Villainess X Villain: They are obsessed with each other!

Chapter 251: Chapter: 250 Saddened parents.[4]

"I’m sorry... I didn’t know....."

Magnus ground his teeth together as he spoke, genuine regret visible on his rugged face.

The giant warrior who had laughed so loudly in the arena now seemed almost uncomfortable in his own skin.

They were currently seated inside his private cabin. Calling it a cabin, however, felt somewhat inaccurate.

The room was enormous, large enough to fit an entire house inside it. Thick wooden pillars supported the ceiling while racks of weapons lined portions of the walls.

Massive training equipment occupied much of the open space. Iron dumbbells larger than barrels rested in corners, each weighing hundreds of kilograms.

Thick chains hung from reinforced beams overhead, and heavy stone weights were stacked neatly beside several training platforms.

After awakening, the mortal body gradually became stronger. By the Void Core stage, Spell casters had already stepped far beyond ordinary mortals.

Their strength, endurance, and durability could no longer be measured by normal standards. Naturally, the equipment used to train such bodies had become equally absurd.

At the center of the room sat four chairs.

Kavin and Jasmine occupied two of them.

Both wore heavy expressions. Their faces carried traces of grief, sadness, and simmering hatred.

Even without speaking, they appeared like people carrying wounds that would never truly heal.

Across from them sat Magnus and Salena.

The two looked visibly uncomfortable.

To be honest, neither of them knew what to say anymore.

When they had first met Kavin and Jasmine, they had assumed the pair were simply troublesome troublemakers.

Unruly thugs looking for attention. At worst, they had seemed like arrogant spell casters searching for shortcuts to fame.

Who could have guessed they carried such a tragic past behind those ridiculous personalities?

Apparently, the two had once led a bandit organization known as the Fearless Couple Union.

Even now, hearing the name caused Magnus to feel his scalp tingle.

The giant resisted the urge to rub his neck.

What kind of ridiculous name was that?

Every time he heard it, he felt an overwhelming wave of second-hand embarrassment.

Fortunately, he managed to suppress the feeling and focus on the story itself.

According to Kavin, they had never truly behaved like ordinary bandits.

The Fearless Couple Union had operated around Timberwood Village, protecting local merchants and villagers from criminals that wandered through the region.

While their methods were questionable and their reputation wasn’t particularly good, the villagers had accepted them.

Then, several months ago, everything changed. Another bandit group had arrived....they weren’t ordinary bandits.

They were the followers of the infamous Bandit King. The group had descended upon the village without warning.

They had claimed the territory under the Bandit King’s authority and demanded submission. When the villagers resisted, slaughter began.

Kavin and Jasmine had naturally intervened. Unfortunately, the attackers possessed a strange artifact.

An artifact capable of suppressing cultivation.

For awakeners, losing access to mana in the middle of battle was almost equivalent to losing their limbs.

The couple had been rendered powerless.

Forced to watch.....they were unable to stop what followed.

Their son had been dragged before them.

Then killed.

The story Kavin told had become increasingly difficult to listen to as it progressed.

Even Magnus found his fists clenching unconsciously. The giant had spent most of his life fighting.

He had seen death countless times. Yet even he felt anger rising in his chest as he imagined the scene.

The helplessness, despair, hatred....this couple had gone through everything..

Afterward, both Kavin and Jasmine had reportedly collapsed from grief and exhaustion.

When they eventually regained consciousness, the battle was already over....the bandits were gone.

And lying before them was the body of their son..... broken and battered.

Tortured beyond recognition. Since that day, they had sworn vengeance against every person connected to the Bandit King.

Jasmine had taken a vow of silence until her son’s death was avenged.

Kavin had taken a vow of abstinence until the same goal was accomplished. Even simple displays of affection had become rare.

Holding hands....a brief embrace.

Nothing more....To them, every day spent pursuing comfort was another day their son remained unavenged.

