Haru bid farewell to Jin-Woo nearly at seven in the evening, before he took a taxi and headed toward his home.
There was a reason why he decided to take the taxi despite having the skill of teleportation.
Sitting inside the cab, Haru thought about what happened this whole day. The incident at school, then his conversation with the Ruler followed by that complicated chat with Jin-Woo.
Things have gone not accordingly and this sudden appearance of the Ruler changed a lot of routes he initially planned. Haru was planning to simply wait for the Monarch of Destruction and take the battle away from civilization. He needed to end it without paying much compensation from his side. However, things changed after he got to know about the involvement of Rulers in the plan.
He never considered that being an entity, which the Goddess sent in this timeline would trouble the heaven's residents. But well, there was nothing he could do now.
'It would be fun plucking some wings and killing some rats...' Haru couldn't help but smirk at the thought of crushing some winged pigeons from heaven once he met them.
'But Antares really would take the help of Rulers?'
Recalling the temperament and self-esteem of that particular Monarch, Haru doubted that this alliance with the Rulers would last long. However, it didn't bother him whether the upcoming war would be between two sides or three. He just needs to destroy every being that stands in the way of peace.
"We are here, sir." The old man driving the car, informed before Haru nodded and paid the fare.
Walking out of the car, Haru took a long and deep breath and wiped the sweat off his forehead. Once prepared he finally walked inside the apartment and headed toward his house.
*Ding* *Dong*
Just after some seconds, "Haru~ You are finally here."
His mother stepped forward and hugged him tenderly in her arms. Haru rested his chin over her shoulder and allowed himself a moment of relief.
He was home.
***
"Haru? Is everything okay?" Haru broke out of his daze when he heard his mother's concerned voice as they walked inside the house.
However, "Yeah, I am fine. I am just...a little tired. What about you guys? Had dinner?"
Hearing Haru's natural tone didn't recede all her worries, but being a little inexperienced in her parental journey, Yumiko didn't know how to approach him.
"Yes...how about you?"
"Ah, I ate. Thanks for asking." Haru just went toward the refrigerator, took a water bottle, and began walking toward his door.
"I will be sleeping early, but call me if you need something."
And with that, Haru closed the door behind his back...leaving an anxious mother behind.
****
[Inside the room]
'I should have stayed a little longer...' It wasn't like Haru didn't understand how he made his mother worried, but at the moment, staying by her side would have elevated her concern, nothing more.
*Cough* *Cough*
No longer able to hold, Haru coughed into his fist, feeling his throat burning like a kiln.
'As I thought...' Gazing at his hand, there was blood coated on the right side and fresh blood dripping from the side of his lips as well.
Haru expected something like this, that's why he rejected Jin-Woo's offer and returned home.
Back in the school, there were almost eighty-four injured or fatally wounded students whom Haru healed using his 'Reverse Cursed Technique' and 'Regrowth' while maintaining his Infinity. And this all while keeping an eye on Jinah using his 'Elemental Sight'. After the Jeju-Do incident, Haru never let Jinah get away from his 'vision'.
All these techniques require the overworking of his brain. And most of all, reading the information and experiencing the pain, the victim has gone through in a brief period of time in order to rebound the victim's situation back to normal...indeed, Regrowth was the most complicated and taxing skill, that Haru possessed.
*Cough*
Grabbing the tissue, Haru wiped his mouth, before he took off his shirt and walked toward the bathroom.
There were several injuries on his body, some of them weren't healable and some were inflicted today, which he wasn't able to patch up.
His body glistened with sweat as Haru rested his palm over the sink and looked at himself in the mirror. The traces of blood from his mouth along with his excessively pale shade made Haru look like a vampire, no less.
'I look pathetic...' Chuckling inwardly, Haru washed his face with cold water and wiped it off using the towel. The crimson liquid flowed down the drain and some of it stained the white towel.
Walking out of the bathroom, Haru didn't bother wearing any shirt and let go of his pants as well, before dropping himself on the bed.
'It's been a while...' Last time, Haru felt his body aching and his mind falling into numbness like this when he was training with the monks in the Goddess Domain.
Those were the times when Haru seemed to be on the bottommost tier of the food chain. Where anyone could beat him to a pulp and expect him to get over it within minutes. Although it was utterly painful and slightly traumatizing living there, Haru has learned various valuable lessons from his teachers.
And hiding your pain from those you love, was one of those things.
'I wonder what Jinah is doing...' Haru dearly wanted to video call her and get some much-needed medication by hearing her voice...or the very least, see her picture. But in his current state, even remaining conscious was getting a little difficult.
Their date yesterday didn't go as he planned but Haru had promised her; that once everything was sorted out, he would remain by her side all the time and make every single day, memorable for her.
When he wished to transmigrate into this world, his dream wasn't to fight villains and be a Hero. Haru desired a serene life with the woman he loved.
'Haah...how good it would be...'With such thoughts, Haru's eyes began to turn heavy...when all of a sudden he found a familiar face looking down at him from his left.
"An...angel...am...I...dying..." Haru's voice was hoarse, given his current state but considering how his vision captured the most beautiful face in existence, Haru thought that he either was hallucinating or really was desperate.
After all, seeing Jinah inside his room all of a sudden could be nothing but a wishful dream.
However, "*Sniff* Why didn't you...call me?"
Haru blinked in surprise when the hot droplet slid down her cheek and landed on his bare chest.
Wait....
******
Meanwhile, in a different part of the town inside a dark room, Jin-Woo smiled as he looked at the orc he had attached to Haru earlier since he suspected something.
And true to his expectation, Haru wasn't in his right mind, or he would have noticed the shadow instantly.
Upon finding Haru's worsening situation Jin-Woo first thought to go there himself...but on second thought, he decided to let Haru be treated by the person around whom he could be most comfortable.
"Good work." Patting the orc on the shoulder, Jin-Woo walked out of his room.
*****
A/N:- Drop a comment~