Chapter Twenty Four

[Crack!] [Crack!] [Crack!] [Crack!] [Crack!]

Smiling wryly, Kyle reached out his right arm to console the crying woman.

Although she was partly responsible for Karan and his injuries, he still felt bad to have someone shed their tears for him.

Yet his outstretched hand was retracted halfway through. The rest of his body protested at him for trying to do excessive movements, earning a yelp from the youth.

"Akh—!"

She lifted her head abruptly and stopped him from moving, eyes red and wet.

"Don't move too much!" She moved her arms in panic. "What you need to do for now is rest and get well soon…!"

The youth gritted his mouth in pain.

"What did you expect for me to do then? Just watch as my own biological sister drown in self-blame?"

He spoke in a slightly hushed voice, slowly to not trigger the wounds on his body.

[Crack!] [Crack!] [Crack!] [Crack!] [Crack!] [Crack!]

"But it's the truth! The fact that both of you are treated here is the undeniable proof of my wrong-doings!"

Loine bit her lower lips and tightly shut her eyes, letting the pooled tears fall to the white floor.

"W-what was I thinking before? I promised our parents to protect both of you, but look at what I've done?!"

The sternness from her expressions had evaporated somewhere, leaving only the look of a crying maiden.

She continued to vent her emotions with tears streaking down her cheeks.

"Karan, our brother, could die any moment now! And all of it is my fault!"

The youth lying on the bed kept his silence. All he did was to gaze at her in pity and resignation.

'For situations like these, it would be better for me to stay silent at let her express her emotions.'

Loine was oblivious to his thoughts and kneeled down beside the bed, putting both of her palms against her red eyes.

Sobs of sorrow rang out on the room for a while, before Kyle let out a tired sigh.

"Come on, don't be like this. You of all people should know about how we would react to this."

Loine kept her head hung, but her sobs had gotten significantly quieter.

The youth knew that he was heading in the right direction with their conversation. As her brother, how many times had he consoled her sister when she broke down like this?

Kyle suppressed the ominous feeling in his heart and spoke slowly as if soothing a crying child.

"And plus, all of us have gained some lesson from this experience."

"…sob…Such as?"

"For starters, you now know to prioritize our safety in uncertain situations!" Kyle spoke with a chuckle as if he was telling a funny joke.

But no one seemed entertained by this jest except for himself.

He heard no reactions coming from down the bed and continued.

"Karan had learned about how important it is to think when fighting an enemy! Both of us would've gotten in a worse condition otherwise."

From the earlier battle against the robed man, Kyle did most of the thinking rather than Karan.

If Karan fought the robed man alone, he would lose without a doubt. That is if he was to keep his current way of combat.

'Well, although the same could be said for me,' the youth thought in self-deprecation.

The problem in Karan is that he would always prefer fighting his way out rather than thinking. Kyle would've probably chosen a mixture of both, but he lacked greatly in terms of power.

"And as for me— "he licked his lips. The memories of their battle flashed in his mind, and a corner of his mouth rose.

"…I've learned that I desperately need to have an Authority of my own."

[Crack!] [Crack!] [Crack!] [Crack!] [Crack!] [Crack!] [Crack!]

Loine lifted her head to the sky in confusion, revealing her tear-ridden face. Her eyes were ridden by spiderwebs, and her shirt was stained by her tears.

Kyle saw the confusion on her gaze and chuckled.

"Don't be that surprised. It's just that, I've realized that this world isn't kind to weaklings such as me."

Closing his eyes, he recalled the things that had happened earlier.

"The battle we had yesterday, the fight against that robed man, and that explosion that led us to this state…"

"All of them had a thing in common, which is that strength is the main focus of our world."

His sister was now leaning her back against the soft bed. She was thoughtful enough to avoid bumping into the instruments and the artifacts all over the place.

"W-was your enemy that strong?" she spoke with a shaky voice.

