Chapter 51.1

In the hallucination, it is difficult to discern whether his movements were his own or simply a product of the hallucination. Even an experienced veteran like Kevin couldn't confidently claim that he could completely separate his consciousness from the illusions and prevent himself from being influenced by them.

One particular illusion troubled him greatly.

This particular illusion was especially difficult to control.

But as he descended into the darkness with the sun dipping below the horizon, he felt a wave of relief wash over him. He knew that, in reality, there was a sturdy individual resting on top of him.

In reality he had a massive weight pressing down on him.

As for the man who was weighing him down, Kevin had no idea why, but he was certain that Oswald was the least susceptible to hallucinations among all the people he knew.

Oswald's firmness was not rigidity. Just the right amount of firmness.

The young emperor possessed a firmness of character that was rare to find. He combined the arrogance of youth with the calmness and rationality of a seasoned ruler. This gave him a temperament that was difficult to shake, even in the face of adversity.

In moments of reflection, Kevin found some relief. His past experiences and the difficulties he faced in his early years had left a lasting impact on his perception of children from different backgrounds.

While he wouldn't go so far as to say he had a psychological shadow, he had developed an impatience towards them. He saw their crying, mischief, and tantrums as pointless and bothersome.

This troubled individual had caused plenty of commotion.

The wretch had made a drastic change in his ways, from using trickery to manipulate children to employing harsh discipline.

Kevin was pleased with the results, at least Oswald was highly distinguished among the other youngsters. He had not grown up in an abnormal way, so he had done what he had to do.

Having just emerged from the hallucinations that were related to Melo, Kevin thought of Oswald and could not find any flaws in the child. Even when he was not awake, Oswald's face was perfect.

As his consciousness gradually returned from the darkness, the feeling of touch in all parts of his body gradually became distinct.

Kevin sighed and closed his eyes, resigned to the fact that the two hundred and five pounds of weight on his body was not going to budge. The clump of wolf fur he was holding was still there, apparently unaffected by his hallucinations.

He tried to move his fingers, but they were too weak. He tried to move his legs, but they were too numb. In the end, he could only resign himself to his fate and tug on the wolf fur.

"Are you awake?" he hoarsed.

His gaze met Oswald's transparent eyes.

Oswald had been out of his hallucinations for some time, but for some reason, he had not woken Kevin up. Instead, he leaned closer, his heroic wolf face inches from Kevin's, and stared at him without blinking.

Kevin could not look away. Oswald's eyes were so shallow that they were almost transparent, but they were also shrewd and calm, with a natural sense of wisdom. Yet, coupled with his furry face, they seemed inexplicably silly.

When Kevin had been the God of Light, he had kept many ferocious beasts, including Sirius. But he had never seen Sirius' face so closely, especially from this angle.

Lying on the ground and looking up, Oswald's face lost some of its heroism and ferocity, and gained a touch of eagerness and stupidity.

Kevin found himself mesmerized by Oswald's eyes. He could not look away, and he did not want to.

Kevin could not help but murmur to himself, "It's a little cute...", but then he quickly dismissed this thought as if he had seen a ghost.

He let go of the fur he was holding and unceremoniously pushed Oswald's furry head to the side. "Why are you holding on to it when you wake up? Hatching an egg?" he asked.

"For a moment, I couldn't tell if that sentence was stabbing me or stabbing yourself," Oswald replied coolly. "Your method of harming the enemy a hundred times and harming yourself eight thousand times is quite ingenious, wouldn't you say?"

Kevin rolled his eyes at him angrily. "I have an idea. Can you control my mouth?"

Oswald sighed. "You win."

Kevin had always had a relatively high winning rate in bickering matches. But bickering was useless in the real world, where whoever was stronger was right. After all, Kevin was almost crushed out of his body.

Fortunately, Oswald was not too wicked, after all. Seeing that Kevin had completely woken up from the hallucination, he stopped pressing Kevin. He straightened the wolf fur on his body and stood up.

Kevin let out a disgruntled "bah" and scolded angrily as he ruffled Sirius' fur out of his hair.

Oswald glanced at him silently, but said nothing. To himself, he thought, "I wouldn't mind at all if you bit me in the future."

At his age, it was understandable that Oswald had some messy thoughts in his mind. After all, he had been crushing on the person he liked for a long time. But if he said anything, he would be beaten and disabled.

So he turned his head silently again and walked away a few steps proudly, trimming his wings as he went.

Once he regained consciousness, Kevin cast aside his previous thought that Oswald had no shortcomings. He turned his face away, as was his wont.

Lying in the sand for a while is anything but comfortable, especially when there are gravel and waste bricks under the sand from time to time, which made Kevin's old bones rasp.

He stood up and stretched his limbs, his movements stirring the other advance army soldiers who were immersed in hallucinations. They gradually regained their sobriety, blinking their eyes in confusion as they took in their surroundings.