Father...? What on Earth is This?
Erwin was utterly bewildered. "Father...? What on earth is this?"
Anyone would react the same way upon seeing their bedridden father leap out faster than anyone else could manage.
"Cough... Erwin, is that you? You've grown so much already. I'm sorry for being such a pathetic father."
Amon Cornen kept coughing. His palm, pressed to his mouth, was smeared with thick black blood.
"Heh heh... It's been a long time, Evan. Even after all these years, you haven't changed a bit. Your looks... or your demeanor."
"And you've turned into a total grandpa."
I sheathed the sword I'd been gripping reverse-style into my inventory and plopped down in a chair. Amon chuckled as he sat back on the bed.
"Father... are you really my father...? Why... why would you do something like this? I was so worried about you..."
"I'm sorry, Erwin. But please believe me. I only woke up less than a day ago. You too, Evan, if you'd believe me."
Tears welled up in Erwin's eyes at his father's repeated apologies.
"I... I... all this time, I was so..."
The old soul beyond his years finally looked like a kid again as he started crying. Amon pulled Erwin into a hug. Erwin sobbed bitterly in his father's arms.
The heartfelt reunion between a sick father and a son who'd faced mortal threats was touching, but business was business.
"Playing dead. You're still making good use of it. Looks like you've improved it even more than what I first taught you."
Playing dead was a trick I'd taught Amon back when we were fleeing the elves of the Great Forest—a way to suppress his presence. It was one of the makeshift techniques born from halting bodily functions and substituting with mana. Back then, it was so crude that waking up required a light stab to the heart.
"Heh heh, memories. It's been ages since you left, Evan. It's the technique I've used most often and longest in my life, so naturally it's evolved."
"Not because you hated getting stabbed in the heart, right?"
"That goes without saying. Heh heh... cough!"
Growing old had made him sly.
"So what was with all the dogshit acting in front of me?"
"From the way you're asking, you don't know either, do you, Evan?"
"Know what?"
I had no clue what Amon was getting at. I'd only been in Adenia for less than a month.
"I fought alongside you, so there's no way I got corrupted by the Abyss's mana without realizing it. I was betrayed."
Amon's words about betrayal were matter-of-fact.
"Which bastard's spreading the Abyss that tried to kill you? Who is it?"
"I don't know."
I pulled my sword from my inventory.
"Looks like you're corrupted by the Abyss after all. Stick your neck out—I'll send you off quick."
"No!!"
Erwin jumped in front of me in a panic.
"Hahaha, it's okay, Erwin. Step back. Evan's got a foul mouth, but he's a kind soul."
"Tch. Pick one—insult or compliment."
I tapped the flat of my blade and nodded at Amon to keep talking.
"Ahem... I truly don't know. I want to know myself. My memories are foggy, like they're shrouded in mist. But I remember it was someone trustworthy."
"Not family? Your firstborn's mom."
He hadn't even named his own kid as heir, so maybe he hated her?
"Well, she might be connected somehow... but I can't be sure anymore. She died before I could find out."
"What...? But I saw Stepmother issuing orders to the castle this morning."
Erwin asked innocently. He'd been an old soul until seeing his dad alive—now he was just a kid.
"Amon must've tricked her into it."
"Heh heh, exactly. It was a perfect opportunity, so I hid and tried to track the one spreading the Abyss mana. But I never expected you to show up first, Evan."
Amon planned to hunt the culprit himself.
"So the castle intrusion was your setup?"
"No. But when the chance came, why not use it?"
"Old age turned you into a real schemer."
"Haha..."
I tapped my palm with the flat of the sword, piecing it together. I got why Amon had pulled his stunt. But one crucial question remained.
"How the hell are you still alive?"
The most horrific thing about Abyss mana was how it corrupted souls. A twisted soul either became an eternal slave to the Abyss or was burned as fuel—those were the only options. And the Abyss mana radiating from Amon Cornen had long passed the critical point. At that level of corruption, the body should've collapsed and mutated too.
Yet Amon just looked frail and sickly. Unless he was born a high race or blessed by a cardinal-level priest, but Amon Cornen was pure human.
"Haha... Technically, I'm not a living being anymore."
"...What?"
"See for yourself."
Amon undid the front of his robe.
"Father!! Your heart...!"
There was a gaping hole dead center in his chest. Guess he'd wear a mask later. No heart at all, yet Amon was still "alive." Or rather, not alive, as he'd said.
"Undead... Hayes, huh?"
"Exactly."
Amon was already dead. Revived by Hayes's death magic. She'd dragged him into the realm of death to shake off the Abyss's corruption of his soul.
"Heh heh... But I'm not fully dead. She said my heart would return naturally once the Abyss mana fades."
Half-human, half-undead, and Amon seemed thrilled about it. From what he said, he'd only recently met Hayes.
"... Was Hayes behind the castle intrusion?"
"Yes. She descended here herself and harvested everyone tied to the Abyss. My first wife included."
"..."
Even called the Dark Lord now, Hayes was still hostile to the Abyss. That was a relief. The worst hadn't happened.
...No, don't think about it.
At least infiltrating the castle had paid off. Reunited with Amon after ages and finally got news on Hayes. Impromptu plans were the best.
"Where's Hayes now?"
"She handled her business and left... but probably back in the Shadow Forest."
"You think the Shadow Forest is some tiny park? Where exactly?"
If it were small, I'd have searched it bodily by now. But the Shadow Forest—remnants of the Great Forest—was absurdly vast.
