CHAPTER 45: FIRST BLOOD

"Wow… And I thought Charles was bad… Are you trying to set the world record for the most disgusting human being alive? Very commendable…"

Shocked expressions outlined every single one of them. Ignoring the looks he was getting, Hermes stepped inside and began analyzing the situation closely. Books, paintings, and other decorations were spread across the floor in a chaotic manner.

Without any rhyme or rhythm, the dilapidated state of the room was even reflected in their disheveled figures. Ripped clothing on the two ladies, as well as their messy brunette hair, became apparent to Hermes. But what truly shocked him was the fear in their eyes, 'This bastard is seriously assaulting someone in such a situation?' He thought to himself.

The memories of what occurred moments before his intervention against the Mutant Devil Wolf had spread dread across his body. The caravan was completely decimated, with tanks and convoy trucks all destroyed. Corpses from both monsters and soldiers outlined the battlefield.

Because of his inability to see around him due to the plumes of dust and ash, he had walked completely in the direction Mason instructed him toward without any deviation. Occasionally, he met one or two Mutants that he was unfamiliar with but easily cut down without even the need to activate his gunblade's other form.

Now that he had reached his destination, he was unsure who he was assigned to rescue. Was it the man pinning down the girl, or the two girls themselves? Or were they all nobles? He was unsure, but just one look at the two ladies' faces painted an entirely other picture in his mind.

'If the person Mason wanted me to rescue was this scumbag, then forget it. I'd rather help those two girls instead, whether they are nobles or not…'

He decided to ask about the situation openly. Glancing in Eleanor's direction, he politely forwarded his request for answers. "Miss, could you explain the situation to me? I was instructed by someone named Mason Melbourne to come save the nobles inside this carriage."

Her eyes opened wide at his declaration. "Mason?! You are one of his soldiers?!"

Hermes shook his head slowly. "No, I am just a random mercenary who stumbled upon this situation and decided to assist. I still do not have the complete picture of the situation."

Hope filled her eyes as a glint of happiness twinkled within her mahogany-textured irises. Underneath the veil of dust covering her fair skin, Hermes could tell she was definitely beautiful.

"Dear sir! Please save my sister! This man here is trying to get his way with her! She is only 14 years old!" She pointed in Trevor's direction.

Hermes' brows furrowed as he glanced once more at the pinned-down Elara, her face covered in tears and snot; desperation was the only word to describe her expression.

"..." The scene he was witnessing shocked him once more. He had no words to describe his emotions. It was already disgusting enough to him that the man was assaulting a woman at all, but a child? The mere thought of it sent his heart asunder. A flame of rage ignited within him the longer he stared at the scene.

Noticing his expression, Trevor stood up and grinned. "You bastard, who are you staring at? Just a mere mercenary… Do you know who I am?!"

Trevor continued his rant. "My name is Trevor Blanc! I am a noble of the esteemed Blanc family! If you have come to save us, then do it already!"

Nothing he said entered his ears. It was as if Hermes was possessed by a spirit. Every ounce of his heart wanted to spill blood. As he stepped closer to him, his anger continued to boil over. A switch has flipped within Hermes that even he himself did not know he possessed.

Seeing how ineffective his status was at deterring this 'lowly' mercenary, Trevor was furious.

"You bastard! How dare you disrespect my family name!" Cosmic force gushed out of his body in waves resembling a torrent or storm as they flushed their weight against 'His' body.

"Be careful! He used his dimensionality to suppress us completely! We couldn't resist his advances!" Eleanor's voice echoed in the compact space. Hearing this, 'Hermes' was filled with even more rage.

'I have heard enough. This man deserves death.' The voice in 'His' mind was frigid in nature. It's as if a psychological change had occurred within. As 'Hermes' spoke, an obvious glimmer of bloodlust was coated within each syllable.

Contrary to what Trevor believed would happen, 'Hermes' continued to walk nonchalantly against the storm current of cosmic force; completely unimpeded, an object that could not be stopped whatsoever.

With disgust in 'His' eyes, 'Hermes' looked at the man before him. "You. What is your dimensionality?" 'His' icy voice sent a shiver down the man's spine.

Trevor answered as a small seed of anxiety slowly blossomed within his heart. "Why are you unaffected? My dimensionality is 0.5! How dare you resist me!"

'Hermes' grabbed his arm and twisted it forcibly using 'His' cosmic force. "My dimensionality is 1.0. I am a complete 1-dimensional being."

"Ahhhh!" His pain echoed in all of their ears. Seeing 'His' strength, Eleanor rushed to her sister's direction and hugged her tightly. Tears continued to fall on her bosom, but Eleanor's eyes were curiously stuck on the man who had come to save them in a timely fashion.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

'Hermes' continued his monologue. "It honestly baffles me how people like you can even exist. A waste of space, air, resources... That is what you are. People like you take more than they give. For once in your pathetic existence, you will be giving the world something in return; your life."

'Hermes' let out 'His' cosmic force suppression, as daggers of chilled air stabbed into Trevor's heart, paralyzing him in fear. Dropping to his knees, he began to pant heavily as the air became suffocatingly ominous.

"A thousand years may pass and people like you continue to plague our race. Exterminating these cancers is the only way to bring glory to humanity." 'Hermes' began twisting his other arm. His screams of agony reverberated in all of their bones.

"What are your final words? I will at least grant you this mercy." 'He' declared, as if there was no questioning the final outcome.

"Y-you! I-if you k-kill me, y-you will be labeled as a criminal! I a-am a Guardian cadet! The Military will not allow you to do that! You will be executed as a traitor of the state!" His panic became apparent; he was trying every trick in the book to escape his inevitable death. His thoughts began to churn about what he would do once he was free.

