Chapter 206

Mother was strong. No, the energy emanating from her wasn’t particularly impressive, but the humans she summoned were different.

The energy they radiated was no joke. The man with a sword on his back seemed to be on par with Lancelot, the wolf over there was on par with Lorcha, the old man holding a bow was on par with Tristan, the witch-like woman over there seemed to be around Camelian Peony’s level, and the dragon over there was probably on par with me.

“Hmm… Did they escape? That king must have used some trick.”

Brother Zick knelt down on one knee and bowed to Mother.

“It would be best to pursue them, my master.”

“No… Let them be. Even if we chase them, in my current state…”

Then, an unbelievable scene unfolded. Mother was bleeding from the corner of her mouth.

“Ah… Damn it… I overexerted myself again… Using power outside of my domain always leads to this…”

“…Let’s head back. I’ll take charge of leading those here. I’ll also handle the ones tied up over there.”

“Please do. And you, come with me. We have a lot to talk about… and some things I need to pass on.”

I was speechless.

What the hell? I never agreed to this, and I don’t even know who they’re planning to take. But… I did have a lot of questions. From my birth to the issues with Damian.

But Mother, completely ignoring my will, grabbed me by the scruff of my neck and started dragging me. Well, I guess this is just how our bloodline is.

Mother paused for a moment and spoke to the women around me, including Airi.

“I’m his mother, you know? Well, it’s complicated… Anyway, let’s drop that topic. All of you… sigh… How did you even meet… tsk…”

“God, I will take it upon myself to reveal the truth.”

Airi’s face seemed to pale strangely, but it must have been my imagination. There’s no way she’s met our mother before, right? She must have just been startled by the energy Mother was radiating. Surely she didn’t call our mother a brat and yell at her, right?

Camelian Peony’s expression didn’t look too good either. Well, it’s not like she would have ignored Mother’s words and forced her to fulfill her own request, right? Surely that didn’t happen.

Glacia seemed a bit startled.

As for Lorcha… she seemed so shocked that she couldn’t even process what was happening in front of her. It was like her mind had completely left her body.

Brother Zick patted my head and said, “Werner, we’ll talk later. There’s someone who wants to see you right now.”

I was dragged away by Mother without even being able to protest. Damn brat. But before leaving, Mother tapped Airi on the shoulder. At the time, I couldn’t understand why she did that.

—

The place I returned to was once again the flower field filled with white flowers. The only difference was that the man in black I had seen at the hospital was there. By the way, I had no idea how they brought me here.

“…You’ve been through quite a lot, Young Master. Well… not as much as that boy, but… sigh… How did I get caught up in all this…”

“Hadaesu, shut your mouth and heal him first.”

“Right, right.”

With a clap, all my wounds disappeared. Not only that, but I felt as refreshed as if I had just woken up from a deep sleep, and all my fatigue was gone.

“By the way… you brought it.”

The purple gem that had slipped out of my body was now in the hands of that Apostle guy. Damn it, my son went through so much to get that, and now this bastard just takes it? He must be out of his mind.

“Hey, why are you taking that…”

I was about to start a fight, but Mother grabbed my shoulder.

“That’s his daughter’s heart and keepsake. Let him have a moment to reminisce.”

Ah, if it’s his daughter’s keepsake, then fine. Interrupting that moment would make me a total jerk. By the way, he has a daughter? How old is he…? Well, he’s an Apostle, so he must be at least a few thousand years old. Don’t be fooled by appearances. Those elf bastards are the same, and lately, there are so many guys who deceive with their looks…

“So, I don’t know why you called me here. Unlike you guys who are just lazing around, I’m a pretty busy person.”

I had a mountain of things to do back home.

“No, I just wanted to train you.”

“Why me?”

“Because you’re weak by our standards.”

“Our standards?”

“Well, whether it’s me or him… even by the standards of the guys you fought, you’re weak. Very weak. If it were back when I was human… you probably wouldn’t even make the top ten.”

I have no idea what he’s basing that on. With the power of the Spirit King and Tristan’s knowledge, I should be incredibly strong. It sounded like nonsense.

“Then what… If you can make that guy over there move even a single step, I’ll send you home.”

“I can’t control my strength…”

I really didn’t want to accidentally break someone’s bones. If I hit someone wrong, I’d probably end up getting sent back to Lazendra.

But that Apostle named Hadaesu smiled at me and said, “Don’t worry. Even though most of my power is sealed, I’m not so fragile that I’d die from your martial arts or magic.”

These bastards were both insane. Like master, like subordinate—they were both experts at pissing people off.

“Then don’t regret it.”

I punched him square in the face. It was a proper pivot blow, so his face should have been shattered.

But instead of shattering, it was like hitting a feather—nothing happened. It was as if nothing had happened at all.

“Didn’t I tell you, Young Master? Even though I look like this, I’m the strongest Apostle, the Apostle of Dreams. If I bled from a punch like that… how could I even do my job?”

This was ridiculous.

I knew it. I knew I was weak. I knew it painfully well because my son from the future came to me and ended up in that state.

“I may look like this, but I’m a sorcerer…? That was nothing. If I use magic, you could really die.”

And then I poured out magic. Steel attribute, earth attribute, ice attribute—I didn’t care about the attributes and just unleashed everything I could think of.

But he didn’t budge.

“Magic carved into a mold… won’t even leave a smudge on my clothes in a hundred years.”

It wasn’t that the attacks didn’t hit. They definitely hit, but they had no effect.

“And since it’s no fun just taking hits, I’ll start counterattacking a bit now. Of course, not with bare hands. And even if you get seriously injured, I’ll heal you, so don’t worry.”

It was fine if he fought back. If he just stood there while I poured out magic, it would look like I was being unfair.

“Spear of Godslayer, which even kills gods…”

I threw the Godslayer Spear at him. But as always with this damn magic, it didn’t even tear his clothes and just rolled on the ground.

“Then it’s my turn to counterattack,” he said, pulling out a revolver from his pocket. What the hell? I thought he’d at least use knuckles or martial arts, but this was gun-fu, not martial arts.

Bang! The gunshot grazed my cheek.

“Hey, this isn’t fair. A gun? What kind of cheap trick is this?”

This seemed like crossing a line. We’re in a fantasy setting, and he pulls out a revolver? What’s next, an elf ranger with a scope-less M28 hunting Imperial soldiers?

“Then should I use my fists? Is that okay?”

“Yes, of course. Where’s the honor in using a gun? A man should fight like a man…”

Then Mother whispered in my ear, her voice genuinely concerned.

“He can destroy a small planet with his fists. He uses a gun because he can’t control his strength.”

That brought me back to reality. Ah, right. Even Lancelot and the others can kill, but if he uses his full strength, the planet would be destroyed, so he can’t intervene.

“Well, what’s so manly about that? That’s all outdated talk. Who would oppose using the latest technology of civilization?”

I wanted to live.

And I wanted to get out of this hellhole and go home as soon as possible.