Master Mardoc offered a wry smile upon seeing how the 'lad' was far less casual and enthusiastic than earlier, but knowing full well it was his own fault, he endured it. "Despite my earlier misspeak, I'd sincerely be interested in repairing your weapon. It's the first time I've seen something like that—and to excuse myself, I can even do it free of charge and move the appointment from a month to a week. What do you say?"
Instinctively, Mikael wanted to refuse and leave the building, but seeing Master Mardoc's face—marked by what looked like sincere regret—and considering that it would ultimately be for Sangrelia's good, he endured and replied, "Let's do that."
Master Mardoc then scribbled something into the notebook, and Mikael, seeing that everything was completed, didn't linger any longer as he turned on his heels and quickly walked out of the building.
A frosty glint mixed with an astonishing amount of bloodlust passed through Mikael's eyes as he stepped past the metallic door. 'You better do a flawless job in repairing Sangrelia or else… I'll take your life!' he thought coldly to himself as he took flight.
Yes, take his life!
Mikael wasn't joking or exaggerating—he was 100% serious. The moment he heard Master Mardoc speak about 'buying' Sangrelia, something had twisted inside him, something cold and instinctive, not born from wounded pride or petty anger but from the same place that would flare if someone had looked at Kiara, Amelia or Lyra and asked, "How much?"
A place of raw fury, possessive and violent, not because Sangrelia was a tool, but because she wasn't; she was his, a presence bound to him more tightly than flesh or blood, closer than his non-existent parents could ever hope to be.
And even if her intelligence was still limited and communication was difficult his bond with her wasn't a casual one, certainly not something that could be 'bought', just the thought of it was enough to send him in a spiral of cold fury.
The only reason he hadn't acted instantly was because the 'enemy' stood at the 1st layer of the Core Formation Realm, and they were in the heart of the Wandering Sword Sect.
And considering he couldn't afford to become an enemy of the entire sect, he had temporarily endured it—but make no mistake, he was determined to kill him. The only reason he was currently 'unsure' was because Mardoc had sincerely excused himself and offered what could be seen as reparation—not to him, but to her.
If it had been before he left the sect for four months, he would have rationalized it with thoughts like, "It was a slip of the tongue, he sincerely excused himself and he offered reparation—it's enough, no?" and he would have let him go… but now?
With his deepened understanding of Ferocity, the massive bloodlust born from the countless demonic beasts that had fallen to his hands, and the newly awakened Unrestrained Mind, he was now far less… restrained.
Now the question wasn't whether it would be worth it to kill him, but whether he wanted to kill him.
And at this moment, Mikael was still full of murderous intent as he made his way toward the Cultivation Manor he shared with the girls.
As he flew, he took Sangrelia into his arms and gently caressed her blade—still lined with fine hairline cracks—as he softly murmured, "Sangrelia, do you want me to kill him?"
He waited a second, then two, then three… and then more, but no answer came. It was clear she was still a 'sleeping beauty.' "You're still sleeping, huh? We'll decide later in this case."
On that note, he repositioned Sangrelia into her favorite place across his back as he shot forward at insane speed toward his Cultivation Manor; it didn't take long before the familiar silhouette of elegant, Chinese-style architecture came into view.
Thud.
With a soft thud, he landed on Azure Peak—he had landed at home. His footsteps echoed lightly as he made his way up a narrow rocky path, spiritual flora blooming in vibrant abundance around him, while crystal-clear water flowed gently alongside, offering a truly breathtaking spectacle.
Taking in this natural beauty, he stopped in place and closed his eyes… then slowly began to take deep inspirations followed by long expirations, forcing himself to calm down and let go of his murderous intent—at least for now.
In this way, an unknown span of time passed before he slowly reopened his eyelids, and in his eyes, previously filled with bloodlust and murderous intent, there was only calm. In that moment, he chose to focus on the present; as for Master Mardoc, he would deal with see later.
On that note, he continued on the rocky path, and as he walked, a small infusion of his Divine Sense into his Identification Plaque informed all the girls that he was… back.
