CHAPTER 24: IDEALS

[+20 EXP]

[+20 EXP]

[+20 EXP]

[+20 EXP]

[+20 EXP]

Several translucent screens opened one after another before Allen’s eyes, indicating the amount of EXP he had gotten just now from ending all those soldiers.

I see, so it counts even if I’m not directly killing them and just causing their death in some way, he thought to himself.

After all, if only direct deaths counted then Allen would’ve gotten rewards for killing only the dozen mages. Yet the rewards were much higher, which meant that indirect damage was also taken into consideration.

He looked at the burning pile of bodies, engulfed in flames that rose as high as six feet. It was one last look before he eventually decided to move on from the place.

Since all of the knights had taken critical damage there weren’t any chances of them turning into half-deads.

However, just when he was about to turn around and leave, he saw something moving within the flames.

It was faint, but soon he could recognize that it was akin to a human silhouette.

"Agggghhhhhh!" he heard a scream. It was loud, obnoxious, and painful to the ears. It came from the silhouette so Allen decided it was indeed a human and not a half-dead.

Soon the person behind the scream came out from the flames and was visible to Allen’s eyes.

Most of his armor had been blown off, with some of the pieces being stuck in his hand and causing him to bleed out, a trail of blood tracing down his arms.

Most of his hair had been burned along with his beard although it wasn’t completely gone. The left side of his face had been burned as well, revealing the insides of his muscles and the nerves.

"I knew it! No way you rats are ever going to win without your dirty little tricks!" he said, his voice cracking due to all the smoke he had inhaled.

"Ah, so you’re that captain, I think. Sorry, you’re a little hard to recognize right now," Allen said in a condescending tone.

"You bastard... You are going to pay for this," the captain said. "Even if I die here, it will not change anything! All of you are going to lose, there is no way you can go against them."

"And when your little play of revolt is over, you all are going to experience the most terrifying death in all existence. Not just you and those who fought, but your families, your children, all of them!"

"That is the magnitude of the mistake you people have committed! That is the consequence of your actions!" the captain said.

His voice was loud, and his eyes were widened. He was almost on death’s doorstep hence it wasn’t unusual for him to be losing his rationality and behaving strangely.

Allen didn’t give a reply to him and instead took a few steps forward to stand a little closer to him.

"You see, firstly, I have no fucking idea of whatever you are talking about. I wish I did but I don’t," Allen said.

"Secondly, I don’t know why the hell you are here crying about me using dirty tricks on you when you are literally in the middle of a war?"

"Let’s see, if I had to take a guess, I would say you used to be some noble who came to fight in a war, no? If not, you were at least from a family that was privileged enough."

"Am I right?" Allen asked, staring the captain dead into his eyes.

"...O-Of course, you have spied on me well," the captain replied, his voice breaking.

"No, I did not need to spy on you to know that much. Your actions were enough to show that. You see, a certain old man told me not long ago that wars are not won by ideals and fairness."

"The ideals you speak of belong to the nobles back home, who sit comfortably in their houses and give speeches to the public, riling them up for war."

"So let me remind you, my little captain. Right now, you are not at your home. You are on a battlefield. You are not telling people to go to war. You are in a war. So your ideals, and these accusations of me playing dirty, mean nothing."

"If anything, I’ll take them as a compliment," Allen said, a smirk appearing on his face.

"And lastly," he said, kicking the captain in the knee causing him to fall to the ground.

"Why are you ignoring the fact that the people you are fighting for have no care for you all? Isn’t the fact that they are using a spell to make you fight even if you are dying dirtier than whatever I am using?"

"Quite hypocritical now isn’t it?" Allen questioned, looking down at the captain.

"Nonsense... I won’t be swayed by your words..." he replied, his low voice underlining his lack of confidence.

"Playing delusional now, are you?" Allen responded.

"Unfortunately for you, it seems like you’re going to experience it yourself. I mean, you are about to die and unlike your comrades it wasn’t an instant death, so you will also turn into a half-dead monster."

"How do you think that’s going to feel, Mr. Captain?" Allen said in a mocking tone.

As Allen’s words fell on his ears, he was suddenly hit with the reality of it all. He had been too consumed by his intent to kill Allen that he’d forgotten about the condition of his own body.

And doing that was one of the first signs that the spell was starting to affect you.

"N-No, that’s not right. I can’t be turned into those things... I-I’m a captain after all... not a mere foot soldier," his voice cracked as the realization began to seep in.

"Anyways, I’m done with you so I should be on my way—" Allen said before coming to a sudden halt. "Actually, it can be a problem if I let you just roam around after turning into a half-dead zombie, so..."

The MP5 disappeared back into the armory and was instead replaced by the M9 pistol. He then aimed down at the captain, and without any hesitation pressed the trigger.

BANG!

BANG!

"AGGHHHHHHH!" the captain screamed as he tried desperately to hold his knees which had just been busted into a pulp by Allen.

"That’s better," Allen mumbled to himself with a satisfied smile on his face.

Putting the pistol back into the inventory as well he turned around and left the area.

I hope there’s no Geneva Convention in this world, Allen thought to himself.