“Shhk—”
—The keen edge of a blade sliced cleanly through flesh.
Revius was guarding Carentia as she kept the domain intact. The longer it remained active, the more unstable it became, so he had to cut down the enemies that still lingered along their path, as well as those that emerged from beyond the walls.
“How are you holding up, Revius~?”
Carentia asked with concern. This was her son’s first real battle, and he had been fighting without pause.
“I’m perfectly fine, Mother. They’re just attacking on instinct. Compared to Father, this is nothing at all.”
“That’s trueee~ You managed to hold your own against your father, after all. In that case, I suppose I don’t need to worry quite so much anymore~”
Carentia said with a smile, carrying herself with her usual ease.
“I’m the one who should be worried about you, Mother.”
“Oh, don’t worry about meee~ I still have more than enough strength left to fight a high-ranking Abyster, you know~”
Carentia stepped up beside Revius, then leaned toward him with a bright smile.
“That’s exactly what I’d expect from you, Mother.”
The moment she heard that, she immediately brightened, making no attempt at all to hide how pleased she was.
After walking a while longer, the two of them rejoined the main group in the great hall of the cavern, where a temporary base had been set up for the operation.
“Hey, hey, Revius.”
“Yes, Mother?”
Once they reached the entrance, Carentia called out to him with the eager look of a cat about to pounce on a toy.
“According to the plan, Lord Edgard is going ahead to scout things out first. So until then, we’ll probably have a little time to spare. Your father is keeping watch at the front line too.”
“So once you close the domain, you’ll be free as well, Mother?”
“Yesss~ Which means I’m going to cook for you~”
“Apher, right?”
“Ah—”
“—”
Carentia froze, utterly caught out. Revius said nothing more, only smiled at her while she stood there in stunned silence, unable to believe he had seen right through her.
“No waaay... Don’t tell me Lilia told you beforehand~?”
“No, no. Father gave it away while you were preparing the domain, that’s all. Hahaha.”
“Oh, honestly, Raegard... The next time I see him, he’s definitely getting punished.”
As she said that, she puffed out her cheeks a little.
“It’s fine, Mother. What Father made for me was only grilled Apher. It wasn’t some elaborate dish like the ones you make~”
“Hehe, exactly. What I’m going to make is an Apher dish blended perfectly with the rest of the meal. Even Lilia doesn’t know how to make it yettt~”
She spoke with particular pride, as though she had already forgotten that her secret had just been exposed.
“Just imagining it is enough to make my mouth water~”
“Then let’s hurry, Reviusss!”
“Yes!”
The two of them immediately made their way toward the temporary base.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Hm~ Hm-hm~ Hm~”
The cheerful humming, together with the delicious aroma drifting through the air, made it obvious just how much the one cooking was enjoying the creation of this special dish.
“Revius, close your eyes alreadyyy~~”
“Yes, Mother.”
Revius obeyed at once, since he too was eager to try a dish he had never seen before.
“Ahh~”
“Huh?”
“Opeeen wiiide~”
Drawn in by the irresistible smell, he obediently opened his mouth and was fed as though he were still a little child.
“Mmm!!!”
The first sensation that touched his tongue was a softness so delicate it felt as though his tongue itself had melted. The flavor that followed was so rich and perfectly balanced that it surpassed what any blend of seasonings should have been capable of producing. As he began to chew, that mellow taste spread through his mouth as though every ingredient had melted together into one. Even when he swallowed, it slid down as smoothly as warm milk.
Overcome with delight, Revius hurriedly opened his eyes—only to find his mother sitting there, watching him with a smile so warm and gentle that it made her feelings unmistakably clear. Her expression showed just how deeply she understood the joy her cooking had brought him.
“It’s delicious—no, it’s the most delicious thing I’ve ever eaten, Mother. This is going to be a meal I’ll never forget!”
“Hehe, then hurry and eat the rest~”
“Yes!”
Revius immediately kept eating with eager delight. He could not even bring himself to stop until, in the end, not a single bite remained on the plate.
“Ahhh... That was incredible, Mother.”
“Of course it was~ I am your mother, after all.”
Carentia smiled proudly, placing a hand over her chest.
“It’s because I can control the Aether within the Apher, you see. That’s how I can create flavors this special~ Even Lilia still has a lot of practice ahead of her before she can manage thisss~”
“That’s incredibly difficult, isn’t it? Even more difficult than enhancement, I’d say.”
“It’s not just difficult, really~ If something goes wrong, because it’s controlled through Aether, the backlash could damage your Aether itself... the way it did your grandmother’s.”
