One-Eyed Monster

Kuyi Tulan’s repentance was like a flame in the Deep Winter Season: warm, yet incapable of dispelling the biting cold.

Dastan, in the cage, roared with laughter. ”Indeed! A ’once-in-a-century genius’ actually let us monsters be snatched away right under his nose. It’s simply the biggest joke imaginable.”

Dastan’s laughter filled the entire pub. Kuyi Tulan’s Exchange Spell had merely swapped the physical space they occupied. While they couldn’t act as they pleased, they could still speak their minds.

”All I can say is that I wasn’t strong enough over a decade ago. Please forgive me for not being able to protect you then.”

”Pah!” Dastan found Kuyi Tulan increasingly repulsive. How dare he speak of protection when all this suffering was his doing? And now he has the gall to talk about protecting us? ”You? Protect us? What a joke! You have no right to say such a thing.”

”Facts prove that only those with sufficient strength earn the right to contend and the means to protect what they cherish. This is a simple truth. Why do I still need to explain it to you?” Kuyi Tulan spread his hands wide. ”Why is this world always so absurd? Can no one understand my true intentions?”

”Your intentions? You merely exploited kind-hearted people! Those good souls were bewitched by you, and they all ended up in my current predicament. And you expect them to thank you? Dream on!” Dastan, within the cage, was expressionless, but his tone seethed with anger.

”Though I don’t understand what happened between you all, anything that could cause such a major upheaval for the Honored Seven Knights can’t be good. Therefore, I’d rather follow one of the Honored Seven Knights to the Eternal Tranquility Realm than lay down my life for you,” Baharo said indignantly. He had heard many tales of the Honored Seven Knights, especially Dastan’s. As a Hunter, Baharo had always considered Dastan’s deeds during the National Defense War his ultimate goal. To silently take an enemy general’s head amidst a vast army—that was the highest form of assassination for a Hunter. To see such a hero now reduced to a monster was something he found utterly unacceptable.

Particularly, this whole affair was inextricably linked to the Alchemy Workshop he was about to pledge allegiance to, making it impossible for him to accept. Consequently, his Freak for Kuyi Tulan—the current head of the Alchemy Workshop—intensified.

”I’ve said it before: I’m not asking you to die for me, but to help us extend our lives,” Kuyi Tulan said, turning his head towards Baharo.

”The Alchemy Workshop does not fear the strong, nor do we recruit them. We *are* the strong! We *create* the strong! We are the makers of the strong!”

Upon hearing this, Carmello and Hector instinctively straightened their backs, their expressions filled with pride.

”There are things in this world more important than becoming stronger. Why do you still not understand that?” Dastan sighed, as if recalling something.

”Your tone... you sound just like my mentor, Wizard Guzan.”

”Every one of us reveres him as the Great Mentor. He gave us new life, helping us regain our confidence after the torment you put us through.” Dastan’s voice was soft, like that of a cherished child.

”A mentor is still a mentor, after all. But he has grown old, and his skills have aged with him. How tragic.” Kuyi Tulan lowered his eyelids, a wave of sentimentality washing over him as it always did when he pondered this.

”So, you must all understand: I intend for your strength to endure. That is my mission, the task I’ve dedicated my life to. Developing the new Exchange Spell—that is my mission!”

”I don’t know what you’re really trying to achieve, Kuyi Tulan. The Great Mentor is merciful; he always believed you merely chose the wrong path. But we don’t think so. We believe you are inherently vile.” For some reason, Dastan couldn’t stop himself from talking to Kuyi Tulan. Despite the disgust welling within him, he continued to speak—a very unnatural thing for him to do.

Perhaps it was because of the Great Mentor.

After all, Kuyi Tulan was the Great Mentor’s disciple. No matter what, Dastan felt he had to show some deference for the Great Mentor’s sake.

”Vile? Is war not vile? Every person you’ve cut down, Dastan—did they all deserve to die? Before power, all else is meaningless. Nothing is absolutely right, nothing is absolutely wrong. Right and wrong are merely perspectives from the summit.”

”You’re beyond redemption!”

”It is you who fail to see the truth! This world is, and always will be, ruled by the strong. The so-called Equivalent Exchange? Merely a game played amongst the powerful. Right now, the Kayne Empire is encircled by formidable foes: Mantai in the northwest eyes us covetously, Wensi in the southeast has long harbored ambitions, and there are vast, uncharted expanses of the Wilderness. If we do not reach the summit of power now, we will face something far worse than mere regression.” Kuyi Tulan grew increasingly agitated, desperate to make Dastan, trapped in the cage, understand.

He behaved this way only because he yearned for everyone to understand his true, albeit harsh, intentions. He simply wanted to prove that his choices were right.

”I am researching advanced Exchange Spells! I intend to use time and space themselves to preserve all your strength. Only by doing so can our Kayne Empire continue to stand tall upon this continent, looking down upon all. Only then can we truly live!”

”You truly are far sicker than I imagined.”

Kuyi Tulan laughed, his laughter growing wilder and more unrestrained until it seemed to engulf the entire pub.

”The reason I’ve said so much is because I genuinely care about you all. I, Kuyi Tulan, wouldn’t waste a single word on those I don’t care for.”

”This world is a mix of truth and illusion; only power can truly dictate all. I will dedicate my entire life’s energy to this Exchange Spell. It is an advanced Exchange Spell, and an advanced method of survival!”

Kuyi Tulan continued his declamation. For that moment, it was as if the entire world belonged to him.

”I... I just wanted you all to know. As for whether you’re willing or not—that’s not for you to decide.”

Dastan, in the Golden Cage, remained silent. He felt his words were no match for Kuyi Tulan’s rhetoric. All he could do was listen in silence, despair growing in his heart. It was all just as he’d imagined: Kuyi Tulan was, and always had been, a complete bastard.

”When you survive all this, one day you will be grateful to me, Kuyi Tulan. On that day, you will naturally understand the meaning of my words today.”

Kuyi Tulan clenched his fists and closed his eyes. ”May the Stars above bless our path forward! May the countless stars illuminate Kayne!”

”May the countless stars illuminate Kayne!” Hector and Carmello prayed in unison.

”We revere the moon,” Baharo, still locked in his cage, chuckled, speaking playfully.

”I know the totem of you Hunters. The ever-changing moon, adept at concealing itself. But there is only one moon, while the stars are innumerable.”

”So, we have nothing in common at all,” Baharo chuckled again.

”You still don’t understand. Perhaps I’ve been too polite.”

”Of course I don’t understand! What exactly did you do to the Honored Seven Knights?”

”You will come to understand the events of the past in time. But before that, I need to find out what exactly happened on that mountain—why someone appeared whom even Brad couldn’t handle.”