"Everyone shut the hell up! Did you fucking forget where we are?!"
The teenagers, still caught up in their euphoria, did not fall silent right away. Their emotions had reached the breaking point, and it was not easy to calm down. How could it be? Liquid adrenaline was still rushing through their veins, the only reason they had endured for so long and survived the hyena pack's assault.
Even so, their commander's words had an effect.
They looked around.
The forest clearing, which had already lost its green color with the arrival of autumn, was now stained bright red. The metallic stench of blood was so overwhelming that even an ordinary person could have smelled it from hundreds of meters away. Hyena corpses lay scattered everywhere, resembling small hills.
At first glance, there were nearly fifty of them.
One look at the devastation around them made it obvious that covering their tracks was simply impossible. They would have had to dig up an entire hectare of forest just to get rid of all the bodies.
They simply did not have that kind of time.
Even if no one was chasing them, such a powerful smell would surely attract every predator in the area.
"Why don't we just leave? Who cares if someone finds the battlefield? By then we'll be far enough away that no one will be able to catch us," Hope suggested, unable to understand why everyone looked so worried.
After traveling a dozen miles, the teenagers had already realized that something strange was happening in Thorn's Tabernacles. The number of people searching the forest had increased dramatically compared to when they first began hunting the cultists.
Very few of them truly understood all the dangers and risks that came with it, but everyone could feel that the atmosphere had changed.
"Silly girl." Lily gently ruffled the little witch's hair. "The old manor we're using as our base is only a few kilometers from here. No, they won't find us immediately, but even an idiot will figure out a fierce battle took place here. The cultists lost so many of their men. It would be foolish to think they won't investigate this place thoroughly."
Hope blushed, embarrassed that she had failed to think of something so obvious herself.
Fortunately, no one noticed her embarrassment, because every teenager's face was currently as red as a tomato from the hyenas' blood.
"Then what do we do?" Sunny asked the obvious question.
It was not that he was particularly nervous. After such a victory, he felt almost invincible and would not have minded taking on the entire Merciful Flame's Cult. In fact, a part of him was eager for it.
As a former street rat, he had dreamed every single day of performing heroic deeds and defeating powerful enemies.
"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" Grey cursed as he kicked an innocent tree trunk, trying to vent at least some of the stress that had built up inside him.
He did not share his subordinate's enthusiasm in the slightest. More than anyone else, he understood the difference in strength between their newborn organization, with only a handful of awakened teenagers, and the cult that had been firmly rooted in Thorn's Cloaca for years under the leadership of a Saint-stage expert.
A fucking Saint!
No amount of determination or unity could bridge a gap like that. If Grey had at least reached the level of a Centurion (3), and if he had been able to use every advantage in skill that Junior had mastered in the Village of the Forsaken, then he might have had a faint chance of winning... provided everyone else supported him.
But he could not advance. And Achill, who had actually reached the level of a Centurion, lacked the necessary skill.
They had no chance, and that was exactly what drove him mad.
Why now? Why did that damned pack of hyenas choose this exact moment, when they were so close to the hideout, to attack? Why hadn't they attacked earlier? Was he really cursed with such terrible luck?
As those thoughts ran through his mind, his sharp gaze fell upon the captured guard, who had escaped with nothing more than a fright and had taken no part in the battle.
Dave was genuinely impressed by the teenagers' strength. He had never intended to underestimate them, but he could not have imagined they would survive such a bloodbath without losing a single companion. He was not even sure the city patrol could have achieved a better result.
Then he suddenly felt a piercing gaze that sent chills down his spine.
Grey was slowly walking toward him, and there was nothing kind about the look in his eyes.
A nearly insane, manic smile spread across the face of the boy who was about to decide whether he lived or died. A dagger danced in his hand, scattering drops of blood that had not yet dried.
At that moment, Grey had already made his decision.
And that decision broke him once again.
"W-What do you want?" Dave asked with a stutter as he took two hesitant steps back. "I didn't try to run away, and I wasn't trying to get in your way. I even offered to help..."
Grey was not listening to him at all. He kept walking forward, and the gleam in his eyes grew sharper with every step.
"What are you doing, Grey?!" Achill asked as he grabbed him by the shoulder.
He could tell from a mile away that his commander was planning nothing good. He understood the desperate situation their group had found itself in, but none of it was Dave's fault. So why was Grey acting so aggressively?
Grey jerked his shoulder away and shoved Achill's hand aside.
"What do you think I'm doing? I'm doing what I always do. Trying to save your asses! HAHAHAHA!" Grey burst into laughter, but it sounded more like crying.
Achill ignored his strange behavior and refused to back down.
"How is threatening Dave supposed to help us? I fought in that battle too, and I know for a fact he had no ill intentions. Are you just trying to vent your frustration? Then punish me instead! Kai and I were the ones responsible for scouting the route, and we failed to notice such a large pack. Don't take your anger out on someone innocent."
