Chapter 539

Book 1 Chapter 539

Berchia, who had been thrown off by an unforeseen retaliation, rose back to his feet.

The impact had not caused any major injury.

Yet.

‘Master.’

Just a second ago, he had distinctly perceived the silhouette of Kyle.

Still, Berchia found it impossible to fully believe his own eyes.

“What exactly did you claim to be?”

Leo gestured toward his own chest.

“I am.”

Leo spoke in a low, blunt tone before shifting his gaze and pointing directly at Berchia.

“Your.”

Then, he made a calm, unbothered declaration.

“Master.”

Hearing this statement, Berchia simply stared back at Leo with blank, uncomprehending eyes.

“Ridiculous.”

A freezing sneer was his immediate response.

‘He has no reason to believe me.’

It made perfect sense.

The assertion itself sounded completely far-fetched.

Therefore…

“Then I will simply have to demonstrate it.”

Leo opened his hand wide.

Whish-!

Observing the raw magical energy surging from Leo’s palm, Berchia’s stance immediately turned vigilant.

Flash-!

Moments later, a solitary blossom opened amidst the snow-covered debris.

Berchia’s gaze locked onto it, his eyes widening in shock.

First one, then another, and soon an entire cluster of flowers began blooming vibrantly across the desolate landscape.

Berchia’s pupils shook violently as he witnessed the sight.

“The sorcery that… commands flowers to bloom….”

There was no way he could fail to recognize this specific magic.

How could he ever wipe from his memory the image of his teacher, offering a radiant smile while generating a vast field of blossoms?

Berchia’s fingers began to shiver.

‘No. This cannot be… it is impossible….’

Right at that moment, a spectral entity materialized above Leo’s open palm.

Berchia drew a sharp breath at the revelation.

“Spirit arts?”

Immediately following that, a dark grey vapor surged forth from the blade held in Leo’s grip.

Manifesting sorcery, commanding elemental spirits, and unleashing a warrior’s aura.

Berchia understood the gravity of possessing all three traits perfectly.

“…The… All-Class.”

Whispering in a fractured voice, Berchia raised his eyes to lock gazes with Leo once more.

An unmistakable silhouette seemed to materialize right behind Leo’s figure.

“M-Master…”

Recognition was entirely unavoidable.

The unique spell that forced flowers to awaken.

The legendary traits of an All-Class.

Even the very aura he projected.

Every single piece of validation pointed to the fact that Leo was, in truth, Kyle.

“Agh!”

Berchia gripped his head, shielding his face.

Leo took a deliberate step toward the shivering warrior.

Thump- Thump-

Simultaneously, Berchia stumbled backward.

“No…”

“Berchia.”

Thump- Thump- Thump-

“Avert your eyes…”

“You have committed no sin.”

“Things are different now! Do not look at me with sympathy!”

Berchia shrieked, completely losing control of himself.

Watching his teacher look upon him with understanding only caused his sanity to fracture more rapidly.

Observing his descent into madness, Leo tightened his fist.

He was fully aware.

Merely showing his face wouldn’t be enough to pull Berchia back from the brink.

Berchia had wandered too deep into the darkness.

He had passed the point of seeking solace in another.

‘Even during the hardest times, he was never one to seek a crutch.’

That was precisely how Leo had trained his pupil.

To walk a solitary path in silence, relying entirely on one’s own strength.

“Ahhhh!”

The fury smoldering within his chest was suffocating.

The sheer agony of knowing his revered master was witnessing his current, monstrous form filled him with utter despair.

Berchia, who had clamped his eyes shut in a desperate bid to suppress his spiraling madness, suddenly snapped them open.

He snapped his head up to lock his gaze onto Leo.

“Master.”

Retreating further, Berchia spoke through trembling lips.

“I beg of you… please deliver my judgment.”

Thump- Thump-

Berchia closed the distance toward Leo.

“Cast down your wrath upon this twisted creature I have become… upon the monster who sought to tear down the very realm you gave everything to protect.”

Just a single soul.

The sole individual in existence who possessed the right to pass sentence on Berchia’s transgressions.

That individual was Kyle, who had surrendered his life to safeguard the world.

Furthermore, execution felt like the solitary escape from this excruciating torment.

Staring at the broken figure of Berchia, Leo spoke.

“Indeed. Fleeing from reality is always an option.”

Hearing those words, Berchia’s tense features began to ease slightly.

However, his expression instantly turned to stone at the words that followed.

“Begging the man you looked up to as a father to end your life so you can find serenity is certainly a choice, Berchia.”

Berchia’s entire frame began to shake violently, like a leaf caught in a gale.

The realization struck him like a physical blow.

What if his own offspring begged him for death?

What kind of agony would that inflict on a parent’s heart?

He felt a sickening knot twist in his gut.

His self-loathing multiplied tenfold.

Thud-!

“Aaaah.”

