Chapter 27: The worst kind 

"Well, it's nothing. I'm just going to kill them all," Aron spoke casually, as if it were no big deal.

Pethra was shocked and didn't know how to react. What? Kill them all? She was terrified by how easily Aron said it, but at the same time, she felt a strange sense of satisfaction. Perhaps they did deserve it. Aron's words stirred something within her, causing butterflies to dance in her stomach.

"Are you going to kill them just because they attacked you?" Pethra guessed that this is the reason why Aron was going after them. It was the only reason she could think of.

Aron looked at her –Still red– face, his eyes dark like a black hole. For a moment, Pethra felt a deep fear nesting in her heart, but Aron's gentle hand quickly calmed her.

"No, I don't care about that at all. In fact, I would welcome it if anyone has a problem with me. I'll be happy to burn their existence," he said. "However, I learned, with the help of your leader, that your faction or guild, if you like to call them that, are the worst kind of people."

With the same dark look on his face, he asked the little witch, "What do you know about your faction?"

Pethra was confused by his sudden question but answered with what she knew. "Well, all I know is that our faction is known for being ruthless and not showing mercy to anyone who opposes it. We are always looking for ways to expand our influence and control the lesser factions. We also have a strict hierarchy, with our leader at the top and everyone else following their orders without question." She paused, recalling something.

"However, I always thought something was weird. You see, except for the leaders and their subordinates, almost every member has some sort of debt to the faction, like me. Although my debt was for Josh, not the faction."

Aron nodded slowly, his eyes still fixed on Pethra's. "Yes, they use the debts of their members to ensure loyalty and obedience. However, that's nothing compared to what they do behind the scenes. Your faction deals with slave trading, specifically children with magic."

"Hah!" Pethra gasped in shock and horror. She remembered seeing a group of children that the faction wanted to support and raise as future members.

'N-No! No,' a dark thought flashed in her mind, and Aron's next words confirmed it.

"They hunt and kidnap orphans with magic, mostly from races other than humans. They even kidnap children from distant towns and cities. Apparently, they sell them to another group, and that group sells them to specific mages and alchemists."

Pethra's mind now swirled with even more dark and terrible thoughts on the matter. She bit her lip, forcing herself to ask the most important question, one she didn't want to know the answer to.

"What do they do to them? I mean, why do they need slaves with magic?"

Aron had asked the same question to Josh when he learned about this. Josh didn't know the exact fate of those slaves, but he had heard a rumor from another leader in the faction.

"I don't know, but apparently, there's a rumor among your faction's leaders that those mages and alchemists are using the slaves as 'ingredients' for their research."

"HAA!" Pethra gasped again, horrified by the revelation. She had heard rumors about such things, but she never thought they could be true. The thought of innocent children being exploited in such a way made her sick to her stomach.

"...Are they using children as 'ingredients'? What for?" Her voice was filled with anger and hate.

Aron shook his head. "No one seems to have an idea why, but that's not the point," he said, his voice growing darker. "The point is that they are using children, innocent children that your faction provided."

Aron's eyes burned with crimson flames, and the air around him grew heavier with each passing second. Pethra could feel his anger radiating off him, and honestly, she was happy that Aron got angry about it. This proved to her that Aron was not a cruel, heartless man.

"Originally, I was going to leave your faction alone. I only wanted some information about a certain group. But then I learned that your faction is doing business with this group that I was looking for, and the product is children. Well, people like this don't deserve to live. People with no morals deserve to die a slow and painful death," Aron said, his voice taking on a demonic tone, sending chills down Pethra's and Raum's spines.

Raum, on the other hand, felt nothing about this whole story; he didn't like humans to begin with. Humans and the other races didn't treat ravens like him well, especially children, who always threw rocks at him whenever they saw him.

One time, he almost died at the hands of a boy who grabbed him and drowned him in the river. Raum managed to escape death by piercing his beak into the boy's hand. From that day on, Raum developed a fear of water, and because of that, he reacted so badly at first when Aron grabbed him and forced him to take a bath in the lake.

'Only Aron, my friend and family, is important and enough for me.'

Pethra couldn't believe what she was hearing. She always knew that her faction was ruthless, but she never imagined that they would stoop so low as to traffic innocent children for such a horrific purpose. She felt a surge of anger and disgust rise within her, and for the first time, she felt ashamed to be associated with her faction.

Gazing at Aron's crimson eyes, she felt his rage and determination. "What are you going to do about it?"

Aron's expression grew darker, and his voice became low and menacing. "I'll destroy their entire faction to the ground. My flames will burn their souls slowly and painfully until nothing remains. Their existence will be 'Nothing.' Even Hell won't find a soul to claim. My flames will devour everything."

Pethra watched as Aron's eyes flashed with beautiful crimson flames, and she was mesmerized by them. She didn't fear the man anymore; how could she? She felt as though she was literally glued to him.

