Card Apprentice Daily Log

Chapter 2947: Veerott’s Burden

Date: Unspecified

Time: Unspecified

Location: Myriad Realms, Card World, Southern Region, Blossom District, Sky Blossom City

"If you knew he was a Viltronian, why didn’t you tell us?" Aqualas asked in distress.

After seeing Veerott’s reaction and hearing his explanation, she had completely believed him. Which only made the situation more frustratingly confusing.

If they had known Southern Hope was actually a demi-human, one of the very people they had spent years trying to locate and protect, they would have approached everything differently. They certainly wouldn’t have tried so hard to kill him.

"What do you think?" Veerott wiped at his eyes and let out a bitter laugh. His gaze fell back to the crimson remains drifting through the Ocean World. "He’s a Viltronian. A strong and smart one. You know what we’re like. I wanted to subdue him first before dealing with everything else."

Aqualas and Seraphina fell silent. Unfortunately, they did. The admission sounded pathetic even to Veerott’s own ears. Yet it was the truth. He lowered his head. In hindsight, he blamed nobody more than himself.

He should have been clearer. He should have told them what he suspected. He should have communicated better. Instead, he had kept everything to himself while trying to figure things out alone.

But how could anyone blame him?

However, he had other reasons for actions. Southern Hope was not only the first live Viltronian he had encountered in countless years, but he wasn’t an ordinary Viltronian. He was a variant Viltronian, a Gigamite. Even now, remembering the mutated core hidden within Southern Hope’s chest made Veerott’s heart tremble.

According to his Viltronian legacy he inherited, Gigamites occupied a special place within Viltronian history. They were not only stronger than ordinary Viltronians, but more aggressive, domineering, and dangerous.

In nearly every measurable category, they exceeded their peers. Which was precisely why they were feared. Many ancient records described Gigamites as disasters waiting to happen. Some mothers reportedly killed their offspring immediately after birth upon discovering the mutation.

Cruel as that sounded, the records portrayed it as an act of necessity rather than malice. For a race as ruthless and strength-obsessed as the Viltronians to consider something too dangerous to exist... The implications were horrifying.

Veerott had spent much of the battle wrestling with that knowledge. Part of him wanted to protect Southern Hope. Part of him wanted to recruit him. Part of him wanted to teach him about his people. But another part remembered every warning contained within his legacy. Every story about the Gigamites was a cautionary tale. They were considered as the Viltron’s catastrophe.

At times, he had genuinely wondered whether the correct decision was to kill Southern Hope before he could become the root of some future disaster.

The Viltronians already possessed a terrible reputation among card apprentices and Supreme Beings. The last thing Veerott wanted was for the first surviving member of his race that he encountered to become proof that all those prejudices were justified.

Yet despite all his doubts... despite all his fears... despite every warning contained within his legacy... Southern Hope had still been the first living Viltronian he had found after years of searching.

Years of hoping and waiting. And now he was gone. Killed before Veerott could decide what he truly wanted to do. Which somehow made the loss hurt even more.

"Well, since you failed to subdue him, considering the reputation of your race, he was better off dead."

Seraphina’s voice was cold and matter-of-fact. Unlike Veerott, she had never felt any particular attachment toward demi-humans. The only reason she had agreed to help him search for surviving Viltronians was because she trusted him.

She believed that if anyone could guide them, educate them, and help them adapt to the modern world, it would be Veerott. But Southern Hope was different.

Assuming he truly was a Viltronian, the battle had already proven he was exceptionally dangerous. He had manipulated them. Outplayed them. Toyed with Veerott despite the latter’s overwhelming strength.

In Seraphina’s eyes, that made him exactly the kind of person who should never be allowed to grow unchecked. If anything, she believed they had eliminated a future threat.

"You don’t get it." Veerott’s voice trembled. Not with anger but with grief. "Even though he was too strong for me to subdue, I had already changed my mind."

"I decided to use the wager as an excuse." He continued with his gaze fixed on the endless waters surrounding them. The pain in his voice grew stronger with every word. "A way to stay near him. To talk to him. To reason with him. To teach him about his heritage. And you..."

For the first time, genuine frustration slipped through Veerott’s voice.

"You killed him before I even got the chance. Despite me trying to stop you. If it was him... He could have helped me."

Neither woman responded to the accusation, it hung heavily in the air. The words hit harder than either woman expected. Because they finally understood learning Southern Hope was Viltronian meant to Veerott.

Someone who could share the burden. Someone who could help carry responsibilities Veerott had shouldered alone for years. For so long, Veerott had been the last known member of his race. The sole keeper of its history, bearer of its future, and witness to everything that had been lost.

Then, for a brief moment, he thought he had found another. And now that possibility was gone.

"I don’t blame you two."

Veerott slowly shook his head and said something that made both women look surprised. Because they knew he had every right to. Instead, he lowered his gaze.

"I blame myself. I could have handled everything differently." Veerott’s voice softened but the regret in those words was unmistakable.

If only he had spoken sooner. If only he had explained himself. If only he had trusted his friends with what he knew.

Maybe things would have turned out differently. Maybe Southern Hope would still be alive. Maybe.

Veerott stared into the endless expanse of the Ocean World. For the first time in years, he felt truly alone.

Not because he lacked companions. Aqualas and Seraphina were family to him in all but blood. He trusted them with his life and they trusted him with theirs. But there were burdens even this family couldn’t share. The burden of reviving an extinct race, preserving a dying legacy, and ensuring that the last traces of an entire civilization did not vanish forever.

These burdens belonged to him alone. Or at least, he had hoped they no longer would. Now, staring into the endless waters, Veerott couldn’t help but feel that the world had cruelly dangled hope in front of him, only to snatch it away the moment he reached for it.

It took Southern Hope being killed for him to finally realize that, Gigamite or not, he would take whatever the world sent his way.