"He was…at first."

"At first?"

Seeing that he had caught his sister's attention, Kyle took this opportunity to distract her from her worries.

"Yeah, his Authorities seemed similar to yours. He can teleport all over the place, just without the flashiness of your ability."

Loine frowned when she heard his description.

"Impossible, I have never heard of a low-tier ability that powerful."

Kyle rolled his eyes, "Of course you hadn't. His real ability is to travel via turning into a streak of darkness. It was hard to see due to the trees and the fact that it was nighttime."

"Oh, so just a normal guy then."

"He's a normal guy to you people, but he was an overwhelming opponent for both of us, you know!?"

Kyle unconsciously moved his body to retort her words. But it was a shame that he was injured, he hissed out in pain from trying to move that quickly.

By now, Loine had calmed down considerably. She asked with her puffy eyes, "Did both of you won?"

"Nope," Kyle denied without a thought.

"What?"

"He ran away from us when he realized that we knew about his weaknesses."

The youth still felt furious when he thought about it.

If given enough time, both of them would've been able to finish him sooner or later.

Glancing at his slightly comical expression, Loine sighed and dropped her head. After a short moment, she stood up from the floor and swiped the corner of her eyes.

"…Thank you." As a family member, she had realized that Kyle had attempted to cheer herself up. Of course, she has to at least thank him for his consolation.

"Heh, you're welcome."

[Crack!] [Crack!] [Crack!] [Crack!] [Crack!] [Crack!] [Crack!] [Crack!]

The sibling smiled at each other.

She softly laughed and walked to the door. She was about to leave the room before a voice resounded from her back

"And where do you think you're going?"

"…Back to our city, why'd you ask."

When Kyle heard her response, his relaxed atmosphere disappeared, and he furrowed his eyebrows.

"Why would you return there, it is far too dangerous."

"Well. For once, I am the leader of our team. And second of all, people might still be suffering there."

"But you remembered that huge explosion, didn't you? If it weren't for you, both Karan and I would've lost our lives back then."

Kyle focused his gaze on her sister.

"And someone as weak as you would be a hindrance for the other people fighting there."

Even someone as powerful as Loine would be helpless in front of that raw power.

[Crack!] [Crack!] [Crack!] [Crack!] [Crack!] [Crack!] [Crack!] [Crack!] [Crack!]

He didn't stop at that and kept pressuring Loine.

"So, returning to the city won't even help anyone. In a sense, all you'd ever be if you came back is just a hindrance."

She didn't answer him immediately. She bit her lower lip before raising a corner of her mouth.

"That was too painful, don't you think?"

"You'd definitely go if it wasn't that hurtful. And besides, even you yourself believe that you wouldn't be able to help anyone there, right?"

Clicking her tongue, Loine rolled her slightly red eyes.

"But even so, I'd have to fulfill my duties as a leader of our team."

"Oh really…?"

Kyle returned her words by rolling his eyes.

"Didn't you swear to our parents that you'd protect Karan and me? How could you fulfill it if you were to go ahead and leave us here with severe injuries?"

Loine's eyebrows twitched. She couldn't believe that this brother of hers would act like this.

"But I— "

"No buts! At least stay here until Karan's surgery is finished.

"…"

The stern-looking woman ruffled her hair and sighed deeply. She didn't think that she would be held here by his own brother.

'…But I guess it's justified. Let's just look at it as a form of paying for my mistakes.'

"Fine, I'll stay here until Karan's safe and fine."

The corners of the youth's mouth rose and he chuckled in amusement.

"Heh, I'll force you to stay here even after his surgery is finished."

Loine laughed at his words.

"Hahaha, then it seems like I will be staying here for a while."

Both of them smiled at each other.

[Crack!] [Crack!] [Crack!] [Crack!] [Crack!] [Crack!] [Crack!] [Crack!] [Crack!] [Crack!]

[Crash!!!]

"What!!!?"