"Actually, I belong to the Phillips family..."
Margaret said suddenly, her words casting a heavy shadow over Athtar's heart. He opened his eyes in shock, as if he couldn't believe what he'd just heard.
"What? All this time… you were from the Kingdom of Kayvan?"
"That's right. I'm sorry for hiding it from you all this time. I never found the right moment to tell you, and I sensed you were sensitive about royal families. I can understand, given the Jones family's exceptional circumstances there…"
Athtar let go of Margaret's hand, looking down, and whispered faintly, "Before my mother died, she left me only one thing: a photo of her and a signature from the Phillips family. Perhaps the person who signed it is my father…"
Athtar took the locket out of his pocket and showed it to Margaret, who examined it closely, then shook her head. "I'm sorry, I couldn't identify the signer. He must have used a different signature than his original one. Perhaps it was just a sign that he trusted your mother."
Athtar put the locket back in his pocket and looked a little disappointed, then said calmly, "It must be that person. He's the one who killed my mother… otherwise she wouldn't have decided to give this to me in her final moments… Maybe my mother doesn't want this for me, but I'm going to find her killer and kill him with these very hands…"
Athtar's gaze was dark, like that of someone slowly sinking into a world of vengeance—a world Margaret knew all too well. So she gently placed her hand on his and said "Revenge isn't the answer. If you take revenge, what will you do if others come to take revenge on you? The cycle of revenge will never end then..."
"Then I'll just have to get rid of everyone who comes looking for me..."
"And what after that?" Are you going to make enemies of the entire Kingdom of Kayvan? Until it comes to the point where you end up fighting your own family in the end?...
Athtar didn't answer her, and after a long silence, he said calmly, "I'm weak, so I won't do anything reckless like seeking revenge right now. So, Margaret, please, will you train me?" "
Margaret looked at him with a slightly annoyed expression, which made Athtar wonder why she was looking at him that way.
"I just asked you to stop trying to seek revenge, and now you're asking me to help you do just that by training you and making you stronger? Are you an idiot?
"And what am I supposed to do? Am I supposed to keep relying on you to protect me forever?
"And what's wrong with trying to rely on others? I'm your family—don't forget that, Athtar…"
Margaret approached Athtar slowly, staring at his face with a firm, calm gaze. She didn't look like she was going to back down from her words. She kept that sharp gaze, and Athtar saw a glimpse of his mother in Margaret, which made him look away.
"In that case, will you help me… at least protect myself? I don't want to be a burden to you…"
Margaret's gaze softened, turning into a gentle tenderness. She began stroking Athtar's hair and smiled.
"Now you're asking the right question…"
...
"Hmm... hmm... keep going... it feels good... don't stop..." "
In a different area, a room that seemed cold and dark, lit only by the faint glow of a candle, two bodies collided in a sacred act.
An eighteen-year-old girl, with a full figure and thighs larger than typical for her age, lay on the bed, her legs spread in an "M" shape, receiving the massive figure on top of her.
Above her was a muscular figure with a brownish-purple complexion, horns on his head, and wings resembling those of a bird. He thrust his hips, penetrating the girl's most sacred places with his large, brutal member.
His red eyes, with golden circles inside them, watched the girl beneath him as her breasts moved and she screamed at him, begging him to keep fucking her as if she were prey, not a partner in performing that sacred ritual.
The demonic-looking man closed his eyes, sensing the corrupt demonic energy surging violently from his member, filling the girl's core as she released a spurt of the ecstasy that had overtaken her.
"Aaaah~"
She moaned, began to breathe deeply, and then the color of her skin slowly began to change, taking on the same hue as the man now atop her, tainted by his corrupt demonic aura. That woman slowly transformed, and demonic horns grew from her head, then bird-like wings began to emerge from her back and spread, and finally her eyes turned red.
"With this, you are one of us... Melissa... "
The demon rose from the girl, a black thread tinged with violet dangling from its tip; this was the color of demonic semen.
As soon as Melissa was completely defiled, the aura that the man had been watching—which had been transparent and tending toward white—slowly turned into a demonic black.
The man moved his hand toward Melissa and began to pull from her that demonic aura that had come to represent her very being and everything she was now.
Startled, Melissa stood up, watching her mana being pulled from her and severely drained. It was well known that the complete loss of mana for any living being was no different from death, so Melissa quickly stood up, trying to move away, but she had already lost the energy that moved her, and her legs refused to move due to the repeated sexual orgasms she had experienced over the past hour.
"Wait… this isn't what we agreed on… Didn't you say you'd accept me as one of your clan after the transformation, my king? Why?" "
The man didn't care; he continued to drain Melissa's mana, his cold eyes staring at her as if she were nothing more than a meal.
"Why? When the chicken you're killing asks you why you're killing it, isn't your natural answer that you need food?"
"Aaaah... stop... if you keep going... I'll die... my king... please... "
Melissa begged, but the man's eyes didn't flinch for even a second as he watched her plead, as if this weren't the first time—rather, it seemed as though he was accustomed to it, witnessing people's final moments as he stripped them of whatever mana they had left.
After being completely drained, Melissa collapsed to the ground, looking like a lifeless corpse.
What seemed like a ritual finally came to an end. As the king cast one last glance at the motionless Melissa, he turned away, and mana began to envelop him, forming garments for him. The man simply left, leaving behind a ritual that was complete for him.
...
07/25/540
That morning, both Athtar and Margaret had decided to begin their training.
Since Margaret already knew that Athtar was from the Jones family, Athtar had to tell her everything about his abilities—that he could actually fuse elements together—leaving Margaret a little speechless.
"Are you a reincarnation or something like that?"
Margaret asked curiously, worried that this boy seemed to defy the natural understanding of the rest of humanity.
"No… what does that mean?"
That was Athtar's reply. He didn't understand the reason behind Margaret's strange question, but he felt a little proud because, just as his mother Elizabeth had said, he really was a genius.
Margaret sighed slightly. "Nothing…" Anyway, to start training, we have to first understand what we're training for, right? Tell me first everything you know about Mana and the elements; I'll correct anything that's wrong…
"Mana is an element that has existed since the goddess created this universe. Like the other elements, this element grants anyone who interacts with it the ability to control the various other elements surrounding them or within their body. As for the elements, there are six: light, darkness, earth, water, wind, and fire. By combining these six elements, we have an infinite number of different sub-elements that we can create, such as wood from earth and water, or iron from earth and fire..."
Margaret's mouth remained slightly open, but she quickly closed it and coughed, saying "Mhmm, it seems you understand everything quite well." She smiled at him and said, "Now all that's left for someone like you to do is expand your mana reserves and study as many different elements as possible—how they're formed and what their fundamental origins are…"
Then she smiled mischievously, pointing at him and saying, "And learn martial arts to defend yourself—that's what I'm going to teach you."
Athtar gave Margaret a simple nod.
"And now, when you're ready, attack with everything you've got."