novelraw Chapter 292: I’ll send him to the military
Chapter 292: I’ll send him to the military
Seeing Xarion’s stunned expression, Yuel blinked and turned to Rory.
"Rory... you haven’t told them yet?"
He had assumed she’d already mentioned it to Xarion and Vincent.
Rory shook her head lightly.
"We were focused on Bree just now. I didn’t get the chance."
That explained it.
Yuel turned back to the two men and said plainly, "This afternoon, the Beast God system assigned Rory a new match."
He paused. "It’s Vangar."
"...That bastard?" Xarion’s voice dropped instantly, dark and cold, his displeasure completely undisguised.
It felt like his territory had been invaded—by someone he loathed. Every nerve in his body seemed to bristle.
"Has the Beast God gone senile?" he muttered. "To match him with my Female Master..."
Rory looked at him, surprised. "You know Vangar too?"
She knew Vincent did—Vangar was his superior.
But Xarion? That she hadn’t expected.
"...I know him." The words came out like they’d been dragged from Xarion’s throat.
Just thinking about it made him feel suffocated. Losing to Vangar back then... It was humiliating enough that he almost wanted to dig a hole and bury himself.
With a heavy slump, he collapsed back into his chair, looking half-dead again.
"...A very annoying man."
Yuel glanced between them, recalling Vangar’s earlier reaction to Xarion’s name—the sudden chill, the hostility.
Whatever had happened between those two... it clearly wasn’t simple. But now wasn’t the time to dig into it.
Yuel turned quickly back to Rory. "Rory, are you done here? If you are, you should come downstairs."
His expression grew urgent. "I’m worried those two might actually start fighting."
Rory’s heart skipped.
Without hesitation, she followed Yuel downstairs.
In the living room, Aren stood in front of Vangar, holding out yet another fruit.
The moment Rory saw it, she sucked in a sharp breath.
That fruit... looked delicious. But in reality? It was even more sour than a lemon.
And the redder it was... the more terrifyingly sour it became.
In front of Vangar, five gnawed fruit cores were already lined up.
His face—normally cold and iron-hard—had reached a state beyond "unpleasant."
It was something else entirely.
A twisted mix of restraint, humiliation... and a killing intent on the verge of erupting.
The air around him felt like frozen steel.
As if in the next second, he might snap Aren’s neck without hesitation.
And yet, Aren remained blissfully unaware.
Still cheerful. Still fearless. Still pushing the fruit forward.
"Daddy, eat! This one is really tasty!"
Tasty?
Vangar’s gaze dropped to those clear, foolish eyes. The temperature around him seemed to drop several degrees further.
He didn’t want to eat another bite. Not of that weaponized sour fruit.
No, what he really wanted right now... was to devour the idiot in front of him.
"Daddy?"
Aren tilted his head, completely oblivious to the deadly aura surrounding him, and nudged the fruit closer.
"Hurry, this one’s sweet!"
Sweet?
The corner of Vangar’s eye twitched violently. The phantom sourness surged back up his throat, turning his already dark expression even darker.
For his little Female Master... He would endure.
Just as Vangar lifted his hand to take the fruit, Rory rushed forward. She snatched the fruit straight out of Aren’s hands.
Then, without hesitation, she shoved the dangerously oblivious Aren toward Yuel.
Turning back to Vangar, she spoke quickly, her voice filled with unmistakable apology.
"Vangar... I’m sorry."
Rory stepped forward, her voice tinged with unease. "Aren isn’t in his right mind right now, so..."
The moment Vangar saw her apologizing to him—nervous, cautious—he immediately suppressed the last traces of killing intent around him.
"It’s alright." He answered quickly, almost too quickly. His little Female Master was still afraid of him. That wouldn’t do.
He paused, then deliberately softened his tone, lowering his voice to something gentler—though the natural authority in it still lingered.
"You don’t need to apologize on his behalf. Yuel already explained Aren’s condition to me. I’m not angry."
His voice carried a faint rasp—worn rough by the assault of sourness.
Rory looked at him carefully.
Those eyes of his—deep, dark as the sea—still held their innate sharpness. But the suffocating killing aura from before had completely vanished.
Now, as he looked at her, there was even a trace of something... awkwardly gentle.
Rory exhaled quietly.
She had expected someone like Vangar—powerful, high-ranking, overwhelming—to lose his temper at being treated like that.
Instead... He hadn’t gotten angry at all.
If anything, he seemed to be... trying, in his own clumsy way, to accommodate her.
For someone who looked so fierce... his temper was unexpectedly good.
Without realizing it, Rory’s impression of him softened.
"I’m glad you’re not upset."
She quickly reached into her ring space and took out two pale blossoms, handing them to him.
"These fruits are extremely sour. You ate so many—your stomach must feel awful. Eat these first. They’ll help."
She was... concerned about him. Vangar’s chest tightened faintly at the realization.
Without hesitation, he took the flowers and ate them. They were far better than those cursed fruits.
After swallowing, his gaze flicked briefly toward the direction Aren had been taken.
Then he looked back at Rory.
"Female Master... would you like to cure Aren?"
Rory froze. Her eyes snapped to his. "You have a way?"
Of course she wanted to cure him. Aren had already taken medicine prescribed by firebird clan physicians—yet there had been no improvement.
In the past few days, she had even asked Yuel to bring in several more doctors.
Nothing had worked.
Vangar nodded. "I examined him just now. He isn’t sick. He consumed too many sacred medicines. The excess energy accumulated in his body, and he cannot process it. That’s what damaged his mind."
What he said matched exactly what the doctors had concluded.
Rory frowned slightly.
"That’s what the doctors said too. But the medicine they prescribed didn’t help."
"Because medicine won’t work in this case."
Vangar met her gaze, serious and steady.
"If you trust me, I can use my ability to extract the most volatile portion of that energy from his body first. Then... send him to the military."
"To the military?" Rory was stunned.
Vangar nodded and explained, "I can’t remove all the energy. That would cause his Rank to drop permanently. He needs to release the remaining energy himself. Training... and real combat—fighting enemies—are the best ways to do that. It will not only restore his mind, but also stabilize his Rank and strengthen his combat ability."
Rory hesitated. "But in his current state... can he even fight normally?"
Vangar understood her concern immediately.
"Don’t worry." His voice dropped, firm and resolute. "As long as I’m there, nothing will happen to him."
It sounded less like reassurance and more like a promise carved in stone.
Rory fell silent for a moment.
Then she said softly, "Let me think about it."
She had only just met Vangar. She didn’t know him well enough yet.
For something this important... she needed to discuss it with Yuel first.