Father and Son
“Ah… Arthur…”
Loris couldn’t believe it.
He should be dead by now.
Arthur, who knew her secret.
He was supposed to have died inside that dungeon.
And how could a coward like Arthur have the guts to kill Black like this!
As those thoughts raced through her mind,
Arthur slowly rose to his feet.
“Colos, overcome by guilt, wrote a letter confessing how he’d offered up the territory’s people as sacrifices to Baras until now and detailed the events from his past hunts for Baras. He planned to abandon the territory.”
Arthur approached Colton from behind. The boy was still out of it, his mind fogged by the brainwashing potion made from the Word of Command Alchemy Book.
He didn’t hesitate.
Pffft!
Thud.
Colton crumpled to the ground.
“Before that, he met with the wanted criminal Black and Loris, who had been hiding him. Black harbored dark intentions, and that’s where the conflict erupted.”
This time, Arthur moved behind Colos.
Again, no hesitation—he plunged the blade into Colos’s gut.
Pffft!
Thud.
Arthur gazed down at the two corpses with a cold stare.
A smirk escaped his lips.
Colos had tried to kill him and Lauden. Colton had tried to burn down his home again.
As Arthur slowly turned and took a step forward, Loris retreated a step back.
She almost wished her brainwashing hadn’t worn off.
Arthur had gathered all of Black’s alchemy materials to brew the brainwashing liquid called Siren’s Blood.
But one vial had fallen just short.
Loris had been unlucky.
“In the clash, Colos succeeded in killing Black. But Black took Colton and Colos down with him in a gruesome end.”
Before she knew it, Arthur stood right in front of her.
Loris collapsed to her knees.
“And in Black’s hideout deep in the mountains, Loris’s body was found among them.”
She understood what that meant.
Arthur would fabricate the whole story.
Not entirely fabricated, though.
Colos’s letter was real.
It was just that someone else had done the actual killing.
“Ah, Arthur… our sweet Arthur… You like me, don’t you? Yeah? You like me. I’m, I’m sorry. Truth is, I like you too… What did I do so wrong… huh?”
“Loris’s father, Rokerus, ran a major trading company, but as the investigation deepened, he feared his own role in sheltering the wanted criminal Black would come to light, so he washed his hands of it.”
“What did I do wrongggg!”
She screamed.
“I wanted to be pretty! I wanted to be beautiful! You fucking bastard who deserves to be torn apart and eaten. People hated me for my looks. I wanted to be pretty. And when I became beautiful, it felt so good. Men fell for my every smile, like they could do anything for me. What did I do so wrongggg!”
Loris shrieked.
Her face twisted into something horrifying.
Her true form revealed itself.
“Being beautiful meant I could get away with anything. Just grabbing a man’s hand once turned them into my slaves, barking dogs who’d do whatever I said—fetch, roll over. And you dare to…”
Stab.
Arthur didn’t hesitate to drive the blade into her throat.
She slowly crumpled.
He watched her with an expressionless face, then turned away.
“You could’ve lived even prettier and kinder with that beauty of yours.”
That was the end.
Arthur turned without regret and descended the mountain. The stars seemed especially bright tonight.
‘My revenge is finally over.’
He thought briefly of his father.
Then continued down the slope.
‘Now it’s time to live for myself.’
All the countless events ahead.
He glanced at the Plunderer’s Ring on his finger.
He’d punished the knights who drove his father Acaus to death and Baras himself. He’d eliminated Loris and the alchemist Black, who’d colluded with them to kill him and Lauden.
And he’d avenged himself on Colton, who’d torched his home and taken everything.
Plus, he’d claimed the essence of the brutal scarab beetle Baras and the Word of Command Alchemy Book.
And now.
‘There’s a picture I really want to paint.’
It was a first.
Even after gaining the Creation Lord class, he’d never felt this urge to draw something.
It was like a thirst.
A voice in his head seemed to urge him: Draw it now.
Arthur hurried back home.
Back in his room, Arthur unrolled a sheet of parchment.
First, just as Alon had taught him, he sketched to outline what he wanted to capture.
Then he dipped his brush in paint and began.
He poured all his focus into it.
Those memories, that nostalgia.
Today’s revenge was done, but he painted with the vow never to forget.
The image gradually took shape.
Lush trees dotted the landscape, and there stood Acaus in armor emblazoned on the back with the sword emblem of Brat Territory’s knight captain.
Beside him, a young boy walked hand-in-hand.
Both shown from behind, faces unseen.
He added a sunset too.
Arthur was recreating the memory of playing on the hill with his father Acaus and heading home.
As it neared completion, Alon’s voice echoed in his mind, making him pause mid-stroke without realizing.
