The Boy Who Walks Beyond The End-Chapter 81: The One Who Taught Me

The Academy, now empty, was ghostlike. Echoes stretched too far. Zen wandered through the empty Practice Hall... until a voice called out behind him.

".. Do you know a boy named zen"

Zen turned, eyes wide.

There he stood. Kael. Older, a bit rougher, with that same sword slung over his back. The man who had once taught a trembling child how to hold a blade.

Zen blinked, stunned. "Kael?"

Kael squinted. "...You know me?"

"You taught me how to fight. Virellia. You called me "Good for nothing" for two weeks."

Kael's mouth fell open. "By the gods... Zen?"

"You Brat"

Zen smiled, truly this time.

> [System: Facial Recognition complete. Confirmed: This is your "grumpy blade mentor." He still smells like tree bark.]

Kael laughed, grabbing Zen into a brief, bone-crushing hug. "You've grown taller than my disappointment! You even have both arms! I'm so proud!"

They talked. About old times.

The sun dipped behind the towers.

Then Kael got serious.

"I didn't come here just to catch up, kid."

Zen tilted his head.

"I need help."

"With what?"

Kael's eyes darkened, voice dropping.

"To rescue someone. Someone important."

"There's a camp outside the borders of Grandovale. Run by nobles who don't deserve their names. They're trafficking demi-humans. Mostly girls. They destroy their mana cores to keep them obedient."

"They treat them like tools. Things. Less than demons. One of them... her name's Diliya."

He looked away.

"She saved me once. She's still in there."

Zen glanced sideways at Kael, the quiet rustling of leaves above them filling the pause.

"Kael," he asked, his voice even, "what exactly is a Demi-Human?"

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Kael, sharpening his blade under the shade of the tree, didn't look up. "Half demon. Half human."

[System: Just like you. Half demon. Half human. Human-human? Eh—math's flexible.]

Zen didn't respond right away.

But he didn't get angry either.

Because half human... still meant half.

Still meant part of something he once was.

He looked down at his hands. They didn't feel any different. Not monstrous.

Just his.

Kael finally glanced at him. "Does that bother you?"

Zen shook his head slightly. "No. Don't worry"

[Growth detected. Would you like to unlock a new badge: "Identity Crisis Survivor"?]

Zen: "Deny."

[Badge force-applied.]

Zen's hand drifted to his sword.

"Then let's bring her home and rescue others too"

> [System: Side Quest Unlocked! Title: "The Girl in Chains"

Quest Type: Hell.

Warning: You will not be able to unsee what lies beyond.]

At the Forgotten Borderlands – Two Days Later

Kael and Zen reached the outpost. A ruined fort turned into a fortress of torment. Iron fences. Strange sigils. High-level mercenaries guarding the perimeter.

And inside—crates, chains, broken people.

Zen clenched his fists.

> [System: ...Analyzing enemy strength... 27 fighters. 3 elite. 1 mage. Estimated power level: Threat Class B+. Recommendation: Don't die.]

"Can you handle it?" Kael asked.

Zen's eyes narrowed.

"I'll break their reality."

Kael grinned.