Chapter 253: A Father’s First Miracle

Lawrence had been listening patiently as his wife recounted that day they had not spoken about in decades.

Time-wise, it would have been a recent memory for most magical beings, while for humans, it would have felt like a lifetime ago.

And yet, surprisingly, to Lawrence it had taken permanent residence somewhere inside him, so that every now and then he could not help but relive it.

But who would have thought he would one day talk about it like this?

Even now, like a fresh experience, he could still recall the dizzying smell of blood, the sudden jolt that tore a gasp out of him, and the way he nearly lost his sanity when his eyes managed to take in the sight of everyone around him.

If his experience had ended there, and if he had truly survived with that sight as his last memory, he was almost certain he would have lost his mind.

How ironic for someone who had always been praised for managing his emotions.

Because even now, he could remember the way his brain kept screaming at him for being alive.

And it was that same internal cry that made him question his survival.

Lawrence had to stop to inspect himself.

He knew exactly what he had been getting into the moment he jumped in front of Renee. But despite the tragic certainty of what would happen, he had not thought twice. He only wanted to buy her time because for magical beings, a few seconds normally spelled the difference between death and survival.

And so when he hit the ground, he figured that was it. Just like the rest of Renee’s fallen relatives, he would likely be buried under the rubble. He only wished he could have done more for his wife.

But as if suddenly rescued from drowning, Lawrence gasped. Then he choked and coughed before spitting blood to the side.

He pressed a shaking hand to the spot where he knew the monster’s claws had struck him earlier.

“???”

Not that he did not feel pain, because his entire body hurt like a son of a bitch, but he did not feel any gushing wound.

He could have chalked everything up to hallucination, but the blood soaking his clothes suggested otherwise.

Then again, the simple fact that he could sit up meant he could check on his wife.

Renee.

Whatever pain he was feeling pulled back, overshadowed by something far worse. Not the ache of his body, but the wretched, twisting sensation of pure terror that made him forget he might still be dying.

He looked at her.

And the sight knocked the breath out of him.

Her body looked nothing like the woman he knew. Covered in alarming wounds and scales that were coated in dried black blood, Renee looked like someone who had fought in hell itself.

Lawrence felt tears burn his eyes as he blinked rapidly, desperate to clear his vision. He tried to focus, tried to make sense of the damage, tried to see if there was something he could do.

Anything.

His hands shook violently as he reached for his bag. He fumbled with the straps, forcing himself to breathe even though it felt like his chest was collapsing.

Surely there had to be something he could use. As a Hale, he always carried potions. Bandages. Emergency salves. He’d been raised on the belief that one must always be prepared.

Even now, even while refusing to accept reality, he still clung to that training.

But before he could open the bag, he froze.

It stirred.

Yes. The bag actually stirred.

“?”

He stared at it, breath caught in his throat, because he was absolutely certain the bag had started to vibrate in a way that was impossible to ignore.

Lawrence stared warily at his bag. Nothing inside it should have been moving. Most of what he packed were clothes, a few of his usual potions, and that bundle the elders had insisted he put away immediately.

Alarm prickled through him, and with trembling hands, he reached for it, unraveling the cloth that was most definitely shaking.

He tried to pull the fabric apart, only to hiss in pain.

His palm refused to cooperate. A long gash stretched across it, probably from shielding himself during the explosion earlier. He had been so focused on finding something for Renee that he had not noticed how deep it was.

Still, he powered through it.

He had no time to care about pain.

When he finally peeled the fabric open, he froze.

Inside was something shaped like an ovoid watermelon.

An egg?

A vibrating egg.

He didn’t even get to take a good look at it because the moment he tried to lift it, his injured hand stung sharply. He pulled back on instinct and stared at his palm, afraid that the egg was dangerous.

Maybe that was why it had been wrapped like that.

But the thought didn’t take root because he saw and felt something unusual.

That gruesome gash was closing.

