Chapter 33 - Do You Believe In Demons?
"Kill this bitch!"
There was a group of five men yelling and cursing Emilia while all the other townspeople were just watching and murmuring to each other.
Soon, loud footsteps were heard approaching the scene.
It was chief Bruce and the other guards.
"What's going on? What's with the commotion—" Chief Bruce then looked at Emilia, who was locked in the cage.
"What is the meaning of this?!" Chief Bruce yelled at the knights.
"We got our orders from the capital to capture this half-angel, and she would be executed there in the capital," one of the four knights replied.
"Why?! For what reasons?!" Chief Bruce took out his sword and said, "No one is talking her from here."
"Are you trying to defy the capital's orders?"
"What are the orders?! And who gave them?!"
"This bitch and four other adventurers went to the night dungeon, and the S rank adventurer informed us that this angel killed the rest of the adventurers!"
"Preposterous! Emilia would never do something like that!" Chief Bruce was acting as a shield for Emilia.
"If you are going to stop us, then it will be treason against the capital, and you know what would happen next!"
"No!" Emilia shouted. "I didn't kill them! It was those demons!"
"Hah?! Demons? Hahaha!" one of the men from the crowd laughed.
"Demons,' she says. Don't lie, bitch! Do you think we are stupid to believe in demons?"
"Demons don't exist! They are just a fiction made for angels and gods to look great."
"Believe me! I am not lying! It was Darius who did all that. He is the one who is lying!" Emilia yelled.
"Do you seriously think we would believe an angel over an S rank adventurer? Don't make me laugh!" remarked one of the knights.
Sophia glanced at Nero— who was about to burst into rage, "That S rank adventurer is the person you were looking for with the god's eyes?"
Nero nodded as he gritted his teeth.
"So he set all this up to frame your Emilia, huh? Typical humans."
Nero raised his hand and moved his thumb towards his middle finger to snap. He was about to snap— but stopped when he saw Emilia staring at him.
Nero couldn't go down and attack those knights openly— and if he did that, that would make him a fugitive— and he would have to travel the world running and killing.
Even if he saved Emilia, she would be considered a rogue, and everyone would come after her. So the only thing Nero could do was 'snap' and obliterate everything— eradicate the entire town.
Nero's snap was a trigger for him to use a tiny amount of his power— and whenever he snapped, everything around him that was weaker than the amount of power he used— had been destroyed.
If Nero snapped, everyone in the town would be annihilated— including Christi and the humans Emilia favored the most in this town.
Nero had nothing to do with that, but if he snapped, the only ones who would remain in this town would be Nero, Sophia, and Emilia.
Nero looked at Emilia as he was about to snap— but Emilia shook her head. She knew what would happen if he snapped, and she didn't want that.
Emilia wanted to protect this town, but that wasn't the only reason she didn't wish Nero to snap; If Nero snapped, it would just make him a killer, and Emilia knew Nero hadn't killed an innocent before— at least she thought he hadn't. She didn't want Nero to dirty his hands like that over her.
"Enough of this! Stand back!" the knight yelled and signaled the other knight to attach the cage with the horse carriage.
"We are leaving for the capital! If anyone here has any problem, then come to the capital and say it yourself!"
Two knights sat on the front of the carriage to drive it, and the rest two knights sat at the back of the carriage.
The carriage then drove away as Emilia and Nero looked at each other— and eventually couldn't see each other anymore.
The townspeople gathered around the inn started making a ruckus, and some went back to their houses; some stayed there.
Nero turned around and walked to the middle of the room, then stood still for a while on the same spot. He closed his eyes, and the memory of his mother getting dragged by the knights flashed before his eyes.
Sophia turned to Nero but didn't go near him and asked, "Zeus… are you okay?"
Nero tilted his head and looked at Sophia with the corner of his eyes, "Do I look okay?"
Nero had already planned to save Emilia once the knights took her outside the town area where no one could see him, and there he could use his powers however he wanted.
"Are you just going to wait and watch her getting executed? Like you did with your mother?"
Nero curled his lips as he glared at Sophia, "I am planning to save her."
Sophia walked closer to Nero and placed her hands on his cheeks.
"Originally, heavens sent me to keep an eye on you. They never stopped thinking of you as a threat, and they wanted to exterminate you before you grew stronger."
Nero's eyes widened as his glare vanished, and he heard Sophia say, "I was told to eliminate you as soon as you did something evil, but you never did such things."
"And when 'she' betrayed you, everything changed. After watching you for all those years, I couldn't see you in pain."
Nero tried to shrug Sophia's hands from his cheeks, "Why are you telling me all this now?"
"Zeus, you are a demon, you are a monster, so it's alright to become a monster. Annihilate anything that comes in your way, and I will help you with it."
"I can't… Sophi."
"Why not?"
Nero glanced at the bracelet on his wrist. "I can't become evil even if wanted to."
"Your mother never said you shouldn't become evil."
Nero placed his hands on Sophia's hand and looked at her, saying, "She asked me to be a good person who helps everyone, and a good person can't be evil."
"I don't think that's what she meant—"
"I know her better than you. I know what type of person she was."
"Zeus," Sophia stared into Nero's eyes as she smiled at him and said, "She just wanted you to 'Live', Zeus."
Nero then remembered the last words that he couldn't hear after his mother was captured.
"That night… after she was captured… she moved her lips to tell me something… but I couldn't figure out what she said. Now I know what she wanted to tell me."
Nero dashed out of the door and rushed downstairs. On his way, he saw Christi standing at the door— as if she was looking for someone.
She turned around and saw Nero, then she ran at him and yelled, "Where were you?! They… they captured Emilia! You need to help her!"
Nero's eyes color turned crimson red, and his short black hair changed to long white hair with mullets on the side. And his ears became pointy.
Christi's eyes widened as her face turned pale.
"Hey mortal, answer me," Nero grabbed Christi's chin and brought his face closer to her, then uttered, "Do you believe in demons?"