Children's games

Vlad's dark eyes suddenly unleashed a sense of brutality that froze Mirena and Cazan, and even the small dog, Oro, immediately moved away from the young man. Only Jormungandr could remain calm, yet he clearly saw that something was wrong.

Vlad noticed the group's reaction to his sudden change of mood and took a deep breath. He calmed his mind and washed away all the coldness and brutality.

"Sorry about that."

Although Mirena and Cazan were confused and full of questions, they just nodded. Jormungandr glanced at Vlad for a moment, but since the man did not offer any explanation, he saved his questions for later.

Vlad's smile faded as he took a deep breath, doing his best to put his emotions under control. As a Depravita, he had gained incredible benefits, such as a body over three times stronger than an average Warrior at the same level and unique abilities. Yet, there were drawbacks, such as the tendency to have emotional outbursts when in contact with his Core Sin.

The Core Sin that Vlad used during his evolution to Depravita was Wrath. Luckily, his powerful soul and military training allowed him to keep a cool head and focus even in the most stressful situations. However, he had just heard something that made his blood boil with rage and disgust.

Silence reigned among the group as the mood was ruined, but Vlad was fine with it. He subtly glanced to the side, to one of the groups of civilians made up of young men, all with flashy appearances, and one of them was none other than Maron.

The group was on the periphery as most civilians did not want to meddle with Maron, especially after he offended someone so powerful and ended up making a fool of himself. However, some were still by his side, the friends the young man came to visit in Good Side Town.

As one would assume, anyone willing to side with someone like Maron was not exactly the virtuous type, and the group quietly discussed with each other. Although they were far away and there was a lot of noise, Vlad's sense of hearing was extremely powerful thanks to the advancement of his body, and he had been focusing on the group.

Honestly, Vlad expected the group to plot against him, trying to get back at him for the slap and humiliating Maron. Had that been the case, Vlad would not have gotten angry and would have gladly received them, as it would have helped him show these people the way of the new world order.

However, Vlad heard something different. The group was trying to raise Maron's mood, and what they proposed to do was something they referred to as their "children's games." At first, it sounded childish, but when Vlad heard what it was about, his disgust and rage exploded.

It was already getting late, and while people had regained their strength thanks to the stew of the Champion Monster's meat and blood, it would not be safe to advance with such a large group, so Lieutenant Mitchel directed the people into the buildings that were in the best condition, so they could be used as temporary residences for the night.

Most people would stay with their family and close acquaintances, but not everyone was so lucky to still have their relatives after the apocalypse, and no small number of children were left with no one.

For those children, the world was dangerous as they did not have someone to guide and protect them, so Lieutenant Mitchel decided to allow them to stay together and minimize the presence of other adults around them to calm their minds and hearts.

Vlad saw that and silently nodded as he heard Lieutenant Mitchel's words. 

"It's time to go to sleep. We'll talk more tomorrow. Jormungandr."

When the small yellow cat heard Vlad's voice, he immediately jumped onto his shoulder, and the duo headed to one of the buildings.

Mirena and Cazan glanced at each other, feeling something odd was happening with the young man, but they remained silent. They did not ask questions as they grabbed Oro and headed to one of the residences designated by the soldiers.

It was already deep into the night, and all the civilians were inside a massive building. It was not very tall but massively large, with several exit paths, making evacuating easy in case of danger.

Many soldiers were distributed around the first floor, keeping guard, while Mages were on the rooftop acting as lookouts and ready to fire their spells if they saw any dangers. Some soldiers were moving across the building, but Lieutenant Mitchel's focus was on the external threats. Besides, all those people should be exhausted and should not pose a problem.

The lieutenant was an extraordinarily competent and brave soldier and a good leader. However, he was still young and failed to see the extent of the human depravity that could be achieved. While almost all the civilians were sleeping, a group was slowly making their way through the hallways.

Among the group was a man with a bloody and swollen face. Their destination was a large dinner hall converted into a massive room for all the orphans.