Julius clung to his mother even tighter, his body shaking as fresh tears poured down his face.

"I love you, Mom... Dad... Thank you for saving me. I love you!" he sobbed.

All the tight tension that had held him together finally broke. The emotions he had pushed down for so long rushed out like a flood.

These feelings came not only because he had been saved.

They rose from the deep pain and grief he had carried from his past life. He had gone completely mad when his parents died back then.

That alone showed how much he loved them. After their loss, the lonely days cut him off from the outside world and left him even more lost.

When he was about to lose his mind, he met Rosalina. Though she was only a villainess in a book, she became his light. She gave him a reason to stay sane. But then she died too. He carried all that heavy despair inside him.

After he transmigrated into this new world, he received everything he had once lost, his mom, his dad, and Rosalina. His grief did not disappear. It was only buried under waves of happiness.

But today, when he stood at the edge of death and nearly lost them all again, that old grief rose up strong. Now that he was safe in his mother’s arms, the dam finally broke.

"Please don’t leave me, Mom... ever!" he cried, his voice cracking with raw need. He buried his face deeper into her waist, sobbing without control.

Warm tears soaked into her clothes as his shoulders shook again and again. The love, the fear, and the relief mixed together in his heart, pouring out in endless waves.

Elizabeth held him close, her own eyes misty, while the distant sounds of battle faded behind them. For the first time in both his lives, Julius felt truly safe.

Elizabeth gently rubbed his broad back in slow, soothing circles. He had grown into a full-grown adult in just one night after sacrificing ten years of his life to kill that evil lucky boy. Yet to her, he was still the small child who used to cuddle close in her arms.

She kept rubbing his back, letting him cry as much as he needed. "Don’t worry, son... Your mom won’t leave you ever," she whispered softly. Her fingers moved to his hair, caressing it with tender care.

His back was covered in blood, and every part of his body bore deep wounds. Those wounds burned against her skin as she touched him, sending sharp pain through her hands. Anger flared hot across her face, but she pushed it down and kept patting him gently, offering comfort.

"I’m sorry for being late..." she said, her voice thick with sorrow. His loud sobs had grown quieter now, turning into soft, tired breaths.

She continued stroking his hair, her face filled with deep regret. If only I had gotten the coordinates sooner, she thought, teeth clenched tight.

She had been watching over Julius for a long time through the tiny version of herself she had placed on his ring. On the tenth floor, she saw everything, how hard Julius and Rosalina fought against that lucky boy.

She rushed to help and wanted to kill the boy herself. But when she tried to use the coordinates linked to her tiny avatar for space travel, she could not connect.

She struggled for one whole month. Time outside moved differently from inside, and that was when she realized this place existed in a separate space.

She used her connection with the tiny Elizabeth to search for the exact coordinates.

Today, when she thought she had lost him and was anxiously praying, the final coordinate finally appeared. Right then, she opened a space route and brought Nathaniel with her.

’If I had been just a bit late...’ She did not finish the thought. Her eyes stayed fixed on her gravely injured son, heart heavy with pain and relief all at once.

She held him closer, never wanting to let go.

******

The battle between Nathaniel and Miasma grew more brutal with every passing second. Nathaniel was clearly dominating her.

His spells and swordsmanship pressed down without mercy, leaving her no room to fight back. Miasma could only defend, blocking desperately while she searched for any way to escape.

"Chains of destruction!" Nathaniel called out.

The fire path runes on his skin, visible through his tight black clothes, blazed bright orange. Right away, chains burst out from all around him.

They were made of flowing lava and moved like living snakes, hissing with heat. Nathaniel shot forward toward Miasma, and the chains followed close behind him.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The chains flew like arrows, faster and faster, attacking her without pause. Nathaniel struck at the same time, his blood-red sword cutting through the air in perfect, deadly arcs.

Miasma flew quickly, twisting and turning through the room. She commanded her blue birds to block the attacks and strike back when they could. At the same time, she threw spells toward Nathaniel, but they barely slowed him down.

"That guy... he is a fucking monster!" she cursed inside her mind. He gave her no chance at all.

Every move was precise and tightly controlled. She knew that if even one of those attacks landed cleanly, the result would be disastrous.

Sweat mixed with blood on her face as she kept dodging and defending, her breath coming in short, desperate gasps. Nathaniel’s power pressed down on her like a mountain, pushing her back again and again.

"If I don’t skin you alive..."

Nathaniel burned with deep rage. His face turned grim and cold, every part of his body shaking with the need to make this woman suffer. She had done the unthinkable.

He and Elizabeth had lived far longer than most people. In this world, normal humans lived up to one hundred and twenty years, and children became full adults at sixteen, their bodies and minds completely mature.

Cultivators lived even longer, depending on their strength. Nathaniel and Elizabeth had existed for many, many years. They had married long ago but waited a long time for a child.

Sixteen years earlier, Elizabeth finally became pregnant. From that day on, Nathaniel made sure no harm ever touched his son....not even the smallest scratch.

"How dare she!"

His face showed the anger of a lifetime. His blood boiled hot inside his veins. When he looked at Julius, brutally tortured, one leg missing, blood still running from his torn eyebrows, his heart felt like it was being stabbed by countless tiny needles. The pain was sharp and unbearable.

"I will kill you!!!"