Chapter 4164  Not Enough (Part 1)

"It's a road accident." Those words stabbed Lith's heart with the coldness of steel. "According to the witnesses, some noble idiot on his new horse galloped too fast and didn't notice the kid until it was too late."

"I see." Lith bit his inner cheek, using the pain to keep his rage in check and focus only on Elfiam.

The youth's bones straightened, and both the internal and external bleedings stopped. Lith used his tier three Spirit Spell, Mother's Embrace, to collect the blood that had yet to coagulate and inject it back inside Elfiam's veins.

The youth had just regained color when Solus and Clila arrived.

"What's happened? How is my brother?" The young woman asked while fighting back her tears at the sight of her brother's torn and bloodstained clothes.

"He's been trampled by a horse." Lith replied. "Elfiam is-"

The voice died in his throat as he checked every nook and cranny of the boy's body for injuries.

"I'm sorry." Lith said, his hands starting to tremble. "I've done everything I could for him, but I was too late."

"You're joking, right?" Clila cried and laughed, refusing to believe her ears. "You are the Supreme Magus. There's nothing you can't do!"

"I'm sorry." His voice was as thin as hers was loud. "I can only make Elfiam's final moments painless."

Solus swallowed hard and knelt to his side. She knew there was only one possible explanation, but she refused to accept it until Sky Blessing confirmed Abyssal Gaze's readings.

Elfiam's mana core was cracked, and there was nothing that even the most powerful healing spell could do about it. The youth had a measly red core, and at the speed his mana was leaking, he had minutes at best.

"Thank the gods, Sis." Elfiam swallowed, his breathing heavy. "I was scared I wouldn't get to see you again."

"Don't be silly, Elfy." Clila forgot her fury and took Elfiam's hand in hers. "Everything is going to be alright. Mister Verhen is here."

"I'm so sorry, Sis. This is all my fault." Elfiam cried, cutting the little breath he had shorter. "I was so happy about a big job I got today that I got careless."

"You did nothing wrong, Elfy." Clila's voice broke as she got down on her knees and held him tight to her chest. "I don't know what happened, but I'm sure it wasn't your fault."

15:08

"She's right, son." The guard chimed in only to reassure the youth. "The guy was out of control."

"Thank you, Mister." Elfiam nodded. "I was afraid of getting you into trouble, Sis. I don't… want…"

His breathing stopped, and his head drooped to the side.

"Elfy?" Clila gently shook him as if he were just asleep. "Don't be silly, Elfy. This isn't fun. Please, talk to me. Please!"

Her voice rose in a desperate wail as she screamed and cried at the top of her lungs.

Lith stood by her side, silent and unmoving like a statue.

The events of a few minutes ago overlapped with those dating back over twenty years, so different yet so similar.

The call, the rush, the failure.

The moment Elfiam/Carl died, Lith/Derek found himself back at the start, rushing to a taxi/Blink only to come too late to make a difference. He had come a long way from Earth and had become powerful beyond his wildest childhood dreams.

Yet it wasn't enough.

Meanwhile, just a step away, Solus breathed heavily, and her body was covered in a cold sweat. The scene before her eyes triggered her worst memories, trapping her in a nightmare of her own.

A nightmare where the broken body of Elphyn Menadion replaced Elfiam's, and Ripha/Clila cried in despair while holding her daughter's/brother's corpse.

The phantom pain she felt was so strong that she was surprised when she moved her hand to her own chest and found no hole or blood dripping on her clothes.

Lith felt Solus' pain and embraced it along with his own. He focused on the sound of Clila's desperate cries to break free from the illusion and give Elfiam the justice that had been denied to Carl.

His nose picked up the scent of Elfiam's blood and the horse hair on his body. The Eyes scanned everything for energy signatures, filtering out the bystanders and the background noise.

The Ears detected the residual traces of the mana flows, reading the events that had recently played out on the street like a blurry movie.

"I'm going to catch the culprit." Lith said as soon as the Eyes of Menadion pointed him in the right direction. "You people give your statements to the guards. If you withhold any information or run away, I'll come for you next."

His voice was low, but it sounded as clear as a knell.

Lith shapeshifted his body and his clothes into his Supreme Magus robe to leave no doubt about his identity, succeeding in an unexpected way.

Seven eyes were now open on a human face, but horns came out of his temples. Yet his hair was engulfed in a blue flame, and his left hand was pitch-black like polished obsidian.

His right hand, instead, was covered in black scales that also covered small patches of his face. His seven eyes all had vertical pupils, and sharp fangs replaced his canines.

The crowd stared at his distorted features, feeling a burning anger roiling beneath the apparent calm of his expression. His words were no empty threat, and the people of Amrok did the only thing that would ensure their survival.

They rushed to give their statements and told only the truth.

"Wait." Clila's words were a hoarse whisper buried under dozens of much louder voices, but Lith heard her. "Please, take me with you. I want to see the face of the bastard who killed my little brother.

"I want to spit and curse at them until they get what they deserve. I want to plead to whoever will take charge of this case to hurt that bastard as he did to Elfiam."

She closed her brother's eyes and gently laid his corpse on the pavement. When she stood up, no more tears ran down her cheeks. The gentle light in Clila's eyes was gone, replaced by a cold, angry void.

Lith recognized that gaze because he had seen it in the mirror for years.

He knew what she was going through and what she would do if given the chance. Clila now walked in the same shoes Derek McCoy had worn since the day his brother Carl had died. Shoes that he had yet to take off.

"I'm the Supreme Magus, Clila." Lith said. "I'm taking care of this case, and you don't need to plead for anything."

He took her in his arms and Blinked away, following the trail left by the murderer and highlighted by his mystical sense.

Solus was still on the scene, her eyes fixed on Elfiam's corpse. She had seen Carl die countless times in Lith's mind, but back then, she didn't even remember her own name.

Derek's rage and grief had always been just distant feelings that she couldn't truly understand or relate to because of her amnesia. Now, they were raw and primal, ravaging her heart through their bond more than she had ever believed possible.