They sat in the dim kitchen, the steam from the bowls rising like the last warmth of the day. For a few breaths the only sounds were the soft scrape of spoons and the dull tick of the clock over the stove. Then Yaman cut the silence with a jab of sarcasm.
"You're late this time. What happened? Are there more cities to be saved?" Yaman's tone was a bit sarcastic.
Fernando looked at his son in surprise, then smiled slightly and said, "The Cult of Zeref has begun intensifying its attacks on villages and cities, burning them, kidnapping people, and sending them to an unknown destination."
Yaman looked in surprise and said, "Zeref? I heard about him two days ago. I was in the city and saw some dark magicians calling on people to worship Zeref and that he was the only key to Heaven. I didn't believe this nonsense because I don't believe in a god, so my father told me who Zeref is."
His father sweated a little and said, "Zeref is a dark magician who lived 400 years ago. He is the darkest, most evil Mage in the history of the Magic World, mastering the Black Arts and creating many Demons, some of which still wreak havoc in the present." Yaman sweated but sneered. "Are they burning, killing, and kidnapping people for someone who lived 400 years ago?" "Oh my God, how pathetic believers are. It's a good thing I don't believe. I wish I could see them so I could burn them all. Scum like this doesn't deserve to live." His father and mother looked in astonishment at his words, but his father smiled.
Then suddenly, Lacrima rang in the house.
Marilyn went to answer the call. She was their neighbor, and while they were talking, Marilyn began to sweat profusely. Fernando noticed and asked, "What's wrong?" Yaman was busy eating. Marilyn became nervous but whispered something in Fernando's ear.
He sweated and got angry, then slammed the table, knocking the plates to the ground. He looked at Yaman angrily and said calmly, "Yaman, did you stab a member of the Hellhounds gang today?"
Yaman looked at his father, not afraid, and said, "Yes, I don't regret it. If he comes back, I'll kill him."
His father became even more angry and said, "Don't worry about him coming back. He died from the stab wounds he sustained."
Yaman sighed with a sarcastic smile and said, "So leave him." He rots in hell.
Then his father got angry and shouted, "They went and burned down the butcher's meat stall and kidnapped his family to execute them tomorrow in front of everyone to terrorize people."
Yaman was shocked.
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The atmosphere was tense and uneasy. Between Fernando and Yaman, Fernando was furiously staring at Yaman and saying, "See what your courage has done? They've kidnapped the butcher and his family and are going to execute them as an example to those who mess with the hellhounds. There's no doubt they'll come after you. You killed the third man in command." Yaman was tense, sweating, and afraid. It was the first time he felt that a life would be taken because of him. The house was silent. The father was still staring angrily at his son, listening to his heartbeat and his body trembling. His features were deep. He pressed his lips together to clean up the blood, but behind this tension lay an anger that would ignite a fire. Marilyn watched, tense and afraid for her family, especially her son. She approached Yaman and hugged him to comfort him.
"It's not his fault alone, Fernando," Marilyn whispered shakily. "He's just a boy… he's terrified."
Fernando said in a sharp voice, "Marilyn, get away from him. This brat needs to learn a lesson." Marilyn moved away under her husband's tone. Fernando approached his son Yaman and said in a cold, angry tone, "So what will you do now? Will you cry or regret it? How will you bear it? And you face the consequences of your actions."
Yaman's lips quivered. "I… I didn't mean for this to happen," he muttered, eyes wet but burning. "I just wanted to fight back… I wanted them to stop looking at us like we're nothing."
Fernando slammed his fist on the table, the sound echoing. "And now innocent blood is on your shoulders! Do you think courage is about pulling a trigger? Do you think you've become a man because you struck one of them down?"
"I'm not a coward!" Yaman shouted back, fists trembling. "I saw them hurt people in the streets, and you did nothing! Everyone's afraid, but I—"
"Enough!" Fernando cut him off, his voice sharp as steel. His eyes burned with both fury and fear. "You think you carry the pain of this island alone? I have seen more corpses than you can imagine. You don't understand the weight of blood."
Yaman bit his lips and clenched his fists, but this time his features changed from tension to anger. He remembered all the cruel scenes on the island, from gang rule, people being afraid, to killing people in the streets. Then suddenly, he ran quickly to his room, entered it, and took out a long, covered object from under the bed. He opened the cover to reveal a long, black, magic shotgun. He placed it around his neck and strapped it to his back. He took the red shotgun bullets scattered on the floor after opening the cover and put them in his pocket. He went to his office to take out the Lacrima bombs, fastened them with a belt around his waist, and ran out of the room angrily.
Marilyn's hands flew to her mouth. "Yaman, no! Please—don't do this! You'll be killed!" Her voice cracked, desperate.
He said to himself, "This time I will kill them all." He quickly went and left the house. His parents, Fernando and Marilyn, saw him. Fernando became angry and called out to him.
"YAMAN! Come back here before you throw your life away!" Fernando roared.
Marilyn became more worried and called out to him, but he didn't care. He ran out angrily. Fernando and Marilyn saw him from the entrance to the door, leaving as he ran towards the raging volcanoes that were burning in the night sky.
"Yaman!" Marilyn screamed, falling to her knees at the doorway. Tears streamed down her face as her voice cracked. "You're my son, my only son—don't let anger take you from me!"
Fernando was calm and angry. Then Marilyn asked, "Why would he go to the volcanoes, the headquarters of the Hellhounds gang in the city, right?" Then Fernando said, "Yes, that's true, but the Hellhounds are affiliated with the Cerberus Dark Guild, and their headquarters are near the volcanoes. He's heading for them."
Marilyn clutched Fernando's arm, shaking. "Fernando, stop him! Please, don't just let him run into death!"
Marilyn became even more tense. The Cerberus Guild was the most powerful dark guild on Valcanus Island. Then Fernando continued, "Without a doubt, the Cerberus Guild is the one who wants to execute the kidnapped people to spread fear and prove that it is the controlling force on the island."
He lowered his voice, his anger breaking for just a heartbeat. "I should have stopped him sooner… I should have been the one to fight, not him." His hand gripped the doorframe hard enough to splinter wood.
Marilyn cried even more. What would happen to her son? But Fernando hugged her with the warmth of a husband, saying, "Don't worry, Marilyn. I'll bring him. I promise you he'll be alive."
She sobbed into his chest. "Don't promise me if you can't… I can't lose both of you. I won't survive it."
"Now go to the neighbors' house because they will undoubtedly target our house." Marilyn agreed, hugged her husband, and said, "Take care of yourself and Yaman." Fernando nodded, then quickly followed Yaman.
Marilyn watched him and said, "Please come back safely." I only have the two of you. Then I went to the neighbors' house.
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