Chapter 48: Cleaning Up

The Book of Balance had opened on its own. It pulsated with a golden light that enveloped Lira and pulled her inside the glowing pages.

"What happened?" Siorre glared at the old man as the book slammed closed.

"Her trial has started," there was a proud look in his eyes as he answered then he glanced at Aries with a pleading look. "The House of Scale has become lawless. Can I see my wife?"

"You have to wait until Lira becomes the new house leader," Prince Sunrei replied and glanced at his sister. "We should leave."

"I'll stay here," Siorre was staring anxiously at the glowing book. "I'll wait for her trial to end."

"Okay," Princess Pieffer agreed. "Let's go."

^#########^

Aries brought them to the quadrangle. Lira had informed them in one of their meetings that all of the guards in the House of Scale had fallen victim to the corrupted souls because of the battle to the death.

As soon as they had entered that area, all the guards had glanced in their direction.

"I will take care of the guards here," Aries volunteered. "You should check on the rest of the villagers. Be sure to make them safe."

The royal siblings only nodded and fight their way out of the quadrangle. Aries prepared his dual blades and assisted his comrades in leaving that place.

When the two royalties had successfully made their way out of the quadrangle, Aries stood in front of the gate to make sure that none of the guards inside would follow the siblings. There were also guards outside that place and he was certain that the royal siblings could take care of those uniformed men. He should focus inside the quadrangle. He should not allow a single sentry to exit the gate right behind him. He should eliminate all the guards and he should finish the task quickly. He only had less than twenty-four hours.

He still tried to absorb the corrupted souls but he could not feel anything biting his blade. Lira was telling him the truth. The law in that House is powerful. It could transform a corrupted soul into a normal one.

"Let me live, please…" the guard that he was about to kill had begged in horror and everyone in the quadrangle had stopped moving as if waiting for his answer.

"You are already dead," Aries placed the dual blades near the neck of the terrified guard.

"Our souls will vanish!" one of the guards around him had yelled. "We will never be reborn."

"Then why did you choose to own someone else's body when you can just possess them?" Aries inched the blades closer to the neck of the robbed vessel. "All of you have lived long enough just by being a corrupted soul. Why did you suddenly want to become normal people?"

"We had been tricked into doing this!" one of the guards had answered.

"Celestial Knight Mercielle tricked us!" the rest of the guards agreed in unison.

"She showed us that by owning a human's body we can live as we did before our deaths," the guard that Aries was about to kill had shed tears. "We can live as humans again… for eternity…"

"You believed in it?" Aries laughed. "How can a human live for eternity? That body you robbed can get sick, grow old, and die. What you want is immortality and if you become immortal then you are no longer human. You cannot be both. Stop fooling yourselves."

"How can you be reborn and stay as your previous self? Aren't you an immortal? Why can't we all become immortals?"

"I cannot remember much of my previous lives," Aries admitted. "I guess I can be reborn but I always have to start from scratch. I have to crawl before I can walk. I am not an immortal. No one can be an immortal except the gods. Selfish souls like us can never be gods!"

Aries finally cut the throat of the guard underneath his blades and went on to slaughter the rest of them.

'Yes. That's it. Take their lives, Aries.'

That familiar voice again. It was helping him to kill with ease, to enjoy the sensation. And when he sliced the throat of the last guard alive and the lifeless body dropped on the ground, Aries was feeling numb. Only coldness remained within his body. His crimson blades were glowing brighter as if Vermillion loved shedding a lot of blood. His hands, clothes, and face were also drenched with thick and red liquid. He looked around and satisfied himself in seeing them all dead. His mission there was finished. He should move on to the next.

He looked away from the corpses, opened the gate, and marched out of the quadrangle. The guards stationed outside had all been killed. His comrades proved themselves to be useful at times. Aries smiled and followed the trail of corpses.

On the side of the road, near one of the houses, he had spotted a small fountain. He decided to stop by for a while to clean his bloody hands. While washing the drying blood, he noticed the reflection he was casting in the reddening water. Instead of his face, he had seen someone else. The face being mirrored was from Pieffer Celestine. Her blue eyes were cold, dark, and ominous.

"Aries?"

He quickly called Vermillion, turned around, and pointed one of his dual blades at whoever it was that called his name.

"What's wrong?"

That person was Princess Pieffer and her blue eyes were not cold, dark, and ominous. She was staring at Aries with deep concern.

She was also drenched with blood and her hand that was holding a weapon was trembling but not as much as the last time.

"What happened?"

"Nothing," Aries had finally come to his senses. "I'm just washing my hands."

