Chapter 5
In the school courtyard, on a clear night under the silver moonlight, Sbyam and Suero stood silently, gazing deeply at the moon. Those moments were quiet, as if time had stopped; there was no sound but the gentle wind, observing their mysterious, unspoken thoughts. Suddenly, Sbyam broke the solemn silence, saying in a soft tone, “I’m leaving.” Suero looked at him in confusion, quickly replying but with a cautious voice, “Where to?” Sbyam slowly turned, gave a mysterious smile, and replied, “I have an appointment.”
Suero remained bewildered, as if the word had sunk deep into his mind for a moment, wondering to himself, “An appointment? Could he have a lover?” Suero stayed in place, watching Sbyam’s back as he walked away slowly, wondering what secrets Sbyam kept within.
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At Suero’s family home, mother Salma stood in her bedroom by the window, wrapped in the soft moonlight. Her eyes were fixed on the moon, as if she were probing it's depths, immersed in old, deep thoughts. Father Rashid approached her quietly from behind, asking gently, “Are you okay?” But mother Salma kept her gaze on the moon, murmuring in a tone of introspection, “Yes.” She appeared lost in deep thought, so Rashid gently said, “Alright, I’ll head to bed.” He lay down, and in that moment, mother Salma drifted off, whispering to herself, “Why did you do it, Spailo… why?” as if trying to converse with the moon itself, in a well of distant memories.
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In a warm, classic café, where the dim lights reflected a cozy ambiance, a violinist played soft, soothing notes, filling the air with a romantic, calming atmosphere. Sbyam sat at one of the tables, quietly enjoying his meal, while the girl in front of him, Risa, watched him with growing irritation. Heavy moments passed before she sighed and said sharply, “Don’t you care?” Sbyam looked at her slowly, raising his eyebrows in apparent surprise, and asked innocently, “About what?”
Risa tried to control her anger, but it finally burst out as she said, “I’ve told you hundreds of times! I told you I love you!” Sbyam stared at her indifferently, as if her words hadn’t really reached him. Risa continued in a scolding tone, “We’ve known each other for so long, back when you were just a student!” Sbyam chuckled quietly, almost mockingly, and said, “Do you still remember those days?” Risa’s face showed disappointment, emotions of frustration rising as she stood up angrily. Seeing her serious tone, Sbyam asked in a low voice, “Where are you going?” She replied harshly, “I’m tired of this!”
Before she could leave, Sbyam gently grabbed her hand, stopping her. She turned to him slowly, and they shared a silent, deep look. Sbyam then said in a strangely calm voice, “Sit.” Feeling slightly flustered, Risa sat back down, then resumed scolding him sharply: “Alright, so what do you want to say?” Sbyam looked at her quietly, and said, “Listen, you know that I’m from the Raimo clan, and my enemies are many.” He added in a low voice, almost like a confession, “Don’t you remember Itasha?”
As he mentioned “Itasha,” his face darkened suddenly, his eyes gazing at the table with clear sadness, reflecting a past pain. Risa gently took his hand, whispering his name: “Sbyam…” He looked at her, his eyes showing a sad but warm glow. Risa gave a gentle smile, and with a tone full of warmth, she said, “I know you want to protect me, but I want to be with you, even if it costs me my life.”
Sbyam sighed with a weary tone and spoke softly, as if talking to himself: “I couldn’t protect her… nor my friend Brylo… I couldn’t protect him, and I’m afraid I’ll fail again… I’m afraid I won’t be able to protect you.”
Risa tightened her grip on his hand, lovingly caressing it, and just as she was about to say another word, a sharp gunshot broke the silence of the café. It shattered the window, heading towards her at lightning speed. The bullet struck her head, blood splattering across the table and onto Sbyam’s face. Risa swayed for a moment, then fell to the ground, her body still, blood slowly pooling into a dark red around her.
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Sbyam stared ahead in shock, as if his mind refused to grasp what had happened, mumbling as if not knowing what to say, “What?” With blood spreading around him, the café patrons looked on in horror, screaming and fleeing in terror. One person approached, a gunman named Smart, who entered the café with calm, confident steps, a smug smile on his face. He stepped up to the table and, with a tone filled with mockery, said, “Sbyam Brius, remember me?”
Sbyam slowly raised his head, his face showing the shock filling his heart, as Smart continued mockingly, “You didn’t kill me that day, did you? What a mistake… because I’m here to kill you now!” Sbyam looked down slowly at Risa’s body before him, the blood pool around her growing slowly, as if time itself were stretching in that horrifying moment.
