[Special] A grandfather's pride
Vincent sat on the sand, staring at the horizon with complete calm. For a moment, he looked down at his own hands, now covered in healed burn scars.
While every other wound that had once filled his body was gone… the burns remained. Vincent lifted his hand to his face, where old burn scars carried the exact same pattern and shape, showing they all came from the same origin.
"I finally found the one who caused all of that," he said softly to the horizon, his gaze trying to follow the image of people who could no longer look back at him.
Footsteps on the sand approached him as a group. Vincent didn't even turn around, his eyes still fixed on the horizon in quiet peace.
"Old man? What are you doing here?" Luther asked, a bit surprised to see Vincent in that country, when he was supposed to be in England. And of course, the old man hadn't informed any of the knights stationed there that he would come.
Vincent didn't need to answer.
Adrien, who had been looking just beside him, noticed a pile of golden materials. Even he, who usually kept a composed expression, couldn't help but widen his eyes slightly as he recognized that pile of scrap. Then he looked straight at his grandfather.
"That is…," Gema said, recognizing it as well, drawing the attention of the others, who all turned to look at the heap of golden metal beside Vincent.
"Just an old suit of armor," Vincent said calmly. "Looks like if we want to face what's coming next, we'll need an upgrade," he added, just as calm, glancing back at the knights standing behind him. Their swords, their armor… things they once believed were superior to anything out of legends… now, compared to the overwhelming power they had just witnessed, looked like nothing more than sticks.
Everyone there seemed to understand what he meant. After all, they had felt it themselves… fighting against something those weapons, which had once helped them face the dangers of the world and protect the weak, couldn't even scratch.
Sirius, standing among them, showed a faint look of frustration… because not even his strongest magic had done anything more than barely hold those things back. No matter their size. And if he wanted to protect Harry… and Percy… then it felt like his magic simply wasn't enough.
The others, after looking at the destroyed armor, couldn't help but glance around.
And what they saw looked like a battlefield… or what remained of one. Sand burned into glass, deep cuts across the ground, and blood.
"What happened here?" Adrien asked, his eyes fixed on his grandfather, but he couldn't find a single wound on him… only torn clothes and that same calm presence.
Vincent gave them a smile… one that, for a moment, seemed to carry the weight of the past on his shoulders, just barely lifting… turning into the softest smile he had worn in a long time.
"Nothing," he said, standing up from the sand and brushing himself off calmly.
The memory of him giving his life to protect those brats he cared about… their faces covered in tears and snot when they saw him fall… the way they screamed with joy when they saw him stand again… his attempt to avenge those he had lost in the past… and the battle he had just fought against a god… all passed through his mind, making that smile grow into something truly genuine.
"Nothing happened here," he said as he stood up and picked up the massive greatsword beside him, one they had never seen before… and started walking, dragging it along with surprising ease.
That made all of them glance at each other for a moment. But Dorien's gaze drifted toward the scattered vials not too far away. One of them caught his attention, so Adrien walked over and picked it up, staring at it… at the stopper where two snakes intertwined.
And putting everything together… he seemed to connect the dots.
He looked back at his grandfather, a trace of concern showing… like, for a moment, he felt like the weakest man in the world.
"You're always like this, Grandpa," Adrien said, letting out a soft sigh as he shook his head.
"Move. They went that way. If you still can't catch them, I'll start doubting you're elite knights, considering you can't even catch four brats," Vincent said, waving one hand dismissively, sending them off, while pointing in a direction with the greatsword.
Both Dorien and Adrien, the old man's grandsons, couldn't help but sigh, as Adrien gave a slight nod and started walking… as if they hadn't run into him at all.
They could see footprints in the sand… Percy's, Harry's, and the others.
Meanwhile, Vincent let his gaze fall for a moment onto the greatsword he had taken from Ares… and he couldn't help the proud smile that slipped onto his face.
Memories from before the fight with Ares… of all that power… flickered through his mind.
"Armor that withstands mortal damage…"
"Power that ignores limits…"
"Life that refuses to fade…"
"We're offering you a chance to…"
"I accept," Vincent said without hesitation, not even waiting to hear the consequences, or whether his soul would end up in limbo or whatever else.
…
For a moment, there was absolute silence.
"This will be the last and only time anyone can interfere… take care of them," a final voice said, softer at the end.
Suddenly, Vincent felt power flooding into his body. The surge of vitality he felt… his armor began to change, and the runes on it, as well as on his gauntlets, evolved, giving him enough power to stand against a god… even if only temporarily… and still as a human.
"Looks like the two ladies waiting back home aren't the only ones worried about their brats," he said with a faint, relaxed smile.
Saying he hadn't grown attached to those two brats… would be a lie. Ever since Sally joined them so her children would be protected, all the knights had watched them grow. All of them wanted to protect the boys not just because of their promise to Sally… but because they had all grown fond of the boys. Because both of them… had something different.
And Vincent would make sure they grew up with the support they needed to bring out every bit of their potential… because something about them… told him the world was about to change in ways no one could imagine.
"Good thing I'll still be alive to see them do the impossible," he said, pride lingering in his voice as he looked in the direction Adrien and the others had gone.
With a slightly mischievous smile, he glanced down at the footprints along the path… and casually erased them with his feet, clearly amused.
Of course, by the time Adrien and the others realized Vincent had pointed them the wrong way, it would already be too late… because Percy and his group would have entered the Underworld.
And Vincent himself would already be back in England… getting scolded by an angry mother and a godmother who happened to be a legendary dark witch.
Unfortunately, the only elixir of life they had was already gone… because maybe… the old man might need another one.