{Bitter-Sweet Revenge}: Bringer Of Justice

After last nights confession, Levy and Micah had only grown closer. She insisted that their relationship was saved because of what he said, while Micah stood firm in believing that they were both equally responsible for saving it. Now, Micah, Richard and Sorana sat at the bar with grim expressions. They had gotten news from Levy about the location of the bandits that raided his village. They were still operational, the council had chosen to delay dealing with it since the group had been taken over by a rogue mage group.

"Boss, it's up to you, you know that. I speak for myself when I say, I will follow you despite you wanting revenge or not. If you need this to find peace, I will gladly act as your weapon and slaughter those scum." Richard hadn't seen any of the bandits but he harboured real hatred for how their continued existence haunted Micah. Their loyalty to Micah grew exponentially fast, and apparently, this was because Micah unconsciously directed his {Faith} at them. That by itself shot their feelings through the roof. It didn't implant fake feelings, just enhanced the ones they already possessed.

"That's how it is," Sorana said softly with a drink in hand. "If you want me to, I will go there and slay every one of them." Her feelings were the same as Richards. She resented the expression on Micah's face. It was filled with pain, and because of the bond by {Faith}, they could vaguely start to feel what he felt.

The man in question sighed and spun lightly on the cup in his hands. "You both know I appreciate what you're doing. But, you also know my stance of killing. I am not comfortable with the idea of taking a life. No matter the organism, life is precious. That is my belief and if I don't have to, I do not want to kill anyone." He sipped on his drink and glanced around the hall. "By the way, why are there so few people here?"

"I don't know. I heard the guild was going and raiding the people that hurt Levy and the boys." Richard answered. This morning they arrived much earlier than Micah, and had then been asked if they wanted to follow along but declined as they followed only Micah. They felt an instinctive need to protect him.

"What?! Really, why didn't you say that? I would love to personally deliver justice toward the one who hurt them." He, of course, didn't mean kill, but the two thought so and a killer-smile grew on their faces.

"He is finally awakening!"

"No, I didn't mean kill them. Beating them to a pulp might be appropriate. I don't think they deserve death." He couldn't shy away from the fact that it made him anxious about how easily some people could kill. His emotions effected him many times more than normal humans because of his heightened awareness of all aspects of life. And if not for his strong mental defences he wouldn't be able to live a normal life.

"If you say so," Richard answered stoically, but Micah could feel the slight disappointment residing in him. "Anyway, I think we need to decide. Should we prepare a raid on the bandits? From the report, we should be able to easily handle it." He continued as the stool creaked finally beneath his weight. He was, after all, a very large man. Most people tend to no focus on his height as they are too busy inspected his weird facial structure.

"I say we go. Vengence feels good and it can help mend a broken soul. More than you understand, Boss. Plus, was there not reports of prisoners? We could start doing good by saving them."

"What, I didn't know that?! Let's go right away!" Micah stood up but Richard who was three heads taller firmly grabbed his shoulder and sat him down forcefully.

"You can't rush into a camp, there is planning to do when raiding. Which direction are we attacking from, night or day-raid? Mercy or not. These are things to consider."

"Done many raids in your life, Richard?" He couldn't help the slight judgement seeping into his tone. Understandably, the topic was sensitive to him.

"Not a lot, but yes, some. Mostly for funds. Raids tend to be greatly beneficial for one's economy. But, it all depends on whom you're raiding. Since this is a bandit camp, merged with mages, the money should be great." His eyes lit up in greed and he looked around the guild to make sure he's twisted self wasn't exposed to the members.

"I...I did not think of that. Of course, but using bandits money, surely stolen from now-dead villagers, what a morbid thing to do." The chances of the money that the bandit sat on were his own village's was high. That in itself didn't fuel a fire of revenge but added to the thought of leaving it alone. This wasn't simple fright, no, this was the horror of potentially coming face to face with Rufus killer again.