Berchia threw his head back, letting loose a choked groan.

“Aaaaaaaah!”

Bawling from the sheer weight of his torment, Berchia succumbed to a wild frenzy.

His conscious thought was slipping away.

Intellect was rapidly drowning beneath a tidal wave of unbridled madness.

Yet, just as his mind was fading, his vision aligned with Leo’s for a fleeting second.

Those eyes were watching him again.

Laden with pity… sorrow… and profound comprehension.

When had it started?

When was the very first time his Master had gazed at him with that specific expression?

How far back did it go?

At what point had he begun viewing his Master as a true father figure?

As his thoughts dissolved into darkness, Berchia completely lost his senses.

“Leo!”

Right then, a frantic shout shattered the air.

Leo shifted his gaze to find Lunia, Eiran, and Chen Xia sprinting in his direction, their countenances drained of color.

“Lord Berchia?!”

In response to Lunia’s panicked inquiry, Leo stated plainly.

“His consciousness has shattered.”

The expressions of Lunia and Chen Xia turned utterly rigid.

Eiran’s complexion drained completely.

“He is about to lose all restraint and go wild.”

“Th-that cannot be…”

Eiran stared fixedly at Berchia.

“W-what… what actions should I take…!”

“Remain calm.”

Leo’s voice remained perfectly steady.

His focus had already shifted back to the rampaging Berchia.

Abandoning his disciple had never been a consideration from the very start.

Such a concept simply did not exist within Leo’s worldview.

Still…

‘Even if I harbored a desire to walk away, I could never do so while he projects that look toward me.’

Leo squeezed his hand into a tight fist.

In that final split second before his mind dissolved, the image of Berchia staring at him with pure dread remained burned into his memories.

He had witnessed Berchia looking that terrified only once before in his entire life.

It was exactly the same as that day.

‘Even back then.’

On that distant afternoon, yet another grueling and bizarre training regimen had just concluded.

“Kieeeeeeeek!”

“A bystander would mistake you for a wild beast.”

Kyle maintained an entirely unbothered expression as he looked down at Berchia, who lay collapsed across the floor, growling like an animal while directing a fierce, resentful glare toward him.

The training Kyle provided was nothing more than an endless loop of fundamental drills.

The absolute bedrock of swordsmanship: swinging a blade without pause, coupled with forcing Berchia to recite every spell in his repertoire from memory until he was exhausted.

In the beginning, when his physical endurance and mental fortitude were intact, it seemed manageable.

However, Kyle’s trials only escalated in brutality as the hours wore on.

The moment physical fatigue and mental exhaustion set in, blunders inevitably followed.

Berchia had been enduring this relentless, grueling routine for two solid months.

If he failed to maintain his sword strikes or stumbled in his incantations for even a single day, advancement to the next tier was strictly forbidden.

The objective Kyle mandated was incredibly straightforward, yet remarkably agonizing to execute.

For a youth like Berchia, who possessed a fierce burning desire to scale the heights of strength, Kyle’s methods felt like pure torture.

Furthermore, Kyle never offered any gentle encouragement.

Regardless of the harsh upbringing the boy had endured, a child was ultimately still a child.

The stark contrast between the warmth Luna and Arion showed Berchia versus the absolute rigidity of Kyle was immense.

Kyle never displayed a single shred of tenderness toward the youth.

Instead, he acted with a calculating, almost malicious coldness.

Whenever Berchia collapsed from sheer exhaustion mid-drill, Luna and Arion would rush to his side to offer support and help him stand.

Kyle, on the other hand, would merely stand aside until Berchia forced himself back up on his own strength—only to immediately strike him down once more.

For that very reason, Berchia harbored a deep resentment toward Kyle.

He recognized the value of the instruction, but the sheer hardship of enduring it was overwhelming.

Before long, the first light of dawn began to break.

Berchia, slumped heavily on the ground, gasped out.

“I am starving.”

He was fully prepared to go without food until the following afternoon.

Luna and Arion would undoubtedly be deep asleep at this hour.

And the stern figure of Kyle standing before him certainly didn’t seem like the type to provide a meal…

“Replenish yourself before you depart.”

“Pardon?”

Berchia snapped his head up, his gaze widening in pure astonishment.

Staring down at the shocked boy, Kyle remarked flatly.

“Do you lack an appetite?”

“If you are offering food, I will gladly consume it.”

Berchia, having grown up as an orphan, wasn’t about to reject sustenance just out of spite toward Kyle.

One had to seize every opportunity to eat whenever food was available.

Berchia understood that harsh reality better than anyone else.

Scrambling to his feet, Berchia hurried along behind Kyle’s advancing figure.

‘Could it be that Master Kyle is actually a decent person deep down?’

The thought drifted naturally into his mind, though he instantly felt a wave of self-disgust for even entertaining it.

Deeming someone benevolent simply because they handed you a plate of food.

