“N-No! Please don’t kill me!” a Wizard pleaded as he tremblingly backed away.
His right hand, which was still gripping his wan, had been cut off cleanly, rendering him incapable of protecting himself.
Although he was in a lot of pain, he mustered all his strength to speak, knowing that if he didn’t try to plead for his life, it would not only be his arm that would be lost forever but also his life.
His opponent walked toward him in a calm manner, as if enjoying the fear that was washing over his prey’s body.
Sensing that his opponent had no intention of letting him go, the Wizard took out the Escape Rune from his storage ring.
But before he could activate it, his other arm was cut off from his body, making him scream in pain.
“You’re so noisy.”
A moment later, a silver dagger embedded itself in the Wizard’s forehead, finally ending his life.
Henry raised his hand, and the silver dagger flew back to him. He then flicked it to the side, removing the bloodstains that had stuck to its blade.
“S-Sir Henry, must we really kill them?” Brocke Blackwell, one of the First Years who had been drawn by the ballot box in Brynhildr Academy, asked. “We could have just let them go.”
Henry glanced at the young man who belonged to Terra Manor.
This Manor specialized in Healing, Life, Light, and Plant Magic.
Among the Manors in the Academy, they were generalized as the Pacifists.
In times of peace, being a pacifist was good.
However, a pacifist might not want to kill people, but that didn’t doesn’t mean that others wouldn’t want to kill you.
“Listen, Brocke,” Henry said as he picked up the Escape Rune from the ground. “I’m guessing you have never killed anyone before in your life, right?”
“O-Of course not! Why would I kill people?!” Brocke replied.
Henry smiled. “I think I now understand why the Ballot Box in the academy chose you to become part of this delegation.”
“You do?”
“Yes. I guess you are either fated to die here or leave this place alive after knowing that not everyone you treat kindly will treat you kindly in turn. The Wizarding World isn’t like that, Brocke. So I will give you a choice.”
Henry walked toward the First Year, making the latter subconsciously take a step back.
The Head Prefect of Dud Manor then handed the Escape Rune to Brocke and smiled.
“You have three choices,” Henry stated. “One, follow me despite knowing that I will continue to kill people. Two, explore this place on your own and survive for one month.
“Last but not the least, three, break that Escape Rune, and leave this place. That way, you won’t have to experience any hardships. You can continue to live in your rose-tinted world, turning a blind eye to the real way this world works.”
Brocke looked at the Escape Rune that Henry had placed on the palm of his hand and gulped.
He was tempted to break the rune and finally leave, but if he did that, wouldn’t the others in the academy think badly of him? Only three days had passed since they entered the Legacy Domain, and he also hadn’t achieved anything.
When he appeared, he was transported to the edge of the Abel Plains.
This made him safe from being targeted by the students from other academies who were focused on heading toward the Human settlements found near the center of the plains.
He had experienced a fair share of battles, but he only fought against Gray Wolves, which were ordinary animals—not even Magical Beasts.
Henry had found him on the second day. At that time, he had been very happy, relieved that he was no longer alone.
However, his glee didn’t last long, with his companion actively hunting down Wizards and Witches from their Rival Academies and killing them without mercy.
Unlike Ethan and the others whose goal was to gather resources and magical artifacts inside the Legacy Domain, Henry’s goal was to eliminate all their enemies.
Since Brocke was traveling with Henry, he witnessed the murders right before his eyes. The Mage Slayer of Brynhildr Academy had already killed six people, and the First Year was certain that the limbless man just now wouldn’t be the last.
“W-Why must we kill each other?” Brocked asked. “Can’t we all just live in peace? This Domain is very large. There’s no need to fight each other for resources.”
Henry sighed after hearing Brocke’s words.
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“I guess this is where we part ways,” Henry replied. “Take care of yourself, Brocke. At the first sign of trouble, don’t hesitate to break the Escape Rune to leave this place.”
Henry then turned around to walk away.
He didn’t even bother convincing Brocke to follow him because he didn’t have time to babysit anyone.
The more enemies he killed, the safer his companions would be while exploring the Legacy Domain.
He didn’t want any of his team members to die, but he believed that they were chosen by the Ballot Box for a reason.
As to what reason that was, only the Artifact powered by Fate Magic knew.
Before completely leaving, he looted the wands of the Wizards and Witches whom he had just killed and stored them inside his storage ring.
After a month, he would exchange these wands for Merit Points with Professor Rinehart, the one who had tasked him with this cold-blooded mission.
Brocke watched his protector go with a sad expression on his face. As someone raised in a kind and loving family, he never thought that there would come a day when he would need to point his wand toward people in order to kill them.
He was similar to Ethan when the latter just arrived at Brynhildr Academy.
Kind, naive, and brimming with optimism.
But after Ethan had faced the dark side of life, changing the way he viewed things, the two First Years were no longer similar.
Although he was still kind, his naivety had greatly decreased, and he no longer looked at the world through rose-colored lenses.
He had killed people and suffered from it.
After breaking free from that darkness with Lily’s help, the naive teenage boy had turned into a man who could now command the storm and raging tides of the sea.
Brocke sighed as he placed the Escape Rune into the pocket of his Wizard Robe and summoned his flying broom.
He decided to look for the nearest Human settlement and get to learn more about this Domain from the locals.
The chubby young man with dark-brown hair hoped that he would not encounter anyone from their rival academies on his way to his destination.
He didn’t want to kill anyone, but something was telling him that sooner or later, he would need to make a choice that would change his life forever.