CHAPTER 11: RETURN HOME

Virgo and Pegasus search everywhere for Kairi until they feel a death aura somewhere nearby. Both of their faces showed anxiety and hurry in that direction.

"Kairi!"

Virgo yelled out. His heart thumped heavily. He hoped nothing happened to Kairi. They both arrived at a place and were shocked to see the situation there.

They shuddered after looking at the red liquid that splashed in one area. Then, their sight fell on the body that was not far away, hiding behind his knees.

"Kairi!"

Virgo ran towards the body, followed by Pegasus. But, Kairi doesn't answer which makes them worry.

"Kairi?" Virgo moved his hand to touch Kairi's shoulder.

"Please don't touch me..." A hoarse voice sounded.

Virgo was startled. He just realized that Kairi was crying.

"Kairi, what's wrong...?"

"Virgo."

Pegasus, who realised something, put one hand on Virgo's shoulder and then shook his head. Virgo instantly understood his meaning. The situation around them, if not for Kairi who did it, then there will be no one else.

But the question is how did Kairi defeat Dark Ries until his body was unrecognizable to them? They knew the dead parts were once Dark Ries' body.

Kairi opened his mouth and whispered something. If they were ordinary humans, they would not be able to hear it.

"I killed him. I killed someone..." Kairi's voice trembled and his body was also shivering.

"First time killing?" Thought Pegasus quietly. To him, it was normal to kill their enemies.

They were, after all, constantly hunted by their enemies. So, to save themselves, they had to kill to live. It's common for all Bright Star users to take other people's lives but for Kairi, it seems it was something terrible.

"Sigh... Kairi..." Virgo felt guilty.

He shouldn't have agreed to let Kairi stay alone. He hugs and pats him. Kairi struggled a little because he was stained with the blood of their enemy. He didn't want Virgo to get close to him.

He was a murderer!

"Let go of me! Let me go, Virgo! Please..." He pleaded in tears.

However, Virgo didn't let go but tightened his hug on him.

"Shh... I'm here, Kairi. I'm not going anywhere. You're not at fault, Kairi. You have no choice but to kill him. You saved us all. You are our saviour." Virgo whispered into Kairi's ear while soothing him with gentle words.

"Virgo..." Kairi pulled Virgo's shirt and couldn't help but cry hard.

He was scared that Virgo and the others hate him for being a murderer. He gasped when he felt Pegasus's hand also stroking his hair.

"Kairi, just like Virgo said, you have saved our lives. Although we don't know how you killed him, we are very grateful. Thank you, Kairi." Pegasus said.

Dark Ries' death lessened their enemy in number. That should be a good thing.

"Moreover, it's not like we are good people either. These hands also have taken so many lives. But, we do it because we want to live. Would you still be friends with us if you know we also kill other people, Kairi?" He asked.

Kairi thought about it for a moment then nodded his head. His tears also slowly stopped. Virgo released his hug and wiped away the remnants of his tears.

"You're not a murderer, okay? If you do, then we all are as well." Virgo held his face and gave him a small smile.

"Erm," Kairi nodded again.

"Thank you, Virgo, Pegasus... Sorry for the troubles." Kairi used his arm to wipe his face. He must have looked ugly.

"I'm so sensitive." He labelled himself.

Virgo laughed. "Indeed..." He didn't deny it.

Kairi truly is sentimental after all.

Virgo pulled his arm to stand up again. Kairi looked at Dark Ries' body but Virgo turned his head to look at them again.

"Forget him. You have done the deed. So, don't think about it anymore, okay?" Virgo told him.

"True... But, he's still human like us. Sorry, Virgo, Pegasus. Even though he committed a serious crime, I still want to properly bury him. I can't leave such remains alone. It feels very sad..." Kairi replied and approached Dark Ries' body parts.

He felt nauseous again when he saw the remains but he bravely put the body parts together. He had to hold his breath while doing it.

Virgo and Pegasus had to help. They understand Kairi's mercy. Together they burned the body parts. The ashes then were buried. After everything was done, they returned to the enemy's base again.

The rest of Dark Ries's underlings have been killed by Aries and Agi. Their bodies were cremated like Dark Ries and buried. They did not let any single underlings live because they didn't want the Deorc Star to know their location or find out about Kairi. As for the hostages, they were released and went back to their homes.

"Are we still going to Syarantonia?" Aries asked Agi.

"The best option is to go there but..." Agi looked at Kairi.

"I'll follow you all. I will not run away anymore..." Kairi promised.

This time, he will listen to them and not be selfish anymore. He has troubled them a lot and was indebted to them for rescuing him.

"But our way back to Syarantonia would be difficult. They still have that seer who must have found out that Dark Ries is dead." Agi told them about his guesses.

Agi and Aries also did not ask how Kairi killed Dark Ries. They will not force him to tell. It was enough to know that Dark Ries would no longer threaten them.

"So, where are we going?" Virgo asked.

"We need a place to hide right now. With this, they may not know where we are and when we might show up. We will go to... Ryam Town." Agi's answer surprised them.

"R-Really?" Kairi felt hopeful again. He really wanted to return to Ryam Town.

Agi nodded and smiled at him.

"Make sure you rest as much as you can at your home, Kairi. Your injuries are not light." Agi said while looking at Kairi's head which was wrapped in a piece of cloth to stop the bleeding on it.

Virgo noticed Kairi's head was bleeding as they made a mound for Dark Ries. He wrapped it up immediately and after checking, he noticed that Kairi's body was covered in a lot of injuries. Even have a few broken chest bones. He panicked about it but Kairi told him that he was okay. He still can move and jump.

"Agi, why not use your power to heal Kairi? Won't that be much faster?" Aries was puzzled.

"I can only heal you a little, Kairi. Sorry, I still need to conserve my powers if we collide with the Deorc Star users during our journey later." Agi said, feeling a bit guilty.

"It's okay, Agi. Don't worry, my body heals faster than anyone else," Kairi said and allowed Agi to heal a few of his wounds.

After that, they started to move again by riding one of the carriages and headed toward Ryam Town. Kairi couldn't sit still all the way. He felt very happy to return to his family.

Rafiz, dad, everyone, I'm coming home now!