Kael looked at the girl, who was standing there, checking her personal information before stepping aside to give space for the last child.
From Kael's perspective, her mana ranged between ten thousand and fifteen thousand.
His skill's mastery level might be low, but it still allowed him to freely observe mana, and her mana was comparable to Seraphina's.
He asked the girl how much mana she had awakened with. She replied, "112 mana points," lying straight-faced.
Nobody suspected anything, as such a mana level seemed common there, and the next child stepped forward, announcing 403 points.
That was Corin—his dream was coming true. Even though he hadn't awakened a C-rank skill, he now possessed a solid D-rank skill and a good amount of mana.
He waited, hoping the young lord might ask about his skill, but Kael's attention remained fixed solely on Kyra, the girl who had moved to their village just a year ago.
Kael watched silently as she returned to the crowd, then summoned the village chief to ask questions about her.
Harven arrived quickly. "Do you need something, my lord?"
Kael didn't look at him. "Do you know that girl?"
Harven followed Kael's gaze and saw Kyra, then answered truthfully,
"Kyra. She's new to the village. We found her and her mother about a year ago.
Her mother was gravely wounded, so we pitied them and gave them an empty house to live in.
I believe they came from near the border
monsters attacked their village during the horde invasions in previous years.
Many nearby villages were wiped out by demonic monsters. I think they're some of the few survivors from these villages."
Kael's gaze returned to the girl standing alone. He asked, "Where is her mother?"
Harven replied apologetically, "She couldn't come because of her illness, my lord. I fear she doesn't have much time left."
Kael thought for a moment. Sickness… thousands have fled similarly from near the border.
This is not suspicious, but this kind of mana is suspicious. I didn't see anything like it here in this village.
He told Harven, "Dismiss the villagers. I'll leave in a while."
"Yes, my lord," Harven said, retreating.
As the villagers slowly returned home, Kael stopped Kyra.
She had been about to return to her mother's side but stopped by soldiers and heard Kael's wish to speak to her.
"You asked me?" she said, coming to Kael's side.
"I heard your mother is ill. Is that correct?" Kael asked.
"Yes," she replied.
"Show me the way to your home. I have some words to speak with both of you."
Kael rose from the chair he had been sitting in the whole time.
Kyra sensed something off but had no choice but to lead him.
They arrived at her house. Kyra entered first, and Kael followed, closing the door behind him. "Wait here," he said to the guards.
Inside, Kael saw a woman lying on the bed, clearly very ill.
She tried to stand and greet him, but Kael motioned for her to remain seated and took a chair in the corner.
He began, "Why did you lie at the awakening ceremony?" he asked Kyra, who was sitting near her mother.
Kyra tensed. "I… I don't understand what you mean."
Kael repeated, more specifically this time. "Why did you lie about your skill and mana?"
Kyra, frightened inside but looking clueless outside, said, "I didn't lie. I told the truth."
"Really?" Kael asked.
"Yes. Really, I didn't lie," she insisted.
"So… what is your skill?" Kael asked.
Kyra whispered, "My… my skill is named Glimmer. It helps me see in the dark."
Kael activated Black Sun. A small black sun the size of a bean materialized in his left hand, plunging the room into darkness.
"How many fingers am I holding up in my right hand?" he asked, his eyes glowing purple.
Kyra saw two purple eyes staring at her and guessed, "F… four?" Truthfully, she couldn't see a thing and was only hoping luck would favor her.
Kael deactivated Black Sun, absorbing all its mana with Corrupting Gaze. "Wrong," he said, holding up two fingers toward mother and daughter.
Kyra looked frightened a moment ago but was now on guard, ready to fight.
Kael lifted both hands. "Stop. Stop. I'm not here to fight. I'm just curious what you're hiding—and why. Even if you killed me, hundreds of guards outside would kill both of you. Think carefully."
Fiora, Kyra's mother, whispered, still in the bed, "Kyra… tell him everything. We have no choice."
Kyra revealed her skill:
Reaper's Manifest (A-Rank)Materializes a spectral black scythe that drains mana from enemies it strikes. While wielding it, the user's physical strength, speed, and reflexes are multiplied fivefold.
Her mana: 13,800 points.
Kael went deep in thought. He couldn't recall any scythe skill users from the novel.
Had she lived her life without using it, or had she died before mastering it? Both theories were possible—but first, he needed to know their origin.
Ordinary commoners didn't have this much mana; bloodline usually determined capacity, and even luck rarely produced someone like her.
Kael asked, "What is your origin?"
Kyra glanced at her mother, who nodded, and then she began to answer.
"We are not human," she said.
"Then what are you?" Kael asked. "I don't see pointed ears like an elf, or tails and extra ears like an animal beastkin.
You're not a half-meter dwarf… or a demon disguised as a human, are you?"
As he spoke, Kael noticed mana radiating faintly from their necklaces. Immediately, he understood—they were hiding their true appearances with these artifacts.
Why didn't I notice that earlier? he thought.
"We are not demons," Kyra said, her voice tinged with sadness.
"We are beastkin… the last of our kind, I think."
She removed the necklace from her neck. A white light glowed around her, and two long ears materialized atop her head—they were clearly rabbit ears.
"Bunny…man?" Kael asked in shock. He remembered a hero in the novel asking a beastkin in their party if there were any bunny girls left, and that beastkin had replied coldly: they are all dead.
When asked why, the response had been simple and ruthless: because they were weak.
"Yes. We are bunnyman. And why we are here…" Kyra began to tell her backstory, but
Kael interrupted her.
"Okay. You can stop. I already know what happened to your people."
The truth was brutal: for the last fifty years, bunnyman were in high demand on the slave market.
Even other beastkin would capture them and sell them to merchants.
Some beastkin killed their kind because they attracted slave traders, drawing danger to everyone—and wolfkin were prime performers of this genocide.
Now, there were two bunnyman before Kael, and one of them was clearly dying. He needed to think about what to do with them now.
I came to the border because there was an A-rank core stone in the ruins near the demon lands, at the edge of the duchy.
My goal was to obtain that skill.
But who would have thought I would meet bunnyman here—beastkin who clearly hated other beastkin because of what was done to them in the past?
If I could give them a reason… I could gain an extremely strong subordinate, one capable of standing against the hero and his companions beside me.
Kael covered his face with both hands, hiding the ominous smile spreading across his lips.
After thinking for some time, he lowered his hands and looked at the woman who would die within days, and at the daughter who was desperately worried about her mother.
Then he spoke, his voice calm and heavy:
"Do you want revenge?"
_____________
About Kyra
_____________
Name: Val Kyra
Race: Beastkin – Bunny
Mana Capacity: 13,800
Skills :
Reaper's Manifest (A-Rank) (1%)
Materializes a spectral black scythe that drains mana from enemies it strikes. While wielding it, the user's physical strength, speed, and reflexes are multiplied fivefold.
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