Since no one said anything or raised any questions, Naur allowed the record to continue so that everyone in the hall could watch this scene that had been hinted at for so long. TBOAH!Ron and TBOAH!Beacrox refused to take their eyes off the Palantír. TCF!Ron sat back and gazed at the record with a nostalgic expression upon his face.
His gaze slowly followed the fog that had continued to spread until it was almost touching the third boundary. The people running inside that fog were only looking forward as well. Beacrox looked at his father’s back.
“Aaaah!” Blood splattered and fell to the ground along with the scream. Blood dripped from Ron’s dagger. His father didn’t even give a second glance at the blood as he moved forward. It was the same as that time. It was the same as the day they had to run.
TCF!Ron discovered that watching the record from this omniscient point of view was rather fascinating. However, that was only possible for him to feel after he had managed to squash down the feeling of discomfort at seeing himself on the records – as someone raised and trained as an assassin seeing himself so openly and obviously moving about on the records because the record was focused on him was disconcerting and uncomfortable. The discomfort was also borne from how unfamiliar this whole experience was. His opinion on the matter also led to him feeling a slight twinge of pity for his Puppy Young Master, who had been experiencing this non-stop since they arrived here at the Goddess' domain.
Although Cale seemed to be handling it unexpectedly well, which was somewhat suspicious at first until Kim Rok Soo had mentioned that it was like watching a movie in the other world were he now lived. During the meal break several days ago, the young master had elaborated on this thing called a ‘movie’ so that everyone could understand. That had helped ease some of their discomfort, but the rest of it was left for them to deal with on their own. TCF!Ron had wondered if his lingering distaste toward having his and his son's records being shown off like this was because he was old and old-fashioned, but such musing was decidedly best left for when he was in private, if he got too distracted by those thought, TCF!Ron knew that he would miss all the little tells that Cale had developed which signalled that he was about to start shit with someone.
His father had only looked forward as he ran that day without paying attention to anything around him. He didn’t see the family flags burning and ripping behind him. He didn’t see the buildings burning and crumbling. Even with the cold corpses of their family members surrounding them… His father had only run forward. Beacrox who had followed behind him knew too well the reason for his father’s actions.
‘He needed to save me.’
TCF!Beacrox sat quietly. He'd adapted and grown much better as calming his surprise whenever he or his father suddenly popped up in the records. In fact after calming down and getting accustomed to it this, he found that getting to watch himself and their family and allies moves around in these record was intriguing. It was also giving him some ideas on how to improve and train.
He even got to watch some of the training the various Swordmasters and experts around the Hall would do because of the Palantír, watching them train was not something he had the time or luxury to do because he was always busy either taking care of meals, trying to recreate the cuisine from the otherworld for the Young Master, taking care of the Wolf Children, or even just busy with his own responsibilities. So, this was very educational for him since it helped inspire and intrigue his interests to better his skills with his greatsword. TCF!Beacrox already had some ideas about his own private training that he wanted to try out when he returned home.
Ron needed to at least save Beacrox after promising his dying wife. That was why his father had run forward without looking around. Beacrox focused on his father’s back as he ran forward without looking around once again. Unlike last time, he could now see over his father’s shoulders even while running behind him, but for some odd reason, he could not take his eyes off his father’s back that had gotten much smaller than last time.
TBOAH!Beacrox winced and clenched his fists, but he and his father continued to watch their counterparts on the record. Some of the thoughts TCF!Beacrox had during this moment stung TBOAH!Beacrox every time they were delivered, however he bravely kept his expression stoic and impassive and continued to watch the Palantír while pretending to be unaffected.
His father who had been the patriarch of the Molan household had done all sorts of jobs at the Western continent and even ended up becoming a servant. However, the young Beacrox knew that his father went outside every night and followed him one day to see him cleaning his dagger. Naturally, Beacrox had been noticed by his father. Even now, Beacrox was not strong enough to hide his presence from his father. His father had said the following once they had made eye contact.
‘Go in and sleep. You’ll be just as tired tomorrow as you were today.’
TBOAH!Ron grit his teeth and bit down on the impulsive urge to let out a hissing sigh, he remembered this time, back then even when he was wallowing in his silent anger and irrationally considering racing back to the Eastern Continent to get revenge, having his son suddenly appearing in front of him had anchored him and gave him purpose to help him navigate through his grief and pain.