He glanced back at the water and saw his own reflection instead of Pieffer Celestine.

"Have you checked the entire village?"

"Just the southern border," Princess Pieffer had reported. "We are on our way to the western border. Will you come with us?"

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"We can cover more ground if we separate," Aries said. "I will go to the eastern border."

"Then let's meet at the northern border later."

Aries nodded agreement

"Be careful."

"You too."

^#######^

Aries had cleaned the eastern border within three hours. The quadrangle at the manor had taken him two hours. The guards were starting to hide away from him and they were taking refuge at the houses.

"Please, don't hurt my husband!" the woman inside one of the houses had protected the guard Aries was pursuing.

It took him by surprise because that was the first time he witnessed someone protecting a corrupted soul that obviously killed his real husband. The previous families that Aries encountered had all wanted the body of their family members to be free from the corrupted souls.

"He is not your husband," Aries reminded the woman.

"I know!" she yelled in tears. "He is better than my husband! Please, don't kill him!"

She bowed her head to the ground and Aries had taken that opportunity to slash his dual blades at the throat of the guard. His dead body dropped right next to the kneeling woman.

She was horrified and could not do anything but grab the body of his dead husband and Aries just quietly left the house.

He only had a few hours left. He could not listen to any more drama.

After finishing up with the eastern border, he went straight to the northern boundary. The royal siblings were still not there. He decided to wait for them while cleaning up the area.

The strange sensation within his mind was on and off. The familiar voice would suddenly speak to him and its coldness was rendering him emotionally detached. He was becoming an assassin that only wanted to kill.

It took him nearly four hours because he was trying to fight the strangeness within his mind. He should stop getting influenced. And fortunately, the northern border had been cleaned without much of a problem. The only thing that was making him anxious as of that moment was the royal siblings.

They were taking so long at the western border that Aries ignored their agreement to meet in that place and decided to hurry towards the princess and the prince.

In there, he had seen Princess Pieffer fighting the guards with trembling hands and tears in her eyes. Her resolve had greatly weakened and she was mostly evading and running in circles. She could no longer cut them to death. Prince Sunrei, on the other hand, was fighting the woman in dark violet clothes.

"Shairen! Release your curse from my sister!" the prince was furious as he continuously attacked the woman wielding a purple-bladed scythe.

"That is not a curse but a gift. She will surely thank me later," the woman smiled and was moving with surprising grace. She was like transporting herself out of thin air in short distances whenever she sprinted in any direction.

Prince Sunrei could still match her speed but was failing in landing a paralyzing hit.

Aries dashed in front of Princess Pieffer and staggered as he felt his mind pulsated. Something from deep within his subconscious was trying to free itself. He struggled to contain it while slashing his dual blades at the throats of the guards. It became more difficult because killing was what it wants. It was getting more elated at seeing bloodshed.

But it all stopped when Aries heard metal hitting the ground. He glanced at Princess Pieffer. She dropped her weapon and slumped on the ground. Fear was evident in her eyes.

Aries looked away from the horrified princess and took care of the guards around them first. When he was done, he knelt in front of her.

"What's wrong with you? I haven't seen you this scared," Aries asked but Princess Pieffer was oblivious of him. It was as if she was seeing something that was so terrifying.

"Stop bothering her!" the woman in dark violet clothes had bellowed and Aries felt a strong force rushing from behind him. But he was not the least bothered because Prince Sunrei had interrupted the scythe of their opponent.

"You are the one who should stop bothering us!" the prince yelled back and shoved the scythe and the woman away with his silver sword. "Release my sister from your curse!"

"Fine," the scythe-wielder lowered her weapon and wickedly smiled. "I will lift my power over that woman if Aries releases my comrades."

"No…" Pieffer was suddenly catching her breath. "I… will not… kill him…" she closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. "I will not kill him," she repeated in a louder voice and her breathing was returning to normal. "I will stab my sword on anyone but not at him," she lifted her head and shot a fierce glare at the scythe wielder. "I will not kill Aries!"

She picked up her sword and attacked the woman in dark violet clothes.

Surprised at having her curse broken, the scythe-wielder held her bracelet and had instantly vanished.

Princess Pieffer slashed at an empty air then collapsed weakly on the ground. Aries had caught her before Prince Sunrei could.

"Aries…" she was crying in his arms. "I'm sorry…"

"Just rest," he said and glanced up at Prince Sunrei. "I'll take her back to Siorre."

"I'll continue cleaning this place," the prince agreed. "Return whenever you can."

"I'll be quick," Aries promised and carried Pieffer into the shadows.

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