A Betrayed Master Will Not Return

25 – The Regret Given by the Master (2)

In the moment she was expelled from the position of squad leader,

Maximira Lopes Fiona thought.

There would be no greater tragedy in her life than this.

Nothing would cause her more agony than the end of the goal she had chased all her life.

That would never happen in her life.

However,

at this moment,

she was painfully realizing how foolish she had been to have such thoughts.

The last letter from her unexpected mentor.

The contents, practically a will,

had started to inflict agony on Fiora, as if carving her heart with a knife.

The fact that she had betrayed her mentor had burdened her heart all along.

But the justification that Geralt had made a deal with the devil and subjected her to punishment

had always enabled Fiora to justify this act of betrayal.

But now,

the letter left by her mentor that she held in her hand and the evidence to support it

began to shatter everything she had taken refuge in.

From the beginning, Geralt Muir, whom she had killed, never made a deal with the devil.

He was merely tracking someone behind the demons

and was unfairly killed in the process.

Not by anyone else,

but by the disciple he had loved until the end,

the one he had trusted to the extent of leaving everything behind.

By Fiora’s own hand.

“Tea…Teacher… Sir… I… I… I…”

A truth realized too late.

What she had done was ultimately not justice.

Simply,

An act of despicable and filthy betrayal.

Blinded by greed,

She became a devil’s puppet, no different from her father…

It was nothing more than thrusting a disgusting knife into the back of the person who trusted her more than anyone else.

A truth so wretchedly pitiful.

The blade of that truth began to mercilessly torture her wretched and treacherous heart,

And Fiona’s heart, already battered by consecutive failures, began to tear apart piece by piece.

“Ha… hahahahaha… Ahahahahaha…”

“Fi… Fiona…”

Fiona, as if confronting the wretched reality, began to laugh.

There was nothing left in her heart anymore.

Not the position of the commander she had clung to so desperately,

Not the strength to reach the truth while fulfilling her teacher’s request.

And… even the revenge she had harbored within her chest for so long,

No longer existed within her.

The only desire left in her at this moment was to apologize to the man who had been her lover and who had believed in her more than anyone else…

It was the desire that could never be fulfilled as long as she was alive.

*

“Ha… hahahahaha…”

Fiona leaned her body weakly against the wall, letting out a bitter laugh.

While watching her like that,

Charlotette started to examine the legacy left by her mentor once again, in deep confusion and agony.

Although it was a result of succumbing to the oppressive attitude of the Marquis, which was related to her friend’s manipulation,

She was also unable to completely free herself from the responsibility as someone involved in Gellert’s persecution.

What shocked Charlotte slightly less than Fiona was that she had already suspected something like this to some extent, and had carried feelings of regret and guilt over it for the past three years.

From her perspective, it was because the situation she had been worried about all along had become a reality.

No, to some extent, she could feel a sense of relief, because she confirmed the innocence of the mentor she respected.

“I knew this would happen… Master was never that kind of person. It was really us who went wrong… And the Marquis Ramoth who ordered the persecution of Master Gellert…”

In fact, he was the one who essentially made the incident happen, and he was one of the people Gellert had always been suspicious of in the data.

There were many reasons why it was difficult to see him, a mere local Marquis, as the mastermind behind the devil’s turmoil that shook the entire kingdom.

However, at least since he ordered Gellert’s death, it was clear that he had some kind of connection to this “truth” of the problem.

When her thoughts reached that point, Charlotte could only furrow her eyebrows automatically in the disgustingly hideous reality that was starting to feel natural.

“You filthy bastard… You expressed so much hatred towards demons, but was it all a lie?”

Marquis Ramoth, the core of the Northern Demon Hunter group, who had shown a more aggressive stance than anyone else.

Such was the unforgivable truth for Charlot, who had lost her family because of the demon, that he was actually connected to the puppeteer behind the devil.

However,

Despite such deep-seated hatred, Charlot had to admit that it would be difficult for her to do something significant right away.

Even Geralt ultimately ended up failing and getting killed.

There was no guarantee that they wouldn’t end up in the same situation,

Furthermore, someone who had the obligation to carry on Geralt’s legacy even more than she did.

