Road to Mastery: A LitRPG Apocalypse

Chapter 427: The Responsibility of a Father

Jack and Eric hadn’t seen each other in five years. In Jack’s memory, Eric was just a little boy with whom he’d toured the world and built a little treehouse in the forest. Besides a few vacation weeks, he’d only been present for the first six months after his children were born; he watched them grow, watched them develop their personalities and become aware of themselves. He’d heard them call him daddy.

Now, facing the five-year-old boy that was Eric, though the form was slightly unfamiliar, he could never mistake him for anyone else. Fatherly love filled Jack’s heart, a hard but gentle thing, and he could feel it deep in his soul that there was nothing more important in his life than protecting his son. This was his job. This was the reason he’d adventured and trained for so long, the reason he’d been mostly absent from his children’s lives. Even if it meant sacrificing himself, he wouldn’t bat an eye.

This was the responsibility of a father.

As for Eric, his eyes were hazy. New tears pooled, though he thought he’d run out. This was his father, the sky of his skies, the king of his planet. He’d heard stories about this man his entire life. This was Eric’s hero. And, coupled with the gentle love they’d shared when Jack was back home, Eric both loved and deeply looked up to his father.

In these past three years, Eric had grown, but Jack hadn’t changed in the slightest. Only, Eric now got to see the other side of Jack—the warrior, the hero, the legend. He was filled with joy at his father still being alive—he hadn’t shown up for three years, after all—but even deeper, something in Jack’s heroism stirred Eric’s heart. He was a burden. Because of him, his hardworking father was in trouble. That was why Eric bit his lips and refused to scream and cry—even if it killed him, he wouldn’t burden his father anymore.

Father and son exchanged a glance, and Jack knew everything. His heart grew heavier.

“Release him?” Artus laughed. “Where, into the vacuum of space? Do you really want me to?”

“You know what I mean,” Jack replied calmly. “It is me you hate. Don’t take out your anger on children.”

Artus laughed again. “And who’s going to stop me?” The hand that was holding Eric from the nape tightened, causing him to twitch, though he did not scream. “You did not show mercy when you killed my son. Now, you’re begging me to spare yours. Just how pitiful can you be?”

Jack didn’t reply. His only priority was saving Eric. Nothing else mattered.

The two Animal Kingdom Ancestors remained silent at the sidelines.

“I will approach and apprehend you,” Eva Solvig stated. “Do not resist.”

“Can you guarantee my son’s safety if I surrender?”

“No.”

The word hung heavy in the void. Jack frowned but knew he had no grounds to argue. He let his aura drop, indicating his surrender. Eva Solvig flew closer, caging him in a field of purity—he could no longer escape. “We want your death,” she admitted, “but the secrets on your body are tempting. My orders were to capture you alive if possible. Don’t force me to kill you.”

“Have you captured Earth?” Jack couldn’t help but ask.

“No. We found a way in but were pushed back and the teleporter destroyed. This boy is the only one we got—the rest of your family is safe.”

He glanced at her. Eva Solvig was his enemy, but there was no great hatred between them. At this stage, since Jack had already surrendered, she’d let her heart soften a bit and given him some information. The situation he was in was something that any cultivator would dread.

And, perhaps, she felt a little bit of guilt. The cultivation world had no greater taboo than going after someone’s mortal family.

“Thank you,” he said. “Please promise to protect my son. I have surrendered. You don’t need him anymore. Drop him off at a mortal planet and let him fend for himself—he will be fine.”

She smiled coldly. “Sending the wolf back to the mountain?”

“He can swear to never rise against the Hand of God and never seek revenge. I’m begging you.”

Jack had never spoken such words before. Yet, he didn’t feel the least bit hurt—this was the highest purpose of his existence, and all concessions were within reason.

However, Eva Solvig shook her head. “I was not the one who captured him, nor do I care about either of you,” she said. “Your son’s life belongs to Artus. Convince him.”

