Chapter 703: Let me live!

"Elion!"

Mira and Tessa were nothing short of thrilled by his unexpected arrival, rushing toward him and throwing their arms around him.

The second-year guys were no less shocked, though for different reasons, while a certain someone looked absolutely horrified, as though he had just seen a ghost.

Their excitement faded, however, when they realised something was wrong.

Isolde wasn’t simply clinging to Elion because she had missed him, and once Rina saw the confusion on their faces, she took it upon herself to explain what had happened.

"Those bastards!" Tessa hissed, throwing a mana-reinforced punch at nothing in particular.

Her fist sent a violent gust of wind rushing across the camp, stirring dust and making the small fire flicker wildly.

Mira was no less furious, but she was also deeply disappointed in herself for failing to consider what might happen.

She should have known Isolde would wander too far from camp. The elf was so shy that she wouldn’t want to be anywhere remotely close to the others while relieving herself.

"I’m sorry," Mira said, giving Elion a deeply apologetic look. "I should have gone with her."

Elion shook his head. After Rina explained how they had encountered the men earlier that day, it seemed clear that the pair had already been planning to ambush them during the night.

Even if Isolde hadn’t wandered off alone, they would still have come looking for the camp.

If he hadn’t insisted on covering the remaining distance tonight and finding the girls before stopping to rest, who knew what might have happened?

"It’s not your fault," he said, sighing as Isolde finally loosened her grip and allowed him to set her on her feet. "Those bastards would have ambushed you in the middle of the night anyway, and they seemed quite strong."

Mira bit her lip, but eventually nodded, her gaze moving toward the shaken elf standing beside him. Elion looked between them, doing his best to keep a calm expression.

"I’m here now, so you don’t need to worry yourselves too much."

...

With the worst of it behind them, Isolde had calmed down, and before long, she was smiling and chatting with the others. Mira, Tessa, and Isolde were already acquainted with the Triad Alliance cohort, but Kali and little Eva’s presence naturally caused some confusion.

Elion explained how they had met the two, but once he finished, Mira could only let out an exaggerated sigh.

"We leave you alone for a couple of weeks, and you bring back another woman and a daughter," she said teasingly.

"Did you even hear what I said?" Elion protested, rushing to defend himself.

His explanation was woefully ignored, much to his dismay, and the devastated expression on his face brought another bout of laughter from the group.

"I don’t get it," Aki muttered to the other guys as they listened to the conversation. "What’s so impressive about him? Sure, he looks good, but that’s all. Why do they all flock to him like that?"

Cody shrugged. "Beats me."

His gaze drifted toward William, and his brows rose slightly at the sight of the young man’s face.

"Yo, Dawncrest, you okay there? You’re looking a little pale."

William flinched. "H-huh? Ah, yes, I’m fine. D-did you want something?"

’He’s obviously not fine...’

The other guys all thought at once, eyeing him with small shakes of their heads, finding his attempt to appear composed rather unconvincing.

"Yeah, he’s a dead man," Aki muttered.

It took a little while, but Elion finally acknowledged their presence once he had finished speaking with the ladies. The guys introduced themselves one by one, with varying degrees of enthusiasm, though he was a bit stunned to see that one of them was actually familiar already.

"Oh? You’re Makho, right?" Elion asked, looking at the red-haired second-year.

Makho’s brows rose in surprise before he nodded. "I’m surprised you remember me. We only met once, after all."

"I never forget a face, even if we’ve only met once," Elion replied.

The two shook hands, and Elion gave him a small smile before adding, "I hope you don’t hold what happened with Liora against me."

Makho looked momentarily dumbfounded, but he quickly recovered. "And why would I?" he asked, feigning confusion.

His reaction only brought a knowing smile to Elion’s face. "Who knows?"

If the guy wanted to play dumb, then Elion could do the same. He left it at that, finishing the introductions until only one person remained.

A cold glint flashed in his eyes as he regarded the cowering William, his smile carrying none of the warmth it had held moments earlier.

"Why, hello there, ’old friend’..."

William took a step back, and Elion took a step forward. "W-what do you want from me?" William snapped, tripping over his own feet and falling on his ass.

"What do I want from you?"

Elion scoffed.

"All I want, is your life," He spoke calmly, stroking his chin thoughtfully, "To be honest, I’ve been thinking about all the ways I could make you suffer before eventually killing you..."

William’s face grew considerably paler, a look of absolute horror spreading across his features.

"B-but why?" William screamed, scrambling backward on his hands as Elion stepped closer.

"Why, you ask? Why do you think?" Elion hissed, the smile vanishing from his face. "You think that just because your stupid father is dead, I’ll let you go scot-free?"

A humourless laugh escaped his lips. "No. I have come to settle my debts, and this is the end of the road for you, William Dawncrest."

Kurogoroshi flashed into his right hand as he approached the crawling William, but a hand held onto his shoulder before he could take another step.

"What do you think you’re doing?" Rina asked.

"What does it look like I’m doing? I’m going to put this bastard in his place, make him suffer a bit, and then kill him."

Rina frowned, giving him an disapproving look. "You know I can’t let you do that, right?"

Elion met her unblinking gaze with a serious expression of his own. He could understand where she was coming from.

Rina was the leader of this cohort, and she couldn’t simply allow someone under her care to be killed, regardless of whom he had grievances with. While Elion was grateful for what she had done for Isolde, he wasn’t willing to compromise on this matter.

Under normal circumstances, he wouldn’t have been so obvious about his intention to kill William. He would have found the right opportunity to isolate him and quietly get rid of him. The others might suspect him afterward, of course, but they would have no proof.

However, Elion had grown tired of playing the waiting game. He wanted to get this over with as soon as possible, and he had little patience left for anything standing in his way.

He kept his expression calm, containing the seething hatred within him. There wasn’t the slightest uncertainty in his voice when he spoke.

"Be my guest. You can try your best to stop me, but you know yourself that you don’t stand a chance."

With those words, he turned away, leaving Rina stunned as her hand slipped from his shoulder.

’Wait, what? Is he really going to do it?’ Cody watched in shock as Elion brandished his sword, giving it a few casual swings while William struggled to get to his feet.

"Now, what should I start with?" Elion asked.

William thrust out a trembling hand. "N-no! No! What do you want? I’ll give you whatever you want! Just let me live!"