Chapter 551: Broken Soul
Even though they had fled the mansion as fast as they could, they could still feel the paralyzing pressure of the lieutenant's essence.
Shin was, at the very least, glad that Northern had taken off on his own. Ryan was easy to manage. All Shin had to do was say, with a serious face:
"We need to go now!"
And Ryan complied.
But who knew what his precious, powerful, and super-confident son would have tried to pull in a situation like this? So, Shin sincerely gave thanks to Ul and the constellation for their safety.
As they ran, the ground shook with tremors, and the sound of crashing clouds reverberated in the air from the mansion. They glanced back but did not stop.
Their destination? Obviously, the church where Northern had claimed Eisha was being kept.
It still made no sense to Shin, and he didn't think they should be bursting into a holy church. That was why he wanted to get there as fast as possible, to step in before Northern did anything rash, and, hopefully, at all costs, prevent him from crossing paths with the lieutenant.
However, he had greatly underestimated Northern's speed of action.
When he reached the church gate, his eyes trembled.
The great statue had completely collapsed, and someone's leg could be seen beneath it. A pool of blood spread from underneath.
Shin's face twisted in horror as he looked around. The place looked like someone had forcibly ripped the ground out from beneath it. And now, he began to wonder if he should really be giving thanks to the constellation or begging for forgiveness. It seemed that wherever Northern went, havoc followed.
"What the hell happened here?" Alystren muttered, his face trembling.
But Shin didn't wait to respond. Instead, he took off, flying over the gate and shooting toward the upheaved ground, following the strong stench of blood.
As he got closer, the smell of blood grew even stronger. Finally, he stood above the ground and saw his son slowly raising his sword.
Instinctively, Shin shouted:
"Northern!"
Northern's face, cold and indifferent, folded into a slight frown, showing his displeasure at the sound of his father's voice.
"What have you done?" Shin's thick, shaky tone broke into fragments.
His eyes scanned the entire area, taking in the gruesome scene of people lying in pools of their own blood. Shortly after, Alystren and Ryan arrived, and Alystren's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Elves. They're all elves!"
It was unbelievable to him that a young boy could single-handedly kill so many elves. "Is he not a Master? Was he lying about his rank?" Alystren wondered.
It made no sense to him. There was no way this level of bloodshed, wrought by a kid, should
be possible. No matter how exceptional he was. If he was truly a Master, a massacre like this should never have happened!
Ryan, however, seemed like the only one who wasn't shocked.
Shin jumped down into the underground.
"Northern, did you kill all these people?" He asked, his eyes begging for a negative answer.
"Some of them aren't dead," Northern responded coldly.
He didn't know why, but he felt no remorse for killing them. Even with Shin questioning him, Northern still felt nothing. He didn't even feel sorry for the poor souls he had slaughtered. Glancing down and ignoring the horrified expression on his adopted father's face, Northern grabbed an elf by the neck and raised him up.
"Where is my mother?"
The elf struggled to speak, lingering for a moment before managing to wring out a few words. "Cretin... you know... nothing. This is just the beginning." He coughed up blood as he finished speaking.
Northern frowned and extended his lightning odachi but stopped as Shin yelled:
"Northern! Please, no more killing! Let me handle this."
Northern paused, a dark frown on his face. He released his grip on the elf, causing the man to slump to his knees.
Shin inhaled deeply, exhaling heavily, then walked toward the kneeling elf. Glancing at Northern cautiously, he said:
"I'm sorry I doubted you."
"It's fine. Things were much easier for me that way."
Northern's words carried no hint of emotion, making Shin's heart sink with heaviness.
Northern stepped back while Shin moved closer to the elf. He knelt, his eyes weighing heavily across the bloody scene.
What broke his heart the most was the thought that his son, who wasn't even eighteen years old, had caused this disaster, and there was nothing Shin, as a supposedly responsible father, could do about it.
He was sure Northern hadn't just been killing, and that was likely why he didn't feel anything, even though so many had died by his hands.
Shin, more than anyone, knew the weight of murder-how hollow it made one feel, how it drained the soul, and the dread it instilled, slowly guiding a person toward a path of destruction.
For him, Eisha had been the warm light that saved him, pulling him back from that dread. But who was going to save his son?
Now, he felt like he was beginning to understand the magnitude of Northern's change. And the more he understood, the sadder he became.
He looked at the elf.
"Where is Eisha?"
"You insolent humans, stealing what belongs to a divine existence."
"My wife belongs to no one!" Shin shouted, his hand inches away from strangling the man.
He was shaking with so much anger that his outstretched hand trembled, and sweat trickled down his face.
He dropped his hand, grabbing the man's armor tiredly, leaning on it, his voice breaking
sorrowfully.
"Please, I beg you, just let her go."
So many things had broken Shin's soul, and he didn't want to choose violence anymore, especially not with his son watching.
Violence was the one thing Eisha had saved him from, and even though he had a justifiable reason-saving his wife and child—it still felt wrong to throw away all she had taught him.
If she saw all this, her heart would break.
The elf, unperturbed by Shin's state, slowly raised his head, a malicious grin spreading across
his face.
"If the princess won't return home, then you shall have no home either!" he yelled, yanking an item from his armor.
Northern's eyes widened instantly. He wanted to step forward to stop the elf and would have been fast enough to knock the item from the cult leader's hand, but he stopped mid-
movement, a small smile appearing on his face.
The elf clenched the item in his hand and smashed it.
Immediately, an enormous amount of soul essence burst out, swallowing the entire scene in a
vortex of swirling essence, looking like a mass of blue flames raging in circles.
Instantaneously...
The lieutenant suddenly turned his gaze westward, his expression darkening.
"A rift?"
A man with long black hair walked up to him, bowing his head.
"My lord... he is here. The linchpin I spoke of."
Lieutenant Dante raised his chin with a confident grin.
"I see. My cause must be truly favored by the constellation. Everything is falling in place for
me"