Return of the Youngest Son with SSS-Rank Talent-Chapter 66: What a kind person...

"P-please... help me. I’ve been enduring this rain for days... I don’t want to die..."

The words, drenched in desperation, were barely distinguishable amid the rumbling thunder. However, Kael heard them. He did not respond.

He remained motionless, watching the man with indifference. His mangled body lay buried beneath the rubble of a collapsed house. The lower half of his body was missing; his organs, scattered like debris, rested on the blood-soaked wood. He was a corpse that was still breathing.

A grotesque miracle.

Even in that state, the man clung to life.

Curious. And yet... fascinating.

"Why... why are you silent...? I beg you... a beast ate my wife... my daughter... I... I survived... I have to live for them! Please... save me..."

Tears mixed with the rain. But to Kael, there was no difference between the two. They were equally useless.

He crouched down.

His face was hidden behind hair as black as night, and his eyes, deep as a bottomless abyss, met those of the dying man. There was life in them. A trembling spark. Persistent. Absurd.

And yet Kael remained silent.

Because he knew the truth: there was no salvation.

This world granted no mercy. Beasts knew no justice. Gods did not heed pleas. And men like him did not play at being heroes.

That was life. A cycle that only brought death. You were born to fall. Child, young, old... it didn’t matter. The end was the same.

But he would not accept that end.

He was not like them.

I will not die again in the mud like a dog. I will break the cycle. I will rise. And when I sit on the divine throne...

He stood up without saying a word.

Kael drew his coin sword. Without hesitation, he plunged it into the man’s chest, piercing his heart. The act was silent, clean, devoid of hatred or compassion. Just efficiency.

A quick death was the greatest luxury he could offer at that moment.

The man, stunned, understood nothing. But he felt the pain that consumed him begin to fade. His senses shut down one by one, taking the torment with them.

The last thing he saw was the back of a young man dressed in black, walking away in the pouring rain. The sword of coins on his back glinted faintly, as if it had never been drawn.

What a kind person...

That simple, disconcerting thought was the last thing that crossed his mind before everything went black.

In the next breath, his soul followed the path of his wife and daughter, carried away by the same rain that had brought about his ruin.

...

Kael reunited with Eren and Lydia, who had not found a single survivor. Only corpses and some wild beasts attracted by the scent of blood remained.

"Young master, did you find anything? We already checked the other areas and found nothing but corpses," Lydia said with a long sigh, raising her voice to be heard over the roar of the rain.

Kael shook his head. "Let’s go to the other villages."

Eren and Lydia nodded and left the village, heading for the two that remained to be inspected.

Under the persistent rain, they reached the remaining villages, where they found more of the same: corpses, scattered organs, and a few beasts still prowling the area. The latter were easily eliminated by the trio.

After completing their inspection, they returned to the Medici mansion. Kael, soaked from head to toe, went to present his report.

Upon entering the meeting hall, where the elders and the clan chief were waiting, he was allowed to pass.

In a calm voice, Kael reported on the discovery of Attraction Butter in the villages he had investigated, thus explaining the cause of their destruction.

Upon hearing this, the elders’ expressions turned grim. It seemed that the disappearance of the clan members was part of a plan orchestrated by an enemy force.

If only they knew that the person responsible was standing right in front of them... What would their expressions be?

"And did you manage to find any trace of the enemy?" asked old Barth, whose hair was as red as blood and whose face was still handsome despite his sixty years.

Kael shook his head again. "No. Everything was cleaned up by the beasts."

Silence once again filled the room.

Zephyr settled into his chair and spoke in a calm voice, though it was tinged with coldness:

"You may leave. One hundred mana stones will be sent to you later."

Kael nodded, turned on his heel, and left the room as calmly as he had entered.

After they left, the elderly residents remained silent, waiting for the clan chief to speak.

Zephyr, sitting cross-legged at the back of the room, kept his red eyes fixed on the window, watching the rain as his thoughts raced through his mind.

The mention of Attraction Butter led him to deduce that those involved had arrived with the merchant caravan. However, despite his power, he was not omnipresent enough to anticipate everything.

He knew it was too late: the caravan had left the mountain. Besides, there were countless ways to escape. He also considered the possibility that the enemy was still hiding in the city.

As he thought about it, a mysterious smile appeared on his lips, while his eyes shone with an icy light.

After a long silence, Zephyr spoke:

"We will focus on investigating the abnormality of the beasts. As for the saboteurs seeking our downfall, don’t worry about that for now."

"Understood, clan chief," the elders replied in unison.

...

Kael, back in his room, quickly changed his clothes, as he had arrived completely soaked.

Sitting on the bed in the lotus position, he brought his consciousness to his core, where his sea of mana—silver with green particles lay calm.

With a single thought, multiple whirlpools began to form on the surface of the sea of mana, gradually decreasing in intensity.

As time passed, the sea shrank to 7%, but Kael continued to refine that essence, even though sweat was already covering his body.

That last 7% was exceptionally difficult to compress. However, thanks to his determination and talent, he soon reached the size of a particle. In his mind, a slight click resonated.

From the center of the core, the essence began to manifest itself again, but this time, the green copper particles in the silver sea appeared with greater density, exceeding 9%.

"I’ve reached the next level!" Kael murmured as he opened his eyes.