Novel Full Chapter 189: Responsibility
Chapter 189: Chapter 189: Responsibility
Chapter 189 – Responsibility
[This is not a normal poison, Cassius.] Ananke said instantly, frowning subtly, looking at Océane held in Cassius’s arms. [You know, these Sandworms are Ravager monsters that eat Black Sand to advance. And you must already be aware that every Ravager has an organ that devours and uses what it has consumed as fuel to grow stronger.]
’What are you implying, Queen?’ Cassius asked, his brows furrowing heavily.
All around him, the runic cameras had increased in number, focusing heavily on him. The big screens in the arena and across the Kingdom were, momentarily, all fixed on Cassius alone.
They showed Océane’s current state, and one teacher of the Academy, the one responsible for Monster Research, instantly winced at the sight of her, already guessing what had happened.
"Aie. This poor girl is done for. How unlucky." She said with pity. Not for Océane herself, but for the fact that the young maid could have been useful for her research.
The other teachers knew her well enough to say nothing, as if long accustomed to her attitude.
There was, however, one teacher — with crimson hair and crimson eyes, and scars across her face — who was grinning while looking at Cassius.
’...so this is the one? Oh, what does she call him? Her ’baby’?’ She chuckled inwardly, eager to see what he would do.
Behind all the teachers, the Dean of the Elysia Academy sat hidden in the darkness, only her silver eyes visible to all.
Across the arena and Kingdom, everyone fell into solemn silence, waiting to see what Cassius was going to do. And since they could all hear what was being said, they focused even more intently on the black dune.
[What I am implying is that your maid has consumed that organ. Or at least a part of it. As the monster was only Tier Five, it would not normally be a significant issue, only Tier Four monsters and above require a Refinement Process. However...]
Ananke sighed.
[...your maid’s talent is pitifully average and her Aspect is mundane. Her body is not equipped to handle the power within that organ. You would have survived with your Innate. But not her. So without a Refinement Process specific to these sandworms, she will definitely die.]
The Goddess’s words were plain and direct, leaving no room for a sliver of hope.
Cassius said nothing, his gaze settling quietly on Océane. The surroundings had gone still after their battle.
It seemed their power had scared off anyone who might have considered getting close.
After all, Tier Five was the highest level present. If those monsters had killed them, anyone else would know to run.
Océane’s body was trembling, and as Cassius watched her, he noticed her body slowly transmuting: her left pinky finger had dissolved into black sand.
When that sight registered in his mind, the full weight of the situation finally became real.
Not only to him, but to Anesthesia and all the spectators as well.
Everyone expected Cassius to abandon Océane and continue forward.
That was the most logical choice, the only real choice. None of them believed he would or even could do otherwise.
After all, Océane was a simple maid.
Neither exceptionally talented nor remarkable in any particular way. And Cassius had a wife, so there was no possibility of it being anything romantic.
That was why...
"It’s a waste of time." Anesthesia finally said. "Your maid’s fate is sealed. Instead of standing here we should go."
After what had just happened, she was not arrogant enough to refuse teaming up with Cassius. She had to set her personal feelings aside.
"You want me to let her die?" Cassius spared her a glance.
"Is there any other way?"
"There is always a way, sister-in-law."
"I know. My real question is: is she worth it?" Her cold voice reverberated through the screens reaching every spectator. "I don’t know how, but if you somehow save her here, what happens later during the remaining tests or inside the Academy? If you think you can protect her forever then you are either a fool with a hero complex or ridiculously arrogant."
She scoffed. "There is a reason almost no one brings their maid or butler to the Academy, Cassius. Have you seen anyone else do it? Only you and your idiot of an uncle. And you have now tasted the consequence of your decision."
Her lips twisted into a cold sneer. "I hope that bitch will face hers too."
Cassius shook his head slightly and set Océane down on the ground, watching as more of her body began to dissolve. "Well, you see, sister-in-law, I would have loved to be as cold-hearted as you. However, I find myself unable to do so in this situation."
He turned, glancing at her briefly. "Océane only has me as someone she could call family in this world. She is an Origen, raised by a family to serve, and she has been my maid since she was a small child. In her entire life, Océane has known nothing but the duty of a maid. The reason I brought her here was simply to give her the chance to live for more than that. To give her the opportunity to be something other than a simple maid."
"Cute. She failed. Let’s move on."
"Not so fast." Cassius said, and took out from his Space Ring the Sealing Mark he had obtained on the last Origin Store day.
The moment he did, both Ananke and the nobles in the viewing room — and even the teachers — straightened in their seats, eyes going wide with surprise.
[Cassius... are you certain?]
"Is this boy serious?" Boris Safara cackled loudly. "Going to waste a Tier Four item on a useless, untalented maid?"
He looked at Sefira. "What a disappoint—!"
"You finish that word, and I will make sure you cannot speak for at least a month, Boris." Sefira cut in coldly, her red eyes glowing like pools of blood.
