We are now returning to the city of Mirage. Behind me were many of the inhabitants of Pompeii, a city now devoid of life, filled only with corpses and blood.
A blond-haired man was hanging by his foot from the king's palace, pierced in every part of his body.
If anyone witnessed this city, they wouldn't believe it was once a powerful city. They would say to themselves that they had gone mad, and what they were seeing was nothing but an illusion produced by their sick imagination.
But they wouldn't imagine that a monster like me had passed through there.
Now I see the walls of the city of Mirage before my eyes. There was a group of soldiers whose faces I had come to recognize.
When I approached them, they prostrated themselves on the ground in greeting, and there was a smile on their faces. In their eyes, I am a hero.
Hero... that word is truly strange.
But what is even stranger is the sick thinking of humans. Humans believe anyone who deceives them easily. There are no heroes in the world. Everyone is looking for themselves, and those lost souls in this miserable world will never be found.
So, damn you and your heroes.
When I entered the city, everyone started chanting my name.
Am I enjoying this? No, I'm not.
Am I sad? No, not that either.
I'm just indifferent.
I feel pity for their stupidity. If these people knew that I killed the king and the king's advisor, they would curse me.
But I didn't lie. I said that a monster killed them, and I am the worst monster in the world. I am the harbinger of hell.
The noise was very loud.
And when I looked at Khalid, he was smiling a foolish smile, so I laughed.
Until I reached the palace.
I ordered the people of Pompeii to stay outside the palace, and Khalid and I entered.
I found Zed sitting with some papers in his hand, looking at them with great interest.
"What are you doing?" I said as I approached him.
When he looked at me, he was surprised and came closer, a slight smile on his face.
"Did you finish the mission that quickly?" he said, puzzlement on his face.
"(Yes, we did, devil face,)" Khalid's voice interjected.
"I won't respond to a fool like you, and I'm not talking to you," Zed replied calmly.
"There's no time for this talk now, and the constant fighting between you two must end."
"(I will kill him, Joker, one day,)" Khalid said fiercely.
"Yes, I know that," I said, laughing.
"I was calculating the population and the number of buildings we're constructing, and I found that there will be a lot of surplus buildings. So I thought about demolishing these buildings or converting them into large commercial buildings. I also increased the number of soldiers in preparation for an attack that might happen at any moment."
"Has anyone attacked the city yet?"
"No, no one has done that so far, and it's been 4 days since the announcement."
"Okay, where are the rest of the members, Zed?" I said, looking around to find anyone, but to no avail.
"Hind is monitoring the walls from the outside and preparing traps, and Shard and Lina are training together in the garden."
He said that with a strange smile.
"(I want to see this,)" Khalid's voice, with an annoying tone.
"Alright, let's go see how these two are training," I said and headed to the garden.
When I arrived, I witnessed a strange sight. Lina was standing, emitting a dense blue energy from her hands.
In front of her was a large block of ice, and inside it was a person with a lot of hair and red eyes.
When I looked closer, I found it was Shard.
"(What are you doing? You'll kill him,)" Khalid exclaimed.
Hearing him, Lina's concentration broke, and the block of ice turned into water.
Shard was in a state of frenzy, so he started trying to attack Lina, but at that moment, I drew my sword.
And I received that powerful blow. His eyes were red like blood, his hair had become very long, some of his teeth had become pointed, and he started roaring like a lion.
He was looking at me and was about to attack, and Lina was standing behind me, scared, her body trembling slightly.
But I felt her hand gently grasp my clothes from behind. At that moment, I felt a truly wonderful feeling. I don't know why.
But when I felt the touch of her hand on my body, I felt like I had experienced this feeling before.
But there's no time for that now. I have to calm Shard down and end this excess energy he has.
"Serpent of the Earth."
Snakes emerged from the ground and bit his hand and foot, starting to drain that energy from him. But it seemed like this energy had no end.
What the hell is with this sword? The first time I saw a giant monster inside it, it made me feel a bit scared.
But I didn't imagine that this sword possessed all this energy.
So I whispered,
"Super Speed."
And I jumped in front of Shard, who was roaring with intense force, and I struck his hand holding the sword with all my might.
The sword flew away and crashed into the garden wall, shattering it completely.
And when this happened, Shard's body started emitting a cold energy, his size began to shrink, and he fainted.
I looked at the frightened Lina and said,
"What happened?"
"(Nothing. He asked me to do that so he could control his power. This was the third time for Lina, and this had never happened before. I used to keep activating the ice until his energy completely subsided and he returned to his normal form, but this time I couldn't control my body because of Khalid's voice,)" she said, sadness and intense fear on her face.
"All because of that idiot," Zed's voice cut in.
"(Who are you calling an idiot? I didn't know this would happen,)" Khalid retorted, raising his dagger.
"I don't see any idiot here but you," Zed said, releasing his energy.
At that moment, Hind came from behind and hit both of them on the head.
"(Didn't I tell you once to stop these childish acts?)" she said, looking at them with anger.
At that moment, I approached Shard, carried him on my back, and went to my room.
When Hind saw Shard unconscious, she asked in a firm and angry voice,
"(What happened?)"
Lina explained what had happened. Hind's face was filled with sadness and anger. I think everyone is starting to like Shard.
I think I'm starting to like him too.
After placing him on his bed and leaving the room, I quickly headed outside.
And I ordered Zed to find a place for the people of Pompeii in the city and to find them good jobs and places to live.
He agreed without asking any questions.
So I looked at Hind and asked her to take the entire army, Lina, Khalid, and Zed, after he finished what I asked, outside the city for a whole day.
"(Why do you want us to do that? There will be no one in the city but you to defend it then,)" Hind questioned.
"And that's what I want, so we can finish this matter quickly," I said, smiling at them.
After seeing the state of the army in Pompeii, I understood that most of the armies of the cities where the students of the City of Stars descended were destroyed. So I felt that whoever wanted to attack us wouldn't do so until this army disappeared because they didn't have an army. That's why I made this request.
"I'll stay with you," Lina said in a soft, calm voice.
"No, I want to finish this matter alone," I said in a strong voice, smiling at Lina.
And it happened. The entire army and the team went outside.
I sat on the throne and decided to meditate. I entered my inner realm.
This time, I found Yama sitting in the place where I entered and exited every time.
"(Were you waiting for me?)" I said, looking at her intently.
"Why are you waiting for me?" I said indifferently.
"(I want to get out of here,)" she said, approaching me.
"You won't get out of here until I want you to. Only I decide this matter, not you," I said, laughing.
"(Why are you doing this to me? And why do you want to kill my father, you damn bastard?)" she said, her eyes burning with anger.
"Punishment."
"Punishment."
And when I looked at the other thing and tried to recognize what it was, it was far away, so I couldn't distinguish it.
So I approached...
W... What?
Damn it!
This is the ring I took from the mysterious figure. What is it doing here?