บท 154: I don’t like getting involved

I am following a boy with Aura. That boy tried to steal from me. But my pockets were empty so he had to flee empty handed. He did apologize to me for bumping into me but trying to steal is bad.

It becomes a habit if not corrected. You start from stealing something insignificant. Then you work your way up and start stealing bigger and bigger things. In the end, you develop a habit of stealing.

You can not stop that habit and you keep on stealing. Some start stealing due to reasons. Life is unpredictable. You never know what you might have to do. I won't blame the thief if he has a somewhat acceptable reason.

But nowadays, people steal things because they enjoy it. The thrill of stealing and not getting caught, some people weirdly enjoy it.

I knew this one guy at the mines. He would steal things daily and put it back in the wrong place. He would swap positions of things daily. No one knew who did that except me because I caught him in the act. He was rummaging through a locker to take something and put it in another locker. And he told me not to tell anyone. I said it was fine as long as he didn't swap my things.

That is a very bad habit. I don't want to a boy this young to develop a bad habit of stealing. If he needs help, I will help him. Everyone needs a little help or assistance at some point in life. No need to be shy.

I am following him from afar because I don't have to have my sights set on him. After following him through the alleys, he enters a rundown house.

"Let's observe the situation."

"Yeah. But can you do it though? I think Aera would be better in this situation." (Aura)

"I want to try it though. Let's just focus on that house and keep observing."

I use <Spirit> to enhance my hearing and vision. We are standing on the roof of another house directly across that rundown house. It's better to be up than down.

That boy enters another room. There's a little girl lying on the bed. She seems to be sleeping. But I sensed it. Looking at Aura, she seems to have sensed it as well.

That girl is cursed. Curse? Again? This world sure loves curses. Fay was cursed when I found her. Doris was cursed when I met her. Maybe curses like me or something.

I keep watching. The boy holds her hand and is saying something in a low voice.

"Everything will be fine. Your big brother is still here."

He is her older brother, I think. But where are their parents?

But that boy feeds the girl something. I think it's a medicine of sorts and leaves the house.

"What to do?"

"We should keep following." (Aura)

We follow that boy. And yes, we are hopping on rooftops. That boy now enters another house. This one isn't as rundown as the previous one. But the vibe isn't friendly.

This entire area has a dark feel to it. The dark side of the capital if I say so.

I notice that the building has a barrier around it. It's a perception blocking barrier which forces others to not notice anything. No one is even walking through that alley. They are cautious.

I don't have to worry though. I just use <Spirit> to ignore the effects of the barrier. And the inside of the house became clear.

It's most likely a den of thugs. I see men and and women alike. All rugged and armed with sharp weapons. Some have blunt maces but knives and daggers seem to be their weapon of choice.

Everyone has twisted faces and the boss isn't hard to find. Only one man in that room is dressed nicely. He has a cape which has a tiger on the back. He has a lot of jewelry on him.

"Did you bring today's share?"

He asks the boy. The boy is shaking in fear. Well, a young boy of no more than 10 is surrounded by such people. Anyone would be scared.

"I tried to but he didn't have anything on him. Even though I have seen him spend a lot of gold coins, he had nothing today."

The boy says as he shakes. His voice us trembling. The man gets up and walks to the boy.

I think I have an idea what can happen next. He grabs the boy by his hair and shoves him to the side.

"You piece of shit. How many times have I told you that I don't do charity. If you want medicine for your sister, you have to pay up. You can't even rob one guy. Who was he?"

"…." That boy is shaking even more than before. He can't answer due to fear. But the guy next to him, punched him in his gut.

The boy coughed and threw up.

"You bastard. How dare you dirty our house?"

This is just your typical bullying situation. That boy will be beaten up if he doesn't bring any money.

I analyzed the jewelry the boss man is wearing. All of them are items related to curses. It's easy to understand plots like this.

Oh…their beating stopped. That boy is clearly on the verge of death. But a mage looking guy walks up and heals him.

"You better be careful. If he dies, we lose the treasure."

That mage looking guy warns the boss man.

"Oi, get up."

The boy was kicked. He writhes in pain but gets up.

"Who was this guy you tried to steal from?"

"He is an adventurer. I have seen him plenty of times walking around with a lot of beautiful women. He shops regularly at the Pablo's General Store."

Oh, I was followed and I didn't even notice. But the boss man's expression changed.

"If he can shop at that store, that means he is loaded with cash. And an adventurer at that. He must be pretty strong or just a rich lad. And he had a lot of beautiful women with him. That's the best part."

I think I should intervene now. I look at Aura and she is already fired up. Looks like she against child abuse.

"Then, should we storm their den?"

"Yeah. I don't think we need to show them any mercy." (Aura)

We both get down from the roof and enter that building. Everyone is startled.

"Hello, Clive Belmont here. The guy that boy tried to steal from."

Aura didn't say anything. But their surprised faces are something else.

That boy is even more surprised. I healed him and put a barrier around him. This way, he won't be harmed in any situation.

The boss man is the first one to snap out of it.

"Who are you?"

He points a dagger at me. Everyone else also brings out their weapons and points at us.

"I will give two choices. Death by suffocation or death by dismemberment."

It's rather tame but I wanted to hear their thoughts.

"You sure are funny for someone who is about to die. Everyone, get them."

He throws his lackeys at us. But Aura was rather serious. She simply released a bit of her mana was everyone was blown away.

"It seems that you do not know your position. I will give you a demonstration."

I make two enclosed barriers. One has nothing in it. It's a vaccum. The other is normal. Then I randomly pick two from the bunch.

The one in the vaccum couldn't breathe. He started gasping for air. But his lungs were crushed. His blood started boiling and in just a minute, he died. His blood evaporated and his body collapsed from inside. It was a bloody mess.

The other one was normal. She started looking for an exit. She is banging on the barrier. But it's a barrier I have made. It can even contain a blackhole. The other option was dismemberment.

I am a rather benevolent person. So, I dismantled her all at once. Her head, her arms, her legs, her body, everything fell apart at the same time.

Blood was everywhere. She died with her eyes open because she didn't even get enough time. Her innards were showing. Her gut was visible.

It's a disturbing scene. I made sure the boy can't see any of it. I don't want him to see such brutality.

The others started screaming and ran for the exit. But this entire house is under my control. They can't run away.

"I gave you two choices. Pick one. Whichever you pick, you have to pick one of them. Or would you prefer physical death? Like being beaten to death."

Aura cracked her fingers. I can feel their fear. Fear is the only thing on their minds.

I am skipping the rest of the violence. Aura mostly beat them to death. And the boss man was sent to a random place in the universe. Is that habitable? Who knows? It's random. I am pretty sure, he died instantly.

And I burned down that entire house to erase all traces of it. I have kept some evidence of their deeds. I will consult Ms. Maria later.

That boy was so exhausted that he fainted in my barrier.

"We overdid it, today." (Aura)

"Yeah. Let's get him back to his house. Then comes the hard part."

This is why I don't like getting involved in these cases. A total of 12 people died by our hands today. My kill count goes up again. Why bother with it again? But I wonder, have I truly become a harbinger of death? I didn't feel anything when I killed them. Like squashing insignificant bugs, I felt like I was doing something natural. I have to ask Samantha. But I need to find her first.

Me and Aura walk through the alleys to take the boy to his home. I hope I can smoothly explain it to them.