Return of the S-class Young Master

I Am Revenge

“To lose is to gain,” mumbled Cielo.

He lost the definition of life and became a living burden to his sister in his prime years, but Cielo had taken back time. In a sense, he had lost his life only to regain the precious time equipped with knowledge of the present and the original future. But the process of losing had changed him immensely.

Looking back, Cielo could feel that it was not a lifetime away and that it was only yesterday. Every night he would walk into his mother’s and sister’s rooms just to convince himself that they were alive and healthy—that it was not a dream.

This level of security and reality was the reason why Cielo wanted to master the God’s Eyes immediately. Nothing had changed except the fact that he had gained more time before his enemies would move against their family of three. Unless he mastered the art of the God’s Eyes, Cielo did not know when he would be able to sleep straight at night.

“Why are you so willing to die by my hands? Death is a context that is hard to be accepted no matter who you are. Your brethren were the same.”

The dragon opened its eyes and met his. With squinting eyes, it was as if he was smiling at Cielo. “I am a dragon with no real attachment to the human world or the spiritual world. Unlike the other dragons in our clan, I was hatched at the most secluded island in the spiritual world only to be dragged by the Black Serpent. My watchful eyes guarded this dungeon for countless years. The arrival of the chosen contractor is the signal of my rest.”

“I know someone who is contracted with a dragon. Her energy is violent, malicious even. But yours… yours is soothing. Too bad I have to kill you.”

Once again, the dragon closed its warm big eyes before bowing its head. “Losing is gaining.”

Nodding his head, Cielo uttered. “Losing is gaining.”

A pair of obsidian eyes flickered into a pair of bright blue eyes while staring at the peaceful-looking dragon before him. He could not help but whisper, a clog in his throat was hard to dislodge. “If we have met in different circumstances, I am sure we could have been good friends—”

“Seiryu. My name is Seiryu.”

With a heavy heart, Cielo whispered. “Sleep, Seiryu.”

TOP FLOOR – RITO THE BLACK SERPENT

Darkness.

This was what Cielo first noticed as soon as he woke up. An endless stream of darkness as if he was submerged in the abyss.

“You are awake.” The familiar voice of Rito resonated, making Cielo turn to his right to where the source of the voice was coming from.

“Why are you here? Wait. Where is ‘here’?”

A burst of mocking laughter answered Cielo, making the latter clench his fist as he staggered to stand up.

“You look pathetic, boy. You are lucky that Seiryu is your last opponent or I will have to collect a corpse instead—your corpse.” Rito scoffed. “And where are you? You are in the jaws of death, stupid boy. How can you be so nonchalant when you have lost your sense of sight?”

Realization dawned upon Cielo. “You… You are the last boss, the guardian of the top floor of this b-level dungeon.”

“Bingo!” He followed it with a clap. “Now, what should I do? I have an invalid served right in front of me. I wonder… how can I let you beg me for a quick death?”

On cue, a turbulent fluctuation of sharp energy hit Cielo in full force. Cielo had to take three steps backward after being pushed forcefully by Rito’s mere aura.

‘Compared to the other four, my heart did not pound like this.’ Clenching his shirt atop his beating heart, he gritted his teeth. ‘What should I do?’

This question echoed within him like a sick joke.

Rito did not give Cielo a chance to ponder over his question when he sent Cielo flying away with the mere flick of his small wrist.

Blood burst from his lips as soon as his back made contact with a hard wall. The debris from the cracks from the impact fell alongside Cielo. One by one, they shattered around the lying Cielo on the ground. Others merely missed his body by a couple of inches.

‘Mirrors. I just hit a wall made of mirror.’ Cielo made use of his sense of hearing to grasp his surrounding area. Wiping the corners of his lips, he limped yet he still managed to stand up and face toward the direction where the fluctuation was the strongest.

“Tell me, Rito. How can I clear this damn floor?” Cielo did not need to look around his body to know that he was littered with small wounds, especially around his back and arms.