Not slowly, not naturally, but rapidly. The skin pulled together, threading into itself the same way he’d seen healers do it with mana.

“!!!”

An idea shot through him. But then he remembered.

Mana.

Beings with mana could do miraculous things, and while he had never been able to sense mana as a human, he definitely knew what healing magic looked like.

He stared at the egg again as realization crept up on him. He needed to try something

Sure enough, the closer his hand was to the egg, the faster his wound closed.

Had he survived because he had been holding this bag the entire time?

His heart thudded with possibilities.

He carefully lifted the egg out of the bundle. It was warm. It pulsed like something inside was alive and desperately trying to soothe everything around it.

Even now, he remembered how he had practically prayed to it without even knowing what it was.

He wasted no time and pressed the egg gently against Renee’s unmoving body, hoping it would help her, too.

Then he forced himself back onto his feet.

He needed to find survivors. Anyone he could help.

The first one he found was one of Renee’s older uncles. Definitely not the best way, but he could only hope they weren’t as particular or as fragile as humans, because Lawrence had to both carry and drag them closer to Renee and the egg.

He really wanted nothing more than to stay by his wife’s side. But if she woke up one day and learned that he had let the others die when he could have tried to help, she would probably never forgive him.

So he forced himself to move.

With shaking hands, he went around searching through the rubble for bodies.

Then he found Renee’s mother.

Her human leg was pinned under several huge rocks, and Lawrence had to grit his teeth and push with all the strength he had left just to get them off her. He could’ve brought the egg closer, but Renee’s condition was too severe, and he definitely wouldn’t be able to move her around.

Moreover, healing with rocks pressing on his mother-in-law really wouldn’t work. So his best bet was to clear this and bring her closer to Renee instead.

He knew it was selfish and that maybe he was just doing all this to atone or distract himself, but he couldn’t imagine taking the egg away from his wife.

But then, as he shifted one last rock, he heard a faint, pained groan.

Normally, that would’ve sent people panicking, but Lawrence just felt relieved.

Because while she was clearly hurt, pain still meant alive.

Lawrence stopped here in his retelling because Riley, who had been listening very carefully, suddenly slumped back in his chair.

Lawrence recognized that expression at once.

It was guilt.

And it was guilt Riley did not need to carry.

“Son,” Lawrence said gently, “for over three days, you kept releasing mana like a healing beacon. In truth, most of those inside the cave made it out alive because of you.”

Riley sucked in a sharp breath. But it did not feel like an accomplishment. His heart twisted instead. Because in truth, no one should have died if not for hi—

Lawrence must have seen it in his eyes.

“They weren’t there for you,” he said firmly.

“Huh?” Riley blinked, stunned. Even Kael tightened his hold on Riley’s hand at that.

“It was something we learned later. They weren’t there to hunt you down. They didn’t even know you existed. They came to the mountains in search of reclusive magical beings. They were taking the young and killing the old.”

“…”

“…”

Riley stared at him, horrified. While it did alleviate his personal guilt, he was sure it didn’t improve the situation.

“One of the drake elders had a premonition about it coming. But without knowing when, they tried to hold on for longer because they needed something from the land. They couldn’t leave until your mother returned. They simply didn’t expect the danger to arrive the very next day.”

That was a lot to process.

This time, his mother’s voice pulled him back to reality.

She leaned forward and spoke softly.

“Son, you saved us from something that had been inevitable. But more importantly, you saved us even when it cost you so much.”

“What? It cost me so much?” Riley asked, pointing to himself as if he genuinely could not believe it.

Lawrence nodded.

“Your Great-Grandmother said you used up all your remaining mana. The same mana you had been protecting yourself with as an egg was discharged continuously to heal everyone instead.”

“You drained yourself so thoroughly that when the egg that had started cracking as each day passed finally gave in, we were all shocked to find a human baby inside.”

“!!!”

Riley’s jaw dropped.

A human really came out of an egg.

No.

He really came out of that egg!

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