He raised his head up and stared at Selena coldly.
His eyes glowed purple. " It's true that I would have let the world burn for you all. But after all you have done ... you'll all shall burn beside it ."
Her eyes widened.
Fear rooted her to the spot.
"You're all the same," he spat.
"R… Rain…" she whispered.
His gaze didn't leave her.
"I'll ask questions. I need you to answer them truthfully. If you lie... you die. If you try to run... you die . Try to avoid the question... you die ."
Her body shook.
Arden spoke." If you try to feign innocence... you die . Now... stop crying and answer my questions ."
She pressed her hand to her mouth.
He began." Why did you all decide to kill me in the dungeon?"
She didn't answer. Just sniffled.
Arden said calmly." I guess you won't answer. You'll try to lie and if you lie... you die . Isn't it?"
She still didn't say anything .
Arden knelt in front of her . He touched her leg .
"Heal."
His palm glowed purple.
Her leg swelled… then exploded.
Blood splattered on Arden's face . Some hit the ground
She screamed out in pain . saliva and blood followed out of her mouth.
"Will you answer?" He asked .
She laid back. Screaming in pain.
His hand hovered above her leg." Heal".
Green light envelopes his palm and her leg . Her leg was restored.
She sat, trembling, staring at it.
Arden withdrew his hand ." Now... answer or should I destroy it again?"
He voice shook."I... I'll speak ."
" Go ahead ."
Her voice was low ." The reason we decided to kill you is because we... we hated you ."
Arden didn't flinch .
She continued ." We didn't want you in the guild and that's why you weren't given the coat . We wanted to kill you sooner but then... the king ..."
Arden froze." The king? What does the king has to do with all this ?"
She responded. " Everything. He knew we hated you and wanted to kill you . He stopped us and told us why we would want to waste a precious sacrifice that will benefit us in our mission. We didn't understand... untill the dungeon mission. He told us to take another healer with us... a sacrifice must always be prepared when something goes wrong ."
Arden nodded slowly.
"I see… that's why Rowen was brought along."
Selena nodded weakly ." Yes. Actually we already wanted Rowen to be in our guild a long time ago. He was better than you at healing... we just didn't want you to know of it . So we took you to all of our missions and left Rowen behind .
Her hands shook. She down at the floor, then back up, blinking back tears.
"But... on that fateful mission. We took Rowen along on the king's advice . He told us this might be our chance to finish you off and we took it." Her voice cracked halfway." The king... he wanted us to use you as sacrifice and complete the mission . But... we... we never intended to complete the mission out of fear. We only wanted to kill you . That's all ."
Arden looked down ."So… why did you all hate me so much?"
Selena swallowed hard." Because... you were a burden. You couldn't fight. You weighed us down. In our missions... someone always got hurt trying to protect you . Not to talk about your slow healing . If you were fast at healing like Rowen... maybe the team getting hurt would have been worthwhile. But..."
Arden cut in." You saw me as trash. And trash... needs to be disposed. Isn't that right ?"
Selena froze. No answer. Her chest heaved.
Arden's eyes bored into hers. "Answer me this. Why did the king… advise you all to kill me… in that dungeon?"
She swallowed again, trembling. "I… I don't know. But… from what Arden told us… the king has a philosophy that healers were born to be sacrificed to save the team they were with. With their sacrifice... missions will be done flawlessly . The kingdoms will be safe from magical beasts."
Arden's lips twitched. "I see. So where are the others ."
Selena paused for a while before speaking ." I don't know of their whereabouts. We all went seperate ways after the mission."
He placed his hand on Selena's head .
Selena's eyes widened. "W-what… what are you doing?"
His gaze shifted. Purple… then red. Glowing. His palm bright with an otherworldly light.
"…Heal."
Arden withdrew his hand from her head. Slowly, deliberately, he brought it forward. A ball of fire hovered in his palm.
Selena's voice was low, fearful. "My… my flames…"
Arden rose to his full height. He turned to the remaining five wolves.
"Rest."
Purple smoke swirled. And then… they were gone.
Selena place her head on the floor." Rain... please forgive me." I'm sorry for what I did . I truly am."
Arden's eyes returned to her.
"Do one thing for me…"
Selena raised her head in hope." What is it . I will do anything."
His voice dropped, soft. "Scream. Scream so loud… I can hear it… from outside."
Fear gripped her chest like ice. She remembered… the last time… she had asked him to scream when he fell from the cliff.
Arden didn't wait. He turned, walking calmly away.
Selena couldn't move. Her mind spun. Her legs trembled under her.
Outside the dungon . A large red glowing circle hovered high above.
Arden snapped his fingers.
A huge fireball erupted. Descending fast… unstoppable.
Inside, Selena staggered to her feet, heart hammering.
" I.. I can survive ."
Boom!
She turned slowly . Her eyes widened . The explosion happened fast .
" I... I can..."
The explosion caught up to her . The whole dungeon exploded swallowing her in flames . She screamed .
—————
Outside. Stones and debris flew from the blast. Dust filled the sky. Selena's scream cut through the chaos, sharp and raw.
Arden didn't flinch. He walked away, eyes forward.
"Up next…" he murmured. "The Royal Palace."