Argggggggggggg...

I moved my gaze towards Marana and Akilah. "Don't worry, he'll be fine. He just needs a few days of rest."

The girls sighed in relief and shot me a grateful look. They then looked at the remaining unconscious people and looked at me again. I instantly understood what they wanted.

However, I shook my head firmly.

"I can't. Healing them is not so easy as you think. To be honest, I already paid a pretty heavy price to save your brother."

It was true. I was still suffering from the injuries caused by the contract with Raven. Healing Cline caused my injuries to worsen a little bit.

The girls fell silent hearing my answer. Akilah opened her mouth hesitantly, but in the end, she did not insist.

"I understand." Marana said. "Akilah, go with Goro (the other man of the Red Skull gang that accompanied us here) and take the injured away."

"Yes, sister." Akilah nodded and carried two men away. Goro followed after her with another two men, leaving three here.

Once they were gone, Marana walked towards Ralph and grabbed his hair. "Scum! What do you have to say in your defense?!"

Ralph woke up due to the pain. He looked at Marana with a groggy and terrified expression and tried to answer.

However, Marana did not give him the opportunity to answer. In the next instant, she slammed his head against the ground with great strength.

"Speak!"

"Ugh... Miss Marana, I-I am... of the b-blood night..."

"Hahahaha! What? Do you think that being part of the Blood Night gives you the right to hurt my brother?! Today, I'm going to kill you!"

Ralph paled. He tried to talk again, but Marana crushed his teeth with a punch and threw his body against the ground.

She then walked towards him and stepped on his spine.

"Argggggggggggg!" Ralph screamed in pain.

With an expression filled with fear, he looked at Marana and pleaded her with his eyes. However, Marana ignored him completely.

No, she became even crueler after that.

The torture lasted less than two minutes. When Marana was about to give him the last blow, I stopped her.

"Wait. I need him alive."

"... He almost killed my brother."

I looked at her and sighed. "Yeah, and due to it, I allowed you to vent. But I need him alive."

I stared right into her eyes when I spoke. Marana confronted my gaze fearlessly. Despite the dread she felt towards me, her hatred and rage towards Ralph were even greater.

However, after a few seconds, she relented.

"I understand."

"Don't worry. With his current condition, his life will be very miserable even if he survives."

Marana nodded. "What about the others?" She asked and looked at the remaining unconscious enemies.

"Do what you want." I replied.

Marana's lips curved up in a bloodthirsty smile. "Good."

After Marana went to deal with the other enemies, I crouched down in front of Ralph and lifted his face."

"Ralph, right? I need you to give a message to your leader. Tell him that if he did not surrender in one week, I'll kill him."

Ralph opened his eyes wide. He then nodded in a fearful manner.

I smiled and let go of his face, I then stood up and walked towards Marana.

"Done?"

"Done."

"Then let's go back. It's almost dawn and I need to return soon."

Marana nodded and carried her brother on her shoulder. I took the two remaining injured men and left with her.

A few minutes later, a group of men appeared in the place where the massacre happened.

The group was led by a burly man. The man was very strong, at the peak of the eight-layer, and carried a giant battle-axe on his back.

"... What happened here?" The burly man's expression stiffened when he saw the scene of carnage.

Unfortunately, none of his men was able to answer. They were too surprised and frightened to speak.

"Men!" Shouted the burly man. "Search between the bodies, I want to find what happened here!"

The men behind him nodded quickly and rushed to the scene. Soon, one of them found Ralph.

"Leader, captain Ralph is alive!"

"Bring him here! Mage, treat his injuries!"

A healing mage immediately went to treat Ralph. But in seconds, his expression turned ugly.

"Leader, I can't save him. His injuries are too serious."

"... Can you wake him up?"

"I can try..."

"Then hurry up!"

The mage nodded in a hurry and sent his mana into Ralph's body. A few seconds later, Ralph opened his eyes.

"Aghhhhhh!" The first thing he did was to scream. His eyes were filled with terror and fear, as though he had gone through a nightmare.

The healing mage quickly tried to calm him down, but it was useless. His mind had collapsed due to fear.

He simply repeated the same words once and again, as though telling a curse.

"The monster... He will come... To destroy us... One week..."

The leader furrowed his brows and fell silent. He could not comprehend why Ralph was so frightened.

[Is it something related to the Red Skull gang? I don't understand...]

Soon, one of his subordinates spoke.

"Leader, what are we going to do?"

The leader thought for a moment and replied. "It's almost morning, and the imperial guards will not allow a commotion during the day. Moreover, this case is too strange. I'm afraid we are not able to deal with this."

"Then..."

"Wait a few days, I need to consult it with the young miss."