CHAPTER 209

From that moment on, Jin extinguished the fire with the monster.

Given that the fire had been burning away for the past two days, putting out every single flame and bit of ember was impossible. With magic, there was an inherent limit, and they would arrive at the same conclusion if they chose to isolate the rest of the land from the fire. Furthermore, rain didn't even fall in this dimension. 

Well, even with the help of rain, the fire had grown and spread too far to be contained. To make matters worse, a strong gust of wind blew as soon as they began, as if it had been lying in wait for them to start cooperating.

The sun set, the moon rose, the moon set, and the sun rose again.

For an entire day, they roamed the realm while putting out every flame in sight. Jin had fought for four days, and it was now taking its toll. 

The cat seemed to have given up quickly. With its pointed ears drooped down, it purred. With a strange sense of guilt, Jin tried his best.

'What the hell am I doing…?'

Hadn't the monster been living peacefully in these wretched lands? On the other hand, Jin disturbed the peace, harassed the monster, and was now trying to contain the fire that he caused. 

What would he even gain from doing so?

His feelings slowly grew bitter, and he felt more pity for the monster. He couldn't tell why Cyron and Vanessa wanted him to do this.

'Father probably knows that this thing doesn't die. Either I return with a loss or run away. Did I miss something?'

He didn't miss the fact that the monster was definitely immortal. With the curse in effect, it would never face death.

"Phew…."

Ultimately, the fire swallowed the entire forest.

Over ninety percent of it became a pile of ash.

Beneath the few trees they saved, Jin and the monster listened to the crackling flames.

The land looked rather vast. With the wind blowing ash into their faces, the rounded rocks stared at their pathetic souls. 

Meoooow…

The cat cried.

"Sorry."

He didn't have any other words than that. Storming in and destroying its home, Jin faced guilt.

And his body felt like it would disintegrate due to fatigue. 

Forty hours of battle followed by twenty-four hours of fire fighting. Even for someone with the Runcandels' blessed body, that was too much to bear. 

Nyaa…

The cat turned its head and bared his fangs. 

It didn't look like it was about to pounce, but it took an attacking position. Tired as it was, it didn't look as powerful and springy as it was before. 

Jin approached the monster and patted it. 

There was no way to support it, and he already apologized enough times for it to be ineffective.

"I only came here because of my Father's trials. I couldn't refuse it." 

The cat bared its claws. 

Instead of attacking Jin, it began to draw something. Moving meticulously, it scratched out five people.

'Shit, it's good.'

A well-dressed man and four knights in black armor.

It was Cyron and the Dark Knights—his old Dark Knights.

Jin could easily tell that his father stood in the middle without any armor.

"Which one of them is my father?"

Nya…

"The middle?"

Nyaa!

The cat nodded and shuddered.

Even thinking about Cyron made it scared.

"Did Father kill you many times?"

Mrowr! Mrowr!

The cat nodded.

"I see. And even though he cut through you many times, you still survived?"

Nya.

"…What a cruel curse. It's worse than the one that I had."

He couldn't even begin to imagine how it would feel to not die after getting one's entire body disintegrated by Cyron's blade.

Immortality had never been a beautiful concept, especially when one experienced eternal solitude.

"I don't understand why your owner cursed you like this. Did the Witch really throw you away?"

Nya…

It didn't look like it wanted to answer. At this point, Jin doubted that this monster was really a monster. It was more so like a pet.

"Ok, let's skip that question. Why can't you leave this place? Did Father never let you?"

Meow-meow.

The cat affirmed, but the situation seemed more complex.

When the thorn forest first took its place, the feline never knew that it had been cursed. 

Nor did it know that Helluram did it. 

Waiting for its owner to return, it waited centuries. Then, it realized that Helluram would never return, and that it was immortal. 

Endless, pointless days followed. It never attempted to escape the forest, choosing to hide itself within the familiar realm. 

And a thousand years had passed when Cyron and his Dark Knights found it.

As soon as they realized that it was immortal, they began to investigate its case and ultimately concluded that it was Helluram's pet.

At that point, it wanted to leave its home. 

Remembering Cyron's immense power, it burgeoned a greater fear than death.

However, escaping Cyron was impossible. Even when it tried to escape the Black Sea, he appeared.

And Cyron said the same words over and over again.

—Someday, my daughter will become your new owner. Wait until then.

The monster had to obey it at all costs, fearing Cyron's calm voice more than Helluram's screams of anger.

It couldn't express the story through drawings or meowing any further, so the cat chose to answer simply with two meows.

"Hm… So my father is keeping you here on command. If that's the case, it looks like you can leave with me."

Meow?

"He said that there'd be a reward if I defeat you, but I think that means I can take you out of here."

It blinked at him, as if to say, 'You are a "son", not a "daughter".'

But obviously, Jin couldn't tell.

"I'm not joking."

Nyaaaaaa.

"There's nowhere for you to go anyway. Since it's my fault, I'll get you a new home. This place is so toxic, no human can come and tend the land."

Nya!

As if it were saying, "Over there!"

"Where? Oh, you mean that cave?"

While they were extinguishing the fire, Jin found a cave in the center of the forest. That was the monster's home.

The cat began to trot over.

"How're you gonna live there on your own? Won't you still get hungry? That's why you consumed the thorn trees in the first place. Are there things to hunt nearby?"

Jin genuinely felt worried. Due to Cyron's presence, no monster dared to approach the area. 

The cat didn't answer and continued to walk. Without a thing he could do to stop it, Jin just followed.

Once they arrived, he found a foreign object—a bottle of wine.

As if someone left it there. 

It seemed the cat had never seen it before either.

'A wine bottle?'

"Hey, how come you don't know about this?"

Meeeooow.

Jin picked up the bottle and read the label.

(Royal Wine - Cyron Runcandel)

"Heh… It looks like Father put it there. Alright, look here— Oh, I forgot you can't read."

Jin had heard about the sacred drink many times. 

Where the elves created this wine at a special place, on a special date, at a special time, and for one special person.

Once drunk, the wine owner's message would flow through the consumer's brain like music. Since the music sounded so grand that they named it 'Royal Wine'.

'He probably wanted to let me know something.'

Pop.

Without hesitation, he opened the bottle and took a sip.

The music began after three drinks, the elves' beautiful voices filling his ears.

"""Beast of Cyron Runcandel's first daughter, Luna Runcandel."""

As soon as the music began, he saw Cyron's old self. It felt similar to his experience with Boras's molar tooth. However, it wasn't as vivid as this.

The scene played out clearly, showing an elated Cyron as he listened to the elves prophesy about his successor. He sought the cat afterward, and the Dark Knights murmured amongst themselves, talking about how Luna would like it.

However, Cyron didn't look the same as he did now.

He looked just like a regular father who loved his children. To Jin, his expression was more interesting than the song's lyrics.

'He probably left this guy for Luna, and he brewed this drink…'

Luna was destined to drink it instead of Jin.

He could tell how much Cyron cared about her. Most of the elves' lyrics spoke of the anticipation and hope for her potential.

Then, the music stopped.

The old Cyron disappeared, and the modern Cyron now stood in front of him.

Solemnly, he spoke.

"Follow Jin."

That was directed towards the monster.

After handing the map to Jin, Cyron took the drink back to the elves and requested that a small change be done to it.

Together with Cyron, the elves began to chant.

Jin handed the bottle to the cat.

"You try too."

As it lapped up some of the liquid, the same song echoed throughout its head.