Souta gave Airi his red-grade robe. It was to boost her overall stats so that she could run faster. He could carry them with his gravity power and blood but their bodies were too fragile.
Plus, the urges he was feeling were getting hard to control. There's a chance that they would die if he used his ability.
'I don't even know why I'm doing this.' Souta smiled wryly. 'Maybe because I subconsciously absorb the soul of their parents. That's why I'm trying to help them. I'm a hypocrite, isn't it?'
'Yeah, in this world... It's hard to survive without having a cruel side. Everyone had a side like that in their hearts.' Saya said to him. 'Even I once killed innocent people before. The people that I killed are probably higher than yours so don't worry.'
'You say that. Even so, I'm going to keep forward. I know for sure that I will kill a lot more in the future so I have to steel my heart.' Souta said to her with a smile.
It's probably fine if he kept treating this world as a game just like the time when he just arrived here. But slowly without him noticing it, the way he looked at this world slowly changed. He couldn't treat it the way he treated it before.
This was real. Everything was real to him. This was his new reality.
Souta glanced at the three children and smiled. He's going to protect them as it was within his powers. It was a sad reality but if it comes down to it, he knew what he would do if his life was at stake.
'Your life before others, right?' Saya said.
'Yeah...' Souta nodded with a cold look.
The group continued to run. The vibration in the air was getting stronger so they turned around and avoided coming to those people.
"Come here... This path will take longer but it's better than coming close to that battlefield." Souta said.
"O-Okay... We'll follow you..." Airi nodded at him.
She was carrying her two siblings with ease. It was all thanks to the added stats of the red-grade equipment. Without it, the aftershocks from an A-rank battle alone would be enough to pressure her.
"Good... I can sense more than a hundred people ahead. But don't panic, I can easily handle these people." Souta assured her.
"I'll t-trust you, b-brother..."
The group moved forward and they finally saw hundreds of people fighting in the middle of the streets. Various spells were being thrown out and people were crashing into the buildings.
"Kill them all!!"
"These fucking government's dogs!"
"Kill them!"
"On your right!"
"Duck!"
The scene was chaotic and the aftershocks from the battles caused the ground to vibrate.
Airi was scared as she tightened her grip on her siblings. She wanted to turn around and run but she decided to trust Souta.
"Just keep running!"
Souta said to her in a serious tone.
Airi gritted her teeth as she hugged her siblings tightly. She closed her eyes and ran forward to the best of her abilities.
She was fast but compared to the people that were fighting she was too slow. With the help of the red-grade equipment, she could run as fast as D-rank but the people around were either C-rank or B-rank.
Hmm...? A child?
Some of the rebels noticed her presence. A little girl was running forward with her eyes closed while carrying two children.
"Huh? Did she have a death wish?!"
One of the rebels tried to approach her but a figure appeared in front of him.
Swoosh!
Souta pulled back his hand as he stared at the rebel as if he was already dead.
"Don't you dare?!"
He threw his hand and it slammed into the face of the rebel. The rebel couldn't even follow his movement before his head exploded. The last thing he saw was Souta's face before he died.
Boom!!
The rebel's brain sprayed in all directions. The headless body was twitching as it slowly fell to the ground.
"Tch! Disgusting!"
Souta clicked his tongue as he wiped the slimy goo that splattered on his cheeks. After a while, he noticed that the place grew silent. He lifted his head and found that everyone, including the government's soldiers, was looking at him.
"Why? Is this your first time seeing someone get killed like this?"
He raised his eyebrows as he carefully watched them. Airi was still running at this time so it would be fine if all the attention of these people turned to him.
In just a few seconds, he narrowed down all the people that he had to kill. He marked all the rebels in this area with blood.
"Shit!! A strong one arrives! We should ask someone from the Red Matter Association to take care of this guy!" One of the rebels said angrily.
Although they were angry, none of them dared to move after witnessing Souta kill someone with just a simple punch.
Souta sighed as he took a step forward. At the next moment, he vanished in his position. He reappeared in front of the nearest rebel and punched his brains out.
Boom!!
The brains of the rebel splattered on the ground. He died before he could even react.
Souta turned to the government's soldiers and said, "Why are you guys just standing there? Aren't these your enemies? Hurry up and help me."
The soldiers snapped out of their daze. They hurriedly moved their bodies and fought with the rebels once again.
Boom!
Souta swiftly moved his body like a wind. He appeared in different locations as he punched the enemies one by one. All it took was one punch to kill one enemy.
He was simply using his physical strength. He had to avoid using energy or any of his abilities unless it was a worthy opponent.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The rebels slowly felt pressured. They knew that no one among them could fight against Souta. Even if they worked together, they wouldn't be able to win. Their chances were pretty much zero.
Swoosh!
Souta stopped killing them. He would leave these people and follow Airi since she ran quite far.
He simply disappeared as he jumped through the roofs of the houses.
Thud!
He landed beside her and noticed that her eyes were still closed.
"That's right. Keep running. You don't have to see everything here."
Souta said to her. He looked up and a group of warriors flew above him. They didn't say anything and just simply gave him a nod before they continued.
"Glory!" He saluted while looking in their direction. Then, he followed Airi as if nothing happened.
He had recovered some of his energy but it wasn't enough. After he successfully escorted the three children, he'll probably recover a good amount of energy.
...
At the surface of Aranhgrad.
Vandal was standing in front of the leader of the Red Matter Association. A cold breeze brushed his face as the crystals on the ceiling shone brightly.
"Avron, you can still surrender." He said.
Avron glanced at him and laughed lightly. He opened his arms and said, "Surrender? There's no point in doing that. I couldn't turn back. It's already too late. Don't you know how many people I've killed in the past?"
"If you surrender now there's no more death that will happen." Vandal said.
"Gararara!!" Avron laughed madly. "Then all of their deaths will be for nothing. Are you here to talk shit me or fight?"
"Chief Captain, it's no use." Micah, one of the Grain Leaders, whispered.
Vandal didn't say anything. He just kept staring at the man before him.
Avron turned his attention to the group of people behind Vandal, the Grain Leaders. He counted their numbers and found that there were eight warriors. Most of them were Grain Leaders of upper rank.
He slowly opened his mouth and said, "All of you came here to fight, right? Then show me your will warriors!!"
Boom!
As soon as he said those words, a powerful aura gushed out of his body like a tsunami. The energy spread out in the blink of an eye and it covered the entire space.
"Garara! Warriors!"
Avron laughed as the aura continued to spread. It was so powerful that even the people in the three nations felt the intensity below. It was their first time feeling an aura spiked up ever since the pillar of energy surged from Aranhgrad.
"Enough, Avron."
Vandal said before his aura burst out.
Boom!
Both of their energy collided and after a few moments, both of them disappeared from their position.
Boom!
A loud sound occurred as both of them collided. In just a second, they've exchanged blows thousands of times. Even under the pressure of the enormous energy of Aranhgrad, the two of them could still move so fast.
Boom!! Boom!!
"Chief Captain!!"
Micah, Servas, and the other Grain Leaders shouted. They were going to help Vandal when several figures flew in their direction with incredible speed.
"The executives! Prepare for combat!"
Servas narrowed his eyes. He clenched his fist and circulated his mana inside his body.
"Warriors!! We are your opponents!"
A wolf demi grinned widely as he thrust forward his sharp claws. He was Josen, the third executive.
Boom!!
