Chương 140: Not Afraid Of Gold

June looked down at his bloodied, trembling hands. The world… his eyes seemed to blur out the surroundings. Yet, his tainted fingers seemed as clear as day. He asked himself a question… a question that he hoped to find the answer to.

'Why does killing have to be such a complicated mess?' His vision snapped back to reality, and he shook his head within the shell. He didn't remember falling to his knees? He placed a hand against the floor and stood up, scanning the room for his fallen helm. June's eyes hovered past the caged souls, his fallen helm, the fireplace with a burning body atop, past the leftovers of what became of the cannibal, and finally, his eyes fell onto one of the Sumeye. The one that he killed last.

'Shame…' Calm thoughts lived with his chaotic mind; a sullen disappointment crept in to spite his lackluster reaction. A creation like the Sumeye was a novel beast to June; he would have loved to study— no, he would have loved to befriend one. Alas, today's encounter wasn't one where he had the option to pursue either idea.

With a few brief steps, void of his usual bounciness, he embodied his shell's imaginary persona in mind as well as body; he crouched down, lifted the helm, and firmly set it on the opening on top of the shell's torso. The helm was hastily made; the visor slits looked like it was made from a beast's claw instead of at a forge where many suits of sorts were born.

His visor was chipped before his encounter, partially due to his intrusions with his fingers, but now post-fight, there was a solid chunk of visor slits missing.

'I'll need to fix this later…' He shut his eyes tightly; his next step would be a difficult one. A hassle to say the least. The caged folk needed to be let out; his actions, primarily his scream, seemed to snap the survivors out of their collective trance. June would need to release everyone next, but that was the easy part. He would need to guide these people out… past the bodies of people who they might have known, and past the place where they would have been if he hadn't arrived.

He trembled slightly; the horrors of life never ceased to amaze him. The Wendigo of the simulation was scary, but it wasn't real. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. However, the violence today, the carnage and the bodies that littered these halls today… They were real…

June uncaged the remaining survivors, around thirty people. He waited for some who seemed to be resting to move… but they weren't resting. Some of the people had thousand-yard stares; June braced himself from also falling into a trance. To forget what he saw today, and remain ignorant of the realer… realities of life.

He grabbed the two Sumeye corpses and formed a sinew strap to tie them together, then he tossed them over his shoulder and slowly began leading a line of marching corpses past their fellow friends and family. June focused on repairing the injuries his body had sustained during the fight; not to mention, he needed to fix the injuries he caused himself. Having teeth to grit when things got bad was an odd comfort that only oddities and people of a similar constitution as him could truly appreciate.

Fortunately for the entire group, a few of the survivors were part of a water treatment crew that frequented the sewers; a way out presented itself. June walked forward without deviating, projecting a stalwart confidence in every step; he wanted to assure the survivors that he was there for them. Despite holding himself with the poise of a gritty bard's tale, he quietly checked up on the escapees with his nameless vision technique. His heart sank; the feral man didn't seem to have a picky palate. Several pets…

several people, both living and dead, were held in the enduring survivors' hands… Most bodies were left to rot until another group retrieved them.

"Tch" He recalled the piles of bodies; most remnants- bones, flesh, whatever- seemed to belong to adults and pets… June didn't have the stomach to prod through what was left. Was he supposed to be relieved that no young children were put in harm's way? The adults, the pets, everyone was a child once…

June walked through the city with a caravan of victims in rags following along. His every step dug into the ground; the sound of his exhale alone made bystanders jump. The bone armor he created to be intimidating was cracked, damaged, and most importantly bathed in blood. He ground his teeth, wondering how he would fall asleep that night, wondering if his entire idea of taking a gig job was worth it. If he had prepared longer, he wouldn't have been as ragged as he was now.

But if he did prepare, most of the people behind him would have been dead. He saved lives; he should be happy! He deserved to at least feel a little satisfied with his actions. But he didn't… June crashed through the guild hall's doors and held the door open with his elbow, allowing the equally ragged survivors into the fine establishment.

Once every person and pet was accounted for, and by god did he thoroughly double-check, June walked over to the front desk and plopped the bleeding, mangled Sumeye carcasses on the table and uttered a single word inlaid with a buried fury! He didn't need to pretend to be upset when infusing his voice; he simply was.

"PAY ME" The tired clerk from the day before was nowhere to be seen; in their place, a suited man paled. He looked into his visor, praying to see a face, a hint of normalcy. But no head was in sight; all he saw were thin, yellowish, wide eyes dotted over a black void staring back from within the damaged helm. The whip on June's waist dripped with tainted blood. Today was done, and no one could tell him otherwise.