As for Fiona, she couldn’t expect anything at the moment, in her current state.

“Ha… hahahaha… Master… Geralt… Master…”

Fiona, who seemed to have lost her mind, could only call out to her deceased master and let out a hollow laugh.

In such a state, it would be impossible for her to even uncover the truth, let alone handle normal tasks as a devil hunter for a while.

“She…hahahahaha…Master…Geralt…Master…”

Fiona, who seemed to have lost her mind, could only call out to her deceased master and let out a hollow laugh.

In such a state, it would be impossible for her to even uncover the truth, let alone handle normal tasks as a devil hunter for a while.

“I will need some time for now. Time for Fiona to regain her sanity…”

With that, Charlotte made the decision to prioritize urgent matters one by one.

While supporting her broken friend, she headed home.

In her other hand,

That which had been the beginning of it all.

She held onto the letter and documents left by her master…

“I’m sorry, Master… It may be too late, but I will now follow your will. I will uncover all the truths and exact revenge for you, Master…”

*

The girl holding the sword tightly and adjusting her stance.

Leone.

At this moment, the person stood in front of her.

He had the same handsome appearance like a general from a fairy tale,

A man with a calm and kind smile.

Her teacher,

The person who took her hand when she lost her family.

Gerard Mueller.

Facing him with a small broken sword in one hand,

Leone cautiously approached him with a gleaming longsword.

And then,

“Haaat!”

Leone swung her sword with all her might.

Squeezing out the magic she could barely handle, she attempted to attack with all the strength she could muster.

However,

-Clang!

“!!”

In an instant, her sword was helplessly deflected.

The longsword, which was more than four times the length.

With just a broken small sword,

Even without using any magic, her teacher easily deflected it, revealing an enormous gap that cannot be bridged between them with such weapons.

“Haaat!!!”

Once again, Leone swung her sword with all her might. However, her teacher easily evaded the attack by simply moving her body lightly, without any need for a weapon. No matter how much Leone reached out, she could not touch her, and the skill difference was enough to guarantee defeat even without launching an attack. However, despite realizing this fact, Leone did not despair. The emotion she felt was joy. And… it was even more than that, a sense of reverence. Her teacher was an impenetrable wall, no matter what she did, she couldn’t cause any harm. If she could even slightly overcome this difference, even if it was just a tiny bit, it meant she could become stronger, and she would be closer to avenging her family, the demons who killed them. However, her determination to learn combat skills wasn’t solely because of revenge. “I want to quickly become stronger… so that I can always be by Master’s side,” she thought. Due to his missions, Master Gerald often had to leave, leaving Leone behind. When he was at this mansion, he constantly trained her like this, but Leone didn’t like being separated from her teacher like this. Since her father’s death, Gerald had become the only person she could rely on. Even though Napoleon, a Devil Hunter, had been training her during that time, Leone didn’t particularly like her. She wasn’t a bad person, but their compatibility was not good, you could say. Anyway, Leone’s current goal was to work with Gerald or Janne as soon as possible, and she dedicated herself to training, even sacrificing her sleep. “Ugh!”

-Ting!

Even though it still felt like a long way off, the time was coming.

*

“Thank you for your hard work. Please continue to teach the child well.”

Eli said with a beautiful smile.

Feeling a strange sensation in my heart while witnessing her like this, I responded as seriously as possible.

“I should be the one thanking you. Thank you for taking care of the child that I brought along without permission.”

“No, it is my job to discover and refine talented individuals. I apologize for not being able to be of more help.”

With those words, Eli carefully sipped the tea in front of her.

I was almost captivated by her elegant demeanor, but I quickly regained my composure and got to the point.

“Well, let’s leave this conversation here. How did the task I requested go?”

“I have handled it properly. In two weeks, you will be free from all obligations.”

“Thank you. Then… I can finally proceed with the plans I have been making.”

“hehehe…”

With a gentle laugh, Eli remained in her seat.

Then, she leaned closer to my ear and spoke with a voice as sweet as can be.

“Well then… I will rely on you. Gerard Kyeong.”

“…I understand.”