Ep 42. Do You Know My Name? (7)
“S, s, s…stay away!”
The doctor’s cries fell on deaf ears as Serenis closed the distaween them. He madly rummaged his b coat’s inner pockets, and when Serenis was just close enough, the man boldly took a step forward as he produced another metal syringe from within.
A soundless stab stopped the dragonlord iracks as the needle buried itself into her chest. The doctor pushed the device’s rear as he ied the syringe’s tents, letting out a maniacal ughter.
“E…ha…ha, hahaha! Now you are a p, p, part of my family…!”
“…Family, you say.”
“Eha…ah?”
The doctor could only return a fused gaze to the dragonlord. His eyes then fell on the syringe in hand that he pulled out, clearly emptied of its tents.
“, why…is it…not…w, w?”
k!
Serenis spped the haggard arms holding the syringe, sending the device flying out of the drasp. Of course the needle would have no effe her; the doctor ractically iing the owner with her own mana.
“D, d, did something happen…to the drug? W, why is it n, n, not w…you, or t, that…enforcer…”
A sn ughter came from Serenis as the doctor’s ignorance tinued.
“Just whose mana do you think you are using?”
A momentary g sound filled the room as an alieion ched into the doctor’s left leg. When he looked down, an iron rod made of magic had smashed into his left calf, breaking the bones within and twisting his leg in a mahat shouldn’t be twisting in.
“Ah…HHHHHHCK!!”
“After harming those of your owhren, did your heart not suffer even the slightest guilt?”
Another g noise filled the doctor’s ears as his right calf was smashed in the exact same manner. He colpsed to the floor as his legs gave away.
And still, not even a hint of satisfa could be seen in the dragonlord’s eyes.
“When others suffered for your sake, did you not have the ce to suffer the same yourself?”
The doctor frantically wove his arms in denial. His desperate cries filled the b, bolstered by his desire to survive.
“D, d, daughter! Daughter!! Stop this fiend! NOW!!”
At the doctor’s barked order, Light hesitantly took half a step forward, sloroag the wounded man and her peer. The half girl’s voice mirrored the relu her steps.
“Z, Zion….I…”
Then, a red tail barred her path. Ilias was worriedly looking at her little sister, shaking her head.
“…Light. You’re not his daughter.”
“But…I…am…”
“Then who’re the people waiting for you at home?”
“You know they aren’t my real parents…I was born here. The doade me. Without him, I wouldn’t be…me.”
“…Light, being born somewhere doesn’t mean that’s your home. And your parents don’t always have to be the people who made you.”
“…”
While the youngliured her little sister, Serenis flicked her fingers as an invisible grip tugged on the doctor’s colr, pulling him back upright. She turned around and tossed the figure sideways, making him fall onto the floor in front of the two girls.
Evehe doctor was frantically reag for the syrihat had fell out of his grasp. When he realized that it was too far, he immediately turo Light.
“D, d, daughter! Ki…kirrlllr…..kill them! Kill them all! Get me, o, o, out!! Listen to me, I, I, I am…your f, f, father!!”
Although Light’s gaze met the doctor’s, she could not hear him properly; the buzzing in her head was beginning to drown out the world surrounding her. Her breathing grew heavy as she struggled to remain focused, and she could feel her obligation as a daughter flig with everything she’d grown to be.
A long time ago, she wouldn’t have had a choider the influence of his curse; Light would do as he said, and she wouldn’t have had to think or ponder on what she did. Now, even after years of living free of his influence, she found it difficult to go against his words. She couldn’t even dis what was right.
But in her panicked fusion, a soft warmth ed around her as Ilias embraced the trembling half girl.
The dragon softly patted her little sister on the head, whispering as gently as she could.
“Light, I don’t know a lot about family, but…I tell you this for sure. A parent, should mean so much more than just a person who created you.”
“But…”
“That ’t be all there is to being family, right? We’re not reted, but you’re my little sister. No one tell me otherwise.”
“…”
Children should obey their parents. Childreheir parents for the life they were given. Family should care for each other, and never abandon each other.
The doctor had drilled those ideas into Light ever since she was able to uand human tongue, and the outside world seemed to agree, at least for the most part. Maybe it was low, even animalistic, to despise a father figure for personal reasons.
But who made up those rules?
Acc to the same principles, Ilias was a horrible person. She abandoned her home and family to occasionally live with those of another race altogether, g them to be her family despite already having family elsewhere.
Light shut her eyes and shook her head, washing the ill thoughts off of her mind.
It couldn’t be. Her kind, g sister couldn’t possibly be a horrible person.
All the reverted animals began to leer and growl at the colpsed figure on the floor. The hatred in their eyes spread like wildfire towards the source of their suffering. Uhe half girl that had desperately held onto human obligations, the animals showed raint in dispying their emotions.
And, just maybe, they were right in doing so.
Light k on one knee, fag the doctor with trembling eyes. A pained expression crossed her face as she began to speak for everyone around her, holding an arm outwards to keep the other animals from shing out against the fallen man.
“…Doctor.”
“Daughter…! T, there are more needles on my d, d, desk. Hurry…!”
The half girl shook her head in denial, remaining still on the ground.
“Why…did you do this to us?”
“hat? Do…what?”
“Doctor…you said we were your children. But were we really family to you?”
“O, o, of, of course! All of you…are my d, d, dear children! Every, every single o, one!”
“…How e you never paid attention to us? Why did you hurt us?”
“I, I, I always h, have paid, attention! H, how could I ever h, h, hurt any of y, y, you?”
“Even whearved and suffered, you didn’t pay any attention to us. You let our friends and family bee our feed…you experimented on us.”
“No…no, no, no, no...I…I wanted you all to b, b, bee, perfect! Yes, I wanted you to…bee…perfect beings…”
“…And we weren’t family if we didn’t seem perfect to you. You were disappointed when we evolved to be normal halves. You called us failures when we didn’t turn out to be what you wanted.”
“…”
“Isn’t that why you didn’t care when everyone else died? Or when I ran away alone, all those years ago?”
“D, daughter…I was just b, busy, at the time. O, of course I cared.”
“You know…before, I thought this was normal. I thought all families were like this. But now I know…that not everyone lives like us.”
“I, I perfected you, daughter! Thanks to me, y, you became, a p, p, person. No parent d, d, do what I did for y, you.”
Light shut her eyes. She wi the remark because it was true; no other person could do what the doctor had doo her. If it weren’t for him, she’d still be a stray cat roaming the sewers. She never would’ve met her parents, or teachers, or any of her friends.
But it wasn’t thanks to him she had all those bonds. She’d found those herself – after risking her life to run away from this pever for a moment did the half girl miss the life she had here. Her creator had no p the life she chose.
‘…I wonder if mom and dad found out we’re gone. I hope they’re not outside looking for us…’
A soft warmth washed away the pain in Light’s expression. She could imagine her parents at the door, waiting for her to e back with Ilias. They’d be worried, and maybe a tiny bit angry, but simply relieved that their daughters had e bae safe and sound.
Surely, they’d wele them home. Just as always.
When Light opened her eyes, her body was no longer shaking. She no longer saw a twisted father figure in her eyes. It was just a delusional man who’d givehe ce to run away and find her life.
“Doctor. Do you know my name?”
“…N…n, name?”
“My name. My name is Light.”
“B..b, b, but…I…never…”
“When we became family, they gave me this name hoping that I’ll never live in a dark pce again. They hoped that I’ll always be a bright person.”
“…”
“My parents…gave me this name.”
Praybird
