Parallel (A Virtual Gamer's Story) [Vol.1 - Vol.4 Complete]

Chapter 133: Hatred Spanning Generations

Night descended, the sun's heated gaze no longer willing to rest upon the blood-soaked earth. Beneath the silent, judgeless moon and the tranquil stars, peace reaped from men's lives should have reigned. However, it seemed, unlike the sun, conflict never sought rest, forever eager to rear its ugly head.

And so it did, as the dwarfs, still bloodied from battle, once again prepared to charge in rage, thoughts of loved ones and children at home long sacrificed to the flames of hatred and vengeance.

"Let Go! Fucking Let Go!" roared a red-faced Brexio Rocha, flames shooting out a pair of evidently incensed eyes. The enraged dwarf struggled against the holds of Yngvar, Paaie, and Ulla, glare fixed on the abominations opposite. "I'll slaughter them. Slaughter The Fuckers!" With a roar, he shrugged off his restrainers and charged at the abominations ax raised high.

Bang!

Brexio's arms trembled, brows deeply set as he glared at the daeben in whose palm the ax's head was firmly held. "With all due respect Kashi-dono," Brexio seethed, gritted teeth and shaky pupils evident of the extreme control he was placing on himself at the moment. "Get out of the way!"

A thin line of blood trickled down the daeben's raised arm, some inadvertently dropping between furrowed brows. Kashi grimaced in pain, not due to the ax's blade he had caught barehanded, but because of the inflammatory situation he found himself in.

Heavy rains beat down as two sides faced each other at the plains in front of the palace. Tensions between the opposing forces released sparks that would put heavenly lightning to shame.

Kashi looked over his shoulders to the indifferent daebens whose gaze carried neither hostility nor remorse, only a bone-chilling apathy. Then looked over Brexio's shoulder to the silent dwarfs whose rage-filled eyes bore enough hate to raze a country to the ground if materialized.

Obviously, if Kashi had not been present, these three thousand plus daeben would have been drawn and quartered without a sliver of mercy. The hatred the dwarfs currently possessed toward the daeben race far surpassed the bounds of reason, chivalry, and logic. They could forgive the merrites who eyed their land. Hell, they could even work something out with the Chaos Order; but the daeben race? As far as the dwarfs were concerned, the only good daeben was a dead one!

Although he had never expected it to be easy, only now did Kashi truly realize the immense task he undertook. This wasn't a simple racial divide, nor was it a grudge caused by a past war or battle. This was accumulated hatred borne from slavery suffered over a long time.

This kind of hate would not magically disappear just because Kashi wanted it to. Especially considering the Final War was only eleven years prior, meaning the majority of the dwarfs alive lived through the decades of slavery.

Kashi suddenly found himself in a dilemma. On the one hand, he needed the daebens, but on the other, he had invested too much into the dwarfs to lose them. Worse off, this situation was rapidly devolving to a point where it more and more looked like he would be forced to choose between one or the other. In his head, the daeben cursed all nineteen ancestries of the daebens.

"Kashi..."

Kashi turned to Lunette, who faced him with a troubled gaze, prevented from running up to him by her brother. The daeben issued a rueful smile, bemused by the absurdity of the situation.

This was supposed to be a triumphant return, yet the dwarfs went stark-raving mad the moment they laid eyes on the daebens. There would have been a bloodbath if not for the imposing drakuls that stood guard before the daebens.

"Rocha-san," Returning his gaze to the enraged dwarf whose ax he held, Kashi started with an apologetic smile. "I beg of you. Please, let me explain."