Smart’s voice ignited a burning hatred within him as he spoke in a deadly calm tone: “Oh, heir of the Raimo clan, I’ve waited a long time for this moment, to kill you myself.” A fiery rage filled Sbyam’s eyes, his gaze becoming a hellish look of hatred he could no longer hide, his face seeming like a terrifying mask. Smart took a small step back, but smirked and said mockingly, “You really are frightening, kid.”
Sbyam spoke sharply, his voice filled with rage: “You killed her!” Smart looked at Risa’s fallen body, laughing coldly. “I would say I killed her for the same reason as that other child, but… this time, it was just out of hatred for you!”
Suddenly, dark, fearsome sparks began to surround Sbyam’s body, flickering around him like black flames, burning the air around them. Smart looked at the sparks, smiling defiantly, and said, “I’m not foolish enough to face the strongest sorcerer of this generation unprepared.” Sbyam replied in a low, lethal tone, though laced with deep sorrow: “Then… die.”
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Elsewhere, in the school dormitory, Moryo lay staring at the ceiling when Baysal entered the room and asked hesitantly, “Has anyone seen the teacher Sbyam?” Kamyo replied indifferently, “Why?” Baysal answered in a low voice, “Because I haven’t seen him.” Moryo answered firmly, “Sleep. Now.”
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Meanwhile, the atmosphere in the café had turned to chaos and ruin. Chairs were overturned, tables shattered, and smoke filled the air. Suddenly, an explosion shook the ground, sending Smart stumbling back until he hit the wall of a nearby building. He stood there, gasping, looking forward to see Sbyam approaching, with dark sparks surrounding him as if consuming him. Smart felt a deep fear but held himself together, looking at Sbyam with a false sense of confidence, inwardly admitting in worry, “You’re a monster, Sbyam.”
The dark sparks around Sbyam’s body intensified, and he suddenly vanished like a shadow dissolving into the air. Smart’s eyes darted around quickly, trying to track the direction of the sparks speeding toward him. Before he could react, Sbyam reappeared behind him, emerging from nothingness with eyes wide in fury, as if they were ablaze with a hidden fire.
Smart shot up into the air, flying toward Sbyam, with a red spark glowing in his hand, reflecting a latent ferocity and rising power. He screamed loudly, breaking through the silence, “I will defeat you! I will defeat you once again!” He launched a powerful punch aimed directly at Sbyam’s face, the air around his fist cracking from the intense pressure, sending dust flying around them.
Yet Sbyam, with a calm face as if time had paused for him, did not move from his spot, taking the blow without flinching. Smart stared at him in shock, unable to believe what he was seeing. He whispered in a tense voice, “What? How…? Is this part of his technique? Or is it his resilience? But I punched him with all my strength!” He tried to analyze the situation, but his eyes were filled with confusion and frustration. Sbyam, feeling a mix of pain, anger, and hatred, said in a low, harsh voice: “I’ve always hated you, Smart; I’ve always wanted to kill you. You don’t deserve to be Moryo’s father.”
A smirk crossed Smart’s face, and he shouted defiantly, “You’re not the one who decides that!” He stepped back slightly, then circled around to build up more momentum, flying toward Sbyam in a fiercer attack, his fist raised as red sparks flared around it. He screamed with a rising tone of anger: “I’ll kill you now!”
Sbyam lifted his gaze, his eyes slowly glowing with a dark black hue, as if this darkness embodied
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Sbyam lifted his gaze, his eyes slowly glowing with a dark black hue, as if this darkness embodied all his rage and pain. As Smart drew closer, in the critical moment, Sbyam uttered with deadly calm: “ The World of Kurmo .”
In that instant, a strange white barrier surrounded the entire area, and everything around Smart turned a blinding white, as if a new reality was devouring the real world. Smart tried to move, but found his body restrained, unable to budge. Thoughts flowed slowly through his mind, and he inwardly said in growing anxiety: “What is this? Have I entered his realm technique? Why can’t I move? No, I can move, but my perception feels slowed, like I’m trapped in some heavy, strange time…”
Sbyam slowly approached Smart, pointing a finger toward him. Smart looked back at him with unprecedented terror. A small black spark formed at Sbyam’s fingertip, slowly advancing toward Smart’s body. At first, Smart felt a cold prick, followed by a destructive heat building within, as if the black spark were tearing apart every cell inside him.
Sweat dripped from Smart’s forehead as the pain intensified. Then, in a horrifying moment, his body exploded, scattering blood across the area, splattering on the ground and on Sbyam’s face. The white barrier vanished, and the world returned to normal. Onlookers stared at Smart’s torn body, their faces reflecting horror and fear. One muttered, gazing at Sbyam: “What happened? So, that man is… gone…”
Sbyam stood still, staring at the bloodstain on the ground, feeling a chilling calm wash over him. He wiped the blood off his face, stared at it for a moment, then cast one final glance at the bloodstain, left as a witness to Smart’s end.