Chapter 66 - 12: Darkness devours even the bravest

"Nori, before you leave tomorrow, I want to tell you that I... I love you."

He remained silent for a moment then looked at her, seeing her face which had reddened because of shyness, he could not help smiling.

"I reject your love."

Hearing this the tears came to her eyes, she looked at him for a moment before asking.

"Why?"

He scratches his hair for a moment and then says with a serious expression.

"The answer is simple, but complicated, but to put it simply, I...."

. . . . .

"agh!"

In his laboratory, Haruto awoke suddenly, as drops of sweat dripped from his forehead and the colour of his eyes became paler.

He walked with difficulty to a shelf from which he removed a dozen scrolls.

"They say when you will die, your life flashes before you, is what happens to me?"

"Haha, now I'm talking to myself, I'm sounding more and more like the mad scientist from the movies."

But when his eyes fell on the scroll, he stopped laughing and a smile appeared on his lips.

"Come to think of it, I'm really just his crazy old scientist."

"I'm ready."

Haruto picked up an very old red book and walked up the stairs to the top floor.

[Clea, come to the library with the Luckheart brothers.]

[Yes master!]

Haruto then continued to walk to a large room with a hundred books perfectly stored on shelves.

The room was quite bright and nicely decorated, so Haruto sat down on an armchair, picked up the newspaper in front of him and read for a while before putting it back on the table.

A young woman with blue hair followed by two young men blond in armour entered the library and bowed slightly in front of Haruto before sitting down.

The magic that Haruto had used earlier was a magic of mental communication that he had acquired 1 year earlier, thanks to this magic, he could transmit his orders and instructions to the members of the guild.

The young lady was one of the dragon slayers who followed him after the fight against the dragons in Dragnof, her name was Clea, she was a class S mage with excellent management skills who took care of investing the guild's money all over the continent, she was also the intermediary between the guild and the neighbouring countries.

The two young blond men are twins Luckheart, all of class S mage, they are one of the most powerful mage of the guild having contributed to the most S quest achievements and having killed a lot of dragons these last months.

"How's the positioning of the magic circles coming along?"

Clea unrolled a map of the entire continent with a hundred red dots scattered all over the map and said with a smile.

"The magic circles have all been placed by the guild over the last six months, your plan can finally begin."

Hearing this Haruto nodded his head, then looked at the Luckhear brothers.

William, the elder of two brother placed a small engraved stone box on the table.

Then he and his brother smiled a big victorious smile together.

"We had a hard time finding a soul stone, but finally a month ago on a mission in the nest of an old dragon, we found one."

Haruto opened the box and seeing a beautiful purple gem the size of a coin, he couldn't help smiling.

"You've done a good job, now all we have to do is wait for the decisive fight."

"You may return to your work."

Clea and the Luckhear brothers bowed politely one last time to Haruto and then left the library, leaving him alone.

After their departure, Haruto then violently coughed a few gulps of blood while his complexion became paler and his vision became even more blurred, even his heart rate slowed down.

"Soon... I mustn't...gives up now... I must hold on a while longer."

Then he walked with difficulty to his laboratory.

. . . . .

"Clea, my confidence in the master is starting to waver."

As the three walked through the halls of the guild, they suddenly stopped at William's words.

Clea and Owen (the second brother) looked at William with a serious look.

"I understand you... I'm also beginning to doubt the master's plan to slay all the dragons, if it was two years before, I would have believed him, but now..."

"His eyes grew darker, as if evil had swallowed him up."

Clea then looked at the Luckheart brothers with cold look.

"It doesn't matter if the master gets darker and darker, as long as he keeps his promise and kills all the dragons, I'll support him."

"We don't want to be involved in this anymore."

"We don't want to be involved in this anymore."

Then she walked away leaving the Luckheart brothers with their heads down and a hesitant facial expression, but a few seconds later, Clea further away was in a cold sweat as she heard the screams of the Luckheart brothers behind her, but she didn't turn around, she walk down the hallway as if nothing had happened, but actually fear was the only feeling she could feel then the darkness was behind her.

In his laboratory Haruto, with a look devoid of emotion and murderous coldness, wiped the blood off his hands before continuing his experiments.