The moment Ebonique disappeared, Erik spat a mouthful of blood and fell to his knees on the ground; at the same time, his hair fell and dimmed considerably. Panic-stricken, Elara ran over and held Erik up as she cried out, all while continuing to conjure barriers to help withstand the onslaught of laser beams together with the barriers of solidified Myst.
"Are you okay, Erik?!!"
"…I'm fine… More importantly, we need a distraction so we can get out of here."
After coughing up large clots of blood, Erik spoke in a weak voice as he tried to stand with the help of the wolves, whose fur was standing on end and who looked quite frightened. But at that moment, Zoe stepped forward and placed her right hand on Erik's shoulder. Looking at the black wolf at her side, Zoe spoke in a solemn, heavy voice as her face lit up in shifting hues from the barrage of light striking the barriers.
"…You've sacrificed too much for us, Erik… You even broke your contract with your spirit because of us… I know it, all of us know it… You could always have fled on your own and avoided this whole mess… You're only in this state because of us, but that's enough… At this rate you'll die with all of us… You don't have to do that… Run on your own, survive, and tell those outside what happened to us… Survive and avenge us."
Hearing Zoe, Erik inevitably turned to look at her, which let everyone see his glassy eyes, the veins on his forehead about to burst, and his near-death pallor. He looked at Zoe's solemn expression, then at everyone else, seeing the fear and apprehension they tried to hide behind grave faces.
But even though he took in everyone present, Erik's eyes couldn't help remaining a few moments longer on the pale faces of the girls in the group. While Zoe and Elara gripped their weapons tightly and tried to hide their fear, Christine didn't bother to; her expression laid bare deep panic and terror, and she almost seemed to want to shout at Erik to run away with her. But though she really looked quite pitiful, Erik couldn't laugh in the least.
(Old man… Being a 'real man' really isn't easy…)
Slammed by a wave of dizziness and weakness, Erik couldn't help drifting for a few moments into his memories as his expression turned a bit wry and self-critical.
+++
In the middle of a wide field stood a cozy wooden house surrounded by fruit trees, a patch of different flowers, and a stable not far away. Looking out one of the windows was a boy of about thirteen, with black hair and bright blue eyes, who seemed amazed by the torrential rain that beat mercilessly outside the house.
"Erik, close the window; you might catch a cold."
Suddenly, the boy heard a voice at his side, so he quickly turned to look, and there he found a woman of about fifty gazing at him with a gentle expression as she offered him a steaming cup. The boy took the cup and lowered his head as he spoke in a very calm, even somewhat flat voice—nothing like what one would expect from a boy his age.
"Thank you… Grandma…"
"Do you like watching the rain?"
The woman laid her hand on the boy's head and began to stroke his hair gently as she asked in a kind voice. Erik nodded slightly as he turned his gaze back to the window, which once again made his eyes go distant, as if the torrential rain had the power to absorb all his attention.
"Hahaha, men really are simple-minded creatures; your grandfather is the same. He gets lost staring at random things." Seeing the boy's state, the woman couldn't help remarking in amusement, but at that moment Erik murmured softly.
"People?"
Hearing the murmur, the woman looked at him a bit puzzled, then focused her gaze on the view through the window, which after a few seconds let her see two humanoid figures struggling closer. Startled, the woman quickly exclaimed as she set her steaming cup on a nearby table.
"Old man!! Come help me—someone's coming through the rain!!!"
Hurrying her steps, the woman moved toward the door, just as a man of about the same age came from another room holding a shotgun and an umbrella. With long strides, the man quickly reached the woman's side and handed her the umbrella while he opened the door and fixed his gaze on the distance, gripping the shotgun tightly.
"Any idea who they are?"
"No idea—Erik saw them, but I could barely make out blurry figures." The woman replied hurriedly, at which point the black-haired boy spoke in a calm voice.
"I think it's the neighbors. I can see a big belly on one of them."
Hearing the boy, the old man's eyes widened in surprise, and almost instantly he set the shotgun aside and ran toward the approaching figures. Meanwhile, the woman turned to the boy and ordered in a voice full of urgency.
"Erik, get towels and a chair ready! Something serious must have happened!"
The boy nodded and set his steaming cup aside, then ran to the back of the house. Soon, the old man returned, helping a couple in their thirties, the woman with a large pregnant belly, both of them completely soaked. A few meters from the door, the old man shouted in a serious voice to his wife.
"The baby's coming, old woman!"
"Erik! Get clean towels and heat some water!" Hearing the shout, the woman yelled into the house as she herself rushed toward one of the rooms.
…
"Thank you! Thank you so much! The car got stuck in the mud while we were on the way to the hospital! I have to get her to a hospital right away!"
While the elderly couple helped the visibly pained woman to sit on the bed, the young man spoke in a panic, not even caring about the open wound on his arm, most likely from barbed wire on some fence. After settling the woman on the bed, the old man looked at the young man and spoke in a serious voice.
