Chapter 474: Mistakes?

A fresh warmth breezed through Beon as he slowly opened his eyelids.

“…Ugh…”

His consciousness settled little by little, grounding itself like it was returning from a long, heavy dream.

The first thing he noticed was the dull pressure behind his eyes, then the ache that clung to every inch of his body — deep, raw, and annoyingly familiar.

It was the kind of exhaustion he hadn’t felt since he was just a kid, still learning how to hold a blade properly.

It was clearly nighttime now. The sky outside was dark, and the air around him felt still.

“You’re awake.”

A soft voice pulled him from his thoughts.

He turned his head to the side, sluggishly.

Sitting there, casually like it was just another normal evening, was his eldest granddaughter — Bom.

She had that usual relaxed look on her face, lips curled slightly as she took a slow drag from a smoke pipe.

The red glow of mana flickered faintly in her eyes, casting a faint light against her pale skin.

“…I lost, huh,” Beon muttered, more to himself than anything.

Bom exhaled a lazy puff of smoke, her smile shifting into that fox-like grin she always wore when she was teasing someone. “Well, at least you’re quick to realize. I was starting to think you’d forget, considering how badly you got beaten.”

Beon let out a weak scoff. “How long was I out?”

“Hmm… nine or ten hours? I didn’t really count. You were breathing, so I figured it was fine.”

He chuckled to himself, though the sound was strained.

Of all the people in the world who could leave him in a near-comatose state… it had to be an arrogant brat.

A brat whose personality and deeds he disapproves of….

But maybe.

Not entirely anymore?

With a grunt, Beon sat up slowly.

The air around him shifted the moment he moved.

Natural mana began to gather around his body instinctively, flowing into his limbs like it had a mind of its own.

His body — an ascended vessel honed over countless decades — began to repair itself.

Bones reset, torn flesh mended, and bruises faded as if time was speeding up just for him.

His own mana synced with the energy in the air, stabilizing at a ridiculous pace.

Sparks of purple electricity danced across his skin as his healing progressed. In just a few more hours, he’d be back to full strength.

He looked down at his hands, flexed his fingers a few times, then turned back toward Bom.

“Where’s the kid?”

“He left a few hours ago,” she replied, exhaling a small puff of smoke. “Though… he stayed the whole afternoon and most of the evening. Just sat there, waiting for you to wake up.”

“…I see.”

Bom tilted her head, smirking as she rested her elbow on her knee. “Fufu~ I guess you’re somewhat satisfied with the results, Clan Head.”

“…Whatever do you mean?”

“Well,” she drawled, clearly enjoying herself, “you’re not kicking and screaming like I thought you would. Knowing how stubborn you are, I half expected you to wake up and pretend like you didn’t remember anything that happened. Maybe say you slipped and hit your head or something. Fufu~”

“Even I’m not that shameless, my dear Bom.”

She grinned wider. “Then I guess you understand what your loss means, right? You’re going to have to give your full acknowledgment to that kid. Riley Hell… will be my dear Seo’s future spouse.”

Beon grunted.

He turned away from her without answering, walking over to the wooden rack near the wall and pulling his black kimono from its hanger.

His movements were quiet, but every part of his body still gave off that quiet fury — restrained but clearly simmering underneath.

He slipped the robe over his shoulders and tied it loosely at the waist.

Yeah, he was still pissed.

Not just annoyed, not just bothered — properly pissed.

The idea of that kid winning, of being the one who’d beaten him fair and square, still left a bad taste in his mouth.

But the results were settled. The price had been paid. There was nothing left to say.

“I still don’t personally approve of the brat,” he muttered, voice low. “But… he’ll suffice.”

Bom’s smile softened, just a little. She looked down at her half-empty pipe and then out the window, toward the dark sky.

“…Indeed. Honestly, after seeing everything with my own eyes… I don’t think there’s another man in this world worthy of my little sister’s hand.”

She hadn’t seen everything — not really.

The duel had taken place inside Beon’s domain, where time and space bent to his will.

