Retired S-rank father becomes a teacher

In the deepest, darkest part of Earth, a mother, a wife was asked a soul crushing question. The weight of the answer was unbearable.

Kneeling in the middle of the bubble, I kept my head low, hiding the tears that kept falling. The boy I loved asked if I would stop him. He’d kill my husband, my son if I didn’t intervene.

This boy I loved was an S-ranker, stronger than me but I also knew he had a soft spot for his family. His family came first, he’d do anything to protect them—A family man. That was what he valued and if I protected my own, maybe, just maybe he’d look at me differently.

But my family were monsters. What was I supposed to do? My body shook with the reckoning of this decision. A sob escaped my lips, the sound of my broken heart.

What was the right thing to do here?

The boy didn’t rush me, he waited for my answer patiently. The air was thick, pressing down on my chest, the smell of the salt water filled my nose but it couldn’t drown out the guilt. Adam would seek out justice. Silas would destroy anyone who harmed his family.

My head was spinning. The memories of my life with my son and husband passed through my mind like a film. They were his replacement. I could never be the Elizabeth to Silas, no matter how much I tried. So I made my own little family, but in the end it was a lie like our relationship.

I looked at him with swollen, red eyes. My mind made up. Eve never got happiness in her life chasing Adam, running away from her own feelings and watching from the outside. It was time to end it.

“No Silas, I won’t stop you,” I stood up slowly, my legs shaky and wiped the tears away. This was my choice, my final decision. I let out a deep breath.

“But. I will do it myself,” my voice cracked.

His violet eyes stared at me with a hint of surprise, then he nodded.

“Are you sure, Eve?”

Was I? Yes.

“Evelyn. Please call me Evelyn now. Eve is dead.” I swallowed the lump in my throat. The fairy tale of my past was over and I needed to bury it before I became Lilith.

“Okay Evelyn. Your husband is an S-rank, this is going to be messy on Earth so I can’t let you do it here. I’ll teleport you both to another planet and you can kill him there,” he offered.

My husband was a fire mage and our fight would be devastating to the world so I didn’t mind, in fact it was better that way, away from everything else. On a planet far away where neither of us could return to Earth, our tomb.

A hand extended out to me, his hand.

Taking a deep breath and gathering all of my courage I placed my hand on his and gave a firm shake. Before I knew it, we were standing in front of my mansion, the water bubble gone and my feet on the grass.

I pulled my hand away. The both of us walked inside, my son was passed out on the couch in the living room and my husband was in the bedroom, watching his disgusting videos with a smirk. At least that’s what Silas told me, my eyes didn’t leave my son as I crouched in front of him, looking at his sleeping form.

My last moments as a mother.

He looked like me, he was a good boy, his eyes the same blue, his blond hair a bit lighter but his actions were not mine. Maybe if Adam was his father, the boy would’ve turned out differently...but that was wishful thinking.

Silas stood next to me, his expression unreadable. A chuckle left my lips. Even if he hid his emotions I could tell he wanted to kill Lucas, something he’d done to all boys that tried to get close to his daughters.

I kissed my son on his forehead, a final goodbye from his mom. A small water orb manifested in front of Lucas, turning into a blade before piercing his heart, killing him.

No pain.

My hand moved to brush his hair, tears falling on his cheeks.

Eve was sorry. Sorry for not being enough, for failing as a person.

But I had no tears left for my husband.

“Haden,” I shouted as I walked towards the bedroom, the sound of my footsteps on wood echoing. Silas wasn’t with me. We didn’t need to speak the plan, after all it was a dance forged in blood; I would distract Haden and then he’d teleport the both of us to an unescapable planet. It was good enough.

Opening the door, the room was dimly lit with a scent of sweat and alcohol. The sound of moaning from his tablet made me want to vomit, my fists tightened as I saw my husband jacking off. A sight I wish I could forget.

“Eve...perfect timing, wanna join?” He grinned at me, his eyes never leaving his tablet.

I didn’t reply and sat on the edge of the bed, looking at his thing with disgust.

