"But... But... I told you that I am just an ordinary bell boy," Aric pleaded again. His face was filled with shock and fear. One could easily understand the fear of the young boy who had just come out for his first adventure.

"What if you are? What if you are not?" Tory said as she slowly approached Aric, who was panicking with every step. In desperation, Aric went down to his knees and said,

"Please... Spare me... I have a young brother and a sister to tend to at home. I just came out to feed my family. Please spare me. I beg you." Aric said with a voice croaking under his tears that had welled up in his eyes.

"Tory... Just finish him off... His pleading is now becoming pathetic... A man should stand up to his fate," George, who was being tended to by the woman and the other man, said. He didn't even have an ounce of mercy in his voice. He spoke as if Aric was some ant that needed to be swatted away.

Tory, getting the support, quickened her pace and then pulled her hand backward to stab at Aric. But before she could thrust it at Aric, she fell face-first to the ground. And Tory wasn't the only one. The other two, who were attending to George, did the same. If one noticed their heads, they would see a small circular burnt spot that allowed one to look through.

George was the only one who was fine and looked dumbfounded. Aric, meanwhile, who was on his knees, got up and brushed off the nonexistent dirt on his knees. It was a self-cleaning nano suit, what did you expect?

George didn't understand what had happened and pulled his sheathed sword, looking around. He didn't touch the bodies of his friends that lay dead because he knew they were dead. Their deaths didn't seem to shake him at all, but the fact that he had not been assassinated yet with whatever that was did.

"Who is it? Come out, you bastard... Killing someone from behind. What kind of coward are you?" George spilled out as he stood up instantly and looked at the open space outside the cave.

"Well... Well... Killing people at this hour wasn't on my bingo card today," Aric said from behind. These words made George more alert as he turned his eyes to look at Aric, expecting him to hold Tory's dagger and thrust at him, but Aric looked immensely calm and collected, while being unarmed. This threw George off.

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At first, watching the fear in Aric's eyes, he didn't consider him a threat at all. Then Aric spoke up, and his quick mind thought the youngling would want to seek revenge on him, but this wasn't it either.

There was just a cold look in his eyes. He had seen that look multiple times before because it was the same look he had seen in the mirror after Elowen had betrayed him years ago. He was a man of proper morality before, but the betrayal changed him fundamentally, and he had coped with it by becoming another version of Elowen herself.

It didn't take rocket science for George to understand that whoever had just killed his comrades with such sophistry was someone who worked with or was under Aric. Hell, he had seen multiple mages in his life and even a few Acolytes themselves, but he had never seen an attack where he didn't even see an attack take place. It was faster than an arrow, and he couldn't even find an arrow.

The next moment, he threw the sword down and went on his knees himself. There was a look of fear in his eyes as he looked at Aric and said,

"I am sorry... I am sorry that I didn't recognize you and allowed my dead comrade to try to kill you. We just wanted to live our lives and tie up the loose ends here so that we are not prosecuted in any Adventure Guilds. If we are convicted in the future for killing a fellow adventurer, we will lose stars. Please understand my situation and give a leeway." George was begging when he said that, but his words didn't reach Aric's ears at all.

"I thought you were all muscles and pride, but I was mistaken. You do have a little brain that is rough around the edges," Aric said, surprised that it didn't take much time for George to understand his situation. The reason why the other three were dead was that the drones had already locked on their targets from the moment they had entered the cave. Only a command was needed, and it was easy to take them down since they were not even moving. George was again confused by Aric's choice of words.

Aric was particular about his words when he was in the magical world. He would never use modern words with them when he was around, but now that he was alone, he could choose the words that he was comfortable with.

And this threw George off track because he didn't understand him at all.

"I am sorry... Please forgive me... Please.. Please tell your esteemed guard to spare us." George could only repeat his words. He thought Aric was rich and had actually Neophyte guards with him.

"A man should stand up to his fate," Aric said as he slowly pulled out the gun from the side of his waist. George had never seen such equipment as Aric pointed the barrel at him. He was confused, and before he knew it, Aric pulled the trigger.

Just like the others, he too died without comprehending what had killed him. The drones, which were invisibly hovering by, showed themselves for the first time. Aric felt like he was looking at his protective pets and even gave one of the drones a small pet.

He had never been afraid of them when they had arrived, but he didn't want any kind of confrontation. Because now he would have to cover up what he had done here. This was the hard part.