Chapter 255 - Martial Exchange Demonstration (2/2)
”I will be participating in an event two nights from now and staying for a little longer before heading back to complete Zero's training.”
One thing Ruth liked about Karris was how she didn't ask a lot of questions and simply accepted life the way it was. She smiled and wished him good luck cheerfully and Ruth wished that she'd asked him about his next visit instead.
Seff didn't take the news too kindly and started to cry. He clung onto the vampire's leg and didn't let go, even going as far as to digging his growing teeth into Ruth's ankle. His mother was immediately at Ruth's side, apologising and trying to get her son away from his godfather when the unbelievable happened.
Seff smacked Karris' hand away with a force that a normal child shouldn't possess and everyone heard a loud crack. Ruth froze and even Seff let go of his ankle to stare at Karris who yelled in pain before crouching down to cradle her limp wrist.
”M-mommy?”
Karris' face was contorted with pain and her clothes drenched with sweat. Still, she shakily smiled and reassured Seff that it was alright.
”It's not your fault, darling. Mommy's ok.”
Still, the boy knew what he'd done even if he didn't understand why. He hurt his mother and the guilt made tears pour non-stop. Ruth froze up and in that instant didn't know if he should rush to find Zero first or comfort his wailing godson. If left alone, he wasn't sure what Seff would do. It might endanger Karris more with his uncontrolled powers and emotions.
”Zero?” he tried the mental connection and thankfully, it connected.
”Ruth? What's wrong?”
Thankful for the response, he urged his student to come over quickly. When Zero heard about the accident, he got up and apologised to Leon, Jacqueline and Rima for skipping out on their promised game of tag.
The village head didn't run, he simply teleported over and analysed the scene before him in five seconds. While casting calming magic on Seff, he took Karris' wrist to examine the damage.
”I'm going to cast sleeping magic for a while to numb the pain while I heal it. Nothing too serious, it's just a broken wrist.”
Karris nodded and Zero set to work quickly. Seff stared wide-eyed at Zero who was fixing Karris' wrist and whimpered. The baby vampire knew who Zero was and he had mixed feelings seeing his idol help his mother whom he'd injured accidentally. Would his idol be disappointed in him for hurting his mother? Seff was afraid and didn't dare to look at Zero after the young doctor had tucked Karris into bed.
Zero turned to Ruth with a questioning look at Seff who was hiding behind his godfather's leg. Ruth decided to talk to Zero telepathically and they agreed to bring Seff out for a change of environment to talk about it. Right now, Zero felt that Ruth was more needed here instead of back at Hua Tuo's hut. His combat training can be done without the vampire's help. It will merely take longer. Besides, there were many experienced warriors in Half Moon Village who would be happy to teach him.
Ruth didn't say anything about that and kept the thoughts to himself. He felt torn as Zero's teacher and Seff's godfather. Zero didn't have very much longer before he completed his training and had to leave Endow Hill. After Hua Tuo taught Zero how to perform surgeries and after Zero perfected his combat style, he would graduate and leave for his magic lessons with Merlin.
As much as Ruth hated admitting it, he would miss his student and saviour greatly. Sometimes, he thought about accompanying the boy on his travels out of worry for him but then remembered that there was someone scarier and more capable who would be by Zero's side during his adventure. He might not be familiar with Truen but the wood elf certainly had a reputation. Baal was also cautious about dealing with Zero's bodyguard who was more overprotective of the brunet than anyone Ruth knew.
”Hey there buddy,” Zero smiled. He spoke softly and gently when they were a little away from the hut. It was a quaint spot by the gardens and nobody visited it at this time of the afternoon.
Seff refused to meet Zero's eyes as big fat tears welled up at the brim of his lower eyelid. he felt immensely guilty and didn't know how to make things right. Would his idol be disappointed? His godfather was also unusually silent. Everyone would hate him now, he'd been a terrible boy for not listening to his mother.
Ruth stared at the small trembling figure and sighed before placing a comforting hand on the boy's head. it was a familiar weight that conveyed reassurance and acceptance. The simple action was all Sef needed to know that he wasn't hated and let the tears fall, apologising profusely.
