Legacy of Hatred

Scenes from the slaughter flashed in Adrian’s vision as soon as Grace left. It was time to discuss everything properly, and his stomach twisted at those memories.

Adrian had only seen a small part of the slaughter, but it conveyed the idea. His terror had been genuine. Liam had looked like a monster from nightmares, death incarnate.

Still, death incarnate was now staring longingly at the tent, fighting the urge to run after Grace. That picture couldn’t be more opposite to the slaughter, but it came from the same man.

Either monsters could love, or Liam wasn’t a monster, and Adrian was certain of the latter.

It wasn’t just about knowing who Liam was. On a rational level, Adrian could understand that people killed to defend themselves and what was dear to them. Battles also led to loss of life. It was simply the nature of the world.

However, Adrian knew the names of everyone on his team. They hadn’t been close, but realizing that they were gone in such a sudden, gory manner hit hard. It wasn’t disgust per se. It just felt wrong.

That was mostly about the act of killing and the fact that Liam was the one administering it. Even back on Krosstoen’s mountain, Adrian had seen Liam hurt plenty of foreign hunters. Murder simply crossed some moral line.

But that likely was Adrian’s naivety. He hadn’t faced Liam’s trials, but he wanted to know about them. He wanted to understand, not to gain a new perspective, but because that was his closest friend in the world.

Liam felt the stare, eventually turning to focus on it, his brain putting aside everything concerning Grace, which was a lot. Between the breakthrough, her saving him again, the family stuff, and the hidden meaning behind her parting words, he was overloaded with the urge to take care of his woman.

Adrian had clearly seen that, as shown by his first question. "You love her very much, don’t you?"

"I do," Liam confirmed without a trace of shame or embarrassment. "She is the reason I got this far."

"But really," Adrian chuckled. "I would have sworn you had no idea what a woman was back in the village."

"I didn’t," Liam nodded, sighing, going for his drink. "I haven’t for a long time, too long. I made someone suffer due to how stupid I am."

"Are you ...," Adrian muttered, his eyes wide. "Are you telling me that your wife wasn’t the only one?"

Liam nodded again, holding back the urge to ask Adrian about the Pale Moon Sect. The less he knew about all that, the better it was.

"You were always interested in that stuff," Liam pointed out. "Did you find no one because you are bald now?"

"Was that a joke?" Adrian gasped. "Can you make jokes now?"

"Grace teases me so much I learned something," Liam smirked.

"A married monkey-boy," Adrian shook his head in disbelief. "Who dresses nicely, doesn’t smell, and knows how to crack jokes. Father would never believe me."

Liam drank again, memories of another bald figure resurfacing. He recalled his last conversation with Cyrus, how he had wanted him to be happy and find his answer. It had taken a while, and Cyrus might not like what Liam had decided, but he had ultimately succeeded at both.

"But," Adrian said, conflicted about how to put his thoughts into words. "Can’t you settle somewhere safe and have your family? Your wife sounded like she wanted it. Shouldn’t you do right by her?"

Knowing Liam, at least the old one, he would have prioritized keeping his dear ones safe, especially a woman he had claimed he loved without hesitation.

Sure, safety had a different meaning for branching and rooting experts, but protecting was Liam’s whole bit, and the need for slaughter or even just having enemies contradicted that.

Liam wore a bitter smile. He had considered that back with Melissa, and he would be lying if he claimed that certain role-plays Grace started didn’t make him wonder. Yet, that was a very mortal perspective.

The world had powers Adrian couldn’t even begin to comprehend, powers beyond the world itself. Liam’s inherited Hatred, the Dragon King, the Kingdom’s gargantuan forces, and old monsters who could level entire mountain chains made the idea of a safe place ludicrous.

It was even worse in Liam’s case. The Kingdom would never forget about his lineage. Even if he somehow forsook it, the Dragons would eventually hunt him. They knew he would have returned after all. Great Tutor Taiwlin had made sure of that.

Even if Liam were safe, none of his descendants ever would be. Chances were that even whatever existed outside the Kingdom wasn’t beyond the Dragons’ reach.

The only solution was to get rid of the Dragons.

"Grace and I will never be safe," Liam declared. "And she has a goal similar to mine. Honestly, her story is far worse than mine."

Liam had lost three people and had been forced to listen to them die. Meanwhile, Grace had to watch her entire faction be wiped out because of her, curse her for being born, and cling to life alone.

Adrian couldn’t help but glance at the tent. He would never have guessed that the beautiful, all-cheerful figure could have such a story.

However, the incomplete revelation explained a lot. That cheerfulness was thanks to Liam. He was already doing right by Grace.

"I see," Adrian sighed. "I guess I only caused you problems by looking for you."

"It’s my fault," Liam reassured. "I shouldn’t have left like that."

Liam could only curse himself. He had been too much of a boy, too much of a monkey, back then to think things through. Hearing the Ancestral Snake and killing Crazy Uncle had spooked him, leading to Adrian looking for him.

"But I’ll take care of it," Liam swore. "We’ll pretend that you are the one I spared to deliver a message. I already did it once, so they’ll believe it, especially once you share information about us."

"This isn’t your first time?" Adrian asked, finding that both shocking and understandable.

"I destroyed a branch of the Mercenary Guild," Liam confirmed. "After Grace almost died."

"She did?!" Adrian gasped.

"We were contesting a rank 3 ingredient," Liam explained. "When a branching expert arrived. I managed to get her out, but I truly feared I was going to lose her."

"And then?" Adrian questioned. That sounded like a tale of legendary heroes, the very opposite of what he had done in the past years, arousing his excitement.

"And then I killed the branching expert," Liam declared. "I’m guessing that’s why the Church bothered to offer a deal at all."

Adrian connected the story to something he had heard recently. There had indeed been such a rumor, but the thought remained amazing despite his limited understanding of the cultivation world.

Moreover, that was just one story. Liam probably had tens of similar adventures to tell, all incredible, all full of danger.

"The cultivation world sounds ...," Adrian commented, "Tough."

Liam scratched his head. He agreed with Adrian, but he found all that rather normal now. It was his world after all.

Still, there was a grim experience Adrian could understand despite his different perspective, one Liam believed he should know. He was closer to that world in the end.

"Do you remember Caleb and Glen?" Liam wondered. "From the village?"

"They left with the Recruiters Guild’s envoy, didn’t they?" Adrian nodded. "I figured you chased after it."

"I did," Liam confirmed. "The envoy was attacked. We were kidnapped, drugged, and forced to undergo brainwashing training. I killed Caleb. Glen died, too."

Unlike Liam, Adrian had been on friendlier terms with the other kids in the village. He recalled Caleb and Glen. His father told him that their parents were still waiting for news, and learning about their fate stirred anger.

It was easy to judge and claim moral superiority as an outsider, but things changed when they became personal.

"What happened to the ones who kidnapped you?" Adrian questioned.

"Dead," Liam revealed. "I killed some. My Master killed the leader."

Killing was mentioned once again. It truly sounded like the norm in Liam’s life, but Adrian could help but find it justified now.

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