"Boss, we should at least check it out. Wasn't your plan to better the world, well, now is that chance." Sorana said half drunkenly

"Ugh, yeah you're right, both of you. I promised someone I would make a change in the world someday."

"That's it, Boss! Now let's go over our game plan. I suggest we raid at night." And so the rest of the day was spent planning how this would go down. But, the result because of the lack of information was that they would go there and decide on the detail when they arrived.

********************************************

With quite the distance away from Magnolia, the three of them stood now not far from the bandit camp. Well, a camp was maybe the wrong word to use. It was a dead-end cave with two guards stationed lazily outside the entrance. Even by Micah's newbie standards, this was sloppy. It was located in a forest among dense plant-life, possibly the perfect environment for a nature-based mage.

"Richard, use your eyes and look inside, tell me how many there are." The three were far away from the entrance so the guards wouldn't hear their casual communication, and opted to not move closer in case traps had been laid down. Richard used magic he called God-eyes. He could use it to look through solid matter. Houses, mountains, he was perfect for this since its use wouldn't alert anyone.

With two fingers placed below his eyes, they lit up and his pupils darted left, right and centre constantly, most likely counting the enemies. "Quite a lot. I count seventy-four bandits. Most fodder which any one of us could deal with. Then we have a few noticeable bandits who carry heavy weaponry with proper training by the looks of how they stand and walk. Lastly, the mages. There are four of them, two women and two men. I can't tell you what magic they use, their clothes give nothing away. They are also along in a room farthest back into the cave, it's an impressive room, most likely protected by enchantments. The bandits are seeming terrified of them, so they might have some strength to them. We should move with caution."

"Eh, who cares about a couple of mages. I spent my life with Brain, I don't think any other mage compares in scariness to that guy. Let's just knock on the door and make this a quick one." Sorana was arrogant, no doubt, but who wouldn't be after the life she had lived. From what she told Micah, Oracion Seis often clashed with multiple guilds at one time, and they stood equal to the two other powerhouses in terms of dark guilds. She had the right to be a little arrogant.

"Calm yourself. Let's do this properly so we can stop anything from going overly wrong. This is my first real fight, let me learn from doing." Micah said and looked at the two. "Firstly, I will take out the guards. With the speed I'm capable of, these rookies shouldn't see it coming. Secondly, once inside, we will split up and systematically take out every bandit. Then group near the back and fight the mages together. The most important thing here is efficiency. Do not make a light-show out of this, take them out quickly and quietly. And, if you can, no killing, but if it comes to your life or them... You know what to do!" Micah knew he didn't have the right to place an order of that nature. To not kill your opponent could be the reason you die, but he stood by Rufus ideals even now, "As little bloodshed as possible forms the best outcome." He believed in that, and he cared not if people called him naive.

"Got it! With my magic, taking out the bandits will be no problem, even the more well-trained ones." Richard was a veteran mage and not even the most elite bandit could stand up to him, so he was only worried for Micah. This was his Boss's first real fight.

"Ones you see them go down, that's your signal to move in," Micah said as he would also use his speed to scout the area. With those parting words, he quickly and efficiently turned into light and disappeared in a blur. This was an incredible speed by human standards, but comparable to the speed he would achieve in the future this was like standing still. Certain mages in this world would still be able to react to him. He wasn't going inhumanly fast, it was just how instantaneous the acceleration was that would bother most mages.

Within seconds he materialized in the middle of the two guards, he delivered a Light-kick to their stomachs and they were smashed into the wall. And, then he waited, and soon enough Sorana and Richard appeared from the bushes.

"Well done, I see our sparring sessions are coming in handy. A clean kick indeed, and done to two opponents at once. Still, it took too long for you to materialize and go from that to the kick. Cobra would have struck you the millisecond you appeared. You need more training." Richard said. He perfectly followed Micah after he appeared by the entrance and his analysis was that he would win against Micah, but Sorana might lose. It depends on how well she utilized her Celestial spirits.

