Chapter 297 Reign of Chaos I (2/2)
”--w-what are you... waiting for?” she managed to stutter out somewhat after a second.
”... I'm assuming someone from your family,” Lino replied in his usual voice, yet slightly distorted, similar to Writ's, as he glanced past her into the horizon. ”They're speeding over as quickly as they can. At the very least, I can give them a chance to say goodbye.”
”--n-n-no... no...” Yennefer's eyes turned into saucers, dominated by horror; no matter who it was, she only wished she could scream at them to return. To return and never look back.
Perhaps, had she still been her whole self, she would objectively gauge that Lino was by no means invincible; yet, living within that domain of nothingness even for a moment... changes a person. Anything outside of it... stands no chance. She believed that with every fiber of her being; she was convinced even if every single member of the Holy Grounds, every single Bearer, every single living soul banded together to attack Lino, they would only stream gently into their deaths.
”Ah, they're here,” Lino said, walking over and grabbing Yennefer by her neck, forcing her to look into the horizon where suddenly over a hundred flashes of light flickered as people began showing up one by one. ”My, my. You're awfully popular for a prideful cunt. World is really a strange place.”
”Release her at once---”
”Shut up!!” an older voice interrupted a younger one, as a man seemingly in his mid forties stepped in front of the group; much like Yennefer, he had similar disposition, sharing her pair of azure-colored eyes and golden hair. ”You have proven your point, Empyrean. Is there a reason to escalate this any further?”
”...” Lino squeezed her neck slightly harder, causing Yennefer to gag and cough, and others to cry out and attempt to step forward, only to be stopped by the middle-aged man. ”There seems to be a misunderstanding here,” Lino said. ”I'm not escalating anything. I'm just matching you. Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth, tit for a tit. That sort of a thing.”
”... there is still time to make the right choice,” the middle-aged man said, frowning slightly. ”Killing her will bring you no benefits.”
”Really?” though the shadow-encased figure had no features besides the eyes, it almost seemed as though it grinned for a moment. ”And letting her go will?”
”Naturally, I will personally--”
”If you could personally do anything, you wouldn't be here,” Lino interrupted, squeezing slightly harder. ”It seems to me the world hadn't taken my declaration seriously. I said wait for me. Not hunt me. Furthermore, especially don't hunt me by sending prideful, vain children to their deaths... only to then shuffle all the blame onto me. What was she doing here? What were they doing here? You can't have seriously expected they were strong enough to even kiss my dick, let alone actually kill me. Either you are far stupider than I ever dreamed, or you are looking to kindle the slightly doused flames of hate toward me.”
”...”
”Either way,” Lino said, glancing up toward the sky. ”It doesn't matter. Send children, send adults, send old cripples... all who may come will meet the same fate.”
”Think through this carefully, child.” the middle-aged man said, seemingly running out of patience. ”If you kill her, the wrath of heavens will fall upon you. There will be no place to hide.”
”What are you talking about?” Lino said, meeting his gaze squarely. ”It seems you haven't realized it yet.” he added. ”I am the wrath.” he clenched the hand around Yennefer's neck and snapped her head off, holding it in his hand as her body fell to doom.