TBOAH!Beacrox squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, his head was starting to ache. Of course he couldn't forget this. He recalled what it was like back then with almost startling clarity, but time had numbed the pain and exhaustion. It was still a wound, a wound that ached right now because it was being poked, but it was a wound that their counterparts shared – one that their counterparts’ had shed blood to heal – not their blood of course, but the blood of their enemies.
Beacrox had been suffering quite a bit doing all sorts of tasks in the kitchen as he had just started learning about working in the kitchen. Each and every day had been tiring and difficult. However, he had an odd feeling that the, ‘tired,’ that his father mentioned was not talking about working in the Henituse household.
The Count Henituse family of the TBOAH!World as well as the Duke Henituse family of the TCF!World flinched slightly. The sacrifices both timeline’s Molan family had made was pretty clear. There was a huge difference between being nobles one day and suddenly becoming servants the next and the fact that Ron and Beacrox had forced themselves to adapt into that role in order to survive said more than enough about their situation.
TBOAH!Violan knew that should their roles have been reversed, the Henituse father and sons would never had been able to accomplish this. TCF!Deruth was also vividly aware that he was nothing like TCF!Ron as a father-figure for Cale. In fact, despite how he and Cale shared blood, that was it, Cale had always been closer to Ron than he had been to him, even before the transmigration occurred.
It provoked a bitter feeling into existence within his chest and it made him hang his head in shame. TCF!Ron had lost his wife and everyone else in his entire family, the only one he had left was TCF!Beacrox who resembled his mother and unlike himself who had shunned Cale and pushed him away, TCF!Ron had treasured his son and made sure TCF!Beacrox knew that he was not alone.
TCF!Deruth grit his teeth loathing himself for his weakness and forcing his gaze back to the Palantír so he could watch how Cale repaid TCF!Beacrox and TCF!Ron for being on his and on Kim Rok Soo’s side, before he'd made the deal and transmigrated to the other world, when no one else was. TCF!Deruth decided to acknowledge his mistakes and his cowardice and make amends – he just hoped that Kim Rok Soo and Cale would allow him to do so.
He thought that he could finally understand what his father was talking about when he mentioned being tired.
‘I’m not tired at all today.’
TCF!Beacrox grinned, he was unable to resist doing so. That giddy feeling of excitement and exhilaration from that time was flooding him with endorphins. No else cared to notice, but even if they did they would agree with him – that feeling, he was well and truly justified to feel it. It was only natural that he felt it, it proved that TCF!Ron and TCF!Beacrox were human too – even if they were a scary assassin-torture expert, father and son duo.
Beacrox had not been able to sleep properly the past few days but he was not tired at all.
A few others in the hall nodded empathically, they'd experienced that feeling as well, so they understood it clearly.
His body was heavy but his heart was beating wilder than ever before.
Even those he hadn’t felt this feeling in the context of the battles and amid the fighting, had at some point or other also been this excited and filled with anticipation – it was entirely expected in situations like this.
The battlefield was chaotic because of the poisonous fog.
TBOAH!Ohn and TBOAH!Hong were watching in awe – it was because they knew that their counterparts were the main reason that this battlefield was so chaotic and dangerous.
There were not many people who could catch the two people stealthily running forward through that fog.
TBOAH!Ohn and TBOAH!Hong were shocked, and impressed, and a little bewildered by the fact that TCF!Ron and TCF!Beacrox really trusted their counterparts, who were barely averaging 9 years old at the time, to this extent.
‘There are not many strong individuals.’
He could not feel any strong individuals as the Dragon half-blood mentioned.
‘The secret base at the former Molan residence has more mid-level administrators and low-level staff than any highest-level individuals as it is a place that stealthily gathers information about the continent and shared commissions.’
TBOAH!Ron and TBOAH!Beacrox realized instantly that this ‘Dragon Half-blood’ would never have given them such information if they had caught him in their world. This information was precious, incredibly valuable and it made preparing to take back the Molan residence in the TCF!World easier.
However, this also reminded them that they in the TBOAH!World would never have been able to receive this information because they wouldn’t have been able to capture him alive – they could have maybe (a very big maybe) managed to kill him at the cost of countless lives, but there was no way their group led by TBOAH!Choi Han would have been able to subdue him and get him to co-operate the way Cale from the TCF!World did.
