Chapter 51: Mentality

I would like to pose a question on morality.

Is it truly wrong to kill a person? Ask anyone that question and you would get very different answers. At the end of the day, though, it all comes down to one single thing. Who is it that you killed and why is it that you killed them?

Killing is indeed frowned upon in the eyes of some. But some humans came together and agreed that some people were too vile to walk the earth. That is why the death penalty was created in some countries. Some people simply did not deserve to live.

But then again, who were we mere humans to decide who lives and who dies? Should that right not be given to a higher power? Should humans really dictate who lives and who dies?

Honestly, I do not care either way. I only saw that those who would murder and rape innocents deserve to die. Though I often asked myself if I could kill them, if I were to come across such a scumbag of a human being, would I be able to kill them if I had the power?

I always believed so, many would. Taking the life of a scumbag should be easy, no? In actuality, for me at least, it was very easy. But that is only because I happened to know the scumbag I killed.

And I knew him well; he was family after all. But that was neither here nor there. It is a simple fact that the old man was scum. Taking all his frustrations out by beating his wife and daughter. He prevented himself from beating me most of the time; he was convinced I could continue his oh so glorious legacy.

He deserved to die. And I never lose sleep over it.

But sometimes I ask myself, would I be able to kill again? It was so easy the first time, but if I came across another scumbag, would I be able to succeed in killing them? Maybe.

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The wind howled as the snow fell, the snowy landscape stretched far as ever. Now atop a snowy cliff, a pack of Azure Wolves stared down their would-be prey. The wolves had fur as white as the snow itself with heavy radiating azure runes etched into said fur that matched their azure eyes that glowed with the ferocity of a predator.

Mirabella remained unbothered as she stared down the pack of five. They circled her, their paws trudging through the heavy snow, yet they seemed to have no problem moving through it. Mirabella just placed a hand on her hip as she awaited for them to attack.

And they did. One of the Azure Wolves sprang forth. Momentarily, its body became a white blur as it closed the distance between them in naught but a moment. Seeing this, Mirabella merely brought her right hand up in a reverse chopping motion.

And then its body split into two as if cut with an invisible blade, its organs splattered out from its now half form as its blood stained the snow. Though another one was quick to attack after their fallen brethren.

It lunged at her, its jaws snapping hungrily as it tried to sink its teeth into her flesh. But Mirabella was too quick. Extending her right palm, a dark blue circular glyph formed inches in front of it. In the next instance, a bolt of lightning shot out from her glyph, striking the wolf dead center in the chest. The force of the strike caused the wolf to convulse and burst, sending shards of ice and snow flying in all directions.

Before the other two wolves could react, Mirabella raised her hands once more, summoning a torrent of flames that roared to life around her. The intense heat engulfed the wolves, causing their fur to blacken and curl as they yelped in pain. The hungry fire consumed them with a roar, melting the snow beneath them and sending plumes of steam through the air.

The last wolf, sensing its impending doom, tried to turn and flee. But Mirabella was relentless. With a simple use of destructive air, she weaponized the wind itself, channeling her magic into a sharp blade of energy that sliced through the air and cleaved through the wolf's body in a single fluid motion. The beast fell to the ground, its blood staining the snow crimson as it let out one final, mournful howl.

Mirabella did not spare it another glance as she instead threw an annoyed glare somewhere else.

"Some help you were," she spat as she stared at Mikoto, who was kneeled close to the edge of the cliff overlooking the vast snowscape, as if there was something only he could see.

"Quit complaining," he uttered back as he stood up. "You've been doing fine without me, and besides, these Astrothians don't even reach Class B in terms of threat level."

"Regardless, are you seriously gonna let me do all the work?" she questioned. Mikoto shrugged, and she resisted the minuscule urge to roll her eyes. Normally, she would have assumed Mikoto was weak, but after seeing what he pulled off at the ship against the Dread Sea Crawler, she was at least convinced he was somewhat strong. The only problem was that he was lazy. "By the Gods, why did I have to be partnered up with you? Blondie was much more preferable."

