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The apocalyptic-grade storm that now covered the sky certainly did the part of making things difficult. For the first time in a long time, Desmond felt incredibly small. That storm was so immense and intense that it covered everything in the trio’s range of vision.

Being so close to their target, Desmond was tempted to continue despite the storm. That temptation quickly died when Desmond saw lightning mixed with the pouring rain. Having seen a beast in the two-star class reduced to smoldering coal, Desmond no longer dared to be reckless.

“We have to seek shelter.”

Desmond looked to Kyuru for help, but the faerie was unfamiliar with this part of the forest. Surprisingly, it was Cecilia who pointed in a direction. Remembering Cecilia’s farsight ability, Desmond followed her without hesitation.

The trio didn’t do much running, but the journey was quite strenuous, even for those who weren’t injured. The strong winds and heavy rain were exhausting, but the lack of mana made the journey insufferable. Like a vortex of immense scope, the storm’s epicenter was devouring all the mana within a radius of kilometers, a phenomenon that caused significant discomfort.

The effect was less evident on Cecilia and Desmond, who could not be considered mana-dependent lifeforms. Their discomfort mainly came from being mana users. The more mana-dependent creatures were having a hard time even breathing. Kyuru belonged to the category of mana-dependent creatures. Still, due to her ridiculous affinity for mana, she wasn’t being affected at all.

Whatever the case, that storm now seemed dozens of times more dangerous and unnatural in Desmond’s mind. Fortunately, the trio soon arrived at the place indicated by Cecilia.

The place was a small mountainous section in the middle of the forest. The mountains could not be said to be imposing, but at least they would not be blown from the ground by the wind. Something that already happened to some trees.

.....

Without saying a word, Kyuru flew off Desmond’s shoulder and stood in front of a rocky wall on the side of the mountain closest to them. The geometric patterns on Kyuru’s wings lit up with a brown light.

“Obey my will, open a door for me.”

It was on rare occasions like this that Kyuru’s entire demeanor took on a much more severe and regal tone. Kyuru’s words could not be considered a mantra to trigger an ability; these were the commands of a queen who would not accept her authority being challenged. Unable to resist the yoke of Kyuru’s will, the rock face in front of her split open, creating a small entrance to a tunnel that continued to expand by the second.

There was a momentary little surprise on Cecilia’s side, but Desmond quickly dragged her into the cave. At the same time, Kyuru stopped channeling mana; otherwise, the shelter would continue to expand, and there was no need for such a thing.

Entering the cave after Desmond and Cecilia, Kyuru showed only a slight gesture of squeezing her left hand. After Kyuru’s gesture entrance contracted to form a bottleneck for the shelter.

The constant shock of the strong winds outside extended to the cave’s interior, becoming somewhat deafening with time. Kyuru showed an annoyed expression on her face that now looked more sensual than adorable. Sweeping the wind behind her with her right hand, Kyuru said a single word.

“Silence.”

In the blink of an eye, the soft puff of wind stirred by her hand turned into a wind barrier right at the cave’s entrance that blocked out the sound and rain from outside. Kyuru showed a satisfied expression, and her face returned to its usual childlike appearance.

Ignoring the pitiful appearance of the people in front of her, Kyuru stretched out her sensual body that hadn’t been touched by a single drop of rain and commented. “That was annoying.”

Desmond was already used to the fairy’s carefree and slightly arrogant attitude, so he said nothing and directly doused the fairy by throwing a sphere of water at her. It was soon proven that trying to beat a fairy at pranks was just a fool’s dream, as Desmond got that same water sphere back.

Cecilia felt very uncomfortable with all of her clothes being soaked. However, she still couldn’t help but laugh as Desmond and Kyuru started a water ball fight. Being Cecilia a lady, she couldn’t stay like that for long, so she used light mana to dry her body and clothes. When Cecilia finished, the water sphere fight ended with Desmond, the undisputed loser.

Because more trust had been built between them in the last few hours, Cecilia ended up voicing her thoughts out loud without giving them much thought. “I never thought you had a side like this.”

Cecilia’s comment immediately stopped the new fight that was about to take place between Desmond and Kyuru. A flash of longing and pain passed through Desmond’s eyes, but soon a warm smile found its way to his lips.

“Even I am not used to this side of myself.”

Cecilia couldn’t understand what Desmond meant; however, Kyuru’s serious face told her there might be more to the story. Sensing Cecilia’s curiosity, Desmond thought that perhaps this was an excellent opportunity to deepen his bond with Cecilia. Probably by telling her about his own past, Cecilia would find something that would help her get over her loss.

Although the storm outside remained constant, this did not distract Cecilia, who listened attentively to Desmond’s story. There was sympathy when she heard how Desmond lost his parents. There was anger when Desmond spoke about the abuses and injustices at the shelter. Cecilia had a mixture of compassion and pain when Desmond recounted his first murder. By the end, the expression on Cecilia’s face was quite hard to describe when Desmond talked about the period in which he sold his body to survive.

To Desmond’s own surprise, this time, he didn’t feel so melancholic when narrating this story. All the past pain and hate seemed less intense and overwhelming. The death of his parents was still a tragedy that Desmond would never forget, but he now felt that he could be at peace about it.

The rest of the story was easier to tell as there was nothing exceptional in his life other than a few isolated events. Desmond also explained a bit about being a world traveler. Still, he didn’t mention anything explicit about the association and his mission to protect Cecilia.

Desmond had two reasons for not telling Cecilia these details. The first was that the association’s information was quite regulated, and there were consequences if Desmond told someone with whom he did not have some kind of contract. Desmond not telling Cecilia about his mission was a request made by Katya. However, it was clearly an order rather than a request.

As for why Desmond hadn’t made a contract with Cecilia yet? This was also a request from Katya. According to the archangel’s words, Desmond should only make that contract with Katya just before he decided to leave this world. This request from Katya made Desmond hesitant about using the hunter’s book to escape when he was in the plaza. This was still in addition to other association penalties.

Whatever the case, the trio spent nearly an hour in the cave. Desmond narrated a summarized version of the story of his life. Cecilia listened attentively, and Kyuru only perched on Desmond’s shoulder, leaning her cute little face against the cheek of her beloved hunter.

The storm was undoubtedly a sudden nuisance that disrupted the trio’s plans; however, it also allowed Desmond and Cecilia to have a heart-to-heart talk.

For the first time, Cecilia felt she better understood the man in front of her. Desmond was cruel, fierce, and almost savage when he fought. When Desmond plotted against his enemies, he was cold, calculating, and treacherous. But when he was with his loved ones, Desmond was a completely different person; there was a warmth and intense love that could not be hidden in his every action and word.

In Cecilia’s eyes, Desmond was someone deeply scarred by tragedy and pain, someone who valued every bit of light in his life. That love in Desmond was what drove his own darkness. In order not to lose what he loved, Desmond was willing to spill rivers of blood and build mountains of corpses.

Even though Cecilia couldn’t fully justify and accept Desmond’s dark side, at least now she could understand it. Whether or not that understanding leads to something else is something only time will tell.

At least for now, Cecilia was a little more confident that it was the right decision to follow Desmond.