Chapter 470: Cooperation (3)

Perseus POV

"You won't take out a family man, would you?" he asked as he drew out a sword himself.

In a split second, my sword was drawn, gleaming in the ambient light as my hands blurred into motion. The guards, caught off guard by my sudden appearance and swiftness, attempted to react, but before they could form a coherent defense, my blade found its mark. With swift, calculated strikes, I incapacitated them one by one, efficiently disarming their attempts to retaliate.

"Come on, ya gotta try better than that, I didn't even use my full strength nor speed, put some more magic in it."

But that was just a taunt, I'm not risking anything. In an instant, my sword was out and in motion once again. With a practiced fluidity, I swiftly moved among them, leaving them no time for them to react, no chance for them to mount a defense.

They were down permanently before the realization of my attack fully registered. Each strike looked like a blur, as I swiftly killed off the guards in a matter of seconds. Their deaths were as swift as a passing breeze, leaving behind Zach in stunned silence in the wake of my lightning-fast actions.

"Seriously bro, soul merchant? Couldn't you have chosen a better nickname?"

"Look, if you're gonna kill me, do it." he ordered, "You know that I can't win."

"Why would I kill you?"

"You'd be a fool not to."

"Why?"

"Because it's what anyone in your position would do. Eliminate the threat. Tie up loose ends. You'd be a fool not to."

"Why this business, Zach? Why deal in people's lives? There are a hundred other paths you could've taken."

"You think I woke up one day and said, 'Oh, dealing in souls sounds like a blast'? No. It was survival. I clawed my way out of a village where hunger was the norm. I saw people trade anything for a morsel of food, sacrifice their dignity just to survive."

"Your village looked fine when I last visited it."

"Who do you think supplied them with the money?! Who do you think funded those so-called improvements?" he retorted, "Sure we are the only enchanters, but that's all we had. And those...those stupid kingdoms' nobles always threatened our lives if we sold it any higher in value, this was before stupid laws were made to protect us from their greed and threats.

"We were not needed, there were no heroes, and the war was just the same as ever, no escalations, making it so that we aren't that much needed. Every dirty deal, every soul traded, every bargain struck, I poured the gains back into that village. I made sure they had enough to eat, enough to make it seem like life was better."

"So they knew..."

"Of course they did." he admitted, "Everyone needed to feed their families. I remembered my first visit here with my master...I stumbled upon this twisted market, where power and wealth weren't just commodities but the keys to survival. I saw an opportunity, a way to claw myself out of the gutters and into a world that didn't laugh at my poverty.

"I hated being looked down upon, mocked for where I came from. So, yeah, I took a name that sounded powerful. In this cutthroat world, you either play the game or get trampled. And I wasn't about to be trampled again.

"You think I wanted this? I wanted to be respected, feared even. I wanted to turn the tables on a world that laughed at the poor boy from the sticks. So yeah, I became the Soul Merchant, dealing in what others deemed forbidden because that was the only path I saw to climb out of the dirt."

The layers of deception and manipulation ran deeper than I'd ever imagined. But what to do...fine, I'm not going to kill him...but I'm not letting him escape here for nothing. His brother and comrades would be killed by Buddy, that should be more than enough punishments...well, I'm going to make sure he never speaks again.

He has a child...I can't believe I let Maple's ideals seep into me like this...so, I'll just make him mute, I'll use my powers to force him to find a way to repay the families who suffered because of this and I'll make sure that he can never speak again, no matter how much healing he receive...it's better than just killing him.

*****

"Oh, you didn't kill him?" Rosa questioned as I threw Zach onto the pile of defeated guys.

"Nah, but he'll suffer a lot and is going to do a lot of things against his own will.

I checked and saw that Rosa already anonymously called some legal authorities from Tehios to free the captured people, both the humans and demons. We then rushed out of the scene and went to wait in a nearby restaurant, I paid for a private room as usual so that we could have a private conversation.

Buddy confirmed that there were no spying or listening devices, so we were safe to talk about whatever, Buddy took this opportunity to express his frustration with my brother's new dog.

"Hmm, you like fried jalapeno poppers too, huh." I commented after our appetizers arrived and saw her wolfing them down

They're called small jala peppers instead of jalapenos sometimes here, which is weird, but then again, it's not the same world.

"Am I eating it too fast?" She asked slightly ashamed

"No, don't feel guilty, I like them too, I'll order some more since we both eat a lot anyway."

My phone then buzzed and blew up with a lot of notifications, Leilah must have realized, might as well past the time here.

*****

"How's your life here so far?"

"It's good." she replied, "I don't feel as lonely anymore...the village is really too accepting."

"Good."

"Are you going to take the chief's mantle?"

"Oh hell no, I hate the responsibility, with the possibility of having a lot of kids, I won't have time to be a present father if I do, so I'm just going to be regular old me, I already have to make up time with you, so yeah."

"You don't have to."

"I do. I may not be physically old enough to be a parental figure like Leilah, but I still ahve to try somewhat, she wanted to do this and I have to cooperate if we want a happy life."