Boris began to grin wider, then stopped immediately as he noticed the deathly glares of Dantes and Morenna Hood landing on him.
"You will stay silent, Boris." Morenna said. "Or I will make you. Understood?"
Boris Safara fell silent. He had never seen Morenna Hood this annoyed.
The entire nobles’ room said nothing, sensing the threatening aura from both the Desdemona and the Hood that had filled the space at the very first hint of mockery toward Cassius.
’...my baby?’ Sefira thought with a slight worried frown.
Back in the black dune, Cassius used the Tier Four Sealing Mark on Océane and successfully sealed the propagation of the poison through her body.
However, it was impossible to do so without sealing all the internal systems the poison was travelling through. Because of that, the maid fell into a forced coma.
Wordlessly, Cassius took Océane’s body, stood up and carried her on his back without a change of expression.
He turned toward Anesthesia, who was looking at him as though he were the dumbest person alive, and nodded. "Time to go, sister-in-law. We have a Safe Zone to reach and I have the Palatine spot to secure."
"The odds were already not in your favour with Emrys alone. But right now?" She narrowed her eyes. "You will definitely not be Palatine, Cassius."
And for once, the arena had no argument to make against that claim.
Océane had become a serious burden for her master. A burden that might cost him the Palatine spot.
Yet despite the seemingly foolish decision, the arena did not erupt into laughter or mockery. No one, not even those supporting Emrys, laughed.
They simply watched, surprised to see the one known as a devil caring this much for a mundane maid.
No one would have blamed him for abandoning her.
That would have been completely normal.
But with this action, every maid and butler who had managed to survive inside the Academy so far looked at Cassius, their hearts beating with something they had forgotten since entering.
"I will not be Palatine, you say?" Cassius echoed. "Because of Océane?"
He burst out laughing, so loud it boomed through the surroundings.
"Sister-in-law," Cassius said after stopping himself, "if I cannot be Palatine because I chose to protect my own maid, then I probably don’t deserve it."
The hearts of all spectators, noble and commoner alike, skipped a beat.
"And you have no reason to worry about me. I am not so foolish."
"I would beg to differ."
"Hahah. Enough talk. Do me a favour and enhance my Perception. Don’t hold back." He chuckled, sensing he had adapted sufficiently to his current environment. "It’s time to find the Safe Zone."
Anesthesia stared at Cassius for a long moment before sighing under her breath, calling him a fool, and still enhancing his perception with everything she had.
In a heartbeat, his senses extended outward from his body and spread across the Black Dunes like cracks spreading across the entire surface of a wall.
He felt both monsters and other participants, and ignored all of them.
As the Black Dune was blistering hot, with his enhanced Perception, Cassius used his Fire affinity and reached into the sub-aspect of ’Heat’ within Fire.
Ananke shuddered inside her Gate at what Cassius was attempting.
’No way... this is not possible. It cannot be done at his Skill level.’ She exclaimed in surprise.
And yet it was.
With his left eye forged by the refinement of hundreds of Red Dragons, even the Goddess could not fully gauge how insanely high Cassius’s affinity to the very concept of ’Fire’, and all its sub-aspects, truly was.
And because of that, the Last Born located the Safe Zone in under five seconds by injecting his perception into the ’Heat’ of the black dune.
A terrible headache struck him immediately, his face damp with sweat, his essence nearly depleted. However, he acted as if nothing had happened and came to a stop.
He turned toward Anesthesia with a smile on his sweat-drenched face.
"I found it." Said Cassius.
"What?"
"I found the Safe Zone. And no one is there yet. So we had better be fast, sister-in-law. We must be first." He said, and with Océane on his back, he ruptured through the dune at overwhelming speed, choosing the path with the fewest sandstorms.
Anesthesia followed closely behind.
And so the spectators watched as Cassius reached the Safe Zone first, Océane on his back, followed closely by Anesthesia around six minutes later.
And with that...
<CASSIUS DESDEMONA, FIRST TO FIND A SAFE ZONE.>
<BONUS ELYSIA POINTS: 5,000 EP>
They roared in excitement, thinking it was over.
But no.
<However,> the voice suddenly dropped into an amused, dreadful whisper, <Participant Océane Terre is, in every sense of the term, unable to continue the Exam Test. By all accounts, she has failed.>
Cassius immediately frowned, looking overhead, his face tired.
<But it would be cruel — far too cruel — to simply sever the bond between master and servant. And let us not forget: Luck is also a skill. So here is what the Dean of the Academy proposes to you, Cassius Desdemona.>
It felt as though the world had gone completely silent. In every zone, people stopped everything to listen.
<Your fate will be linked to Océane Terre. You will take her test as well. In other words, you will complete the Exam Test for two people. So...>
Cassius smiled faintly.
<...Do you accept, Last Born of the Desdemona?>
—End of Chapter 189—