Before Cermin woke up, after stabbing the Crow Baron who was affected by his own madness spellâ¦.
Ronn stared as his face slowly became his normal one, the one with the purple hair. Because of this, he was no longer interested in tormenting him further.
Instead, he only went closer to pick him up, and lay him on the bed.
âMy blood will stain this castle forever⦠â The man said as he was slowly losing his life with a smile. âAnd all because I encountered someone whoâs true love meantâ¦.â
âGiving death to his former friend.â
âIt was a mistake that you would never have expected, if thatâs any consolation.â Ronin told him.
âDid you know that I was also kicked on the face before I became like this?â The man said, while Ronin kept his hand on his wound.
The Flame of this Daemon transferred on his palm.
Daemons were not that easy to kill, as can be noticed with Pavone and Zeuxis. But this man was dying just from a stab in the gut.
Well, not just that, but by having his face damaged.
His fake face. The moment someone broke his spell, his âgiftâ, which was his faceâ¦..
Also began to darken, revealing the true one underneath.
âI donât want to die hideous.â The man said, begging him. âPlease put me in a disguise of my new face, the one the kind Blue gentleman gave me.â
âIt will wear off.â Ronin said.
âI donât care. I just want to see myself in my last moments as beautiful. As perfect.â
Ronin used his blood to cast Foolâs Eye, so he would maintain his face that was slowly fading.
âItâs restored now.â Ronin told him.
The man reached out. âYesâ¦.. I can see it from your dark pupils. Itâs so clear in the darkness of your eyes, my perfection.â
Ronin showed nothing with his eyes, just endless depths. But in these depthsâ¦..
There was the soul of Ou, who would have pitied this man.
Yet it was far too deep down that it was nothing but a very light whisper. It blurted out:
âWould you mind if I take your Flame and the Flame of everyone you stole?â
The man smiled when he asked. âThere is no need to ask. Just keep your eyes on me and let it be my mirror as I die.â
He had actually also stolen the Flame of the women he kept here. Though most of them were Commoners, nothing but morselsâ¦
There were hundreds, kept in so many rooms in this castle.
As the man was dying, Ronin kept his eyes on him as promised.
Blood was sputtering on his mouth now, and it was difficult for him to speak. But Ronin heard his inner voice say:
(The man you want to kill is very envious.He would be fortunate to be watched by your perfectly clear eyes that are like two dark mirrors like this.)
Ronin sneered. âYou are a vain one, arenât you?â
âWell, so am I.â He then admitted. âThough not in appearance, our egos and desires match each other. Your eyes are my mirror as well.â
The Flame continued to transfer into his own heart, strengthening it while this manâs weakened and weakenedâ¦
Until it came to a full stop.
And once it did, Ronin let go. Letting him lay there with red poppies on hand.
[Congratulations. You have received 1,300,000,000+ EXP points and received a massive level upgrade.
Level 67 >>>>> Level 73.]
âAh, the level ups just keep on being more difficult to achieve. Weâre at billions of EXP points now and I only raised it to 5 levels from feeding on the Crow Baron.â
[At least youâre still gaining them.] Kai said. [You even unlocked another skill. Youâre getting close to 100 now.]
He was Level 100 when he became Ronin Dreadborne.
He needed it in order to be able to accept the Baptism of Darkness, bathing in the beacon created by Fausforus and Aurionâs blood, without getting fully burned.
Turning into pure Obsidian instead.
And after bathing in the fires, he needs to move past it so the lava would cool down. Even Zeuxisâ lightning speed would not be enough for that.
[Your next skill would actually help with that.]
âWhat is it, then?â Ronin said, leaving the bed to look for Cermin.
Kai revealed his new skill with a monotone voice.
[llusive Shift
You will be able to achieve quick, shadowy movement that would appear as teleportation to others. It can also give the illusion that you are in many places at once and confuse your attacker.
This could be activated by drawing the rune of âshadowâ on your chest.]