“Simple. Defeat me in that state, boy. Prove to me that you are worthy of my malice, that you are worthy enough to carry my holy revenge.” Rito’s voice sharpened upon the mention of revenge.

Cielo spat blood. “Very well.”

Racing toward Rito, Cielo—for the first time—took something out of his pocket.

“I love the fighting spirit. I wonder… how long can you last against me?” Rito easily dodged Cielo’s obvious attack which was to stab him from the front—a dumb and desperate for Rito’s perspective.

Rito leaned toward the bypassing Cielo. Though the latter could not see him, the gleam of malice in his bright blue eyes was clearer than the azure cloudless skies over them. “Is this the best that you could offer?”

“!!!” Rito squinted upon seeing the corners of Cielo’s lips curling up. “What the!”

The next thing Rito knew, he was forced to take a step back from Cielo. Even with his response, his head and face were still drenched with a slimy corrosive substance. Had it not been for his right arm covering his eyes, his eyes would have been the first to suffer the burning sensation of poison.

Following the sound of the hiss, Cielo cocked his head and grinned. “How is it? That is my present to you. Do you like it?”

Cielo remembered the small balls of corrosive substance. The knife was a mere distraction. More than anyone else, Cielo knew the effects of the toxin on the eyes. Even with God’s Eyes, the host would still feel the not-so-deadly effects like nausea, blurred vision, and stinging pain.

“I’m impressed, boy. You really won right there. You really did,” said Rito, “but not anymore.”

For the second time, Cielo was thrown to a wall. It immediately shattered upon contact as shards pierced through Cielo’s skin. Coughing up blood as soon as he fell into the cold waters, he struggled to move his limbs for a good moment. No matter how much Cielo blinked his eyes, there was still darkness—and coldness.

Gasping for air, Cielo climbed out from the waters while sporting a bluish lip. With the numbing effect of the coldness, Cielo failed to notice that his right cheek was grazed by a shard.

With a satisfied grin, Cielo said in a raspy voice. “Quite grumpy, aren’t you, Rito? Tell me, does it feel irritating? You want to scratch your eyes, yet you know you can’t sate the itchiness from the drop of poison that went past your security…. You. Are. Proud. Of.”

This time, it was Rito’s turn to frown. A stream of violent aura crackled around the Black Serpent which was in its human form of a child. “You are talking funny, boy.”

“Am I? Haven’t you ever wondered why someone as ‘great’ as you was betrayed by those whom you deemed ‘lesser’?”

Bang!

In a blink of an eye, Cielo’s back was pressed against a wall of mirror. Cracks started to accumulate upon the added force of the adult version of Rito the Black Serpent.

One hand. It only took one hand from Rito to press Cielo against a mirror wall by the neck. While Rito’s veins around his arm bulged, Cielo opened and closed his mouth on instinct after feeling his windpipe being crushed.

The malicious aura that whipped around Cielo was suffocating enough.

“I dare you to say that again.”

Despite his face slowly turning purple, Cielo looked down at Rito and offered the best grin that he could possibly do as someone who was having his windpipe crushed. “Let me simplify it for you, Rito. You are strong. But because you are so strong, you lack awareness. You do not share the natural ‘fear’ of your enemies. Don’t you know? It is from fear that heroes and villains are born…..”

Cielo’s grin became wider.

“….and right now, I am extremely afraid to fail my mother and sister. I am scared of dying, Rito.”

In one swift motion of his trembling hand, Cielo stabbed Rito in the back.

Once. Twice. Thrice. Cielo did not stop until his arm became limp.

“!!!” Rito spat blood, finally letting go of Cielo. With bloody lips, while kneeling in front of the limped Cielo, he uttered with a satisfied smile. “You deserve me malice, boy. Congratulations. You can finally have your revenge, our revenge.”

“What can I say? I am revenge itself.”