Others Summon Dragons, I Summon Legendary Knights Chapter 502 Burning Zeal & Resolve

Godfrey sat on the balcony. Silent. He stared at the street below. Everything around his parents' house had been consumed by greenery and flowers, vines climbing walls that had once been bare, blossoms spilling over balconies and rooftops until stone and brick became little more than a memory.

The hill where White rested had almost vanished beneath an ancient-looking forest. Carpet-soft grass blanketed the slopes while clouds of butterflies drifted lazily between shafts of sunlight.

He couldn't see the stag, but he felt its presence. Apparently, a canal was being built throughout Paradise. Once completed, the healing water would be able to flow through the entire city.

His mother had transformed this city into a true paradise. Here, wounds and even near-death accidents would become negligible. Such a city only existed in fantasies.

Towering trees lined the roads like living lamp posts, their broad canopies knitting together overhead. Birds nested in the branches that arched over the roads, their songs and chirping replacing the distant hum of engines.

It had been an hour since he appeared in Paradise. Godfrey spent it all sitting, watching, smiling, and pondering.

People wandered the streets beside their summons. Unhurried, as though this part of the city had forgotten the meaning of urgency. Their summons were commonly elves or some weirdly coloured men. Slim and tall.

His right eye widened a bit at the sight of a woman walking out of her home while complaining to her summon. A dwarf. This was the first time he had laid eyes on a dwarf summon!

It wore a thick beard, had large ears, and stubby, small legs and arms. The dwarf struggled to keep up with the woman.

Godfrey laughed softly. Vehicles must have been prohibited from this area. Everyone had to walk, and they didn't seem to mind. This was what Demigods could do. Bring change.

He turned. While he had been lost in the city's serene beauty, his parents were on their way home. His dad wore a brown jacket over a black top, camo pants tucked into well-tied black boots.

Ronald's hands were at his back as he walked beside his wife. Valentina wore a fluffy white turtleneck and light brown pants that flared at the ankles.

People bowed their heads as they greeted them, their voices instinctively hushed.

One glance, and Godfrey could tell his father was forced to escort her. The sun was bright on their faces.

But Godfrey couldn't smile. The smile he once had fizzled out at the sight of his mother. Conflict bloomed in his heart. A painful but expected feeling.

Godfrey rose to his feet, holding the balcony railing. His parents drew close. Valentina looked up.

Her eyes went wide. "Godfrey…? Go—" She collapsed, dropping to the ground like a puppet whose strings had been cut.

Ronald quickly grabbed her before she hit the ground.

Godfrey found his heart drumming hard. At his father's command, he went down and opened the door. Ronald placed Valentina on the sofa.

She was already regaining consciousness, but that didn't stop Ronald from hitting the back of his son's head.

"Couldn't you wear an eyepatch? You look horrible." he hissed.

Godfrey was frozen, like a child who had done wrong and didn't know how to react. His one eye was on his mother.

Godfrey silently searched for a cloth and tied it over the empty eye socket. It drew the exact same attention. But that didn't matter.

On his way back to the living room, he almost bumped into his mother. She had this horrified look that pierced deep into his soul.

'I'm so stupid.' Godfrey made sure the left eyehole was covered. Unfortunately, he did that with his prosthetic left arm.

"Does it hurt?" she whispered, breaking the awkward silence between them.

Godfrey shook his head. "Once. But it doesn't anymore."

Valentina's shoulders relaxed slightly. That pained look didn't leave her eyes.

He wished the mana tree would show itself and shatter this guilt and parental concern swirling like a storm inside his heart.

"What happened to you?" Valentina held his face with both hands.

A thousand and one explanations rose in his heart, all blaming her for everything. For his lack of self-confidence, his growing self-doubt.

But the cause of his suffering wasn't Valentina. It was the mana tree. They were the same person. In fact, the mana tree was his true mother. Valentina was a personality born for the mana tree's purpose on Earth.

It pained him. A very deep, excruciating pain. Why did Valentina and the mana tree have to be the same? Why? He would have preferred if she were his adopted mother. That was leagues better than this.

Valentina pulled him into a tight embrace, and his pain melted. Godfrey closed his right eye. "A lot happened."

"It's enough, Frey. Don't fight anymore." She leaned back. "If you want to do it, join your father with the Sentinels."

"I…" Godfrey wavered. He didn't know what to say.

"It's done!" Ronald's voice boomed.

Valentina led Godfrey to a bathroom. The bathroom had been renovated. Marble walls surrounded a jacuzzi filled to the brim with healing water.

Such luxury.

Godfrey stared at the jacuzzi, then at his mother, who remained in the bathroom. He stared at her pointedly.

"Remove your clothes and go into the water," she said.

Godfrey glanced at the door. She saw that and snorted.

"I gave birth to you, Godfrey. You can't be serious."

"I'm married."

"Does that change your status as my son? Besides, what's there that I haven't seen before?"

Godfrey gasped in disbelief. He forcefully teleported her out of the bathroom and locked the door. Valentina thumped against it.

"Be quick!" she yelled.

Godfrey took off his clothes and soaked into the jacuzzi. He pulled off his prosthetic arm with a soft grunt, then completely submerged himself.

His mother's face flashed in his mind over and over. That's right. The reason he fought three years ago resurfaced once more. Maybe the mana tree and Cain had their hands in it, but if she died, he would have lost Valentina.

If he didn't fight, there would be no today. The slaughter of those men was justified because they fought for their reasons, and he fought for his. It was their lives or Valentina's.

That was why he fought.

Valentina had done nothing wrong. She was innocent in the midst of this battle, a piece that the mana tree could toss aside anytime it wanted.

Once again, that fear overwhelmed him. The fear that he couldn't really protect his mother. That she was at the mercy of the mana tree.

And with that fear came zeal.

A burning zeal and purpose.

He clenched his hands. Not just the right, but also the left. Then both eyes opened as he emerged from the water.