Chapter 14: CH. 14 | Killer or Hero?

Theo closed his eyes, which also deactivated his Foresight Skill at the same time.

When his eyes opened again, the world had returned to its normal colors, no longer the gray he’d seen a moment ago.

He already knew where Denis had come from, all he had to do now was head there and check the area.

What mattered most to him was that he now knew for certain, Denis and Thalia were still somewhere in this forest.

Theo climbed down from the tree and moved carefully, sweeping toward the side, pushing through brush, and stepping around animal traps hidden in the ground.

Thanks to how quiet the forest was, Theo caught the faint sound of a muffled cry, followed by a low whimper from someone nearby.

The farther he pushed forward, the clearer those sounds became.

They’re around here somewhere, but I can’t pin down exactly where.

"Shut up! You should feel lucky to even be at a party with me!" someone barked.

Theo turned his head toward the sound, and his ears led him to a patch of unusually tall brush... something about it looked off too.

He took a long breath, then stepped forward and pushed the brush aside to look inside.

I-Is that...?!

Theo’s eyes went wide when he saw Denis and Thalia inside. That strange looking brush had clearly been used to cover the entrance to a small cave.

The two of them were inside the cave, lit by the glow of a lantern sitting beside them.

The scene was horrifying, Thalia was stripped of her clothes, her hands bound behind her back, a gag stuffed in her mouth, her eyes swollen and tears streaming down her cheeks.

In front of her stood Denis. He’d already stripped off his shirt, though he still had his pants on.

It was clear the man had been groping her body, running his mouth over her, doing whatever he pleased.

Theo’s eyes hardened. He stepped through the brush until they finally noticed him. But right as Denis turned to look, he found himself face to face with the tip of Theo’s sword.

"YOU?!" Denis shouted, "What the hell are you doing here?!"

The young man didn’t respond. He glanced instead toward Thalia, who had shifted away from Denis the moment his attention snapped to Theo.

Even so, she still couldn’t remove the gag from her mouth since her hands remained bound.

"I’m here to take her home!" Theo said firmly.

"Who do you think you are? You have no right to butt into my party’s business. I’ll have you reported to the city guild!" Denis threatened.

Theo stayed quiet for a moment, then lowered his sword from where it had been aimed at Denis’s head.

Denis broke into a wide grin, standing tall and flexing his athletic build, clearly taller and more muscular than Theo.

"Haha!"

"You’re such a pathetic little coward. You found me, and there’s still nothing you can actually do," Denis said, "Tell me, your whole life is tied to that guild, isn’t it? Your name’s Theo, right?"

"I’ve got it memorized now! I’ll make sure the guild strikes you off their adventurer list!" Denis threatened.

He’s furious I caught him red-handed. Being a noble’s son, he probably thinks he can get away with anything. The city guild would be helpless to stop him.

What am I supposed to do now?

Denis suddenly lunged forward and grabbed Theo, yanking him closer.

Theo flinched, trying to pull away, but Denis’s grip on his collar was far too strong to break.

"Listen to me, you damn coward!"

"I’ve got your face memorized. I know your name too. If you breathe a word about what you saw, I’ll make sure you’re thrown out of the guild and dead by my own hands!"

"Actually, no, I won’t just kill you, I’ll gouge your eyes out so you can never see anything ever again!" Denis threatened.

"Do you understand me, you worthless rookie?!"

Theo stayed silent, offering no response, but Denis suddenly shoved him hard, sending him crashing out through the brush at the cave’s entrance, tearing it apart in the process.

Theo’s head snapped up, his eyes locking back onto Denis.

The man had already started walking back toward Thalia, who was beginning to show clear signs of terror. Theo clenched his fists, knowing full well he had to act now.

If he didn’t, his whole life would be swallowed up by regret, fear, and endless dread.

"HEY!" Theo shouted.

Denis stopped walking, then turned around to face him, "You’re calling out to me? Do you even know who I am?"

I have to do this, even if it makes me a killer!

"I don’t care," Theo answered, "I’m from the village, I don’t know who you are!"

"All I know is that you’re nothing but a filthy pervert and a rapist."

"How dare you call me that?!" Denis roared.

He left Thalia and grabbed his sword lying on the cave floor. Theo watched him closely, choosing not to respond, he already had the best way to beat Denis figured out.

Theo closed his eyes briefly, activating his foresight skill for the second time that night. He had no other choice, it was the only viable path Theo had to actually defeat Denis.

[Foresight Skill Activated]

He opened his eyes again and looked ahead clearly, the world around him shifting into gray. He watched Denis’s real body stand still while his shadow form charged forward, swinging his blade.

Theo studied it carefully. He narrowed his eyes and traced the exact sequence of the attack, until he finally spotted a small opening in the arc of the sword swing.

Once he found that opening, Theo deactivated his foresight skill immediately. He opened his eyes right away and moved exactly according to what he’d seen.

He managed to dodge Denis’s swing, catching the man completely off guard. Theo sidestepped while gripping his own sword tight.

Now, with Denis fully committed to his swing, a huge opening had appeared right across his chest.

Denis’s eyes went wide with shock, panic and fear crashing together all at once.

His panic only spiked further as he realized just how exposed his defense had become, no armor, not even a shirt to protect him.

"W-What are you doing?" Denis said, panicking.

"Wait, Theo! What are you doing?" Denis asked again.

Theo gripped his sword tight and thrust it forward. Denis dropped his own sword, throwing both hands up in a desperate attempt to stop the blade with everything he had.

STAB!

Too late. Theo’s blade had already sunk deep into the left side of Denis’s chest. Denis jolted, coughing up blood, his palms slashed open from grabbing at Theo’s sword.

"D-Do you... do you realize what you’ve just done?!" Denis screamed.

Theo didn’t answer, but he was caught off guard by the sound of footsteps rushing up behind Denis. Thalia sprinted forward and slammed into Denis’s back with everything she had.

The force of that sudden, unexpected push drove Theo’s sword even deeper into Denis’s chest, dealing a fatal wound that sent him collapsing to the ground, convulsing.

Even so, Theo looked completely shaken. He let go of his grip on the sword and stumbled backward, both hands trembling.

He couldn’t believe any of what had just happened. He’d planned to kill Denis, sure, but the mental weight crashing down on him now was something he never could’ve prepared for. He never imagined he’d actually end up taking someone’s life.

There was no satisfaction in it at all, only guilt and a suffocating panic.

As far as he was concerned, what had just happened had branded him a killer, and worse, he’d killed the son of a city noble.

"I... killed him?" Theo said, panicking.

"I don’t know... does that make me a murderer, for real? What am I supposed to do now? Are they going to come after me, hunt me down?"

Thalia walked over to Denis’s lifeless body sprawled inside the cave, then rubbed the ropes binding her wrists against the sword blade.

Once she was fully free, she pulled the gag out of her mouth and spoke.

"You’re not a murderer," Thalia said, still catching her breath, "You’re a hero!"

"You’re my hero. You saved me before that monster could take my purity."

"Thank you," Thalia said, her voice breaking, "Thank you so much, Theo."