Farewell to the hero! chapter 46

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Out of nowhere, a hand appeared and wrapped around mine, which was holding the dagger.

Its owner whispered softly in my ear, tapping my hand lightly, as if to tease.

I couldn’t tell if he wanted me to release the dagger or the egg.

I stared blankly at his hand and then looked up.

I glanced quickly at our companions fighting the monsters and then met Kaindel’s gaze.

Following the reflection of my shadow in his green eyes, I finally opened my mouth to speak.

“When did you get here?”

“Just now.”

“And Mother?”

“I saw her earlier; seemed like she was struggling with her eyesight. So, I decided to help her out by poking her eyes a bit.”

Kaindel replied with a hint of humor, as if it had been nothing more than a harmless prank.

But considering how he left her in shambles before we entered the cave, I could only imagine what state Mother was in now.

Pitying her was the last thing on my mind.

I hoped you weren’t hurt.

I quickly scanned Kaindel up and down, relieved he looked unscathed.

When he first fought Mother, his shirt got ripped, and he even had a scratch on his cheek.

Although he’d managed to deal more damage than he took, he still got hurt.

This was only his second fight with her, and knowing her strength, it wouldn’t have been surprising if he got injured again.

From his clear face, past the light scar on his cheek, down to his shoulders, chest, and legs, I saw no visible wounds or blood.

I felt a sense of relief that if he were injured, it wasn’t apparent.

Just as I exhaled, Kaindel tightened his grip on my hand.

Pulling it closer, he changed the topic.

“But Isa,” he murmured my name, gesturing toward the egg.

“This,” he said.

Only then did I realize what he’d meant by “let it go.”

Lowering my gaze, I saw the egg, untouched and unharmed, lying in my view.

I’d tried to break it numerous times with my dagger, but it seemed even tougher than before.

Kaindel, noticing where my eyes had landed, covered it with his hand and added, “Drop it. Hard.”

“…”

“Good boy.”

“Isa’s a good boy.”

His coaxing words stirred up a memory of something he’d said back in the village.

Good boy. Good.

The words clung to my shadow, gnawing at me, and I found myself staring at Kaindel.

It was an egg that hadn’t cracked, even after several blows with my dagger.

The idea that it would shatter just by dropping it on the ground was absurd.

Both of us knew that.

As I stared at him, unable to gauge his intentions, my grip began to loosen.

The moment I lost strength in my hand, the egg slipped from my grasp and fell.

The weight descended straight down.

Then, it happened.

Crack!

The egg hit the ground, and suddenly, Mother’s wailing resonated through a hole in the ceiling.

Mother’s cry sounded as though she were right outside the cave, as if she might break through and storm in at any moment.

The sound filled me with foreboding.

Instinctively, I looked down.

First, I saw my worn shoes.

Then, I noticed a pale purple liquid and finally, the faint cracks that appeared on the egg’s previously unbreakable surface.

The egg hadn’t shattered, but it had cracked. If I hit it just a bit harder, it would completely break.

“They say the monsters inhabiting the Gayat Mountains have a strong maternal instinct.”

Caaaw!

Mother’s cries echoed in my head, and I recalled mentioning to Owen that Mother’s egg might contain a core.

The thought had unsettled me since then.

My gaze lingered on the purple liquid slowly trickling out.

I felt guilty.

We had finally destroyed the egg that had tormented us.

I had broken the infamous Mother’s lineage with my own hands.

So why did I feel this way?

Rather than satisfied, I felt unsettled—a deep, unsettling sense of wrongness.

As the purple liquid continued to seep, a shadowy form took shape within the emptying egg.

Through the cracks, I saw a small being, curled up, as if waiting to hatch.

Although it wasn’t moving, I instinctively understood it would be the next Mother if it ever did.

“Ha! A monster with maternal instincts? Ridiculous.”

“But it’s true. Last time, I nearly died facing one of them without knowing anything. I barely managed to escape instead of defeating it.”

The momentary pulse of a heartbeat came from within, and then Kaindel, who had been standing silently behind me, handed me his sword.

A faint trace of purple liquid, presumably from Mother, stained its blade.

“Finish it, Isa.”

“…”

“Do it yourself.”

It was as if he were telling me to take responsibility for the consequences of my actions.

Kaindel’s words echoed in my mind, reminding me of his advice: whenever you encounter unexpected problems, find a solution instead of wasting time on regrets.

By handing me the sword, he was pushing me to end Mother’s line myself.

As I processed this, my hand moved on its own.

The sword plunged down, piercing the cracked egg exactly along the fracture.

The blade shattered the egg, striking the small heart of the being inside.

Thud.

The yet-unhatched creature made no sound, not even a cry, as its pulsing heart stilled.

The shattered shell vanished, revealing a black, jewel-like stone split perfectly in half.

Mother’s core.

Screeeech!

Mother’s intermittent cries ceased with a final, deathly wail.

A low rumble and small tremors echoed through the ground, signaling that something massive had fallen outside.

Mother was dead.

I turned to the lifeless, half-formed creature that would have been Mother’s successor.

As Mother’s core broke, the being passed away, its eyes never opening. Of course, it was dead now.

I watched the fragments of the egg, realizing why my stomach churned.

This was the first time I had ever taken a life.

Even though it was for a just cause, it was my first.

It was unavoidable, but still, it was the first time I had intentionally killed a living thing.

Despite preparing myself, I was uneasy.

Mother’s final cry had been almost a scream, making it worse.

Though this death would ultimately have positive effects, it felt vastly different to kill Mother and her unborn offspring.

Something gnawed at me, and the nausea grew until it overwhelmed me.

“Urgh.”

“Hah.”

I covered my mouth with a trembling hand.

And then, Kaindel suddenly burst into laughter beside me.

“Hahaha…”

He kept running his hand over his face, pressing his fingers against the corner of his eyes, and his mouth lifted in a smile that shot upward.

It was as if he was overcome with enjoyment at the whole situation, unable to contain himself. His laughter grew, like he was brimming with satisfaction.

Bowing his head slightly, his shoulders shook, and then he tilted his chin at an angle.

“Hahaha…”

As his laughter subsided, he let out a brief sigh, his green eyes gleaming through his parted fingers.

“I didn’t expect you to actually do it. Why are you so obedient, huh?”

“You told me to.”

“Ah, that’s right, I did.”

Before I could finish my sentence, Kaindel cut me off, looking me up and down, his faint smile still lingering.

“You’ve gotten dirty, Isa. Let’s wash up later.”

“…Alright.”

Then, he changed the subject casually, as if nothing had happened.

“Wait here for a moment.”

Kaindel patted my back before heading over to our comrades, who were still locked in combat with the bat-like monsters.

They seemed so focused on the monsters that they hadn’t noticed what was going on.

I watched Kaindel’s retreating figure, then sank to the ground.

My stomach felt as heavy as if I’d swallowed a stone. I couldn’t quite pinpoint what was wrong.

“Ugh…”

The only thing clear to me was that his laugh—so strangely eerie it sent chills down my spine—still echoed in my ears.

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