Both Symphony and Seraph just silently contemplated Caesar"s words. Neither of them had ever been happy, but they were content with their current lives, it was the least they could do for their hard-working mother. However, both of them knew their "happiness" was merely a facade, they could see the agony hidden deep within their mother"s eyes, but they just acted as though they didn"t.
Thinking to here, Symphony became more disbelieving of Caesar"s words, she had never trusted anyone besides her brother and mother, and now a strange figure had kidnapped the three of them… she just couldn"t comprehend why he would take them.
"I don"t believe you… mother told me that in this world, there are only those that are ignorant and foolish, and the ones that are not ignorant, are ruthless and evil. Which are you?" Symphony asked after a few moments of hesitation. She was still a young girl that thought very highly of her mother, taking her words for the absolute truth.
Caesar"s footsteps momentarily halted after her words entered into his ears… he took the young girl off of his shoulders and gazed into her eyes. Loud thunder rang in their ears, and raindrops ominously fell to the ground as they stared at each other in silence.
"If I had wanted to harm you, I would"ve done it long ago. If I had any ill intentions towards you, I wouldn"t have taken your mother as well… do you understand? It"s not as though I"m ignorant or ruthless, I just merely pity those that are forced to live like livestock at such a tender age" Caesar replied eloquently whilst heaving the young girl back on his shoulder.
He understood why their view of the world so foul, it was to be expected of children who were practically slaves. Caesar, however, did not mind if the young girl didn"t trust him, he didn"t rescue her for recognition or to be a hero. He didn"t feel the same attraction towards Symphony and Seraph, that he felt for Elizabeth. He simply planned to shelter, feed, and protect them until the war was over.
With this in mind, Caesar stopped thinking about such unnecessary thoughts and glanced at the vibrant moon. It"s bright light pierced the thick clouds and further accentuated its beauty. Whilst gazing at the moon, Caesar couldn"t help but think of Musashi, who was cleaning up the "pests".
*************************************
In a dark room, Musashi and twenty other fox-kin were present. They adorned black garbs and had strange masks on their face, they were an oval shape and had three red lines stretched across the forehead area, like a claw.
Musashi, who was at the forefront of these men, breathed out deeply before taking out a blue marble from his pocket. It was the same marble that Caesar had shown him prior.
"Familiarize yourself with the mana hidden deep inside this strange device… we need to identify the location of a few dozen of these" Musashi suddenly spoke up with his deep and raspy voice whilst pa.s.sing the marble to the closest person.
"Are you sure we can trust that kid? He popped out of nowhere and has already obtained such a large amount of authority… maybe he"s just using us t-" before the aged man could finish his sentence, Musashi stopped him with a wave of his hands.
"Do you not trust in my judgment?" Musashi asked sharply while the muscles beneath his robes bulged.
The old man in question didn"t respond, but instead clutched the marble and sensed for the mana inside. This process repeated until everyone in the room had familiarized themselves with it.
Once they were ready, Musashi took a few steps forward and opened the large doors before turning back to gaze at those present, "what we are about to do tonight shall not be spoken of again… I ask of you, my old friends, this one last favor" Musashi spoke with a weary tone whilst gripped his fists tightly. These were the men he had fought with in the past, they were the only ones he could fully trust.
In response, the group of old men only laughed and patted Musashi on the shoulder one by one as they exited the dark room, "we are brothers, no matter the cost, no matter how much blood is spilled, we shall live and die together" they said in unison, as if it was some kind of chant they had agreed upon at an earlier date.
Musashi felt a small tear forming, but he hurriedly shook his head and stopped himself from feeling sentimental. He once again resolved himself and closed his eyes, attempting to sense the small fragment of mana.
The rest of the old men did the same, and thirty minutes later, they snapped open their eyes. Musashi could sense 79 mana waves with similarities to the marble, although they weren"t the exact same, they were surely connected in some way.
With this in mind, Musashi ordered five men to go east, north, and west, while he and four others would go south. Once their formation was prepared, they set out to complete their mission.
Unfortunately, none of them were thrilled with what this mission entailed. They knew that the possibility of killing friends, family, and even lovers, was possible. If it was before, they had refused to accept the possibility of spies, however, once more evidence showed itself, only a fool would still believe in such a false ideal.
They were ruthless men who were willing to risk their friends and family for the clan. Their beliefs did not align with the younger fox-kin who believed in protecting the weak, instead, they believed in winning, no matter the cost.
Each group traveled to the first location and lightly opened the door, although most of the marbles they detected were out of the mansion, there was still some present inside. They moved to the beds and silently a.s.sa.s.sinated the sleeping resident inside.
One particular group, however, the ones that went north, were in a predicament. They were currently standing over a large and luxurious bed, looking at two sleeping figures. They were clearly husband and wife, but they didn"t know who, in particular, was in possession of the marble, as it was hidden beneath the bed.
Alas, one of the five, the man who had spoken to Musashi earlier, raised his sword without hesitation, "even if there is a possibility of one being innocent, there is also the risk of both being spies" as his aged voice pa.s.sed, the others looked at him incredulously.
"You don"t mean to-" before one of them could speak, the man slashed down and killed both husband and wife that were peacefully resting. He gave them a quick and painless death, his eyes didn"t even shake, nor did his expression contort.
"Next" he stated curtly before leaving the other four fox-kin, who were still in a state of shock.
As for the other groups, they were encountering similar dilemmas, however, most of them completed them in a similar fashion. They were all old men who had seen the peak of cruelty, none of them were soft enough to let a possible threat go.
This mission continued for another few hours, until finally, the faint mana that Musashi and the others could feel, was no longer present. They had acc.u.mulated a grand total of 79 marbles together, and gruesomely killed over 100 people. Blood stained their black garbs, and none of them were in the mood to talk.
Some had killed acquaintances, while others had killed old friends, but there was one thing that they all shared in common. None of the groups had any casualties or mishaps. They regrouped in that same dark room, it was relatively empty, and only one small candle was lit in the middle of the room. It rested on a small circular table and flickered beautifully.
Once they were all present, each group placed the small marbles they acc.u.mulated on the round table and stripped their b.l.o.o.d.y clothes. Musashi and the others piled them up and set them ablaze, shedding all possible evidence of the deeds and atrocities they had just committed.
"I hope this was the right decision… Caesar" Musashi whispered quietly while gazing upon the bright moon, outside the window.