The corners of Beacrox’s lips twisted up. He had not felt anything when he had heard the Dragon half-blood say, ‘the former Molan residence.’ However, he now found those words to be annoying as he was returning to the Molan residence.
Cale's gaze softened and the corner of his lips twitched against the urge to smile. That warm feeling of affection he'd been allowing himself to feel, since his traumatic and instinctive fear of the curse from White Star that rubbed off on him during his time as Kim Rok Soo had diminished, made itself known to him again.
As difficult as it was to let go of that trauma, his family and friends had consistently supported and encouraged him, so he'd been making the effort and the conscious decision to heal from that pain. Those baby steps on his path to recovery made it possible for him to express these small displays of affection toward his people without it triggering his instinctive panic. That same panic, of course, was entirely non-existent when he was with the children averaging 10 years old, so he had grown a lot more accustomed to being openly affectionate with them since the wars ended.
‘The former’ Molan residence. He couldn’t let that happen. Beacrox could hear his father’s voice as well. It almost sounded like a sigh.
“…Finally.”
TBOAH!Ron felt a throbbing pain upon his forehead and realized he had been frowning very tensely for a long time. That hollow aching pain in his chest felt heavier than ever right now. TBOAH!Beacrox felt a bitter taste linger in his mouth, he didn't like the aura looming around his father – it felt dark and gloomy and it made him angry and anxious and a little panicked too.
Beacrox looked forward after hearing his father’s subconscious comment. They had followed the path through the fog and had arrived at the gate. The sturdy wooden door that should have had the Molan crest on it now had a White Star on it instead. Ron who had only looked forward as he ran felt suffocated as he looked at that door.
While TBOAH!Beacrox was trying to calm himself down again, TBOAH!Ron was having a crisis of his own. On one hand he hated the sight of that bastard’s crest upon the gate of his home, on the other he was envious of his counterpart for getting to that place – a place he had dreamed of returning to for as long as he had lived. However there was also a nagging whisper that darkly and maliciously mocked him in the back of his mind.
Could he go back? He had thought countless times about getting revenge but for some odd reason, he had never thought that he could return to this place.
TBOAH!Ron’s tense body relaxed in surprise. His eyes widened slightly and his jaw unclenched as his lips parted as a soft gasp of shock escaped him. TCF!Ron felt exactly the same as he did. It was both literally and figuratively a divine revelation to him.
“Maybe… maybe we aren't so different after all…” TBOAH!Ron breathed out a sigh of relief and inwardly laughed at his own thoughts.
“This isn't like me. This is not like me at all!” He chided himself and flexed his hands, clenching and unclenching his fist a few times before glancing toward his son and then following his line of sight back to the Palantír.
He had never even dreamt of it. However, he was back. He would be at the Molan family residence in just a few more steps. This was the place Ron was born. This was the place he lived in with his father, mother, grandmother, grandfather, cousins, uncles, and aunts, as well as many friends. This was where he lived with his wife and where his son was born.
Everyone respectfully held their silence, even TCF!Bud and TBOAH!Bud sat quiet and docile right now. The whole hall seemed to be holding its breath, honouring those who had passed and those who had sacrificed themselves in order to protect Ron and Beacrox. Everyone paid silent tribute to them and thanked them for their sacrifices because without it, no one would have gotten to know Ron and Beacrox and without those two maybe Cale Henituse would have joined his mother in death a long, long time ago. After all, neglect is a very scary thing.
A strange chill went through the room as that thought crossed the minds of more than a few people and they shuddered, their eyes widening with fear, Grigori lifted her hand and filled the hall with her warm mana, chasing away the chills and drawing everyone's focus away from such depressing thoughts.
Ron’s expression slowly stiffened. He moved one foot to keep moving. It was at that moment. Ron saw someone running past him. It was his son.
“Oh!” TBOAH!Ron gasped in surprise amusement. Now that he saw it, he could clearly tell that this was something cute that his son would do too. It seemed his son and his son's counterpart were definitely the same as well. That helped him smile and relax with a lighter smile of amusement toying at his lips as they both continued to watch the record.
“It’s the enemies! The enemies have made it here!”
“Cast the spells!”
“No! We can’t see where our allies are because of the fog!”
“We can’t aim the arrows either! Damn it!”
“No, just block that one guy charging toward the door!”
The enemies on top of the wall could not hide their shock as Beacrox ran toward the main gate.