‘When you truly draw from your own heart.’
That’s what Alon had said when Arthur asked how to create higher-grade works.
‘Maybe…’
Arthur eyed the nearly finished piece.
He’d concentrated so hard sweat beaded on his forehead.
He wiped it with his sleeve and smiled contentedly at the completed painting.
His skill had improved leaps and bounds.
A gentle smile crossed Arthur’s face.
His hand reached out, activating the Memory of Art skill.
Memory of Art is evaluating the score.
The cherished memories of your father contribute to the artwork's grade.
Art Score: 71%!
A Masterwork has been created.
Please name the Masterwork.
“Mas… ter… work…!”
Arthur thrilled with ecstasy.
A step up from Average to Masterwork.
He didn’t know the full hierarchy of grades.
But he was overjoyed at the clear upgrade.
After pondering a name, Arthur smirked and said,
“Father and Son.”
He’d considered “Hero and Son,” but this felt right.
Not some grandiose title—just Acaus the father and Arthur the son, walking together.
Creation Painting and Accelerated Drawing leveled up again.
‘Rewards for a Masterwork.’
Followed by more notifications.
Masterwork. Father and Son has been registered in your Art Codex. View anytime.
All who behold Masterwork. Father and Son gain healing abilities.
Healing… ability?
Just viewing the painting grants healing.
Arthur tapped for details.
‘Perfect…!’
He grinned.
It wasn’t instant healing.
Consistent exposure to the painting cured ailments for all who viewed it.
Chronic fevers, colds, earaches, sinus issues—minor illnesses.
Even deadly diseases, if not too advanced.
Like early-stage cancer, for example.
Without hesitation, Arthur framed the painting.
He hung it in the most visible spot in the darkened mansion.
As he admired Father and Son, a thought crossed his mind.
‘Protecting the Press family to the very end, huh?’
Maybe a stretch. But a painting of his father warding off illnesses.
It would hang in the Press home forever, and the family would see it daily.
Aching backs would heal, and Hans’s stubborn congestion would clear right up.
Arthur shrugged and headed to his room for sleep.
And that next morning.
“Whoa… Staring at this painting just… calms the soul.”
Hans marveled at it.
He’d never dreamed Arthur had such talent.
Helen agreed wholeheartedly.
“To think our Arthur had this kind of gift…”
She beamed proudly.
The entire Press family gathered in the living room, gazing at the Masterwork Father and Son.
Brat Territory buzzed with commotion.
Territory troops had found a cabin deep in the mountains.
Dozens of birds had suddenly swooped in, guiding them like a flock, they said.
Intrigued by the phenomenon, the troops followed—and discovered four cold corpses.
Knight Captain Colos, Colton, Loris, and an unidentified man.
Brat Territory went on high alert.
Then troops found Colos’s letter in his room.
It revealed that the disappearances of boys, girls, elders—regardless of age or gender—were the work of Colos and six other knights.
Some had questioned how Arthur and Lauden survived the dungeon while others died, but this bigger scandal buried it.
The handwriting matched Colos’s by 99%.
And the unidentified man in the cabin? A wanted criminal.
Speculation spread.
The wanted man killed Colos and Colton.
They killed him back, but perished too.
And why was Loris there?
People concluded: He dragged her to the cabin to rape and murder her.
She was Kallis Territory’s top beauty, after all.
Rumors flew as fact, and soon the territory troops confirmed it.
Murmurs rose.
Arthur watched an aide gather the people to relay the lord’s words.
“By order of the lord! I, Lord Vali de Liston of Brat Territory, express deep regret over this incident and thus… [omitted]… appoint a new knight captain to bolster security… [omitted]… so forth.”
A new knight captain.
Candidates were already floating: Lauden, Coneto, Bran.
The crowd whispered.
“The letter said it—Colos and the others fled! But Lauden fought alongside hero Acaus and got stabbed in the back.”
“What scum! Greedy for gold, they ran off with the loot?!”
“Who should be the new captain outta those three?”
“Lauden, obviously!”
One resident spoke up.
“No denying it—since Lauden became instructor, our troops’ skills skyrocketed.”
“Yeah. Ever seen him wield a sword? He could take three knights easy!”
“But didn’t he stay silent all this time?”
“What could he do with a blade to his throat?!”
The people were already chanting for Lauden as the new captain. A few dissented, but given the situation, even Lord Vali had no choice but to appoint him.
Arthur turned away, reminiscing.
‘What will you do next?’
Lauden’s question.
He hadn’t pressed for dungeon details.
He knew Arthur didn’t want to relive it—and respected that.
‘I’ll serve in the territory troops for a month. Then leave.’
‘Leave? Where to?’
‘The battlefield.’