Steampunk Era: Mad Abield
Chapter 365 - 247: Maya (Part 2)

Chapter 365: Chapter 247: Maya (Part 2)

"You’re late." Bishop Emet-Selch sat on the long bench, watching as the lower-year Apprentices returned victorious from the field, resting his chin in his hand as he spoke.

Malin, who had come up beside him, was all smiles looking toward the direction of the arena, "No, I saw it while I was up there, and Maya must have seen me too." After finishing his sentence, Malin placed his small wand onto a rack that was reserved for holding them, then sat down.

"How did it go talking to your brother?" Malin looked at him, noticing that although his face still bore some swollen bruises, his teeth were all in place indicating they had likely been repaired.

"...We talked a lot, I feel like the person I was before is just like an idiot." Bishop Emet-Selch didn’t turn his head, but there was a silent, muffled self-assessment of his former self.

Malin could somewhat understand this; after all, as a Black Knight, the appearance post-transformation, albeit full of a sense of vicissitudes, really could not stand up to the ludicrous transformation of his brother. Sometimes, in life, one loses out on the basis of appearance, particularly during youth. It is understandable that girls liked Bishop Emet-Selch’s brother because in life, what’s most feared is the word ’comparison’.

The two brothers, when not transformed, were about equal; but once transformed, one aged ten years in a look of hardened experience, and the other one had a heroic face, a handsome smile revealing neat teeth, a sunny big boy... How could Bishop Emet-Selch compete with that, stake his life on it?

"Anyway, thank you, Malin."

"What are you talking about, it’s nothing. Alright, my little sister’s coming over, I’ll go give her a hug first."

After speaking, Malin got up with a smile, spreading his arms wide to usher the Cat Girl into his embrace, "I saw everything, you fought very well." Then, shifting the topic, Malin began to point out his sister’s shortcomings, "But after you knocked down the second Archer, you should have switched to ice arrow mode. With just one shot, you could have taken him and the healer beside him down together. If it were a real fight, you should have aimed for the healer first, then let the exploding ring of ice control that Archer, and only then should you take out the big guy preparing to breach the front line. Finish him off when he is about to escape."

"Hey, hey, Malin, it’s just a small competition for the lower-year teams, you don’t need to coach your little sister like that." The swollen-faced mentor said somewhat awkwardly.

Malin just smiled at this and began to rub his little sister’s head and round ears, "Don’t forget, this is a competition. The arena has an Array that reduces the effects of damaging Spell Formations and maneuvers, and don’t even think about breaking through it. Although you’re opponents, you aren’t mortal enemies engaged in a fight to the death, so remember to reduce some elemental output. Just now, the timing when you dissolved the lightning spear was good."

Maya was very happy, nodding her head with a smile upon receiving the praise from Malin, "Brother, you’ve said that one shouldn’t kill people up there, so Maya has been careful."

"That’s right, but remember, even kids’ fights can turn real. If the opponent strikes first, causing severe harm or even killing your teammates, don’t hesitate; take out the culprit immediately and don’t give them a second chance." Malin said this and let go of his little sister, "Alright, go discuss the next match with your teammates."

When the lower-grade team had left, Mentor Emet-Selch finally spoke, "Do you think such a possibility exists?"

"Preparedness averts peril; to beg for an opponent’s conscience is extremely foolish whether on the battlefield or in the arena," Malin said before taking a seat. He had recently reviewed the competition records and discovered that every one to three sessions, there would be such an ’accident.’ In the last century, three of the eleven murderers were killed on the spot, and the rest were mostly saved: "Fifteen years ago, an apprentice killed someone during a competition, did you know that?"

"Not really, if such a thing happens, it’s very difficult for outsiders to know such news unless it involves those two Churches. How do you know so much about it?" Mentor Emet-Selch looked at Malin, seemingly in search of an answer.

Malin pointed to the emblem of the Lord of Justice hanging on the wall behind him, "I obtained these records from the Church of the Lord of Justice, which is why I warn my sister today. It has been exactly fifteen years since the last incident, and this is the third tournament... This is no mere coincidence. Since someone always has to die, why not let it be someone else?"

... "I always thought you were a model gentleman," Mentor Emet-Selch said with a smile and a sigh, while Malin also smiled as he watched the start of a new match on stage: "My dream is to ensure those cubs eat their fill every day, not to have every youngster in the world grow up alive. While that is indeed a kind act, some people truly do not deserve redemption."

"There’s always talk about accidents happening on the competition stage," Mentor Emet-Selch remarked as he watched the arena.

