After grabbing all the kids and using my magic to get them inside to safety, I teleported back outside, ready to help my sister and friends to fight our attackers…
Teleporting so many people all at once without much time to prepare is rough… I only have about half of my mana reserves intact…
I hope that will be enough to deal with those guys…
“Sorry for the delay, it took me a while to calm down Liliana, Leaf, and Mia!” I said as I appeared behind my comrades, getting back into the fray. “Laura, just give me the signal and… Huh?” I couldn’t help but let out a sound of pure bewilderment thanks to the sight in front of me.
Julius was engaging in fierce combat with the guys who attacked us moments earlier… The only thing about that was that the battle was completely one-sided.
Instead of helping him out in his battle, my little sister and our friends simply remained on the sidelines, staring at Julius with disbelief.
Our attackers were all in a bad shape… None of them had any serious injuries, but their bodies were covered in bruises and cuts… Their injuries could have been a lot worse, but they gave me the feeling that Julius was holding back on purpose.
“Gideon, this is for the time when you stole Luna’s doll and laughed at her while she was desperately looking for it!” Julius immediately punched the scrawny guy called Gideon right in the stomach.
“Uwaaa…” The guy made a strange sound after Julius’s attack connected. Gideon seemed like he was in extreme pain and on the verge of puking. He was holding his stomach, trying to relieve the pain.
“And this for the time where you threatened to abandon them in the deepest hole of the slums, so they would be never found again!” Julius immediately followed up and punched him again, this time square in the face.
“Fuck!” Gideon yelled as he fell to the ground thanks to Julius’s punch…
“Gideon! Why, you!?” A tall muscular bald guy shouted in response and rushed at Julius in a fit of anger.
“Rufus… Do you remember the time when you held Liliana and Luna by the leg and threatened to drop them in the sewers to dip them in shit if they didn’t give you the food our mother worked so hard to make for them?” Julius said with a serious voice as he shifted his focus to the guy rushing at him
“Like I care! You’re fucking dead, you hear…-! Ugh!?” Rufus stopped talking as his mouth went wide open thanks to the sudden pain he was feeling.
In the blink of an eye, even without using Spatial Magic, Julius had closed the distance between and had landed a devastating double kick on Rufus’s solar plexus…
Thanks to my powerful sense of hearing, I was even able to hear a nasty crack coming from Rufus…
Due to the surprising sheer power of the attack, Rufus was sent flying several dozens of meters away and then crashed against the wall of a nearby house. His body remained limp afterward…
“Tsk… I overdid it… I was not quite done with him yet…” Julius muttered as he landed on the ground as if actions from before were nothing. "Oh well, there's still three of them." Julius muttered as he placed his attention elsewhere.
His attention was now on two young girls who were pointing their hands at him and who had already finished shaping their mana into a spell…
"[Omega Flare]!" Both girls cried in unison as four enormous fireballs were shot from their hands toward Julius.
The four fireballs left a trail of flames on the street as they made their way toward Julius. It almost seemed like the fireballs were about to completely melt the cobblestone beneath them…
The moment I saw those girls using a Grade 4 spell, by instinct I was about to warp and pull Julius out of the way of the spell, but I was stopped by my sister who had placed her hand on my shoulder.
"Don't. You'll get in his way. We have no place in this fight." My sister spoke to me with a serious expression.
Before I even had the chance to refute her, the four fireballs had already reached Julius. In just an instant, they would collide against him.
However, that collision never came…
"Well, that is certainly a better attempt than the last one." Said Julius who was unharmed but looked completely unimpressed as four fireballs the size of a coin hovered over his right hand.
He had effortlessly taken over the spell of the young girls and made it his own… He had even reduced the size of the gigantic fireballs at the last second without breaking a sweat…
"Still, a spell with such evident flaws will never hit me. Truly, such a waste of precious mana…" Julius shook his head with disappointment. "You guys seem to be obsessed with the Fire Element, yet this is the strongest spell you can muster? If that is the best you can do, then I am not impressed in the slightest. You are a failure as fire mages." He said coldly to the two young girls.
"How…? How could you stop that spell!?" A girl with dark blonde hair looked flabbergasted.
"You monster!" A girl with cyan-colored hair screamed at the top of her lungs at Julius.
"This is what you consider a monster? Jeez, If I am such a monster then my Dad and my Auntie are horrors beyond comprehension." Julius scoffed. "But you know? Instead of being called a monster, I'd prefer if you called me Demon. In fact, what do you guys think of this?" He suddenly smiled from ear to ear as he showed them his hand. Slowly but surely, he took off his finger an inconspicuous ring.
As soon as the ring came off his finger, in a matter of moments, Julius’s previously brown hair returned to its natural black color as his magic was no longer in effect, much to the surprise of my friends and our attackers.
“Y-Y-You are a…” One of the young girls pointed and Julius and gasped.
The other girl was no better, her mouth was moving as she pointed at my fellow reincarnator but no words ever came from her.
“A Demon-touched? I’ve been called that a few times, yes.” Said Julius as he played for a bit with his black hair and the fireballs in his hand, tossing them in the air as if he was actually playing around with real coins. “What do you say, Emeline? Do you want to confirm whether or not am I actually the son of a demon? I have no reservations in showing that to the two of you.” He said with a smirk while taking a battle stance.
“T-T-T-There’s no way you would hit a woman… Right? Right…?” Emeline started cowering in fear and taking trembling steps backward.
“Funny you say that, Emeline...” Julius’s smirk disappeared from his face. “So you’re saying that it is fine for you to hit Liliana and Luna repeatedly like that time when you and Tabitha tried to cut off their hair for your amusement and they defended themselves? Or how about the time you made Rufus restrain them so you could turn them into clowns with makeup and parade them through the district? You hit them then too when they tried to escape and get mom’s help? So? Why shouldn’t I hit you, Emeline? Because a man shouldn’t hit a woman? Normally, I’d agree with that, but in my eyes, you’re not a woman. Neither you nor Tabitha are neither women nor people to me. You are just piles of irredeemable trash that will never amount to anything in this life or in the next. So hitting trash is not an issue to me.” Julius looked at the two girls with disgust.
Both girls simply trembled in fear and were frozen in place as they realized that Julius was not going to show any hesitation or mercy towards them.
“But I have a better idea than just beating the crap out of such pieces of shit…” A malevolent grin appeared again on Julius’s face. “I’ve been dying to test out a few spells I had in mind, so please cooperate while you’re still standing… [Anemoi: Boreas].” As soon as he muttered the name of his spell, the four small fireballs ceased to exist and were turned into something entirely different… A cold burst of wind suddenly started blowing all around us…
Anemoi… Boreas… The Ancient Greek gods of the wind…?
“C-C-Cold! Why is it so cold all of a sudden!?” Tabitha cried out as she began shivering since she was in the center of the newly formed windstorm Julius had caused with his power.