"Calm down. With this weather it's impossible to move along the muddy road, but my wife has experience as a midwife; the baby and the mother will be fine, but you need to calm down."
"No, it's not time yet—the baby still has a month to go! I have to get her to the hospital!!!"
The man replied in panic, trying to push past the old man. At that moment, the old woman, seeing Erik approach with a basin of hot water and white towels, spoke in a firm voice.
"Get him out of here, old man. I need to deliver the baby now!"
"Let's go!" The old man nodded and grabbed the young man firmly by the shoulders to try to get him out of the room, but the young man resisted and began to shout in a panic as he struggled.
"No! I have to take her to the hospital! Let me go!!!"
"Get him out!"
The old woman took the water from Erik and ordered sternly, and the old man nodded. Then he promptly gave the young man an uppercut, knocking him out instantly, hoisted him over his shoulder, and looked at Erik as he spoke in a calm voice.
"Come on, Erik; this is your grandmother's work."
Erik quickly nodded and ran after the old man, who shut the bedroom door as they left. Once outside the room, the old man laid the unconscious man on a nearby sofa, then walked to the door while Erik followed him like a newborn duckling following its mother.
Soon, the boy picked up his cup of hot chocolate from the table and stood beside the old man, who stood in the doorway watching the rain as he tapped a pack of cigarettes with his fingers. In complete silence, the old man smoked, and the boy drank his hot chocolate while they watched the torrential rain, which only seemed to worsen with each passing second.
"Erik, remember never to end up like that excuse for a man with no backbone. Women and children can be careless, but a man cannot. A man has the obligation to be an unmoving pillar, able to withstand everything head-on and without fear."
After a while, the old man, his voice mingling with the sound of the heavy rain as he glanced at the unconscious man out of the corner of his eye, spoke calmly. Erik, a bit confused, tilted his head to look at the old man, then asked with genuine curiosity.
"Why?"
"Because that is the duty Mother Nature entrusted to us in exchange for the 'advantages' we innately receive. Men are stronger, faster, and more decisive than women, and, unlike women, under normal circumstances we operate at 100% of our capacity all year long.
"Meanwhile, women, who were entrusted with the duty of giving life and bringing the future, pay a huge price. Every month they suffer pain and weakness, and when it comes time to bring new life, they pay the entire price. Their bodies change permanently, they are weakened, they suffer pain and discomfort, and they never become the same again.
"But a man pays no price, to the point that a man could impregnate many women at once and be none the worse for wear. But that's because our duty is to protect them and protect the future. That's why we must keep ourselves strong and agile—our strength cannot wane. Because, if necessary, a man must fight to his last breath and give his life to protect the future.
"A real man must never collapse, panic, or die after a woman does. A real man has to be the unmoving pillar upon which his wife and children grow. So enjoy your last years as a child, because you, as my son, can only be a real man."
"A real man…"
Erik spoke in a thoughtful tone as he fixed his gaze on the rain. The old man nodded, but at that moment a piercing cry rang out from the room, so the old man flicked away the cigarette butt in his hand and looked back as he spoke in a solemn voice.
"If you ever act like this mockery of a man, or worse, if you let a woman or a child die in front of you, forget that you had me as your father. You are a ***, and only a real man can bear that surname. Trash will never deserve my surname nor my time. I'm not raising trash; remember that well."
"I'll remember… I'll be a 'real man' who protects the future…"
Erik replied with a calm, almost empty expression as he turned to look at the room, just as the door opened and an old woman came out smiling, holding a baby who was crying with all its might.
+++
(Old man, it took me years to understand what you said, and in the end I could never agree with you 100%. While I share the idea that a child deserves protection, do all women deserve something similar? Nothing could be further from the truth. Even following your logic, many will never be mothers, and another batch will be terrible mothers who will bring only a bleak future.
(Even in my past life, your ideals were too caveman-like, old man—senseless and even insulting to many, and in this world full of magic? Worse still. Here, women don't suffer a monthly weakness, and their strength matches that of any man; besides, what is a child in this world where someone with centuries of life is considered young? It's nonsense to even think about it, but…)
Recalling a moment from his childhood, Erik couldn't help reflecting with a faint smile, and his gaze inevitably settled on Ethan, who was sweating profusely and downing mana recovery potions like water. In a hoarse, heavy voice on the verge of giving out, yet still laden with unmistakable pride, Erik asked slowly.
"Ethan, you asked about my surname, didn't you?"
Confused, Ethan looked at Erik with a strange expression, almost as if he were wondering whether the star-haired youth had lost his mind because of his condition, but without pause, Erik declared in a firm, proud tone.
"My name is Erik Verne—remember it well."
At the same time that Erik announced his full name for the first time in his new life, everyone could see his complexion grow even paler as his hair rose into the air again. Before him, two never-before-seen magic circles appeared—runic circles. As the shock made everyone's eyes go wide, Erik took a step forward and, tightening his grip on his machetes, declared in a ragged but resolute voice.
"Now then—women and children to the back. From here on, it's the men's job to hold the fort, hahaha!"
***
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