Chapter 5
In the school courtyard, under the silver moonlight that bathed the clear sky, Sbyam and Suero stood in deep silence. The atmosphere was still, as if time had frozen, with nothing but the soft wind carrying unseen whispers of their unspoken thoughts. Both of them gazed at the moon, its bluish glow scattering across the ground like a serene lake of light. Suddenly, Sbyam broke the sacred moment, speaking in a calm, deep voice that blended seamlessly with the night's stillness:
"I'm leaving."
Suero studied Sbyam for a moment before responding, his voice laced with confusion and a cautious tone slipping between his words:
"To where?"
Sbyam turned his body slowly, as if shedding the burdens weighing on him with that simple movement. A faint, enigmatic smile formed on his lips, casting shadows across his face, making them feel like a part of the mystery he carried. He answered in a low voice:
"I have an appointment."
Suero remained in place, his eyes fixed on Sbyam's back as he walked away slowly. The words lingered in his mind, sinking deeper than he was used to. Was Sbyam hiding something more than just an appointment? An appointment? Does he have a lover? The unanswered question swirled in his thoughts.
---
At Suero's home, the moon's soft glow seeped through the bedroom window of Salma, wrapping her in a delicate halo as if embracing her from all sides. She stood there, her eyes fixed on the moon, immersed in a scene that revealed nothing but profound silence. The night was filled with memories that refused to fade.
Father Rashid approached her, his steps light as though he wished not to disturb her reflections. His voice carried both concern and tenderness as he asked:
"Are you okay?"
But Salma, as if the moon had completely captivated her, kept her gaze on it and whispered in a contemplative tone:
"Yes."
She seemed lost in a well of memories she could not escape. Rashid offered a gentle smile and spoke with a voice as soothing as the ocean's waves:
"Alright, I'll be heading to bed."
He lay down, yet his gaze lingered on her, as if something unspoken filled the space between them. At that moment, Salma slowly drifted into slumber, whispering in a hushed voice, as though speaking to herself—or perhaps to the moon itself—drowning in distant memories:
"Why did you do it, Spailo... why?"
Her words echoed in the air, wrapped in lingering sorrow, as if the moon itself shared her pain in eternal silence.
---
In a warm and classic café, where dim lights scattered across the walls like golden threads, the atmosphere exuded a quiet romance, as if time had paused for a single moment. A violinist played soft melodies that flowed through the air, filling the space with a mesmerizing and soothing resonance that wrapped around the hearts of those present.
Sbyam sat at one of the tables, enjoying a quiet meal, while the girl sitting across from him, Risa, observed his expression with growing concern. Her gaze weighed down the air, as if the words left unspoken were piling up inside her, searching for a way out.
Heavy moments passed, then suddenly, Risa sighed sharply, as if her patience had run dry, and spoke with intensity and force:
"Do you even care?"
Sbyam slowly raised his eyebrows, looking at her with an expression of bewilderment, as if the question had caught him off guard. Then, in a quiet, almost innocent tone, he replied:
"About what?"
Risa took a deep breath, trying to suppress the frustration creeping into her expression, but the words finally burst from her lips, as if she had reached her limit:
"I've told you hundreds of times! I told you that I love you!"
Sbyam gazed at her with an eerie coldness, as if her words were nothing more than mist passing by without leaving a trace. They did not stir him.
Risa continued in a reprimanding tone, her words cutting like blades:
"We've known each other for a long time, back when you were just a student!"
Sbyam let out a quiet chuckle, almost mocking, as he stared at the table before him and said:
"You still remember those days?"
Disappointment was evident on Risa's face, and her frustration quickly turned into suppressed anger. She suddenly stood up, her eyes burning with fury, as if she were stepping toward a point of no return.
Noticing her seriousness, Sbyam asked in a low voice, an unusual concern lacing his tone:
"Where are you going?"
She answered sharply, her voice filled with bitterness:
"I'm done with this!"
