The bandit leader groaned, his head rolling weakly as he began to wake. Ronan didn't waste any time. He reached into Valture's matted, bloodied hair and pulled him up to his knees.
"Rise and shine," he said.
Valture coughed, spitting blood into the dirt. His swollen eyes barely opened as he stared up at him, a look of pain and defiance visible across his face. "Kill me," he mummered, his voice weak. "Just finish it."
Ronan's lips twisted into a sharp grin. "Oh, I'd love to. But killing you now? That would be mercy. And mercy? That's not for people like you."
Valture's face frowns, confusion with the terror that has taken up his face. "What are you—"
Ronan cut him off, his voice colder than before. "My foster mother runs an orphanage. It's barely scraping by. But your bounty? It's worth 500 gold elios. That's enough to keep those kids fed and warm for years. So if I killed you now, there won't be single piece of your body to recognise you."
He knelt in front of Valture, their faces inches apart. His eyes were lifeless, calculating. There was no kindness in them-only the hard focus of someone who had already decided.
"But don't get too comfortable," Ronan added. "I have plans for you. And none of them include a quick death."
Valture shuddered but was too weak to fight back.
Ronan rose from his seat, glancing back over his shoulder at Aurelia. "Aur, time for a little lesson on mana," he said casually.
He held up his hand, letting a faint shimmer of energy flow around his fingers. "Mana," he said, his voice steady, "is more than just power. It's life itself. Every living thing with mana lets it flow out all the time, even if they don't know it. It's natural, like breathing. Your body constantly releases it and uses it to keep you alive."
Aurelia tilted her head, her confusion clear. "But… what does 'awakening' mean?"
Ronan smirked, his eyes glinting as he nodded to her question. "Awakening is when you stop just letting mana flow out without thinking. It's when you learn to control it, to release it on purpose. Most people never get there-they just live their whole lives without knowing. But when you awaken? You can fight back. You can shape your mana into weapons or tools. But it comes at a cost."
He turned back at Valture, drawing out a short, sharp dagger. He cut a shiny, detailed mark into the bandit leader's chest, no hesitation in his actions at all.
"This little beauty," he said, his voice cold, "is a seal. It stops all mana from flowing. It'll build up inside you, poisoning you from the inside out. First, it'll eat away at your muscles. Then, your skin will rot. Finally, your organs will shut down, one by one. And you'll feel every second of it."
Aurelia took a step forward, her face pale as she looked at the trembling bandit. "Ronan," she whispered, her voice shaking. "You didn't have to do this."
Valture's face twisted in rage and terror. He tried to speak, his lips trembling. "You… you're insane," he choked out. "You're no better than me… you—"
Before he could get another word out, he grabbed the man's jaw, forcing it open. His other hand glowed faintly with dark energy. With a swift motion, Ronan sent the energy into Valture's throat. The bandit let out a strangled gurgle, choking on blood.
"Goodbye," he said calmly. "You won't be speaking again."
Aurelia stared, her hand over her mouth. "What did you do to him?"
Ronan shrugged. "Destroyed his vocal cords. He doesn't need them anymore."
He crouched back down, his voice low and final as he stared into Valture's terrified eyes. "You called me a monster. But I'm not. I'm the one who stops monsters. And if that makes me cruel, I'll live with it."
Standing, he turned to her. "This is the world, Aurelia. Cruel. Harsh. Unforgiving." He met her gaze, his voice dark.
"If you want to survive in it, if you want to protect the people you care about, you can't just swing a sword. You have to be smarter. Crueler. Deadlier than the people who want to hurt you. Otherwise, you won't last."
Her eyes moved to Valture's shaking form. Her voice broke as she whispered, "This is too cruel, Ronan."
Ronan turned back to her, his eyes icy and unyielding. "Cruel?" he repeated, his voice cutting. "Imagine what he would've done to our foster mother if he'd raided our village—dragged her away, left the kids to starve or sold them like animals."
Aurelia's tears flooded her eyes as she stood, frozen, her heart at an end.
His voice went softer but no less insistent. "How many women like her has he destroyed? How many kids like us has he orphaned?"
Her chest burned with each thought of the soft, gentle smile of their foster mother, projecting inside her head.
He got down beside Valture, his voice cold. "He'd do it all again if we let him live. The world doesn't give a second chance to good people, Aurelia. It crushes them."
He stood and put a hand on her shoulder, leading her away from the robber. His voice was gentle, but the chill in it didn't go away. "Come on. Get this over with."