Chapter 120: You failed

"Pathetic," Albert said, his voice dripping with contempt. The attack seemed to have hit him squarely—or so Strax thought. He felt the impact and knew he had struck something. But as the dust settled, revealing the scene with a chilling clarity,

Albert was there, apparently unscathed, a mocking smile dancing on his lips. His eyes shone with cold and cruel amusement as he looked down, holding the sword with his bare hands.

"Is this the best you can do?" Albert taunted, his voice echoing in the now silent battlefield.

"No... it can't be..." Strax murmured, gripping Tiamat even tighter. The sword's energy still pulsed through him, but the reality of his father's invulnerability was a crushing blow to his self-esteem. There was no chance, there never had been, but he thought, just a little... that he could do something.

"Did you really think you could defeat me with that?" Albert continued, stepping forward. "You can't even use your sword, you can't assimilate properly. You can't even sense the world around you." Albert said, preparing a punch.

Strax's vision blurred with the effort; his body was already at its limit, and he couldn't push any further, but he refused to back down. "It's not over," he said through gritted teeth, but his words carried no weight anymore, just thrown to the wind, lost in the vastness of the impending defeat.

"Have you given up?" Albert asked, staring into Strax's still determined eyes. He would lose the battle, but not the war, that he was sure of. Even if he had to be reincarnated and return to Thalassia with force to find his wives and kill this old bastard. "Just kill me and get it over with; I have more to do," Strax said.

At no point did he feel fear; he had only accepted and was already thinking about what he would do to come back to life.

"You're quite interesting, boy." Albert said before delivering the Final Blow.

The strike was quick and devastating, a blur of movement that Strax barely managed to follow. Pain exploded in his chest, a searing fire that burned both his flesh and soul. He felt the brutal force of the impact, every bone in his body vibrating with the intensity of the blow. The world around him blurred, shadows dancing in a chaotic whirlpool as he fell into an infinite black void.

"Look... I'm here again," Strax said, floating in the infinite blackness he knew so well. "Well, let's wait now... When I reincarnate, I'll start over and return to them. It's not some decrepit old man who will sentence my death or judge my determination." He murmured, his eyes fixed on the void beyond life.

"Thinking about it... it seems I have a really bad problem with my parents. In my past life, it wasn't much different... Despite having these memories of Strax..." He continued to murmur, his tone echoing in the silence of the void.

"System, are you there?" Strax asked, and even in the infinite void, the System tab opened. "Oh, so I'm not dead yet, how amusing." Strax said as he continued to feel the nothingness... It was as if his fear didn't exist. "Maybe dying once has already consumed me, especially in such a brutal way..."

"Thinking about it now, I'd like to know more about my mother from this world. For some reason, she came to mind. But does it matter? I don't know, but it seems that this boy... Strax, was destined for something greater." He reflected, navigating the system interfaces, examining every little trace of information.

"System, is this body's physique original to his world or is it something from the System?" He asked, trying to keep his consciousness. After all, if he fell asleep, he probably wouldn't wake up.

Strax lifted his head, the pain still throbbing in every fiber of his being. "I'll do whatever it takes, so get used to it," he said, his voice firm despite the suffering. "You can knock me down as many times as you want, but I'll always come back. And one day, I'll defeat you, simple as that." He finished as he placed his arm over his eyes and tilted his head up.

"Damn, the pain just keeps going." He murmured while hearing Albert laugh again, a cold and emotionless sound. "We'll see, boy. We'll see." He turned and went to his desk to fetch something.

"I did all this to see if it was wise to trust you with anything," Albert said, holding a small pocket watch, engraved with runes and showing worn golden coloration.

"This watch," Albert began, his voice laden with subtle sarcasm, "is not just a symbol of your failure. It's something your mother left for you. I don't know what it is, but knowing that woman..." He paused, observing Strax's reaction. "She must have believed you would know what to do with it, considering she wanted me to give it to you, even knowing you were a failure in cultivation.

I was told to deliver it only when you reached the Master Stage."

"My mother?" Strax questioned, and Albert tossed the watch to him, which he caught with a reflexive motion, his fingers trembling slightly as they touched the cold, polished metal.

Strax looked at the watch with an expression of surprise and confusion. His hands, which had already felt pain and fatigue, were now pressed against the object with a mix of anticipation and curiosity, especially since he barely remembered his mother clearly. He opened the watch slowly, the mechanism emitting a soft click that seemed to echo in the vast, silent room.

Inside the watch, an image of his mother was engraved on the inner side of the lid. She had a serene look, appearing as a warrior rather than the figure he remembered, with an unmistakable strength, much more imposing than his own father who claimed to be the strongest in Thalassia. Beside the image, a name was engraved in elegant, detailed letters.

"Scathach Antares," Strax read softly, his heart racing faster. The name resonated within him as if he had heard it before... Yes, that name... in his previous life... In some mythological story...

Strax had noticed something for a while... In this world, there were entities with names from mythological gods. First, it was Thanatos and his bracelet, then the title "Mother of Night" that Xyn carried... or rather... Nyx. Not to mention, of course, Tiamat and Ouroboros...

both dragon names he had heard before but didn't know much about their stories. But the name didn't shock him. How many women could be named Scathach in the world? Many. What really caught his attention was...

"Why... is she red-haired in this picture?" Strax questioned, as he didn't remember her hair being like that, or rather, he barely remembered anything. "Your mother died from a degenerative disease due to her physique; the color of her hair faded as time passed and the disease consumed her," Albert explained.

"Physique, huh..." He thought, "Maybe... No, better think about it later."

"All this was just to give me the watch?" Strax questioned, still somewhat in pain. "She asked me to do this, blame her, not me. I have many matters to attend to; I just wanted to finish this quickly before I get busy with that foolish king," Albert replied, sitting back in his armchair.

"As for you being a target... Use your mother's surname outside the Ducato's walls. It will be difficult to attack you here, but outside... Well, you're an adult, do as you please. And I recommend that those women do the same," Albert said. "You can leave now."