Haah…
I was still trying to process my current situation.
Lumine sat quietly on my lap giggling to herself for reasons I didn't understand while I slowly patted her silver hair.
Her previous terrifying aura was completely gone.
Now she just looked like a normal little girl.
I glanced toward Jasmine nearby.
She continued swinging her sword relentlessly.
Again.
And again.
Sweat dripped down her face while faint cuts covered her hands from overtraining.
"You're pushing yourself quite hard."
"Haaah…"
Jasmine finally stopped.
After what happened—
how could she not?
"I saw it."
She tightened her grip around the sword.
"I saw you…"
"…and your dragon fighting that monster while I hopelessly watched."
Frustration filled her voice.
"I couldn't even do anything."
Her eyes slowly lowered.
"How am I supposed to reclaim the title of queen like this?"
Silence filled the room briefly.
Then she looked directly at me.
"Is there any way you could help me become stronger?"
I sighed quietly.
"I promised I'd teach you the sword."
"I can do that now."
"But unfortunately…"
"…other than swordsmanship…"
"…I can't help much else anymore."
I slowly touched my chest.
"My mana circuits are broken."
Jasmine's eyes widened instantly.
"You can no longer wield mana?"
"Currently."
"But I do have a plan to repair them."
"…I see."
The room became quiet afterward.
Then slowly—
Lumine finally fell asleep against me.
I carefully stood up before handing the sleeping girl toward Jasmine.
"I'm going to speak with Azrith."
Jasmine nodded silently.
I slowly walked through the dark corridors of Azrith's home afterward.
The deeper parts of the mansion felt unnaturally quiet.
Cold blue lights illuminated the sleek black walls while transparent panels displayed streams of glowing information flowing endlessly beneath the surface.
The entire place felt less like a mansion—
and more like some hidden research facility.
Eventually—
I arrived before a large black door.
I slowly knocked.
"Come in."
The doors slid open automatically.
My eyes narrowed slightly.
The office was massive.
Floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked the endless neon skyline of Noctara while countless holographic screens floated throughout the room displaying maps, symbols, and unknown data.
Dark shelves lined the walls filled with ancient books alongside futuristic devices glowing faintly blue.
At the center of the room sat a long black desk made from smooth metallic material reflecting the city lights around it.
Azrith sat behind the desk calmly.
Half his face remained hidden beneath the black mask while smoke slowly escaped from the cigarette between his fingers.
The atmosphere around him felt strangely dangerous.
Like a predator resting peacefully.
Without looking up—
he pointed toward the chair before him.
I quietly sat down.
Azrith finally glanced at me afterward.
"It seems like you have questions."
"Yes."
I narrowed my eyes slightly.
"I thought you wanted me to kill Lumine."
"Then why is she alive?"
Azrith slowly exhaled smoke into the air.
Then—
a faint smile appeared beneath the mask.
"Because…"
"…after seeing what she became…"
"…killing her would be a complete waste."
"You see…"
Azrith slowly exhaled smoke into the air.
"I originally expected her to become nothing more than an unstable beast."
"The doctor believed he had created a vessel for the Velvet Sin…"
"…but the mana core he used wasn't divine at all."
Azrith's smirk slowly widened.
"It was a Hydra core."
"…an SSS Rank mana core."
My eyes widened instantly.
"…What?"
Azrith chuckled seeing my reaction.
"You see…"
"When Arcathia fell…"
"…I discovered something interesting buried beneath the kingdom covered in ice."
His blue eyes slowly lowered slightly.
"At the time I wasn't sure what exactly I had found."
"But I knew one thing."
"It was a mana core."
"And after enough research…"
"…I eventually classified the level of power hidden within it."
He slowly twirled the cigarette between his fingers afterward.
"But there was one problem."
"That core was completely different from anything humanity possessed."
"The structure."
"The mana flow."
"Even the concept behind it…"
"…felt alien."
"I was never able to identify what creature it originally belonged to."
Azrith slowly stood afterward before walking toward the massive window behind him.
The glowing skyline of Noctara reflected across his mask.
"So…"
"…I handed the core over to the doctor."
My pupils shrank instantly.
"You…"
Azrith laughed quietly.
"It was quite the plan."
"I wanted him to harvest the power inside it."
"But it seems…"
"…the doctor had other ambitions."
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"After experiencing the core's power…"
"…he became completely obsessed."
"He genuinely believed he could use that little girl as a vessel."
"A descent of a god."
Azrith chuckled softly again.
"Though admittedly…"
"…it would've been fascinating if it actually succeeded."
