Supreme Magus

Chapter 4519: Lesson about Compassion (Part 1)

"Up to five grandchildren, actually." Lith replied. "There are four more women out there pregnant with his children, and if they ask for my help, I’ll save them." A wave of his hand conjured hot tea and alcohol to spike it for everyone.

The Verhens sipped the liquor from the bottle and needed several minutes to recover from the emotional blow enough to speak, even Trion.

"I can’t believe you offered Althika hospitality, Lil Bro." Tista’s hand trembled, making her cup clink against the saucer multiple times. "I mean, it was nice of you, but-"

"Also insane!" Rena snarled. "Orpal- I mean, Meln is a murderous, deranged, perverted piece of shit, and you invited his bastard child into our home without even consulting us? Have you forgotten what he’s done to you?

"To Aran and Leria? To Zin and her children? More importantly, have you forgotten what he did to Dad?" She pointed at Raaz, making him flinch as if her finger were a poisoned blade.

"I haven’t forgotten." Lith was surprised by how calm he was in the middle of the storm. "This changes nothing. I will find Meln, and I will kill him in the most painful way I can. Yet we are not talking about him, but his child.

"Blaming Erkin for his father’s crimes would be no different than pinning on Garrik the countless atrocities Glemos perpetrated on the people of Zelex. Or do you think that by saving him I also forgave his insane father for his crimes?"

"Yes, I mean, no. I mean, it’s not the same thing!" Rena backed off, knowing how nonsensical she sounded.

"Explain to me how." Lith crossed his arms. "As I see it, the only difference between Erkin and Garrik is that you never met Glemos and were never personally affected by his actions. Garrik is a good kid, and you know it.

"Erkin is not even born. There’s nothing you can accuse him of aside from being alive, but that would make everyone on this planet just as guilty."

A long, awkward silence befell the room. Lith’s reasoning was flawless, and the fact he had chosen the baby’s name carried great weight.

"Lith has a point." Trion was terrified that anything he said might be misunderstood as him siding with Orpal like when they were kids, but he had to speak. "Meln is a cancer on Mogar, but we can’t take it on his son.

"I’m not saying we should hug Althika and welcome her to the family. We can never meet her, for all I care. Yet the baby will need help growing up, and we are the only ones who can give it to him.

"If even Erkin’s family can barely tolerate his existence, imagine how the rest of Mogar will treat him."

"I can sort of agree." Rena clenched her hands in frustration. "Sort of. And mostly because if the little bastard becomes a Demon, people might study him to discover the weaknesses of our children.

"The Dryad, however, is a different story. She’s nothing but a whore! She knew who Meln was, yet she searched for him, she seduced him, and got pregnant with his child! She’s nothing like Ryla. Ryla was born in Zelex and had no way out.

"She believed Glemos to be a god and gave him a son because she was forced to. This Althika, instead, is an opportunistic, soulless monster just like Meln and deserves everything she gets!"

"I’m not even going to try to justify that." Lith raised his hands, conceding the point. "Yet I’m asking you all to remember that she’s not a human. You can’t judge Althika by our standards more than you can blame Abominus and Onyx for eating those who try to harm Aran and Leria."

Everyone shuddered at those words. Witnessing the fluffy magical beasts the Verhens considered huge plushies murder and eat humans like cattle had been their first interspecies great cultural shock.

The Verhens considered the act revolting, but to the beasts it was the most natural thing. The only reason the Verhens eased into accepting the beasts’ feeding habits was that Abominus and Onyx only ate those they killed, and they killed only those who wanted to harm Aran and Leria.

Even the most compassionate among the Verhens felt no pity or empathy for such people and wished them the most gruesome death. Moreover, once the rumors about the fate of the assailants spread, the number of attempts on the kids had plummeted.

It made their parents even more grateful to the beasts and uncaring about the suffering of the criminals.

"Moreover, as Naphila said, Althika underwent a drastic change after getting pregnant, just like it happened to Ryssa after she started dating Marth." Lith said. "Seeing her today, you’d never believe what she did and how she behaved in the White Griffon’s forest.

"Back then, she only cared about her sister, Lyta, and considered anyone else, even the young students, as either food or playthings. Ryssa changed because Marth showed her another way of living, while Althika grew to love her baby.

"I want you to understand, Rena, that Erkin wasn’t human, but a Vurdalak. The corruption it brought should have reinforced Althika’s race impulse to prey on the weak, yet she fought with everything she had.

"If she were as evil as you claim, why did she endure so much suffering when she could have just given in?"

Elina’s and Rena’s focus shifted from the baby’s father to the events before the procedure that Lith had shown them. Althika’s pain and despair as she fought a losing battle to keep her baby safe struck many nerves, and it struck hard.

Both women had almost lost a child, and could walk more than one mile in the Dryad’s shoes.

’My body betrayed me just like Althika’s and killed Lith.’ Elina thought. ’I don’t know what I’d done if he didn’t come back on his own.’

’She may be a piece of shit, but at least she fought for Erkin as hard as I did for Falco.’ Rena shuddered; the parallel between the Strangler and Orpal’s influence hit too close to home.

"Allow me to add one thing, Little Brother." Much to everyone’s surprise, Trion used a moniker, and Lith didn’t glare or sneer at him. "I know that what Althika did is wrong. There is no changing that.

"Yet as someone who made many mistakes, I need to ask. If you think redemption is impossible, if those marked as bad people can’t change, why let them live? Wouldn’t it be much better and faster to put them down?

"I know I acted like an idiot all my life, but I like to think that maybe, just maybe, if I realized the error of my ways and found a way to make it up to you, you’d have forgiven me and let me back into your lives.

"Without this thought, my existence as a Demon would be intolerable because it would mean you’ll never forgive me and you tolerate my presence only out of pity."

"Don’t you say that!" Elina jumped from her seat and rushed to hug the Demon. "Don’t you ever say that, baby. Of course, we would have taken you back."