Unconsciously, Pethra dropped all her weight onto him, placing her right hand on his chest and the left behind his back. Both hands clutched tightly to him, as if she were preventing him from escaping or disappearing.

"...Good, they must answer for their crimes," Pethra spoke with immense hatred in her heart for those criminals. She would never forgive such acts against children.

"I'm going to help you. I can't allow them to escape without punishment."

Aron displayed a smile that took the little witch by surprise, and the pressure around him suddenly disappeared. Aron stopped stroking her hair, which caused her to feel a little disappointed. Pethra won't admit it, but she liked the way Aron played with her hair. This was a new experience for her.

"You're still young for this kind of thing; children need to act like... Well, children. Be free and don't care or deal with the filth of the world."

"HEY! I'm not a child, OKAY! I'm 19 by society's standards. I'm an adult, got that? 'An adult.'" Important things must be said twice.

"Hahaha~" Aron's smile turned into amusement. He liked the angry look on Pethra's face. The little witch was easy to tease, especially when you mentioned her age or her small figure.

"No sane person would recognize you as an 'adult.' You look 15 to me," he teased.

"Huff!..." Pethra huffed in annoyance, but deep down, she couldn't deny that he was right. She looked younger than her actual age. However, she wouldn't admit it out loud; she still had her pride.

'It's not my fault that my body is small.'

Aron chuckled at Pethra's reaction, but then his expression grew serious again. "Nevertheless, I appreciate your offer to help, but this is not something you should involve yourself in. It's dangerous, and you could get hurt. And don't forget, you're supposed to be dead."

Pethra's face fell at the reminder of her supposed death. "I know," she replied, "but I can't just sit back and do nothing. These people need to be punished for what they've done. And besides, even if I die, I have no family to feel sad or miss me."

Sadness and loneliness could be sensed in her words, and Aron could clearly see that Pethra had suffered in the past. Something had happened to her, which resulted in her acting older than her age. Aron noticed this from the way she talked, acted, and moved.

"I'll be sad if anything bad happens to you."

"!!!" Aron's words surprised Pethra. She didn't expect him to say something like that. She even thought that she misheard him or that her mind was playing tricks on her.

'N-No way? Does he truly mean it?'

She gazed at him in pure shock as her face went through multiple stages, from surprise to shock, confusion, hope, and happiness.

Aron noticed the range of emotions playing out on Pethra's face, and he couldn't help but feel a sense of warmth spread through his chest. He could relate to the little witch, as he had felt the same loneliness and sadness when he woke up in the darkness of that cave alone.

Trapped in a paradox of pride and fear, Aron concealed his inner turmoil. He would never show weakness, but deep inside, he felt lost and scared. Lost for not knowing something as simple as his own name and scared that if he recovered his memories, he wouldn't like what he was going to see.

'Some things are better left forgotten.'

Aron's expression softened, and he pulled Pethra into a comforting embrace.

"You don't have to be alone anymore. I'll be here for you. You can think of me as your family or a friend. Well... both of us, me and my feathered friend over here."

"..." Raum rolled his eyes. He still didn't like Pethra, mainly because she attacked Aron, but he trusted Aron to handle it.

Pethra was caught off guard by Aron's sudden embrace, but she couldn't help but feel comforted by his words. For the first time in a long time, she felt like she had someone she could rely on. She felt safe and protected, like nothing in the world could harm her as long as he was there.

She buried her red face into his chest as she let out a soft and calm sigh. Aron felt tears welling up under his armor, but he didn't do anything to stop her. He let the little witch empty everything inside her heart.

For a while, they just lay there in silence, enjoying each other's presence. Pethra had never felt so comfortable around anyone before. She broke the silence with a barely audible voice, struggling to address the man who was now holding her in his arms. Clearly, speaking to him was a challenge for the little witch.

"..F-Family is better."

"Hmm? Sorry, I didn't hear you well," he lied as he breathed. Aron didn't know why, but he felt the urge to tease her and see her reaction.

Pethra immediately understood that he wanted to tease her and force her to say it out loud. It was embarrassing to say it out loud, especially to someone she had just met. But she was also happy that Aron was joking and teasing. This was a new experience for her. Being free.

Women. Truly complicated creatures.

Summoning her courage, "I said... family is better. I would like to think of you as family, if that's alright with you."

Aron flashed a wide smile and touched Pethra's chin, forcing her to look him in the eye. "You have to remember that there is no going back. You will be mine, and I won't let you escape even if you wanted to."

Pethra shuddered slightly. She didn't mind the possessive tone. In fact, she found it rather charming. She was lost in his words and could only watch as his black eyes turned crimson.

"Mm." No words came out of her mouth, and the only thing she did was nod.

"Good, welcome to the family, my Little Witch."

Dragons are possessive by nature. They like treasures, and treasures take many forms. This small act of 'hoarding' by Aron would make kingdoms tremble as they came to know, respect, and fear the name 'Pethra, The Earthen Empress.'