Jack raised his head to stare at Artus. He gritted his teeth. His eyes were shaking. “Please,” he said.

Artus met his stare with madness—then laughed. “What an idiot you are, Jack Rust! What a complete imbecile! Cultivators live for thousands of years—what do you care about a son? You could have hundreds of them, thousands. One boy is nothing! He’s not even particularly talented in cultivation! You could be an A-Grade, a king of the world, you could have all the women and wealth you desired, all the authority, all the power, and you threw it all away for a single F-Grade boy! Truly, you are the most idiotic genius I have ever encountered, a complete waste of talent! I pity you, Jack Rust! I pity you!”

Jack let all these words wash over him. He did not care. All he wanted was Eric’s safety. However, his heart was beginning to seize, because even now, Artus’s grip had not eased on Eric’s throat.

“You once told me that I was nothing, just an insignificant character for you to surpass! Just a stepping stone on your road to mastery! Tell me now, Jack Rust, am I still insignificant? When I hold your son’s life in the palm of my hand, am I worthless? When I made you surrender, am I useless? Hahaha!”

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Artus raved crazily, seeming as if he’d forgotten about the presence of everyone else. Jack’s heart had frozen over—his eyes were wide, his breath short. Time had slowed down, and it felt like he was watching everything from the bottom of a well, desperately far away from reality. Despair was crawling up his spine. He was beginning to sense that Artus wasn’t planning to let go.

“You once killed my son, Jack Rust!” Artus shouted. “You humiliated me, had me exiled, and ruined my life. You are the person I hate most in the world. I want to tear out your spine, flay your skin, and suck the marrow from your bones. I want to destroy your planet and rape your wife, kill your sons and enslave your daughters. Everyone you know will die at my hand. And this… This is just the first!”

“NO!” Jack roared. His aura erupted. The cosmos around him was suppressed as he tried to drill through the domain of purity, but Eva Solvig flashed before him and slapped out. He was thrown backward, powerless to resist. Her eyes were cold.

“NO!” Jack roared again, shaking the world, but it was too late. There was nothing he could do. In a fit of mad laughter, Artus squeezed, snapping Eric’s throat. The boy died instantly. Only a shocked look remained in his open eyes, since he’d realized what was going to happen at the last moment.

Eric was dead.

“Hahahaha!” Artus laughed still. “How does it taste, Jack Rust? The despair you made me feel, I will repay a hundredfold! This is fate, this is justice! Hahaha!”

Jack was no longer listening. His gaze was glued on Eric’s listless eyes. His own son, gone. Dead. Because of him.

There were no words to describe what Jack felt. He couldn’t believe this. His soul was whisked away. The despair, horror, grief, and regret mixed into a dark cocktail of epic proportions, completely blocking out his sanity. He lost himself.

With a loud sound, a crack appeared on his Dao Tree, splitting it down the middle. The Fist had given way. The Fist had failed. Everything that he was, everything that he did, had been for nothing.

It was over.

A primal roar emerged from Jack’s lungs, tearing his throat. The void shivered like a beast was born. A dark storm raged inside him. The pain was indescribable. The rage, complete. It was like dark winds blew from behind and propped him up, throwing him forward in a fit of rage which could only be expressed with a single word:

REVENGE!

He would kill Artus Emberheart.

He would kill everyone.

The domain of purity came down to suppress him, but he refused. Every Dao Root and Dao Fruit he possessed burned with blinding brilliance, venting all their power in a single instant. His Daos of Life, Death, Space, and Time bloomed at the same time, giving him unprecedented power. He smashed a fist into the domain of purity, shaking but not breaking it.

He reached even deeper. He invaded his own soul and grabbed the Life Drop, no longer caring about his safety. He crazily siphoned its power. His body grew taller. Another two arms appeared, but he kept pulling, uncaring about the consequences. More energy than ever flooded his body. His blood vessels groaned and cracked. His muscles tore. His hair fell off. His body turned stronger and stronger, far surpassing its previous limits in a single moment of brilliance traded for with everything. A primal titan stepped into the void. His fists could shatter stars, his stomps could crack the earth.

