Chapter 259: Shaye’s Past
“If you lose a son, just make another one.”
Damn it, Wadsworth has so many sons, he wouldn’t even care about losing one or two, Qin Chu thought. His words echoed in Florence’s ears, and she froze, then broke down, sobbing uncontrollably. Even if she had another son, it wouldn’t be O’Niens.
Her O’Niens was gone.
And even if she wanted another child, with whom?
Actually, Florence knew. The moment she saw those strange scales appearing on her son’s body, she knew he was lost. She just hadn’t wanted to accept it.
Now, jolted awake by Qin Chu’s slap and his cruel words, she had to face the brutal reality.
O’Niens wasn’t dead yet. His wounds were slowly healing.
Although both of them had transformed into monsters, O’Niens’s strength was far inferior to Karsus’s. Even Augustus, Saint Monique, and Wadsworth combined had struggled to defeat Karsus… although those old foxes had been holding back.
And now, even Qin Chu alone could easily suppress O’Niens.
A surge of Holy Light enveloped O’Niens’s body, the holy light cleansing the taint within him.
Qin Chu chanted softly, his hands raised above O’Niens’s head, “In the name of the Goddess of Holy Light…”
The silver Sword of Judgment appeared in his hand.
O’Niens struggled beneath his foot, his eyes filled with madness.
The next instant, the Sword of Judgment pierced his head.
Holy Light, flowing from the blade, spread through O’Niens’s body, cleansing the corruption from within.
And as Florence wept, O’Niens’s body turned to ash.
A deathly silence fell, only Florence’s sobs echoing in the air.
Qin Chu glanced at her, then shook his head and turned to leave. He didn’t kill her here.
Although the onlookers disapproved of her obsessive love for her son, they still felt pity for her. Killing her now wouldn’t improve his reputation, it would only make him seem cruel.
Killing a grieving mother in front of thousands of people would ruin his image as the Hero.
Besides, he couldn’t use the Devourer with so many eyes watching.
O’Niens’s end was unexpected.
Inas bit her lip. She had wanted to help, but Ekaterina had blocked her way.
Only after O’Niens had been purified did Ekaterina step aside.
With heavy steps, Inas walked towards Florence. She wanted to comfort the woman who had raised her, who was like a mother to her, but she didn’t know what to say.
She knew better than anyone how much Florence loved her son.
After a long time, as night fell, Florence’s sobs subsided, though her face was still streaked with tears. She looked up at Inas.
“Inas…”
Her voice, hoarse and raspy, startled Inas. Her throat must be raw from crying.
She shook her head and extended her hand towards Inas.
The next moment, with a surge of Mana, Inas’s body tensed, and she let out a pained groan. Chains, marks of the power that had been branded onto her very being, seemed to peel away from her body.
Then, with a snap, they shattered and vanished.
The pain disappeared, replaced by a sense of freedom she had never known.
Inas looked at Florence in confusion, unsure what had just happened.
“I’m sorry…” Florence said softly, her gaze fixed on the ashes where her son’s body had been.
Actually, she had known. Her son wasn’t as outstanding as others claimed.
He was just an ordinary child.
She touched the ashes, as if she could still feel his warmth, and a wave of regret washed over her. If she had just raised him like an ordinary child, without such high expectations, without such pressure, would he have lived a happier life?
If she hadn’t sheltered him so much, would he have understood the dangers of this world sooner?
He wouldn’t have met such a tragic end.
It wasn’t Qin Chu who had killed her son, it was her, his own mother.
She finally understood, but it was too late.
“I took you in because of your talent, knowing your potential was limitless. I just wanted someone to take care of O’Niens after I died, so I placed a restriction on your body and soul, making you obey, protect, and care for him…”
Inas’s face paled, and her body trembled.
“Now, O’Niens is dead, and you’re free. Do what you want… You can resign as the Saintess. I know you never wanted that position.”
“You always liked adventure, right?”
A faint smile appeared on Florence’s lips, “You can become a mercenary, or an adventurer… Live your own life, freely.”
“I’m sorry for suppressing your true nature all these years.”
“You must hate me… You can curse me, hit me, even kill me, I don’t care.”
She heard footsteps approaching. It was Inas.
She expected Inas to be angry, to slap her, but instead, a gentle Holy Light emanated from her hand, healing the wound on her neck.
Florence looked up. Inas was holding a magic scroll.
She bit her lip. “Hate?” she said, “Perhaps.”
“But… at least I know that without you, I would have starved to death long ago.”
…
Meanwhile, Qin Chu sat alone on a tree branch, watching the two moons in the sky.
A peaceful smile touched his lips. Apart from there being two of them, they were just like the moon back on Earth.
Shaye sat quietly on his shoulder, her legs dangling.
“This isn’t like you…” she said after a long while.
“What do you mean?” Qin Chu raised an eyebrow.
“With your methods, you could have easily arranged for O’Niens’s death and devoured Florence’s power. It wouldn’t have been difficult for you,” Shaye said.
After a pause, she continued, “I don’t believe you couldn’t have done it.”
“So, why?”
Qin Chu didn’t answer immediately, his gaze fixed on the moons. After a long silence, he said, “Shaye, in my hometown, there’s a famous saying: ‘I raise my head to gaze at the bright moon, and lower my head to think of my hometown.’”
Shaye tilted her head, puzzled. “I don’t understand. Why would looking at the moon make him think of his hometown? Does he live on the moon? Is he the Moon Goddess’s husband?”
Qin Chu sighed, defeated.
This kind of cultural sentiment wasn’t something someone from another world could understand.
He tried to explain it in a simpler way, “Simply put, everyone has a mother.”
He, too, had a mother, a middle-aged woman who wasn’t highly regarded by their neighbors.
She was petty, always calculating and comparing him to other children, constantly nagging him about their achievements.
She would complain about him spending too much time on his phone, telling him to go outside and get some exercise.
When he brought gifts back home, she would complain that they were unnecessary, a waste of money…
Whenever someone they knew got married, she would call him and ask when he was going to bring a girlfriend home, even having consulted a fortune teller about his marriage prospects…
She was nagging and annoying.
But she was his mother.
He reached out towards the sky, as if trying to grasp something, then his hand fell limply to his side. He had been trapped in this world for so long, even reliving his life once…
He wondered how his parents were doing back home.
Shaye seemed unable to comprehend his emotions. After a long while, she said softly, “I don’t have a mother…”
Qin Chu was surprised. “Are you an orphan? I’m sorry…”
“An orphan?” Shaye didn’t seem particularly sad. She tapped her cheek thoughtfully.
Come to think of it, he knew very little about her.
He only knew that she was a powerful Witch, who did as she pleased. He knew nothing about her family, her parents.
“I’m not really an orphan. An orphan is someone who lost their parents, but I never had any, to begin with.”
“It’s been so long, I can’t remember clearly, but my consciousness seems to have been born in a dense darkness…”
Her voice echoed in the night.
Qin Chu suddenly realized that Shaye’s origins might be even more extraordinary than he had imagined.
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