Chapter 65: I’ll just capture them

All three of them were currently sitting on the bed, quietly discussing what they should do next in the midst of the unfolding situation.

The conversation revolved around their next course of action.

Or rather, Lucian was the one trying to persuade them of what needed to be done next.

Lucian repeated the same thing to Lia that he had previously told Seraphina—carefully, patiently, trying to keep his voice calm despite multiple thoughts running inside his head at the same time.

Of course, Lia’s reaction was far more violent than his mother’s.

Lucian calmly explained that the only true way to awaken was to personally kill the monsters.

He didn’t sugarcoat it.

He didn’t speak in a roundabout manner.

He said it directly.

They had to kill. There was no other way.

The certainty of his words made both of them frown.

He was saying it with such unwavering conviction, as if he were one hundred percent certain that he was right, as though there was absolutely no room for doubt in his mind.

And they couldn’t help but think so too.

And that frightened them almost as much as the monsters did.

“Even if what you are saying is true, how will we kill them?” Seraphina asked, her eyes narrowing slightly as she folded her hands over her lap to keep them from trembling.

Her voice was calm and controlled, but beneath that control was fear—fear that she tried to hide.

Lucian answered without hesitation.

“I’ll just capture them,” he said casually.

There wasn’t any concern in his voice, as if the monsters roaming the streets weren’t a threat at all. As if they were just stray animals he could grab and drag back by the scruff of their necks.

That nonchalance made Lia’s head snap toward him.

“Just capture them?” she retorted sharply, her voice rising.

“Did you hear yourself just now?”

Even Seraphina leaned forward slightly, a flash of alarm crossing her face.

“Dear, don’t do anything reckless.” Her eyes trembled as she feared that anything would happen to him.

Her composure cracked for a second.

Lia hadn’t seen it properly since she had run to the bathroom earlier, overwhelmed and nauseated by the chaos.

But Seraphina had.

She had clearly seen how the goblins tore the man’s stomach open, how they killed the woman without hesitation, how the child was abandoned by her mother.

What if a similar situation happened to them?

What if Lucian were in place of that woman?

What if he were the one lying on the road, lifeless, staring blankly at the sky?

Seraphina’s breath hitched just by that thought.

Her chest tightened painfully, as if invisible fingers had wrapped around her heart and squeezed it tightly.

Even thinking about it made her stomach churn.

There was no way she was going to let him outside.

No way.

Lucian noticed the way her fingers dug into the fabric of her skirt, the way Lia’s jaw trembled despite her attempt to appear angry rather than scared.

He tried explaining, consoling them with all he had.

But both of them were adamant about not letting him out of the house.

Lia shook her head repeatedly, her ponytail swaying.

“No. Absolutely not. You’re not going out there again,” she said firmly, though her voice cracked halfway through.

Seraphina’s tone was softer, but no less resolute.

“We will think of another way,” she insisted, even though she had no idea what that other way could possibly be.

Even after ten minutes of arguing, the result was still the same, which made Lucian sigh out loud in frustration.

‘This is going nowhere.’

His patience was running thin from the repeated argument.

He knew their concerns weren’t wrong.

If anything, they were natural.

Normal even.

But he couldn’t keep it that way.𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

He couldn’t let them stay weak.

He had to do something.

To help them awaken.

And to devour more monsters so he could get stronger.

The goblins outside their house were only F-rank.

But what about the monsters in the city?

In the country?

In the world?

He didn’t know.

And that uncertainty gnawed at him relentlessly.

‘I’ll just head out tonight,’ he thought, finally making a decision as his gaze lowered slightly, his expression turning distant.

‘There’s no other way.’

Yes, there wasn’t anything else he could do.

He knew that if he kept arguing, it would only make them worry even more.

After he brought the monsters tonight, what happens after that?

He didn’t know.

He would deal with it when the time came.

For now, their awakening was the only objective.

Seraphina’s eyes sharpened as she watched him fall silent.

She felt like he was still thinking about something reckless.

Even Lia frowned when she saw his serious expression, as if he were planning to do something stupid.

But it seemed that Lucian’s idea wouldn’t exactly go according to his plan.

Because—

KSHAAATTER!

A loud sound of glass shattering echoed violently down the hallway.

The sharp crash cut through the tense air like a blade.

Both Lia and Seraphina flinched violently at the sudden sound.

Lucian’s body tensed instantly as the noise reached his ears.

