Chapter 34: The Price of Revenge

The Luxurious Mansion that once stood as a sign of Power and Pride, was now nothing more than dust and rubble.

There was no front gate.

No walls.

No garden.

No driveway.

Not even enough of the foundation remained to properly call the place a ruin.

Several square kilometers around the estate had been reduced to a wasteland of shattered earth, uprooted trees, broken stone, and craters large enough to swallow buildings. What had once been a dense stretch of forest had become a field of splintered trunks and exposed soil.

Dust still drifted through the air.

Abrius lay among the destruction.

The S-Rank Awakened had never imagined himself like this.

His clothes were torn apart. Blood covered nearly every visible part of his body. One arm hung uselessly at his side, while several ribs were visibly displaced beneath his skin. His breathing came in short, ragged gasps.

He tried to push himself up.

His arm buckled.

He collapsed again.

"Fuck..."

He spat blood onto the dirt.

Then he heard footsteps.

Slow.

Calm.

Almost annoyingly casual.

Abrius froze.

A man walked through the dust toward him.

His appearance was almost absurd against the devastation surrounding them.

He wore the official uniform of the Awakened Association, although it had been altered considerably. The usual dark colors had been replaced almost entirely by white. A long white coat hung from his shoulders, moving gently with every step.

Snow-white hair fell down his back.

His blue eyes were beautiful.

There was no anger in them.

No excitement or exhaustion either.

Just an eerie calm, bordering boredom.

The man before him was Levi.

The newly appointed S-Rank.

Abrius’s expression twisted.

"No..."

He scrambled backward.

His palms dug into the dirt as he tried desperately to put distance between himself and the approaching man.

"Stay the fuck away from me!"

Levi stopped.

He tilted his head slightly.

Abrius’s breathing became even more frantic.

"What the hell are you?"

Levi blinked.

"...Hm?"

"Are you even human?!"

Abrius’s voice cracked.

"You should be dead!"

Levi glanced around.

At the destruction.

At Abrius.

Then back at himself.

"You’ll need a lot more than some puny fire for that."

"Don’t fuck with me!"

Abrius tried to stand again.

His legs trembled violently.

He managed half a step before collapsing to one knee.

"You’ve been an S-Rank for a few months!"

His eyes widened.

"I’ve been one for years!"

Levi’s expression remained unchanged.

"And?"

Abrius stared at him.

For a moment, he genuinely didn’t know what to say.

Levi continued walking.

"Stand down, Abrius."

"Go to hell."

"You’ll be coming with us."

"Fuck you! You don’t have anything on me!"

Levi sighed quietly.

"We do."

’...!’

"The Association received an anonymous tip."

Abrius froze.

His eyes widened.

’An anonymous tip?’

Something clicked.

His breathing slowed.

Because his mind had suddenly become very, very clear.

Everything fell into place.

Abrius clenched his remaining fist.

’That bastard...!’

Null had never intended to help him.

Not really.

The so-called "professionals" he had sent after Eden hadn’t been Crimson-Crow members at all.

They were disposable rogues.

People who were never meant to succeed.

People Null had deliberately chosen because their failure was useful.

Abrius’s own E-Rank assassins had already failed and been arrested.

So Null had offered something better.

Professionals.

And Abrius had greedily accepted.

He had been desperate enough to accept.

The realization made his stomach churn.

Null hadn’t needed Eden dead.

He had needed Abrius compromised.

The mercenary attack had created chaos.

The destruction had created evidence.

And since Abrius was involved, all the Association needed was a solid proof.

That’s when the anonymous tip came in.

A convenient little push.

Enough for the Association to come running.

Abrius gritted his teeth.

’What the hell do you gain from this?’

If Null wanted him dead, he would have ambushed him.

Instead, he created a whole plot to have Abrius taken into custody.

But why?

What did Crimson-Crow want from him?

What was Null planning?

Abrius’s eyes narrowed.

Levi stopped a few meters away.

Abrius stared at him.

"That bastard set me up."