Not long after, as he neared the Cultivation Manor, he heard the sound of nature being replaced by something else as a faint melody reached him. The sounds were low, soft, and delicate—it was the faint melody of harp strings being plucked.
As he neared the manor, the melody began to become clearer and clearer, and he was able to feel the emotions behind this music. The notes were all low and quiet, laced with an undeniable beauty and grace, but at the same time, in this melody, the trace of longing mixed with a small amount of sadness was clearly hearable.
Crack.
The wooden door of the manor opened as he made his way inside, following this beautiful but at the same time lonely melody that grew clearer and clearer by the moment—and then, as he turned a corner, he saw it—
Kiara, sitting on a small wooden stool, strands of her slightly longer than shoulder-length dark blue hair falling in waves down her back, while some strands were messily placed around her visage. Both of her eyes were closed, and her expression was one of silent concentration mixed with a hint of longing.
A small harp was resting on her lap as she plucked the strings with quiet rhythm, creating a beautiful but sorrowful melody, the sound imbued with Qi and strange properties spreading out through the Manor.
Seeing this scene, Mikael froze in his track—he expected something like that since he heard the first note—but seeing Kiara, clearly pouring her heart in her music and 'venting' her sadness and longing for him that she didn't see for nearly four entire months was… heartbreaking.
And honestly?
To Mikael, seeing her like that felt like a punch in the gut. As he watched her sorrowful countenance, it was clear that Kiara didn't live well with their prolonged separation and not having been able to see him for so long.
'I should have…' he stopped mid thought as he didn't know what he should have done. He tried to stay in contact with the girls, but because of the immense distance the Qi Consummation was enormous, and because of that he couldn't talk much with them—just informing them that he was still safe occasionally.
It was probably the only thing impairing Kiara from going on a rampage, but even while knowing he was safe, it was clear that it was far from enough and that it was still extremely hard for her.
At the same time, he was helpless, as he knew that temporary separations were inevitable in the life of any cultivator. After all, he couldn't stay beside her h24, no matter how much he was sure that Kiara would have liked the idea… it simply wasn't possible.
He needed to grow and she needed to, and for that, occasional solo trials were inevitable. Still, even while knowing the 'logical' reason, it didn't help him feel any better as he watched her sorrowful countenance.
He let out a heavy sigh, '...what I did or didn't do is meaningless, as this is in the past. What I can now do is "make it up" to her for this long separation!'
Just as he took this 'resolution', the sorrowful and full-of-longing music abruptly changed. The tempo sharply accelerated, and the melody now carried what he could have sworn was… surprise?
On Kiara's visage, her earlier sorrowful expression was replaced by one of astonishment—quickly followed by a small smile—as she began plucking the strings faster and faster, all while keeping her eyes closed.
The melody continued to accelerate as it shifted from surprise to joy, the lingering sorrow swept away without resistance. Its tone grew brighter, more playful, yet it never lost its underlying grace.
Just by listening to it, one might instinctively recall a moment of pure warmth—the kind of joy felt when someone dear returns after too long apart, or the quiet elation of a long-awaited breakthrough finally achieved. It spoke of soft laughter shared under a sunlit sky, of hands brushing together in silence, of small moments that needed no words.
A small smile instinctively made its way onto his visage, not so much because of the music itself, but because he saw Kiara smiling instead of being consumed by sadness. Her smile widened slightly more as her dainty fingers quickened their movements once again.
If the earlier melody had been one of quiet joy, then what followed was nothing short of raw passion—the kind that devours everything in its path, that burns even in the heart of the coldest winter, refusing to fade.
It no longer spoke of happiness, but of want, of need, of a fire too deep to extinguish. The notes clung to the air, hot and vibrant, and with every shift of her fingers, that feeling only grew louder, wilder, undeniable.
At this moment, Kiara's fingers were nothing more than a blur as she plucked the strings of her harp at unimaginable speed, but contrary to the expected cacophony, what came out was a beautiful melody that spoke of an ever-increasing passion.
The melody continued to gain in intensity, growing ever fiercer and higher, until—
Tiiing.