Before she could leave, Sbyam gently grabbed her hand in a sudden motion, as if time itself had frozen the moment their hands touched. She slowly turned to look at him, and their gazes locked in a silent, deep exchange—one filled with pain and rejection.
Then, in a quiet and strange voice, as if he were trying to ease the burden in his heart, Sbyam simply said:
"Sit down."
Risa hesitated for a moment, feeling slightly unsettled, but eventually, she sat back down, her eyes never leaving his frozen expression. She resumed her scolding with sharpness, refusing to calm down:
"Fine, what do you want to say?"
Sbyam looked at her with a deep, unreadable gaze before speaking:
"Listen, you know I'm from the Raimo Clan. My enemies are many."
Then, lowering his voice as if revealing a buried secret, he added:
"Do you not remember… Itasha?"
The moment he uttered that name, "Itasha", Sbyam's expression suddenly changed. His eyes fixated on the table with deep sorrow, as if that memory had completely taken over his mind.
Risa gently took his hand, whispering his name cautiously:
"Sbyam…"
He looked at her, his eyes glimmering with grief—a silent storm brewing before the inevitable disaster.
Risa gave him a soft smile, and in a voice filled with warmth, she said:
"I know you want to protect me, but I want to be with you, even if it costs me my life."
Sbyam let out a weary sigh, as if carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders, and in a voice so low it felt like he was speaking to himself, he murmured:
"I couldn't protect her… nor my friend Brylo… I failed to protect him. And I fear I will fail again… I fear I won't be able to protect you."
Risa tightened her grip on his hand, caressing it gently with affection. Just as she was about to say something, a sharp gunshot shattered the café's silence.
Glass exploded into the air, a bullet shooting toward Risa like a streak of lightning. It struck her head, and blood splattered across the table, staining Sbyam's face.
Risa swayed for a brief moment before collapsing onto the floor, her body motionless as a dark red pool slowly formed beneath her.
Sbyam stared forward, his eyes filled with shock, as if his mind refused to comprehend what had just happened. He muttered in a low, hollow voice, as if repeating words whose meaning eluded him:
"What…?"
As the blood spread around him, the café erupted into chaos. Patrons screamed, running in terror, stumbling over one another.
Through the panic, the assassin known as Smart walked in, his steps calm and confident, a smug smile playing on his lips. A dark aura of mockery surrounded him as he approached the table and spoke in a taunting tone:
"Sbyam Brius, do you remember me?"
Sbyam slowly lifted his head, his eyes still reflecting the paralyzing shock.
Smart chuckled before continuing with amusement:
"You ran away that day and failed to kill me… What a mistake! Because today, I'm going to kill you."
Sbyam's gaze drifted toward Risa's lifeless body, the crimson pool beneath her growing ever larger. In that moment, time seemed to stretch endlessly, as if life itself had halted.
The sound of Smart's voice ignited a burning hatred within Sbyam. His voice, now cold and deadly, carried a bitterness that ran deep:
"Ah… The legacy of the Raimo Clan… I have waited so long for this moment… to kill you myself."
A dark fire flickered within Sbyam's eyes, turning his gaze into a hellish abyss—a gaze that spelled death.
Smart took a small step back but smirked mockingly and said:
"You're truly terrifying, kid."
Sbyam's voice sharpened, dripping with murderous fury:
"YOU KILLED HER!"
Smart glanced at Risa's lifeless body, then let out a cold laugh and said:
"I would say I killed her for the same reason I killed that little girl before… but this time, it was just for the sheer hatred I have for you!"
Suddenly, ominous black sparks crackled around Sbyam, dancing like searing flames that distorted the air itself.
Smart observed the sparks, his smirk unwavering as he said:
"I'm not stupid enough to face the strongest sorcerer of this generation unprepared."
Sbyam's reply was low and lethal, yet sorrow still seeped through his words:
"THEN… DIE."
