CHAPTER 498: CHAOS (2/2)
“Arsen… is there really a monster in your body?”
“Leeder!”
“Leeder…”
Countless villagers began calling out Leeder’s name in hopes of getting an explanation, especially those who had family members amongst the deceased. Had it not been for the more sane amongst them holding the mob back, he would have probably been torn apart by now.
Even so, Leeder had his neck fully retracted and his head lowered to its maximum.
Yet he wasn’t the only one nervous right now. I was too. Even though killing those bandits was to prevent them from harming anyone else, there was no point saying that now.
If Nicole were to…
I was at wit’s end, but I still put on a brave front to prevent anyone from seeing my weakness.
Leeder still believed they had those spider eggs in their bodies so they dared not say a word. There were no leftover spider eggs to begin with, but the problem was that they did not know this. Honestly, that worked in my favour now since they wouldn’t rat me out.
“There’s no point trying to force him.” Umbra stepped in once more to toss more oil into this raging inferno. “Their lives are in the hands of someone else. Of course, they wouldn’t say anything. Silence is the only reason they are still alive at this point.”
Hearing that, the anger in the villagers was stoked once more. Even though I was the one trying to save them here, and that Vampire was the one who caused them to be in this situation in the first place, the situation had somehow turned against me. At this point, a riot was only a matter of time.
To the villagers, their hero had now turned into an evil Occultist. That same Occultist had also slain their family members without their knowledge. Yes, they were bandits, but to the villagers of Lyon, they had only done so to survive. They should be forgiven.
The ironic truth was that I was actually the one trying to save them, the Occultist and probably murderer in their eyes…
Crap, what to do now? Tell them that their loved ones deserved to die? That will only make them angrier. Blast… I actually wanted to save them at one point too… Now I’m their hated enemy…
“Master… they are scary…” Ever the timid one, Jezsere was overwhelmed by the angry stares thrown our way. Their insults and shouting had scared her into seeking refuge in my embrace.
“It’s all right, your master will protect you.” I tenderly comforted her, in spite of the fact that I needed comforting just as much. I couldn’t think of a way out of this situation. I wanted to ask Ferti’nier for help, but that she-devil was dead set on ignoring me right now.
“Do not worry, Master. If need be, I can kill them all right now.” Zurnalin suggested with seething anger. She took a couple of steps forward to shield Jezsere and I from the crowd. “Not just those villagers, that Vampire as well. I can kill them as long as you give the order!”
From the get go, Dark Elves had always been a selfish race. Had it not been for me insisting on protecting Nicole, Zurnalin and the others wouldn’t have even considered helping the villagers. In fact, not killing them was probably a miracle in and of itself. But I had already promised to protect them along with providing them some assistance in restarting their lives. Even so, what did I get in return? Betrayal. Betrayal at the drop of a hat. Betrayal because of an enemy who we should have been facing together… The situation was now completely out of my control…