Levi didn’t answer immediately.

His expression remained unreadable.

Then he said quietly,

"You’re going to have a lot of questions to answer."

---

Back at the ruined port, the chaos had finally begun to settle.

The mercenary remained on his knees.

He had stopped trying to escape.

There was no point.

One hand was gone.

Blood covered his body.

His breathing was shallow.

Even his enormous frame seemed smaller somehow.

The mercenary’s expression was one of pure exhaustion.

Sonne, Lucy, and Kael had already been taken away by Association healers.

Eden was the only one still standing nearby.

He had finally managed to gather enough Essence to get himself back onto his feet.

His entire body felt like it had been beaten with a hammer.

Every breath hurt.

His clothes were shredded.

Blood had dried across his face.

He wiped his nose.

More blood came away on his fingers.

"...Great."

Neville glanced at him.

"Essence Depletion?"

"Unfortunately."

"You should take it easy for a few days."

Eden looked around.

Then his expression changed.

"You Said Mihui’s safe?"

Neville’s nodded.

"She’s safe."

"Where?"

"St. Arclight Hospital."

Eden exhaled.

His shoulders dropped slightly.

Neville reached into his pockets.

He pulled out a small set of keys.

"Here."

Eden looked at them.

"What?"

"Your new place."

"...My what?"

"Apartment."

Eden stared at the keys.

Neville shrugged.

"Kael mentioned your old one got completely destroyed."

Eden slowly looked toward the rubble surrounding him.

"That’s putting it mildly."

"So Mister Choi arranged something."

He held the keys out.

"Brand-new apartment. Fully furnished. Already paid for."

Eden blinked.

"You’re serious?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

Neville smiled.

"Well it is sort of our fault that things escalated the way they did."

Eden took the keys.

"Thanks."

"No problem."

Eden looked down at them for a moment.

’A new apartment, huh.’

He squeezed the keys.

Then he looked back.

The mercenary was still there.

Still kneeling.

Still breathing.

Eden’s expression became cold.

He remembered Mihui.

The look on her face whenever something happened to him.

The way she worried whenever he came home late.

The way she tried to hide her fear.

And then he imagined her being dragged away.

A non-Awakened woman surrounded by people capable of tearing buildings apart.

She couldn’t fight back.

Couldn’t run.

Couldn’t even understand what was happening.

She must have been terrified.

Eden’s fingers tightened around the keys.

He looked at the mercenary.

The man’s eyes met his.

Neither said anything.

The mercenary swallowed.

"You..."

His voice was weak.

"...You won."

Eden stared at him.

"Yeah."

"Consider yourself lucky."

The mercenary coughed.

"I could have killed you all."

"Instead, I went easy on you Rookies."

His voice became quieter.

"Why don’t you show me the dame courtesy?"

"Let me go maybe?"

Eden stood silently.

Neville watched him.

The mercenary lowered his head.

"I won’t mess with you again."

Eden’s eyes hardened.

"You kidnapped a civilian."

No response.

"You used her to lure me here."

Silence.

"You threatened her life."

The mercenary’s jaw tightened.

"And you think I should just let you walk away?"

Eden slowly raised his hand.

Red Essence began to gather around his fingers.

Mutated teeth formed inside it.

The mercenary’s expression changed.

"Wait."

Eden stared at him.

For a brief moment, something inside him hesitated.

’This isn’t a fight anymore.’

’This guy is already defeated.’

’He surrendered.’

’Killing him now was different.’

Eden knew that.

He also knew exactly why that distinction bothered him.

Because somewhere along the way, he had started becoming comfortable with killing.

And he wasn’t sure when it happened.

Mihui had been helpless.

Terrified.

And this man had been the reason.

Eden’s expression hardened.

[Devour]

Crimson Essence erupted.

The red Essence swallowed the mercenary whole.

He screamed.

The sound lasted only a few seconds.

Then it disappeared.

The crimson mass contracted.

Bones.

Blood.

Flesh.

Everything vanished.

