DEB 64

“Vita.”

A low, gentle voice called the name. Huiyun immediately recognized the voice’s owner.

It was Yasha’s voice.

Was this another dream of his past life?

Accustomed to it, Huiyun didn’t resist and let himself sink into the dream. As he tried to follow the content, the figures in the dream moved naturally, bringing forth the memory of a certain day to Huiyun’s consciousness.

“Despite winning the war, you look like a defeated person.”

Yasha spoke quietly to the figure with long, flowing green hair. At first glance, it sounded like a scolding, but it could also be heard as a concerned remark. The one called Vita, dressed in a fancy gown more suited for a party, awkwardly smiled.

As if to accept all those words humbly. Soon, his gaze shifted to the moon in the night sky.

“Yes, the war is over, but it doesn’t feel like we won.”

“Vita.”

“Yasha, I thought everything would return to normal after the war, but it didn’t. The war with the Harban Kingdom was just the beginning… My contractor desires even more land.”

Vita, smiling bitterly, lifted the wine glass in his hand towards the sky, gently shaking it. The wine rippled, faintly reflecting the bright moon.

Yasha observed his disciple, who seemed to be deep in thought after the war, and sighed deeply.

“I told you there’s nothing to gain from getting involved in human affairs, but you defied me and made a contract with a human.”

“Yes, it was my choice, so I must take responsibility. But, Yasha, you should have been more forceful in stopping me.”

Muttering as if to blame him, Vita ran his hand over his face.

“I’m sorry. It’s not your fault, Yasha. I just feel troubled inside.”

“Are you so shocked that your beloved contractor has changed?”

“……”

Vita chose silence as Yasha precisely pinpointed the reason for his troubled heart. Yasha lifted his hand, patting Vita’s back a few times before taking the wine glass from his hand.

“Humans change quickly because their lives are short. It’s nothing to be surprised about.”

“When I made the contract, he was pure and kind. I thought it would be good if such a person became king, so I helped with the rebellion, but I never expected him to become a tyrant. I didn’t expect him to start a war, or for so many people to bleed in just one war.”

“Vita.”

“Why did I make such a contract? I regret it so much now. I’m sorry, Yasha. I shouldn’t have used the power you granted me in that way.”

Every syllable was filled with deep regret. Yasha, realizing the hardships Vita had endured over the decades, smiled slightly.

It was pitiful for his grieving disciple, but all dragons make such mistakes once they reach maturity. No matter how often you tell them it’s dangerous to make contracts with humans and that they shouldn’t get involved in human affairs, it doesn’t resonate until they experience it firsthand.

Dragons who embark on their first indulgence usually suffer greatly and only then understand the warnings they heard in their youth. Vita was just following the path many dragons before him had taken to maturity.

Of course, as a mentor, Yasha wished Vita could grow without such a process.

There was no need to endure such a troubling and sorrowful period.

He had hoped Vita would follow his guidance and grow rightly without stepping into dirty waters, but teaching a disciple never goes as planned.

The master-disciple relationship was a bond that supported and guided each other, not one where actions were forced upon the other. Knowing Vita was straying, Yasha only gave hints without forcibly correcting his actions. The current situation was the result, and Yasha looked at his disciple, who had learned a lesson, with both pity and pride.

With a flick of his fingers, Yasha conjured a grey glass from the air.

“No dragon grows without making mistakes. Dragons live much longer than humans, so they will have more experience and make more mistakes. So, Vita, you’ve just gone through something very natural.”

Yasha, offering calm comfort, held out the glass for a toast. Vita, looking at his mentor, faintly smiled and took the offered glass.

“I thought you would scold me more.”

“You’re already punishing yourself enough in your heart. What good would it do to scold you further?”

“With the power you granted, I harmed people. I think I should be stripped of my status as a disciple and have my powers taken away.”

“This is something you had to experience once. Knowing what power means is an invaluable lesson.”

Yasha smoothly deflected all of Vita’s self-reproach. Blinking at his master’s serene voice, Vita clinked glasses with Yasha. The clear sound resonated in the garden, and Vita drained his wine in one gulp.