Carentia spoke of the danger with alarming casualness. If the Aether throughout the body were damaged, a person could fall into an endless sleep—or die outright.
“Wait, Mother, did you just casually say you did something dangerous!?”
“Oh, not that dangerous~ Your grandmother’s case happened because she kept using every kind of magic at once, over and over—Aether for restructuring, enhancement, and release all at the same time. If you keep doing that, the risk eventually goes far beyond the limit~”
She quickly explained herself so Revius would not worry too much, going into more detail to reassure him.
“So that’s why you and Father don’t use combined spells, then?”
“That’s rightttt~ Because damage to Aether can’t be healed with restoration magic either~”
She replied in relief, nodding as she did so.
After that, the two of them chatted playfully for a while longer.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
—Bwooooo.
The blare of a horn echoed throughout the cavern.
“Let’s go, Revius.”
“Yes, Mother.”
Everyone gathered together to go over the plan based on the information Edgard had collected.
“There is indeed a dangerous one, just as we expected. It resembles a giant serpent, and it has absorbed a small Aether crystal. In addition, there are countless mid-ranking ones as well.”
“In that case, ordinary warriors probably aren’t suited to fighting that serpent. Judging from its size and destructive power, it would be far too dangerous.”
Raegard turned to look at the warriors awaiting their strategy with tense anticipation. They were all strong, but to pit them against an enemy that had absorbed an Aether crystal would still be too great a risk.
“I will lead the force in dealing with the mid-ranking ones myself, sir. That way, you’ll be able to fight at full strength. Besides, my power is especially well suited to this kind of large-scale engagement.”
Seeing that, Edgard volunteered to watch over the warriors himself.
“That’s a sound strategy. My wife and I should be able to handle that creature. And my son will get to witness a real battle as well.”
“Then I’ll leave the others to you, Edgard.”
“Yes, sir.”
Raegard gave him a light pat on the shoulder and made his way toward the vast chamber deeper within.
“Carentia, Revius, it’s time to get serious.”
“Yesss~”
“Yes, Father.”
The two of them answered and immediately moved to his side.
“But Father... how can just three humans possibly handle an Abyster that has swallowed an Aether crystal?”
Revius asked in confusion. No matter how strong Raegard and Carentia were, the Aetherliths they possessed could not compare to a true Aether crystal.
“In truth, it ought to be impossible. But creatures like that attack on raw instinct alone. They have no strategy, no planning at all. No matter how much power they have, in the end, they’re little more than enormous sacks of flesh.”
Abysters were beings that stood at the opposite pole from all living things. They did not use Aether in order to survive. Instead, they endlessly craved more of it, never once feeling satisfied. Because of that hunger, they devoured every being that possessed Aether and then seized those bodies for their own use. They had no need to reproduce or evolve, and so they possessed no instinct for survival. All they had was an insatiable urge to attack and consume.
“And how do we kill that thing?”
“By striking the crystal with Aether hard enough to crack it open. Once the crystal shatters, the creature is finished.”
When pure Aether collided violently with pure Aether, it triggered a reaction and caused transformation. At times, the two became entangled, turning into something entirely new and losing their state as pure Aether in the process.
“That makes it sound simple. But getting close enough to strike it is probably going to be the hard part. And the blow would have to be strong enough to crack the crystal’s shell, too.”
“That’s why this will be a good lesson for you. You’ll get to see just how remarkable it is when your mother and I fight together.”
“So I’m really just here to watch!?”
“Well, it can’t be helped~ Your father is probably the only one here who can face a creature that dangerous head-on, after alllll~”
Carentia added that herself, since even she would not be fighting in direct close combat.
“That’s true. Then I’ll stay back and guard you, Mother.”
“Mhm, mhm. Good boy~”
Carentia said that as she gently stroked Revius’s head.
“Wah—”
“Hahaha.”
Seeing that, Raegard could not help laughing. Revius’s senses were sharp enough to evade blades, and yet he was forever getting caught off guard by Carentia and Lilia alike.
“What was that for, Fatherrr?”
“Oh, nothing. It’s just funny that you’re better at dodging swords than empty hands, my son. Hahaha.”
“Oh, come on...”
The three of them continued chatting cheerfully, as though they were not standing in the middle of a battlefield at all. In part, it was because neither Raegard nor Carentia wanted their son burdening himself with too much pressure.
“We’re here.”
After walking a little farther, the three of them reached the deepest part of the cavern. The entire area opened into a vast chamber, with lakes spread throughout it. At the center of them all, a monstrous creature lay asleep. It had three serpent heads, yet in some ways resembled a dragon. Crystals were embedded throughout its body, but it did not seem able to move very well; its heads and necks appeared heavier than the rest of its body combined.
