Chapter 157: Judge and Executioner (1/2)

“If you move you will die.” Kyrian said, loud enough for all of them to hear but not shouting. Some of them were still confused. The whole fight between Ilea and Melian had only taken a couple minutes after all. Most of them were drunk in addition. They looked towards either Ilea or Kyrian, the armored man floating with metal spikes next to him. The black armor was known in Riverwatch as well and they could make their assumptions.

Ilea put on her helmet again before she reached the group, dragging the destroyed corpse next to her as they stared at her in silence. She walked to the bonfire and flung the corpse into it. Watching the fire for a moment, Ilea sighed and turned towards the barn where the prisoners had been held.

Blinking towards it, she reached the people inside mere seconds later and checked on the woman as they all parted to let her through. She was dead and Ilea closed her eyes with her hand.

“I’m sorry.” she said, to the dead woman and not the people around her. One man was crying, his hand held in front of his face as he looked at the corpse. Ilea looked at him. “Carry her.” she said. “It’s safe now.”

Walking outside, she saw the man nod and clean his face of the tears before he carefully grabbed the corpse. The others were watching on and most of them followed.

“Bury or burn?” Ilea asked without looking at him. He was quiet, a man in his late twenties, his hair disheveled and his body covered in filth. He smiled as he looked at the woman’s face.

“She was so brave.” he said. “E… everyday, she was so brave.” he said again as more tears streamed down his face. “I’d like to burn her. But not here.”

“Do you need help?” Ilea asked but he shook his head.

“Don’t move too far away for now, I don’t know if some of them might’ve escaped.” she said. “Who feels capable to move clothes, food and water to the rest of the group?” Ilea asked. Five people stepped up and she nodded. “The rest, stay here. We’ll be back soon.” she said and walked towards Kyrian who was still floating. There were two corpses lying near the big group that hadn’t been there before.

Ilea spread her wings and joined Kyrian. “They raped and killed a lot of them. Most were tied up and living in their own filth. This is scum.” she said to the man.

Ilea floated for a while and looked into the fire. “I need some time. Do what you want but I’m not in a state to judge them.” she said, feeling the rage inside of her. It was cold and deep. She wanted to simply rip off each and every one of their heads.

“We have time. Help the survivors, it will help.” Kyrian said calmly before he carefully moved his hand towards her helmet. He hesitated but then touched it gently.

“Thanks.” she said and floated down, joining the people who were ready to help.

“All of you undress. Everyone who isn’t naked in the next two minutes I will kill.” Kyrian said to the outlaws in front of him but Ilea focused on the survivors.

They looked through the wagons and the used barn, finding different sets of clothing first for the people that helped and then for everyone else. There were twelve survivors in total, all of them soon clothed and fed. They had moved the survivors into the barn and gave them all food. Ilea watched a girl not older than sixteen unable to stop her shaking hand before an older man helped her eat. Not a word was spoken and Ilea was glad she had her helmet on, tears dripping down onto the metal from within.

She checked on the man in the basement. His condition was stable but he was still knocked out. She moved him upstairs into a small bed still standing in one of the side rooms. The mage who had helped Melina was taken outside as well, gagged and bound just as all the rest. All of them were naked and kneeling on the ground. Some shivered from the cold, some from fear.

‘Is this what I have to do now?’ Ilea asked herself as she dropped the mage next to the others, grabbing his head and slapping him awake. ‘Fighting and killing, that is one thing...’ the mage woke up and gasped through his gag, looking at her with wide eyes and then his surroundings. ‘Passing judgment on men and women like these.’ the man in front of her closed his eyes before Ilea felt mind magic try to enter her head.

She slowly walked behind him and grabbed his chin, her buffs activated and she ripped his head off. Kyrian walked up to her. “Mind mage? I felt it too.”

Ilea nodded and threw the corpse into the fire. She smelled some of the people around her pee themselves. This work was dirty, there was nothing good about it. The survivors were traumatized, never able to completely return to their own lives. She would fight on and perhaps at some point lose her humanity as well. But she would do it. Get stronger to protect her friends and their families. Dale, Kyrian, Trian, Eve, Claire and all the people she had met, the people she had fought with.

She would inspire both them and the survivors from this fucked up side quest to get stronger, to fight for themselves and she would strike fear and terror in those that opposed her, those that would torture and kill the people she cared about. She was no shining paladin, no bastion of good morals. She was a monster, to all the monsters out there, human or not.

“Tomorrow we will find out who of you will live.” she said in a calm voice. “I need a god damn shower. Can you watch over them?” she asked Kyrian who just nodded.

“I’ll keep watch. Can you get Trevor, he’s still hiding.” he said and she nodded before flying off towards the forest.

Trevor was in the same spot. “Did you get her?” he asked.

“I did. Come, you can help as well. There are survivors.” she said and flew back without waiting for the man.

There was sadly no shower to be found on the farm but there were some water runes and a tub she found in the farm house. She filled it and removed her clothes, sliding into the cold water before she started scrubbing.

‘ding’ ‘You have defeated [Lightning Valkyrie lvl 210 – Sorceress of Storms lvl 203]’

There were no level ups from the kill and Ilea thought the information away a moment later. It left a bitter taste in her mouth. Drying herself up, she stepped outside again, in leather armor and a hood. Just to make sure her face wouldn’t spread too much among random people and criminals. She had calmed down considerably. While the bath hadn’t been warm, it had been relaxing and her thoughts had drifted away from the filth and death surrounding this bloody farm.

Kyrian was sitting on a stool someone had brought him and moved around a sphere of metal. Over twenty people were kneeling in front of him, gagged and bound still. Most of the survivors had found a bed and at least tried to sleep at this point. Ilea saw through the closed barn gate that many of them couldn’t quite sleep yet.

“How are you doing?” the man asked her.

“Better.” she said and sat down on the ground next to him. He nodded at her reply and formed a metallic flower that be moved into her lap. It bloomed as she held it up and smiled.

The barn gate slowly closed behind them and Trevor walked up to the two, an expensive looking bottle in hand. “God damn that woman was worse than I thought. I mean I saw some of it first hand but this place is horrible.” he said and held the open bottle towards Ilea. She took it and sniffed on it. A wine but she felt more like juice right now. Handing it back to the man, she shook her head when he looked towards Kyrian.

“Where’s her corpse?” he asked.

“Burned.” Ilea said.

“Damn, I’m sure we could’ve sold her equipment.” he murmured.