Chapter 100: Help Me

He saw her soothing. She was the most beautiful person that he met aside from that woman in the garden. She was a like fairy and seeing her again made his heart tremble. He dropped his dagger on the ground. He was here for the purpose of stabbing that dagger on her neck. Yet now, he could not do it.

“I heard you were here to kill me.” She said with a weary smile, “We were not that close and I can understand if you do. You made quite an impact. They sent me a letter, telling me to move. Tell me, Arden. Are you here to kill me?”

“I...”

He could utter only a single word. Arden’s mind was in turmoil. He could not think greatly and his heart was disheveled. He wanted to say something. Something that would allow him to pick the dagger he dropped and stab it at the Witch.

Yes, the Witch he has been chasing was her. He was an idiot for deluding himself that the blue haired Witch was not her. He felt lost.

“Arden, you look lost again. “ Lafiel smiled. “You always have that poor look on your face. And every time we meet, you are always injured. Look at you, your body is crumbling and half burned. You will never last against me and despite knowing that you still came here.”

She was right. Arden could never take her on. The absurd Mana she has was comparable to a lake. Not to mention that the place he was standing is located inside a virgin forest. The forest was a like a weapon to her. So how could Arden fight her with such a huge disadvantage?

He was no fool and he could clearly he stands no chance against her. And even if he did, he could no longer raise his hand and point at her.

Arden has a brittle heart. If his friends were in the line he would help them no matter what. When Bell and Syr came to the City, he helped them without thinking about it. They were his friends and he would do anything. Sure, he heard of what Lafiel did but now that he knew it was her.

It changes everything.

He could no longer think straightly. And all of his reasons to kill her vanish just like that. He knows that his abandoning everything he worked for. And just letting it all go to waste after all the murder and chaos he did would be wrong.

But his heart was brittle as glass. He could never kill people he felt soothing. It was the only thing that he had left in his heart. The brittle heart of his was the only thing that survived that fire. And shattering his glass heart and killing Lafiel would kill him inside.

That is why he can only stare a thousand yards away. Confused and lost. Lafiel stared at him. There was something in her eyes, a weary smile, a rather sad one that is.

“I am guessing that you won’t kill me. I am rather glad that you won’t. Honestly...”

She wanted to say something but somehow she kept her mouth shut instead. She looked at Arden, who was staring a thousand yards away. It was the look of a lost child. She has seen many expressions in her life and that was something really familiar.

Honestly, she really wondered. How a man that killed an entire batch of Knights would just abandon all that he did, just by seeing her face? She read the letter sent hastily, telling her to get away from the Mage Killer. At first, she never bothered to do so, trying to face him head on. She was that confident yet after sensing his presence with her left eye, she instead decided to stay and welcome him.

She didn’t know what to say to him. Arden was lost, staring at space. He was someone that didn’t know how to act at the moment.

“Are you okay?”

“I.”

He only muttered a word. Lifelessly, he sat on the floor, his head lowered to the ground. Arden didn’t react. His head was processing all that he did. With his goal gone, all he could think now was the people he killed to get here. It was useless. All he did was useless. He was useless.

He felt sickened and even if he did mock the last vestige on his heart. Then doing so would make him lost all of himself.

He could not allow that. That is why he can only despair on the floor with his head lowered. He sat there. His mind was rattled and there was no way for him to recover from it immediately.

Lafiel could see that he was lost. Honestly, she knew the feeling of it. In this abode that was given to her. She was forced to kill people in the name of the sun’s crown. But what about the man in front of her who was lost after killing so many, only to end up giving up it all in the end?

She should honestly feel disgusted at this reckless man. Yet somehow, she instead stood up and places her palm on his head.

“It’s okay...we make mistakes. You only wanted to help right?”

“I.”

“I know. We might not be that close but I understand you. After all, you are a person who wouldn’t even hold a grudge just because someone said thanks to you.”

“I made a mistake.”

He said grimly.

“I can’t blame you. Well, you are Human after all and not some perfect omnipotent being. So for now, please get up and raise your chin. You are a man. Face the consequences of your deeds bravely. Never despair.”

Arden looked up.

“I don’t know anymore. My heart tells me to spare you but my head tells me to slaughter you what you have done to the fiefs around, no matter reason it is. So tell me,” said Arden. “Do I have to kill you Miss Lafiel? Do I have to do everything I can to stop you from doing what you are doing?”

She saw his eyes that were lost turned that of a demon. She felt shivers for a moment, yet she shook it off and said.

“I am the long-eared guardian of my tribe. All I have been doing was to protect them. I could not abandon them, and letting them suffer is out of the question too.”

“Then...”

“But...”

Lafiel forcibly smiled.

“You could force me. Threaten me and take me away. Prevent me from doing what I do.”

“What do you mean?”

She stood silently for a moment, the fireplace cracking behind her, illuminating her shapely figure. There was an odd unpredictable expression on her face. And then she spoke.

“I want you to help me...”