Helmut: The Forsaken Child - H.F.C Chapter 257 (Part 1): From the Bottom

It took quite a long time to get back up again.

Falling from the cliff to the bottom, everything about Helmut was shattered.

Looking up from the broken state, all that could be seen was the cliff. There must be a sky above it, but that sky was ashen. Who would want to climb towards an ashen sky?

Despair breeds lethargy. Helmut was deep in lethargy.

A fire without firewood can no longer blaze. It seemed like all that remained for him was ashes.

His once vivid and intense eyes lost their light, and his expressionless face was clouded with emptiness.

After pouring out all his emotions, he felt nothing, as if he had become empty. No pain, no hatred, no anguish.

‘Maybe I’ve decided not to feel.’

Emptiness devours life. He didn’t know what to do. He didn’t know what meaning there would be in doing anything.

Just a monster living and breathing as it is.

Because he didn’t want such a life, because he wanted to be human, he left this place, but in the end, he was back where he started.

‘Just like this…’

He didn’t want to do anything. Immersed in the emptiness that deeply filled his lungs, what Helmut chose was silence and sleep.

He spent the day listlessly lying in place, not knowing how it passed.

That day became two days, then three days, and flowed on like water.

A completely different life from when he lived in the Forest of Roots before.

The previous Helmut didn’t waste even a single day, but the Helmut then and now were different.

Helmut had grown, but the driving force that made him grow was gone.

Helmut abandoned even the training ingrained in his body and lived like a corpse.

Lying on the ground, quietly gazing at the sky.

The abundant magical energy in the Forest of Roots quickly restored his body, and the Seed of Darkness slowly regained its momentum.

Though not as fiercely as before, it exerted enough influence over Helmut.

While his body recovered, the recovery of his mind was slower.

What truly moves humans is, in fact, the mind. So Helmut was in a state no different from being fatally wounded.

Helmut’s lethargy was in a realm incomprehensible to some.

For the first time in his life, the white leopard looked with displeasure at Helmut, who was being lazier than when he was a newborn.

‘Well, I was glad to see him return.’

But the joy of reunion was brief. In Elaga’s eyes, Helmut’s state was utterly incomprehensible.

The guy who rarely cried even as a newborn was suddenly whining, which was strange, so it left him alone, but it was getting worse.

For a weak human, Helmut hadn’t eaten or drunk anything for days.

The past of swinging the sword like mad was long gone, and the sight of him lying like dead was somehow unpleasant to see. A slight sense of urgency arose.

‘He shouldn’t starve to death.’

Whether he had the Seed of Darkness or had grown stronger, in Elaga’s eyes, Helmut was still a miserably weak and young human.

And taking care of Helmut so he doesn’t die is something Elaga is used to.

It still couldn’t shake the habit of looking after something. It was this habit that made it look after other humans as well.

Frustratingly, Elaga, following its old habits, shoved food at Helmut and scolded:

[How long are you going to stay like this? Eat this!]

What Elaga thrust at Helmut was meat. Now that there was a cook to prepare its prey nicely, it was jerky with seasoning.

However, Helmut didn’t even glance at it.

Elaga scolded again.

[Those who don’t hunt don’t deserve to eat, but I’m giving this to you as a special treat since you’ve returned. Eat it now!]

“I don’t need it.”

As the brief refusal fell, a fierce growl leaked from the massive white leopard.

[Grrrrrr.]

Elaga did not tolerate Helmut rejecting its goodwill.

[Should I shove it down your throat?]

A cold light flashed in Elaga’s eyes. It was literal sincerity.

The Forest of Roots is a world of survival of the fittest. The weak must obey the strong.

Helmut realized in a strange way that he had indeed returned.

‘How annoying.’

In the outside world, Helmut had never met a human stronger than himself. He had only been outnumbered.

This situation of being newly placed in a weak position stimulated Helmut’s dulled senses.

‘It’s bothersome.’

But what could he do? Elaga was strong and could carry out its threats. And Helmut didn’t even have his sword.

Helmut forcibly chewed and swallowed the jerky.

Elaga watched Helmut eat the jerky with a gaze too fierce to be called motherly. And only after the meal was finished did it leave.

Elaga didn’t sit around all day to torment Helmut, but

this was repeated daily. Of course, not for long.

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