“This looks like it’s going to be quite a handful...”
“It’s the perfect chance to show our son, isn’t it, dear? Go ahead and let loose with everything you’ve gottt~”
“Very well. Then I’ll go get ready. You two, don’t keep me waiting.”
“Mhm, mhm~”
“Yes, Father.”
Raegard headed toward the monster, giving them a brief wave as he went.
Though Raegard and Carentia fought together, there was no need for them to remain close enough that she had to face the danger directly as he did. Usually, she remained at the rear, supporting him while he drew the enemy’s attention. Fighting that way allowed both of them to focus more fully as well, since neither had to worry much over whether the other was safe.
“Let’s begin, Revius.”
“Yes, Mother.”
The two of them stood hand in hand at the edge of a cliff near the lake and began to cast their spell.
“Link the senses. Simulate vision.”
Carentia closed her eyes as she spoke the incantation. At once, Revius’s sight changed. He saw a young man standing ahead of him—himself.
“If I move around too much like this, I’m going to fall off the cliff, you know. Hahaha.”
“This way, you can’t resist me anymoreee~”
“You’re smiling right now, aren’t you, Mother? I can’t see you, but I can tell you’re narrowing your eyes.”
“Aww, fineee. I won’t tease you. Otherwise your father will get lonely from waiting too long~”
“That was close.”
Even in the midst of preparing for battle, Carentia still managed to put Revius at ease.
“Domain Emergence. Compress space. Raegard.”
The moment she finished speaking, his vision changed again, becoming a floating viewpoint beside Raegard.
“So you’re ready at last.”
“Carentia is ready to support youuu~”
“Then I suppose it’s time.”
Raegard drew his sword from its sheath. The very air around him trembled beneath an overwhelming pressure, as though every particle in the surrounding space were losing its stability. Residual mana from the surroundings began to swirl into currents around the edge of his blade. Once the sword had fully left its sheath, the blade became wholly encased in ambient mana.
“Enhancement. Fuse the structure. Activate Aetherlith.”
Raegard released Aether into the sword to transform its structure, then coated the blade so that it would bind with the mana currents outside it. On top of that, he activated his Aetherlith as an additional layer of enhancement, causing a full suit of knightly armor to form over his body—while the appearance of his sword changed just as dramatically.
“Here I go!”
Raegard launched himself toward the sleeping monster at tremendous speed.
Shwing—
—BOOM!!!
He swept his sword toward the giant serpent’s heads, and the light from his blade swallowed all three at once, erasing them completely in a single explosion.
“Carentia!”
Yet Carentia’s supporting attack was aimed toward the opposite side rather than the crystal at the center.
—Boom!
“Shaaaahhh!”
“Krrrrrrrr!”
The giant serpent’s roars thundered throughout the chamber. Within the dense cloud of smoke, where nothing could be seen, Raegard heard multiple serpent cries overlapping one another—and increasing in number by the second.
“—Fall back, quickly, Raegard!”
Carentia shouted as she continued bombarding it without pause.
“So it had more hidden heads?”
Raegard slashed outward, sending a wave from his blade to tear through the smoke.
“—What the...”
What he saw was a monster sprouting many times more heads than before.
“So I really am getting my wish and facing the real thing...”
He stared for a brief moment in disbelief, then deactivated his Aetherlith. His armor vanished at once.
“Keep the pressure on it for a while.”
“Understooood~”
“Increase the intensity of the flames.”
The instant Carentia finished speaking, a vast number of fireballs burst into existence all around the chamber. Then they began to rain down on the monster in a relentless barrage.
“Burning it should slow its regeneration a little, at leasttt~”
Using that opening, Raegard steadied himself and focused on enhancing his own body, prioritizing agility above all else.
“We’re changing the plan. I’ll break through and destroy the crystal directly. Prepare something big.”
“Understooood~ I’ll burn through every last drop of mana I haveee~”
The moment she answered, Raegard rushed in again. Seeing him approach, the giant serpent lunged at him with savage force, but Raegard cut its head off in a single counterstroke. At the same time, although Carentia intercepted some of the others with her attacks, there were simply too many heads for her to stop them all. Some still slipped through.
Raegard had to leap and spin to evade the nonstop onslaught that followed. He landed atop another serpent head, sprinted along the creature’s body, and continued cutting down the remaining heads as they came snapping toward him one after another. As he closed in on the monster’s main body, both he and Carentia began chanting their spells at full power.
“Enhancement. Fuse the structure. Release Aether.”
“Compress Aether. Condense, and collapse.”
