The man trembled violently as he stared at Xavier standing before him.
Xavier towered over him, his entire body covered in blood. Dark stains soaked his clothes, and in his hand he held a long sword dripping with fresh blood.
The blade shined.
Xavier looked down at the old man, watching him shake like a cornered animal.
But there was no pity in his eyes.
Any sympathy he might have once had for this man had long since disappeared.
People like him…
Greedy and Selfish.
Cowards who would throw others away just to survive a few more minutes.
He didn't see the people he sacrificed as humans.
So why should Xavier treat him like one?
"X–Xavier… come on now…"
The bald man forced out a shaky laugh, his voice trembling badly.
"I–I'm glad you survived those monsters, but I don't think this is the right—"
Before he could finish his sentence—
THUD!
Xavier slammed the tip of his sword into the ground between the man's legs.
The blade buried itself deep into the soil, stopping just inches away from the bald man's most precious little thing.
The old man let out a strangled scream and froze completely.
Xavier tilted his head slightly.
"Glad?"
He repeated the word slowly.
The way he said it almost sounded like he was laughing.
"You're really a funny old man, you know that?"
Xavier's smile widened, but there was no warmth in it.
"Every word that comes out of your mouth never makes sense."
He crouched slightly, bringing his face closer to the trembling man.
"Just like at work."
The bald man's eyes widened.
"You give instructions to people… then yell at them when they follow those instructions."
Xavier's voice grew colder.
"Then you make them redo everything because you suddenly changed your mind."
His grip on the sword tightened.
"And now you even have the audacity to use pity again to try and trick me."
For a moment, Xavier felt a thousand words building up inside his mind.
All the things he wanted to say.
All the anger.
All the resentment.
All the memories of being treated like trash.
But he stopped himself.
What was the point?
No matter what he said, it would be useless.
People like this man never listened.
Even now—
Despite trembling on the ground like a pathetic worm—
The bald man suddenly grabbed a few small rocks lying around him.
And threw them at Xavier.
The stones bounced harmlessly off his blood-soaked clothes.
Xavier didn't even flinch.
He just stared at him silently.
"Hah…"
Xavier let out a tired sigh.
"I give up."
He shook his head slowly.
"I don't think people like you will ever realize it."
His voice was calm now.
Almost bored.
"People like you never realize you're committing evil."
He pulled the sword out of the ground.
The blade slid free with a quiet scrape.
"You justify everything with your selfishness."
Xavier stepped closer.
"And convince yourself that you should always come first."
The old man crawled backward desperately.
"W–wait—!"
But before he could say anything else—
SHNK!
Xavier suddenly drove the sword straight into the man's thigh.
"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"
The scream that followed was far louder than before.
The old man's body twisted violently as pain exploded through his leg.
Blood began soaking the ground beneath him.
"Y–YOU…!"
The bald man cried ugly tears as he screamed.
"H–HOW COULD YOU DO THIS?!"
Xavier looked down at him calmly.
"Because you like running so much."
He twisted the blade slightly.
The man shrieked again.
"So I thought I'd help you rest."
Xavier pulled the sword out.
Blood splattered across the leaves.
"By breaking those legs of yours."
Before the man could recover—
SHNK!
Xavier stabbed the other thigh.
Another horrifying scream tore through the forest.
The bald man collapsed fully onto the ground, writhing in agony.
Xavier tilted his head slightly while observing him.
"I wonder…"
He spoke casually, as if discussing the weather.
"What hurts more?"
His sword pointed lazily toward the forest.
"Being bitten and eaten alive by those monsters…"
Then he lowered the blade toward the man's bleeding legs.
"Or being stabbed cleanly like this."
The bald man shook his head frantically, tears streaming down his face.
"Y–You're not human!"
He sobbed.
"How could you do this to a weak man like me?!"
Xavier raised an eyebrow.
"Using pity again?"
His expression turned colder.
"I think I learned my lesson the first time."
He stared directly into the man's eyes.
"And you don't have the right to say that to me."
Xavier's voice hardened.
"What about those people you left behind to die?"
The bald man froze.
"I—I never killed them!"
He shouted desperately.
"The monsters did!"
"I'm innocent!"
"I'm innocent!"
"Enough."
Xavier suddenly pressed his fingers against his temple.
A headache was starting to form.
Talking to this delusional idiot was exhausting.
Even now…
Even after everything…
The man still refused to take responsibility.
Xavier exhaled slowly.
"Even if you didn't kill them with your own hands…"
His eyes turned ice cold.
"You still pushed them toward death."
The sword in his hand gleamed faintly.
"That's called murder."