MTLNOVEL Chapter 105: Who really lost
Yet, the moment Vargok laid eyes on it, an overwhelming, primal fear unlike anything he had ever experienced took hold of him. The tiny blade shimmered with every color in existence, its very presence exuding an incomprehensible aura.
And then—
With the mere gesture of Renan's hand, the small blade fell.
And—
*BOOM*
The explosion was so big that it rose to the sky like a mushroom of fire, like a nuclear blast, and the ground quaked like a true earthquake—to the point that even the Elf Empire, which was quite a distance away from it, felt the tremor. The normal elves who had no power thought it was a natural earthquake, but the stronger elves in the empire could tell that it was not natural at all. The elves who were at the ninth stage in the mage path sensed an overwhelming amount of mana coming from a faraway place.
"Shall we check out what is happening there?" one elf spoke, and the others agreed immediately, sensing the severity of the phenomenon.
While all of this was happening, Renan stood in the middle of that very explosion, flying, since the ground beneath his feet had been completely disintegrated by the blast.
But the most surprising thing was that the explosion didn't even leave a burn on him. The very firestorm was still soaring high, yet it was not coming anywhere close to him, as if some unknown force was stopping it, wrapping around him like a shield, keeping him untouched by the chaos around him.
"Hahahahah!" Renan laughed in the heart of that explosion, flying high, his face lifted to the sky as his eyes—which were once pure white—were now filled with blood. But only his pupils were white; the rest was overtaken by blood. His face was also bloodied, blood dripping from the side of his mouth as he laughed maniacally, with a gaping wound in his torso—an injury given by Vargok.
His face, which once might have been thought of as angelic or godlike, now resembled that of a devil—or maybe even something worse.
"What did you say? That I lost? But look now—who really lost?" Renan said with a crazy smile. But then that wild grin softened, and only a calm, small smile remained on his face. "But you should be proud... you forced me—Renan Ryvern—to take an injury in order to defeat you," Renan said, his voice still echoing through the fading flames. That small smile, however, slowly twisted into something darker—a blend of anger and amusement. "And be happy... you were so strong that I couldn't capture you alive. If not..." Renan said but didn't finish his sentence, leaving the end ominous and open.
And just as Renan finished speaking, the force that had been stopping the explosion from reaching him disappeared.
The explosion itself had ended by now—only fire remained. Even that fire was astonishingly hot, hot enough that the moment the protective force around him vanished, it instantly burned Renan's clothes without hesitation.
Slowly, his body—which had been floating high in the sky—began to fall back down. Just as he fell, the earring that he wore, which had remained intact even after all that fighting, began to shine. And in that moment, a beautiful woman appeared, with flowing white hair and golden eyes, right next to the falling Renan. She caught him mid-air, cradling him gently in her arms. The fire that had been burning his body stopped the moment she arrived.
Slowly, she began to fly away from the explosion site. But before she could get very far, she stopped mid-air with Renan still resting in her arms and turned to look back at the fire that was now spreading through the forest. If left unchecked, it would burn the entire forest to ashes. So, with a simple wave of her hand, she summoned a powerful gust of wind—so strong that the fire was extinguished in mere seconds.
After that, she took Renan to a safer place—not too far, but far enough from the destruction. She gently descended and laid Renan down, placing his head on her lap. She gazed at him warily, deeply worried since his injuries looked truly dangerous. But before she could say anything, Renan spoke, his eyes still closed.
"Give me a minute, Elaris," Renan said in a calm voice, eyes shut, as if in deep concentration. Elaris didn't speak after that. Her lips remained sealed, but her expression still showed guilt, sadness, and frustration all at once. She remained quiet, allowing Renan the silence he needed to recover and focus.
And so they sat there, unmoving. Renan was in deep concentration, his body completely bare, yet Elaris paid no mind to that. Her focus was entirely on his face, watching him with worry and concern.
Minutes passed—two, maybe three. To Elaris, it felt like an eternity.
Suddenly, Renan's body released a golden light that surrounded him like a gentle sun. In the next second, his injury—which had been life-threatening—healed completely. But Renan didn't rise from her lap. He continued lying there, then slowly opened his eyes and spoke before Elaris could say anything.
"I did it... because I can't keep running away from it," Renan said, his eyes locking with Elaris's, his expression deadly serious.
"Huh?" Elaris was momentarily surprised by his words, but before she could ask what he meant, Renan continued.
"I can't keep running away from a fight with someone who can actually injure me—who can cause me real pain. I need to stand up and face it, someday," Renan said, admitting the truth he had long kept buried. He knew deep down he had always avoided fights with those who could truly hurt him. Even in the Dragon Empire, he'd avoided fights with Sylveria and Elowyn, who could definitely injure him. He only fought Namari—and even that was because she forced him. That fight wasn't by choice. Even the dwarf dungeon fight had been an accident. He thought the enemy wouldn't be strong, but he'd been wrong. And by the time he realized it, it was already too late—he had no choice but to fight.
But today, he chose. Not for his own growth, not to overcome his fear of pain, but for his family. Today, he fought so his wife wouldn't have to experience the mental torture of being unable to act—so she could know that he was her arm, her blade, her will in action. So she could trust him to move when she couldn't.
"So don't feel sad... or anything like that. All my efforts would be wasted if you still feel that way after everything I've done," Renan said with a warm smile.
Elaris, whose eyes were beginning to water, closed them tightly to keep from crying. She knew better than anyone how much Renan hated pain—more than even his own parents. But still, he fought. He endured it—for her. He wasn't going to do it he was not going to fight his hate for pain yet, not yet. But today, he had faced that fear directly. Because of her.
So she nodded, unable to say anything, but letting him know she understood.
Renan, seeing her response, smiled softly. "I see. Good. You understand... Then let me rest for a while. I only recovered enough mana to heal the fatal injuries. I'm still exhausted from that fight," he said, closing his eyes again.
As Renan drifted back into focus, Elaris opened her own eyes. She gazed at his face deeply, her thoughts tangled. After a long pause, she muttered under her breath:
"Thank you, hubby," she whispered, her voice filled with emotion. "And thank you for coming into my life," she added, her golden eyes darkening with love and quiet desire. She lowered her head slightly, gazing at Renan's face while sitting under a tree. Her eyes shimmered as her love for him continued to grow dangerously.
She stayed there, watching his face for five whole minutes, unmoving. But then, her expression slowly changed. The smile faded, replaced by something sour—and a hint of anger.
"Huh? What are they doing here?" she muttered, narrowing her golden eyes and lifting her gaze toward the sky far in the distance.