Chapter 1566: Red And Black

Erend felt his chest tighten as he looked at their expressions. He tried to stand but his body refused to obey.

His legs trembled beneath him and gave out almost immediately.

Only then did he realize that his Magic energy was completely exhausted. He had spent nearly everything he had during the battle inside the giant worm, especially during his violent rampage through its body.

At the time, he had been too consumed by anger and the thrill of destruction to notice how quickly his reserves had disappeared.

His body had also reached its limit. The wounds he had suffered throughout the battle were far more serious than he realized, and the exhaustion that followed finally caught up with him now that the fight was over.

Meanwhile, his mother and Arty continued staring at him as though they were looking at a monster. Neither of them moved closer. Their fearful expressions fixed on him, and that sight caused something inside Erend to ache.

He slowly raised one trembling hand toward them.

"I did this... to protect you." His voice came out weak and exhausted.

Instead of approaching him, however, both of them took another step backward.

Erend was stunned.

The small movement hurt more than he expected. His hand remained raised for a moment before slowly falling back to the ground.

He stared at them in disbelief as the sadness inside his chest began to grow.

He had fought that creature because he believed he was protecting the people he loved. He endured the pain, exhaustion, and fear because he wanted to keep them safe.

But now the people he had fought for were looking at him as though he was the very thing they needed protection from.

"What...?" His voice trembled.

His mother shook her head slowly and said, "You’re not the Erend I know anymore."

"You became a monster," Arty said. Her eyes remained fixed on him.

Erend’s heart sank. "No..." He shook his head. "No, I’m not!"

His mother took another step backward. "Look at yourself," she said.

Erend looked down again. Blood covered his hands and clothes. Pieces of the giant worm’s flesh remained stuck to his body, its blood stained his skin.

He knew how horrifying he looked, but he had done all of it to survive. He had done it because he had wanted to protect them.

"I did it for you," he said again, his voice becoming more desperate. "I was protecting you!"

"We don’t want to see you like this." Arty said with her expression filled with fear.

Erend’s breathing became unsteady. He reached toward them again. "No... Please..."

But they moved farther away.

Erend’s fingers scraped against the black sand as he tried to pull himself forward.

His legs were too weak to stand, so he began crawling toward them instead. Every movement sent pain through his body, but he ignored it. He only cared about reaching them.

He wanted them to understand. He wanted them to look at him and see their son and brother again instead of the monster they believed he had become.

"Wait..." He dragged himself forward. "Please, don’t go."

His mother continued backing away. "I don’t recognize you anymore, Erend."

Arty’s voice followed: "You shouldn’t have become like this."

Erend stopped for a moment. His eyes widened. The words slashed his heart deep. His fingers dug into the sand.

"No... They don’t understand. Why won’t they understand?!"

He pulled himself forward again.

"I didn’t..." His voice cracked. "I didn’t do anything to you, did I?"

But they continued speaking.

They called him a monster. They said they were afraid of him. They said they did not want to see him anymore.

Every word struck Erend’s heart and pushed the sadness deeper inside him. He tried to reject what they were saying but the more he heard, the harder it became to hold himself together.

"Stop..." His voice grew louder. "Stop saying that!"

They did not stop.

Erend’s breathing became heavier as grief slowly began turning into something hotter. His sadness twisted into frustration. His frustration became anger.

His fingers dug deeper into the black sand until his nails scraped against the hard ground beneath it.

"Why won’t you understand?!" Erend suddenly screamed. His voice echoed across the empty land. "I did it to protect you! I fought for you!"

He crawled forward again despite the pain. His eyes began to burn with anger as tears gathered at their edges.

"I protected you!"

Yet his mother and Arty continued retreating. Their fearful expressions did not change.

His sadness continued twisting into rage as he crawled toward them, refusing to accept the distance between them.

"I am not a monster!" He screamed. "I am Erend!"

But the two figures only continued moving away from him.

His anger continued to rise. With his mind exhausted and his body filled with pain both physical and mental, Erend’s control over his own thoughts began to slip.

His vision started to be filled with red and black as his mind descended into chaos. He could barely think anymore. There was nothing left in his thoughts except the overwhelming anger burning inside his chest.

His breathing became heavier as his mouth opened and curled into a deep snarl. Then he slammed his fist into the black sand.

Once. Twice. Again and again.

He punched the ground a dozen times with every strike carrying more anger and frustration than the last.

His voice tore from his throat in a series of furious screams as he continued beating the sand even though his knuckles were already aching.

He no longer cared about the pain. He barely felt it anymore.

Then, in the middle of his rage, Erend suddenly felt something strange spreading through his body. A powerful energy began filling him from within.

It flowed through his exhausted muscles and seemed to push back against his fatigue.

His body responded before his mind could understand what was happening. His trembling arms pushed against the ground and Erend slowly forced himself back onto his feet.

He raised his head and looked at his mother and Arty. His eyes burned with rage as he stared at them. The sight of their frightened expressions only made the anger inside his chest grow stronger.

"Why don’t you understand?!" Erend screamed the words with a hoarse and broken voice.

Whatever remained of his restraint was shattered. Erend’s expression changed into viciousness.

His body moved before his exhausted mind could stop it. He lowered himself slightly and then charged toward them with malicious intent.

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