It was utterly foolish.

Berchia shook his head violently to clear his thoughts, a stubborn and defiant gleam returning to his eyes.

‘This individual is undeniably a cruel man.’

Naturally, that conviction didn’t last very long before it shifted once more.

‘Master Kyle is truly an exceptional person.’

Berchia bit down on his utensil, a look of pure bliss washing over his face.

Then, catching himself with a sudden gasp, he began shaking his head forcefully.

‘No, a person cannot be labeled good simply because their culinary skills are magnificent!’

As Berchia desperately tried to master his conflicting emotions, Kyle watched the boy shovel food into his mouth at a frantic pace and asked, sounding somewhat perplexed.

“Do Luna and Arion neglect to feed you?”

‘No, that is not the issue at all. He is definitely a good man. There is no doubt.’

“They provide meals.”

“I suspect they force you to consume whatever strange concoctions they whip up under the guise of health food.”

Kyle clicked his tongue with blatant disapproval.

“They ought to simply purchase prepared meals for you instead.”

Mmh-! Berchia found himself nodding along in silent agreement.

It felt incredibly disrespectful toward the guardians who showered him with boundless affection, but the sheer quality of the dish Kyle had prepared naturally forced such a conclusion.

As he ate, Berchia began inspecting the interior of Kyle’s dwelling.

It was entirely barren.

It lacked any semblance of a comfortable, inhabited home.

“Master Kyle’s residence contains absolutely nothing.”

“Operating in this manner ensures one never forms a lingering attachment,” Kyle answered smoothly.

“What exactly do you mean by that?”

“Possessing a sanctuary to return to breeds weakness and sentimentality. When the ultimate hour arrives, such attachments only transform into regrets.”

To the young mind of Berchia, the true weight of those words remained completely beyond comprehension.

Yet, he could perceive that Kyle’s expression as he uttered them carried a profound sense of isolation.

Clink-

Setting his utensil down upon the table, Berchia inquired.

“Am I permitted to spend the night here?”

“Once you have finished your meal, take your leave.”

Hearing the rejection, Berchia pouted his lips in dissatisfaction.

“Tightwad.”

Whack-!

“This is highly unusual.”

“What is the meaning of gathering the rest of us here while excluding Kyle?” Dwenho questioned in an indifferent manner.

Observing Dwenho’s dismissive attitude, Luna slammed her hands against the tabletop-!

“Berchia has been taking his meals at Kyle’s residence every single day as of late! Preparing food for that boy was one of the greatest pleasures of my life!”

“That is peculiar. What could possibly drive him to do that? I was under the impression he held quite a strong dislike for Kyle,” Risinas remarked, tilting her head in confusion.

Gazing at the two women, Dwenho spoke up.

“Are the two of you genuinely blind to the underlying cause?”

“Dwenho, do you actually comprehend why this is happening?”

Directing a look of utter exasperation at Risinas’s bewildered face, Dwenho stated plainly.

“Is it not obvious that because Luna’s culinary attempts fail to resemble actual food, the boy prefers to eat at Kyle’s place?”

“Ah! That makes perfect sense!” Arion uttered, nodding his head as if a mystery had been solved.

“You absolute fossil! What right do you have to insult my cooking! Next to whatever garbage you produce, my meals are absolute masterpieces!”

“Do not insult the concept of mastery. My culinary creations are born of pure innovation. Furthermore, unlike the disasters you serve, mine possess an aesthetic elegance,” Dwenho countered with a sneer.

“A person would find far greater enjoyment chewing on raw beast flesh than attempting to swallow the creations you and Risinas concoct.”

Spurred by those insulting words, Risinas and Luna simultaneously unleashed their magical energies to pin Dwenho in place.

“Shall you take the first strike?”

“No, let us launch a synchronized assault. My target is his face.”

“In that case, I shall aim directly for his midsection.”

“Deliver as many blows as your hearts desire. The only casualties will be your own knuckles,” Dwenho remarked, remaining completely unbothered despite the physical retaliation.

After the chaotic dispute subsided, Luna spoke with an earnest expression.

“Very well. So the reality is that Kyle’s dishes simply taste far superior, correct? In that case, I shall commence rigorous culinary training beginning this very day!”

“Stepping into the roles of maternal and paternal figures for Berchia must be quite the ordeal.”

“Eh? Do Luna and I truly give off the impression of being parents?”

“Arion, regain your senses. He is referring to Kyle. Do you honestly desire to be paired as a parental duo with an individual like him?”

“Absolutely not.”

“You people are truly impossible!”

Luna began furiously swinging her magical staff in the direction of Dwenho and Arion.

Observing the familiar squabble, Risinas merely shook her head and directed her gaze out towards the courtyard window.

In the distance, Berchia could be seen eagerly trotting along behind Kyle’s steady stride.

Watching the two figures interact, Risinas offered a gentle, knowing nod.