“Yeah! Get them! Get those bastards nice and good Nice Beacrox!!” The TBOAH!Black Dragon rumbled, his wings flapping eagerly behind him. At the unexpected exclamation right next to his ear, Cale jumped in surprise, but while TCF!Alberu and Rok Soo laughed. Raon giggled and nuzzled his face against Cale's cheek.
“What's wrong Weak Human, were you surprised?! Did the great and mighty Other-ME surprise you?” Raon asks with a cooing tone full of amusement.
Cale sighed and reached up with both hands, petting the two Black Dragons simultaneously.
“I was surprised… that's right.” He conceded and both dragons giggled and then settled down again to keep watching.
TCF!Beacrox on the other hand had placed his hand over his mouth to cover his smile and to stop himself from laughing aloud in his surprise. It seemed that their second cute dragon-nim was also very adorable. TCF!Ron chuckled under his breath – thoroughly amused by how his son was attempting to keep his composure.
TCF!Ron happily acknowledged that his son was surrounded by good people and had some good friends that could bring out all these cute sides of him, it made him think that he'd done a really good job of raising TCF!Beacrox – which was a relief to TCF!Ron. Seeing his son like this was a reward that TCF!Ron didn't know he wanted to see.
Ron stopped and watched it happened. He felt as if that was what he should do.
“…Ho!” He then laughed.
Beacrox took out his greatsword. He swung his sword toward the thing blocking his way.
Taking their cues from their youngest, the kittens from both timelines cheered as well. Enthusiastically and happily commenting with hearty meows and excited kitty-punches at the air. TCF!Beacrox buried his face in his hands and hunched forward to simply breathe for a moment. When he sat back, he looked rather refreshed, he lavishly brushed his hair back with one hand, sat up straight, and proudly returned his gaze to the Palantír.
TCF!Choi Han spied on him and then glanced toward Cale who was busy coddling and praising all the children around him, a mischievous smile appeared on TCF!Choi Han's face. TCF!Rosalyn, who'd been keeping an eye on him and waiting for the opportune moment to begin teasing him again, spotted it and knew what that look meant immediately. She was intrigued and her curious nature was resonating, urging her to investigate and if possible assist TCF!Choi Han in his latest scheme.
Ron watched the white star on the door being destroyed by his son’s sword with a loud explosion. There was now a hole at the center of the large main gate. Beacrox pushed the gate to the side with his sword.
“Beautiful! That's perfect!” Kim Rok Soo grinned with a rather viciously triumphant smirk on his face. TBOAH!Beacrox sighed heavily, feeling the second-hand-embarrassment, that his counterpart didn't seem to be feeling at all.
Ron could see the enemies approaching with shock and urgency on their faces once the gate opened. However, he looked at his son’s face first. Beacrox had a stiff smile on his face as he pointed past the gate.
“Father, we’re back home.”
The space nearest to TBOAH!Beacrox and TBOAH!Ron grew quiet as they nostalgically allowed their gazes to study the panned images on the Palantír of their home. TCF!Ron and TCF!Beacrox on the other hand were looking at the recording on the Palantír with varying degrees of narrowed eyes.
TCF!Beacrox was once again seeing all the dust and dirt covering the walls while TCF!Ron was taking note of all the repairs they'd since made to their home after getting it back. Both of them nodded that more renovations were necessary and made plans to get started once again with those when they got back.
“……Yes.”
Ron looked at the roof of the central building that had been on fire in the past but seemed to be fine.
“We’re back.”
‘Finally. I’m finally back home. We are back at our house. We are back to a place I thought I could never return.’
TBOAH!Ron tried to hide that sad feeling that had overtaken the anger in his heart – but he couldn’t hide it from TBOAH!Beacrox.
Ron, whose hair had half turned white in the past fifteen years, stood there with the corners of his lips faintly shaking. He looked toward the enemies running toward them as he spoke to his son.
“Let’s go into our house.”
“Yes, father.”
Ron and Beacrox. The two of them entered into Arm’s secret base, no, into their lost home.
Either because he was seeking comfort of his own or because he'd noticed his father's grief, TBOAH!Beacrox reached out and took hold of his father's hand. The two of them did not need to look at each other or even question each other – they simply understood one another and drew and shared comfort as they watched their counterparts cross beyond the wall that they had never even got close to during their time in the TBOAH!World.
