"Stop that!" I saw the young willer clench her fists and stomp her foot on the ground as she cried out.

But Cromel simply ignored her, and the veins of his arm popped even clearer as he tightened his grip and added.

"Power is enforcing your will unto others."

"Didn't you hear me? I said stop that or else!" Her voice rose as she slid the sack that adorned her hip to the front.

"That's it, that's exactly what I'm talking about! The strong need only words to enforce their will unto others!" Cromel erupted in a fierce roar.

"The ability to command others by words alone is the pinnacle of strength. That's exactly why you don't interrupt me! The weak have no right to interrupt the strong!"

The willer rummaged through her brown knapsack for a few moments before she whipped out a strange-looking paper riddled with diagrams.

The piece of parchment captivated my attention for a moment, and I almost failed to notice the spot of shade that was spreading across the ground.

Only when Cromel craned his neck did I notice the cloud gathering above, and the smile that found its way back to his face brought shivers down my spine.

"What about now? Do you still see me as weak?" The willer said with a hint of smugness in her voice.

"Now let her go before I show you what real 'power' feels like."

The girl then raised her hand to the air, threatening to unleash the spell as the black cloud grumbled.

"Is that lightning?"

"That's right! this is house Krosma's sacred art [Grisening cloud]"

Cromel gave a low whistle and said "You're loaded, aren't you? To use something like that on some whore you've never met before."

"The value of someone's life is not measured in coin. Now let her go!"

I noticed a slight tingle in her hand, and it seemed that Cromel had caught it as well.

He glanced at the used scroll that slowly burned from the bottom upwards and smirked "It would be a shame to waste such a beauty, do it."

"What?"

I panicked as I thought that it was I who blurted the words out loud and I further tightened the hand that I held over my mouth all along, hesitating to even take a breath.

Thankfully It was the young willer who made apparent her bafflement.

I had no clue what Cromel was thinking when he said that, but he further made clear his desires.

"I said do it, little punk. Let go of those tiring arms and smite me with your lightning! Let me taste heaven's judgment" He howled, frothing at the mouth.

All the things I heard about the man finally started making sense.

How he cut the tongues off any who angered him, his previous refusal to end the gerents war to satisfy his blood lust, and how he claimed the butcher's district when he fell in love with the smell.

If anything, the rumors failed to do him justice. And my feet froze as I witnessed the extent of his insanity.

The next moments felt like ages as the gnawing pain that ate away at my intestines vanished. I held my breath as my eyes remained fixed upon the ominous cloud, I waited for a bolt of lightning to come crashing down upon Cromel and rid the world of his existence.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

But the lightning never came, and instead of the sound of the roaring thunder rupturing my ears a muffled tap snapped my attention back to the confronted willer.

She had fallen to her knees, her purple cape stained with mud. She drew heavy breaths and the shade that encompassed the area slowly dissipated as a small sheet fell from the sky.

With the scroll completely vanished, the rumbling cloud too started disappearing into thin air.

I didn't even have time to wonder why she didn't release the spell before Cromel stated "Just as I thought..." disappointment clear in his tone.

Short of breath and heavily panting, she muttered "Crazy bastard"

"To choose lighting in that situation... You are out of your element little cunt."

Enraged, the young willer raised her shaky right arm, and an orange ball of flame slowly formed around it, connected to her arm with a thin string. She then grabbed the string and yanked it back, and the ball of flame followed. It stopped just before the dark alley I was hiding in, and it revealed a black cherti bug that had crawled up the wall inches away from his face. The scream of the young willer masked that of my own when she yelled out "Damn you let her go!".

She then yanked the string forward with her arm, hurling the ball of flame towards Cromel who had the look of a child that was getting his first toy.

"Mind-your bus-iness...bitch!" the words struggled to squeeze through what air couldn't, and the strangled harlot caught the blast with her leg as she wrapped another around his waist.

The smell of charred flesh filled the air and the crimson-haired woman placed both her hands on Cromel's cheeks, turning his gaze back to her, and blubbered out "My li-fe..is you-yours to..t-take."

Cromel looked back at his partner, and for a brief moment, a dazed look occupied his face and I thought he was going to finish squeezing what little life she had left.

Instead, he slid the hands that choked her neck downward, their trail by now engraved deep into the reddened skin; and kissed the lips that had turned blue from suffocation.

"Wh—" The young willer didn't even get finish her sentence before a spiked bludgeon found its way to the back of her head. One of Cromel's goons had snuck up behind her and knocked her out with a single strike.

As she fell to the ground, my eyes were fixed on the shine at the back of her head as her brown hair ruffled out of its ponytail.

That was what piqued my interest, not the pool of blood that streamed out of her head nor the lump of brain matter that was snatched by a passing cat.

With Cromel now occupied with his depravity and all his goons with their backs turned towards me, I could finally slip away quietly and get away from this madness.

But my legs froze in place as my mind was lost in thought, this could be the chance of a lifetime.

I had recognized that item at first glance, and for the first time in my life, I felt I could get that which I so desperately sought.

But what I just witnessed weighed heavily on my mind, and the odds of me getting out of this alive seemed slim.

So I simply stood there, conflicted between the prospects of leaving this life behind and leaving life itself behind.

Ugh, of all times for it to go silent...

Eventually, the twisting in my stomach as my body started consuming itself made up my mind.

I knew I had to do this. I took a much needed breath and I resolved my self to that fact. I just needed to make sure that I don't get caught.