Pulling the chair over to the bed, I studied the old man.

His thin chest and body told me he had been bedridden for years. His eyes were lucid and clear, but the exhaustion that mired his very clear concern made even me feel tired.

He tried to sit up… but couldn’t. His body wobbled in the effort... then abruptly fell back to the lush pillows he laid upon.

“I can’t even face my death on my own two feet,” he complained.

“That is why they warn you not to wait too long to die,” I said.

The old man coughed as he smiled… as if his body reluctantly fought back against a laugh.

Sitting down, I sat right near the bed. Close enough that if we both extended our hands, we’d be able to touch… but not any closer.

Glancing around at the room, I noticed the… odd stillness of it. The morning sun-rays filtered in from a half-closed curtain. There wasn’t much dust in the air, and the room was rather… clean, considering how big it was.

The man was obviously too frail to keep the room tidy, so the servants did so.

Either the servants cherished this old man, or did a very good job out of fear.

Judging from the carnage that lay just outside the room, littering the long hallway and the rest of the house…

“You had a few loyal men,” I said to him.

His eyes narrowed at me, and I noticed the hint of amusement in them.

It’s been a long time since I had sat in front of a man who was capable of tossing aside his fear and hate… and find amusement in his upcoming and inevitable death.

Usually women got like this more than men.

“Two good men. Three wonderful women. My sons stole the rest,” the eldest male of the Primdoll family said.

I nodded. Those two men were right outside.

Or well, their bodies were.

The women… hopefully were still alive. I had only killed four since entering this house, two had been his daughters. The other two had been guards themselves.

Most of the maids had hidden. Or cowed, curled up against the floor and walls in my presence.

I had left them alone.

Sitting back in the chair, I studied the old man. He wasn’t trembling… he wasn’t crying…

In fact, he somehow looked a little better now than he had upon my entering his room.

The adrenaline probably helped.

“My children are evil,” he then said.

His voice was raspy, but not strained. He wasn’t in pain.

“They were,” I agreed.

The man squeezed his eyes shut. Finally, the first tear slid between the old wrinkles around his eyes.

“I hate you… yet I thank you. For stopping them,” he said.

“You’re welcome,” I said… and honestly meant it.

The old man breathed deeply, and I noticed his heartbeat. It was beating fast… but now there was a strange rhythm to it.

Poor man was about to die from the grief. The torment of emotions, and shock, was too much for his old worn heart by the sound of its weak thumping.

Would it be a heart attack or stroke, I wonder?

Would it be kinder to just…

“Who was she? Your wife?” the man then asked.

He didn’t open his eyes to look at me. Even though his old age hadn’t robbed him of his sight.

He didn’t want to see me as he heard the truth.

In a way that was its own form of fear.

“She was the daughter of a very good friend,” I said gently.

His hands clenched, grabbing the thin blankets that covered him. Sudden strength filled his old body.

“It’s my fault, isn’t it? For not stopping them. For not being strong enough to…” he went quiet as he struggled to say the words. Struggled as he both admitted to it and faced the truth of his weakness.

“Some say it is the job of the father to face the sins of the sons. In your case, daughters as well,” I said.

One of the daughters had been caught in the act. She had been the second person I killed upon entering this house.

I tried not to think of that room. I tried not to think of what she had been doing.

Disgusting wasn’t a strong enough of a word for it.

“My children…” the old man finally broke. Tears poured as he released a sob.

I didn’t really pity the man. Nor did I find his sudden regret a valid excuse.

He may be infirm and incapable now, but years ago? When his children had been young?

He had to have noticed. He had to have seen what his children were becoming.

People did not become so cruel and diabolical over night.

They either progressed into such atrocities, or learned it from elsewhere.

For years they had probably abused their servants. There had to have been plenty of signs.

No matter how much he cried… the fact remained the blame rested upon his shoulders.

“They died quickly,” I told him.

His breathing deepened as he squeezed his eyes shut. As if trying to not hear me speak.

“No one will suffer anymore,” I said. At least, not at the hands of his family.

Slowly standing, I watched the old man as I heard his heart skip a beat.

“Your line ends here. No more shall your blood taint this world,” I said to him.

His teeth, what remained of them, made noises as he clenched his jaw.

Then his neck coiled in stress, and…

Watching the man open his eyes in shock, he suddenly grabbed his chest. Scratching at it to the point of wounding himself. He went rigid, and he opened his mouth to say something… but nothing but gagging came out.

Heart attack. From the stress.

“Goodbye,” I said to him as his eyes rolled upward and he passed out.

The man rolled a little, going limp. Fingers and toes twitched as I heard his heart thump wildly for a few second… then come to a stop.

