The Lie

The guard carried the unconscious Cain toward the exit, muttering as he walked, "Ugh, all the dirty, tiring jobs fall to us."

"The captain just has to lie there and bark orders. If things go wrong, we take the blame; if they go right, the captain gets the reward. What a great deal."

Seeing that they were already some distance away, the guard threw Cain to the ground and raised his longsword. "Kid, don't blame me. Blame your rotten luck."

Just as the sword was about to come down, a sharp pain suddenly pierced his chest.

The guard slowly lowered his head and saw a sharp steel needle, as thick as a little finger, embedded in his chest.

Blood from the wound stained the surrounding clothes bright red. The guard stared at Cain, who held the steel needle in his hand, in shock.

He could not understand how the kid who had been lying there unconscious just moments ago had suddenly woken up and put him in this state.

"Ah... you... damn brat..."

After the initial shock came a surge of fury. The longsword in his hand was about to fall, ending the brat who had dared to injure him.

Cain did not panic in the face of the descending sword. A ball of light appeared before him, followed by a sudden burst of blinding radiance. The unexpected glare stabbed at the guard's eyes, making him cry out in pain.

Cain, who had been prepared, had already closed his eyes.

This blinding Radiance had been created with the magic Cain had awakened. Cain called it "Radiance," and this was also the first time he had used his magic since awakening it.

The effect was astonishing. The guard's eyes were temporarily blinded by the intense light, and he was now clutching them with both hands and howling nonstop.

Cain did not let such a good opportunity slip away. He stepped forward with his left foot, drew back his right leg slightly, then kicked viciously between the guard's legs.

Crack. The sound of an egg shattering rang especially loudly in the silent night.

The guard, who had still been howling, became like a rooster whose neck had suddenly been gripped. The sound echoed in his throat, but he could not force it out.

With his weak point struck heavily, the guard could only clamp his legs shut. He threw away his longsword at once, and his hands, which had been covering his eyes, moved to protect his crotch.

Curled up on the ground, he rolled around without stopping, hoping to ease the unbearable agony of having his eggs crushed.

Then, a pair of small feet, covered in mud, appeared before the guard's eyes.

"Damn... damn... brat..."

The guard slowly raised his vicious gaze, but the moment he saw Cain standing before him with the longsword in hand, the savage, venomous expression vanished.

A sense of dread rose in his heart, and terror instantly covered his face. "No, don't kill me."

Cain showed no mercy in the face of the guard's pleas. In his previous life, he had only killed fish; he had never even killed a chicken.

But Cain understood that if he did not kill the man before him, then he would be the one to die next.

The longsword stabbed fiercely into the guard's back. Watching him scream, Cain decided to end his suffering as quickly as possible.

After about seven or eight thrusts, the guard lying on the ground finally stopped moving.

"Phew... phew... Good thing I picked up that steel nail earlier. Looks like killing people isn't much different from killing fish."

After taking two deep breaths to calm his nerves, he recalled the fight just now. Fear rapidly spread through him, and cold sweat seeped out, soaking the clothes over his chest.

Cain stared deeply in the direction of the Magic Development Bureau and whispered, "Ultear, wait for me."

Then he searched the guard, took all the money on him, and headed into the distance.

Inside the Magic Development Bureau, Ultear's room.

Ultear woke up. The surrounding scene felt somewhat familiar. "This is..."

"What, you don't even recognize your own room anymore?"

The voice instantly jolted Ultear awake. She whipped her head around and found Brain sitting leisurely beside the bed, a faint smile on his face.

"Where's Cain? Where is Cain?"

Brain did not care about Ultear's questioning. He slowly rose and smoothed the wrinkles from his clothes.

Then he looked at Ultear, his smile gradually widening. "Cain? You mean that little brat who was with you?"

"He left you behind and ran away by himself. Hahahahaha!"

Ultear did not believe Brain's words. She shook her head. "No. Cain wouldn't leave me behind and run away alone."

Brain sneered.

"Wouldn't he? Ultear, he was only using you. If he hadn't wanted to know how you escaped the Magic Development Bureau, he would never have approached you."

"Now you're here while he has vanished. That is the best proof."

Yet Ultear refused to believe it, only shaking her head. "No. Cain wouldn't leave me behind."

Brain had thought Ultear would surely believe him after he said that, but he had not expected her to trust that brat named Cain so much.

Seeing this, Brain unleashed his magic power. A vast, indescribable magic power instantly filled the entire room.

Ultear stared blankly at Brain, who seemed to have walked out of hell itself. Fear began rising within her heart.

Her small body could not stop trembling, and at some point, sweat had covered her entire body.

"If I hadn't let him leave, do you think he could have gotten away?"

After saying that, Brain turned and left Ultear's room. Only after that immense magic power disappeared did Ultear come back to herself and begin gasping for air.

He... he was right. That enormous magic power was not something two children like us could handle.

So Cain really had abandoned her.

At that thought, Ultear felt as though she had been sunk into the depths of the sea, surrounded by boundless darkness.

It was as if a voice in her heart was telling her that no one had ever needed her. Her mother was like that, and Cain was the same.

Outside the door, Brain quietly watched the scene through the window. By now, Ultear could be said to have completely fallen into darkness.

Ultear like this should fetch a good price. In a pleasant mood, Brain stopped paying attention to Ultear in the room. As for that other brat named Cain, he had not taken him seriously at all.

After walking through the entire night, Cain finally caught sight of a small town. His clothes were somewhat tattered, his blond hair was covered in dust, and his filthy body gave off a nauseating stench.

His feet had been rubbed raw from traveling such a long distance without shoes, making him stagger as he walked.

If not for the longsword in his hand, he would probably have been driven away as a beggar long ago.

Cain looked around, first buying a set of clothes from a clothing store, then renting a room at an inn and taking a nice bath.

After changing clothes, he looked at his cute, blond-haired reflection in the mirror and nodded in satisfaction. Come to think of it, this was the first time Cain had known what he looked like.

He ordered a simple breakfast at the inn, then began considering what to do next.

Originally, after Cain and Ultear escaped the Magic Development Bureau, they were going to look for Ur. But an accident had suddenly occurred, and only he had escaped the Magic Development Bureau.

Ultear was still over there, and he needed to rescue her as soon as possible.

However, Cain realized that he had no idea where Ur was. Why hadn't I asked Ultear where to find Ur?

Since looking for Ur was not an option, only Fairy Tail remained.

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