The knight lieutenant surges forward to the explosion and finds a massive hole in an ordinary motel.
Among the dead bodies crushed by the wreckage, stood a lone figure covered in thick blankets, it reeked of rotten blood. Lieutenant raised his hands and everyone froze on place. "Is that the blood mage?"
I clap my hands and one of Jerald's arm blows up, spewing acidic blood in all direction. The moment it touched lieutenant's armour it degraded multiple layers of enchanted armour and burned through his muscle tissue. "Kill that mage!"
I couldn't help laugh as the knights chased around Jerald who is running in frenzy.
"W-What did you do?" Alexia asked in shock, her hand covering her mouth.
"Wait, I am going make him shit acidic blood, that be so funny."
As I am giggling at the edge of the massive hole in the motel, Alexia watches Jerald getting beaten to death by city knights. "No! W-We need to help him!"
I pull her shoulder as she was standing bit close too the edge. "Help? Why? He deserves this after what he did."
I see her visibly shivering up as she remembers how Jerald forced himself, words struggle to come out of her mouth. "B-But you are k-killing him."
I made sure to keep my tone as nonchalant as possible. "So?"
"K-Killing is bad… No one d-deserve to die."
"But he was already dead. You killed him."
My words hit Alexia like a hot knife, she grabbed her head and screamed. I watched her have a mental breakdown with confusion. It didn't click me as what did make her cry. 'Wait. She isn't regretting her decision because she secretly loved him, right?…'
"I-I killed him… I did." Alexia scratched her own face, trying to inflict the same of amount of pain which Jerald had gone through.
I quickly walked up to her and grabbed her hands to stop but she pushed me aside. Her sudden use of physical force surprised me.
Alexia picked up a sharp rock from the ground and stabbed her own shoulder. Then she proceeds to push the sharp rock down, peeling her own skin.
"STOP!" I yell.
Alexia looks at me, her face covered in tears and snot. "I-I don't deserve to live. I-I killed someone, I am not a g-good girl, the sisters will scold me, big s-sister will hate me now. I-I don't deserve-"
I leap forward and slap the rock away from her hands.
"No! Give it back!" Alexia tries to pick up another stone, just then I slap her face.
"If you utter such words again, I kill you." I push her on the ground and grab her throat. "Do you have any idea? What suffering Helen and Melsier had to go through for you brats? They suffer for you! They endure so much pain! And you! You say you are not deserved?"
Alexia whimpers and wipes her nose. "But I killed someone-"
"I killed so much! I killed so much that I lost count. I did it as work but never I thought to unalive myself or I was undeserved. Because I had someone to save… I can't allow you to die."
I slowly release my hands and stand up, my fingers linger where Melsier's sword is supposed to be. "You live. Not for yourself but for them. Those who suffered for your sake, you shall live for them, work for them. You now belong to them, not to anyone else, not even your own self. That's what my mother told me."
The knight lieutenant broke through the wall and stood behind me, his spear pointed at me. My eyes stare into the debris blocking our only pathway, the knights slowly surround us all.
"That's what I am telling you, Alexia. Live for Helen and Melsier."
A knight steps in between me and Alexia, thinking I held hostage. "On the ground now!"
I raise my hands with a smile.
"Lie down on the ground!"
I turn to face the lieutenant and get on my knees. 'A mana detection ring, huh? That's how they found me. Shame, I was trying to avoid unnecessary killing.'
"Faster! Or I break your legs-"
A red magic circle appears for a split second on my palm and I clap my hands together.
Below two knights held Jerald together who was still moaning and spewing gibberish like a mad man. "Stop! Moving! so much!"
The knights were trying their best not to further harm but their patience was being tested, then all of sudden Jerald began squirming and shaking uncontrollably, his body chested started bloating so much so it looked like a balloon.
Before the knights could even assess the situation, Jerald's body exploded.
BAM!
Followed by screams of many people who were hit by the acidic blood, the lieutenant got distracted for a second which was enough for me.
With no mana remaining, I had to get physical.
Pathetically, I tried to push him which did not work at all. In every raw strength category, the lieutenant outclassed me and most brutal of them was the weight.
I knew, I was skinny but this was just straight up embarrassing, even though I pushed with all of my strength the lieutenant did not move, not even flinched.
"Altaris!" Alexia screamed as the knight behind, cut my knee off with single sweep of his spear. I grit my teeth, trying so hard not to scream but then I notice that the lieutenant didn't even bat an eye in my direction.
This made me giggle for some reason.
He was looking outside at the blood cloud formed by Jerald's dense infected blood. Multiple buildings got painted red with piles of bodies stacking up, the knights who were too close to Jerald got instantly evaporated, even their enchanted got heavily damaged.
"By the emperor's grace, let them all enter heaven at your mercy."
Hearing the lieutenant praying for dead victims, I let out an exaggerated laugh. "Hahaha! You are praying to what? The dead doesn't answer prayers!"
My offensive words, probably agitated the knight behind me as he drove his spear into my stomach. "You inhuman monster."
Yet, I continued laughing.
"I want to see you laughing when the executioner rips you apart."
I sigh while glancing at the knight. "Thanks for the invite, but I am not coming with you."
"Wha-"
Suddenly the lieutenet leaped at his subordinate to drove him into a wall.
THUD!
The knight quickly regained his posture and was shocked to his lieutenant injured in the gut. "S-Sir? But how?"
"It took forever to find you, brat." A man wielding a great sword, stood before me.
Mr. Red's beard was stained red with blood as he ran through the blood cloud and jumped straight here.