Suddenly the room went quiet.

Off in the distance, beyond the door and walls… I heard sobbing. Crying. From women. Most likely the maids nearby.

Reaching out, I put my hand against the old man’s throat. I avoided the slobber and tears, but there was a layer of sweat.

No heartbeat.

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Hm…

Putting my hand against his chest. With my palm spread open, I felt the lack of heartbeat. The lack of movement.

With a little pressure, I pushed down. At first all he did was sink deeper into the soft bed… but then there was nowhere else to go.

A little more pressure was all it took to break the sternum, than the ribs. Half a moment later, I felt the organs within get crushed as well.

He didn’t twitch as his bones broke. The man didn’t cough as his lungs were punctured by broken ribs.

Once I was sure that I had injured him enough to ensure his death, I sighed and turned away.

Walking out of his room, I entered back into the hallway… and found only a single person still alive.

A young girl was kneeling in front of one of the men I had killed. She was digging through one of his pockets while doing her best to not step into the blood pooling on the carpet.

Walking towards her, I watched as she glanced at me. She paused for a brief moment, and then went back to searching for whatever she sought.

“Was he precious to you?” I asked her as I neared her.

“No. He… he stole…” she hesitated, and then finally found whatever she was looking for. Pulling it out, she showed me a small locket. Something worn, and old. Probably not worth much at all.

With shaking hands, she fumbled it as she tried to open it. Once she got it open, she stood and held it out to show me.

Looking down at the little mirror and the small crack it had… I nodded. “I see,” I said.

“Was my mother’s,” she said with a wobbly voice. Was it shaking because she herself was trembling, or was that a vocal tick?

“Then don’t lose it again,” I said to her.

She gulped, and then nodded quickly.

Walking around her, heading to the front of the house… I frowned and wondered how many I had just put out of work.

At least a few dozen, based off the size of this estate.

A whole knight battalion lost.

A noble castle too, now.

Innocents suffered, even when I righted wrongs. Even when I killed the evil…

Stepping over the body of a man, I tried to remember his name. He had been the oldest son of the Primdoll family.

He had tried to run from me, upon realizing what my goal had been. He had hurried down the stairs, because of the commotion. He had watched me kill his sister.

At first he had tried to escape. He failed at that. Then he tried to pay me for his life.

When that hadn’t worked, he had actually tried to take me to his father. To offer him to me. In exchange for his own life.

Somehow that made him all the more disgusting.

Reaching a large stairwell, I slowly began to descend it.

I could hear talking. Arguing. Coming from downstairs.

Most likely other guards, and servants, all arguing about what to do. What they should do. What they should do about me.

Surely by now someone had to of ran to the Lord’s Office. Or another noble’s house… but I wasn’t too worried about it.

It actually hadn’t taken that long to break into the house, and finish the job.

Especially when the servants had been so helpful.

“Did you kill him?” An older woman asked me as I reached the first floor. She had been the one to guide me to the oldest daughter… back when I had first broken through the front door.

Although she had guided me to the stairwell, and told me which hallway to go down… she hadn’t ascended with me.

“He’s dead,” I said. Although I had crushed his chest, I had not actually killed him myself. His heart had done that.

Though I suppose one could argue the stress that killed that heart, had been made by me…

The older maid took a deep breath, and released it slowly. Seemingly relieved.

“There’s no other children, right?” I asked her.

She shook her head.

Two daughters. Renn had said that Amber had been hired to paint a young girl, but she hadn't been that young. Not young enough to escape my wrath. Nor young enough to be innocent.

This very maid had told me what she had done. To not just Amber, but others like her.

“If I find out you led me astray…” I really didn’t need to warn her. But just in case, I tried anyway.

A hard look was my answer as she nodded. “I swear it.”

“Good. Are the other servants nearby?” I asked her.

“Most have run away,” she said.

“Smart,” I said, and gestured for her to follow me.

She did so, walking a few feet behind me to my right. As if suddenly this was my house and she my maid.

Heading for the entrance, I noticed the looks as I walked past rooms and windows. Nearly a dozen people were watching me, peering at me from behind curtains or doors.

Entering the front foyer, I found that they had laid a drape over the youngest son. The first person I had killed upon entering the house. The body lay in the center, in front of doors and paintings.

One of those doors led to a room underneath, to something of a basement. The body of the eldest daughter was in that one.

Hopefully they simply burnt that body. It didn’t deserve any compassion.

A few other servants were in the foyer. They all went silent, staring at me with wide eyes as I headed for the center of the room. The most notable was an armored guard. One of the very first I had encountered upon entering the building. He no longer carried his sword nor looked willing to confront me. His defiance was gone.

