My Tribrid System: More than a Monster

Chapter 467

The same Caster the others were looking for could be seen standing in front of a door.

His hands were clenched tightly at his sides as he stared at the door for several seconds.

He stood there, caught between two choices.

Should he go in?

Or should he simply turn around and leave?

The urge to turn back was becoming overwhelming.

His fingers twitched.

His feet almost moved backward.

Then an image flashed through his mind.

Then another.

And another.

Caster’s expression slowly hardened as he remembered everything.

Finally, he released a heavy sigh and lifted his hand.

Tok! Tok! Tok!

He knocked firmly against the door before lowering his hand and waiting.

His heart pounded loudly against his ears as his eyes remained fixed on the smooth, golden metallic door before him.

Several seconds passed.

Then, finally, a voice came from the other side.

”Come in.”

Caster exhaled another puff of air.

He grabbed the door handle and pushed it open before stepping inside what could only be described as an office.

He barely paid the room any attention.

His gaze remained fixed straight ahead as he stepped inside and closed the door behind him.

Right there, seated behind a desk and going through a stack of paperwork, was Jack Kyre.

A pen rested between his fingers.

The Head of the Kyre Family didn’t even look up to acknowledge the person who had entered.

Then—

Tak. Tak. Clack.

Caster’s footsteps echoed through the quiet office as he walked forward.

He eventually stopped a metre away from the table Jack sat behind.

A shadow fell over the paperwork.

Only then did the Head of the Kyre Family finally lift his head.

His eyes landed on his son.

”Yes? How may I be of help?”

Caster exhaled silently.

His hands were clenched behind his back as he stared into his father’s eyes for several seconds.

”Fat—”

He caught himself.

”Leader, I want to inquire something from you.”

Jack raised a brow for a moment before dropping his pen onto the desk.

He interlocked his fingers in front of his face.

”Go on.”

Caster tightened his hands behind his back.

His teeth ground together as he forced himself to remain composed.

”I want to know what will happen to Ray. What’s the decision on him?”

”Why?”

Jack’s expression remained indifferent.

”Why should I communicate such sensitive information with you?”

”Because I am his friend.”

”Exactly.”

Jack’s lips curled upward slightly, as though Caster had just proven his point for him.

He picked up his pen again and was about to return to his work when Caster spoke.

”He’s not what you think he is.”

”Really?”

Jack didn’t even look at him.

”Nice then.”

Caster’s teeth clenched.

His blood began boiling with every passing second, but he refused to allow his anger to consume him.

”You know? Aside from Berg from the Immortal Flame Family, I was the next strongest Aspirant in the Corps.”

Jack didn’t lift his head as he continued writing.

”Wow. Good for you.”

His pen continued moving across the paper.

”You have always liked being behind. That’s why you couldn’t surpass Berg.”

Caster’s fists tightened behind his back.

His jaw clenched.

Yet he kept his cool.

”.... I have never needed anybody in this Corps. I never got into much trouble, and I definitely had no friends from our estate to here. I have always been a loner.”

”Till you met these guys.”

Jack’s tone was almost sarcastic.

”The End.”

Caster stared at him for a moment.

”’These guys,’ as you speak of them, treated me like one of their own even without knowing who I was.”

His voice remained calm.

”And even when I revealed who I was to them, they didn’t treat me differently.”

Jack’s pen slowed slightly.

”They weren’t in awe of me and flocking around me, choosing to fulfil each and every one of my demands just to curry favour with our family.”

Caster’s expression softened.

”They were true to their nature.”

He paused.

”And I have to admit, for a moment, it stung.”

His gaze lowered slightly.

”But when I thought about it, I realized it was all I had always wanted.”

Caster looked back at his father.

”...Friends who aren’t with me because of who I am.”

His fingers slowly loosened behind his back.

”Friends who will risk their lives for one another without thinking of any reward whatsoever.”

A brief silence followed.

”That’s what I always wanted.”

Caster paused for a second.

His father still hadn’t said anything.

He wasn’t even paying much attention to him, or at least that was what it looked like.

Regardless, Caster continued.

”The same person you all arrested is the reason I’m alive and standing before you.”

Jack paused for half a second.

It was such a brief pause that Caster didn’t notice it.

”Yes.”

Jack’s voice remained calm.

”During the expedition to Planet Palatine, Berg conspired to kill him. But in the process, I was caught in their spat, and we were swallowed into an underground world where we encountered a King-Rank beast.”