< Chapter 457: Returned (3)>
However, nobody was welcoming Beacrox and Ron who returned home after a long time. In fact, enemies were charging at them from the main gate.
“This is nice.” Beacrox commented before swinging his greatsword horizontally.
“Ugh!” One of Arm’s swordsmen who had been charging forward flew sideways after losing the power battle against the greatsword. But that was just the beginning.
Mages, knights, soldiers, and archers, all sorts of people charged at the two of them.
“We should have killed all those Molan bastards!”
“How dare these rats confidently charge in like this!”
A few people who had betrayed their respective underworld households to join Arm in the past were shouting at Beacrox.
“How funny.” That was all Beacrox had to say before he started to move forward.
The question on everyone from the TBOAH!World was once again: “Why are the members of Arm in the TCF!World all so stupid?!”
“Truly shocking…” TCF!Harol mumbled, he was awed that TCF!Beacrox had even managed to keep a straight face with how these fools were rushing at him. After how they'd gotten passed the previous boundaries, surely common sense would have told these members of Arm and that TCF!Beacrox is not an enemy that they can just rush at.
“They're stupid.” TCF!Toonka said as if those words were more than enough to close the matter. Surprisingly it was and TCF!Litana and TCF!Rei nodded empathically in agreement.
“You're right Commander Toonka!” Valentino agreed in a calm voice.
Murmurs came from their TBOAH!World counterparts, but none of them cared to comment on the facts of how someone who did the exact same thing and who had been called a 'Tyrant' and a 'Barbarian' in their TBOAH!World timeline was actually making sense and was well-respected in their TCF!World timeline. The TBOAH!World guests were all beginning to feel an identity crisis, but there was no time for them to wallow in it because Naur continued the record on the Palantír.
He knew where he needed to go and he was happy to swing his sword to get there.
“…You-”
“Please just follow me.”
Ron was about to say something but Beacrox brushed it aside and swung the greatsword diagonally. A magic fireball exploded after touching the wind pressure created by the greatsword. Beacrox immediately stabbed the sword forward and took another step.
“Aaaah!”
Beacrox’s sword pierced through someone else’s side. Beacrox pulled the sword out with a stoic expression and kicked to the side with his right leg.
“Ugh!” A soldier fell down without realizing what happened.
‘I will take the lead.’ That was the only thought on Beacrox’s mind as he swung his sword.
TBOAH!Ron and TCF!Ron had the same expression on their face as they watched TCF!Beacrox on the Palantír. It was an expression of pride and nostalgia. Grigori's expression slowly tensed and she turned her head toward the two of them, wondering whether or not she should allow this scene to continue. On one hand it contained information that would help give Beacrox closure, however on the other hand they were memories that were precious and private to Ron. Unable to make the decision herself, Grigori spoke directly into TCF!Ron's mind.
“Patriarch-nim… this record contains the memories you shared with your wife.” At the sound of her voice TCF!Ron turned his head to look at the Goddess. Since she had his attention, Grigori continued speaking to him.
“I initially believed that they would be valuable for Beacrox to see, but if you feel uncomfortable with me showing it I will redact it.”
TCF!Ron glanced toward TCF!Beacrox for a pensive moment and then returned his gaze to the Goddess. He shook his head.
“It's fine. You can show it. I also think it will be nice for my son to see how his mother used her greatsword.”
Grigori smiled and nodded eagerly – that was what told TCF!Ron that this Goddess was genuinely being considerate to both his privacy and his son's yearning to know more about his mother.
Ron watched his son and quietly followed behind him.
‘…He’s definitely gotten stronger.’
Ever since Choi Han arrived at the residence, his son Beacrox’s sword skills had slowly increased even if it wasn’t easily noticeable.
TBOAH!Ron tensed in surprise when he heard the Goddess’ voice in his head. Grigori informed him that some memories of his wife were about to be shown – she told him she had been granted permission to show them for Beacrox’s sake, TBOAH!Ron could not argue against that and had no choice, but to prepare himself. Although he was curious too about what memories TCF!Ron had thought of during this battle while watching his son take the lead. He had a feeling he knew which one would come up and it made his heart thump a little more excitedly.
And he was slowly becoming more like his wife. The way he uses his sword and his actions were both becoming like her.
