Chapter 269
He had been complacent. Blinded by arrogance. Too confident. Too assured of his own position. He thought that since they had their battalion surround and corner the human, they had already won.
And that was the mistake.
He did not take the captain’s advice seriously enough.
The captain had kept talking to the human, trying to make him reveal all his cards, while Vasoth had believed the boy was already at his breaking point. He had assumed it was just a game of cat and mouse, that she was toying with him for amusement, savoring the slow kill.
But alas, reality was much different.
The human had more cards to play. Far more than any of them had anticipated.
It was exactly as the captain had said from the beginning—the human was not someone to be taken lightly.
He should have realized this fact the moment he heard about the massacre in the city.
He should have questioned it further. Should have paid attention. Should have stopped underestimating him.
He thought about how that human—who was just a kid, as confirmed by the boy himself—had been able to outmaneuver, outthink, and manipulate them all into following his script.
Vasoth shivered.
The thought was unbearable.
How? How could a mere human child be this cunning?
How had they been reduced to pawns in his game?
The realization sent a deep, visceral chill down his spine.
Vasoth could not help but shiver internally; this was not normal. That kid, at his age, was such an abnormality. A deviation from logic itself. He dared not imagine what he would turn into if he was allowed to live and grow any further.
A monster.
He prayed in his heart that the captain would succeed. Capture him. Kill him. Anything. He no longer cared about the boy’s secrets anymore—he only wanted him dead.
Because if that boy survived…
What kind of nightmare would he become in the future?
Vasoth was now regretting his own cowardice at the city square—leaving the slaves behind. He should have taken them.
Especially that little girl. The one the human had gone through so much trouble for. If only he had taken her along, they would have had a noose around his throat. A perfect leverage.
If Vasoth had not guessed wrong, he was certain the girl was related to the abnormal human.
Vasoth did not know that the boy did not even know the little girl before coming to the city.
He should not have ignored the captain’s words before; when she was being cautious, he should have been doubly cautious of the human.
But he had been blind.
Those strange flames. That talisman. The silent massacre… he should have realized this long before.
That human…
He was playing them from the start!
Just imagining the sheer amount of foresight the boy put into this made his scalp numb and his back grow cold.
Had it been him instead of the captain leading this…
He might already be dead.
And the battalion with him.
That was the sheer weight of his fear—the undeniable truth that the boy’s intellect and strength were far beyond what they had assumed.
The main reason behind his fear was his age. He was still a child. A human child. The captain would have sensed it had he been older.
He should not have such abnormal abilities at this point of growth; it defied logic, defied nature. And it made him fear the vast potential the human bore.
If he was this dangerous now…
Then what would he be in five years? Ten?
The thought alone made his fingers tremble.
He slowly turned to look in the direction where the captain had left and desperately prayed.
She had to succeed. She had to.
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Meanwhile—
“Teacher…”
The girl bit her lip as she looked up at the person of admiration.
Right now, she was being carried by Oliver as he moved at full speed, crossing cliffs with her held securely in his grasp.
The wind howled around them, whipping through her hair as his steps barely faltered across the uneven terrain.
He was bleeding from his head, and his expression was sharp, unwavering—as if nothing could shake him.
She knew he was in pain. She could feel it in the faint tightness of his grip, in the barely noticeable tension in his jaw.
And yet, he did not falter.
She felt like a burden at this moment, having to be carried around like this by him and only decreasing his speed.
Her hands clenched into fists.
It was clear to her what had happened before.
That strange woman was stronger than them. Her teacher had struggled against her, enduring her overwhelming attacks.
But he still endured.
For her.
Yes, he was holding on for her sake. There was no other explanation. She believed that if he had wanted to escape on his own safely, he could have done that long ago.
Why did she think so?
Because of his ability.
It was because of his ability that she was able to remain hidden for so long without being discovered by that strange demonic woman and hundreds of soldiers.
It had clearly protected her from their sights until she revealed herself on her own accord when he signaled her to do it.
The talisman was amazing; she hadn’t known what it was for but just did as she was instructed when he took out the talisman at the beginning.
She had trusted him. And he had protected her.
She felt nothing but admiration and respect for Oliver at this moment. Not only had he risked his life for her sake—for someone who had just recently become his student.
For the first time in her life…
Someone had fought for her.
Internally, she was holding herself back from crying right now; it was the first time in her entire life that she felt cared for. The first time she felt that she had worth.
She was no longer just livestock.
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