Chapter 17: They deserve it

Rye was too stunned to speak or move as she watched Misha twist in the knife, while the boy sputtered out blood like a fountain.

"Mi-misha! Wha-what—"

But Misha wasn't paying attention, her full focus was on finishing what she started.

It wasn't until the boy's face went completely stiff, and his body flopped to the ground without struggling that she finally pulled out the dagger.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?" Rye demanded putting more space between her and Misha.

Whatever thought she previously had about them being friends disappeared as she stared at Misha like one would stare at a monster.

"What needs to be done!" Misha responded by cleaning the blood off the dagger by wiping it on the boy's clothes.

Rye's mouth dropped open in shock, as she watched Misha behave like a seasoned murderer.

"They're Reds! He would suck you dry and wouldn't even bat an eyelid," Misha coldly pointed out while Rye slowly shook her head with a stunned expression plastered to her face.

"Yo-you just KILLED SOMEONE!" Rye stuttered yelling the rest with as much force as she could muster.

"I can't believe you killed him," Rye continued about to say more as she found it hard to process what just happened.

But Misha boldly interrupted, waking up to her until she stood a few inches away from her.

"You'll leave this very second. I want you gone within the hour. If not—"

"Why-why are you doing this? Is it such a bad thing for me to stay?"

"If not, I'll make sure everyone knows that you killed Mr Helton's only son. You can imagine what the villagers would do then,"

Rye was astounded and horrified both at the same time, her mouth shaking, opening, and closing without any words coming out of it.

"Tha-that's why you killed him? I'll tell them the truth!" Rye yelled back, her eyes gradually turning fierce with a fiery light to it.

"The truth? I have no reason to kill him but you do. You found out that he discovered that you were human and you killed him. They might not killed you, but I can assure you that your limbs won't be intact when they're done with you,"

Rye was furious! At first, she had assumed Misha to be her friend but the murderer in front of her was a completely different person that scared her.

If she refused to leave, nothing was stopping Misha from killing her the same way, she killed the boy on the ground.

"Why-at least tell me why you're doing this!"

"Didn't I say it before? I hate humans, especially ones like you who think there's hope. If you killed yourself, the Reds would be weak and we Santors wouldn't have been viciously massacred!"

"If you leave, you'll suffer enough to wish you were dead and without humans, I- I wouldn't be a half-breed!" her voice, much lower than before in a way that showed that the second part of her statement was the most important one.

Rye no longer saw a reason to speak as she moved to pick up the bag on the floor.

If she refused to leave, no one would believe that she hadn't killed the boy.

'Even now, I'm sure the moment I do, Misha would report that I had killed the boy so there's no way I can come back,'

"I'm leaving," Rye told her, squaring her shoulders as she walked forward straight to the door of the barn without looking back.

"The faster I leave the better," Rye mumbled to herself as she walked out with the bag in her hands, walking quickly towards the path Misha pointed at.

It was the exit to the village that led straight to the next Baran village, one that allowed her to leave without anyone caring to know why she was headed out.

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"Burn the village to the ground!" A loud voice uttered with a deep authoritative tone that none of them dared to disobey.

Still, the order didn't stop all the men from flinching, as their eyes caught the children hugging their mothers, some of whom hadn't even reached puberty.

One of the hired men, in particular, gritted his teeth as he moved closer to them.

The small horns on his head and his gigantic stature made it extremely obvious what species he belonged to.

"Remember the money—Remember the money," he mumbled to himself, knowing that it was the main reason he had joined the mission.

The worst part was that the moment he disobeyed, the officers around him and the lieutenant would have his head hanging off a tree.

"Klaton! They're all Reds" Mino whispered from beside him with a worried expression on his face, turning to look at Klaton, not particularly surprised to see the blank look he had

It was cold, dark, and uncaring yet underneath was still a trace of anger, one directed at the 2nd lieutenant, whose orders he had to follow.

"I can't believe he would order them killed like that," Mino continued to whisper under his breath as he watched the ones closest to the villagers move to carry out the other, while the both of them lingered behind.

"Reds are terrible, even to themselves," Klaton whispered back, watching the men around him slowly drench the villagers one after the other in fuel until they were ready to light them up.

They both quietly watched as the villagers screamed and sobbed, shaking in fear at the brink of death.

Even the Hornel with the touch trembled slightly as he hardened his heart for what was to come.

"On second thoughts! Kill only the men! Leave the younger ones! If they hadn't given so much trouble I wouldn't care," the Lieutenant barked, turning his horse in the other direction to leave.

The screams started soon after from both sides as the stench of burnt flesh slowly spread in the air.

"Let's go! The sooner we get to the last village the better it'll be," Klaton urged Mino under his breath, the second he caught him turning around and staring at villagers with a glazed expression in his eyes.

"I didn't expect you to care so much,"

"I don't!" Mino responded in a much colder tone than he usually used, one Klaton wasn't used to seeing.

"The scene simply reminds me of when my home was raided,"

Klaton nodded with no change in his expression considering he had no memories of having a home.

Leaving behind the screams and stench of ash in the air, Klaton with Mini by his side stood close to the main company as they matched towards the last village they needed to go.

No one seemed particularly worried and even the Hornel who had been riddled with guilt from setting the village men on fire seemed to no longer care.

'They're Reds! They deserve it!"

But thirty minutes had barely gone into the journey when a lone woman was spotted by the side of the road with her head lowered to the ground, walking slowly like someone with no particular destination in mind.