The temperature in the area had dropped considerably… Even though the winter had finished weeks ago, it almost felt like we were at its peak once again thanks to the powerful spell of the Demon Prince…
“Boreas is the one who reigns over the cold northern wind and the bringer of winter, so this is the power of the Water Element in combination with the Wind Element. This is what a real spell looks like.” Julius explained as he pointed his hand at Emeline and Tabitha. “Doesn’t this cold wind remind you of the winter, Tabitha? A very particular winter when you stripped Luna and Liliana from their clothes, leaving them out in the cold with only their underwear? Remember what you did to them whenever they would try to get inside? Do you remember the bucket of freezing water you threw at them!? Do you remember all the ice cubes you made with your magic because you wanted to teach them a lesson!?” Julius grew even more enraged and agitated than before all of a sudden... From his hands, countless tendrils of water were shot into the air, forming dozens upon dozens of [Waterballs] all around Emeline and Tabitha.
The dozens of [Waterballs] hovered ominously in the air… Almost as if they were waiting to become part of an even bigger spell…
“N-N-No way… What is this…!?” Emeline was completely shocked by the sight.
“Wait…-” Tabitha looked upwards at the [Waterballs] and her face became filled with despair. She was unable to finish her sentence.
“I won’t wait.” Julius coldly as he lowered his hand, making the dozens of [Waterballs] fall onto both Emeline and Tabitha like a violent downpour.
The screams of both girls immediately followed after the fall of the [Waterballs]... The two girls were completely drenched and shaking uncontrollably. The ground beneath them was fully covered in the water that had been Julius’s spell just a few moments ago.
“So? How does it feel? To be in the same shoes as the twins, I mean. You two enjoyed yourself so much while tormenting them…” Julius asked with a satisfied smile. “Speaking of shoes… Do you remember the time that same day when you forced the twins to walk all the way home barefooted, Emeline?” Julius’s smile soon turned fully into a shit-eating grin.
“W-W-What are you going to…? Ahg!?” Emeline tried to ask something to Julius, but she ended up letting a scream of pain instead.
“Stop! You son a fucking bitch, stop!” Tabitha shouted in desperation.
The floor beneath both girls had suddenly frozen solid… Julius had turned the water he had previously used to drench Emeline and Tabitha into ice and froze their feet along with it. The ice was slowly but surely creeping upward towards their legs.
“Oh? What was that? Do you feel like it is too tame? Then allow me to make it worse!” Julius’s sadistic smile grew even wider. “[Anemoi: Eurus].” Julius channeled his mana and used yet another spell…
A tempestuous wind suddenly blew all around us… The windows and doors from the neighboring houses as well as our own all started rattling violently. The stormy winds immediately crashed against Emeline and Tabitha, making them scream loudly as the wind tried to fiercely toss them around all the while they were completely stuck in place and unable to move at all due to the ice covering their legs and feet.
“Should I make it rain again too? That way you two may experience what the twins felt when you and your friends lock them on Gideon’s patio that summer afternoon while it was downpouring outside. Does that right a bell too?” Julius said with a fake warm smile as he looked at the two girls. “We are not even remotely done yet, so don’t you dare to pass out on me now…” He said in an intimidating manner that made me feel chills down my spine.
The scene playing in front of me would make anyone think of Julius as the vilest of villains… Even my little sister and my childhood friends were all looking speechless thanks to Julius’s cruel and ruthless behavior. However, I could only look at him as a hero… A hero that would truly put villains in their place and pay for their malice with malice. The hero I wish I had on Earth…
Just like my nieces, I was pretty much bullied for most of my life back on Earth…
The bullying started pretty much when I was a little kid and the other children in the neighborhood started making nasty jokes about me being a mixed-race child and being a fatherless bastard… Since I lived in a small town back then, everyone knew about who my father was and that he abandoned my mother and me.
Things were not particularly good at home either as my grandparents, uncles, and aunts looked at me as if I was a disgrace and my cousins joined the bullying neighborhood kids had started. My mother spent pretty much all of her time working at the family’s business, just so my grandparents wouldn’t kick us out, so she couldn't help me even if she wanted to…
I was not safe either at home or at school… The girls mocked me for being ugly and different from them while the boys played heavy pranks on me, often destroying or hiding the hand-me-down stuff I received from my family, which would then get me in trouble at home for losing something that belonged to the family.
It was very hard on me… Most nights I'd cry myself to sleep, and wonder why I had to suffer so much… Because of a man I never even met? Because my mother chose to fall in love with the wrong person? Because I was born looking a little different than my family?
I hated my life back then… I often dreamt of a hero coming to my rescue that would take me away from my household into the unknown…
My only comfort at the time was anime. At some point in primary school, I stopped going outside to play and simply stayed in the room I shared with my mother watching anime all day.
For the first time ever since the bullying started, I felt happy. All I wanted to do was to stay in that room and escape to the fantastical worlds I saw on the TV…
Even while the bullying continued both at home and at school and became harsher, anime, games, manga, and novels had become my only source of happiness. By the time I was in high school, mere days before my death, I was already a complete otaku and a NEET.
My only friends were my anime figurines or the guys I used to talk to online. No matter how harsh the bullying was, I tried to take everything as a joke because I knew that I wouldn't care as long as I could still escape from reality through my anime.
Then I died. I wasn't particularly regretful nor did I miss my family much. My mother died a year before I met my end after working herself to the bone at the family’s business.
She's the only person I miss from Earth…
Thankfully, this life has been way different than my last and it is all thanks to the wonderful people who are by my side. My little sister Jinhee, Lilia onee-chan, Granny, Grandpa, my childhood friends, and Catris-sama… They all showed me so much love and kindness that for a moment, I thought my previous life was nothing but a horrible dream…
So, when I was told that my nieces, the twins were suffering the same way I did in my previous life, I was devastated and so unbelievably enraged…
I couldn't allow them to go through the same things I went through, so I did whatever I could to help Lilia onee-chan and Fred nii-san to stop the bullying…
But we failed… The kids responsible for the bullying and their parents all took advantage of Fred nii-san status as a knight, his strained relationship with his former family, and the fact that he would be frequently out of the capital for months at the time.
I genuinely tried my best to comfort them and protect them… I genuinely tried my best to be the hero they needed, like the ones I often saw in the anime I liked so much, but it wasn't enough…
The bullying persisted until my older sister and her family left the city for the countryside. I was deeply saddened that I wouldn't be able to see my nieces anymore, but I was relieved that they could get away from the people who had caused so much suffering.
Because of all that, even if he acts as a cruel Demon King, Julius will always be a hero in my eyes. The hero that I never got, but the one my nieces deserve. The hero that will fight tooth and nail for their sake no matter the odds or the opponent… I’m glad that Liliana and Luna have someone like them on their side.
"Die! You're done for!" Rufus had gotten back up again all of a sudden and rushed at Julius. He was about to attack Julius from behind since he had his back turned towards Rufus…
My whole body tensed up as I saw Rufus’s fist fastly approaching Julius… For a moment, I thought about teleporting and helping Julius, but in the end, I would be shown again that my help was not going to be necessary for this fight… In the blink of an eye, Julius spun his body around and caught Rufus’s fist at the last moment.
