Under the cover of the warring battlefield, this swift and decisive assassination went unnoticed until the arrival of dusk. When people saw this scene it made many wonder what happened. Considering how far behind they were from the front lines and how no one managed to notice it until now was a mystery.
Meanwhile in the stronghold of southern Bran stayed the culprits. They were enjoying a rashly made feast consisting of roasted meat, fruits and, drinks, though the ones enjoying it were the people of southern Bran.
With the current conflict of northern and southern Bran, this was one of the few times they had managed to get a rest.
Mira and Eve were slightly taken aback by what they were eating. Living such a luxurious life with everything being served to you and with each meal being better each time, this kind of meal was something that they have never thought that they would ever have to eat ever again.
Adam made a comment regarding Mira's attitude, "Despite seeing death and murderer earlier, you seem to still have quite the appetite. It's something I never expected."
Mira bit off the slightly charred piece of skin on the meat she was eating and replied, "So what? At least your plans will go smoothly now, right? I have to get used to it sooner or later."
Adam didn't reply and just went on to enjoy eating his meat.
The ax-wielding man that had greeted earlier was now standing on the center of the dining table with a gigantic declaration, "Today, we are here to celebrate this massive feat made by this woman right here." Butch pointed towards Eve.
"She killed the soldiers sent by the King Alliance and won us today's battle! Let's all congratulate her!"
Deafening cheers could be heard as everyone in the entire venue started clapping and praising Eve for her good work. This one move saved countless lives and disrupted the support that those from northern Bran was receiving.
"Good job! You saved us out there!"
"It was you? I would've never guessed."
"Ah! That woman who jumped down from the cliff!"
In the middle of these countless praises towards Eve, a slight vibrating beat could be felt in Adam's chest. This single movement changed Adam's expression from one that was enjoying the atmosphere to that of someone who had a goal.
Muttering under his breath, "Mira, follow me."
Mira didn't know why Adam would suddenly ask her that but seeing Adam's expression turn from a carefree one to this serious, it was safe to assume that this was something big.
After arriving at a relatively secure location, Adam cast a spell that blocked noise from entering and leaving a certain area.
"Do you remember what the doctor made, he even said that it was his greatest invention?"
Mira thought for a bit and answered, "Uh, yeah. It was a disc that showed people's traits. I remember him saying it was something even kings desire."
Adam's tone was extremely serious, "Precisely, right now something came up and we need to find them."
"So are we finding another teammate? I understand, more people the better-"
Adam immediately cut her off. "No, we're killing them. This disc vibrates at different frequencies that I have set for it. It took me a while to get everyone in the entire country that has a valuable trait but now I finally get to use it."
Mira realized now what Adam was referring to since she saw everything Adam was planning. It was related to how it was going to conflict with her trait.
Mira started to slightly shiver, "S-So, we're killing someone innocent?"
Adam coldly said, "No one's innocent."
After this talk, they went back into the dining hall where everything was cheerful, the songs we're playing, people were dancing and everyone here was enjoying the mood after a small victory. Adam gestured Eve to follow her where he proceeded to tell her who her target was.
With a simple nod, an odd situation appeared the following day. A normal soldier was found dead with his head was apart from his body but other than that his body was perfectly preserved as if he was killed painlessly. No one managed to figure out what happened to that man nor why the killer did it.
As the initial shock of what just happened was still fresh, Mira approached Adam by the side of the scene.
"If you're going to kill him, why did you even tell me about it?"
Adam still had a solemn look and said, "I want you to know how much I desire the outcome. It may seem evil to you, hell it may even seem stupid in the future but this is something that will suit my plan."
"That's your goal? What's actually wrong with you? You're only hurting people."
"Only those who get in my way."
"Then why not kill everyone who could've conflicted with your plan since the very beginning?"
"They didn't get in my way... yet. This nameless person just got too close."
Mira only felt that this was a road that she wouldn't be able to walk out of. She then thought, is my freedom really worth the death of so many?
Adam then said a few parting words, "Whether you like it or not, this is something that will help everyone who will be affected. Though it may take years or decades for them to realize this, if they stay they will live, whether you believe my words or not is up to you."
Mira didn't understand how such a crazy plan will ever help people. It will only make the country weaker and make the people suffer, though it may benefit a few, the majority will suffer.
She didn't know what she was going to do anymore, stuck in a dilemma of whether she should focus on herself or to just give it up right now. In the middle of strangers, in the middle of an unknown land, there was only one person she could find to ease her troubles.
