A steaming cup of chamomile tea rested on the table. The Deloran family sat together on the sofa around it. Seran was seated between his parents.
Both of them wore worried expressions. Their son still hadn't told them what had happened.
"Come on, drink a little. It'll help you calm down…" Sophia said, gently encouraging Seran to take the chamomile.
Victor studied his son's face. He noticed how his hands trembled from time to time, how rigid his posture was.
Inside his chest, Seran felt a pressure rising, suffocated by the concern his parents were showing him.
"I don't deserve this…"He kept repeating it like a broken record.
Sophia placed a hand on his arm.But at the touch, Seran flinched violently.
The concern of both parents increased.
"Seran, please… tell us what happened" his mother said, her voice full of pain.
His chest tightened further. Breathing was becoming increasingly difficult.
His parents' gaze felt heavy on his consciousness.
"I killed a man" he murmured.
The pressure was too much. He finally broke.
"We didn't understand…" Victor said in disbelief, his eyes widening in shock just like his wife's.
"I KILLED A MAN!!!" Seran shouted, his eyes red and on the verge of tears, his gaze lowered, fists clenched.
Sophia recoiled at the revelation, incredulous, bringing a hand to her mouth as if to suppress a scream.
Victor, the colder and more rational of the two, managed to conceal his shock as best as he could. He placed his hands more firmly than intended on his son's shoulders, as if to shake him back to reality. Then he spoke with the calm that had always defined him:
"Tell us everything. We are here to listen, not to judge you…" He knew what kind of person his son was, how they had raised him.
It took Seran a full minute to calm down again, still in disbelief that his parents had not already labeled him a monster.
Finally lifting his gaze, unable to sit still any longer due to the agitation gripping him in that moment of raw truth, he began to tell everything.
About the hunt earlier that day. About his new swords.
He paced back and forth, never meeting his parents' eyes.
The cores he had successfully extracted.
Red's sudden ambush.
His arms moved as he described the situation, trying to recreate the intensity of that battle.
The confusion. The escape. The blood and the injuries he had sustained.
And when he reached the end of his account, his arm extended as it had been when his blade pierced Red's chest—
And before him, he saw it again.
Red dying once more.
For a moment, the weight on his shoulders and in his chest eased.
And finally, he looked at his parents.
Their eyes met.
Tears streamed down Sophia's face. She immediately rushed to her son, hugging him as tightly as she could.
"It wasn't your fault… you only saved your life. You're still the son I've loved since the moment I first saw you" she said through sobs.
Seran's shirt became soaked with his mother's tears.
And like rain, salty water fell from his own face as he heard her words.
Victor hesitated for a second. He couldn't imagine what his son was truly feeling, or how to help him in a situation like this.
Then he too joined the embrace, wrapping around them like a blanket bringing warmth to a home.
Days passed. The Deloran couple visited their son every day to support him.
Little by little, Seran was able to analyze what had happened with greater clarity.
It had been an unavoidable event. The path he had chosen would have led him there sooner or later.
The love, affection, and different perspective his parents brought him through their presence finally brought peace to his mind.
Then, one afternoon after lunch, his phone displayed a notification:
"The Armed Forces request your presence at the Command Core for resolution of your bounty."
After standing up from the table and informing his parents, he decided to proceed immediately with the report. He got dressed and left the house, thinking that after today he would begin to put part of his trauma behind him.
The AF Command Core was located in the center of Nova Vitae—the operational and decision-making heart of the city's governing forces. A massive building, rigid in architecture, with sharp, decisive lines as if designed to dominate everything around it.
The gray masonry and minimal square glass panels reflected the austerity of the organization.
At the entrance, a patrol monitored the surroundings. Their posture was rigid, their uniforms blue with gray accents.
"Good afternoon, I'm here to access the Command Core" Seran said, showing the invitation on his phone.
Without hesitation and with absolute discipline, one of the guards replied:
"Follow me."
Inside, everything was order and control.
A large atrium allowed operators to move quickly toward their destinations. In the center stood a massive desk where three operators handled calls, documents, and information with complete seriousness.
Accompanied by the guard, Seran approached the operator on the far right.
"Reason for your summons?" the operator asked in a neutral tone, hands already poised over the keyboard.
"Claim and report regarding the bounty on Red" Seran replied, holding out his phone for verification.
After reviewing it, the operator said:
"Escort Raider Lag to room 5-23."
Seran was taken to an elevator, went up five floors, passed through a corridor, and on his right saw a room containing only a table and three chairs—one on one side, two on the other.
"It almost looks like an interrogation room…" he thought, slightly furrowing his brow.
"Please sit" the escorting officer said. "Someone in charge will arrive shortly"
Then he turned on his heel and left.
Seran waited exactly five minutes before the door opened again.
Two men with serious expressions and a strong presence entered. Their uniforms bore insignias on their chests.
The mana around them felt different—more intense, more turbulent than that of a Rank 1.
"They must be advanced Towers…" Seran thought.
One insignia depicted a trio of golden towers. The other showed a single tower, more ornate and larger in design.
They both sat down and placed a tablet on the table.
The man with the impassive gaze finally spoke:
"Good day. I am Jeremia Folner, Bastion of the AF, accompanied by Third-Class Operator Tolvin Qeris."
After a brief pause, Tolvin pressed a button on the table. A tripod rose up, and the tablet was mounted on it with the camera pointed directly at Seran.
"June 23 460 A.F. Independent Raider, codename Lag, is ready to provide testimony regarding the termination of bounty T-213" Tolvin stated.
Caught slightly off guard by the lack of preparation, Seran remained momentarily stunned.
He took a few seconds.
Then began to speak.