Chapter 919: Loved Ones, Hated Ones
It was Vonman who just came back home, as Aarni and Guina hoped.
But he was too lateâthe first thing he saw in the cellar was the corpses of his best partner and his dear brother.
Struck by heart-wrenching surprise, he rushed to Aarni and gazed at the two motionless bodies in disbelief.
Guina could not see what was happening outside her cot, but she still felt the disheartening air getting to her.
âWhatâs⊠Whatâs going on out there? Chaira? Aarni! Talk to me⊠Is that you, Vonman? It must be your voice. You finally came back to us. Quickly, tell me what Chaira and Aarni are doing. Why did they leave? NoâŠâ
Guina had an inkling of the situation, but she refused to believe it.
Vonman stayed silent.
âThey⊠Theyâre too tired, so they fell asleep, am I right?â asked Guina.
âYeah. They look so exhausted.â
âLet them rest then.â Guina was doing her best not to cry. âI want to join them too. But I canâtâŠâ
For a moment, only the sound of people breathing could be heard in the cellar.
The city guard knew he had to proceed with his job, yet he somehow couldnât decide his next course of action.
âYouââ He collected his thoughts, so his voice sounded more serious. âWho are you? And whoâs your companion?â
Hearing his words, everyone looked toward the door, where yet another visitor was standingâa young man wearing a well-kept noblemanâs attire.
Even though it was against the light, those in the cellar still saw the manâs clean composure that made everyone elseâs existence appear to be humble in contrast.
It was the kind of nobleman who shouldnât show up in this impoverished place.
âWho are you?â the guard asked again while inspecting the unknown guest up and down. âThatâs not Heylan design, is it? I think itâsâŠâ
Goldspink?
He gulped and quickly removed that thought from his mind. A noble from Goldspink couldnât possibly come to Winter Tide City, which was pretty far from the borders.
Before the guard could question further, Vonman suddenly remembered something and rushed to the door. He then pressed his head on the floor.
âYou-you gotta do something, sir! I know you can help them. Please!â Vonman
groveled while pointing to the corpses.
Is that a doctor?
The guard shook his head.
Doesnât matter. These two are already dead.
âTheir consciousnesses have dissipated with the last bit of their souls. Theyâre gone.â
Again, the guard thought he recognized that accent, but he just couldnât make sure.
âThere must be a way! Ghoul Whisperer once said something about bringing the dead back to life!â Vonman tried.
âResurrecting the dead is a forbidden art. Even if they were to come back now, they would no longer be their true selves.â
With his last hope snuffed out, Vonman stumbled back into the cellar and repeated the names of his friends in despair.
âWho⊠Who did this?!â He jerked his head up and scanned everyone in the room. He then released several white-legged spiders from his hand. âYou with the sword! You killed them?!â
Instead of answering, the guard simply looked to the stairs, where an adult refugee and a mad-looking woman were loafing.
âYOU TWO DID THIS TO MY FAMILY?â
No response.
Vonman lowered his head and began chuckling in an ominous way. âSo be it. Iâm gonna kill you all then!â
More spiders left Vonmanâs body and filled the floor beneath him. Even the experienced guard shivered upon the creepy sight.
â*Slurp* Get me up, Vonman⊠I want to see Aarni and Chaira,â Guina suddenly spoke from her cot.
âLetâs not disturb their sleep, Guina.â Vonman turned to look at her.
âJust help me. Iâll tell you what happened.â
âYeah⊠Fine.â
Vonman moved to the cot and carried Guinaâs broken body in his arms for everyone to see.
Guina spent a moment looking at the two bodies below her.
âSweet dreams, you twoâŠâ
âTell me whatâs going on here, Guina!â Vonman begged.
With teary eyes, Guina slowly explained what she knew about today, while the others listened quietly.
Angor frowned. If what the disabled girl said was correct, then the sad outcome was the result of a series of unfortunate events, added with coincidence.
When Angor received Aaronâs letter a day ago, he decided to pay Vonman a visit. Even though he didnât like the kidâs cruel nature, he would like to add another name onto his recruit list.
Jon had agreed to get inspected by Sunders, which meant Angor would return to Brute Cavern as soon as he had time. It happened that Angor still needed one more recruit to finish his quest.
Upon arriving at Aaronâs camp, Angor learned that the kid, Vonman, hoped to save someone called Guina. Angor refused to get involved in random businesses at first, but he changed his mind when Vonman mentioned that Guina might be another talent. Apparently, when Ghoul Whisperer took Vonman away, Guina was sent to another apprentice called âKuzaâ.
When Angor disposed of Ghoul Whisperer, Vonman escaped back to Heylan and found Guina tormented into the current shape by Kuza. Guina wasnât the only victim of Kuzaâs cruel deedsâthe woman somehow found Aarni later and removed the boyâs tongue.
Even though Guinaâs wounds were patched up, she didnât seem fine enough to live very long. This was why Vonman made a difficult decision and went to seek Angorâs help.
And when Angor came to Heylan in hope of bringing two new talents to his organization, he saw such a sad episode.
âŠ
While listening to Guinaâs explanation, Vonman slowly glanced at everyone in the room. âA murderer, a conspirator, and a self-acclaimed doer of justice? You forced my friends to death⊠Youâre coming with them. Every last one of you!â
âHeh heh⊠Ha ha ha HA!â The baker suddenly began to laugh.
âWhatâs so funny, ya fat bi*ch?â
The baker looked at Guina and said, âI remember you. You and Nini used to play together. And she would come back and tell me how good a friend you are.â Her expression changed from kindness to that of hatred. âNini⊠Oh, my sweet girl. She was so kind. She didnât mind hanging out with you, a homeless refugee. You were friends! Do you even feel any sorry that one of your OTHER friends killed my Nini?!â
Vonman held Guina closer to his body and glared at the baker. âI should have killed her a long time ago and taken her bread. What a silly girl. And that silliness saved her, cause I donât want to hurt someone so stupid! She offered her food to us, so I let her go. Sorry? No. Filling our stomachs is always more important.â
The baker was laughing again. âDemons! My daughter is just a tool to you. I should have expected it!â
âI-I just want to liveâŠâ Guina muttered.
The baker looked at the dead bodies. âHa! Iâve no regrets whatsoever! Iâm coming after you, Nini.â
She ran into the wall, head first.
Together with the rotting corpse beside the stairs, the cellar now had four dead people inside.
Angor shook his head slightly. He didnât feel like judging who was right or who was wrong right now. These people all had different standings, which led to bad results.
The boy Aarni might be the only one who was truly innocent in the matter, which was no longer important.
As Guina said, they were trying to survive.
And when such basic needs were endangered, people could easily throw away their morals and kindness.
People who strove at the very bottom of the world did not have the luxury of pursuing greater goods or mental virtue. Friends were temporary warmth in oneâs life. Most of the time, they still had to travel their own paths alone.
And for the unfortunate, their paths were endlessly troubled by the dark and frigid winter, never to see the sunrise again. Earning tomorrowâs breakfast was enough to exhaust all they had.
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