"I know, it still takes my mind a second to organize itself after coming out of light-travel. It's very weird turning from a solid mass to only particles and then back to a solid mass again. I'll get used to it in time, at least that's what Blue promised." Not that he trusted her advice anymore. She was the most unreliable teacher in the world.

"Shall we go inside?" Sorana asked with no urgency in her tone. "We have about a day to finish this until the council comes." As they had planned, contact was established with the Magic Council and they accepted this raid as an official request and would send officers to make the arrest. Richard said that the council was horrible at taking risks or actions in general, because they could never agree on anything, but when someone offers to do the dirty work and they get the benefits, they would have a lot less to lose.

"Let's! You two know the plan now, split up and rendezvous in the back. Make sure you take care of every bandit. And, try and not cause a cave in. Good luck." Micah knew they would be fine so he dematerialized and headed inside. There were multiple pathways inside the cave and the bandits were spread out, but this cave wasn't very large at all so hopefully, it wouldn't take too long.

**********************************

Richard made it inside and split up with the other two. The cave system wasn't particularly big, and the caves were just big enough to allow him to walk straight. There was green moss on the cave walls and the only source of light to be found was the magical lights hanging in intervals.

It didn't take long for him to reach a dead-end, he had only been walking for at most three minutes. There were six openings built into the cave walls on the path ahead and from using his magical eyes, he noted that there were people in every room ahead, but only a select few were awake, and barely at that.

So, naturally, he walked up to the first opening and silently stepped inside. The room was dimly lit and without using his magic he could just barely make out four beds by the back wall. As the efficient individual he was, he pulled out a knife and with scary proficiency slit the bandit's throats.

Standing over the last bandit whose eyes sparkled with intense madness and confusion, Richard looked down with an expression of apathy. "The Boss said not to kill you, but forgive me this once. I can not let scum who robbed him of a loved one stay alive on this earth." Richard stared absentmindedly at the dark cave walls as the bandit finally went quiet. "As you brough me back from the darkness, I will harness that power, that responsibility and help rid the world of evil in your name."

He walked out of the room and closed the door behind him. 'I admire your attempt to strive from the path of death. But, certain people do not deserve the privilege of life, that is what I recognize as my mission. I will be your sword, your knife, your executioner in times of hesitation. I will serve you forever from the shadow. Do what must be done.' With the first room cleared, he was off again to make sure not one bandit made it out of here alive. For he could not let potential threats to Micah's life be left breathing.

*******************************************

Compared to Richard's methods, Sorana completely obeyed Micha's orders. She had taken down a lot of bandits already, more than just one room. Like Richard, she was now faced with a dead-end and at the end of the path, only a set of brown semi-functional double doors stood in her way. The lights illuminating the corridor cast a glow on her face that made her stoic expression ten-times more intimidating. With half her face drowned in shadow, she made her way to the doors. In her hand, she held a golden key, evidence of her status as a Celestial mage.

{Gate Of The Scorpion: Scorpio} Sorana said calmly as the golden key glowed brightly before dragging the Celestial spirit from its world successfully. When the light died down, a man with brown skin and a red outfit and a long scorpion tale had appeared beside her. This was the celestial golden spirit, Scorpio. One of her more powerful summons.

"Scorpio, be a doll and blow that door off its hinges." Her tone was confident and possessive like she was talking to a servant, not an ally.

"As you wish!" He bent down and allowed his tale to stretch forward, and by using it he summoned a mini sand tornado that rushed the door and completely disintegrated it. Wasting no time, she walked through the smoke the tornado produced and made it inside the room. Ones inside she saw multiple rough-looking bandits laying knocked out around the room. Scorpio walked in beside her and released whistle at his own handiwork.

"Damn, I'm good."

"Yes, yes, hurry up and take care of the rest." She pointed at the few bandits that had climbed to their feet from the cold ground. The room was decorated like your usual bar in any small town. The bar counter in the back that was now filled with spilt alcohol from the shockwave. Most of the tables and chair had flipped and from the looks of it, not many bandits were left conscious.