Zero smiled and hugged the small vampire. Growing up with uncontrollable powers was difficult especially without guidance. Zero knew this too well with firsthand experience. He couldn't count the number of mistakes he made and the mess he caused each and every time. If it weren't for Truen, the Great Gods, his friends and his teachers, Zero would have gone astray onto the wrong path a long time ago.
”It's not your fault,” he told Seff after the young child stopped crying. Seff still didn't look at him and Zero continued.
”However, you still need to apologise to your mother. You still hurt her and that's a fact.”
Seff stiffened at that and before the guilt could eat him up, Zero was quick to add on.
”Your mother isn't angry at you. She's ok now but the same thing could easily happen again. Seff, you're a strong boy. You're a lot stronger than your mother and very different from many people out there. As a strong boy, you need to protect your mama from bad people. Won't you learn from your godfather how to ut that strength to good use?”
The dirty blonde boy looked up to Zero with his big silver eyes. ”Pwotect?”
Zero grinned. ”That's right. You can fight away all the bad people who want to hurt your mother and the people in this village. Ruth is very strong too and he can teach you how to control that strength and use them carefully. What do you think? Is not such a bad thing to be strong now, is it?”
Seff thought about it for a while. He might be young but he knew what he wanted. ”Will I be stwong wike you?”
Zero blinked. Him? Strong? His only talent is absorbing things into the void. Many of the villagers here could easily whoop his behind with one finger and the young doctor felt uncomfortable lying to a young child but he still nodded in difficulty with fake enthusiasm.
”That's right, you can be strong like me. However, it will take a lot of hard work.”
Ruth raised a brow at Zero's awkwardness when Seff turned his sparkly eyes towards him. The half-vampire started opening up to his idol and told him stories about eating a lot to become like him. Zero laughed at the story and told Seff that if he ate too much he would get scolded.
Seff turned pale and turned to Ruth in horror. Ruth simply smacked Zero and the head.
”You only get scolded because you ate Hua Tuo's lunch and left nothing for him. Also, the chefs in La Boutique are afraid of your stomach because you don't stop eating! If you limited it to only food, I doubt anyone would fault you but you ate their plates when you become overly excited. Those things cost more than food!”
Zero denied it and Ruth fumed. Seff watched his godfather and idol argue before laughing. They took a longer way back to enjoy the sense of normalcy with Seff riding on Ruth's shoulders. Ruth was thinking about Zero's proposal to have him stay in Half Moon Village to care for baby Seff and pay a visit every few days for his lessons instead of staying with Hua Tuo the whole time. The Roth vampire felt torn. He didn't want to choose between his godson and student. They both needed him very badly and time was too short.
”Mama!” Seff screamed when he saw his home and scrambled off Ruth's head, running over to Karris who was waiting for them at the door.
”My child, where have you been?”
Seff cried once again and apologised while his mother carried him in her arms, stroking his hair softly. Zero watched the warm scene and felt a pang in his heart. Mothers were great creatures and even though Zero was surrounded by many people who loved him, the brunet couldn't help but wonder what a mother's love for their child is like. Karris was a frail and weak human but in front of her child, she was like an unbreakable wall with her love. Zero felt as if she could hold the world up even if everything was collapsing around her in order to protect Seff. That trait was admirable and Zero wished he could experience that kind of warmth even at least once.
Ruth watched his student and couldn't understand the reason for that longing expression as he watched the mother and son. Was Zero envious of that family love? The vampire thought that Zero was rather blind to it. Although his student doesn't know it, there were many people who were willing to lay their lives for him even if they knew he was an inextinguishable existence. To protect Zero and keep him happy, these people would stop at nothing.
Ruth looked back to the mother and son with a knowing smile. He was one of the people. It was way too late to turn back time, the young doctor had already captivated him like how Seff has captivated Karris' entire world.
Decision made, Ruth decided to find the lab members. They should be done with the prototype of Zero's training weapon while trying to craft the actual one that was commissioned. He needed to familiarise himself with the tonfas before he could teach Zero how to use them.