Caster’s expression hardened slightly as he remembered that day.

”Ray fought with everything he had to protect us all.”

Jack’s pen continued moving across the paper.

”He did the same in the Red Gate World. Because of him, we were all saved. Otherwise, that Emp—”

Jack abruptly snapped his head upward.

A frown formed across his face.

”Go on.”

His eyes narrowed.

”That what?”

Caster’s mouth opened slightly before he released a heavy sigh and shook his head.

”That guardian would have killed us all.”

His voice became heavier.

”He saved me once again.”

Caster stared directly at his father.

”And because of his friends, he risked having his secret revealed to the entire world.”

His hands tightened.

”He had no reason to transform fully, but he did it because he wanted to keep us all safe.”

Caster’s voice trembled slightly with frustration.

”And how are we all treating him?”

He gestured toward the door behind him.

”Like he’s a monster?”

”Isn’t he?”

Jack raised a brow.

”Or can you transform into your Dark Wolf?”

Caster froze.

He stared deeply into his father’s eyes for several seconds.

His lips parted, but no words came out.

For the first time since entering the office, he had nothing to say.

His father’s question had cornered him.

Seeing this, Jack released a tired sigh.

”What do you want from me exactly?”

Caster stepped forward.

The uncertainty that had plagued him when he first entered the room was gone.

There was only determination in his eyes now.

”I want you to save him.”

Jack’s pen stopped for the briefest moment.

”He is your son’s saviour and his friend...”

Caster swallowed.

”A true friend to your son.”

His voice became more forceful.

”Save him at all costs. You have the power. You have the influence.”

Caster’s fists tightened.

”You are a damn member of the Big Four Legacies. Who can oppose your verdict if you decide to keep him alive?”

”The others will.”

Jack’s response came immediately.

”And in case you have forgotten, I’m not the Commander of the Military. The Commander is also a Big Four.”

”And he is your friend.”

Caster’s voice cracked slightly.

”Speak to him. Please.”

He lowered his head.

”Don’t let Ray be executed.”

”.....”

Caster slowly bowed his head in front of the man.

Jack remained silent for several seconds.

He stared at his son.

Really stared at him.

His expression remained unreadable as countless thoughts seemed to pass through his mind.

Then, he shook his head and returned to his work.

”I’m sorry.”

His pen began moving across the paper again.

”I can’t help him. This is beyond me now.”

Caster remained bowed.

Ten seconds passed.

Then another.

Jack continued scribbling as though the conversation had already ended.

Finally, Caster inhaled deeply.

Then he exhaled.

Slowly, he rose to his full height.

His expression had changed.

There was disappointment there.

Pain.

And beneath it all, a frustration he could barely contain.

He turned around.

”You have always been selfish like the others.”

Jack’s pen didn’t stop.

”Thinking about yourselves and no one else...”

Caster’s voice became quieter.

”Not even your kids.”

He clenched his teeth.

”Maybe because I’m not as strong as brother. That’s why you don’t care about me.”

Jack continued writing.

”You sent me to the Corps because you thought of me as a failure.”

Caster’s fists trembled.

”And you named brother the heir to the Kyre Family in case something happened to you.”

He paused beside the door.

”I respect that.”

His voice dropped.

”But just one wish I ask of you for the first time.”

His jaw tightened.

”Just one...”

Caster turned his back fully toward his father and began walking toward the door.

Jack didn’t stop scribbling.

Caster reached the door.

His hand wrapped around the handle.

He was about to pull it open when—

”A trial will be held for your friend in less than six days.”

Caster froze.

Jack’s voice remained calm behind him.

”If you want to save him, that day is your best chance.”

Caster slowly turned his head.

”Prove why a monster like that should be kept alive.”

A brief silence.

”Good luck.”

Caster’s eyes slanted.

Determination burned within them.

Without saying another word, he pulled the door open and walked out.

The door closed behind him.

His footsteps echoed through the corridor.

Tak.

Tak.

Tak.

They gradually faded into the distance.

Only then did Jack stop scribbling.

The pen slowly slid from between his fingers.

Clack.

It struck the desk.

Jack stared at the closing door for several seconds.

Then his body finally relaxed.

He slumped back into his chair.

His expression remained stoic.

But his eyes lingered on the door long after Caster had disappeared.