Until there was nothing left.

Not even a corpse.

Only silence.

A System window appeared.

[+17 Vitality]

[Level up! x11]

[Skill acquired]

[Warrior’s Spirit — C-Rank

The user’s durability increases as their injuries become more severe]

He slowly lowered his hand.

"...A Passive skill."

His voice was strangely empty.

He should have been happy.

He had gained several levels.

Several Vitality points.

A useful defensive skill.

And yet he felt nothing.

Suddenly, the air changed.

Eden’s eyes widened.

His body suddenly became impossibly heavy.

’What—?’

His knees slammed into the ground.

The entire world seemed to press down on him.

Twenty times.

It felt like gravity itself had multiplied.

His fingers dug into the dirt.

His teeth clenched.

"What..."

Neville stood several meters away.

Smiling.

But something about that smile was different.

The playful expression was gone.

His eyes were still relaxed.

But there was something behind them now.

The pressure intensified for another moment.

Eden’s body trembled.

Neville turned his back.

"You should be a bit more careful with things like that."

His voice remained casual.

Eden forced his head up.

Neville continued.

"Killing surrendered people under the Association’s watch is already complicated."

He glanced over his shoulder.

"Doing it when you don’t even have an Awakened license?"

A faint smile returned.

"That can become a rather difficult situation."

The pressure disappeared.

Eden sucked in a breath.

His lungs felt like they had just been released from a vice.

He remained on one knee for several seconds.

Then slowly stood.

Neville was already walking away.

Eden watched him.

’He’s right, but...’

’Seems like he chose to let it pass.’

’For now.’

Eden sighed.

"...My emotions got the better of me."

Neville didn’t turn around.

"I noticed."

Eden almost smiled.

"Thanks."

"Don’t make me regret it."

Then Neville continued walking.

Eden looked down at his hands.

For a moment, he wondered whether he had crossed some invisible line.

---

Less than an hour later, Eden stood outside St. Arclight Hospital.

His legs were still sore.

His body was exhausted.

But he barely noticed.

He pushed open the hospital doors.

The receptionist referred him to room 317.

His chest tightened.

He thanked her and headed upstairs.

His footsteps echoed against the floor.

He reached room 317.

His hand hovered over the handle.

For some reason, he hesitated.

He had faced unbelievably strong opponents today...

But opening this door scared him more than any of them.

Eden didn’t know what to say.

He didn’t know how to apologize.

He didn’t know whether Mihui would forgive him for putting her in danger.

And worst of all, he didn’t know whether he could forgive himself for doing that.

Gathering his courage, Eden finally pushed the door open.

Mihui was sitting on the hospital bed.

Pink hair slightly messy.

Light blue eyes tired.

She looked completely unharmed.

No wounds.

No blood.

Nothing.

For several seconds, neither of them spoke.

They simply looked at each other.

Eden’s shoulders relaxed.

Mihui’s lips trembled.

"Mihui..."

He took one step forward.

That was all it took.

"I’m so—"

Mihui threw herself off the bed.

"Eden!"

He barely had time to react before she crashed into him.

Her arms wrapped tightly around him.

She buried her face against his chest.

And then she broke.

Eden stood completely still.

He felt her body shaking.

Her fingers clenched the back of his ruined shirt.

She tried to speak.

Nothing came out.

Then came the sob.

A broken, trembling sound.

Eden slowly wrapped his arms around her.

Mihui cried harder.

"I was so scared..."

"..."

"I didn’t know where you were..."

"I’m sorry."

"I thought..."

Her voice broke.

"I thought you were dead."

Eden closed his eyes.

His hand gently rested against the back of her head.

"I’m not."

Mihui held him tighter.

"You’re an idiot."

"Yeah."

"You absolute fucking idiot."

"I know."

"You always do this."

"I know."

"You always come back hurt."

Eden’s throat tightened.

"...I know."

For a while, that was all they said.

Eden lowered his head until his cheek rested against her hair.

For the first time that day, he allowed himself to relax.