I had broken both his sword and will earlier. Off near the front door, it laid in many pieces.

Standing near the body, I glanced around and nodded. There weren’t many. Probably twenty people or so watching me… but it was enough. Especially since the oldest maid, and one of the guards were here.

“I’ve killed the Pimdoll family. As far as I’m aware their whole family line. I did so out of revenge. They had tortured and murdered someone precious to me,” I spoke loudly, but clearly. Many of the servants shifted and startled at my voice, as if it was deafening.

“You’re free to try and take revenge for them, if you’d like. It will be futile, but do as you wish,” I said.

I waited for a few moments, but it was clearly obvious none were going to try. A few even looked around, not so much to see if anyone would try with them… but to see who was stupid enough to actually try.

“To all here tonight! Leave this building! Take only what you can carry. Go back to your homes, or family. Tell no one what happened. I spared you. I’ll not do so again!” I said loudly.

Standing still for a moment, I waited to see who would be the first to take my advice.

Surprisingly, it was the guard who I had spared.

He turned on a heel and ran. Back down the hallway I had just come from.

Chances were he knew where the most valuable stuff was.

With his hurried footsteps, many other servants suddenly turned and went into motion themselves. Many ran in different directions, but all ran deeper into the building. Not out of it.

Before I turned, I found the old maid who had guided me. She was in the middle of bowing to me. The act was proper, and she did so slowly... telling me just how much emotion she was putting into the action.

Smiling softly I nodded.

Turning away, I left the Primdoll Estate. It wasn’t as big as some other noble houses, so it didn’t take me too long to leave.

The morning sun was already overhead. Birds were chirping, and there was a light wind.

That wind wasn’t strong enough to disperse the cloud of dark smoke in the sky. The fire was probably mostly stopped, but the embers remained.

The fire was most likely the reason no other knights had arrived yet… or of course, maybe all those who had ran away had not gone to get help at all.

Odds were the servants hadn’t cared for their masters. Some, like that maid and knight, had been more than happy to let me by. To even guide me to where my next target had been.

Heading for the nearest road, I took one last glance at the castle.

Four stories. Many rooms with hundreds of windows split amongst them. The Primdoll family I had heard was a family of lesser nobles. Those without real status or stations.

Yet that house definitely didn’t look like a lesser family’s household.

Either the human’s society and its wealth was growing disproportionate, or the Primdoll’s were more powerful than I had been led to believe.

Rolling my shoulder, I stepped down the road and headed for the eastern gate.

There was no point in hurrying, but yet at the same time I found myself walking faster than normal.

To get away from the carnage I had just committed.

To get away from the smoke in the sky.

To get away from the evil I had just seen with my own eyes.

Getting revenge for Amber wasn’t just the reason I had done what I did.

She had been a member of our Society, yes… and I had hoped for greater plans for her… but the reality was humans died. They perished quickly, and easily.

But I knew soon many would hear of these events. Right now no one else knew the Sleepy Artist was gone… but I’d tell the next member I saw the truth. Then they would tell others. And before long the whole of the Society would know.

When that story got told, two simple things needed to join it.

One, there was hope. That the members who called the Sleepy Artist home could still be alive.

And secondly, possibly most importantly… there was a cost to our losses.

I had burnt down an entire knight order’s base, and slaughtered a whole noble family who had harmed our members.

The acts weren’t just in vengeance… they were proactive. The Society had to know that I’d always get revenge. No matter who or what tested us.

Hopefully it’d be enough.

Rounding a corner, I hesitated at the sight of someone waiting for me.

“Really…” I whispered, and wondered what I was going to do with her.

Renn sat down the road, kicking her legs lightly as if lost in thought. She was sitting on top of a stone wall, something of a fence, for a large plot of land. In this district, the noble’s district, she’d usually get shooed away or chased off by a knight or servant. Today though, this early in the morning, she had been left alone.

She smiled at the sight of me and hopped off the small stone fence she had been sitting on. Nearly slipping, as if the stones we walked upon were wet, she steadied herself and approached me quickly.

Luckily she no longer wore that silk dress. Although it had suited her… it also hadn’t. It made her look too human.

Renn wore a huge smile as she hurried up to me. Her small bag flopped on her back, not made for the burst of motion.

That smile was pure. Real. A little toothy, and…

Not something I normally saw at times like these.

Giving Renn, who obviously hadn’t waited for me where I had told her to, a nod to tell her the deed was done was easy to do.

But when I nodded and her smile grew even brighter… I found myself hesitating.

I needed to be careful.

I didn’t want to grow too attached to that smile.

Yet as she approached closer and her tears began to join that strange smile… I realized it was already too late.

Far too late.