“You do know that screaming completely nullifies the element of surprise you had, right? Sigh… Don’t answer that.” Julius said with a deadpan tone as he held the bald young man’s fist with his right hand.
“I-I-Imposible… How could you…-? AGH!?” Rufus looked at Julius with complete befuddlement before letting out a scream of pain.
“But this is just perfect… Thank you for waking up since I’m not done with you either. Though I’m surprised that you keep yourself standing with a broken rib.” Julius said with a warm smile while crushing Rufus’s hand using his overwhelming strength. “Say, Rufus… Do you remember that time? That time when you said that you were going to use the twins as your training dummies to practice your right hook? Do you remember how you made them break down in tears after your punches stopped barely a few centimeters away from their faces? Do you even remember their voices as they pleaded for you to stop, Rufus?” Julius’s smile vanished as he put more force into crushing Rufus’s hand.
I was able to hear a loud and violent cracking sound which was followed immediately after by a piercing shriek of pure suffering… I was convinced that Julius had broken Rufus’s hand.
“Whoops! It seems that I let myself get carried away, such a silly mistake…” Julius said in a fake caring tone. “In any case, if you think that one hurt then you’re not prepared for what’s coming next.” Julius’s battle aura practically roared with rage as he prepared himself to hit Rufus with a devastating punch filled to the brim with [Fighting Spirit]…
However, before Julius could even launch his attack, something unexpected happened…
The scrawny guy, Gideon, the guy that Julius was mercilessly punching when I arrived, had suddenly stepped out of Julius’s shadow with a knife in his hand… Even with his overwhelming speed, I was convinced that Julius would not be able to dodge in time.
Both Jinhee and I tried to scream and warn him, but it was already too late… Even when he noticed that he was about to be attacked, Julius could only look at his attacker with surprise…
Jinhee and I could only watch in horror as Gideon’s knife approached Julius's back at the speed of lighting…
A million thoughts ran through my mind as I watched Julius's incoming demise in slow motion… I thought about how I should've just ignored Jinhee and jumped in to help him and I cursed my own inability to help him now… Even if I wanted to teleport and push him out of the way, I didn't have enough time to cast my spell… I couldn't hope to match Granny Arentia or Lilia onee-chan when it came to spellcasting speed…
But even then, I must try!
In the short moments I had before the knife reached the black-haired boy in front of me, I gathered as much mana as I could and prepared myself to teleport twice… One to reach Julius and the other to pull us away from the enemy.
It was the worst-case scenario… An unexpected hopeless situation, or so I thought.
In the end, my help was not necessary, as a huge beam of light became Julius's salvation after it came out of nowhere and knocked Gideon's knife out of his hand.
Everyone including Gideon and Julius looked in disbelief at Luna, who was standing by the door with a determined expression on her face and a blinding light coming from her hands. She was followed shortly after by Liliana, Mia, and Leaf who all seemed extremely enraged.
Of course, while all of us remained dumbfounded by the girls coming back and from Luna's attack, Julius didn't let the opportunity his sister had created slip from his hands.
Instead of Rufus, the one who received Julius's devastating blow was Gideon. He was hit square in the jaw by all of Julius's might…
Before any of us could react, Gideon was sent flying away in the direction of Emeline and Tabitha and crashing against the ground beneath their feet… Gideon had landed on his back and looked like he was barely breathing.
"[Shadow Step] huh… Even though I was warned about it by her, I wasn't able to react properly to it… You were faster than I expected, Gideon. You almost forced me to dwell in the shadows as well to save myself. Now I see why you lot got accepted into the Imperial Academy…" Julius spoke with a serene expression. Just as he finished, he suddenly spun his body around and kicked Rufus in his face before he could react.
"Ugh…!" Rufus screamed in pain as he was sent flying towards his friends as well.
"[Aeolus]." Julius suddenly muttered to himself…
As soon as that word came out from his lips, all the wind in the area ceased to blow in the most ominous manner… Even the powerful wind he was using to torment Emeline and Tabitha.
Both of the girls who had been screaming so far could only look at Julius with extreme fear after they had so effortlessly defeated their group…
Without missing a beat, Luna suddenly ran towards Julius and hugged him tightly… Liliana and the other girls seemed like they also wanted to join in, but they stayed watching silently by the door.
Thanks to that sight, Laura, my friends, and I were finally able to let out a sigh of relief.
"I made it in time…" Luna spoke with a quavering voice. "I'm sorry… You shouldn't have to deal with these people and still… You almost got stabbed and it is my fault… If I wasn't so weak, this wouldn't have ever happened…” Her body trembled as she buried her face in Julius’s shoulder
"Luna, a puny little stab wound wouldn't be enough to take me down. You should know that I've faced worse." Julius tried to brush off the situation from before as if it meant nothing. “If it was for you or Liliana, I could get stabbed a thousand times, and even then I would not be defeated.” Julius spoke with confidence.
“Don’t say that…” Luna said weakly as she held onto Julius. “That… That doesn’t reassure me in the slightest! I don’t want you to get hurt because of me!” Luna suddenly yelled at Julius, tears quickly forming in her eyes.
“Sigh… I know it doesn’t… Sorry...” Julius’s confidence immediately disappeared as he apologized with a lot of shame in his voice. “Despite that, I still have to thank you, Luna. You really saved me there.” Julius wrapped his arms around Luna and hugged her back. He soon started to pat her head to reassure her.
“I…” Luna seemed like she wanted to say something to him, but she then fell silent.
“I apologized for worrying you, however, I won’t accept your apology.” Said Julius who spoke in a serious tone. “Luna, this situation is not your fault and it will never be. These guys chose to torment someone I love and they will pay dearly for it. Even if you told me not to do it, I will fight for your sake no matter the enemy and no matter the odds.” Julius’s confidence was reignited as he held Luna very tightly.
“Julius, if you say that then I… That’s not fair…” Luna seemed like she was about to fall to the ground any moment now. “I’m sorry for being weak… I thought I could be as strong as you and Liliana are, but it seems like it was useless…” Luna apologized in a low muffled voice.
“Luna, you’re way stronger than you think you are. Even if you think you aren’t, you’re one of the strongest, bravest, and most intelligent people I know. We have lived together for long enough for me to see all of your wonderful qualities. I can say with certainty that you’re far from weak and far from useless. If I must say these words to you every day until you gain the confidence you need, then so it shall be. Until then, I will defend you and your honor relentlessly.” Julius spoke to Luna with a smile that was filled with love and warmth. “The things those bastards did to you and the things they said about you mean nothing. They do not reflect anything about yourself and it does not mean you’re weak. They are the weak ones. Their actions speak louder about them than they do about you. They are sad low lives, while you’re a beautiful flower still in the process of blooming.” Julius suddenly pushed Luna and looked straight into her eyes with utmost certainty.