"Yes, life is full of all sorts of accidents, so I tell my sister, better to kill than to be killed, and if killing can save someone, then that is for the best," Malin also watched the stage.

The conversation between the two paused here, and Mentor Emet-Selch was silent for a while before finally shaking his head, "Is that your Demon Hunter father’s idea?"

"No, my father preferred to be silent; he would not teach me these lessons. This is my own thinking. My dream is for every cub to eat their fill. They will eventually grow up, and I do not know what kind of person each will become. If he is beneficial to the world, that would be for the best... but if he becomes a detriment or even harmful to the world, then I can only reclaim the kindness I once offered him," Malin said as he looked at the stage. "Mentor, I once had a dream where I was a mere mortal, watching heroes go against the tide, accomplishing the impossible, and mending the unfixable... but there were also wicked people with their vile deeds. In that dream, I was just a commoner, witnessing the ebb and flow of tides, powerless to change anything.""

Sometimes Malin felt that his past life was either reality or just a dream because the longer he lived in this world, the more he blended into it, gradually feeling unconsciously that perhaps all that had come before was but a dream.

"I understand the feeling of helplessness. I experienced it when I was young, but later I realized that some things just can’t be solved by human effort," Mentor Emet-Selch sighed, his sigh filled with loneliness and reluctance. "You always hope to change the world, but in the end, you find that it is yourself who has changed."

"I felt the same way in my dream, but when I woke up, I realized that life always requires changes. Fate conveys the possibilities of life to you in dreams, not to have you repeat them in reality," Malin said, looking at the disturbance on the stage and finally smiling as someone was carried off by the emergency team, "See, Mentor, just like you said, the world is never short of accidents."

Emet-Selch watched the stage in silence for a long time before finally lowering his voice and cursing softly.

.........

Maya sat in the stands, her team leader and assistant assessing potential opponents in the upcoming matches. Some idle Cat Girls watched the battle on the field, where teams from the Western provinces of the Church of the War God and the Church of the Goddess of Harvest were taking their places.

In the mentor’s area below, her elder brother seemed to be talking to someone, but the noise around was too loud for Maya to listen in. She could only swing her tail unhappily, dodging her friend’s attempts to catch it, while making sure not to swing it over the railing—she always worried that this foolish human would follow it and plunge over.

What would it say in the cause of death column—’Died from focusing too hard on catching a teammate’s tail and falling out of the stands headfirst’? Besides, Maya felt that her brother would definitely be angry.

It was better not to make her brother angry.

With that thought, Maya stopped waving her tail and allowed the human girl to grab it. The latter, with a silly smile, pressed it against her face and uttered a terrifying whisper of ’so nice.’

"Don’t get your saliva on it," Maya warned.

"No, no, if I do, I’ll just lick it clean."

Hearing this, Maya pulled back her tail and swept it across the girl’s head.

Then, finally relenting to her pleas, she let her stroke the tail again.

Turning her attention back to the competition, Maya saw a change in the battle. A Caster from the rear ranks of the Church of the War God hurled a Flame Burst.

As he began his Spellcasting, Maya stood up—because she could feel that this Spell Formation had not been weakened.

The next second, the massive fireball exploded amidst the crowd; some were swallowed by flames, others were knocked down by the blast waves, medical staff rushed forward, and people were pulling apart the Apprentices who had started to scramble.

Maya saw the culprit, his face expressionless as he was escorted out by a mentor.

A Vitalized Twig had already formed a bow in front of its owner, with elemental strings playing, drawing the attention of many.

In the end, Maya did not reach out to grasp the bow; she simply committed the male’s features to memory.

She thought of her mentor’s teachings.

Maya, sometimes, to protect one person we must kill another, what would you do?

At that time, her reply was that she did not know.

Because Maya had never faced such a situation, she did not know how to react.

Maya, then think again, if someone wanted to kill a friend you know, just because the friend is in their way, what would you do?

Maya turned to glance at her friend who seemed a bit dazed looking at the scene inside the arena... Though a bit foolish, her nature was good, so faced with the choice of killing a stranger who is wicked or a friend who is innocent, Maya really had no choice.

And the teachings of her brother weighed heavily on one side of Maya’s inner balance.

If her brother said such a person shouldn’t live, then they must face death. Maya etched the male’s face in her mind. When the security mentor on duty approached the stands, Maya had already returned to her seat, the Vitalized Twig resting again in the arms of its owner, and the elemental spirits had dispersed.

The mentor looked around and eventually left.

In a place he could not see, a beetle vibrated its wings and flew into the exit tunnel reserved for competitors.

The appearance of a person can change, as can their flesh, but the scent of a person does not change.

Because the soul does not lie.