"Get out the way, Smallfry!" Scorpio used his tale and swiped at the bandits running up behind him. They flew across the room, and while most of them were screaming asking who the hell they were, Sorana stood swaying back and forth on her toes pretending not to hear their cries.

"Take the kids if you want, just let me live!" Among all the agonizing screams, this one caught her interest. She scanned the room delicately and found the one yelling this over and over. With a beaming smile, she made her way over to him. She plopped down right in front of him, giving him an accidental view under her dress, which she noticed and simply ignored. She didn't get embarrassed easily, only annoyed, as this bandit was about to find out.

"Kids? Now you should know I didn't care for you before, but now, I think I will let you suffer some more before this night is over." She looked around the room and found two identical iron-clad doors side by side in the back.

"Are they in there?" She looked down on him. He was not looking at her face.

"Boys will be boys," Sorana picked up a knife lying nearby and pierced his hand without mercy. His scream of agony only made her smile with satisfaction. "Since you won't answer, I will just check for myself." She dug the knife deeper to make sure it couldn't be pulled out very easily. Then she skipped carefully over the bodies towards the first door. With a heavy sigh, she opened the door, it must have looked weird for this tiny woman to effortlessly heave open this iron-clad door.

"Geez, how about light or two in here?" Sorana stared right into the darkness, not entirely different from Micha's old cell. It was complete darkness, even the dim light from the room behind her didn't offer much visibility. She could just barely make out the outline of a massive cage. 'Guess that's them,' Sorana walked closer to the cage and suddenly the entire room lit up. She looked around quickly, brandishing another key and preparing in case this was an ambush. But, after a few seconds she realized it was just automatic lighting, it had turned on when she stepped into the room. Two bright lanterns were hanging on the wall behind the cage.

"H-Help us... P...Please!" A quiet dehydrated whisper sounded out from inside the cage, and inside she could see young girls and boys all chained to the floor of the cage. They looked malnourished, to say the least, and it became apparent that his bandit group preferred the younger generation. The entire bunch was all looking to be no older than thirteen. Sorana's eyes scanned the group with sorrow and guilt, memories of her most brutal missions for Oracion Seis flashed through her mind. How she wished that right now she possessed the same mental prowess as Micah.

"Not to worry, I'll get you all to safety soon, just sit tight." She didn't try and smile and offer empty promises, she instead started to study the cage. It was surprisingly tough, and from the quick observation, might even be enchanted a bit. 'Definitely something those mages brought. No way the bandits could make or afford this. We'll need Micah for this, his powers should be able to burn through this.' She wasn't above admitting when she would suffer a loss, and against this cage, she couldn't win. She could break it, but not without killing the kids inside it.

"S...Sorana." Suddenly she heard the most unexpected thing. Someone just called her name, and also called her sister if she could believe in her hearing. Without thinking she rushed up to the cage and grabbed the bars, "Who said that? Where is she?!" It was clear that it had been a girl's voice and a young one at that.

"I'm here." There it was again, that voice, and this time a boy moved slightly to the left and behind him sat a girl, covered from head to toe in dirt and her clothes completely ripped apart. "Sorana, is that you?" The girl looked exhausted and scarily thin, like she hadn't eaten in days, well, that was the case for all of them. They all looked to be days away from passing on to the afterlife.

"YUKINO!?" Sorana pulled on the bars but it did nothing. She was a Celestial mage, and she possessed very little physical power. Without her magic, she was very weak. When observed closer she could clearly see that the girl possessed a face almost identical to her own. They looked like twins.

"Sorana?" The now-identified girl ran towards her sister but was yanked back by the chain that bound her and she hit her head on the steel floor,

"Stay still, you idiot! I will go and get help, stay there!" Sorana said without thinking of how pointless that was. Where would she possibly go? They were chained to that cage. Sorana gave one last reassuring look to her sister before running out. "I'll be back soon!"

