One-Eyed Monster

”Joseph! Kuren!” Xiso looked in surprise at the two men lying on the ground. Clearly, he hadn’t anticipated this.

”What happened? How did you two get here? What about Grey Eagle Peak?”

”Grey... Grey Eagle Peak... it... it has fallen!” Joseph struggled to prop himself up. Parts of the wings on his shoulders were frayed, a sign that he had not escaped unscathed.

Kuren, beside him, was moaning incessantly on the ground, too weak to speak. The repeated blows he had suffered were torture for him.

Kuren felt he should have been at Grey Eagle Peak. He had been the guardian of Dawn Peak. Later, when Dawn Peak was attacked by the Alchemy Workshop and others, his World Setting Technique was broken. He had no choice but to retreat from Dawn Peak. He had intended to help Joseph and the others defend Grey Eagle Peak, but he never imagined that the Shield in front of Grey Eagle Peak would suddenly collapse with a crash. Even now, he couldn’t understand what had happened. Was it a chain reaction from the fall of Dawn Peak? But then, Ghost Wind Valley’s natural Shield had also lost its disorienting properties. That just didn’t make sense.

The blow to Kuren was severe. He felt he could hardly hold on any longer; often, mental torment was even worse than physical injury.

While Xiso had anticipated the fall of Grey Eagle Peak, he hadn’t expected to lose a defensive line so quickly. The enemy’s strength was surprisingly great, catching him off guard; he had never imagined they could overwhelm the four guardians of Grey Eagle Peak. After all, those four were no ordinary individuals.

”Grey Eagle Peak has fallen?” Kevin asked in surprise. He stepped out of the Stone House, followed by Great Mentor Guzan, Igor, and the monster Kadi.

”Yes. Joseph managed to escape with Kuren,” Xiso replied.

”Mentor, please, help Kuren! He seems unable to hold it back anymore!” Joseph pleaded hastily upon seeing Master Guzan. Kuren had suffered a terrible blow earlier, and the suppressed Berserker within him was stirring, eager to break free.

Joseph had expended a great deal of energy to rescue Kuren from Grey Eagle Peak. The enemy understood them thoroughly; their knowledge of Kuren, in particular, was alarmingly profound. If Simon and the others hadn’t provided cover, Joseph dreaded to think what would happen if the Berserker managed to reclaim Kuren’s body.

”Don’t worry, tell me slowly.” Master Guzan helped Joseph staunch the bleeding. A gash on Joseph’s wing was still slowly oozing blood, apparently pierced by a Spirit Arrow.

”Mentor, people from the Alchemy Workshop are here too! It’s Milo!” Joseph continued, relaying the situation at Grey Eagle Peak.

The name Milo startled both Xiso and Kevin. They were familiar with it—Milo was the Great Mentor’s top disciple, but for some unknown reason, he was now following that bastard Kuyi Tulan.

”They won’t harm Kuren. In the Alchemy Workshop, only Kuyi Tulan is capable of goading Kuren into unleashing the Berserker within him. But I presume Kuyi Tulan isn’t among those attacking you,” Master Guzan said calmly, showing no sign of panic, as if completely unconcerned.

The Great Mentor placed his hand on Kuren’s moaning head. He recited a few lines of an Alchemy Equation, and soon Kuren quieted down. His breathing slowed and became more regular, though he still lay motionless on the ground.

”Kevin, take Joseph and Kuren to the safe house. Oh, don’t forget to bring Igor and Kadi,” Master Guzan instructed, not waiting for Joseph to say more, and promptly assigned Kevin to take them away.

”Mentor, aren’t you going to...”

”Xiso, no more persuasion. I’ve already said it once: this place needs me right now.” The Great Mentor’s authority seemed to resonate in the air once more. It was a powerful, remarkably strong presence.

”The Alchemy Workshop won’t do anything to me; you don’t need to worry. As for the other unidentified enemy, I’m not afraid either. Although I’ve distanced myself from worldly affairs for many years, I can still handle the usual ploys of Adventurers with Class.”

After hearing these words, Igor felt Master Guzan was truly impressive, and his image of the Great Mentor grew even grander in his heart.

”Alright, no more wasting time. Kevin, you take them to the safe house. Xiso stays here with me. Have Arnold retreat to the Twin Peaks, and tell Gullide and the others not to act rashly.” At this moment, Great Mentor Guzan was not the benevolent old man they knew, but a decisive commander.

”Yes, Mentor,” Kevin immediately responded. It had been a long time since he’d seen the Great Mentor in this state. Indeed, he had only witnessed the Great Mentor like this on the battlefield.

Kevin knew the Great Mentor was furious; otherwise, he wouldn’t be like this. Perhaps the fall of Grey Eagle Peak hadn’t troubled the Great Mentor as much as the harm inflicted on Kuren, for whom the Great Mentor cared deeply. The Berserker had always been Kuren’s hidden affliction. The Great Mentor had been unable to truly guide Kuren through it, only managing to suppress the Berserker lurking within him. But now, an enemy was actually trying to awaken it! This thought enraged not only the Great Mentor but Kevin himself. If the Great Mentor hadn’t given him a task, Kevin would have already rushed to Grey Eagle Peak to see what was going on. Grey Eagle Peak had actually fallen! Kevin just couldn’t wrap his head around it. He’d sooner die than believe that those brats from the Alchemy Workshop could defeat Simon. Jemma, Yuga, Simon, and Joseph—every one of them was a capable fighter. How could they have just lost Grey Eagle Peak so easily?

But Kevin had no way of finding out why, not at the moment. He had to get the wounded Joseph and Kuren to the safe house, and of course, Kadi and Igor as well.

”Alright, Mentor. I’ll take them to the safe house, and I will return here to join you,” Kevin said.

”Hurry!” Xiso interjected before the Great Mentor could speak further, not wanting to lose Kevin’s fighting strength at such a critical time.

”Take good care of Kuren. Among all of you, he’s the one I’m most worried about. He is naive, yet so deeply afflicted.”

”Mentor, we failed to defend Grey Eagle Peak. We’ve caused you trouble,” Joseph apologized. The bleeding from his wing had stopped, and he managed to prop himself up, leaning on a makeshift crutch he’d fashioned from a broken tree sapling.

”You should rest and recuperate too, Joseph. Don’t be rash. All of this is fated. We’re merely following the course set for us,” the Great Mentor comforted them.

And so, Kevin led Igor and the others away, parting from the Great Mentor and heading towards a place called the Safe House.

Parting with Great Mentor Guzan didn’t sit well with Kadi, but then again, nothing had sat well with Kadi for a long time. Ever since discovering that the monster boss from Guru Mountain was Guzan, he had been in a daze. Granted, it wasn’t entirely his fault. The Great Mentor’s stories were too lengthy and complex; Kadi simply hadn’t the patience to listen.

Now, Kadi was puzzled. Grey Eagle Peak had fallen, so why was he being sent to some ”safe house”? He was a member of Guru Mountain! How could he just shrink back and hide? He should be standing with the others to defend this mountain! Even though Kadi never knew what exactly they were protecting, he still felt that simply following Kevin like this was definitely not what he wanted.