Rise of The Strongest Monarch-Chapter 58: The Long Road [3]
This means a lot when it comes to the city we’re getting closer to since we kind of know what to expect now. Humans that probably won’t think twice about letting us die if it means they will live.
The selfishness of them is something I haven’t experienced in quite some time. I know I have probably been thinking that way myself at times.
But I also don’t want other humans dying if they come along with me... That’s the difference.
"Aren’t you the almighty hero here," Celeste says sarcastically.
That’s all I want for humanity... To save them from the zierel. I have thought about this more times than I care to count.
Of course you’d be sarcastic about it, you just want to see me killing more. Yet, you aren’t pushing it onto me as much as you did before.
Why is that?
"You already kill without my help, what reason do I have to tell you to do it," Celeste answers.
I didn’t really think about it like that at first... You’re right. I have been killing without any push to do so which is something I didn’t expect from myself.
They are monsters at the end of the day so it is the right thing to do.
"Yet the woman’s death still haunts you," Celeste mentions.
A flash of Miss Roses face goes through my mind as I stop walking for a second.
I didn’t have much of a choice but to kill her, she was corrupted by the infection at the end of the day. She would’ve killed all those students if given the opportunity to do so.
Tess would’ve died in front of me...
"I’m just saying that technically she was human still in a sense," Celeste responds nonchalantly.
"Murderer."
"Yes he is a murderer now."
"Liam killed another human being."
I...
"MURDERER!"
"MURDERER!!!"
"MURDERER!!!!"
"I’m not a murderer!!!" I shout without thinking.
Amelia stops ahead of me and turns around, a confused expression on her face.
"Nobody called you a murderer Liam," Amelia says softly.
"Sorry... Just.. I’m sorry," I respond quietly.
I just catch up to her and continue to walk while trying to forget the fact that I just shouted like that.
Ba-dum. Ba-dum.
I can feel my heart racing after all of that, a sign that I was getting quite worked up from it all.
Nonetheless I push past it while we make our way for the city. A sign finally appears before us with "Amadon 1 Mile". The thing we have been hoping to see has finally decided to show up.
"We don’t have that much longer at least," Amelia says with some relief in her voice.
"Yeah, that is good," I reply softly.
"I think we should be prepared for anything," Amelia advises.
"Already on it," I say while gripping my sword.
With our weapons in hand we continue our walk for about 15-20 more minutes before the city of Amadon is finally within our sight.
Walls really are built around the entire city...
It is hard to see at first with how dark it is but I can definitely see the walls. They go pretty far up from the way it looks as well, but there has to be a way inside.
"They really did build walls around this city," Amelia says with a surprised tone.
"I don’t know how they did this but it is insane," I reply while staring at the wall.
"We should probably take advantage of this and get some rest for a bit," Amelia suggests.
Getting rest near these walls could be smart since most zierel don’t have a way to get into this city, making it a hassle. They might not consider this place for quite some time if we are lucky.
It just makes me wonder why Airi would suggest heading here. The places she sent me last were to wipe out a bunch of zierel... Is that the same story here?
I hope that it isn’t.
"I agree, we should," I respond while taking a seat by the wall.
Amelia takes a seat next to me, sitting the lantern down between the two of us.
"I meant to ask, why did you shout about not being a murderer before?" Amelia asks with a curious tone.
"I guess I got a bit overwhelmed with some thoughts... That’s all," I answer quietly.
"Do you think the woman’s death makes you a murderer?" She asks.
"I- Yes," I struggle to respond at first.
I can’t tell her that it is because of voices I heard calling me a murderer.... I’d seem like I’m completely crazy. That is a possibility at this point though.
"That woman wasn’t human anymore, I saw the look in her eyes. She really did give in to her infection," Amelia says with a serious tone.
"Then why do I feel this guilt over it?" I question.
"Because you are human," Amelia answers without hesitation.
The guilt is something I have been slowly struggling with each day but maybe it is normal after all. Am I really a good person if I don’t struggle with this...?
"I appreciate you trying to make me feel better Amelia," I say genuinely.
"I am just being honest. You are human so it is normal to feel guilty over something like that, but you did nothing wrong," Amelia replies.
"Thank you. I honestly needed to hear something like this," I say with appreciation in my voice.
Maybe I am opening up to the idea of having someone by my side for this fights, but the fear still lingers. I don’t want to watch people close to me die again.
That is something that I don’t know if I can avoid or not... Especially with the way the zierel are out here. They also seem to be evolving into stronger variations already.
I also can’t handle a full fight against a hybrid on my own yet.
What will happen if I run into one in this city while Airi is so far away? Could I beat them by myself, or would it be possible with Amelia’s help?
That is the real question.
