Returning from the west side, as Noah sat in the corner of the bus, he had a lot of things on his mind.
(Elios. Thank god at least you are alive. I couldn't bear to see anymore children losing their lives)
Aisha told him about how children were purer than adults and that's why they were more often used in rituals as sacrifices. She told him about the aim of Dark Mages to bring demons into the mortal realms, their end goal was to revive the Demon King Laplace.
(The Dark Mages sacrificed 40 childrens to summon a lesser demo today. We were able to kill the demon but… the children…)
The reason? To overthrow the gods and gain unlimited powers themselves.
(The Temple only focuses on the city, so it's safe. But for those outside the city… It's a common occurrence. It might be a bit shocking to you but some of the priest even buy these children and womans in secret for… personal reasons)
As if that wasn't bad enough, there was also the issue of discrimination between the poor and the rich. The one who can use magic and those who can't. The ones who were both with a silver spoon and those who were not.
(Please go home, Elios. You are clearly not in a stable mind. Please, have some rest, okay?)
'Hey, Elios. I am not great with these kinds of things, you know? I was an assassin who spent most of his life killing and learning how to kill.'(Noah)
Noah finally began speaking his heart to Elios.
'These days where I helped people, I liked it. Not because of that karma or whatever, but the fact that I could save people… help people… it felt nice. It felt as if my broken life was finally falling into place.'(Noah)
'I have killed many. I have turned many children into orphans. I won't deny… I always hated that. Even though I tried… I always failed. But coming here, I thought maybe I had a chance. A chance to atone for the sins that I have commited.'(Noah)
'But now that I am at this point… Elios. I honestly don't know what to do. I am not good with this thing, brother. Was there no way we could protect those children? I wanted to… save them, Elios. Man… Airen… I don't even know the names of the other children… is this the best I could do?'(Noah)
Among the children that died, Noah went to check the site. There he found the dead bodies of Airen and others as well, making him devastated as he barely contained himself at that time.
Clear memories of them overlapped those that he couldn't protect in his previous life, making him break even more.
Elios was silent for a long while as he didn't answer Noah's words. Even though Elios was pretty confident in things related to magic, things like human lives and such were far more challenging to him as well.
Just like Noah, he too didn't have any answer to this.
[I do not know.](Elios)
As they reached closer to their destination, Elios finally answered Noah.
[I have no idea how we can change their lives. Even if we try our best, will it be worth it? I don't know.](Elios)
[Perhaps the more we help, the more we can solve the problems? Or perhaps it will make things even more messy? I honestly have no idea.](Elios)
[But. For now, I believe. Let's do our best to continue what we are doing… We will solve all the problems one by one without stopping. If you stray from your path, I will be there for you. If I stray from our path, you will help me. Let's do our best to do what we are best at. Perhaps that… is the best thing we can do right now.](Elios)
Noah looked at those messages and nodded silently.
As the evening came, Noah then stepped out of the bus and then walked towards the area where he had to submit today's reports.
Yuna saw him with a cheerful smile but soon stopped as she saw Noah's expression. Noah always had a silent expression on his face, but right now, the atmosphere around him felt rather heavy. And as Noah explained today's reports, it also became clear why.
Words of comfort couldn't come out of Yuna's mouth as she saw Noah leaving from there without speaking any further. Only lingering regrets were left on Yuna's face as she couldn't do anything for the kind guy who was always ready to help others.
Instead of going to the bed, Noah went to the training hall and picked up the same amount of weights as last time and then began running around the field as fast as he could. And as fast as he was running, his mind was also racing with dozens of thoughts at once.
Things he could do. Things he could have done. His own weakness in this whole matter.
Up until now, neither Noah nor Elios had a goal in their mind. They were simply doing what they thought was the best for them while enjoying their life to the best of their abilities. But now…
They both had a clear direction in their mind.
To kill those bastard Dark Mages and stop their madness.