“W-What happened?” Lia asked, her voice trembling as her eyes darted toward the bedroom door.

“The sound came from downstairs, right?” she asked again, confusion mixing with dread.

Lucian nodded.

“Just stay here,” he muttered as he stood up.

He quickly reached down and grabbed his bag from underneath the bed.

Both of their eyes widened in shock as he calmly removed a bone dagger from inside it.

This was the same bag where he had placed the items from the dungeon earlier, after throwing away the previous one.

Lia’s throat went dry.

Seraphina’s breath stilled.

The blade didn’t belong in their home.

For a second, she wondered where the weapon had come from before remembering Lucian’s words—how he had fought a goblin and how he had taken its dagger after killing it.

“What are you doing?” Seraphina asked tensely, even though she already knew what he was about to do.

Her voice was barely a whisper, but the strain in it was unmistakable.

Lucian looked at them… and smiled softly.

It wasn’t a cocky smile, nor was it a reckless one.

It was gentle, almost apologetic.

“Just stay here. And don’t come out,” he said again, but this time his voice was firmer, carrying a quiet authority that hadn’t been there before.

“But—”

Seraphina tried to stop him, her hand lifting slightly as if to reach for him.

“Mom, ” he muttered.

The single word halted her.

“Listen to me… please.”

There was something in his eyes she had never seen before.

Not fear. Not arrogance.

But determination so deep it bordered on desperation.

He was almost on the verge of begging her.

Not to let him go.

But… just to trust him.

Seraphina’s eyes trembled as she saw the look on his face.

Her fingers curled into her palm so tightly that her nails bit into her skin.

She wanted to scream at him.

To forbid him.

To lock him inside the door and throw away the key.

But she didn’t.

She gritted her teeth, her jaw trembling faintly, and nodded slowly.

Lucian glanced at Lia, who was sitting there in stunned silence.

“D-Don’t,” she stammered, her voice breaking apart.

“What i-if something ha-happened…?”

She couldn’t even finish the sentence. The words themselves felt like a curse.

Lucian sighed softly as he reached out and gently patted her head.

“Trust your brother,” he said quietly.

“Nothing will happen to me.”

The certainty in his tone was unsettling.

It was so absolute that for a fleeting second, she almost believed it.

Almost.

But reality wasn’t kind.

Even if she hadn’t witnessed the goblins killing humans with her own eyes, she had seen enough.

How they ran, how they looked, how they attacked.

She had even seen it on the news earlier.

The screaming. The censored blood.

And it only made her feel even more dread.

She glanced at Seraphina for some support.

She was his mother. There was no way she could let him go outside, right?

Seraphina’s face was partially hidden behind her long black hair, the strands falling forward and casting shadows over her expression.

Her jaw was clenched so tightly that the muscles in her face flexed slightly.

She didn’t speak.

She didn’t move.

CLICK.

The sharp sound of the door closing echoed in her ears, snapping her back to the room.

“Broth—”

She looked up abruptly.

The spot in front of her—where Lucian had been standing seconds ago—was empty.

He was gone.

He had already stepped outside.

Her eyes widened in horror as she stood up from the bed and ran toward the door.

But Seraphina immediately grabbed her wrists, stopping her from rushing outside.

The sudden restraint startled her.

Lia snapped her head toward her.

“What are you doing?!” she screamed, her voice cracking with raw emotion.

Her mind was already struggling to accept the reality of what was happening, and now Lucian, her brother, had just run straight toward his probable death.

How could she possibly stay calm about that?

She couldn’t!!

Seraphina didn’t say anything at first.

Her grip remained tight.

Her face was still partially hidden by her hair, but her shoulders trembled faintly.

The room felt suffocating, even as she tried her best to remain calm.

“What… what will you do after you go outside?” she asked, her voice hoarse as her grip on Lia’s wrist tightened unconsciously.

“It doesn’t matter! Whatever I do is my own concern!” Lia shouted back, her eyes already red with anger.

Lia was in utter disbelief.

She couldn’t believe how the woman before her could remain so unfazed by all of this.

She was Lucian’s mother, so shouldn’t she have stopped him? Instead, she let him go without even knowing whether he would come back alive or not.

The thought made Lia’s stomach twist violently.

Then—

Loud shrieks echoed from downstairs, along with the harsh sound of furniture scraping heavily against the ground. The noises overlapped with each other, sharp and chaotic, making the air feel tense and unstable.

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