Only Wisdom Awakened - Chapter 212

Chapter 212: Blue Feelings
Melted by the flames of purgatory, Kenta’s body was reduced to ashes in just a few seconds.

Hans watched the ground saddened…

‘To think… it really had to come to this.

When Kenta told me I would have to stop him, even if doing so I had to take his life, I never would have thought it would really end like this…’

“Sigh…

“Was this really the only way….?

Or did I just take the shortest route?”

The only person still conscious and alive other than Hans, Kenzo, watched the young man’s expression.

He began walking towards Kenta’s remnants, and Hans, as he said:

“You… were his friend right?”

“I thought so…”

Hans replied.

“We all thought we meant something to him once.

And we did…”

Hans was surprised to hear this…

“You…. Did?”

“Yes, everyone here, we all did, we used to stick together, and he was like family to us… and we were like family to him…

But then, his terrible personality rose up once again…”

“I had the feeling from the first time I saw you… you, aren’t really a gangster, are you?”

“Uh? No, no, I am a gangster, it’s just… we don’t cross certain lines in the Black Bears.”

“Like?”

“We don’t kill…”

Hans didn’t use his skill to detect any lie, he could tell… that the person in front of him was speaking the truth.

“Would you mind coming with me? I would like to hear more about…

Honestly, I don’t even know what to call him now”

“I will come in a few days, right now I still… have a lot to take care of”

The man was referring to his comrades on the ground.

Some were just unconscious, but others… Kenta had taken advantage of their situation to kill them…

“Of course, here’s my number”

Hans said…

“Call me whenever you’re ready”

The young man left the place with a sorrowful look on his face and for the whole taxi ride, he reminisced about the time he had passed with Kenta.

‘Fuck… sigh… why did the world create a trustworthy person and make his other personality a crazy bastard?’

He watched outside the window as the buildings and the people flashed by, and what seemed to be just a moment later, he was already back home.

‘Now the Chicago branch is left once again without a leader… I guess it’s my job to find one…

Sigh… what a hassle.

I don’t feel like doing anything right now.

“Hi!”

Aiden said as soon as Hans opened the door, and the young man replied the same way.

“Hi”

However, with his low tone and sad expression, Aiden immediately understood something was wrong.

“Brother… what happened?”

“It’s nothing, I’m just a little tired…”

He said as he walked by.

Aiden, watching his brother’s back, decided not to bother him anymore, and instead returned to the kitchen, where he was experimenting with a couple of ingredients they allowed him to bring back from the Academy.

‘How long will I have to make potions in the kitchen?

Still… it’s not like I can ask Hans for a lab… maybe I should start selling some potions and save up to rent a little lab, at least until the Academy starts once again…

Come on Aiden!!…’

He thought slapping his cheeks…

‘You have to make it… an intermediate potion!!’

In his room… Hans lye on his bed, with his mind lost in thought…

Over the last few months, he had become accustomed to calling out Caelan, and he could now do it anytime he wanted without having to focus…

“Hey Caelan”

As he thought about that name, a voice began talking inside his head:

“What is it? Why are we watching the ceiling today?… you still haven’t broken through the eighth tier I see…”

“Please… shut up…”

“Uh?! What do you-”

“I need to ask you something…”

“What? What’s with the sad voice? Has something bad happened? Wait! Did one of your students-”

“Stop fantasizing, it has nothing to do with them”

“Oh… thank god, I thought Colton might’ve gotten an injury”

“So you only cared about your student”

“Don’t say that, at the end of the day, he’s also your student”

“Yeah… whatever, I called you because I wanted to ask you…

Have you ever…

Killed someone you considered your friend.”

“Boy… did something happen”

“Mh… Kenta, the man whom I had left the branch leader position… he tried to kill me and my friend, so I had to kill him”

“Branch leader… isn’t that an important role in your world?!”

“It is… and my dumbass decided to give it away to someone I barely knew…

He was also fishy from the start…

Because I decided to get rid of my responsibilities, someone like him gained a lot of power…if instead of trying to kill me, he wanted to create a disaster, a lot of innocent people could’ve lost their lives.”

“It didn’t happen though… did it?”

“It did not, but…”

“No buts, you have no fault, it could’ve gone really bad, but luckily it didn’t.

Just learn from your mistakes and don’t do the same next time, not everyone is perfect from the beginning, you awakened a year ago or so, and you’re still only nineteen, everyone makes mistakes, just make sure to not repeat them.”

“Understood, thank you”

“It’s nothing…

As for your question… no, fortunately, I never had to kill someone I considered my friend, as you’ve seen, most of my life was spent living on the icy peak, and even if I decided to go around fighting during the war, I still didn’t get the chance to make friends.

But… there was this one time…

During the war, the threat of a great invasion had sprouted from the east because of a giant wave of monsters, spanning thousands of kilometers, and even having a commanding leader at the low rank of the ninth tier.

At the time, I still hadn’t become an archmage, so the battle against him was difficult, especially because many other monsters and beasts disturbed our fight.

There were also many supporters on my side, but as the battle raged, and days passed by, one after the other, the people on my side began diminishing.

In four days of battle, all of them died, and when on the fifth day, my ice finally pierced the body of the last beast, I was the only one standing left on the whole battlefield.

Exhausted, I traveled towards the closest city, where I arrived looking like a famished beggar.

I fainted…

And right there on the streets, a young boy took my unconscious body and mended me ’till I woke up.

Then, for a few days, I stayed with him… I had won the battle, but inside, I felt like I had lost…

There was nothing left where that battle happened, not a friend, nor a comrade to celebrate with…

For those few days, I talked to that boy, told him various tales, and helped him out with his work.

He was an orphan, and the cold world wasn’t welcoming to poor souls like his.

When it was time to leave, I had grown attached to that boy, so much that I was saddened by the thought of leaving him alone… but I had my responsibilities to shoulder and no space for my emotions.

In the end, I left, leaving behind only a letter in which I wrote that I would’ve created a better world, both for him and for all his friends…

Half a year later… I met that boy on the battlefield.

His body wasn’t that of a human anymore, and his movements came closer to those of the beasts, he had been taken away by them.

A brief moment, just for a second, our eyes met before I slaughtered him along with all the other beasts and crazed humans…

I felt like shit…

Not only was I unable to uphold my promise, but I even had to kill him… it was really… one of the worst feelings I’ve ever felt in my life.”

“I’m sorry for you”

Hans said, but in reply, Caelan told him something else:

“There is no need to feel sorry about me, I’m sure right now you also don’t feel so good, take a few hours to relax, and we’ll talk about it when you’ve gotten over it”

“You’re right Caelan…

It feels… really shitty”

And so, for the rest of the day, Hans did nothing but lie on his bed.

When the sun had already set, and he and Aiden had already had dinner, Hans returned to his room.

‘Kenta… Kenta… I would like to speak with you right now… why did you do it? Why would you even want to go to the red tyranny?

Ugh! I can’t understand it no matter how many times I think about it.

But as he closed his eyes and thought about Kenta, he subconsciously entered the plain of darkness…

A light was shining bright in front of him, so he took a few seconds to open his eyes, which widened in surprise…

A silhouette was standing in front of him…

And it was… bright…

Really bright.