Chapter 65 – Incident (9)

“M-mana gun…!”

As the black-lit muzzle was aimed at them, the people froze in an instant.

It was partly because I possessed a mana gun, but also because I truly looked ready to kill them at any moment.

They were those who used to treat me as a rascal and trample on my words, but now, the fact that I was a rascal was instead making them tremble in fear.

“Ha! Where did you get that mana gun from anyway? What kind of bluff are you pulling when you won’t even be able to shoot it?”

But while everyone else was frozen, the hunter standing in front of the muzzle instead thrust his head forward and came out confidently.

As if asking where I, who used to be beaten up by the Wayne brothers day in and day out, would get the courage to pull the trigger.

He thought I was just acting brave.

‘Slanted eyes and an aquiline nose… Ugly even at a glance, this fellow must be that Alec guy.’

He recalled they said there was a fellow in the hunting squad who acted as a lackey for the leadership along with Archer Fordham.

A despicable and shrewd man who clung to one side or the other like a bat, who had saved his life by sacrificing several fellow hunting squad members during this mutant incident.

Since the incident happened in an instant, no one had witnessed Alec’s atrocities, and those who should have testified were dead and speechless…

‘It is an unmistakable fact.’

This detail was a fact I heard from Jeremy Scott before coming to the hunting squad headquarters.

But even if it wasn’t him, there was no need to argue the facts.

Because in order to control the devastated hunters and the hunters who did not acknowledge me, this must absolutely become a fact.

With this, his role was determined.

“Are you Alec?”

“Yes, I am Alec.”

“Good. To think the betrayer of the Ember would walk out on his own.”

“Betrayer? What do you mean by—”

Bang!

Before he could even finish speaking, the mana gun spat fire with a deafening roar.

Alec, with a large hole in his head, slowly collapsed like a crumbling stone tower.

Looking at the corpse that had now become a lump of meat, the hunters could not hide their shock in terror.

Wiping the blood splattered on my face with my hand, I calmly looked back at the hunters.

“Betrayer’s blood, disgusting.”

Alec was clearly an evil man, and because this was also my first time committing murder, my heart was actually thumping, but I could not show it.

Because in order to survive, I had to perfectly portray Aylen Vale, the greatest dictator of .

In the heavily weighed down air, along with the rapidly subsiding excitement, I muttered.

“Alec Carter. A piece of trash who prolonged his wretched life by sacrificing his own comrades during this mutant incident. A betrayer of the hunting squad and the Ember.”

Although I had to control them with fear, these were faces I had to continue with in the future.

Since there had to be at least a minimum justification for the murder anyway, I explained.

“Aylen, you crazy bastard… You just killed a person. And without any proof!”

At that moment, squeezing through the hunters whose bodies were frozen in shock, a person walked out with heavy steps.

Kneeling in front of Alec to close his eyes, which were not yet shut, he looked up at me with bloodshot eyes.

Receiving that hateful gaze as if it were nothing, I spoke to the nameless young hunter.

“Let me be clear. He was not a human, but a betrayer who had to be executed.”

“A betrayer? What did you, who weren’t even at the scene, see!”

“Don’t make me laugh. Are you saying a judgment is only possible if one directly sees and hears?”

“What…?”

“If matters must be resolved only between the parties involved, what is the reason for the existence of the judiciary? Why do representatives and judges, not the individuals themselves, hand down trials and punishments?”

Right now, he discussed the legal system.

To the man speechless at the logical words and to the rest, I simply needed to speak.

“I heard it. Directly from Jeremy Scott, who became your vice captain.”

“……!”

At that, the hunters shut their mouths.

If it was Jeremy Scott, wasn’t he the hero who saved their lives in this mutant incident?

Now, when the hunting squad had not yet recovered from the shock of that day and his performance, Jeremy Scott was no different from a god to them.

“And you expect us to believe that?”

However, the young hunter with a rugged body targeted the loophole, perhaps being cleverer than he looked.

Since there was no way Jeremy would lie, he thought I was the one telling lies.

Click—

Just as I did to Alec, I spoke while aiming the mana gun at him this time.

“Check it yourself then. With Alec, who went to the other world.”

“Fine… For what reason am I dying? What kind of story are you going to make up with that great imagination of yours this time?”

Yet the young hunter did not seem daunted at all even after seeing my merciless hand just now.

Covering Alec’s face with a cloth, he stood up solemnly and asked.

“Since I’m going to die anyway, let me ask one last thing.”

“Speak.”

“Even if those words are true, what right do you have to decide over human lives?”

Voices agreeing with him were heard here and there at his mention of rights, but I snorted.

“Does one need rights to execute a betrayer? You are blabbering nonsense for your last words.”

“Just as you said, even our Nameless Ember has strict rules, order, and laws. What you did is just murder. Aren’t you ashamed?”

He was caught in his own trap.

He was returning the words I had spat out right back to me.

‘Unlike his appearance, he is a smart guy.’

I was impressed by the man’s spirit and eloquence.