Ronin frowned. âWhy my chest?â
[Because unlike many skills, this does not work with time limitations. It works by the amount of Flame you want to spend to activate the skill.
The faster you get, the more EXP or Flame is required. A meter per second/ mps needs 1,000 EXP. ]
âSo if I use it often, it can slow my level up.â Ronin concurred. âWell, itâs must be past quadrillions now. But itâs still a risky skill to have.â
[Your total EXP at the moment at Level 73 is 458 Quadrillion, equivalent to 458,000 Trillion.]
âThe speed of light is 299, 792, 458. So if I want to be as fast as the speed of light, I need to spend 299, 792, 458, 000. I spend billions of EXP just to be as fast as light.â
[If I were you, I would only use this skill in dire situations, or just save it up for the Baptism of Darkness and be faster than the speed of light itself.]
Ronin gritted his teeth. âThatâs what Iâm planning, donât act smarter than me.â
[Alright, vain guy.] Kai said, and his holographic screen disappeared.
He rubbed his forehead while opening the doors of the castle one by one with a single kick in search of Cermin. But it all just contained women sleeping peacefully.
None of the women woke up from their endless dreams even with the Crow Baron dead, it doesnât work that way. They need to break free from it with their own free will, orâ¦..
Ronin can simply command them.
âWake.â
They scrunched their brows, crying and crying from having their perfect world taken away from them. Some of them even screamed, yelling the names of their perfect lovers.
âNO!!!!!! DONâT TAKE SAMAEL AWAY FROM ME!â
âBALEO!â
âI DONâT WANT TO WAKE UP! BRING ME BACK!â
It really was unlike when a hero saves damsels. None of them were at their feet thanking Ronin, especially when heâs not as handsome as their perfect men.
He didnât care about them, and only wondered what Cerminâs reaction would be when he wakes up.
When he finally found himâ¦.
âWake.â
Cermin also furrowed his brows, but did not wake up as fast as them. He was stirring, but he was still half-asleep.
It went on and on, and he tossed and turned in his bed. Ronin sighed and shook him.
âWake up already, Your Highness.â
He was shaking his head when he grabbed him, so much fear in his sleeping face.
âLet me goâ¦â
Ronin sighed and did let go, but then Cermin grabbed on to him this time.
âNo⦠Stayâ¦â
He became so annoyed that he scoffed. âWhich really is it? What kind of perfect girl are you even dreaming of that you donât want to wake up so muchââ
âGege⦠Donât goâ¦..â
Ronin raised an eyebrow. Ah, it made sense now. The Crow Baron did say something about him being one of the two who had interesting desires.
His was friendship, while Roninâs was revenge.
Ronin had no choice but to carry him again out of there, because it was taking too damn long for him to snap out of it.
He ordered the girls with One-Word Command to get out of the palace, and return to their homes.
He didnât really need to do that in the end. Because after crying, they got over the perfect world they lost easily.
But Cermin, of course, was not moving on at all.
He wouldnât let go of whatever he was dreaming about. Ronin could not help but find him very pathetic and pitiful to not be able to move on from his obsession with this one guy.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
Heâs the same, but itâs also different. Friendship? How can friendship satisfy anything, when itâs nothing but just the inability of humans to live alone?
His nihilism wonât let him understand it at all. Butâ¦..
Perhaps the past him would.
Perhaps Ou would.
Still, friendship was no match for revenge.
He passed by Zeuxis burying someone, and knew who it was as he could read his thoughts.
He saw all his memories with Maellan that flashed on his mind as he buried Sordido.
He overheard him say:
âYou werenât a good match in a fight, but I can respect those who can abandon themself for family.â
Ronin can taste all this brotherly love lingering in the air. It was repulsive, but somehow less repulsive than friendship.
He looked at Cermin once more, who wonât let go of his âgegeâ, his not blood-related Big Brotherâ¦.
And wondered if it was more like that.
He couldnât let go because he loved this âgegeâ as a family.
So much so that he was imprisoned by it.