"Max is alive."
Cedric's words were like a bitter tonic as they caused Kara's expression to twist.
"How do you know this?"
Cedric smiled even further seeing her expression. It was a joy to watch her conniving smile disappear from her lips.
"I saw him today… And I fought him."
Kara knitted her brows as she turned away from Cedric. "So that pathetic child still dared to show his face after he was humiliated all those years ago?... And here I thought he would have long since killed himself…"
She trailed off at a certain thought. Turning to face Cedric, she asked. "You said you saw him… and you fought him?"
Cedric nodded as he moved to sit down on the bed, poised to watch the great show that would follow Kara's realization.
"How can you say you fought him?... You are an Advanced level magician and that bastard is a cripple, how can you say you fought him?" Kara asked as a wave of confusion hit her.
Cedric shrugged. "But that's exactly what happened."
Kara stared at him. "That would mean… hah, I can't believe it, so he was able to become a Sage. Impressive." Even though she was praising Max, her voice was laced with poison in them, clearly showing her thoughts.
Cedric chuckled at the sight. "Since I've told you, can you leave now?... Your presence here irks me to no end."
Kara clicked her tongue. "It would seem I will have to take my leave, I will come to see you at a later time." With that said, she moved toward the door.
Cedric watched her retreating figure before suddenly adding. "Oh yeah, another thing… mother."
Kara paused in her tracks just as she was about to open the door.
"I hope you have no plans of doing anything to Max because he is mine."
Kara turned to face him with a cold glint in her eyes.
Cedric was unfazed as he added. "I will take care of him myself, so you'd best be on your way home. I wouldn't want us to have yet another reason to hate one another."
Kara pursed her lips. Sizing up Cedric, she sighed. "You have grown."
With that, she turned and left, closing the door behind her.
Pausing to look back at the door, she muttered under her breath. "But you are still too green."
***
"Ah, that's so good," Max remarked as he downed a bowl of chicken soup. Licking his lips, he called out "Another!"
Laura harrumphed at the side. "Trying to suck me dry of all the money my father gave me?"
Max chuckled. "This is just you paying me for saving your life, is that so bad?"
"Hmmph."
Currently, both were seated in a restaurant noted for its meat delicacies in the outer section of the city, alongside the old man, his daughter, and the teen that had helped out.
The old man and teen were completely healed, courtesy of Max, and dressed in a new set of clothing, courtesy of Laura.
The little girl sat at the side, her expression blank as her father made to feed her.
The establishment was quite rowdy at the moment with several customers present, eating, laughing, and discussing amongst themselves.
A few minutes later and a new bowl of chicken soup was laid before Max, the latter nodding satisfactorily. "It's been so long."
Due to staying with the frogs, it was a bit difficult to eat meat in their presence, thus Max had been a vegetarian for four years of his life.
It was one of the many tortures he experienced.
Laura spoke up at that point, her curiosity at a peak. "Oh yeah, I wanted to ask, what was that skill you used to heal them?" she gestured at the old man and the teenager.
So far, there hadn't been an exchange of information between the two parties.
Max scooped up some soup and slurped it before replying. "It's a Sage Art. Thousand Cell regeneration. It allows me to fix up flesh injuries without leaving as much as a scar. Of course, it can't be used on internal injuries as the consequences would outweigh any form of injury one could suffer."
Laura nodded. "Sounds pretty cool."
Max had a smug look. "Of course, it…is."
He trailed off as he noticed the reminiscent expression on the old man's face. To be honest, at this juncture, he was quite interested in the backstories of the trio he helped save, thus he thought it time to ask.
"Who are you guys and why were you attacked by those noble brats?"
The old man paused his actions as well as the teenager, with both turning their attention to Max. Laura sat at the side, curious about the information they were about to share.
"My name is Ryuk and this is my daughter, Ella. I live alone with my daughter close to the coast, tilling the soil and using the earth's produce to sustain us while trying to gather enough money to ensure Ella's future." Ryuk's voice was a bit hoarse but felt as though it held a lot of knowledge that could not be easily disclosed.
Max nodded. "So why did those brats want your daughter's life?"
Ryuk revealed a solemn smile as he reached out and ruffled his daughter's hair. "You must have noticed something with my daughter, right?"
Max glanced at her and at the same time, probed her carefully. The next moment His eyes went wide in shock. "What happened to her soul?"
Ryuk's eyes watered as he moved his palm to Ella's right cheek. Up until now, she remained blank, almost as though she was unable to tell what was happening around her.
Laura was surprised by Max's reaction thus she also probed the little girl. "This…" Laura did not know how to react. But the situation was definitely not a simple affair.
Ella's soul… was damaged so badly, that it was hard to tell if it was still a soul at this point.