When she arrived back in the main room, Scorpio stood triumphantly ontop the chest of the biggest bandit he could find. He looked at his summoner and flashed a victories smile. But, Sorana just walked past him and walked around looking for any bandit still conscious.

"What happened to you? Why are you acting so weird?" Scorpio asked.

"My sister is in that cage, I'm going to go and find Richard and Micah."

"Why not look for a key? One of these weaklings must have it, right?"

"Not likely." Sorana said."It's an enchanted cage, the mages most likely only trust themselves with the key. You can go back, for now, I'll call if I run into any trouble."

"You better!" He said and disappeared in a magic circle. Sorana had left the room and she was running toward where she was scheduled to meet the other two.

************************************************

Somewhere in the darkened tunnels, Micah stood face to face with a massive bear-like mammoth of a man. With a big bushy beard and a body barely dressed in clothing and full of scars, he stood growling at him. From a quick but fairly accurate estimation, this was not a bandit, this must be one of the rogue mages hiding out here. From the way his body had this faint hue that surrounded him, it made for some pretty damning evidence that this one possessed magic.

Micah had yet to make a move, he had just turned a corner and bumped into this inhuman monster of a man. Massive and frightening to look at. Why this had to be his first real opponent, he didn't know, he just cursed the Multiverse for this pairing.

Without unnecessary speeches or provocations, the mage rushed at Micah, fists raised high in the air. No weapon, no visible magic within sight, he was just rushing at Micah without care. 'Does he not have magic?' Micah prepared to counter-attack, but it was hard to predict anything when he didn't see any visible sign of magic. 'Master, I sense danger from his entire body. He is the weapon, be careful!' Blue's voice sounded out just before the massive fist arrived to strike. Micah's mind processed into microseconds so before the fist hit, he flashed away and watched the fist get buried in the ground shattering it.

'Thanks, Blue. Do you think he can hit me when I'm dematerialized?'

'Depends entirely on the density of the magic he wields. With enough density, he could potentially penetrate your Light-Form. But, I do believe this man is as you humans say, more brawn than brain. This should be an easy victory.'

With a confident nod, Micah faced the man who was rushing at him again. Despite the massive body the man possessed, his punches came in quick succession. Micah ducked, dodged every punch and sneaky kick the man tried landing on him. The small space also worked in the man's favour, Micah couldn't dodge around him since he took up the entire tunnel with his body. When finally an opening in the tornado of punches revealed itself Micah rushed at the man at blinding speed, but instead of going for a strike, he turned to light and went through the man. Appearing behind him, he jumped up and with a spinning kick to the head, he sent the man smashing into the wall. "Huh? Wait? That's it, he's down?" Micah stood in awe as the man was completely knocked out.

Blue came out of his body, drowning him in drowsiness. "Naturally. I wanted you to figure it out yourself, but I guess you can't tell difference in power-levels yet. That man could never hurt you, ever. He had enchanted his body with magic, true, but with how little his mastery was over it, it only made him slightly more powerful than these bandits. I am surprised that you couldn't tell how weak he was." She sounded disappointed.

"Well, I'm sorry, he looked really scary, I guess I let my eyes fool my mind there." Micah went over to the man to search him for anything useful. "This is why I need more training."

"Master, you have to learn to see beyond appearances. Makarov, your guild master looks old and feeble, but that is the complete opposite of what he is. He is the strongest mage you have come across so far."

"You know, someday you are gonna have to start sharing all information from the get-go or I'm not gonna live long enough to see the next year."

"Are you saying it would have been beneficial for you to know you were stronger than that mage?" She said with a smirk, clearly asking for the simple reason of teasing.

"I don't like you very much. Don't I own you or something? Can't I reprogram you to be nice and thoughtful?"

"No, not possible. Though some hosts have tried to convince me to become their sexual partner. For your information, they all died mysteriously soon after, which I may or may not have had a hand in." Her tone reflected her feelings on the matter, completely stoic.

