Chapter 104 - 102 — Condition
The steel jail door slammed shut with a loud bang as Jenna was hurled inside.
Jenna shot to her feet instantly and grabbed the metal bars, trying to force them apart. However, every attempt at using the metal element came back null.
Jenna threw a fierce glare at her father and brother standing on the other side.
"Jenna..." the village head stared at his daughter with a conflicted expression. It pained him to do something like this.
The village head clenched his fists at the words, his expression hardening.
He turned and began walking away. Jenna slammed her hands against the bars, trying to call out to him.
"It’s going to be alright, Jenna." Guren gave his sister a small smile. "I’ll be there. Nothing will happen to him."
A flicker of coldness passed through Guren’s gaze, though his smile remained.
"You...!" Jenna’s grip tightened around the bars as she glared at him. "I saw you—you were using something just before the fight. Yo—"
Guren’s gaze was glacial as he looked at her.
With a sharp huff, Guren turned and left.
The Guren she knew had always been kind. But ever since he returned from an outing some time ago, he had suddenly changed.
Jenna didn’t know what to make of it, but that... that wasn’t the brother she remembered, which was why she had been following him all this time, trying to figure out what had changed.
With her father and the warriors venturing into the woods, her thoughts drifted to the worst.
The break of dawn saw one of the largest gatherings across the entire village.
The village head’s expression was fierce, as though fully aware of the weight behind those countless gazes. Their hope was palpable.
With all this, he was certain, they would end the reign of the beasts once and for all.
...
Kaiden ran into the compound, an excited look on his face.
Zephyrion, who was seated with Fiona and the other trainees, calmly took a sip from his tea before setting it down.
"...what?"
"...what did you just say?"
"It’s not our mission."
"Exactly. As long as the village is safe, we don’t fail."
"...so you’re saying we just leave them?" Kaiden clenched his fists, his gaze hardening. "We can’t do that. We have to help them!"
"...did you see them leave?"
"They took their strongest force. The weakest among them is mark four. If you go out there, you’ll only be dead weight."
"...we can’t just abandon them. Fine, if you won’t go, I will."
Kaiden, who had been about to turn away, paused, momentarily taken aback.
Zephyrion rose the next moment and stepped forward, stopping across from him.
Kaiden frowned.
"I won’t use my element. Land a single hit on me."
"If you can’t even do that, there’s no point going. Do it, and I won’t stop you."
Kaiden had trained relentlessly since then, he was no longer the same person.
To say he wouldn’t even use his element... that was nothing short of an insult.
"Don’t interfere."
"It’s fine, Fiona."
"...fine. I accept." Kaiden said, rolling up his sleeves.
"Metal aura."