Chapter 70 - Course of Breakthrough (1/2)

When we stepped inside the house, the temperature seemed to have suddenly dropped.  In contrast to the icy atmosphere, though, my mother’s fiery gaze pierced down at me from the top of the stairs, the corner of her eyes struggling to keep her tears from rolling down her cheeks.

“h.e.l.lo Mother, I’m… back?”  Cold sweat permeated through my pores as a pressure akin to an S cla.s.s mana beast weighed down on my very soul.

I had to admit, I wasn’t looking so sharp.  My body was a canvas of nicks and scratches and my hair looked like it was probably struck by lightning.  The entire back of my uniform was nonexistent from when it was sandpapered away while falling down the hole.

“Arthur Leywin…” My mother’s voice dripped with frost.

Before my mother had the chance to say anything more, a familiar voice instantly broke the tension in the room.

“BROTHHERRR!”  My baby sister bolts down the stairs past Mother, while stumbling on the way down, and takes a leap into my bosom, her arms immediately clinging around me with the strength of a python on muscle stimulants.

“Erk!  E-Ellie it hurts…” my voice comes out raspy as I gently pat my sister’s head.

*Sniff*  “A teacher came and said you… you were lost.”  *Sniff*

My sister rubbed her face against my chest, while attempting her almost incoherent string of words, as if wanting to burrow herself inside me.

Sylvie stirred awake at this point.  With her ears drooping down, she consolingly licked my sister’s cheek.

“I know… I’m sorry for worrying you guys…again.”  I looked up at my mother as I said this, my voice dropping to almost a whisper.

I could tell by her expression that she was torn between whether to scold me or just be happy.  Maybe she would do both.

My father took this chance to walk over to my mother and gently lead her down the stairs, comforting her.

“There’s a time to be angry, Honey, but now isn’t the time.  Look, it’s your son.  He’s back.”  My father’s soothing voice eased the tension between my mother’s brows.  As her expression softened, so did her will.

Breaking down into sobs, she wrapped her arms around me from the side, triggering a chain reaction, thus, causing my sister who was still wrapped around me to begin bawling her eyes out yet again.

My mother’s sobs made her soliloquy almost indiscernible; she seemed to switch between cursing G.o.d to thanking him.

“It’s not fair…”

“Why is my son the one that keeps getting so hurt?”

“Thank G.o.d you’re safe!”

My father and I made eye contact and he gave me a rea.s.suring half-smile while he gently pats both my bawling sister and mother, both of whom were angrily thumping me with their trembling fists while crying.

Their fists didn’t particularly hurt but each trembling strike seemed to gnaw away at me; the guilt ate away at my insides, as I stood there motionless, biting my quivering lower lip.

It took about a good hour before they calmed down; both my sister and mother reduced to a state of heavy panting and constant hiccups.

Somewhere in the middle of our scene, I spotted Lilia’s mother, Tabitha, peeking from upstairs.  I could tell she wanted to come down and comfort my mother and sister but before she could, Vincent pulled her back, giving me meaningful nod.

Eventually, we got ourselves situated in the living room.  My sister’s breathing was still erratic to the point of worry while she had her arms wrapped around Sylvie.  My mother was a bit better as her swollen eyes probed for any serious wounds before placing a gentle hand on my chest.

“… And let Heaven and Earth heal.”  As she ended her chant,a soft white glow enveloped my body.

Almost immediately, I felt a soothing warmth covering every wound, even the ones I didn’t know I had.

As the healing glow dissipated along with my injuries, I looked at my mother’s concentrated face.

I wanted to ask.

Why was it that she could use her healing powers now?

How was she able to heal Dad when he had been struck by the mage on the way to Xyrus?  I still remembered her desperately healing my father as he ordered me to take my mother and run.  That was before I fell off the cliff.

I bit my tongue and forced a smile.  My father was right;  I should wait for her to tell me first.

My mother let out a sigh before taking her hand off of my chest.  She stared at me, and gave me one more firm, wordless hug.

We eventually began talking about what happened.  My father took a brief moment to tell me how Professor Glory had visited and told them what had happened to me before she had to hurry back.  All the while, my sister sat wordlessly on the couch, curled up with Sylvie, as she seemingly stared at a particular spot on the ground in front of her.

On my end, I tried not to make a big deal of what transpired for the sake of my mother.  I skimmed over the fight with the minion crawlers, telling them how there was just a bit more than we expected.

Both my parents gave me a face that told me they didn’t believe it was that simple.  They knew me too well.

How much was I supposed to tell them?

My mind lingered towards the fragment of the demon’s horn that floated inside the dimension ring I was twisting with my thumb.

The scene flashed through with such clarity, as if plastered into my brain.  The dismembered corpses…  The river of blood… Alea…

Taking a deep breath, I told them the full story.  All of it…

…At least until where I landed

I never understood why those old stiffs from the Council in my previous world used to say ‘ignorance is bliss’ …until now.

Nothing good would come out of knowing everything I witnessed at the bottom of that dungeon earlier today.

“When Professor Glory came in yesterday during the middle of the night, she was wounded and tired but from her expression, I knew she wasn’t even thinking about that.”  My mother’s hoa.r.s.e voice broke the silence that followed after my story.