Julius's words were cheesy… Extremely cheesy… Like something that you would normally hear in any average Isekai anime protagonist… Yet it was very touching… Even though those words were not actually directed at me, I couldn’t help but tear up… Almost as if I had been waiting to hear those words myself… Words that would have never been directed at me in my previous life…
I wonder… Would my previous life have been different if someone had told me those words? Would I have fallen asleep while cursing my own existence every night? Would my mother be alive…?
“Flowers need time to bloom… And as I said, I will defend you relentlessly until that day comes. The day when you finally bloom… The day where you can show who you really are without fear.” Julis smiled warmly again at my niece.
In response, Luna simply looked at him speechless… Not a single sound came from her. Instead, Julius's words were met with tears.
“Crying doesn’t really suit you very much, Luna. I promise that this will be the last time I will make you cry, okay?” Julius thoroughly cleared her tears before suddenly gently pushing Luna away from him. “Because of that, I suppose it is time to end this. Time to get rid of the blight that has been preventing you from blooming all this time.” Julius’s hands immediately moved towards the hilt of his sword.
My niece was understandably confused by Julius’s actions… Without wasting any time on casting, soon dozens of barriers surrounded Luna and the rest of us… I couldn’t help but remain speechless thanks to the display of skill and might that Julius had shown…
“She said that I could go all out and that’s exactly what I’m going to do…” Julius said before closing his eyes. He then started to concentrate and channel his mana and his battle aura into his blade.
He was using a familiar technique, one I had seen in a lot of media from back home… Iaido.
“[Anemoi: Zephyrus].” In a flash, Julius disappeared from where he was standing.
Julius’s disappearance was soon followed by a huge explosion of wind… Almost as if a missile had crashed against the ground or a fighter jet was flying by as close to the ground as possible…
In the blink of an eye, Julius appeared in front of Gideon and the others… His sword had stopped just a mere centimeters away from Gideon’s neck.
“To think that this whole situation was caused by the greed of such a petulant child like you Gideon… You wanted to have both Liliana and Luna for yourself. Did you truly love them? Did you truly think that your little crush was actual love? Allow me to tell you that it wasn’t. Not even remotely. You actually just wanted to control them, didn’t you?” Julius looked down upon the fallen Gideon and spoke in such a low volume that even I had trouble hearing what he was saying. “Such a stupid and disgusting mentality… Did you seriously think that making their lives a living hell would make them love you? You’re worse than scum.” Julius placed his foot on Gideon’s stomach.
Gideon, who was still stunned by Julius’s previous attack, struggled to make even a small whimper…
“I thought I’d enjoy tormenting you guys and making you pay for your crimes, and I certainly did enjoy myself for a bit, but as I thought, It seems I am not particularly talented when it comes to torture.” Julius muttered as he pressed his blade against Gideon’s neck, just enough to draw blood. “I suppose it is better if I leave things to the expert… Send my regards to Lady Skell when you get to the afterlife.” Julius immediately raised his blade above his head while making a sadistic smile.
Gideon’s eyes widened and became filled with fear as soon as he saw Julius raise his blade… No, he was already terrified the moment Julius appeared in front of him, pointing his blade towards his neck.
By this point, Emeline and Tabitha both had tears streaming down their faces…
For a moment, the whole area felt silent… All of us were waiting in expectation to see what was going to happen, yet none of us seemed to want to stop Julius from ending their lives…
Both of my nieces were watching the situation very intently… They didn’t look like they were enjoying this situation, but they did not seem displeased either… But they didn’t look away, even while Luna had tears in her eyes and Liliana’s eyes were filled with fury.
“In honor of the code laws of the Empire and by the absence of a knight to handle this matter, I will become your executioner… For all the crimes you have committed before this day, for attempting to destroy public property by reckless use of the magical arts, and for attacking the peaceful citizens with the intention of murder, summoning all the laws in regard to self-defense, I sentence you all to death.” Julius suddenly shouted at them, almost as if he was trying to instill even more fear onto them before landing the coup de grâce…
“W-W-Wait! We can talk about this! It was just a misunderstanding!” Gideon grew desperate as tears started to form in the corners of his eyes. He surely thought that he could still talk his way out of this situation…
“N-No! Please! I’m too young to die!” Emeline cried out.
“Spare me! You’ll never see me again! It is fine if you want to keep hurting me but please spare my life!” Tabitha begged.
“I… Can’t die… Like… This…” Rufus whispered weakly.
Julius's efforts had worked… Emeline and Tabitha started wailing and pleading for their lives, and even Rufus, who was still pretty out of it thanks to the kick from before, was crying like a small baby…
“What happened to all that bravado from before? Didn’t you say I would need help?” Julius looked at Gideon with amusement. He then slowly lowered his blade to put it back on its sheath “Welp, I guess the fun is over… As much as I would like to end your lives, I’d rather not have your disgusting blood on my hands. I’ll leave handling you idiots to the professionals. I’ve already wasted enough of my time handling trash like you.” Julius said as he looked past Gideon and his group.
The sounds of dozens of footsteps and metal clanking soon reached my ears… The knights were about to arrive.
“Y-Y-You… You are not going to kill us…?” Gideon said with confusion while his whole body trembled.
“Nope.” Julius shook his head. “I’ll let the knights deal with you guys since I no longer feel like wasting my breath on the likes of you. I’m still beating the crap out of your parents for raising some little shits like you and your friends, though.” Julius nodded to himself before turning his back around and started walking back toward us.
Before he continued, Julius suddenly turned around for the last time…
“However, I’m not taking any chances of you escaping via [Shadow Step] and trying to escape your punishment, so… [Curse of Silence].” Julius pointed his hand at Gideon.
Almost instantly, Gideon and his friends were covered by a thick cloud of darkness… It was a Grade 2 spell from the Dark Element. A spell that made anyone on the receiving end unable to utter a single sound, thus rendering the target unable to use magic if they used the Incantation Method…
As Julius stood still and watched the cloud of darkness with satisfaction, I couldn’t help but watch him in turn… I was mesmerized by his majestic aura and the ruthlessness he had displayed towards those villains…
I really wish I had someone like you on my side back then, Julius…
Those were my thoughts just as the knights finally arrived to find out what was happening…
GodlyKamui Heya! New chapter! How are y'all doing? I'm doing pretty well tonight, I'm actually going to go with a bunch of my friends and coworkers to a festival in a nearby town. I'm going to drink moderately this time since I got absolutely wasted last Saturday and my parents were not quite happy with me because of that lol...
I have not much to say about the chapter except that it was way longer because it used to include Marina's POV, but I decided to cut that part of this chapter and add it onto the next and it is sorta becoming a chapter of its own, so Marina's coming back strongly lol. Can't wait for Julius to start flaunting his connections with the knights of Nebandia and the princesses to screw over the parents of the twins' bullies.