He could see the murderous intent in Grey's eyes and knew that, this time, Dave was in real danger.
Achill could not accept that someone they had shared a meal with only a short while ago, someone they had even enjoyed talking to, was about to die such a meaningless death. He did not want that sin on his conscience.
Grey laughed again, almost like a madman.
"Take a look around, Achill. There's no hiding a massacre like this. I'm not blaming you or Kai for your mistake, but we have to work with what we've got. Our hideout is close, and we can't allow the cultists to grow suspicious.
So I'm going to pin everything on one unlucky guard who was ambushed by magical beasts.
He performed a heroic deed and fought bravely, taking countless wild Green-Fanged Hyenas down with him, beasts that could have threatened the people of the city. He eliminated the danger before it could spread. He fulfilled his duty with honor, but sadly succumbed to his injuries.
His body was found at the edge of the forest, surrounded by dead hyenas. Before dying, he wrote a will in blood, pointing in the direction the pack leader fled.
He was a true hero! For many years, tales of his bravery will be told throughout Thorn's Cloaca, and the Church of the One God will honor him as a martyr."
He paused and looked straight into Dave's eyes, but his words were meant for Achill.
"So, what do you think of that story? I think it's perfect. We solve our problems, and his name goes down in history. Is that enough of an explanation for you, Mr. Righteous? Now step aside and stop getting in my way."
"P-Please... don't," Dave begged.
Cold sweat covered his forehead. This black-haired boy with eyes the color of a summer sky was the devil himself. In just a few short minutes after the battle had ended, he had come up with such a detailed and merciless plan.
But Dave did not want to die. He immediately dropped to his knees and began begging for mercy.
"I-I'm just an ordinary patrol guard. I only turned eighteen. I've never even been with a woman. I-I only joined the city guard recently. I just wanted to earn a living and protect the people of the city. I don't have any evil intentions! Please, believe me!"
He could see the killing intent in the boy's eyes only growing stronger.
Dave could not even run or put up any resistance, since his hands were tied behind his back. All he could do was cry and hope the boy would show him mercy.
"Please don't kill me! I have a family to feed. You believe me, right? No? My mother works as a cook for the church parish. Her wages aren't enough to get us through the winter. My father died last spring because we didn't have enough food..."
Grey frowned and raised his dagger, but Achill grabbed him and tried to hold him back. He even called out to his friends, hoping they would help stop their leader, but he did not dare attack him himself.
"What are you all standing there for? Are you really going to watch him kill an innocent man? Then how are we any better than the cultists hunting us?!" Achill shouted, clutching Grey's shirt.
The teenagers did not move.
Some looked away. Others clenched their teeth. But not a single one stepped forward.
They pitied the innocent guard, but after hearing their leader's explanation, they finally understood what he was trying to accomplish. None of them could come up with a better plan, so they did not dare oppose him.
Why should only they be forced to suffer injustice? Were they somehow worth less than everyone else? Sacrificing the life of a stranger to save their companions was the most practical choice.
The morality of this world was nothing like Earth's. It was a world where only the strong survived. Of course, there was still a difference between good and evil, but if someone were asked whom they would save, their own wife or several strangers, no one would hesitate before answering.
It was the same now. The teenagers understood that their leader was treating the guard cruelly, but he was doing it for their sake. Standing against him now would have been the height of ingratitude.
Zebra was Achill's friend, so he took a step forward, but at that very moment Grey gave another order.
"Hold Achill down! If anyone else dares interfere, they will no longer be my subordinate and will be buried alongside Dave! That goes for you too, Achill."
Realizing the situation was spiraling out of control and would soon become irreversible, Reus, Sunny, Garen, and even Zebra himself, who had wanted to intervene, immediately tackled Achill to the ground. They did not want their friend to do something foolish, so they chose to restrain him themselves.
Achill did not dare use the strength of a Centurion, and within moments he was pinned to the ground. Someone even managed to cover his mouth so he would stop provoking their commander.
Grey raised the dagger once more.
Dave remained on his knees. His face was soaked with tears, and his voice had turned hoarse.
"Please, stop! My sister is only twelve. She's the same age as you! She'll never survive without me. At best, she'll end up as a street prostitute. At worst, she'll become a slave. I don't want to die. Please!"
Not a single muscle moved on Grey's face.
Dave understood that his life would end here.
Even in death, he would remain nothing more than a puppet in someone else's hands. His clothes would be torn into pieces and scattered across the clearing as if the hyenas had ripped them apart. His sword would be drenched in their blood, and his body would be covered with the bites of dead beasts to make the story more convincing.
He simply closed his eyes, accepted his fate, and offered one final prayer to God.
"Our Father, who art in Heaven! Please let my soul rest in Your holy kingdom. I beg You, take care of my mother and little Catherine. Mom... I'm sorry! Your son was never good enough. Catherine, little sister... live well!"
The dagger stopped halfway.
It had been caught by Grey's own other hand.
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