A token question I used to ask just anyone I was beating up suddenly turned into a piece of information.

Tanien the Iron Gauntlet was staring at me, the ice spear was still looming over him, and I had his hands in my grip ready to twist it off.

“Where…?”

“Y-you’ll let me go? I promise to tell you everything—“

Was it a lie? Probably. Was it absurd to even think someone would know a way to ‘kill god’? Absolutely. the world-changing information must be just some random nonsense, but there was no way for me to ignore it.

I simply couldn’t.

Even if it was false hope—a fragile thread on a creaky bridge—I couldn’t let go of it. If there was any chance of getting my revenge, I would take it no matter what.

“What did you say their name was?”

“I-it’s not a single organization. You should go there! Just let me live, alright? I’ll tell you everything, I’ll even give you my carriage.”

I nodded at his words.

“Lastly, the elves that you captured. Where are they?”

“T-the elves…?” I could see the gears turning in Tanien’s head as he looked at me. He was wondering if he should offer any information right now or not. In the end, he decided to cooperate and nodded. “They are in the city’s prison! With the knight order, since the prisons were empty we stored the people there.”

So Marco was going to be reunited with his family after all.

“Alright,” I said.

“Y-you’ll let me live?”

I looked at the Butler and the young lord in the corner, both of their eyes were clouded over as soon as the thought of Tanien escaping alive surfaced.

I sighed and snapped my fingers.

“AAAAH!”

The decision was obvious.

***

Screams and shouts, or rather, cheers erupted from outside.

The young lord and the butler followed behind me to the terrace of the castle. Standing atop the balcony, I rested my hands on the railings and looked over the entire city.

At the very center, the dozens and dozens of goons and thugs terrorizing the city so far stood in a line. Most of them were battered to no end. On one side the citizens of the city, headed by the knights stood, and on the other were the skelians.

All of them cheered. Tears dripped like rain as the people cried.

“Incredible…” the butler muttered. His eyes were misty as well. The citizens and the Skelians looked our way from beyond the castle walls, our eyes meeting.

Slowly, all the Skelians lowered to their knees.

“This…”

“He is the ruler of these skeletons…”

“A dark mage…”

“Heretic…”

“So what?”

“They saved this city, they saved us all.”

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“We owe him. This is all thanks to him…”

Whispers and murmurs piled on top of each other, slowly becoming loud enough to reach my ears.

Suddenly, the young lord pushed off from the butler’s hands.

“Lord!”

The butler’s scream snapped all of their attention to the castle.

I looked at the Young Lord. The juvenile redheaded ruler was supposed to take care of this city from now on.

The Young Lord bowed his head and sniffled.

“Thank you…” he said through his sobs. “Thank you for helping us.”

A smile slipped out. This city was probably in good hands.

***

There was nothing like a giant party or a parade, only tears and people stepping out of their homes. After so long, the citizens could walk freely on the streets, and the prisons were occupied by the gangsters and not ‘goods’ to be sold.

Arthanal, an old guard captain took over the lead again. Along with the citizens, the guards threw all the thugs behind bars and took over the security of the city. He seemed to have felt strongly for Skelian 9, even frequently visiting him while I spent a day in the town. I figured he might be a weirdo considering he was good friends with 9 of all people.

A lady spent the day doling out food to everyone for free, alongside some other volunteers while the others started on construction themselves. She gave me some extra meat as well. She had lost her son to the bandits since she couldn’t pay the ‘taxes.’

It had happened just a week before. She couldn’t help but say it out loud, that she wished I was just a week sooner, but she didn’t hold it against me.

An envoy, mostly of citizens and the servants at the mansion, left the city for the capital of Rascarte to ask for assistance.

And as for Marco, he was reunited with the rest of the elves.

After the little lord’s actions, the people of the city treated me with a lot of respect and care. But really, seeing the people help each other was the best way for them to thank me.

I talked to them all, about their suffering, but I brushed over those gritty and depressing details because I wanted to look at what was ahead, away from the gods that had judged that these people shall suffer under the rule of Tanien.

The wounds of the city were too great to heal overnight, but with the people who bore those wounds helping each other, tending to and dressing the wounds, they would slowly get better.

Better enough that one day I could come around and ask.

“What takes away from your suffering?”

***

With a bag slung over my shoulders, I walked out of the city early morning after spending three days there.

The embrace of the mountainous forests welcomed me again, as ever, it was back on the roads and maybe atop the trees.

“Waaait!”

I looked back, and a young elf with long, pointed ears came running over with a bang in his hands.

“Marco?”

“Haah… Finally caught up to you.”

“What are you doing here, brat?”

Marco fidgeted under my glare.

“T-that… I have to teach you spirit magic, right? I’ll go with you!”

I crossed my arms. “There is no need for that. It’s fine, I found another thing more useful. You can go back to your parents.”

“No no! I have to keep the promise, even my parents said the same thing.”

Wasn’t this guy away from his family for so long?

“It might take a while. I am going somewhere far.”

“A year or two?” Marco asked. “That’s no big deal! Humans learn rather fast, I’ll accompany you the rest of the way.”

“You’re fine being away for a year!?” I wasn’t planning that long a trip, it was just a few days to the Lawless Zone!

“Of course? That’s barely anything.”

“Marco… how old are you?”

“Aha, I am still young compared to you, I turned 47 this year.”

Damned elves and their skewed sense of time. I thought carefully about this. Learning new magic was good, and Marco might be able to do some odd jobs as well. I can simply drop him off before entering the Lawless Zone since it could get dangerous.

“Fine, come along,” I said. The advantages outweighed the disadvantages, and it was for a short while anyway.

Marco sighed in relief then turned back. I noticed that two more elves were peeking out from behind the gates of the city. Marco raised his thumbs and they waved back.

Was this guy really 47…? How old are those parents anyway?

I took a few steps away from Marco and sighed. The road ahead curved away from Rascarte, further to the west. Clips and clops of horses and the rumbling of a carriage echoed from the road.

Marco came up next to me and his eyes widened. The carriage stopped right in front of us, and the coachman pointed at the doors.

“Alright, get in you bastard—“

I glared at him.

“Sorry… I mean sir.”

“W-w-wait!” Marco yelped. “I-isn’t that… That’s!!”

The coachman with only one hand smirked at Marco and I sighed.

“This person is going to be our guide. You know him, Tanien, but just call him whatever you want.”

“EHHHH!?”

“Are you guys getting in? We have to leave!”

I stepped into the carriage and fell back on the seats. It was truly luxurious. Marco followed, still not believing his eyes.

Lastly, Tanien got into the front and whipped the reins. With a small neigh, the horses took off and the carriage rolled over the roads.

“So…” Marco muttered. “Where are you headed?”

“The lawless zone. I plan to infiltrate a gathering of criminals.”

“Ah… alright…” Marco nodded. “Wait! The Lawless Zone?! The Garbage King’s territory!?”

I didn’t reply and closed my eyes.

That was exactly where we were headed.

***

[Part 3: The Blaspheme - Begin!]