"Noted, Don't anger the concept that gives you power."

"Wise words, Master," Blue said in approval.

************************************************

Rushing through the intertwining tunnels of this underground base, Sorana made a sharp turn around a corner and ran straight into Micah, unfortunately for her, his body was pretty powerful so she was the only one falling on her behind from the collision. "Ouch, what the hell, Micah! Watch where you're going!" She had caught the glimpse of his face as they crashed collided and therefore knew she had found them.

"How in the world is this my fault? You turned a corner and ran into me, I was standing still." He looked perplexed, mostly because he was constructing a speech in his head about how one should always take responsibility for one's actions. But, before he had the chance to deliver it like a proper professor, Sorana flew up from the ground and grabbed his arm with ferocity.

"Micah! They have my sister, me and Scorpio cleared a room and they have a cage of kids, all chained down. My sister is among them, we have to free her!" She had momentarily forgotten about this because of the collision.

Micah's face twisted in horror and anger. "Children, chained inside a cage, what is wrong with them!?" Micah found himself once again in the rabbit-hole of despair. The more he invested his time in the magical world, the more corruption he found. He couldn't comprehend how someone could do that to children.

"We have to go now, Yukino looks really sick, I can't break the cage without harming them, but I hoped you can." With a look of pleading stacked upon desperation, she tried dragging him away, but he wasn't moving and she couldn't move him by herself.

"Richard, you should be able to do so, you have incredible physical strength. Go with Sorana, I need to meet these mages, and I will do so alone." Micah had a dark expression on his face, which wasn't common for him. Richard stood leaning against a wall behind them, Sorana had just been too panicky to notice him.

"Time is money, let's move. Boss, make sure you at least break a bone or two." He said as he was already being dragged away by Sorana. When they disappeared from sight, Micah's whole body started glowing in bright blue light and then he walked straight into the cave wall. Contrary to what would happen if a normal person were to do this, he did not get stopped by the solid mass of rock, instead, he effortlessly passed through it.

Having mastered his powers to an acceptable degree, he passed tunnels and slipped in and out of rooms like a ghost on the prowl of a defenceless mortal to haunt. It was only a few minutes later and Micah phased into a tunnel covered in complete darkness, except in the distance where a rather large blue door stood and majestically towered over the tunnel. 'This was a lot more difficult than I expected. Phasing through an underground tunnel system really tires you out, who knew.'

'Is this sarcasm, Master? Please enlighten me on the subject when you find the time.'

'Yep, I'll teach you some other time, now I have a date with these inhuman monsters.' With a steady first step, he started pacing toward the door. The closer he got the bigger it became, soon he stood in front of it and saw that it was at least four times his own size. 'This tunnel is massively bigger than the rest, I have a sneaking suspicion that this was done with magic.' He hesitated to just walk in, but having no confidence in his ability to blow this door to smithereens, he placed a hand on its surface and gave a few slow strokes.

'Blue, do you think I could phase through this door? If it's enchanted through magic, maybe that could stop me.'

'Possibly. There are many powerful entities in the multiverse who could stop your phasing, so there are, of course, also multiple natural materials that can stop you.'

Micah continued stroking the door's surface for a few seconds before deciding it would accomplish nothing. He instead started turning one of his fingers to light and phase that through. When the finger successfully passed through without a problem, he sighed in relief and allowing his expression to turn cold, he slowly phased through.

On the other side of the door was a massive chamber where in the middle stood a round-table, and four seats with three of them currently occupied. The chamber was circular and looked to be made out of finely-chiselled stone. Mesmerizing artwork was carved straight into the stone walls. Faces, dragons, mighty humans brandishing weapons against theses humongous lizards. The walls were filled with incredible artwork. When Micah stepped into this, it wasn't like he had passed a door in a dirty and dark cave-tunnel. It was like stepping into a new world, one infinitely more beautiful than the one he came from. He couldn't help himself from audibly speaking out loud at this miracle place.

