Jonas

Author Note: From this chapter onwards, this novel will be publishing 2ch/w with mass releases on the weekends depending on the goals we hit!

***

He faced Bilweif again. A pool of blood had already formed around him.

Tyr took in a deep breath as he witnessed this. The crowd was also pretty silent. They didn't seem to know exactly how to react either. Not until the killer himself did...

"I really killed him..." Tyr said, shocked at his own words. He couldn't really comprehend it at that moment.

'I mean... It's not that crazy, right? I've killed before... beasts...' He paused, suddenly getting a flash back to the judge being obliterated by that big leafling.

'I've killed humans too... but not like this.' His entire body felt a bit weaker and squeamish as he continued to stare at the corpse on the ground.

"Hey... it happens." A man suddenly said from behind his back.

Tyr turned, noticing a very tall man with brown hair and eyes walk forward from the crowd.

"W-what happens? Killing people?" Tyr replied in a slightly sarcastic tone to lighten his emotions and cope. Of course, he wasn't going to get used to this so fast... After all, he was a normal human just months ago.

"My name is Jonas." The tall man, who was about 6'7 ft. in stature, said to Tyr as he pushed his hand out. He had a giant scythe sheathed on his back that was 2 feet taller than even him--made of black and bright silver metal with a green handle.

Tyr, still in a bit of a daze, shook the man's hand. As soon as he did, Jonas pulled him in closer and suddenly embraced him.

Tyr's eyes widened in shock, not knowing what to do as he was caught off guard.

"I once killed for the first time as well with my own two hands." Streams of tears suddenly began to trickle down Jonas' face, the silent crowd looking with awe and puzzlement as Tyr stood frozen.

"But know that you will get used to it as you become more of a Hunter. This isn't a pleasant world, Tyr." Jonas suddenly said, Tyr's eyes expanding in size once more in surprise.

Jonas began to whisper: "Despite this city being so harmless, this world... it isn't kind to the weak. Only the strong survive, and the rest perish without any peace wished upon them. Once you leave Drance, you will understand it all."

He pulled Tyr away from him after saying this, holding the teen by the shoulders as he peered deeply into his eyes.

"Lift him up, Tyr." Jonas exclaimed, no longer crying. Instead, he had a bright expression on his face--a driven look in his eyes.

Tyr was taken aback by all of this, especially what Jonas just said.

"Lift him? What do you mean?" He asked in confusion.

Jonas' head scanned the area, "Look at everyone around you. They hated that man whom you have slain. You haven't committed a crime... you have bestowed justice on the lives of all of these people. Bilweif took away their loved ones and their livelihoods, and you have given them the heavenly peach of sweet revenge. So..." 

Jonas's voice became deep and serious: "Lift him up, and show their prize to them, hero."

These words hit Tyr like a brick. Although he hadn't fully understood, he was still moved by what the man said.

Jonas let go of him, looking at him with a slight smile before nodding his head.

Tyr turned, grabbing a handful of Bilweif's hair on the back of his head and lifting his body up in a display of dominance.

A few seconds of silence passed by, but then, a wave of smiles appeared on everyones faces.

"Yeah!!"

The crowd burst out into a roar of cheers again.

"Hahaha! You did it!"

"Good for you!"

"You killed that bastard!"

"Thank you!"

...

Guards broke through the crowd circle at that moment, dressed in the same chainmail as those from Drance's entrance gates.

Their eyes quickly scanned the perimeter as their minds came up with quick conclusions.

Thankfully for Tyr, Jonas had a small talk with the guards. It took him about 5 minutes, and afterward, the guards came and thanked Tyr personally before telling him that he was free to go.

"Come with me," Jonas said, walking away from the scene.

Tyr followed, still bewildered. After leaving the crowd circle, he looked back with a baffled and almost scared look in his eyes: 'Those people... they really celebrated his death like that? Even if he was a criminal... would it have been the same back on Earth?'

He couldn't help but want to differentiate that reaction from the reaction of normal humans. At least, what he deemed to be normal that is.

Jonas spoke up at that moment, still looking forward: "Young Tyr!" He exclaimed, causing Tyr to look forward.

"I don't know what society you come from, but understand that all canvases are made of the same paper and the same wood."

Tyr squinted his eyes, "What do you mean? And... how do you know my name in the first place?"

"What do I mean? Well, all I'm trying to say is that one's environment affects one's outlook and also his development. Despite every canvas being made of the same materials, each one's individual experience makes a completely different art piece, don't you think?"

Tyr took that in and thought about it for a second.

'Is he trying to say that despite all people being built the same, they have different outlooks on life due to their experiences? I guess that explains the reaction of those people back there compared to what I would expect from normal people... he did say this was a much more ruthless one than the one I'm used to.'

"Wait... but how do you know? How do you know I come from a different place?"

Jonas laughed at Tyr's seriously asked question.

"I don't know, but it's just an educated guess."

"And my name? How do you know that?"

"Oh, that?" Jonas said nonchalantly.

"Yes, that!" Tyr replied in a shout.

"Hmm..."

'...' Tyr stayed silent, his patience quickly declining.

"Hanzo told me, hahaha!"