As usual, I do hope that you enjoyed the chapter, please don't forget to comment and leave some hearts since that motivates me to continue writing the story! Also, join the discord to talk about the story and see the new picrew character illustrations I'm working on! Here's the link: https://discord.gg/uH6APbzrFR
After grabbing all the kids and using my magic to get them inside to safety, I teleported back outside, ready to help my sister and friends to fight our attackers…
Teleporting so many people all at once without much time to prepare is rough… I only have about half of my mana reserves intact…
I hope that will be enough to deal with those guys…
“Sorry for the delay, it took me a while to calm down Liliana, Leaf, and Mia!” I said as I appeared behind my comrades, getting back into the fray. “Laura, just give me the signal and… Huh?” I couldn’t help but let out a sound of pure bewilderment thanks to the sight in front of me.
Julius was engaging in fierce combat with the guys who attacked us moments earlier… The only thing about that was that the battle was completely one-sided.
Instead of helping him out in his battle, my little sister and our friends simply remained on the sidelines, staring at Julius with disbelief.
Our attackers were all in a bad shape… None of them had any serious injuries, but their bodies were covered in bruises and cuts… Their injuries could have been a lot worse, but they gave me the feeling that Julius was holding back on purpose.
“Gideon, this is for the time when you stole Luna’s doll and laughed at her while she was desperately looking for it!” Julius immediately punched the scrawny guy called Gideon right in the stomach.
“Uwaaa…” The guy made a strange sound after Julius’s attack connected. Gideon seemed like he was in extreme pain and on the verge of puking. He was holding his stomach, trying to relieve the pain.
“And this for the time where you threatened to abandon them in the deepest hole of the slums, so they would be never found again!” Julius immediately followed up and punched him again, this time square in the face.
“Fuck!” Gideon yelled as he fell to the ground thanks to Julius’s punch…
“Gideon! Why, you!?” A tall muscular bald guy shouted in response and rushed at Julius in a fit of anger.
“Rufus… Do you remember the time when you held Liliana and Luna by the leg and threatened to drop them in the sewers to dip them in shit if they didn’t give you the food our mother worked so hard to make for them?” Julius said with a serious voice as he shifted his focus to the guy rushing at him
“Like I care! You’re fucking dead, you hear…-! Ugh!?” Rufus stopped talking as his mouth went wide open thanks to the sudden pain he was feeling.
In the blink of an eye, even without using Spatial Magic, Julius had closed the distance between and had landed a devastating double kick on Rufus’s solar plexus…
Thanks to my powerful sense of hearing, I was even able to hear a nasty crack coming from Rufus…
Due to the surprising sheer power of the attack, Rufus was sent flying several dozens of meters away and then crashed against the wall of a nearby house. His body remained limp afterward…
“Tsk… I overdid it… I was not quite done with him yet…” Julius muttered as he landed on the ground as if actions from before were nothing. "Oh well, there's still three of them." Julius muttered as he placed his attention elsewhere.
His attention was now on two young girls who were pointing their hands at him and who had already finished shaping their mana into a spell…
"[Omega Flare]!" Both girls cried in unison as four enormous fireballs were shot from their hands toward Julius.
The four fireballs left a trail of flames on the street as they made their way toward Julius. It almost seemed like the fireballs were about to completely melt the cobblestone beneath them…
The moment I saw those girls using a Grade 4 spell, by instinct I was about to warp and pull Julius out of the way of the spell, but I was stopped by my sister who had placed her hand on my shoulder.
"Don't. You'll get in his way. We have no place in this fight." My sister spoke to me with a serious expression.
Before I even had the chance to refute her, the four fireballs had already reached Julius. In just an instant, they would collide against him.
However, that collision never came…
"Well, that is certainly a better attempt than the last one." Said Julius who was unharmed but looked completely unimpressed as four fireballs the size of a coin hovered over his right hand.
He had effortlessly taken over the spell of the young girls and made it his own… He had even reduced the size of the gigantic fireballs at the last second without breaking a sweat…
"Still, a spell with such evident flaws will never hit me. Truly, such a waste of precious mana…" Julius shook his head with disappointment. "You guys seem to be obsessed with the Fire Element, yet this is the strongest spell you can muster? If that is the best you can do, then I am not impressed in the slightest. You are a failure as fire mages." He said coldly to the two young girls.
"How…? How could you stop that spell!?" A girl with dark blonde hair looked flabbergasted.
"You monster!" A girl with cyan-colored hair screamed at the top of her lungs at Julius.
"This is what you consider a monster? Jeez, If I am such a monster then my Dad and my Auntie are horrors beyond comprehension." Julius scoffed. "But you know? Instead of being called a monster, I'd prefer if you called me Demon. In fact, what do you guys think of this?" He suddenly smiled from ear to ear as he showed them his hand. Slowly but surely, he took off his finger an inconspicuous ring.
As soon as the ring came off his finger, in a matter of moments, Julius’s previously brown hair returned to its natural black color as his magic was no longer in effect, much to the surprise of my friends and our attackers.
“Y-Y-You are a…” One of the young girls pointed and Julius and gasped.
The other girl was no better, her mouth was moving as she pointed at my fellow reincarnator but no words ever came from her.
“A Demon-touched? I’ve been called that a few times, yes.” Said Julius as he played for a bit with his black hair and the fireballs in his hand, tossing them in the air as if he was actually playing around with real coins. “What do you say, Emeline? Do you want to confirm whether or not am I actually the son of a demon? I have no reservations in showing that to the two of you.” He said with a smirk while taking a battle stance.
“T-T-T-There’s no way you would hit a woman… Right? Right…?” Emeline started cowering in fear and taking trembling steps backward.
“Funny you say that, Emeline...” Julius’s smirk disappeared from his face. “So you’re saying that it is fine for you to hit Liliana and Luna repeatedly like that time when you and Tabitha tried to cut off their hair for your amusement and they defended themselves? Or how about the time you made Rufus restrain them so you could turn them into clowns with makeup and parade them through the district? You hit them then too when they tried to escape and get mom’s help? So? Why shouldn’t I hit you, Emeline? Because a man shouldn’t hit a woman? Normally, I’d agree with that, but in my eyes, you’re not a woman. Neither you nor Tabitha are neither women nor people to me. You are just piles of irredeemable trash that will never amount to anything in this life or in the next. So hitting trash is not an issue to me.” Julius looked at the two girls with disgust.
Both girls simply trembled in fear and were frozen in place as they realized that Julius was not going to show any hesitation or mercy towards them.
“But I have a better idea than just beating the crap out of such pieces of shit…” A malevolent grin appeared again on Julius’s face. “I’ve been dying to test out a few spells I had in mind, so please cooperate while you’re still standing… [Anemoi: Boreas].” As soon as he muttered the name of his spell, the four small fireballs ceased to exist and were turned into something entirely different… A cold burst of wind suddenly started blowing all around us…
Anemoi… Boreas… The Ancient Greek gods of the wind…?
“C-C-Cold! Why is it so cold all of a sudden!?” Tabitha cried out as she began shivering since she was in the center of the newly formed windstorm Julius had caused with his power.