"Who goes there? Are you finally back you big barbarian?" A slim brown-haired man in his late thirties who sat with his back facing the door spoke out. Before he got an answer or even bothered to turn around, a tiny fist made completely of light struck the side of his face. The sound of bones breaking echoed out and the man was thrown far and hit the wall and destroyed some of the detailed artwork chiselled onto it.

"NIEL!" The two other occupants of the round-table had both been asleep on the table, but when Micah's fist struck the mage they jolted awake from the bone-crushing sound. "Who the hell are you?!" Siad a woman with red hair and dressed very light, only some fur-plated armour to cover her. She waved her finger and the two swords sheathed at her side were freed and started hovering beside her.

Micah who's body had acted almost purely rage-induced instincts now sat on the chair of Niel, the mage currently lying unconscious with a broken jaw. "Justice, I suppose. Who the hell kidnaps children and endorse mass-slaughter? You all make me sick." Micah gripped the armrest so tightly it broke apart.

'Control your emotions, Master. If you do not you could very easily kill these mages. They don't stand a chance against you.' Blue warned urgently in his head. Micah was still developing and he was in the very early stages of transcending mortality. This meant that under extreme conditions he could very easily lose control of himself as any human would.

"Vivian, we go together, let's kill this low-life." The other woman said. Micah had taken out one of the two male mages before, the brute who only used his fists. And now he had taken out the other one, only the two women were left.

"You can not kill me, you can't even touch me. I don't kill but that doesn't mean I don't know how to inflict some pain."

Vivian with her hovering swords jumped up on the table and dashed at Micah. She took one sword in hand and sent the other one at Micah. When the sword closed in, it pierced his head, but instead of hearing the splatter of blood, they heard the collision between rock and metal. The sword had gone through his head and struck the chair behind him, leaving him unharmed. "That was the only freebie I'll give out." Micah moved quickly, he also jumped up on the big table and dashed toward Vivian. Before she could comprehend where he had gone, he appeared in front of her and struck her chest. She was sent tumbling off the table and her swords dropped to the ground.

"Telekinesis? So, you need to focus to keep them flying," Micah looked at the other woman who stood frozen. She had been cocky because of Vivian her powerful magic, but within the span of a second, Vivian was also down for the count. "I can't believe you four worried me. I really should stop underestimating myself, I am way stronger than I think I am." Micah pointed a finger at the woman who fell down backwards with an expression of horrific realization. Clearly she wasn't a veteran fighter. "I don't kill, but I can't say you will enjoy what's to come." Micah's fingertip lit up and a beam of scolding heat pierced the woman's shoulder. And, while she screamed in pain, Micah appeared above Vivian and bent down.

"One punch and you're down as well, just like your comrade. One hit is all it took to take you all down." Micah tried talking calmly but the endless screaming coming from the other conscious woman made him very uncomfortable. He looked at her and spoke in an aggravated tone. "Stop screaming. You're making me wildly uncomfortable, I don't enjoy hurting you, it's just what you deserve." He then knocked Vivian out with a punch. He was gonna interrogate her, but he decided against it, the magic council would do that. He didn't know why his fellow guildmates despised the council, but he trusted them to at least keep these weaklings in chains for the rest of their lives.

"We will round everyone up and when the sun rises, you all are going to the council. And since I have defeated all of you, rather anti-climactically if I say so myself, that ends our mission here. The bandits will be punished, you four will be punished. I do believe justice has been served." Micah stood up and proceeded to knock out the frantically screaming mage. He knew that Richard and Sorana didn't agree with his own justice. Sorana might be very angry that these mages aren't dead, especially after her sister was revealed to be here. But, Rufus often said bloodshed without purpose only leads to more bloodshed. Micah made his vow to only take a life when it was truly necessary. Not all evils deserve to die, only some do. This was his way of living and his own form of justice.

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End