Chapter 37. Roar
---
That day... Why was the teacher so angry?
The teacher who always smiled gently... Why was he roaring like that?
It was really strange...
It was during the first year of training.
He was ambushed by a pack of wolves while fighting a bear one-on-one. Exhausted from battling the bear, he could do nothing but curl up and let the wolves tear at him.
At that moment... the teacher charged out of the woods. Known as the centaur sage, he had always shown a gentle and kind demeanor, but now he was roaring, smashing the heads of all the wolves present in a manner devoid of grace.
Why was the teacher so angry?
Even though I have a body that's impervious to blades and spears...
Even though you, teacher, always taught me not to be ruled by anger...
But now... I understand...
How could anyone not be angry?
Your own child, who has always worked hard for their dreams, who has never harmed anyone and always treated others with kindness, was hurt.
Even though he possesses abilities no less than anyone else, his combat capability was stolen through underhanded means. He was humiliated for the sake of his companions and fell for their sake...
Watching Bell, who was pinned down protecting Welf, Cyd felt a deep sense of pride. It was precisely this pride that made his anger uncontrollable.
Not even the eternal war had made him this angry. The crystal representing Ares, the god of war and violence, shone brilliantly. Blood-red patterns appeared on his left cheek.
The dungeon trembled, not out of fear but out of hatred. The aura of the god who sealed them appeared, and it was incredibly intense. The transparent crystal was shattering, and enormous eyes peered through the crystal at the 18th floor.
"Die!"
"Hurry up and die!"
Endless malice echoed in Cyd's mind as the dungeon began to unabashedly display its hostility.
"Shut up."
Cyd lifted his bloodshot eyes and stared at the enormous eyes in the sky.
"If you don't want to disappear!"
The enormous eyes immediately closed, and the endless malice vanished, but the huge figure within the crystal continued to approach the 18th floor.
"Who... is the mastermind?" Cyd bent down to pick up Bell, his calm demeanor sending chills down everyone's spine.
"Ugh..." The surrounding adventurers swallowed nervously.
No one dared to admit it. Moldo, who had fainted on the ground, was in a horrifying state—his bones, skin, and flesh twisted together. No one knew how much pain he had endured before passing out.
In any case, everyone had taken action. They were all in it together. If we don't admit it, what can you do to us? Do you have any proof? This is a no-combat zone! Are you going to kill us all?
"They... all of them took part!" Welf, holding a great sword, stood up, gritting his teeth.
"Teacher..." Bell tugged at Cyd's clothing. "Lili... Lili..."
Cyd looked expressionlessly at Lili, who was hanging from a tree.
So this is... why Bell couldn't fight.
His student... was defeated like this...
"I have no regrets."
The scarf around Cyd's neck slowly rose, and a dragon claw made of black scales gently reached out, carefully taking Lili down. Everyone watched Cyd with tense, unmoving anticipation.
"Lili..." Bell, struggling, fell from Cyd's arms and reached out toward Lili, who was held by the dragon claw.
Despite his own severe injuries, Bell was full of concern as he embraced the unconscious Lili, shedding tears of relief.
"I'm so glad you're okay..."
"I've never participated in any war, never killed anyone," Cyd said, placing a hand on Bell's head. "Because once you start something, it never stops until life ends. I don't want to take anyone's life. I despise those who tread on others' corpses as a matter of course. So... I would never take another's life. How arrogant I was... thinking I was different from them."
The black dragon claw began to disintegrate, and the glowing scales reassembled into a ferocious dragon hand on Cyd's right arm.
"I just hadn't witnessed it firsthand," Cyd said as he slowly walked toward the adventurers.
"Y-you don't seriously intend to challenge all of us by yourself, do you?" A tall adventurer raised his magic sword, trembling.
"Hey... tell me, how can you possibly calm the anger of witnessing your beloved child being harmed?" Cyd continued walking toward the adventurers, seemingly unaware of the glowing magic sword.
"Don't... don't come any closer!" The tall adventurer shouted, swinging his magic sword.
"Boom———"
Intense flames engulfed Cyd, but before the adventurers could breathe a sigh of relief, a foot stepped out from the flames and slammed into the ground, the terrifying pressure tearing the flames apart.
"The result will be the same," Cyd slowly lifted his dragon hand. "Before being a hero... I am human. I feel sadness, I feel anger—an imperfect human being. So..."
"Monster! Attack! Attack now!" The tall adventurer, completely terrified, shouted to the others holding magic swords, "He wants to kill us!"
They weren't rookie adventurers—they could sense it. The aura Cyd was emitting now was a deep and profound killing intent.
We will die!
We will really die!
Multi-colored magic burst from the magic swords, striking Cyd from different angles. Any ordinary adventurer would have been reduced to ash, but Cyd walked calmly through the barrage. Whether it was ice spikes, flames, or lightning, all the attacks shattered the moment they collided with him. It wasn't that they were ineffective—they simply met something more unbreakable.
"R-run... run!" The tall adventurer grabbed the nearest person and shoved them toward Cyd, then turned and bolted.
The tall adventurer's action was like the first domino falling. The remaining adventurers pushed those around them, hoping they would fall and buy themselves time. Those who fell reached out to grab the legs of those moving forward.
"In the end, this is the side you choose to show," Cyd said as he raised his foot and stomped heavily on the ground.
"Boom————"
The immense power easily fractured the ground, lifting large slabs. The fleeing adventurers stumbled onto the slabs, desperately grabbing the ground. They were terrified, because beneath them lay hell. It didn't matter if they climbed up over their companions' bodies or pushed them down to fill the void—as long as they could survive.
Cyd looked up, his bloodshot eyes reflecting the filthy scene.
"This is enough... how could anyone, no matter how noble, continue to believe after witnessing this..."
Cyd slowly raised his right hand, countless spikes emerging from the scales, aimed at the people on the slabs.
"Cough... hahahaha... in the end, I still won!"
Lying on the ground, Moldo laughed weakly. The blood from his shoulder splattered onto his face, blinding him, but he was still certain—the pure white figure, the figure that never collapsed no matter what, was crumbling!
"You still fell! You've become one of us!"
"T-teacher?" Bell struggled to open his swollen eyes. "Teacher, are you still there?"
He couldn't see... He could see his surroundings clearly, but Cyd's figure was blurry and unreal, as if it would vanish like a bubble at any moment.
"Ah... don't worry, Bell, teacher... teacher will be back soon," Cyd grinned.
"You haven't graduated yet, you brat!"
Countless spikes pierced through the slabs.