“So she’s trying her best to defend herself, but her heart’s not doing what she tells it to—that kind of thing, eh?” Zelos said. “Anyway, you two need to stop being so soft on people trying to kill you. There won’t always be mercenaries or knights nearby to save you.”
“I know. Sometimes, we might have to kill in order to protect ourselves. I can imagine what might happen to the women that bandits take captive. The law only means so much in this world.”
Zelos wasn’t asking them to kill people without remorse, but if they hesitated when it was do-or-die, they’d be the ones going to an early grave.
If they were meticulous, they could maybe subdue their attackers, but a poorly thought-out decision to spare the bandits’ lives out of mercy and hand them over to authorities could see any bandits with lighter criminal records back out there a few years later, ready to commit the same crimes again.
Plus, if you were attacked somewhere remote, far away from a fort or town with mercenaries and knights, killing the perpetrators on the spot was much easier than dragging them to the nearest authorities.
Sometimes, ruthless slaughter was the best way to minimize casualties.
“Frankly, feeling guilty about killing makes you better people than I am,” Zelos said. “I don’t even hesitate against thugs like that.”
“So you’re just straight up admitting that you’re unhinged?” Ado said.
“Honestly—who knows?” Zelos shrugged. “Maybe all the scumbags I’ve been running into lately have sapped me of any reluctance to kill. At the end of the day, though, wouldn’t you say death is their just deserts for causing so much suffering?”
“Scumbags... Does this have to do with that awful person you knew back on Earth?” Shakti said. “I’m kind of curious about them now, but I’m also afraid to ask...”
“If I had to sum her up in one word,” Zelos said, “it’d be ‘parasite.’ She’s a vile, vile woman. Her very existence is toxic. Oh—and she ended up in this world too, by the way. She’s an assassin now. I intend to make sure she gets her last rites the next time we meet.”
Shakti had heard enough to get the gist of the situation. All in all, Zelos was a good person. His behavior could be problematic, but he wasn’t the type of man to turn to crime on a whim. Meanwhile, it sounded like this other person was a family member of his—a family member who’d caused Zelos no end of trouble.
Since this family member was apparently a woman, Shakti took “trouble” to mean that she seduced, deceived, and manipulated men. And if this woman had stooped to becoming an assassin upon arriving in this world, Shakti assumed she was willing to use any means necessary to achieve her goals.
In other words, she doesn’t care about anything except money, Shakti thought. And it sounds like she’s quick to sacrifice people to get what she wants. If she were married, she’d be the kind of wife to kill her husband to get his inheritance. Zelos seems to know her quite well, but I don’t get the vibe that she’s an ex, so I’d assume she’s his sister. Then from there...
It was just as you’d expect from someone who’d planned to go into law. After analyzing just one of Zelos’s offhand remarks, Shakti had gotten a near perfect impression of this person and her relationship to the Great Sage.
“I don’t suppose this person happens to be your older sister?” Shakti asked, unable to stop herself—and her curiosity gave her a peek into the darkness inside Zelos.
“You’re spot-on. And we’re related by blood too, which only makes it that much harder to tolerate her existence. She will show up again, sooner or later, and when she does... Heh heh heh.”
“R-Right...” Ado and Shakti said together, each trying to hide their fear.
A sliver of Zelos’s hatred manifested as an aura.
Ado and Shakti didn’t know all the details of Zelos’s relationship with his sister, but the fact that he found her very existence intolerable spoke volumes. It made sense he’d become murderous after finding out she’d ended up here. Plus, this world didn’t have modern forensic investigation techniques, so pulling off the perfect crime would be all too simple. If he put his mind to it, he’d be able to get rid of her without leaving a trace.
Plus, given that duels and revenge killings were more acceptable here, Zelos wouldn’t need to hold back in the slightest. He’d kill strangers in self-defense without batting an eye. Against someone he actively wanted dead, you’d better believe he wouldn’t hesitate to do the deed.
Perhaps this world was the perfect place for Zelos.
As for Sharanla... Nothing could be more terrifying than being targeted by perhaps the highest-level Great Sage in existence. Even if Ado and Shakti weren’t his targets, just thinking about how horrifying it’d be was enough to send a chill down their spines.
Zelos can be one terrifying guy, Ado thought.
If it were me, Shakti thought, I’d steer clear of him altogether. But he seems convinced his sister will show her face. Is this woman an idiot? Has she not learned already?
Shakti had hit the nail on the head.
Sharanla was an idiot who refused to learn her lesson.
“Hey, uh... How about we move on?” Ado suggested. “I don’t really wanna eat here after we turned all those people to ash.”
“Ah... Of course.” Zelos said. “In that case, we’ll draw some spring water first, then find another open spot to have lunch. This place smells like a crematorium now.”
“Talk about callous...” Ado said. “Guess you’re not wrong, though. They did get cremated.”
Cremated alive, even.
Having decided to relocate, the three of them started cleaning up.