The full battle was hidden, out of her sight.

But the pressure leaking out from inside, the mana tremors, the absurd noise that kept crashing like thunder for a solid minute — even those brief glimpses were enough.

Enough to shake her understanding of what power really meant.

The mana that leaked out during their bout didn’t just bend the surroundings — it felt like it could snap the very laws of the world. It wasn’t just strong.

It was terrifying.

And that young man — Riley Hell — stood at the center of it.

He wasn’t just someone who had potential.

He was someone who was already there.

More than worthy… of her ever-beloved sister.

Bom had never seen that kind of strength before — not in her entire life.

Not even from her grandfather, Beon, who had long since reached the peak.

The kind of peak people only whispered about in history books and old war stories.

And yet… even with all his power, all his experience, she could tell — he was being played with.

She couldn’t see much in their fight….

The domain had been sealed, but the shockwaves leaking out from inside had told the whole story. The ground cracking.

The wind howling. The sheer weight of the mana pressure made her legs feel like jelly.

There was no holding back. They both went all out.

But the result?

One-sided.

Decisive.

Riley didn’t even take a single hit. Not even a scratch.

And if that wasn’t insane enough, there was something else she hadn’t even told Beon — something far more ridiculous.

Something she wasn’t even sure she believed herself.

Her grandfather… had most likely died during that fight.

Just for a moment at least… as right after the moment the domain broke with their final attacks she saw her grandfather’s body split in half.

And Riley had brought him back together again in mere moments.

She didn’t know how.

Some kind of weird divine spell, ancient and glowing, unlike anything she’d ever seen.

It had flickered through the cracks of the domain like a beam of sunlight in a storm.

Her instincts screamed at her that it wasn’t just a healing spell — it was something deeper, older.

Something that shouldn’t even exist in this era.

She could only imagine Beon’s face if he ever heard that part.

No doubt he’d brush it off as nonsense, maybe even scold her for saying something so stupid.

The man’s pride was carved into stone — admitting he’d died, even for a second? Impossible.

And besides… Riley had told her not to say anything.

“Don’t tell him….”

Just a few words — calmly spoken — but for some reason, she couldn’t bring herself to ignore them.

As she could only nod hearing them.

It wasn’t even like he forced her to stay quiet.

He just said it, like it was a given, and somehow, she’d followed it without question.

Maybe it was respect. Or curiosity. Or something else entirely.

Part of her did want to tell Beon — just to see his reaction.

But at the same time, maybe it was better this way.

Her grandfather had already lost more than just the duel. Telling him he’d died on top of that?

That would’ve crushed the last bit of pride he had left.

And really… in the grand scheme of things, it didn’t matter.

Because even though he lost — he still won.

They all did, in a way.

Beon had uncovered a hidden monster — no, a miracle hiding in plain sight.

A talent so absurdly rare it felt like a divine joke.

And the fact that this boy, this Riley Hell, wanted to tie himself to their family?

That was more than just a win.

That was fate smiling on them.

Beon stood in front of the mirror, quietly examining himself.

His upper body was wrapped in thick layers of bandages, but beneath them, there wasn’t a single scar.

Not even a scratch.

Which was… odd.

His body had always healed fast — unnaturally fast, even among high-rank warriors.

But this?

This wasn’t just fast.

This was clean.

His regeneration had never been good enough to erase deep wounds without leaving some kind of trace.

Especially not in just a few hours.

More than anything, that final strike from Riley — that finishing blow — should’ve left something.

A scar, a burn, anything. It had pierced through his domain and shattered his mana barrier like paper.

Yet here he was, completely unmarked.

Beon slowly unraveled the last of the bandages across his torso, his brows furrowed.

Nothing.

“…Strange,” he muttered under his breath.

Maybe he was misremembering things.

The fight had been a blur near the end.

He’d been too focused on staying conscious, forcing his aging body to keep up with the ridiculous speed and pressure Riley unleashed.

