Isaac opened his spatial storage and took out several EXP Potions together with the Hell Iron-Myre he had promised. After that, he opened his System Shop, spent fifteen thousand AP, and purchased a Mid-Rank Bloodline Evolution Potion. He handed all of it over without hesitation.
Aurora immediately snatched everything from his hands. She checked the items only briefly before storing them away. It was obvious she had no intention of wasting another second.
"Don’t ’leave’ the city before drinking the Bloodline Evolution Potion. If you leave first, you won’t be able to consume it anymore," Isaac reminded her.
Aurora didn’t respond. She simply turned around and started walking toward the exit of the underground chamber. Her pace was much faster than before, as though she wanted to begin her Bloodline Evolution immediately.
Isaac watched her back for a moment before speaking again. "I won’t tell you that revenge is wrong. There’s someone I intend to kill someday as well. Just don’t let revenge become the only reason you keep living."
Aurora’s footsteps stopped instantly. Her body stiffened before she slowly turned around to look at Isaac.
Shock filled her eyes as she silently wondered how he could possibly know anything about the past she had hidden from everyone.
Long before becoming an Overlord, she had wandered the wilderness alone after losing everything precious to her. Those memories had remained buried for years, yet Isaac had spoken as though he understood exactly what she carried in her heart.
She clenched her teeth before glaring at him coldly.
"Mind your own business," she spat. Without waiting for a reply, she turned around once more and disappeared from the underground chamber.
Without waiting for a reply, Aurora turned around once more and disappeared from the underground chamber. Isaac watched her leave before letting out a quiet sigh. There was nothing more he could say that would change her mind.
He had only learned about Aurora’s past while speaking with Catherine inside the Great Dungeon. Long before she became an Overlord, Aurora had lost her entire family while traveling through the wilderness. After finally reaching a human city that accepted her, she devoted herself to becoming stronger so she could one day hunt down the monsters responsible.
It was a story that sounded ordinary in this world. At the same time, it was one that almost everyone could understand. Countless people had lost someone they loved to monsters.
Some people never became strong enough to take revenge. Others gained strength, only to die before ever finding the monsters they sought. Even those who succeeded often found that revenge alone couldn’t fill the emptiness left behind.
Isaac quietly shook his head as those thoughts lingered in his mind. He didn’t particularly like Aurora, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t understand where she was coming from. Pain had shaped many of the strongest people in this world.
Alice had lost both of her parents during a monster attack. Selene had grown up without her mother, while Catherine had never even known her parents. Emily was an orphan as well, and Isaac himself had never experienced what having parents felt like.
Celia’s situation was different, but perhaps even sadder. Her parents had sent her away from Hell, yet they had never come after her afterward. Considering everything that had happened, Isaac doubted they were still alive.
Because of that, Isaac understood the feeling of loss even if he hadn’t personally watched his own family die. Nearly everyone close to him had experienced that pain in one form or another. Their stories were different, but the loneliness they carried was remarkably similar.
That was one of the reasons he wanted to build a true home instead of merely expanding a city. He wanted to create a place where people could live peacefully after surviving everything the world threw at them. Even if revenge left someone’s heart empty, they would still have somewhere they could return to and slowly move forward.
After finishing the matters inside Fortified City Twenty-Two, Isaac returned to his mansion. From there, he entered the Soulbind Pendant, intending to check on the monsters that had been brought inside earlier.
The moment he appeared inside the mansion hall, several maids immediately gathered before him. They bowed in perfect unison before the woman standing at the front stepped forward.
"Greetings, Master," Celeste, the temporary head maid, said politely.
"Good afternoon, Celeste," Isaac replied with a nod. His gaze swept across the assembled maids before returning to her. "Where are the monsters I sent here?"
"The weaker monsters have already been placed inside temporary cages in the forest, Master. The stronger ones are still being restrained by the other maids. Some of them required additional manpower," Celeste answered.
Isaac nodded in satisfaction after hearing the report.
"Take me to the rabbits first," he said. There were several things he wanted to confirm before dealing with the stronger monsters.
Celeste blinked in surprise as she looked at him. "You know what rabbits are, Master?"
"..." Isaac froze, but then he added naturally. "I’ve seen another monster species that looked almost identical to these hares. They were called rabbits."
"Oh," Celeste replied with a nod. She didn’t seem to think much about the explanation as she turned around to lead the way.
The two of them soon reached a cleared area near the edge of the forest surrounding the mansion. Several sturdy cages made from hardened earth stood in neat rows. Inside each cage was a pair of Bramble Hares consisting of one male and one female.
Although they had been placed together, the monsters showed no interest in reproducing. Instead, they repeatedly rammed against the walls of their cages while trying to escape. Their instincts were focused entirely on surviving in an unfamiliar environment.
"Who made these cages?" Isaac asked while examining the surprisingly solid construction.
"Julia did, Master," Celeste answered.
Isaac remembered Julia immediately. She was one of the Dragon Maids who possessed an Earth Dragon bloodline. Her brown hair and equally brown eyes gave her a gentle appearance, but her muscular arms, hardened scales, and sharp dragon claws made it obvious she specialized in physical labor.
"Where is Julia now?" Isaac asked.