Auriel was unsure whether his dagger had reached the last remaining Awakened bandit, or if Loki had managed to pluck out one of his eyeballs. But since he hadn't encountered another flame attack like the one that burned his arm, he assumed that the bandit was either dead or seriously injured.
"Well, it's your turn, Elise," Auriel said weakly, closing his eyes. "According to you, the rest of them are just normal people, and you're Awakened. It shouldn't be too hard for you to bash their heads in with your staff."
Auriel wasn't accustomed to the pain and experiencing such a huge amount for a long time was impossible for him. Even now his burned arm was giving him a hard time staying awake and the headache he was experiencing wasn't helping in the slightest. Using ability required mental strength and focus, which he didn't have that much right now.
So, he decided to let Elise deal with the small fries and rest. However, Elise merely lowered her head and didn't move from her place.
"What? Are you scared or don't want to kill people?" Auriel mockingly questioned as he lifted his head. "If you were just a weak mundane girl, these bandits wouldn't hesitate to violate you. So why hesitate to crack their skulls? They're human trash, worse than pigs. They deserve to die. They made the first move, and now they need to take responsibility and perish!" A cold tone laced Auriel's words as his head fell back limply.
Every word of Auriel penetrated the mental defenses of Elise. Her already weak resolve to not kill anyone slowly vanished as she could help but imagined herself to be a weak, normal human in the clutches of sweaty, monkey-like thugs.
Then she imagined herself wielding her staff and smashing the imaginary bandit's head with it. This made her tremble with fear as it was her first time breaching the rules of her Church of Life, even if it was imaginary. But there was also a tiny, minuscule amount of positive emotion inside her, giving her the courage that she needed.
With a thought of Elise, the blackish-brown staff appeared in her hand, and under her blindfold, a brilliant golden light shone again, accompanied by tears of blood.
Then, she cut open the tent and got out, directly walking in a particular direction. Her steps were unsteady, and her trembling hand caused the staff to shake noticeably. It was evident that she was still the same inexperienced, frightened girl.
But this sight placed a slight smile on Auriel's face.
For the last month, he tried everything he could to reduce her resistance to holding a weapon and beat some people, but he was unsuccessful.
From what Auriel learned from Elise, he knew that Elise's father was a Paladin of the Church of Life, and this Paladin father taught her to defend herself in case something bad happened.
In short, Elise knew how to fight and even though she recently became blind she still could beat a few normal bandits. But she didn't have any courage to beat or kill someone as that would be opposing the ideals that were imposed on her by the church and her father.
Yet now, she had broken free from one of the shackles imposed by the Church of Life. In doing so, she found herself falling slowly but surely into Auriel's grasp, perhaps even willingly. The sensation of newfound freedom was sweet and addictive, as long as she remained oblivious to the fact that she may not have been free at all.
Staff in her hand, Elise just halted in front of the tenth and waited.
Her small, weak frame wasn't something that could intimidate people. On the contrary, this attracted them to her. Bandits weren't an exception.
Seeing a lone, golden-haired beautiful girl garbed in a black robe with a blindfold was strangely enticing for the disgusting people.
The bandits didn't even try to resist this feeling and began to get near her. They even forgot their bosses' order to stay still until said otherwise. As a group of bandits, it was expected of them to be unruly.
In Elise's vision, she saw five dark, murky blobs of light moving toward her. These blobs of light gave her the feeling of needing to cover her body and escape from their evil claws.
Yet, she forcefully stopped her trembling and turned to the tent for comparison. There, she saw a larger, charcoal-gray blob of light, distinct from the others, invoking a desire to cower in a corner and sleep, mixed with great hatred and slight pity.
She didn't know the meaning of these emotions but she found solace in the presence of the larger blob. It strangely put her at ease.
"Brother Harry, can I have her?" a raspy voice called out, interrupting Elise's thoughts.
"Wait for your turn, Tom," another voice replied, reaching Elise's ears as she tightened her grip on her staff.
"Shut up, Dick. You'll wait your turn. I'll be the first," growled one of the bandits angrily
Then this bandit began to walk toward Elise. "Hello there, girl. What are you doing in this grove all by yourself, huh?" He said but Elise didn't utter a word and waited for the bandit to come closer.
When the bandit's hand made its way toward Elise's shoulder, she swiftly swung her staff vertically, connecting with the bandit's elbow and breaking it instantly.
"Aaaagh!" the bandit howled in agony, but Elise wasted no time. She swung her staff once more, this time targeting his knees and shattering them as well.
The other bandits took a step back subconsciously, but Elise didn't move an inch from her place, just waited.
After seeing this, the bandits gained courage, thinking that they could overpower a lone girl while thinking that the staff in her hand was an artifact that they could get.
Unfortunately for them, when they began to move, a large raven descended on their head. Its glossy black feathers were stained with blood and within its claws were white, round objects—eyeballs.
With that, chaos erupted as the raven unleashed its merciless assault. Meanwhile, a certain Archpaladin observed this spectacle from his tent, a small, twisted smile adorning his face.
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