Thalia watched in horror as James slaughtered the men ruthlessly without any signs of remorse on his expression.
The viciousness of his attacks made her stomach churn as she felt the urge to omit, but she held on and didn't look away. She made her choice and she intended to stick by it.
[What if I turn out to be the vilest man on Veloria, would you still dare to follow me?]
She recalled the words James said to her a few hours ago and her determined response then: to follow him regardless.
She was not that fragile to not be able to stomach such gory sights. Because her sights were focused on James's action, she forgot about the stalker who was behind her, slumped into one of the trees.
The man was just as horrified seeing the degree of violence. His body screamed at him to run and get as far away from that man as possible, yet for some reason, his body refused to move.
The oppressive aura in the air was just too overwhelming. With his weak mental fortitude, there was no way he could overcome that tyrannical aura.
'I knew the things I do would one day catch up to me, but this… this is insane!'
He felt like crying and prayed to the heavens to save him from that monster. Maybe if he proved to be good enough, he could be spared.
'I swear…I'll change my ways, please just let me survive!'
Arriving in front of Feryn, James stared at him for a couple of seconds before kicking him in the gut.
"Ugh.."
Feryn groaned and flinched from the kick as he slowly awoke from his unconscious state when he was assaulted by waves of pain from all over his body.
He could feel his jaw out of place and his back arched with vengeance; every place screamed at him for relief.
The searing pain ravaged his senses as he bellowed out like a wondered animal. His body trembled continuously from the pain and shuddered once again when his eyes met James's red ones.
"Hey… I have a few questions for you." James grinned viciously. "Answer honestly and you get to keep your life. Attempt to lie or stall for time… well, you should already know."
Feryn had never felt such overwhelming pressure before. Even the beings he had met with higher levels than him never gave off such torrential waves of pressure.
'What happened to him?'
It was a question anyone who knew James would ask once they saw the current him. People don't change that quickly and whether he wanted to believe that or not was entirely up to him.
*Gulp*
He found himself swallowing in fear just from his murderous gaze.
"How many people know of my current face? And who…" He began but then paused when a certain someone's face flashed in his mind.
He snorted in annoyance. "Just answer the first question."
Feryn did not immediately answer the question and looked around his vicinity and what he saw drained the bit of colour on his face. His eyes widened in horror seeing the bodies of his men.
"N-no.."
Feryn wasn't a naïve fool who expected everyone to come out alive from the kind of mission they were on. Some were bound to fall to the attacks of their target.
What he didn't expect was to see all his men die in such horrifying ways. His eyes shook from the fear that began to grip him.
"Yes~ What did you expect? You came to kill me, remember? It's only natural you pay the same price."
James replied with a taunting smirk that was quickly replaced with a stern one. "Now answer the damn question." His tone left no room for further delays.
Feryn recoiled a bit when the intensity of his aura increased once more.
"I- I- …"
Feryn couldn't properly form his words as every attempt sent jolts of pain through his body. With jaws that damaged, it was only natural.
James did not care about his suffering and took his stumbling words as an attempt to delay.
"I don't have time for this."
He swiftly retrieved a long sword and swung it across Feryn's neck in one smooth motion.
*THUD*
Feryn's head rolled down with eyes wide in shock and disbelief as the light of life in them slowly faded away….
James looked at those eyes with an indifferent one. Once again, he felt nothing and honestly, it scared him a bit.
He had done more terrible things in this short period of time than he ever did in his entire life. He momentarily closed his eyes and then exhaled loudly before turning back to Thalia.
He noticed how her expression had become pale and still had her eyes locked on his actions. He was smart enough to understand that it was her way of supporting him just as she claimed.
And her actions brought a bit of warmth to him.
'She's becoming the only source of warmth in my life.' He smiled at the gesture.
"You alright?"
"Y-yeah. I'll be fine." Thalia swallowed a bit before casting another cleaning spell on James. He may have not realized it, but he was bathed in blood and the remains of the people he killed.
"Thanks." James mouthed and then looked at their stalker who was pretending to be passed out.
"Leave before I change my mind."
The man had done nothing wrong besides follow them for a reward he was promised. It was the smallest bit of kindness he could offer.
Just because he was ruthless towards his enemies and their people didn't mean he should be ruthless to people who did nothing major.
The stalker flinched a bit but remained still.
James grunted and then flicked his fingers at the man as a small beam of condensed energy flew towards the man and impacted the bark of the tree the man slumped on.
*BOOM!*
The back of the tree shattered as a small hole the size of a football opened in it.
"Ah!"
The man bellowed and quickly got up and scurried away, not daring to look back.
"Haa…" He sighed. "This is what you'll be dealing with if you still wish to follow me. I have a target on my back that won't be going away anytime soon.
"I felt nothing when I killed those men and it might only get worse." He explained while staring directly into Thalia's eyes.
Thalia remained silent for a while, returning his gaze with equal fervour. Then she did something instead in place of words.
She abruptly kissed James with a burning passion that James reciprocated. Their hands wrapped around themselves in a tight embrace, wanting to swallow the other if they could.
The kiss was deep and expressed the heavy emotions she felt for James. Then she pulled back and questioned.
"Does that answer your question?"
"Mm.." He gave a satisfied hum and then changed the subject. "We should get out of here. More of them might be coming. Also, when we arrive at the main grounds, I want you to keep some distance away from me. "
"What… Why?" Thalia felt her heart jump in fright.
"Relax, woman. I'm not pushing you away. It's only going to get more dangerous from here on out. And I need to make sure you're not implicated. The people after only want me dead. If they see someone close to me…."
He didn't finish that part, but Thalia got the message.
"Fine." She sighed and then placed her head on his chest. "But promise me you'll not end up dying."
James chuckled in derision, "Trust me, woman, I'm not dying until I finish what I've planned." He assured with confidence.
"Good. Let's get going." Thalia stepped back from James, but before she could turn around, James snatched her into a princess carry.
Thalia yelped in surprise and a bit of happiness. "What is this for?" She tilted her head in confusion. Of course, she didn't mind staying like this in his arms.
"We've wasted a lot of time already. I can feel the main grounds is about to open." James explained as his gaze turned in the direction of the main grounds.
"I'll be running straight there and I can't allow you to fall behind."
"Oh... okay." She accepted, not that she had any complaints. She had seen him in action and knew how powerful he had gotten in a short period of time.
In fact, the battle he just had (if you call it that) happened without James using a shred of mana. His speed was entirely in its base form. There was no crackling of lightning or any glow of mana besides the bit he used in retrieving his weapons.
James nodded and then bolted from where he stood, leaving a cracked ground. He moved so fast that Thalia had to bury her head in his chest and hold tightly.
She didn't know how much distance James covered but within a few minutes that felt like seconds, she heard James speak.
"We're here."
"What… Already?" Shocking was an understatement to describe her state of mind. Traversing the outer regions wasn't supposed to be that easy, but James made it look so. There should be monsters lurking almost everywhere, yet…
James let her down and she turned around to see the large building in the distance and a clear path towards it.
She could only sigh as she looked around and saw people moving toward the main building. From her perspective, it seemed like individuals were coming from all directions, much like the way the portal to the inheritance grounds had appeared throughout the area.
There were multiple entrances for the lots of people here to try out their luck.
"Already," James replied with a smirk.
"I'll walk ahead of you. Don't make it seem like you know me, alright?" He reminded her before retrieving a clock from his storage to hide his features.
"Right." She nodded.