The End of a Genius Mage
At Zeke and Media’s mansion, Werner laid Airi gently in her cradle and let out a short groan. It was a blessing that Lorsha had been secretly waiting outside the ant nest and rushed over with bandages for emergency treatment. Without her, he really might have lost his life. He had handed over the demonic sword that stabbed him to Lorsha for investigation. Figuring any problems could be fixed with treatment, Werner brushed his fingers through Airi’s hair as she giggled brightly.
“Mom and Dad will be here soon, so just wait a little longer, okay?”
His side had been burning like hell since earlier, but Werner forced himself to endure it. Once Zeke and Media arrived, he planned to tell them everything—how he tracked down the clues, where those clues had led him, how the fight went, even the part where he got stabbed—and bask in their praise. They would surely say their youngest had done a wonderful job, ask if the stab wound was all right with worried eyes, and then scold him for never listening when they told him to be careful.
Smiling faintly at the imagined scene, Werner clutched his side and winced. He had been stabbed plenty of times before, but the pain had never burned quite like this. It felt like every drop of blood in his body was boiling. He kept swallowing hard. Once Media arrived, he would ask her to heal him. Seeing Airi smiling up at him, Werner pulled his expression back together with effort.
“Tsk. Some people even got stabbed because you started crying, yet here you are laughing away. Is it really that funny, you little rascal?”
Werner wondered what he was doing, cracking jokes at a baby who could barely babble, then turned his eyes toward the door to wait for Zeke and Media. The news must have reached them by now, so they should arrive any moment. He straightened his clothes. The outfit he had been wearing was nothing but rags, so he had asked Lorsha for a fresh set and changed before coming.
Soon the door opened. Zeke and Media entered with excited faces. Werner greeted them with a bright smile.
“Hyung, Noona, I—”
But they walked right past him and ran to Airi.
“My baby!”
Media clutched Airi and began to sob. All the fear and sorrow she had pushed down while her child was missing came flooding out at once. She frantically checked the baby for injuries, speaking words of concern to an infant who could not possibly understand.
“Baby… my sweet baby… are you hurt anywhere? Do you know how worried Mommy was? Where in the world were you…?”
Even Zeke ignored Werner completely, focusing only on examining Airi’s condition. That was when Werner finally remembered what family truly meant. Family was a bond of blood from the start. No matter how close they had grown, he was only ever a child who felt like a little brother to them. He was not their real family.
Yes, of course they would worry more about a young child than a powerful mage like him. Yes, because Airi was still just a little girl. Yes, since he was the strongest grand mage, they must trust in his strength and not feel the need to worry. Yes, it was only natural to care for family they had not seen for so long. Yes, there had been so many people targeting Airi, so their worry made perfect sense. Yes, because Media was a kind and gentle older sister…
He desperately piled excuse after excuse on top of one another, trying to bury the moment, but the memories of his orphan days pointed mercilessly toward a single, cruel answer.
I am no one’s family, and Airi is Zeke hyung and Media noona’s real daughter.
Yes, it’s only natural to worry more about your own child than an orphan like me. I’m just someone who feels like a younger brother, not true family.
In the end, I’ve always been an outsider in this house.
Werner turned his back and left the room. He did not want to show them his ugly face right now. He did not want them to see the hideous truth that an outsider had been jealous of their real daughter. If he wanted to preserve even a ‘family-like’ relationship, this was the best choice.
Even after the door clicked shut, Media continued checking Airi’s condition. But Zeke, drawn by the sound, noticed the bloodstains on the floor and rushed out after him.
“Werner.”
Werner did not turn around.
“Yeah, hyung? Why? Go check on Airi first. I’m a mage, not a doctor when it comes to physical conditions… Besides, on a day like today, you should all be together as a family.”
He refused to let them see his face.
“Werner, you’re not hurt, are you? There’s blood on the floor…”
“Ah, it’s nothing. I was just tired and got a nosebleed. My face is a mess because of it right now, haha…”
“Come here. If you’re injured, Media needs to see it.”
Zeke grabbed Werner’s shoulder. But he soon had to let go. The shoulder of the younger brother he cherished was trembling violently.
“Hyung, I’m really fine. On a day like today you should stay with Noona and Airi…”
“…Werner.”