'This bastard… Once I leave here, I'll tell Father about him… I'm sure hiring a bunch of mercenaries to assassinate him will be pretty easy. Hahaha, how ironic! A mercenary being killed by mercenaries...' It was unknown whether this was just his usual arrogance, or his brain filling him with delusional ideas to enhance his chances of survival.

Hearing his reasoning, however, 'Hermes' frowned. 'This piece of trash is a Guardian? Has our race fallen this much?'

Noticing 'His' reaction, hope began to shine throughout Trevor's entire body. "Haha, have you finally understood your place in this world?! You can't do anything to me!"

"Hahaha!" 'His' laughter spread across the dilapidated carriage. 'To think I would be threatened this much someday...' The temperature dropped to below zero; it was unknown whether 'He' was angry or happy, but the eerie feeling within Trevor's heart told him that the situation was not yet over for him.

"Y-you! Why are you lau–"

"Silence." 'Hermes' wiped the tears of laughter from 'His' eyes and shifted 'His' attention to Eleanor. "Close your sister's eyes and ears. I do not want that poor child to experience this."

Hearing the chillness in 'His' voice, Eleanor did not hesitate. She buried her sister's head in her chest and covered her ears tightly before closing her own eyes.

Looking at 'His' cold expression, desperation ran marathons across Trevor's body. "You! Stop! You can't do it! Don't you fear the consequences?! The Empire won't let you get away with this!" Noticing how he was being ignored, Trevor shifted his attention to Eleanor and Elara for any hope.

"Lady Eleanor! Don't you remember how much I have taken care of you and tried to protect you? I have been your assigned Guardian Knight for the past three years! Please, stop him!"

His words entered one ear and out the other. There was no way she would defend the person who had just now tried to sexually assault her sister in front of her. She continued to keep her eyelids closed; what was about to be unleashed had nothing to do with her. Her father had already taught her that sometimes, cruelty is needed for a lasting peace.

Seeing how she was also ignoring him, anger swelled within his heart. He yelled at her in irritation. "You bitch! How dare you treat me like this! Ungrateful whore!"

"You have spoken enough." Trevor looked up in sheer horror. Even though he wanted to continue speaking, he couldn't. The words 'He' spoke completely overpowered his will. It was as if 'He' was a sovereign that no being could transgress upon. 'His' orders were that of a god.

"I have had enough of this farce."

Tightening 'His' grip on the gunblade, 'Hermes' swung it swiftly. An arc of blood gushed out of Trevor's chest. Then 'He' promptly slashed once more, this time horizontally to his throat, slitting it open completely as he fell to his back in agony.

"Agh!"

'Hermes' maneuvered 'His' gunblade in a single fluid motion to the right. 'He' executed a clean blood flick. Trevor's guts and entrails seeped out of the deep wound as his face turned pale. A minute later, his lifeless body began to twitch occasionally from muscle reflexes.

Suddenly, Hermes returned to his usual state. Whatever caused his personality to switch had dissipated. The corpse before him outlined his vision entirely. He lifted his hands and began examining his palms, the same ones that brandished a sword and killed someone in cold blood.

'This… What just happened to me… I didn't feel like myself at all… How can I kill someone this easily… I-I murdered someone… I am a monster…'

He began breathing heavily as sweat outlined every pore of his skin. Never in his life had he ever done such a thing against another human being. He had gotten into one or two fights before in middle school, but they were over really petty things and ended quickly by the teachers.

He had never experienced severe bullying either, so violence had never been a hallmark of his life experiences. Today, for the first time, not only had he fought against someone else, but he killed said person even when they were begging for mercy. A perfect execution with not a hint of empathy for the person before him.

Hermes' body started to shiver incessantly as adrenaline pumped throughout his body in rapid succession. His eyes widened as he stared silently at the corpse lying before him. The fluids in his stomach rushed to his mouth as he held back the desire to empty his gut.

Trying his best to calm himself down, he tried to remember his mission: his desire to save Elizabeth from being a monster. He began to take deep breaths with his eyes closed, but even in the darkness within, the visions of Trevor's corpse lying in a pool of blood continued to plague him.

There was no escaping the torment, but he knew there was still much to do. Stopping in the middle of a battlefield to reflect upon his actions would only result in death. His desire to live outweighed his desire to understand the consequences of his actions. With eyes filled with confusion and shock, he shifted his attention to the two ladies huddled together.

Hermes took off his trench coat and wrapped it around Elara. Slowly opening her eyelids, Eleanor's vision returned to her. Hermes' grief-stricken face outlined itself in the reflection of her eyes. Curious about what had occurred, she wanted to turn her eyes to where Trevor once stood, only to be obstructed by Hermes' arm.

"Do not look. I Would not recommend it."

Her eyes shifted and locked within his gaze. Understanding his intentions, she nodded her head calmly. Eleanor helped her sister stand up as they both followed Hermes outside.

For a whole minute, Hermes stared up at the sky as gunfire and the sounds of explosions surrounded his auditory senses. Seeing how strange he was acting, Eleanor decided to forward her theory openly.

"Kind sir, is this your first time killing someone?"

Hermes hesitated for a bit before nodding his head. "Yes. I don't know what got to me at that time but I couldn't stop myself from doing it. I don't think I even saw him as a human in those few moments…"

They stood in silence as they both allowed each other time to breathe. Hermes sighed loudly. "Alright, I think I had enough time to calm myself down… for now at least…"

Seeing this, Eleanor lifted the two ends of her disheveled dress and bowed courteously. "Once again, I must thank you for saving us. My name is Eleanor Valencourt. And this is my sister, Elara Valencourt. May I know what to address you by, kind sir?"

With his gunblade mounted on his shoulder, Hermes tilted his head backward to face them. "My name is Hermes Wilson, a gold rank mercenary."

End of Chapter