Chapter 298: Ch 297: Catching up

"What a hassle. What kind of illusion am I going to see now?"

Kael had been caught off guard when he saw this fog for the first time, but that was no longer the case now. He could easily guess what this fog wanted from him.

He could even see the familiar silhouette forming in the fog right in front of him. And it did not take long before that form became clearer.

"Ah, I had a feeling I would see you today. So, what do you want from me?"

Kael looked at Seraphina’s beautiful appearance with a melancholic look. She looked the same age as the girl he had left behind.

At least it was not the older version of her that had killed him, which was a plus point in his mind.

"Teacher, how long are you going to stay on that side? We all miss you. Won’t you come home now?"

Seraphina asked in a low voice filled with longing.

Kael almost felt sorry for her before he realized that she was a byproduct of the fog and not the actual person.

Still...he did feel bad about leaving her and the others behind, so he decided to use this illusion to say what he wanted to.

"You know, I never actually resented you or anyone else when I died. I just figured that I failed and decided to live a fulfilling second life. But then I got brought back, and that felt like a second chance. Do you think I did well?"

Kael asked this question, knowing that he was not going to get the answer he wanted.

As expected, the illusion created by the fog and corruption had no answer for him. In fact, he was sure that it could not even understand what he was asking from it.

"T-Teacher...come...back..."

The fog was becoming more and more unstable by the moment, but Kael had also stalled it long enough to the point where he could use his magic.

The divinity started to push the corruption back, giving Kael enough time to rush out.

"Well, I guess I will ask the real Seraphina these questions if I am ever able to see her again. As for you...you can rot in hell."

Kael rushed out of the corruption, and he made it...only for something to grab his legs and start pulling him back toward the corruption.

"Darn it! Let me go! I don’t want to be dragged back."

Kael protested and used his magic to try and break the chains holding him down. But it was of no use.

At this rate, he was going to get dragged back without being able to do anything. So he needed a way to protect himself.

He created a divine shield with whatever magic he had left, but he knew that it was only a matter of time before the shield got consumed as well.

Hands made out of corruption threatened to break the shield, and they applied pressure. Kael tried to fight back, but he heard the sound of something cracking.

"Darn it! The shield is not going to hold at this rate. I need a way to get it off..."

Kael complained, only for a light to pierce through the darkness and warp around the corruption, starting to drag it back.

"N-No-!"

The loud noises pierced Kael’s ears, and he put a hand over his ears in order to block them all out. The light got even brighter, and it was starting to hurt his eyes.

"Darn it! Get away from him right now."

That was Seraphina’s voice echoing around Kael, and he tried to figure out where she was. But her presence seemed to be coming from everywhere around him.

"Sera—"

He tried to call out, only for the divine light to go out and leave him in the dark.

Kael had no idea what just happened, but he did know one thing—Seraphina had helped him out. The divine power he had felt from her was real, and it washed over him, bringing him out of the fog.

Because of such massive divine power, the fog began to dissipate, causing Kael to let out a sigh.

"Well, that was quite an experience. Does this mean Seraphina found a way to bring her consciousness to this world? But how? As far as I know, she should not even be having any divine powers right now."

Kael had purified the other world using world magic, but it should have consequences. Without his presence in the past, Goddess Aria should have no reason to divide her consciousness in order to catch him.

And without that, people like Seraphina should have no power either. Unless...

The division happened anyway, even without Kael’s disappearance, and the fog was a byproduct.

"I guess even invoking world magic was not enough to clean the Goddess of her hate and desire for revenge. Now, all I can hope is for that world to find a way through. But it should be easier this time around. But darn it! This stings."

The fact that Kael’s sacrifice meant nothing in the end made him frown. He did not expect to change the world in one day, but he had expected a little change at least. It was a little disheartening to know that he did not even make that change.

For now, he simply went home to sleep. He was far too tired to deal with what just happened anyway.

Kael had an incredible sleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. He was out like a light, and he felt refreshed when he woke up.

He was so refreshed, in fact, that he even forgot all about the labs and his new work and instead headed to his old office out of muscle memory, only to remember where he was once he reached the building.

"Huh? Now that’s weird. How did I end up here?"

Kael questioned while looking at the building in front of him with a face filled with longing. He wished to return to those days when he worked here.

They were hectic and downright horrible at times, but at least he did not have the burdens he had on his shoulders...

"Well, who am I kidding? Life sucked then as well. I am just able to see this all in a better light now because it has been some time."

Kael started to complain once more before he turned around and started to head back, only to be stopped when he was noticed by someone.

"O-Oh! Is that you, Kael? I did not expect to see you here ever again after what happened. Heck, I did not expect to see you awake again. How is life treating you?"

It was someone from his previous work who came out, and Kael took a few seconds to recognize her.

She used to be the person who sat at the front desk, and she looked like she was having a horrible time. Her face had dark circles, and exhaustion clung to every pore of her body. She looked downright horrible, even unhealthy, to Kael.

"Are you alright? How is work?"

Kael knew that it was not his business to interfere in someone else’s matters, but he ended up asking this anyway, causing the woman to let out a laugh.

"I am fine. Work has...just been a little exhausting, that’s all. You don’t need to worry about it."

Seeing how his previous co-worker’s face had sunken, Kael had no doubt about this.

Kael wisely chose not to say much about this topic so that he wouldn’t trigger his co-worker and instead tried to lighten the situation.

"I am sure the management is still a nightmare, but it will get better with time. Now that you have experience, you should apply to more places—"

"Do you truly think other places will take me? I mean...my track record is letting my co-worker get shot by not checking the patients who walked in and letting them in too early. Not that I am blaming you for getting shot."

The bitter words the front desk agent could not suppress left her lips, and her face looked bitter. But she quickly caught herself and coughed to get herself under control.

"N-Not that I am blaming you or anything. It is my fault, but still...I like to think of this as paying for my sins."

Kael did not even have anything to say at this point. He could tell that this woman had accepted her fate, and this was no longer his matter to tackle.

So he decided to make an excuse and quickly run away from here.

"I see...I should take my leave now. I will see you soon."

Kael told her as he quickly turned around and ran away. He saw the front desk agent looking at his back with envy and a sense of loss. She wanted out of her current life, but she had no idea how good she had it with the current safety and ignorance.

After all, ignorance is bliss.