years, I have only done two things.”
“Honing my skills to hunt the Demon Race.”
“And preparing... a blade that can kill a Demon King.”
He spoke simply, but Blackbeard knew exactly what that entailed.
It meant a body covered in old scars from fighting demons alone in the wilderness during freezing winters.
It meant sneaking into perilous territories countless times just to harvest rare poisonous herbs that only grew on cliff edges.
It meant spending his entire fortune on the black market to trade for forbidden alchemical items specifically designed to counter High Rank demons.
This man had forged himself into a weapon solely dedicated to revenge.
He had even poured the childhood and youth of his two children into this near-obsessive fixation.
Blackbeard let out a long sigh.
He knew that no matter what, he couldn't stop the man from throwing himself into the fire like a moth to a flame.
“I sold all the potions... to a young man.”
“A fellow countryman from Shield City asked me to look after him.”
He paused.
“They are staying at the Oak Barrel Inn, in the innermost room on the second floor.”
Hearing this, Cass nodded slowly.
The shadow under the brim of his hat hid all of his expressions.
He didn't say thank you, nor did he say goodbye.
He simply turned around in silence, leading his young yet weathered and resolute children. They pushed open the heavy wooden door of the tavern and merged into the cold, dark night outside.
On the other side, after leaving the dwarven tavern, Lin Gui and the other two returned to their temporary lodging.
After packing their luggage, they headed straight to the grassy slope outside the City of Bounties.
The oddly shaped 7-Copper Post Office Exclusive Express Flying Vessel materialized and hovered there.
Just as Lin Gui was about to walk toward the pilot's seat, he saw Theia beat him to it, nimbly sliding into the seat.
Eve followed suit, sitting right behind Theia.
She naturally wrapped her arms around Theia's slender waist.
Lin Gui was dumbfounded.
“What are you two doing?”
The two girls turned their heads at the same time, giving him deadpan looks.
Theia spoke without mercy:
“Due to a certain ignorant individual who has absolutely no concept of speed, and whose only response to warnings is to speed even faster—from now on, the beautiful, charming, youthful, and forever-eighteen Theia will take over the heavy responsibility of piloting!”
Eve nodded with a smile from behind:
“Yes, Captain Theia will be directing our path now.”
“As for you, Mr. Lin Gui, you have sped multiple times, so your piloting license has been suspended.”
Lin Gui looked at Theia skeptically.
“Do you even know how to control this thing?”
It had taken him a whole week of fiddling around to finally figure out the functions of all the buttons.
Theia placed her hands on her hips.
“Who are you looking down on!”
“Don't underestimate my terrifying eyesight, which can spot a single gold coin in a field of grass miles away!”
Lin Gui said, speechless:
“That has absolutely nothing to do with whether you can pilot this...”
He sighed.
“Whatever.”
Lin Gui walked to the very back, squeezed into his seat, and buckled his safety harness.
He cast Levitation, and the entire flying vessel slowly drifted into the air.
Then he said to Theia in front of him:
“Please make it quick.”
The moment the words left his mouth, he was met with a pair of synchronized eye-rolls from the two girls.
Rate on N.U.
