Born In Ashes: The Enigma
Chapter 53: Slayers Academy (Part 1)

Chapter 53: Slayers Academy (Part 1)

Azrael watched Silas leave and sighed inwardly.

He didn’t know much, but from the bits of information he had heard over the past year, he knew that his grandmother—Silas’s mother—had passed away long ago.

He and Kael weren’t even born at that time.

She hadn’t died naturally but was ambushed and killed while returning from a trip.

It had been the work of someone who was a business rival of the Thorne Family. Back then, Zyrek wasn’t as strong as he is now. If he had been, they wouldn’t have dared to attack and kill his wife.

When Zyrek heard the news of his wife’s death, he had been furious. But because the people who orchestrated her murder had power nearly equal to that of the Thorne Family, he couldn’t even take revenge at the time.

Later on, Zyrek worked harder than anyone else, and now, the people who had conspired to kill Azrael’s grandmother had long since disappeared from the face of this world—killed by Zyrek in the most brutal way imaginable.

Azrael recalled the expression Silas had just now, and what he had said to him, and clenched his fist.

’In the end, everything happened because Zyrek was weak at that time. If he had been stronger, nothing would have happened.’

Even when he was on Earth, all the things Azrael had gone through were the result of his own lack of strength.

Though he had finally gained the power needed to end his misery and escape that hellhole, it had already been too late as by the time he escaped, he was broken beyond repair.

’I don’t want to experience the helplessness and despair I felt at that time.’

He glanced at Kael, who was carefully examining the slipper Ashara had used earlier to hit him, then shifted his attention toward the kitchen, and finally toward the outside of the house.

’I won’t let anyone mess with this happiness I’m finally experiencing.’

When he had first come to this world, other than Kael, no one else had mattered to him.

His impression of Silas and Ashara had been completely negative because of his memories of Earth.

But after his first conversation with Ashara and Silas, his perception of them had shifted to neutral.

With his memories of Earth, such a shift shouldn’t have happened so easily.

But the strange emotion he had felt when he saw Ashara and Silas looking sad after learning that he had awakened the Cold-Blooded trait and the things he found out about his own situation later on played a big role in softening his stance.

After that talk, his attitude toward them became one of cautious observation.

If they truly were the same people they appeared to be in front of him and Kael—and weren’t pretending—then he felt he could truly accept them.

And now, after almost a year, both of them held the same place in his heart as Kael.

Everything was going well for now, but no one knew what kind of nasty surprises the future might hold.

His grandmother had been stronger than a Cosmic King when she was ambushed and killed.

Silas and Ashara often left the planet for business reasons, and just the mere thought of something happening to them made him shudder.

’Too weak... I’m too weak currently.’ Azrael took a deep breath, and his eyes flashed with firm resolve.

’There are four days left before the opening of the Eonrift... I’ll enter using the Despair Level Token.’

Once he sorted out his thoughts, Azrael sat there quietly, waiting for Ashara to finish cooking dinner.

It was taking more time than they had initially expected. As a result, Kael pulled Azrael over to play games with him to pass the time.

Soon, Silas—who had gone out earlier returned and joined them.

Azrael, who had never played games before was beaten black and blue by Silas and Kael.

But under the effect of Infinite Comprehension, he quickly got the hang of it and showed them who the real boss was.

He smacked Kael’s and Silas’s characters to the ground and laughed like a third-rate villain while looking at them with contempt.

When Ashara came out of the kitchen and saw them playing without inviting her, she felt upset.

Even though she was the one who had said she would be cooking and didn’t have time to play, she still couldn’t help but feel like she was being left out.

As a result, she instructed the maids to take out the dishes and set the table, while she joined them for a bout before dinner.

Since the number of players had reached four, they decided to have a team battle.

Ashara teamed up with Kael, while Azrael joined Silas.

Silas and Azrael were very confident about winning.

But ten minutes later, both of them watched in disbelief as their characters were burned to ashes by Ashara’s character.

They stared at her in shock, wondering how she could be so good at the game.

Ashara looked at Silas and Azrael with a smug smile, shook her head, and sighed, as if disappointed that her opponents were too weak.

Azrael and Silas were dissatisfied with the outcome and wanted to have another round, but the dishes had already been arranged, so they stopped playing and headed to eat.

When Silas and the others entered the dining room, they saw the table full of various kinds of dishes, and in the center, a cake was placed.

Since Kael was still unawakened and Azrael had just awakened that very day, there weren’t many dishes made using high-level ingredients filled with cosmic energy.

All the dishes were prepared using ingredients containing only mild cosmic energy, making them suitable for both of them.

Ashara first told Azrael to cut the cake, and when he was blowing out the candle, she even tried to smack his face into the cake.

Luckily, he was already aware of the childish side of his mother and successfully avoided disaster.

Once the cake was cut, Ashara kept a small portion of it in the dining room and sent the rest out with Rowan and the other servants.

Once all the maids and servants had left, only the four of them remained in the dining room.

Ashara personally served the dishes and said with a proud expression.

"Once you eat food cooked by me, all of you will beg me to cook every day."

Azrael and the others looked at each other, but none of them said anything.

"Go ahead, try it."

Azrael nodded and began with a soup that seemed to be made from chicken—or perhaps a monster similar to it.

"How is it?" Ashara asked with a smile.

"It’s actually very delicious," Azrael replied, a surprised look on his face. The soup wasn’t something that made him see angels after the first scoop, but it was definitely very good.

Silas and Kael also tried it and found it delicious as well.

Ashara smiled upon seeing their reactions and finally joined them.

They had a peaceful dinner, and when nearly everything had been finished, Azrael put down his fork and looked at Silas and Ashara.

"Mom, Dad, I’ve decided..." Seeing that both of them were looking at him attentively, Azrael paused for a second before continuing.

"I will be going to Slayers Academy."

Ashara stopped eating and frowned at Azrael’s words. She was about to speak when Silas raised a hand to stop her and calmly looked at Azrael.

"Is there a specific reason you’re choosing that place?"

Azrael nodded at Silas’s words.

"Let’s talk after dinner. I want to hear your reason before making any decisions."

Azrael sighed in relief and nodded upon seeing that he hadn’t been rejected outright.