“I’m actually pretty hungry, so I’ll head over to where the rest of the hyungs and noonas are. They’ve probably rented out that tavern we always gather at for the whole day.”
“I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…”
“Sorry for what? I’ll be going then.”
Werner forced his legs—now as heavy as waterlogged cotton—to move.
“Take care… hyung-nim.”
Not wanting any of the mansion’s servants to see his current expression, he covered his face with his robe sleeve and ran outside. He stumbled and fell down the stairs several times because his vision was blocked, but his body felt no pain at all.
The person waiting for him outside the mansion was his close friend Lorsha. She looked slightly startled when she saw his face. It was an expression the recent Werner had never worn.
“Werner… are you crying right now?”
“Shut up. I’m not crying.”
“It’s obvious you’re crying! Who hurt you?! I’ll fucking kill them!”
“If you try anything, you’ll be cut into pieces in one second, you idiot…”
Lorsha ground her teeth, then pulled him into a hug.
“Don’t be shocked. Just listen…”
“What the hell are you doing, hugging me like this…”
“You should retire as a grand mage. Right now.”
Lorsha, telling a newly blazing supernova to retire. Werner’s pupils shook violently at the sudden suggestion.
“What kind of bullshit is that…”
Lorsha had analyzed the demonic sword that stabbed him. The records about that weapon had been easy to find. After explaining the sword’s effects and the current state of Werner’s body, she hugged him even tighter.
A mage’s body contained mana circuits that allowed the use of magic. Those delicate, machine-like circuits had to remain undamaged for spells to function properly. But Barisada had completely destroyed Werner’s mana circuits. It was like smashing the cooling system of a precision engine. For a mage, it was a death sentence.
Of course, since he was a grand mage, he could still cast basic spells. But the spectacular grand magic Werner took such pride in… he would have to give them up. She had to tell him that.
“So just quit being a grand mage or whatever and stay by my side—”
“Shut up… Why? Does it feel good? Are you so happy you feel like dancing? Because you think I’ll be beneath you now?”
“That’s not what I’m saying at all!”
“Shut up! You have a powerful family to fall back on even without magic! But I… I…! Without that, I’m nothing!”
Werner shoved Lorsha away roughly. He wanted to believe every word she said was a lie. He wanted to believe the girl in front of him had lied out of jealousy.
“Get out of my sight!”
Lorsha stayed silent for a moment, then turned away.
“If your condition gets worse, come find me. I know that field well.”
“Just leave…”
“…You bastard.”
Lorsha ran off, leaving him behind. Just as Werner had done moments earlier.
Werner felt a pang of guilt. Lorsha had only misunderstood. She had simply been worried about his body… He decided he would buy her a gift tomorrow and apologize. Then he would show her grand magic right in front of her eyes and tease her for being wrong.
See? It’s nothing. I can use grand magic just like this.
“O wind dragon that swims between the clouds, carry me and sail leisurely—”
Werner tried to ride a dragon-shaped wind current all the way to the tavern where his hyung and noonas waited. But no wind rose. Only a scorching pain like his chest was being ripped apart surged through him. Blood poured from his nose. Werner refused to give up and tried the incantation again. The result was the same.
Dragging a body that felt like it was dying, Werner headed for the tavern where they had agreed to meet. When the door opened, his hyungs and noonas saw the short boy enter and realized it was Werner. They began to greet him warmly.
“You’re late. This great one has always said that keeping time is a virtue that must be observed in all ages and in all lands—”
“I heard, youngest! You saved the leader’s daughter? I’m seeing you in a new light—”
“Youngest, Noona ordered the goose meat you like—”
What the heroes saw was Werner with every vein in his body bulging grotesquely in vivid red. The phantom thief Squar was the first to dash forward and catch his collapsing body.
“Youngest! What happened to you?! Who did this?!”
Werner buried his crying face in Squar’s chest, but everyone could tell. Werner—who only ever showed a smiling face or an annoyed one—was crying right now.
“Noona… it hurts so much…”
No matter how great a mage he was, Werner was still only a fourteen-year-old boy. A boy who wanted praise, wanted to be worried over, and cried when the pain became too much.
While one child slept peacefully in his parents’ arms, the other wept bitterly.