Mira went and tried to find a certain little girl. As her teammate, though their time spent was short, they were still memories they had together. Mira then went forward to ask around asking if they saw an old lady.
Time passed and a few hours went by in a blink of an eye, people were lazing around trying to recover from their hangover. She couldn't find anyone who managed to see Eve around which made her panic a little bit. Just as she was about to breakdown, a little voice could be heard from behind her.
"What's got you so down?"
Mira went forward and started to break down crying. This amount of stress for such a young girl was not something one should experience this early on.
"Hey, hey, let's go somewhere more private."
From an outsider's perspective, it looked like a young boy was crying in the arms of an old woman, making look like a heartwarming scene. With how much blood was being shed and the stress of the next attack, the surrounding people understood why a boy broke down like that.
After going to their sleeping quarters, they laid down on their rigid beds and started their conversation.
While Eve had barely any social skills, she still tried to understand what happened, "So... care to explain why you suddenly broke down?"
Mira then started to grip the sheets, "I don't know what I'm supposed to do. At first, when I made a contract with Adam, I thought I was ready to do this but in reality, I can't handle it. I can't handle the guilt."
"Guilt? Based on the time we spent together, although you are slightly obnoxious about how much you praise yourself, you aren't really that bad. At least not as bad as me."
"I-I can't handle someone's death because of me. I don't think I'll ever be ready."
"Then isn't it a bad idea to go to me? The person who killed because of you?"
"I know that! I had no one else to rely on! Adam's just crazy! I don't doubt his ability but his morals and principles are all jumbled up!"
"Then how about the people who died in the war yesterday, don't you feel anything about them?"
Mira's eyes then widened when she realized this fact. She only really cared when it was because of her. That made her tear up even more, how could she have this kind of warped moral view?
Eve tried to slowly pat Mira on the back, at first, Mira tried to reject it but after a bit more prodding she accepted it.
Tears started to flow down Mira's eyes as she tried to get everything off her chest, "It's so heavy! My heart can't take it. I'd rather suffer like before than this."
"That's normal, instead it's us that's abnormal. Go on."
"Do I stop this right now or do I just ignore it, like nothing ever happened?"
"Are you asking me for my opinion?"
Mira nodded slowly while still tightly gripping the sheets on her bed.
"I don't have any right to give you advice, I didn't grow up like you guys. Murder was... too common. I just dealt with it and continued from there, step by step until it didn't bother me anymore."
Mira didn't understand, just how could murder be common? This made Mira question Eve's identity even further, how did she grow up? Why is she fine with killing in cold blood even though she was younger than her? More questions popped up than answers.
"I'll... take your advice. Take it a step at a time."
Soon, silence enveloped the room and the originally tense atmosphere eased up a bit.
Mira wiped the tears in her eyes when she said, "Thanks for that, I'll just see what happens from here on out."
Mira started to use the sheets to wipe her eyes when she realized that her tears had a blue tinge. It was under the moonlight so she just ignored it, thinking it was a trick of the light.
Eve saw that Mira finally calmed down and asked something that was bothering her since the beginning. From the very beginning, she never understood Adam's plan but she was sure that he took Zane for protection, her for assassination but Mira was the odd one here.
"Say, Eve? What's Adam after?"
Mira just bitterly smiled and just looked down and said, "Sorry."
"Don't worry about it, you signed a contract and I know how strict those are."
Mira was ashamed, even though she helped her, she couldn't do anything in return. She tried to think hard about the contract she signed and realized that there could be a way to say it.
Mira took proper posture which made Eve confused but when she saw Mira's determined eyes she realized that she was going to attempt to say it.
Eve tried to wave her hands trying to prevent Mira from saying it, "You don't have to actually do it! I was just curious."
Despite those warnings, Mira said, "Hey, Eve? That Exhaustion phase in Ruler of Mana seemed to be pretty effective in preventing people from using mana right?"
Eve realized that Mira was going for broke so she then tried to play along, "Yeah, I saw Zane use it and was shocked how effective it was."
"Yeah, from what I remember from Adam's description, it takes other's mana and makes it into your own. Then that guy would be deprived of mana, right?"
Eve was still confused about what Mira was trying to say, "Yeah, they wouldn't be able to use any mana at all making him essentially a normal human."
Mira then nodded and used her Trait, Mana Void.
At the moment, Eve realized what Adam was after and muttered under her breath, "I can't feel anything, wait... this makes sense now. What madman!"
Mira made a bittersweet smile, she just stopped her trait and then just dropped on the bed.
"I'll never be able to see how this will ever help anyone."