27 027

Owl wasn't one to waste resources, especially ones he could get for free. Well, considering they no longer had owners, they were free in a way. He didn't kill them for the resources, this was just a bonus for his efforts. As he looked back at the corpses, he wondered how much he changed since becoming an owl.

He killed many before but to do so without feeling a thing. It made him wary of himself. He questioned whether this was him or the beast inside of him taking control. Regardless, he knew he did what he had to. He didn't regret it but felt bad about it. He felt like he could have done things differently. It was hypocrisy but living beings were like that. They needed to find ways to cope with their actions, especially those morally wrong.

He looked at the kid that sat there, still in a daze and sighed. Maybe he really went too far with this one. Well, it didn't really matter. He wasn't really interested in the mental state of the kid. He began to skim through the things inside the spatial rings. To think the hardest part would be to pry them away from the fingers… He had to use a claw and his beak to slide them out of every finger. It did not feel good as he could taste blood from time to time. While the taste of blood was great, since he was a beast and had its tastebuds, it was the feeling that wasn't. It was human blood after all. It was difficult for him to admit he enjoyed the taste of human blood.

Once he took the rings away, he looked inside. He was delighted to find dozens and dozens of pills in every ring along with artifacts of all kinds. This group of bully was wealthy compared to their peers, no doubts. They probably amassed all this by stealing from the weaker kids. They weren't strong themselves but there were always many more people at the bottom. Even if a weak disciple earned few, if there were hundreds, the amount was no longer something to disregard. It was likely that they owned even more but left that in their houses and such. They didn't have the need to always move with all their stuff.

Considering how much Jung-Su earned in a day, it was very likely they had more. Unfortunately, he could never go get those resources. Else, the sect really might link him to these murders. Speaking of which, they needed to bail out now.

He transferred the good stuff to his own rings, leaving behind the useless items (books and gradeless items). It was a shame but he had to give up on the spatial rings. If someone spotted them and recognized who they originally belonged to, they might link him to the murders. Well, they would link Jung-Su and, by association, him. It was the same with the other things he took but he wouldn't be dumb enough to take them out for now. He believed he would find a way to make use of them later on.

For now, he needed to wake the kid and bolt.

He moved towards the still dazed kid and slapped him without using spiritual energy. The kid looked at the spiritual beast and screamed in fright. Then, snot and tears began to fall. He was a crying mess. And to add insult to injury, he ended up retching a few times. Owl waited a minute or two before he spoke: "Can we go now?"

The kid wiped the vomit from his mouth with his robe and nodded. That robe was already drenched with his pee, a bit of vomit wouldn't matter. As Owl saw him in such state, he couldn't help but move to one of the rings left on the ground and take out a pristine robe out of it. He told the kid: "Change now"

The kid did it in silence. Then, they departed the woods, leaving behind headless corpses and a scenery filled with gore.

Once they reached half-way, Jung-Su finally spoke: "Why would you do this?"

Owl did not even bother answering and kept walking. Jung-Su stopped as he elevated his voice: "Why?!"

Owl turned around, watched the trembling kid. He was probably experiencing a surge of many different emotions at the moment. He could only remain patient and calm with him. He told him: "If one has to act, one should be decisive"

Jung-Su flopped down into the ground. He began to cry again. Owl stood where he was as he watched him. It was strange. He didn't feel anything from this scene. As a human, shouldn't he feel pity or sadness, or just something? He only felt it to be a waste of time right now. Maybe, becoming a beast truly had an impact on him, at a deeper level than he thought possible. Did he become cold? He gazed at Jung-Su and recalled the first time he killed someone.

It was long ago, on a random day, in the afternoon. He was on the way back from a mission with a few other sect disciples. They ended up facing bandits. They weren't even cultivators. At the time, the group of disciples slaughtered them. He took part in it. He recalled how he was pleased to display his might at first then, after he saw what he did, how he cried for days at nights. He looked away from Jung-Su as he questioned himself whether this was worth it. If only through killing could one move forward, only by extinguishing another light, would there only be darkness awaiting them at the end of the path?

He shook his head sideways.

He couldn't think that way anymore. He didn't have the rights. He didn't deserve to. He walked back to Jung-Su and placed one of his wings gently on his head. Then, he told him, as he remembered his won feelings back then: "I know it is hard, and you will feel bad for a long time but it had to be done. You would have been the one dead otherwise, don't forget this"

Jung-Su looked at the spiritual beast next to him and asked: "Does it make it any better?"

Owl told him: "It doesn't. Killing will always be just that, killing. It is neither right or wrong, it happens is all. What matters is why. If there are reasons behind it, it won't make it right but it will at least not make it wrong. A monster kills without reasons, a human being solely out of necessity"

Jung-Su did not answer. He gently patted the wing away as he got up. He forced himself to smile and said: "Let's go home, brother Owl. I am quite tired right now"

Owl nodded and they both began to walk once more. After reaching around ¾ of the journey, they could see a small dot growing at a rapid pace. Owl was on his guard. He didn't think the sect would be so quick to send out investigators but if they were, the both of them might be in trouble. He was relieved when the dot was big enough for him to recognize who it was. It was Sun-Mi. She was rushing over.

As she was finally in sight, Owl told Jung-Su: "You should treasure this girl"

For once, Jung-Su nodded. The event this time changed a lot of things. The first time, no one died. He didn't die. He nearly did but he didn't. He was still not quite clear on what death was. Now, after witnessing the heads of a few disciples explode, he was. His state of mind was still far from stable but there was something that was perfectly obvious to him right now.

Twice.

That was the number of times Sun-Mi was worried about him enough to wait for his return. This time, she even went outside alone. She probably didn't have the ability to deal with the group of bullies alone. Strong as she was, there were too many. Yet, considering she was here, she would have tried to save him regardless. What's more, someone had to have gone warn her about it…There was a lot he didn't know but he knew she cared a lot about him.

As she arrived in front of him, he spotted a few tears streaming down her face. Due to the rollercoaster of emotions spiraling out of control in his mind, he grabbed her into a big hug as he began to cry as well. She hugged him back just as hard.

They both stood there crying into each other's arms. And Owl watched over the scene on the side with a sad smile as memories of a past long gone filled his brain.

avataravatar
Next chapter