The temperature in the area had dropped considerably… Even though the winter had finished weeks ago, it almost felt like we were at its peak once again thanks to the powerful spell of the Demon Prince…
“Boreas is the one who reigns over the cold northern wind and the bringer of winter, so this is the power of the Water Element in combination with the Wind Element. This is what a real spell looks like.” Julius explained as he pointed his hand at Emeline and Tabitha. “Doesn’t this cold wind remind you of the winter, Tabitha? A very particular winter when you stripped Luna and Liliana from their clothes, leaving them out in the cold with only their underwear? Remember what you did to them whenever they would try to get inside? Do you remember the bucket of freezing water you threw at them!? Do you remember all the ice cubes you made with your magic because you wanted to teach them a lesson!?” Julius grew even more enraged and agitated than before all of a sudden... From his hands, countless tendrils of water were shot into the air, forming dozens upon dozens of [Waterballs] all around Emeline and Tabitha.
The dozens of [Waterballs] hovered ominously in the air… Almost as if they were waiting to become part of an even bigger spell…
“N-N-No way… What is this…!?” Emeline was completely shocked by the sight.
“Wait…-” Tabitha looked upwards at the [Waterballs] and her face became filled with despair. She was unable to finish her sentence.
“I won’t wait.” Julius coldly as he lowered his hand, making the dozens of [Waterballs] fall onto both Emeline and Tabitha like a violent downpour.
The screams of both girls immediately followed after the fall of the [Waterballs]... The two girls were completely drenched and shaking uncontrollably. The ground beneath them was fully covered in the water that had been Julius’s spell just a few moments ago.
“So? How does it feel? To be in the same shoes as the twins, I mean. You two enjoyed yourself so much while tormenting them…” Julius asked with a satisfied smile. “Speaking of shoes… Do you remember the time that same day when you forced the twins to walk all the way home barefooted, Emeline?” Julius’s smile soon turned fully into a shit-eating grin.
“W-W-What are you going to…? Ahg!?” Emeline tried to ask something to Julius, but she ended up letting a scream of pain instead.
“Stop! You son a fucking bitch, stop!” Tabitha shouted in desperation.
The floor beneath both girls had suddenly frozen solid… Julius had turned the water he had previously used to drench Emeline and Tabitha into ice and froze their feet along with it. The ice was slowly but surely creeping upward towards their legs.
“Oh? What was that? Do you feel like it is too tame? Then allow me to make it worse!” Julius’s sadistic smile grew even wider. “[Anemoi: Eurus].” Julius channeled his mana and used yet another spell…
A tempestuous wind suddenly blew all around us… The windows and doors from the neighboring houses as well as our own all started rattling violently. The stormy winds immediately crashed against Emeline and Tabitha, making them scream loudly as the wind tried to fiercely toss them around all the while they were completely stuck in place and unable to move at all due to the ice covering their legs and feet.
“Should I make it rain again too? That way you two may experience what the twins felt when you and your friends lock them on Gideon’s patio that summer afternoon while it was downpouring outside. Does that right a bell too?” Julius said with a fake warm smile as he looked at the two girls. “We are not even remotely done yet, so don’t you dare to pass out on me now…” He said in an intimidating manner that made me feel chills down my spine.
The scene playing in front of me would make anyone think of Julius as the vilest of villains… Even my little sister and my childhood friends were all looking speechless thanks to Julius’s cruel and ruthless behavior. However, I could only look at him as a hero… A hero that would truly put villains in their place and pay for their malice with malice. The hero I wish I had on Earth…
Just like my nieces, I was pretty much bullied for most of my life back on Earth…
The bullying started pretty much when I was a little kid and the other children in the neighborhood started making nasty jokes about me being a mixed-race child and being a fatherless bastard… Since I lived in a small town back then, everyone knew about who my father was and that he abandoned my mother and me.
Things were not particularly good at home either as my grandparents, uncles, and aunts looked at me as if I was a disgrace and my cousins joined the bullying neighborhood kids had started. My mother spent pretty much all of her time working at the family’s business, just so my grandparents wouldn’t kick us out, so she couldn't help me even if she wanted to…
I was not safe either at home or at school… The girls mocked me for being ugly and different from them while the boys played heavy pranks on me, often destroying or hiding the hand-me-down stuff I received from my family, which would then get me in trouble at home for losing something that belonged to the family.
It was very hard on me… Most nights I'd cry myself to sleep, and wonder why I had to suffer so much… Because of a man I never even met? Because my mother chose to fall in love with the wrong person? Because I was born looking a little different than my family?
I hated my life back then… I often dreamt of a hero coming to my rescue that would take me away from my household into the unknown…
My only comfort at the time was anime. At some point in primary school, I stopped going outside to play and simply stayed in the room I shared with my mother watching anime all day.
For the first time ever since the bullying started, I felt happy. All I wanted to do was to stay in that room and escape to the fantastical worlds I saw on the TV…
Even while the bullying continued both at home and at school and became harsher, anime, games, manga, and novels had become my only source of happiness. By the time I was in high school, mere days before my death, I was already a complete otaku and a NEET.
My only friends were my anime figurines or the guys I used to talk to online. No matter how harsh the bullying was, I tried to take everything as a joke because I knew that I wouldn't care as long as I could still escape from reality through my anime.
Then I died. I wasn't particularly regretful nor did I miss my family much. My mother died a year before I met my end after working herself to the bone at the family’s business.
She's the only person I miss from Earth…
Thankfully, this life has been way different than my last and it is all thanks to the wonderful people who are by my side. My little sister Jinhee, Lilia onee-chan, Granny, Grandpa, my childhood friends, and Catris-sama… They all showed me so much love and kindness that for a moment, I thought my previous life was nothing but a horrible dream…
So, when I was told that my nieces, the twins were suffering the same way I did in my previous life, I was devastated and so unbelievably enraged…
I couldn't allow them to go through the same things I went through, so I did whatever I could to help Lilia onee-chan and Fred nii-san to stop the bullying…
But we failed… The kids responsible for the bullying and their parents all took advantage of Fred nii-san status as a knight, his strained relationship with his former family, and the fact that he would be frequently out of the capital for months at the time.
I genuinely tried my best to comfort them and protect them… I genuinely tried my best to be the hero they needed, like the ones I often saw in the anime I liked so much, but it wasn't enough…
The bullying persisted until my older sister and her family left the city for the countryside. I was deeply saddened that I wouldn't be able to see my nieces anymore, but I was relieved that they could get away from the people who had caused so much suffering.
Because of all that, even if he acts as a cruel Demon King, Julius will always be a hero in my eyes. The hero that I never got, but the one my nieces deserve. The hero that will fight tooth and nail for their sake no matter the odds or the opponent… I’m glad that Liliana and Luna have someone like them on their side.
"Die! You're done for!" Rufus had gotten back up again all of a sudden and rushed at Julius. He was about to attack Julius from behind since he had his back turned towards Rufus…
My whole body tensed up as I saw Rufus’s fist fastly approaching Julius… For a moment, I thought about teleporting and helping Julius, but in the end, I would be shown again that my help was not going to be necessary for this fight… In the blink of an eye, Julius spun his body around and caught Rufus’s fist at the last moment.
