Ch 83 : The Price of Redemption
People often feel that they have too little, because in their eyes, everything they possess seems so natural.
They don't feel happiness from being able to run, jump, laugh, or cry.
Even though for some, everything they have seems so beautiful.
For a four-year-old boy living in a peaceful little village, his happiness was simply being able to walk normally, move freely, and speak like ordinary people.
However, all of this was out of reach for him, because he suffered from a disease called muscular dystrophy.
This illness causes the muscles to gradually lose strength over time, eventually leading to death due to blood vessel complications or inability to breathe.
This disease currently has no cure in the magical world.
So, at just four years old, he could only lie in bed every day, the only thing he could do was look out the small window near his bed, watching the children playing on the street.
Fortunately, his parents did not abandon him because of his condition.
Instead, they devoted themselves to raising him with all their love and care.
Every time his parents came into his room, the boy would try his best to smile, even though his heart was full of pain.
He didn't want to show it in front of his parents, because, having grown up faster than other children due to his illness, he understood that his parents' pain was a hundred times worse than his own.
So, even if just for a moment, he wanted to use his smile to ease a little of the sadness in their hearts.
At night, the boy liked to lie in bed, listening to his mother tell stories and legends.
These beautiful, magical tales always amazed and delighted him, especially the ones about all-powerful Gods, which planted a seed of hope in his young heart.
"If it's a God, they could save me, right?" he thought to himself.
"Mom..."
"Yes, what is it?"
"Is there really an all-powerful God in this world?"
"I'm sorry, honey, I don't know. But according to legend, if you sincerely wish for it, one day you will meet a God."
The boy's mother probably never imagined that her casual words would lead the young boy to believe them wholeheartedly.
From that moment on, calling out to the Gods with sincerity became something the boy did every day.
In reality, he didn't know how to do it properly, but since it was about sincere calling, there didn't seem to be any specific words required.
The boy simply thought this way, so he spent every day silently praying for the arrival of the Gods, holding onto that little hope.
Disasters always strike suddenly.
An unknown plague suddenly attacked this small village.
Livestock and humans alike began dying, and it became common to see people suddenly collapsing on the streets, losing their lives.
The boy's parents, too, could not escape the plague and passed away one after the other.
The boy also felt his own body weakening, as if the sickness had taken hold of him.
He grew increasingly frail, and his eyelids grew heavier.
Everything he saw gradually became blurry, and all that remained were meaningless swaths of color.
(Am I going to die?) The thought crossed the boy's mind.
In his daze, a soft sigh reached his ears.
Was it real? Or just a hallucination?
The boy tried to open his eyes and saw a figure standing by his bed.
In his confused state, he couldn't make out whether the figure was male or female, nor could he see their face clearly.
The only things that stood out were the eyes, which held a touch of indifference and pity, and the perfect arc of the lips.
The eyes and the curve of the mouth gave the boy a strange feeling, as if...
"God..." The boy's lips twitched slightly, and he involuntarily spoke that word.
The person, who had originally worn a faint, almost perfect smile, instantly lost that expression the moment the boy uttered the word "God"...
This person face twisted, as though had been mistaken for something utterly despised, even hated.
In that instant, a murderous aura, or more precisely, murderous intent, surrounded the person.
The uncontrollable killing intent spread outward from this person, almost tangible in its thickness, like it could tear through space itself.
The entire room was filled with a sound akin to something being torn apart.
It was the precursor to the formation of a vacuum rupture.
If the boy hadn't felt it himself, he would have never imagined that mere killing intent could be so terrifying.
Suffocating, frozen, and disillusioned, the boy felt as if he were on the brink of being crushed to death by the overwhelming killing intent.
The person standing before him exuded a faint glow in the eyes, a slight arch of the eyebrow, and a sinister, cold smile at the corner of the lips.
The person entire presence radiated a terrifying aura and allure.
The person demeanor was one of condescending disdain, and the aura was that of a cold, aloof arrogance.
The boy was captivated by this person's overwhelming presence, unable to speak a word.
A cold voice reached his ears.
"God... what is it?"
"God... is omnipotent..." the boy struggled to murmur.
"Hahahahahaha," the mad laughter spread through the room, as if mocking something, yet also seeming to express a sense of satisfaction.
After a long while, the laughter ceased, and the person spoke again. "Interesting child, do you want to live? Do you want to survive like an ordinary being?"
"I... I want to."
"Then... as the price to exchange for all of this... you will belong to me. As my tool, your life, your soul, everything about you will be mine...," the person said softly, their cold voice starkly contrasting with the earlier madness.
"Do you know? ...In this world, so-called salvation always comes at a price."
These were the last words the boy heard before losing consciousness.
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"Ha, ha." Ishu woke up from his dream, panting heavily, cold sweat dripping down his forehead.
He reached out to wipe away the sweat, and as he looked at it on his fingertips, his mind replayed the events of the dream.
A complex smile slowly crossed his lips.
(...I haven't forgotten, Master. I truly haven't forgotten. In this world, there is no salvation without a price. That's why I've already decided. I will save you. The price of this salvation will be paid by me. From the day you saved me, I had already decided. I, Ishudera Atarante, exist for the purpose of protecting you.)
"Ishu, wake up! Our guild members are here!" A voice from outside the tent came, belonging to Levy, the girl with blue hair from Fairy Tail.
Ishu's somewhat dazed eyes became determined.
He quickly tidied up his attire and stepped out of the tent.
From a distance, he saw several people talking to Levy.
Among them, leading the group, was a short, elderly man, and Ishu immediately recognized him.
This little old man was none other than Makarov Dreyar, the master of the Fairy Tail Guild and one of the Ten Saints.
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