He’d been grasping at the edge the entire time — a fact that left a bitter taste in his mouth.

He scoffed to himself.

The mirror didn’t lie. He lost.

Turning slightly, he looked over at Bom, who had been watching him from the corner of the room, arms crossed and pipe in hand.

“Did the brat tell you anything else before leaving?” he asked, voice flat but curious.

“Well…” Bom tilted her head, tapping her pipe lightly. “Not much. We just chatted for a short while. He asked me to make sure you’d honor the results of the duel properly. Ah—he also said he’d be visiting tomorrow. Looks like he already knows we’re staying at the Grand Duke’s estate.”

She grinned.

“So, you better prepare to take care of your brand new student, Clan Head. Fufu~.”

Beon clicked his tongue and ignored the teasing.

He had lost, after all.

He wasn’t the type to deny that.

Prideful as he was, he’d never spit on the idea of honor.

A loss was a loss. And this one, he would acknowledge.

“Fine.”

Bom stood up and stretched casually, her dark coat swaying behind her as she started toward the door.

“Well then, I’ll head out first. I’ll see you at the estate, alright?” she said with a sly smirk. “Try to rest here a bit more, unless… you really plan on walking back to the Grand Duke’s manor looking like that? Kuku~ I’m sure the Duke would love to see you limping through the front gate.”

“…Just scram, brat,” Beon muttered, not even looking at her.

“Haha, now I’m a brat too? How cruel. Anyway—bye~.”

With a puff of smoke, she vanished.

Silence returned to the room.

Beon let out a slow breath and sat back down on the bed. It was a quiet, clean little inn Bom had chosen — nothing fancy, but comfortable enough.

Maybe even too comfortable.

He leaned back against the pillow and stared up at the ceiling.

His body still ached faintly, but something else lingered — something unfamiliar.

Peace?

A sense of… satisfaction.

He chuckled softly to himself.

It had been a long, long time since he felt something like this.

…..

[Congratulations, you have leveled up!]

[Congratulations, you have leveled up!]

[Congratulations, you have leveled up!]

[Congratulations, you have leveled up!]

[Congratulations, you have leveled up!]

[User has defeated an Ascended for the first time!]

[Bonus points have been awarded!]

[First Stage Sequence progress improved! +1%]

Fuck.

Fuck…!!

Fuck…!!!

I really did it…

I knew it was in the heat of the moment, but fuck… I actually—accidentally killed the Clan Head…

Golden crack was glowing faintly across my fingers… a strange thing that lasted ever since the fight ended.

…Shit.

But… I healed him.

Right? I—I revived him the moment he got cut.

I even used the most powerful healing spell in the world…..

’That means I didn’t technically kill him, yeah?’

Maybe the system just misread it… yeah, yeah maybe it just glitched or miscalculated.

It all happened so fast. It had to be that.

He’s breathing. He’s alive. I literally saw him snore and grunt like a pissed-off old man in his sleep, so… it’s probably fine…

“Riley, what are you doing?”

“…Nothing,” I muttered quickly, spinning around as naturally as I could.

Alice was standing there with that usual light grin, hands folded behind her back as she leaned a little closer.

Her golden eyes glanced down for a second—almost catching the glowing crack on my fingers before I slid them behind my back casually.

“Is that so?” she said, not pressing further. “Well, hurry up then. The others are waiting downstairs. Hehe~ Liyana and the rest got really serious about dinner today. Even I helped out, so you have to try my soup, alright?”

“…Sure,”

Alice smiled and turned away, footsteps light as she hummed softly on her way back down the hall.

I exhaled again — deeper this time — and looked down at my hand.

The golden crack was already fading. It pulsed once more before vanishing into my skin like it had never been there.

Yup. Whatever happened… it was fixed, It’s fine. Totally fine. There’s no need to panic. I’m not in trouble.

[Divine Title and Authority… is now in progress…]

[Warning…. user title progress doesn’t align with the current progress sequence (Blessing of Change)]

“…Right?”

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