themonasnovels Chapter 872.2
Chapter 872.2
Chapter 872.2
Baris widened his eyes in shock, and Davey, who had been listening silently, let out a hollow laugh, his eyes closed.
‘A father sent the head of someone his son loved?’
The woman had been a childhood friend who had stood by Maximus’s side, bringing him meals as he trained and sharing in laughter with him. Her name was Roina.
“Next to her severed head was a letter. Although the box was soaked with blood, the letter was somehow pristine white. It felt like it was mocking me with its purity.”
The letter said that Maximus no longer had the right to smile, to be happy—not after disgracing his kingdom by losing the tournament. If he wished to avenge Roina, he was to grow stronger and prove himself in the next tournament.
It wasn’t motivation; it was pure cruelty, an order designed to break him by his one and only father.
The severed head of the woman he loved didn’t smile at him or cry for him. It simply lay there, frozen in silence.
But the punishment didn’t end there.
The king declared Roina’s baronial family as traitors and annihilated them, sparing only Roina’s younger sister, Loisa. She was forced to become a servant. He placed her by Maximus to serve him—a constant reminder of his failure.
Loisa, who told him with a resigned smile that everything was fine, silently grieved for her sister and family in the shadows.
The punishment from the king was nothing short of monstrous.
The ridicule from his brothers. The unbreakable wall between him and his opponents he could never overcome.
The boy who had once loved martial arts, who dreamed of becoming a hero known across the continent, broke down after that.
“I trained desperately. And so, a year ago, I fought the duke’s heir from Vasis again.”
Maximus had pushed himself beyond his limits, driving himself relentlessly.
But the result was even worse than before—a humiliating defeat.
“He had already become even stronger, far surpassing the limits of effort with sheer talent.”
“...”
“He said he was disappointed in me and walked away.”
Nothing remained.
Maximus was left with nothing but despair at the cursed reality. No matter how hard he tried, nothing changed.
When he returned in disgrace, the king’s wrath was inevitable.
“And do you know what my father—the king—did next?”
Baris clenched his fists tightly.
“He killed my mother in front of me.”
“...”
That was the price for his failure.
“And then... my little sister...”
Maximus closed his eyes, his voice trembling.
“He gouged out her eyes.”
The king was nothing short of a deranged tyrant.
“That was the first time I stood up to the king, the person who was supposed to be my loving father. I tried to fight back, but how could I win? The kingdom is full of people far stronger than me.”
Maximus clenched his teeth, his body trembling as he continued.
“After beating me down, my father didn’t punish me as a traitor. Instead, he gave me another ultimatum. He said that if I ever failed again and tarnished the honor of the kingdom, he’d take Loisa’s life.”
The king locked him away in the dungeons as he screamed in agony. He desperately ran toward a goal he could never reach, and everything ended up breaking him.
“But isn’t it funny? Just as I was losing everything and spiraling into madness, a light appeared before me,” Maximus said with a hollow laugh.
And within that light came a flood of memories—memories belonging to the absolute master of Tai Chi from the Heavenly Central Plains, Bang Shim-Hwan.
Davey found the name Bang Shim-Hwan to be familiar.
“The absolute master of Tai Chi, Bang Shim-Hwan. The man who dared to challenge Dokgo Jun, only to lose because of his arrogance before dying a foolish death,” he remarked.
Maximus didn’t react to his statement.
“When I received his power, I realized something. All the things I had worked so hard to protect over the years had become utterly meaningless in the face of such overwhelming strength.”
With this newfound power, he challenged the young duke of the Vasis Kingdom once again.
This time, Maximus utterly crushed him. He had ripped and torn the duke’s muscles to the point where he could never make a fist again.
Despite his efforts, Maximus hadn’t been able to protect anything. Only after losing everything did he gain immense strength, and that made him feel even more miserable.
That was why training and hard work had become revolting to him.
“The very act of training, of pushing myself to grow stronger—it makes me sick. It makes my head spin, and I feel like Roina is standing right in front of me, crying tears of blood and blaming me for everything. It’s as if she’s choking me!”
Curious, he stepped out to see where the cheering was coming from.
Boom!!
A boy landed hard next to him, attracting his gaze.
His once-new clothes were now reduced to rags, presumably from rough handling. The usual arrogant smirk was gone. Instead, he was looking at Davey with a cold, intense glare.
Maximus von Terraria.
He had effortlessly defeated the boy that was now crumpled at his feet, a contestant who had been strong enough to make it to the quarterfinals.
Maximus had grown far stronger than before.
As the crowd erupted into cheers, Maximus slowly extended a hand, pointing directly at Davey. He then turned his thumb downward in a taunting gesture.
The provocation sent a wave of excitement through the arena.
Looking down at the unconscious boy, he cast a healing spell to restore him before making a cold smile.
Maximus had changed in just a few days. Yet, he couldn’t help but smile.
Despite knowing he couldn’t defeat him, the twelfth prince was determined not to lose. Ignoring the traumatic revulsion that came with it, he had begun walking the thorny path to victory. His eyes, once filled with helplessness, now burned with fierce determination.
‘That’s right. If you want to protect something, you have to give it your all. Running away doesn’t get you anywhere.’
Through grueling training, aided by the Conception and Governor Vessels he had unsealed for him, Maximus experienced rapid and extraordinary growth. He was no longer the same as before.
Just by the looks of him, he seemed to have reached transcendence by the standards of the Central Plains, a master-level expert of this world.
“Karma, huh...”
Different from talent or effort, it was the accumulation of everything a person had built throughout their life.
From what Davey could see, it wasn’t mere coincidence that the memories of Bang Shin-Hwan—the absolute master of Tai Chi—had merged with Maximus.
The weakened dimensional barriers, a result of the war waged by Thanatos, Goddess Freyja, and Neltarid, had allowed the karma of Bang Shin-Hwan to flow into him.
In other words, Maximus was essentially the reincarnation of Bang Shin-Hwan, inheriting his karma in its entirety. And through his training, that karma had fully awakened.
“Listen carefully, Davey,” Maximus said. “No matter how strong you are, I’ll crush you this time.”
“I’ll look forward to it,” he replied while smiling.
His eyes, filled with resolve, locked onto his before he turned and walked away without hesitation.
As he watched him go, he murmured quietly.
“Aina, I have a task for you...”
“Out of nowhere?”
She appeared beside him silently in her original form.
“Yes. Can you do it?”
“If it’s what you want, I’d bring you the Emperor’s head. My life is yours.”
Neither of them intended to lose. Maximus had his reasons, and Davey had his own.
The two were in the finals as expected. The two had showcased overwhelming power in their semifinals.
Maximus and Davey climbed the arena for the final match in silence.
Before the match began, he activated a spell. A shimmering barrier of light enveloped the arena, reinforcing the ground and creating a transparent barrier.
“P-Prince Davey?” one of the nobles stammered.
“The aftershocks will spread. We need at least this much protection,”
“But using magic here is against the rules—”
The noble hesitated, but the king intervened, granting his approval with a curt nod.
“Very well. However, any claim that the barrier caused your defeat will not be accepted.”
“I have no intention of losing,” he replied calmly, smiling at Maximus across the stage.
“Finally, you’ve come out from that rock of yours,” he remarked.
“...”
Maximus said nothing.
Instead, the moment the starting call rang out he stomped down hard, unleashing a powerful shock wave that shook the ground beneath.
Boom!!
The air cracked as he punched the space between them, sending an invisible shockwave slamming into Davey.
“No matter how strong you are, I’ll beat you here,” he declared, his voice filled with resolve.
Davey nodded quietly, taking a step forward in response.