The tremendous stream of power scraped his Dao Tree from the inside, drying it up, but he still kept pulling until he was a bomb, a devil whose only purpose was to kill Artus Emberheart.

Jack roared again. He shot forward, and this time, the domain of purity shattered like glass. Eva raised her brows and flashed away. Jack had never been more powerful—but what did it matter? No matter how strong he was, he couldn’t bring his son back from the dead.

His grief intensified. His rage rose, the only form of protection he possessed against his mind breaking. He hurtled forward like a meteor, channeling all of his power into his right arm, intending to explode it in Artus’s face.

The leonine laughed as he drew back. “Savor the despair, Jack! Savor it! You caused this!”

Eva Solvig flashed in Jack’s path. She no longer held back. A tremendous wall of white came crashing down, filling the universe, and clashed head-on against Jack’s attack. Shockwaves spread everywhere. Spacetime was sundered. The world shook. Eva had to retreat, a line of blood flowing down her lips, but Jack was far more injured. His right arm had completely disintegrated to produce this explosion—his entire body was a wreck, every cell tettering on the verge of collapse. He could barely fly through the void, let alone fight. All of his power had been burnt for that one strike.

As for Eva, she remained on guard, her eyes calm.

“Hahahahaha!” Jack laughed, mad with grief and pain. “I couldn’t save my son, and I cannot take revenge! How unfair the world is! How ugly! I did everything right, and I still lost everything! I am useless! Useless!”

“That’s right, Jack Rust!” Artus shouted. “You deserve this! You made this happen! You and your weakness!”

Weakness…

The word struck Jack’s fragmented mind like the deep sound of a gong. That’s right. I am weak. I couldn’t save Eric, and I couldn’t get revenge… All because I am weak. It is my fault.

I couldn’t save Eric… I have already failed. I must get revenge—no matter what.

A hint of reason appeared in Jack’s bloodshot eyes. “Artus Emberheart!” he shouted, his voice shaking with darkness. “I swear that I will make you regret this day! I will make you wish you were dead! I will kill your children and disciples, I will slay your family, everyone you’ve ever loved. I will wash the universe with their blood. When I’m done with you, the name Emberheart will no longer exist in this galaxy! I, Jack Rust, swear this on my son’s life!”

“Hahahaha!” Artus laughed from afar. “I look forward to it, Jack Rust! But what a pity—you will die today, right here, right now!”

Jack did not reply. His mind was on the verge of breaking—all he could focus on was revenge, the only way to distract himself from the endless pain. However, in the deepest recesses of his mind, a hint of the true Jack Rust remained. The hero, the warrior. He needed to get revenge—and, as liberating as it would be to charge again and die right here, that would not achieve anything. It was the easy way out. He wouldn’t die here. He would survive, and grow stronger, and return to make Artus Emberheart and everyone else involved weep bloody tears for this day. The debt would be paid back—a hundredfold.

Eva had expected him to attack and was ready to match him. Instead, he turned around and flew into the Animal Abyss before anyone could stop him. He no longer feared the space storms—instead, his perception was spread out, looking for one of the black whirlpools.

He needed to survive. Staying here, either inside or outside the Animal Abyss, meant certain death. Nobody was coming to save him. However, he knew that this black hole was abnormal—since treasures could be spat out whole, it meant there was a separate space inside, or perhaps it led to some other place, like a wormhole.

That was his only chance of survival.

Of course, there was an overwhelming possibility of instant death. He would never have made this choice in normal circumstances—but now, there was nothing else.

He did not believe the world would abandon him yet again. If it did, he might as well die. At least they would never have the satisfaction of finding his body.

Jack located a black whirlpool, sucking everything in with promises of death. He unhesitatingly flew over—and was sucked inside.

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