By the time the story had ended, both Salena and Magnus sat in silence.

Shock had long since faded...what remained was anger..a heavy, suffocating anger.

Neither of them had experienced such a tragedy personally, yet simply hearing the story felt unbearable.

They had lost a daughter. Then they had lost the son who became their remaining source of happiness.

Their entire world had been stripped away piece by piece.

How cruel could fate possibly be?

Salena found herself staring at the couple.

The bitterness inside her chest grew stronger.

Her own childhood had never been particularly happy.

Neither she nor her brother had received much affection from their father. In truth, most of the Sun Family children lived in similar circumstances.

The first son and first daughter received the majority of the family’s attention. Everyone else existed somewhere further down the list.

For years, she had longed for warmth she could never quite reach.

She had longed for someone to look at her and simply be proud. Yet despite all of that, she still had her family.

She still had her brother. She still had people she could call her own.

The couple sitting before her had possessed what she always wanted.

And then they had lost it. The realization made her chest ache. Slowly, almost unconsciously, Salena reached forward.

Her delicate hand came to rest atop Jasmine’s clasped hands.

The gesture was gentle and careful as though she feared applying too much pressure would cause the fragile moment to shatter.

Jasmine lowered her gaze toward the hand resting upon hers.

Salena opened her mouth...she wanted to say something.

Anything, words of comfort, encouragement, perhaps even an apology.

Yet none of them came. Every sentence she thought of felt inadequate.

What comfort could possibly ease the pain of losing both children?

What words could mend wounds that deep? Unable to find an answer, she slowly closed her mouth again.

The cabin fell silent.

********

After what felt like an eternity, the suffocating silence was finally broken.

Kavin let out a small laugh and rubbed the back of his head. "Haha, we really shouldn’t have told you all that. Look at this place. We’ve turned the entire atmosphere gloomy."

"No, no." Salena immediately shook her head. "Please don’t think that way. We’re grateful that you trusted us enough to share your story."

Her voice carried genuine sincerity. Although they had only met recently, hearing everything the couple had endured made it difficult for her to view them as mere strangers. The pain they carried felt real enough that even now the heaviness in the room had not completely faded.

Magnus nodded in agreement. The giant looked somewhat embarrassed as he scratched his beard before speaking. "She’s right, boy. I understand what you’re going through, and I understand what you’re trying to accomplish."

His tone gradually changed as he spoke. The sympathy remained, but the warmth faded from his expression, replaced by the seriousness of a veteran spell caster discussing reality rather than emotions.

"However, as things stand now, it’s simply impossible."

Kavin did not appear surprised by the statement. Instead, he merely nodded and released a tired sigh.

"We know." His gaze lowered slightly. "But we don’t really have a choice. Before they left, those bastards placed a curse on us. We can no longer undergo Heavenly Trials to advance our ranks. Being stuck at the Early Void Core Stage isn’t something we chose."

Magnus’ expression darkened slightly.

Heavenly Trials were dangerous, but they were also the gateway to higher realms. Without them, a spell caster’s path was effectively severed. To have such a thing taken away was a punishment almost as cruel as death itself.

The giant slowly nodded, seemingly understanding their situation better now.

After a brief silence, he deliberately shifted the conversation away from the painful topic.

"Anyway, you came here for the ranking matches, didn’t you?"

Kavin nodded.

Seeing this, Magnus leaned back in his chair and crossed his massive arms over his chest. A grin gradually returned to his face, restoring some of the lively atmosphere that had vanished from the room.

"Now we’re talking about something I understand." He chuckled. "As for your challenge, I can’t promise to hand over the fourth and fifth ranks just because you asked."

His grin widened.

"But if the two of you can satisfy me and entertain my crowd, then I’ll personally grant you the eleventh and twelfth ranks."

The declaration immediately changed the mood within the cabin. The conversation had finally moved away from grief and back toward the reason they had come in the first place.