Chapter 246: Thousands of Roads Lead to Dead Ends
"Besides, no one was hurt, right?"
Looking at Serie's unreasonable and illogical manner, Kurtz felt a surge of anger rising to his head.
He took a deep breath, trying to suppress his anger.
"No one is injured?" Kurtz's voice was low. "Serie, do you think if I had been half a second slower, you wouldn't be seeing a disciple lying on the ground right now, you might not even be able to find a body!"
He grew angrier and angrier as he spoke, and couldn't help but bend his finger and give Serie's smooth forehead a hard thud!
Thump!
The sound was crisp and clear; it was a good strike.
Serie was unprepared for Kurtz's sudden attack.
She covered the spot where she had been hit, her golden eyes widening suddenly, filled with disbelief and a faint hint of grievance.
She had lived so many years; who would dare treat her like this?
This man was incredibly arrogant!
"You!!!" Serie was speechless with anger.
"Yeah, 'Me' What? Hmm? What do you mean, 'you'?!" Kurtz interrupted her rudely. "You two, master and disciple, are going to use forbidden magic to fight to the death over who would steal a man! You're making all the mages look like harlot idiots!!!"
"Stealing... stealing a man!?"
Serie was speechless, choked by the vulgar and blunt phrase. A blush rose on her fair cheeks, whether from anger or embarrassment, it was hard to tell.
"What nonsense are you talking about! I was just... just responding to my disciple's challenge!"
"Responding to a challenge is to clash with forbidden magic?" Kurtz was almost driven crazy by her bizarre focus. "With your abilities, you need to use Light Devouring to defeat Flamme?"
"You should be able to see that Flamme's magic, although powerful, is not in its complete form, and its energy dissipates very severely. The highest-level defensive magic is more than enough. But you got carried away and were about to use forbidden magic on your own disciple."
Kurtz's words were all reasonable, leaving Serie somewhat bewildered.
She opened her mouth, as if to refute, but found that she could not find any valid reason.
She really didn't think that much about it at the time.
It was only Flamme's fusion magic that stirred up her long-dormant fighting spirit, as well as the initial thought of twisting the head off Flamme, this arrogant disciple who dared to lay a hand on the person most important to her.
She did indeed intend to kill Flamme; that was an indisputable fact.
Kurtz, of course, noticed it as well.
She muttered subconsciously, her voice much lower than usual: "Who told her to be so reckless, trying... trying to take it from me?"
She couldn't bring herself to say the last few words, but her eyes, which kept looking at Kurtz, and her slightly puffed-out cheeks betrayed her thoughts.
Looking at her almost "sulking" appearance, Kurtz's anger inexplicably subsided by half, replaced by self-reproach for letting things develop to this point.
Without the slightest hesitation, he raised his fist and punched himself hard in the face.
Serie: "!!!"
'What are you doing!?'
Kurtz was too fast; Serie didn't even have time to react. It wasn't until blood trickled from the man's mouth that she immediately asked what had happened.
"I also bear some responsibility," Kurtz replied calmly.
"If I hadn't been soft-hearted at the beginning and hadn't firmly rejected Flamme's feelings, if I had stopped their sparring from the start, none of this would have happened."
"It has nothing to do with you," Serie whispered.
As she watched the glaring red blood spill from the corner of his mouth, the slight resentment and dissatisfaction she felt from being hit on the forehead were instantly replaced by a feeling of heartache.
"It is related!" Kurtz nodded emphatically, his tone laced with self-mockery. "Because of me, this troublemaker, you two, the legendary master and disciple duo, ended up fighting each other, almost destroying this entire forest."
Serie glanced at him but didn't say anything more.
"Serie, don't do that again next time." All the words in his heart were reduced to a single admonition.
Serie met his gaze for a moment, noticing the blood trickling from the corner of Kurtz's mouth, before finally lowering her head and saying, "Mm." It seemed she had accepted the lecture.
Seeing that his goal had been achieved, Kurtz breathed a sigh of relief and turned to check on Ayla and the other two.
'I have no idea where those two went.'
Ayla was quite clever; seeing the fight between the two escalating, she immediately led Frieren to hide far away, and for a moment, they were completely out of sight.
However, just as he took a step, someone grabbed the hem of his clothes from behind.
Kurtz paused, turning back in confusion.
Serie had her head slightly lowered, her long golden hair falling down and obscuring most of her face, making it impossible to see her expression.
Her hands, however, gripped his clothes tightly, showing no sign of letting go.
The air was silent for a few seconds.
Then, an extremely stubborn voice, tinged with a barely perceptible hint of grievance, came through:
"You, Kurtz, are mine."
These four words were spoken seemingly out of the blue, yet with resolute seriousness.
This was both her final response to Flamme's actions and her most direct declaration of possession at this moment, along with the deepest emotional outpouring.
Kurtz was stunned.
He looked at the usually aloof elf lady before him, who was now displaying an almost childish declaration of love, and something in his heart seemed to be touched.
He remained silent for a moment, then suddenly did something that Serie didn't expect.
He suddenly turned around, reached out, and pulled Serie into a tight embrace!
"Ugh!" Serie was caught off guard and bumped into his warm chest, her whole body stiffening.
She instinctively tried to struggle, pushing his chest away with her hands.
But it simply couldn't be pushed open.
Then Kurtz lowered his head and kissed her lips without saying a word.
This was a kiss unlike any other accident; it was a real kiss.
It carried an undeniable strength, as well as long-suppressed desires.
Serie's initial protests and struggles gradually weakened under the familiar aura.
Her hands gradually lost strength and eventually fell, even unconsciously clenching the front of his shirt.
Not far away, Flamme watched this scene quietly.
The heartbreak and breakdown she had imagined did not come.
Her heart was surprisingly calm, so calm that it was almost frightening.
She watched the two embracing, saw Serie's almost submissive posture and the tenderness in Kurtz's eyes.
Everything was so clear, so perfectly matched.
She had no chance now.
Whether it was the crystal-clear boundary in Teacher Kurtz's mind or the insurmountable lifespan theory that stood between them, both were like a cold reality, isolating her ardent yet tender love from the outside.
She knew that her love, at this moment, was destined to be unrequited and unsuccessful.
But...
Flamme slowly lowered her head, her red hair falling down to conceal the turbulent emotions in her eyes.
'It's okay.'
'I can wait.'
'I can give it a try.'
'Try to find that path that might allow her to have a long life like Lady Serie, and be able to accompany Kurtz for a long time, truly.'
Thousands upon thousands of roads, even if they all lead to dead ends, no matter how difficult, how hopeless, or even if they don't exist at all.
But this attempt itself will become her new hope and her strongest motivation on her future path in magic.
'Now, let me return to my role as an apprentice.'
'Then, just keep waiting.'
'She, Flamme, is still young, with plenty of time and determination.'
[End of Chapter]
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