—
Elsewhere, within the school dormitory, Moryo lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling with boredom. Baysal entered the room hesitantly and asked:
"Has anyone seen Master Sbyam?"
Kamyo responded indifferently:
"Why?"
Baysal answered in a low voice, as if the matter disturbed him:
"Because I haven't seen him today."
Moryo replied firmly, without lifting his gaze from the ceiling:
"Go to sleep. Enough."
---
At the café, where the atmosphere had initially been calm, chaos had erupted. Tables were overturned, chairs lay broken, and smoke filled the air. A powerful explosion had rocked the place, forcing Smart to stagger backward until he slammed into a nearby wall.
He stood there, panting, before his eyes locked onto Sbyam, who was approaching, surrounded by dark sparks that flickered around him like they were consuming him. Smart's heart pounded rapidly in fear, despite his attempt to appear confident. Deep inside, he admitted anxiously:
"You're a monster, Sbyam."
The dark sparks around Sbyam's body intensified before he suddenly vanished—like a shadow dissolving into thin air. Smart's eyes darted around, trying to track his movement, but then, Sbyam appeared behind him, as if emerging from nothingness. His eyes blazed with fury, burning like an unseen fire.
Smart lunged at Sbyam, his hand charged with a fiercely glowing white spark, the surrounding air cracking under the immense pressure. He shouted, his voice breaking the heavy silence:
"I will defeat you! I will defeat you again!"
He hurled a direct punch at Sbyam's face, the sheer force of the attack threatening to shatter everything around them.
But Sbyam, with an eerie calm as if time itself had slowed for him, did not move. He took the full brunt of the punch without even blinking.
Smart stared at him in shock, unable to comprehend what had just happened. His voice trembled with tension as he whispered:
"What? How...? Is this part of his technique? Or is it just his resilience? But I hit him with everything I had!"
Confusion clouded his thoughts as he tried to analyze the situation.
Sbyam spoke, his voice calm yet ruthless:
"I've always hated you, Smart. I've always wanted to kill you. You don't deserve to be Moryo's father."
Smart scoffed, smirking defiantly:
"That's not for you to decide!"
He stepped back, twisting his body to build momentum before launching himself at Sbyam with even greater force, his raised hand crackling with radiant white sparks. His voice roared with rising fury:
"I'll kill you now!"
Sbyam slowly lifted his gaze, his eyes now glowing with dark shadows, as if they embodied all his pain and wrath.
And at that critical moment, as Smart closed in, Sbyam uttered in a deadly whisper:
"Realm Expansion: The Kurmo Realm."
The entire area shifted in an instant. A strange white barrier materialized around them, swallowing everything in a blinding light, as though a new reality was consuming the real world.
Smart tried to move, but his body was frozen in place, bound by an invisible force. Thoughts swirled sluggishly in his mind as he struggled to comprehend what was happening. His unease grew as he murmured:
"What is this? Did I enter his technique's realm? Why can't I move? No... I can move, but my perception feels like it's trapped in a heavy, distorted time..."
Sbyam stepped forward slowly, extending a finger toward Smart. Smart watched him anxiously, his eyes filled with fear.
A small, black spark formed at Sbyam's fingertip before inching toward Smart's body.
At first, he felt a cold sting—then, a searing heat ignited within him, as if the black spark was tearing through every fiber of his being.
Sweat trickled down Smart's forehead as the pain escalated. Then, suddenly, his body exploded into fragments, his blood splattering in every direction. His remains scattered around the battlefield, painting the scene in red.
The white barrier vanished, restoring the world to its original state.
The onlookers stood frozen, their faces reflecting sheer horror. One of them whispered, staring at Sbyam:
"What just happened...? That man… he's dead."
Sbyam remained still, like a statue, his gaze locked onto the bloodstained ground. A chilling calm enveloped him.
He wiped the blood off his face with an air of indifference, then cast one last look at the crimson stain—a silent testament to the end of Smart.
End of Chapter.