“No we need to talk,” I said instead.

He groaned. “Can it wait until I cum? This is a good one.”

A laugh came out of me but it was cold.

“Why are you so disgusting?”

Haden looked at me now, confusion evident on his face, the tablet still playing a video in the background.

Come on Silas hurry the fuck up. As if he heard me, a ripple of space distorted around the bed.

That was it.

The room disappeared, replaced by a barren grey landscape with no atmosphere, my breath held. The sun was bright, incredibly close. My husband scrambled to cover himself as he looked around.

His face turned from shock to rage and he stood up, a fireball forming in his hand.

“What the fuck?! Eve what did you do?” He shouted at me, but I only shook my head.

It was time to end this farce of a life.

I used my water magic, making blades and attacking him with precision. He was an S-ranker too. A first gen like us. He wasn’t an easy opponent.

The rocky ground beneath our feet turned to lava as he melted the ground, the heat of it making me sweat. The fight dragged on as our magic clashed and the planet became more and more of a wasteland. Craters turned into canyons and the sun held its note above my final dance.

Fire against water. Explosion after explosion.

But I didn’t give in, even when his fire burned my skin and exposed my bones, the pain was something I already felt in my heart—it didn’t compare. After what felt like hours, an opening presented itself and I took the chance. His chest was unprotected, the mana thin.

This would be the final chorus: the coda.

With one last push of my magic I shot a spear made of water through his heart. The momentum carried him backwards as he stumbled, a look of surprise on his face, his hand going to his chest. Blood seeped between his fingers as the wound didn’t heal.

A smile formed on his lips as he fell to his knees.

I stood there panting.

“Fuck you Eve,” Haden coughed, blood staining his teeth red. All of his mana was concentrating into one single point. He was going to blow himself up and take me and whatever was left of the planet with him.

Closing my eyes, I accepted it—this was my ending after all. Eve had sins that needed to be atoned for but maybe in another life I’d be the Elizabeth to a Silas.

The air grew hot, hotter, suffocatingly so and I braced myself for the inevitable explosion.

It never came.

Instead I saw a distant explosion next to the sun. Haden had been teleported away and Silas appeared next to me.

“Why?” I asked, my voice hoarse.

He shrugged, two cans of beer by his side.

“Don’t know.”

He tossed one to me and sat on the rocky grey ground.

“Maybe I just didn’t want to see you die.”

His violet eyes were fixed on the explosion that was now gone, only a small spark of light was left.

I grabbed the beer and opened it, sitting next to him and taking a long sip. The bitter liquid soothed my throat as we watched the sun move ever so slowly, the moment almost peaceful even as all the burns and wounds on my body screamed in pain.

The heaviness in my heart remained and I wanted to cry but I had no tears left to shed.

Leaning my head on his shoulder, I closed my eyes.

“You can leave me here. I don’t want to go back to that life anymore, Silas,” I mumbled.

His hand ruffled my hair gently and I almost cried again at that familiar feeling, one I missed so much.

“Let’s you get you fixed up Eve—Evelyn,” he corrected himself as he helped me stand. “Adam and Eve died a long time ago but we can still make new memories.”

My eyes opened, meeting his. Those eyes looked at me with kindness, a look I missed more than anything.

So I followed his lead as he opened a portal and I went through. A fancy hotel room appeared before me, with soft lights and a warm messy bed.

Elizabeth.

She was sitting in front of me with a smile on her face, her silver hair shining.

“Hi Evelyn,” she spoke.

Something finally clicked in my head, everything became clear. She’d always called me Evelyn and looked at me with that warmth, even when Silas was with me. No pity, no jealousy.

I hugged her without a second thought, a sob escaping my lips. I finally understood why Adam, no, Silas was hers.

“Hi Elizabeth...thank you for everything,” I cried on her shoulder as she rubbed my back.

“I've always liked Evelyn better anyways. Let’s get you patched up first, then we can talk about what comes next for you, okay?” she said in a gentle tone.

I nodded with tears in my eyes. Maybe...just maybe there was a new beginning for me.