Cleaver Of Sin

Chapter 85: First Beef

As the Primarch disappeared from sight, all eyes immediately tore back toward Asher.

”You’ve done well, youngest. It seems like just yesterday you visited the family library for the first time,” said the voice of the Great Elder Librarian, Morthen Wargrave.

”Thank you, Great Elder,” Asher replied with a soft smile.

With that, the Wargraves began to walk away one by one, each lost in their own thoughts. None of them bothered to inquire about the limitations of Asher’s blood healing or teleportation abilities. Perhaps they were too stunned, or simply respectful enough, to question him now.

The Ninth Sun, Thalric Wargrave, paused for a brief second, his gaze lingering on Asher. Then, without a word, he turned and walked away toward his quarters.

Only Malrik and Wuthenya Wargrave, the First Sun and the Second Moon, remained behind. Their expressions were warm, and their gazes softened as they addressed him.

”Who would have thought you had grown this strong already? You hid it well, youngest,” Wuthenya remarked first, her tone laced with affectionate amusement.

”Indeed,” Malrik added. ”Were you planning to surprise everyone with your strength? Because, if so, the surprise worked.”

”I never really hid anything. No one knew simply because they never cared enough to find out,” Asher replied with a grin. ”You can check the records at the First Training Ground, though.”

Within the estate, only the Primarch had any awareness of Asher’s abilities, based on the discreet reports submitted from the First Training Ground. Those records were originally used as reference points to gauge what rank of assassins to dispatch to test a Sun or Moon during the True Awakening.

”Let’s get you healed first. Although your rapier possesses healing capabilities, we don’t know its limitations, or if it might have missed something subtle,” Malrik said, shaking his head.

At his words, Virelass, who had vanished earlier, suddenly reappeared with a dissatisfied hum, clearly displeased at the suggestion that her healing might have been inadequate.

”Virelass, don’t make a fuss about it. It’s just a routine check,” Asher said with a resigned sigh.

”Your weapon’s name is Virelass? That’s a cool name,” Wuthenya said with interest, her jet-black eyes shifting toward the rapier.

Sensing her gaze, Virelass floated forward and circled around Wuthenya, humming curiously.

”She seems to like you,” Asher remarked, amused by his weapon’s behavior.

The next moment, Wuthenya’s soul weapon, a slender, obsidian dagger, materialized in the air and blocked Virelass’ path, as though telling her to stay away from its master. Virelass hovered in place, and the two weapons began to hum at each other as though communicating.

Asher had no interest in getting between whatever interaction was occurring between the two soul weapons, so he simply ignored the standoff. Wuthenya, on the other hand, watched the little exchange with obvious amusement, as though enjoying the playful show.

”So, who are we meeting for the check-up?” Asher asked, turning his attention back to Malrik.

Malrik shook his head with a light smile. ”No need to bother yourself with such details. The healer is already on the way. We just need to sit and wait.”

With that, they walked together into a nearby waiting room, where they sat down comfortably and began to talk. Meanwhile, Virelass and the dagger had begun clashing mid-air, their blades humming with magical resonance. The echoes of their collisions rang out like distant chimes of metal, while tiny sparks danced in the air, adding a surreal glow to the atmosphere.

’Is this Virelass’ first beef?’ Asher mused, watching the exchange through his Omni Perception without so much as turning his head.

’Wait, Virelass has always been gentle. Since when did she start picking fights? Did the True Awakening awaken some battle-hungry trait in her or something?’ he continued in thought.

’Forget it.’ He ended with a mental sigh.

”So, youngest genius, how do you feel after your True Awakening?” Wuthenya asked, having already shifted her attention away from the duel of soul weapons.

”I feel... normal. Is there something I should be feeling? Was something supposed to awaken during the True Awakening?” Asher responded curiously.

”There’s nothing new to awaken, really,” Malrik answered from the side. ”The name ’True Awakening’ isn’t about unlocking some hidden power. It’s meant to awaken you to the reality of the world itself, its brutal, unforgiving truth. It’s a life or death moment designed to make you feel like the entire world of Cyrmora is your enemy.”

Asher gave a subtle nod, releasing a quiet sigh of relief. Deep inside, he had been panicking. The thought that he might have missed awakening some vital ability had gnawed at him.

’So, they really were watching...’ he thought to himself. He had guessed this, when he started looking for anything that could act as a camera before he decided to give up.

”What Big Sis means,” Wuthenya added, ”is that this was your first time taking a life. Don’t you feel any psychological burden? We may be Wargraves, but we’re still human at the end of the day. We bleed. We die. And yes, we feel.”

Her dark, serious eyes met Asher’s vivid purple ones. She spoke with care, but there was a quiet gravity in her words.

Asher understood her concern. After all, he had just eliminated nearly a hundred assassins. But he had no reason to lie.

He simply shook his head and responded calmly, ”I don’t feel anything. There’s no emotional burden, at least, not anymore. Although I did feel it the first time... after my spar with Ryan Silvershade. But I adjusted after that.”

Hearing his response, Wuthenya and Malrik nodded knowingly. They had reviewed the recording of Asher’s spar with Ryan. They had seen firsthand how brutal it had been, how Asher had shattered every limb on Ryan’s body with calculated, merciless lethality.

”Well,” Wuthenya said gently, ”if you ever feel anything down the line, don’t hesitate to speak up. You wouldn’t be the first Wargrave to feel the weight of psychological burden. So don’t think of it as weakness. There’s actually an ability to lift that burden, that’s why I’m asking.”

Her tone was sincere, and her emphasis left no room for doubt.

”No problem, Big Sis,” Asher replied with a small smile.

’There really is an ability for everything,’ he thought. ’Here I was, wondering if there were any therapists in this era...’

But he understood Wuthenya’s concern clearly. From all the fantasy novels he had read and the countless anime he had watched in his past life, there was always one common truth: psychological weight could be a killer on the battlefield.

Wuthenya was simply trying to prevent that from happening to him.

And in her own way, she was doing it with love.