Chapter 131

The fury of the battle died down the moment Sandoval's head rolled to the ground. Everybody's stares converged on me as I leisurely strolled across the battlefield. No one dared to move as I made my way between the ranks of enemies and allies alike. Only pale faces and awed smiles welcomed me.

"The Patriarch of the Epsilon died by my hands," I firmly spoke. And the land vibrated.

My forces raised a joyous ovation to the sky and screams of victory filled the air. They began to embrace each other as they cheered, whether enemies or friends. There was no reason to hold back, as the defeated wouldn't dare raise their hands. Their gloomy expression betrayed the terror they felt while they watched their great Patriarch's torn head.

The festive crowd parted and a welcome presence entered my sight. Hector kneeled in front of me, his body completely covered in blood. I gazed at him and noticed his changed shape. He had grown stronger while I was away, a testament to Faye's incredible artistry.

"I greet you, my sire, and congratulate you on your glorious victory," he spoke monotonously, his eyes fixed on the ground.

"Stand up, Hector, and look me in the eyes," I told him.

He obeyed and rose, fixing his loyal gaze into mine. I grasped his right forearm with both hands and he did the same with me.

"Exemplary work, Hector," I greeted him as a warrior.

"Your words are wasted on me, sire, but I gratefully accept your praise"

I let go of his arm and turned to my surroundings. With a single movement of my eyes, I ordered my forces to return to the Gamma and leave the land. Only Hector remained by my side.

I addressed the defeated enemies.

"Who am I?" I inquired.

No one dared to speak. I took a step forward and they took an instinctive step back. No one was free from fear and no one could avoid trembling. One of the most courageous raised his voice.

"You are a fiend, the enemy of the Great Mother," he spoke firmly, the fire of a zealot in his eyes.

"Almost correct," I addressed him lackadaisically.

I stole a weapon from a nearby enemy and hurled it with great force against the one who spoke, gifting him with a swift death.

My eyes turned bloodshot.

"Every single one of you is the child of that w***e. You'll never yield to me, nor will I desire to take any bastard under my wing. Our existences are incompa-"

"You dare to insult Mo-" the one who spoke lost his head.

"As I was saying, our existences are incompatible"

"Purge the dem-" a group of people lost their necks.

"Even now, you remain loyal to that w***e. You are mere instruments in her eyes, made to antagonise my children. Won't you really abandon her?"

"Never!"

"Good. Then I will cleanse my world from your presence"

I ran across the field, harvesting lives like ears of corn. I still lacked ichor but my body had healed well enough to recover most of its strength. They wielded their weapons against me, but failed in piercing through my skin. Blood rained everywhere and the earth was soaked in crimson. No enemy was strong enough to hinder me; not any more than the air could.

"Stop!" a sudden plea of mercy entered my ears.

"What are you doing here?" I spoke calmly to Isaac, who had suddenly appeared.

Further away, still inside the borders of the Epsilon, I could see Lily, and Faye at her side. I smiled and waved at her. She reciprocated but her expression was stiff. She mouthed at me to be careful.

"What am I doing here?! Mr Doe, are you aware of what you are doing right now?!" the pale Isaac growled at me.

"I'm putting an end to this war," I explained with a frown.

"Ending the war?! You have already won! Is this truly necessary?!"

My frown deepened.

"Isaac, I can understand your perspective, but there are too many things you don't know"

"I know that what you are doing is wrong! Mr Doe, you have always proved yourself as a violent but reasonable man. I beg of you, this is… too much"

My annoyance grew.

"Isaac Grant, get out of the way. It's not up to you to judge good from evil"

"Is it then up to you?!"

"I doubt it, but I'm the only one who can do so here. Now, step away"

Isaac didn't heed my words. He stood firmly in my way.

"Understood," I sighed.

I simply ran past him. He followed me with his eyes and tried to get a hold of me, but his body wasn't fast enough to keep up with me. I even signalled Hector not to intervene, as there was no need to do so. I continued my work impassively while avoiding Isaac.

After a few minutes, only silence and broken bodies remained. Isaac fell to his knees with lifeless eyes. The sight he had witnessed was too much for his righteous character. I both envied and pitied both him and his good principles. They were a luxury for the dutiless.

"Wow, this is really f****d up," Lily's incredulous voice broke the silence.

"This… is a lot to take in. Are you okay, John?" Faye approached me with a warm smile.