Kiara's finger plucked her harp one last time, producing a beautiful Tiiing before she stopped, letting the final note slowly dissolve in the wind—and then, she opened her eyes, her dark blue eyes swirling with obsession and love as they met Mikael's emerald green gaze.
For a moment, both remained frozen, their eyes locked onto each other… but then, Kiara's smile widened to an extremely disturbing degree as she let out a loud cry.
"DARLING~~~" With that cry, she jumped from her position without the slightest care for the harp resting on her lap, sending it flying toward the ground—fortunately not breaking it, as it was durable enough.
Like a missile launched at hypersonic speed, she crossed the distance separating them in an instant before colliding into Mikael's wide-open arms.
Mikael shifted his body just in time before 'gently' catching her, saving her from directly smashing headfirst into his chest—which, knowing her speed, would've probably left her with a broken nose—but Kiara didn't care about 'little things' like that. The moment she felt Mikael's arms wrap around her, she let out a small moan, "Ahhhmm, darling~!"
And then—
Like an octopus she wrapped herself around him, placing her arms around his neck while her legs were tightly wrapped around his waist, in a tight embrace, it was clear that she didn't have any intention to let him go for a long long time…
A gentle smile made its way on Mikael's visage as, in response to her 'declaration' of boundless love, he also hugged her tightly, transmitting the love he felt for her in this silent hug, "I missed you, my little crazed yandere," he declared, his tone somewhat playful, but the sincerity behind his words was undeniable.
"Snnffff... haaah~ darling darling, darling~" she murmured crazily, her head resting on his neck as she took deep inhalations while repeating her favorite word.
Recognizing that in her current state she wasn't listening to what he was saying, it was clear that she was too far gone in her own world, consequently he tightened his hold around Kiara as he decided to wait until she 'woke up', in this fashion, minutes passed until…
Author Note:
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In these two chapters we saw Mikael head to a forge to finally repair Sangrelia and it was time considering how she 'burnt' herself to help him when he was fighting against the Titanhide Rhino and the pack of Zephyr Wolves and without her as it was written above, it's unsure if Mikael would have entered the Partial Enlightenment state…
On that note he arrive to a forge, meet the 'nice' Master Mardoc (I tried to write the rough blacksmith but not someone with a bad heart, I don't know how it came out), the conversation is casual and all that but suddenly he ask nearly the equivalent of "How much for your wife?"!!!
Which logically Mikael doesn't take well, because of that conflict erupts and Mikael wants to kill him, up to here it somewhat works but the thing that I fear is that I think the execution of how I did it was… discussable.
Like when rereading the passage I had the partial impression of seeing a young master like he is about to scream, "How dare you! You are C-Courting death! Kowtow before me and cripple your cultivation!"
Which obviously wasn't the goal, it was just to show Mikael more ruthless side and that he doesn't tolerate thing like that, he isn't a Chinese Protagonist that would accept to be insulted and oppressed for 40 chapters and then when he get status/power/strenght the oppression stop 'weirdly enough' I don't know why and he doesn't avenge himself!!!
(Sorry for the little rambling I read a pretty good Chinese Novel but this totally ruined it,… I just can't stomach things like that, it's far too annoying! I know the meme of the Chinese Protagonist which kill nine generations of his enemy and all that. But for real, I would like to see one like that because each fucking time I see one that get 'metaphorically slapped' again and again for finally not retaliate with extreme means when he can or just kill one person, the leader, when there like 50 peoples that oppresed him!)
Anyways sorry for the rambling it's just annoyed me too much, back to my novel.
This scene came out somewhat weirdly and I think the real reason it come out 'weird' and young master style is because I didn't portray Mikael enough as a villain, he was always ruthless and was never the hero and all that but at the same time it was never shown too explicitly of him being the villain, he never 'officially' took the 'bad guy' side.
At the base he was supposed to be the villain but I didn't do a good enough job in portraying it so the fault in on me so I hope this scene isn't too disturbing in the pov of Mikael character as it was portrayed until now.
(This is the author that from the future, the issue with the 'young master aura' annoyed me too much so before publishing it I made some changes and it should be more or less solved so the part of the author note about the 'young master style' can be more or less ignored.)
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