Guilt?

Even with my back burnt to a crisp, I kept silent as my head started to analyze the situation, my mind already numbing the pain. It wasn't as if I hadn't felt a lot worse every time I overused my abilities. As if time was slowing down, I saw the youth smiling, content that his ambush had been a success.

'Four people, the man with the shirt seems to be the leader, most likely the strongest.'

Lindsey kept talking to me, most likely trying to ascertain my condition, but I couldn't hear her. No, I could hear her, but my brain had already taken away my ability to comprehend it, as it was no longer deemed important.

Pushing her away, I stood up and took out my daggers from my inventory. I could see the youth's mouth moving, appearing to talk even more shit.

'Kill the man in the Hawaiian shirt as fast as possible, then retreat and assess the situation. Is there a need to use [Discharge]? Not likely, a lightning imbued stab to his throat should be enough.'

Gathering strength in my legs, I got ready to strike but someone took a hold of my arm, making me hear what she had to say, "Miren, stop this! Please, don't do this!"

A pleading Lindsey was holding my wrist tightly, and although this should have made me unable to move, I just let some of my lightning out making her withdraw her hand, and I could hear my body speaking with a soulless voice,

"Shut up, Lindsey. I'm not letting them go."

In my eyes, there was no reason not to kill them. That punk had already been the one to attack first, meaning killing them would still count as an act of self-defense. And just like that, I used my [Lightning Step] to close the distance between me and my opponent.

Impressively enough, he managed to react, albeit in a very sloppy manner. He swung out his right arm, covered in blue flames. 'Again, so slow'. Although his reaction time had been good, his body was slow, just not quite slow enough. Regrettably, it still created a situation where I had to change my plans a bit.

Instead of trading hits, risking getting knocked out by his fire-infused punch, I ducked under his arm. As he had thrown his fist in confusion, there was no technique or stability behind it, making his side completely open.

*Crrzt!* *Splurt!*

"ARGH!"

My lightning-covered daggers found their place in the throat of the boy, creating a fountain of blood. There was no chance of survival.

As the man fell, I looked towards the group behind them, trying to determine how they would react. I had made an untold bet with myself, whether or not they would react instantly or if they would get shocked long enough for me to be able to use my step again to retreat.

This had been a choice I made as soon as I saw the man react to my initial blink. Noticing that he would launch an attack, I had to either back off with a consecutive step or commit to ending his life after dodging his attack, imposing the cooldown on the skill.

"Aaaah! He killed him! Fuck!"

Contrary to my expectations, they didn't just get shocked enough to stand still, they even started to run away while screaming.

'No, you don't...'

My step had recharged, and I readied myself to chase after them, determining what angles could be used most efficiently.

But instead of me blinking forward, a pair of arms came from behind, hugging me tightly, "They are not your enemies, right? They haven't done anything..."

Lindsey had once again come to stop me, but this time she spoke incredibly rationally, throwing me out of my Battle Mode. She was right, after all, they didn't attack me, the man I had already killed did.

"Haaaa, you're right. I'm not going to kill them."

But she didn't release me from her arms, "Lindsey? It's okay, I'm not going to do anything to them, you can let me go."

Suddenly I felt something wet falling on my shoulders, 'Is she crying?'

A shaky voice entered my ears, confirming my suspicions, "I know, just... stand still for a second..."

We stood in silence while Lindsey cried, holding me as if to never let go. With my head a bit clearer I could finally see what kind of situation we were in.

Me covered in blood, a body lying just a few feet away and people on the street looking at us in fear, for some reason not running away from me.

My guess was that although I had been the one to kill, they must've recognized that I wasn't the assailant, therefore they let their curiosity dominate their fears, assuming I wouldn't attack unless attacked.

After a while, sirens could be heard from the distance and in a matter of seconds, three men in uniforms came to take us away for questioning.

****

Sitting on a chair in a completely white room, I was currently being questioned by one of the officers who had arrived at the scene. We had already spent about an hour going through what happened, from the incident at the club to when the man had ambushed us, with me answering everything truthfully

"Your testimony checks out with the statements of the witnesses. I just have one last question."

Raising my brows, I got curious as to what he wanted to ask, as we had already gone through everything, "What do you want to know?"

The officer in front of me, David, was of a similar build as James, although not quite as well proportioned, but instead of James's handsome face and blonde hair, he had some signs of aging and brown hair.

Sighing a bit, he let go of his hard, professional expression and asked calmly, "Why did you kill him? Although he may have been the one ultimately choosing to attack first, couldn't you have used some other way?"

Although the youth which I killed had also been a three-star hunter, he had indeed not stood much of a chance against me. It might have been... No, it was entirely possible for me to either just run away or incapacitate him, but I didn't want to do that.

"I would also like to hear your answer to this."

Just as I was about to tell him the truth, a very familiar individual walked through the door. His white beard and robe were all but too familiar to me.

"Master..."

"Greetings to Mr. Lionsworth!", the officer instantly bowed to show his respect to the principal, who in turn only showed a gentle smile and took a seat next to the officer, "No need for all that. Now, little hare, continue."

The arrival of my master had finally made me realize just exactly what I had done. This was the first time I had claimed a life, something that could only be referred to as insanity in my previous world. But in this world, I no longer thought it was.

Bracing myself, knowing that my answer could heavily affect my relationship with my master, I gave my answer truthfully, knowing he was able to look right through me.

"I killed him because he was an enemy, that's all."

David stood up, his face warped with anger at my casual answer, but before he could open his mouth to say anything, the principal intervened. He looked straight into my eyes and asked, "Do you feel guilty?"

Although it wasn't a hard question to answer for me, I knew that he expected me to explain my reasoning as well. Taking a breath, I told him,

"I didn't enjoy killing him, and I can't say that I'm entirely fine with claiming someone's life, but I do not feel guilty about it. I have been taught to kill my enemies, and that's what I did. There is no difference between a human and a monster. If they instigate a fight, I will make sure to end it as efficiently as possible."

Scratching my head, I complimented my answer a bit, "I do feel guilty about making my friend sad, who had to see the atrocity I committed. If there is one thing I feel bad about, it is that."

He closed his eyes for a couple of seconds. Then he stood up and concluded the questioning, completely overruling the poor David who still stood up while speechless, "I will be taking this boy with me officer. If there is anything else, please don't hesitate to contact me."

As we exited the room in silence, there was a girl sitting outside in the hall on a chair, appearing to have waited for me. "It seems like you have a lot to talk about. I will see you at the academy, little hare."

With only me and Lindsey left in the hall, we looked at each other for a bit before talking. Her eyes were bloodshot and her silvery hair was a mess.

"Want to come over and talk for a bit?"

"Mm."