TBOAH!Beacrox and TCF!Beacrox blinked and sat to attention, mildly surprised and intrigued. Neither of them dared to look at their fathers, feeling like if they did, TCF!Ron or TBOAH!Ron might tell the Goddess to turn it off. They each only had a few memories from their youth and younger years spent with their mother, so they clung to any snippet of information they could glean from their father about her.
‘Although he looks exactly like me.’
He felt as if he would start to laugh.
TCF!Beacrox and TBOAH!Beacrox had a feeling that gold was about to fall in their lap. TCF!Beacrox wondered if this was the feeling Young Master Cale got whenever he looted the enemy or scammed the Emperor of Roan for another Golden Plaque – he could understand why it made him happy. This feeling of anticipation was quite addictive.
It was rare for him to want to laugh like this on the battlefield, but today felt as if it would be one of those rare days. His wife had always been by his side whenever he laughed like this on the battlefield. The two of them had started to date and got married at an older age compared to most people. Honestly speaking, it took a long time for them to get married after they started dating. They had done a lot of jobs together as those times together built up. She was the first person Ron had allowed by his side other than when he was learning dagger arts and stealth techniques from the elders in the family.
The Goddess delivered not gold, but rather diamonds – memories clear and abundant flashed across the Palantír. TBOAH!Beacrox and TCF!Beacrox got to see the various expressions on both his parent's faces, he got to see his parents grow and age, he got to witness with his own eyes exactly how alike he and his mother's smiles were. TCF!Beacrox and TBOAH!Beacrox sat still and quiet watching the Palantír with a racing pulse.
Well, it was probably more accurate to say he held her back at his side rather than allowed her to be there.
‘I told you I’ll take the lead.’
Her voice – a voice neither they nor their father thought they would hear again, filled the Palantír Hall. Everyone else wisely kept quiet and allowed the pair from both timelines to delve and immerse themselves. Cale looked toward Grigori, concerned that she was actually tormenting TCF!Ron by showing this, but Grigori smiled softly.
“I have received consent Cale…” She reassured him, sounding patient, gentle, and not at all offended.
‘Stop rushing out so much.’
‘Oh, come on! Stop being so frustrating.’
She really enjoyed taking the lead in battle. Ron recalled some of the conversations he had with her.
‘No. Listen to me. Think about being in the front and smacking the faces of the enemies with a greatsword. Do you know how that feels?’
‘Do I need to know that? I prefer stabbing people in the neck from behind instead.’
‘Aigoo, I shouldn’t have even asked.’
TBOAH!Ron smiled and nodded in approval. These were good memories, they were certainly better memories for Beacrox to hold onto when compared to the last memory he had of his mother. It was also really nice to see his wife again, to see her shining and smiling, vibrant and alive like this. TCF!Ron had similar sentiments about this, so in his mind he sincerely thanked the Goddess after he saw the smile and the warm glow of happiness shining in TCF!Beacrox' eyes.
Ron still clearly remembered how the woman who shook her head while saying that she couldn’t understand assassins had swung her greatsword.
‘…He’s similar.’
Their son reminded him so much of her. Of course, his style was not exactly the same as hers. Beacrox had been with Choi Han, Gashan, and other strong warriors and picked things up from watching their battles. However, the roots had started from his wife.
Unlike the Molan family from both timelines who were happy to reminisce, there were some who were sad for them, the first was Kim Rok Soo, who had once been in a similar situation to Beacrox which had ended with a very different result.
“Hiraeth…” Kim Rok Soo whispered under his breath with a sad expression.
“Yeah…” Cale replied with a nod of agreement. Cale was also sad for Ron and Beacrox because he knew intimately the weight that death carried.
“Human, what does ‘Hiraeth’ mean?” Raon asked in Cale's mind. He was unfamiliar with the word that he overheard, but didn't want to disturb everyone else by asking his question aloud.
“It means being homesick for a home you can't return to…” Cale explained in a quiet voice.
“I think I understand. But just in case I don't, tell me if I'm wrong. Does this mean that Nice Beacrox's Mom is the home he can't return to?” the TBOAH!Black Dragon asks Cale for confirmation of his understanding in a cute voice in Cale's mind. Cale takes a breath and then nodded.
Although he feels conflicted that the kids were trying to learn such a sad thing, he still was willing to explain and help them understand – luckily they were smart dragons who caught on quickly.
“That's right… You're correct.” He praised them softly. Both Dragons shared a look behind Cale’s head and then quietly snuggled closer to him and returned their gazes to the Palantír.
