The Mage of Primordial Chaos

Chapter 510 – The Wolf’s Story

"Let go?" I blinked at the wolfman's answer. "Of what…?"

"Of the past. You're right, I should've lived to fight another day. But y'know… I just ain't that type of person. I'm headstrong, and stubborn. Always been that way. My little sister… she used to berate me over that again and again. I was constantly annoyed about it, until… ah."

"Until…?"

"… She died."

I opened my mouth in surprise, but then closed it again and only muttered a single phrase.

"… I'm sorry."

"Heh. And what kind of idiot are you, apologizin' to your enemy on the battlefield? Relax. It was a long time ago."

"What was she killed by?" I asked before I could to stop myself. The wolfman didn't seem to mind though, and instead only fell silent briefly. For a moment, I thought the guy had died, but was quickly corrected as he suddenly spoke again.

"… Magic."

"… What?"

"My sister… she always called me headstrong, but she's the same herself. We share the same blood, after all. You see, we Ashen Bloodline wolves are… considered outcasts by others of the same tribe. Over time, we were taught to fight for ourselves, and see ourselves as our own separate tribe. But that doesn't change the fact that we have to use the same facilities as the others."

"So… your little sister was bullied?"

"… Yeah. Bullied. Then, raped. And finally… killed."

"… All because she was of a different bloodline?"

"Mhm. All because she was of a different bloodline."

"And if I have to guess… this Ashen Bloodline… it has something to do with magic, huh?"

"Damn straigh- cough, cough," the wolfman said, interrupted by a fit of coughs of blood, and as I moved to see if he was fine, he waved me off like it was nothing.

"The Ashen Bloodline… it began when an ancestor of mine got greedy in a water pool that was said to increase cultivation by a lot. The other members of the wolfhuman tribe at the time were meant to share that pool equally, but this guy took it all by himself, thus leading to a bloodline of more powerful wolfhumans that are discriminated against by the rest."

"So that's why you work alone too…"

"… But for whatever reason, each generation, only one can awaken to the powers of the bloodline. In this generation… I was that one. My sister got nothing. The others were afraid to mess with me, but my sister…"

"So… without magic, none of this would've happened, huh? But don't you think this is not caused by the existence of magic, but that ancestor's greed?"

"… Heh. Maybe so. But can you erase greed from everyone? No. It's built in human nature, whether you like it or not. But magic… that's possible to erase. I learned that from boss. And my ancestor… that's not all."

"There's more?" I prompted.

"… My sister. She was a capable fighter in her own right. Even though I had the power and she didn't, she could hold her own against me in a one on one sparring battle. She could easily take on multiple foes and emerge victorious. But you know how they managed to beat her, humiliate her, and eventually kill her once they were done?"

"… Magic, huh?"

"Yeah. Magic. If it's a battle of fists, my sister can surely win. We wolfhumans have always been hand-to-hand fighters, not wusses that rely on this bullshit power called magic. But in recent years… they've been teaching it in school. Those guys learned. And that's how they beat my sister, who also knew magic but wasn't an expert at it by any means."

"… I see."

So this was his reason for hating magic so much. My father asked me to save them, but… I couldn't do that. Every point he made was a solid one. Every reason he had was a good one. He was looking for revenge, just as I once was. I could hardly say anything to him when I wasn't any better.

And since I could not save him… I had to kill him, and put an end to this.

"… Are you ready?" I asked, and he gave a brief nod. I didn't need to elaborate on what I meant. His entire body was paralyzed from the lightning I shot into it through the heart, and he could do little to resist what was coming next.

Slowly, I cocked my gun and aimed it at his head.

"… You were a warrior, wolfhuman. Our fight… it was a good one."

"Heh. I agree. But don't call me wolfhuman. Don't lump me in with those guys. I have a name—Daiki. Just call me that."

"… Daiki, huh?" I closed my eyes. "I see. I will remember it well."

"Come on now, finish it. I won't be able to realize my wish, but the other three will do it for me. All of them will be tougher opponents than I was. While I'm still your enemy and hope you lose against them… I wish you good luck as a brother in arms, a fellow warrior."

"… Goodbye."

"… Mm."

I pulled the trigger.

It wasn't painful. It wasn't agonizing. It was a swift, painless death, delivered at the hands of myself. I made sure it was as smooth as possible, since I didn't want him to suffer any further.

After all, in his past, he has suffered enough.

*****

Through the exchange with the wolfman—Daiki—I learned many things. I was beginning to reconsider my perspective on magic, and realized that there were plenty of people in this world who suffered more than I did in my past. I always thought I had it the worst. But in reality, there's always someone out there suffering more, experiencing far more pain than I could ever feel.

I still didn't want magic to be erased, of course. That would mean Mei Gui would disappear, and if there's one thing I'll never allow, it's any harm that comes to the girls—any of them. But still, I learned a new angle to look at magic, after hearing Daiki's story.

I wonder… was there some way I could 'fix' magic without erasing it? Perhaps, make it so that it can only be used out of good will? No, that would be hardly a suitable solution…

I sighed as I rose to the air and took off to return home. I already buried Daiki's body on the uninhabited island out of respect, of course, and was now facing a long trip home.

Perhaps that was a good thing, though. Perhaps this would give me some time to clear my thoughts, which I really clearly needed right now.

Not only was there the whole perspective thing about magic, I also had to think about the three upcoming Cardinals. Daiki had said all three were stronger than he was, and would prove to be tougher opponents. I didn't know how to feel about that. Daiki alone was enough to make me actually get serious, so if the other three were even stronger than he was… not to mention X, my father, at the very end, whom I possibly would have to fight as well as the 'final' challenge.

Soon, I arrived back at our private beach, where all the other girls were, as expected. I had told Mei Gui to bring them all here, after all. Apparently, while I was away, Amane had entrusted the tribe in The Fortress to her secretary, and was now joining us here.

I was welcomed home by a hug from almost all of the girls as usual, and went to take a shower to clear my thoughts. Afterwards, they asked me about what happened, and I responded truthfully—how I killed Daiki, and how the other three Cardinals were going to be even harder to defeat. I didn't tell them about Daiki's backstory though, out of respect. He probably didn't want me going around blabbering about that stuff to everyone I meet, so I'll keep his secret a secret.

Unfortunately, he didn't give me any information on the remaining 3 Cardinals' abilities or powers. I knew what they looked like hazily, but other than that, they were all complete mysteries to me.

In any case, though, tomorrow, we would be setting out for Aquira's underwater temple with no delay. The more time we wasted, the more time the Cardinals had to chase us down and prepare. I didn't know how I felt about going underwater or how we'll even get there, but uh… we'll figure that out when we get there.

As an aside, the girls wanted to do some ahem naughty ahem stuff with me that night, but I managed to convince them I was tired as hell (which I was) from the fight and the long flight home. They were disappointed, but after I promised to do it with them once all four Empyreans' powers had been captured, they beamed happily and agreed to a deal.

… Really, sometimes, I can't tell if having a harem with such beautiful girls is good or not…

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