"Feelings mutual, princess," she threw him a glare at the title, but he did not care. "Professor Eugene wanted us to rotate with each other so we can grow more accustomed."

"I know that," she huffed as she folded her arms under her chest. "But what am I supposed to get accustomed to? You've been doing jack shit."

"With my great charm, obviously," she snorted at his words before shaking her head.

"What were you even looking for over the cliff?" she questioned.

"I was looking for any mana signatures that might belong to people. I doubt any normal people would be out here in the cold outskirts," he explained as she raised a brow.

"How could you even tell the difference between an Astrothian mana signature and some humans?" she never quite really understood how most sorcerers were able to detect the mana of others. It was a skill she was yet to acquire.

"It's simple really," he started but trailed off. He could not help but notice how tightly Mirabella was hugging her body, or that she seemed to shiver ever so slightly. ("And did she always wear leggings?") he questioned but shook his head of the thoughts as he continued. "Astrothians, while they come in different shapes and sizes, they all have roughly the same mana signature, of course some are larger than others. While for humans, most mana signatures are unique - they come in different colors, quantities, and densities, barring if you are a spawn," he exclaimed.

"I see," Mirabella murmured thoughtfully, surprised that she actually gained knowledge from someone like Mikoto.

"Anyway, there's nothing here, no Cultist or anything interesting," Mikoto heaved a small sigh as he fully turned to Mirabella. "Are you getting cold? You've been shivering for a while now."

"Tch, ain't any of your business," and just like that, she was back to being her annoyed self.

"Don't you have a spell that can keep you warm?" he questioned. She just clicked her tongue.

"I ain't good with this crappy kind of magic," she mumbled. "Too complicated."

"Ah, I see. Well, I could help if you want."

"Why would you?" she asked with a raised brow.

"The way you're asking that makes it seem like I'm some scum who won't help," she just shrugged.

"You don't seem like the type of guy to go around being a helpful person," she stated. Maybe it was due to the mask. A shame he had to wear a mask and hide his charming face.

"You want the cold away or not?" he questioned. She contemplated for a moment. She did not exactly trust the guy. Well, she did not really hold any distaste for him, just a very large amount of annoyance. Mikoto Yukio just seemed to be passively insufferable, but maybe he just liked being an annoyance.

"Fine, do what you want. Just be quick," she relented. Mikoto nodded as he approached.

"The spell me and the others use is a simple one where we manipulate our own mana that radiates from our body," he explained as he placed a palm on her shoulder. She slightly jumped at the sudden touch. Sending him a questioning glance, he continued. "We then change the properties of our mana to have certain properties, in this case fire. A small degree though, enough to keep us warm in this garbage weather," he explained, and in the next instance, the cold was gone.

Mirabella blinked. The warmth washed over her in an instant, the cold was so excruciating and annoying. Most of the time, it was hard to even focus on a spell or her sight.

"This is nice," she muttered.

"What was that?" he questioned as he removed his hand.

"Nothing," she merely stared away. "Thanks," she uttered lowly.

He opened his mouth to speak, but their eyes widened in shock as suddenly a massive explosion erupted in the distance. A fiery plume billowed into the sky, painting the horizon with vibrant hues of orange and red. The ground trembled beneath their feet, and the intense heat from the blast washed over them, casting an eerie glow across the snowy landscape.

Mirabella looked on confused. "What the hell is that?" she whispered, her voice barely audible over the roaring inferno in the distance.

Mikoto's brow furrowed as he scanned the horizon. "I'm not sure," he replied. "But whatever it is, it's causing a massive amount of destruction. It's covering like over 200 meters."

As they watched, a shockwave rippled through the air. The force of the explosion reverberated through the cliffside, causing icy shards of snow to rain down around them like shards of glass.

The sheer power of the explosion, coupled with the stark contrast of fire against snow, created a scene of unparalleled magnificence. It was beautiful in a way.

As the fiery glow faded into the dusk, leaving only wisps of smoke in its wake, Mikoto frowned.

"That was some heavy firepower," he mumbled. "The others are probably gonna make their way there."

"Then let's get moving."