Guild Wars

Around 4 months ago…

"I'm tired of this! I can't take it anymore!"

A furious female voice sounded out in the quiet courtyard belonging to Dominic, full of anguish and pain that was not lost on any listener.

Within one of the rooms of the large courtyard, Dominic sat with bloodshot eyes as he silently stared at his mostly unresponsive infant daughter, Gremory. She had just recently fainted after screaming her young lungs out in agony as her bloodline backlashed within her body.

This occasionally happened over the course of the past few months and had slowly lost its frequency as time passed, but that did nothing to hearten the two parents.

Their life so far had been one of immense torture and suffering, to levels in which they themselves could not even understand how they had managed up until this point. Every day and night was a battle of fear and worry for their daughter's life and well-being.

To understand what they were going through, picture yourself in a situation where a random child between ages 4-10 suddenly fell to the floor in front of you, screaming their lungs out in agony.

The dismay, fear, and horror you would feel would be unforgettable.

Now picture this being an infant, still swaddled in cloth. A baby that is supposed to either laugh in a silly manner or cry loudly was screaming in pain. The kind of sound you will hear will haunt you for the rest of your life and form trauma easily.

And now, picture the infant in this situation being your own first child, your first attempt at bringing life into this world, and your first try at being a parent. Only by coming this far would you be able to somewhat understand the train of thought of Dominic and his wife.

Dominic was silent even as his wife continued to scream and hit him, blaming him for everything that happened to their daughter. Dominic did nothing to react because he agreed with her, truly agreed.

As a man and a husband, he was supposed to be the bastion of his family, sheltering them from wind and rain as well as the physical dangers of the world. Every man understood this and strived to better himself for the eventual day he would start a family.

But Dominic had failed to protect his daughter, a relatively simple task a man was supposed to accomplish. Of course, he was outgunned and outnumbered, but if he had truly gone crazy back then and showed his resolve, they would have at least hesitated in the face of it.

However, he did not go all out and worried about his brother and various social as well as political entanglements, leading to the current situation. There was no one Dominic hated right now more than himself.

Every single time he had to listen to one of Gremory's episodes, he would silently watch while his wife fretted and tried to comfort the agonized child. That sight alone had made his state of mind change greatly in the past few months, enough so that the him from before would not even recognize the current him.

Dominic reached out and gently brought his wife into his embrace, comforting her. He understood that she was just lashing out because she felt helpless and was full of pain, especially as a mother whose heart was filled with kindness for the weak.

"It's okay. Things will get better with time, Gremory will get better." Dominic could only say as he stabilized his wife, who continued to beat his chest but was too distraught to even retort to his flimsy words of reassurance.

Eventually, his wife managed to calm herself down and became quiet for a long while, long enough that Dominic wondered if she had become asleep. Before she could shake her, he heard some mumbling from her.

"What? I didn't hear you." He asked with confusion.

His wife suddenly raised her head slowly, her tear-stained eyes also bloodshot and most importantly, filled with intense hatred.

"I said the entire clan should go to hell! If I had the power, I would raze this entire clan to the ground!!"

Dominic's face changed as he released his wife, who stumbled to her feet. "Isabella, don't say such things again!"

Isabella seemed to become even more furious. "Are you crazy Dominic? You still dare to defend them after what they have done to our daughter?!"

Dominic's expression became ugly, but he still insisted. "They are both of our family members. I hate those who made the decision as much as you do, but there are many innocents in the matter."

Isabella walked up to Dominic's face and stared him down. "The man I married was more brave and intelligent than this! You only say this because the only person you care about in this world is your elder brother!"

Dominic felt heat rush to his head and exploded. "Don't speak about Dante! You don't know about him!"

Isabella took a step back in surprise and remained silent for a while. "You know what I see? I see the young boy who idolized his elder brother and put him on a pedestal, his face becoming red whenever anyone dared to tarnish his image."

Dominic's face became cold. "So in response to the accident that happened to our daughter, you want me to commit fratricide like some animal?"

Isabella folded her arms and sneered. "Did they have as much considerations when they operated on Gremory? That was a largely fatal operation and it only succeeded due to luck."

Isabella turned to the peacefully sleeping Gremory who looked sweet, and her heart softened. "We are considered lucky to have her alive, but is her current state worth being alive for? It cannot be undone, and she is going to grow up knowing and being more familiar with pain better than you and I, her own parents."

These words hit Dominic like a truck. This was exactly what he had been thinking in his silent moments all this time, whether it was better to end his daughter's suffering early or let her suffer for her whole life.

But which loving parent could look at their first child and pull the plug resolutely? Every time, he secretly held hope that Gremory would change and suddenly become better, or that when Draco grew up and mastered his abilities, he could assist his cousin.

However, Dominic knew that the reality was that his daughter might end up dying in one of these fits before Draco even learned how to speak. This was one of the chief reasons he was full of suffering right now.

"I have secluded myself from the clan and abstained from their matters. Is that not enough?" Dominic asked Isabella after a spell of silence.

Isabella glanced at Dominic askance. "Do you believe your own words? If an invading force were to come here right now, you, like any slave of this clan, would rush out to defend it. This is a fact."

Dominic was taken aback. "Slave? Isabella, this is your own clan, your own blood-related family! Everyone here shares literal blood and flesh with you; how can you think this!"

"They stopped being my family when they hurt my daughter. Now, they are strangers to me, and I don't have any qualms about getting revenge on strangers for what they have done to my child." Isabella replied coldly.

Dominic paled because he could see the sincerity in her eyes and body language. She truly had cut herself off from the clan and was willing to harm it out of spite!

At this moment, Dominic was torn.

As the former head trainer of the Horned Demon Inheritance, the brother of the clan leader, and the head of the intelligence network, he should report Isabella before she became a liability to the clan.

However, he looked at his wife who he truly loved and his daughter who she had picked up and was quietly singing to, and he knew that he couldn't.

At this moment, Dominic keenly understood that at some point, he too had left the Lucifer Lineage and was only fighting for his family, but his past sense of duty and his idolization of his elder brother made him resist it.

Dominic released a sigh that came from the depths of his soul containing, his fatigue, his reluctance, and most importantly, his resolve.

He glanced at Isabella and Gremory then left the courtyard. Posted outside was a servant of the clan who was meant to attend to their matters, as even though Dominic had self-exiled, Dante naturally would not neglect his brother and made sure they had everything.

Thinking about Dante, Dominic had a flash of hesitation in his eyes. Once he took this step, there was truly no coming back whatsoever, and everything would change. However, he still continued on because he knew that everything had already changed long ago; he had just been afraid to accept it.

"You there, summon Elder Matteo for me. Tell him that I am willing to join him in his favorite hobby." Dominic told the youth, who was startled and rushed to carry out the command.

Dominic looked to the sky. "Progenitor, I hope you of all people can understand."