Pure magic gathered around Raegard and the edge of his blade. It was a wondrous sight—the primal substance itself fusing and collapsing inward of its own accord. Even the mana in the surrounding atmosphere became entangled in the process, spiraling into currents around him.
“Haaahhh!”
Raegard drew back his sword, ready to strike, as he rushed into slashing range with the mass of Aether collapsing toward its limit.
“Shhk—”
—At that instant, the vision was severed and snapped back to Carentia’s point of view, as though the domain itself had been cut apart.
BOOOOM!!!
A violent explosion erupted in the distance.
Suddenly, the world tilted and began to fall. Revius’s sight slowly swept downward, showing Carentia’s body piece by piece from top to bottom—her shoulder, her chest, her stomach, her legs, and finally her feet. Then her body collapsed after it, revealing Revius himself behind her, a deep diagonal wound carved across the center of his torso—
“—Mother!!!”
Revius screamed at the top of his lungs. What he saw before him was his mother’s headless body, collapsing slowly to the ground.
The moment the linking spell broke, Revius returned to himself completely. His own body gave way at once beneath the severe wound across his middle.
A light flared at Carentia’s severed neck, like an automatic restorative spell trying to activate at the moment of injury—
—Ignoring the agony tearing through him, Revius forced his body forward and desperately crawled toward his mother.
“Mother—”
When he reached her, he pressed her severed head back onto her body and forced his own Aether out. He could not use restoration magic, so he resorted instead to the most dangerous option of all—healing with Aether itself. Because Aether was akin to life force, healing with it often produced better results... but it also carried grave danger for the user.
“Please work... Please heal...”
He cradled his mother’s body in his arms and released his Aether at full force. There was only one thing he wanted now—for her to survive.
“Ghk—”
He coughed up blood violently, the poison of the wound nearly robbing him of consciousness on the spot. Even so, he held his mother tighter and poured out every bit of Aether he could.
“Please hold on, Mother. I’m begging you... This has to work.”
Revius’s mind was beginning to blur. Warm memories of being with his mother rose one after another before him—among them the sight of her watching him eat with gentle eyes. Tears began to spill down his face before he even realized it. His feelings overflowed beyond what he could contain. Every memory that surfaced forced him to imagine a future in which he would never see his mother smile again.
“No... no, please. It can’t end like this. Mother, stay with me. Please don’t leave me yet—”
As his consciousness dimmed, he saw fragments of childhood memories: when he cried and she was there to comfort him, when he was hurt and she was there to heal him, when he could not sleep and she was there to lull him to rest. But those memories slowly began to fade, as though she would no longer be by his side, no longer there to watch him grow, no longer there to give him that warmth he had always known.
“No... I’m begging you. I still want to be with you. Please keep watching over me—”
His tears fell onto his mother’s face.
At that very moment, her Aetherlith shone with a radiance that swallowed the entire surrounding area, and her body vanished from Revius’s arms—
“Master!”
“—No... no, no, no... no, no, no, no—!”
When he finally realized what had happened, all that remained in his embrace was his mother’s lifeless head. His consciousness was fading rapidly now. The Aether he had been releasing ceased. Blood burst from his wound as his body collapsed.
He looked at his mother’s face one last time before losing consciousness.
“Mother...”
In his final moment, he saw a blurry figure rushing toward him in panic, and his own tears falling onto his mother’s face.
“I still want to talk with you. I still want to eat your cooking. I still want you to pat my head one more time...”
Then he fell into darkness, and what he had been holding vanished from his arms.
“It’s the first time... you didn’t hug me back...”
—Revius lost consciousness completely.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A faint touch brushed through Revius’s hair.
It was the touch of a gentle hand he knew well—a hand that had been close to him all his life, a hand whose warmth he had grown up with and always yearned for.
“Good boy.”
That tender voice sounded above his head. The softness against his cheek was warm, like the pillow that had always been there for him.
“So this will be the last time, won’t it... that Mother gets to watch you sleep like this.”
The woman smiled gently, though countless feelings lay hidden within that smile—feelings she could never bring herself to put into words.
“Revius... I’m sorry that I can no longer remain by your side, and that I won’t be there to watch you grow—”
She brushed his hair aside a little so she could see his face more clearly.
“Even after I’m gone... you’ll still grow into a hero, I’m sure of it. I know you can do it. You are my son, after all.”
She smiled as her eyes narrowed ever so slightly, as though she were holding her emotions back with everything she had.
“But even so... I still wanted to stay and watch you grow. I wanted to see you succeed. I wanted to see you find someone you love—”
She stopped there. Then tears began to fall onto Revius’s cheek. Her other hand tightened around his.
