Chapter 20

I changed my mind, I wouldn't look for a new target. I would finish my old ones. I have already killed one. I have already become a murderer. I have already bloodied my hands. It was my life or theirs, and I had come to realise just moments ago that their deaths would factor into my completing of this task.

It was my life or theirs, and that lovely gentleman had just proven that they wouldn't hesitate in taking mine.

With that in mind, I retraced my steps to find the unconscious bodies of my opponents, and put a sharpened icicle through their skull.

"It's their life or mine.." I muttered under my breath repeatedly, almost like a mantra. Snapping my eyes to the battle taking place between the mages and beasts, I realised that 3 of the animals had been subdued, however 1 of the nobles had been taken out of the fight. He was bleeding profusely due to missing an arm. His position was roughly 20 metres from me, and 10 from the fight. Judging by the fact he hadn't crawled back to the camping area, I deemed there was no healer, so he would probably die due to blood loss. Even still, he posed a potential threat of spotting me, thus becoming my next target.

Creeping through the foliage, in a round about direction, I slowly decreased the distance between us. I couldn't launch an icicle at him, even if he was injured he was still a mage. The odds he would feel it coming were dependant on his talent, yet I refused to get exposed. He was currently resting against the trunk of a tree, in a way that even if his companions would look at him, they could only see his right side, giving me the opportunity to kill him while both remaining unseen, while also striking at a side that they wouldn't be able to notice anymore damage to him.

Considering all this, I had decided that frying his brain would be my best option. Preferably I would have straightened my hand and formed edged of sharpened ice to wield like a dagger. However, I lacked confidence that I could form a blade sharp enough to impale someone with my own strength, even reinforcing myself with ordinary mana may not provide enough of a boost with my current limit of both control and reserve. Especially in the case they were circulating mana around themselves. It may boost physical strength and speed, but can act to harden the skin in the process, although not to the point of encasing your body in ordinary mana, however now isn't the time for that discussion. I was approaching him, 3 metres remained between us, and decreasing by the second.

I finally reached next to him, and I realised he was breathing lightly. He was so focused on himself that he wouldn't have noticed me walking to him until the last second. And even so, I put my fingers next to his head and sent a bolt of lightning through. His body instantly turned limp, almost falling forward. However I placed him in his original position to make it seem like he wasn't ended prematurely.

I knew that I was lucky, and that him being injured was a blessing to me. I knew I most likely stood no chance against the others, even if they were exhausted and full of bruises. Getting close wasn't an option either, because as soon as one of them died, the others would notice my presence. So I made a crucial decision and decided to make some temporary allies in the form of the captured beasts. By freeing them, I hope that they will aid the beasts I had previously lured here.

Silently, I made my way over too their camp, and what I saw only made me feel even more disgusted with these men. A variety of creatures trapped in cages. Fur or skin had lost it's original luster or colour becoming pale and dull. They were caked in dried blood. These creatures eyes contained contempt towards me, they had been influenced to the point of natural anger towards any human they saw.

When I saw looked in their eyes, it felt as if we connected souls as I unconsciously entered that selfless state. Somehow I subconsciously knew that if I was going to get a message across this would be how.

I carried my intent across the reaching tendrils of my consciousness, and when they reached these creatures, their snarls of hate turned into silent hope. Noticing their change in demeanor I retreated back to a normal state, froze the lock thoroughly as to freeze its inner mechanism, and with a mana reinforced punch, gave them back their freedom. This action of communication has to repeated 3 times before all the 10s of captured animals could step foot outside of their prisons.

With them all collected in front of me, I once again sent a message, vague as it was. I conveyed that I needed their help if we were to make it out alive. Despite being only able to carry across a very vague message, an intent of thought, I could tell they understood my plea.

*Just over 500 kilometers away*

In the heart of the elves forest, was a young boy with his eyes closed. He was mostly naked except some draping vines around his body. He had a skin tone of jade, and raven black hair. Anyone who looked at him would guess him to be roughly 10 or 11, and would say he would grow up to be an attractive man.

"He's smart, unlike most of those barbarians with the valkyrie seeds..." the boy announced seemingly out of nowhere, as his eyes suddenly opened revealing a flash of the events happening around Eliza, before fading into a bright emerald green.