"... Yes," I answered after many considerations.

The ones I mowed down were not of mine. They were the progeny of the two who had brought about the end of my world and had caused me an eternity of misery. They had been made only to make my lineage suffer. Even if they had been unable to do so due to a lack of strength, they were still a blight to be cleansed. I felt no remorse for what I had done, but it still gave me great joy to see my figure hadn't changed in Faye's eyes.

"So, what is going to happen now?" Lily addressed me.

I turned to her. She was fidgeting and looked at me strangely, but there was no hostility in her. The recent events had surprised but not traumatised her. She still held respect for me.

"I am gonna look for and rescue the chained ones. And finish what I started, obviously," I declared.

Faye's eyes lit up.

"The chained ones? Wait, are you talking about genais? Are you really going to rescue them?"

I look at her bewildered.

"Of course. I promised. To you," I spoke matter of factly.

She held my hands softly and showed me a grateful expression. I embraced her and hid her weeping from the world.

"Finish what you started?" Isaac's whisper reached my ears.

I freed Faye from my embrace and turned towards Isaac.

"Is this not enough? Are you saying you are going to kill every single person in the Epsilon?" he spoke in a cracked voice.

"All the spawns of the w***e," I reiterated my intentions.

"They are innocent! They did not attack!" he pleaded to me, raising his voice.

"They will eventually. They all follow their 'Mother', don't they? They are mere tools," I spoke with disgust while referring to the hateful being.

"Even still! Are you going to kill the elderly? The parents? The children?"

"In fieri foes"

Isaac froze in place. His eyes were incredulous. In his vision of the world, he couldn't fathom someone like me. I understood him well. In his eyes, I was a horrible monster. I made him like that, so I couldn't blame him. I approached him and patted him on the shoulder.

"I see through your eyes, but you can't see through mine. You are myopic, but it's not your fault. It's just the circumstances. That's my only advice, and you should take it. Until you understand," I told him.

He gazed at me, innumerable emotions swirling through his eyes. After several minutes, only determination remained. My eyes became two thin slits.

"Do not dare," I warned him, seeing right through him.

"I have to," he answered decisively.

His orange aura wrapped around his body. His strength steadily grew. I tightened my grip on his shoulder and he flinched in pain.

"You are not my enemy. You will get hurt," I warned him once again. I may not be in tip-top shape, but I wasn't a juvenile like him.

"It doesn't matter. I will always fight for what is right, even if I have to lay down my life for it"

I sighed. His ethics were admirable and beyond reproach, but they were still a nuisance. I had to teach him a lesson. I wouldn't hurt him too badly, as he was still one of mine, but education was due.

As I was about to move, something changed in me. I felt as if I was being crushed under the weight of a thousand suns. Innumerable eyes prickled my skin, delivering judgement upon me. My breath became rugged and my strength waned. My ichor opposed the pressure, but there was not enough of it. I was still tired from the previous battle and I succumbed to the shackles. Worst of all, it felt like I was being strangled by two different entities, one of which was myself.

My blurry eyesight slowly regained focus and I discovered what had caused the sudden change. Pristine white flames shone in between Isaac's flaming mantle. It didn't take long for me to grasp the current situation.

I let go of Isaac and distanced myself from him.

"So this is why you were hunted," I muttered.

Isaac didn't answer. He unsheathed his sword and stood in front of me, ready for battle. I turned my head and locked my eyes with Lily. She was silent and her expression stiff. She had positioned herself between us and Faye. She had one hand on her weapon and was using her free arm to keep Faye from running towards me. Faye was shouting apprehensively at me, but I couldn't focus on her words.

The situation had changed. With me spent by the previous battle and restricted by the candid noose, and Isaac enhanced by his inherent abilities, the result of the battle had become more difficult to predict.

I already knew it, but experiencing it showed me how unbalanced the authority of the Legion of The Candid was. The authority to make the wicked weak. An ability that enabled a juvenile to go toe to toe with one of the strongest specimens of the species.

But the situation got even worse. Sudden clapping resounded all around. We all turned our eyes in the direction of the noise. My face became colder than ice as I laid my eyes on the grinning figure of the second being I most despised in the entire creation.

"Seems you finally understood who the enemy is, Isaac, my dear brother! Better late than never!" Caleb's hateful laugh resounded in my ears.