Bang!
The tightly shut doors were kicked open with brutal force, and the clamor inside seemed to stop as if someone had pressed pause. Amo walked into the room, sat down at a table with an empty seat as though no one else were there, and took a sip of the wine on it.
Then, under the shocked gazes of the people around him, he spat the wine onto a man in a black suit beside him. As the man stared at him in bewilderment, Amo pulled a clean handkerchief from his breast pocket and wiped his mouth.
Then, without hesitation, he drew his blade, flicked off the blood, and sheathed it, all in one smooth, decisive motion.
A line of blood appeared across the man's neck. His head parted from his body, and he fell to the floor with a crash.
"Aaaah!"
At the bloody sight, many of the society ladies present screamed. They scrambled for the door, their instinctive fear making them overlook the blood-covered guards standing in the entrance.
The next moment, several more heads fell, cowing everyone once again. The room fell silent at once. One person still tried to use his status to intimidate them, only for a guard to cut off his head.
"Don't even think about running, and don't think about fighting back, because... you're not capable of either."
Amo raised a hand, signaling the guards blocking the entrance to step aside. The people crowded there immediately caught sight of the scene outside.
Blood was everywhere, along with corpses lying on the ground. All of it told them that they were lambs waiting for slaughter: they had better not struggle or resist, or death was all that awaited them.
"See? That's what happens. Now then, I'm a civilized man. May I ask where the city lord is?"
Amo wiped the grease from his hands and put on a beaming smile as he looked at the crowd before him. At his words, they all moved aside as though they had grasped a lifeline, leaving only a bloated man standing where he was.
At the sight of him, an expression of disgust appeared on Amo's shadowed face.
"You're the city lord? That appearance... ugh, not much to look at. Why do you look like a pig?"
Seeing Amo's look of disdain, the city lord's expression turned ugly, but he didn't dare lash out. After all, his life and fortune were still in the other man's hands.
So he steeled himself and said, "Y-yes, I'm the city lord. May I ask what you've come to see me about, sir?"
Amo smiled, his expression inscrutable. "Of course I've come to ask the city lord for help with something."
The fat man's face lit up. The other party needed his help, so he was still useful and still had a chance to survive.
At that thought, the fat man put on a sycophantic smile. "Then what do you need me to do, sir? If it's within my power, I certainly won't withhold my help."
Hearing this, Amo smiled. "Good. In that case, city lord, would you please die?"
The fat man's face filled with terror, but before he could say anything, he felt a chill at his neck. His perspective flipped, and a headless, obese body fell. Beside the fat man's corpse, Amo flicked the blood from his blade, a mocking smile on his lips.
"I'm terribly sorry, but that's the only way you can help me. Besides, you did say you'd do everything you could to help."
As consciousness faded, Amo turned to the other nobles in the room. Seeing their relieved expressions, he sneered.
"Kill them all. Confiscate their property to fund the army."
With those words, Amo sentenced every noble present to death. Their faces turned deathly pale, but before they could do anything, the guards charged in with greatswords. There was no need for guns against nobles who couldn't fight.
The massacre in the manor lasted only five minutes. By the end, the entire city lord's manor was covered in blood, and the stench of it filled the air.
Amo rose from his seat. "Let's go welcome the army into the city."
"Yes!"
High in the sky,
Ayinai rested her chin on her hand as she watched the horrific scene below.
As the Aeon of existence, Ayinai was not like Abundance, answering every plea and overflowing with mercy.
Quite the opposite, she was rational. In her view, existence had no clear definition, and everyone had their own meaning for existing. The same was true of Aeons: they existed to follow their Paths, and that, too, was a reason to exist.
The same applied to humans. Since the people who had died had chosen the meaning of their existence while alive, they should bear the consequences themselves, whatever they might be.
This was how Ayinai had always acted: I can guide you in making a choice, but I will not help you with the choice you make, because I am merely a guide. The path you take along the way is your own choice, and the ending is also the result of your choice.
"An ending like this is fine, too. They made their own decisions and chose their own endings, so naturally they must pay the price."
"This child is too eager to kill."
A man appeared beside Ayinai. She raised an eyebrow and looked at him. "What? You don't want him anymore?"
The man glanced at her. "Killing to protect-isn't that also a form of Preservation?"
Even he thought those words were a bit of a stretch, but what was wrong with saying them for the sake of a promising talent? It was his Path; what business did anyone else have telling him how to define it?
"Tch."
Ayinai made a contemptuous sound. The man glanced at her, then vanished again.
Watching him leave, Ayinai turned back to look below. By now, Bountiful Nation's protective barrier had been lifted, and the Alliance Army was marching into the city in a vast procession.
"Elder Ge, I fulfilled my mission. All fifty guards returned without a single casualty."
Amo stood before Elder Ge and saluted. Xiaohe, meanwhile, had already come out and was standing beside Amo, looking at him proudly.
Her proud little expression seemed to say, See? That's how good my judgment is. Amo really is impressive.
Elder Ge noticed Xiaohe's gaze and coughed awkwardly twice before returning the salute. He had never been stingy with rewards for warriors who had earned merit in battle, nor had he ever felt superior to them because they held a lower rank than he did.
All the more so when Amo was someone he admired. After Elder Ge praised him without reservation, Amo left to get some rest.
Elder Ge also took the opportunity to question the ten people who had followed Amo and learn exactly what had happened. After hearing the account, he admired Amo even more.
"He kills decisively, without the slightest hesitation. Rational and calm, too. This boy is simply the best candidate for the new chief judge."
From then on, the scrutiny in Elder Ge's eyes whenever he looked at Amo disappeared, replaced by unreserved admiration and satisfaction.
The next morning, Amo had barely gotten out of bed when Elder Ge's gaze, as though he were looking at someone precious, made his skin crawl. Xiaohe noticed it too and stepped in front of Amo like a little beast whose territory had been invaded, glaring fiercely at Elder Ge.
Elder Ge didn't mind, of course. After all, she was a friend of someone he had taken a liking to. He never cared what others thought of him, as long as he achieved his goal.