In addition to being a guy who only spouted correct words from beginning to end, his spirit and conviction to speak what was right to the end even at the risk of his own life were astonishing.

However.

“It is the long-standing law of the Ember to deal with murderers by execution on the spot, and since executing a betrayer is an honorable thing, there is nothing to be ashamed of. The one who should be ashamed is not me, but that fellow.”

“……!”

Having engaged in sharp arguments with countless leaders and powerful figures, I only found those words laughable.

No matter how many correct words he shouted, he could not oppose my fundamental principle of action, which was ultimately for the sake of the citizens and the Ember.

Justification was that important, and originally, the victory or defeat in an argument was decided not by the truth but by the purpose.

“Even at this moment, good citizens who only wish for you to move are dying outside. I don’t have time to play along with your hypocrisy anymore.”

At the man’s silence, I sensed that the time to end this sluggish confrontation had arrived.

Slowly looking back at the hunters filling the hunting squad headquarters, I raised my hand.

“From now on, I will count to three. Those who do not step forward even after I count to three will all be considered betrayers of the Ember.”

Silence fell at the threat that left no room for negotiation.

A battle of wits began.

Yet, since humans were bound to be swept away by mob mentality.

“One.”

At ‘one’, five people including the young hunter stepped forward.

“Two.”

At ‘two’, twenty stepped forward.

“Three.”

At ‘three’, all the rest stepped forward clutching their bows and arrows.

Everyone, whether they chose it themselves or were swept by the atmosphere, steeled their resolve to fight.

“From now on, I will command the hunting squad. Any objections?”

I shouted confidently toward them, who stood with determined expressions.

No one objected.

* * *

The mission I handed down to the hunting squad was simple.

To search all residences and evacuate the people to the Magic Engineering Department or the leadership headquarters.

There was a need to gather the people in one place for effective defense.

However, distributing the personnel was a problem from the start.

Because the city was built in a circular shape to maximize the efficiency of the Eternal Embers, meaning there was a shortage of personnel to search in all directions.

At the moment requiring a quick decision, I spoke.

“I will take charge of Section 12 alone, so distribute the remaining 11 sections on your own.”

The areas to be searched were a total of 12 sections, from Section 1 to Section 12 clockwise.

There were a little over seventy hunting squad members.

Knowing the danger of the mutants, I had to assign as many numbers as possible to each section.

Only then would their chance of survival rise even a little.

Saving the citizens isolated in the outskirts was important, but the hunting squad members were also citizens likewise.

Taking the risk upon myself was for that reason.

“That won’t do. Going alone is bound to be a dog’s death anyway. It’s right to give up one section.”

At that, the young hunter Sullivan, who had stood against me, rose in revolt.

Although the squad leaders were in a stir at the words to give up one section, everyone seemed to accept it.

Believing it was unavoidable since the personnel was absolutely lacking.

But I said.

“I cannot do that.”

“Why?”

“If the trust of our Ember, where trust between citizens is everything, is broken, we can never return to how we were before. It is inevitable even for the sake of the whole.”

Though I spoke grandly, I had sufficient mana bullets and a mana gun, and I also possessed a sixth sense of transcendent five senses and mana sense.

Although I could not guarantee bringing back everyone alive, I was confident in keeping myself safe.

But since I could not say such things, and they would not believe it even if I did, I added.

“Just as you waited for the Wayne brothers, there are citizens waiting only for us to come even in the section to be abandoned. Even if I die, I will not give up on them.”

“Aylen, you…!”

“…….”

The atmosphere of the squad leaders, who used to only disregard me, turned strange.

As I, whom they thought was only a rascal, discussed responsibility and volunteered for sacrifice, weight was finally added to my words.

At this moment, I felt that the gazes looking at me had changed.

However, a true leader must not only inspire people but also present measures.

I spoke to the eleven squad leaders who had been hastily selected.

“Sections 3, 6, 9, and 12 in the east, west, south, and north will be the assembly points. Those sections will wait on the spot, and the left and right sections will complete their search and immediately join the central assembly point to move together.”

“So you mean we will group three sections into one to move.”

“By doing so, the vacancy of Section 12 that I will take charge of will naturally be filled by the joining of Section 1 and Section 11.”

“Needless to say, the chance of survival will go up too, right? It’s a good plan…”

Although the squad leaders admired it, it was not particularly a great thing.

It was just that my ability to improvise was faster than others due to accumulated experience.

“Then I will go first.”

Dash!

Having finished handing down the mission, I ran at full speed toward Section 12.

Because even at this very moment, people who could not evacuate would be hiding inside their houses, waiting only to be rescued.

But hiding was not the way.

Because just like their physical abilities had risen leaps and bounds after mutating, their sensory organs must have become several times more sensitive as well.

The beasts’ ears would detect even the sound of breathing, and their noses would capture even a faint body odor.

How many minutes did I run like that?

Growl!

“…….”

I finally encountered the mutants.

Their number was as many as five.