Chapter 399 - 399: Family
"Many years ago, the whole world was in chaos. Dungeon Dwellers had attacked the whole world. We just happened to be lucky that no Dungeon appeared in our small island nation."
"The world faced the disaster and became victorious, but it was a really costly victory. I wonder if that day will ever come again when we're back in square one."
"I don't know why, but recently I have a really bad feeling as if something bad is going to happen."
"I hope I'm wrong."
He moved the crystal-like orb right before his eyes, seeing the moon through the crystal orb.
The white moon looked blood red as he looked at the moon through the orb.
"Rivers of blood shall flow if that day ever comes again. Hopefully, it won't happen. I hope people learned from the disaster of last time."
"That's the thing, my friend. People rarely learn from their mistakes." An old-sounding voice appeared.
"You're here? Didn't you go to protect your grandson?" Xaen asked without even getting up. He already knew who it was from the voice.
An old man appeared out of thin air, smiling.
"What do you think?" he asked.
The white-haired man who just came was none other than Grandpa Chi, who had saved Lucifer from the depths of water.
"Ah, that's right. You probably already went to meet him. You're not going to tell me where he is, are you?" Xaen asked Grandpa Chi.
Grandpa Chi sat near him.
"What do you think?" he repeated his last answer.
"At least tell me, how is that troublemaker?" Xaen asked, weaving his hand.
A small spatial portal opened near him. He tossed the orb inside the spatial portal, which closed.
"That orb, why do you still carry it?" Grandpa Chi asked instead, changing the topic.
"It's nothing. I just felt like looking at this relic of the past again. These things almost caused a great disaster after all," Xaen replied.
Grandpa Chi didn't comment on anything. He also laid on the roof, looking at the moon.
"Xaen, I want to ask you something," Grandpa Chi said after a moment of silence.
"Since when did you need permission to ask me anything?" Xaen retorted. "Still, go ahead."
"Have you never thought about having a family?" Grandpa Chi asked.
"Why are you asking that?" Xaen asked.
"I just thought about it, but you've been alone all your life. Why don't you just marry and make a family of yourself?"
"Why would I do that? Family comes with lots of trouble. I'm happy the way I am."
"You're already sixty years old. You'll live fifty more years at best. Don't you want to leave your bloodline in this world? Don't you want to spend some years with your family, watching your kids grow up?"
"As the Dean of this academy, I've seen a lot of kids grow up. I don't need more. But I don't understand, why are you talking about that suddenly? You certainly have some reason. Go on, no need to talk in circles."
Even though Grandpa Chi seemed to be talking about something casual, Xaen became suspicious of his intentions.
"Nothing. I just felt like I should tell you. The happiness that you get with family is something that no other happiness can match. I had that happiness before," Grandpa Chi said.
"Even though I lost my family, the moments I spent with them were the happiest moments of my life," he continued.
"I think you should experience them too. You won't be unlucky like me, so you can protect them too."
"Ahh, I get it now!" Xaen exclaimed as if his mind suddenly clicked. "Today is your wedding anniversary! So that's why you're getting so emotional, am I right?"
He stood up. "Come, let's go to a bar. So what if your wife isn't here? This was the day when you married her. We need to celebrate it. Look at the happy moments."
He reached out his hand towards Grandpa Chi.
Grandpa Chi grabbed Xaen's hand and stood up.
A spatial portal opened before the two of them, big enough for the two of them to enter. Both of them entered the portal together. The portal closed behind them.
....
A distant sun rose on the horizon, accompanied by warmth. As the sunlight fell on his face, Lucifer woke up from his slumber.
He had fallen asleep on the roof of the building last night, appreciating the moon.
He slowly opened his eyes and stood up.
Getting up, he went downstairs again.
Entering his room, he took a shower before joining Jiang on the search mission.
Throughout the day, Jiang continued the search. He finished searching ten floors in five hours.
By the time it was one in the afternoon, Jiang was already on the tenth floor.
They still hadn't found the stone they were looking for. They did find the other treasures though.
"There's something inside this wall. I hope it's that stone. Who's going to break it?" Jiang said, pointing towards a certain spot on the wall.
"I'll do it," Lucifer stepped forward. Clenching the fist, he punched the wall.
…
"This isn't it either," Lucifer commented, shaking his head. He only found a small gold coin in the wall and nothing else.
Jiang also sighed in disappointment, sitting on the ground, tired.
"Are you sure this building has that stone? I can't help but be pessimistic about it at this point."
He was feeling extremely tired.
Even Vega was having second thoughts. They still hadn't found that stone, and it was highly unlikely that Varant would hide it in the first ten floors.
"That stone is in this building. Have lunch. We'll continue the search after that. Only ten more floors to search," Lucifer said, not losing hope.
He and Jiang left the room for the canteen, which was on this floor. There were canteens on the higher floors too, but none of them was in the mood to go back to the upper floors just to eat.
The three of them entered the tenth-floor canteen to eat something.
"I'll see what's available here. You two wait," Lucifer told the two of Jiang and Vega.
"Wait. Don't leave!" Jiang abruptly called out. He was looking under him for some reason.
"What happened?" Lucifer asked. "Did you notice something?"
"Something is in this place. Can any of you dig under me? I really think something is here," Jiang said, pointing under his feet.
"Do you think it might be that stone?" Vega inquired.
"I'm not sure. All I know is that something is here which shouldn't be," Jiang replied.
Lucifer returned to him. "Step aside. Let me check."
Jiang stepped back, letting Lucifer take the lead, really hoping that it was that stone.