Ron, who ended up following behind his son, started to climb up the stairs toward the top of the wall with the main gate. One step, two steps. He could slowly see the view inside the valley as he went up step by step. The enemies started to charge at them even more fiercely as that happened.
“You damn assassin bastard who ran away!”
Ron’s hand moved after hearing a voice behind him.
“Ugh!”
Ron turned his head back after coldly staring at an enemy falling down the stairs with a dagger in his neck. He heard a loud noise at that moment.
It seemed the trip down memory lane was over, so everyone relaxed comfortably in their seats once again and continued watching as the battle for the Molan residence continued.
“Aaaah!”
He could also see a person groaning as they fell off the wall. The sword in that person’s hand broke into two and fell to the ground. Ron looked at that sword for a moment before looking at the stairs in front of him. He was not far from the end. Beacrox who was already on top of the wall was looking at him.
“Father, please come up.”
There were minor injuries all over Beacrox’s body, but it was hard to tell because he was covered in other people’s blood.
Cale frowned slightly at that, he knew he was being a hypocrite, but that didn't stop him from wanting to whine and complain, however the knowledge that there would be lemonade coming his way when lunch arrived was enough to keep his mouth tightly zipped.
Ron took one step. His movement slowly became faster as he quickly climbed up the few remaining stairs.
“…Ha.” A gasp-like laugh came out of his mouth.
A perilous mountain range. This deep valley and the cliffs that seemed to have been artificially cut out.
He could see the sight that made him nostalgic about the past.
“Father.”
Ron looked toward Beacrox who was taking out a rolled up piece of cloth from his pocket. He took the cloth from Beacrox and unraveled it. The cloth had the Molan crest on it.
Surprise flickered across TBOAH!Ron's expression and TBOAH!Beacrox smirked in amusement. Although he was certain that if their roles were reversed he would have done the same, he felt the urge to tease his counterpart for his confidence, even though it was not a misplaced confidence.
“…Did you draw it?”
“Yes.”
“Looks like you need to improve your art skills.”
This punk who was good at cooking and needlework was a terrible artist. However, he still did better than expected with this crest.
“Well, no one can beat Cale-nim's art skills!” TCF!Choi Han commented idly, TCF!Rosalyn spluttered and started choking, it was the hook she was preparing to join in landing, but it was so well-timed by TCF!Choi Han that even she didn't see it coming. Coughing violently she tried to compose herself as the Palantír Hall descended into outright chaotic laughter. The memory of Cale's hand-stitched ‘Real Arm’ uniforms returned to the forefront of everyone's mind. TCF!Beacrox clicked his tongue feigning disapproval at TCF!Choi Han's audacity, even while he himself was hiding how affectionately amusing seeing the full crimson flush across Cale's face was for both him and his father.
Everyone had barely begun to settle down when Rok Soo started nodding to himself and decided to speak up.
“Right, right… You did hand-stitch a lot of your old clothes yourself!”
“Huh?!” TBOAH!Alberu sounded shocked, in fact many people from the TBOAH!World were confused by Rok Soo's words and their attention snapped back to Cale immediately. Cale sighed heavily, looking tired and annoyed. His gaze seemed to be asking why Rok Soo was bringing this up and whether he needed Bishop Jack to heal his brain.
In the end, Cale had no choice, but to respond to Kim Rok Soo's provocation.
“Sewing has always been a valuable skill. Since looking for food was more of a priority and a necessity than looking for clothes. Skills like that were good for helping out around the shelters too or even to keep yourself somewhat presentable.”
Internally, Kim Rok Soo swore because the word ‘shelter’ triggered Cale's record ability in his mind and he saw snippets of the past that Cale was talking about. He shuddered and squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, pinching the bridge of his nose and taking measured breaths to calm down and stop the ability from completely overtaking his mind.
With everyone's curiosity now piqued, Cale was quickly being bombarded by more questions and aggressive demands for answers. He turned to the goddess for help, so Grigori kindly stepped in.
“Alright, calm down Children. I'll show you what he means later, remember your purpose here!” she sweetly reminds them and motions for the Palantír to continue.
The Molan Household. They could not openly reveal their crest during missions as they were part of the underworld. However, they had at least put their crest in this valley. This was their territory, and it was a sign telling uninvited guests to stay out.
‘It’ll be a bit different now.’
