Chapter 345 Reaper

Chapter 345 Reaper

"Charge in!"

General Lucy and her forces rushed inside the room at her command, their loud roars a clear testament to the resolve burning within their hearts.

However, only a few seconds after entering the room, all of their resolve melted into something else.

"A-ahh...?!"

"M-my goodness..."

"T-this is...!"

All their eyes could see it... the scene of carnage that lay before their very eyes.

The mangled and butchered corpses of a thousand people decorated their sight and overwhelmed their senses.

Even Lucy, with all of her experience on the battlefield, found herself widening her single eye.

'T-this is horrible!'

She had never seen or heard of a single human cause such extensive bloodshed on fellow people.

This felt awful beyond comparison.

It felt wrong.

'That man... Sir Ralyks... he did this...?'

Lucy had always gotten bad vibes in his presence—as if he was a dangerous one that she couldn't afford to mess with.

However, she never expected him to be so ruthless.

'The Royal Council trusts him as an ally, and since he executed the members of the Criminal Underworld, none of his actions here are illegal.'

However, Lucy couldn't help but feel anxious.

'What if he stops becoming an ally?' Lucy didn't want to imagine such a possibility.

After all, the moment Ralyks ceased being on their side would be the day she would have to raise her blade against him.

Lucy found herself gulping at the thought.

'Should that day ever arrive... I'll become nothing more than these lumps of flesh and stains of blood.'

It caused her to shiver.

"D-don't just stand there! Examine the corpses and identify the ones who belong to the respective Houses." Lucy declared.

"I'll lead a separate unit on an investigative tour of the entire building. We will be stripping this entire place of all its secrets, from top to bottom!"

Lucy turned behind her and looked at Kara Verte—their ally and informant.

The girl also looked as disturbed as everyone else present.

The General could see why.

'If she hadn't taken our side... she would have ended up the same.'

Lucy took steps forward, feeling her metallic boots kicking away fleshy parts and going through the currents of thick blood. Once she took in the entire sight, Lucy reached a conclusion.

"That man... Ralyks; he's neither a Hero nor is he an Adventurer."

Heroes committed valiant deeds without the stigma of horrors attached, while Adventurers caused carnage only to beasts such as Monsters

None of those applied here.

Instead of Monsters, humans had been cut up. He had committed a valiant deed indeed, but the horror was too glaring to be ignored.

Not everyone grows when pressure and tragedy is applied to their lives.

Some crumble under the pressure.

Some never let go of what was to embrace what is.

However, for the ones who learn to embrace the change and evolve past their circumstances... to them is given more power to rise.

Power not to experience the same again.

'I hope that's the case for you, Esme...'

With that faint smile still playing on his face, Rey took a few steps away and attempted to teleport back to his residence.

He stopped short of a step and decided to give in to a bit of his curiosity.

"Was my subordinate able to handle all the problems?"

"Y-yes! Yes, he was!" Asher blurted out.

"And... how was it?"

For a moment after Rey asked this question, no one said anything.

Asher's gulp was audible to Rey, but he said nothing of it. He simply waited for the answer.

"It... it was a bloodbath."

Upon hearing this, Rey found his smile growing wider. No one could see it since he wore a mask, but it was a twisted grin.

"Good."

And with that, he vanished from the Blanc Mansion.

********

Rebal and Asher still felt their bodies trembling even after Ralyks departed from them.

This was no mere man, and if they didn't already know that before, this night had reinforced the truth and burned it into their very minds.

One could even go as far as saying he wasn't human.

"I-I'll sort through her well-being and handle everything, Father. You should go and rest in your room."

Upon hearing the words of his son, Rebal smiled and nodded gently.

Right before Ralyks appeared, the two of them had quite a bit about the horrors they experienced.

It was more than enough to deserve a break.

"Thank you. I think I will."

*

*

*

[A/N]

Thanks for reading!

Seems like depression is everywhere in this aftermath.

As it should be...

But it seems we're finally going to get some of that Ater's POV!