"No, he got hit in the shoulders."
Raphael could see that all the horses had stopped. Some of the bodies were lying on the ground, bleeding. As for the General, he was holding his bleeding shoulder. He turned the horse around, going back to get medical treatment urgently.
The General also had a pale face. It was unclear if he had a pale face because of getting hurt or because he was scared after seeing Azekiel's attacks.
Not only the General but the others also started retreating, all those who were injured. As for the ones who weren't injured, they just watched Azekiel get away.
"Too bad. If I had time, I would've loved to play around with him," Azekiel frowned. "But the kid's life is on the line. We'll meet him again though. I'm sure of that."
Azekiel chased after the carriage. If he wanted, he could've already caught up to the carriage and saved the kid, but he didn't. In fact, even as he watched the carriage stop in the distance, he didn't get close to it. He also stopped. He just watched the bandits surround the carriage from all sides.
The Bandits attacked the carriage, killing the driver and the guards of the Merchant who was taking the young Prince. After killing all the Guards, they pulled out the chubby merchant, killing him right on the spot as well.
Azekiel still didn't intervene. He just stood near the tree, with the support of the wall.
"Are you not going to save him?"
"I will. I'm just letting nature take its course. The bandit is yet to tell him why he's killing him. I want the kid to know everything he knew as a Spirit."
"Why?"
"Because I want answers."
"Answers?"
"Yep. I want to know why his last wish would be for me to help his mother. I want everything to be the same as it was in the last, minus the killing part," Azekiel explained.
He watched the bandit tell the young Prince everything.
Finally, Azekiel moved. Just as the bandit was about to slay the young Prince, an energy bullet penetrated his skull, leaving a hole behind. The man's forehead bled as his legs turned weak. His body dropped to the ground.
Seeing their leader be killed, all the bandits were horrified. They raised their Swords. "Who dares! Come out!"
Quite a lot of bandits took shelter, trying to locate the archer. They thought it was an archer who had killed their leader, even though they couldn't see any arrow.
The Guards noticed a calm yet composed figure walking close to them. The man had a long-handled hammer in his head.
The man kept tapping the hammer on the ground as he walked. A small crater was left on every spot where the hammer landed, highlighting just how heavy this hammer was. Despite being so heavy, the man didn't have any problem with carrying it.
"That bastard must be the one who killed him! I'll kill him!" One of the bandits ran toward Azekiel, brandishing his sword.
Reaching Azekiel, he swung his sword, aiming straight for his neck.
However, before the Sword could even touch Azekiel, he disappeared.
"Too slow." A harsh voice came from behind the man, followed by a thudding sound as a hammer smashed a head.
The man's head exploded right away, blood splashing all around. Some of the blood even fell on Azekiel's clothes, making him rub the back of his neck.
He had fought so many people who had high physical defense that he had forgotten just how powerful this hammer was. The enemy he fought was hurt by the blow from the Hammer out Gluttony, but their heads didn't explode like this, especially when he didn't even use much strength. He had really expected that he was going to send the man found.
The man's lifeless body dropped to the ground. His sword also fell not too far from him.
Seeing the outcome of their friend, the bandits were horrified. Just who was this man? He was like a ghost in the way he moved right before he was about to be killed. And that hammer... It was even worse.
The bandits got back on their horses and started running away.
"And here I thought I was going to have fun. Where are you going without giving me my soul strength?"
The hammer once again returned to his gauntlets. Azekiel fired energy bullets again. One after another, the bandits kept falling, dead. Only the horses were left that ran away.
Azekiel watched the horses run away, leaving the bodies behind. He walked to the closest body. "Soul Snatch."
One after another, he kept going from body to body, using his Soul Snatch. At the same time, the boy stood frozen in place.
First, he watched the people around him be killed, and then he saw the bandits be killed. He was slightly scared by what he saw, but he didn't let it show on his face.
After Azekiel finished his soul Snatch, he walked to the young boy.
"Are you here to kill me as well?" The boy asked, standing straight. It was as if he had already lost hopes of living. "Who sent you?"
He was sure that Azekiel wasn't with the previous group. If he were, he wouldn't have killed them. That meant there was someone else as well who wanted him dead if they sent Azekiel.
"I'm here to save you." Azekiel went down on one knee, observing the eyes of the young boy, which were like a frozen block of ice. "But first, I want an answer from you."
"Why do you want to help me?" Instead of asking about what question Azekiel had, the boy asked a question himself.
"Because I feel like doing it," Azekiel lied. "So, tell me, boy. Why do you still care for your mother? Why do you want her to be the queen of the Empire? Why do you want her to be safe? Answer me honestly."
"How do you know what I want?" The boy asked in surprise. He hadn't told what he wanted in his last moments to anyone. How did this guy find out about it? Just who was he?
"That's not an answer to my question," Azekiel calmly responded. "Answer me. Tell me what you want. If you want me to help you take over the Empire, I'll do that. I'll kill the Queen and everyone who stands in your path. But if you want me to save your mother and help her stay in power, you'll have to tell me why you want that?"