“You do know that screaming completely nullifies the element of surprise you had, right? Sigh… Don’t answer that.” Julius said with a deadpan tone as he held the bald young man’s fist with his right hand.
“I-I-Imposible… How could you…-? AGH!?” Rufus looked at Julius with complete befuddlement before letting out a scream of pain.
“But this is just perfect… Thank you for waking up since I’m not done with you either. Though I’m surprised that you keep yourself standing with a broken rib.” Julius said with a warm smile while crushing Rufus’s hand using his overwhelming strength. “Say, Rufus… Do you remember that time? That time when you said that you were going to use the twins as your training dummies to practice your right hook? Do you remember how you made them break down in tears after your punches stopped barely a few centimeters away from their faces? Do you even remember their voices as they pleaded for you to stop, Rufus?” Julius’s smile vanished as he put more force into crushing Rufus’s hand.
I was able to hear a loud and violent cracking sound which was followed immediately after by a piercing shriek of pure suffering… I was convinced that Julius had broken Rufus’s hand.
“Whoops! It seems that I let myself get carried away, such a silly mistake…” Julius said in a fake caring tone. “In any case, if you think that one hurt then you’re not prepared for what’s coming next.” Julius’s battle aura practically roared with rage as he prepared himself to hit Rufus with a devastating punch filled to the brim with [Fighting Spirit]…
However, before Julius could even launch his attack, something unexpected happened…
The scrawny guy, Gideon, the guy that Julius was mercilessly punching when I arrived, had suddenly stepped out of Julius’s shadow with a knife in his hand… Even with his overwhelming speed, I was convinced that Julius would not be able to dodge in time.
Both Jinhee and I tried to scream and warn him, but it was already too late… Even when he noticed that he was about to be attacked, Julius could only look at his attacker with surprise…
Jinhee and I could only watch in horror as Gideon’s knife approached Julius's back at the speed of lighting…
A million thoughts ran through my mind as I watched Julius's incoming demise in slow motion… I thought about how I should've just ignored Jinhee and jumped in to help him and I cursed my own inability to help him now… Even if I wanted to teleport and push him out of the way, I didn't have enough time to cast my spell… I couldn't hope to match Granny Arentia or Lilia onee-chan when it came to spellcasting speed…
But even then, I must try!
In the short moments I had before the knife reached the black-haired boy in front of me, I gathered as much mana as I could and prepared myself to teleport twice… One to reach Julius and the other to pull us away from the enemy.
It was the worst-case scenario… An unexpected hopeless situation, or so I thought.
In the end, my help was not necessary, as a huge beam of light became Julius's salvation after it came out of nowhere and knocked Gideon's knife out of his hand.
Everyone including Gideon and Julius looked in disbelief at Luna, who was standing by the door with a determined expression on her face and a blinding light coming from her hands. She was followed shortly after by Liliana, Mia, and Leaf who all seemed extremely enraged.
Of course, while all of us remained dumbfounded by the girls coming back and from Luna's attack, Julius didn't let the opportunity his sister had created slip from his hands.
Instead of Rufus, the one who received Julius's devastating blow was Gideon. He was hit square in the jaw by all of Julius's might…
Before any of us could react, Gideon was sent flying away in the direction of Emeline and Tabitha and crashing against the ground beneath their feet… Gideon had landed on his back and looked like he was barely breathing.
"[Shadow Step] huh… Even though I was warned about it by her, I wasn't able to react properly to it… You were faster than I expected, Gideon. You almost forced me to dwell in the shadows as well to save myself. Now I see why you lot got accepted into the Imperial Academy…" Julius spoke with a serene expression. Just as he finished, he suddenly spun his body around and kicked Rufus in his face before he could react.
"Ugh…!" Rufus screamed in pain as he was sent flying towards his friends as well.
"[Aeolus]." Julius suddenly muttered to himself…
As soon as that word came out from his lips, all the wind in the area ceased to blow in the most ominous manner… Even the powerful wind he was using to torment Emeline and Tabitha.
Both of the girls who had been screaming so far could only look at Julius with extreme fear after they had so effortlessly defeated their group…
Without missing a beat, Luna suddenly ran towards Julius and hugged him tightly… Liliana and the other girls seemed like they also wanted to join in, but they stayed watching silently by the door.
Thanks to that sight, Laura, my friends, and I were finally able to let out a sigh of relief.
"I made it in time…" Luna spoke with a quavering voice. "I'm sorry… You shouldn't have to deal with these people and still… You almost got stabbed and it is my fault… If I wasn't so weak, this wouldn't have ever happened…” Her body trembled as she buried her face in Julius’s shoulder
"Luna, a puny little stab wound wouldn't be enough to take me down. You should know that I've faced worse." Julius tried to brush off the situation from before as if it meant nothing. “If it was for you or Liliana, I could get stabbed a thousand times, and even then I would not be defeated.” Julius spoke with confidence.
“Don’t say that…” Luna said weakly as she held onto Julius. “That… That doesn’t reassure me in the slightest! I don’t want you to get hurt because of me!” Luna suddenly yelled at Julius, tears quickly forming in her eyes.
“Sigh… I know it doesn’t… Sorry...” Julius’s confidence immediately disappeared as he apologized with a lot of shame in his voice. “Despite that, I still have to thank you, Luna. You really saved me there.” Julius wrapped his arms around Luna and hugged her back. He soon started to pat her head to reassure her.
“I…” Luna seemed like she wanted to say something to him, but she then fell silent.
“I apologized for worrying you, however, I won’t accept your apology.” Said Julius who spoke in a serious tone. “Luna, this situation is not your fault and it will never be. These guys chose to torment someone I love and they will pay dearly for it. Even if you told me not to do it, I will fight for your sake no matter the enemy and no matter the odds.” Julius’s confidence was reignited as he held Luna very tightly.
“Julius, if you say that then I… That’s not fair…” Luna seemed like she was about to fall to the ground any moment now. “I’m sorry for being weak… I thought I could be as strong as you and Liliana are, but it seems like it was useless…” Luna apologized in a low muffled voice.
“Luna, you’re way stronger than you think you are. Even if you think you aren’t, you’re one of the strongest, bravest, and most intelligent people I know. We have lived together for long enough for me to see all of your wonderful qualities. I can say with certainty that you’re far from weak and far from useless. If I must say these words to you every day until you gain the confidence you need, then so it shall be. Until then, I will defend you and your honor relentlessly.” Julius spoke to Luna with a smile that was filled with love and warmth. “The things those bastards did to you and the things they said about you mean nothing. They do not reflect anything about yourself and it does not mean you’re weak. They are the weak ones. Their actions speak louder about them than they do about you. They are sad low lives, while you’re a beautiful flower still in the process of blooming.” Julius suddenly pushed Luna and looked straight into her eyes with utmost certainty.