"I wouldn't know. Shouldn't you, of all people?"
"..."
Explaining a 5-day vacation turning into 50 years with no contact was too messy.
"... Circumstances kept me from meeting Hayes."
"I see... Sorry I couldn't help."
"Nah, it's fine. I got to see your face after all this time and hear about Hayes."
Disappointing, but not a total loss.
"Hmm... What brings you to Rimhold now, Evan?"
"Working at the Adventurer's Guild to find Hayes. Oh, right—Amon, you called Spilvena, didn't you? Where's that bear at?"
Spilvena was still in the castle. He'd promised info on Hayes if he joined Rapi on the quest. Things were falling into place. Coming to Amon first was the right call.
"Spilvena? Ah, the druid. Haven't heard that name in ages. Sorry, but I only mentioned an intrusion—didn't give specific orders."
Amon's reaction wasn't what I'd hoped.
"Useless bastard. Should've squeezed more money out of you back then."
"..."
"Whatever. Dawn's breaking, so he'll show at the guild. I can wait there."
I stood to leave. Outside the pitch-black night window, dawn was stirring.
"Evan, aren't you taking back the gear you lent me before?"
"Nah, no need."
"I see. Still, thank you, Evan. Thanks to those, we held off the monster floods."
Amon bowed his head in gratitude. I'd burned the Great Forest and given him some items. No reason to take them back now. My Status Window was restricted anyway; I couldn't use them.
"The gear... yeah, then grab me something else. Good quality swords, spears, axes—tons of weapons."
All my stocked weapons got devoured fighting that Swallower's power pawn. The armory in prosperous Rimhold Castle should have better stuff.
"That all?"
"Yeah. But a lot of 'em."
"You can take the whole armory stock if you want, Evan."
"Pass."
Even a ton wouldn't fill my inventory.
"At the Adventurer's Guild... Evan, could you wait outside a bit? Erwin can show you the armory, but I want some time with my son."
"..."
I waved at Amon and stepped out.
"Father, are you really okay? Shouldn't we call a doctor or priest right away?"
"I'm fine, Erwin. I still have work to do. We need to uncover the Abyss culprit, so I'll need your help a little. Sorry."
Erwin took his father's hand reassuringly. It was frail and weak from years bedridden. He'd faced death alone, pouring out his heart with no one to confide in—a short, lonely life of quiet struggle. He'd half-given up.
But now it was okay. His father's recovered words were immense comfort.
"No, Father. I'm just glad you're safe."
"...You've grown so much already. Your mother would've been proud."
"..."
Amon stroked Erwin's hair. It was a touching moment.
But Erwin had a question for his father.
"Father, there's something I've always wanted to ask."
"Go ahead."
It was a doubt he'd carried forever.
"Why... why did you name me heir? Derek has talent and renown."
His father's hand paused.
"Heh heh... Still as blunt as I was at your age. You're the only son for me, Erwin."
"...Pardon?"
"Your suspicions are right. Derek Cornen isn't mine. Your stepmother cheated."
Erwin's mind went blank at the bombshell.
"...How do you know? Derek even has your black hair."
"Because I never slept with her. It was a political marriage, not love."
"..."
Erwin finally understood his harsh life.
But why hadn't his father banished Derek?
"It's all over your face, Erwin. Politics—there were many reasons. You'll learn when you're older. Sorry."
"...Politics, huh. Must be enough to split Rimhold."
Otherwise, no reason to keep a non-blood heir.
"My own failing... I lacked the courage to ruin Rimhold's rise from backwater to metropolis. Sorry for everything, Erwin."
"...It's okay. It's all in the past. Stepmother and Derek are gone now, so we're good, right?"
"..."
His father shook his head with a sad smile.
"Another problem remains. We still don't know who's spreading the Abyss."
"The Abyss... what even is it, to be so dangerous?"
"Heh heh... It was, once. But now it'll be fine. Evan's here."
Evan. Father's friend with the crude speech. But Father trusted him immensely.
"Who the hell is this Evan? You called him a friend, but I've never heard the name."
He'd seemed close overhearing their talk, yet no memories of Father mentioning him.
"Heh heh... When I was a boy lord, Evan and I planned and executed many operations. Good times."
Father's voice warmed with nostalgia.
"Burning the Great Forest was our joint work."
"What!!!!!!!????"
"Whoa, no need to shout. Should've kept that secret."
"You and Evan were behind the incident in the imperial history books!?"
That hit Erwin hardest.
"Father, a vicious criminal...? No way."
"Hahaha!! Vicious criminal? The Emperor might think so. Evan blew up half the Imperial Capital."
"Pardon..?"
Erwin's mind went white.
"No hard proof, but the reports screamed Evan. Probably."
"...What!? Father, you can't be friends with criminals! It's beyond personal—whole cities at risk!"
"Heh heh heh, Evan's fine. No need to worry."
Erwin couldn't grasp why Father trusted him.
"Who the hell is that thug that you trust him so much?"
The man he'd glimpsed: foul-mouthed, crude, pointing a sword at his bedridden father—a total rogue.
"Hahaha!! Thug... thug... hahaha!! Yeah, a thug... haha!!"
Amon laughed louder than ever at Erwin's words. His laughter faded, face turning serious.
"A thug, yes. But above all, Erwin... Evan is the hero who saved the world."
"..."
Hero...? An absurd word, not in history books—only from wandering minstrels' tall tales.
"And he's still saving the world."