From what I understood in the Dragon Clan, especially after my teacher glanced at me with that eye of his, I realized the curse that brought me to this state was composed of two distinct parts—no more, no less.
The first part was a dreadful curse placed upon me as one of the Æsir race…
If my suspicion is correct, then every Æsir carries this curse pulsing with the aura of dragons…
I don't know where it came from, but what's undeniable is its deadly nature.
As for the second part—it was my Path of Despair. It took advantage of the curse's presence and burrowed into me during my moments of weakness…
The first part of the curse was lifted through the mana replacement I underwent at the Dragon's Nest, and it appears that was a crucial condition for the curse's removal.
Thanks to that, I now have a decent amount of control over my path, and because of it, I was able to stop it from devouring me completely.
In any case, I had already achieved what I wanted in the Dragon Clan, and I fulfilled my desire to confirm my suspicions by coming to the Dryad Tribe…
So there's no longer any reason for us to remain here.
But…
There's still one last question I want answered before I leave.
But… how do I even begin to ask her—?
"Son!!!"
She came to me on her own.
"Mother…"
"Is what my teacher said true?! Don't lie to me! I felt your Domain of Perception the moment you released it—it covered the entire tribe!!"
As expected… Half-Virtues are extraordinary beings. Even though I didn't try to hide it, she sensed a perception domain far greater than her own…
I could deny it and let the misunderstanding slide while I slip away right now…
But… there are still questions I want answers to. And I know my mother—she'd turn my life into endless torment with her nagging.
Sigh…
"It's true…"
"Impossible… even you are lying to me!"
"Everything she said was true—from the first word to the last. She didn't miss a single detail. I did aim a lethal attack at you back then, and I am suffering from self-forgetting. I had literally forgotten everything about you before I came here…"
"Shut your mouth!! Why do your words sting so much?! Did you hate me that much that you'd wish for my death over a few words?!"
I activated my Authority of Despair and laced my sentences with despair-soaked provocations at their absolute worst…
"Yes. I hated you from the start. The way you acted like a whore in front of me after my father's death—as if nothing had happened—disgusted me. Your constant clinging under the excuse of being my 'partner' without ever caring for my opinion made me wish you'd just disappear. I wished I was even just a bit stronger than you, just enough to send you to hell and live my life the way I want. Are you happy now? I'm stronger than you—and with one hand, I could erase you without leaving even a trace of your corpse! And yet, I held back from those childish thoughts and let them fade over time while I lived in the hell of the alleys. Only to return now, clinging to the hope of retrieving my lost memories… only to see the exact image I loathed from the bottom of my heart! Are you happy now, huh!?"
"No… I didn't mean it that way—I was just—"
"Enough! From the moment my father died, our bond ended. Do you have any idea how angry I was? Do you know how much I despised my own weakness as I watched you laugh over the death of the man who loved me more than anyone?!"
Am I feeling sorrow right now?
Then why can't I cry?
Why won't those damned tears fall and release the suffocating pressure in my chest?
Do I even deserve to mourn him when I never did anything for him?
My father… the one who supported me more than anyone. The one who truly saw me as his son, not as some monster locked in a cage—unlike what my mother did.
Why…
Why is it that every time I remember her smiling over his heroic death, I feel nothing but soul-crushing rage?
I've always wondered since that day—did she know about the monster wave? Is that why she chose that exact moment to leave the village?
Even though she gave me a powerful sword… why didn't she do the same for my father? If she had, maybe he couldn't have slain the monsters, but at least he could have held on until we returned to save him…
Why?!!
When I snapped back to reality, she was smiling again—that same smile from back then…!
That… cursed smile!!!
"You… what do you mean by that venomous smile?"
"Your father—Ari—was a kind man. Not just with you, but with everyone. Everyone in the village loved him. He was the kind of man any woman would wish for… But not me. I had already made my choice. I had given you everything—my skills, my role, my care, even my love. But for such vile words to come out of your mouth—toward me of all people… I have nothing left to say but that I am in pain… pain that's tearing my heart apart."
"Care? Skills? Role?? Hahahahaha! How funny it is to hear the word 'care' from you! Do you even know how much I suffered under your watchful, terrifying gaze? From the moment I was a baby until I got my ID card, you never stopped monitoring me! Not even for a second! You even doubted that I was your son—you were ready to kill me the moment you confirmed I wasn't a Dryad anymore!!"
"Wait… how do you know that? No—hold on, I wasn't watching you for that reason—I was just making sure of the possibility that—"
Neither my despair-laced words nor my provocations worked…
That leaves me with no other choice.
"Shut up! How dare you still make excuses?! Don't you get it?! I'm not your son—I never was!!"
"W-What…?"
Her face was overtaken by anger and sorrow, for she had finally understood what I'd been hiding all along…
My greatest secret. The truth she never knew…
She had doubted it since the very first months of my life in this world. A baby who didn't behave like a baby… a child completely unlike others…
She suspected I wasn't truly her son but rather the soul of someone else who had taken her child's body…
But this hardheaded mother couldn't accept the truth, even when it stared her right in the face—despite all my signs, despite everything I showed her.
So now all that remains… is to tell her.
That I am not the child she's been waiting for.
That I am someone who might be older than her by decades—someone who has lived more, experienced more, and suffered more.
I'm not her sweet Telodeos…
But the monster who once ruled over a world of mortals…
A tyrant prince who corrupted his kingdom just to survive the pain…
A scientist who defied logic to learn the forbidden…
A mage who sacrificed thousands just to perfect a single spell…
A martial artist who bowed and dominated just to grow stronger…
A vile man who played the role of husband, father, and grandfather—just to escape his emotionless reality…
I am the Half-Virtue of Despair… Telodeos!