Then, he drew the sword hanging at his waist and knelt. Yasha was surprised.

“Vita. You’re going to dirty your dress.”

“Read the room, Yasha. That’s not important right now. You know what I’m about to do.”

Gently rebuking his mentor for worrying about his dress at such a moment, Vita drove the sword into the ground. The sword Yasha had given him emitted a silver glow, illuminating the garden.

Without giving anyone a chance to stop him, Vita raised the sword and pierced his own heart.

With a gruesome sound, the blade pierced his body, and blood flowed along the sword’s length. A scene that would have shocked anyone else left Yasha calm and composed.

Vita, smiling at his mentor, spat blood. The crimson liquid soaked his dress, but he didn’t care. Pulling out the blood-stained sword, Vita drove it into the ground at Yasha’s feet. Then, wiping the blood from his wound, he extended his red-stained fingers to Yasha.

“I no longer want to harm people with the power you granted me, Yasha. So, please become my lord. Let me become your sword and use the power of protection to guard you.”

“……”

“I will become your knight.”

His earnest plea reached Yasha. Looking down at his disciple, who remained composed despite bleeding, Yasha paused for a long moment before taking Vita’s hand.

“If we make a vow of protection, you will share the pain of the one you protect. I am used to pain, but you may not be, Vita.”

“There will be no need for Yasha to suffer pain if I am protecting you.”

With his disciple’s confident assurance, Yasha, who found the answer sufficient, smiled slightly and drank Vita’s blood. Then, Yasha inflicted a deep wound on his own palm. Understanding his mentor’s intent, Vita tilted his head back.

Blood from Yasha’s hand flowed into Vita’s mouth.

As Vita slowly inhaled and opened his eyes, his irises briefly glowed the same color as Yasha’s before returning to their original green.

“I, your knight Vita, swear to protect you as long as my body lives.”

This meant a blood-bound vow had been made. Yasha gently smiled at his disciple, who had vowed to protect him with the power Yasha had granted.

“To ensure you do not suffer, I too must take good care of my body.”

With a face that was both apologetic and pleased, Yasha spoke firmly. But that promise was shattered not long after.

When the Heavenly Demon War broke out, Yasha chose to end his own life.

Vita.

The loyal disciple who vowed to protect Yasha, sharing his pain.

How much pain did that child feel when I died?

“……”

When Huiyun opened his eyes, he felt a bit of dampness around them. Slowly blinking, he finally let the gathered tears fall as he sat up.

His head felt heavy and dizzy. It was a dazed feeling as if he had taken a lot of sleeping pills and just woken up.

In front of Huiyun, a system window appeared.

—

You have formed a vow of protection with the half-fairy ‘Vita.’ 

The knight, ‘Vita,’ will be your sword and protector!

Congratulations. You have recovered some memories about the disciple ‘Vita.’ To regain all memories about Vita, find the fifth disciple, ‘Zenith.’

—

“…What?”

Thinking his vision must be playing tricks on him, Huiyun rubbed his eyes and looked again. The phrase that he had formed a vow of protection with Vita didn’t make sense, leaving him blinking in confusion. At that moment, he felt a sudden sharp pain in his left palm. Reflexively turning his head, he saw his left hand roughly bandaged.

“What is this….”

He frowned, unable to recall receiving such an injury, when someone entered his hospital room.

“Ah, Yasha. You’re awake? I thought I sensed your presence strongly. Indeed, the vow of protection is convenient at times like this. Don’t you think so?”

With green hair tied back and a bright smile, the person who walked in carrying a hospital meal was unmistakably similar in aura to Vita from the dream, despite having a different face.

Huiyun’s gaze involuntarily moved to Vita’s abdomen. The bandages Mu Myung had used to stop the bleeding were now wrapped in white cloth, slowly staining red. Understanding the situation, Huiyun soon realized what had happened.

“No way….”

It seemed his mad disciple had formed the vow of protection while he was unconscious.