The meaning of this crest would slightly change from now on. Ron walked to where Arm’s flag was hanging and ripped that flag with his dagger.
“Ahhh, how cathartic that must have been!” Gashan commented with rumbling chuckle. TBOAH!Ron nodded and looked toward TCF!Ron as if to tell him he did a good job. TCF!Ron snickered in amusement. TCF!Ron already knew he did a good job, he did a damn good job! So, how could he and his counterpart not be happy about it?!
Arm’s flag fell and Ron tied the Molan crest his son had drawn in its place. Beacrox blew the flute at that moment. The fog instantly disappeared. Mercenary King Bud Illis who was standing at the second boundary shouted as soon as he noticed the change.
“Charge!”
Mages, swordsmen, and hunters. Mercenaries with all different types of occupations shouted as they charged toward the third boundary. The assassins who survived from those destroyed households and participated in this battle walked down from the buildings in the cliffs and disappeared into the battlefield.
TCF!Bud smiled, he was really glad he'd gotten this opportunity, in fact this was such a life-changing opportunity that it was even worth mentioning when they brought up their proposal to open up a branch of the Mercenary Guild on the Western Continent. TCF!Glenn eyed his friend wearily, preparing and warming up his fist for the moment TCF!Bud opened his mouth, so he would be ready to jab his friend in the diaphragm and thereby save TCF!Bud’s life.
Ron turned around after seeing their allies charging forward. He could see the central building. That should be where the important individuals in this secret base should be located. Even if there were no highest-grade individuals here, they needed to take back that building.
It was obvious, but still a useful bit of information that was worth mentioning, TBOAH!Zed and TCF!Zed felt a strange feeling prickle at the back of their mind although they had no idea what it was about the central building of this place on a whole other continent that reminded him of the Central Palace and it's significance and symbolism – shrugging to themselves they pushed the idea to the back of their mind to ponder about at another time.
He turned his head.
“Lead the way.”
He left the front for his son.
“I will take care of the back.”
He was going to prevent the enemies from chasing them from the back.
“Yes, sir. Let’s hurry over.”
Beacrox took the lead and started to head for the central building. Ron followed behind him. Without any highest-grade strong individuals, there were not many in this secret base who could stop them.
“And even if there were, they wouldn’t have been capable of stopping them either!” Cale clicked his tongue, he didn't like how this record kept undermining Beacrox' skills.
“Ah, Dongsaeng, there's no need for you to say something so obvious!” TCF!Alberu retorted in amusement.
Cale pursed his lips and frowned at TCF!Alberu, “That's my line.”
TCF!Alberu sighed and shook his head in exasperation at his little brother's adorable pettiness.
The rest of the battle went by quickly and not much commentary needed to be made because everyone unanimously agreed that TCF!Ron and TCF!Beacrox were more than strong enough to evict these unwelcome residents squatting in their home.
Finally, they were on the top floor of the central building. Ron looked at his liege at this place that used to be the Molan patriarch’s room in the past and started to speak.
“Young master-nim, there is a teleportation magic circle leading to another secret base.”
Cale stepped onto the teleportation magic circle. Choi Han, Beacrox, the Mercenary King, the Dragon half-blood, and the children averaging nine-years-old were with him.
“I will take care of things here before heading over.”
Cale nodded his head at Ron who was smiling benignly again.
“Sure. But Ron, isn’t your house too nice? It’s even bigger than our Henituse Estate.”
Ron smiled and Cale let the teleportation magic circle take him away.
“Human, I wanted to ask what you were saying back then because doesn’t that mean there's more room for us to roll around and play?” Raon demanded loudly as he clutched onto the crown of Cale's head. His front paws possessively placed on each side of Cale's temples.
“Hmmm…” Cale thought about it and then nodded in agreement.
“Yes nya~! Our Youngest is right!” TCF!Hong exclaimed excitedly. Laughter came from all around the hall, even TCF!Ron and TCF!Beacrox were filled with warm amusement as they smiled at Cale and his kids.
Grigori giggled along with them, smiling with affection at everyone as she stood up and addressed the entire hall. She ushered them off to have lunch, announcing that when they returned they would see the record for the Jungle which filled TCF!Litana and TBOAH!Litana with excitement and apprehension respectively. Meanwhile TCF!Ron, TCF!Beacrox, and both their counterparts were separated from the others and teleported away with Grigori after everyone was dismissed for lunch.