"So you're saying that Matthew is Vecna?" Green furrowed his brow slightly, running his hand over the few strands of hair remaining on his head.
"Tsk, Liam, I understand that you might dislike my son, which is why you're accusing him. I apologize for whatever has happened, but he's completely normal." Jackson asserted with a firm voice about his son, unwilling to let anyone harm his family.
Lewis, standing nearby, had an opposite expression from her father. Her mind was now filled with doubt.
Without waiting for James to speak, Liam immediately countered Jackson's reasoning.
"I'm not accusing your son out of personal reasons. Both of us witnessed Vecna destroy our house, so we know more about this than anyone. What we saw about Matthew is the truth. Lewis was also there; she can testify."
Hearing these words, Jackson's face turned pale. He looked toward his daughter, his eyes demanding an answer, silently hoping that what Liam said was wrong.
Lewis fought an intense battle in her mind, unsure whether to speak up or not. She had never actually seen Vecna and only hoped that Matthew's displays of power and transformation were mere coincidences.
Finally, she recounted everything that had happened, describing in detail each of her brother's transformations to her father and Mr. Green. As time passed, Lewis's words only deepened the furrows on Jackson and Green's brows, for everything she said matched what they had witnessed.
The one most affected by this was Jackson. He was Matthew's father, and this information struck him with such unexpected force that it seemed to stop his heart. His ears seemed to try and reject what Lewis had just said.
"So... is he really that monster?" Lewis hesitantly asked, hoping that what had happened to her brother was just a coincidence. But Jackson's darkened face shattered all of her hopes.
"Isn't that right, father? Please tell me it's just a coincidence." Her voice trembled, and tears began to flow, her eyes now brimming with tears. She stepped closer to her father, trying to shake him for an answer.
"Father…"
The three others—Green, James, and Liam—were just bystanders, witnessing the family's suffering. They felt sorrow for them but knew there was nothing they could do.
"I'm so sorry. I suppose I must say that Matthew truly is Vecna." Green suddenly spoke up, his voice soft and full of comfort, not wanting to give Lewis too much hope.
"Hic... hic..." The sobs escaped from Lewis, followed by an unstoppable stream of tears. Finally, with one last gasp, she fainted, collapsing in front of everyone.
"Lewis!" they all shouted in unison as she fell. Jackson, standing nearby, immediately rushed over and cradled his daughter in his arms. He glanced at her for a few moments before finally letting out a light sigh of relief, though it wasn't much.
"She just fainted," he reassured them. He let her rest against his chest, trying to offer her as much warmth as possible, wiping away the tears streaming down her face. For some reason, his nose began to sting, and without thinking, a voice escaped from him.
"It's all my fault. I should have paid more attention to the boy when he began to show certain changes. My neglect is what led him to change."
Slow footsteps echoed, eventually stopping in front of a familiar wooden chair. Green sat down, leaning back tiredly, and let out a sigh.
"It's no one's fault. This is just our fate. Now we have many things to deal with—Vecna is still out there, and we need to find Matthew as well."
James decided this was the right time to speak up.
"I'm truly sorry for what has happened to your family, Mr. Jackson. But I think we should leave tomorrow. We have our priorities. As for the wager, please keep it, consider it compensation for the trouble we've caused your family."
Jackson had regained some of his composure by now. Of course, his life had been through too many storms—enough to help him endure these revelations.
"No! Thanks to you, I found out early that Matthew is Vecna. If we had waited any longer, who knows what might have happened to the village?"
As he said this, a bag of gold appeared in Jackson's hand.
"Tomorrow, I'll send someone from the village to guide you. He'll take you to Riverside Academy safely."
James felt guilty as if they were running away.
"No, we'll go on our own. The town of Martin is at a critical point and needs strong people to defend it."
At the very least, James wanted to avoid impacting this town too much.
After that, James tried to find every possible reason to refuse the help, while Jackson remained determined to offer it.
At that moment, a voice interrupted, ending the argument between the two.
"Mr. Jackson, I think there's one more piece of information both you and Mr. Green will want to hear."
"I believe that the Vecna who attacked the town a few days ago was Matthew."
Those words left both Jackson and Green stunned and confused. But Jackson's reaction was different.
"Don't speak nonsense! Just because my son became Vecna doesn't mean he would do something like that."
Immediately, flames erupted all over Jackson's body, blazing in a brilliant golden light that engulfed everything around him. However, the fire wasn't hot at all, and nothing nearby showed signs of being burned or scorched. Even Lewis, still resting in Jackson's arms, remained completely unharmed.
"Calm down! It seems your temper hasn't changed, even after all these decades, has it?"
As these words were spoken, a small stone wall appeared around James and Liam, surrounding them and blocking all the flames headed their way.
"Damn it! This guy completely tricked us. I thought he was a gentle and easy-going man," James said, hiding behind the rock, clearly panicked.
"I don't think those flames are that hot. Maybe he's just trying to scare us," Liam observed, puzzled by the fire.
"It's not as simple as you think. He's skilled enough to control the fire with precision. Those flames only burn the targets he wants them to."
"Exactly!" Green calmly agreed with James. Then he turned to Jackson and shouted angrily, "Stop it! Matthew is no longer your son. Anything could happen now. Accept it."
Jackson's eyes burned with fire, but gradually, he calmed down. He took a deep breath, and the flames on his body slowly shrank before completely disappearing from his skin. Even so, his voice couldn't hide the negative emotions he still harbored toward Liam.
"I'm sorry. Liam, now show me your arguments."
Jackson's negative feelings toward Liam had surfaced, for reasons even he couldn't fully understand. Was it the information that his son was Vecna, or was it because Matthew had destroyed the town?
No, it wasn't either of those. It was Liam who had caused Matthew's identity as Vecna to be discovered early. Jackson had suspicions about his son, but he ignored them for so long that he didn't even realize it himself.