“—I don’t want to leave you at all... I still wanted to be there to welcome you home every time you returned from battle. I wanted to cook for you when you were hungry. There were still so many things I wanted to do... At the very least, I wanted you to be able to come home and find me there.”
At last, she let all those feelings spill free—her love for her son, her longing to watch him grow, her wish to remain beside him.
She fell silent for a while, as though grief itself was keeping her from parting with him.
“If only I had been stronger... If only I had been able to stop that attack completely, then you would never have been wounded this badly.”
She clenched her hand tightly and bit her lip.
The space around them began to drift apart, and she gathered herself once more.
“When you wake up, I hope you won’t be hurting anymore. Lilia will probably be by your side. She’ll surely be able to comfort you.”
A look of relief crossed her face, and then she smiled a little.
“I’ve connected what remained of my Aether to your grandmother. She should be able to awaken for a short while... long enough to heal your injuries completely.”
“I wanted to greet Grandmother too. At the very least, I wish I could have said goodbye... To awaken once more only to see her daughter-in-law leaving like this... I’m sorry to Grandmother as well—”
She closed her eyes and slowly drew in a deep breath. Then she opened them again, wearing the warmest smile she had ever given him—a smile engraved forever in Revius’s soul, the very same smile she had worn the first moment he opened his eyes to the world.
“Revius— Even after I’m gone, I will always love you. And I believe that you will grow, and meet many people who will one day fill the place I leave behind. Your fate is not empty. It is simply a fate that has yet to be written. I hope that from here on, you will live a happy life.”
The space around them turned into an empty white expanse, leaving only the two of them.
“It’s time. In the end, one day Lilia’s cooking will surely surpass mine. And when that day comes, I hope it will ease your longing for me, even if only a little.”
“Farewell, my son... I love you more than anything—”
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“—Mother!!!”
Revius jolted awake, one hand reaching desperately out before him, only to grasp at nothing. There was only empty air—
“—Master!”
Lilia, who had been sitting beside the bed, immediately sprang up and caught hold of him to stop him from moving too much.
“Please don’t move too much yet.”
Lilia met his eyes and clasped his hand tightly, trying to help him calm down.
“Lilia...”
“Yes. I’m right here, Master.”
She smiled gently, her voice soft—devoid of the usual playfulness it always carried.
“I... couldn’t protect Mother—”
“Please don’t say that.”
“But I—”
“—Master, you did everything you could, didn’t you? You forced yourself to release so much Aether, and you ignored your own wound on top of that. Please don’t blame yourself like this.”
Lilia held his hand tightly as she spoke, her voice strained with all the restraint she was forcing upon herself.
“Grandmother received only a little information, but she learned that Lady Carentia did block the attack. It was just so powerful that it pierced straight through her defense. In that very moment, Lady Carentia decided to combine her domain with her Aetherlith to connect herself to Grandmother, who possesses an Aetherlith of the same kind.”
“So the reason I was sent back... was because of the Aetherlith Mother had. And because of the dream too.”
“A dream?”
“Yes... It was like Mother sang me to sleep one last time. And she told me something too... that one day, Lilia’s cooking would surely surpass hers.”
“—”
At those words, Lilia’s hand clenched tightly, and she fell silent for a while.
“And Grandmother, Lilia?”
“She’s trying to contact Father and Lord Edgard right now. It seems both of them may still be occupied.”
“I think that monster Father was fighting has already been defeated. Right before I was sent back, it felt like there was an Aether reaction in that area... as if the crystal had finally been pierced.”
“I’ll go inform Grandmother at once, then. Master, please get as much rest as you can.”
“You should rest too, you know. At least you don’t have to keep forcing yourself all the time.”
“—”
Lilia fell quiet for a brief moment, then immediately turned her back to him.
“—I only just woke up when you did, Master. It’s not as though I’ve been pushing myself.”
She spoke quickly, but even so, her voice trembled slightly.
“Yes, yes...”
“—”
After that, she quietly left the room and closed the door behind her.
“Mother... I love you too. If you ever pat my head again... I won’t resist it anymore...”
Revius hugged his own arm and remembered that final moment when he had embraced his mother’s lifeless body.
At the same time, on the other side of the door, Lilia leaned against it and slowly sank to the floor.
“Once again... all I can do is watch someone precious slip away—”
“Even if it costs me my life, I will never let myself lose anyone ever again.”
She spoke through the tears slowly spilling down her face, then clutched the jewel at the center of her chest tightly.
The brightness and playfulness they both carried had always been shaped by Carentia’s example.
And now... she was gone forever.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------