My expression darkened.
Meanwhile—
Azrith's smile deepened further.
"But somehow…"
"…I received an even better reward."
He slowly turned toward me.
"The creature hidden within the core…"
"…was a Hydra."
"And somehow…"
"…Lumine managed to stabilize both the core and the creature itself."
Silence filled the office briefly.
"Though the Hydra is currently extremely weak."
"Barely close to SS Rank now."
I narrowed my eyes immediately.
"You plan to use that little girl as a weapon?"
Azrith chuckled again.
"Why else would I let her live, Rio?"
His voice remained calm.
Almost casual.
"In my eyes…"
"…only things with value matter."
"Things that interest me."
"Things that amuse me."
"Things that have worth.."
Then—
his blue eyes flashed faintly beneath the mask.
"Just like you, Rio."
...
I soon left Azrith's office.
The automatic doors closed behind me quietly as I walked back through the dim hallways of the mansion.
Blue lights reflected faintly across the metallic walls while my thoughts remained restless.
A weapon.
That's all Lumine was to him.
Just another existence with value.
Another tool to use.
I clicked my tongue softly.
Seems like this little girl had been born into a fate even worse than mine.
A child carrying enough power to destroy kingdoms in the future.
A Hydra sleeping inside her.
An abomination.
That's what she should've been to me.
That's how I should've looked at her.
My fists slowly clenched.
She was dangerous.
A future disaster waiting to happen.
A weapon belonging to Azrith.
So why did it bother me?
Why was I even thinking about it this much?
I eventually returned to the large open room.
The moment I stepped inside—
I heard Lumine laughing happily.
Jasmine sat on the floor beside her while the little girl clumsily tried swinging a wooden sword much larger than herself.
"Ahahaha—!"
The sword immediately slipped from Lumine's hands and fell sideways.
Jasmine sighed helplessly.
"You're holding it backwards."
Lumine blinked innocently.
Then she noticed me standing there.
Her silver eyes immediately brightened.
"Hehe!"
She happily ran toward me again without hesitation.
I instinctively froze slightly.
That silver hair fluttered behind her while small footsteps echoed throughout the room.
No fear.
No hatred.
No killing intent.
Just pure happiness from seeing me.
My gaze silently followed her.
An abomination.
…Right?
She suddenly stopped in front of me.
Those silver eyes quietly stared upward.
Then slowly—
hesitantly—
she spoke.
"R…Rio?"
My eyes widened slightly.
Those were the first actual words she had spoken.
Not laughter.
Not meaningless sounds.
A name.
Jasmine smiled faintly from behind her.
"I was trying to teach her your name."
Lumine looked oddly proud of herself afterward.
"…Rio."
She repeated it again softly.
I quietly stared into her silver eyes.
Innocent eyes.
Empty of malice.
And suddenly—
memories flashed through my mind.
The way she had screamed inside that underground chamber.
The way her body had broken apart while unstable mana tore through her.
The fear.
The pain.
And now?
Now she stood before me like a normal little girl learning someone's name for the first time.
My fists slowly clenched.
A weapon?
Was that really all she was?
...
The next week passed surprisingly quickly.
Most of my days were spent training Jasmine.
Even without mana—
I still taught her the sword.
Positioning.
Breathing.
How to move without wasting energy.
How to kill efficiently.
Jasmine herself improved rapidly.
Perhaps because after witnessing the battle in Valorheim—
she had finally realized how weak she truly was.
I spent the remaining time trying to recover my own strength.
Even though my mana circuits remained shattered—
my physical abilities slowly improved again.
Though every time I instinctively tried using mana—
pain still shot through my chest.
It was frustrating.
Pathetic even.
Tomorrow—
I would head toward Mythralis Academy.
The heart of Astryx Empire.
And honestly—
even I wasn't sure what kind of place awaited me there.
The fake identity Azrith prepared.
Zio Norken.
Assistant Professor.
Just thinking about it sounded ridiculous.
Lumine had strangely become closer to me over the past week.
The little girl followed me everywhere.
Whenever I trained Jasmine—
she would quietly sit nearby watching.
Whenever I left a room—
she would immediately follow behind me.
At some point—
her presence simply became natural.
Like she had always been there.
I quietly glanced toward the silver-haired girl currently sleeping peacefully across the couch.
A faint smile rested on her face while she hugged one of Jasmine's spare jackets tightly.
A Hydra slept inside that small body.
A future calamity.
Yet strangely enough—
when I looked at her now…
She no longer felt like a weapon.
She felt more like…
a little sister.