Julius's words were cheesy… Extremely cheesy… Like something that you would normally hear in any average Isekai anime protagonist… Yet it was very touching… Even though those words were not actually directed at me, I couldn’t help but tear up… Almost as if I had been waiting to hear those words myself… Words that would have never been directed at me in my previous life…
I wonder… Would my previous life have been different if someone had told me those words? Would I have fallen asleep while cursing my own existence every night? Would my mother be alive…?
“Flowers need time to bloom… And as I said, I will defend you relentlessly until that day comes. The day when you finally bloom… The day where you can show who you really are without fear.” Julis smiled warmly again at my niece.
In response, Luna simply looked at him speechless… Not a single sound came from her. Instead, Julius's words were met with tears.
“Crying doesn’t really suit you very much, Luna. I promise that this will be the last time I will make you cry, okay?” Julius thoroughly cleared her tears before suddenly gently pushing Luna away from him. “Because of that, I suppose it is time to end this. Time to get rid of the blight that has been preventing you from blooming all this time.” Julius’s hands immediately moved towards the hilt of his sword.
My niece was understandably confused by Julius’s actions… Without wasting any time on casting, soon dozens of barriers surrounded Luna and the rest of us… I couldn’t help but remain speechless thanks to the display of skill and might that Julius had shown…
“She said that I could go all out and that’s exactly what I’m going to do…” Julius said before closing his eyes. He then started to concentrate and channel his mana and his battle aura into his blade.
He was using a familiar technique, one I had seen in a lot of media from back home… Iaido.
“[Anemoi: Zephyrus].” In a flash, Julius disappeared from where he was standing.
Julius’s disappearance was soon followed by a huge explosion of wind… Almost as if a missile had crashed against the ground or a fighter jet was flying by as close to the ground as possible…
In the blink of an eye, Julius appeared in front of Gideon and the others… His sword had stopped just a mere centimeters away from Gideon’s neck.
“To think that this whole situation was caused by the greed of such a petulant child like you Gideon… You wanted to have both Liliana and Luna for yourself. Did you truly love them? Did you truly think that your little crush was actual love? Allow me to tell you that it wasn’t. Not even remotely. You actually just wanted to control them, didn’t you?” Julius looked down upon the fallen Gideon and spoke in such a low volume that even I had trouble hearing what he was saying. “Such a stupid and disgusting mentality… Did you seriously think that making their lives a living hell would make them love you? You’re worse than scum.” Julius placed his foot on Gideon’s stomach.
Gideon, who was still stunned by Julius’s previous attack, struggled to make even a small whimper…
“I thought I’d enjoy tormenting you guys and making you pay for your crimes, and I certainly did enjoy myself for a bit, but as I thought, It seems I am not particularly talented when it comes to torture.” Julius muttered as he pressed his blade against Gideon’s neck, just enough to draw blood. “I suppose it is better if I leave things to the expert… Send my regards to Lady Skell when you get to the afterlife.” Julius immediately raised his blade above his head while making a sadistic smile.
Gideon’s eyes widened and became filled with fear as soon as he saw Julius raise his blade… No, he was already terrified the moment Julius appeared in front of him, pointing his blade towards his neck.
By this point, Emeline and Tabitha both had tears streaming down their faces…
For a moment, the whole area felt silent… All of us were waiting in expectation to see what was going to happen, yet none of us seemed to want to stop Julius from ending their lives…
Both of my nieces were watching the situation very intently… They didn’t look like they were enjoying this situation, but they did not seem displeased either… But they didn’t look away, even while Luna had tears in her eyes and Liliana’s eyes were filled with fury.
“In honor of the code laws of the Empire and by the absence of a knight to handle this matter, I will become your executioner… For all the crimes you have committed before this day, for attempting to destroy public property by reckless use of the magical arts, and for attacking the peaceful citizens with the intention of murder, summoning all the laws in regard to self-defense, I sentence you all to death.” Julius suddenly shouted at them, almost as if he was trying to instill even more fear onto them before landing the coup de grâce…
“W-W-Wait! We can talk about this! It was just a misunderstanding!” Gideon grew desperate as tears started to form in the corners of his eyes. He surely thought that he could still talk his way out of this situation…
“N-No! Please! I’m too young to die!” Emeline cried out.
“Spare me! You’ll never see me again! It is fine if you want to keep hurting me but please spare my life!” Tabitha begged.
“I… Can’t die… Like… This…” Rufus whispered weakly.
Julius's efforts had worked… Emeline and Tabitha started wailing and pleading for their lives, and even Rufus, who was still pretty out of it thanks to the kick from before, was crying like a small baby…
“What happened to all that bravado from before? Didn’t you say I would need help?” Julius looked at Gideon with amusement. He then slowly lowered his blade to put it back on its sheath “Welp, I guess the fun is over… As much as I would like to end your lives, I’d rather not have your disgusting blood on my hands. I’ll leave handling you idiots to the professionals. I’ve already wasted enough of my time handling trash like you.” Julius said as he looked past Gideon and his group.
The sounds of dozens of footsteps and metal clanking soon reached my ears… The knights were about to arrive.
“Y-Y-You… You are not going to kill us…?” Gideon said with confusion while his whole body trembled.
“Nope.” Julius shook his head. “I’ll let the knights deal with you guys since I no longer feel like wasting my breath on the likes of you. I’m still beating the crap out of your parents for raising some little shits like you and your friends, though.” Julius nodded to himself before turning his back around and started walking back toward us.
Before he continued, Julius suddenly turned around for the last time…
“However, I’m not taking any chances of you escaping via [Shadow Step] and trying to escape your punishment, so… [Curse of Silence].” Julius pointed his hand at Gideon.
Almost instantly, Gideon and his friends were covered by a thick cloud of darkness… It was a Grade 2 spell from the Dark Element. A spell that made anyone on the receiving end unable to utter a single sound, thus rendering the target unable to use magic if they used the Incantation Method…
As Julius stood still and watched the cloud of darkness with satisfaction, I couldn’t help but watch him in turn… I was mesmerized by his majestic aura and the ruthlessness he had displayed towards those villains…
I really wish I had someone like you on my side back then, Julius…
Those were my thoughts just as the knights finally arrived to find out what was happening…
GodlyKamui Heya! New chapter! How are y'all doing? I'm doing pretty well tonight, I'm actually going to go with a bunch of my friends and coworkers to a festival in a nearby town. I'm going to drink moderately this time since I got absolutely wasted last Saturday and my parents were not quite happy with me because of that lol...
I have not much to say about the chapter except that it was way longer because it used to include Marina's POV, but I decided to cut that part of this chapter and add it onto the next and it is sorta becoming a chapter of its own, so Marina's coming back strongly lol. Can't wait for Julius to start flaunting his connections with the knights of Nebandia and the princesses to screw over the parents of the twins' bullies.
As usual, I do hope that you enjoyed the chapter, please don't forget to comment and leave some hearts since that motivates me to continue writing the story! Also, join the discord to talk about the story and see the new picrew character illustrations I'm working on! Here's the link: https://discord.gg/uH6APbzrFR
