— Third Person POV —
Adel stood still and silent, his gaze fixed on the now lifeless body. Giorgina lay stretched out on a bed of white and violet flowers that he himself had picked and arranged carefully, as if trying to give a little dignity back to a life that had never had any.
Normally, Adel was not the kind of person to care about things like that, but for her... he wanted to make an exception, a gesture to remind himself that she had existed.
"Thank you for calling me kind, even though I am not."
There was no sign of remorse or anger in Adel's voice, only bitterness. If he had been someone with a heart, he would have remembered that the girl was still there, but he was not, and she was dead now.
Adel was a realist, and what had happened could not be changed. He accepted that he had been responsible for the girl's death, and if Giorgina's resentment haunted him, he would accept it along with everything else.
"If you kill one innocent person, you become a sinner; ten, a serial killer; a hundred, an assassin; a thousand, a monster. So I wonder: what does someone become who has killed more than five hundred thousand people?"
His question was met by the silence of the corpse, and he simply sighed, turning his attention to practical matters.
Through the window, the sky was turning orange. He had wasted a whole day taking care of Giorgina and preparing her for the last rest, but he could not afford to let time slip away. Today, his months of work had to pay off.
Taking a barrel of oil, he began to pour it over the body and slowly moved toward the door. He cast one last look at the corpse, then continued his task and stepped over the threshold.
In Arcadia, it was customary to burn bodies because people said the spirit might get stuck and become an undead.
Without hesitation, he threw the torch he held, and in an instant, the house was filled with flames.
'This will distract them for a moment.'
If the plan Erik had described was correct, the Pirate ships and the Red Light District's vessels should already be in sight of the island, and from the sound of the cannons and the disorganized movements of the Explorers, everything seemed to be on schedule.
Adel could see that Paul's absence was causing huge problems for the Explorers, and that was exactly what he wanted.
He moved quickly through the chaotic crowd, between those fleeing and those who, frozen, were trying to understand what was happening.
He reached the gates of the town where a handful of men were trying, in one way or another, to reorganize.
Adel approached calmly when one of them stopped him.
"We have enough people here. Head to the north wall and help the others." The man scratched his head in frustration. "Why the hell those bastards are attacking us now, I have no idea, but I'm sure they'll regret it. Don't you think?"
Adel looked at him oddly, only to remember that he was still wearing an Explorer's uniform, since when he wore it, nobody caused him trouble.
"I don't want to make the situation more awkward than it already is, but... technically, I'm here to kill most of you."
"Hah! You're funny!" the man said, thinking Adel was joking.
"I warned you."
Seeing Adel grasp the halberd, the man's smile froze, and before he could say anything else, his head was blown away.
The other men watching the scene opened their eyes wide in horror, seeing how easily a Grade 1 person had killed him.
"A-ATTACK!"
Hearing one of them shout orders, those on the walls launched arrows, while those on the ground attacked with their weapons. The problem was that most of them were ordinary people or Grade 0, with a few Grade 1s, so how could they possibly hurt Adel, whose Scaled Armor was already at level 2?
None of the strikes wounded Adel, who kept moving toward the gates, and among the unlucky ones who ended up in his path, what remained were their split bodies.
"Don't let him reach the gates!"
Some raised their shields to block his path, and the result?
They were swept away like leaves in the wind.
'I'm almost starting to feel guilty...' Adel thought ironically to himself.
At the gates, he broke the chains of the locking mechanism, and they slowly began to open.
The moment the gates opened and the archers on the walls were distracted, a large number of arrows began to fly from the trees.
Many of the men on the walls died instantly, while others were badly wounded.
With a battle cry, Erik and Alfred, together with their men, charged toward the gates.
"ENEMIES!"
"Close those damn gates!"
"That monster lets no one pass. What can we do?!"
Indeed, Adel was still in front of the gates, and anyone who dared to approach died, just like the corpses that surrounded him.
When the Merchants passed through the gates, the men there had no chance; those who tried to fight died, while those who surrendered were tied up.
"Now that we're inside, I want you to sow as much chaos as possible!" Erik shouted, fully equipped. "Those who surrender are to be spared and don't touch civilians, but if they have slaves... kill them without mercy!"
"YES!"
The men answered in chorus and rushed into the streets of the town.
'I'll admit, they did a good job organizing their men,' Adel thought honestly.
"Adel, well done," Erik said as he approached.
"The least I could do, my prince," Adel replied ironically.
Erik could see the clear irony behind Adel's words, but he was too excited by the situation to care, and Adel noticed it too.
"Excited?"
"I've imagined a scene like this a dozen times in my head; it almost feels like a dream," he said, smiling.
"If you think it's a dream, do you want it to end?" Adel asked with a half-smile.
"Not a chance."
After years of hard work, Erik could finally satisfy his own wish and his father's.
"So you're not coming to fight Paul with us?" Alfred asked.
"No, but I'll stay nearby in case of problems. Also, guys, you'll already be four Grade 2s against a Grade 3. If you fail even then, I'd bury myself underground out of shame." Adel said, amused. "But if you really want, I can hold your hand so you won't be scared."
Both Erik and Alfred had a facial twitch of anger, but held it in for the situation. Besides, by now they knew Adel's character and his enjoyment of annoying others.
"Well, good luck."
Seeing Adel leave, Erik and Alfred looked at each other, nodded, and moved in the direction of the Explorers' base.
Skirmishes had already broken out in the city, and black smoke rose from every corner, along with the smell of burning and blood.
That day, one of the archipelago's tumors would be cut out, and seeing that even the Pirates and the Red Light District had joined the fights, Erik thought coldly about removing them later.
The group moved in order, winding through the rubble and blood, advancing toward the Explorers' base. Erik and Alfred led the way, staying alert for any surprises.
The city was an anthill of panic. Some civilians fled, others watched helplessly as events unfolded. Erik would have liked things to happen another way, but perhaps, after all the times he had dealt with Adel, he understood how ridiculous his thought had been.
No change could happen without blood, and even if he wanted only his enemies to die, he knew there were innocent people among them, but he would not stop. To bring peace at last, he would carry that weight for the rest of his life.
When they reached the main gate of the base, they were stopped. Two figures stood firm in front of the gate, the commanders of the Explorers. Their forms looked ridiculous, with their fat bodies and obvious agitation, but they were still Grade 2s not to be underestimated.
"Stop!" shouted the first. "What is the reason for all this chaos?!"
Erik stepped forward and faced the two without fear, answering loudly so the civilians could hear.
"Do you seriously have the nerve to ask us why?!" Erik shouted angrily.
It was supposed to be just a performance, but remembering all that the Explorers had done, he could not hold back his feelings, though he tried his best to give the "true" reason.
"There is more than enough evidence that Paul has bowed to the influence of an evil god! Also, all the signs and sacrifices found on the various islands link him to a heretic ritual!"
"A load of crap!" said the other commander. "Paul has no ties to those things."
"Then why have there been no losses among you?! Why has nobody seen Paul recently?! Finally, Paul has shown clear signs of someone influenced by an evil god, and you, by not confronting him and instead covering for him, are his accomplices!"
Seeing that words would not resolve anything, the two commanders drew their weapons.
"Then it means we will kill you and finally put an end to this farce!"
Seeing them, Erik smiled, especially noticing the looks on the civilians. He lifted the tip of his sword toward them and said,
"The Inquisition will come and demand answers, even if it means wiping us all out. If it's to avoid that fate, I, Erik, will root out the evil that has crept into the archipelago!"